ever since vacation, i’ve felt differently. more calm, more laid back. which is awesome, because that means the witchcraft of vacation worked. beforehand i was admittedly uppity and uptight. but each night in mexico, as i sat, doing absolutely nothing but lifting a glass of whatever/tasty forkful of food to my mouthparts, i literally felt the rubberbands loosening their grip on my brain and shoulders. i relaxed, more than i can ever remember. there were times where Scot and i were sitting at dinner or lunch (srlsy, so much eating) and we weren’t even speaking to each other. and i’d think, oh my god we must look SO LAME to outsiders. but in reality, we were both so relaxed and truly just enjoying being together with nothing to think about.
i’ve been lame with my camera lately because i’ve been so much more present in my life in general. trying to push the thoughts of must sweep, must vacuum, must create healthy snacks in a timely manner, must launder stuff, MUST CLEAN ALL THE THINGS, and trying to be a morebetter player in my own life. emails can wait. dishes can wait.
it’s so much easier to snap a quick picture with my phone than bust out the camera all the time. i’ve been in a crazy fall nesting phase, cleaning things out, giving things to goodwill, and finishing some little projects here and there with the best little helper. i have a soup recipe book with pages marked and ready (i think imma do a soup a week, and share the recipes if they turn out nom-worthy). friends are being hung out with, skype dates with best friends are happening. halloween costumes are being made, and vanilla americanos are being relied upon.
there have been MANY thrifting adventures lately which have produced new shoes (hightop chucks for H!), cozy sweaters and things to paint. there have been a few scrapes and bruises (right in the kisser – that’s what happens when you walk off a step while drinking out of your sippy), and lots of pug cuddles. (Stella, our pug, has recently gone pretty blind and needs lots of help around. we are happy to oblige as she is now the cuddliest pugalug ever). (also, extreme sad face).
Harper is becoming a master artist. one day she just up and started drawing people. with eyes. and smiles. and arms and legs. even beards. holy crap, that freaked me out the first time she drew a whole gaggle of people. i seriously looked around like, are you kidding me? you drew this? toddlerhood is the best, dudes.
we’ve been spending lots of time with Fiona, Elle and baby Brynn. i even fed her a bottle! and then felt like i should never have more kids because i seriously felt like i had never held a newborn baby before. what is UP with that? you just forget how little and floppy they are? and then when you pop out another one, you just remember? i dunno, i’m freaked out.
we’ve been reading tons of books, singing lots of songs, and working on letters and numbers a lot because H really enjoys it. her room is coming together so adorably and in a week or so, i should be able to photograph it and show you guys. in my quests to find things to finish it up, i found this old tie rack for $1.99 and slapped a coat of paint on it. voila! best jewelry hook ever. (in love, freals).
basically fall is making me want to hole up my family with comfort food, a fort of sheets and books. what have you guys been up to? what is making you happy lately?
it’s no secret that i’m more of an old school music lover. i don’t keep up with too many newer artists (which i know is a shame, and possibly weird) and most of my cd’s (i still use them!) are the likes of James Taylor, Genesis and Hall and Oates (the line to be my best friend is over there). so you can imagine my excitement when i got the opportunity to go see Duran Duran last friday on the opening night of their US tour.
Harper headed to GG’s and Scot and i headed to Comcast Arena to get our Rio on. the Neon Trees opened and were really great and entertaining. we had 10th row tickets, which was amazing. not only did Duran Duran rule, but the droves of drunk ladies re-living their teenage years were highly entertaining to watch. one lady a few rows up from us clearly wanted Simon to notice her and in the midst of her crazy twirly interpretive dance to Come Undone, she fell backwards. she got right up, brushed herself off and continued her flopping around, until her date eventually got sick of her swinging about in the aisle and took her home. hilarious.
they played Girls on Film and Hungry Like the Wolf (two of my favorites), Come Undone (Scot’s favorite), but skipped Rio. this made me a sad panda, but they did mix in a cover of Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood so i can’t really complain, since that was awesome. the whole show was great and i highly recommend going if they come to a city near you.
hey, here are the tour dates! (i’m so helpful like that).
also you can follow the hashtag #duransocial on the twitter and see bloggers all over the country chatting about their Duran Duran concert experiences. i’ve seen a couple of opportunities to win tickets there, so check it out!
and you need this in your monday:
if you don’t doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo DOO DOO, i’m not sure about the future of our relationship.
on Harper > tank: h&m // jeans: baby gap // sandals: target. on Mandy > tee: target // jeans: gap // shoes: target // bracelets: thrfited bangles + h&m braided // necklace: a gift from dolly + boy
one year! how exciting. it flew by, amiright? crazy. i know one thing for sure – i love doing SOS and look forward to continuing it. i hope year two will bring even more people participating. join us if you’ve been thinking about it, k?
(if you’re new around these parts, there are really no rules to participating. come link up your weekend style posts each sunday, grab the button for your post, and enjoy visiting others to get style inspiration. boom.)
for the first few days of fall, the northwest sure has been summery (this is me not complaining. yay sun!). 80 degrees, yes please. this kitty shirt on H slays me, and lets not even get started on the top knot she sometimes insists on wearing. “i want a hair like mommy!”. cutest ever. i went casual as Scot and i were headed to a concert (more on that later!).
these photos are really special to me. anyone with a toddler knows getting them to stand still, and act half interested in a photo is near impossible, let alone getting a smile, hugs and kisses. needless to say: framers.
ok! in honor of our first year, Ruche wants to give one lucky participant $50 to spend on something pretty! the rules are pretty simple so here we go:
> you must link up to enter! use the linky tool below. please be sure you use the URL to your SOS post, not just your blog URL. we need to be able to click and see your post! (this is a good reminder for every week, actually).
> after you link up, visit Ruche and peek around. leave me a comment here telling me what you’d buy if you won!
easy, yes? as a recap: link, visit Ruche, comment. done!
you can comment on this post even if you’re not entering the giveaway. i’ll be matching comments with links as entries!
this giveaway will be open until Tuesday, September 27th at 11pm PST, and i will announce the winner Wednesday!
i hope you all have a great rest of the weekend and THANK YOU so much to everyone who participates in my little old blog hop. and good luck to everyone!
this giveaway is now closed! the winner is April from Knocked Up Fabulous! congrats!
remember last month when i told you about the new company, bluum, that would be launching this month? well it’s here, and it’s awesome! i received my first bluum box recently and was really impressed. Harper loved opening it with me and finding a few goodies inside for her, and i loved getting to try out a few great products for myself. the packaging was really fun, cute, and clever (there was a “menu” inside showing what each product was). bluum, where were you the past three years of my life? well, there’s always next time…wink.
i asked Nicole, the Brand Ambassador for bluum (and expecting mama!) some questions about the new service that will bring samples of baby and beauty products to your door each month.
How did the idea of bluum come about?
Bluum came about after three time dad and Co-founder Markus Rauschnabel realized how hard it was for new moms (including his wife!) to adjust their lives after their baby arrived: spending most of the time with your little one at home while at the same time trying to find the best products for baby (and mom) posed a real challenge. Markus then formed his team – and voila - the first product discovery service for new moms and babies was born!
How much does is cost to be part of bluum?
You can subscribe to bluum 3 different ways:
> Our annual membership is the best value at $108/$9 per month and includes 108 bluum bux (which you can redeem in our online shop for full size products).
> Our 3 month membership is $33/$11 per month and 33 bluum bux.
> Lastly, you can also pay as you go at $12 per box and 12 bluum bux.
Why do you think parents will benefit from a service like bluum?
When I first found out I was pregnant I was overwhelmed by the amount of products on the market. I wanted to try everything, but clearly that was impossible. I had no idea where to begin and what to buy. Bluum gives parents the opportunity to test out an array of products without fully committing or blowing tons of cash each month on items that just don’t work. By subscribing to bluum, you are able to narrow down your choices and commit to products that you and your baby truly love.
How does bluum choose the products that will go in their boxes?
At bluum we know how important choosing the right product is. We only select products that we ourselves would use on our children and that we feel our customers will love. Some of our picks are brands that have been tried and true while others will be up and coming with innovative ideas we are sure you will be excited to try!
What is the funnest part of being a part of bluum?
Working at bluum has been an absolute dream – I am surrounded by all the best there is for my baby as well as beauty and wellness products for me (mama needs love too!) And of course, our team is fabulous. Working with such talented and committed individuals is the icing on the cake.
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thanks so much to Nicole for helping us to understand a little bit more about bluum! you can check out the whole service (and sign up!) here, and follow Nicole on her pregnancy journey over here at the bluum blog.
fine printage: bluum sent me a box to try out free of charge for review. all opinions are my own, per uge.
there have been MANY thrifting adventures lately which have produced new shoes (hightop chucks for H!), cozy sweaters and things to paint. there have been a few scrapes and bruises (right in the kisser – that’s what happens when you walk off a step while drinking out of your sippy), and lots of pug cuddles. (Stella, our pug, has recently gone pretty blind and needs lots of help around. we are happy to oblige as she is now the cuddliest pugalug ever). (also, extreme sad face).
Harper is becoming a master artist. one day she just up and started drawing people. with eyes. and smiles. and arms and legs. even beards. holy crap, that freaked me out the first time she drew a whole gaggle of people. i seriously looked around like, are you kidding me? you drew this? toddlerhood is the best, dudes.
we’ve been reading tons of books, singing lots of songs, and working on letters and numbers a lot because H really enjoys it. her room is coming together so adorably and in a week or so, i should be able to photograph it and show you guys. in my quests to find things to finish it up, i found this old tie rack for $1.99 and slapped a coat of paint on it. voila! best jewelry hook ever. (in love, freals).
