wordless wednesday

{can someone tell me where I can find this?}

{LOVE her hair!}

q&a with the little man

I found this cool little idea from Pinterest and thought it'd be a fun activity to do with my son. It was very interesting and as always, humorous to hear the things that came out of his mouth. Here are his answers:

Mommy asks child to recite his/her name: Dylan!

How old are you? 2 and a half

What is your favorite color? orange

Who is your best friend? Mommy {aww...}

Favorite animal? Ephelant {elephant}

What do you want to be when you're all grown up? Uh, green! {LOL}

What is your favorite movie? Lion King {he has NOT seen this movie yet}

What is your favorite book? Cars and Mickey Mouse book

What makes you happy? When I'm 3 years older 

What makes you sad? When Mommy is sad {another aww...}

What is your favorite food to eat? noodles

What is your favorite song to sing? pinano {piano} songs

What games do you like to play? Cars 2 Xbox!

Can you write your name for me? No! I draw a triangle! 

And there you have it...my son in a little nutshell.

fashion forward friday

Goodbye flip-flops, summer dresses, tank tops, and shorts. Hello boots, scarves, sweaters, and trench coats!


My favorite season for fashion is upon us. Well in my area, Indian Summer is beginning to lurk out so technically my flip-flops haven't been put away just yet. The best part of Fall season for me is wearing my boots. But of course, Fall fashion isn't just about the boots. According to Celebrity Style Guide, here are just some of the shoe must-haves for this season...

As always, some celebrities are already in the swing of Fall fashion...

Justin Theroux & Jennifer Aniston

Anna Faris

 Pippa Middleton

...and the always fashionable mommy-son pair: Kourtney Kardashian and Mason Disick {they're so cute, I wanna put them in my pocket!}

my first giveaway win

I am an avid reader and member of Lauren Conrad's blog. Last week, she had a giveaway for a lovely little bow necklace from Dogeared. I love bows on just about anything fashionable so I decided to enter the giveaway. Mind you, I don't ever enter these things because I always have a thought in the back of my mind that I could never win. But hey, why not give it a try! So I entered and guess what...I was one of the 25 winners! I was so excited to see my name and to actually have won something. It really made my day. I can't wait to get it!

wordless wednesday

a thin line between love and hate?

I was doing my daily celebrity gossip update on US Magazine and I came across this article that quickly got my attention. 


Julie Bowen: I "Love and Hate" My Kids

I can't believe she just said that word in the same sentence with kids. I've always believed that hate was such a strong word and even when I felt so unbelievably angry towards someone, it was always easier to just say a few curse words instead. Believe me, I'm not perfect. I have said it in the heat of the moment at times and I've always regretted it afterwards. There are so many things that I could say I hate and wouldn't feel bad about it...


I hate rainy days.
I hate when the toilet seat is up.
I hate the taste of bitter melon.
I hate visits with the dentist.
I hate visits with the gynecologist.
I hate having to go to the DMV.
I hate when they don't have my size in a pair of shoes I've been dying to have!


Simple, petty things like that. But to say I hate someone, let alone my kids? I couldn't even imagine it. Parenting is never easy and it sure as hell isn't perfect. My son drives me crazy at times, but I don't think there's any excuse to use that word and associate it with kids. 


They say there is a thin line between love and hate, but with kids I don't think that falls true at all. 


I wonder what Julie Bowen's kids feel about her saying that. If she were my mom, I'd be so hurt.

family trip traditions

One of my favorite traditions growing up was going on Tahoe trips with my mom's side of the family. 

One of my uncles had a friend who owned this beautiful cabin and every so often, we'd take a trip up to Tahoe and spend the weekend there. Now it wasn't just my mom, my dad, my siblings, and me on this trip. It was my grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, and cousins - about 20 of us. My family has gotten a lot bigger since then, but at the time, that was a lot to me. 


For Labor Day weekend, we went on a Tahoe trip with my cousins from my dad's side of the family - all 30 of us. I was really excited to go on the trip just because of how much fun I used to have when I was younger. It was always a tradition to take family pictures in front of the cabin before we left to go back home. I always enjoyed looking back at those pictures, especially as the years went by. Now with my dad's side of the family, we've started the very same tradition...

All of our kids in front of the cabin

the girls

the guys

It's a wonderful feeling to be able to let my son experience trips with his cousins just like I did when I was little. Can't wait for the next one...

me & my honey 

{w/ our son in the background refusing to take a pic}

My non-swimming beach outfit: H&M tank, Forever 21 shorts, H&M belt :)

a gathering of friends

Mayweather vs. Ortiz


I'm not a huge fan of boxing nor do I think I ever will be.
But I am a fan of friends getting together with some yummy food and
good drinks.


Last night, we hosted a Fight Party at our place. Some of our closest friends came over.


We cooked.
We ate.
We drank.
We ate.
We laughed.
We caught up with each other.
We ATE!!!


Menu for the night:
chips & salsa
artichoke & jalapeno dip
spinach dip
shrimp lumpias
stuffed mushrooms
prosciutto-wrapped asparagus
seafood linguine
enchiladas
spanish rice
chicken
carne asada tacos
oreo cookie ice cream cake


Drinks:
Carlos Rossi Sangria
Sutter Home Moscato
Heineken beer
Jameson Whiskey
Capri-Sun for the little boys


I didn't watch much of the fight, but with the best food cooked by some great friends, it turned out to be a fun Saturday night!

Oh, and 2 little boys did their best at making a mess!

fashion forward friday

I have this fantasy dream of having a career in the fashion industry. I think I'm drawn in by the glitz, the glamour...and hello, the clothes! Although, we all know it's not all pretty behind the scenes. It's a tough industry to work in. Thick skin required. 

New York Fashion Week has always fascinated me to say the least. A whole week full of designers and celebrities, coming together for one purpose - fashion. This event is on my wish list of things I would love to do. It probably won't ever happen, but in the mean time I'll just gawk at the pictures {and the clothes}.

yogurtland & sanrio!

Mommy loves froyo.
Mommy loves Sanrio.


So imagine my excitement when I found out that Yogurtland and Sanrio launched a co-brand partnership, which started in July, featuring the characters Hello Kitty, Keroppi, My Melody, and Chococat. At all Yogurtland locations, you can find a variety of merchandise, including Hello Kitty plushes, key chains, and t-shirts. To celebrate the partnership, Yogurtland is even offering Sanrio inspired cups and spoons. 

I've been a fan of Hello Kitty since I was little and I still am today {have I mentioned that already?}. It makes me feel silly to walk into an actual Sanrio store at my age and make purchases like I used to. Pencils, notebooks, sticker books, wallets, lunch boxes, backpacks, you name it. So this was my perfect excuse to indulge in a little bit of Sanrio world...and eat yogurt at the same time! My little family and I made a trip to our nearest Yogurtland last weekend and I was able to snag myself a cup and collectible spoon. Hopefully I can collect all of them. Makes me feel like a little girl again...

wordless wednesday...and a little guilt.

After my Tahoe trip with my family, I went into this "non-blogging" mode. Why, I don't really know. Maybe it was a combination of writer's block or me just needing a writing break. It felt nice to be away from my laptop for a week...but I also felt this guilt for not keeping up with my blogging. I told myself that I would keep up with my blog when I started it 4 months ago, but I guess we need a break with everything in life, right? Some fun things have happened in the past week, which I'll share more of in my upcoming posts. For now, here's my Wordless Wednesday of the week!

wordless wednesday

{ingredients for Otter Pop cocktail}

fashion forward friday

My favorite outfits of the week!

I'm off to a beautiful weekend in Tahoe! 

first of the month!

I can't believe it's September already. August went by too fast, I feel like I didn't get much done. At the beginning of each month, I sometimes make a little list in my mind- goals, things I'd like to do for the first time, places I'd like to take my son, food and restaurants I'm hoping to try, etc. The other night, I started to make that little list so I decided it'd be a better idea to actually write them down for once. 


1. Continue my training to be a runner: My sister and I planned to do a marathon last weekend, but she had gotten sick and we weren't able to do it. I didn't want to do it without her since I was mostly doing it for her in the first place. But now I'm still itching to get a marathon checked off my bucket list so I want to continue my training. This will actually be my monthly goal for the next several months until I accomplish my first marathon. 



2. Get some good running shoes: I don't want just any good running shoes, I would love to get these...

3. Take my son to a farm: It's not just any farm, but it's a farm in my area perfectly made for little kids. The place is called Lemos Farm and they have pony rides, train rides, and laser tag. I've been wanting to take him there ever since summer started, but we haven't had the chance with so many things going on. Hopefully this month!!


4. Watch "Something Borrowed": 

5. Make Oreo pops: I saw a picture on Pinterest a few days ago of Oreo Pops and I immediately wanted to make them. I would love to make them for my son's birthday in December or even for the holidays...

6. Be able to do 500 crunches: The closest I've gotten up to is 300. A girl can't have enough fitness goals, right?