A Sprinkle for Luke

This past weekend my girlfriend and I hosted a small baby sprinkle at my house for one of our BFFs who is having her 2nd little boy in just a few short weeks. Since my formal room is already black and white, we used that to our advantage and added gold for what turned out to be a very chic soiree! It turned out so cute! I especially love the silhouette in the frame.

Glowing mama to be! 

heads up - Central Market has the most delicious chocolate mousse cake

pick one up immediately!

the spread - fruit parfait (Pioneer Woman's recipe is really quite simple and delicious), bruschetta, chicken & waffles, bacon biscuits, mini quiche, bacon fruit, pastries, donuts, cake, 

and of course mimosas!

macarons and tea bags for favors; thank goodness for Trader Joes :) 

You can't beat $4.99 for a dozen

It's hard to believe sometimes our group of girls have been friends for over 10+years and some of us are having our 2nd and 3rd babies! It's true, quality is always better over quantity. Friendship is no exception. We can't wait to meet Baby Luke and add him to our growing brood of babes!

Our Summer Vacation - Destin 2014

Call me crazy and weird, but I really don't like beaches. #firstworldproblems

1. I can't tan. I pretty much burn if I'm in the sun for more than 20 minutes even with spf 70. 
2. I can't swim. My dad had a strange fear of us drowning (a totally normal parental concern that we all have) but rather than let us learn an important survival skill, he kept us from all large bodies of water. Makes total sense.

These two fundamental reasons are pretty much why anyone goes to a beach, but somewhere along the way, I thought it would be a wonderful idea to pack up the family and drive 14+ hours to Destin, Florida. We rounded up 3 other couples and their kiddos and rented a house for a week. 

Things I learned:

1. Adjust your expectations. Vacation with kids (7 at that!) is not REALLY a vacation. . You will not be lounging in your beach chair with your adult beverage reading on your Kindle. You will be chasing your toddler who is about to eat a fistful of sand, reapplying sunscreen every 30 minutes, looking for a juicebox, and digging through your beachbag for snacks to avoid potential meltdowns. 
2. Get a place right on the beach. We rented a house that was probably a 5 minute walk which seemed like a good idea, but with the number of bodies we had, it was such a pain to lug our gear. All our poor hubbies were worn out from the number of trips they had to take to get everything down to the sand and set up.
3. Forget the sand toys. We brought soo many toys. Shovels, buckets, castle molds, sifters, you name it, we brought it. The kids played with ONE bucket. The rest of the time they spent in the water. Who would've thought?
4. Make it a pool day. We are so glad we got a house with a private pool because the kids (and parents) loved it! The first two days, some of the little kiddos were actually pretty afraid of the ocean and sand and wanted nothing more than to just go home. Thankfully, they pool eased them into it and it gave the parents a little break to just sit in one place for more than 10 minutes at a time. 

While we were there, we took some pictures with a professional photographer, Darris Hartman, for fun. I highly recommend her. Excuse our crazy hair, it was super windy!

Of course, we had to take our first picture as a family of FOUR! Baby Deux coming in December :)

Sam & Donna's Wedding

Our dear friends got hitched this past wknd (about damn time, ya'll!). It was our first outdoor/barn wedding so there was some definite confusion over the dress attire - wedges or heels? are we going to be in the grass? why don't I own a pair of cowboy boots? what the heck do we wear to a country asian wedding?? And of course, the two dresses I rush ordered online looked terrible on so I had to make an emergency run to the mall on Friday during lunch.  The dress gods must've taken pity on me because I found a barn-yardy appropriate dress at my very last stop, H&M.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the cute details the bride put into the wedding - the pie bar and Paciugo girl was a big hit w/ C and my hips - but it was either keep the kiddo entertained or sneak off for a drink. Priorities, people. We were the only couple who brought a 2 year old, so there were plenty of aunties and uncles around to love on him all night. I think that will be my new strategy for events from now on. Be the only mama who brings their kid. :)

It was a great night to see everyone under one roof -- most of these friends the hubby has known since middle school. I love that we are all still friends, picking up where we left off since the last time we saw each other, all a little rounder, sharing pics of our children in between shots. One of my hopes is that Caden is able to cultivate the same kind of friendships that we are so blessed to have and cherish so much. 

Congratulations Sam & Donna!! Now go make babies!

Perks

Perk cards. I have about a million.

Starbucks, the local smoothie place, CVS, the kiddo's haircut salon, frozen yogurt...you name it, I probably have it.

The best perk of all is probably having a friend that can make me clothes. Maybe you have heard of her - Khanh of Nha Khanh -- oh you know, only a few ppl like Giuliana Ranic, the Kardashians, and Brooklyn Decker, to name a few, have worn her stuff, no big deal. :) You can find her line at Neiman Marcus, Rent the Runway , and Saks too.

She invited the girls over for a fun night of dress up at her studio recently. Let me tell you, it is always a chore trying to round a group of  women up with all of our crazy schedules, but this was definitely the quickest that we've all gotten together without any rescheduling or cancellations in the history of our 15+years of friendship. Pretty clothes and food, who can turn that combination down?

It's so inspiring to see someone truly love what they do and live for their craft. I've so enjoyed watching her build her growing empire over the past few years. For me, it all started with these four special dresses - custom bridesmaids gowns she made for our wedding.

Fast forward a few years -- here we all are wearing Nha Khanh at dinner recently. I can't wait to see the newest collections and perhaps add a few more amazing NK pieces to my closet. ;)

New Mom Gift

My BFF is due to have her little boy any day now (or else he eviction is set for the 20th!) and I am over the moon excited for her. It's been a long time coming, and I can't wait to meet Baby R! When I was preggo with C, I read all the books, and researched the hell out of baby products and gear, but there were things I had to figure out on my own once Caden made his debut.

I know BFF has everything she needs, but I wanted to give her a little basket of minor essentials for her "Labor Day". I love me a good basket of goodies!

Some of the things I included were:

1. make up removal wipes for a quick pick me up 
2. snack bars to keep her energy up
3. kleenex for out of control hormones
4. tucks medicated cooling pads for her hoo ha (an ESSENTIAL no one told me about)
5. oatmeal to get that milk flowing
6. milkscreen testing strips bc that one glass of wine to celebrate might lead to two and you never pump and dump!
7. lotion for dry hands
8. vaseline for dry everything else
9. diaper bag pouches to help organize her bag when the brain's out to lunch
10. eye mask for her new friends, under eye circles
11. and the basket to keep all her nursing essentials together when she's stuck in one place feeding that bebe every 2 hours

I found the printables here and here. 

21+ 10

I'm not usually one to lament turning a year older, but for some reason I was dreading my birthday with almost teenage like angst and anxiety this year. I was even seriously considering taking the day before and after my bday off just to avoid coming into work because I knew my dear coworkers would be decorating my desk somehow. And by decorating, I mean humiliating me (but totally in a loving way of course)

I was actually excited to turn 30 i think....but deep down, in hindsight, I was like every other 29 year old on the cusp of a new age bracket....trying to trick myself into not thinking I'm not old as shit. That 30 was the new 20. The only people that say that crap are 29 year olds. Funny thing. I can't recall for the life of me what the hell I did to celebrate last year. Yup, confirmed. Old as shit. No kind of memory, long or short term memory. I can barely remember what I had for dinner the night before. Yes, I'm usually in bed by 10pm on a LATE night. No more ragers, or extended happy hours. Life's definitely different from what it was a year ago, but I will have to say wholeheartedly that I don't miss any of it.  My life may be boring and mundane by most standards, but I would not change one thing. I love that I have such an unbreakable support system of family and friends that are so genuine and loyal. I am blessed in every possible way.

I'm stocked up with eye creams and face serums and all sorts of anti aging creams that my girlfriends got me and ready to take on whatever wrinkles/worries/drama/stress that 31 brings.