CLOSED GIVEAWAY: Frolic Apparel

I'm a big believer in accessories making an outfit. This season I have been seeing turbans at places like anthro and urban and for some time, I have been dying to get my hands on one.
Good thing Frolic Apparel has every color of turban my heart desires in knit stretch or crushed velvet (my fav). My picks would be the olives (like the dark olive I'm wearing above), the navy blue, and the black or cheetah print on any hair color would be fun to wear with red lipstick. oh hotness.
So as a part of giving one of my Christmas wishes to you, I'm teaming up with Frolic Apparel to give one away! One lucky winner will be chosen and announced on Dec. 6th. Last day to enter is Dec. 5th!

To Enter:
Simply check out Frolic Apparel and tell me what turban you would like for yourself (or maybe as a gift for someone else)!

Or if you want to grab on now, just use the coupon code MERRYCHRISTMAS and it will give you 25% off until the end of December.
You know this would look dang hot for the holidays (and they keep your ears warm too!). Good luck!

thanksgiving 2011

We had our thanksgiving feast at Cameron's aunt & uncle's house. I don't think I could have picked a more perfect setting than a comfy cabin in the country for a big warm thanksgiving feast! Thanksgiving dinner was amazing and complete with not only a good ol' juicy turkey but smoked turkey as well. My tummy was in heaven. And what would thanksgiving be without a thanksgiving day nap? And a game or two of Rook? And watching Home Alone? And another round of the thanksgiving feast later on? Yes, the entire day was just scrumptious.

And Krew has surprised us with how much interest he has for his baby cousin Ella! She is a doll and we can see why he loves her so much. We are just in love with how gentle he is with her.

I am grateful for...

I am grateful for:

A home

Good food

Magic erasers

Chocolate

Colors

Finding beauty, creativity and inspiration through everything around me

Peace of mind

Life near the ocean

Wonderful parents & inlaw parents, I couldn't ask for more

The most supportive extended family

Health

Motivation

My Heavenly Father and the little miracles I see daily

The beautiful gift of being a mother

A dear son who is so cute and sweet, who laughs with me and surprises me daily.

A caring husband who rejoices in being a father, works hard for our family and constantly uplifts me and loves me.

A blessed life.

winner winner turkey dinner

Ahhh the idea of thanksgiving dinner sounds absolutely divine right now. In the three years past I have made the entire thanksgiving dinner by myself which I have absolutely loved. Brining my pampered turkey and making everything from scratch (thanks to pioneer woman). This year we are going to family's house which will be just as delicious and maybe a bit more relaxing.

Here's an idea of last year's thanksgiving feast in our teeny tiny apartment in Hawaii. The Rondos came out to stay with us and I don't think we could squeeze one more person into that little bitty space.

But that's what thanksgiving is all about, right? Being {closely} surrounded by family and being full of good food. Anyone else excited for their feast? Bring on the turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes!

And click here to see who the winner is of the Small Talk Giveaway...

a good day calls for lots of photos

Cameron and I created this little idea that every Saturday we would have a family morning run. I think we decided this about 3 months ago and have actually done it about 2-3 times. We're trying.
Saturday we went on what I call a "family fun run" around seaport village/downtown. And yes, I am still a photog jogger.

After our run in the chilly weather, we headed to the jacuzzi. Of course Krew wanted nothing but to go in the splash area. Poor kid took a few times to realize that you shouldn't look directly into the fountains.

We walked around Seaport Village...

That night Cameron and I decided we wanted to have a date night since the next month and a half will be a little busy. Little did I know, Cameron had a nice date in mind when I made the poor suggestion, "Ya, you want to get some panda express and go see a movie or just hang out?" He agreed but then told me his idea which was waaaay better. We went to the Harbor House for dinner, walked around downtown and enjoyed a Ghiradelli's chocolate shake together (nothing compares!).
The day couldn't have gone better. Exactly what the doctor ordered.

meow.

Here are some pictures from our week via CatPaint app.
I am not a cat person but this is just too awesome.

Alien cats were everywhere we went and Krew turned into a hungry little kitten.

Cameron turned into a cat and laser beamed me.

Which then turned me into a cat

A happy alien cat family. the end.

Have a wonderful weekend. I will be staying far far away from the ever-so-tempting Target, sprucing up my hairdo, and enjoying a rainy Sunday with my family. And of course entertaining myself by painting cats all over my pictures.

for best results, add busyness.

We have been just the busiest little bees around here. Always having something to do. And life is supposed to get busier? That's what they say. I enjoy being busy, it actually causes me to get more done — more of a time constraint, the better. Pressure for time helps me to forget the lollygagging. And little baby bee has been the most perfect little one. Should I dare say that he is getting easier as he gets older?? (maybe I should bite my tongue as 18 months approaches us quickly...) At the end of our busy days, I lay down to rest and instantly fall into a deep, deep sleep. No laying there with thoughts buzzing around my head or wondering about tomorrow's to-dos. Quick as a blink, I'm in a slumber.
Busyness does me good (as long as I have a clear weekend). :)

CLOSED GIVEAWAY: Small Talk Studio

Remember how I said I wanted to giveaway some items that I handpicked for Christmas? Well here's one of them.

How lovely are these prints? These are just a few of my favorites from Small Talk Studio. Alyssa creates these beautiful prints and she is giving one away to a lucky reader! They are whimsical, fun and add a bit more color to the room. And don't you love their charming sayings? Just enough to make me smile.

To enter:

-Simply check out the prints at Small Talk Studio. Then comment below telling me what print you would like and where you would place it in your home.

p.s. She is also throwing in some Christmas or Hanukkah scratchers {perfect for stocking stuffers}

Good luck my friends!

You have until next Monday the 21st to enter and I'll announce the winner on Tuesday Nov. 22nd.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

The winner is...

Congrats Cait, you lucky duck! Email me so we can get your print of choice to you. Thanks to Small Talk Studio and everyone who entered.

catty pants

I can really talk it up you know. Just ask my husband. We went to my dear friend's birthday party on Friday night so awfully late because everything in my day got a little backed up and things got a little crazy and we couldn't find parking downtown but... {breathe}... we made it there. And I greeted and said hello and talked and talked and talked. I needed to fill my word quota for the day. After a crazy busy day/weekend, a girl needs to talk. It's therapeutic. Essential. Thankfully my chitchat distracted me from consuming mass amounts of delicious food and making a little party piggy out of myself.
And let me tell you that leopard print pants are not extremely easy to put an outfit together with but I adore them and I will ignore the comment an old friend gave me ("nice hammer pants") at a wedding reception previous to the birthday bash.
But do I care?
No, I'll gladly accept it and love my feline bottoms.

11-11-11

via pinterest

It's friday! We're off to a busy weekend and it is nonstop. And I've got a clean house and freshly polished nails to start it off with. :) Feels oh so good.
Have anything fun planned for the weekend?
I sure hope you do.

we're speaking the same language

This morning as I was giving Krew a bath, I pointed to his little suction cupped basket with 3 balls sitting in it.
I pointed and said, "ball".
Then surprisingly to me he replied, "ball". And then I said "ball" and then he said "ball" and we repeated this about 10 times which he then waved his hands up and gave himself an applaud for his job well done.
He knew he said something good and he did. It absolutely blew me away.
I think back in awe that 15 months ago he was sitting in my arms, as a newborn barely doing anything for himself and now his brain can not only comprehend my language but also use it.
This is one thing before having a baby I never knew would have happened so fast. They learn so fast and understand so fast. It is truly miraculous and I know that I have many more times to be blown away.


p.s. And in other exciting news, the next few weeks I handpicked a few items I want for Christmas and that I will be giving away to you. Giveaways ahead...

all good things.

lovely night.
yummy food.
baby bum crack.
spicy chocolate.
family.

I do not wish this upon you...

Friday, I did my usually morning stuff and wrote a usual Friday post. I fixed a few things on my blog. Later I came back to check it and... POOF!
"Your blog has been removed." Wha??!!

I check my dashboard and it says, "You have no blogs" {sick feeling approaching}
I am trying to think if maybe I accidentally deleted it. No, I couldn't have. Over time I realize my entire google account is shut down.
I am sick. Sick thinking that almost 4 years of documenting life has just disappeared. I regretted not publishing it in a photo/blog book like I had planned. Technology is wonderful but I should have had a tangible copy. I was so bummed, so sad, and so regretful.
I wrote google a few times pleading to put it back up. Then I posted my problem on facebook and luckily I got some positive feedback from friends that it should come back. But all I could do is wait it out.
So I gave Krew and bath and texted my woes to my husband.

He expressed how sorry he felt for me and then I receive this sweet text:

My husband knows me well. And this is coming from the man who is working his tush off at work.
I love him.
And so we did just that. Most people stay in on a rainy night but we left the baby with Nana (Shannon, my mother-in-law) and headed out.
We got delicious hot chocolate from Coffee Bean. Cameron fell in love with the dark hot chocolate with caramel in it. I thought it was pretty good myself.
We walked along in the Forum where Cameron accompanied me to stores like Lulu lemon and anthropologie. He agrees with me as I use the word "cute" about a thousand times.

Went back and cuddled up to a movie. He made everything just right.
And at 11:54 pm, google sent me an apology letter saying everything was back up. phew.

banana gab

And today I can't say I’m really doing one thing. Most of my days are Ike that. Very rarely I have a day where I can say, I did __ today. No, it's made up of a hundred different tiny things—like a puzzle full of changing diapers, getting ready while watching a ridiculous Kardashian rerun, putting baby to bed, eating, cleaning up, trying to figure out what to do with my acorn squash, running errands, etc. So when people ask me what did you do today, I usually start searching my brain for an answer yet can only find the reply of, “Well, I'm not so sure.” I have no big event to prove it but I promise I was busy and active all day.

Cameron has made an announcement to me that this weekend he is doing nothing, which in interpreted Cameron language is: I am not making any plans except to surf and and hangout with my family. Yes. Fine with me. I like these kinds of weekends. :)

p.s. Krew is feeling great and he cried only a little bit from the shots (due to the nurse giving him a sucker… isn’t medical staff suppose to promote health?) and I managed to not faint. I genuinely appreciated all your thoughtful comments!

i love me a bath.

a few of my ideal baths via pinterest

I had forgotten about baths, really. Thinking of it as something childish or of the past. It's a fast paced world and showers fit the time constraint. Our last place just had a tiny corner of a shower so a bath was impossible. But through moving to a new place with a bathtub and using the salts I assembled, I remembered how much I love baths. Sitting in a nice warm body of water just doing absolutely nothing. Relaxing and unwinding. Don't get me wrong, if I had a private ocean that was 90 degrees+ that I could soak in I would choose that too. A bath to me is equivalent to a spa treatment. And I can't believe I forgot about it.

Are you a bath person?
If not, I dare you to try. Have a clean tub and shower first so you don't sit in your filth. {Writing that just really grossed me out}

wednesday

This time of day thing is really throwing me off—it’s just getting dark so soon. Our family hasn't experienced a fall time change in 3 years (Hawaii doesn't have a time change) and I feel myself being totally thrown off by the sun's exposure and not the clock. And after this weekend, I just won't know what to do with myself. Already Cameron is getting home from work and it's dark outside! Dark!! Makes me wonder where the day went. I'm sure I'll get used to it. At least I get an extra hour on Sunday. :)
Today we woke up and Krew had the worst little cough...poor kid. We snuggled in bed for a half an hour, ate breakfast and he's back to sleep. The poor thing has to get shots today. And lets pray I don't have to lie down on the dr.'s office bed like last time while the nurse holds my baby as I get blood flow back into my head. Me + needles/blood do not mix. I'm supposed to be the MOM here, folks. Krew didn't even cry last time (he's the one getting the shots) and I'm resisting the ever-darkening tunnel vision at the sight of the needle. brave mom.... I'm a brave mom...

a mummy and two scaredy-cats

Halloween was full of candy, chili, yummy foods of all kinds, great friends and family, trick or treating which Krew loved and wooed all the ladies on the street with his cuteness, and we went to two of the THREE haunted houses on the street (Cameron pushed me all the way through as I held onto him {we're both scardy cats, a reason we don't watch scary movies in our household})
The night was spooky and fabulous.
Onto November and the great things to come.
As my wise Jewish neighbor always said:
"If you're not thinking about Christmas before Halloween, it's New Years already".
Well put.