A Week in Sunny CA!

This past week, I traveled to beautiful California for a visit with the dear family I spent 10+ years nannying for before they moved out there. It was a great week. First, the weather. When I left St. Paul, it was a -25 windchill. Upon landing in CA just a few hours later, my body was shocked with a 105 degree change at a toasty 85. Delight.

Much more fun to follow which I will share thru pictures. Waiting at the airport:

New luggage and always pick the window seat if at all possible. Upon arriving, my dear friend J (mama of 4 beautiful girls....4) gave me a new hairstyle and we stopped by the NEW SALON she is opening in just a few weeks. She had some friends write out scripture on the concrete before the floor was laid. I love this....

The next morning, the kids were off to school and J and I were on our way to spend a day in LA (hey, that rhymed!). Before heading out, kid #3 had a cute chapel program with her class:

Los Angeles is one crazy town. Traffic like I've never seen and lots of exciting people watching to be had. We started at Hollywood Blvd and were pleasantly surprised to see that they were setting up for the Oscars. We walked on the RED CARPET....like real celebrities:

Stopped in Beverly Hills for some shopping and lunch:

Towards the end of the day, we made our way to see the famous Hollywood sign on the hill. Little did we know that it would take 90 minutes to travel 8 miles!! Needless to say, it was dark upon our arrival...I did see the 'Holly' part of the sign thru the haze of clouds/smog and got a nice shot of the city from an observation tower. We had quite an adventure:

Day 3 began with a poolside breakfast:

Some cute girls by the pool:

And a texting teenager:

Day 4 I slept in and then kid #1 and I headed out for some lunch and shopping on the local strip:

We also enjoyed a water polo match, one of her pals was playing:

That evening, the kiddos and I had some time together (Mac and cheese, movies and fun) while mama and daddy headed out to a fancy star studded gala:

The following morning, we had the chance to tour the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center and meet a few old Hollywood celebrities. The gala was a fund raiser for this center that does amazing work to restore the lives of abused and neglected children. It is a beautiful facility! Barbara herself even made an appearance:

The day continued with some polo:

And we capped off the evening with a little Oscar party:

Wrapped up the week with a group shot of my girls....love:

It was an amazing week! Restoring for my whole self....and I can't wait for next year:)

Crafty Corner: Gotta Go, Part2

Ok, a few weeks ago I gave a little picture preview of a cute house project I was working on. I saw it in some decorating magazine or perhaps a house blog of some sort...I cannot recall:

Cute and hilarious all in one! I'm pretty sure the idea was a framed photo for purchase so I decided to just make my own. Supplies needed:
* A piece of craft foam
* Frame (of your choosing)
* Thin piece of tagboard (any color)
* Scissors
* Hot glue gun
* Print out of the little bathroom people

1. Cut out the 2 bathroom people and the middle divider piece.

2. Place the people on the foam and trace around with a pencil or some other sharp-ish writing device...it won't really show up with a marking but rather an indent.

3. Cut out all your foam pieces and use a hot glue gun to secure to the tagboard (which you have already cut to fit the frame).

4. Pop in the frame and hang on your door. Also, add a few pieces of sticky double sided tape to the back of the frame so it doesn't move when you open and close the door! Quick little project and you will never again wonder where the bathroom is in your house...you're welcome!

Sequins & Sofas: 5 Things

More things that bring a little earthly joy:

1. The Shark Navigator Lift-Away Upright Vacuum- This little buddy is the first real vacuum I have purchased as a grownup. It is very versatile and gets the job done....it really SUCKS. Ha! Seriously it does great on rugs, hardwood, upholstery and has nifty attachments for those hard to reach places. Cheapest at Bed, Bath & Beyond...under $150 with a coupon.

(A little side note about the B, B & B. They are great! I ordered this vacuum from there and had it shipped to my house... sadly, it was stolen from my back yard before I got home to receive it. Bed, Bath & Beyond replaced it for me the next day with no extra expense on my end and were so kind in my hour of sadness! Shop there.)

2. Value Sunglasses from Target- How can you go wrong with a $7 pair of shades. Not too many options as far as style selection goes, but these are super cute and I don't feel bad if they are lost or get broken.

3. Lupine Pet Collar- I searched around for awhile for a collar to replace Mosby's teeny baby kitten one (sniff,sniff. He is growing up so fast.....). Most that I tried had big, bulky closures and he didn't seem to like them. This one he is not bothered by and it comes in all kinds of cute colors and patterns...even black, which I always prefer because you always look good in black and it's classic and fancy (see how he is admiring it)! Also, lifetime warranty.

4. Sabra Olive Tapenade Hummus- So good...but apparently hard to find. My big sister B (who is also obsessed) has located it at Target pretty consistently, as have I. If you like olives, you will love it.

5. Covergirl Full Lash Bloom Mascara- Ok, I have mentioned before how I get sucked into mascara commercials. It has happened yet again....Katy Perry showed me how awesome this stuff is as she danced with giant pink peonies, as her eyelashes turned into soft pink flower petals, as she swung on a flowery giant pink swing suspended in mid air. Obviously I had to have it. And it is magical. I feel like dancing with a pretty pink garden flower every time I put it on. For real, it's great mascara.

Crafty Corner: Gotta Go

Workin on a little project for a certain room in my house...more to come later. Curious? Stay tuned:

Also, some cute niece-y ladies:

#8

This past weekend, tattoo #8 happened. I made the appointment SO many months ago (which is what happens when you have the best tattoo guy in the land...he books up quick) and the day finally arrived!

I had prepared myself for the hours and hours sitting that this next tat would entail...Thad (that's my dude) called the night before to confirm some stuff but first played the jokester and said he had to cancel the appointment. Not cool dude. All was good and I was ready.

This round would be a doozy...4 hours or so but worth every second. My long term plan (like years and years and years) is to complete a half sleeve on my left upper arm. I don't have a specific plan for how this will come together....as ideas come, so it will be.

I knew, however, that every sleeve should for sure include some classically drawn flowers. I like pink, I like flowers. They are beautiful. That's about as deep a meaning I have to offer for the choosing of #8.

Here we go:

Boom...I think it's my favorite so far! Currently in process of healing...it will look even more amazing in a few weeks. In the meantime, lots of lotion, sleeping on my right side and shedding of colorful skin chunks (bahahaha....I know that's super gross...but that's what happens...just keepin it real).

'So, what's your plan for tattoo #9?' I'm glad you asked.

I have yet to represent my loving/wonderful mommy and daddy somewhere on this human canvas....something I have wanted but had yet to be inspired with a worthy subject matter.

I asked my mama for some ideas and she suggested a chocolate chip cookie. This is genius because she is a cookie baker by trade and my dad has never met a cookie he didn't like...hilarious. Alas, a cookie tattoo would most likely look like a large mole or questionable skin condition. The idea search continued.

Then it came to me. All my young life, there was a set of wooden carved wings hanging above a doorway. I always liked them. My mom told me that the wings were their first wedding present- hand carved by a friend. I also (in the recent past) may or may not have staked my claim on said wings with a post it note stuck to the back where I wrote 'Dharma wants these someday'. The note may have been dated and parents initials possibly involved...the details are fuzzy.

When I bought my house this summer, mama gifted me with the wings to hang over my door. Wow!

A perfect representation of my parents and a wonderful memory from my childhood. Done deal.

I have an appointment scheduled for early June, can't wait for #9.

Toddler Talk: Winter White

This weekend, it was time once again for our monthly classroom makeover- new arrangement, new toys.

Since the snow is flying and a chill is in the air, we decided to make this week's curriculum theme to be WINTER. We planned several activities to talk about the happenings of the winter season...one of which was this grouptime:

I called it 'Polar Bear Peek'. I told the toddlers that the bear fell asleep....shhhh! Oh my, and now it is snowing. How many snowflakes will it take to hide Mr. Polar Bear??

They thought it was exciting to watch him be covered up one by one by each flake (then count all the flakes at the end of course, cause counting practice was the secret purpose for said activity).

Most delightful was removing them one by one to find him again at the end...the anticipation was killing them! I saved the flake covering his face for last and they cheered for the reveal. And then we counted them all once more for good measure:)

We have added winter books and other activities thru the week that run with this theme as well...paper snowball toss, snowflake window collages and more!

Lastly we made a little dramatic play set to expand the theme to free play time:

A big piece of white vinal (1 yard from Joann...on sale and with a coupon it was less than $10), a bucket of arctic animals, foam snowflakes and some little snow caves made with wipes containers (lids removed, a door cut into one side, and covered with white duct tape to make it a little more durable and extra winter-y). The kids are digging it!