Friday, February 27, 2015

Friday Favorites

A family that celebrates together, stays together.



// Web Favorites //

Senior discounts are no joke. Amazing!

Sneak Peak: IIse Crawford + Ikea Collab

NYC Micro Apartments - are these supposed to be a steal? Takai!

And speaking of one bedroom rent, yikers LA.

A misconception about marriage.

I should be using this to search for flights. maybe we all should.  :)

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Giggle Girl

Today is a special day because Noe-girl is one!

Noe has a special place in my heart. She not only carries my middle name but from the start I felt like we had a special bond. I was in the room when she came into the world and the moment was nothing short of a spiritual experience for me. Prior to Noe's arrival the idea of birth was purely a medical procedure but afterwards my eyes were indeed opened to the miracle of it all.



I witnessed her first time cuddling with Aimee and watched as Blane teared the first time he held her. I saw her wiped down, weighed, and swaddled. I watched her nurse. I heard her tiny cry. I held her close. 


Seeing who she is has been one of the greatest gifts of this past year. Being apart of her highs and lows is quite an intimate experience and because of that I am as protective of her as if she was my own, and in a way, she is.



Way before when the books said babies start to smile, Noe was smiling. She was already a blessing to others and she didn't even know it. 

 

And now as her little personality is beginning to emerge we see that she is gentle and cuddly, sweet and dainty, fierce and sensitive, selective and forgiving, she goes with the flow. A compliment to her older brother and the perfect addition to their family. 


I will root for her all the days of my life.


Happy birthday my Noe-girl. I love you deep. 

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Walls Up!


That window, my friends, is your room should you come and visit. =)

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

While my husband slaves away reading tedious home buying paperwork, I am looking at moving announcements online. Our responsibilities are so balanced. ;)

I liked these from Paperless Press.



1 | 2 | 3 | 4 

Monday, February 23, 2015

A Third Day

Josh took yesterday off so we had a third day to our weekend. It was everything you'd imagine a third day to be - relaxing, productive, fun, and new. 

We took Emerson to the Natural History Museum because she has a thing for animals. We discovered Monday's are a great day to go! There was only one field trip group there so we had many of the exhibits to ourselves. 


It was everything we were hoping it would be for her. She ooo'ed and waved her way through it all and Josh and I lapped up her reaction. Children bring their parents so much joy, don't they?


Our family selfies now include hippo. Everyone, hippo. Hippo, everyone.


Waving at all the taxidermy. 


We lunched at Bottega Louie.


There's something magical about being in a beautiful space. It makes you feel beautiful and brightens up a mood.


We sat in the quick service area so the little was relegated to the corner since our table was so small. She didn't mind though. Our little people watcher was too busy waving to the waiters and to the ladies next to us than to notice her distance. Besides, she was next to her momma. Where else would she want to be?


I do not believe that New Orleans has a monopoly on beignets. There, I said it. Guys, I've had both and this chocolate hazelnut beignet was pretty darn delicious. Different but equally as wonderful as Cafe du Monde.


Third day's for the win.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

And The Award Goes To..

I liked what everyone liked - the exchange between Idina Menzel and John Travolta, Common and John Legend's performance, Common's acceptance speech (what a poet!).

My favorite ladies on the red carpet.



And just because she just had TWO babies. 


Was it worth all the hours on the couch and the litany of commercials? Probably not. But what can I say? It's Oscar. And that is enough.

See ya next year.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Mom and I went shopping for a bday outfit for the babes today. To no avail. Is something special but not too fancy and reasonably priced too much to ask for?

If money was no object..



Dresses found here and here. The hunt continues.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

11 Months And A Lesson on Letting Go

We have this calendar hanging in Emerson's room that we use to note her little and big milestones. A few days ago on her 11 month birthday I wrote "turned the stroller seat around". And while this may not seem significant, it is to me. See, I can't see her anymore. It's not her and I out and about anymore, it's her and the world.


And here's the thing. She absolutely loves it. She loves it so much that I realize we probably should have done it sooner. She just crosses her legs and watches the world pass her by, pointing to that tree or making her barking noises at some dog, or exclaiming over something that caught her eye.

I haven't even had her a year yet. My heart is screaming, 'too soon! too soon!' But I see now that is the way it goes though. The standard order of things. One year of total dependence and then a lifetime of little moments of letting go that ends up with a big let go in college and then the ultimate let go when they marry. 

Maybe it is better that it happens in such small increments. Lends us the chance of not having a total psychotic break when they venture out on their own. 

11 months.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

A+

Happy Post Valentine's Day.

The hubs and I realized we have spent 9 Valentine Day's together. 9! I hate to state the obvious, but guys ~ that's almost 10 years! So when our friends, Sherwin and Leah, invited us over for a couples dinner we jumped at the chance to do something different. Does that make us old? That was my fear until we entered the. best. dinner. party. ever.





Um. Really great food. Really great fun. Really great people.



A selfie stick even made an appearance which basically put the + on our A grade evening.

A perfect night to celebrate love. 

Friday, February 13, 2015

Friday Favorites

Noe girl. These are the days.


// Web Favorites //

The 20 Most Instagrammed Dishes In NYC. 19.17. Salty Pimp At Big Gay Ice Cream. Bagels At Black Seed Bagel. New York I'm a com'in.

Places to Travel in 2015 - also I love the layout NYTimes. Danka.

lovely AND FREE desktop backgrounds.

These two amaze.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Boom, Boom, Boom.

Today we went to a design center to pick out some finishes for the house. It's somewhat like registering for wedding gifts - at first you are super excited but then you get there and the thrill of new stuff is overshadowed by the sheer number of options. 

Case in point.


Am I right or am I right? 

Anyway, we focused on flooring today.Tile comes standard and truly I detest tile. It's so ugly and square and doesn't belong in a house unless you're a first generation Chinese (no offense). But we looked at the hardwood and it was $$$$ and then I downgraded and looked at the laminate and it was still $$$. My heart broke a little. 

But then the design center lady pulled out a different tile that was made to resemble wood (even textured) and in plank form. 

My heart skipped a beat.


Here's the cabinet color, with the granite countertop, and the flooring we picked.

I would have preferred white cabinets (a white kitchen makes my heart go boom boom boom) but it wasn't an option so espresso was the next best thing. 

This guy also makes my heart go boom boom boom.

So that's that folks. We picked a standard carpet for upstairs and one of the square tiles for the laundry room and bathrooms.

It's always been a dream of mine to own a home. Where Josh and I were originally looking we would have been lucky to get a functioning 2 bed 1 bath. And now we are five minutes from Josh's work and we have a big ole house.

And just like that, we are real adults making real decisions. Boom.