pink saturday!

So I slept in this morning after a lonnnnnnnng day at the zoo yesterday with our playgroup (which was so much fun, by the way!)... but I overslept and woke up remembering I had no Pink Saturday post! Ah! So I yelled over to Andrew, "Come downstairs, I have no Pink post!!!" and he is rushing around also, acting like it is the biggest deal in the world. If my 4-year old had a blog, believe me, he would be partipating in Pink Saturday as well. Pink is his favorite color! :)

OK anyways, thanks for visiting my post today and hope you enjoy my "pink"! Say hello, and I will be visiting all you pink ladies today!! I decided to be lazy once again and borrow some gorgeous images from the lovely {this is glamorous} because they are simply amazing. Pink billowing curtains and that amazing pink spiral staircase???? WOW. :) Wishing these two pictures were part of my own home!!! Anyways, thank you Beverly for hosting this Pink Saturday once again... I am on a constant lookout for all things pink lately, so I have a steady supply of pictures on my computer.

Hopefully I will get the zoo pictures up later today, they are so darn cute! We were there all day and had such a great time....! Enjoy your Saturday, everyone!

*And remember to leave me a comment letting me know you would like to participate in our "vacation" which will be on June 26th!!! :)

let's go on vacation!

I have to admit, I am jealous of anyone taking a vacation this summer. With gas and vacation spots being at such a high price, combined with funds being low for us, the reality is that we will be enjoying our pool in the backyard quite a lot this summer. :) However, that doesn't stop me from imagining where I would go if I was able to... and that is where I had an idea! We should all share our ideal vacation with each other.... the perfect destination, pictures of relaxing places to spend the summer, etc, etc, etc! I hope you all will want to "go on vacation" with me. As dream-like as it may seem, it actually makes me feel good planning a trip I'll never go on... so let's get to planning!

Here are the guidelines...

I am going to host this "vacation" along with my mom. If you would like to play along, leave me or my mom a comment on any of our blogs letting us know you want to join us, making sure you give us your blog address as well. I will compile a list of everyone playing and on June 26th, we will all post our ideal vacation. Whether it is a small and simple trip, or a lavish and seriously unreal vacation, that is up to YOU! It is YOUR dream vacation for this summer, so plan as much as you want! We will want to see pictures of where you are choosing to "go" and we can all travel vicariously through each other. I will start a blogroll of everyone playing here on my blog, and on the day of, we will see how many make-believe vacations we can go on!!! I hope you will participate, and this gives us a chance to get to know many more bloggers as well. So if you are reading this blog, leave me a comment and play along with us!!

I have made a button you can puton your blogs to show you are playing the vacation game.

If you want the cute picture like I have on the left of my blog, let me know and I will email you the code! I would love all of you to post the button if you are participating, that way others know how to join up as well!! :)
The reason I don't have the the code on here is because blogger won't let me write the html code in without making it a picture haha :)

Tell your friends, share with others, spread the news, and let's go on vacation!!! :)

Yay, here is an ongoing list of the participants:

1. Heidi from Foxgloves, Fabric & Folly

2. Alicia from Butterfly*Gems

3. Cecilia from Nifty

4. Madrin Designs

5. Tonya from PuddinPop

6. Mallory from Mallory D. and her Big Bodacious Blooms

7. Rachel from Cherry Tree Lane

8. BJ from Sweet Nothings

9. Jeanne from Backyard Neighbor

10. Mya from Creative Musings

11. Vintage Girl at Heart

12. Diane at A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

13. BrainMosaic

14. Cole from My Menagerie

15. Kari and Kijsa from Ask Kari and Kijsa

16. Beverly from How Sweet the Sound

17. Molly from Molly B.'s

18. Rhonda from Scooterblu's Whimsy

19. Shaybert from thirtyandholding

20. Joanna at Sweet Finds

21. Brittainy at The Litany of Brittainy

22. Melissa at The Inspired Room

23. Shirl at Shirl's Rose Cottage

24. Jan at Jan and Tom's Place

25. Jill at Bailiwick Designs

26. Schotzy at Wings of Eagles

wooooo!!!! ;)

It amazes me each day as Andrew learns new things, but today was quite the accomplishment for him.. and me! When he was with his dad all day yesterday, I cleaned and organized his room, moving his toys to different areas so he could play and actually make use his bedroom. (As opposed to just sleeping in the messy, crowded toy dump it was before!) All of his things are much more accessible for him to get out, and put away, himself... so this morning was a first for us! Andrew went to his room and asked if he could get his toys out and ...... "have some time to himself to play." While this may not seem like such a big deal to anyone but me, it is a HUGE deal. I usually have to force Andrew to play by himself, since he constantly is asking me to "come here, mommy" or "look at this, mommy"! And really, it is not that I mind, but it is such a relief to have a few uninterrupted moments of mom-time and that usually doesn't happen very often here at our house. However, this morning Andrew specifically asked for time by himself to play in his room, and to say the least, I was shocked! And amazed! And happy to have a half hour to myself! Maybe he is getting to the age where being by himself isn't such a bad thing.. well, I am quite proud! And of course, I had to snap a few secret pictures of him playing in his room... by himself. :)

And in completely unrelated news, we are going to pick up our new camera this morning! Yay! Now my Etsy shop will have some decent pictures and you might actually be able to see what eerything looks like!!! Can't wait! I will be obsessively re-photographing everything this afternoon... :)

etsy reds!

I keep meaning to post some more amazing etsy finds of mine... so i thought I would combine my etsy post with my last "I See Red" post for this week! I absolutely LOVE Etsy.. I think it is so amazing that all of these people can come together with handmade items that are both beautiful and unique. Seriously, I will buy whatever I can on Etsy from now on! :) Anyways... sneak a peek at the adorable things I have found with red....

This perfect little coin purse or small makeup bag.. whatever you want it to be, really! From fieldofroses, who makes beautiful things!

A necklace I have been coveting.... from sproutstudio.

And earrings I have also been wishing for, along with many many things in this shop by bazaarLatino!

Of course, one of my mom's simply amazing quilts! Once we get our new camera, these will really show off their stunning wonrkmanship!! By heididevlin.

And I had to show you all the gorgeous invitations we just ordered for a dear friend's baby shower. Designed and custom made by inkylivie, these invites are simply gorgeous and I highly recommend any of Asa's work!! The picture above is a birth announcement which is also fabulous, but she custom made the invites for the baby shower we are throwing. So nice to work with and amazing products. :)

Off to do some more cleaning and organizing. Hopefully by the end of the day, my house will sparkle and I can actually show you some of the cute little things I've done!! Stay tuned and have a lovely rest of the weekend... xoxo!!!

toss on those red shoes!!!

I am in a pretend-online-shopping frenzy right now!

I have been sifting through the gorgeous Neiman Marcus website trying to find something amazing and red for my post today and I am seriously getting flustered with all of these amazing things!!!! I have been furiously adding items to my shopping cart, fully intending to never ever buy any of it. What am I, made of money????!!!! But a girl can wish, right?

Wowwwww. Alright, the last ones are technically black, but it's got a hint of red on the heel and they blew me away, so on the blog they go! :) I was fully intending to only post shoes as to keep a nice theme going for the blog this afternoon, but look what I found......

Take a deep breath. That "bow" is a purse. A PURSE! I would buy that in a second if it wasn't over a thousand dollars. Good lord, when did things become so expensive?????!! Maybe Forever 21 will make a knock-off for like 10 bucks. I'll keep an eye out...... :)

And I thought I didn't like red all that much..... oh how I was wrong.

"scribble it" giveaway!

I just entered to win an amazing chandelier wall decal... and you can too! Go to Scribble It and post a comment, and maybe one of us will win! (And by "one of us", I am hoping and praying it is ME hehe!!!)

pink saturday!

Happy Saturday everyone, and in particular, Happy pink Saturday! Beverly from How Sweet The Sound has been posting something pink each Saturday, and now she is letting us join in on the fun as well. I have a huge number of pictures saved on my computer, so I picked two out of those for today's pink post. The above picture is a pink bathtub, how cute is that?! And below, a gorgeous pink room that I could definitely enjoy! I hope to visit all of you "pink ladies" today and leave you comments.. it is always so much fun to see what others post for their take on a color. Leave me a comment to say hi and I will be sure to visit you as well! And thanks Beverly for this wonderful idea! Go visit her page to see a list of the participants...

I am off to get things organized today and enjoy a semi-lazy Saturday (hopefully!). I am almost done with my second summer book, Jane Green's To Have and To Hold. While I wasn't too into it during the first few chapters, I am loving it now and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes either Jane Green or chick-lit in general! Have a lovely day, everyone...xo!

PS. "red" post later today! :) (Think I have a lot going on with this blog all of a sudden?????!)

*I save pictures all the time on my computer and I believe both of these were from the lovely {this is glamorous} blog! Go sneak a peek at it, it is the most beautiful blog you will ever read!!! :)

red friday!

There are three more days left for the I See Red challenge, and I wanted to post something personal today! I realized I haven't posted any pictures of the little one lately, so here he is gracing the blog with his presence once again! And it just so happens that his new big wheel from his birthday is RED! :) Andrew is finally getting the hang of this new "bike," being quite a bit different than the little trike he is used to. Now he is realizing he can go super fast on this new one and whip around the yard like a maniac! So much fun for him :) I have really been enjoying this red thing though, and it is amazing the kinds of pictures I have been able to find that have red in them.

As for yesterday, I think the porch party was quite the success!!! I know I got a huge number of people commenting on my porches, and I left everyone a comment that had a porch post as of last night. Sorry if I missed you, but I only skipped the ones that had no porches haha!! It was so much fun to see everyone's take on the classic little "porch" and I really enjoyed it!!!

And PS. I saw Sex and the City for the second time last night. I went with my sister and a bunch of the mommies in my playgroup and we had such a good time- thanks for going with me girls!!! Now I am off to the fabric stores with my mom and to lunch with my sister while Andrew spends the day with his dad! xo!

happy porch party!!! :)

Happy Porch Party, everyone!!! :) Thank you for visiting my blog and I can't wait to visit all of yours over the course of the day.... and yes, I want to visit all of them, so look for a comment from me today! Say hi and let's enjoy this wonderful party that is hosted by the lovely Rhondi from Rose Colored Glasses! Thanks Rhondi, what a great idea!! Now onto my porches......

Since I do not have a true "porch," I am posting my dream porches today. And notice I said porches, meaning more than one! I am always conflicted, loving houses at the beach, in the country, and a busy city like New York. So I couldn't choose just one. Here we go and hope you enjoy! :)

First off is a porch that reminds me of somewhere in the Hamptons.. the adirondack chairs with the little bird cutouts, the gorgeous siding to the house, and the white woodwork. Move me to the Hamptons if I could enjoy this gorgeous porch!! :)

These next two are my dream country porches!! Out in the middle of the woods, a big porch to enjoy and read a good book in the quiet... how lovely would that be???

And possibly my favorites.... New York City brownstones and their cute little porches and stairs!!! Obviously, I am crazy about NYC, having obsessively blogged about it for days on end.... so naturally I had to add in a few porches there! But they are gorgeous, beautiful old buildings with history and character. The porches may not be large, but they sure are inspiring! :)

I had so much fun with this porch party, thank you to all of you who are visiting me today and thank you to Rhondi for such a fun idea!!!! And happy birthday to Rhondi as well! :) xo!

red on a chandelier!

I absolutely love chandeliers, the gaudier the better!! So I was excited to come across these pictures of red chandeliers.... how gorgeous are they????!! Not sure where the one on the top is from, but the multiple chandeliers in the second photo are from an auction event at Christie's in New York. Being an art history major, I toyed with the idea of moving to New York and working for Christie's when I was younger and I always have a fascination with it! Anyways, Christie's, you've got style with those slammin' chandeliers!! ;)

Now it is time for the porch party.... Ill be posting pictures in a few minutes! :)

i see a "red" new york!

Since New York City is my favorite place in the world, I thought I would share with you some amazing photographs of the city.... and guess what?? They are red! :) Sara from Sadie Olive had such a great idea with this red challenge.. I am loving it! Now onto the red for the day...

Taxi cabs are so representative of New York... and see that crazy little zebra store?? One of my favorites to visit in NYC. It is called "Girlprops" and it is a tiny little jewelry store with loads of cute (and super cheap!) jewelry!

I found this picture and had to post it.... how cute are all of those little chairs??

A red crane at the site of the World Trade Center disaster... had to include a picture that represents a devastating day in New York's history, along with the history of our country.

Central Park.... a delightfully peaceful place in the heart of the city! Lots of lakes, birds, trees, paths, and there is even a castle nestled in the middle of the park! I just love the picture above... gorgeous red tree next to that lake!

And more Central Park.... the lamp post immediately reminds me of NYC. And it just so happens to have lots of red leaves surrounding it! :)

Hope you all enjoyed my red posts today, I know I did! I might be back to blog a bit later... Andrew has spent the past two days riding his new "Big Wheel" bike and he is getting the hang of it, and is loving that is goes super fast!!!! I snapped some pictures yesterday that I will have to upload and share with you all later on. Enjoy the day! (And by the way, it is cloudy this morning in SD, you know how happy that makes me!!!!!!)

red umbrellas and rain!

Oh, how I wish the red umbrellas and rain applied to my day right now. Instead, it is a bright, sunny and warm day in Southern California... typical! :) I have spent the day slaving away in the garage, cleaning all the junk out of there with my mom and Andrew. What a fun way to spend today, right? Well....after last night's sad attempt at posting something red (what the hell was I thinking???? dorothy????!!! I think I was blinded by fatigue!!!!)... I figured it was time to post something worth looking at. So I was google-ing red umbrellas because I am obsessed with the rain, and it just so happens I was able to find an awesome painting of New York City in the rain.. complete with the red umbrella! Fits perfectly into the "i see red" week, don't you think??

I don't know how many of you have been to New York City, but it is one of my favorite places on earth. If I was not tied down in any way to my life here in California, I would live there in a second. What an amazing place.... :)

I think these red umbrella pictures capture such a special part of rainy days.... and they are just so beautiful! Hope you all are enjoying a wonderful day, and to anyone who lives in a rainy place today, I AM SO JEALOUS! ;)

**And PS.. Make sure to go check out EtsySecrets soon... I posted a coupon for 50% off any one thing in my shop, but you will only find the code for it on EtsySecrets!!! The offer ends this week! xo!

i see red!

I happened to come across the cutest blog idea this evening at my mom's suggestion... post something red each day this week, hosted by Sadie Olive! I thought it would be a fun thing to participate in this week, so I will be posting fun little "red" things each day, along with my normal blogs. Check out her blog, too, it is fabulous! If you want to play along, click the "I See Red" picture on the left side of my blog.

So what immediately comes to mind to me when i think of red?? (A color which I must admit, is not my absolute favorite.) Dorothy and her ruby slippers, of course! Ok, ok.... lame choice for my first red post??? Probably. But.. I always wanted those shoes when I was little and I still do to this day. So put up with my crappy post this evening and I'll make up for it tomorrow! I have been so tired today, dealing with a four year old who refuses to take naps anymore, so this is short and sweet tonite. Sweet dreams!

happy june!

Let me start out this post by saying a big "thank-you" to AllSorts for motivating me to post (almost!!) every day in May. It was such a wonderful group to be a part of and I am so glad I stumbled upon other fabulous blogs and new blog-friends! :) I can't believe May is already over.. seems like it flew right by me! And now onto June....

My mom was telling me about a wonderful blog that she reads: Rose Colored Glasses. She is hosting a "porch party" on June 5th where we all post a picture of a front porch to our blogs that day... it can be our own porches or another one that we wish we had! ;) What a cute idea, I just love it! Now I just need to find an amazing porch picture like the one (from her blog!) below.......

Next on the blog agenda this evening.... new cards in the shop!! I had so much fun last night creating a whole pile of new cards. Mostly baby cards, since I know so many people that are either pregnant or have newborns lately. I've got babies on my mind and I had to make some cute cards!! :)

And last, but certainly not least, I saw Sex and the City today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was absolutely amazing!!!! Every minute of this movie either makes you laugh, makes you cry, or is stunningly beautiful! The clothes, the shoes, the girls, Mr. Big, New York City..... I could go on and on and on. For those of you who have not seen the movie yet, I will not go into detail and ruin it for you. This is one movie that you will want to experience fully! Wonderful movie, what can I say. And as a massive Sex and the City fan, I'll be going to see it many more times in the theatre in the next few weeks. :)
Off to get cozy and read a bit before sleep!! I have already finished my book that I started only a few days ago, Always the Bridesmaid. Now I have ordered the next to sequels to it off amazon and am waiting patiently for them to arrive. These books are quick reads and perfect for summer. Now I am starting a Jane Green book while I am waiting on the other two! I will let you know how it is! :) Goodnight, and I hope all of you enjoyed a relazing weekend!

arte y pico award!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderful fellow Etsymom and blogger Cinnamon & Spice for presenting me with the Arte Y Pico award! How cool is that?! This award recognizes a blog's creativity and overall contribution to the blogger community. I was perusing the Arte Y Pico blog and since it is mostly in spanish, I was utlizing my "google translate" quite a lot! Basically, the jist of the award is that

art is wonderful...

but even more so in the company of others.

Isn't that great? And now, I get to select 5 recipients as well:

1) Tales From Pixie Wood
2) Mom-O-Matic

3) my happy little life
4) PuddinPop
5) Foxgloves, Fabric and Folly

Once you've been selected, please follow these guidelines and pay it forward:

1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.

2) Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog by so everyone can view it.

3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.
4) The award-winner and the presenter should post the link of the "Arte y pico"blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5) Please post these rules!