feeling friday

Cat's still got my tongue.  I can tell you that those aviators are $5 at H&M.  I had to buy them.

what's in my bag

My $5.99 bag from Old Navy.  This is a paired down version of my normal bag, I've lightened up for summer. We have: point & shoot camera, various lippies, children's benadryl, swagger pin, advil, pen, pencil, eye glasses, sunscreen, wallet, hair clip, scarf that was wrapped around my camera, coin purse that holds change and starbucks cards, zippered pouch full of coupons.

I've not been feeling very chatty the last few days, but I have been looking around at pretty things.
This collection of illustration and design curated by Because it's Awesome is gorgeous.
Victoria of sfgirlbybay creates the most amazing diptychs in her series Separated At Birth, they never fail to make me smile, and then boggle my mind with her curatorial abilities.

feeling friday

Looking forward to the weekend as we have some plans but aren't feeling over-booked with them.
Date night tonight.  Build & Grow at Lowe's in the morning, a going away party for a friend who is moving to Nashville tomorrow afternoon.  Sunday we're going to help support this fundraiser for a high school friend's daughter.  If you're in the area, come join us at this family-friendly event.  It will be fun to introduce Chloe to OOSoul, her daddy and I used to dance it up with them at The Foothill.  Ah the old days.  

These photos are from a quick trip to Palm Springs last summer.  They are a little reminder to book another trip.  I LOVE the desert.  Can't wait.


happy friday, friends!

attempted DILO

(day in the life of)
This was one of those days where I sit in my car for ten seconds while I decide whether or not I want to run back inside and get my camera. I don't think I've ever regretted having my camera with me, but I have regretted not having it.  I did run out of batteries, but it is better to have half the day captured than none at all.

That was the last shot of the day.  Now that I think about it, we didn't do much after that besides nap.  

Oh, and we have a swimmer now.  Squeal!  So proud of her.  

hairdos

I always enjoy InStyle magazine's transformations, where they show a celebrity over the years, or over one year; how they change their hair and makeup.  You know the pages I'm talking about?  Well, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be featured in InStyle any time soon, so I did it myself.  While I don't attend movie previews or fancy parties with swag bags, I do change my hair a lot.  And I wanted to see all the "styles" in one place.

So here are my transformations.  Narcissistic much?   Not sure about that, but I do seem a little crazy about my hair.
This is May-September of 2010, looks like four haircuts, one dye job, and a part change.
I would change my hair every week if I could. Fringe, no fringe, blonde, brunette, shaggy, sharp.
Not sure what this says about me.

Below is May-July of 2011.  What am I doing with my hair the other months of the year? Not sure why I only have pictures of spring and summer.

I cannot believe I took the time to do this.  But Chloe is napping, and here I am.  Clearly it means it's time for a haircut!  Or color or fringe or...

summer update

• Constant hair tucking behind the ear. She used to never want it there.  
• Lots of progress in swim class--full head under water without plugging her nose, not freaking out if I let her go.  
• We've powered thru four cans of sunscreen; I carry three different types in my bag at all times.
• She gets prickly heat.
• I'm going dairy-free for 30 days.  
• Made jerk chicken last night and it was yummy. 
• I have made my bed every morning for over a week, I like this habit.   

frame some art

I tend to buy prints and artwork randomly, and it sits waiting patiently for weeks or months before it gets framed, let alone hung on the walls.  One thing that seems to get things up quicker (that's what she said) is the One Cent Sale at Aaron Brothers.  I love a bargain, and one cent cannot be beat!

I have no connection to Aaron Brothers, just sharing a good deal.  I bought this cute giraffe print from Sass & Peril for Chloe's room at a local craft fair this spring, and I just received the two Mary Blair prints I ordered from Disneyland.  No time like the present to go get some one cent frames!

photo credit: sass & peril

Also? The kind sir at Aaron Bros told me that some art supplies are one cent too, like canvases!  And I'm hoping I get this little bird for my birthday, and I can mount him (yeah, yeah) on a nice square canvas.

Happy framing and happy Friday!
(Sale ends July 30th in SoCal.)

before and after: kitchen bull

The kitchen in our old house was bright and sunny with it's original yellow and sage-green tile.  We went with those colors, painting the cabinet fronts yellow, and adding lots of Mexican folkart around the room.  

We bought this bullhead in on our honeymoon in Mexico.  (That sounds a lot fancier than it actually was, it was Rosarito.)  Anyway, we loved him, and I loved where he ended up, over the kitchen sink. 

The kitchen in the new house was going a different direction, but I wasn't willing to let the kitchen bull go, so I hit him with some spray paint.  A lot of my friends joke about me spray painting everything white.  It's no joke, people.  Old things become new with the shake of a can...I can hear the balls rattling against aluminum now.  I love spray paint. I also love the fact that I am giving something old new life instead of buying new.  Recycle, upcycle, reuse. 

Here's what he looked like before. 

And here's what he looks like now, in his new home.  

What do you think?  You can tell me you if hate it, I can take it.  I think it is really unexpected that it is a matte finish, but it was what I had on hand, and I kinda like it.  What I love is that it can be changed any time with another can of spray paint.  

And yes, in case you are wondering, I did feel guilty because some artisan spent a long time painting that beautiful pattern.  But I'm over it. 

luau

My friend Marisa threw a lovely birthday luau in honor of her mom's and daughter's shared birthday.  She also made a yummy luau punch, of which I drank plenty.  It was delicious.  I am trying to get the recipe--tequila, champagne, Triple Sec, Sprite, and some citrus slices,  but I don't know the ratios.  It affected my picture taking.  But I managed to get a few photos of some of the kidlets: there was no shortage of beautiful children.

    Ruby



My girl was there, too.  I'll add her in later.
Thanks Marisa for having such a fun party!

little plastic castle

If you don't already know, Winda is Chloe's fish.  She is a male beta.  What?.  

So, Winda moves around the house a lot which tends to surprise people.  But when I clean her bowl I leave her in the kitchen for a few days,  or she'll move for parties, etc.  Usually she lives on the sideboard by our dining room table.  

So recently Chloe discovered my Ani DiFranco cd, and noted that she is "half human, half fish," and took it from my office to show to Winda.  So there sat Ani on the sideboard for about a week, right next to Winda.  Then I cleaned her bowl and left her on the kitchen table for a little change of scenery...and not long after, I found this.  First time, totally cute and funny.  Second time?  Captured and shared.    

While getting this picture I noticed how bright white the light was.  One would think that summer light would be warm and winter light would be cooler.  I think that anyway, so I was surprised at how white the light was in the kitchen the other morning.  Look at the difference between the light in February and these taken July 1st. So very different.

What 'ready for soccer' looks like.

Not sure how I let two weeks pass without a single blog post.  I swear I've written five posts in my head since then, I have, I've just not sat at the computer to actually type them up and hit publish. Woops.

Summer is flying by.

We have been busy with swim lessons, soccer, and fit camp (for me) three times a week.  When it's nice and warm I tend to run to the beach because I learned from last year's cool days to grab them up while we can.  Thus far this summer we are having more normal temps, and that makes me happy.

She started soccer two weeks ago--when I asked her if she was ready to go, this is what I got.  Chloe still in her pajamas, and her face covered in makeup.  I figured we wouldn't make it beyond orientation.

But she liked it.  She was kinda good at it, and the next week she was ready.  Shin guards and all.  We still need to get some good tennies, then we should be all set for soccer.  

Chloe's taking the summer off from preschool, which means we are together 24/7, so the projects around the house are pretty much non-existent.  The half-done projects are a plenty.  As quick as the four hours go by while she's at school, I really miss that time to catch up and get things done around here.  As soon as I get used to this schedule, it will be Fall.  Isn't that how it always goes?