Flying.
Jacket || Similar Tunic || Leggings || Moccasins
Smaller Style
Nearly 21 Months /
My Maggie just cried in her little crib about those cruel teeth persistently pushing through sore baby gums. I went to her room and sang "hush little baby" and looked at those sweet closed eyes with beautiful long lashes, clutching her lovie and drifting to dreamland. She's beautiful. She is my baby. She's also getting big. She's establishing a will of her own and using every means she has to communicate that will to me. She's curious, she's a climber, she's a creator and a tornato. She loves pearls and purses and babies and doing everything like her big sister. She laughs and squeals and giggles endlessly... until she can hardly breathe. She sees when I'm sad or disappointed and bends her face so she can see mine and plant a kiss on my cheek. She's had her first, second, third and fourth tantrum of her life this week, and I know we're nearing two years. I want to bottle this "now." She's not a baby, she's not yet a big girl. Her nails are pink because mine are pink and I can't refuse those blue eyes looking up at me holding the polish and wiggling her fingers.
She's my sweet little Maggie with the strawberry blonde hair.
Sometimes I think that I love bedtime best, because I can get the kids snuggled down and I can relax after the long day.
...but in reality it's the mornings I love best. Those mornings that come too soon, peeking sunshine into my blurry eyes, hearing chantings of "mama, mama" from the next room.
When I look back to 21 months, my heart will be in love with the sounds of morning, the moments of dependence, the gazes of adoration and the perfectly chubby little feet that run everywhere they go.
xoxoxo my Maggie. so very many hugs and kisses.
Mama
SF Loving: Huntington Park /
Ohhh, what a beautiful and busy week! I need to take my own advice sometimes, because the schedule has been crrraaazzzyyy... In a good way that requires little doses of "chill" in the afternoons, and not getting on the computer much.
When I was a kid and teenager, I generally thought that if people were wearing shorts in San Francisco, they weren't from around here... clearly tourists, you know? In 2013, I think I've worn shorts more than any year in my memory. It has been SO.NICE.OUT. It's scheduled to be 70's & 80's again this week, which- as my husband says- pretty much guarantees that when my in-laws come to town the following week, it'll be 50's & 60's again. ;) Hopefully we're setting ourselves up to be wrong on that one.
Today we took a long adventure to Huntington Park in Nob Hill. It was just supposed to be a little Tuesday bus ride to a new-to-us park, maybe a slice of pizza in the area, then a ride home, but the girls and I weren't done with our adventure after the park... actually Maggie was (she fell asleep almost immediately), but Sophie & I still had a bit of energy and wanted to keep exploring. So we did. More about the exploring on Friday... today, just a little bit about the park.
So here's my take: the REALLY good things about it were that it was surrounded by gorgeous buildings, is in a totally prime area for visitors and tourists- (but strangely was almost all locals- prob because tourist season hasn't quite started), had tons of bench space, and the structures had like a 70's Sesame street vibe. The colors, the treacherous gaps between stairs... that sort of thing were not quite as ideal, and there wasn't a fence around the playground, which always docks a couple points for me. All in all, we liked it, but Sophie says she likes "the other new park better even though this one is pretty good." Spoken like a diplomatic professional, right? Anyway, we're going to try to hit up new parks around the city once every week because a) it's fun and b) we'll always know the best spots for kids to play!
On another note, thanks SO much to Tea Collection for Sophie's perfect shirt. It twirls like a princess dress but can be paired with the practicality of a pair of jeans (her Gap ones are my favorite!) for playing, so everyone wins.
There's this stigma on Tuesdays around here, because they're not Monday where you get caught up on everything, but they're still so far from the weekend, so they really have nothing going for them... Today, I realized that maybe Tuesdays don't have to be so bad after all... right?
xo,
Kate
On Sophie: "Pretoria Tunic" (click Tea Collection banner below), Jeans, Sandals, Sunglasses On Maggie: Romper, Boots
Tea Collection provided Sophie's tank for review, but all opinons are my own.
City, Sights & Links /
Sooo I was going to save the rest of the pics from Pacific Heights and decided against it. May as well keep 'em all together. SO, to continue from yesterday... after you eat something amazing on Fillmore St, if your kids are anything like mine- they'll be ready to run around like craaazzy. Good. Perfect excuse for a short walk to Alta Plaza Park. Feel free to wear your cute shoes around PacHeights because this park is nearly sand-free, and one of the cleanest parks around the city. You can swing your child and look at their lovely face with gorgeous mansions in the background...
OR, you can push your kiddo on the swing and face this view. It's a win-win here, folks.
Another tip for you: even if it's a sunny day, bring extra warmth. As soon as that sun starts going down- it's San Francisco, and it's at the top of a hill- you're going to be chilly. Poor M wasn't dressed warmly enough but she wasn't about to stop playing to be cuddled in a warm blanket, so she just happily shivered through it.
They weren't about to look up for pictures, of course.
When you're finished at the park, try get a neighborhood walk through PacHeights before heading home!! It's seriously the cherry on top of a sweet day. If you time it right, you can watch the sunset go down over the bay and it's insanely gorgeous.
I took 200 pictures through this little adventure, so believe me- I'm using restraint by only posting about 50 for ya. ;)
Okay!! Link time!
Link Love:
Have you guys heard of Soldsie? If you have a small business, it creates a simple process of selling your products directly through Facebook. I don't sell anything, but I'm a big fan of promoting resources that help to build small businesses (and you can always BUY through facebook too... check it out!)!
I have some weddings to attend in May (whaaat? already?) and I'm LOVING the Gatsby-inspired look HERE.
My iPhone case broke (again!!), and now I'm eyeing this one, this one, and (my favorite) this one... sooo much cuteness here.
I've been a "Saltwater Sandals or bust" superfan forever, but these are seriously contending right now. They are crazy cute for summer sunshine.
Now let me be honest: I don't see myself making my own sidewalk chalk... BUT I love how beautiful it looks here (such pretty pictures!) and that if I do want to learn, there's a nice little tutorial for reference.
This goes with nothing in my home at all, but I kind of wish it did because it's so darn cute and the price is really good...
This makes me want to start sending more cards in the mail. I mean, what if I opened my mailbox and received that rather than bills and catalogs? Inevitable smiles.
Also inviting inevitable smiles would be cords that are beautiful like these. I've spring cleaned most of my home, but my office corner of the house is in dire need of about 8 hours straight tlc. If that actually happens, THEN I'll think about beautifying cords.
Ahhh, I love the chill vibe of the weekend. Hope you're enjoying yours just as much!
Kate
Spring Accessories /
1. Dotty Backpack. || 2. Converse HighTops. || 3. Sparkle Hair Ties. || 4. Sock Set. || 5. Fringe Scarf. || 6. Friendship Bracelet. || 7. Bright Shoelaces. || 8. Barrette Four-Pack. || 9. Summer Hat.
Generally, I leave out the boys because I don't have any of my own, but today, I got a few cute picks for them too:! Here ya go:
1. Blue & Red Adidas. || 2. Neon Watch. || 3. Headphones. || 4. Sunglasses. || 5. Bow tie. || 6. Hat. || 7. Socks. || 8. Red HighTops. || 9. Gingham Tie.
Love,
Kate
Make it: Cardboard Train /
During Maggie's nap time the other day, Sophie and I made a train.
Trains are a reeeeally big deal in our house. Everything that can be pulled is a train, and the girls can play for hours with them. We had a stack of boxes to be recycled, including the prettiest ones from Honest, and some days I don't make Sophie take an afternoon nap so that we can use that time to play board games, or do more involved crafting. This falls under the "involved crafting" category... took about 45 minutes, but if I did it by myself, it would probably take only about 20. ;) Here's how:
Clockwise from top left:
- Cut four circles for each train car. Ours had about a 6 inch diameter. Poke holes in their centers.
- Find boxes that are the size you'd like your train cars to be. Take the dull side of four pencils or colored pencils and poke a hole on each of the four spots you'd like your wheels to go. Insert a wheel on each pencil.
- Inside the box, tape the pencils for each side to one another, so when the wheels turn, they turn together from one side to the other.
- Tie a string from the wheels on the sides to the other. Be sure it's tight. It makes the side wheels turn together as well. Then poke holes in the front and back of the car to tie a knotted string for connecting and pulling!
There you have it. A little train. Ours obviously was filled with baby dolls in about two minutes flat, and pulled around all day!
Happy Monday to you.
xoxo,
Kate
(psss, use THIS LINK for a free trial of Honest diapers or household products. They just got the CUTEST new patterns!)