Cardiff Kook 5K Run

I was so excited to sign up for the Cardiff Kook Run...I hadn't done it in prior years, but from the looks of all the photos with people dressed up, I thought this would be such a fun 5K. (there's some good history on this statue!)

With the race falling on Super Bowl Sunday, we thought it'd be fun to dress up like football players - but then we also had the idea of one of us dressing up like an actual football - Chels did a great job making her shirt! Her friend joined us as well, so I was planning on being a referee, but couldn't find anything to wear (without spending a lot on an actual ref shirt!).

People get crazzzzy with their costumes though, and there is a prize for the winner...which this year was a group of people that dressed up like the COASTER! It was crazy!! Check out this Post by CardiffKookRun.com.

I found my SWEET glasses, fake tattoos, football whistles (which were annoyingly fun!) and green striped socks at Party City, the 'eye black' sickers from Sports Authority and the shirt randomly at Ross - it came together perfectly!

The run itself was beautiful - along Hwy 101... and though it was pretty cold when we first got there, it was the perfect running weather! Since the length of the 1/2 way mark for the 5K run didn't get down to the actual Cardiff Kook himself, we decided to drive down to see him & take a few pics...then off to a yum breakfast! This will definitely be a yearly run for me! Can't wait to think up another outfit to wear!

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...

DIY Race Bib/Medal Display

I am in love with my recent DIY craft....which I happily stumbled upon the idea randomly on Pinterest. I wasn't even looking for this craft, but when I saw it...I knew immediately I just had to recreate one for both myself, and my friend Nic for her birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY friend!!!).

Here are 3 ideas I used to help get my wheels turning: 

• Pavement Runner
• Simply Healthy Mama
• My Three Peas

So my search began for a large frame, wide enough to fit the bibs and to hang the medals. I kept striking out store after store....when finally, buried in a back clearance aisle at Michael's, I found these 2 grey frames that were PERFECT!

For the letters, I used my Cricut Mini to cut "R U N" from grey scrapbook paper, to coordinate with the frame color:

I was going to spray paint the back, but decided on scrapbook paper inside the frame instead....though you can kind of see the line where I had to join the 2 pieces together, but I still think it came out great!

To hang the race bibs, I used 2 metal/magnetic-back hanging clips...and for the medals, I used 1 silver hook - all are directly on the glass with little adhesive squares, that hold up to 5lbs each....so I think they are pretty secure.

Can't wait to add more to this growing collection!!

Mine

Nic's

New Year's Resolution - Monthly Date Night {1 of 12}

Horrrayyyy for date nights!! I love that we sat down and made an actual plan for this year - there is literally a calendar print out of each month/day, and shows who's turn it is to plan.

January was James' - though he didn't have to plan much, as we decided to use a gift card to Cohn Restaurants, that we'd gotten from his dad for Christmas. We selected a place nearby, (rather than downtown where most the other restaurants were) called "Vintana wine + dine" - and it was amazing!

Lucky for us, they were running an anniversary deal... 3 courses for $20.14 (for the 2014 year) per person!! That's crazy.

This place was oddly above a Lexus car dealership - but it was actually quite beautiful. They had an awesome outside patio with firepits & heaters and tons of cozy seating where you could have a drink while waiting for your table. I couldn't believe how busy this place was, especially for a Wednesday night. And although we got there wayyy earlier than our reservation, we were seated within 15-20 minutes which was perfect! 

I was sooo happy when we were sat at our table...it was one of the good booths, that over looked another portion of the dining room and a view to the outside. The lighting was super romantic and cozy, but with a nice flair of elegance.

Food was terrific as expected....ending with a "smore" custard dessert...just perfection! Definitely a great restaurant that'll I'll be recommending highly to others...and would be a great place for a special occasion lunch or dinner in the future.

Can't wait for next month's date day/night....to be planned by me!!

DIY Workout Tee to TANK!

With an exercise routine that keeps me nice & sweaty 5-6 days a week...I go through my work out clothes like CRAZY...and I just cannot justify spending a lot on articles of clothing that will just get drenched in sweat, and maybe the occasional tire marks from 115lb tire flips!!

Over to Pinterest I went and found this awesome tutorial: "No-Sew T-shirt to Tank Top". I had a few blah t-shirts from past runs that I knew would be perfect for this transformation! Here's one that I got from the Run or Dye 5K:

Then at Joann's, I saw these neon colored shirts on sale - 3 for $9! So I got pink, blue & green. After I washed & dried them, I stenciled on "Run Rest Repeat" with fabric paint onto the green one, love how it turned out!

Still have the pink & blue to play with...going to see if I can find some other fun ways to jazz up a plain tee! YAY for inexpensive workout threads!

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!