5/52

 

Charlie and his first "Charlie" sized pizza. He was in heaven. I had no idea I was in the photo :/

*a picture of Charlie a week for 2013 

Wednesday Wants (birthday edition)

WANT 

getting my hair done isn't my thing. i hate it (especially with my hair). but lately i'm
kinda envious of people who walk out of this place with lovely styles.
my hair lives in messy top knots, buns, twists and braids (thank you motherhood).
it might be nice to let my hair down (literally).

 NEED

with Charlie in the pre-toddler years the lovely diaper bag is getting a bit old.
i'd like something that is a bit easier to tote around. 

 WEAR

c'mon it has a frenchie on it!! 

 READ

everything i've been reading these days is mostly educational or child related.
mama needs a good laugh (and i've been dying to read this). 

The past two years around the holidays I've seen people doing the whole "want, need, wear, read" when it came to presents. I decided to switch it up a bit because of someone's upcoming birthday next week. I'm trying my best to handle my last birthday in my 20's with a brave face.

image

I always tell Charlie this (even if he may not understand it now) and I'm going to tell you all the same... be you, bravely :)

Sunday Night Supper: cheesy spaghetti

I decided to start "Sunday Night Supper" because Sunday is the one day I seem to want to cook and I get the most "creative" in the kitchen. I also have to include a little one year old who enjoys feeding himself so most meals have to be Charlie friendly. This is one of Charlie's favorite dishes and it also happens to be a favorite of my younger brother's. Today happens to be my brother's birthday and even though he lives 3000 miles away, I made this dish in his honor.

Chop up those veggies. Grocery shopping didn't happen in the house today so I used the vegetables we had. I normally love loading up on the veggies. 

I seasoned and cooked the beef first and added and seasoned the vegetables and then I added the tomato sauce. 

Pick your choice of pasta and start heating it up. Penne and Elbows are a hit in this house because it's easy for little one year old fingers :) Once the pasta is done cooking and the sauce is done to your liking, drain the pasta and mix it into the sauce. 

Add Mozzarella cheese on top and let the cheese melt and it's good to go! I'm not a fan of baked pasta (unless it's lasagna) so I prefer this dish. My super picky eater brother even loves this dish (so that really says something). He started liking it once we started to refuse to buy speghatti-o's. Don't get me started on what that kid got away with eating when we were little :)

A young Rachel & Jimmy circa 2001

Happy Birthday, little brother. My brother is special for many reasons. One of them being that "he never forgets". If you left him behind in the snow when he was five, he'll make it a point to tell you about it every single time your home. (hey! i had my reasons and i was stuck carrying the clunky sled) Jimmy, I love you and I'm so proud of you

the cure for "busy"

image

This weekend has proven to be super busy and I barely left the house. What started off as being in/planning one wedding has turned into two and they're both happening in the same month this spring! Thankfully one set of invites are almost done and the other is in the final draft process. Packing and creating mock up invites took up almost all my day yesterday. So I have 5 bags of clothing that I'm ready to say "peace out" to. We won't discuss the state of the bedroom. Thankfully we won't be much here much longer. This week I'll start going through what furniture "needs to go". The couch was already the first choice since this move started. Oh boy, this should get really fun! This week was another busy one and at times trying. There came a point on Saturday when this mama hit "that point" and needed to get out for a bit and needed some girl time. Linds was thankfully down for a last minute adventure. It really wasn't an adventure but it just sounds better :)

By 8pm I was so exhausted I couldn't feel my legs. I tried to power through some invite ideas but I felt the entire week was hanging on my shoulders and my chest started to feel tight. This is what "busy" starts to feel like. Especially when lack of sleep is involved. I did some stretching and a "bridge" to open up my chest and hopefully get rid of that pesky anxious feeling. When that didn't do much I resorted to a hot bath where I lit some soothing smelling candles and brewed myself my favorite cup of yogi tea. Instead of rushing through it, I forced myself to relax. I'm never amazing at "turning off" my brain. So I just listed what I was thankful for. I "unplugged" from the phone or any social media and turned on something mindless and enjoyable (The Golden Girls) and before I knew it, I was cuddled in bed and didn't wake until 9am. That NEVER happens. This will now be my "go to" cure for busy.

the past two weeks...

"ain't no party like a macdonald party cause a macdonald party don't stop"
sometimes dance parties are necessary when you're logging in long "mom"
hours because the other one is stuck at work.

celebrated & remembered Jeannie on her birthday 

celebrated mama's first etsy sale with some gelato 

my first etsy sale!! hooray!!
(i need to add stuff to my store asap) 

shared food 

took a lot of naps like this 

experienced one painful chipmunk cheek 

found a colorful door on a walk 

started making some valentine's day decor  

4/52

Considering this week kicked off with the inauguration. I thought it was appropriate to share this photo for this project. 

*a photo of Charlie a week for 2013

wednesday wants

my feet are currently begging for these

 - i'd like this in C's crib (wishful thinking)

 - i'm still on a huge stripe kick

 - colorful and fun socks? count me in!

 - sheets that you both will agree on

 - a yeti duvet cover for a "big boy" bed? kinda creepy and amazing at the same time.

 - i need these cloth napkins in my life

it was a "crafty" good time

How is it Monday already?! Sorry for the lack of posting last week. I won't go on and on about it but I've been dealing with some gnarly exhaustion and I started grinding my teeth in my sleep this weekend (thanks anxiety and stress) which has led to a whole lot of pain. So I apologize! Moving on.. This past weekend I hosted my second craft workshop/get together. Last time I hosted one of these it was pretty simple (we decorated pumpkins). This time I decided to step it up a bit and I showed the girls how to make garland. I made the decision last week to keep the snacks and bevys simple. The featured beverage was champagne over raspberry sorbet or ginger ale over raspberry sorbet. It was very yummy!  

more after the jump »

3/52

If he's not in my arms he's attached to my legs.

*a photo of Charlie once a week for 2013

prepping, planning and packing

tangerine sorbet champagne floats
(pretty sure with a different sorbet we could substitute the champagne with sparkling cider) 

I'm starting to have anixety thinking about everything that needs to happen within the next five months. It's also that time of year that kinda gets to me. Ever have a time of year that does that to you? Thankfully CaddyShack is on as I write this. C'mon Chevy Chase, Bill Murray (he was my first celebrity crush ever. don't judge! i was like 4!) and Rodney Dangerfield in one movie? 

Okay lets get back on track here... Today was a weird and busy day. I had to go back to The Grove to try on more dresses. I'm starting to really not like that place and that's the nicest way I can say that. The labor intensive part of the wedding process is starting to happen. One of my best friends recently got engaged and asked me to create her save the dates and wedding invites and be in her wedding. I'm really blessed to be having all these amazing opportunities to get creative. I'm also in the midst of going through this place and getting rid of a lot. Why? A lot of positive things are happening and eventually (aka soon) will be moving out of this place. Recently my little fam celebrated papa's birthday and very soon it will be this mama's turn to celebrate her last birthday in her twenties. We won't discuss it that much that right now because i'll start to freak out and get nauseated (don't ask). There's also a bunch of other little important things (dinners, doctor's appointments, etc.) that makes me wish there were more than 24 hours in a day! 

The prepping for this weekend's craft workshop/get together is almost done. I have the craft ideas picked out and ready to go but it's the food and beverages that have me stumped. Especially since some of us can drink and some of us can't. Last time I did this was around Halloween and it was easy to keep up with the Halloween theme. This time I'm thinking something light yet yummy (like fruit and cheese). I'm sharing a few ideas that I found to be yummy. Thank you, Pinterest AND thank you to anyone who reads this and doesn't judge me for babbling :)  

ps: I also switched up my current favorite blogs on the side. Please check them out :)

a pretty presentation of fruit and cheese

fruit and cheese dunkers

a weekend in pictures

This past weekend was filled with yummy food, finalizing some wedding details, lots of time outdoors (think that's a good choice since we're in the midst of a flu epidemic), lack of sleep and seeing some familiar faces. Now excuse me while I make an attempt to not pass out on the couch and cuddle into bed :) 

one of the many yummy things that we ate this weekend

My bff and I have been watching silly award shows since '97. I'm pretty sure that's
when her celebrity crush on Ben started. I'm more of George (yes, Clooney) and Jason "i can kick your butt" Statham. 

oh you fancy huh

Since everyone seemed to enjoy the last "oh you fancy huh" post. I decided to do another one. Mr. Charlie started taking a few steps on his own and standing on his own before the holiday so it was decided he needed proper footwear. While I did some last minute packing, Papa took C for his first pair of real sneakers. I'm surprised they didn't buy matching ones. Oh, wait... That's something I'd do. When C turned a month old I bought him a pair of chuck taylors to match the ones I have and was made fun of. Since returning from the east coast the weather in LA has been chilly and some days we can get away without wearing a coat (yay!). Some of us hates coats since being traumatized back east. This kind of weather calls for layers (i'm a pro) and yummy footwear (sneakers and boots). Since some of us have new sneakers that we like to show off (or rip off) we had to document it before it was too late :)

2/52

it's exhausting being a 14 month old 

*a photo of Charlie once a week for 2013

the happiness project

I started reading The Happiness Project last night. I had just finished a book I was reading and was looking for something that was more of a "light read". I stumbled across this one on amazon and noticed the kindle version was only $4.99 so I couldn't say no. I'm normally one to buy the actual book but I was impatient and couldn't say no to the price. 

Since we're in a new year and some of us are setting goals and making resolutions, I highly recommend reading this book. I think that it might be able to help keep goals and resolutions. The author broke her goals down into months. Certain months she would focus on those certain goals. Genius!! I feel that it's a smarter way about approaching goals and resolutions. Especially if you have several things that you want to work on. Another thing that I enjoyed was she made herself a set of commandments AND she jotted down a few secrets of adulthood that she has learned. 

I'm going to be 29 in a month and it really got me thinking about some of the secrets I have learned in adulthood. It also made me start a list of things I'd like to do in my last year of my "20's" (that's for another day - maybe). I decided to jot down a few and share them. 

 - carry a $1 in change in your wallet (quarters, dimes, nickles & pennies) because you never know when those could be your saving grace.

 - ask for help. it's not a bad thing

 - you're going to hate this but not everyone is going to like you

 - dress in layers if you're unsure about the weather

 - there's a reason why they took the time to make a wedding or baby registry. they would like you to use it.

 - toddlers have puppy like tendencies and you may have a tendency from time to time to treat them like a puppy. Ex. stomping on the ground and a stern "no" to stop them from doing something 

 - if you're not failing every now and then it's because you aren't trying hard enough

 - kill them with kindness

 - laugh and laugh a lot 

 - never compare your beginnings to somebody else's middle

 - nap, pizza, hot bath or a regular coke can be a cure for many things

 - don't be a "part-time" friend and don't be a fake friend 

 - exhaustion and a bad mood can be cured by a quick run or walking like you would with Oprah (aka power walking)

 - you aren't better than anyone & you aren't allowed to judge anyone. every body's lives, choices, daily battles are different and that's okay.  

 - just because you've reached adulthood doesn't mean it's okay to stop using manners. 

  

What are some of your adulthood secrets?

colour my world

I really enjoy color. I have a board on my pinterest dedicated to it. I've noticed that depending on my mood that I'm attracted to certain color schemes. I had one of those horribly busy days that was filled with errands, appointments and chores that weren't pleasant and I was slightly weepy for no reason (so annoying). I realized that I was drawn to grayish colors today. I even wore a gray shirt today. It may or may not have been because of those annoying things I had to do today. Here's to hoping tomorrow is more of a "yellow" type of day or orange :)       

(photo: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8)