ice, ice baby.

well, they warned us & we listened. everyone & their mom was out at the grocery stores last night preparing. what they didn't tell us was how effing heavy this snow was going to be!!!! i tried to contribute to team shovel-the-driveway & i looked like a wimp trying to lift just one scoop of snow. so i played with the kittens & made some snowballs instead.

 the path i made that they refused to stray from & rocking Revlon lip stain in "smitten" 

(does the trick of making the day that much less cold!)

he's getting big!!

VEST: Burton

HOODIE: Kohl's here

GLOVES: Anthropologie

PANTS: Old Navy maternity (available in store)

for those of you on the east coast: enjoy the snow day & stay warm!

maurice sendak exhibit!

ever since i was a kid, 'where the wild things are' has been my all time favorite book. max, the wild things, the illustrations, all of it. maurice sendak was an artistic genius and i deeply admire all of his work. so when i saw in the newspaper that there was a special limited time exhibit on his work, i jumped at the opportunity to go. it did not disappoint. they had all of his original drawings, paintings, & even a sculpture. they had all of his books including Little Bear (a fan favorite) & had the movie adaptation playing on a big screen in a separate room with tons of little kids lounging on bean bags. i have such a love for art & illustrations, especially in children's books, & i only hope to instill that passion in my children.

by far, one of my favorite exhibits of all time :)

tea time.

this morning i took a cruise down 95 to meet up with my lovely friend & fellow blogger Devon at the cutest little spot Lorca for some hot drinks & baked goods. obviously i ordered a chai latte since they are my absolute favorite & never fail to warm my heart & soul. it came in an alice in wonderland sized cup & saucer & i only burned my tongue once.

we chatted about life, the cold ass weather outside, & our big plans for the future. she also surprised me with the sweetest gift for the little guy: a moose printed & footed onesie from Vermont... sigh. i can't wait to bundle him up in it & snuggle him :)

love her.

oh & did i mention she is the founder of Wendy Darling Co. where she designs & makes her own whimsical clothing line... launching this month. you can be sure i'll do a post when the website is up & running! love you devon, can't wait to team up with you & make some creative awesomeness!

chatfield hollow

yesterday afternoon my parents + pete and i all went to Chatfield Hollow... a state park that is right down the street from where my parents live. it is also the place my mom and dad first met! he worked at the park & she was a lifeguard, too cute right?! i spent the majority of my childhood at this park... swimming, playing, riding bikes, & hiking all the trails. it was so fun to go back & hear my dad tell us "i built that bridge" and "that is where i first met your mother" ... we had the best time walking on the beach & circling the lake. and i had the best time doing handstands wherever i could & skipping along the "swamp walk" :) 

outfit of the day

TIGHTS: Anthropologie here

BOOTS: Kohls similar here

SWEATER DRESS: Gap Outlet 

husband was on duty all week & just got home last night so we went out today for bagels & coffee, ran errands, & enjoyed each other's company after a week spent apart. i am all for outfits that are comfy & this sweater dress is just that. i picked it up at the Clinton outlets last week on sale & absolutely love it. it is so cozy & cute with its little pockets & metal buttons. and since there is still snow on the ground, i slid my way into my favorite ninja turtle green tights from Anthropologie & my worn in buckle boots. happy friday & cheers to a great weekend! we are lounging by the fire about to watch Zero Dark Thirty. sooo excited to see it!! 

*p.s. my hair is done with a 1 1/4inch curling iron. tutorial coming soon :)

over the past week...

my wound was pretty sore so i spent lots of couch time with this kitty,

lots of girl scout cookies were consumed,

god bless the person who invented samoas!

along with lots of caramel,

the only thing better than Valentine's day candy... is Easter candy!

 this was hung up by my mother on the fridge,

 little brother's soccer team was short a man so pete decided to play,

(this is a guy who played hockey his whole life. he was a smidge out of his comfort zone!)

they warmed up, stretched it out, & won both games!

we let kai sleep in our room again + we had strawberry shortcake for dessert... my favorite!

 i picked up this button up jean shirt + these colorful bowls from none other than kohls!

DAY 1          +          DAY 2

and i am doing a little experiment with my hair:

ok, so normally i shower, flip my head over to blow dry, & then curl my hair with either a one inch curling iron, or a 1/2 inch curling iron. these curls are with a 1/2 inch iron while twisting the hair around the barrel so they are more wavy than ringlets. if this experiment goes well, i will do a video tutorial!

and then, what i have always done over the years is tease my roots and add hairspray... the problem i faced with this was that by the second, and absolutely by the third day, my hair would be extremely ratty underneath from the hairspray & greasy at the roots from teasing. but i truly felt the need for the teasing to add some volume, and the hairspray to hold the curls. 

so on Saturday, i got this idea in my head that i would try to do smaller curls & then naturally let them fall out over the following days. this would allow me to try and stretch out shampooing my hair to 3 or 4 days. so the first picture of the curls is yesterday, and the second picture is of today. my husband really loves my hair curlier, but it is a lot of work... so by not having to do my hair for 4 days in a row, it makes it worth the extra effort. and i really am in love with how it looks today... just wavy & pretty.. and that picture is after i got home from the gym just now. so i am off to go rinse off, but going to keep my hair dry & i'll show you tomorrow how it looks. because this is exciting to me! my hair isn't as greasy as it normally is & it is nice not to have to do anything to it for a couple of days... because if there are two things in the world i hate doing over and over and over... it is my hair & shaving my legs!!

happy Sunday, go UCONN women & see ya tomorrow!

from a snowstorm to sunshine

JEAN JACKET: Macy's

DRESS: Macy's

yesterday we woke up to a foot of snow... again. and yet today it is all sunshine & melting snow.. which annoys all of us who spent hours shoveling it yesterday! but it was good exercise so i'm not complaining! this crazy weather has made me realize two things: one, that the weathermen can just say whatever they want, be totally wrong, & still get paid... and two, that California has never looked sweeter! we can't wait to get out of this cold & warm ourselves in some San Francisco sun. if any of you readers live or have visited San Fran, please let me know your favorite shops, markets, bars, etc... places that pete and i HAVE to visit & make a part of our daily lives in this new place we are going to soon call home. 

over the past week...

i let my eyebrows grow out more... & i wore my stella & dot heart necklace everyday

which is featured in the post below!

 Stark made himself quite at home under the covers, 

& his name is a daily reminder that Season 3 Game of Thrones starts this month!

 husband & i went out to dinner with our aunt & uncle,

& he looked so handsome in his Coast Guard uniform

 my aunt gave me a stack of my favorite magazine from over the past few years

i love, LOVE Martha

 i learned the BEST way ever to fold clothes in drawers from pinterest here

you can actually SEE all of pete's shirts now!

so i decided to do it to my own t-shirts, work out tops, & tank tops,

major success and why have i not thought to do this before??

 our Abyssinian cat Kairos hurt his little tail so we let him sleep with us all day on our bed

which resulted in serious cat + dad time. pete is going to be a great father one day ;)

and i scored new Converse sneakers in red for half the price at TJMaxx of all places!