Liz Denfeld Blog

A Portland, OR based life + style blog that focuses on honest, approachable, inspirational writing on motherhood, style, travel and more.

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About Me

Hello There! I'm Liz Denfeld, wife to Corey and mama to two spunky little ones - Elodie (4) and James (2). After nearly a decade working in digital marketing at a Fortune 500 company, I recently pressed pause on my career to stay home with my kids and pursue my passions of photography, writing, social media and blogging. Here you'll find honest, approachable, inspirational writing on motherhood, style, travel and more. Thank you so much for being here!

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  • PORTLANDERS! I’m going to be at the Madewell in Bridgeport Village hosting a fun little shopping event tomorrow from 1-3PM! Come get 20% off your purchase of $125 or more! There are also a few other awesome promotions going on — additional 40% off sale (and their sale section is STOCKED!) and this weekend only if you bring a pair of old denim (any brand!) you’ll get $30 off a new pair of jeans (it’s usually $20)! Such a great time to stock up on their awesome denim (it’s a 1:1 ratio, so if you bring two pairs of old jeans you can get $30 off two pairs of new jeans 🙌🏼). It will be such a fun afternoon with sips and sweets and just hangin’ out! I would really love to see you there! 💗 I’ve got more info and a mini try-on in my stories now so you can get a feel for some of my current favorite pieces available in the store 😘
  • So here’s the deal. I have a camera roll full of really freaking adorable candid photos of Corey and the kids. Photos of them playing at the park together, reading together, snuggling, cooking, etc etc. It’s my natural inclination to capture a sweet moment when I see it happening and therefore we have lots of wonderful candid photos of Corey and the kids. So many in fact that I was able to make him a 700+ page photo book with said photos for Father’s Day last year. Now think of me and how it is honestly really hard for me to just PUT THE CAMERA DOWN when sweet things are happening and think of the literal opposite of that. Like, would never cross your mind to take a photo of something adorable or funny happening right in front of you — that would be my husband 😅 Now, I’m not saying one is better than the other. I think being able to stay present in the moment and not feel the need to document everything is actually an amazing gift, and something I wish I was better at. But there does stand the fact that I have very few CANDID photos of me and the kids just being us — laughing, playing, reading, etc. And this kinda kills me inside because photos are basically my love language, they mean a great deal to me. It has taken me 5+ years to finally come to terms with the fact that it will never be in Corey’s nature to take the candid photos I see in my head of me and the kids. And that’s okay. So I took matters in to my own hands and scheduled a Mommy + Me session with the incredible @brittanyrossmanphoto, and no joke, I cried literal tears of joy when I got the photos back. Those sweet moments of me with my babies that I have always dreamed about — captured in the most beautiful way. I will treasure these pictures forever. They are the greatest gift I could ever give myself. My favorites from our session are up on my blog now (link in profile). And the best news: Brittany is hosting two Mommy & Me sessions February 9th and 16th here in the Portland area. So if you’ve ever wished you had more authentic, magical pictures of you with your kiddos, GO FOR IT. She is offering a killer deal for these and you will not regret having these memories captured! 💗
  • Last month I re-posted something in my stories that went a little something like this: “We expect women to work like they don’t have children, and raise children as if they don’t work. Shoutout to all the working moms who feel like they are being measured by impossible standards. I see you.” . . There was a part of me that hesitated to post this since I know a large portion of my followers stay home with their littles, and I was afraid this sentiment might alienate them or make them feel less-than somehow. But I posted it anyway, and here is why: Being a mother is hard. Period. We are ALL being measured by impossible standards. Working moms don’t have it harder than stay-at-home moms, or vice versa. . . This week marks exactly two years since I left my 8 year career at Nike, and since then I have experienced a range of work situations — stayed home full-time, worked from home with the kids, freelanced part-time with childcare... And here’s the deal: They all have their hard parts and their “easy” parts. I couldn’t possibly begin to compare them and tell you what was the hardest and what was the easiest because they were all so different. And frankly, playing the “who has it harder/hardest” game helps no one. It actually pits us moms against each other. In a time where we have so far to go with women’s and family rights/equality, that kind of thinking keeps us moving backward instead of forward. . . Working mamas, I see you. I know the pain of only seeing your kids 1-2 hours a day, during which you’re mostly just feeding them, dressing them and hustling to get through bath and bedtime. . . Stay-at-home mamas, I see you. I know the relentlessness of being with your kids from sun-up to sun-down, trying to manage all the cleaning and cooking and care-taking while making your time with your kids fun and meaningful. . . Work-from-home mamas, I see you. Busting your bum, chasing dreams and/or trying to help your family financially while also trying to be a present mother. The struggle and juggle is so real. . . Remember, we’re all in this together. Being a parent is HARD. But we all know it’s worth it and we wouldn’t change a dang thing. #honestmotherhood
  • Looking to the year ahead there is one thing I am MOST excited about ... And that is returning to Amsterdam — our home of two years from 2011-2013 — with Elodie and James! We’ve long dreamed of traveling abroad with them and this year we are finally making it happen! London, Amsterdam and the South of France 😎 Eek! Cannot wait! Truth be told I am more than a little anxious about the flight over and the jet-lag situation, so I asked my friend and expert family traveler @amber.mickelson to give me allll the tips for surviving transatlantic trips with kids and she did not disappoint! Dropped the link in my bio in case you want in on all her secrets 😉 #havekidswilltravel
  • HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🥂🎇🎉 Both kids woke up healthy (mostly 🤪) for the first time in 8 days, so I really couldn’t ask for a better start to 2019. Well, actually, I would have loved to not be woken up by Henry 67 times last night (ok, it was more like four), but let’s just say fireworks are not his jam. And he thinks barking at them might make them stop 😑 We were really pumped to NOT stay awake until midnight and went to bed early only to be woken up to bombs and fireworks at 12 anyway. Yay! But today the sun is shining and I started the morning with a @barre3 class so I am feeling refreshed and excited for the start of a new year! Cheers to 2019!
  • I feel empowered from within when I make the time to move my body and quiet my mind, no matter what distractions might try getting in my way 🧒🏼👦🏼😉 • • • Back in March I walked into a barre3 studio for the first time and my life truly changed. I have never been the person who worked out regularly, it felt like too much time/effort and as a recovering perfectionist, I worried too much about how out of shape I was and how everyone in a studio fitness class would surely judge me. My barre3 studio happens to be right next to our closest grocery store so I passed by it regularly. I longingly looked in the windows thinking maybe someday when I was more in shape I’d finally give it a try. YOU GUYS, I am kicking myself now for waiting so long. All those crazy thoughts go against EVERYTHING barre3 stands for. It is the most welcoming, empowering, inclusive workout class out there. Never any judgement. Constant praise for doing what is right for YOUR body. Paying attention to your own needs and tuning everyone else out. Standing up for yourself! A lesson so important not only inside class but more so when we walk out the studio doors (or our front door!). I just can’t sing the praises of barre3 enough. Not only am I stronger and more toned than ever, but the mental benefits far outweigh the physical. • • • I would love for you to join me + @barre3 + @Headspace this January for a challenge that starts from a revolutionary notion: you are already enough. Head on over to @barre3 or the link in my bio to sign up! #b3partner #bempowered #barre3
  • When Corey ran his marathon back in 2008 I remember him telling me he started too fast. He went out of the gate at his best pace and it didn’t take long for him to realize he couldn’t sustain. He ended up running the marathon at a longer time than he had hoped (but hello, he still ran a marathon! 🙌🏼💪🏼). Well that’s how I felt about this Christmas season. We started out of the gate real fast — got our Christmas tree right after Thanksgiving, had our advent calendar set up early, saw the lights at Portland International Raceway before the calendar even showed December! And then ... well then I just felt myself losing steam. We’ve certainly had our fair share of holiday fun, but I guess I just feel like I blinked and tomorrow is Christmas Eve and OMG NO I’M NOT READY FOR THIS. Not like we don’t have everything wrapped and ready kinda ready (although we haven’t wrapped one gift yet haha! We save that for Christmas Eve while we watch It’s A Wonderful Life ❤️), but like I am not ready to say goodbye to the holiday season and hello to the next 3+ dreary months ahead before a glimmer of spring starts to appear in Portland 😑 The holidays really do feel so magical with those two sweet kiddos up there and I just wish it could last a little longer. Are you feeling like I am? Or are you ready for the holidays to be over?! I guess we still have NYE 🥳💗
  • As we fell in to bed last night, completely and utterly exhausted (but oh so happy), I felt compelled to look at my calendar to confirm that we have spent 10 out of the last 12 days/nights out doing something! Phew! 😴 From drinks with friends to fancy holiday parties to the Nutcracker and last night, the kids’ first NBA game, we’ve really been going full bore this month 😱 It’s all been so fun and we’ve made so many super special memories... But Mama is ready to sit back and relax 😂 We’ve got a few more get-togethers on the calendar, but now I am penning “absolutely nothing” into our agenda for after Christmas! So if you don’t see me around here as much you can assume I am doing as close to nothing as humanly possible when you have a 2 and 4-year-old 😜 #honestmotherhood
  • There were “prettier” photos ... But THIS. This embrace. My goodness this needed to be documented and shared. A sweet snippet in time that I will keep going back to when they are inevitably bickering like crazy over things like one looking out the other one’s window in the car 🙄 We had such a good day today baking cookies! We made some absolutely delicious peppermint hot cocoa cookies 🤤 They’re linked in my stories along with a bunch of other holiday cookie recipes! Happy baking ❤️😘🍪 #honestmotherhood
  • CLOSED 💛✨GIVEAWAY!!!✨💛 When it comes to shoes I am the opposite of a hoarder. I only buy shoes that I can wear with multiple outfits, that are comfortable and also stylish. I was so excited to learn about this Australian shoe company @rollienation. Every single pair of their footwear is the epitome of style and comfort. If you head to my Instagram stories today you can see five ways to wear these leopard print mules — they have become my new go-to shoe! Obsessed! You can scoop these up @nordstrom! .
. Best part: Today I get to give away TWO PAIRS of Rollie shoes of your choice — one for you and one for a friend! And entering to win is simple: . . . 1] Like this post 2] Follow @lizdenfeld & @rollienation 3] Tag a friend (or five), the more tags the more entries! . . Giveaway runs for 48 hours and the winners will be announced shortly thereafter. Good luck! (This giveaway is in no way sponsored by Instagram) #gifted #rollienation

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