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!!!

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!!

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 :-)

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!

Julian Apple Picking {1st time!}

So many firsts when becoming a parent. The obvious ones of course...but even small things like 'apple picking' - something I never really gave any thought or interest in doing until now....because I know how much fun my daughter will have - and thus the cherished memory of such 'small things' we will have forever as a family.

My mom, youngest sister, Kapri & I decided to go up to Julian the last weekend of apple season (definitely going a week or two earlier next year!). James stayed home to watch his beloved football, haha! It was a perfectly crisp, sunny day when we arrived...K just really couldn't wait to eat the apples she was about to pick herself! The place we chose to go was one of the few that had apples left, and it was all organic...huge plus. Next year I hope to go to one of the organic orchards that offer both apples and pears (my fav!)....AND next year we'll also have our missing piece to the puzzle, my middle sister Chelsea (or Auntie SiSi as K calls her)...yay!!

However since they are organic, that means they do not have chemicals sprayed on them to protect them from little intruders that like the taste as well. So 9 times out of 10, each apple we found had a little hole or two in it - which meant WORM LIVES HERE. Nope. On to the next one...

Soooooo many apples. My favs were yellow-ish and K's favs were the red...she loved to find a good (none-hole-y) one, and clean it up with her shirt to make it super shiny & pretty before she indulged. There were also a bunch of more 'tart' ones that are much better suited for baking.

After we worked up quite a sweat walking around the orchard and picking as many apples as we could fit in our bags, we headed into the main part of town. We. Were. STARVING! After lunch we browsed though awesome little stores & boutiques, took a horse-drawn carriage ride, then HAD to stop at Julian Pie Co., and stand in a crazy long line to wait for some AHmazing apple pie!

To end this already perfect day, we of course had to stop by Dudley's Bakery... to pick up some fresh baked bread - my fav is the Rosemary...gah, heavenly. Next to the bakery was a huge field with some grazing cows in the distance... my mom/sister captured these beautiful pics of K & I...in love.

Kapri's 1st Flight!

Keeping a secret is hard enough, let alone one for your child that you KNOW they will be super stoked about. My sister & I had planned a trip to go visit her while she's temporarily in Arkansas months ago... so I, like most parents, knew I'd have to wait until the very last moment to even mention our exciting plans. Otherwise, you'd be inundated with the kid asking everyday if it's "time to go yet?" and/or run the risk of their inability to fall asleep the night before - no bueno!

She'd asked about going on a plane dozens of times...to which I would always reply "someday honey". A couple times over the past few months I couldn't help but sneak a smile when she'd mention 'missing SiSi' or her seeing a plane and wanting to go on one. Sneaky mamma & auntie...what a ride we had in store for her!

So on the morning of August 31st, after secretly packing both hers & my stuff over the prior week, I woke her up around 4:45am. With James capturing the moment on video, I told her that it was time to wake up, get dressed and hop in the car....because we were going on a PLANE to visit & have a 4-night sleepover at SISI's house!!! She was mega-happy...but did tell us that since we woke her so early, she "thought it was Christmas" - LOL! Silly kid

Being in the airport was of course so fun for her as she watched every single plane glide down the runway & take off in flight. When it was our time to board our plane she couldn't contain her excitement! I let her pick a window seat and get cozy.... this mamma was super prepared - here was my carry-on list of necessities:

• New coloring books/crayons
• Dollar store puzzles in little tin containers
• Her 'lamby' and a light blanket
• An extra change of undies & clothes - just in case
• A stack of new books I scored for ridiculously cheap at a local re-sale shop
• Her iPhone (my old one) full of educational apps (plus 2 new ones she's now obsessed with)
• An external battery to charge our phones
• TONS of little snacks & bars...including our fav watermelon gum to chew during take-offs & landings
• And a new portable DVD player with 4 new movies - seriously the BEST investment I've ever made - such a life saver....AND it has a mount to install it to the seat of my car - perfect!

I am happy to report that she did wonderfully during both flights, there & back - first was about an hour to Phoenix... then hopped onto another plane from Phoenix to Little Rock, which was about 2.5 hrs. Super proud of my little flyer....she listened & she was brave...it was awesome!

We spent the next few days all over Searcy & Little Rock... exploring "Sandy Beach", which is a little lake in Herber Springs...including picking up a little sandy froggy that crossed our path. Tasting local food {and a pretty spectacular Honey Vanilla Bean Latte from the Midnight Oil Coffeehouse...mmmm}.

Escaping the heat & humidity at Wild River Country water park in Little Rock - which was a first for Kapri - and she had a B.L.A.S.T., especially loved the wave pool and went down some BIG water slides!!).

Playing with my sister's cat Pumba (tirelessly) and making healthy food, fresh apple juice & yummy homemade fruit sorbet with SiSi's crazy-awesome juicer!

Walking around Little Rock...in blistering 90-ish (felt like 150) degree weather...what troopers we are:

...finding a truly unique little gem of an eatery called "The Root Cafe" - so delish! I was just obsessed with all their vintage nic-nacks... mason jar & bottle collections, and just overall coziness of this place. They had open stock of smaller mason jars to fill up your water with, and adorably mismatched silverware & cloth napkins - such charm!

We also checked out an eco-friendly store across the street  from The Root Cafe, called "The Green Corner Store" - complete with a full ice cream & soda-fountain bar, and tons of locally-made organic gifts & products! Just ooozing adorablness!

We also got to see the movie "Epic" at a super old movie theater, "Cinemark Tandy" that only cost one...I repeat...ONE dollar per person...whatttt?!!

It was a busy few days, but we enjoyed every second...making it SO hard to say goodbye to our beloved SiSi. Quality time with family & loved ones is seriously so important...we were so lucky to be able to visit & cannot WAIT for her return to SD in Dec., and hopefully another plane trip in the near future!

PreK Ceremony 2013 {Teacher Gifts & Potluck}

Another 'school' year has flown by... and Kapri was so excited for this year's preschool graduation performance. Last year year she was SO shy, didn't sing, dance...barely moved basically.

Happy to report that this year she was clearly much more comfortable & did a stupendous job in her part of the "Peter Rabbit" performance. She was a raddish, haha! All the 4/5 year old kids that are heading off to kindergarten have a lead role, while all the younger kids have side parts. I can't believe next year she will be up in front...hopefully coming out of her shy-bubble even more!

For teacher gifts I found an idea on Pinterest for little tumblers with a Jamba Juice gift card inside, and a note on the outside that read "Thanks for sparking my creative juices this year!". I thought it was adorable & so perfect! So I made my own version of the note card on PicMonkey, secured by some twine around the tumblers....just love how they turned out!

Gotta put my own twist on things, but you're welcome to save this image to your computer & use it as well ;-)

For the Potluck, I decided to finally try out the mini spinach-artichoke bread bowls that I first pinned almost 2 years ago...here.

How adorable are they??

And they were DEEEEElish! Definitely making these again soon.

I just love her little school, prepping her for a successful future at "big kid school" as Kapri calls it! I can't believe next year she'll be in the lead group of the graduation performance, ahhh!

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Kapri

Finally...our countdown on the kitchen chalkboard has come to an end - and literally ALL. MORNING. LONG. she was asking about every 2-5 seconds if it was time for the party... her very own "Princess & Pirates" themed birthday party:

As if I didn't have enough things to check off on my self-imposed 'to-do' list...I had to cope with a seriously anxious little girl...oye.

My helpers & I got there 2 hrs early to set up...though there is NEVER enough time...I felt insanely rushed....and sweaty. I ran home 15 minutes before the party was supposed to start, changed Kapri into her tulle dress...and she decided at that very moment to tell me how itchy it was...o...m...g.

{{CLICK HERE to see the post about making her tulle tutu dress, picture overload!}}

It was now the time the party was to start...and we were there yet...whooops!! So I slipped on a pink tank underneath, changed into my dress...and off we went. Little princess was about 20 minutes late to her own party...ah well - she looked beautiful!

coral ladies - seriously not planned!

Pirate James & Princess Steve

Food & Treats table: princess & pirate cupcakes, "royal PB&J's" (were supposed to be in a crown shape, but the cookie cutter I had wasn't really workin with this bread...I think I should've refridgerated the bread overnight so they didn't just break when I went to use the cutter), "sword kabobs" (salami, cheddar cheese & gouda cheese), and "fish-n-chips" (literally! haha):

More food:  blue & pink swirled lollipops from Oriental Trading (HUGE hit with the kids), "pirate jello sails" (idea HERE), "wish upon a star" cookies (vanilla yogurt cookies from Trader Joes), and "pirates booty" cups:

Saw these Fruit Wands on Pinterest (HERE) - and knew they'd be perfect!! I love how they turned out!

I found these 'lace' style plastic table covers at Walmart for less than $2 each... they were actually really pretty! The drink containers were filled with "Pirate Sea Water" and "Princess Punch"...scored those from Kirklands Home store (I added a chalkboard sticker in front to name them).

I can't seem to find a picture of it...but next to the gifts I had an 11x14 framed image of this...I made it using PicMonkey:

all 11 Disney Princesses - so stoked I found this image!!

The goodie bag station... love the little tissue paper tassel garland my sisters & I made to hang on the table (tutorial HERE)... took a little time & finesse, but turned out great I think!

The goodie bags were filled with fun toys I bought from Oriental Trading... stickers, necklaces, rings, chocolate coins, & stamps... I made ones for both girls and boys:

Kid activity tables... make your own foam pirate hat and/or princess crown (with sticker embellishments), treasure hunt list & easy-to-assemble paper treasure boxes to store their loot in, a tattoo station, and a coloring/bubble station:

The girls were obsessed with the 'poster' princesses - they got to pose with them & take pics... too cute. I didn't buy this... my sis did during a last minute Party City run...it was maybe $6 and came with 2 pieces that you tape up together...and a separate "Happy Birthday" sign...pictured above...between 2 pink balloons on the outside/doorframe of the rec room.

A few pics of our fam & friends enjoying the day...loved seeing all the kiddos dressed up as either a princess or pirate...what kid doesn't like to dress up?!!

Outside play time... Tinkerbell boucy, treasure hunt in the sand, slides & swings...oh what fun!

She LOVED her special Cinderella cupcake (scored for $7 at Ralphs of all places the day before!!):

Here's a vid of everyone singing to her (she was shy, but it was adorable!):



One quick family shot (only one pretty much), as we finished cleaning up the rec room & headed home after a long day of fun!

Oh...and here's a photo collage of her last year... I make one for every birthday...love looking back at these:

Cannot believe we have a FOUR year old!!

Linked up to:

Chef in Training

Someday Crafts

Ginger Snap Crafts

Mama Buzz

Sugar & Spice