About

December 2016 -- Photo courtesy of (including "welcome" image) Julie Rings Photography

Hello! I am Amanda. Wife to Isaiah and mama to Paloma and Hunter. I am glad you've stopped by. My goal with this blog is to be personal and helpful. I share snippets of my life, mostly, and sometimes the posts dig a little deeper. I also try to help readers discover new products, places, and experiences or deal with issues from infertility to parenting woes. I hope you'll stay a while...

This blog is pretty baby-centric these days, with a dash of Montessori and natural mama. But that's not what I am all about. Occasionally I write about shoes, for they were my first love. Sometimes, I just write about whatever is on my mind, or I like to gush about my favorite things.

I'm passionate about making a difference with my dollar, so I like to support companies that give back (either to charity or are kind to Mother Earth), and I try to buy goods that are Fair Trade Certified or Made in USA as much as possible. I think artsy fartsy stuff is really cool (like museums, photography, street art, and cultural festivals). Ever since I changed my diet to boost my fertility, we've enjoyed eating healthier foods, buying organic produce and products, and shopping at farmers' markets. But sometimes I indulge, and I like to write about those experiences too.

"Queso Suizo" is Spanish for Swiss cheese. When I moved to Switzerland with Isaiah, in late September of 2008, I started this blog to document our adventure. I blogged about our travels (and ways we saved money), my observations of Swiss culture, how to live on a budget in the land of Rolex, and the overall follies of life abroad. (I also played nanny a bit while there, so I write a little about that too.)  I even wrote about learning a new language. When we moved back to San Diego, CA in July of 2010, I had grown a bit addicted to blogging and knew I wanted to keep blogging. Since my blogging experience in Switzerland started it all, I decided to keep my old posts and keep the same title, even though I now rarely write about Swiss stuff or cheese. 

And since I wouldn't be who I am today without my experience living abroad, this blog is a sort of homage to those nearly two years of life among the cows. Thanks for visiting!ram, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking 

The header photo that started it all...