FRIDAY FAVORITES

hooray, hooray! it's finally friday! 

"you're off to great places. today is your day! your mountain is waiting...so get on your way!" 

- dr. seuss

i thought it was more than appropriate to end the birthday week of dr. seuss with a quote from one of his beloved books. he was such a wonderful writer who wrote so many wonderful things, and "oh, the places you'll go," like many, is one of my absolute favorite books of his. luca and i have been reading "hand, hand, fingers, thumb" nightly, and i love discovering some of the less popular books of seuss (if there exist such a thing). i never read "hand, hand..." as a kid, and in essence it's a short, sweet book with fun rhymes, lots of onomatopoeias, and adorable, crazy monkeys! lu recently learned what the monkey says, so he loves watching the monkeys drumming along singing "dum ditty, dum ditty, dum dum dum!" do you have any book recommendations for little ones? we've mainly been sticking to board books because, well, you know what toddlers are capable of doing to to paper pages...although, luca loves the paperback, "tap the magic tree," and we don't have any rips or tears as of yet, just a couple of cheese snack finger stains. 

with easter just around the corner, i've been searching for some fun crafts L and i can do together and i've fallen in love with this easter bunny & chick fingerpaint craft from the chickabug blog. i also cannot wait to try this coconut cupcake recipe with rave reviews from ina garten. ina always has good eats, so i doubt these will disappoint. 

photo from food network.com

my heart goes out to those in colder weather. i seem to always be reading about how gloomy and blue-ridden all my east coast friends and family are feeling. groundhog day usually doesn't mean much to us here in southern california, but i know when the groundhog predicted a longer winter, he wasn't greeted with excitement to put it nicely. we, here in california, were probably the only ones who jumped for joy. it's been beautiful over here, not too hot, not too cold, just right, but we've been desperate for rain. we did get some long overdue rainfall recently, and everyone was giddy with excitement. i'm hoping april will bring us her notorious showers because the drought is becoming a huge issue, and we need water! we, in the wood home, are trying to be as mindful as we can with our water usage, although many california residents aren't taking it seriously, which is posing a huge problem. in this instance, ignorance is not bliss, and i found the funniest article about the new law enforcement tactic of "water school." it's the equivalent of traffic school, but it teaches those in violation how to conserve water. so hysterically smart! i give law enforcement a high-five on this one. 

here are some of the things we've been doing as a family to conserve water in our home, maybe this will help you or a neighbor too: we're watering our grass only at night & in the early morning, taking shorter showers, turning off the water while we wash our hair, bathing lu every other day--and sponge bathing him in between if needed, planting more drought resistant plants (such as succulents), not allowing the water to run while brushing teeth or washing dishes, and were contemplating installing an instant water heater. what types of things are you doing to conserve our water? 

and speaking of water, i'm loving this new trend of infusing your water with fruit! miles calls it "spa water" haha. it does feel like you are at a spa especially if you put it in a fancy glass, and garnish the rim. get fancy at home, because why not?! you deserve it! the honest company has a great article about infusing water & they provide a handful of fun recipes to try! check it out, you may just find something you'll love and therefore end up drinking more water, double win! 

photo via honest blog

wishing you all a fun-filled, water mindful weekend!

peace, love & big hugs,