heels on the bus.

39 weeks!

2014-12-23T15:17:00.005+00:00

i can't believe i {hopefully} have one week left before baby brother is with our little family. but then again as i attempt to roll out of bed—and have to ask todd for an assisted push—i can't imagine have baby brother in me one more day! pregnancy is such a lovely, beauty, silly, annoying, crazy, miraculous thing, isn't it?

i am so dang lucky to be trusted by my heavenly father with one gorgeous baby, let alone another on the way. motherhood is such a beautiful thing. and especially at this christmas time, i am so aware of it. i love being a mom. it is crazy challenging and my patience is tested every hour {every 10 minutes?}, but i love it. i love it. i love it.

here's to a beautiful christmas season with another blessing on the way!

gingerbread houses & sugar rushes.

2014-12-21T20:34:00.002+00:00

what's a christmas week without gingerbread house making! and if this isn't a craft for children and candy-lovers alike, i don't know what is. i think harper ate a piece of candy for every three placed. it's a few hours later and she's still buzzing!

***the cutest team of builders***

***sneaking a piece a candy***

***guilty. chocolate-covered and all.***

a chat with father christmas.

2014-12-18T22:48:00.003+00:00

harper: hi! i'm harper, and i want a sparkly princess cup.

santa: a what, sweetie?

harper: a sparkly princess cup.

{santa hands her a gift. harper opens it. it's a book.}

harper: {in the most confused and hushed voice} moooom? this isn't a sparkly princess cup.

{insert a motherly explanation here about being a good girl and christmas day and all princess dreams coming true...}

since then, you better believe mr & mrs clause have passed that important news onto their elves.

touring london with R+J.

2014-12-18T22:23:00.002+00:00

we were so lucky to have ryan and janelle visit us over thanksgiving weekend. they were only here for a brief 48 hours but we made it worth their time, as we were busy going from one thing to another. i think we passed by big ben 4 separate times in those 2 days. i love having a reason to get out and explore my city. another bonus? i can't remember the last time harper slept so well at night. r & j, please come back…i need sleep again!!

***this photo. i think we all know what was bothering H***

***love these two***

munich & salzburg // christmas markets.

2014-12-18T09:37:00.001+00:00

here are a few {read: a zillion} photos from our trip to the christmas markets in munich and salzburg. also known as our last trip in tour de pre-baby.

munich is the quintessential german town with smells of cooking sausages filling the air and bavarian architecture lining the streets. right as we exited the underground we were greeted with the clock above {glockenspiel}, performing its 11 am musical spectacle. i couldn't have asked for a better german welcome. we arrived on a saturday so the weekend markets were in full swing. harper enjoyed running from one stall to the next looking at the ornaments and christmas decorations. fruit and veg. sausages and pickles. the city was alive and bustling. i've been itching to travel to germany for a long time and kept pinching myself because we were actually there!

on sunday, we took a day trip to salzburg, austria to enjoy the christmas markets. it was the first weekend they were up so it was crowded and awesome. i love a bit of craziness at christmas time {speaking of, i went to oxford street to do some christmas shopping yesterday. whoa! crazy. and awesome. but i'm getting off topic}. austria was beautiful. also, i'm 1/8 austrian so i felt a particular connection to my fellow austrians. guten tag!

***the christmas markets in munich were setting up the weekend we arrived. a booth covered every nook of the city***

***pickles & pregnancy. can i be more cliche? :)***

***surfing on a river wave in munich. whaaa? crazy, i know. todd had to give it a go***

***we ate our way through munich, munching on pretzels and sausages. todd said he ate 4 brats in 24 hours. ***

***welcome to salzburg. just LOOK at those colors.***

***the hillllls are alive. i've never actually seen the sound of music. {i know i know} but supposedly a scene plays out in this courtyard. i should watch.***

***the main square of the christmas markets in salzburg***

***thousands upon thousands of ornaments filled the booths. wouldn't it be a dream to fill a tree with these?***

bergen, norway.

2014-12-12T16:50:00.001+00:00

with my "no-fly date" looming overhead, we got the sudden pressure to travel as much as we could. since moving here, i've always wanted to go "north". whatever north means; i just wanted to go there! so we researched a few northerly cities and decided on bergen, norway. it didn't disappoint. we were only there a brief weekend, but long enough to stroll the city, eat our fair share of skillingsbolles {norwegian cinnamon rolls covered in sugar and custard}, and take a day trip to the hardanger fjord a couple hours outside the city.

***the colors in bergen are outstanding! from hot reds and blues to bright greens, the city looks like a splatter of paint. it was overcast and cloudy while we were there but the colors of the city still popped.***

***trip up the floyen funicular to get a view of the city…and get out of the cold for a split sec***

***this face. those eyes. smile. little nose. i love this one***

***behold: the hardanger fjord! :) it may have been rainy and overcast, but it was still a beaut***

***walking behind the steindalsfossen waterfall***

castle chasing in wales.

2014-11-19T00:22:00.000+00:00

wales should be nicknamed the land of castles upon green grass with sheep spotted throughout. that's not too long to be catchy, right right?

but really, this country/city/land mass {what the heck is wales?} is gorgeous! every 10 minutes we spotted a new castle outside our window. no biggie. whenever harper started getting fussy in the car, we'd tell her we were going to a new princess' castle and she'd perk right up {in a previous post, i said i didn't push the whole princess thing, but i'm not dumb. :)}

we missed todd on our little weekday getaway, but my parents are the coolest travel buddies. we took our time, enjoyed some good tunes along the way, and had a lot of fun. harper loves her mimi and papa.

***caerphilly castle. one of my faves***

***this pose. i don't even know.***

***and then the heavens opened and said wales, you're gorg***

***riding through the heart of snowdonia in the cutest steam train you ever did see***

***gosh, i love this woman. when i grow up, i want to be like my mom***

***the yin to his yang***

halloween.

2014-11-03T23:06:00.000+00:00

i know i know. it's mid-november and i'm just now taking this back to halloween but a) harper was the cutest "spaceman" {so the brits say} which i can't miss documenting, b) i'm pregnant, hormonal, and that's just how it's going, and c) i've got even older photos to post-date so you just wait! :)

halloween around these parts is very american driven. the brits haven't fully come around to our ghoulish traditions just yet. only a few neighborhoods celebrate, but the ones that do really go all out, decorating their porches and dressing the part. harper was old enough this year to really get into the trick-or-treating spirit and loved running from house to house yelling pumpkins!!!, as that's what marked which houses were passing out candy.

i bought harper two costumes this year {thanks to target for having a BOGO sale!}. the first, being an astronaut. she's been on this whole la luna kick lately, so i knew she'd dig it. the second, was an elsa costume. i don't push the princess thing around our house, and to be honest i kind of hate that i bought it for her. but then again, technically it was free, and i felt like i'd be a horrible parent NOT giving her that option. ya with me? luckily, with only minimal persuasion, she bought into the astronaut idea. i couldn't be prouder. she rocked it. and london was at ease knowing there was one less elsa on the streets that evening.

***carving our little 'ol jack-o-lantern to get into the spirit***

***harper was quite into the guuuuuts and had to document every step of the process***

***early on, either todd or i went with harper to the door. after she got the hang of it, she was on her own!***

***ground control to major tom***

the texas state fair.

2014-10-12T20:58:00.000+01:00

you can't visit texas in october without experiencing the texas state fair. it's a rule. and a good one. the moment we walked through the gates we were hit with scent of fried {fill-in-the-blank}. we started with some famous fletcher's corn dogs and went down the line from there. :) we chased it with a fruit smoothie and finished with cotton candy for dessert. it was, like, a really good day.

***the don't-mess-with-texas nachos***

***a week leading up to the fair, harper pointed out every big tex billboard she saw. there were a lot. to say she was happy to see big tex in person is an understatement...***

***texas looks good on this man. just saying'***

getting wild in the wild // fossil rim.

2014-09-30T22:44:00.000+01:00

the last few weeks have been craaaay. we've been living out of our suitcases at my parents house as we wait for our visas to be processed. so as we wait {and wait…and wait…} i've been re-living all of my favorite childhood memories with miss harps.

first on the list—fossil rim, a drive-through safari park.

this place is every child's {and adult's} dream. like seriously, when was the last time you fed a zebra? or kissed a giraffe? or stroked bambi without its mom going buck-wild on you? literally. such a neat experience, you guys! we were all so giddy. and i've officially set harper's "zoo" expectations a little too high.

***this silly zebra would open wide and beg for me to chuck pieces of food into his mouth***

***i want a pet giraffe. it's official.***

august was good to us...

2014-08-28T22:08:00.000+01:00

***this view gets me every time. i wish harper could remember this part of her life. until she does, i will continue taking loads of photos. and even then…***

***when the weather was near perfect, we met daddy for a picnic after work in green park. these two went off on a little adventure and came back with some fairy wands***

***i love that summer is the season for fairs! and so does harper… the perfect post-nap activity***

***learning the alphabet one station at a time. P for papa. C for kitty cat. A for apple. D for daddy. yeah, we're still working on that kitty cat... :)***

***after my first visit to battersea zoo, i quickly adjusted my expectations. note: it is hardly a zoo. but once we figured that out, it has become a new favorite morning spot.***

***every day after the gym, we stop at the playground to get out those last wiggles before nap time. this week she insisted i follow her down the slide. my bump wasn't loving the climb but those smiles coming from harps made it all worth it***

Pink or Blue?

2014-08-14T20:55:00.000+01:00

we had an exciting morning together as a family seeing our healthy baby and finding out its gender!! we wish all our loved ones could have been there. but since most of you live thousands of miles away we put together a little video to share the experience. enjoy!

cows say moo, sheep say bah…

2014-08-13T17:24:00.001+01:00

three singing pigs say la la la.

anyone else know that book by sandra boynton? a popular choice in the matheny household. and the only thing i could think about while at the farm with harper this week. well that and how ridiculous she looked in the over-sized riding helmet they had her wear. seriously, it was as tall as the horse. but i digress…

there are urban farms scattered throughout the city. as they're all a little tricky to get to we hadn't visited one until now. but this particular one in hounslow was a really good time. it's a large interactive farm, and upon arriving they were having "animal encounters" in the barn, making all sorts of animals available for kids to hold and stroke. harps and her friends were so brave as they touched way more exotic animals then i would have at their age…or even now! :)

***the things we do for our kids… amiright?***

***after watch a specific go, diego go episode, harper has had a strange obsession with chinchillas. her world was rocked when she was able to see one in real life!***

harper knows best.

2014-08-04T15:14:00.000+01:00

on saturday morning, after devouring a pan of german pancakes, we asked harper what she wanted to do that day. ride a boat!… she yelled. todd and i then gave each other "the look" as we both knew that was the last time we ask her that question. then we carried on among the two of us deciding what to do.

zoo: nah. museum: nah. sit around & do nothing: yeee…nah.

we had to do something. so why not make harper's wish come true. the city has a long canal that gentle wraps through it and i had remembered hearing you can ride from one end to other. done! boat ride it is, miss harper lu!

***we started in camden, which is famous for it's camden market. we {read: todd} had sworn off ever going on a saturday morning since it swarms with crowds, which indeed it does. but it also swarms with stalls and stalls of the best food in the city! bbq. portuguese. curries of every kind. and sweets. many many sweets! my gosh, my heart leaps just thinking about the fresh dutch pancakes covered in nutella that we ate {international pancakes were clearly a theme of the day!}***

***after we finished lunch, we hopped on a boat and chugged along the canal for an hour. it was a surprisingly nice and peaceful ride as we passed through the edge of the london zoo, made our way through regent's park, and ended up in little venice.***

***house boats lined the canal and you couldn't help but wonder what type of people live in a boat in the middle of london? maybe i should be that type of person***

***be with family, live until i'm 101, look back and smile, travel to nyc***

***oh, hello bump!***

cornwall beaches + a giveaway with sunuva! {closed}

2014-08-01T06:30:00.000+01:00

if you're anything like the mathenys, swimming takes top priority on our daily summer to-do list. harper is always asking to swim—even if rainy london doesn't agree. and if all fails, she'll simply wear her pink floaties around the flat. on our first day in cornwall, before even reaching our b&b, we scouted out the best beach in the city and hit it up. harper was giddy as we put on her suit and set out towards the sand.

and since we love swimming so much, i am ecstatic about our giveaway today! we have partnered with our friends, sunuva, to offer you the chance to get your hands on £150 worth of vouchers to spend towards any children's swimwear and beachwear in the shop!*

and let me tell you, these clothes are ridiculously cute. i adore the unique designs and brightly-colored prints, all of which are UPF 50+ protected. i mean, look at that little mexicans dress on H! {giveaway details at end of post!}

mexicana embroidered dress

mexicana bikini

facebook // instagram // twitter // pinterest

CONGRATS TO JANELLE H. FOR WINNING THE GIVEAWAY!

to enter to win your sunuva £150 credit, please click *HERE* to leave your name & email, and then come back here to comment with your favorite summer travel destination. the winner will be drawn thursday, 7th august. open worldwide!! good luck.

*items must be full-priced. accessories excluded.

cornwall!

2014-07-30T01:05:00.000+01:00

for the last few days we have been exploring cornwall, the most enchanting coastal town in england! todd and i always say how we're going to leave england without actually exploring england, so we were excited for this getaway! the entire city {and it's a surprisingly big one!} is covered in either farmland or beaches. talk about some good living.

every time we hopped into the car harper was on the lookout for cows. ohhh i want to kiss them!… she'd exclaim. when we found some close enough to the road, we got out to help get it out of her system. minus the whole kissing part… :)

***the #1 coolest beach todd and i have ever been to. i may exaggerate a lot but THIS is not an exaggeration. kynance cove is where it's at. ***

***there are tons of deep, dark caves hidden in the steep rocks. we ended up going back to my purse so we could use the flashlight on my phone to go exploring. harper was such a brave girl following her daddy deep into those caves. how are kids so fearless?***

***….and her happy dance when she got out.***

***on a hunt for crabs in the mini tide pools***

***and this view. i mean really…***

accessory roundup // nordstrom anni sale!

2014-07-22T17:31:00.001+01:00

as of late, i'm on an accessory overload. perhaps its because none of my clothes fit right anymore. but accessories? they always fit. and they always flatter. luckily the nordstrom anniversary sale came just in time to feed the fire, baby! here are a few of my favorites this season.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

and a few more just because:

weekend in paris.

2014-07-22T01:02:00.001+01:00

i hope you don't mind while i indulge in a few photos from our trip to paris a few weekends ago. todd's parents were in town, and paris is so close that we had to take them. just had to. ;)

i've been there a few times in the last year and i tell you what, that city never gets old. there is so much to see and do. and the charm is unlike any other city. and it happens to be extra charming when there a extra hands helping watch our busy 2 year old so we can snag a kiss or two uninterrupted. it is the city of love after all.

***our first time into the louvre, and it was not a disappointment. i don't know what i was expecting, but it far exceeded those expectations. it is THE louvre after all. duh, casey.***

***the hoards around the tiny mona lisa were unreal. ha! it makes me chuckle just thinking about it now***

***this is the smile of a well-rested girl who napped the whole time at the museum. score!***

***our first two days were awfully drizzly and wet. why did i pack leather flats again? despite that, it was still enjoyable. and who doesn't love a little girl in an oversized rain poncho?***

***and now for an obligatory photo of pastries from angelina's. oh so pretty and ohhh so delicious.***

***harper rode on some of the most beautiful carousels i've ever seen. two-levels with such gorgeous details. her life is a fairy tale and she doesn't even realize it.***

feeling happy, feeling good.

2014-07-17T18:01:00.002+01:00

hello friends! i have been so overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and congratulations we have received since our official announcement. you are all so great. thank you! i feel like it was just what i needed to help this pregnancy feel "real". ya know what i mean? since i can't quite feel the kicks yet. although i think i felt one a couple days ago. or was that gas?… the jury is still out.

i'm 16 weeks and couple days. that makes it 4 official months. which means i'm allllmost half-way done. a stretch. but close. i'll take it. and overall this pregnancy has gone pretty smoothly. there was about a month within the first trimester that was a bit touch a go for me, as sickness would wake me up and kindly put be back to rest. here is a typical conversation with my sweet, loving hubs during that time.

him: how you feeling, sweetie? anything i can get you?

me: todd! just assume at every point of every day i am sick. when i do feel better, trust me that you will be the first to know.

yeah… not a high point in the pregnancy.

i didn't get sick with harper. can we assume this means it's a boy?

but after that bitter month, i've been really really good. happy. growing. and excited!

it's going to be a happy new year...

2014-07-16T15:30:00.002+01:00

baby #2 is on the way, and arriving in true matheny style—on new years eve. all ready to party!

we are so thrilled and feeling extremely blessed. and harper is pretty pumped to become a big sister. she's come to all my appointments and loves seeing the baby. just this week after they checked it's heartbeat, she hopped on the table, pulled her shirt up, and said my turrrrn! and every morning before i pull her out of bed, she exposes my belly and excitedly asks baby to hurry and come out and play. soon enough, harps!

we love you, baby, and we're all pretty thrilled for your sweet arrival.

tour de spain: nerja & sevilla.

2014-07-03T22:15:00.000+01:00

i am sad to be ending my little tour de spain. but luckily we're ending on such a good note: nerja and sevilla. nerja is a southern coastal beach town. covered in white sand, hidden coves, and bright purple bougainvilleas. harper was happy to be back at the beach exploring, making sandcastles {and stomping on other children's!}, and staying out late with mummy and daddy—like a true spaniard.

after nerja, we drove to sevilla for a few days and ended our spain travels there. a darn good way to go out. we topped up on tapas at bodega dos de mayo—the best tapas evaaaa'—and explored the city by bikes…again. our bums were awfully sore by the end of the week. but a great week it was!

***a little beach house carved into rock. where do i sign up!?***

***my handsome gringo***

***such an unreal view as we headed down to the beach for dinner***

***meet my 15 year-old daughter***

***bougainvilleas. ah!***

***welcome to sevilla!***

***our days in sevilla were centered around visiting the horses. okay, not centered, but after visiting the horses 5 times a day it sure started to seem like it***

***tapas y tapas y mas tapas!***

tour de spain: granada.

2014-07-01T21:53:00.001+01:00

after barcelona, we flew into sevilla, rented a car at the airport, and straightaway drove a few hours to granada. so here we are…granada. another beautiful spanish town, all centered around the alhambra. a gorgeous palace and fortress on the hill. what is the alhambra? well let me tell you. it was originally constructed in 889 by a moorish king and throughout the years was ruled (and added on to) by islamic and christian rulers. so the architecture is impeccable, a bit disjointed due to the different influences, but nonetheless amazing! it's such a site to see that even trying to book a day tour a WEEK in advance proved unsuccessful. the only time available was 10 pm. so we booked it. no prams were allowed in, so harper enjoyed a little evening stroll with us. she loved finding the moon through all the windows of the palace…it's a big palace…with a lot of windows!

***one of the best sites to view the alhambra was this hill at the top of the city. the only way to get there was to bob and weave up through tiny cobblestoned streets to reach the top. luckily, gelato awaited us at the top. oh, and the view. obvi. added bonus: this spanish guitarist who serenaded us as we ate our gelato and sipped on our fanta. this is what dreams are made of, folks***

***she pretty much re-steals my heart every day***

***harper: "look mummy. ta-daaaaa!"***

a week of love and blessings.

2014-06-28T11:22:00.000+01:00

last week, i took a last-minute trip to utah for my grandfather's funeral. it was such a mix of emotions felt through the week as we celebrated the life of my sweet grandfather and welcomed the birth of my new nephew! i never imagined in my wildest dreams i would be able to be with my sister the week she gave birth. what a champ she is and a what a GORGEOUS baby she had. oh sawyer, you stole my heart!

even at such a sad time, i feel so blessed. blessed to have the ability to fly out with a day's notice. blessed to see my family. blessed to celebrate my sweet grandfather. blessed to know i will be with him again. blessed to see my baby sister as a strong, loving mother. and very blessed that my in-laws were visiting us in london and could watch harper on such short notice. we all experience trials but there are definite blessings to be found within them.

tour de spain: barcelona.

2014-06-19T16:53:00.000+01:00

i am so excited to share photos of our trip to spain last week! as you may remember from last year, we took a quick jet to madrid, and i have been itching to explore more of spain ever since. it was quite a whirlwind 7-day holiday and we crammed in as much as we could. but after 4 cities, 3 plane rides, a car rental, and a bag of carsickness later, it was totally worth it!

our first stop was barcelona. oh sweet sweet barcelona, where do i begin? if you haven't been there, the best way to describe it is an amped-up southern california. the weather was supreme, the palm trees swayed in the gentle breeze, you're within walking distance from the beach, and everyone is super chill and relaxed. not to mention the FOOD! tapas, empanadas, gelato, crepes, goodness. now i'm going to make a pretty big statement; you ready for this?

out of all of our euro travels, this is our favorite large city! sorry paris… but you got schooled.

i have to say "euro" because new york is always number one in my eyes. in neeeew yooooork. but i digress.

***the teeny stone-paved streets were so enchanting. every street was different and unique. i kept reminding myself to look up as i walked along***

***our first day we rented bikes for a few hours. but as it was time to return them we just couldn't. we ended up keeping them the entire 3 days, and it was the best decision we made. barcelona by bike is the only way to go!***

***fresh empanadas anyone?***

***am i the only geographically-challenged one {which i totally own up to} not realizing that barcelona was a major beach town? and man their beaches are GORG! best surprise of my life.***

***swim. roll around in the warm sand. and repeat***

radio silence no more.

2014-06-17T21:58:00.002+01:00

hey there! so here's the thing. there's no excuse for this radio silence. but ever since warmth has graced us with her presence, i can't seem to find time to sit down and write. and heaven knows that whenever we are finally inside, it's nap time. and that goes for both of us. and then we're back to scooter riding and whatever else we do.

but i need to be better. and with all this vitamin d, we're getting some pretty darn cute pictures that need to be documented. you know what i'm saying? so, here's to being better. summer and all.

btw. we just got back from a week in spain. whoa. spain is the new italy. can i just say that? it doesn't get near as much attention as it should. that country is something else. anyways, i'll be back soon to post about it. parts I, II, and probably a III if you're lucky :)