I got the idea for this blog post on Sunday when Ryan and I were hanging out on the couch chatting about travel plans for the year. We are really hoping to plan a family vacation within the next few months but our destination is totally up in the air. We came up with a list of about 10 places we’re dying to go that might work with a baby and I thought I could morph that conversation into a blog post focusing on the number five (because 10 is a little long for this type of thing)!
It’s a survey-esque blog post and I’d love for you to pick a few categories to share your “top fives” in the comments section.
Happy Thursday!
Five: A Random Blog Survey
- Five Places I’m Dying to Visit
Alaska (to see whales in the wild)
Australia (to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef)
Napa Valley/Sonoma (one day in the future… when we’re okay with leaving Chase for a bit)
Olympic National Park (dying to visit the Pacific Northwest with Ryan!)
Yellowstone National Park (okay, basically any National Park…)
- Five Foods I Eat Every Day
Oatmeal
Eggs
Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
Sweet Potatoes
Apples
- Five Talents I Wish I Had
Calligraphy
Photography
Singing
Website Coding
Graphic Design
- Five Healthy Food Bloggers I Wish Would Cook For Me Every Day
Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats
Brittany from Eating Bird Food
Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean
Brittany from A Healthy Slice of Life
Gina from SkinnyTaste
- Five Instagram Accounts I Love
TheDogist (Gorgeous photos of different kinds of dogs, typically shot along the streets of NYC)
HilariousBabies (This one cracks me up)
BethWilliamsFitness (One of my favorite BBC trainers’ new fitness account)
Tank.Sinatra (A hilariously inappropriate account)
JulesHough (She could not be any cuter)
- Five Things I Wear (Almost) Every Day
Leggings
Bombas ankle socks or Fabletics no-show socks
Fabletics no-show underwear/thongs
Headbands (SparklySoul, BicBands <— Both are great for working out and don’t slip!)
- Five Songs I Listen To On Repeat
Shark In The Water by The Cocktails (My all-time favorite a cappella remake)
Water Under The Bridge by Adele (The most beautiful voice)
Chandelier by Twisted Measure (Another gorgeous a cappella remake)
Valerie by Amy Winehouse (So catchy)
Ugly Heart by GRL (An upbeat BodyPump song discovery)
- Five Beauty Products I Use Every Day
Rosehip Oil (I use this obsessively. Stay tuned for a post all about this stuff because I’ve been receiving emails from you guys daily with questions about how I use it. It’s without a doubt my favorite beauty discovery from 2015!)
TheBalm Stainiac Lip Stain (I initially received this as a sample in one of my Birchbox mailings and fell in LOVE. Now it’s something I use to give my lips a hint of color every day. You can keep it light or layer the color for a richer look. It’s the best!)
Burt’s Bees Facial Cleansing Towelettes
- Five Movies I Can Watch On Repeat
Pitch Perfect
Father of the Bride
Harry Potter (all of them, but especially the first one)
Love Actually
Elf
- Five Books On My Current Reading List
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff
The Boss Baby by Marla Frazee (We actually read this one during library story time on Monday but I’m sharing it here because it was hilarious. It is a great baby book that new parents will appreciate as it makes light of some of the harder parts of parenting a new baby. I also think this would be a great baby shower gift!)
Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford
A Mom’s Practical Guide to Baby-Led Weaning by Brittany Dixon
- Five Random Things I Ate Yesterday
Egg White Oatmeal Protein Pancake Topped with Peanut Butter (morning snack)
Sriracha and Lime Pretzel Crisps
Aloo Gobi with Shredded Chicken
Greek Yogurt with Almond Butter Granola and Blueberries
Question of the Day
Choose a couple of the above prompts and play along!
Need a place to get started? Here ya go…
- 5 Talents You Wish You Had
- 5 Foods You Eat Every Day
- 5 Instagram Accounts You Love
- 5 Beauty Products You Love
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5 Talents I wish I had: Be more laid back, Ice Skate like a pro, Budget money more effectively, Running, Finish the laundry that I start
5 Foods I Eat Everyday: Greek yogurt, clementines, seltzer (totally crazy for this), a green smoothie of some kind and string cheese
5 Instagram accounts: @spoonforkbacon, @trebleinthekchn – shoutout to a fellow vizsla owner!, @K8_smallthings – hair goals! and @esteelalonde
5 Beauty Products that I love: SuperGoop CC Cream, NYX eyebrow pencil (hello really thin brows!), Soap and Glory Smoothie Star body butter, Beauty Protector Hair oil (makes your hair the softest ever!) and my Real Techniques makeup brushes!
I didn’t know you were a fellow Harry Potter movie fan… can I hug you for that next time I see you?! And actually, while we are at it, we can watch all the movies you listed. All my favorites too. You are so sweet to give me those shout-outs- thank you!! And I also love this idea for a post. Such a fun one to read! Have a great day sweet friend! <3
I have to recommend Glacier National Park over Yellowstone (I live in Montana), in my opinion Glacier is the most beautiful place I have ever been and I travel a lot.
When you go to Napa (and you will), take a hot air balloon ride. We did 5 years ago and it was the most amazing thing ever! They do it every day so they’re very skilled. I think our company was Balloons Over the Valley or something like that.
5 Talents You Wish You Had- That I could draw, always think positively (it feels like a talent), not be a procrastinator, master organizer, baking with yeast…always a fail on my end.
5 Foods You Eat Every Day- Apple, relish tray veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, radish, celery), orange, peanut butter
5 Instagram Accounts You Love- @kellisegars, @jens.fit.journey, @kgrimes526, @elitedailywellness, @kauaihumanesociety
5 Beauty Products You Love- Rosehip oil (thanks to you but looking forward to your post of how you use it), Baby Skin Primer, Island Soap & Candle Works lip balms, Andalou Naturals Rose Cleansing Foam, AKL Lavender Body Butter Cream
wow I never tried that flavor of pretzel crisps! looks awesome!!
Alaska and Australia are definitely top choices for me too!
You guys definitely need to visit Olympic National Park! I am from the PNW and it is just gorgeous up here (even though it rains – a lot!).
5 talents I wish I had: Drawing, master organizer, singing, playing the piano and to be a runner (I hate it!).
This is such a great idea for a blog post!
5 Foods You Eat Every Day- eggs, peanut butter, banana (sometimes all together), almond milk, cheese
5 Talents You Wish You Had- photography, patience, baking, dog whisperer, ultra clean
5 Instagram Accounts You Love- @fuelforfire @arizona_hiking @arizonacoffee @projectrr @runnersworldmag
5 Beauty Products You Love- silk, biolage, coconut oil, toothpaste, sally’s heat protectant
What a fun post!
Five talents I wish I had: singing, dancing, putting on eyeshadow without looking like I’ve been in a fight, handiness (being able to build/fix things easily), and having an eye for putting clothes together.
This was a fun post to read!
Will you do a review of the BLW book/theory? My little guy is 4.5 months and I’m starting to research BLW as a possible option when he’s 6 months. Have you given Chase any rice cereal or purees so far? Are you strictly going to do BLW? Our pediatrician said to start with rice cereal at 5 months, but I’m not too keen on that idea. I’d prefer if we just started with normal food! AHHH! So many questions! Thanks!
I’m going to play along with the 5 places I’m dying to visit:
1. Australia, for the same reasons as you
2. New York City – I went when I was 11 but that doesn’t count for much
3. A Disney park outside the US, Paris would be lovely!
4. Any national park once we’re done having kids. I want to show our kids places like that.
5. Tahiti. Those over water bungalows look amazing!
Loved this post!!
Thanks, Jess! It was a fun one to write! 🙂
Once Chase is a little older, you should DEFINITELY hit up the national parks. My family did that growing up, and we got to see so many amazing things for SO CHEAP. My soon-to-be husband and I are planning a trip to southern Utah to hit up three parks this October, we can’t wait.
Fun survey! Five things I eat every day: egg whites, yogurt, fruit, veggies, a treat! 🙂
YES YES YES to so much of this, but definitely to wishing I were able to do graphic design and website coding. Would make my life SO much easier!
I know, right!?!?! And whenever I sit down to try to teach myself website coding, I feel like I am dying a slow death.
5 Foods You Eat Every Day coffee, honeycrisp apples (when they are not $2/apple- otherwise a granny smith), an OKA grilled cheese sandwich, fish
5 Beauty Products You Love Nova Scotia Fisherman Sea Kelp Body Rescue Balm, Nova Scotia Fisherman Seas Salt and Caramel lip balm, Skin Fix Rapid Repair Balm, Elizabeth Arden 8-Hour UNSCENTED balm, LushI Love Juicy shampoo
So fun! We are similar when it comes to food and clothing! 🙂
5 Places: Maui, Kenya, Isla Holbox, Disney World (when my son is older), and the Maldives
5 Foods: Yogurt, Avocado, Sweet Potatoes, Eggs, and Peanut Butter
5 Talents: Skate Skiing, Photography, Swimming, Cooking, and Singing
5 Movies: Sweet Home Alabama, Good Will Hunting, Forrest Gump, Star Wars, Dumb and Dumber
DYYYYYING to go to the Maldives!! Check out The One and Only resort in the Maldives… It looks UNREAL.
All The Light We Cannot See is an amazing book! Truly one of the best I’ve read in a long time, you won’t be disappointed!
Random but did you ever have an issue with breaking out using the rose hip oil? I googled (after I had been using it for about a week and noticed more breaking out than normal) and apparently that’s an issue for some people with that oil. Just curious about your experience! I may try using it only a few times per week instead of every day and see how it goes from there.
No! I was actually scared of that (because, um, it’s OIL) but I have only seen positive changes with my skin since using it. I seriously LOVE the stuff.
Valerie by Amy Winehouse is so damn catchy, I love blasting it in the car and pretend I can sing haha! I’ve been wanting to read All the Light We Cannot See, but I’ve got a couple books I want to read before committing to one I don’t have. I am finishing The Rosie Project (LOOOVE) and want to read The Husband’s Secret and 10% Happier.
You eat sweet potatoes every day?? Impressive! All The Lights… was an amazing book – highly recommend!
YES! I am obsessed. I will often put them in frittatas, egg scrambles, salads or roast them for a side at dinner! I prep a batch on Sundays so I almost always have a bunch of roasted sweet potatoes ready to throw into random meals.
I would love a post on the Rosehip Oil — I ordered it after seeing it on your blog and doing some research and I’m loving it so far!! 🙂 Thanks for the recommendation!
Ahhh I went to Alaska this past summer and LOVED it! I was not expecting it to be as beautiful as it was. We were on a 7 day cruise and we did see a whale out the window during dinner:) Australia is also #1 on my list of places to see. I’ve wanted to go there sooo bad since I was like 8 years old! I also want to read 13 Hours too. It looks really interesting and I want to read it before I see the movie.
Me too! My mom read the book and recommended it (but hasn’t seen the movie yet, so couldn’t speak to that).
I am also a new convert to the wonders of rose hip oil! How do you store the product? Do you refrigerate?
One trip/life experience I want to take in: Winter Olympics 2018!
I don’t refrigerate mine!
Fun!
5 Beauty products I use—> Coconut oil, Urban Decay Big Fatty Mascara, Victoria Secret Lip Gloss, Batiste dry shampoo and Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer.
YES to ALL the HP movies. I actually do watch them on repeat. I don’t have cable, so I use Harry Potter movies as my background noise when I’m doing chores around the house. Sometimes music distracts me and a movie is better dialogue.
Same here! For some reason HP movies are go-to movies for both me and Ryan so we watch them a lot!
I may be weird but I’m such a fan of lists!
5 talents I wish I had: singing, tumbling, ANY creative ability, French braid my own hair (a talent in my book!), play the guitar
5 foods I eat everyday: coffee (not a food but a necessity to me!), peanut butter, some form of chocolate, Greek yogurt, apples
I don’t have Instagram 🙁
5 beauty products I love: SuperGoop CC cream, Anastasia brow whiz, Becca Champagne Pop highlighter, Maybelline GreatLash mascara, Urban Decay Naked palette
Come to Yellowstone! I live in Bozeman about 90 minutes from the park! Our boys are only 6 weeks apart and we can have a play date!
Aw!! So fun!! Dying to visit Yellowstone… especially in the winter!
5 Instagrams: @doviesworkout @nataliejillfit ….both quick fitness videos
@natgeo (love the pictures!)
@word_rocks_project (I like the idea of leaving little happy messages randomly around)
@rachelryle (the cutest animated drawings!!)
and of course @tunameltsmyheart and @harlowandsage for my fix of cute dogs
My suggestion – do Olympic NP while Chase is still so little. Yellowstone is a classic and the first National Park, so there are so many lessons to be learned around that one. I’m a big proponent of exposing kids to natural places early on, so really anywhere you decide I’m sure will be great! My goal is to visit every US National Park in my lifetime 🙂
Hi Julie. Do you still use Loreal Sublime Bronzer? Does it really cost $25 per bottle? Thank you!
I DO still use it! I’ve NEVER paid that much for it though! YIKES! I honestly bought like 4 or 6 bottles in bulk a few years ago so I haven’t purchased it recently, but I think they were around $7 or $8 each?
Glad I checked! Thank you!
5 instagram accounts I love:
@lizmariegalvan her home décor is to die for
@@toddchrisley from Chrisley Knows Best. he posts the funniest quotes!
@betches they read my mind
@joannagaines again, no explanation needed
@hilariabaldwin Alec Baldwin’s wife…her posts are so sincere and real and her kiddos are adorable!
If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to do a version of this survey on my blog!
5 foods I eat daily:
1. Peanut butter
2. Eggs
3. Almonds
4. Carrots
5. Cheese
Father of the Bride is THE BEST. Ah now I want to watch it this weekend!!
Five things I eat everyday: peanut butter, spinach, kale, bananas, apples
LOVE this! Totally stealing this post and passing on the street cred (or whatever we call it in blogger world.)
As I’ve FINALLY joined Instagram (@SemiSweetTooth y’all, hey-ooo) here are my 5 favorites thus far:
1) @brobeingbasic – SO funny!
2) @parisinfourmonths – stunning pictures by a photographer in Paris
3) @ohhappyday – a party shop that is just filled with happiness
4) @yoga_girl – inspirational yoga chica that is filled with gumption
5) @the_novice_native – just a happy Denver-based chica with killer style and smiles for days
Guess I love looking at pure happiness on Insta, huh? Guess it’s not a bad thing to surround myself with, ha!
Thanks for sharing!
XO, Jessica
Might I suggest Glacier National Park? While I’ve never been to Yellowstone, everything I hear suggests that Glacier is by far superior, and, honestly, I can’t imagine how Yellowstone could compete. Glacier is stunningly beautiful, and one of my favorite places on earth.
I’ve been reading a lot about baby led weaning lately. I think that’s what most of my family has done their kiddos!
Also, Rose Hip Oil, I’m actually about to order an organic bottle!! Wooohoo!
Five foods I eat every day?
eggs
almond butter
chicken
broccoli
apple
Oh my gosh I loved this post :D. I remember surveys like this being so fun when I was doing my blog. Thanks for the new instagram accounts to follow! 5 songs I listen to on repeat- Ugly Heart by GRL (love that one too!), White Dress by Ben Rector, Beautiful by Ben Rector (I kind of love him haha), Fall by Timeflies (the Timeflies pandora station has the best music to workout to), and Beautiful Life by Nick Fradiani
5 Talents I Wish You Had:
Being able to style my own hair
Finding pants that fit
Sewing
Singing
Makeup Application
5 Foods I Eat Every Day:
Spinach
Banana
Greek Yogurt
Almond Butter
Cheese 🙂
1.) I wish you lived closer because our fridge is always full of leftovers that we need help eating!
2.) Why isn’t Richmond on your travel list?!?!?! 😉
3.) I LOVE rosehip oil!! It’s so hydrating.
Rosehip oil is a game changer! I ordered it shortly after you posted about it on your blog. I typically put about 5 drops of oil in my hand then rub all over my face. My face is usually really oily at first but I let it soak in for about 10 minutes and THEN do my night cream.
After using it for 2 months, my skin is glowing. It really does help produce new skin cells!
Yes to those talents!! I wish I had beautiful hand writing for calligraphy!
This is such a great idea! With a 4-week old baby boy it’s been really hard to post on my blog lately but this inspired me to do a quick post at least with some similar questions. By the way, I totally need to check out those books you mentioned (I’m a big bookworm)… 🙂
http://www.thepetitefastinista.com
Fun post! 5 things I eat a day: eggs, Apple or banana, oatmeal, peanut butter, nuts and 5 talents I wish I had: whistling, singing, styling hair, organization, and pretty cursive (mine looks like it did when I first learned cursive in 2nd grade).
For instagram accounts, Jules Hough just like you, she is awesome and pretty down to earth for someone who is famous and tone it up or Tiuteam.
I grew up in Seattle, so I whole-heartedly support visiting Olympic National Park! And, if your main driver for visiting Alaska is to see whales in the wild, try taking a whale watching trip up to Friday Harbor from the Seattle area. You might be able to combine the two! But, after visiting Alaska last summer I definitely think you should do both trips. ; )
Love this! i want to go to Australia someday too! And I am totally checking out those bloggers!
5 Talents – Dancing, drawing, graphic design, styling my own hair, neatly painting my nails
5 Foods – Bananas, peanut butter, salads, apples, coffee
5 Instagrams – @morningslikethese, @mightyinthemitten, @kellyufit, @coco.the.bear, @smushball
5 Beauty Products – Naked palette, 40 Carrots Night Cream, Ponds face/makeup remover wipes, Maybelline Stiletto Liquid Eyeliner, Organix Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo/Conditioner
5 Foods You Eat Every Day:
-Eggs
-Almond Butter
-Apples
-Salad
-Dark Chocolate
Just started All the Light We Can Not See. I highly recommend The Nightingale as well (same genre), one of the best books I’ve ever read. I live in the mountains next to Yellowstone 45 min. away, if you plan a trip try to avoid the peak season summer months, much better experience that way!