The Lifestyle Edit 004.

I’ve overthought how to dive back into Substack six ways sideways since taking a hiatus over my maternity leave. (I’ve missed it!) So I figured the best way is to just continue the Lifestyle Edit series and give you a broad stroke look at life lately.

But before I get into the highlights and the usual Lifestyle Edit rundown, of course I have to introduce the Substack world to the newest addition to our family.

Meet our little guy, Ralph Graham Parker, born 2/17. 🤎

Not that I know much about it, but we found it interesting that he was born on the first official day of the Chinese New Year - the year of the fire horse. 🔥🐎 Sounds like he’s destined for greatness, right?

Current nicknames under review: Ralphy, Rah Rah, Teddy, RGP.

Ralph isn’t a family name or anything, but it was my husband’s favorite - and really his only pick from the beginning. It grew on me and we decided to go with it. We definitely received mixed reviews on it (lol) - and ironically, from the older generation.

But thankfully, it really does feel like it suits him. It’s funny how you can be unsure of a name and then you look at your kid and you’re just like, yep, you’re a Ralph!

I’ve always been into the name Graham, so I love that we got to use it for his middle name and think it pairs really well. (And it sounds on par with his older sissy’s name—Pendry Collins.) 😌

We’ve been deep in the thick of newborn land AND the 1 to 2 kid transition (oh. my. gosh.), but I’m sure I’ll be delving more into that in later posts.

For now, THE LIFESTYLE EDIT NO. 004!

Sourdough toast + eggs + maple chicken sausage on repeat - Literally our breakfast of champions every morning. And there’s nothing cuter than hearing our toddler yell “Mama, breakfast timeee!” once Connor announces it’s ready.

She Bakes VB Sourdough Pop Tarts - My friend Terah makes these delicious treats that I literally find myself craving and ready to hunt down on the weekends. If you’re local, definitely order them or find her at the Shore Drive Market. Otherwise, pray she takes them national one day!

Protein Bars - Breastfeeding really revs the appetite, so I find myself needing a morning snack. My hands are usually full, or I’m busy trying to maximize my childcare time, so something decently nutritious that I can easily grab is the name of the game. I love these and would order them all the time but they’re pricey. These are also so good! Both plant-based and no weird ingredients, hallelujah.

Cellular Hydration Powder - I can’t stop talking about this stuff. It’s currently my morning hero product — that and a large oat milk latte, obviously. I add it to one of my Bink glass water bottles, mix it up with my hand frother (since it has bonus collagen in it), and drink it down. It tastes great and I can literally feel and see a difference when I’m drinking it daily. Use code KAITLYNP15 for 15% off. (*gifted — and reodered/purchased multiple times at this point!)

French 75, a Limoncello Spritz, or a modified Azalea - The zesty, lemony, bubbly flavors just call to me. Especially in the spring! We made Azalea cocktails at home during the Masters weekend, and I’ve since been modifying it by adding mostly lemon Spindrift, topping with lemonade, and just a dash of the grenadine for a little color. (Scroll down on this page for the official Masters recipe.)

Good scents - Considering I’m covered in spit up most of the day, spritzing myself with a good scent feels like a real luxury. I’m pretty picky when it comes to perfume and always find myself on the gourmand, woodsy, musky, amber end of the spectrum. I prefer slightly sweet/vanilla-y over anything overtly botanical. All of these fall within that range:

• This long-time fave scent in a body mist

• This solid perfume stick that I keep in my purse for on-the-go application (*gifted)

• This and this scent I’ve been curious about forever (*gifted)

  • Dedcool’s Mineral Milk is sweeter and less ‘mineral’ than I was expecting but I’m still really into it for summer. It reminds me of a very milennial scent — like a Calvin Klein or the 2000s Ralph by Ralph Lauren (the one in the teal bottle). I can’t put my finger on what it is exactly, but to me it straight up just smells nostalgic. It’s youthful but still very adult woman appropriate.

• This and this viral (and affordable) scent from Target

  • Finally smelled them in-store recently, and I gotta say, I get the hype. Especially for the price!

This tanning lotion - Speaking of scents, the vanilla caviar smell is indulgent. It’s an essential to make me feel like less of a ghost as we start venturing out of the newborn bubble and into spring temps … and outfits!

After back to back days of application, it literally looks like I sat on the beach for a week.

Curly girl hair routine - It’s been the month of natural hair for me! I genuinely can’t remember the last time I went this long without drying/heat styling my hair but I haven’t had the time nor the energy to fuss with it. I’m also trying to finally (in my upper 30s 😮‍💨) make peace with the fact that I HAVE THICK WAVY HAIR. It’s always felt so unruly and like such a pain to me and I’ve longed for smooth, shiny, straight locks.

Alas, I’m more or less experimenting with whether high-quality products and way less heat damage can bring me around to liking and getting more comfortable with all that texture. Here’s everything I’m currently using and seeing the benefits of. All-star mention to this air dry styling cream (*gifted). Very impressed.

More to come in this Wearing/using category - Admittedly, I’ve been doing a lot of online shopping, so if you’re into it, I think I may do a whole other dedicated post on the spring/summer capsule of sorts I’ve been building. Let me know in the comments!

Postpartum dressing has felt harder this go-round. I forgot how challenging it is to work with the constraints of a soft belly, a bigger chest, access to your boobs for breastfeeding, quality fabrics that hold up but aren’t too precious because #kids, clothes that somehow flatter + feel like you … and are right for the weather, location, and occasion. It’s tough stuff!!

If I had to put together a spring/early summer outfit I could wear everyday, it would be this…

And don’t even get me started on swimwear. HOWEVER, after 3 other black one-piece attempts (and returns), this mom-friendly one-piece left me shook. It’s so flattering and the compression is truly doing its job. The trade off is that it’s a little hard to slip into, but I’ll take it. I love the bandeau style—and that it comes with straps, so I can feel more secure wrangling the kids. The butt has great coverage without feeling diaper-ish. It’s going to be a staple for me this summer!!

Also on the shopping-front, am I the only one who finds the perfect thing in the perfect color and then … bam, it’s sold out. Or you do manage to get your hands on something great, and you go to tell people about it, and then it’s sold out. UGHHH.

These sneaks - I’ve added a lot of blue/navy + brown to my wardrobe so I’m eyeing them hard! I guess they’re high in demand because a week or two ago, they were up to $600+ but have since dropped to $243 in my size. I’m going to keep eyeing and hope they get down to a normal price for Adidas. I’m not typically a dark sneaker girl, but they just feel cool and different and would also go with everything in my closet.

These studs - The bar/drop look is just so good.

Daily Drills anything - I have two striped sets so far that I’d wear every day if it wasn’t so obvious. I have to avidly shield myself from impulse buys. The no-returns policy is um, not great at all, and it does add some built-in resistance. Thankfully I’ve lucked out with my purchases so far. But seriously, do I also need this raglan thermal set … or something from their Driscolls collab? Rein me in!

P.S. I wrote an IG post about the brand, their immediately sold out collections, and the use of urgency in marketing here.

It’s funny how my earlier Lifestyle Edits talked of high TV consumption because I’ve watched very little TV these days. However, we’re starting to get into a nighttime routine and able to sleep longer stretches at night, so I’ve finally been able to enjoy an episode here and there.

Million Dollar Secret (Season 2) - I loved Season 1 and thought this was such a cool game show concept with a reality TV aspect, so I was stoked to see it came back for Season 2. All episodes are out now!

Running Point (Season 2) - Kate Hudson crushed it with Season 1 and I’m always here for any sports-related show/movie. I just started Season 2 so we’ll see, but I have high hopes!

I’ve also heard Madison on Paramount+ is amazing - but wahhh, we don’t have that network. The movie Eternity on Apple TV is also on my list!

The Art of Becoming Podcast - My friend and CU client Nicole Hart just launched her new podcast AND Substack and I’m incredibly honored to be the first guest episode — Cheating Time, Trusting Your Voice, and Building With Integrity. Check it out here.

Start With Yourself by Emma Grede - This book feels like essential industry reading at this point. (Her “3-hour mom” comments have been shared and debated all over the internet.) But I’ve loved and really resonated with Emma’s advice on her Aspire podcast. That said, I’m really curious what I’ll think and how much of it will relate with me in this season of life.

This month, we just celebrated my sister-in-law’s engagement and I’m really looking forward to Mother’s Day with all the moms/women in my life, as well as my cousin’s college graduation.

Seeing these events on my calendar has made me happy. The graduation weekend will be our first attempt at a road trip as a family of 4. Say a prayer for us? 😮‍💨

I’m also hoping Connor and I can get in our first date night as parents of 2 here soon. No-kid, 1:1 quality time is hard to come by these days!

I’m truly just taking things day by day. The mental load is very, very real, as is the lack of sleep, and me-time.

So I’m just working on being good with that, getting comfortable getting out of the house with 2, keeping up with laundry, keeping things tidy, and organizing a junk drawer or closet here and there. (I already spent a ton of time this past winter working on his nursery and her toddler room!)

That said, the more ambitious task is to do a bit of an outdoor upgrade, so I’ve been eyeing a slew of things for our back deck and such. If you’re sensing a ‘faux’ theme within that list of products, it’s because I have no green thumb. Add that to the list of things I need to work on!

Regardless, we all love to be outside, so I want to maximize these spring nights and have a comfortable, vibey outdoor space we enjoy relaxing in. We’ll see if we get to it…

I’m finally about to reach out to the CU interest list for select summer + early fall bookings — so if you’re on it, keep an eye out! And if you’re not, you can inquire here.

Otherwise, ongoing retainer clients and copy edits + add-ons for past CU clients have kept me busy in the margins of the work-time that I do have.

My plan for this summer is to make as much progress on the new messaging product as I can. Yes, I realize I’ve been talking about it for half a year at this point - which kills me - but it’s just my reality right now.

I also had some new students join The Essential Copy Course® (TECC) this week and I love to see it. TECC is a website copywriting guide that’s open for enrollment and at-the-ready for you here.

As you may have seen on Instagram, I shared that Season 1 is a wrap and the podcast is taking a bit of a short hiatus. I didn’t necessarily want to do that, but juggling a recording schedule felt way too tricky until Pendry starts daycare out of the house this summer and I have more childcare for Ralph.

I’m still really into the podcast and already have a full line-up of Season 2 guests in my mind that I’m excited to get on the mic.

In the meantime, listen to the latest, catch up on the full season, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Episode 10 - Adriana Carrig of Little Words Project on Trusting Yourself When Everything Gets Louder

Episode 11 - (Solo Episode) The Capacity Score: Why Overpromising to Yourself Erodes Self-Trust

Phew, that was quite an edition of the Edit. That’s what happens when I skip two months!

Hope to see you much sooner for the next installment. So glad you’re here.

Note: This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a commission if you choose to purchase. If I don’t use & love it, I don’t share it. Thank you!

Kaitlyn Parker is an East Coast–based copywriter, lifestyle writer, and founder of Copy Uncorked®. Equal parts strategist and storyteller, she helps founder-forward brands trust their voice and clarify their message. She also writes about daily life, motherhood, personal style, leadership, and building a layered business. Connect via Instagram, shop her picks, or inquire here.