Home Sweet Home

Ahhh, I can still hear the sound of the ocean's waves. What a wonderful week we had in Newport Beach, CA and how sad I am to be home right now, back to the grind of every day life. We had the privilege of joining my parents at their timeshare in Newport this past week. It was such a great vacation. Allie and I drove up with my parents last Saturday, Matt joined us on Wednesday and then we all drove home today. Here's (almost) all that we did...

spent two days at Laguna Beach playing in the sand and sun
went to the 43rd Annual Sand Castle Building Contest (which actually wasn't as impressive as we thought it would be but still fun to see)
went to Sea World which Allie LOVED
had dinner with two of Matt's good friends from Merrill Lynch who moved to SD recently
also had dinner with Matt's cousin and his new wife who live in Newport
my dad drove to LA to pick up Matt since he accidentally booked his plane ticket for LAX instead of Orange County Airport (and didn't realize it until the plane landed!)
drank Pina Coladas by the pool
shopped
ate yummy food
went for walks
read THREE books (my favorite thing to do on vacation!)
and best of all, RELAXED and enjoyed the PERFECT weather all week!

I have tons of pictures and a really funny video to share but I have no energy to download and post right now. After the 9 hours it took for us to get home today (yes, NINE hours!), I'm pooped. More on our fun vacation to come!

The Candy Shop

I have been meaning to post this hilarious story for weeks now and am finally getting the chance to do so...in Phoenix there is this place right on the corner of a busy intersection called 'The Candy Shop'. I know what you all are thinking...gumballs, jelly beans, plenty of sugared delights to keep you wired all night long. Well, this 'candy shop' is not quite that kind of place. Let's just say it's one of those simple brick buildings with no windows, a very non-descript entrance with big heavy doors, mainly just male patrons, probably a security guard standing just inside the entrance, and other than the security guard and bartender, probably only good looking females are employed here. Are you all following me??? Let's just say it's X-rated and I promise I don't know this from experience. Well, a few weeks ago Matt was driving somewhere and was stopped at this intersection. He glanced over to The Candy Shop and noticed an elderly couple getting out of their car in the parking lot. Of course Matt had to sit and stare because not often do you think of elderly couples spending a Friday night at this type of joint. Well, the couple walked across the parking lot, holding hands and smiling and talking, walked in the front door and about 7 seconds later he said that they bolted back out the front door looking incredibly shaken, embarrassed and mortified and almost ran to their car!!!! hahaha They were probably on their way to their grandkids house and thought they'd stop and pick up some lollipops!

My absolute favorite project (so far)!!!!

Once again I got a great idea from this blog to create another little something for Allie. These quilted letters were just too cute not to try myself and I'm so glad I did because I think they turned out so great! I used scraps from fabric that I had and also raided the $1/yard fabric aisle at Walmart. Then I traced out letters on the fabric, made a sandwich with the colored fabric, some quilt batting and some chenille for that backs and sewed the letters together. Viola!

Here's the full alphabet set...


I made an extra 'L' so we could spell out ALLIE


All the fronts of the letters are a different fabric, but all the backs are this white, textured, vintage chenille which I love



I know she's a little young but it's never too early to start working on our letters!

10 Things I Love About You (to my wonderful husband)...

1. I love it that you are my high school sweetheart, that I have memories with you that go back over 12 years!

2. I love it that you gave me a second chance after that first summer (even though I was only 15 and you would not want to be in that other boy’s shoes right now, I know I still broke your heart!)

3. I love it that you let me dress you. Even though sometimes I wish you were a little more stylish, I’m glad you are not metro.

4. I love it that you work so hard so that I don’t have to (I am SO blessed to be able to stay at home with our daughter :)

5. I love it that you get my oil changed in my car, fill up my tires and get my gas.

6. I love it that you love your family and you love mine. Nothing is better than our family relationships and I’m so thankful that we are all SO close!

7. I love it that you love our daughter so much. I could always picture you with a boy but never a girl. And now that we have a girl, I can’t picture you without her!

8. I love it that you love God and that your faith is so important to you and to our family. It’s so easy to feel safe and stable with you knowing that we have the same foundation.

9. I love it that you love me for who I am, who I have been and who I become.

10. I love it that we are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary today! Happy anniversary to my husband, my best friend, my true love, my partner, my life!

We officially have a walker!!!!

Hair Evolution

One of the best things about having a girl is all the great hairstyles you get to make. Allie was born with a full head of hair so this got to start early with me. Although many times I wasn't sure if a lot of hair was a blessing or a curse...In the past year Allie's hair has been out of control more times than not. I can totally picture her as the kindergardener who I send to school with perfectly done hair, and by the end of the day, she has one pigtail left, crazy fly-aways all over the place and her ribbons/barrettes are no where to be found. But at least I get to play and use lots and lots of fun accessories! It's been fun to watch Allie's hair transform through her baby years :)

Just hours old - check out all that hair

1 month - no matter what we did it just stuck straight up!

2 months - one of many bad hair days, we call this the peacock

3 months - She lost so much hair, but just on the sides, nothing on the top. We call this the Donald Trump do

5 months - 1st attempt at pigtails

7 months - my favorite ponytail picture, the sides are starting to grow back

11 months - major bed head EVERY day

12 months - my favorite little girl hairstyle

14 months - my first french braid attempt

The cutest backpack ever

I got the best idea from one of my new favorite blogs to make a little backpack for Allie. I think it is the cutest thing ever, so girly and so pink, two of my favorite things. And the best part is, it only cost me $3!!! Each item was purchased from no place other than the dollar store! Yes, I've become very cheap lately! I can't wait for Allie to carry her dolls and toys in it!

Here is the before...


And here is the after...


So freakin cute!!!

Labor Day Picnic

Oh how I love holiday weekends. It's not just the extra day that makes it nice, there's just a different feel to holiday weekends. More relaxation, more fun, doing things you normally wouldn't do on a typical weekend. Since the weather has gotten a little bit better (emphasis on a little bit), Matt and I decided to have a picnic outside with Allie today. She had so much fun sitting at her little picnic table that my parents got her for her birthday (Matt and I don't fit on it so we were lounging in our patio chairs right next to her :) I can't wait to have more days like this if our summer ever decides to permanently go away this year!
Eatin some PB&J

Those gorgeous blue eyes just melt my heart

Swinging after lunch

Happy Birthday to my BFF!!!

Where to begin? Just recently I said that a little over 3 years ago, God brought an amazing family into mine and Matt’s lives, the Andersons. Almost immediately after we met, an amazing friendship began not only between our families, but between Bri and I. Words cannot even express the way that I feel about my amazing friend. I know it may be cliché, but Bri is truly beautiful inside and out. No one would argue that one look at her, you can see that she is strikingly beautiful. But that beauty is magnified when you get to know her. She is incredibly confident, one of those girls that is so comfortable in her own skin, no matter if she is all dressed up ready for a night out or if she is in her sweats (and house socksJ) with no make up on. I admire her so much for this. Bri is thoughtful, conscientious of others’ feelings yet honest and true, a loving mother, a devoted wife, a loyal friend, and my BFF. She has been there for me through my highest of highs, and lowest of lows. During an incredibly dark time in my life Bri constantly called to check in on me, she forced me to talk about things even when I didn’t want to and she never failed to pull me out of the hole that I always wanted to crawl into. For just that, I owe her so much, I don’t know what I would have done without her. Bri and I share a love for reality TV, gossip magazines, decorating, shopping, Marshalls Homegoods, laying in the sun, our girls group, our faith, random Tuesday phone calls, dessert dates and deep, deep friendships (if only she liked chocolate instead of that sour gummy stuff!) I love my friend dearly and am so glad that I got to spend a part of her birthday with her today. I am so thankful that God brought her into my life! Happy Birthday Bri! I love you!

When all else fails, open the tupperware door

Allie has some new favorite toys. And really, I mean favorite. A week or so ago, she was having 'one of those days', which is really rare around here. She didn't want to play with any of her toys, she didn't want to climb up and down the stairs and she didn't even want to play with me! Ugh. So when I was trying to cook dinner in the kitchen and Allie was whining and fussing, I decided to open our cupboard that holds all of our tupperware. And let me tell ya, the heavens opened and I hear a choir singing 'hallelujah!'. Allie was mesmerized by all things plastic in there. She seriously sat there for 45 minutes playing (no joke, all you who have had a 13 month old know that is a LONG time to play with one thing!) It definitely saved my day. And now, tupperware is her most favorite thing to play with. She ventures into the kitchen at least 3 times a day, knows exactly what door to swing open, and plops down for some good fun (she's even climbed INTO the cupboard a couple times, see below:)