Loving It

 Lately I've been loving...

1. Hanging with my beautiful sister before her wedding!

2. And looking at that beautiful dress!

3. Being Matron of Honor (such an honor for this matron, I tell you what!).

4. The fact my sister had Thomas sit on her lap when she was eating in her wedding dress (so very brave).

5. When I had on what felt like Kardashian-levels of makeup, but despite this (because of this) looked pretty darn good!

Fancy

Want to know what will make you feel fancy?

Getting your makeup done by a fancy LA makeup artist (Who works for the stars! Allegedly.) Thanks fancypants sister!

And wearing a pretty bridesmaid's dress. (And having extra eyelashes -- Pictured above: extra eyelashes on my eyes! They come off in the shower and look like spiders. Is this a thing normal people already know?)...

 And feeling pretty in my pretty in my powder-blue Etsy matron-of-honor dress, celebrating my fantastic sister and her fellow!

(Please note: My niece, who was flower girl in my wedding, was also flower girl in my sister's wedding, and she was so, so cute in her pretty powder-pink dress!)

Loving It

Lately I've been loving...

1. Putting my hands in Marilyn Monroe's hand prints!

2. Seeing the hand prints of my favorite Hollywood couple! (Also: Thomas's thrifted moccasins are amazing. I bought those when he was itty bitty because I knew he would fit into them some day!)

3. Hey there, Greta Garbo.

4. Baby in a hot tub!

5. California sunsets over the ocean. So beautiful.

Fun

Retro bathing suit? Yes, please. 

I brought two new two-pieces (if it's this high-waisted it's not a bikini in my opinion) and a one-piece to California, and I wore them all. Is it silly to bring more than one bathing suit on a trip? Of course not! Bathing suits are so fun!

I love the high-waist trend. Love. It. I feel fun and covered and comfortable. Thomas is also feeling fun and covered (watch for that sun, kid!) and comfortable in his whale/fish swimmies.

The backyard pool and hot tub were really two of the best parts of our trip. Do you want to know what kind of attention span a 1-year-old has? VERY SHORT. All caps on that one. And yet, the pool and hot tub (and his cousins) would keep him happily entertained for hours. Hours, I say!

Loving It

Lately I've been loving...

1. Thomas seeing the ocean for the very first time.

2. Seeing how much his dad loves it too (seeing Thomas see the ocean, that is).

3. Thomas spending quality time with my sister (and that little sweater he's wearing -- garage sale buy for the win!).

4. Thomas meeting his Great Aunt Peggy and Great Uncle Tayo (and my cool water dress, but I've already blogged about that).

5. Getting a picture with all three of us! Usually it's just me taking a picture of Robert and Thomas or vice versa.

6. This angelic little face!

Best impulse buy ever

This dress was an impulse buy, but I wore it to Thomas's first birthday, and I wore it to my sister's rehearsal dinner, and it is now in some very beloved and important family photos so it is officially the best impulse buy ever.

We went to the Palisades Beach Club for a celebration party the day before my sister's wedding. It was such fun! Thomas's first experience of the ocean was the Pacific! (Same as his Californian-born mommy.) I tied up my dress so it wouldn't get wet in the water. Gotta love a maxi-dress!

My sister's now husband's grandmother is a member of the Palisades Beach Club (that's it in the background), and she only gets to reserve it one Friday per year, and pictured above is her Friday! It was a beautiful party celebrating a beautiful couple.

And Thomas enjoyed some wading good times!

Hello City of Angels!

Nine years ago, my sister went to Los Angeles to participate in a UCLA math something-or-other and met a very tall fellow who took her on a first date to the Santa Monica pier and kissed her on the beach, and then they fell in love. This summer? They got married!

What did this mean for me? It meant that I was very happy for my sister. (Yay love!) It also meant, I took my 1-year-old baby across the country to go to his aunt's wedding (and mama got hives for real). Pictured above is our first day in our sweet Airbnb in Westwood, which we shared with my parents and brother and his family. Also pictured: My amazing baby boy. And: My not-quite-as-amazing-but-still-notable polka-dot shorts.

Look at Thomas working on his walking! We spent our first full day in Griffith Park. We went to the train museum, thought about going to the zoo, but didn't, tried to go to the Observatory, but couldn't find parking (Oh LA), and then went back home to our sweet Airbnb because it was so sweet why not spend more time there? (Hot tub. Pool. Yes sir.)

My shirt is second-hand Anthropologie. (I have an eBay problem. It is ongoing.) My sandals are the best. My baby is Captain America. In this photo, we are living it up California style (and about to eat really cheap and really good hamburgers).

Style Icon: Patricia Field

Patricia Field is a larger than life costume designer with some pretty exceptional style. Starting with her signature bright-red hair!

 She is most well-known for the film "The Devil Wears Prada" and the television show "Sex and the City." I became a big fan through watching the "Sex and the City" special features where she talks about style on the show. She's so enthusiastic and fun and has such a clear idea of who each character is. I'd argue Carrie's style is the closest match to Patricia Field's: totally kooky, but still stylin'.

Her energy is infectious. She has tons and tons of ideas and obviously loves what she does. Just the way she dresses shows how much she embraces life (and the weird, Patricia Field embraces the weird).

Pictured above: Patricia Field embracing the weird.

She's definitely a hero. I think it's so important to be enthusiastic about life. To do something you love. To wear what you want even if it's ridiculous. Or actually, to wear something you want because it's ridiculous. And so: Patricia Field: role model and style icon.

Loving It

Lately I've been loving...

1. Thomas has been pointing at everything. "Let's talk about this thing over here! Okay, now let's go over there. Awesome. Now I'm going to point at that stranger over there. What's up stranger?!"

2. Thrifting all the kids toys (and outdoor kiddo furniture in the case of this picnic table).

3. My latest nail color was a lot. Very chalky, apparently. I loved it. I hated it. I took it off.

4. New art purchase! Bee a Weirdo!

5. Thomas playing with other kids. It's the best. How cute? (It was no one's birthday. Despite the balloon.)

Remix - Dansko sandals

I've talked about my Dansko clogs on this blog as they are the best, but now I must put the spotlight on my Dansko sandals, which are also the best and in fact better than the best if the weather is hot. My toes need freedom in the summer! Pictured above: Toes enjoying freedom.

These shoes have seen me through walking-heavy days of fun travel, being a schoolteacher and being a pregnant schoolteacher. Let me tell you what, that last one is a true test, and these shoes 100 percent did their job. How are they both so cute and so comfortable?

I don't really think of myself as being a person who is loyal to a brand or even cares about brands, but Dansko shoes are my exception. How do they make me feel both like a professional teacher of the children and like a fabulous '70s siren? I don't know, but that's what they do!

Style Icon: Andre 3000

Andre 3000 is so damn dapper I can't stand it.

This man can wear the hell out of a suit/hat/polka-dot bowtie. He is not afraid of prints or pattern mixing.

AND he wrote the most infectious dance tune of all time. Just try listening to it without shaking it like a Polaroid picture.

Little black dress

I wore a little black dress to take a walk and eat ice cream with Robert and Thomas. Thomas got a few bites of the ice cream, and he was all about it. Of course. Who isn't all about ice cream? 

This picture was taken on my favorite street in my town. The sidewalk is uneven (and for some reason I love that, and I love maneuvering Thomas's stroller over the bumps). It's filled with trees and cats, gardens and weird lawn decorations. Thomas and I are always pretty happy when we're walking down this street. Thomas LOVES being outside. If he's a fussbucket, I just take him on a walk. Robert, on the other hand, becomes a fussbucket when we go for a walk. It's just a wee bit too hot and humid for him. (Thankfully, he recovers enough to be pleasant company.) And me? I'm somewhere in between. If there's a breeze, I'm usually good to go. Hope you all are enjoying your summer inside or out!

Loving It

Lately I've been loving...

1. Taking Thomas to the park

2. Playing in tunnels!

3. Sweet snuggles

 4. Ducks!

5. Sad teething face, on-point hair

6. Smiles!

7. Serious fountain action