I Love New York

We'll be on our way to NYC in a little over 2 weeks for our annual trip and I'm getting pretty excited starting to think about it. This will be Conley's second trip and while it's definitely a different trip with a baby I still love it! Last summer we went to Central Park just about every day and Conley loved The Met - just like his mom! Luckily he loves walks in the stroller, because we did a lot of that and hope to do so again this time. Looking forward to visiting all of our favorite spots and hopefully a couple new ones too...and going on a chocolate chip cookie binge!
Now that I'm getting in a New York mood I've got a few other ideas for some NYC-related posts - coming soon!

The obligatory Magnolia cupcake shot...although lately
 chocolate chip cookies are more my style

On the roof of The Met

Another shot on the roof of The Met

Relaxing in Central Park

Tried one of the restaurants at Eataly - that place is awesome,
wish there was one here!

Brunch at our favorite spot - Zucco in LES

Early dinner at another old favorite - Lil Frankie's

Picnic lunch from Olives - one of my favorite lunch spots
 from my Scholastic days...sensing a theme here of what
we like to do in NYC?

Happy hour in the balcony at The Met

Brunch on the patio at Fetch - Bailey's favorite spot! 

A nap in Central Park and lunch from a grilled cheese
 food trailer with a side of fried brussels sprouts!

My Little Valentine

Conley's Valentines turned out pretty cute despite all of the tears shed over them ;) - here's the one he made for us!

I had a great day with my sweet little cupid and we ended up spending the afternoon at Central Market like we do a couple times a week - we'll usually sit by the play area for a bit and then take a walk around the little path before getting some groceries. These afternoon trips are becoming some of my favorite memories the past few months. Conley is so sweet and peaceful lounging in his seat, watching all of the kids playing, pointing at the birds, slurping down a puree and eating bread. And I can just sit for a few minutes and take it all in, enjoy a tea and a dessert and sometimes even check a few emails. I could really stay for hours if he would last that long. The weather is so nice and I definitely want to take advantage of it as much as possible before the horrible, long summer heat arrives and we won't be able to do all these outdoor activities.

And to continue some of that Valentine spirit, here are some of my recent pin-worthy finds with a twist of hearts and pink.

Such a sweet idea!
Custom Cross Stitch People Portrait  by Elizabeth Dabczynski-Bean
at Uncommon Goods

Cute little piggy dish - could use this as a ring or necklace holder!
Tea Bag Holder - Pig with Bow Tie
by kimslittlemonsters via Etsy

Love this Gerard Yosca Pearl, Glass and Chain Necklace
at Eliza Page

Love this chair - possible idea for study!
From House of Turquoise Valentine-themed blog post
Kristin Peake Interiors

Love this little office nook as a wall in bedroom and the chair too!
Also from House of Turquoise Valentine-themed blog post
Kristin Peake Interiors

Fun with Paper

I absolutely love paper stores. I could spend hours browsing through all of the different note pads, to-do lists, journals, planners, and little decorative odds and ends. I have more than enough of these things, so I actually went in to a local paper store the other day with a mission. I planned to send out a few Valentines from Conley to family and a few friends - my thought was for him to make handprints on construction paper and then mount that onto some festive card stock and maybe also include a little picture of him as well. So my mission was to buy some Valentine's theme card stock and some red or pink envelopes - found both along with a card for Peter and some cute little decorative pinwheels that I couldn't resist. When we got home Conley and I had our first painting experience, and sadly, he did not enjoy it - he was crying big, sad tears about a minute into the process. It might have been because I was repeatedly pressing his paint-covered hand onto construction paper - or maybe he just doesn't like to paint! Regardless, I got through about 12 hand prints before I started to feel too guilty to continue torturing him, so we called it a day. And I didn't manage to get any pictures - but I did snap one of the results. I would like to try again when I don't have an ulterior motive though.

Some pretty pink envelopes, Valentine-themed card stock and a card for Peter!

Little handprints - some turned out better than others!

Couldn't resist these colorful pinwheels - for now they
will live in this Anthro vase-turned-pen holder

In other news, I heard there will be a new Bridget Jones novel out in November and rumor is that she will be having a baby! So excited - hopefully the movie won't be too far behind!

63 degrees

Last Friday I decided that is the perfect temperature. It was clear and sunny and a little breezy and a beautiful day for a nice long walk with Conley and his furry brothers. I envision that day as what southern California feels like every day. And before pulling out my trusty iPhone and checking the Weather app, I took a guess at what the temperature was and I thought it was in the low 70s - but no, 63 degrees.

A beautiful sunny day in La Jolla in 2011

We have been taking more family walks during the week lately with all of this nice weather and have been making stops at the playground down the street. Now that Conley is old enough for the swing and to climb around (with a spotter), we have a new daily activity for him to help get some of that energy out. He gets so excited to get on the swing and he opens his mouth wide and flashes his big grin with wide eyes. He also likes when I swing next to him and loves crawling through (and just hanging out in) the tunnel slide. We had briefly considered getting him a play set for the backyard and found a pretty cool one - but I couldn't believe how much they charge for these things! So for now, we've decided to go with the free one down the street. There's also one at Central Market that we will just go and sit by some afternoons - I'll drink a tea and Conley will just hang out and have a snack while he watches all the big kids play - that can entertain him for quite some time. I imagine soon enough though he will no longer be happy just watching and will want to take tackle that play set as well - probably about the time he starts to walk. He is getting way too big, way too fast!

Loves to swing!

My Christmas present arrived yesterday and I love it! When I first saw it in the store at Eliza Page, I didn't love the little angel wings, thought they were kind of cheesy. They grew on me though and I love how the necklace turned out. I was torn between using this photo and one from his 10 month shoot, but opted for the younger one because that is my all-time favorite picture of him, taken by my super-talented friend Jenny at Little Branch Photo! I'm already thinking ahead to future babies and plan on just adding additional photo pendants when the time comes.

Ginette NY

We finally got around to starting to decorate our back office this weekend - this is many months overdue as it was completed back in September. I've had a vision of what I wanted the room to look like for some time, just haven't followed through. I was thinking white furniture and some pop colors (kelly green, aqua, pink/fuchsia) for the artwork, pillows, and bins and poufs for Conley's nook. We want to keep it relatively simple and make it more inviting for Peter to actually work in - and eventually for Conley and I to play/work in as well. So the plan is one side will act as the office with a sitting area and the other will be a little play nook for Conley with the shelving (bottom shelves for his stuff), maybe a rug and kid-friendly seating. All we have in there so far (that will actually stay) is a white Parsons desk from West Elm, a big bulky (ugly) printer,  a white bookshelf (from IKEA this weekend) and a plant in a fuchsia pot. The folding chair and side tables are recycled from past offices but we plan on getting rid of those once we find replacements. I've found a lot of cute ideas - just need to put them into action!

Would love a knitted aqua pouf like this one
ACHICA - Nattiot Pouf Lili Aqua

And a kelly green one too!
Imports from Marrakesh at Pure Home

Loving this little stool from French company - NONAH - Stool PÉPIN

And the matching stacking toy boxes - NONAN - Box ALERCE

And a little bit of NYC for the walls - New York City print by Rifle Paper Co

Love these pretty chairs from Designers Guild - eco-friendly fabric too!

Downton Time and a Cure Success!

Super excited - look what I got in the mail today!

Wish I could watch all three episodes tonight, but the little man will likely not allow for that. I am pretty late to the Downton Abbey party - watched the first two seasons at the end of last year and I am hooked! Have been waiting all month for season 3 to get released on Netflix and I timed the mailing of our last DVD to arrive the day this one got released. I can't wait for the big wedding!

Conley's two front teeth are officially coming in now. This has been a longtime coming, as he has been teething for quite some time now. About a week ago I could tell his little gums were looking a little puffy and a few days later two little front teeth starting poking out. I think I am going to miss that little 2-toothed grin, I had gotten used to it!

You can kind of see the little top gums in this one

This one's a little better

And I have somewhat alleviated the no veggie problem by letting Conley "feed himself" his puree pouches - he got so excited the first time I offered one to him. His eyes lit up and he flashed that huge grin and looked a little bit like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. He can certainly slurp them down too - with a little help from me! What a big boy!

In January Cure news, I finished my pantry cleanout today - big project complete! At least I can say I finished that! Even though I was pretty unsuccessful during the second half, I'm glad I participated and accomplished what I did. And it gave me motivation for a sort of year-long Cure - I'm planning to pick a new big project for February - debating between a closet clean-out and the kitchen cabinet clean-out that was actually one of the weekend chores. I'm also going to try to re-visit all of the assignments I didn't get through - will probably take a few days for some, but I will try! More to come on that. So here are the before pictures (again) and the after - there is also a right wall but it was pretty impossible to get a picture of the entire side because I had to stand inside the pantry - so no pictures. It was cleaned up nicely as well though - a lot of dust and dog hair had accumulated so I washed down all the shelves and everything that went on them. I got rid of a lot of half open food containers and expired things and reorganized all of the food areas. The unpictured right wall had a ton of old medicines and papers that I either got rid of or moved to the guest room (which basically became a big outbox this month - well it kind of already was one before) Looking at the pictures now it doesn't seem like a huge difference - but it made a huge difference to me! It felt great to finally finish this one!

Left wall - before

Left wall - after

Center wall - before

Center wall - after

My pantry doesn't look like this - but it is a walk-in, and for that I am grateful! ;)

Yet another lovely Apartment Therapy photo

Loving lulu

So I've gone into lululemon countless times but have never gotten the courage to conquer that wall of yoga pants. I know many people that swear they are the best ever so I'm suprised it's taken me this long to try them out. My old J Crew leggings have gotten a bit weathered acting as my almost daily wardrobe during the last months of my pregnancy and the first few months of Conley's life, so thought it was time for a new pair. And I am in love! I decided I wanted some that were a little shorter than full-length but not too short, so that narrowed the wall down to 3 pairs. Then I asked one of the sales girls about them and she recommended her favorite - the Wunder Under Crop. I got some black ones with a blue and white waistband design - they fit great, hit at a flattering spot on my calf (it's amazing how just an inch or two can make such a difference), and are super comfy!  I can't wait to wear these to baby yoga next week and imagine I will also lounge around in these as well. Highly recommend!

lululemon Wunder Under Crop $72

In January Cure news, I finished another 1/3 of a pantry shelf - baby steps! I had my second Spanish class tonight, so was pretty tired when I got home so that was about all I had the energy for. Even though I have failed miserably at most of the assignments the past week or so, I am still on track to finish this one! And even the posts that I don't complete at least get me thinking about those areas in my own home and I will get to them...one day! Here's my favorite Pinterest post of the day to keep me motivated. I'd taken a bit of a hiatus from Pinterest ever since Conley was born, but I've been back on in full force lately!

so clean and pretty - and love the Indian Ocean print
from Savannah College of Art & Design
Canadian House & Home

The Baker in Me

I cook almost every night, but baking is something I only dabble in here and there. So in my quest to improve Conley's intake of fruits and vegetables now that he prefers finger foods - and for the most part bread, bread and more bread (and the occasional shred of cheese or piece of chicken or meat) - I decided to bake my own bread with some fruits and veggies mixed in. I bought a pretty green Le Creuset bread pan this past weekend that matches our green teapot and scanned the aisles of Central Market and Whole Foods the past couple days for an easy, organic bread mix. Not as easy as I thought it would be. I was not wanting to venture into the true bread-making arena just yet - one that involves yeast and letting bread rise and scary things like that. I thought I could just find an "add water and mix" type of thing - I see them all the time for muffins, cookies, etc but turns out there aren't many out there for breads (organic, at least). Luckily, I ran into a friend in the baking aisle at Whole Foods today who happens to make great gluten-free baked goods (among other yummy treats) and she pointed me to some Red Mill flours to pick from, baking soda and baking powder and when I got home I did a google search for easy, yeast free breads - and voila! My first batch of fresh-baked bread for Conley!

I chose amaranth flour as my whole grain mix-in and apparently it's one of the healthiest whole grains with lots of great nutrients - unfortunately it doesn't smell or taste too good! I added some carrots, bell peppers and pears (odd mix, I know) to my bread and I have to say - it doesn't taste that great. I think it's that amaranth flour. So, we shall see what the little guy has to say tomorrow - or if I get the closed lips and head shaking no. I won't be surprised - but I will not despair! Next time I will make it minus the stinky flour and maybe a better selection of fruits and vegetables while I'm at it. I also included shots of the pretty hydrangea and a daffodil I found this weekend at Central Market as part of my weekend Cure homework. For my next baking adventure I think I'll make something for me!

The infamous Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie