Four Flights of Fancy

DIY Ombre Heart & Striped Canvas Totes

2012-01-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

I've had some plain canvas totes taking up space in my craft bin for awhile now. I bought a few of the 3 packs the last time they were on sale at Joann's and just hadn't had much inspiration for doing something with them until this past week. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought some heart totes would be the perfect little gift to have on hand for friends and cousins or even the kid's teachers, so I made these in about an hour using the trusty freezer paper method, and instead of cutting out hearts by hand with my xacto knife, I put my heart punch to good use.

Here's what you'll need to do:

Step #1, gather your supplies which are: a roll of freezer paper (found at the grocery store), a plain canvas tote, a large heart hole punch, fabric paint (I always use Tulip because really that's all Joann's and Michaels carry), and some paint brushes or sponges. You'll also need a pair of scissors of course and a hot iron.

Step #2, cut strips of freezer paper. For these tote bags I cut 4 strips of paper approximately 3" wide, but you can really just eyeball it according to the punch. I am terrible at measuring, and it drives Art insane, who believes in the motto "measure twice, cut once." Malarkey, the eyeball it way of measuring hasn't failed me yet!

Step #3, punch out your hearts, but don't punch your loved ones heart. Haha, I'm so funny at 11:30 at night. 4 across fit just perfectly.

Step #4, iron on your strips of freezer paper with a hot iron, making sure to really dig in and get all the little cracks which tend to not want to stick down without some elbow grease.

Step #5 involves a little mixology. Since Tulip only makes one very basic shade of pink and red, I had to play around a little bit and mix my colors. But it was fun. I left one color the true original pink, then I added white to red to get the deepest color, added white to pink to get the 2nd to the lightest shade of pink, and then added pink to white to get the lightest shade. You can play around with it and just have fun until you find the shades you want to create that ombre effect, there's no rules here. Rules are for sissies. Be fearless.

Step #6 leads you to painting away. I like these dot sponges best because it really seeps all the paint into the cracks of the canvas, but use whatever you've got on hand.

Step #7 well there really is no step number 7, I just needed another picture to complete the pretty foursome :) just keep painting.

Step #8 let your paint dry for at least an hour and then carefully pull off the freezer paper. You can set with a hot iron if you wish, but if you're lazy like me no worries. And you're done!

After creating a couple of the heart totes I thought a more sophisticated striped ombre bag would be fun too, so I just grabbed some painters tape and marked out my bag into quarters.

Paint, let dry and then peel off the tape. You've now got yourself a cute grocery tote. Don't you feel so proud? Saving the environment and being chic all at once. Well done!

My little girl is smitten with her bag. I hope yours will be too.

Happy Valentine's Day my sappy friends. If you'd like to see some other fun Valentine's Day projects I've created, you can visit here. Linking up with Today's Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On

Rules of Civility

2012-01-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

Well hello there, it's been a few days now hasn't it. I took a bit of a break that was much needed. I have slowed down the last few days and you know what I've discovered in slowing down? It's amazing how I tend to complicate things by running around from errand to errand and making to-do list after to-do list. I've discovered that running a household can be quite basic, if I let it be. I'm sure the simplifying will be somewhat short lived and I'm not claiming to have fully converted to the movement of "simplified, intentional living"; after all I did go to Joann's and Target today. But at least for the last few days it's been nice to have my foot half way in the door.

During my time of slow living, I finished Rules of Civility, our February book selection for the Phenomenally Indecisive Book Club. Somehow I missed it that we were supposed to actually read it in February. At least I'm ahead of schedule I guess. I was immediately drawn into the setting of Manhattan in the late 1930's and I devoured it in just 3 days.

In reading a little more about the author, the idea for the book was spawned after he came across a copy of Walker Evans' book Many Are Called, a collection of photographs taken of unsuspecting riders on Manhattan subway cars by a hidden camera in the 1930's.

I was browsing One King's Lane over the weekend and I came across these accessories that instantly reminded me of various items made present in the book. The author's detailed descriptions throughout the book of every setting, every room, every accessory that held some sort of meaning to the characters was amazing and literally transported you to that time and era. If you've read the book, you may easily be able to identify with each item, but if you haven't yet I won't ruin anything for you. It's not too late by any means to join the book club. Technically it hasn't even started! I promise it will be low key and stress free, and the book is so great you'll breeze right through it. Have I sold you yet?

So lots of reading and being low key is what I've been up to until today. Today I was somewhat back to my high strung self, crafting away like a mad woman with a pot of dip dyed socks going in one court and ombre inspired Valentine's Day canvas tote bags going in another. The calm was nice for a little bit at least. I'll be back tomorrow with some fun tutorials on said crafting extravaganza...until we meet again my friends.

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Wiggle Room

2012-01-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

{Boyfriend jeans - Gap (this was the only place I could find an affordable pair that were true boyfriend jeans btw);

Neon striped tee - Gap; Leopard flats - Boden; Trench - James Perse; Bracelet - DIY by me;

Necklaces - vintage from flea market; Preston frames - Warby Parker}

These boyfriend jeans made an appearance in last week's style post, but they didn't get much attention. I wanted to come back round to these because I've gotta say after years of squeezing into skinny jeans, it is a breath of freaking fresh air to give my legs and booty some wiggle room I tell ya.

Remember this DIY post I did for the Daily Buzz Style? Well I ended up winning $100 for it and with that money I opted to get myself these jeans and had money to spare to buy the neon striped bit of 80's heaven I'm sporting on top. Let's just say that my body is thanking me 1000 times over for the breathing room. Skinny jeans, I may never come back to you again. Maybe. Okay probably will, but not for a while. As you can see, these jeans are making me quite happy and fancy free. Linking up with Momtrends and Lindsey

Colored Ice Sculptures - AKA Keeping Kids Busy

2012-01-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

My kid's appetite for activity has been unquenchable these last 2 weeks, most likely because mom has not been at her best. Usually they're content with one semi-exciting event per day, which will hold them off for hours leaving them to play happily amongst themselves or with each other. But lately it's been a lot of "what's next, what are we doing today, now what?" It's been exhausting and my creative well has run dry, and so the other day in between rain clouds I set them up with towers of ice in the yard and instructed them to go have at it.

Both kids remember this activity from preschool so for them much direction was unnecessary, but for you, my fellow moms, looking to occupy restless children for at least an hour, here's what you'll need.

Liquid watercolors or tinted water using food coloring (I really like Colorations Liquid Watercolors), rock salt of some sort like kosher or sea, blocks of frozen ice in various forms and sizes using tupperware containers.

The kids start by sprinkling the salt on the ice structure, as little or as much as they like. The salt eats away cracks and divots into the ice, laying paths for the coloring to seep in.

And then they start pouring/squirting the coloring on the ice.

The color will seep into the cracks the salt made in the ice, instead of just sliding right off.

The kids become fascinated seeing which way the colors will flow and

what colors will meld together to form new colors.

I took pictures for the first 10 minutes or so, and then they stayed out there playing for another 45 minutes. Ahh, the sound of happily occupied kids. Nothing much better than that.

When they're all done just toss out on the grass or right into the sink for easy clean up.

Obviously this is a fun summer activity, but we found the fun to last even longer now in winter since the ice sculptures don't melt as quickly. So that's what's been keeping my kids occupied for 1/12th of the day. What's been keeping your kids busy these days?

Closet Organization

2012-01-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

Last week I posted my home goals for 2012, and while quite lofty, it was nice to get some encouragement that maybe it is possible to achieve most, if not all of those goals this year. Thank you all so much for that. In the last week we've made some progress on a few of those goals including:

ordered an area rug for the living room space - it ships soon, I am giddy with anticipation
ordered our barstools and pendant lighting to create a functional 2nd eating area in our house
continued work on the garage, only to discover we have a termite problem that is being treated today

So while we've made some progress on making decisions, nothing is quite yet complete so I thought I'd talk a bit about the kid's closet systems that I showed you last week. I had a few friends email me with several questions about how they work and cost, etc, so hopefully this is somewhat helpful.

After doing a lot of research online and in store, we found that the best quality and most customizable DIY system was from Martha Stewart for Home Depot's line. We loved that the lining came almost all the way to the ground, creating that true custom look, there were endless configurations available, 3 different color choices to choose from, and the cost was mid range; not as high as custom closets, but not so cheap you doubt their quality. We first designed each closet online with their awesome design tool.

You begin by choosing your closet type, either walk in or reach in, and then enter the width of your closet. It spits out a design that they think would be right for your space (coincidentally their design is also the most expensive, but that's okay, they're trying to upsell). You can see the price for each design in the bottom left hand corner.

The drawers are quite nice, but since each kid has their own big chest of drawers, we deleted the drawers and went with more shelving. We also did some adjustments to the type of hanging configuration we wanted.

This is essentially what the closets each look like, but we wanted to add one of those nifty laundry baskets to our design, so we went to add accessories.

That laundry basket added $50 to the total, but still within budget and it's probably the feature we love the most, so well worth it.

When your design is complete, you simply click on the Kits Needed tab to show you a list of all the items you will need, which you can print up to take to the store and shop, or you can order online and shipping is free. The espresso pieces are all available in store, but most of the white pieces were only available online for some reason.

Syd's closet was the first one Art installed and because the walls weren't quite plumb, he had to add some shims, which took a bit more time. Installation on Syd's closet was about 6 hours total from start to finish.

Taylor's closet went much quicker and only took about 3 hours. Both closets though did require some cutting with a standard table saw, so beware, depending on the size of your space, some cutting will most likely be involved.

As a frame of reference, this is what Taylor's closet looked like before the installation:

The bars were not functional for a kid's wardrobe, with not enough bottom hanging space that she could reach. The shelves were spaced very far apart as well, so not maximizing all the available space.

And after:

Shelves are perfectly spaced apart for maximum storage space

and shoes fit perfectly in a row, with some room for her growing feet

our favorite part of the entire system, eliminating the need for a big bulky hamper we previously had

tip: if you have a young girl, get one of these to avoid the tangled masses of jewelry. I picked up this one at Marshall's, and while not the cutest in the world, it was cheap and functional, saving me hours of having to untangle necklaces she collects from goody bags and craft projects.

Syd's closet is in the espresso wood and is just beautiful. He has a lot less "stuff" so his shelves allow us to actually display some things, and yes, they always look like this (NO!). But for the most part, Syd's room is able to stay a lot cleaner than Taylor's.

So there you have it. I know it sounds like I'm trying to sell you on this, but we just really love how they came out and how customizable they were. Art loved how easy they were to install. A win-win for both of us, which is a plus for our marriage ;)

I'm linking up with Jules for her William Morris series

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Hello Preston

2012-01-17T22:45:00.000-08:00

{sweater, blouse & bracelet - J.Crew; jeans - Gap; heels - Kate Spade; necklaces - Juicy Couture & vintage;

glasses - Warby Parker Preston in Whiskey Tortoise} Photos taken by M.Shanti Photo

I've been wearing glasses for 27 years. I had just started the 3rd grade and my first pair were translucent pink. I'm sure I went through a couple of more pairs that are none too memorable, until 7th grade, when I chose a pair of bright jade green Liz Claiborne frames that bore a striking resemblance to the ones Sally Jesse Raphael wore, but in red. I thought they were cool, until a friend pointed out the uncanny resemblance. I was stuck with those suckers until my mom finally allowed me my first pair of contact lenses in 9th grade. Since then I've only ever worn contact lenses, and only wore my glasses at night before bed time. But these frames have finally gotten me to trade in my contacts. I couldn't be happier with them, and even with my bad prescription and the special lenses they had to put in, they are still nice and light weight and aren't geeky thick. Thanks so much for all your help in helping to pick this pair. You guys are neat :)

Yes, I wear glasses. No, I'm not trying to be hipster; I actually need them. Classic. Linking up with Lindsey and Jill

This Is What I've Got

2012-01-16T22:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, so sorry I've been a little absent in the comments section and in posting the last couple of days. I've been really sick and haven't had much energy to do much of anything besides watch a crap load of TV and read magazines. Do you have any idea how cheap magazine subscriptions are nowadays? For $36 I have now subscribed to Lucky, Vogue, Bazaar, Marie Claire and Allure. Three of those are for 2 year subscriptions by the way. How are they even making money with those figures?

Even with sicknesses and such though, life still goes on doesn't it?

I managed to make it to church and got Art to cover me in the child care room. It felt so good to be back after missing 3 weeks and the message was so perfect. Our Pastor at one point referenced how people have been trying to tear down the word of God for 2000 years and yet it still stands. To that I said a big fat Amen, especially after hearing/reading so many disparaging things online these last two weeks about Christianity.

Related to that, I got in a fight with a 22 year old on Twitter Saturday night over Tebow of all things. Awesome right? My maturity at times knows no bounds.

After church I snuck off to the flea market for a couple of hours, in search of a coffee table like this:

and a side table like this

images via LGN

But came up short. I did find some colorful beaded baubles that I plan to restring and a solid bronze elephant for $20, but no swanky glam glass tables. There were however, a plethora of mid-century consoles available. Enough in fact to completely furnish the offices of Sterling Cooper, with a few left over for Don's crappy bachelor pad.

In other news, we discovered that the garage has termites, so for now are waiting to get it treated before we can hang dry wall. Awesome little $750 gouge in our budget.

I mentioned that I watched a ton of TV this past weekend, primarily I watched HGTV House Hunters International and the OWN Network. Oprah's Next Chapter series is SO good! I saw the Steven Tyler, Chris Christie and Joel Osteen episodes. Each one was so fascinating. I am still tired and sick so that's about all I have to say about that. One descriptive word. Sorry folks, the well is running a bit dry here.

I came across these lovely prints and want a few of them, especially this one

and this one

I finally ordered my Warby Parker's and got them in. I love them and haven't taken them off since Thursday. Hopefully I can muster up enough energy tomorrow to do shoot an outfit post wearing them.

We went to my uncle's funeral today and it was sad, of course. It was even more sad that it had been years since I had seen so many of my cousins, and that it had to be under such bad circumstances. I almost wish I would have brought my camera to take pictures with some of them because who knows when the next time I'll see them is. But then I thought that might be very weird and awkward so I left the camera at home.

And that's about it guys. Oh I do have one more thing. You know, I'd have a few thousand dollars at this point if I got a quarter for every time I heard Taylor yell "Mom! Syd hit me with his light saber!" He received his first light saber for Christmas this year and hasn't stopped torturing his sister with it ever since.

And with that I'm crawling back into bed and hopefully tomorrow I'll be feeling better.

Good night guys!

On Trend For Less - Loft vs. Equipment

2012-01-14T07:58:00.000-08:00

Good morning friends. A little unexpected post from me this morning, but I just wanted to share a cute top I came across this morning via my Facebook feed.

This long sleeve striped Equipment blouse has been popping up all over style blogs, most recently seen on Atlantic Pacific. I love collarless silhouette and front pocket. What I don't love is the $248 price, and chances are this pretty color combination will never make it to the sale racks in a couple of months, surely selling out to young girls that don't have college tuition to save for.

This cute Loft polo caught my eye though for a much more affordable price of $32 (on sale in stores and online today at 40% off). Of course it's a completely different silhouette and it's made of polyester, not washed silk, but you still get the fun on-trend striped color combination as the Equipment blouse, at a much more affordable price.

I wanted to share this with you because this is what I often do; I see an item that I love, but is often times out of my price range, and search for something that mimics it, at a more affordable price. When I stumbled on the Loft top this morning I immediately thought of the Equipment blouse, and so I just had to let you in on how my styling mind works sometimes.

And now that I've done my good deed for the day, I shall go back to bed ;) Have a great weekend
everyone! Oh and apparently it's National Delurking Day, so please leave a comment below to say hi and let me know you're out there :) I'd love to hear who you are, where you're from, and what posts you enjoy reading the most. Commenting is such an important part of the blogging process and community, and it's a good way to let me know what I'm doing right/wrong and what you guys respond to. So please say "hey, what's up lady?" I'd love to hear from you.

Thoughts of the Week - Aging Gracefully

2012-01-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

While searching for the secret to younger looking skin, I came across this article recently of Iris Apfel in In the Gloss. Admittedly I didn't know much about Iris, only seeing her and those iconic glasses making brief appearances in issues of Vogue and Bazaar every now and then. But the opening line of the article intrigued me and so I had to read on. Here are a few of Iris' brilliant little quips on aging, beauty routines, and what it was like to be asked by the makeup giant MAC to help create a new line of intensely colored lipsticks. The last one has got to be my favorite.

(you can read a little more about Iris and her amazing life here and see her crazy busy apartment here)

"Getting older ain’t for sissies, I’ll tell you...You have to push yourself when you’re older, because it’s very easy to fall into the trap. You start to fall apart—you just have to do your best to paste yourself together. I think doing things and being active is very important. When your mind is busy, you don’t hurt so much."

"I don’t do very much for beauty. I use very simple things on my skin. I haven’t got time. I would always get facials, and then come home laden with product, and pay a lot of money and never use it."

"I’m not good at putting on makeup, but you have to be a moron not to be able to put on lipstick. Now since I’m older, I don’t do my eyes anymore because when you’re older, your eyelids wrinkle. If you use blue or green, and you’re not really expert, you end up looking like a turtle."

"When MAC asked me to do a collection, I was thrilled and flattered. I never thought I’d be doing this; it’s like some sort of an insane, psychedelic dream. I worked with them and we picked colors, and I told them the kind of colors I liked—I like bright, intense colors...If you have a little rosebud mouth, maybe for young girls it’s nice—but older women need some color. I think those whitish lips on older women look insane."

"I’m very opposed to plastic surgery...I think it’s very painful, very expensive, and having been in hospitals as much as I have, subjecting yourself to surgery when you don’t need it is not a smart thing to do. But what do I know? I mean, almost everybody does it. I think if women put some more of the time and money they put on their heads in their heads, they’d be better off. I mean, nobody’s going to think you’re thirty-two, so what’s the point?"

I think about aging a lot. Not so much in a beauty age-defying way (despite my post earlier in the week), but more in a mathematical, calculating sort of way. For instance I calculate how many years we have to save before retirement sets in, and what will that retirement look like? If Art's 65 when he retires, how many years does that leave us to travel with ease and free of aches and pains? I look at the people I deliver meals to every week for the last 9 months and I wonder if I'll be more like Lester who, pushing 90 is still spry, at least in mind, or will I be more like Viola, saying a weekly prayer that the Lord will take her to heaven? I wonder when my own walk will no longer be my own, replaced with the old people shuffle, the point where your heels no longer lift up so care-free, and are instead glued to the ground so that they simply just shuffle you around from place to place. And even going beyond thinking just about "old age", I also do calculations of what the likelihood of entering the workforce again in 5, 6 years if I were to have another child. Do companies still hire 40 year olds?

Of course I know that with aging comes wisdom and knowledge and life-experience that can really only be acquired by age, but admittedly my view on aging at this point in my life is somewhat distorted. Reading about women like Iris though is quite inspiring. Maybe Carmen is right, it really is all about a positive attitude. All this reminds me of an episode of Oprah's Life Class I watched a while back on aging. The whole episode was brilliant, but it was her closing statement that inevitably brought me to tears for some reason. At 57 I hope to remember this. And as positive as Carmen is, I will say that the only thing she inevitably always complains about every single week, without fail, is that the older she gets, the less her kids and grandkids call. May I always remember to call and please God let them call me! Anyhow, here's the clip. What is it about Oprah that makes you just say "Yes! Exactly!"? Happy weekend friends.

Why Oprah Says Aging Is a Blessing

Oprah doesn't dread birthdays—she sees them as a blessing. Watch to find out how owning your age can help you step into the fullness of your life.

2012 Home Goals

2012-01-10T23:16:00.000-08:00

Aside from the skincare goal I shared with you on Monday, to get better skin and look ten years younger within a month, my main goal this year is to conquer this house. Oh this house.

Let me preface this post with the simple statement that I know I don't live in squalor by any means, despite how I may talk about my frustrations with this house. I know we are lucky to have our home and quite frankly I get uncomfortable talking about this house and my vision for it because I worry that I sound like a whining ungrateful suburbanite, when all I really want to do is have this house live up to its potential and create a home that we can happily function in and be comfortable in. And let me say we loved our last house. Almost up until the day we decided to sell we were doing things to that house to improve it, many of which we did ourselves. We brought both our kids home from the hospital to that house. Aesthetically we loved its unique characteristics and its vast storage space. It was hard to leave that house and when we got to the new one, quite frankly I think we were burnt out from constant home improvements in the prior house to dedicate the time and energy this new one deserved.

But that's going to change in 2012. We both feel that now is the time to create the home that reflects us as a family, and we feel refreshed and energized to dedicate the time and resources it's going to take to get there. We've spent the last two years looking around, scratching our heads and feeling perplexed as to what to do. Afraid of making any mistakes, wasting any time or money we simply did nothing. In April last year, still undecided, we took the backyard on because we at least knew what we wanted there. But now we're ready to tackle the inside, because even in California you can only spend so much time in your backyard.

The overall goal of this house is to first and foremost improve functionality by gaining more storage and work space. After living in the house for 2 years we have realized that we don't necessarily need more space, we just need to use the space we have much more efficiently than we currently are doing.
Goal #2 is to make it our own. Hang artwork, place interesting pillows, area rugs, and decorative objects that represent us. In other words all those finishing details that make a house a home. Fun, quirky, traditional but with a modern flair, we want the house to feel warm, inviting and have a sense of humor to it.

The list broken down by room looks like this:

Master Bedroom - create a calming yet functional room where we can rest and refresh, not just a place to sleep in.

   Recover window seat cushion
     Hang artwork
     Get a bedskirt to cover the underside of our bed
     Install some sort of overhead lighting so we don't trip on things at night on the way to the lamp
   Install swing lamps on either side of bed
     Find new nightstands that would offer more storage since we lost a dresser in the move (doesn't fit)

Kids Rooms - place the last finishing touches on them

     Order and install closet doors (same goes for linen closet)
   Replace ceiling fan in Syd's room

Entryway - create a landing zone that is functional yet still inviting and manages to be clutter free
     Ideas include hanging hooks, adding a secretary that could hold mail and paperwork & be closed up at
     night, and a single chair instead of the bench with some type of storage cubbies next to it.

Living Room - this room probably requires the least in finishing touches even though the list seems long, I really want this room to have the most impact though since it's the first room you see when you walk in.

     Area Rug
     Reupholseter chairs
     Make pillows in coordinating fabrics
     Get rid of that piano and figure out where to put the keyboard (perhaps in the corner)
     New coffee table - thinking a glass top with gold gilded frame perhaps from flea market
   Replace that stupid fluorescent light with recessed lights
     Guitar stand for Art's guitar which for now sits upright in its ugly case
     Find actual furniture feet to replace those ridiculous furniture mover pads with

Bar Area - create a secondary eating and arts & crafts area for the kids, primarily to preserve our dining room table

     Barstools
     Install pendant lighting

Family Room - this room has the most potential for design impact, centered around the aqua couch

     Area Rug
     Make pillows in coordianting fabrics
     Replace ottoman
     Hang artwork
     Move buffet over to become media storage and hide those stupid cords!

Dining Room - the grass cloth and shutters are our most recent addition and instantly made the room feel warmer. It also made the old beaten up dining room table and dated ceiling fan really stand out like a sore thumb

     New dining room table
     Install a built in hutch to hold china up top and hold kid's craft supplies on the bottom
     Replace ceiling fan with new chandelier
     Area Rug

Office - it's any wonder I'm ever hit with any type of creativity juice working in this dreadful set up. the room works as an office for both Art and I, a guest room, storage room for laundry baskets and a vacuum, all our important bills and filing system, and stores all the kids and my craft supplies. This room is severely overworked and needs a break.

     Knock out closet to create more space
     Get rid of Queen size bed and replace with a daybed for overnight guests
     Build a dual desk for Art & I that runs the length of the wall
   Hang monitors on the wall for more desk space
     Create a working craft island/cut table for me
   Organize all craft supplies

Garage - this space has caused the most amount of stress for Art and I and also caused the most fights. I hate, hate, hate the garage and I hate living like this. I look inside and I think we're too young to have so much crap! Since we lost square footage in this house when we moved, several pieces of furniture didn't fit and so we shoved them in the garage, hoping to sell or use them one day. Then things just kept getting shoved in there and as Art said "it's already a mess so what's the point in trying to keep it clean?" I'm thrilled to report though that last Friday we ordered one of those pods that's delivered to your house. Everything has been cleared out of the garage and all the shelving has been ripped out as of last weekend. This weekend Art will start the process of dry walling.

     Hang drywall and paint
     Hang cabinets and work bench for Art
     Seal the floor (we did this at our last house and it makes such a difference in the look & feel of the garage)
     Buy a ping pong table and have fun!

Of course there are other little odds and ends that we'd love to do some day like replace the floor in the kitchen with hardwood and build a proper mantel for the fireplace, but for now this is what we want to tackle this year. I don't know if we'll even get close to all of it, but if we could at least conquer the garage and the office, I'd be very, very happy.

When I look at the pictures I took yesterday of some of the rooms, especially our own room, it makes me sad that we've basically spent the last two years paralyzed out of fear to make any decisions, and so in a sense we've lost out on 2 years of creating a home that we could feel happy and proud with. I know that's a little dramatic sounding and all, but you know what I mean. I'll show you an updated progress report of the garage next week. It blew my mind when I saw how much he accomplished in a weekend, all on his own. And so now for your viewing pleasure I'll share with you our home...I think it's the first time I ever have shared this much here on the blog?

Our master bedroom has a very cool slanted ceiling above our bed and it feels very cozy sleeping underneath it, especially when it rains. We need to take advantage of it and hang some pretty antique framed artwork, more rustic looking nightstands and I'd love to hang swing lamps on the wall instead of table top lamps. Our duvet is simple and clean, which I like and the red quilt is left over from Christmas. I would love to recover the bench seat in a romantic yet bold pattern to offset the plainness of the bedding.

I seriously can't believe I've looked at this thing for 2 years. I really don't know why I just haven't removed the pad and left it empty. Oh I know, because there was no more room in the garage!

This wall and dresser looks so pitiful. And that artwork on the floor? It's been there since the day we moved in 2 years ago. God forbid you put a nail in the wall and change your mind down the road and have to putty the hole.

We installed these Martha Stewart for Home Depot closet systems in both the kids rooms and we love them. Now some doors would be nice.

This house had zero linen storage up until 2 months ago when we knocked into part of Syd's closet and built this one. Again, a door would be a nice finishing touch don't you think?

I'm thinking a secretary on the wall where the mirror is so we can dump mail and school paperwork, and then close it up so we don't have to look at it. Move the red piece over to where the bench is and place a slim single chair next to it, instead of the bench and then hang some hooks above it? Still trying to figure this are out.

There is way too much red going on here, between the coffee table and the red cherry floors and the chairs. The area rug in here is crucial I think. It will break up a lot of the red tones.

We bought these chairs years ago for $300 each at Macy's. They recline and are so comfortable, no use wasting them. I have a very cool bold graphic stripe picked out.

We love the grasscloth so much and this picture really doesn't do it justice. Once the grasscloth was hung though, it made that stupid ceiling fan stand out like a sore thumb. The buffet is moving under the TV and the plan is to have a built in hutch built for added storage. We've got to go vertical to gain as much storage as possible.

Oh this office is so sad. This is the view as you walk in. There is so much furniture in there it feels like a tunnel. We have the queen bed from when my mom used to spend the night all the time when I was working full time. It's now no longer needed and will free up a ton of space in here.

I have no idea where this desk even came from. One day a few months back Art declared he needed his own computer here at home and so he moved the bed in the corner (it was previously in the center of the room) and brought in this hideous beast of a thing.

Notice how small and petite my desk is, made even more quaint by the printer encroaching in on my feet every time I sit down. Feels so cozy though! ;)

And this my friends is where I hold my vacuum, laundry baskets, sewing machine, fabric, paper and jewelry supplies and kids aft supplies. Talk about a hard working closet! Oh these pictures make me cringe. No wonder it feels like a chore sometimes to craft.

And I saved the best for last...the garage. Get ready for it...wait for it, wait for it, man this is so embarrassing

BAM! Here you go.

This is the American dream isn't it?

To have so much crap you can't see the backside of the wall?

The idea to get the pack rat was in fact brilliant though. We were trying to figure out the logistics of how we were going to take everything out, organize and have a garage sale during January when the weather can be unpredictable. Art finally had the idea to rent a pod so we could have a month to do the job right the first time, and it has been the best thing we could've done. I can't wait to show you guys the progress pictures next week.

Linking up to the Nester's Home Goals Party
I'm also linking up with Jules' William Morris project, because the garage alone screams William Morris. Go check out her series, it's been incredible.

Week 2 Looks Promising

2012-01-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

{dress and sweater - James Perse; purse - Louis Vuitton; necklace - Forever 21; shoes - c/o Cents of Style}

I'm guest posting, in this outfit, over at my friend Alissa's blog Rags to Stitches today. Alissa is one of the most supportive gals out there, so I was thrilled when she asked (no one ever really asks my to guest blog for some reason). I'm sharing a bit about how this outfit in particular is the perfect example of lifestyle dressing, and I share a fun quiz I found over the weekend while wasting time on the internet. Please go check it out and say hi...I'll feel very lonely without you guys ;)

And I just wanted to make sure to post these pictures because look! I'm not standing in the parking lot of my husband's office building. 2012 Goal Setting and Meeting in the house baby. In addition to planning ahead and not standing in parking lots, I have also been on time to Pop Physique everyday in the new year (I'm always 10 minutes late), and I'm doing better about being more active in the blogging community, which reminds me, I've been responding to your comments in the comments section, and I left a few questions for some of you on yesterday's post...I'm still confused about the whole oil thing. Have a great day ladies, and gents - Gerry :)

Beauty Forever

2012-01-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my mother in law's 70th birthday last week and as I sat there on Friday night, admiring her almost flawless skin with nary a wrinkle, I thought to myself "damn, I need to step up my game." And so I did what any modern woman in her mid 30's does, I created a Pinterest board dedicated solely to skincare.

(from In the Gloss - disclaimer, while extremely knowledgeable you may want to reach through your computer screen and punch the writer in the face when she says "I'm in my mid twenties now and my skin just isn't what it used to be." Wait another ten years sister)

My skin has always been on the drier side, which usually means less blemishes in those awkward teen years, it also usually leads to more wrinkles. The crows feet I've pretty much had since high school are getting more pronounced and are appearing in every picture now, not just the bad ones. I'm not planning anything expensive or dramatic, but after some reading, it appears that my routine may be lacking some oil. I dug around in my skincare samples I recently received and I found this Midnight Recovery Oil from Kiehl's. I'll let you know in the morning if I look ten years younger.

If you've got any advice to give, please share because I'm about as stuck in a skincare rut as one can get. I posed the question on my Facebook wall Saturday and Shelly jokingly suggested botox. While that seems like an easy immediate fix, I would really like to take better care of my skin. I use a Clarisonic but that's about as advanced as I get. I apply Eucerin SPF moisturizer every day but it doesn't really seem to seep in anymore, rather leaves a layer it seems on top of my skin. Does this mean I need to scrub more? I don't know, I'm clueless here.

While skincare is on the top of my list of personal goals to work on in 2012, it got me wondering if any of you have created goals that help take care of you? I never gave it much thought before, but this year especially I'm feeling that aside for the goals I've created for my family and home, its important for me to do something for myself. Since you know I read a lot of style sites, especially sites dedicated to real women, I thought I'd share some links I've enjoyed reading lately dedicated to refreshing your personal style:

Angie is writing a whole Style Renewal series and I thought this post was especially true. Before attempting any style renewal she suggests doing 3 things first: Get a professional bra fitting, assess your hairstyle and assess your eyewear. I get fitted every year ever since working at Victoria's Secret and I've found that especially after having kids and big changes like starting/stopping nursing, your bra sizes do change and fit differently. I was shocked when at my last fitting I found I had grown a cup size, even though I felt like I had actually gotten smaller. Turns out that the other side effect of aging is boob spreadage (yes, that's a technical term). Even though it appeared I may have gotten "smaller", the ladies had just kind of spread out over a larger surface area. Awesome.

I would suggest adding one more thing to that list, and that's assess your makeup situation. Many of us, myself included get in a makeup rut and wear the same eyeshadow and lipstick day after day, or no makeup at all. You can have on the most fabulous outfit, but if you're makeup lacks any zeal, you will feel it. A change in makeup routine, even just a new shade of gloss, is the quickest and most affordable way to update your look. While digging around my makeup samples last night I found a shade of fuschia pink so vibrant it stopped Art dead in his tracks when he found me trying it on at 10 o'clock last night. Like Garance, I'm not so sure hot pink lips look as good on brunettes as it does on blondes. We'll see how adventurous I get. Oh and since we're talking hair and makeup, may I suggest always wearing makeup when going to get your hair cut? You'll love your cut so much more when a done up face is staring back at you in the mirror.

One more thing on the makeup front, again last night as I was digging around old samples I was reminded of this great post Delighted Momma recently wrote When Does Makeup Expire. It reminded me of a time I visited my Aunt Tula up in Stockton when I was 9 or 10 and snooped around her makeup drawer. I discovered makeup so old it had to have been from the vaudeville days. I didn't know much back then but even my stupid nosey self could tell that stuff was toxic. I never use old mascara but if I come across a lipstick that's a few years old but still has some moisture and color to it, I'll use it. But seriously ladies, if you've gotta dig in the tube with a Q-tip to get the last little bits of color out, time to say goodbye and get a new tube. Oh, and Lindsay also just wrote a post on DIY glitter polish.

Once you've got your hair and makeup situation under control and recharged, and your ladies have been treated right, Hayley wrote an e-book titled The No Brainer Wardrobe. I got a sneak peek at it and it holds a lot of practical tips to help you get dressed with less fuss. I really like what Hayley has to say about style: "It really is about realizing that looking perfect everyday isn't the aim. Looking good and put together, feeling proud and confident -- now that is what it's about." Danielle is giving away a couple copies of Hayley's book today.

And so that's what I've been reading these past few days. Oh, I also posted a new series yesterday: 366 Days of Style. I'd love for you to check it out. What about you guys? How was your weekend? Seen any good TV lately? Seems there's nothing really on right now except Grey's, which premiered with the most depressing episode I've ever seen, and Parenthood. I miss Dexter and Walking Dead already.

366 Days of Style

2012-01-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that it's been two months since Camp Mighty, but it has. I mentioned in one of my recap posts how inspired I was with ideas, and this my friends was one of them. The idea of a daily year long photo challenge was not a new concept to me, but it was the way Lisa Congdon spoke about hers that clicked with me. An avid collector, Lisa decided to begin a photo collection of all her collections. It was so brilliant that it was later turned into a book titled A Collection a Day. (Lisa also started a new challenge this year - 365 Days of Hand Lettering).

It was this idea of shooting a specific subject, or category, that struck a chord with me. See, the idea of taking a photo a day had always appealed to me, but to just take a photo, any photo seemed too overwhelming a task to have to choose. But to narrow it down to a specific category, that I could accomplish.

And so of course my subject, or category of subjects would naturally be my closet, and maybe even closets of others. I have always been intrigued by women's style choices, especially when they're things that I may have personally passed on, but when I see them on other women I fall in love with them. It's seeing style through each women's own lens of uniqueness and creativity that always inspires and excites me.

So for my personal photo challenge I will be taking pictures of many of the items within my own closet; shoes, accessories, pants, jackets, shirts, and talk a little bit about each of them. Why I chose them, why I love them, even why I hate them and regret making the purchase. I originally intended to keep this project for my style blog back when I thought it would be launched by January 1st. When that didn't happen I almost scrapped the idea, but I kept coming back to it and my excitement for the actual project didn't wane, so I'm continuing with it. When the style blog does launch, I will transfer each entry over there and resume the challenge on the style site only. In the mean time I'll post weekly recaps here. I hope you enjoy this fun new project as much as I do. The first week was fun to hunt through my closet and pick things to shoot.

Day 1 - Carolee Faceted Jet 72 inch necklace - purchased 5 years ago from Nordstrom, this is the best jewelry purchase I've ever made and it's a reminder to not be so cheap when it comes to classic statement pieces. Last seen here.

Day 2 - St. John cropped boucle 3/4 sleeve jacket - I sold most of my old St. John clothes to consignment but I kept a few pieces including this one. I remember all the girls in the office had it after Angelina Jolie wore it in an ad. I think I need to work it back into my wardrobe soon.

Day 3 - Best purchase of the year, hands down. Last seen here.

Day 4 - My favorite jacket. Soft leather, beautiful coloring, basic enough to remain a classic, yet updated enough with gold zippers and quilting to still look very current. Last seen here.

Day 5 - If there were a competition this year to see who scored the best vintage deal at an estate sale, I would win in a landslide. Now if only it would rain some more.

Day 6 - Given to me by the Blog Sugar speakers, this scarf quickly became my favorite go-to accessory for many looks, last spotted in the Grand Canyon.

Day 7 - My only regretful purchase of the year. Things were going swell with me and my Old Navy red jeans until I forgot to not put them in the dryer and BAM! They retaliated on me and shrunk six ways to Sunday, making me feel like a Vienna sausage trying to squeeze into them, and then once they were on, they made me look like I was waiting for a flood. In 2012 I vow to not be so cheap and wait till I can buy the pair I want. They sure were cute while they lasted though...

The Southwest Recap

2012-01-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

I thought this recap post was going to be easy to spin through and plop onto this here blog, but I'm tired and not feeling well and feeling like my blahness will come across as lack of zeal for this trip and the things we did. But as I said in my last post, it was the best trip we ever did take as a family. So because of said tiredness and just blahness, I'm going to very matter of factly just give the details of where we stayed/what we did and forgive me if it lacks the flair of a travel journalist. Basically, I'm just going to tell you the nitty gritty.

Wednesday we departed Southern California and 8 hours and 1 stop later we arrived at the Grand Canyon (my kids by the way pee twice a day, which can be frustrating as a mother who worries about the inevitable UTI that will result from pee holding, but can be glorious for road tripping and errand running. Honestly it is the most convenient character trait my kids possess). There was a bit of a wait at the gate to get in but once we entered the park, it was a short trip to arrive at Grand Canyon village in the South Rim (the North Rim is closed during the winter months but I've heard that it is quite beautiful as well, of course, and a lot less crowded). We arrived just at sunset and because of my blahness today, I'm afraid my words will fail me and I won't be able to properly tell you just how glorious of a sight the Grand Canyon is when seeing it from adult eyes, but please, please believe me that it was magnificent.

Seventeen years had passed since I had seen the Grand Canyon and seeing from my 35 year old eyes last week was one thousand times more incredible and awe inspiring than seeing it as a teen. It was truly glorious and spectacular and I swear it brought tears to my eyes. Simply said, in a gasp, it literally took my breath away. The kids of course looked around and were like "cool, let's go look for rocks now." It didn't bother me, I just went with it because it would be silly of me to think 4 and 6 year olds could appreciate such a sight. If you are thinking of going, please go. You won't regret it.

(El Tovar)

As far as lodging goes, you have quite a few options; camping of course is an option, that is if you are INSANE! But really, camp if you'd like, but there are plenty of very nice indoor/queen size bed/warm places to spend the night, all booked through Xanterra.. the company Fred Harvey founded over a hundred years ago. We stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge which was right on the rim and although a little dated, it was perfectly comfortable, clean and affordable.

You can check out the other lodges available (we would love to stay at the El Tovar next time!), but some you can't book online, so give them a call. Don't be put off by this, as giving them a call was very easy and helpful. The rep spent about 25 minutes on the phone with me and answered all sorts of questions I had. He also booked our tour for us, which leads me to what we did...

We took a 2 hour tour Thursday morning that went as far as Hermits Rest and turned around. We were able to stop along the way to take pictures and look around and we had a guide that gave us some history and answered questions. Cost for this tour was $26 per adult and free for kids under 12. There were also 1.5 hour tours and 3 hour tours. Xanterra can book all of these for you. There are of course the famous donkey tours and hiking tours, but I was nervous enough having the kids running around so close to the edge I wasn't tempting fate.

Dining in Yosemite Village was surprisingly very nice. We ate dinner our first night at a place called the Arizona Room and then lunch at El Tovar (tip on dining at El Tovar - call way in advance for dinner reservations, and for lunch get there before the 11:40 train arrives in the village and the place becomes swarmed with day trippers). Breakfast was picked up on the run at a easy little coffee shop.

I'd say 24 hours in Grand Canyon was the perfect amount of time for our young family. As they get older I could imagine doing some hiking and more exploring, but at this age it was just too scary to embark on that type of adventure. After lunch on Thursday we walked around a bit and let the kids pick out some souvenirs and then we were off onto our next adventure, Sedona.

(downtown Sedona)

(Tlaquepaque)

You'll drive about 2 hours to Sedona, famous for its huge beautiful red rocks, many of which resemble gorillas and famous cartoon characters like Snoopy. Now let me say that Sedona definitely gets by with its good looks and charm because the restaurants pretty much suck and the coffee is way over priced ($5.25 for a medium latte WHAT?!). We did manage to scout a couple of decent eats, both being at Tlaquepaque - El Rincon and The Secret Garden. They were good but not amazing. We would have loved to eat at Elote Cafe but it was a 2 hour wait and they don't take reservations. Tip - get there before they open at 5 to get a table. The menu did look pretty incredible. Overall Sedona could take a tip from its neighbor Scottsdale and build a couple of more good eats.

Since I know vacations aren't only about eating, but also doing, let me share a couple of the highlights that you should consider taking in -

(enjoying the jeep tour)

Jeep Tours have popped up as the main tourist attraction it seems since we last visited 10 years ago. At first I was a bit skeptical and saw it as a tourist trap, but after some consideration we decided to just have Art take the kids and you know what? It was worth every penny! They all had an incredible time on the 2 hour 4x4 ride. Art took video footage of most of it and we've had fun playing it over and over for some of our family and just each other. There are a lot of companies in town but we went with A Day In the West because they were family owned, more reasonably priced than other tours and they offered a true 4x4 adventure (they did the 2 hour Lil Rattler tour and through our hotel we got 10% off). FYI, Pink Jeep Tours is a big one about town but they are very expensive and not family owned, so that was just a bit of a sticking point with me. Nina was their tour guide and she was amazing, really knowing how to make it fun for the kids (in the video footage she engages with them a lot and stops a few times to show them different sites, including some animal carcasses which the kids LOVED and told them ancient Native American folk tales).

(Chapel of the Holy Cross)

Other site seeing options include Chapel Of the Holy Cross, which is a chapel built right into the side of the hill and offers a pretty incredible view. Rock seeing is fun too, especially for the kids. Shapes like bears, Snoopy and gorillas can be spotted in the rock formations, or you can let the kids have their own imagination and identify what they see. Traveling with kids your options are obviously a little more limited because there are beautiful hiking trails to explore and spas and art galleries galore. But considering our travel companions and our time constraints, this is what we managed to do and felt fulfilled enough with our short trip to Sedona.

(gorilla rock)

(Snoopy rock)

(view from Chapel of the Holy Cross)

I forgot to share where we stayed while there. We stayed at the Orchards Inn right in downtown Sedona. It was clean and comfortable but in the future I'd probably stay somewhere a little more tucked away. Don't get me wrong, Sedona shuts down at 6 or 7 pm so we didn't have loud noise to contend with, but our room was right over a restaurant. The Hyatt was just up the street and was about $25 more per night than the Orchard Inn and a better location. Friends have stayed at the L'Auberge and loved it, but more for a romantic getaway.

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know that after leaving Sedona we traveled to Scottsdale and spent a couple of days wieth my best friend and her new baby. I wont' share that part of our trip because we don't ever do much there but visit and eat :)

The last thing I'll mention before ending this very long post is that the timing of our trip was pretty much perfect. The Grand Canyon was busy, but not overly crowded like summer and spring can be. It was cold, mainly at night, but definitely bearable. We planned late and booked our hotel just 2 days before but if you plan a bit more in advance you'd have more prime options for lodging. The weather overall during our trip was pretty much perfection. Crisp air and blue skies with just a bit of snow in the Grand Canyon and on our drive into Sedona. Overall I can't recommend December enough as the time to take this sort of trip.

I hope this wasn't too boring? It took me for some reason a very long time to recap this info, so please if you made it through to the end leave a note saying hi so I know all my work wasn't in vain :) And this will be the last you will ever hear about our trip. Even I'm tired of talking about it now :)

Road Tripping Part Uno - The Video

2012-01-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

For the next two days I'm going to be posting about our 5 day road trip through the Southwest, so if you have no interest in reading about the Grand Canyon or Sedona and Scottsdale, then I guess I'll see you back in a couple of days. But of course I do hope you'll stick around. When our friends heard we were planning this trip, many of them asked me to share as much info about lodging, sightseeing and other tips as I could, so hopefully these posts will be both informative and picturesque.

I can easily say that this was the best trip we've taken together as a family. It's not that the trip was perfect or "amazing" in any particular way, it's just that it was simply simple. Besides the fact that travel, especially road tripping, with kids gets easier as they get older, our destinations were truly special. Plainly said, there's a reason why a whole genre of film was inspired by the Southwest territory; the region is just magical. Steeped with legend, eerie mysticism and breathtaking scenery, and of course graced with one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, there's no other place like it. We as a family were happy, peaceful, content on this trip, more than we ever have been on a vacation. I will never forget it.

I thought I'd start with a video montage of some of my favorite pictures, so as not to load down each post with 60 photos. The video is set to the song of our trip, Young Blood by The Naked and Famous. Since I can remember, Art and I have always chosen a song to go along with each trip we take. It always happens organically after our trip, when we look back and think about what song for one reason or another stuck out in our mind the most. For some reason this one just did; I played it over and over. I guess I find it kind of soothing. Also on our playlist were songs by Bibio, M83, Cake, College, Young the Giant. After the video I'll show you a snippet of our road trip playlist, just in case you're a music nut and are into that sort of thing. I find that we always end up bringing all these songs with us but end up only listening to about 20% of them. I guess this is our 20% here. Do you guys create playlists for trips too, and what are some of your favorite road trip songs?

So anyhow, here's the video...it makes me tear up each time I watch it. It really does. I'm such a crazy sap. There's something so cool that I've always loved about road trips and having the people you love the most locked in a car with you for hours at a time. It's like I have them all to myself. Okay that sounds really weird doesn't it? Like I'm some psycho that wants to lock up my husband and kids and stare at them all day. Sorry, it's late and before I creep out anymore readers I better go. Night night.

I'll be back tomorrow with more travel specifics; where we stayed, where we ate, what we did, etc. See you then! Oh, and I'm linking up with Heather for Hello: I Love You!

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Style Shift

2012-01-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

{sweater - Madewell; chambray shirt - Kohl's; cafe capris - J. Crew; pearls - vintage; chain necklace - diy by me;

watch - Michael Kors; handbag - Kate Spade; leopard flats - Boden}

I've noticed a shift in my style in the past couple of months. I'm gravitating towards the following:

layered looks
pearls and other bauble necklaces
classic bottoms, like these capris
interesting flats

Because I've been going with more simplified looks lately, like here and here, I'm finding the need to make them a little more interesting by layering more, or using more accessories. It's always fun to go through a little shift in personal style. I turn 36 this year (wow) and as I continue to grow into this skin of a woman in her "mid 30's" I'm finding that I don't have much time, or room in my closet for items that are anything but timeless, classic, comfortable. We'll see how long this stage lasts...

p.s. I think my new year's resolution for this blog should be to plan outfit shots better and no longer take them in the parking lot of my husband's office building. It seems we've switched from the front of my house to here.

Linking up with Monday Mingle at Glamamom and Lindsey for WIWW

Style Inspiration - Sorbet & Macaroon

2012-01-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

{Alice & Olivia images via Style.Com, Polaroid borders created by me using Pugly Pixel extras}

In between editing images last night from our trip, I browsed around Style.com and began to get inspired by Spring 2012! It's just around the corner, and the temps here in southern California this week tell me so; high 70's all week baby. Of course we'll hit our usual cold spell come February, but until then I'm really enjoying these images from Alice & Olivia and J.Crew's spring 2012 collections. Still lots of color, but more muted, softer, paler shades of sherbet, pistachio and lemon. They remind me of pretty macaroons or ice cream flavors. And I'm in love with all the capris and midi skirts. I can't wait to use these images to inspire some of my own style posts in a couple of months.

And I'm not sure what's come over me, but I've suddenly been hit with a bit of blogging inspiration myself and brainstormed some fun posts for the coming weeks; posts that are both helpful and interesting (I hope - maybe I shouldn't over promise anything). At any rate, it's the new year and I'm feeling refreshed! Helping to get me a little more motivated to have fun here are the Pugly Pixel extras I recently signed up for. For $5 you get 30 day unlimited access to her fantastic Photoshop gadgets, like the tinsel brush I used to create the Happy New Year lettering in this post, and the Polaroid borders for this post. Go check her out if you're interested in some top-notch, fun and quirky extras. Have a great Tuesday folks! Off to do a little Meals On Wheels delivering and then to finally return some things at the mall.

{J. Crew images via Style.Com, Polaroid borders created by me using Pugly Pixel extras}

Goals - Not Resolutions & Realizing Your Weaknesses

2012-01-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

Have I ever told you that I once had a line of baby clothes called Baby Taylored? Well I did, and boxes of inventory still sit in my garage, waiting for I don't know what. As my maternity leave after giving birth to Taylor came to an end, I was forced to make the decision of going back to work at St. John as an Account Executive, working long hours during quarterly market appointments, or take a risk and stay at home. I went back to work for a week, and the pull of my first born child was so strong that I walked into my bosses office, broke down in tears and told her I couldn't do it, and so I resigned.

With the help of Art and his knowledge of Photoshop, and the artistic skills of my sister in law Carrie, I started a line of graphic tees and onesies called Baby Taylored in hopes of generating a nice little side income, and to keep me busy. This was almost 7 years ago now so it was right on the cusp of the graphic tee craze; at the time only high-end baby boutiques carried cute, hip onesies emblazoned with catchy sayings and artistic images. Old Navy and Target hadn't yet caught on with this trend, but later would of course usurp the small companies selling their onesies for $28-$32 a pop, offering theirs for the ridiculous price of $5 each.

Anyhow, we took images like drum sets and turn tables (remember my love of DJ'ing?), fire trucks and old Santa Fe trains and made them cooler by morphing them in Photoshop, and then having them screen printed on onesies and tees. I focused on having everything made locally, sourcing my tees and onesies from American Apparel and then having the garment dyed right here in Downtown LA by the same dye house who at the time was responsible for dyeing the millions of Juicy Couture velour sweat suits that would clothe housewives like myself from coast to coast. The focus was on quality and craftsmanship and I was really targeting boy's wear since my sister and brother had both recently had boys and the market for hip baby boy clothes was null and void. I of course produced some cute girly tees; graphic images of lotus flowers and cool paisleys in colors other than standard girly pink came out beautiful.

Once I had a full line of clothes, I literally packed my bag up and shopped it around the Fashion Mart in downtown LA. At the time floor 4 housed all the children's ware showrooms so I walked in one by one and introduced myself, asking to speak to the person who ran the showrooms. I still can't believe I did that sometimes when I think about it. Talk about ballsy. I was turned down about 10 times before I came to Nicole's Showroom, owned by a French woman who mainly carried high end European brands, her largest line being Catimini. Made entirely in the USA and a bit edgier than what she had in her showroom, she felt my line of tees filled a niche that she hadn't yet captured, and since her clients were used to selling higher price points, $28 per tee would be no problem at all. We were officially in business.

During the first market I was picked up by 11 different boutiques in several different states. Within 2 weeks of shipping, I had reorder requests for some of the most popular styles from at least 5 different boutiques. I was thrilled, but as I got ready to work on the next season of tees, I did something some would later call stupid and crazy; I called up my old boss and asked if there were any openings. While I had managed to keep myself busy with this new business venture, I also deeply missed the human connection and camaraderie that comes from working in an office with a group of people you admire and respect. And to be honest, working for yourself is hard, and sometimes depressing and lonely. There's no one to fall back on when you fail, no one else to blame. It's all you. And that scared the crap out of me. Those 10 rejections I initially received when trying to shop my line around were enough rejection to let me know that I may be too sensitive to be a business owner. Yes, Baby Taylored was off to a good start, but what if the inspiration well ran dry and shops no longer picked up my styles? What if I got dropped from the showroom? What if it all just failed?

And so I quit before I ever really gave it a chance to begin, too afraid of the possibility of failure. When Taylor turned 1 years old, just 6 months into my business venture I went back to work full time as the West Coast Regional of Stores.

When I ended up leaving St. John for good 3 years later, this time I started another line of kid's clothing, but focused on handmade items sewn by me under the name Four Flights of Fancy, and I went the route of Etsy and local craft fairs. Again, it got off to a fair start but I quickly discovered that I much more enjoy sewing for fun than for profit. Just 3 months after opening my Etsy shop I went back to work full time at James Perse, closing down my Etsy shop indefinitely.

And now here we are, 8 months after leaving James Perse I've managed to stop the pattern of quitting jobs and starting clothing lines. But still, I feel the need to have "something" of my own. And by something, I mean something that not only keeps me busy but also generates income. (These are my own hang-ups by the way, none created by a husband demanding me to pull my weight or else). The natural choice was of course this blog. And so I've gone the route of a redesign, done my best to generate quality content, and racked my brain day and night trying to figure out the winning combination that will help shoot my blog to some sort of marginal success.

What I've learned is that I put way too much pressure on myself, and when things don't hit the rate of success that I expect, I get very disheartened. Not the best trait to have when trying to be an entrepreneur of sorts. What I've learned about blogging is that sometimes it's luck, sometimes it's timing, and sometimes it's a combination of content and networking that help catapult you to success. Content can always be improved and I can commit to working on that, but it's the online networking part that scares me at times. I love being social, but sometimes I grow resentful of having to be strapped to a computer to do it. I'll go days when I tweet up a storm and then get so burnt out I take a 3 day detox where I stay silent. I guess I just haven't built up my social networking stamina to the appropriate degree it needs to be.

So while last year at this time I made a large commitment to a blog project that I had a hard time following through with online, although did follow through with in real life which is most important, this year I make no commitments or goals for this blog other than to stay true to myself. What that means is to stop trying so hard to find that "winning combination", just relax and be me, and blog about what's important and interests me. With that being said though, the one other thing I know about blogging is that it doesn't just happen in a vacuum and I have to give to get. I make a goal to become a more active member of the blogging community and cultivate relationships online that are not just goal oriented in purpose, but are also meaningful.

I've never been one to make resolutions each year, but in the spirit of the new year, and since I created a goal for my blog, I thought I better create a few goals for myself and my family, and so in no particular order my goals are:

Personal goal - worry less - about everything.
Relationship goal - don't be so hard on people, friends and husband included; no one is perfect.
Health goal - be a source of encouragement for Art to adopt a fitness routine and be supportive of him sticking with it.
Spiritual goal - pray more - during times of worry ask Him to help ease my fears, and in time of joy, thank Him for my blessings.
House goal - create a working space that is organized and will help to inspire creativity.
Motherly goal - be more patient
Financial goal - create a plan!
Misc. side goals - be on time and write more handwritten notes.

Do you make resolutions or goals?

It's good to be home from our 5 day road trip adventure and I'm looking forward to a week of cleaning and organizing, and also downloading the over 800 pictures we took on our trip. We had a wonderful time and I look forward to sharing our trip with you. It's the new year and while it doesn't' necessarily feel different, the air is somehow charged with the excitement of new beginnings, fresh starts and open paths to adventure. I pray that this year most of all, I will be open enough to take advantage of all of them.

I don't think I say it enough, but thank you so much for reading. Happy New Year friends!

Favorites of 2011

2011-12-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

("Tinsel" Happy New Year made using Pugly Pixel's Photoshop tinsel brush)

Greetings from Sedona Arizona friends! We're currently on a road trip visiting the Grand Canyon, Sedona and finishing off in Scottsdale. As a parent you sometimes think these trips you take are for the kids; to give them new experiences, open up their eyes to sights they've never seen. But after visiting the Grand Canyon I can tell you with 100% certainty that trips like these are for us adults. As I viewed the Grand Canyon at sunset for the first time in 17 years, tears filled my eyes and I knew that I never ever appreciated the beauty of it when I was a teenager like I did that night. We've taken over 500 pictures in just 2 days but I don't think any of them will give me that same feeling I had seeing it again in person the other night.

So while we're road tripping I thought I'd take a look back on the last year of the blog and share some of my favorite posts of 2011. I feel like I came a long way this year in my blog; starting a whole DIY and Recipes section, opening up a lot more about myself, improving my photography skills, and overall just having more fun. There were times when I was definitely discouraged about the growth of the blog, but even when I was discouraged I continued to write and post, which tells me that I'm blogging for the right reasons, because I love it. So here we go...

Favorite Recipe Post: Grandma Tita's Spanish Rice. While this wasn't the most popular recipe post or the best photographed (my GAWD look at how orange the rice came out!), it was my favorite because of the story I wrote with it. This post in a way embodies some of my most fond and most awkward memories of childhood; love of family and childhood insecurity. We ate Mexican food last night here in Sedona and Art said to me "they've got nothing on your Spanish rice." While this rice may not look 100% appetizing, trust me it is soo good. Try it in 2012!

Post I'm Most Proud of Writing: Letting Go of Looking Good. In 2010 I had briefly mentioned the death of my eldest brother in a post, but it was so brief you could have missed it. In this post I finally opened up a bit about losing my brother, and walked that fine line a lot of bloggers struggle with; over-sharing. Later as I was writing my life list I also touched on the subject in this post.

Favorite Style Post: Dressing For You. I love this post not so much because of the outfit but because it had a purpose other than just to show off a cute look. In 2011 I'd like to try and do most of my outfit posts in this way; describe why I put the look together, the thought process and even tell a story.

Favorite DIY Post: Seed Bead Necklace. My favorite and according to Pinterest, yours too!

Favorite Family Post: Kids In the City, recapping our very first NYC trip with the kids.

Favorite Kid's Craft: Growing Your Own Grass Eggs which were later turned into grass egg centerpieces for Easter dinner.

Thanks so much guys for a great year and for all the support, encouragement and inspiration via emails, comments, Pins and your own personal blogs. I love the community of blogging, and look forward to a wonderful 2012 with you all!

Lots and lots of love,
Andrea

Seasonal Cocktail - Clementine Margaritas

2011-12-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

This time of year it seems I've always got clementines coming out the wazoo. Between neighbors, CSA boxes and usual trips to the grocery store where the kids always beg for the 5 lb bag I have enough clementines to stave off scurvy for a ship full of sailors for a year. We hosted a pre-Christmas bash last week and I put those cuties to good use, making these simple clementine margaritas for the adults.

Apologies for the hastiness of the shots; it was 2 pm and my parents were about to come over. I didn't want to have to explain why I was making margaritas in the middle of the afternoon. "Why are you drinking margaritas at 2 o'clock in the afternoon Andrea? That's not a good example for the kids. Wait, you aren't going to drink that? Give me that then, you can't waste good tequila!" So here goes, all you'll need are 4 ingredients:

Start by salting your rim if you are so inclined and pour in some ice, then add in a nice shot of tequila.

Now start juicing your clementines. For one beverage you'll need about 3, so if you're making them for a large group, I suggest getting at least a 5 lb bag and using a juicer to help the process along.

Once you're satisfied with your juice level, add in a splash of agave and a splash of tonic water

Give it a good stir and taste!

Garnish with a clementine twist and/or a wedge and enjoy! This would make a great cocktail for a small New Year's Eve celebration at home with a few friends.

Sequins - 1 Style 9 Ways

2011-12-27T00:52:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone and welcome back to semi-reality. How were your holidays? I hope they were wonderful. We had a great Christmas, but I am admittedly still recovering from 4 days in a row of celebrations. By 8pm on Christmas Day I was getting into pajamas while we still had a house full of guests. Some days I have no shame. I don't really have any Christmas pictures to share, as we got caught up with taking lots of video footage and forgot to also take the usual 500 pictures, but either way we have some great memories captured on camera. So instead of the obligatory Christmas post, I thought I'd fast forward and move onto a style post giving you some ideas on how you can get extended wear out of sequins throughout the year.

There's a pretty good chance that many of you picked up something with sparkle over the holidays, either a skirt or a top, but some of you may be wondering just what to do with it after the Christmas and New Years Eve are over. I decided to flex my styling muscles a bit and see just how far I could take my own sequins top from The Loft, and I was able to rework it 9 different ways, all with items I already had in my closet. So if you're looking for some inspiration to get some longevity out of your sparkly something, here are a few ideas.

{look 1: Cafe capri - J. Crew; flats - Prada; pearls - estate sale find}

This first look is probably my favorite. Simple, yet still sophisticated, I could see myself wearing this out to lunch with a friend, something I've been trying to make more of an effort to do.

{look 2: skirt - Gap; flats - Gap with added studs by me; belt - St. John; necklace - Carole Lee}

I wore this exact same outfit to Christmas Eve service at church, and then to our family celebration. I felt pulled together and festive without feeling too glitzy.

{look 3: jeans - Gap; blouse - James Perse; Hunter Wellies - estate sale find; necklace - H&M}

To be honest I don't know how often I'd see myself wearing this outfit, but I love it just for fun. Just where could I wear this to? Any ideas?

{look 4: pants - Forever 21; smoking flats - Ralph Lauren estate sale find}

This is my second favorite look and would be perfect for just having friends over at home. The navy pants and smoking flats make it a little less formal and heavy looking and would work great going into spring.

{look 5: jeans - Gap; heels - Chloe}

This is my husband's favorite look. It's fun and flirty and would be perfect if I were a bit younger and going to a bar perhaps? But since I don't often frequent bars, I'll leave this look for you younger gals ;)

{look 6: blazer - Nordstrom; jeans - Ann Taylor Loft; booties - Target}

You might recognize this look from the Camp Mighty team dinner. I still love the simple all-black look and the casual spin I put on it.

And since Christmas and New Year's Eve aren't the only holidays to celebrate all year long, here are a couple of more ideas for an evening party.

{look 7: silk blouse - J.Crew; pencil skirt - St. John; suede pumps - Banana Republic}

This is the perfect throw together outfit for all you ladies working in an office. Simple pencil skirt and blouse by day, and for an after-work cocktail event, just layer on some sparkle.

{look 8: skirt - Ann Taylor Loft; booties - Stuart Weitzman}

For those of you that have been reading for the last year, you might remember this outfit from our 2011 New Year's Eve celebration. Still a classic a year later. Can't go wrong with gold and sparkle.

{look 9: skirt - Zara; booties - Stuart Weitzman}

This final look was the castaway outfit from the Camp Mighty party, but I still love it. For the right occasion such as a cocktail party with close friends I would still wear it.

I hope you enjoyed this little styling session and please let me know if you have any other ideas, or better yet, links to your holiday outfits.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. As we recover from a late night and an early morning of fun, I was thinking a bit about my childhood Christmases. I have to say that my mom did a dang good job of always making Christmas as magical as possible for us, amidst everything that was going on. My happiest memories of childhood always center around Christmas time. Maybe it was because it was the time of year when everything did seem to be perfect. Extended family got together, Grandma made biscochitos and through lots of lay away and penny pinching, Santa was always able to somehow get us what was on our list. Christmas time was so happy in fact, that I would feel a deep sense of longing for weeks, usually until Valentine's Day. I distinctly recall as a kid coming across an old Christmas issue of Woman's Day in a doctor's office in January. I saw the cover, filled with Christmas cheer and was so sad it brought me to tears knowing that I'd have to wait another 11 months to see twinkly lights and big red bows.

Now as I look at my kids, with their childhood so different than my own, I wonder if their memories of Christmas time will be as sweet. Year round their little lives are filled with so much fun and activity, will Christmas memories be so sharp in comparison to their everyday? I hope so, I really, really do. Either way, I'm so thankful and happy to have my little family, with these 2 special kids to dote on and spoil just a bit.

Merry Christmas friends. I am so thankful for you all that do read and have become a special part of my life this year. It's been quite fun and I can't wait to share every more in 2012. I wish you all a warm and magical rest of the day.

Well Done Guys

2011-12-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

The Glamourai vs. John Januzzi - see the full spread here

While not quite as hilarious as Handmade Ryan Gosling or as witty as Suri's Burn Book, the web pose-off Lucky Magazine did today pitting some of the best known style bloggers against their male counterparts did give me quite a chuckle. Well done guys, well done.

For the first time ever, baking extravaganza was not completed in one night. My mom and I were both too tired to finish sifting and rolling. I'm pooped and I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Have a great Thursday - 3 days till Christmas you crazy fools!

Man Repeller vs. a dude

Sea of Shoes Jane vs. a dude

The Style Student vs. a dude

Playgrounds & Lollipops - In the Pink

2011-12-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

{blouse - james perse; blazer - nordstrom; skirt - gap; belt - st. john; shoes - diy by me}

I absolutely fell in love with this skirt at the gap the other day (scored it for $23), but I think it needs some tweaking. I plan to let out the hem a bit so it's longer, and I think I'll try it with a more form fitting top next time. I got dressed in a rush this morning and now that I look at the pictures, it's all a bit too loose for me. I'm imagining a tight black turtleneck for the rest of winter, and in summer, a tight white tank with black sandals would be a fantastic look.

Tomorrow is our annual baking extravaganza day, and then Thursday we're hosting 7 families for a new tradition we started last year; Christmas sing along night. Art will play Christmas carols on the sax and/or piano and we all sing along. Our version of small town caroling I guess. Looking forward to a great rest of the week. What all do you guys have planned for the next few days leading up to Christmas?

Daily Buzz Style 9x9 Challenge - DIY Studded Ballet Flats

2011-12-19T22:59:00.000-08:00

Studded ballet flats are all over the place and I absolutely love the look of the the edgy studs mixed with the sweetness of the ballet flat. I found these pyramid studs a while back at Michael Levine for the very affordable price of about $2.50 a package. I picked up a few different finishes and sizes and took them home with me, knowing I'd soon find a use for them. Inspiration came when the weather turned and I transitioned from flip flops to my super comfy and super soft Gap City Flats. I had a feeling the pyramid studs would look great on a pair. So if you'd like to make a pair for yourself, here's what you'll need:

If you'll notice, the pyramid studs have sharp prongs on the back - these are perfect for poking through the leather. If you can't find them locally, I did a google search and found hundreds of suppliers of all shapes and sizes of studs. This site, albeit kinda scary goth looking, seems to have a wide selection at great prices. The sizes of my studs btw were about 5/8" and 3/8".

I experimented on an old pair of Gap City Flats first just to make sure the studs would poke through and would not also poke me. Simply poke the stud through the leather.

You'll see the prongs come through the back side.

Now use your pliers to firmly push them all the way down - you don't want anything poking you. Repeat in whatever pattern you wish, adding as many or as little as you'd like. Keep in mind that with the city flats they are all squished up and so you're going to want to stretch the shoe out as you go so you make sure you get your spacing right.

Try them on for size and to make sure they feel good. Yup, they feel nice - SUCCESS!

So now I'm going to try attaching the studs to this black suede pair of flats, also from the Gap. I got these for less than $24 the other day. What is it with the Gap lately anyhow? Every time I go in there they're doing some super duper promotion where the entire store's like 99% off. If you ask me they're conditioning us to never pay full price again. We'll walk in tomorrow expecting to get a $69 pair of jeans for $5 and when they say no, sorry, we won't even know what to do. Anyhow....back to the shoes. Sorry.

So the thicker suede proved to be a little tougher to poke through, especially for the smaller gold studs I used in this pattern, so I enlisted the help of a leather needle I had on hand from this project. I created a tiny hole for the prong to poke through first. Now I'm all about using what you've got when it comes to DIY'ing, which is why I used the leather needle. I'm sure a leather punch would have been much better suited to the job, but I have no use for a leather punch in the foreseeable future, so leather needle it is.

Now often times the studs didn't poke all the way through this thicker suede, which ended up being fine. At first I was stressing about trying to get them to poke through and my fingers really started to hurt. Then I realized by chance that if I just got through the first layer of the suede, then crimp them down, they secured themselves just fine.

I created a simple pattern of varying sizes and a matte and shiny gold finish. And I absolutely love how they came out! The gold against the black suede is fantastic and really stands out without looking gaudy or flashy.

I swear they look even better on. It got too late and too dark for me to get a picture wearing them today, but first thing tomorrow I'm taking a picture and I'll post it here.

I was very excited to be chosen to participate in the Daily Buzz's 9x9 Style Challenge for December. My challenge was to create a DIY gift and while I can think of many ladies in my life that would enjoy these, I kinda think I'm going to keep these for myself ;)
also linking up with Today's Creative Blog

Client Holiday Cards

2011-12-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

For the past 5 years we've sent the standard "happy holidays" Hallmark type card to my husband's clients, but this year we've grown from 2-4 employees and wanted to do something a little different. Different and special 1 week before Christmas. We don't procrastinate or anything ;) But Heather L. Myers pulled it through for us so I just thought I'd share our client card and give a little mention to Heather. We're so happy with how it turned out. The pop of orange with the fun and modern font choice work really well with the image my husband works to convey to his clients.

We sent her our logo and picture early Saturday morning, and she had a first mock up to us within a couple of hours. With one simple edit we had our final proof complete and she even downloaded the file straight to Costco for us, ready for pick up later today. Talk about Christmas miracles. She may kill me for mentioning this the week of Christmas, but if you've put off ordering your cards to now, she might be able to help you out. She can do custom designs, plus she has many great designs already available in her shop.

And girls, the boy on the far left is taken, just in case any of you were wondering. It's usually the first question most lady clients ask my husband when he walks in the door. I swear some of them even break their computers on purpose ;)

Lost and Found - Songs of the Season

2011-12-18T22:44:00.000-08:00

{what a magical scene - source}

Yesterday I lost my wallet somewhere between Hot Dog On a Stick and Aaron Brothers. My husband bought it for me 5 years ago this Christmas and I discovered it was gone when I went to buy tickets for us to see A Christmas Story at our old local theater. While Art and the kids went inside to watch the movie, I was stuck in the bathroom calling each place I had visited, to no avail. No one had found the wallet. I then started the tedious task of cancelling all our credit cards.

Three hours later I retraced my steps and went to Aaron Bros, even though they had already told me they didn't have it. I walked in and the manager saw me and said "Hey you left your wallet!" I screamed,cried, and ran around the counter and hugged her I was so happy at the very unexpected news (I probably have problems respecting people's boundaries but she didn't seem to mind). So thankful for small miracles, we went out and celebrated.

On the way home we drove through the neighborhood listening to Christmas songs on Kost 103.5 and looked at Christmas lights. Harry Connicks' version of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer came on and we loudly sang in the car. The lost wallet incident reminded me to celebrate the little things, be thankful for everything, and appreciate all this season has to offer, especially 30 days of Christmas songs on the Kost.

I know some grow tired of Christmas songs by December 1st but I am a complete sucker for Christmas songs, and I keep a stack of our favorite CD's readily available to play in the house and the radio doesn't leave Kost from December 1st till January 1st. I thought I'd share my top 10 (okay maybe top 15 because 10 is really hard to choose) Christmas songs of all time, and would love to hear some of your favorites. With thousands of songs out there, and hundreds of different versions of some favorites, it's always fun to discover a new gem. So please share in the comments! So here goes...

15. Winter Wonderland - Lena Horne's version
14. Little Drummer Boy - Bob Seger's version
13. This Christmas - Donny Hathaway
12. Jingle Bells - Smokey Robinson & The Miracles' version
11. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee's version
10. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - Harry Connick Jr's version
9. Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics
8. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - U2
7. Last Christmas - Wham, but Taylor Swift's version is a good rival to the original
6. O' Holy Night - Bing Crosby
5. Silent Night - Frank Sinatra
4. The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole's version
3. White Christmas - Bing Crosby
2. Baby It's Cold Outside - Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone
1. Do They Know It's Christmas - Band Aid

I know this song may be a bit of an unconventional choice, especially for #1, but this song above all others still gives me chills every single time I listen to it. I think it has a lot to do with strong, vivid memories of hearing this song over and over again while growing up, and the fact that it had almost all of the top British icons singing in it at the time. George Michael, Sting, Boy George, Phil Collins on the drums. The only thing that could make this song better is if it had Morrissey in it. One other note, four of my favorite songs all came from this Old Navy CD I bought in store years ago. A completely random purchase but a good one and we've listened to this CD at least a hundred times over the years. It's still available, so maybe give it a try!

Well it's the week of Christmas and I hope you are all not stressing too much and are enjoying this very special season. My shopping is done so it's time to really sit back and relax a bit this week. I'm looking forward to it! Happy Monday everyone!

Gifts and Beeswax

2011-12-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

As of today Syd is officially on vacation, whereas Taylor's been off for two whole weeks already. To be honest I'm a little scared of what the next two weeks will hold for us. They say (who is the ever elusive "they" by the way?) that girls are easier than boys when they are younger, and boys are easier than girls when they are older and at this point I'm just praying that "they" are right. Syd is a bundle of emotions and always has been since the day he was born. Moody, dramatic, intense and full of passion, no one has ever been able to push my buttons like he does.

The last few weeks he's really been skating on thin ice and our relationship has been up and down. Taylor and I spent a lovely morning alone today and within 2 minutes of picking up Syd from his last day of school, drama ensued. Something about a punching balloon and a Frisbee he brought home for dad, I'm still not really sure. Ten minutes later he was flailing himself on the ground in the middle of BofA because he wanted the lollipop his sister got. Bad parenting? Almost 7 years into this parenting gig I'm wise enough now to know that it's not the case. Each kid is different, they all have their strengths and different personality traits and I'm just trying my best to figure out how to ride this wild wave with Syd.

Some days I do a really good job at staying calm and keeping him busy and thus, our family stress free. Other days not so much, and I admittedly do a real shitty job. Some days are a combination of both, like Wednesday where we spent the afternoon making the rest of our teacher gifts for his preschool teachers and speech therapist. Overall a very nice day, although a little chaotic when 7 kids and burning candle wax are involved. He shyly gave each teacher their homemade present today, along with a little glittered poinsettia plant from Trader Joe's, which are quite cute by the way. He begrudgingly accepted hugs from each of his teachers and then ran to circle time to play with the Lego's in order to escape all the mushy gushy lovey dovey stuff. I shook my head at him, but of course knew I couldn't expect anything less of him. After all he doesn't even really let me hug him.

Yup, it's been a rough few weeks, and even though I really don't 100% feel this way right now, still a little miffed from the BofA incident, I know that someday soon all this will pass and he'll be the one sweetly coming home from school to greet me and give me a peck on the cheek while his sister breezes in and barely acknowledges me with an eye roll before slamming her bedroom door.

And I know it's Christmas time and everything is supposed to be perfect and all, but just trying to keep it real ;)

By the way, if you're interested in making your own sweet beeswax candles for some gifts next week, they are really easy to make. My friend Laura has been making them and selling them at local craft fairs for the last couple of months. I purchased a few from her to begin with but we loved them so much we asked her to come over and teach us how to make them. All you really need is some beeswax (we used all natural local beeswax from a supplier in Long Beach), a couple of silicone molds and wicking string. The tree and pinecone is a mold that you just simply pour the wax into and let dry. The sweet dinner candles are made by dipping the wicking string in wax over and over until nice and thick and the shape of a taper candle. You can add decorative waxed punches in fun shapes and colors (this was the kids favorite part). Laura is the absolute expert though and we loved spending the afternoon with her and her sweet girls. She's the ultimate earth mama and is always a joy to be around. Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions; I'll do my best to answer them :)

Napa

2011-12-14T20:37:00.000-08:00

They say you're never supposed to start a blog post with an apology, but I feel I must apologize in advance for the photo heavy post. Over 20 must be a record for me. We had a truly amazing time in Napa, especially visiting it for the first time. We were able to see the beauty of the region from a truly fresh set of eyes. It's been almost three years since we took a vacation; one of the inconveniences of being your own boss, never being able to truly get away, but we settle for little trips here and there two to three times a year. This trip to Napa was our 2nd mini trip of the year, and the first time just the two of us. We were on a high of sorts and so took enough pictures to fill up a CF card. We especially took a lot of pictures of just the two of us, something you seem to rarely do once you have children. We must look like a couple of lovesick newlyweds.

Of course I'm no expert of the region, but we traveled with our good friends the Irelands, and it just so happens Sarah's sister lives in Napa and works for one of the wineries there. Because of this we had a bit of an inside scoop on the restaurants to visit. In addition, the whole purpose of the trip was to take the private wine tour of Matthiasson Vineyards that we won at Taylor's school auction earlier in the year. The winemaker Steve has lived in the region for years and has consulted for some great wineries in Napa. He was kind enough to call ahead and set up some pretty incredible tastings for us with some of his clients. I'll list the wineries and restaurants we visited at the very end in case you're interested. For first time visitors the places we went were a good mix of off the beaten path wineries as well as must-see tourist spots. So now for some photos...

Rombauer - ask for Patrick

The Cakebread grounds were impressive and beautiful

Steve from Matthiason using the wine thief - a great guy and even better wine

(the only wine club we joined while there)

Steve set us up with a great tasting at Paraduxx; their grounds were perfect.

Hidden away off the major road, we couldn't have asked for prettier scenery

Jessup Cellars was the only tasting room we actually visited and had a great experience.

One of the only tasting rooms I've ever been to where they actually serve crackers and cheese.

Wineries we visited:
Stag's Leap - a sad start to our trip, the men in the tasting room were not friendly at all and poured all our tastings at once and then walked away. I would not recommend stopping here, even though their wine is a favorite of mine.

Rombauer - great atmosphere and vibe in their tasting room and our pourer Patrick was the epitome of what you'd expect; funny, helpful, talkative and engaging. Of course their wine ain't half bad either, we've long been a fan of their Zinfandel and was excited to try their infamous Chardonnay, otherwise known as Danville crack or Cougar Juice.

Cakebread - a very impressive, extensive tour accompanies your tasting and we had a few wine snobs in our group but we had fun anyhow. By appointment only.

Matthiasson - a small boutique type winery but family owned and operated and I can vouch for the owner and winemaker Steve as a stand up guy. Their White Wine was recently voted in the Top 100 wines of 2011. We joined their wine club and I can't wait to get our first shipment.

Paraduxx - beautiful scenery and great wine. Go there!

Jessup Cellars - fun setting in an art gallery, the gals that work there are fun and knowledgeable.

Where We Ate (coincidentally 3/4 places we ate were in Yountville):
Bottega - Michael Chiarello's restaurant, the decor, vibe and food was outstanding. We all had a great meal

Ad Hoc- For those that know anything about this place, we happened to be visiting on Fried Chicken night. Oh YES! It was incredible, everything ever one we talked to raved about and more. If you're not familiar with this place, they serve a single family style dish each night, so if you don't like friend chicken on Monday nights, you ain't getting anything else!

Market - A wonderful stop in the really quaint town of St. Helena, the best dish of the day were the huevos rancheros Aaron ordered.

Bouchon - Steve brought us in sandwiches and salads from Bouchon, as well as killer brownie bites. A perfect lunch.

*we all agreed that we didn't make a single bad choice for our meals. We were so glad to have planned these all in advance so we weren't scrambling both nights at 7pm for a place to eat. It definitely pays to plan ahead, a first for me.

DIY Ugly Sweater

2011-12-13T23:13:00.000-08:00

We're back from Napa, where we had a wonderful time. I'm anxious to share some photos from our trip, but while I download the hundreds of pictures we took on our trip, I first thought I'd share a silly little DIY I did last weekend for a fun party we went to.

Sarah had an ugly sweater Christmas party last weekend. I initially groaned when she announced it, I'll be honest. Adding a trip to Walmart or the thrift store for a cheap and/or old Christmas sweater was not something I wanted to add to my list of things to do. Party pooper I know. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized I could just make my own ugly Christmas sweater with crap I already owned, and adding it to a sweater from my closet. I've got a box of ribbons, jingle bells and beaded garland. Add some hot glue and a few stitches and I was Good To Go.

After giving the jingle bell bows a few loose stitches, I remembered I had these pins I could use and so busted out the glue gun and called myself a genius. A genius in terms of ugly sweater making. Not necessarily a genius, genius.

OF COURSE I needed a big arse bow to add somewhere on me; like a happy Christmas package all wrapped up. Taylor voted to place it on my butt and Syd voted for my neck. The neckline seemed much more appropriate. Because I am a fan of the epaulettes, I knew the sweater would not be complete without a couple added.

And...TA-DA! I know, the bow in the hair is just the icing on the cake. Adds a nice touch doesn't it?

If you can't laugh at yourself, really, what point is there in life right? I added some choice Christmas accessories including a festive boot necklace and jingle bell bracelet and I was set. I felt a lot like Minnie Mouse. Or a deranged ice skater. People didn't quite know what to make of my ensemble. Many looked me over a few times and asked in a hesitant voice "Did you make that?" Well yes, yes I did. Let's just say, luckily I am happily married because I would not be getting any dates that night looking like this.

While at Target I found some weird pixelated deer t-shirt for Art. He thought it was cool, not ugly. He is a goofball and weirdo.

So the next time you're invited to an ugly sweater Christmas party, don't fret! Instead of running out to the store, grab some crap and affix it to a sweater you already own! Guaranteed you'll be the only homemade ugly sweater wearing diva at the party ;)

So have you guys been to any fun themed holiday parties yet?

Share and Care Project

2011-12-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends, while I'm away I wanted to introduce you to a friend Katie of Minivan Diva who's put together an amazing project to help those in need. Here's Katie to share a bit more...I'll be back on Wednesday to share some pictures from our trip ;)

There is no better time than the Christmas season to reflect on all that we have been given and to teach our children to give back in return.

Giving is also a great way to counteract any serious bouts of "I wants" which seem to plague our home come December.

Inspired by the bags I saw from Joy's Hope over Thanksgiving, I asked my friend Karen if she wanted to join me in the creation of the Share and Care Project.

The idea is simple and affordable.

You first need to gather items from your local bargain store. I found Wisps, beanies, gloves, foot warmers, and lip balm at the 99 cent store and Target dollar bins. I added bottled water, a granola bar, raisins, and a pack of nuts.

The bags are not limited to these items. Mini bags of tissues, McDonald's gift cards, protein bars, etc. are also great items to include.

To make the bags special and personal, the children first decorated homemade sugar cookies, which they of course had to sample. You know, just to make sure they were good!

After decorating cookies, they made Christmas cards to add to their bags.

Each child made a bag. We will store the bags in our car and when the opportunity arises, such as when we see someone with a sign off a freeway offramp, we will hand them the bag.

Even the younger children understood the basic concept that we were meeting together to make a bag for someone who does not have the simple things that we take for granted like a warm, safe house and a refrigerator and pantry full of food.

I encourage you to take part in the Share and Care Project this season. Gather with family, friends, co-workers, or church group and make it happen.

As an extra incentive, try this sugar cookie recipe. It gets raves every time. You will want to share these cookies, trust me!

1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter. Add sugar gradually. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla and cream well. Sift flour and baking soda together and add to mixture. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Roll out on floured surface to 1/8" thickness. Cut into desired shapes. Place on cookie sheet. Bake until very light brown. Cool. Frost and decorate. (Serves 2 dozen large cookies).

Enjoy the time doing something that will bless the lives of others and teach your children the gift of giving. And may you each experience the ultimate gift which we celebrate on Decemeber 25th.

Merry Christmas!

Much love,
Katie

Christmas Mantel

2011-12-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share our Christmas mantel this year, since we've changed it up yet again. This makes the 3rd transformation now for this mantel (see how it looked when we bought the house here, and then after we painted it the first time here). When we painted our house a couple of months back we painted all of the living areas Benjamin Moore's Thunder, and our bedroom Weimerener. For the fireplace we had them mix the two so it would stand out a bit and so it's a 50/50 mixture of those two colors. It does stand out ever so slightly.

I already owned all of the pieces you see (with the exception of the metal pinecone garland), so I thought I'd switch it up a bit and go for a tonal mantel, focusing on silvers and golden bronzes. It's the first time I haven't put any greenery on our mantel, and while I do miss the pop of fresh color a bit, I also love the simplicity of this look. (I took the pictures at twilight so please excuse the graininess of them)

the little trees and moose are from Crate & Barrell

the metal pinecone garland is from Chartreuse

I've collected mercury for the past 4 years now, buying bits and pieces as I find them on sale and at Home Goods. I love the look of mercury glass, especially for Christmas.

the large deer is from Home Goods and the little deer is from Pottery Barn

The piece of art hangs on our mantel permanently and the little deers are what inspired sticking with a deer/pinecone theme. it's from a local artist named Lisa Dawson and she uses a paper/varnish technique.

I think I may go back to using some sort of fresh garland next year, but for now I'm loving this simple, mess free look. Linking up with Rhoda and Beth

Persimmon Cookies

2011-12-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

I made quite the mess this week. While I was baking these cookies I had a moment where I looked around and literally saw 4 loads of unfolded laundry staring at me in the disaster that was my kitchen. I hadn't even finished cleaning up the mess from making pecan snowballs before I started in on these, and don't even get me started on the office which even the kids remarked was "a mess". I thought to myself, 'shouldn't I be better at this by now? Shouldn't I be better at managing my time more appropriately; cleaning up one project before I start another; balancing it all?' I started to get down on myself a bit and even thought about cancelling lunch with a friend so I can stay home and clean. Seriously? Boring and dull. When I'm 80 I'm sure the memories of a perfectly organized and tidy house aren't going to be the ones that keep me going, but rather time spent baking with my kids and friends over lunch.

So I let myself continue to make a mess the rest of the day and try to have fun while doing it. While the mess and chaos that things like baking, crafting and just being lazy bring do drive me a little crazy, I am trying to be better about just letting it go. The mess will still be there when I'm ready for it right? So bake and make messes my friends. And if you're looking for a new recipe to try, perhaps give these a test drive.

The recipe is below and is adapted from one I found on Simply Recipes, but a couple of things to note; your persimmons should be really ripe so that they're almost mushy like the picture above. A few of my persimmons were not that ripe though so I just peeled and cut them up and tossed them in the food processor with the really ripe pulp and pureed them all together and as you can see below the puree turned out just fine. Because persimmons are not as sweet when they aren't fully ripe, I added about a tablespoonful of agave nectar to the recipe to heighten the flavor and cut down on any bitterness. Also, the recipe online calls for 1/4 tsp cloves, but make sure you use ground cloves, not whole cloves. I also added 1/4 tsp nutmeg for a bit more spiciness.

If I sound like a persimmon expert then I've successfully fooled you! I'd never eaten or baked with persimmons before in my life. I was stumped when I got a bunch of these in my CSA box a few weeks ago (yes, I've had these for about 3 weeks and they're still good). I didn't even know what to do with them or how to eat them and in passing I mentioned it to my sister-in-law Kendra. She suggested I bake persimmon cookies, a favorite of hers that her grandmother always used to make for Christmas. Turns out they're abundance this time of year has made them a favorite ingredient for holiday cookies and the internet holds about a thousand recipes.

Also, If you'd like your cookies to come out perfectly round, then do a better job rolling them into a log then I did. The oblong version is the hasty, quick, rushing out the door version.

Persimmon Cookies - adapted from Simply Recipes
Cookies:
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup very ripe persimmon puree
1-2 tbsp of agave nectar added to puree
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cloves (ground, not whole)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:
1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp persimmon puree
1 tsp grated orange peel

Cream butter, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl. Add persimmon puree, stirring until blended.
Stir together dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to persimmon mixture a third at a time, stirring just until flour is incorporated. Stir in nuts.

Lay out plastic wrap on a large smooth surface. Place the cookie dough on the plastic wrap and form into a long cylindrical log, wrapping the dough completely with the plastic wrap. Place in freezer. Chill at least a couple of hours, until frozen or almost frozen.

Preheat oven to 375°F. When dough is fairly solid, unwrap from plastic wrap and slice with a sharp knife, 1/4" thick rounds. Lay out cookie dough rounds on stick-free cookie sheets, leaving at least an inch between the cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies spring back when lightly touched in center. Let cool on baking racks before frosting.

When cookies have cooled, lay out over a sheet of wax paper. Sift confectioner's sugar and then whisk with 2 Tbsp of milk until smooth. Add 1 Tbsp of persimmon puree and 1 tsp of grated orange peel and mix until smooth. Dip spoon into glaze mixture and dribble over cookies. Let harden and serve.

The cookies have a very cakey, almost muffin like texture to them. They're not crisp if that's the kind of cookie you're looking for. The glaze on top adds a bit of citrus flavor and heightens the persimmon flavor, and the walnuts give a great texture to what some may consider a "boring" cookie. For someone like me though that doesn't like really sweet cookies, they're perfect. I ate a couple while cooking dinner and didn't feel like I was totally cheating ;)

In addition to making messes, I took the kids to see the new Muppets movie and it was so cute. It's been so nice having Taylor off of school already. I definitely recommend it for a fun outing with the family. What have you all been up to this week?

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Layered Comfort

2011-12-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

{Sweater - James Perse; Leggings - James Perse; Blouse - American Apparel; Flats - Gap City Flats}

I can honestly say that it's been a year since I've worn a pair of leggings. In a moment of weakness though I slipped these on last week and holy heck why did I ever stop wearing leggings to begin with? Oh the comfort of them is like nothing else. I've worn this exact outfit about 10 times in the last week, which I know is mathematically impossible, but just trying to prove a point here.

I love the proportion of the long blouse serving almost as a tunic with the lofty sweater just thrown on over it. I really feel like this outfit achieves that whole effortlessly chic look while still being so comfortable and practical. So what's been your go-to outfit lately now that the weather's turning? Linking up with WIWW

A Break In Colors of the Season

2011-12-06T08:24:00.000-08:00

a break from the colors of the season for a moment shall we? i've been compiling inspiration images to send to Tristan for the style blog. i think you can see what colors I'm drawn to. soft, muted, yet saturated and festive. while pulling inspiration and scouring images it reminds me that I wish I was a graphic designer and a color expert. but I am neither, I just know what I like, and these images scream to me. even during the holidays when I am surrounded by shades of berry, juniper and rich golds and platinums. and the first shot above is the epitome of my dream style, soft, unexpected and quirky. maybe I should have ordered the Thatchers...

today on the list, bake persimmon cookies, deliver Meals on Wheels and drop off a surprise gift for my secret sister and get a handle on my Christmas list. what are you all up to today?

inspiration image sources were somewhat hard to find, since most of these shots were from pinterest and the original source has been dilluted so much, but I tried my best... #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 my lame design

Christmas Outdoors

2011-12-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

Hey there internet, you are all so helpful I think I'll just turn to you all for all the important design decisions in my life! I loved getting all your feedback over the weekend helping me choose a pair of glasses, thanks so much. I've come to a decision and I'm going with the Preston, although in the Whiskey Tortoise frame, the same as the Thatcher. The Thatcher is still my favorite but since Gina said it looked like I had a unibrow, and my sister said she thought the post was a joke when she saw that first pair, I don't think I can go with those now in good conscious. Besides making important decisions on spectacles, we also watched Taylor walk in the local parade for the first time, picked out our Christmas tree and put finishing touches on our Christmas decorations around the house. I hope you all had a great weekend.

So now let's turn to another design dilemma shall we? Well not quite a dilemma, more of just a curious poll to see who's in the pro-bow camp and who's in the no-bow camp. I'll start by saying that in most facets of my life I'm in the no-bow camp, especially when it comes to home decor. Remember the raffia garland from last Thanksgiving? But Christmas just does something to me and makes me feel like I need bows in my life. Big, colorful, fluffy, shiny bows.

Our old house was a bit more modern in design and so things like bows and garland would've looked a bit silly on it. Like trying to wrap a bow around a Phillipe Starck Ghost Chair . So we hung simple white lights and called it a day.

Our new house though is much more traditional, the whole neighborhood is in fact, and I think it screams for bows, and garland and a big wreath hung from the chimney, which we're doing today!

We had 2 sad little bows from last year that we hung in the middle of our garland and after one Christmas season, they were trashed. See, this is what the one from last year looks like. It's faded and doesn't even hang straight, plus it's really too small for our big windows. Looks like a single chocolate sprinkle on top of a seven layered cake.

I drove by Melissa's house (we live a block away from each other) and she had huge gorgeous bows hung from her very traditional garland on her very traditional porch. She hung hers from each swag point, not just in the middle and it looked great. I thought to myself, "I can make those!" Of course. So herein lies the problem with the internet, it makes you think you can do anything. Even make big fluffy, shiny, professional looking bows, which it turns out, I cannot. And here's the proof:

What a disgrace to the bow making professionals out there. This was my first attempt, which I worked on for almost an hour. First off, I was in a hurry and accidentally bought gold-backed velvet ribbon. Even still, I persisted and went forth with my plan. But they were just pathetic.

I watched these two You Tube videos to try and help me out, and while I'd like to say it was all their fault, I'm sure a lot of it was user error.
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Meghan, aka, Ask the Decorator, produced a clean and very polished video tutorial, but there were a few things in there that had me stumped. Like how much is "a long piece of ribbon?" 3 yards, 10 yards, specifics Meghan, I need specifics. And what and where am I supposed to put the small piece of pre-cut wire that I'm going to "thank you for later"?

Lori's video from Deescrafts was a lot more thorough, but I have to say, the poor production quality of the video had me too distracted to actually learn the proper method of tying a bow. Way too much going on. If you listen closely, doesn't it sound like there is a drum concert going on in the background, in addition to the Christmas music playing?

In the end I went the same route as Melissa and left the bow making to the professionals. Turns out our local Stats makes beautiful big, fluffy over-the-top bows for the low, low price of just $3. I was a true copy cat and chose the same exact matte mylar ribbon as Melissa and I'm pleased as punch with how they turned out. Yes, they are very big, fluffy and sweet, but there's just something endearing about them, especially this time of year.

So bows or no bows? I like mine either way, but just curious how you all decorate for Christmas. Simple and understated or festive and frilly? It's funny because the inside of the house is much more understated and simple, but there's just something about the outside that I find the need to go big or go home.

And P.S. Looking at these pictures really makes me itch to get started on the front yard landscaping. We haven't touched it since we moved in since we've been so focused on the backyard. I'm thinking a maple or two and definitely a crepe myrtle. We're also planning to stucco and paint the fireplace and paint the door black and add black shutters to either side of the big front window. All in due time though, all in due time.

Which Glasses Should I Get?

2011-12-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

It's about time for a new pair of prescription glasses for me, since mine are coming up on 5 years old now. I've been wearing glasses since I was in 2nd grade. I am as blind as a bat. For those of you that wear glasses and are familiar with prescription strengths, my prescription is -6.25 on each eye. I can't even see the alarm clock on my nightstand each morning if I don't have my eyes on.

When I turned 13 and I got braces, my mom allowed me to start wearing contact lenses so that I wasn't the kid with braces and glasses, although now a days I don't think it would even matter since 90% of kids wear braces. Back then though if you wore both it was pretty much a death sentence to uncoolville, and I needed all the help I could get. I've pretty much worn contacts exclusively ever since and only use my glasses at night and in the morning before I put my eyes in. I think if I had a pair I loved though I'd wear them a lot more. So I ordered 5 trial pairs from Warby Parker ($95 for a pair of prescription glasses, yes please!) to try on at home and here's what I chose. But I need HELP guys! I can't decide which pair I like the most, so here's where you come in. Can you please help me decide on a pair? I'd be forever grateful :) Art has been of little help, so I thought since you guys did such a good job helping me pick out my birthday outfit, you'd be just as helpful in this case. So here we go...

First up the Thatcher. These frames are the biggest and boldest by far, but I kinda like the statement they make, plus they are really comfortable. But are they too much?

The Webb is a matte frame and much smaller in comparison. More subtle, but are they too subtle?

The Preston has a really nice matte frame color and I like that they resemble the classic shape of the Ray Ban Wayferer.

The Japhy is probably my least favorite just because it is very similar to a pair I had about 10 years ago. They're nice, but maybe I'm playing it too safe here. At $95 a pair I think I can afford to have a bit more fun?

And lastly, The Sinclair is really nice too. A larger statement but not overpowering. The frame color is nice too.

So what do you think? Please help a girl out because I have to send these back on Monday! Thanks in advance all you tasteful ladies and gents. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Countdown - Bring It

2011-11-30T22:38:00.000-08:00

Alright 24 days of Christmas - BRING. IT. ON. I'm ready for ya.

I like to talk like that sometimes because it makes me feel more gangsta. But really, I'm sooo tired and feeling quite silly and lame that we worked on this advent calendar till past 11 last night. Turns out peeling off 24 numbered labels and 24 sheets of velcro is damn hard work and flipping time consuming. And then trying to line up 24 boxes in 6 neat pretty little rows? Forget about it! We had my yard stick out to get everything all precise, and at one point I just looked up at Mary and said "dude, we are crazy." For reals yo.

But seriously, I'm psyched to start the countdown tomorrow. Are you? Or are you freaking out? Please don't say you're freaked out because then you're gonna freak me out. And for heaven's sake please don't say that you "have all your Christmas shopping done!" in a sing-songy nasally voice because then I'll have to smack you. I can't stand you people that do that. Really, what's the fun of Christmas if you're not running around Target at 10 pm the day before Christmas Eve for stocking stuffers?

Come to think of it, I'm actually really psyched because if anything, I did think ahead for ONCE in my freaking life, and while at the coolest neighborhood toy store Knock Knock on Monday, gathering advent supplies, I bought the kids their stocking stuffers. Hooray for me and not having to buy crap at Target in a heated last-minute panic. I mean don't get me wrong, I still bought crap, but it's cool crap that I won't mind having around. Like those lighted Rail Twirler things from when I was a kid. Bomb diggity.

In other gift giving news, Taylor wants this: a Barbie Carriage from 2006. She plays with it at a friend's house and has been asking for it for months. I started searching for carriages that matched the description she gave me and was coming up dry. So I had her sit with me and scroll through Amazon so, you know, I could "tell Santa exactly which one she wanted" and we couldn't find it. So then I got the idea to search You Tube for Barbie Carriage commercials because You Tube has everything, right? Well I was RIGHT! We watched a bunch of videos and on the 6th one she screams "That's it!". The thing is from 2006 and Amazon has 1 left in stock and it's $69.95. Guaranteed the thing originally sold for $34. Do I get it though since it's the only thing she's asked for or is it a total waste of money?

And ladies, I'm sure you already have a wish list, but in case not, may I make a suggestion? Add a Clarisonic to that list. I got one for my birthday 8 months ago and for the most part it has been a gift that keeps on giving. No more dry patches, cut down on little breakouts and pretty much eliminated the need or desire to get a facial. Get it ladies. Trust me, you won't be sorry.

Happy Festivus guys! The countdown is officially ON!

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Sparkles

2011-11-30T00:22:00.000-08:00

{sparkly shiny top - Banana Republic; pleated skirt last seen here - Trouve; belt - Gap; flats - Gap;

earrings - Ann Taylor Loft; bean necklace - Tiffany; watch - Michael Kors}

Dude, I'm a mom y'all. 100% legit mom because the entirety of my outfit is from Gap, Banana & Ann Taylor Loft. And I style my family for photo shoots in coordinating outfits. I am a mom. And it aint all that bad is it? Love the way our pictures came out this year, taken by the ever talented and lovely Miranda of M. Shanti photo. She is a good friend but she did not pay me to say that. I paid her in fact! Ha! I declared on the way over to the shoot that I don't like taking family photos. It stresses me out man. I know, suburban mom problems. But it does! And then we get there and Miranda is just so relaxed and mellow and chill that you kinda can't help but relax and be chill too. So we chilled out and took pictures. And they were good. And it's late and I'm rambling so I'll go now. Happy Hump Day!

(oh and in case you were wondering, outfits for the whole family came from a combination of Gap, Gap Kids, Mini Boden, Nordstrom and Gymboree. Duh, did you even have to ask? ;) linking up with Lindsey

Advent In Process

2011-11-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

source

I'm admittedly not very good at advent calendars. Rather, I'm not very good at the routine of opening each envelope every day and so days may pass before I remind the kids. And it might be because of their ages or the fact that mom hasn't made a big enough ritual out of the whole process, but the kids have been no better at reminding me in the past. For the past couple of years I made a simple red and green paper chain advent calendar with 24 rings on it and a bible verse attached to each ring that tells the Story of Christmas, from the day Gabriel appeared before Mary to the birth of Jesus. Even something as simple as a paper chain I wasn't very good at though.

This year though I wanted to start over and give the advent calendar the good ol' college try. I think Taylor is finally at the age now where she will hopefully remind me, plus, if I make a big enough calendar and put it in a prominent place, perhaps we would actually remember to joyfully anticipate the advent ritual and each passing day leading up to Christmas. I found the above calendar on Pinterest and I fell in love. The simplicity of it is just perfection. My friend Mary fell in love with it too so we decided to make them together. We ran around yesterday gathering supplies and we'll assemble them tonight. She found a local place where we could buy the kraft jewelry boxes in bulk (100 for $24) and pick them up. If I ever planned ahead I could have had them shipped, but as always, I like to do things the hard way and at the last minute ;) The only adjustment we're making to the original is instead of attaching them with push pins, we're using small pieces of velcro so no tiny pins get lost around the house (Mary has 1 year old twins who still hunt around on the ground for small shiny things). Brilliant idea right?

I'm sure most of you are much better about this and more prepared than I, and if so, you certainly don't need my help. But if by chance you are scrambling to get an advent calendar up in the next 2 days, I thought I'd share this idea. And hey, even if you just want to make a simple paper chain with the Christmas Story countdown attached, you can download my format here on the site. Simply click on the link below and you'll get all 24 verses. They are formatted in a Word label document so you can print them on labels and stick them onto the paper chain, or just print them on pieces of paper and cut out, which is what we're planning to do, and stick them in each box.

download labels here

I'll share the final results in a couple of days when we're done. I'm really excited now and hope this is a firm start of a new tradition. A reminder to stop, slow down and remember each day why we're really celebrating the season. A good lesson in intentionality that's for sure.

So are you guys good about an Advent calendar, or are you more like me?

DIY Acrylic & Chainlink Necklaces

2011-11-27T23:24:00.000-08:00

It's not often I walk into a craft store and don't find something I think I can use. Even if I don't have an immediate use for it, if it strikes my fancy and fits into my budget, I usually pick it up. I found clear acrylic chainlinks at Michael Levine in downtown LA a couple of months back and it was so cheap, at $1.50 a yard I decided to take a couple of yards home and figure out the end-use later. While browsing through a J. Crew store recently, I was struck with an idea and created a couple of versions of fun and colorful chainlink necklaces. Details below as promised...

What you'll need is craft spray paint in whichever colors you wish, chainlinks in silver and/or gold and the clear acrylic chainlinks (you want at least a foot of each chainlink per necklace to make them nice and long). Basic jewelry tools such as a pair of needle-nose pliers and snipping pliers will also be needed, as well as a few jump rings.

Start by spray painting your acrylic chainlinks. The chainlinks are admittedly a little ho-hum in their original clear form, but with a dose of spray paint, they resemble lucite, which is oh so pretty but can also be oh so pricey. I used a bright pink, a royal blue and a neon orange just for fun. For some reason though the orange did not come out right and ended up looking very dusty and dry as opposed to shiny and luminescent.

Once dry, clip your chain links into the desired lengths to give your necklace a sort of sectioned off look as seen in the royal blue and silver necklace. I created 4 different sections; 2 blue and 2 silver to break it up a bit.

Attach the sections with your jump rings and squeeze the jump rings closed

And you're done with version #1. The fun thing about the different sections is you can adjust the necklace as you wish so that one blue section primarily shows just at the bottom or so that both sections show. Total cost of version #1 was about $3 including the silver chainlink which typically sells for $5.50/yd at Michael Levine.

For version #2, it's even simpler. After I created version #1, I decided to do something a little different and attach a single long piece of 18" pink chainlink to an existing chunky gold necklace I already had. Simply take 2 jump rings and attach them to each end of the pink chainlink, and then attach to the existing necklace and squeeze the jump rings closed.

And Voila! Total cost for version #2 was less than $1!

I've searched for the J. Crew necklace that I was originally inspired by but it's no longer available online. It most closely resembles version #1 and I saw it in stores about 3 weeks ago and was retailing for $39. I found a similar version online though and can be found here. While the J. Crew necklace uses faceted resin, meaning the links are cut to give them a bit more brilliance, the links I used are smooth but have an almost identical shape and look, just without the cost. This is not to say though that I don't appreciate the look and feel of the more expensive product. I value quality of construction and design and will pay more for a product that I truly think is special and I'll get a lot of use out of. An accessory like this though is probably something I'd never pay full price for in a store. In fact I probably wouldn't buy it at all. It's not about me thinking I can make something just as good, it's more about the fun of being inspired and creating something with your own hands. I've replicated the look, even if it isn't made of the finest materials, and saved myself $39, to which I'll use to buy another chambray shirt ;)

That's what DIY means to me...
Linking up with Tatertots & Jello

New Traditions

2011-11-25T23:48:00.000-08:00

{this year's tablescape - white mini pumpkins, fresh artichokes, variegated gourds & green mums}

Popping in to say hi. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and survived Black Friday. Another year came and went and I have almost zero pictures from turkey day, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless. I promised in my post earlier in the week that I'd have a DIY up for you today but in reviewing the pictures, I'm not happy with the way a couple of them turned out so I'll re-shoot and post on Monday. Stay tuned :)

In the meantime though I thought I'd share a few of the pictures I did get from yesterday. After dinner, the kids decided they wanted to get in the jacuzzi for a little bit. The jacuzzi turned into the pool and before you knew it they were all jumping in to 60 degree water. Even Art jumped in on a dare. He later admitted that it was "uncomfortably cold" even though he tried to act like a tough guy. Perhaps we've started a new turkey day tradition?

Have a lovely rest of the weekend. We plan to hang lights and get out the Christmas decorations tomorrow. I'm also working on checking off an item on my Life List; watching the top 100 movies of all time. We started with Raging Bull tonight and we're moving on to Annie Hall tomorrow night. See you Monday!

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Thanking Chambray & Leopard

2011-11-22T22:32:00.000-08:00

{Chambray Shirt - Kohl's; Black Denim Jeans - Ann Taylor Loft; Lounge Shoes - Boden; Necklace - DIY}

It's the eve of Thanksgiving eve and I'm thankful for an afternoon spent with my daughter, free of the worries of homework or soccer practice. Games of Chutes and Ladders and "try to get me", a little boy that seems to be somewhat on the mend, and a husband that comes home to tell me to go rest while he does bedtime. I'm thankful for chambray shirts and leopard shoes. Oh! And I'm thankful for all of you of course :) While we all settle into the routine of preparing for Thanksgiving, my prayer is that we find a bit of time to ourselves to reflect on and acknowledge the many blessings we have, both big and small.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. God Bless Us Everyone! Oh wait, wrong holiday Tiny Tim!

Psst...I have a Black Friday treat for all you lovely people that are not complete loons and are spending the day at home instead of getting up at the crack of dawn to shop. That little necklace I'm wearing is a DIY I whipped up and will give you the How-To deets on Friday. You know in case you get bored and want to do a little crafting this weekend. I'm here for you is all I'm saying.

And speaking of Black Friday, I saw that Forever 21 will be open on Thanksgiving. What the bleeep/ explative?!? Shame on you Forever 21. And shame on you crazies that actually go shopping there on Thanksgiving. Ok, rant over :)

Linking up with Lindsey for WIWW & Glamamom

2011-11-21T11:18:00.000-08:00

{last years Thanksgiving table}

Happy Monday friends. I hope your weekend was wonderful and restful. Ours was both busy and restful, which is always a nice combination I think. New carpet was installed on Saturday and for the last 2 mornings I've actually been giddy to jump out of bed so I can walk on it. Is it wrong to be thankful for new carpet?

In other not so great news, Syd is sick and has been since Wednesday. He's been fever free for a day now but he is still horribly congested and just all around miserable. I kept him home from school again today and sadly he's missing his Harvest Feast at preschool along with stone friendship soup. He could probably care less but it makes me sad that it's the last time to be a part of this tradition since he'll be starting kindergarten next year.

So we continue to be stuck at home which I guess isn't a terrible thing, and I've made my grocery list for Thanksgiving. We're hosting again and I'm preparing the same exact menu as last year, and the rest of the family will bring everything else. We've made at least a dozen turkeys in our time as a married couple and I promise this recipe is the best we've ever come across. In fact everything we made last year was the best of the best, which is why we're making it again ;) I can wholeheartedly recommend every single one of these recipes, in case you still need some ideas. I wrote a post last year centered around these recipes, in regards to cooking and slaving away in the kitchen for Thanksgiving, and it still is one of my favorite posts I've ever written. My how things have changed for us in the last year.

Pioneer Style Herb Roasted Turkey with Sage Gravy

Sourdough, Wild Mushroom & Bacon Dressing

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate & Vanilla Bean Pecan Butter

Cranberry Fruit Conserve from Ina's Google Doodle

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Caramel Sauce for Bread Pudding

Before I leave you to go back to my sick boy, I wanted to share a favorite tradition of mine that I do to keep our house smelling good throughout the holidays but without burning a ton of money on candles. I've said before that my favorite candle is the Aspen Bay pinecone candle, but at $30 a pop, I can't afford to burn these all day and night. So instead my friend Sarah showed me this trick a few years back.

Simply cut up some orange slices and apple slices, toss them in a saucepan full of water and add a couple of cinnamon sticks and cloves and let simmer on low all day, while at home of course ;) Add fresh water as needed. To save a bit more, I always buy my whole cloves and cinnamon sticks either in the Mexican food aisle of the supermarket, or by the brand It's Delish. This mixture makes the whole house smell like the perfect mix of Fall and Christmas.

On Her Nightstand - Annie of Turning Pages

2011-11-19T01:00:00.000-08:00

I've been a fan of Annie and her blog Turning Pages for a long time, so when she signed on for November Sponsor For a Cause and agreed to a do a guest post, I was tickled pink. Annie is a beautifully gifted writer, and I've told her many times before that she is wise beyond her years. I love Annie's heart for giving and the way she strives to live a better, fuller life. I truly admire her so much and put her on my list of "bloggers I'd like to meet". And lucky for me she loves to read and has really, really good taste in books, so she's here today to share some of her recent reads...

Turns out that writing a guest post for a blogger you admire and respect is more difficult than I first thought. And despite the wide variety of topics that meandered around my head this week, none felt as comfortable or as familiar or as appropriate for Andrea's internet home than the topic I love addressing the most: books. Each month, on my own blog, I recap what I've read and whether I've liked it (and why or why not). Today, you get a preview of what's been on my nightstand so far this season. Happy reading!

Book: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Finished: Early November

I'd been reading hype all over the blog world about this one, and a few months ago, when Borders closed (insert obligatory moment of silence here), I grabbed up my own copy. It took me until our recent vacation to pick it up, though, since I was a little daunted by the book's description. It sounded heavy, and it was, but in the best possible ways. As Jordan and I traveled from our home in Tallahassee to a tiny beach town down south, I became completely absorbed in the world Foer created, a world in which a little boy tries to survive post-9/11, post the death of his beloved father. The book is mesmerizing, and I didn't put it down during the entirety of our seven-hour drive. Foer is a talented storyteller -- you'll fall in love with the heartbreaking main character -- and I was happy to be his eager listener. I could not possibly recommend this one enough. (Another bonus? It's honestly unlike any book I've read. I don't know what I could possibly compare it to, and I think that may be part of Foer's magic.)

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Book: Committed

Finished: Early November

I know a lot of women have mixed thoughts about Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray Love (both the book and the film version; you can read my thoughts here), but I found her to be an honest narrator, so I was more than happy to pick up a paperback copy of her recent release, Committed. Don't go into the book thinking it's another travel memoir; instead, inspired by her own plans to wed, Gilbert tackles the topic of marriage, interviewing and researching the institution from top to bottom. Although this isn't the page turner that Eat Pray Love was, I think that has more to do with the subject matter than the writer herself. I appreciate Gilbert's writing style and the effort she appears to put into her books; I found Committed to be historically fascinating and often would look up from its pages, detailing facts and stories to Jordan out loud. I like a book that challenges me, that makes me question what I've always thought. Committed did that. It made me ask myself tough questions and prompted a couple of really great discussions. In fact, I'd recommend reading this with a group of other women, maybe in a book club-type format. I think the discussion would be valuable.

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Book: Backseat Saints
Finished: Early November

I think Joshilyn Jackson can do no wrong. I love Southern fiction when it's done well, and Jackson always seems to do it justice. I think Backseat Saints is my final Jackson book to read (until her new release comes out in January), and while I'm not sure it's my favorite, it certainly didn't fail to please. Her characters are vibrant and real; you just keep turning page after page because you care that much. I don't like when reviewers give away too many details, so I can't tell you what I found disappointing about the novel. The good news is that the disappointment was, of course, minimal, because Jackson is just an excellent fiction writer. I highly recommend gods in Alabama and The Girl Who Stopped Swimming as well.

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Book: Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Finished: Early November
Another book the blog world has been buzzing about, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? is reminiscent of Tina Fey's earlier-released Bossypants, but it'd be a shame to compare the two too much. Kaling and Fey are both funny women, but they're also very different storytellers. Fey has had more life experience, so her essays, in my opinion, were more reflective, more well-rounded, more thought-provoking, maybe even just better written. Still, Kaling is likable and a more than competent writer; the book reads like a collection of blog posts or conversations with a friend. I was most impressed, though, with Kaling's thoughts on marriage. Like Fey's reflections about her father, Kaling's chapter on what makes her parents' marriage great -- they're "pals" -- had me in stitches and tears. It made me want my marriage to be great, and since there are so many people out there -- particularly in Hollywood -- who don't seem concerned with that kind of standard, Kaling's take was particularly refreshing. This was my book club's choice for the month, and while I think some were disappointed (some girls thought the book was "too random"), most of us -- all, admittedly, in our mid-20s -- thought it was highly entertaining. I finished my copy in a few hours.

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Book: Leaving Church

Finished: Mid-November

My brother recommended this book with the quick disclaimer: "It's not what you think." Sure enough, I got some weird looks from passersby who saw the book in my hand -- I guess they thought I planned on renouncing my faith? -- but Leaving Church was really about just the opposite: It was about finding your place in faith and coming to terms with fellow believers. Taylor, a former Episcopal priest, expounds on why she left the priesthood, on how years of service to God had left her exhausted, burnt-out, and perhaps far too reliant on church, and not reliant enough on the Father. I love fellow believers who are honest and genuine about their journey of faith; Taylor joins a long line of narrators who I have come to love for their willingness to unflinchingly tell their stories. Like so many, I have been hurt and burnt-out by church. In fact, I have a feeling my brother made this recommendation based on some recent experiences of my own. Taylor, though, beautifully reminds us of what there is to love about church and the Creator. I have a feeling this is a book I'll be turning back to time and time again. I read it with pen in hand, knowing that I'll need those words imprinted on my soul more than just once.

I hope these little reviews have inspired some holiday reading. Thanks, Andrea, for such a fun opportunity! Have a happy weekend, everyone!

Thoughts of the Week - Our Home In Progress

2011-11-18T13:10:00.000-08:00

In January we will have lived in this house for 2 years and we just picked a paint color last month. It's the 3rd house we've lived in, and unlike the first 2 where we whipped through a flurry of DIY projects like Tasmanian devils, we've taken our time with this house, trying to be patient and really think about what we want the house to feel and look like. As you know we started with the backyard in April and built a pool, mainly because we knew if anything, we wanted to build a pool. So even if we couldn't decide on a paint color, we at least made use out of the backyard, the main reason we moved to this house in the first place.

We initially had grand plans for this space but the longer we lived here the more we realized that it wasn't more space we needed, just more functional space. So after many months of going back and forth, we finally put forth plans to get rid of the ridiculous built in that was smack dab in the middle of our family room and build proper linen storage, the one and only linen closet in the house. We installed a very functional and affordable closet organization unit in Syd's closet, details to come, got rid of the chandelier that we constantly knocked our heads on and installed recessed lighting, and we painted the walls. After owning 3 homes, I can swear that there is absolutely nothing at all that makes a home feel more like yours quicker than adding paint to your walls. I tell you as soon as the walls went from drab white to Benjamin Moore Thunder, my love for this house grew exponentially and suddenly my irritation with the freeway noise and traffic from the school across the street shrunk in half.

We recently sold our huge sectional that always felt too large for this space and bought a classic English rolled arm sofa. Our plans are to move this sofa into the living room up front and order a smaller chaise type sofa that allows for more seating. I'm trying to avoid making mistakes in this house and rushing through decisions, even though I want it all finished now and today. So I've had this swatch sitting out in the open for the last 3 weeks trying to decide if it's the right fabric for our new sofa. Once we get the sofa I'll make other decisions about the need for more seating and artwork. We'll also need to replace the area rug seeing as the brown shag one pictured is from Syd's nursery and we've been using it just so the ottoman doesn't slide around.

Shelly has been helping me out but I think she's started to take me less and less serious because one week I'll be all gung ho, saying "let's finish this thing!" and then 5 weeks go by and nothing progresses. I'm not afraid, just not rushing it. Our home will never have that "well-traveled" look because well, quite honestly we haven't traveled much. The only place we've ever been that requires a passport is Mexico, and that's before they even required passports. Oh! We have been to the US Virgin Islands on a company work trip but being a US territory, we didn't even need one there. But even if we had traveled the world we probably wouldn't have had the money or foresight to bring home exotic treasures to furnish our home with. So instead of well traveled, I'll gladly take eclectic and unique, meaning not everything on display from Store A or Store B (that Pottery Barn Friends episode comes to mind). I see some trips to the flea market and local estate sales in our future. The little stool below is from a friend of a friend's estate sale and it was made by her father. It may have only traveled from the hills of Riverside, but at least it has some history.

My house doesn't need to be designer perfect, but I do just want it to have a "finished" look. The living room is almost there, but the TV room definitely needs some work. Timing wise I don't want to set a deadline but I would like it to be finished sometime in this century, which would require me to find the balance between being indecisive and frenzied rash decision making. I've learned that rushing through decisions in your home usually ends in regret and wasted money.

More than anything though I just want to walk in and feel comfortable and settled enough to do this without looking around at unfinished projects and empty walls.

We'll get there. I'm sure of it :)

have a great weekend everyone! Off to go back to nursing a still sick little boy.

By the way, here are the only 2 pictures I found of what the TV room looked like before we took out the mirrored wall and built in. I wouldn't make it 2 seconds as a DIY design blogger seeing as I didn't take any before pictures. These pictures were taken right after we moved in almost 2 years ago.

DIY Thanksgiving Napkins by One Little Minute

2011-11-17T03:00:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, Andrea here to introduce you to one of my very lovely Sponsor For a Cause friends, Miranda. She is not only generous because by sponsoring me she sponsored Charity Water and JDRF, but she's also uber crafty. And she likes food! And she adores letterpress. So she's pretty much awesome all around and you've all gotta check out her blog, but first read the following :)

Hi there! I'm Miranda from One Little Minute. I am the lucky wife of a good-to-the-core man, mom to a whirlwind toddler and giggly baby, and I am a compulsive crafter. Any day of the week I have a project or two (or three) in the works. On my blog I share the details of my handmade adventures as well as pieces of my day to day life.

Today I'm thrilled to be here to share an idea for adding a little detail to your Thanksgiving table. I will be having the whole in-law crew around mine this year, and want to make it feel personal and special.

These simple painted napkins say what everyone is thinking: "give thanks...EAT!"

After experimenting with a few different techniques (and taking about four trips back and forth from Michael's) I figured out how to get just the look I wanted without taking a year to finish them.

The metallic gold lends a festive feel to the traditional harvest meal, and hand lettering makes them meaningful.

I can't wait to set the Thanksgiving table with these special napkins (as well as a few other ideas I'll be sharing early next week on my blog).

Come on over and see the full tutorial HERE on One Little Minute.

And get excited to give thanks...and EAT:)

Thanks Andrea, for letting me to share! You're wonderful.

Playgrounds & Lollipops - Cocktail Hour

2011-11-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

For the most part I love my closet and the inhabitants in it. I love that my closet works a bit like Garanimals and everything sort of works together. Jeans/pants + shirt + shoes and I'm set. I've talked about it before, but when your closet works like that, you've got yourself a closet for lifestyle dressing. I do have a hang up when it comes to getting dressed though, and that's when I'm supposed to wear "cocktail attire" to an event. Perhaps I struggle with it because I go to a "cocktail attire" event oh, maybe once a year ;)

So when we were supposed to dress in cocktail attire for our team dinner at our last night at Camp Mighty, I was a little stumped because cocktail attire can mean very different things to different people right? What made it harder when packing was that I didn't know the people I would be cocktailing it with. Would they be pretty dressy or err on the side of casual? I decided to pack the ensemble above, a simple black sequin top from Ann Taylor Loft and a black (and yikes, short!) skirt from Zara. As I buzzed around the hotel room to get dressed Saturday night though, the look just didn't feel right. I told Jules about 10 times that it felt too sexy-sexy. The short skirt, the higher heels, the black tights just felt too NY's Eve-ish and, quite frankly, it looked like I was trying too hard.

So I changed into my black jeans from Ann Taylor Loft, which by the way fit amazing and hold up in the wash and haven't faded at all. I think they were $59 and at Gap they're $69. I threw on a blazer, and wore my wedge booties from Target. I instantly felt more comfortable and felt more suited for the casual Palm Springs lifestyle. I was in a rush so I just put my hair up in a bun and did a simple makeup routine of mascara and bright red lips and I was done. I think this might end up being my go-to outfit for holiday parties.

linking up with Lindsey for WIWW!

Camp Mighty In Pictures

2011-11-15T09:47:00.000-08:00

First off, it's not what you think, that picture above. That nice officer was giving me an introductory class in self defense, something I have on my life list. It taught me that a) if someone attacks me from behind I am pretty much screwed and to start praying to the Almighty and b) I have a lot of pent up aggression because I took the punching exercise a little too seriously. The ladies that were standing around in fact looked a little scared and creeped out. One gal came up to me afterwards and said, "So do you hit things often?" No, but that shadow boxing class I do almost weekly does seem to in fact work when it comes to teaching form. Our instructor did indeed say I had good form so +2 points for me :)

A friend read my post yesterday and gathered that overall I didn't love the conference. I did love it, I'm just a sensitive baby. I get homesick very easily, I always have, and I take things too personally. I cry at the drop of a hat, especially when talk involves babies and/or people reaching their dreams, and playing any song by Journey seals the deal if you want to see the waterworks. And if you look at me cross eyed I'm certain you suddenly dislike me because I did something wrong. Like I said, I know I need to see a shrink ;) But anyhoo, I did have a great time and got to do some really fun things, starting with taking some self-defense lessons. I also learned to saber a champagne bottle, and if you too would like to learn this skill, watch this super awesome video.

Not seen or captured was learning the fine art of mix tape making, the proper technique of blowing off a fire extinguisher, and making balloon animals. One detail I didn't really get into was that each attendee was split off into a team. I was on Team 3 and I can honestly say that I met some of the most amazing people on my team. God always has a plan and puts you where you need to be, even when you have doubts. I truly believe that and my team placement was proof of that. Each team was sponsored by a major corporation, all with a charitable conscious and mission. Our sponsor was The Ronald McDonald House and it was a pleasure and honor to get to learn more of this awesome charity.

Finally, to end this very long and verbose post, on our last day Jules and I wanted to show Nicole The Parker hotel. So we ate an over the top decadent breakfast at Norma's and then walked around the grounds geeking out by taking a hundred thousand pictures. Below are just a few of the ones I snapped. And after tomorrow's outfit post, I promise I won't ever talk about Camp Mighty again ;)

The Rundown

2011-11-14T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm baaaack! Thank you to all you very nice, nice people that left me such encouraging and awesome comments on my last post, and that sent me emails and texts offering up encouragement for the weekend away at Camp Mighty.

The more hours that pass, the more I think back and realize I did enjoy myself. As of yesterday I was answering anyone who asked me how it was by saying "I liked it a lot, but I didn't love it." After reflecting a bit I'm starting to love it more and more.

First, the location, the Ace Hotel, the events, parties and dinners were great and overall well executed. There were a few hiccups, but after recently organizing a 1 day blog conference myself, I realize hiccups always happen and the organizers pressed on beautifully.

The speakers were incredible, truly they were. Lisa Congden and Brian Piotrowicz were my favorite by a mile and I found their talks both inspiring and uplifting. Lisa managed to reinvent herself at the tender age of 37 and is now an accomplished and amazingly talented artist. Brian spoke about intentionality, something I try to always keep at the forefront of my mind.

I'll be straight up honest though, it was exhausting at times because the overall vibe of the conference, centered around the life list, was about going forth and making your dreams happen, accomplishing, doing. Art quickly reminded me last night as I was regurgitating this feeling that it was called Camp Mighty after all. Touche. While a talk would rev me up, I also had to center myself several times and remind myself that I quit my job 6 months ago to be with my kids. To be a more present mother and wife, to in fact be the best wife and mother I could be, and if I could be a good global citizen at the same time, then great. But this conference was heavy on the doing and light on the chill factor if you know what I mean. It was also heavy on mixing and networking.

I've always worked in sales and so the networking part didn't scare me and I think overall I fared well. I walked up to complete strangers and struck up conversations several times and 99% of the time conversations were reciprocated and I got to know some very lovely and awesome people. There is sadly though always an icky side of networking. It only happened a couple of times, but that awkward moment did happen when you meet someone, and upon realizing that you are small time and that you in fact probably can't help them with something, they quickly turn on their heels and walk away. Ickiness. But network ickiness can happen anywhere, so this conference itself can't be blamed. Several times when the self doubt snuck in, I reminded myself that back home, I am pretty spectacularly big time. I am downright freaking awesome and I thought a lot about the post Ashley wrote last week about building a name for herself. When I read that post last week it hit me in all the right places. Such a good reminder to us mothers to keep our eyes on the ball.

With all that being said though, I was inspired, more inspired than I've been in a long time. Without even intending to, I was slammed with a bunch of pretty cool ideas that I want to launch on the new style site. Yes friends, I am still going forward with the style site but have been patient in deciding on a name, designer, etc. I finalized a name though and bought the url! It's a top secret surprise though! The lovely and talented Tristan from Besotted Brand is helping with the design and if it weren't for her impending nuptials, after this weekend I'd be breaking down her door asking for my design :) I will be patient though, but eek, I'm excited!

So the takeaway from all this, I loved the conference overall for the simple fact that it was a great reminder of how awesome my family is. When you're presented with a band and free booze, and you'd still rather be with them, well then you know you have something special ;) In their eyes, I will always be big time. But seriously, I had a great time and am so glad I went. What did you all do when I was away? Anything fun this past weekend? I'm tired of blabbing on...

Life List Be Done

2011-11-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

As of this morning I barely had just over 40 items on my life list. I called up Art and asked him to meet me at Peet's to help me brainstorm. He knows me better than I know myself sometimes, and since many of the things I want to do, I want to do with him, I knew he'd be able to help.

We sat there one by one, adding some amazing things to the list. All of a sudden I told him one of the things I wanted to add to my list; find the man that murdered my brother. He immediately said absolutely not, and I knew deep down he was right. He reminded me that I needed to move forward and suggested instead that I make a promise to visit his grave on a regular basis.

It's been 16 years since my brother was shot and killed in a cheap motel room just blocks away from our parent's house. We don't know for sure what happened and his killer has never been brought to justice, but we can only assume it had something to do with an old drug related deal gone bad. Since the day we buried him I've never once visited his grave. Grief is a strange thing. It ties you up in knots for days on end and it leaves you feeling wasted and like you never want to visit it again, and then it somehow disappears all together, sometimes for years at a time before you see it again.

I think it's safe to say that I've never properly mourned the passing of my brother. When someone you love, someone in your immediate family, dies in such a way, there's all sorts of ugliness tied up in the mourning process. Shame, embarrassment, regret. Shit loads of regret. Grief is grief and death is death and all of it is really crappy no matter what the circumstances, but when you hear that your oldest brother was shot and killed in a motel room, it's a bit unconventional. When someone dies of cancer, or a car accident, or bravely doing a job, there's a sort of socially accepted form of conduct that goes along with the grieving process. Within weeks of my brother's death, my high school boyfriend's sister also passed, from cancer. She left a husband and son, and I brought them a chicken dinner, I remember. I visited their home and gave my condolences and the house was packed with family members grieving for the loss of their daughter. sister, wife, mother. They were reminiscing about her and talking about how much she was loved and cherished. I remember thinking "well, things look a bit different here." Where's the grieving manual titled Mourning the Loss of Your Family Member That Had a Disease and Was a Jerk?

I went away to university and graduated Magna Cum Laude (although it was from UCSB and their standards are a little lower), and I got a fantastic job working at a fancy-schmancy clothing company and I married a good boy from an even better family and made fine upstanding friends. I went years without even telling a soul about my oldest brother. Shame, embarrassment, all that ugly tied up in the grieving you know. And then it really started to eat at me. The last 2-3 years or so. I started having reoccurring dreams about my brother. In them I was always very young, and he was nothing but my big protective brother that nicknamed me Minnie on the day I was born. There was none of that shame or embarrassment tied up in those dreams. Every time I woke up crying from one of those dreams though. I loved him so much and I miss him and I will always miss him because he was my brother and no matter what he did or what happened will ever change that.

And so no, I guess I don't need to, or want to find my brother's killer. That's not something I need to accomplish in my life time. Instead I need to learn to properly mourn his death and remember him, the good and the bad, and I need to visit his grave. And I need to take my kids to his grave and I need to tell my kids about him one day. Because right now they don't even know he existed. And I obviously need to see a shrink to work through some stuff because sometimes, it's screwed up there in this head of mine. This time I'm going to try and find a Christian therapist to work with though.

So after all that, here's the final Life List. I suggest you write one too just for fun. Hopefully it won't bring up all sorts of angsty crap like it did for me ;) I leave tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited and I have all sorts of fun outfits planned because, DUH, what better way to deal with crappy childhood stuff than to plan fun things to wear? Wish me luck. Thanks for reading too. You guys are the best. Honestly, you are. And really, can I just get some credit for giving it all to you guys here? Fashion, DIY ideas, recipes, religion, childhood tragedies, I've got it all covered. Adios amigos!

Andrea's Life List (as of 11/10/11)
Family

Teach my kids how to fish

See my kids graduate from College

See my kids get married & have children

Organize a family reunion

Throw my parents a big party for making it this far

Visit all major museums in the US

View the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from an apartment

Hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with the kids

Take kids to Yellowstone & see Old Faithful

Stay on a ranch/farm

Take the kids zip lining in a rainforest

Teach kids how to snowboard

Teach kids dirt bike riding (Art’s in charge of this one)

Go sledding in White Sands New Mexico with the kids

Make a family movie

Cliff jumping

Teach kids how to drive

Take kids to their first Angels game

Digitize all film & organize footage

Organize all digital photos
Hot air balloon ride

Spirituality

Read the Bible cover to cover

Go on a Mission trip

Visit the Holy land

Have a 1 on 1 session with a Pastor & ask all the questions I’m afraid to ask in public

Attend Bible study on a regular basis & study all the books of the Bible

Visit my brother’s grave annually

See a shrink to work stuff out

Travel & Adventure

African Safari

Spain

Italy

Greece

Great Britain

France

Canada

Australia

Japan

China

Germany

New Zealand

Swiss Alps

Visit 44 states (the coolest ones - there's 6 I have no desire to visit)

Live in New England for at least a year

Just For Fun

Learn a choreographed dance routine

Participate in a flash mob

Learn to spin records, even digitally

Go to the Winter Olympics

Go to the Summer Olympics

Create a bottle of wine with my name on the label

Attend Sundance Film Festival

Attend Cannes

Get teeth professionally whitened

Go to an NFL game

Own an acre of land, somewhere, anywhere

Watch 100 Best Movies of All Time (AFI’s 10^th Anniversary edition)

Own a 2^nd home for vacationing
Baby Whisperer meet up

Health

Run another half marathon

Become flexible enough to do the splits

Learn self defense

Complete a 1 month detox

Go to a wellness spa

Partnership

Write a screenplay with my husband

Attend a marriage and counseling seminar with husband to have a kick-ass marriage

Renew my vows

Celebrate 50 years of marriage

Go on a romantic vacation just the two of us

Finish that book we’ve had for a long time

Charitable Causes

Donate hair to Locks of Love

Start a Love 146 task force in Orange County/Long Beach area

Dedicate time consistently to a charitable organization

Raise & Donate at least $2000 a year to charitable causes (besides tithing)

Build a house with Habitat for Humanity

Donate money anonymously

Home Ec

Grow flowers from bulbs

Make homemade pasta

Create & maintain organized files/records

Maintain the 20 minute rule

Make authentic Spanish paella from scratch

Make sopapillas like my Grandma used to make

Learn to make Chile Rellenos

Master a basic pie pastry recipe

Create a working office/craft room

DIY an office desk

Invest in a quality sewing machine

Pay off mortgage

Get all ducks in a row for financial investments

Personal/Professional Development

Learn to speak fluent Spanish

Learn to play the piano

Making a living off my blog

Return to the fashion industry within the next 5 years

Take a photography class

Take a graphic design class

Learn Photoshop well enough so I don’t need Art’s help

Read at least 50 of the books on the 100 Classics List of All Times (between the US/UK versions)

Become a certified fitness instructor of some sort

Take an art class

Take an advanced sewing class

Take a jewelry making class
Get paid to do what I love

DIY Gold Filagree Earrings

2011-11-07T21:12:00.000-08:00

I may have just found the easiest, least complicated jewelry DIY in the history of jewelry diy's. Making earrings. Yes, I know I am not the first lady to discover the art of making earrings, but it was a first for me. If you make these earrings I promise you, you will feel all sorts of emotions including, but not limited to:

Joy at completing a project in less than 10 minutes.

Pride that you were able to complete said project for less than $3

Fulfillment from actually finishing a DIY project

So here's what you'll need: 2 tiny jumprings (mine were 4mm), some sort of pretty adornment to use as the actual decorative part of your earring (I used filagree as you can see), 2 earwires, and pliers

5 steps. How's that for easy? Aren't they pretty? And simple!

Perfect worn with a couple of chic and understated seed bead bracelets

I love any type of DIY, but there's something fun and special to me about creating jewelry. Unlike a home based DIY project, it's something I can do all on my own, without the help of my husband. I don't have to read instructions like I do with a sewing pattern, although asking questions is usually helpful and important. It's therapeutic to me, something I can just do and completely zone out. Usually jewelry DIY's can be completed in less than a few hours, and that leaves me with such a sense of accomplishment.

And really, it takes me back to my teenage days. One of these days I'll have to show you my bead box that I've had since I was 14 and still use today. It has KROQ and Whittier High School stickers on it. It reminds me of my youth, of feeling giddy over making a simple friendship bracelet, of spending hours in my old room at mom and dad's house. Before the days of hustle and bustle and over analyzing, over critiquing all of my work and output. It just makes me happy I guess. And that's reason enough :)

Go to your local bead store and see what fun earring forms they have and create a special pair just for you or a friend. It's simple, it's easy, it won't break the bank and it's made with love. Enjoy :)

linking up with Today's Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On

Lemonade & Gray Skies

2011-11-07T09:06:00.000-08:00

This morning as she was getting ready for school, Taylor asked "Hey mom, we usually go to church on the weekends but we didn't, how come?" Well because we had to walk for diabetes remember? "Oh yeah, of course! God would totally understand." Ya, I think he would. On top of getting to walk in the JDRF walk this Sunday at Dodger's Stadium, we also crossed something off our summer list, yes, in Fall. We held a lemonade stand! All proceeds went to JDRF and Charity: Water.

Lemonade stands are fun and awkward at the same time don't you think? You stand on the corner and try to sell your goods and trust that people will a) not be afraid that your lemonade is poisonous and b) trust that you are in fact going to donate the money. Or maybe I'm just the only cynic out there? Either way, people came in droves and in 2 short hours we raised almost $80! See that guy in the picture above? He's holding a bag full of cookies and yet he's buying one of my sugar cookies. That's right ;)

Even Grandma and Grandpa came out to help a bit. Papa was in charge of sign making.

Taylor poured and poured while people happily stopped and accepted curb side service while in their car

Neighbors came out to climb fences and pull our dog's tail. And a grumpy old guy even stopped to tell me the damn government was gonna come shut me down because I didn't have a permit! Damn government. I appealed to his conservative side and said "that may happen in San Francisco but that ain't happening in Orange County man!" He seemed to like that, but he still didn't buy any lemonade.

Sunday was a very rainy gray day yet managed to clear up for a couple of hours so we could walk the two laps around Dodger Stadium and stay dry. The clouds and gray skies actually made for some really pretty views from the stadium.

I love the look of Downtown LA. I know it doesn't beat the NYC skyline, but for this native Southern California girl, the downtown skyline will always mean home for me.

An empty stadium is such a cool site.

The girl we were walking for, Miranda!

Syd is with us, he's just in the bottom part of the stroller. And I still can't beleive at 4 and 6 my kids still use a stroller.

Although half way through the walk they got tired of sitting and started running down the hill. I had to do the chasing while Art hung back and laughed, photographing me almost falling (which will not be shown here). Go Blue! p.s. see the green Hunter boots I'm wearing in the photo below? I trekked it out to Riverside for Jules' friend Helena's estate sale and I got them for $25 - brand new.

So our fundraising is done! $150 raised for JDRF and about $400 raised for Charity:Water! Thank you to everyone who donated and bought ad space. Those that bought ad space I will be contacting you shortly to line up guest posts and such.

I leave for Camp Mighty on Thursday! I'm rooming with Jules and Nicole and I haven't decided what pj's to bring. PJ's are kinda a big deal for sleepovers no? I've decided on my Space Party outfit, but I still have to finish my LIFE LIST! Ahhh! I only have 40 items on it. Crap I better get busy!

Oh, and have you heard of the Happy Day Project that Julie and Jeannett are hosting? I'm taking part in it for a couple of days before I leave but I love the whole flippin concept. Love those girls and their hearts and focus on giving, be it big or small. Go on over and check it out, it's not too late to join!

Camp Mighty Space Party

2011-11-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

via Zara

The closing party on Saturday night for Camp Mighty is a space theme. I've heard some are dressing up as aliens, astronauts, and 60's themed astronaut wives. Pretty cool, but I know I wouldn't feel comfortable spending a night dressed like a space alien, or as Art suggested, Chewbacca. So I chose this star printed blouse to wear. Sort of has a celestial theme right?

And I'm pairing it with these glitter leggings for a sort of sparkly outer space feel. It may be a bit of a stretch, but I'm going with it. I actually saw a girl in the mall wearing this blouse with a pair of blue jeans and it looked great, and the leggings will be fun for Christmas parties. So I figure instead of spending money on an outfit or costume I'd never use after the party, I'd get something I'd be able to wear again.

via Zara

Now should I wear this look with heels or with flats? I tried it on with heels and it looked good, but I love how they look here pictured with flats. My feet will probably thank me if I wear the flats I think ;)

Before I go, Nicole shared this post from Pugly Pixel, explaining why she turned comments off. I have to admit I often feel the same exact way she does and it's a relief to know someone else feels the same way. So what do you think, does turning off comments equal death for a smaller blogger? Would you continue to read a blog if comments were turned off?

Thoughts of the Week - Comfort Food

2011-11-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

There are some weeks when certain things just stand out at you and then there are some weeks when it all just seems to be a blur. It's been one of those weeks. I think a full weekend schedule of events falling into Halloween just sort of all blended together to lead me to today. Today was a good day. I got up early, filed 2 huge stacks of paperwork that's been on the floor, precariously strewn next to my desk for over 3 weeks. I cleaned the house and finished sweeping down our patio from the tell tale dust of vicious Santa Ana winds. I baked 2 loaves of bread (1 pumpkin and 1 gingerbread) and lit a candle. I sat down and thought to myself, I feel at peace in my home right now. But holy shit am I tired. Dead damn beat tired. So I don't have a lot of really thought compelling "thoughts" right now.

We've been working hard on our home these last few weeks which has a lot to do with the tiredness, and I think I'd like to share some pictures with you all next week, starting Monday perhaps. All this hard work in our home though has made me turn to food, in a good way, in that "a piece of pie would sure settle my nerves right now" sort of way. Oh come on I know we all have some type of food(s) that we turn to when we need a little comfort. And not just comfort from sadness, but comfort after a hard days work when you need something that will just make you feel good. I've been cooking a lot, and eating a lot :) I have a list of comfort food that includes:

French Fries & Hamburger from In 'N Out
Banana Cream Pie from Polly's Pies
My Grandma's Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Tater Tots & Fish Sticks
Brie, Salami & Crackers
Peanut M&M's & PayDays
Chicken Pot Pie
is this a weird list?

{cinnamon crispas}

Oddly enough, cinnamon crispas, while some may not consider quite comforting, are in fact a comfort food for me. A bit indulgent, flour tortillas fried in oil then sprinkled with good ol' granulated sugar and cinnamon. But not so indulgent where you end up hating yourself the next day. It's supposed to be comforting remember, not hail Mary guilt inducing ;) So I whip up these little beauties when I want a bit of a naughty snack...so for my thought this week, I think you should fry some of these cinnamon crispas up for someone you love, or you, for that matter. Fall is in full swing and nothing reminds me of fall more than some good strong cinnamon. These guys are both savory and sweet. And yes, these were in fact inspired by the cinnamon crispas found at Taco Bell long, long ago. I haven't set foot in a Taco Bell in years but I hear they're now called cinnamon twists or something similar to a churro of sorts. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I hear these type of cinnamon crispas are gone. I always found it interesting how Taco Bell was able to make about 35 different things on their menu, all with the same 5 ingredients. Weird actually.

Just cut up a few flour tortillas in 1/8th's

Fry them up in a few tablespoons of vegetable oil ( a few seconds on each side is all you need)

flip over and fry a few seconds on the other side

place fried tortillas on a paper lined plate to soak up the oil and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture

and you've got your self a savory and sweet treat

So what are your go-to comfort foods? Are they usually things you make yourself, or do you go outside the home for your comfort?

linking up with Mom Trends Friday Foods