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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  • Who else’s kids basically have a permanent snotty nose from September to April 🙋🏻‍♀️😫 It doesn’t seem to be stopping this little man, but as he is getting used to daycare his naps haven’t been the greatest at school so I figured why not pick him up early so he can get a good snooze in at home and really nurse that little sniffle? How obvious is it that I will take any excuse to get a little one-on-one time with this dude? 😍 Excited to get the same with his sis tomorrow! Tuesday’s are Elodie’s swim lesson days and special lunch date with momma 💗 #honestmotherhood {you can shop James’ room by screenshooting this image and/or by following me on the LIKEtoKNOW.it app!} http://liketk.it/2xnHj #liketkit @liketoknow.it #LTKbaby #LTKhome #ltkkids
  • Sometimes the simplest weekends without many plans turn out to be the best ones! We cozied up at home a lot dodging the rain showers, went bowling with friends (6 kids in an arcade/bowling alley was as crazy as it sounds, but the kids had such a blast 🤪) and took advantage of a clear afternoon and dined al fresco for dinner downtown last night. Nothing too fancy or special, but we had the greatest weekend, making this gloomy Monday morning feel even more dreary! Hoping your weekend was as good as ours and your Monday not too Monday-ish 🙃 {Download the LIKEtoKNOW.it app to shop this pic via screenshotand shop my daily looks!} http://liketk.it/2xniG @liketoknow.it #liketkit
  • It’s Friday and there are lots of new faces around here so I thought I’d share 10 things about me! If you’re new here — welcome! I’d love to know a bit more about YOU, too! Where do you live? Are you a parent? What’s your favorite fall weekend activity? 1. I was the first person in my family to be born in the United States (I am Hungarian/Romanian) 2. I have two sisters. We were raised by a bad-ass single mom who is my biggest hero! 3. I suffered from depression in my teens and with the help of weekly counseling was able to overcome it, learn a great deal about myself as well as learn ways to cope with this mental illness. I consider myself incredibly happy these days, but still suffer from some anxiety. 4. My husband, Corey, and I were set up on a blind date by my sister. We’ve been together since that first date — 11 years ago in November ... 8 years married! 5. Corey and I lived in Amsterdam for two years after we got married, now we live in Portland, OR with our two kids - Elodie (4) and James (2). 6. I worked at Nike in digital marketing for 8 years and Corey has been there for 13 years! 7. We LOVE to travel and would much rather save our money to go more places versus buy more THINGS. 8. While the photos I post on here might convince you otherwise ... I can assure you I am a hot mess 90% of the time. Meaning I don’t have my shit together. But I DO put makeup on and wear a somewhat put-together outfit every day. Because I believe in “look good, feel good”. 🙌🏼💃🏻 9. I truly believe being a parent is the hardest job out there. I believe there are a million ways to be a great parent, that there is no magical formula for raising a good human ... but the best place to start is by being one yourself and leading by example. My kids inspire me to be the best version of myself possible. 10. I strive for this to be a safe and respectful place for EVERYONE — whether you are a parent or not, whether you breastfeed or formula feed or work or stay home, are religious or not. I don’t care. I don’t judge. And I don’t tolerate anything but love and encouragement here. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all! Thank you for being here! 💓 #honestmotherhood
  • James had his first day of school yesterday and it was quite a rollercoaster (more on that in my stories), but one thing is for sure — It’s true what they say — Absence does make the heart grow fonder. I had both the kids home with me today and we had the best day together. It’s amazing what giving yourself a little space to miss your kids can do for your perspective. I felt energized, focused, patient and madly-in-love with these cuties! Even amid the tough moments this week this day was a silver lining. Fingers crossed for day two tomorrow!🤞🏼#honestmotherhood {p.s. swipe to see what most of these photos ACTUALLY looked like 😂🤦🏻‍♀️}
  • I’m going to tell you three things about myself that I used to try to pretend weren’t true: I like being NEAR water … the ocean, a pool, a lake… But I really do not like being IN water. I have no desire to waterski, jetski or do anything of the sort. I know how to swim, so it’s not that. I just really don’t enjoy it or the water, at all. • I am extremely risk averse. Whether it be sports or financial matters, I will always choose the safe option, which means you won’t see me skiing or horseback riding or scuba diving. And you won’t find me playing the lottery or taking big chances on the stock market, either. I am constantly fighting an internal battle of playing it safe with my kids, but not projecting my fear on them. It is something I work on every day, and some days it feels insurmountable. • I love a nice glass of wine or a stiff bourbon cocktail… I love the feeling of a slight buzz, but I hate being drunk and I hate staying out late and partying. This was my story even in college and something I felt a lot of shame in. Like it’s something I SHOULD love and I’m not a fun person because it’s not my jam. Over the years I’ve learned that I don’t need alcohol or late nights to prove that I am really freaking fun (and even sometimes a little funny). • These are my truths. Truths that used to bring me down and make me feel inadequate, undesirable and ashamed. I have so many more (bigger, more serious ones), but over the years (and oddly enough, after becoming a mother), I have found so much peace in self-love and self-confidence. I am who I am, and guess what? I love myself. I really do. That doesn’t make me cocky or over-confident, it makes me happy. It helps me make better choices about the things I do, the things I say yes to and the people I surround myself with. Self-love is a journey and believe me, there are days I downright loathe myself, but it’s something I am always working on. It’s hard to talk about how awesome we are, but I’d love to hear you brag about yourself in the comments. Seriously, what is something you love about yourself? Let’s start our weekend on a positive note! Don’t be shy — be confident. You are awesome, I know you are 💗
  • The range of emotions leaving your kids for an adults-only trip with your husband: >OMG these children are wild animals we NEED some time away, let’s plan something! >Plane tickets and hotel booked OMG this is going to be AMAZINGGGGG. ✌🏼kids!!! Fast forward to two days out: >I don’t think I can do this. Maybe we should cancel? I miss the kids already and we’re not even gone 😭 >After a gut-wrenching goodbye: This was the dumbest idea ever, we’re never leaving them again. Let’s stay home forever with those sweet baby angels. >The moment you reach your destination: Ahhhhh (that is a huge sigh of relief, not the sound of a panic attack 😂) >As if by magic it is like you have time-warped to life pre-kids. We can sleep in! We can lay by the pool ALL DAY with NO INTERRUPTIONS! We have long conversations while gazing into each other’s eyes and actually, like, really, really like each other 😇 Sweet, glorious child-free life. >After about three days (give or take) you start really missing them and you’re getting desperate to get back home. You start to have panicky feelings and thoughts like “What if I never see them again” 😰 >You get home and the moment you walk in the door you hear their screaming and whining - it’s past their bedtime and they’re still up waiting for you and they’re acting like possessed demon children. >Maybe if we just turn right around and head back to the airport nobody will notice? 😅 #honestmotherhood {p.s. we’re not going anywhere this weekend ... we’re on step one over here these days 😆}
  • A few months ago I was having coffee with a friend who happens to be a working mom. She confessed to me she doesn’t feel like a “real mom”, because she spends five days a week at work while someone else is with her baby. My heart broke for her, but I knew exactly what she meant, because that is how I felt when I was working, too. I questioned my abilities as a mother because I wasn’t home with my kids 24/7. I always resigned to the fact that SAHMs were just better moms than me. I could never do what they did. When things got overwhelming in the evenings or on the weekends I would silently confirm to myself that I could never stay home because I wouldn’t be able to handle all the whining, screaming, tantrums, etc. I wasn’t cut out for it. That’s what I told myself. When I quit working when James was 8-months-old it was purely for survival. It wasn’t because it was the life I had dreamed of or because I wanted to be with my kids all day, every day. It was because the alternative option was just killing our family. We were burnt out, overwhelmed, tired and barely surviving. Before quitting my job I hadn’t spent more than 48 hours alone with my two kids. I was TERRIFIED, and I doubted myself so much. I was about to become a “real mom”, I thought. What I have learned over the last year and a half being home is something I knew all along, deep down. Whether we’re working full-time or home full-time, we’re all real moms. We all have it in us. As a parent, you rise to the occasion for your kids. When I finally felt like I was in a groove being home, Corey started traveling a ton, and again I questioned myself. I can only handle being home because I have such a helpful partner when he gets home every night. I can’t do this alone for a week or 10 days or whatever. And guess what. I did. And I do it again and again. Becoming a stay-at-home mom has given me a confidence I’ve never had before. I hope you know no matter how many hours you spend with your kids each day or each week — you are a real mom. And you are an amazing one at that. #honestmotherhood #sahm #workingmom
  • When you scroll Instagram, how does it make you feel? Are you inspired, energized, smiling, grateful? Or are you discouraged, jealous, comparing, sad? If it’s the latter, a change is in order. I know Instagram can be a really negative place for a lot of people. For me, it is the complete opposite, and I think that is for a few reasons. For one, I am picky about who I follow. I only follow accounts that teach me something, inspire me and make me feel genuinely happy. It is not someone else’s responsibility to make me feel good, that is on me. So if I keep scrolling past an account and it makes me feel like crap (whether it brings up feelings of inadequacy or irritation or WHATEVER), I unfollow. Simple as that. No hard feelings, you just gotta do what is right for you. Second, I am super aware that what you see on Instagram is the tiniest snippet of someone’s life and I take it at face value. I don’t completely judge a person based solely on their Instagram presence. When you see a well-curated feed of a beautiful family and perfectly clean home and amazing DIYs and whatever else you might think “Oh my gosh, how does this girl have it all together? I am barely surviving over here!”, but I know that these images are a small snapshot in time. The living room might be spotless, but the kitchen is probably a disaster. That effortless flat-lay probably took an hour to put together. That sponsored post probably caused a lot of stress because while it looks easy and fun it is actually a business transaction and doing it well is putting bread on the table for their families. At the end of the day, being a big blogger/influencer is a job, and while it can appear easy to the untrained eye, it takes a lot of work, creativity and dedication. And lastly, I just don’t take it too seriously. The moment you start defining success or worth based on likes and follows is the moment you lose site of what this app is all about. It’s about community and connection. It’s about recognizing your struggles and triumphs in others and bonding over them. Always remember: NOBODY’S life is perfect, no matter what their Instagram feed looks like. 💕
  • F R I D A Y FEELS 🥂✨💛 Wanted to take a quick second to say THANK YOU for being here, for all your thoughtful comments, for being supportive and uplifting and just all around an amazing community. It can be a weird thing to share your life on the internet, and while what I do share is just a small snippet of life, I pour my heart into the things I do write and post. Reading through the comments on my posts as of late I am just blown away by how smart, kind and inspiring you all are! It’s all too easy to sit behind a phone or computer and be judgmental or mean, so thank you for making the choice to be a positive light in this world and for making this space what it is. It would be nothing without people like you! 😘 Happy Friday and hope you all have the best weekend! #honestmotherhood #gratitudeattitude
  • Last summer, about six months in to stay-at-home motherhood, Corey and I were on a lovely date night when we ran into one of his coworkers and his wife. We chatted for a bit and when they walked away my first question was “What does his wife do?” Corey told me he wasn’t exactly sure, but basically knew she was some high-powered career woman. And before I even realized what was happening, I started crying into my cocktail. I felt so small. So insignificant. I didn’t have an amazing job… I was JUST A MOM. I never realized how much I defined myself by my career, or how much I defined OTHERS by theirs for that matter, until that moment. Have you ever noticed that the first question practically anyone asks a person after meeting them is “What do you do?”. Well, after quitting my job I really noticed because it was the most agonizing question for me to answer. It took me over a year to find true contentment and pride in my new role. There wasn’t anything that made me magically get to this place, just a lot of time and soul-searching, and realizing I am not what I DO. I am not a line from my resume. I am an empathetic, generous, kind, sensitive, creative, happy person. I am a mother, wife, sister, friend, photographer, writer and a million other things. And I have the power to reinvent myself from the inside or outside anytime ... or not. Whatever you do, do it with pride, do it because it makes you feel good and happy. In the end, that’s all that really matters. #proudsahm #honestmotherhood

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