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Kylee Broughton

formerly Two Pretzels

Home
About
contact
Blog
- Latest Post
- Cabo
  - Best of Cabo
- Favorites
- on grief
- Life
  - Grief
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  - Marriage
  - Parenting
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  - Fashion Recaps
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- Blog Archive

Archives for October 2020

Life · October 4, 2020

Why I took a break from Instagram.

What started as a simple 3-week fast morphed into just the breath of fresh air that I needed. Here’s why I took a break from Instagram.

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Latest on Instagram

Can someone please explain to me why wearing a mas

Can someone please explain to me why wearing a mask in public is a hardship?

It’s the smallest act of kindness.

It’s like opening the door for the person behind you.

It’s keeping safe for the immunosuppressed folks who need some added protection.

This isn’t political.
If you wear a mask it doesn’t mean that you’re a Republican or a Democrat. Or a sheep.

It means that you want to protect the cashier who is encountering so many germs all day. It means our essential workers may be a little more protected when they go home at the end of the day.

Why is this a thing?
I am honestly asking.

It just feels like the kind thing to do.

And there are really some cute masks out there.

And no, no one LIKES to wear them. They hurt our ears and fog up our glasses. (And it’s a million degrees here in Cabo...) But, we wear them because it’s a simple act of kindness.

It’s like wearing a seatbelt. You hope you never need it to save your life, but you wear it because it could.

I promise not to judge, but if you aren’t wearing a mask, help me understand why not.

#mask #wearamask #notwearingamask #maskconspiracy #privilege

...and just like that. Another foster dog 🐾 lea

...and just like that. Another foster dog 🐾 leaves our home, but not our hearts. See you later, Marsha. You have by FAR and away, been our favorite. And we are so excited that we will get to see you again! I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying.

#bfamilyfosterdog #marshathefosterdog #lilapickle #vivicake #rescueDogs #dogPeople #fosterDogFamily #bajasafe #sunflare

THE BEACHES OPEN MONDAY! I repeat: THE CABO BEACHE

THE BEACHES OPEN MONDAY!
I repeat: THE CABO BEACHES OPEN MONDAY!

Here’s your reminder to TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN and slather on so much sunscreen that you turn into a⛄️ snowman! I sent Craig this picture of me and he rolled his eyes. But y’all, I’m a 40-year-old child of a Dad who died from melanoma living on the SUN in Mexico. Own it. Protect it.

Protecting your skin is so important. One more time for the young people in the back: protect your skin. Thank you, @t.pacholski for teaching this to me.

Check your moles.
Try to get a skin check every year.
Apply sunscreen and then reapply and reapply EVERYDAY.
Wear a hat.
And, check the expiration date on your sunscreen. If it’s past it’s date, it loses its effectiveness 🍅. Now, go swim!

Swipe to see my favorite daily apply and then re-apply bare-faced over makeup sunscreen. It’s @supergoop Unseen Sunscreen. (Love their tinted BB cream with SPF, too.) I also love @thinksport sunscreen in the tube and stick. (I use it and the girls do, too. We’ve been using it for years.) I like the @beautycounter tube and stick, too. NOT the spray.

Always a good idea to check the @environmentalworkinggroup list of safe sunscreens, too. Not all of them are a bazillion dollars.

#takecareofyourskin #caboTips #skinTips #sunscreenNowForLater #sunscreeneveryday #bestSunscreens #explantsurgery #explant

Evidence that we *literally* smother our foster do

Evidence that we *literally* smother our foster dogs with love.

It’s our job to give them a temporary home and then pass them along. This little lady has been with us since late February and we all adore her. She’s leaving in a few days... and we are so happy for her! She’s going to an incredible family. So until then, we smoosh her with affection.

#fosterDog #bfamilyfosterdog #lilapickle #vivicake #marshathefosterdog #rescuedogsofinstagram #bajasafe

Yup. Still at home. Quarantine continues. Two adul

Yup.
Still at home.
Quarantine continues.
Two adults.
Two girls.
Four, soon to be three, dogs.

I will mourn this time when it’s through. I will miss the closeness.

I have a friend who didn’t like parties to end, so she’d hide guests’ shoes... so they couldn’t leave. In the hopes that they’d stay just a bit longer.

As much as this has been trying, I want to hide their shoes.

This time has closed us off from everyday life, but broken us wide open, too.

Dare I say that because of all this, we are growing. Many of us. In big ways. Best of all, many of us are listening. And reading. And watching. And walking. And crying. And standing. And kneeling.

How bittersweet that in the midst of a pandemic that has separated us from the closeness of one another, many of us are uniting and more “together” than we’ve ever been.

I hesitated posting this photo because after the murder of George Floyd (and Ahmaud Arbery, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and so many more), I don’t want to be insensitive. I don’t think life is ever going to be the same and my prayer is that it isn’t.

Silence is betrayal. I have stewed over this lately. Silence is betrayal. My privilege doubles as responsibility to always, always speak up. So me? And my household? We’re IN this. All four of us.

#ally #lilapickle #vivicake #anythinglessthanequalisnotenough

#blackouttuesday #ally

#blackouttuesday #ally

To bear witness. To hold space. To not avert our e

Mama got a brand new hat today. There’s a heart

Featured Life

O Holy Night is life.

Featured Cabo

My Top 10 Favorite Things About the Pandemic

Featured Style

2020 Oscar Red Carpet Fashion Recap

...and off she goes! UPDATE AS OF FRIDAY, 1-22-21

...and off she goes!

UPDATE AS OF FRIDAY, 1-22-21: um, not so fast. Looks like she’s coming back to foster until she finds the right place...

Our resident dog whisperer has prepared another one to leave the nest... reluctantly, per usual. And with a bed, a blanket and a note detailing her tuck-in instructions.

Adiós to Nokia, the sweetest foster ever.

If you have it in your heart to foster, or are in need of a companion who deserves a second chance, contact @baja_safe_. We’ve never met a foster who hasn’t melted our hearts. They’re so grateful.

Xo,
Ky

P.S. Taking a little IG break. Be back in a while. Email or text me if you need me.

Dear friends. I'm just going to leave this here.

Dear friends.
I'm just going to leave this here.

This season of our life was full of board books and toys and bracelets and giggles.

It was also full of gut-wrenching tantrums, refusing to eat peas, ear infections, elusive synchronized naps and exhaustion.

But those baby hugs and kisses! And when they woke up, they were just so happy to see me!

If you would have told me that *this current* season was going to be as cool as *that* season, I would have doubted you.

The late-night talks, the quick-wit that has developed, the ability to make their own meals and carry their own luggage.

The awesomeness of tweens *does* also include generous eye-rolling, a bit of trouble with the truth and navigating the white water rapids of hormones and emotions.

I still get the hugs and love... but I'll admit it, they aren't as happy to see me when they wake up as they once were. (The feeling is mutual.)

Still, it's a cool season.

As it turns out, parents of babies, raising kiddos seems to be cool at nearly every phase. I'm not sure what happens next, but I'll trust all of you have gone before me to confirm or deny.

Xo,
Ky

P.S. Vivienne turns a decade old this week, ya'll. She'd like a desk for her room and bathroom organizing jars. (She's definitely my kid.)

#CaboMom #GirlMom #ExpatInCabo #ViviCake #LilaPickle #TimeFlies #Sigh #Grace #PocketsOfGrace #OOTD #cutiepies

Hi! I’m Kylee. In this pic I’m wearing a la

Hi!

I’m Kylee.

In this pic I’m wearing a large, all-cotton onesie-thing that I don’t regret buying.

I love being cozy.
I love my bed.
I love reading in my bed.
I love reading in my bed with tea.

I don’t drink coffee, but it DOES smell amazing. I make Craig, my best friend since 1997, coffee each morning. And I write him a note each morning, too. And then I put that note by the coffee pot. Except for when I’m mad. No note then.

I like to write, and I used to write a blog alllll the time. But then, life got busy. (The blog is TwoPretzels.com and it was not named for my 2 girls.) But, I still write and it makes my heart happy. I feel like I process better when words and writing are involved. I don’t believe it until I see it written.

I am from Ohio, but have called Mexico home since 2006. I work full-time with a career I love and people who are amazing and think I’m a better parent BECAUSE I work.

I don’t laugh at slapstick or ridiculously impossible humor. I hate Home Alone.

My eyes have been opened reading about systemic racism over the past couple of years and I think that there are some redeeming qualities to social media.

I am gluten free, not by choice, and grieve that loss daily. I fill that void with butter.

I have a strong faith but not a strong stomach for sanctioned, organized bullying or hate.

I am 41 and after I had my breast implants removed in 2019, I have felt SO AMAZING and so comfortable in my own skin. (After a few months of healing, emotionally and physically.) I like who I am and this body I inhabit, she has been good to me.

I’m an introvert masquerading as an extrovert and I’m still not convinced of which enneagram number I am.

My To Do list is always full, as are the books waiting for me on my nightstand, but as my late Mama used to say, a long To Do list is a sign of a full life.

Thanks for reading. And thanks for being here. Each and EVERY one of you matter. You have such an important place in this world. You are loved.

Hug.

Xo,
Ky

P.S. If you read ALL of this... man, I wish I could hug you.

We pull into the grocery store parking lot. I see

We pull into the grocery store parking lot.

I see it.

I park the car immediately, without saying a word to Vivi.

She looks at me. And smiles and hops out of the car and RUNS to stand in front of it.

I take a picture.

"That's the best one I've EVER SEEN, Mommy."

::

Vivienne has loved camper vans and RVs for as long as she's breathed air.

We live at the bottom of the Baja peninsula. Many-an-explorer and a camper full of surfers has parked in our beach parking lots, our grocery stores... and, many-a-time this child has smiled from EAR TO EAR and run to stand and have her photo taken in front of them.

Sigh.

It's the little things, right? That give us life?

I hope you see your camper van today.

Xo,
Ky

P.S. zoom in and look at that smile...

#campervans #OpenRoad #TheLittleThings #ViviCake #BajaLife #GrowingUpBaja #rvspotting

Sometimes, there are moments, when it all makes se

Sometimes, there are moments, when it all makes sense... when I can see the edges of their personalities developing and see them for who they are at this moment in time and I get to glimpse the gift of who they may be in the future.

There are moments when I laugh so hard it hurts.

These moments are so important. They are grace. They are sunshine after rain.
They are cake.
They are hugs.
They are life.

We all need to allow space and time to follow our hearts home.

In the same way that we need to sit with grief and sadness, frustration and fear, anger and defeat, we need to sit in love and lightness. In joy and acceptance. In contentment and safety.

Sweet friends, I see you and I love you.

May we feel loved.
May we show that love to others this week.

Xo,
Kylee

This week has been the longest year ever. I am so

This week has been the longest year ever.

I am so grateful for this 13-year-old cutie.

Dogs are gifts. Well, **pets** are gifts.

Right?

Hope you’re all doing ok.

Xo,
Ky

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