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7.30.2013

hot air balloon afterglow.

my mom, jacebear, and i ventured on over to the hot air balloon's afterglow event in the town my mom grew up in. it was a beautiful summer evening filled with lots of colorful balloons lighting up the dark night sky.

i was not expecting chilly weather after 75+ degree summer nights the last 2 months so we ended up picking up a panda hat for jacebear to keep all bundled up cozy in. surprisingly he actually kept it on his head 80% of the time! and his mama also left his shoes at home... so we layered up on socks and squeezed his handmade booties his great-grandma made him on.

improvise.
check!

jace was pretty fascinated when all the balloons lit up alllll at the same time. he was pretty cute with his big owl eyes glued to the brightness and little finger pointing up at the sky. the panda balloon was a big hit. so flippen HUGE!

 after the show i went to treat my mom and i to some sweet potato fries with blackberry sauce and to my dismay they only accepted cash, none of which i had on me! i'm pretty sure jace made a sad puppy face because as i was walking away the lady at the concession stand ushered me with a "mrs., mrs! we can just give you your order since we are closing soon and will be throwing the rest away." thanks sweet potato lady! (good work jacebear). and that blackberry sauce was uh-ma-zing!

all in all we had a good time. and can't you just tell how much that boy loves his grams?! with open mouthed kisses and all!

7.23.2013

4 years.

last thursday on july 18th the hubs and i celebrated 4 years of marriage. f o u r  years! i fell in love with this guy since i first laid eyes on him and am so thankful for his love through all these years. we've had our share of struggles of course, but we've both learned that we win together when honesty and forgiveness go hand in hand. for those of you who are unaware we started dating as babies, i 16, he 15 and married at the age of 20. we went to different high schools and once we graduated we went to the the same community college as literature majors. after 2 years of finishing up our general ed. we tied the knot and we transferred together to Sonoma State University and wrapped up our last two years as liberal arts majors. those 4 years we took every.single.class together. we had very similar interests and passions, and it was so amazing having my partner in life as my partner in class. we make a pretty good team.

now we have a little jacebear, the sweetest babyboy, and are enjoying life living close to family, raising our son with the people we love and sharing the places we used to visit as kids. so much to celebrate and celebrate we did. i dropped off jace at his gram's and poppy's while we went out on a datenight for good chinese food and a movie snuggled up on the coach in the comfort of our home. mid-movie his auntie and grams put jace to bed and suggested we leave him to spend the night. his first night away at 13 months! it was a nice night for the two of us, and a much needed nights rest. cheers to 4 years!

with some printer paper + watercolor paint + an old thrifted frame i made this for the hubs. as simple as a gift could get and he loved it (trust me he's not shy to let me know when he does not like something i pick out for him). but i made it, so of course he (had) to love it ;) i'm proud to say this is now displayed on his desk at work! 
this is the other gift i got as an "us" gift. back in high school we had a little black notebook that we would exchange between one another every few days since we went to different schools. i thought this would be a good way to keep what sparked our love in the early days but instead of blank pages to fill, instead it is just a few lines a day. the hubs was a little weary of this one, but once we get the ball rolling i'm sure he'll appreciate it since it gives us something to look back on. plus, it really is the little things in life that make it so beautiful.

7.16.2013

rise & shine.


i have a little night owl on my hands.

i have a little early bird on my hands.

on these occasions, when my babybear decides that 12am is a decent bedtime and 6am is a sufficient time to rise (mind you this one is not sleeping through the night). *face palm* this mama heads on out for breakfast because  if no sleep is in question then food it is! 

starbucks gift card in hand and a drive thru starbucks down the street calling my name, oh thank you drive in's. one steaming hot pike place roast, reduced fat turkey-bacon sandwhich, and steel-cut oatmeal topped with blueberries drizzled in agave nectar...all to go. breakfast feast! and having it all for free made it all the better :)

even in my sleep deprived mama state i can still find the silver lining: feasting on a hot breakfast in the middle of the living room floor with my bright-eyed babyboy. 

7.10.2013

our sunny sunday in santa barbara.


hey you guys, rare moment going on over here: i'm sitting here on this humid cloudy evening, windows open, birds fluttering in there nests near by in absolute silence....! the hubs went out with the jacebear in tow to get some tacos down the street (how i love me some tacos for dinner) along with what i'm hoping for a giant size of god's milk, horchata*. i can't even remember the last time i had the chance to blog in silence without chunky baby hands banging on my keyboard causing complete and utter chaos of browser windows to open and a annoyed mama putting her incomplete post aside in a sigh of frustration. you get me?

don't get me wrong, as i'm writing i'm already missing those chubby baby hands. but little breaks like these are a gold mind when you're a SAHM and you're time is scheduled 24/7 around baby. (still night nursing over here!). yeah, not too thrilled about that one, another post for another time. i'm sure they will be walking through the door any moment now.

and yups, here they are! *i'm happy to report the hubs was a gem and got me a king size horchata! i can drink my weight in that stuff. paleo would not approve but hey, yolo. yes, i just said that. perks of having a little sister (she just graduated HS) who keeps me up to date with the lingo. another favorite of hers: ratchet. according to her the word has universal meaning. you can imagine how much fun that is ;)

anyways, the photos above are from a sunny sunday spent strolling around santa barbara. we visited some fun shops on state street, one being a shop dedicated to everything kitchen. it was pretty amazing some of the things we found. penquin wisk, check. tractor magnets, check. and coffee galore, check. then we headed on over to the boardwalk for some beautiful ocean views and finished off the evening indulging in some good ole' comfort food from an irish pub. it was a good day.

7.05.2013

4th of july celebrations! one for the records...

::my little sidekick and i started out our 4th of july at the duck pond::
 
 
::around the bend is a little playground geared specially for the tiny tots. my little walker had a blast!::

::after some parktime we settled on a shady grass hill near the creek for some snacktime. such a peaceful way to kickstart the holiday::
::since daddy was off being a busybee at work (such an awesome man he is) we spent the rest of the afternoon at grams napping, helping my sister plan our her college courses for her first year as a freshie, and eating a delicious meal for lunch::
::later that evening we walked on over to our towns yearly firework show for some good bbq truck food and good music. once we settled down on our picnic blanket we brought out the toys and the flag for jacebear to be entertained while waiting for the show::
"god bless AMERICA, our home sweet home"
"when's the show gunna start, ma?!
       
and well unfortunately guys our firework show was ceased to a complete hault in under 1 minute due to some misfire accident where some of the fireworks headed straight for the crowd on the opposite side of the park from us. i'm kinda a paranoid freak and it's grown a lot more since having my own baby and was whispering to my husband how what if something went wrong before the show once the lights all went out. "just stay together" i pleaded like a worry wort. with all the insane shootings going on in this world and the handmade bombings you kinda can't blame me. i have a family to care for, just like anyone else. but hey, i went to the show, felt that fear and let it go, and lo and behold 5 mins later once the works went off it all went wrong. far as we know, it was pure accidental, and you can read about it here and see some videos. crazy huh?! i'm just hoping and praying that the dozen + that were injured are okay. i know i can't let fear drive me away from living life, so all in all it was a happy 4th! hope all of you stayed safe and enjoyed celebrating as well!