Logging Off

Summer is almost here, and I'm taking my vacation early. I'm logging off for a while to get ready for a long trip visiting these crazy folks. So, I hope to be able to blog a bit next week. Enjoy the weekend--I hear the weather is suppose to be nice.

Shoes For Lovely People

I'm lovin' the new brand Shoes For Lovely People--they have some wedges I've got my eye on.

Family Bed

Are you into the family bed? We are definitely not; or I should say, I am not. I need my space--room to spread myself, peace and quiet and no little foot in my face. If it's the middle of the night and the kids want to sleep in our bed, they know to go to daddy. No problem for him until it becomes every night. Then it's foot down. I do like to think of sleep as my time--and that means no kids.

{image via}

Have Your Cake

I'm not much into diaper bags. I prefer large tote bags that carry it all. But these Cake diaper bags by Petunia Pickle Bottom are so darling, and I'm all over them. I wouldn't mind having one of these.

{via OhJoy}

Bing Bags

Has anyone seen bright-colored, kid-size bing bags like these? I want some for my kids.

{via J.Crew}

Memorial Weekend Camping

For the three-day weekend, we decided to pack up the car, with lots and lots of camping gear, and drove up to Lake George, located in upstate New York. Seth and I couldn't believe how much "stuff" we had manage to stuff in our car for our short weekend trip. We camped near one of the many little lakes in the Adirondack region. The kiddies had fun cooking hot dogs, roasting marshmellows and throwing rocks in the lake. We did a couple of different hikes--one up to a very secluded beautiful lake and another up to a cliff that overlooked five different lakes. The flying bugs were annoying and nasty. Sleeping in a tent with my kids was difficult--I learned that Lucas snores and sucks his thumb really loud. Stella whimpered because she was cold and ended up with me in my sleeping bag. Besides the nighttime chaos, it was a fun trip. And I do think I would one day want one of those little cabin shacks on a lake so I can enjoy the scenery every year.



On the menu for breakfast: oatmeal


Morning View

The lake we hiked to

Being Productive

At the end of last week I was very productive around the house--tackling projects that have needed to be done. Hence the reason for my no blog show. In addition to retouching all the walls with a little fresh paint, I planted some plants in a flower bed behind the house (although it was more of a weed bed). I also framed and hung up family pictures for my stairway gallery.

Sales Sales

Whenever the holidays come up, there is always a sale. And it seems like I've heard of a lot happening this weekend. I think the Nordstroms Half-Yearly sale started yesterday. Today I ran over to Anthropologie and what do you know? They are having a sale....or are they? They put out sale racks all over the parking lot. The front section of the store was all sale items. People were having a frenzy--grabbing all they could. And the prices weren't even that good. So as I was shopping (with my two crazy kids), I realize that it was just their normal backroom sale section but moved to the front of the store and outside. A sale that they always have. No additional discount; no special incentives. I did get some stuff, but I thought to myself how moving a sale rack to the front by the door and throwing sale signs everywhere can really drive people's shopping antics.

Touch Ups

Every spring, I get out my speckle paste and paint and go around the house and touch up the walls. It's amazing how much banishing walls take when kids are around. I might had to repaint one whole wall since Lucas likes to drive his cars back and forth on it--lots of tire marks. I've found it good to keep up the maintenance so the walls don't become a complete disaster.

Paper Flowers

Add a little sweetness to any celebration--these paper flowers are so cute and divine, and can be used over and over again. Lots of ideas come to my head (napkin ring holder, gift embellishment, centerpiece).

Dance Recital

Stella had her first dance recital this past weekend and I must say...my heart melt. She was such a little ballerina and really took her dancing seriously. Actually the dance teacher made her the leader of the other ballerinas in her class. So we were beaming. They danced to a segment of Wizard of Oz, and they were the little muchkins. There were other dancers in their routine who were Dorothy, the Good Witch, the Bad Witch etc. When the bad witch came on the stage all the muchkins ran off the stage except Stella got sidetracked into a corner by the bad witch and I could tell she got a little scared. She hesitated, but then finally ran passed the witch to the other little muchkins. For a second, I thought she was going to have a meltdown. But she performed like a true ballerina. (Sidenote: We did capture the performance all on video and of course I would post it, but our damn camcorder is having major issue. Seth spent two hours trying to upload it on our computer with no luck. We were so frustrated we almost threw it against the wall! Yet another new thing we have to buy.Urghh!)

Summer Trends

Ponytails--one of my favorite everyday hairstyles. Without a doubt, my hair will eventually be pulled up into a ponytail sometime throughout the day. And short red nails--there is something always so feminine about the color red.

Sexy Bedroom

I really like these tips in having a sexy bedroom. We definitely can use some of the advice especially the "clean up your act" tip.

Big News

We are pregnant with our third baby. Due the end of November. Not surprising to most since I'm already looking like I'm five months along. Seriously, I really haven't been telling anybody. No need too, since my belly immediately pops out. I get disgustingly big. I'm passed the first trimester mark, but my body still needs a good afternoon nap everyday.

Amy's Home

I really like all the vivid, bright colors Amy Smilovic uses in her house. The interior design reminds me of her clothes.

{via Instyle}

Reminiscing

During this time last year we were basking in the sun and enjoying a long getaway in St. John. I hope we return there someday.

This Is Ridiculous!

Seriously, I can't handle the fact that gas is going up. It's driving me crazy. If I did not have two kids, I'd be riding my bike everywhere. We are up to $4.30 here. Yikes! And I keep hearing that it's going to double. Double!! I mean, this is ridiculous and something has to be done. Yesterday, I had to fill up. And every gas station I stopped at, I was like--there is no way I'm going to be paying that price. So I would drive to the next station. Well, I was not the only person doing this. There were two other cars behind me doing the same thing. We finally found a station that at $4.16. It seemed to satisfy me but not the other two cars. They drove off. I wonder if they found a cheaper station.

Going Away Picnic

Of course it's sad to see a family who has lived here for quite some time to pick up their life and move somewhere else. But it's a little different here on the East Coast. Like us, many families move out here to get a jump start on jobs, advance their careers, make themself known in their industry, hope to make their millions. You get the idea. But there is always that notion that the East Coast life is temporary. That you'll only be out here for a couple of years, and then you'll move back to the calm, slow pace life of the West Coast. At least that's what my husband has been telling me for the last six years. And I know that's what the husbands tell all my friends who are from the west. But then as year after year goes by, it seems that the chance of getting back to the West, where your family lives and life is cheaper, gets dimmer and dimmer. You seriously get sucked into this place! But when someone breaks the suction and finds a great opportunity, you get really excited for them. Almost jealous. And then you are sad to see them go, but still at the same time so excited for them--like the possibility can still happen to you.

Anyway, we said our goodbyes to the Evans who just moved to Arizona after living here for over eight years. I got to put together a picnic going away party for them. Simple. Bring your own picnic. We provided yummy layered cakes. We had fun facts about the Evans scattered all over the table and a book to write farewell notes to them. I went around and took pictures of friends for their memory.

Kid-Friendly and Fabulous

Growing up in a home with eight siblings equals a home that is not always in the best condition. Have mercy on my mom! I can barely keep up my house with only two kids. So, it's no surprise that my mom really didn't put a lot of thought or money into decorating or maintaining our house. Because sooner or later, it will get destroyed. Now that my parents are empty-nesters (almost!), it's fun to see a side of my mom that I never saw while growing up. A side of her that enjoys creating a beautiful home--inside and out. Now having my own home and my own kids, I don't really want to wait until I'm an empty-nester to enjoy a fabulous home. But I don't really need too. There are so many great furniture lines today that can take the bashing of kids. I really like how this family updated and renovated their home by making it kid-friendly but stylish. Great house and great ideas. The mom used outdoor fabric for all the kitchen chairs, rugs that hide dirt, dark paint in mudroom.

Bangs

Yes! I have finally chopped off my mane...well, sort of. My hair feels so light and clean. I go through these phases where I have to do a whole complete new look. So this time I got bangs and cut almost five inches off. It feels good.

White Dresser

I forgot to post about this. I repainted our cheap Ikea dresser about two months ago with a cream whitish finish. We bought this dresser a long time ago, and since then they've actually come out with a white version. (If it was my choice, I'd get rid of the thing). But it's amazing how just a change of the knobs can make the dresser look completely different. I bought the new knobs here.

Before:


After:

Yellow Console

I really like this yellow console table from Ikea. I would dress it up with some fun knobs to add some dimension.

Recycle

Honestly I don't have a recycling system like this--but I sure would like too. Lack of space. Anybody have good ideas of organizing a recycling system in your house??


{via Living Etc}

Potty

My little Luke has recently expressed an interested in the potty. He tells me when he needs to go pee and that he wants his diaper off. Of course I'm taking the opportunity to put him on the toilet, but I'm not pushing potty training right now. Next month he'll be two and I think that's when we'll start getting serious about it. Oh the dread of potty training! Not my favorite thing to do in the life of parenthood. It seriously can be so frustrating. And I hear boys are harder than girls. So any suggestions for potty training little boys? Do I teach him to stand up or first to sit down? I'm going to make sure Seth is involved on this one.

Mother's Day Giveaway

Have you been visiting Design Mom this week? She's been giving away a whole load of goodies--really, really good goodies in honor of Mother's day. And I'm happy to say that my jewelry is apart of one of the giveaways. One of the grand finale giveaways. So leave a comment here for a chance to win your choice of one of the three earring/necklace combinations shown on the giveaway. Happy Mother's Day to all.

Family Tree

How cool is this family tree? A little different from the usual geneology chart. Someday I would like to have some type of picture display of our family tree, so my children can visually know their ancestors. When I was a child, there was one wall in the house with pictures of my ancestors that included their names and dates. Because I saw these pictures everyday it was easy for me to put a face and name to a story I would hear about them. It's important to treasure and preserve the lives of our ancestors and continue to share and learn from their stories. Check out more family tree ideas here.

{via Cup of Jo}

Jack Sparrow

This guitarist has teamed up with Louis Vuitton for a little ad promo. I think the setting is very much his character with all little touches of Jack Sparrow. Annie Leibovitz was the photographer.

Oliver Peoples

Oliver Peoples has some great new sunglasses for summer. I'm attempted to fork over the money and buy me a pair. I always love their styles.

Cars

Oh my little boy is hopelessly in love with cars...and balls. But let's focus on the cars. He likes to carry one with him when we leave the house and run errands. The first thing he does when we come down the stairs in the morning is run to his car box and line up all the cars on the table. And no one is allowed to touch his cars. He's got all the sounds down. He has to read his truck book EVERY NIGHT and knows all the parts. When we are driving down the road he points out and names all the different types of cars and trucks--right now he is really into Hummers. For a second it was getting a little bad to the point where he wanted to sleep with a car. I told him they need to sleep in the box. Give him a few cars and he'll stay busy for a good hour. He is such a boy.

Good Morning Surprise

This morning as we were heading off for preschool, we saw a little parakeet flying around in our background. What a surprise! He obviously had no idea what was going on or really where to go. He seemed very confused to the outside world. So I asked a few of my neighbors if they were missing a pet bird. I found no takers. Poor little guy. When we came back from school, he was gone. I hope he found some food.

Mademoiselle Chair

Such a darling little chair that I adore. If I had some moola, this would be on my list. And it's covered in Missoni fabric. Oh and if you like modern furniture, check out LaDifference. They've got some great pieces.

Mother's Day Promotion

Sorry this is finally getting posted but an email blast was sent out over the weekend for Mother's Day promotion--free shipping with delivery before the big day. This promotion ends May 7th. If you want to get on the email list, click here. If not, check out the website. I will also try to get up these new jewelry pieces on my site tonight.