It's my birthday, and I wanted to pop in to share some things that I just adore right now.
Each of them would make amazing gifts, to a friend, or even to yourself.
You'll see a theme through them all, beautiful, cozy, happy, and healthy (besides the cake and the coffee, but it's my birthday and I can choose cake, and I need coffee).

1.  Starbucks holiday spice flat white.
I am a die hard black coffee girl.  Add a splash of almond milk or half and half and I'm good.  I have never been a card carrying member of the pumpkin spice club.  I did not want to like this drink.  I did not want to dream about this drink.  It is made of magic and unicorns and I cannot quit it.
2.  This faux leather hoodie from Target.
If I could sleep in this jacket I would.  It is basically a cozy hoodie masquerading as a very polished and intentional leather jacket.  I wear it nearly every day.  Nearly every day I get stopped and asked about it.  I also get asked if I am headed somewhere special.  It is a brilliant way to trick everyone into thinking you are put together when really you are wearing a hoodie.
3.  Bambu Earth
I am not 21 any more.  Nor am I  21 times two.  I finally decided to get serious about taking care of my skin, and Bambu Earth has been a game changer.  I could go on for one million sentences, and I will share more about it soon, but I feel like my skin looks better than it did years ago.  I feel better about it too, knowing that each ingredient I am putting on my skin is safe, holistic, and sustainabily sourced.  Right now the petitgrain moisturizer is LIFE.
4.  Little sheet cakes from Trader Joe's.
No words.  They are not pretty.  I would never pick them up on my own.  A friend raved about them and I didn't believe her.  Until I tried them.  Now I cannot stay away.  Coming from a proud and professed frosting snob, this is huge.
5. Joycharee
Right up there with cleaning up my skin care, I have slowly begun to clean up my makeup.  This will be a little bit of a slower process and investment, but I know it will be well worth it.  I'm starting with the undereye concealer because life.
6. Sand and Starfish bracelets.
Each Christmas I buy a huge bunch of these diffuser bracelets from Sand and Starfish, and each year I wish that I bought more.  They are beautiful and functional.  Love.
7.  Lularoe leggings.
If you haven't drank the koolaid yet, do it.  Can leggings change your life?  Yes.
8.  Cholula hot sauce.
This lady and her hot sauce will always be my favorite. The Tapatio guy is more famous, but I'm with her.  I start to panic when the bottle gets below half full.  Running out is a red level emergency.  I put it on pretty much everything.
9.  Accupressure mat and pillow.
I had a significant work related injury in my early twenties, and I have been dealing with chronic neck pain for nearly half my life.  I recently tried an accupressure mat, and now I wish my world was made from those little spikes.  I don't know how it works and I don't care.  I just know it is helping me immensely.
10.  Laurane Elisabeth Designs.
Laurane has been my jewelry crush forever.  I invited here to sell her creations at a pop up shop at my house just so I could shop.  Here earrings are handmade, lightweight and stunning.  They are part of my daily uniform, and I will sob ugly tears if I ever lose one.
11.  Doublehood sweatshirts from Mindy Mae's Market.
Circling back to hoodies.  They are my everything.  These doublehoods from Mindy Mae's Market take hoodie fashion up a notch.  Beautiful, flattering, long enough to wear with leggings, and thumbholes.  They had me at thumbholes.

Find a treat for yourself, find a treat for a friend, eat some cake... I'm off to celebrate.

Jason grew up with the glorious weekly taco night tradition, and his mother taught him to fry corn tortilla shells.  We occasionally made them for friends and family, but most Tuesdays you could find us at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants letting someone else do the cooking.
When we began to dream of what it would look like to fill our table each week, tacos seemed to be the only option even worth considering.

If you think about it, they are the perfect food.  Unless you are a robot, I am pretty sure you have no ethical or emotional objection to tacos.  They are fully customizable, gluten free, and just basically bring happiness to one and all.

I have a shelf in the pantry for taco staples, and everything else we need can be grabbed in a five minute grocery trip.  It's not fancy, but it is easy, and the prep has become part of my muscle memory.

Pull the meat out of the freezer, pick up sour cream, avocados, tomatoes, lettuce and Mission white corn tortillas (there is no other choice, no other brand.  Ride or die.)  Open the pantry and gather a can of beans for cheater restaurant beans, taco seasoning, and Rice-a-Roni Mexican rice (never ever Spanish, we only made that mistake once.)

 Half an hour before our new friends are coming over I start the rice and beans.  Then when the doorbell rings Jason starts making chips and shells.  Bar stools at the kitchen island are pulled out, water glasses come down from the cabinet, I start the chopping and guacamole, we share stories and ask questions.  Sometimes the kids are sent out to the trampoline or pool, sometimes they are in the other room playing the Wii.  Every time small hands walk by for handfuls of chips.  So many handfuls of chips.

This taco ritual involves everyone.  There is chopping, grabbing the arsenal of hot sauce choices, the filling different taco combinations for each kid.  All the while life is being lived. We find out how people met, what they dream about, and how they wandered into the school auditorium one Sunday.  We laugh, we cry, we make a mess, we pile the dishes in the sink.

It is by far my favorite night of the week.  It is chaotic, often noisy, and it is the good stuff.  Before we know it bedtime creeps up on us and we say our goodbyes.  Knowing that every taco shared that night is part of the story of our family's life.
What does this have to do with Tacos & Tees? Everything.  It is everything I am and everything I love. Jesus. Family. Others. Mexican food. Sarcasm.  Whether lyrics from my favorite hymn, or my commentary on the current political mess, this is me.  And it is about so much more than tacos.