The Return of Man’s Man (2.0)

A couple weeks ago Luke went on an all-boys trip to Colorado to climb Challenger and Kit Carson peaks. When he got home, he was like a kid on Christmas telling me about everything they did.

They camped outside under the starts, hung food up in trees to keep it from attracting bears, drank lake water, carried 50 pound packs on their backs for miles at a time, ate wild raspberries and even dug toilet “holes.”

I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you the activities on this trip are probably my worst nightmare, but there’s something oddly attractive knowing that my man is rugged, adventurous and well, MANLY.

All around me I’ve been noticing a shift away from the effeminate “metrosexual” male who gos tanning, has a “stylist” and can’t use a power tool. The new man, seems to be heading towards a more traditional guy’s guy.

Just look at who GQ named their International Man of the Year and who Esquire dubbed the “Last Alpha Male”…

John Hamm, aka every man’s idol, the uber-masculine Don Draper in Mad Men.

While I am certainly NOT a woman who thinks her man needs to”take care” of her, it’s still appealing to see Luke do things like insist on carrying my 50 lbs luggage or chop wood outside (true story).

I like this shift….with some caveats.

When describing an attractive man’s man, I certainly don’t mean to give kudos to the guys who don’t shower regularly, belch and fart in public or use the words “dude,” “brah,” or “This one time at the frat house…” on a regular basis.

The guy I’m advocating is the one who knows how to dress sharply, treat his lady well, live in a nice place AND talk sports, complete 20 push ups and maybe even summit a mountain.

What about you ladies? What “manly” thing do you love most about your guy?

Work Hard, Play Hard

Phew! What a week.

The past seven days have been filled with some long hours at work preparing for a presentation that took place yesterday. It was one of those projects that really tested my ability to multi-task, keep track of details and maintain composure under stressful situations.

I’m happy to report that the presentation went off without a hitch and I learned A TON throughout the process. It’s pretty cool to have a job where you’re constantly being pushed to do new things and test your capabilities.

Although the past week has been stressful, it really couldn’t have come at a better time since we have a wonderful vacation coming up next week!

We’re jetting off to San Francisco to visit my sister and her husband for a week. We’re planning to spend some time in the city by biking over the Golden Gate bridge

Exploring the cute beach town of Sausalito.

Driving up to the nearby Redwoods.

and of course eating at the awesome restaurants they have.

That weekend, we’re driving down to central Cali to Pasa Robles for some hiking, winery visiting and just some general relaxing.

Finally, Luke and I are taking a day to ourselves to visit Napa Valley.

We found a great driver to be our chauffeur and wine guide for the day.

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this vacation. I haven’t taken a day off since our honeymoon and am looking forward to disconnecting from the daily grind and going into full relaxation mode.

I promise to take a lot of pictures and report back on our trip here. I’m also trying to round up a few guest posters while we’re gone. If you’re interested in contributing a post, shoot me an email! abattylife@gmail.com

I hope you’re all having a great week!

Adorable Baby Shower Gift Ideas

This weekend my dear friend Jen had her baby shower at Hub51 in downtown Chicago. She was such a gorgeous mom-to-be.

When looking for a gift to give Jen, I wanted to get her something practical from her registry and pair it with something uber cute off Etsy.

It’s really tempting when buying for a baby shower to pick out the cutest clothes, toys ect, but when I polled my Twitter followers (many moms), the feedback was that a mom-to-be really wants things off her registry that she had a real use for.

I ended up purchasing her baby bathtub and then had fun looking on Etsy for something to go with the bath theme. I was happy to find they have an entire section devoted to baby bath gifts.

There were so many cute shops, but I absolutely fell in love with one called “Babycakes & Decor,” which had a gaggle of adorable, hand-made baby shower gifts including these washcloth “cupcakes” I ordered for Jen.

They arrived wrapped beautifully in this authentic cupcake box adorned with decorations.

The Etsy shop has much more than washcloths including super cute onesies, baby bootie corsages (perfect for a shower) and even nursery wall decor.

I also loved these “Surprise Diaper Announcements” that expecting moms can use to share their news with family and friends they can’t see in person.

Next time you have  baby shower to attend, definitely check out Babycakes & Decor on Etsy.