Philadelphia Portrait & Pet Photographer | April Ziegler Photography

I share a lot of photos and sessions on here. But not so much about myself. I’d love to change that so I’ve decided to start sharing monthly favorites… some of my favorite books, food, beauty, and fitness-related items. Some random stuff. I hope you’ll get to know me a little better and may even find something that you love too!

1. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett – Ann Patchett’s writing is beautiful and this is the kind of book that you just don’t want to put down. Without giving it away, it’s the story of a family brought together by divorce/re-marriage and all of their drama. This book didn’t have too many shocking parts throughout, it was more of a slow flow but I loved the character development.
2. Rosie Revere Engineer by Andrea Beaty – Charlotte and I have loved this book and the others in the series (Iggy Peck, Architect and Ada Twist, Scientist). The illustrations are adorable and the stories encourage creativity and chasing your dreams regardless of failures. The quote at the end is lovely: “Life might have its failures, but this was not it. The only true failure can come if you quit.”
3. Bose SoundSport Wireless Headphones – I got these for Mother’s Day and I love them already. The sound quality is wonderful and they’re really comfortable in my ears. I used to have a cheapie pair of wireless but I didn’t love the clip that went over the ear to hold the headphones on, the bluetooth often disconnected during a workout and I’d have to stop and mess with it to get it back on, and the battery would die quickly so they needed to be recharged all the time. These Bose ones were pricier but so worth it.
4. Edward Marc Chocolate Coconut Almonds – I don’t have a link to these, but you can find them at Costco and they are delicious! Go get them… you’ll thank me.
5. Too Faced Milk Chocolate Bronzer – This is a pale girl’s dream bronzer. Not too dark, not too orange, and it smells like chocolate! Doesn’t get more perfect than that.
6. Sanuk Donna Paige Flat – I’ve been wearing these Sanuks for years. This is my third pair and I will continue buying them and wearing them into the ground because they are SO COMFY.
7. Bolthouse Farms Cilantro Avocado Dressing – This is a healthier alternative to traditional salad dressing since it’s greek yogurt-based rather than mayonnaise-based. Don’t be dissuaded, even if you’re not a huge fan of greek yogurt (I’m not either). This is so good! I’ve tried a few other flavors and liked them all but this one is my favorite and it’s a perfect summertime dressing!
8. Travelon Anti-theft Classic Crossbody Bucket Bag – I needed a new travel purse before our last trip to Turks & Caicos and ended up with this one. I love it so much that it’s become my everyday bag. It’s not the cutest bag, but it’s functional which makes it a winner for both travel and mom duties. I decided on it for travel because it’s cross-body, has lots of pockets, it lightweight and sits nicely against my body, and the zippers are even able to lock so that one can’t be opened on it’s own. It’s pretty brilliant as a travel purse. As a mom, I love that it has 2 side pouches so that I can hold both my water bottle and Charlotte’s cup and an unzippered front pouch that I can throw my phone into. It would be a great purse for a mom that’s past the diaper bag stage but still needs a good amount of space for mom stuff.
9. Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Balm – a moisturizing lip balm with a touch of color + SPF. Win, win.
10. Jamie Eason’s LiveFit 12-week Trainer – In the past, my working out was limited to yoga and sad attempts at running. A year ago, I discovered Jamie Eason’s LiveFit and decided to give it a try. It’s a 12-week strength training program and also includes a nutrition plan (I didn’t follow the food part). It’s very basic, so a weight-lifting newbie like me could do it and there’s even an app that you can download to make it even easier to follow along. I loved the structure and knowing exactly what I had to do each time I went to the gym. It’s helped me develop a love of weight-lifting and I have never seen such changes to my body. I’ve actually just started my 2nd round of the program.