it's hard to put into words what a mother is and what she means to each of us.  to me, my mother is the calm in the middle of the storm, a place to call home, a source of unconditional love & support, and so much more.  my mother has been a shining example of all of those things over the years and becoming a mother myself and instilled such a deeper sense of appreciation and admiration for her.  she is selfless, she is loving, she is kind, and she's so much cooler than I ever gave her credit for. To that end, since it is Friday and I love a good theme, I wanted to share some of my favorite links around the web that are mother-centric:

+ my mother instilled in me the importance of service above self; here's a list of ways to give back this mother's day.

+ JTs back baby (and his mother is in the video)

+ i've become soft since being a mother, and this commercial gets me every.single.time.

+ my favorite carrot cake recipe (from my mother)

+ don't forget to check out some of my favorite bloggers who also happen to be moms: Kate from Dress your Guests, Marion from MarionBerry, Becky from The Pumpkin Spot, Danielle from Lou What Wear, & Chassity from Look Linger Love

+ even your mother should brush her shoulder off

i hope you & yours have a lovely weekend and don't forget to thank that special mom in your life.

Happy end to the first week of Spring folks!  The first week of spring has brought more spring-like temps, a higher pollen count, and therefore my need to up my netti pot game.  (BTW, have you tried them? I have to say, though gross, totally worth it if you suffer from allergies)  I'm also sure, like many of you, I watched in sadness at the events which occurred in Belgium this past week.  I had the opportunity to visit Belgium when I was in high school and still reflect on it as one of my favorite countries to visit - the people are amazing, as is the scenery.  Like many of you, when a tragedy like this strikes, I often wonder how I can help? Despite the ocean between us, there are some ways which you can support the victims of this: here is a list for you.  And if you don't want to click through:

Happy Friday party people.  I don't know about you, but the combination of travel and getting adjusted to daylights savings time has me totally off my game. There were some great things happening around the interwebs this week and here's some of my favorites:

+ you've probably seen the clips of the 'Hamilton' cast performing at the White House this past week (brilliant by the way), but you NEED to check out this clip of a proper brit beat boxing with Lin-Manuel

+ if you've ever visited North Carolina, you know that people are opinionated about their BBQ, but this article on the politics of BBQ brings it home for me.

+ as it's an election year, i am even more fascinated by the political culture in the DC area. this article of the kick-ass women taking the district by storm is interesting, inspiring - i dare you to read and not want to get involved.

+ i'm a believer that being busy is a sickness, but i do think that these tips on how to be a good friend with a crazy schedule and other priorities.

Hope you & yours have a lovely weekend!

Happy Friday kittens! Hope it's been a productive, awesome, crazy week for you.  It's been awhile since I've shared what I'm loving around the interwebs and I thought it was time to break out some of that again.