My Favorite Mom Shorts + 8 Things Better Than Wine

Hi, sweet friends! I’ve been wanting to continue to share easy outfit ideas, but I’ve been feeling like I need more. I mean, style and home decor are fun and my favorite pastimes, but there’s so much more to life. I always crave connection on a deeper level, and I hope my posts bring just that. So, today I’m sharing my favorite mom shorts and ALSO 8 things better than wine.

In case you’re new around here and don’t know – I stopped drinking alcohol in January 2020. (You can read more about that here.) It’s been the best decision of my life (I mean, other than my choice of husband and to have children, obvs) and I’ll be sharing more about my daily non-drinking life. Stay tuned!

XO

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PHOTOS BY IRON + HONEY PHOTOGRAPHY

OK, first let’s talk about the mom shorts. I ordered these last summer and wore them constantly. They will definitely sell out, so if you’ve had your eye on them, jump on it. They’re high rise and not too short – perfect for #momlife. If you’re in between sizes, I would size up.

8 THINGS BETTER THAN WINE

1 – COFFEE | Alright, I’m going to start with the obvious. I swear, I drink much more coffee now than I did before becoming sober in January 2020. Sure, I’m addicted. BUT, I’ve never known anyone who drank too much coffee and then blacked out or did something that they regretted. So….

2 – FREEDOM | This might sound dramatic, but hear me out. When I made the decision to break up with alcohol (wine specifically, since that was my drink of choice), I felt…FREE. No more mental energy spent on that tricky alcohol equation, wondering how much to drink, if I should have another drink, should I have a drink at all, etc, etc and on and on. Taking alcohol out of the equation completely is SO freeing.

3 – A CLEAN KITCHEN | This one might seem like a red herring, but it’s not. Last Saturday night, something hit me: cleaning my kitchen and getting our home back into order after the events of the day has replaced my glass of wine. I often used to spend that post dinner, pre-bedtime hour or two lounging on the couch, drinking a glass of red and watching mindless TV or scrolling social media. Now, I pop in my AirPods, listen to a favorite podcast or book and start cleaning. It’s therapeutic – most often I’ll listen to a sober memoir or something equally inspiring or uplifting. There’s just something about that time that has become so special to me and much more gratifying than sipping a glass of wine on the couch.

4 – RESTFUL SLEEP | Back when I would drink a glass (or two or three) of wine while I was cooking/eating and after dinner, while at the time I didn’t realize it, now that I’ve been without alcohol for so long, I can say unequivocally that wine messed with my sleep. As a mom, my whole goal in life is for my family and me to get good sleep. So, it’s ironic that I was drinking something that would almost guarantee I wouldn’t get restful sleep.

5 – DARK CHOCOLATE | I’ve always been one to prefer eating my calories rather than drinking them. So why, then, was I OK with drinking so many calories when it came to red wine? (Not to mention the sugar.)

6 – NO MORE HEADACHES | I can’t tell you how wonderful it’s been waking up and knowing that I won’t be greeted with a headache. When I’d drink even just one glass of red wine, I would wake up with a headache. It might’ve been slight, but it was enough to remind me that something was off and that I wasn’t taking care of myself like I should be.

7 – WHITE TEETH | Vain? Sure. But, I don’t at all miss grayish teeth after one sip of red wine.

8 – A CLEAR MIND | This one is a big one. Alcohol dulls…everything. It’s what tricks us into thinking we’re more relaxed and that it helps with anxiety. (Spoiler alert: it makes anxiety SO much worse.) It dulls our senses, which means that we’re not fully present to experience LIFE. I don’t know about you, but it feels like I blink and my kids are older. Taller. Putting on their own shoes. I don’t want to dull my senses. Life goes so quickly and it’s all such a blur already, I don’t want to intentionally make it more so with alcohol.

OK, now about the sweater. It’s currently on sale! I love the Parisian chic vibes. It’s thin and lightweight enough for these spring days. I’m wearing small.

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