shopping is tough.

My sister and I went shopping a few days ago, all set to purchase our spring wardrobe. Gift cards in hand, cash at the ready, we went in with high hopes and great expectations. We weren't looking for anything crazy, just great staples that we can integrate throughout spring. And guess what?
We came up empty handed!!
Aside from a pair of slammin' clear jellie flats {I have had an undying love for them since I was small!}, I bought nothing. Nothing!
Is is that hard to find some cute pieces like my Polyvore set above???!
Ugh.
So, I am still looking and feeling frumpy in my less-than-perfect old clothes.
Hopefully I'll have success on my next shopping trip out!
Until then, I'll be window-shopping via Polyvore.
xo! :)

a wild week!

With a trip to the Wild Animal Park on Tuesday...


And a trip to the San Diego Zoo yesterday...


...we are ready for a relaxing weekend
before Andrew heads back to school on Monday.
Happy weekend, xo! :)

owls & mushrooms!

A pile of new items have hit
Mommy Holly!
My favorites have to be these fantastic little mushroom tags and the most adorable tags with the owl-in-a-tree motif! I have been happily creating lots of fun items for my shop, as well as many new things for the Queen Bee Market coming up on May 1st! If you live near San Diego, you should definitely note that on your calendar. :)


funky mushroom tags


owl in a tree tags

Happy shopping! :)
Now we are off to the San Diego Zoo for the day!
Pictures to follow soon... :)
xo!

a dollar to happiness.

Andrew and I raided the dollar section at Michael's a few days ago.

It was fantastic and spring break was our excuse to get a few fun new things.

I got Hello Kitty notebooks {they are too cute!}

while Andrew got stickers, tattoos, notebooks,

and this fabulous dry-erase board!

He has been happily practicing his ABC's and I couldn't be prouder.

Where did my baby go, and who is this sweet & smart almost-6-year old?!

Spring break has been what we so needed.

Relaxation and time spent together.

Perfect. :)

xo!

shop love no. 3

"Moon Buns are delightful little bunnies that come from the land of Moon, a beautifully forested valley surrounded by mountains. The Moon Buns love to sing, dance, dress in fancy costuming and put on plays, but they love making new friends even more."


Where can you get your own little moon bun?
From this whimsical little shop!
And the bees are to die for.
And the mochi birds, too.
And every single one of these little creatures, eek!
I bought Andrew the charcoal moon bun and tucked it in his stocking this past Christmas and he was instantly in love. He appreciates sweet little faces like I do and likes to take care of small stuffed animals. :)
I'd like to buy myself a whole pile of moon buns.
Who's with me?! :)

What are your current Etsy favorites?
xo!

almond butter chocolate chip cookies.

As I was flipping through the latest issue of Clean Eating,
I found this yummy-looking cookie recipe.
Using some new ingredients to me,
{sucanat & almond butter, anyone?}
I whipped up a batch yesterday.

Let me tell you...
super easy,
suuuuper tasty,
and no refined sugar!
They are "clean" cookies!
I say, not too shabby! :)




Andrew prepared the chocolate for me. :)





Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Clean Eating Magazine,
March/April 2010

1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well

3/4 cup Sucanat

1 large egg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or greater), broken into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl. stir together the first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.
Makes about 24 cookies.

Super yummy, right?!
And eat these knowing that you aren't being too bad on your waistline. :)
xo!

scooters, trains, and fresh flowers.

All in all,
a happy trip to the farmer's market this weekend!
A bright, sunny day...
The train in the park past so Andrew could wave at the conductor...
Gorgeous flowers in bloom...
Spring is definitely here!

How was your weekend?!
xo!

PS.
Stay tuned tomorrow morning for an excellent cookie recipe!

happy weekend.

On the schedule for this morning?
A walk over to the farmer's market.
A few piles of asparagus.
A basket of fresh strawberries.
A stop by the baseball field to let Andrew watch the games.
Home to enjoy the weekend.

Happy Saturday, xo!

a tasty coffee cake.

For Easter breakfast, I made the most delicious coffee cake from one of my favorite bloggers. I've wanted to try it out for the longest time, but I rarely eat anything more than a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast! :) I finally tried it out in honor of the holiday morning, and it was
oh-so-delish!

Cardamom Coffee Cake

2 c. soft butter
2 c. light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla
2 c. sour cream
(I only had 1 cup on hand so I did 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup vanilla yogurt)
4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. powdered cardamom
1/2 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamon, and salt. Add sour cream and flour mixture alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Fold in each addition just enough to blend. Don't beat or over mix!

NUT MIXTURE:

1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts.

Spoon 1/3 of the batter into a well buttered tube or bundt pan, then 1/2 of the nut mixture, then 1/3 batter, then remaining nuts, then remaining batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until brown on top and dry when you insert a probe all the way down. Turn onto a plate after 10 minutes of cooling.

Then slice up some strawberries, and enjoy your delicious breakfast!
xo! :)

enjoying the sunshine.

Andrew is on spring break for two weeks...
So we are fully enjoying our time off,
playing in the sun,
trying to ride the two-wheeler bike,
and spending lots of time together.
:)

Oh yeah...
and we aren't the only ones in the family who are enjoying the sunshine...

Max frequently falls asleep on top of the fence in our backyard...
so sweet. :)

And
Mousey likes to roll around in the sunshine on the patio.
She knows she's a few pounds overweight,
but that's not stopping her from enjoying bikini season. :)

:)
Happy sunshine-y days!
xo!

shop love no. 2

For the most delicate and unique jewelry,
you must visit this sweet little shop!

I keep sneaking peeks at this shop,
wanting desperately to buy those cloud&umbrella earrings!
They are subtle, yet so imaginative.
One of my etsy-faves at the moment for sure.
Please visit this darling shop here!

Oh...
And buy me some earrings while you're at it.
hehe! ;)

What are you current Etsy favorites?!
xo!

bake these right this minute.

Thanks to this fantastic blogger, I tried these yummy little snowball cookies.
Am I in a baking mood lately or what?!
And while I know these are more of a classically winter cookie,
{what with the name "snowballs" and all!}
I just decided that they are now my anytime cookie.
Seasons be darned! :)









Snowballs

¾ C butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbl water

1/8 tsp salt

1/3 C sugar

1 ½ C flour

1 C chopped nuts

1/2 C choc chips

{the recipe called for a cup, but I cut a few of the chips out since my dough looked quite chocolate-y already!}

Cream butter, vanilla, water, sugar and salt. Add flour and mix well. Add chips and nuts. Form into 1” balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes. Roll in powdered sugar while still warm. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Then pop one in your mouth and

enjoy the deliciousness that is the snowball.

xo!

And

PS...

Andrew enjoyed them, too! :)

whip this up before sunday!

Tutorial here.
Is this the cutest thing you've ever seen?!
The perfect addition to your Easter Sunday!
As if we need anything else added to our to-do lists, right?
Enjoy your weekend, friends!
xo!

a milestone. :)

The first school performance.

Andrew got to greet the parents and welcome everyone to the kindergarten performance. He did so well! :)

They sang songs, recited poems, and acted out a little play. :)

Words cannot express how happy I am to be his mom.
I am so very proud of this little boy. :)

With one of his best friends, Owen, after the program!
Don't they look adorable?!
And can I ask...
How did my child get to be this old without me noticing?!
Enjoy your weekend, friends!
xo!

check this out! - "organic and chic"

If you've happened to peruse the books at Anthropologie lately, you might have stumbled upon this book already. I always love to pour over the beautiful books that are scattered around that favorite shop of mine. However, nothing so far compares to

Organic and Chic

by Sarah Magid

I mean, it might be one of the most beautiful baking books I've ever come across.

Gorgeous.

The cakes are gorgeous, the photography is gorgeous, the author's kids are gorgeous for goodness sake! I am seriously in love with this book. SO in love.

Sarah Magis is an all-organic baker, and she makes this seem so darn easy. With an introduction that is to the point, but still extremely informative, she makes eating organic seem understandable and manageable.

I mean, who doesn't want to bake a cake like this? And she tells you exactly how to do it! Flowers and all, eek! :)

{Not to say mine would turn out like this one, but it's worth a shot, right}

Pop over to your local library and check this one out.

You will want to bake everything in it.

OK, or you can just drool over the pictures. :)

xo!

PS.

Andrew is in his very first school program today!

His teacher chose him to greet the audience and I couldn't be more proud!!

Pictures will follow soon, I promise!