31 October 2011

trick or treat and star wars.

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Last night we tromped and strolled through our neighborhood for an evening trick or treat. The original plan was to dress the entire family in Star Wars attire (nerds, I know) but by the time trick or treat rolled around Jon and I were feeling pretty tired so we held off on our costumes.

If you can't tell Jonas is Commander Cody and Joshua is Cad Bane. And Jessica is our little Yoda, a costume that Jonas wore when he was one.

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halloween

Thank you to my parents for coming over and passing out treats and a huge thank you to my mother in law for bringing over the best autumn roast AND apple caramel pie.

Happy Halloween Friends.
How was your trick or treat?
If you posted about your Halloween feel free to share.

30 October 2011

a baby sunflower.

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Who can't resist a baby with sunflowers in her hair and a ridiculous amount of tulle? On Friday night I took the kids to our annual Children's Halloween party and it was a blast. Exhausting, but a blast. I couldn't seem to get this little sunflower off the dance flower.
She was on the go the entire night.

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For the boys there was a hula hoop contest, laser tag, a haunted house (which Jonas went through) and a reptile show with lots and lots of snakes.

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The only thing that was missing was Daddy, but we'll make up for that today. We have family coming over for dinner, trick or treat and a beautiful day to go outside and play.

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Enjoy your Sunday.

Oh, and I simplified things a bit with the blog. I would love your honest feedback. I love the white and the simple look, but hope it's functional. Most tabs are now on the bottom.

Don't mind the "noisy" pictures. Still trying to figure this manual mode thing out. I struggle a bit in low lighting. It's a work in progress.

27 October 2011

a baby in a barn.

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barn

I just love these little photos of Jessica. I snapped these when I was on Jonas' field trip at the pumpkin patch on Tuesday. She's a bit thrown together because I was running behind and couldn't seem to get out the door (surprise surprise) but she pulls it off.
Just look at her eyes and you'll become lost.
That's all the matters to me.
Her captivating soul.
Her individualism.
My Jessica.

Well friends, enjoy your weekend. We have a super cool Halloween party lined up for tonight and lots of baking, reading and playing for Saturday. And perhaps a little Nightmare Before Christmas movie night. Oh, and a little trick or treat and dinner at our house on Sunday.
Do you have any special plans for this spooky weekend?

26 October 2011

passing the needle.

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the back porch was always my favorite spot in the house
the scent of water that traveled across the street
and luminous clouds that ran over the roof.

the open green grass was my favorite place to dance
somewhere i could whirl and twirl in the summer breeze.

and my favorite voice i always heard was that of my mother
the voice that guided me around the cliffs
the challenges i built myself.

she gave me love
she gave me a new needle to sew my own future
and now i give this needle and thread to you.

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I'm linking this photo up for The Paper Mama's Photo Challenge

Today I am also linked up with Small Style Show Off Your Shot and Just Write

Jessica's beautiful dress is a vintage Lord & Taylor from the 1960's.
My mother held onto this beauty that once belonged to my sister.

a birthday surprise.

In our house we like to celebrate birthdays for a week. Sunday we celebrated Jon's special day with his dad and his wife, Monday we celebrated with his mom and Tuesday we celebrated with the kids. And as a little birthday surprise I lined up a sitter and joined Jon at the restaurant last night. I loved the look on his face when I walked through the door. When he left our house around 6:00pm I was in jeans and a sweatshirt racing around making dinner and stressing out.
He thought it was a normal Tuesday.

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Monday night we sampled some of Jon's brew and can I just say it's pretty tasty!
You nailed this one honey.

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The kids created some homemade birthday gifts.

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Celebrating on Monday with his mom and our family.

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bday
A birthday surprise at the restaurant and some oysters on the half shell and cocktails to start off our night.

So why was I stressing out? Well, even though yesterday turned out wonderful, it was a challenging day. From the minute I woke up it was nonstop. Before I even took Jonas to school Jess opened a huge container of vinegar and dumped it everywhere....so it was laundry and running late for me. I took Jonas to school, came home got Josh ready for school pictures and took him to school. Then Jess and I went back to Jonas' school to go on his field trip. We left this early, around 11:30, and came back home where my parents were waiting with Josh. Naturally, I was running late and dropped off Jonas and picked up Josh. We headed to the hospital for his appointment with a pediatric cardiologist.

At his four year old checkup our doctor detected a heart murmur that he wanted looked at by a cardiologist. We heard good news yesterday. It is a normal heart murmur that we shouldn't be concerned about. He can continue to run and play and participate in any sports. I debated about sharing this information. To be honest, I never realized how common heart murmurs are in children. So many of my readers are moms so I thought it would be important to share. Since August I have had this in the back of my mind and it was driving me crazy. At least I can relax a little now.

So the kids had pizza night last night and I quickly got ready after Jon left. When our awesome sitter came at 7:30 I finished Jon's present...a scrap book of all our Phish concerts from 2009 to 20011...and ran out the door. It felt good to sit down and relax with the hubby over a nice dinner and drinks.

Happy Birthday Jon

24 October 2011

moments of our weekend.

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Saturday was a great day. It was a beautiful fall day with sun shining and a cool breeze in the air. We started our morning off with pumpkin pancakes, coffee and family time. Jon headed down to the restaurant afterwards and the kids and I packed up and went to the library. We all met at home for lunch and then playtime in the yard. Jon has been so busy working in the yard splitting wood from a couple trees we had cut down last year. We've had the wood stacked along our back fence but it's time to get rid off it and use it this winter for fires.

While Jon worked on this all day I cleaned my garage....which I have to tell you I have not parked my car in the garage in five months. Yes, my friends, FIVE months. Instead, parked inside were kids bikes and toys. It was time to put a stop to that nonsense. After this task I vacuumed out my car and proudly pulled it in to the garage. I also started the job of cleaning my work space. My decluttering continues and I have lots of jewelry supplies to list in my shop. I even managed to get in a run. I struggled with my run but at least I did it.

Saturday night I hung out with my best friend Julie over at my sister's housed for a Wicked Wine tasting. It was nice to hang out with friends and family and enjoy some down time. I have to admit though, I was beat from my hardcore cleaning I did during the day. I planned on staying up until Jon got home to have a glass of wine together, but I fell asleep as soon as he got home.

So, I feel like we have nothing going on yet so much going on right now. First, I am kinda excited because I have been working so hard on figuring out my camera. I have talked about how I love photography but don't really know what I'm doing. Well, something clicked this weekend and I've been shooting in manual all weekend. I became so dependent on the programmed and aperture priority modes that I never explored the manual mode. Wow, was I missing out! So please bare with me and my photos and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

On a bit of a bigger note....we have decided to move. We have just begun the process of house hunting and we have a long list of things that need done to our house before we sell. We won't put our house on the market until after the holidays, but we need to start the preparations now. The holidays are a crazy time for us because that's Jon's busiest season at the restaurant. I pretty much don't see him the month of November and December. If you can believe it Christmas Eve is our busiest day of the year!

So our Sunday was spent looking at houses and starting some early birthday celebrations for Jon. His birthday is on Tuesday.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend.

21 October 2011

date night and a wine tasting.

Jon and I are on a roll for the month of October...three date nights! On Wednesday I was supposed to help out with a wine tasting at the restaurant but as a last minute decision I was not needed. SO, I kept the babysitter and headed to the library and off for some quick thrifting. Afterwards I joined Jon at Benders and we sat by ourselves in the bar and did the wine tasting. I certainly indulged in food and wine, but it was worth it and I loved the time with my hubby.

food

Argentine Wine Dinner

Start
2008 Reginato Blanc de Blanc
Smoked Salmon Mousse with Apple Crisps & Pickled Apples

First Course
2009 Anoro Chardonnay & 2008 Luca Chardonnay
Scallop Ceviche
Grilled Cod in Banana Leaves with Plantains & Coconut Salsa

Second Course
2009 Graffito Malbec & 2008 Luca Malbec
Roast Quail with Chorizo & Figs, Leek Risotto
Slow Roasted Gaucho Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Aji Gnocchi with Amarillo & Parmesan Sauce

Third Course
A Special Tasting of the
2006 Luca "Nico"
Churros Con Chocolate
Manchego Cheese


I'm linking up with Aisle to Aloha today.
Make sure to check out her "it's the little things" Friday list.

I'm also over on Pamplemousse with a Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Recipe. Check that out here.

happy weekend

19 October 2011

october day and a pumpkin patch.

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the october day
walked away briskly
into the night
leaving us silent
with dreams on the mind.

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pumpkin patch

a sudden smile on your face
brought light over the fields

leaves danced in air
swaying back and forth
to the sound of wind

running feet echoed
and childrens laughter
hung in the breeze

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a glimpse of love
when i caught your gaze
as you watched me
skip through the patch

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we held hands tightly
i whispered softly
thank you
october day.

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So, I haven't been able to figure out why my photos have been a little on the grainy side. Well, last night I realized that I never changed my ISO setting or white balance from the other week. I love taking photos but it is definitely a trial and error experience.
I'm learning. Slowly but surely.
After our pumpkin patch adventure we went out to dinner with the kids. I was dressed for dinner in these photos. Jon was dressed to run and play in the fields. We ended up all running and playing.


Linking up here today:



And with Gussy because my favorite accessories are my children.

Gussy

18 October 2011

fall style.

Today I have a fun little post to share with you. Morgan, from Mama Loves Papa, and I decided to do a guest post swap. She's posting over here about some fabulous fall fashion for the mamas (and non mamas) on the go and I posted about kid's fall trends over on her blog. Make sure to check 'em out and let us know what you think!

Happy Wednesday everyone! I'm Morgan and I blog at Mama Loves Papa. During the Fall months I love drinking hot apple cider, visiting the pumpkin patch, pulling out my cool weather wardrobe, and watching the leaves change color.

Today I want to share two outfits that I love and are perfect for Moms (or anyone) for the Fall. Similar versions will be in heavy rotation in my wardrobe as soon as the weather cools down here in Northern California. To see some adorable kids Fall outfits headover to my blog where Liz is guest posting today.

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Dress - Modcloth
Scarf - Forever 21
Cardigan - Urban Outfitters
Earrings - Yellow Finch Designs
Sweater tights - Target
Boots - Anthropologie

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Trouser Jeans - Gap
Blazer - J. Crew
Blouse - Banana Republic
Belt - Forever 21
Necklace - Lisa Leonard
Oxfords - Chelsea Crew via Lulus.com

17 October 2011

lost in our books.

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book collage

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I have always had a passion for reading.
The scent of a hardback book draws out memories and emotions from the past.
The feel of crisp pages as they flutter through your hands.
The small stacks and piles that can be found in every room.
The various subjects encompassed by endless words and taunting information.

I look forward to my Fridays because it's library day with the kids.
Our afternoons are spent strolling the aisles looking for the perfect book.
We race home to lay on our tummies, our legs gently touching each other and we dive into our books only to become lost in the words.

Do you have a favorite book? A favorite poem? A favorite children's book?
Please share. I'm always looking for a new read!
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