November 30, 2011

where does the time go?

Wow. Where does the time go? Ella June is 18 months old today and I can't believe it'll only be 6 more months until her 2nd birthday party. She is a doll. The most perfect, beautiful, snuggly child. I love her to pieces. 
 Of course this is how I find her most days. Pulling everything out of baskets and every toy she owns out of bins. She's into EVERYTHING these days. 
She loves Minnie Mouse, watching Yo Gabba Gabba, Barney, Kipper and The Backyardagains, going to the park, riding the swing, and going down the slide, and always asks for a bow after we get dressed in the mornings. She also had her first trip to Chuck-E-Cheese and loved every second of it
She also loves to say "no" to me then close her eyes real tight when I scold her as if she can't see or hear me. Then when I try and keep it serious she cracks a smile. Lovely, huh? I think we have a jokester on our hands. 

Happy 18 Months Junebug!
I love you!

November 29, 2011

the best cookie cutter ever

There's nothing better than finding the holy grail of cookie cutters, an anchor! At least it's the holy grail in our household. The hubs and I have a thing for anchors, so finding this one at the thrift store for .50 cents made me a very happy lady! I also scored the sweetest tea cup/saucer and an oversized christmas tree cutter. The tree is HUGE and will make the most amazing giant christmas cookies ever. 
I can't wait to make some sugar cookies with them!

November 28, 2011

cold hands warm hearts swap

I'm really excited to be participating in the Cold Hands Warm Hearts swap this year. It's a fun blogger gift exchange hosted by the lovely girls over at Sandy a la Mode and Much Love, Illy.
The Cold Hands, Warm Hearts Swap is a swap created to keep your hands warm as Winter approaches and the weather gets colder. It’s also a way for bloggers to make new friends across the blog-world. Doesn’t your heart get warm when you make new friends? Rules for the swap state that each package should include a pair of gloves and any other items you think your partner would like. You can never have too many pairs of cute gloves and who doesn’t love getting some extra unexpected goodies in their packages too? Most importantly the packages are made from the heart! 

I've been paired up with Lisa from the blog Like Rain InspirationsShe loves her husband Andrew, homemaking, traveling, Paris related things, girly things, fashion and vintage (a girl after my own heart)! Her blog is filled with lots of great photos of inspirations and fun ideas from around the web, check it out!
I've been having a lot of fun gathering my items for Lisa. I'm looking forward to mailing out her package this week. I'll share what I put together for her after she receives her package and i'll be sure to share what goodies I receive from Lisa. Can't wait!

November 25, 2011

kale chips recipe

After the overload of all the Thanksgiving food from yesterday here's a quick and healthy snack/side to prepare in case your in need of some healthy nutritious food. Kale chips. They sound scary, and look even scarier, but trust me they're tasty and good for you.

Ingredients
1 Bunch Kale
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt to taste

Directions
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Easy peasy, right? Give em' a try!

November 24, 2011

wedding rings

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope everyone is stuffing their bellies and eating lots of pie today! Today I'm remembering how thankful I am for the many blessings in my life. Awesome husband, beyond amazing daughter, family, new friends + old friends, new beginnings, and an amazing God. I'm thankful to Him everyday, not just today.

On a lighter note i'm thankful for being able to wear my wedding rings again! After all the pregnancy swelling, ring resizing and this little hiccup i've been without them for most of the last year and a half. Read on for the whole story.

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I was really, really bummed when I stopped into a local jewelry store to have my rings cleaned a few months ago and the man wouldn't even clean them for me. He handed them back to me in a small bag and said I shouldn't even be wearing my solitaire engagement ring because the prongs needed to be tightened and he didn't want to risk the diamond falling out (he said it was very loose). Talk about heart attack! 


This summer while my bestie and I were selling at the Thursday night markets she looked down at her ring and noticed one of the smaller diamonds was missing. She about had a panic attack, and we searched the cobblestone streets the rest of the night looking for the diamond. Thank goodness her ring was under warranty and insured, so she had it fixed up no problem, but sheesh, that was a scary episode!

Needless to say after her incident I didn't take any chances and I kept them in the tiny bag and went without them for the last few months.

The problem is that we bought the rings from a jeweler out of town and haven't been able to make the 2 hour drive to get them serviecd. Finally this weekend we drove down to see friends who happen to live in the same town (yay!). After dropping my rings off for an hour or so they were as good as new. It feels so good to have them both back on my hand! 

November 21, 2011

wiww

It's been a while since I've done a WIWW, but here are a few snapshots of the last weeks wears. It's def cold here in Northern California and I'm loving every second of it!
stripes, cardi, uo jeans, uggs
floral dress, black leggings, green cardi, hunter wellies
steve madden flats, uo jeans, anthro top, loft army jacket
nordstroms blue flats, macys jeans, uo top 
target riding boots (last season), dkny purple leggings, grey dress, brown anthro cardi

green anthro top (from a few years ago), black cardi, anthro necklace (from a few years ago)

brown target riding boots, dkny purple leggings, brown dress, multi colored ikat scarf (a few seasons ago, maybe from f21???)
uo flats, macy's jeans, anthro top (this season)

November 10, 2011

feathered turkey shirt tutorial

I know I've been MIA the last week or so and that this post it TOTALLY last minute, but here is a quick tutorial for the turkey applique shirt I make Ella to wear on Thanksgiving. Don't worry, it's super easy and a super quick project. Have a great Tuesday!

November 4, 2011

insta-friday

Another Friday, another week in photos...
Forgive me for the amount of photos this week, i'm doubling up after missing last Friday's photo post. 
I'm linking up my photos this week to Instafriday, join us!

perfect fall lunch

tj's

park

catch up reading

starbucks

laundry

toms

owl

indian

vintage finds

pretty mint green zippers

panini dinner

hubby

painting pumpkins

hotel

reno, nv

obsessed with yo gabba gabba

MAC holiday

MAC counter

snow white dress in the works

November 3, 2011

pumpkin painting

I know Halloween is over but on Halloween Eve we decorated our pumpkins, I thought I'd share them with you guys anyways. Hmmm...I wonder who's is who's?
Mama's
Ella June's
Daddy's
And believe it or not they survived the holiday un-smashed! That means we'll get to enjoy them for another week or so before the rain comes to turn them into moldy pumpkin slush, yay!