Show and Tell 03.18.26

Back with another installment of my Show and TELL series – here’s what I’m trying, eyeing, loving and learning this spring.

TRYING

My Southern Kitchen recipes | If you follow Southern Living on Instagram, you’ve seen Ivy Odom’s videos. I ordered her cookbook, My Southern Kitchen, a few weeks ago and ended up bookmarking about 2 dozen recipes I want to try this year. As I was poring over the text, Andrew said “Are you… reading? A cookbook?” But her write-ups for each recipe are so fun and nostalgic! This cookbook is more for get-togethers and occasions, not so much for simple weeknight dinners, but I’m excited to challenge myself in the kitchen and try some things out of my comfort zone. Plus, there are some twists on some southern classics that I want to become more familiar with. Fried chicken, banana pudding, homemade sweet tea – there’s no excuse for me not to have at least attempted some of these at this point in my life.

These last few years I’ve really forced myself to try more things in the kitchen and it’s been so gratifying, so I’m excited to make my way through these recipes and hopefully have a few more excuses to host friends in the process.

Growing herbs and cherry tomatoes | We’re trying our hand at some different herbs this year, along with some cherry tomatoes from seeds. Attempting to not overwater things this time around (my biggest gardening downfall) by remembering a little nugget from Joanna Gaines’ children’s book We Are the Gardeners – herbs have manners. They like to sip, not gulp!

EYEING

For the first time in our entire marriage, I actually sent my husband links for things I’d like when he asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I know – huge. I’ve always been a birthday minimalist but this year, I’ve got my eye on a few things and wouldn’t mind opening any of them for the big 3-6! I sent him these earrings, this cap (so I’ll quit stealing his), and this velvety Jo Malone perfume. I haven’t worn perfume since high school, and especially not since I’ve been trying to be more conscious of what I put in and on my body, but this smells so good I don’t even care.

Speaking of gifting – I needed to get a gift for a friend a few weeks ago, and it was someone I’d never bought a gift for. I texted her sister for gift ideas and she sent back a screenshot of a Note on her phone: Gift Ideas for ___. It had things she likes and is into (baking, gardening, champagne), things she’s not into (coffee, for example), things she does for hobbies and relaxation – it was just ten or so things but it pointed me in the right direction and was SO incredibly helpful. I think everyone needs to keep a list like this! Especially for kids, too. I love when I text another parent to ask what their child might like for their birthday and they say “They’re really into ___ or they would love ___ toy.” THANK YOU. We’re gonna give the gifts anyway, so let’s just make it easy on each other and get what we actually like and will use!

LOVING

Home finds | A new living room rug that finally feels like the rug we should’ve had in there all along, and vintage Texas coffee table books I found at a precious little antique store in Johnson City when I stopped on a whim on the way to Fredericksburg. Things that make our home feel more us!

Hilmy Cellars winery in Fredericksburg | Speaking of Fredericksburg, when I went with my girls in February I stopped by this winery on my way into town. Andrew and I had done a tasting at Hilmy Cellars back in 2018 and both agreed their wine was the best of any we’d tried that trip, so I wanted to stop in again and grab a few bottles to take back home for him. When we opened a bottle of their cab after dinner and poured ourselves a glass, we both just sighed that sigh when something’s almost too good for words.

I don’t know what’s different about their grapes or their process, but the difference is stark. I already can’t wait to go back for more (or maybe I’ll just join their wine club?) plus now they have a full kitchen – with a shakshuka pizza on the menu! We started making shakshuka at home a few years ago – a pizza version sounds amazing. If you’re in Fredericksburg anytime soon, make a stop at Hilmy.

Entering my baseball mom era | I’ve looked forward to being to be a baseball mom since the day we found out it was two boys! And somehow they’re already four and a half, starting their first activity of their own after sitting on the sidelines (a.k.a. the dance studio waiting room) for most of their lives. It’s finally their turn! I had to laugh – after our first t-ball practice, Hayes saw another little boy drinking a Gatorade and said “Hey, what’s that?” Ohhh, sweet boy. Many Gatorades are in your future!

LEARNING

How helpful it is to only keep half of my closet in sight at a time | I recently swapped the fall/winter clothes in my closet for my spring/summer wardrobe, packing up the cold weather things and leaving only warm weather things hanging up. Keeping my out-of-season clothes packed away, out of sight/out of mind, has been more helpful than I ever realized it would be when I started doing this a few years ago. Obviously for visual clutter purposes – it’s easier to see my options when clothes aren’t crowded and bunched together– but there were times as I was grabbing things from my spring/summer bin to hang up again that I thought “Oh, I forgot I even had that and I'm not that excited about it” (to the donate pile it goes) AND there were things that I thought “Oh I'm so excited to wear this again this spring!” Not seeing things for a while really changes your perspective. Same thing as I was putting my fall/winter clothes away– as I folded up each piece I thought “Did I even wear this at all this season?” Seasonal swapping really forces you to edit your wardrobe and be intentional, and it’s helped me keep my closet so much more manageable!

How much I need His mercy | I started Paul David Tripp’s New Morning Mercies devotional last year and have really been enjoying the simple, straight-to-the-point, way he reflects on God’s unending mercy. It’s just one page a day, with an accompany Bible chapter that goes along with each devotional, but his words have helped me look at the gospel from different angles and what it means for my life in new ways. I recently heard a clip from a podcast with Lauren Akins and she was asked “What is God teaching you right now?” I considered the same question for myself and in this season, I think it’s that He’s helping me to realize that I need the good news and mercy of the gospel more than I thought I did.

Growing up in church, I remember many sermons and discussions about grace, but I don’t really remember the flipside of that conversation. There was a whole lot of grace and goodness talk, but not a lot of sin and inadequacy talk. The gospel was framed as more of a nice thing than a necessary one. It was more just “God loves you so much and He loves you exactly the way you are.” Which sounds great, and He does love us endlessly. But it leaves out an important part of the equation – the depravity that we cannot overcome and the fact that we are not, in fact, good enough for Him, exactly as we are, because He is a just and fair God. If we were good enough on our own, if we were adequate, Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die. The gospel wouldn’t be the gospel.

So as an adult, wrapping my mind around the innate terribleness of humans, wrestling with how that works with us being made by God in his image… it took a little while for me to get there, mentally. But realizing how much I need God’s grace because I truly don’t deserve it and cannot do a single thing to earn it anyway… it makes the gospel so much more integral and meaningful for me.

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That’s a wrap for some springtime show and tell. Thanks for reading!

Show and Tell 01.21.26

I told myself I’d start blogging more after saying goodbye to my photography business and going back to my roots here on The Big and Bright, which began in 2014 as a blog. Well, that was August and this is January, and the posts have been few and far between. After running a business for ten years that required me to show up online and consistently be creatively polished, a break was much needed. I haven’t been in as much of a sharing mood in general these days, embracing all things homeschooling, homemaking, and homebody-ing… (a homebody always, but the other two – who woulda thought??). But I do miss blogging just for the hell of it, writing just to write, and I really miss the freedom to share whatever I felt like without worrying tying it up in a pretty little bow for Instagram.

After a conversation with a friend about the rise of Substack and how it reminds me of the days of Xanga (lol) and the early blogging days, when blogs were actually blogs, before Instagram and influencing, I was inspired to start sharing on here again. Honest thoughts and snippets of life, but with the structure of a series to help keep me motivated. So, here’s the first installment of what I’m calling Show and Tell, or T.E.L.L. (because I can’t resist an acronym), where I’ll be sharing hopefully monthly about things I’m Trying, Eyeing, Loving, and Learning.

TRYING

Walking | What a novelty, I know! For the last 2 years, I’ve been pretty consistent with strength training (using the Moves app – can’t say enough great things about it!), but after the holidays I felt like my body was really craving some gentler movement again for a while. I’ve been walking just for 30 minutes 4 or 5 days a week and it’s been so refreshing! I love my walking pad for colder days.

Film camera | I’ve had an old Canon film camera for years, but hadn’t used it since high school and was a little bit intimidated to start again. I needed to reteach myself how to load it and use it and I just wasn’t ready to re-commit, but after I got on a disposable camera kick last year, I wanted to keep that going without having to keep buying disposables. A few YouTube videos later, the old Canon is back in business and I’m excited to see what I can capture this year on film!

“When you get a chance” | Working for the last few months on making this phrase a go-to in our house, especially with the boys. They’re getting better at prefacing their requests with “Mom, when you get a chance, can you please ___” and it’s so refreshing to hear. They’re learning that most of their requests aren’t as urgent as they think they are; they’re pausing to notice and recognize what I’m in the middle of, they’re interrupting way less often… if you’re feeling snappy with your preschoolers amidst the million requests and demands each day, add this one to their repertoire.

Rowe Casa Hair Spritz | 35 has not been kind to me in the hormone or hair department, and in my desperation last fall, I dropped some $$$ on Divi’s scalp serum in hopes to combat some thinning spots around my hair line and part. Unfortunately I haven’t loved anything about it – it makes my hair super greasy and I was having to plan my hair wash schedule/hat-wearing days around applying it, it drips everywhere, and I just looked like a wet, greasy mess. I kept seeing ads for Rowe Casa’s hair spritz, essentially for the same purpose, and thought for $39 it would be worth trying. So far, so good! It dries really nicely. Wish I would’ve skipped the Divi mess and gone with Rowe Casa in the first place!

EYEING

Swimsuits | I love my Summersalt suits but I’m in serious need of a couple more options to add to my rotation before this summer. Must have decent bum coverage (why is this so rare?!). MUST come in Long Torso. I was ready to invest in a Hunza G after seeing them for years, but then I walked into Walmart the other day and was SO impressed by their cute spring swimsuit collection. Two totally different ends of the quality spectrum I’m sure, but the Walmart selection is still intriguing. Might have to do both – Hunza G for a one piece, Walmart for a two piece since the long torso part doesn’t matter there. Going back to try some on asap!

Gallery wall finds for the boys’ room | This has been a long time coming, but after finally finding the perfect red rug (proud of myself for choosing COLOR!) for their room, I’ve started collecting things for their walls and can’t wait for their room to feel complete. Savage Sam is one of Andrew’s favorite childhood movies and the boys love it now too – I found a Golden Book of it from the 60s that I can’t wait to frame alongside some very special pieces.

LOVING

A slower homeschool pace this semester | Last fall was our first semester of homeschooling. Figuring out our groove, tweaking our schedule as we went, and learning SO. MUCH. along the way. I started out the school year trying to approach things from a “if we finish we finish, if we don’t, whatever” more loosey goosey mindset, and honestly, that’s just not me. I am Type A through and through, and while I feel like that’s not represented as much in many of the homeschool spheres online (like maybe it feels frowned upon to be a more rigid homeschool mom? Because flexibility and ditching “norms” is one of the main benefits of homeschooling in the first place?), I’ve learned that for us, having clear plans laid out brings more peace to our days, and a lack of structure brings the opposite. I love our open-and-go books, but sometimes I need more open-and-tell-me-when-to-stop. Over Christmas break I mapped out our entire second semester in more detail, setting objectives for each month and each week, still with wiggle room but with clear stopping points for each day, too.

The other factor in our pace dilemma was figuring out that Kindergarten wasn’t the level she needed for Language Arts and Math. One of those things you don’t know until you dive in and give things a little time, but a few weeks into the fall, I knew she’d do better with first grade curriculum. That’s the beauty of homeschool – being able to meet her where she’s at! Then it was a matter of bridging the gap, figuring out exactly which parts of Kindergarten to skip (most) and which parts she still needed to review (some), and then purchasing/getting into a new groove with first grade books. But we’re all caught up now, doing just one short lesson a day in each subject, feeling relaxed, unhurried but knowing she’s exactly where she needs to be, on track to finish in early May and start again in August working a full grade ahead. I’m absolutely blown away by all that she’s learning and capable of already, and it truly is one of the greatest joys of my life to have been able to teach her at home this year and savor our days spent together.

Aura Frame | Truth be told, I’d never had any desire for a digital frame until this one. I just didn’t think they did photos justice. If a photo was worth displaying, it was worth doing it “right” in a real frame, with a mat and some intentionality behind it. Enter: the Aura Frame. My sister-in-law got one for my in-laws for Christmas, and as soon as she set it up at their house I went to the website and bought one for my parents. The app interface/photo sharing features and the smart photo pairing are so cool! My brother and I both have the app and can easily send photos to our parents’ frame – it’s a fun way to stay connected. After seeing my parents’ frame all set up, I couldn’t resist getting one for our house too, and the kids have been loving it (to the point where we’ve had to turn it off during meal times because they’d sit there asking a million questions about each photo, not eating - lol). We have the Carver 10” mat frame in Clay, which shows one landscape photo at a time or two portrait photos at a time at whatever interval you set.

Our family yearbooks are wonderful, and I’m still always team #printyourphotos, but we’re not flipping through those daily and I hated that we have so many beautiful photos that we don’t get to see every day. I’m reminded of so many more sweet memories now – our wedding photos, vacation photos, everyday moments with the kids – and it makes me smile all day long!

Valentines day tags | I couldn’t resist some DIY tags after seeing ideas for animal cracker and pirates booty valentines. Canva for the win!

LEARNING

How to cook on stainless steel | Andrew (the real chef in our household) had been wanting stainless steel pans for years so we splurged on a set in 2024 – and then I spent most of 2025 hating them. Everything stuck and it just pissed me off every time I cooked until I FINALLY learned how to use them correctly. Turns out the missing ingredient was patience (lol) and if you just give the pan a few minutes to really heat up on medium before turning things down to low, adding your butter or oil and then giving that a few minutes to get nice and hot, things don’t stick at all. I don’t dread washing pans anymore and it’s so nice!

It really is your screen time | There’s a reel going around along the lines of – “Your house isn’t ugly, your screen time is just too high. Your clothes are fine, your screen time is just too high. There’s nothing wrong with your face, your screen time is just too high. You’re not doing a bad job as a mom, your screen time is just too high” etc. etc. etc. and you know what? They ain’t wrong. All these things we devote so much time and energy to, that I’m sure we wouldn’t care HALF as much about if not for constantly being bombarded with comparison and noise. I feel like there’s been a shift lately across the board, a general feeling of disenchantment with all the overconsumption - the hauls, the houses, the links upon links upon links.

Don’t get me wrong, I like sharing the things I love too. I’m not completely against it all. So I feel a little hypocritical saying all this, but even as someone who just enjoys sharing things with my friends, not trying to make an income from it, not sharing (or buying) hauls for the hell of it, it’s still just… a lot. And we have the choice to not engage with so much of it.

We’re a generation trying not to raise iPad kids but never far away from our own devices and I’ve been feeling the tug of it all – community and creativity vs. privacy and peace… It had been weighing on me and I really started thinking a lot about what my kids might remember about me and my phone usage (going back to one of my favorite writings on motherhood – what are the “always” statements your kids will say about you some day?). I just really, really don’t want them to say “she was always on her phone.”

Since the start of the year, I’ve cut my average screen time down significantly… like, by hours a day, which is so embarrassing to admit but also probably not uncommon. These are the main things that have helped make habits easier to break:

1) Mass unfollowing and blocking of the big-time influencers. It’s weird to me that some of us have been following some of the big names for over a decade now. We’ve watched their children grow up, we’ve watched them all build beautiful homes, we’ve watched haul after haul after haul… at the end of last year I just decided that as much as I liked these accounts, devoting my mental energy to them, spending so much of my TIME tuned into all of it and feeling annoyed or inadequate for whatever reason just wasn’t serving any fruitful purpose in my life. I unfollowed pretty much all of them, and to get my algorithm to quit showing me so much of those types of things, I blocked them too. Even ones I liked following! Sounds like overkill, maybe, but there’s a fine line between being inspired and coveting, and I found myself on the wrong side of that line too often.

2) The Brick. Probably my favorite purchase of 2025. The LIFE it’s given back to me, my gosh. My phone stays Bricked for 20-ish hours a day now, which means I’m locked out of certain apps until I physically tap my phone to the Brick device (it’s magnetic so mine lives on the fridge), and it is THE BEST. I block myself from access to all social media apps, the internet, email, shopping apps, even Zillow – anything that steals my attention in little pockets of the day, keeps me from being fully present when I need to be, or tempts me to scroll or shop. The rest of my phone still functions like normal and mostly I love that it takes self-control out of the equation. Bricking really does get addicting! A lot better than being addicted to the opposite. If you’ve been considering one, this referral link takes $10 off and let me tell ya, the ROI makes it absolutely worth every penny!

3. Putting the screen time widget on my home screen. That’ll humble ya REAL QUICK. A recommendation from @siececampbell who has a ton of helpful ways to rely less on your phone and embrace a more analog life.

4. Having plenty of alternative activities close by – @siececampbell recommends a small analog tote bag to make those things as accessible as your phone. I try to bring one or two things with me anytime I know I’ll have downtime, like waiting for Steele at dance or in the preschool pickup line. I got myself a book of crossword puzzles and the Q-Less game, and also love to toss a sketchpad or journal in there, plus books, devotionals, etc. Things to keep my hands and my mind occupied when I might otherwise want to scroll. And I love Emily Lex’s watercolor workbooks for nights at home!

5. Being okay with not being in the know. I’m not even talking Instagram things or trends, necessarily. I used to whip out my phone for anything and everything, just so I could KNOW. What does that word mean? Where is that plane going? What movie was that guy in? What’s the data on XYZ? What is so and so’s opinion on such and such? Is there anything on sale at ___ right now? Those little things added up to so much extra screen time for me and I finally decided I needed to be okay with not knowing all the answers to all the questions. And not knowing has been just fine so far.

It’s wild (although not surprising) how much more productive I’ve been and how peaceful I’ve felt lately. So many things I kept saying I didn’t have time for or just couldn’t get around to – no, I just wasn’t stewarding my time as well as I should’ve been most days. Still a work in progress but I’m so grateful for the shift.

I don’t really do resolutions or words of the year, but if I had to narrow it down, I think “slow and steady” and “kindness” are the words I’m going for this year. Slow and steady at home, being content and present, embracing an unhurried pace, and being kind to myself, my kids, and others. Cheers to 2026!