San Clemente Girls Day

Having a girls day is the best form of therapy, in my opinion!!

With my friend Nic & my sister's bdays just a few weeks apart, we decided to do a joint brunch/pedi day up in San Clemente - which is really a quick drive up the 5, in the cutest little surfer town (besides my beloved Encinitas of course!)

We had planned to eat at the Beach Garden Cafe, but after quite a long wait outside, with no end in sight - we were getting antsy. I hadn't realized how tiny this place was! So a few girls walked over to check out a restaurant across the street on the pier overlooking the ocean... they came back & said NO wait, and super cheap mimosas...deal!

So onto the Fisherman's Restaurant & Bar we went - we had a great view of the water, and a seemingly endless supply of champagne bottles - we were happy ladies!

After a delish brunch, we hoped over to our pedi appointment at Ocean View Nails - though there really was no 'view', the place was very cute and they were able to accommodate all 5 of us for spa pedicures at the same time (I had emailed them in advance).

I jazzed up some plastic wine 'glasses' with doily's and each girls name for fun and we all had a blast chit-chatting like girls do best!

After we went back to the beach area and hung out a bit more...before heading back to San Diego - where my sister & sis-in-law kept going strong the rest of the night...LOVE our time together, always a blast!!

Sisterly Love {Happy Bday Chels!}

Soooo glad my sister moved back in time for us to celebrate her birthday! She's been following a new 'less processed' and 'paleo' road, that has evolved tremendously over the past year...I'm so proud of her for finding something that she is passionate about and is taking the steps to further her knowledge on nutrition. With that said, we typically do birthday dinners at Fidel's Mexican restaurant...however this year, I thought we should go somewhere that is more in line with her desire to eat healthier.

A friend had told me about this place down in Mission Valley, where she had an amazing casserole dish of spaghetti squash (for her first time!), so I looked it up:  True Food Kitchen 

This place was perfect!!! We loved how the dining space & kitchen area is very open...with simple, clean design & decor. Per True Food Kitchen "celebrates the simple, pure flavors of quality local and regional ingredients with a menu that tastes great while nourishing your mind, body and spirit."

The food was so great and our server was awesome...definitely going there again soon! 

For her gift, I decided to put together a fun gift basket with all sorts of goodies I knew she either liked or wanted or needed :-)  She absolutely loved it...so glad I took the time to actually take note of things she's mentioned in the past and did some research on a few things.

1. Adorbs chicken wire style basket
2. Bacon from Pete's Paelo  (recommended to me by Tonja at Flame to Fork!)
3. Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee
4. Beaming Gift Card
5. Paleo-friendly Chocolate Cashew Brittle (from Beaming)
6. "C" initial notebook
7. PackIt insulated lunch bag
8. Pair of mini spatulas from Sur La Table
9. A mini wisk from Sur La Table
10. Phillips TeaZe brush (my fav!) 

Happy Birthday sister!!!

Sugar Rush ~ Bday Fun!

Whewwww...whirlwind of a day. It began early for a 9:30am bday breakfast for Miss Maddie.

She is the bittiest little one year old I've ever seen, it's too cute! Her mamma, Nic & I made the adorrrrable "ONE" letters, complete with round wooden 'ears' & a bow to resemble Minnie Mouse (the party theme).

And per mommy's request I made her a big fluffy, 2-toned pink tutu...and was going to make the headband - but then I found one with matching 'shoe' socks at Ross for basically cheaper than I could make it - so that was perfect!

Happy Birthday Madeline Grace!!

Unfortunately, Kapri had started sneezing yesterday....which got me worried...and for good reason. By 11ish, she had used up what little energy she had and her body gave in to this oncoming cold...I'm sure all the sugar from the doughnut holes, fruit, juice & a cupcake surely did not help. It was time for a nap.

After her nap...she felt 'okay' - so we decided with our original plan & headed to another friends house for to celebrate Arden's 6th birthday. Kapri has known Arden her entire life, starting with weekly beach walks when she was a baby, to being cared for once a week for a few hours at their home at 4 months old... and play-dates in-between, and seeing each other dressed up on at our annual Halloween party at work.

how cute are they?!

Upon arrival K definitely did not seem 100%...so we gave it an hour, snapped this really cute pic somehow, then had to go...her little lungs get so irratated with an oncoming cold...and lucky us, we didn't have her inhaler. When she started complaining that her chest hurt, I panicked and I drove as fast as I could home. Thank goodness for the nebulizer & albuterol meds....though I hate how much we depend on it during sickness...it really is a life-savor.

Happy Birthday Arden Rose!!

Later, we were all supposed to go to a THIRD party - for James' dad's retirement party...

CONGRATS ANDY!!!

But with K's condition not improving, I knew she wouldn't be able to make it through. We thought about having my sis watch her while James & I went...but she got worse, so I stayed home while he went. We were definitely sad to have missed it, especially since her cousins who she loves tremendously, had made the trip out from AZ to be there as well....and since I had made him the above photo collage.  But the most important thing was to get K rested & feeling better ASAP.

Oh the ups & downs of parenting...

How is it 2014?!! Happy New Year!

TWO-thousand-FOURTEEN! Amazing.

Random thought: Why are we not in flying cars by now?? hmmm

Kapri spent the night at Grammy's with her 2 cousins...and my sister Chelsea & her BF Andrew came over to 'cheers' to the New Year, before they went to dinner & to hang with friends in another part of town.

After our sweet photo sesh, we headed out to have fun ringing in the New Year with the hubs & some friends at a club in downtown San Diego:

While being out, I decided it was time to turn over a new leaf...make a new tradition. I realized that I would much rather have gone to a really nice dinner, reflected on the past year's ups & downs together... and rang in the New Year with a glass or two of champagne at home with my loves...and/or maybe with a few friends over ---- in our PJ's, banging on pots & pans like when I was little! 

It's NOT at all that 31 is OLD, but I definitely felt a teensy tiny bit out of place on the dance floor last night...once I looked around & realized that probably most the other people around me were a solid DECADE younger than me...it was in that moment that I did truly feel: Old - weird.

And I'm okay with that...just next year we're sticking with our original plan (as mentioned above).

CHEERS to the NEW YEAR! I can feel there will be lots of transition in store for our little family of 3...

OH - and 'goals of the year' - as I like to call them:

...Our joint New Year's Resolution....is one date night per month (we had hardly any last year). Since we married on "8/22", we decided that every other month James would plan it (on the 8th) and every other month in between, I would plan it (on the 22nd). So, something fun to look forward to...planning on checking for unique 'activity' type deals Groupon & Living Social!

...My individual goal for the year is to run around 2-3 5Ks and maybe 2-3 10Ks (toward the end of the year) - would love to have more bibs & medals to proudly call my own.

...Another personal goal is to read 2 or 3 books, front to back! Last year I got through 2 which was HUGE for me...a person who 'can never find the time to read' and if I do...'I'm constantly thinking about other things I could be getting done', haha.

...Lastly, a new career. Whoa...that sounds crazy to actually write down. But the fact is, my company/position will be relocating soon (to a whole other state!)...so I know that my 7-year gig or 'book' so to speak, will soon come to an end & be closed for good - I'm assuming mid-year. I'd love to find something I have more of a passion for... it'll just take some major digging & soul searching. Fingers crossed!

K's First Bowling Night!

Picture post... at first she was very unsure of this bowling situation, but quickly caught on & loved every moment and kept wanting to take our turns!! Her bowls went veryyyy s-l-o-w-l-y, but eventually hit the pins. Somehow she was even able to help us a few times when we had 1 pin left during our individual turns - SO fun!

Merry Ho Ho HO!

Oh my....cannot believe another Christmas has come & gone...crazy how fast it sneaks up on us...seemed even quicker this year with Thanksgiving being so late in November!

Christmas Eve, Kapri & I made JUMBO cookies for Santa as usual...but this time, we also remember to leave out carrots for his reindeer as well, phew! I had to wear this adorable red sweater with a stripped bow on it, that was given to me by Chloe's mom, Rain...she said the color didn't look good on her & would suit me more - so voila, it's mine now and I love it!! Thanks girl!

Christmas morning was early...with an eager 4 year old, ready to see what Santa brought her. As she told him in the letter she mailed him, she was soooo excited when she opened up her very special musical ballerina jewelry box, and her big fluffy unicorn doll (from the Despicable Me movie)! Also popular this year, was all the My Little Pony goodies she scored...she's obsessed this year.

Later, we had my mom, sisters & Chels' BF Andrew over for our annual brunch... I make a pretty spectacular breakfast casserole that gets devoured every time. Chels brought a 'paleo' friendly cinnamon bread/cake that was delish! And KayLee made a HUGE fruit salad to balance it all off...yum yum!

Among some other things I gifted...I found this awesome body scrub trio at Trader Joe's in late November/early December, and luckily scooped up 6 of them as quick as I could (one for myself of course!) - and never saw them re-stocked again after that day (and I go every week!). Thank goodness I did because they were a huge hit with the ladies in my fam:

After brunch, mimosas, and a quick round of my new fav game, Cards Against Humanity, we went out front to the greenbelt & took some fun fam pics:

Later that night, we went to my Mother-In-Laws for dinner & more presents...and to visit with Kapri's cousins who were in town for the holidays - I love how much they adore each other!

Such a wonderful Christmas...so many memories that I'm grateful to have made with my family!

Preschool Holiday Party 2013

Ah sickness. 

It got the best of K again tonight....but luckily it didn't hit her too bad until shortly after her adorable school holiday performance - another 'last' at this school.

I remember her first there, when she was only 2.5 years old...little bitty compared to now!!

2011, 2012 & 2013

Since it was her last Holiday party at this school, we invited my mom, sisters and James' mom & her husband - sadly, because she felt really poorly right after performing, we didn't get any other group/fam pics with her other than these :-(

But we did get some good video of her singing & dancing SO well....beyond proud of her for coming out of her shell and overcoming her shyness little by little!

Holiday Boat Parade

My middle sis, Chelsea...is now officially BACK from her 1yr move to Arkansas - and I honestly could not be happier!!! Since she's back, I wanted to do something with all us girls...and found this San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, down on the bay that looked great!

I'd never really heard of it before (swear, I've lived her my whole life...but still so sheltered from all that SD has to offer!!)...but knew K would love it as well. I read there were a few different places to view the boats from, but heard from many people that Seaport Village was the best spot. So we got there early and nabbed a great seat on the grass.

The sunset was OUT of this world....and I see my fair share living in Encinitas....but this was unbelievable - no filter on this pic:

The show.... which took FOREVER to start. Online said it started at 5:30pm...however I don't think it finally got to where we could see until closer to 7!!! Come to find, that it "proceeds from Shelter Island past Harbor Island, the Embarcadero, Seaport  Village, and Ferry Landing in Coronado." - I had no idea it would take that long to go from place to place...oye.

However, I kinda want a boat now so I can decorate it and have a big party on the bay with my fam/friends! Some of them we're ROCKIN!!

Afterwards, we all craved something sweet....so we cruised around the little shops and found a 'cupcakes & cafe' place that was perfect! Then we ended the night with a quick ride on the famous carousel - such fun memories!

Holiday Coaster Express

Today we surprised K with a little outing. I swear, almost everything we do with her is surprise...for 3 reasons - 1. if we tell her in advance, she'll ask every hour when we're going.  2. if we tell her in advance, and plans fall through (which they most definitely do at times), then we feel bad & she's devastated.  3. Who doesn't like to be surprised??? haha

So I had heard of this thing they do on the Coaster every holiday season called "Holiday Coaster Express" - which apparently sells out each year. It's only on one day, and only 2 different times. Luckily I had thought about it ahead of time, and took note when the website said tickets would go on sale. I put a calendar reminder for the day of, to remind me to buy the tickets...which are only $6 a person!

K picked out a new skirt I had bought her, and of course coordinated with a brightly colored necklace (that she'd got during our trip to AR), and her fav silver sparkly crown headband - that girl cannot go ANYwhere without a headband on these days....even better if it's a 'crown' headband!!

When we arrived at the station she was SO excited to be getting on a train again, her 2nd time ever. Then we finally told her what we were there for - to have a special visit from Santa & some of his buddies!! The total time we'd have on the train was about 90 minutes...so I figured Santa would be towards the end, and that they'd have a few different Christmas characters coming around as well. However the information originally provided on their site was a bit misleading - as only the Grinch made a quick appearance in the beginning - then NOTHING until the end when Santa, and later Mrs. Claus, made they're way in. I also read that there would be 'caroling' - but there was none, not even some faint Christmas music playing in the background, so that bummed me out.

In all, we had an okay time - but we were really surprised that this 'sells out' every year... for something that wasn't really well planned. I figured that with a ton of kids on each car of the train, you think they'd have a couple different characters coming by to entertain them - an hour & a half is a long time to have them just sitting there. Literally after we saw the Grinch, it was probably 45 minutes until Santa came. So the entire train ride, Kapri was so anxious, and kept anticipated the next one.... so that was a little disappointing (and the people of the NCTD definitely received a little email from me with my thoughts on the whole thing).

At least Santa was pretty legit...and Mrs. Claus was so adorable - so it ended on a good note:

Holiday Cards - 2013 {via Zazzle}

I am seriously so glad that Groupon & LivingSocial exist....because I honestly don't know how much money those sites have SAVED me!!

For example... a deal for holiday cards from Zazzle (75 with envelopes) and for a photo session at JCP:

Together, those would've cost us around $267 full price - but instead I got both for only $55 total...so we saved over $200!!! People who don't check Groupon/LS sites before doing ANYthing, are nuts.

I decided that I wanted to get our pics done early, so that we'd have time to get them on the CD, then take it home to save to our computer, then use to upload for our holiday cards...then have adequate time for processing & shipping of the cards...then having to label them all & get in the mail by Dec. 1st.....whewww!

Here are the 3 photos that we selected from our session...next year I'll definitely find a photography deal for an OUTDOORS photo sesh...I feel like it's always more 'natural' that way.

From those I made a little FB profile pic for December (edits via PicMonkey):

And here's the card ordered from Zazzle:

The quality of these cards was SO great....the selection was amazing (they had a page for Groupon purchasers only), they were delivered very quickly and were a nice, thick card-stock...I just loved how they turned out! I had never heard of Zazzle prior to seeing/buying that Groupon deal, but I'm now officially a huge fan and hope to order from them again in the future.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Hey Buddy - great to have you back!

On my birthday, our yearly tradition is to get the house decorated for Christmas...since Dec. is the next day. I just love decorating!

We also do it that day, so that our Elf on the Shelf, Buddy...has his special place to land when he flies in from the North Pole that evening - the top of our Christmas Tree...snuggled up by the warm light of the star.

I should note:  Buddy underwent a quick...very mild surgery this year as well - he now is the proud owner of BENDABLE LIMBS!!

It was pretty easy really....just found a little how-to online, and I had all the supplies on hand. It took me probably 45 min to do all 4 limbs from start to finish. SO excited to be able to place him in funny positions/places and have him holding onto things himself, instead of TAPE everywhere!

Welcome back to your home away from home Buddy!

Happy Birthday to ME {hello 31!}

The day of my actual bday...and lucky me, I woke up with a scratchy throat & very little energy - oh boy, sickness is coming. I knew I had to power through for dinner tonight, the last of 3 wonderful bday activities over the last week.

Of course I picked one of our traditional bday dinner spots - Fidel's in Solana Beach - and had some great people there with me to celebrate:

Thanks to everyone for E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. and making my 31st birthday as awesome as it was!! Love you all dearly :-)

Sister Spa Day {My Birthday Continues!}

Okay - I think I honestly hit the JACK POT, when my brother-in-law met, dated, and later married my now sister-in-law, Amanda.

She's kiiiiiind of AWESOME.

Like, we literally are sisters from another mister in a past life or something. We have very similar style & tastes (obvs, we picked brothers!!), we love the same shows, we worked at the same company for awhile, we can craft diaper cakes together like no one's biz, and we even have the same brain - swear. Constantly saying the same things (either in person, or over IM/texts) at the same times...so weird. But I love it!

We just CLICKED so well right from the beginning...things like that just don't happen every day. Let alone to someone you didn't pick to be friends with right away...but rather through family, who became family - and I'm so very grateful for our relationship and how far it's come today.

She is so giving of herself in soooo many ways....and is just the most generous, sincere, loving people I have EVER met in my life.

Sadly, she couldn't make it to my early bday paint/wine night since it was on a Sunday evening & they now live up in LA... but she wanted to celebrate my birthday when they were down for the Thanksgiving weekend. So she reserved Friday afternoon with just me...and planned a surprise SPA DAY - just for us.

It was the. best. day!

Upon arrival at the famous La Costa Resort & Spa (which I live down the street from and have NEVER been!) - we got a tour of the gorgeous spa, pool area & surrounding grounds... then put on our bathing suits & robes...so cozy. It was a bit chilly, but perfect jacuzzi weather...but not before we sat down for some delish lunch...the chicken lettuce wraps were spectacular!

After sipping some champ & chit-chatting in the jacuzzi for a bit, we got ready for our massages - which was one of the best massages I'd ever gotten...wowza - I felt like jello afterwards, in a good way, haha!

Thank you Manda for SUCH a fabulous, pampered birthday.... you are a GEM and I'm so incredibly grateful to have you in my life! xoxoxoxo

Preschool Thanksgiving Breakfast

Time for the Annual Thanksgiving Breakfast & mini performance at K's preschool!! Cannot believe this will be her LAST here, with Kindergarten just around the corner.

James & I were soooo super proud of her for overcoming the little 'stage fright' she'd had during most prior performances. In the days leading up to this one, she was so excited and ready to sing. We just kept telling her to do her best, and that though it'll seem like EVERYone is staring at her, really those other parents are watching THEIR kids...and that we were the only ones watching her, haha.

Great job toots, I could listen to you sing every day the rest of my life!

Love Our Girl Time {and Kapri's first pedi!}

Picture post...I just love these kind of days...quality mommy/daughter time:

Early morning....ready to go!

Breaky at the Naked Cafe in Solana Beach

Stroll through Fletcher Cove Park

Nature walk along the beach

Fun at the Encinitas Library and K's first pedicure!