pretend city

have you ever been to pretend city children's museum? 

it's a non-profit imaginative play area with exhibits that teaches kiddos (infant-10 years) real life experiences.

check out the farm exhibit where you can plant vegetables or pick fruit to earn pretend money.

like little ireland's dress? it's vintage lucys.

they have real life chickadees & sand on the beach.

here's ireland & bridgett earning money pretending in the police car :)

here are the roadways & water district

you could seriously spend all day here. we had so much fun, you'll have to check it out with your little one!

what winter?

 one of the great things about living in southern california is you get to go to the beach in january. of course these legs of mine haven't seen sun since pre baby bump so there was no way i wasn't wearing jeans to cover up my lack of tan. 

bridgett loves her babyhawk, so i kept her in it as we browsed through the farmers market.

have you tried bath bombs? they fizzle and sparke and make bath bubbles, 

i mean what more could you ask for?

fresh fruit is a must.

bridgett and me checking out the surfers view.

oh, whatever.

stopping by the ruby's shake shack for some old fashioned malts.

happy lil' family :)

all the single ladies

cause if you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it

my favorite part of bachelorette parties is the can-do, splurge-out attitude on all things girly, frilly, and shady. if only all weekends could be so fun.

the night started at pace where the
bride-to-be blew out her "single girl candle". 

after we did a little dancing and visited some shady clubs 

and took a few pictures that will accidently go missing for now :)

we woke up the next morning in dire need of a hangover cure

and spent our days in a cabana by the pool

with fresh mimosas and snacking trays, because we didn't get enough to eat already. overall it was the perfect girls weekend.

baseball & dumplins

This past weekend, we went with Cory's parents to Arizona for baseball spring training. I had never been to a Cracker Barrel, so it became a must for dinner and breakfast while we were there! The chicken-n-dumplin's are my husbands favorite (for breakfast too). 

 After we ordered our food, Kathy and I went around shopping in the old country store :)

you can buy rockin' chairs out front (my mother-in-law has one)

or shop the vintage candy section

sugar babies, now and laters, or tamales?

candy sugar sticks, like butter and rum or blackberry

crackers jacks for the baseball game

and my ultimate favorite, fried apples, mmmmm.

You can make fried apples at home too (I did on Monday night for our last girls night). Just heat 1/4 c. butter in a skillet, then add 8 peeled/cored apples w/ 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp. nutmeg. Wait about 15 min. or until apples are tender.. yummm.

flowers & seagulls

Last (Valentine's) weekend, my husband and I went down to the coast to enjoy each others company and the warm weather. 

We started in La Jolla and headed on up the coast to Newport. 

first, he pulled off PCH and took me down an off beaten path 

on the way, we saw beautiful purple flowers

then we came to a wood fence that dared us to go further

but, why bother when the view from the fence is this?

then we continued up PCH to newport

and stopped at the Balboa Yacht Club

we hopped on my dads boat (with Giada)

took a relaxing ride through the bay

and pulled the boat up to the Cannery dock 

to have lunch with my parents, yumm!

Giada spent her weekend barking at all the seagulls 

and taking naps on the back of the boat :)

my christmas list

growing up, my favorite part of christmas was making my list.

i grew up with all sisters, and when we were little, my parents would set up our presents christmas eve after we went to bed. as we got older, they soon realized it was more fun for us girls to do our own shopping then it was for them. thus began the christmas tradition of making lists for ourselves. the day after christmas, mom & dad would take us to south coast plaza and we would get to pick out all our own presents. i am more fond of these memories, as i can actually remember waking up early, piling in the car, and running around like crazy women all over the plaza with my sisters. since nothing was opened on christmas day, and we didn't have as many presents to open, we were able to spend all day bonding with each other.

now that we are growing up, my mom has been complaining she doesn't know what to get us. even my 17-year-old sister doesn't have a list. (well it's short: french bull dog named francesca and an iphone). maybe it's because as we get older what we want changes. we start to want to do things that we enjoy... more than get things we like right now.

so mom, here is my christmas list this year:

1. wrapping your christmas presents.

2. hanging wreaths.

3. collecting christmas cards.

4. baking holiday treats.

5. and, laying on the couch enjoying cold days next to fireplaces.


what are you wishing for this christmas?

pumpkin craves

Here are some pictures from last weekends pumpkin carving party::

my little sister, Victoria, and my cousin, Amanda

the winning pumpkin eating another pumpkin, haha

and finally, the creators of the winning pumpkin: our friends stacy & chris.

Also, Cory's sister Allison took some pictures of the twins

in their pumpkins down in La Jolla. Really, how can you get any cuter?

For those of you that don't read her blog (fico fam), here are the photos::

Miss Aven

and little Easton ♥

creepy cupcakes & apple baking

Tomorrow, we are having over friends and family 

for pumpkin carving contests. 

But what's a good party without some fall baking and creepy cupcakes? 

i love the one with buckteeth, ha

i also made some apple spiced bread. yes, i already took a bite :)

and an apple pie from scratch... I'm not sure if it will make it to

 tomorrow though, so don't get your hopes up!

oak glen all day

Cory and I spent our Sunday this weekend up at Oak Glen. We were looking to get away and spend some time together just the two of us, and since it is starting to actually feel like fall weather, we decided it would be a great way to end our weekend.

We picked our own pumpkins, drank apple cider, sampled every apple that grows in the orchards (and brought home some golden delicious), ate double crusted apple pie, hiked up to the corn stalk maze, sprawled out on the grass under some shady trees, and walked around all the shops (while Cory checked baseball scores on his iphone).

  If only every Sunday could be this easy.