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Favorite Book by the Month - 109 Books Read in 2023

It’s been no secret around these parts that I’m an avid reader. Physical book, e-book, audio-book–I read them all! (Also hundreds of kids books, but I don’t note and review each one. Maybe I should? I can at least do a round-up of our favorites if that’d be helpful!) My goal on Goodreads was 50 for 2023, which is the same as last year. I didn’t have big plans of stretching my reading…but as…

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Working Overtime: The Invisible Load of Being a Working Mom

I’ve had the honor of writing for MORE Magazine again! I’m excited to share my latest article with you called “Working Overtime: The Invisible Load of Being a Working Mom.“ In this article, I shared my experience in wearing multiple hats, but being the “boss” for every single one of them. In my life, I’ve decided that working full time is important to me and our family. Okay, full time and then…

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MY LOW BUY YEAR + 2023 GOALS

MY LOW BUY YEAR + 2023 GOALS

Photo by Sharon Wai for MORE Magazine You might be thinking to yourself, “Brittney, is this a repeat post from 2020?” Basically, yes. Only since I’ve evolved since 2020, so have my big plans and ideas. I’ll be doing a year-long “low buy” in 2023. In a “post-pandemic” and “post-having-twin-boys” world, I could use a bit of grounding, purging, and realignment with the things I keep. If you’re…

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EXPERIENCING MORE - WRITING FOR A LOCAL MAGAZINE

Brittney Mason from The Pretty Plus shares her experience writing her article "Mama Knows Money" and doing a photo shoot with Sharon Wai for MORE Magazine's Issue V: Generations.

I’ve been captivated by the journey that Arianna Cruz, the founder of MORE Magazine, has gone on to create and grow such a beautiful magazine. After reading articles, leafing through magazines at some of my favorite places, I finally bought my first copy of MORE. (Issue IV) I was beyond excited to see a call-out for “mom content” from Ariana in a local Facebook group. When heard that Issue V was…

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Dropping the Diet - Tips & Resources

Dropping the Diet – Tips & Resources

“Mommy, you don’t like eating pizza with me anymore?” This question coming from my 3 year old daughter was like a stab in the heart. Now, I don’t particularly even like pizza all that much. But I do enjoy a Friday night pizza with my family every now and then. On this particular night, I was eating a low carb chicken dish because my husband and I had been doing keto for about three weeks. I’ve…

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March Favorites & Big Celebrations

March Favorites & Big Celebrations

If you’re an OG blog lover, or an OG The Pretty Plus reader, you will know that at the PEAK of blogging, “favorites” posts were a must. They were done monthly, sometimes even weekly, and also there was a favorites post for every sale or season or holiday or anything you could have favorites for. Now, I had forgotten this lost art form until my favorite blogger, Chelsea from Two Twenty One,…

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Best App for 3 Year Olds - Crayola Create & Play

Best App for 3 Year Olds – Crayola Create & Play

This post is sponsored by Red Games Co. and Crayola, but all opinions are my own. #RedGamesCo #CrayolaCreateAndPlay #Crayola #RGCOCreators Posts like these help fund Clara’s college savings. When it comes to screen time, I am not against it at all. I know some people are, but the truth of the matter is, screens are just a way of life these days. My goal with my children is to make sure they are…

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33 Things That Make My Life Easier

33 Things That Make My Life Easier

So, my birthday was yesterday. It was an awesome day filled with my super sweet family, lots of flowers, yummy Mexican food, and plenty of love. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better day. When I think about life at 33, I think about how I am just stretched in so many ways. I can’t imagine a better birthday post than for this insanely busy, working mom of three small children, two of which…

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SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY CHALLENGE

SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY CHALLENGE

I wouldn’t say I am afraid to try new things. I would just say that I’m the kinda girl to just keep doing what’s working because it’s efficient. When I came up with the idea to do my “Clarify You in 2022” daily content challenge, I asked some friends for ideas. One of my friends, Kelly, gave me this idea. I won’t lie, my initial thought was NOPE. And the only reason was because it’s not easy for…

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2021 MASON FAMILY UPDATES

2021 MASON FAMILY UPDATES

Yesterday, in my 2022 resolutions post, I alluded to the fact that 2021 was a hot damn mess. I wish I could explain it another way. “Hot mess” isn’t even adequate enough. It was a HOT DAMN MESS. We had a wild one, and while we had PLENTY of wonderful things come out of 2021, it got really ugly. If you’re interested in a big, messy update from the Mason Family, then keep reading on! ROUGH TWIN…

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HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BABY FOOD

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN BABY FOOD

It felt super natural for me to just begin making baby food for Clara when she started eating. I was making dinner for my husband and me, and since she needed to eat too, I made her food as well. I had big ideas to do baby led weaning, but ultimately Clara wasn’t ready for that at the time she was ready to begin introducing food. If you’re in the same space, THAT IS OKAY! Current culture will…

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SNACKS FOR ANYONE

The age old question I find myself asking is WHAT NEW, DIFFERENT, EXCITING SNACKS CAN I MAKE? The answer is simple. You will likely try a handful of new snacks and then just go back to eating the same old snacks you were before. Sorry, that’s just how it is. Prove me wrong! I’m trying to prove myself wrong. PLUS, every once in a while you’ll find one you love and stick to it. I asked my social…

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8 WAYS TO HELP YOUR FRIEND IN THE NICU

8 WAYS TO HELP YOUR FRIEND IN THE NICU

I’ve personally been asked, as a former NICU mom to all three of my children, what people can do to help their friends who are faced with a NICU stay. It’s hard to navigate, I get it. You don’t know what they need. You don’t know how to ask if their child is okay without possibly triggering them or offending them since they’re already in such an emotional state. I can only share what helped or…

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Letter to my Three Year Old Daughter

Letter to my Three Year Old Daughter

Dear Clara, Age three seems magical. I want to keep you right here like this forever. Right here like this, where you are learning just how funny you are, still run for comfort in my arms, and are figuring out how everything around you works. Life is so fun and sweet just because we have you around us. You have been so incredibly strong and resilient all your life, but especially in this last…

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QUIT SMOKING FOR GOOD

QUIT SMOKING FOR GOOD

This post is in collaboration with Walgreens, but all ideas are my own. #WalgreensQuitforGood #for18+ I’ve never so much as taken one puff of a cigarette. I’ve never even had the urge. Do you know why? It’s because I grew up in a smoker’s house. Some would argue that being exposed to smoking for all my life would make me more susceptible to taking up the nasty habit. For me, it had quite the…

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FREEZER MEAL TIPS & IDEAS

FREEZER MEAL TIPS & IDEAS

If there’s one thing I am passionate about, it’s freezer stuff. Really, you can ask my husband. I get much more worked up over what goes in and out of our freezers than anything else in life. I tapped into the magic of freezing things, and now I can’t stop! I thought I would do a round-up post with all my favorite suggestions for things to freeze using your favorite recipes, and some tips to make…

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3RD TRIMESTER & HOSPITAL STAY UPDATE

3RD TRIMESTER & HOSPITAL STAY UPDATE

I had this post written mostly and it didn’t include anything about my new home away from home! Yes, my hospital room. I entered the 3rd trimester of pregnancy on Valentine’s Day this year, and things were all going okay, but not perfect. Fast forward to this week (32 weeks pregnant) and things just kind of took a quick turn. I know I didn’t blog about this before, but back at our 24 week…

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