Just to Claireify

PSA: You Can Develop Allergies in Your 30s – My Experience with an SLS Allergy

February 10, 2026 by Claire Leave a Comment

Today’s post is a bit different than usual, but I hope it will help someone in a similar situation.

Disclaimer: this is NOT medical advice and you should always consult a doctor (1) before drastically altering your personal care routines and (2) if you think that you have an allergy or sensitivity.

At the end of last summer, I suddenly developed what I thought was adult acne, albeit not quite the same as my occasional hormonal acne. It made sense: the weather was changing from hot and humid to cool and drier; I was cutting some nursing sessions for my newly 1-year-old; we had recently traveled to Colorado, which always seems to throw off my skin.… Read More »

A Reading List for Decluttering & Minimalism

February 9, 2026 by Claire Leave a Comment

I’ve written about decluttering quite a bit on the blog–but what’s my inspiration behind it?

When I was fresh out of college, living in the Bay Area, I lugged a LOT of items out to California from my childhood/high school/college days. Items that, it turned out, were pretty useless now that I was adult with a job and wedding to plan. Whether it was totally outdated clothes and shoes, the bike I never rode and later gave away, or kitchen gadgets like three different mixers–I could have taken less than half of what I moved with and been completely fine. Probably better, since I wouldn’t have been trying to squeeze things into every corner of a one-bedroom apartment!… Read More »

My Favorite Memory from Sydney

January 27, 2026 by Claire Leave a Comment

I shared a bunch of posts from our Australia trip last year about the big parts of our trip–where we stayed in the city and Cronulla, visiting Taronga Zoo and Wattamolla Beach–but whenever I tell people about our trip, there’s always one everyday moment that comes to mind. (And yes, I do still talk my parents’ and sister’s ears off about Sydney. Just priming them to move there with me someday :P)

It was a rainy Thursday afternoon in Cronulla, cold for Australian summer (about 70F, lol). We had just spent a couple of hours relaxing at the beach a couple blocks from our apartment, digging in the sand and watching surfers catch the big waves. There’s a nice playground right next to the beach so naturally, we had to stop there to play on our way back. The kids played, the baby napped and Eric and I chatted for a bit.… Read More »

The Magic of New Old Things

December 20, 2025 by Claire Leave a Comment

This morning, we were at Target (where else does one find a midwestern family on Saturday mornings?). I don’t love shopping at Target, but we needed some household items–baby wipes, water softener salt, dishwasher detergent–and it’s by far the easiest place to buy them.

While we were there, we picked up some new sketchbooks for the kids. It had been a few months since I replaced them, and I couldn’t find a blank page the last time I looked. As we were walking away from the craft aisle, my second child said to me: “Don’t we need new markers, too? Ours are all dried up.”… Read More »

November Meal Plan (Gluten-Free & Kid-Friendly)

November 6, 2025 by Claire Leave a Comment

Well hellooooo friends. Somehow Halloween is done and dusted, the stores are full of Christmas decorations and I’m personally not quite ready for the holiday season! Let me have my cold, rainy November days for a few weeks first, please. I kind of love the bare-treed, gloomy-skied, icy aesthetic of this month. It creates a hyggeligt feeling inside 🙂

Anyways, I’m late, but I’m bringing you that autumn (now just November) meal plan I promised back in September. I had the hardest time deciding which recent eats to share in the meal plan, so there are lots more favorite recipes linked down below, too. As always, this is a realistic look at what we eat so not every meal is even from a recipe. But hopefully you can find some new favorites here!… Read More »