girl oliver

update

2012-12-10T08:33:00.002-08:00

so I wanted to post a little update about the oil cleanse I started about a month ago.

At first I had a break out; but then shortly thereafter things seemed to be looking up. My skin itself felt sooo good - but I am, as I write this back to my same old problems. hmmm. Not quite sure what the cause could be, but I have a few theories. I have to admit that I am disappointed and am trying to decide if I should go back to "regular" cleansers or keep on. I do still really like the way my skin feels.

On another (slightly related) note - tis the season and there are many styling tips out there. From makeup to apparel to how to throw a great party and decorate your home. One of my personal favorites is the makeup tutorial Joanna Goddard pinned from refinery 29. It shows how to do make up for an office party all the way to that ugly Christmas sweater party that has become an annual thing.
What are some of your favorite tips for the holiday season? Are you more into what you will wear or how you will decorate your home?

Christmas party ready via refinery 29

go surf!

2012-11-29T15:19:00.004-08:00

How cute is this spring lookbook video from seea? If this doesn't make you want to get in the water, I don't know what will ;)

images via Seea

wyatt 11 months

2012-11-26T06:42:00.001-08:00

so you may or may not have wondered what happened to Wyatt's monthly picture for 11 months. No? Well, I will tell you anyway: One look at the file below and I think you will firgure it out. I can't get him to sit still. Obviously this was a problem in past months too, but for some reason he really wasn't having any of it this time. I had pretty much decided not to post it and just skip to 12 months, but I figured why not? There are many, many photos of me holding my hand on his belly trying to take the pic and many of the back of his head. :)
So I did the best I could with what I had. Kinda sad, in a few days he will be a year and it will be my last regular update on him! Plus who knows how that photo shoot will even go!

Some things about Wyatt at 11 months:
~I was wrong about the aremy crawler, her just decided to start crawling one day!
~He constantly crawls into the dogs bed and it is disgusting
~He is mischievious! My SIL called it when he was very young but I didn't see it. This one is gonna be trouble!
~He loves to pull himslef up and work those legs
~He loves music and "dances" whenever he hears some

too early?

2012-11-15T11:14:00.001-08:00

I need to preface this post with stating that I am big fan of celebrating holidays as they appear on the calendar. None of this Christmas lights up the day after Halloween (ahem, neighbors). And I was especially impressed by a pic you guys might have seen floating around on FB that someone took of the door to Nordstroms - it said something to the effect of you will not hear any Christmas music or see any decorations until november ___ (can't remember the date but it was after Thanksgiving), because we enjoy celebrating the holidays as they come. Happy Thanksgiving. Great, right?

That being said, I do let thoughts of Christmas creep into my head. I am excited because I think this will be Oliver's first time truly being excited about it! I saw this the other day on The Paper Mama, and thought it seems so easy and cute that I wanted to share. Besides, I am obsessed with the bottle brush trees I started decorating with a couple years back!

images via the paper mama

Can't wait to do some fun decorating and projects with Oliver. What do you like to do for decorations (besides the Tree and stocking, obviously)?

adventures in skin care

2012-11-13T07:43:00.001-08:00

so you know about my love of drugstore products. But in the last 10 years or so, I have seen a major decline in my skin. Starting in late college, I would get breakouts. Then, in the last 5 years or so, it has turned more into big under the skin problems. I have self diagnosed the problem as cystic acne. I don't know for sure if that is what it is, but I think so :) I have done the 28 day cleanse, and this is so good you guys - you really wouldn't believe how you feel. But, I still felt like I had problems with my skin.
The other day I read about something called the oil cleanse method. It is cleaning your face with natural oils instead of cleansers you buy from the store. I know you must be thinking exactly what I was: washing you face with oil seems counter intuitive, no? While I will not bore you with all of the details, if you are interested, this is one (of the many) thing I read: http://healthydiaries.com/2012/07/17/how-i-improved-my-skin-acne-scaring-overall-complexion/


my new routine

So, this will either be a disaster or fantastic. yikes.

What do you use to wash your face?

Happy Friday

2012-10-26T11:38:00.001-07:00

So, do you guys have the iphone 5? Or are you feeling "meh" and will stick with your current phone? Chris being the computer nerd he is had us get them, and now as I am sure you have heard all the chargers are new as well as the slimmer design (among other things) and now I need a new case. I don't know what to get. I had an otter box on my last phone, and since I tend to drop the phone, it served me well. However, it is super bulky, as most people complain it is. I know I need something, but can't decide on what is good for protection, and also looks nice (something else the otterbox lacks). Thoughts? Did you get a new case yet? Tell me what you got! See some of my favorites below.

andes case - zazzle

glitter case - zazzle

bamboo case (a little pricey) comes in plain or designs - grovemade

vintage inspired - zazzle

hardwood (very pricey!) - exovault

Also taking the blog world by storm in the fashion dept is wal mart. Yes, I said it. Personally (and moral issues aside) I am not a big fan of Wal Mart - so believe me this surprised me as well. I was so excited that they re-did the wal mart literally 2 seconds from my house. It is now a super wal mart and it was so nice and clean. I have been back twice since then and what has happened? Same. Old. Shiz. I ask someone where something is and they don't know and won't look it up to see if it's at another store (c'mon! Target does this for me all the time!!!). AND - and this is a major pet peeve - there are like 2 billion people waiting to check out, and out of 25 registers they have 3 open. 3! But I digress, and back to the fact that wal mart has something cute. These leggings:

adorable. Pic via Smallfry

this lil bird wears them well, Via Bleubird Vintage (instagram)

Don't say I didn't warn you - aren't they cute? Still trying to decide if they Wy can pull them off. I mean, it would just read very surfer early 90's/late 80's, right? ;)
I am not sure if they are sold out or not - The link to the girls leggings page on walmart doesn't show them? Let me know if you see them in your store. I think they are like $4!

It's the weekend, holla.

round up

2012-10-17T10:59:00.001-07:00

as we steadily move into cooler weather I am looking through Wyatt's clothes for the winter to see if he needs anything. As it is, I have to go through his clothes and switch everything over anyway every couple of months since he out grows everything like babies tend to do. Now, we are a big fan of hand me downs around here and pretty much get by on that. However, I find myself wanting more leggings for him than I have and he out grew the best ones.
This is where the problem comes in. Leggings or close fitting, knit pants are hard to find for little boys. I have zero problem whatsoever looking in the girl section, but for the most part they are too frilly for my liking. I know other babes wear leggings, like Henry, amongst others. Still doesn't make it any easier to find - and especially not on a budget. Let me tell you, the ones linked above from Polarn O. Pyret were spendy, but they were also a gift and you can get more wear out of the ones I had since you roll down the ankles and waistband as they grow. Most of my favorites are $$$ with gap and target (or other affordable pairs) being few and far between. Here are some of my faves, let me know if you have some!!!

above two - gap

bobo choses

similar to my fave pair - polarn o. pyret

tea

old navy

thief & bandit

Tell me your favorites! Go!

Wyatt 10 months

2012-10-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

Some things about Wyatt at 10 months:

~ he is a little jokester. He doesn't really enjoy quiet time by himself, he loves to be social. He loves to laugh and make you laugh. Just this morning he put a trick or treating pumpkin bucket on his head over and over bc I was laughing so hard.
~ he is working on more teeth and these seem to be really hard, poor guy.
~ I am seriously not sure how much longer I can take these pictures, it is near impossible to keep him still!!!
~ he's for sure an army crawler. No shirt neck is safe.

Wyatt 9 Months

2012-09-19T16:16:00.003-07:00

Some things about Wyatt at 9 months (I know I am super late posting this but here goes):
~He is L O U D. I kinda knew he was going to be but man when he cries, he cries. And when he is babbling while he is in the cart in the store, I swear it echos!
~He's still a pretty light sleeper
~He is pretty keen on his "army" crawl and has also acquired the nickname of sidewinder - as in the snake - becuase he often belly crawls sideways. It's pretty cute.
~This photo shoot was near impossible because he kept sitting up and crawling away.
~He has 5 teeth when another just about to break through
~He loves to laugh and be very social, which makes me happy. I suppose I take it as a sign that he is happy, and that makes me happy.

I know I haven't been up to a good blogging schedule, but there is a lot going on around here. We have had some end of summer visitors and this weekend my baby brother is getting married. whoa. We can't wait and he and his soon to be bride are perfect for each other!

beatniq

2012-09-06T11:51:00.001-07:00

Although right now I am not wearing jewelry (it just doesn't mix with a 9 month old!) I came across this jewelry line via the blog world and just had to do a lil post about it.

To me, it feels moody, yet don't-take-yourself-too-seriously, and just right for fall.

I quickly threw together some ideas of what I would wear each piece with as I was bag shopping on UO ;)

1. Dysfunction gold + mint bib necklace // pair with blazer, oversized scoop neck tank and leggings or shorts. As seen above: urban outfitters
2. Toughen up a sweet top with the Cosmos Galaxy fringe earrings // top as seen above; urban outfitters
3. Vlad the impaler black + gold peter pan collar necklace // pair with buttoned up to here chambray shirt, as seen above urban outfitters

I want them all! I'm also really into these guys:

green calacite ring


Galaxy peter pan collar

What jewelry are you into these days?

around the house

2012-09-05T06:12:00.000-07:00

I have been keeping my eye out for a throw or two around these parts - I have various rooms that need them ;)

I came across these beautiful vintage sari's made into throws on Fab.com. How beautiful are they? I just had to share.


all images via fab.com

Happy Friday

2012-08-31T06:29:00.000-07:00

A sweet painting as you head into your weekend and summer starts to dwindle down (sniff sniff). Do you have plans for the holiday weekend? Be safe out there and enjoy the day off!

painting by Lisa Golightly via apartmenttherapy

2012-08-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

By now, you might have already seen the pictures of Solange Knowles home from Elle magazine all over the internet. If not, let me show you ;)
Solange is a DJ, musician, and model. And seems to be the latest it girl, even Madewell has taken notice.
I do like how everything in her home seems to effortlessly go to together even though each is a different style. I love the dining room table too! She describes it as decorated with good neutrals as a base and then throwing in warmth and color. Check it out:

All pics via Elle

CA love

2012-08-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

My husband and I were talking about what a (typically) beautiful time of year this is in San Diego. Weather is great, the days are still longish, and you've got all your windows open. Wouldn't you love to be in this home (though located in Venice Beach, not San Diego) it's still a pretty great example of a bungalow to me.

pics via craigslist

through instagram

2012-08-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

Life this past week was a little hectic, but in between it also had it's moments - successful cheerio eating (Wyatt) and successful dance parties (me Ollie). And there was a first time frog catch at the park! I think that the little moments will cancel out the fact that Ollie has yelled sh*t a couple of times because I had some movie on when he walked in the room. Great.
These are some of the better (instagram) moments:

Happy Friday

2012-08-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

How was your week? Did school start in your neck of the woods?

In honor of those mom's being happy or sad about sending their littles off, I offer you some flowers for the weekend (so sweet!).

wedding bells

2012-08-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

You guys. My youngest brother is getting married next month and the countdown is on. Not only have I not lost all my "baby weight", but I am not sure yet what I am going to wear.
ahhh yes, the age old question.
And it did not help this past week when, within a day of each other, Ollie grabbed the roll around my stomach and started laughing and poking it, but then the next day kept asking me what "that" was:

"What?" I asked, as I was annoyed to be tucking him in for the 4th time. "That!" and he placed his tiny finger on my forehead. "oh, my freckles?" "No, THAT" and he pointed harder this time. I realized he must be talking about the wrinkles in my forehead. "oh, those lines?" "yes", he replied. "Oh, those are when you keep getting out of bed. Every time you get out, I get a new one, see?" "oh", he said.

Real confidence booster I tell you. Granted, that was mean that I lied to him but I was having a low moment you see, recalling in my mind the belly incident from the day before.
So, I am not even sure that I would like the way I look in something I already anyway. And I can't find a similar jumpsuit to the one I have been lusting after.

1. THE jumpsuit heard around the world, simultaneously loved and hated by fashion critics. Elie Saab. Photo from FabSugar
2. Derek Lam jumpsuit. A bit spendy at $1,125.00. For me at least. ;)
3. Rachel Zoe. I actually like this whole look head to toe, and it is pants and a top.
4. Now we get into the affordable arena and you have like zero choices. Things are knit, too casual or just plain slutty.

Hrmph. Suggestions are welcomed!

style board

2012-08-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

I have been really attracted to a trend that has been going on for awhile - this sort of slice of life, authentic American trend. It is part rock & roll, part 70's, part preppy Americana, and part Western/Native American. There have been several iterations of this over the last couple of years, but I think the latest is my favorite. A few favorites below:

1. Flag heart tank at Swell
2. DIY belted boots from coachella life. See similar ones at target, if you are not in the mood to DIY. :)
3. Madewell denim. A key to this trend is denim, denim, denim. These overalls are super cute too!
4. one teaspoon denim cut offs.
5. o'neill one piece
6. Minnetonka mocs

Yay for a fun trend to transition to fall!

Wyatt 8 months

2012-08-08T12:38:00.001-07:00

Here is Wyatt at 8 months. Hello gorgeous! Some things about Wyatt this month:
~ When my mom was here last she asked me how long he had been transferring objects from one hnd to the other. ??? Eek, I had no idea. Why had I not noticed? I would have been so on that with Ollie! :( It had been awhile though, when I thought about it. Way to go Wyatt!
~He talks to me. All the time. He babbles and makes funny noises and constantly seeks interaction.
~One of his top front teeth broke through! Hallelujah! I can barely see the other but know it is not down enough to give him any comfort yet. This guy goes through clothes and drool bibs quicker than you can blink your eye. So hard (on us both), I feel soo bad for him But the end is near!
~he plays hide & seek! He will pick up his burp cloth and cover his face with it until you say "wheerreee's Wyatt?!" And then he pulls it off and starts laughing!!
~ He sits like a champ (that was sooo last month!) But no true attempts at crawling yet.

image

2012-08-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

There is something about this picture that makes me keep coming back over and over. I just sort of stumbled upon Katie's blog, skunkboy and really don't know too much about it. But this image. Is it the blush? The lipstick? The hair? Glasses? All of it?

katie of skunkboy

and then there are the outfits

2012-08-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

I know everyone has heard of the controversy surrounding the US athletes' outfits at the opening ceremonies, and how they were made in China. I appreciate how this angers many people. But before you get too angry - take a look at the label in your outfit. Just sayin.
What I am not sure many people have heard of, however is how ridiculous the men's beach volleyball players outfits are. I know it's relatively early on in the games, but I am gonna go out on a limb here and say they are the worst. They look like clowns. Or that they work at that hotdog place.

via zoe archer

via Fox Sports

On another note, I am really enjoying the games so far. I love it. That Gabby Douglas? Adorable!

catching up

2012-07-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

wow, we have had a whirlwind of a summer, I tell ya. We have had a steady stream of visitors with barely a weekend here or there with just our little family. I am not complaining though, Part of why we moved back East was to be near family and old friends and be able to enjoy these times without a looming 4-5 plane ride back across country. I can tell you that really used to give me anxiety and sours the end of a trip.
Have you been watching the Olympics? I have! I love it - all the moments are so thrilling and emotional! Even all the "created" moments by NBC - when they play the sappy music in the background or show a mom commercial - I'm such a sucker. :)
On sat I went had my hair cut by my future sister in law. She works at a hip salon downtown Charleston and it feels like such a luxury - just for a haircut! I get to put on actual cute clothes and jewelry that won't get yanked of - and - gasp! lipstick! While I was there I had eyebrow threading done. Have you heard of this? I had and had been wanting to try it for some time. I am very, very picky about my eyebrows. To the point that I don't ever get them done. I feel like most of the time, people don't take into account your face shape, etc. And I hate overly-plucked thin eyebrows. I am of the brook shields nothing comes between my calvins camp. So? It was good, pretty painless and I do like the way my eyebrows look. I will do it again, I think.

Getty Images

creativity flow

2012-07-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Something I think most "creative types" struggle with at one point or another is inspiration and/or motivation. Writer's can experience a block, artists perhaps can't find their muse. No matter what your medium, there is always that point in your life when you feel uninspired and just plain blah.

So what do you do? If you are anything like photographer Aimee from captured by aimee, you attend a workshop and find yourself invigorated all over again. Many of us cannot attend creative workshops {but if you are interested, there are many - just look through some blogs - many are offered all over the country. This is the one I want to go to! ;)}. Aimee brings up so many valid points - even the cliched "life is too short" so why not do what you love? We all have reasons, right?
You can work part time, in a creative 9-5 job, or be self employed and still feel this way.
So how do you become revived? Pinterested? People Watching? Watching your favorite movie again?

Some of Aimee's get-your-creative-juices-going photos (SO pretty!):

all images via captured by aimee

Wyatt 7 months

2012-07-15T11:40:00.000-07:00

Last week, Wyatt turned 7 months old. Whoa. We are on the downhill slide to 1 year! Where did it go?

Some things about Wyatt at 7 months:

~he is getting super bored with bouncy seats, bumbo's, swings, excersaucers - whatever. I have felt this from him since last month so we are on the verge of a big change. My mom always said babes and kids are the hardest and act no-so-good right before they are about to make a big transition. I have found this to be very true.
~he sure is working on those top two front teeth, poor guy.
~he is getting really good with food and cereal and even sits in a high chair!
~he still cracks up at whatever Oliver does
~he can sit unassisted for longer and longer periods of time.
~yesterday during his nap I was watching him and was kinda pushing up on his toes and getting that bum in the air, seeing what it might feel like to crawl one day

PS - have you noticed that this 12 month outfit has fit him since last month? Hmmmm

bonus round:

4th of July

2012-07-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

These photos are a little late, but we had a great time on the 4th - low key and with family. Ollie was really starting to get into the whole idea of it as he watched some horrible inventions by my brother and husband (I know! Let's stack this and then stick the smoke bomb in there to see what happens!) Boys will be boys - even in their 30's! We cooked out and had 2 rounds of dessert - because apple pie is so American, but so are brownies!

How was yours?