aquarium

It has been years since I’ve been to the aquarium, and this was the first time with kids and it was amazing.  It was seriously so much fun and we only went for the night session so they got to run around screaming so loud and no one was really there to be bothered.

This was a good reminder to enjoy the things that surround me.  I seriously take for granted the quick drive it is for us to go to these amazing places.  I should seriously get a tourist guide to my area and see the suggestions they would have. 

Although I will have to say…If I hear the word “NEMO!” screamed one more time I may go insane.

my new fashion icon

I have an amazing pop up version of “We’re going on a Bear Hunt” and it is probably read at least ten times a day.  I’m going to tell you that my new fashion inspiration is now the Bear Hunt mom.  Seriously, she is so precious and she takes her kids on bear hunts. 

one pieces

I am always looking for good one pieces for my little men and my in-laws got this gem from Germany.  So I may get a little stereotypical here…but why do Europeans always have better style?

jay gatsby

This week I finished reading a book by Khaled Hosseini, so as you can imagine it was as depressing as possible.  After that I needed to go back and read a book that was fond to my heart, and The Great Gatsby was the closest over-read book in my reach.  Oh how I love to reread old classics (even if it is just a skim or a passage).  I can’t wait to start showing good classics to my boys.  Not that Goodnight Moon isn’t a classic…I’m not pushing it.

However, as I was reading it made me realize how happy I am that Jay Gatsby is back in fashion in so many ways. 

Happy Retirement Pops!

So today marks my dad’s last day as the Newport Beach Fire Chief.  He is officially retired at close of business today!  It seems very surreal even to me, so I can’t imagine what it feels like for him!  My dad started his first day on the floor the day after I was born, so it’s pretty easy for me to figure out he’s been on the job 29 years.  My friends and I joke that I have the kind of dad that kind of ruined me for finding a husband because he’s so great it’s difficult to find someone to live up to the expectations he’s set for me (although I found Jeff who has met any of my expectations plus some).  He is seriously the best dad I can imagine and has influenced who I am in an amazing way.  He has integrity, character, work ethic, and the ability to be the biggest weirdo ever.  He’s basically Charles Ingalls.  Well Charles Ingalls from the TV show, not the book.  So happy retirement Chief Lewis!  In case you are wondering who made me the way I am just look at this picture taken at dinner last night:

oh and yes we are quite the fashionable pair…

audrey

So on my cliché post I didn’t want to get too cliché, but now it’s too late.  I was the girl who grew up with the Audrey Hepburn poster on my closet wall, I absolutely adored her.  It’s too difficult to do a post about how stylish or pretty she is mostly because there are way too many pictures to choose from.  I tried to limit it…but here we go.  This is for you Teppei and Amanda…now you can’t judge me.

The Mandelier

I was browsing through an old copy of Details magazine (don’t ask…I was at work and it was there) and came across a quick blurb about “The Mandelier.”  This was a term coined by the designers at Workstead for a masculine chandelier.  I am actually on a big masculine kick right now so really enjoyed this.  Maybe it’s because of all the testosterone in my house, but I think I prefer these more than most frilly chandeliers:

So after finding these gems I went straight to the source and found these amazing pieces on the workstead website…seriously amazing.

cliché, I know

So how cliché is it to post pictures of amazing women from years gone by and say you want to look like them?  Well that’s what I’m about to do.  I apologize already.  But seriously, I am so far from having grace or poise that I look at these women with admiration instead of inspiration.  We were just joking about watching me in a step aerobics class (oh yes, I took step), and how comical it is.  So I look at these and am in awe that they have class just by sitting or standing.

the benefits of hoarding

So today I came home and had the best surprise from my mother in law!  She actually had saved my husband’s clothes from when he was a kid and is now passing them along to my boys!  Seriously a table full.  I’m so grateful and so amazed.  I’m sorry but I’m not sure much of this will be passed on to the store because I would feel some sort of evil in that.  Some of the pieces were handmade by his grandma which makes them all the more precious.  It seriously encourages me to take the time to give handmade gifts, because it is honestly meaningful generations away.

of course it only took seconds for Simon to find the Spiderman sweatshirt…

instant pudding

I normally find the time between dinner and the bedtime routine the hardest for me to fill with fun meaningful family time.  I’ve used up all my tricks during the day and I’m normally exhausted by the time we finish the dishes.

Tonight we found my new favorite activity…making instant Chocolate pudding!  It was honestly the easiest thing in the entire world and so insanely fun.

Simon did all (most) of the stirring…

it honestly ended up tasting like chocolate cake mix.  And yes…I made him take his shirt off.  Saved me some extra soaking time for the laundry.