Katie’s Pregnancy Favorites

If all goes well, we’ll be adding another little guy to the fam this spring! Of course we’re super excited, and we thought it would be fun to do a series of posts on pregnancy and baby-related products and tips that worked for me. Maybe they’ll work for you too?

First up, I wanted to share some of the products or tricks that I found useful while pregnant with A. Max, and that have proved helpful this time around too. I’ve made it a point of trying to be low maintenance when it comes to pregnancy and baby-related items, but even with a minimalist attitude, there are still some things that are worth the purchase. Below are my essentials along with some of the tips & tricks that made it easier to buy less maternity-specific stuff. To go to the product pages, you can click the numbered links below each collage or the links provided within the post’s text.

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Prenatal vitamins.

Ugg. I hate taking them every day, but am serious about doing it before, during, and after a pregnancy. Luckily I’ve found the brands that work well for me and minimize some of the negatives associated with other vitamins. I really like this multivitamin. It doesn’t have as strong as a smell as other vitamins, I never get an upset stomach with it, and generally felt healthy (although I never took another vitamin, so I don’t have a good counter example there). I also took a DHA supplement. DHA is one of the omega-3 fatty acids that’s important for brain development. Taking a prenatal DHA supplement is helpful because you won’t get as high of a dose of DHA if you take a basic omega-3 supplement. Also, while this supplement is made from fish oil, I’ve never had any issues with a fishy smell or aftertaste. I didn’t take a calcium supplement with Alex – I just tried to get plenty through my diet, but this time around I found Calcet’s lemon creamy bites, and no I’m hooked! I use them as a healthy treat when I need just a little something sweet, and I like them so much more than the other calcium chews that I took years ago but got tired of. The only thing I don’t like about these is that each chew is individually wrapped in a plastic shell – not that great for the environment, but it seems to be the key to their fresh, creamy texture. So I’ll probably be done with these after this pregnancy or this box… but I had to mention them, because if you need a calcium supplement, these are outstanding.

Clothes

When it comes to clothes, I’m fortunate in a number of ways. First, I’m pregnant during the exact same time of year, so I’m able to use all of those maternity clothes again.  Second, I mainly work from home, and while last time I had to go in to a job, I really only saw people a couple of days a week. So, many days yoga pants and long stretchy t-shirts or tanks were enough to cover my belly and keep me comfortable. I found that many of the dresses I already owned (I love ones from Title Nine with a touch of spandex, like this) were stretchy enough to fit over my growing belly for at least the first 6-7 months of my pregnancy. I was also lucky that sweater dresses came back into fashion – so I picked up a few of the boxier ones, some tights, and my favorite boots to get me through the rest of my pregnancy – this was an especially great outfit for days I had to teach.  Once my stomach got too large for my pre-pregnancy pants, I bought four pair of maternity pants and a few shirts to go with them – that’s it!

But, even so, there are a couple of specific items that are worth sharing. This maternity tank from Target is so comfortable, and I love how long it is. Late in pregnancy, it was hard for long non-maternity tanks to stretch around my stomach, but this tank does without trouble. I still have the only one I bought, and am thinking it’s time to add a second one to my closet – they are a perfect first layer under any shirt.

As I mentioned, I bought a few maternity shirts, mainly for work days to go with the pants I picked up. I didn’t know it at the time, but there are whole lines of nursing shirts with ruched fabric around the torso – making them perfect for a growing stomach during pregnancy and a slowly shrinking one afterwards. Buy these, especially if you want to try nursing, rather than buying a maternity-only shirt (I found that the BOOB brand really held up well to the wear and tear that is nursing and carrying a little guy).

Books & Other Info

We are just over halfway through this pregnancy, and it was around this time with Little A that I was ready to start learning about labor, labor support, and breastfeeding. Along with taking a labor class, there were a few books that I found really useful.

  • The Big Book of Birth – this book is packed with useful information, so at times it can seem a bit dense, but I really loved the straightforward and concise writing. She covers basic biology of labor as well as types of medical interventions and natural methods for easing discomfort and dealing with different problems that may arise during birth. Calder didn’t read the whole book, but I marked some sections that I thought would be particularly useful for him to read before our delivery, and I think it was helpful to both of us.
  • Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth – This book focuses more on natural childbirth and methods for finding comfort and support through it. I have to admit that I didn’t read this one cover to cover like I did the Big Book of Birth, but I did find it extremely useful, and Ina May’s an expert if ever there was one.
  • The Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers – Before I had Alex, it seems like I often heard about how hard or tricky breastfeeding could be, but I knew I wanted to do it. Knowing that I didn’t want to find myself with a newborn in my hands and unsure of what to do next, I decided to read and learn about the process before having the baby. I found both Jack Newman’s book and his website to be extremely helpful for covering the basics of breastfeeding and providing many useful images and videos of successful and unsuccessful breastfeeding – so I was able to get a sense of what I should look for and red flags for when things weren’t working.

In addition to these books, Calder and I took a seven-week prenatal and labor class together. Our class covered everything from the baby’s development in utero, to the biology of labor, support for labor, types of medical interventions, caring for a newborn, etc. It was so amazing, and really helps you to work through all of that material, especially when you’re working and are so tired that you would rather crash on the couch than read a book. We had the option of taking that class or shortened version of the class over the course of a weekend. I highly recommend spreading your course out over a few weeks – there’s so much information to learn, and you may find that questions develop only after you’ve had days/weeks to think about something from class – there’s no way you and your labor partner would get as much out of a weekend course (but, if that’s all you have time for, it’s better than nothing!).

General Beauty Products

In general, I use very few beauty products, but when I do, I try to stay as chemical-free as possible. One place where that’s hard to do is with nail polish. I would skip it altogether (and that’s what I did with my first pregnancy), but this time around, my nails are really suffering from the dry air. When they are dry, they crack, peel, and just become a general mess. A coat of polish along with daily applications of cuticle oil really helps to keep them healthy. So, this time around I tried Spa Ritual’s 5-free polishes, and really (really) love them. I use them with a base and top coat, and have found that they can go at least 5 days without chipping (less if I’m really doing a lot of mess work with my hands).

Another product that I’ve been devoted to throughout both pregnancies is Burt’s Bees Momma Bee Body Oil. I slather it on my belly after every shower throughout the whole pregnancy and for a few weeks postpartum (about 3 times per week). I was really lucky to end up with no stretch marks last time around. We’ll see what happens this time!

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Staying Healthy

When you’re pregnant, you hear over and over again that it’s important to get plenty of exercise and stay hydrated. Staying hydrated is even more important for me this time around since we’re in a dryer climate.

Honestly, after months of drinking water, tea, and chocolate milk, I start to go crazy for anything else to drink (we’re not big juice drinkers, just as a rare treat). I found a few tricks to help me stay hydrated. I’ll treat myself to cartons of coconut water – you get an electrolyte bonus! Trader Joes’ brand is always a good price, but I’ll take any brand that’s on sale. I also mix up my drinking vessels. The first time around I picked up one of those cold cups with a straw, and found that just switching between my drink bottle and that would have me drinking more. I also found the cup easier to drink out of while breastfeeding and rocking a newborn (rather than having to tilt my head back to use the drink bottle).

When it comes to exercise, having Ca$h the dog was such a big motivator. When he’s with us, I’m his main walking companion – so that meant that I went out on long (30 minutes to an hour+) walks with him twice a day. I did that all the way until the end of my first pregnancy and I know that it really helped me to stay in shape and stay a healthy weight. This time around we don’t have the pooch with us (he’s with Sarah!), but I’m making sure to get plenty of play time in with Alex, and it seems to be working :-).

In addition to the dog walks and Alex adventures, I liked to take some time to do some good, deep, yoga stretching. I tried out a few prenatal yoga classes, and they were great, but I also found it really hard to fit them into my schedule. After a bit of searching, I came across Yoga Download and was an immediate fan. There are a number of ways to access their classes, but I purchased a couple of prenatal yoga classes and downloaded them onto my laptop. It was nice to have access to them at any time and without having to worry about an internet connection. I’ve since purchases some regular (not prenatal) classes and have used them whenever I need a yoga boost – while I would love to go to a studio, practicing at home has become my new norm since Alex arrived.

Finally, there’s one other simple thing that I’ve done during both pregnancies to help myself eat right. Whenever I make a big pot of soup or stew, I put a quart jar of it in the freezer. So far I have about six jars in the freezer this time. This takes zero thought or planning, just fill the jar, label it, and freeze. They are so useful towards the end of pregnancy and during the first few months with a newborn when you’re too tired or busy to cook.

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Wow, I know that was a wordy post, but I’m hoping some other expectant moms may find this helpful… or if you know a momma-to-be, you may get some useful gift ideas from this post. A case of coconut water with a big bow around it never hurt anyone!

Did I miss anything that you found essential? I would love to hear what you found essential.

Welcome November

On the first Wednesday of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us, with a particular focus on animal activity, celestial events, and our farmers’ fields.

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I don’t know what happened this year, but as soon as the calendar flipped to November I had a twinge of nervousness that the season’s passing to quickly. Did you feel that way? It’s the mix of looking forward to and preparing for Christmas while at the same time trying to live in the moment and enjoy every bit of the slow days before Thanksgiving. In an effort to mix the two, I have big plans for long evenings in front of the fire slowly crafting away on holiday projects… we’ll see how that goes. It was nice to look through photos from Novembers past and realize just how much we are able to pack into this one month. From the ones I’m sharing in this post, it’s a pretty even mix of travel, time outside, and of course, the Christmas prep that I love. I hope your month is a mix of all the good things you love too.

We’ve had such a mild fall in Boulder so far, it’s hard to believe that at the end of the month we’ll be visiting Calder’s family in CA, where, if we’re lucky we’ll be knee deep in snow, risking our life sledding, and (unsuccessfully) dodging stray snowballs!

Earth & Sky

As the seasons change from summer to winter, fall is another important and busy time for migrating animals. I thought it would be fun to move from land to sea this month and look up the migration activities of animals that live in or are closely linked to an ocean.

Humpback Whales

Every year populations of humpback whales cross the Pacific from north to south as they move from their summer feeding grounds along the shores of Alaska and Russia to their winter breeding grounds off the coasts of Hawaii, Mexico, and Asian Pacific Islands.

 

The largest winter calving grounds are in the waters around Hawaii, and particularly off the island of Maui in the Humpback Whale Marine Sanctuary. You can expect the first whales to begin arriving in these waters by September or October, but you are guaranteed to see them starting in November. The whales will stay in the area through May, birthing their young and teaching them basic behaviors, from breaching to tail and fin slapping. If you’re lucky enough to vacation in Hawaii this winter, listen for the male humpbacks singing!

Christmas Island Red Crabs

Christmas Island, located in the Indian Ocean, is home to an endemic species of land-dwelling crabs. For most of the year, the crabs live a solitary life inland, eating leaves and flowers, but every year between October and January, the crabs migration en mass to the coast to mate and spawn. With a population of over 40 million crabs all moving at once, this migration is awe-inspiring, and can cause a bit of a headache for local travels. The crabs can take-over roadways, and often roads that cross their migration route are closed off to let the crabs pass. The start of the migration coincides with the wet season on the Island. Generally, the crabs have to be very conservative with their movements in order to conserve body moisture, but with the rains, they are able to move more freely and make the migration to the coast.

Once at the beach, the male crabs will create a burrow where they will mate with the female crabs. After mating, the males will return to the forest while the females will stay in the burrows for up to two weeks as the eggs develop. The females will then deposit their eggs in the ocean where the larva will hatch and spend 3-4 weeks before returning to land as young crabs. What’s really interesting about the whole event is that the female crabs deposit their eggs in the ocean precisely at the turn of high tide during the last quarter of the moon!

Understanding the timing of that activity, the possible spawning dates for this year are October 19th, November 18th, or December 18th. It all depends upon when the rains begin to fall.

Fields & Festivals

I think of November and I think about good, hearty, home-cooked meals. What about you? Our farm share continues to deliver into December, so I’ve started researching some new-to-me savory veggie recipes for the season. On Monday I made my own version of this savory galette using fresh kale, leeks, and butternut squash. Tonight it’s a spinach and salmon quiche, and tomorrow it’s short ribs with a side of roasted acorn squash.

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There are still plenty of veggies coming out of the farmers’ fields, and plenty going into storage for the winter, so don’t reduce yourself to iceberg lettuce and applies shipped from New Zealand yet! If you’re lucky, your local farmer’s market may still be in operation. Don’t wait to get out there and pick up something fresh. I took the photo above at an evening market in Berlin as I passed through a couple years ago for work.

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When it comes to festivals, there are still some great food-focused events going on. Sarah’s heading to Saxis (photo above taken as the sun rose over the town’s marina two Novembers ago) to hit up the Saxis Oyster festival this weekend! If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, you may find the calendar dominated by craft fairs and festivals – we think they’re a great way to support independent artists and pick up unique gifts for holiday giving. Below are a few we would love to check out. If there’s anything fun going on in your area, let us know!

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As I’m signing off, I’m thinking about ways to wrangle this baby-turned-toddler for some Christmas card photos!

Whale map from KQED. Whale image from Animalians wikispace. Red Crab image from here.

In Season: Juicing

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Let’s face it, we all like to juice once in awhile.  Whether juicing is an every day affair for you or an occasional treat, we can all agree, it’s awesome!  I’ve been traveling for work a lot lately, which means less and less home cooked meals.  Eating out really does catch up to me so I think it’s time for a juice cleanse. I’ve set aside next Monday through Thursday for a juice cleanse.  It’s a nice way to reset, which is how I always view a cleanse.  Here are a few juicing related links to get you inspired or at least intrigued…

I use this this juicer and I love it, although I’d love to add this to my kitchen as well.

If I had plenty of money to spend, I would buy this excavation cleanse by Blue Print.

I haven’t tried these juice recipes in the past, but the look good. Honestly, most combinations are delicious if you like vegetables.

This is a staple in my juice diet.  For juices with frozen bananas or herbs or ingredients that don’t juice well, I use a high powered blender.

Have you guys ever seen the Fat Sick and Nearly Dead documentary? Personally, I think it’s inspiring 🙂

Here is every vegetable juice recipe on the planet.

Honestly, you can make up your own every time, so go on, try it!

Happy Weekend!

In Season: Playing with Food

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I saw so many fun food-related ideas on the interweb this week. And the list was born.

These macarons are amazing! I am a total sucker for anything that has the top-view of citrus cut in half printed on it. That was a complicated description, do you know what I mean?

Along those lines, if you live in Florida (Kandy), you should hang this in your kitchen!

How awesome is the stormy seas cake in this post? Now I want Little A to have a sea-themed party.

I really want to print fabric with an ear of corn… but what to make with the finished panel? A scarf? Something for A.max? Ideas please!

Did you see the cute gum drop ice cream cones by Oh Happy Day?

Name that kabob!

 

In Season: Being a Bookworm


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We’re always all about books over here. From leisure reading, to research, to good old coffee table browsing. Read on (ha!) for some fun book-related links.

I love the idea of storing all my books in my stairs like this or this.

This bookshelf is different, but I’d have to find space for my large photo books.

I could probably find a space for them here!

If you’re a book lover, you probably save damaged or meaningless (to you) books. If that’s the case, try one of these crafts.

Katie’s saved all of her old college science textbooks and wants to frame some of the great illustrations.

There are a lot of great printable bookplates out there.  Right now we just write our name inside the front cover (usually with sharpie). This would be so much prettier.

Did you see the fun reading loft that Design Mom made in her Oakland home (which They call the tree house and is amazingly lovely)

 

In Season : Renting Style

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This week Alex and I finally joined Calder in Boulder. I was excited to see the townhouse we’re renting in person (I saw a few photos and videos, but it’s not quite the same thing).  It’s a great place and I think it will make a perfect home for us for the next year or so. Right now I’m still unpacking and figuring out where to put things, what to keep in storage, and what goes on our shopping list. It’s fun to think creatively about how to set up the space – trying to make the space work for us without investing too much work into projects that we would lose when we move. Thus today’s list of low-work home upgrades, space savers, and simple decorating ideas.

We have three bathrooms in this place! Unfortunately they all lack storage. So I’m thinking a small cart or slim shelving unit would work well in a few places. Maybe organizing my doodads is a job for FINTORP? And what do you think about hanging veggie baskets in the showers?

I was really excited to try out some temporary wallpaper, but arrived to textured walls! bummer.

Our kitchen is much smaller than in our last house. We’re finding it easy to work with by keeping a lot of our extra kitchen supplies in storage. We’re also thinking about how to use the wall space. Calder found these beautiful magnetic knife racks and this spice rack on Etsy!

We left the highchair on the east coast and are back to using this booster seat. It is nice to have that floor space back.

Our new deck has a 5 foot wall on two sides. It could be fun to buy a planter with a trellis and fill it with some flowering vines to make the wall a little softer and less boring.

I just placed our order for Sibley’s Backyard Birds of Western North America poster. We had the eastern poster hanging in our last house, so it will be easy to slip this one in the same frame and hang it near a window.

 Photo from the Oakland Museum of California.

In Season: Succulents and Air Plants

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I love a good tillandsia.  I’ve killed quite a few in my day, but after doing a good bit of online research, I think I’m finally ready to raise a few sixty.  That’s right, I purchased $85  worth of air plants.  I came across this great wholesale site so how could I not, right?!  The site looks pretty simple and almost unprofessional, but that is what screamed *bargain* in bright lights!  My package came on time, my order was complete and the plants were in great shape.  If you’re thinking about raising a little an enormous air plant family, that is the site to start.

Shannon, from Very Shannon, compiled an inspiring air plant display roundup.

I love these wall mounts by NiaCraft.

Right now I have my sixty plants spread out on my dining room table and about a dozen in glass bottles.

This weekend, I’m going to experiment with this type of display and maybe even something along the lines of this.

Succulents are right up there with air plants.  They are easy to propagate so you can have a whole squad of succulents too! I’m in the process of propagating a bunch of chicks and hens and jade plants.

One day I’ll have an entire wall of succulents – by the end of the summer hopefully I’ll have something like this.

 

In Season : Day at the Beach

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We love our long days at the beach. The kind where you pack the cooler, a good read, and a big beach blanket, because you’re going to stay until at least a few family members succumb to the afternoon beach nap. It’s the best, only to be topped by a stop for ice cream on the way home. Today we’re sharing our beach essentials.

We never leave home without cozies for the bevies. Now that I’m a Colorado resident, I may have to send a few of these to the beach house. Not rubbing it in or anything. (Sarah here: YES PLEASE!)

We have a few iHome iPod players with rechargeable batteries. This is our favorite (three Schu’s own one!) – plug it in each evening and they’re ready for a day of solid beach tunes.

We just picked up a small beach cabana to keep little A out of the harsh rays.

A pack of cards and a Bananagrams are always on our list.

When someone’s driving a truck beachside, we always throw our ocean kayak on the back.

I can’t wait to see Alex wrapped in his shark towel after his first foray into the waves.

The sun is intense, and so we’re always trying to get better about remembering to wear our sun hats and our polarized sunglasses.

Sarah usually falls once or a dozen times while messing around with her skimboard.

Sarah has been wearing the same swimsuit for years! She was swooning over an Athleta suit, but picked up this cheaper option instead.

Besides our swimsuits, we live in sundresses all summer long.  How about you?

The whole Schu gang is meeting up in Virginia this weekend for a few days of fun in the sun and sand.  We hope you have something planned for yourself – whether it’s a short trip or a big pitcher of iced tea on the patio.  Enjoy!

Image from the Library of Congress archive. This post contains affiliate links.

In Season: Picnic

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Have you ever gone on a picnic?  When I was younger, my neighbor Matt and I would always go on picnics.  We would pack fluffernutter and peanut butter cracker sandwiches and piles of microwaved pepperoni (yes, you read that correctly) and we would walk to the far corners of our country yards to sit, eat, chat and inevitably get poison ivy.  As I have gotten older, my tastes have changed, my picnic settings have become more picturesque and I have learned how to properly identify poison ivy.  This past Tuesday I went on a lovely little picnic with my two girlfriends.  We couldn’t stop talking about how nice it was to eat, gab and simply sit and enjoy the nature around us.  Packing a picnic is as easy as pie, so go ahead, pack a picnic this weekend!

Speaking of pie, I made a variation of these hand pies.

I made a yummy wild rice salad, but this carrot salad looks like a winner too.

If you’re packing a classic salad, try topping it with these and these.

Sarah Yates puts together one classy picnic!

I have to admit, my picnic was missing a basket.  I packed my goods in two paper Trader Joe’s bags instead.

You can also buy a vintage basket.  There are tons on Etsy! Or you could always weave your own.

I really don’t like paper plates because I like eating off of a solid surface.  With my luck, I’ll flip the flimsy paper plate over onto my lap.  I packed these plates (our every day dinner plates), but I’d like to buy a set of enamel plates so that I don’t have to lug around our heavy, nice dishes.

If your picnic setting allows drinking, why not pick up a pair of these silicone wine glasses?

Throw down an outdoor carpet (find one at an Asian market for <$20), or an Indian tapestry or some cool fabric for your fine self to sit on. Uh, oh, now I’m down a cool-fabric rabbit hole. There’s citrus, strawberries, pineapples, and watermelon, but nothing similar to the sheet my friend Karissa brought along.  (You’ll see snapshots of that in the near future)

Huge lists of recipes overwhelm me, but the first few looked delish so you may want to check out some of these recipes.

Planning a picnic is really as easy as making a meal and throwing it (ok, place it gently) in a basket.  This bacon and blue cheese baguette is the perfect example of an easy picnic-friendly meal.

Are you inspired enough to go on a picnic yet?  Pack up your salad and snacks and get out there!

Stay tuned for photos and recipes from my recent picnic.  Happy weekend!

In Season : Popsicles!

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Our community pool’s opening this weekend, warm weather is expected, and we are going to a picnic with friends. (Sarah here: Our pool opens this weekend too! I also have a picnic planned – Schu sisters for the weekend win!) The only thing that could make this weekend more summer-ific would be a big box of popsicles. So, in celebration of the many sunny days and warm nights ahead, we’ve found some cool popsicle inspiration to kick off your holiday weekend. We’ll see you back here next week!

Get your memorial day started with this giant popsicle pinata. Just don’t fill it with popsicles.

These whole fruit ice pops look delicious!

Paletas is a really great popsicle book. Sarah babysat some wee ones last summer, her and the kids made different paletas weekly!

Hey Philly friends, have you tried the Lil’ Pop Shop yet? We want to taste the Sweet Pea pop.

We love a good popsicle mold and can’t wait to start making some sailboat pops at the beach this summer. I may add this mold to my kitchen because I heard that its pop size is just right for little ones.

Speaking of the kiddos, I’m sure they would have fun making and playing this popsicle memory game.

I thought this was a genius use of popsicle sticks: painting one with each wall color from your house and then taking them with you when shopping for home accessories.

Spoonflower has you covered if you’re looking to expand your stash of popsicle fabrics. I have my eye on this one for a fun pool tote.

Who doesn’t love a good popsicle t-shirt? The poor lollipop is loosing his popsicle love. Oh no!

Remember our visit to the Asian market? One of our most favorite things to buy there are the black sesame popsicles. Don’t leave the freezer section without them!

When Sarah was in Thailand she was addicted (eating at least 5 a week) to black bean and coconut popsicles. She couldn’t find the exact pop on the interwebs, but this recipe sounds similar.

And please, for the love of summer, get yourself a popsicle tattoo!