the past few MONTHS

well... riley sure does take up most of my days (not complaining).

i guess a quick recap on the last few months:

- we are selling our house. i am so proud of the little photoshoot it had last week. one day we can show riley where she was made (ha) and spent the first 8+ months of her little life. and she has her own little website? sweet! www.3012bentleycourt.com

- we are in escrow (loooooose term, i know) on what could be (fingers crossed) our dream house. well, maybe not dream... it isnt on the beach and it isnt in big sur... but it could be a place that our little family could be for a very long time. and very happily. and another project is always fun! i spend my nights on my ipad scouring pinterest for ideas. too too fun for someone like me.

- we went to big sur for our TWO YEAR (whhhhhaaaaaaaaaaat?) anniversary. dont ask me how we have been married for two years. some days it seems like a blink of an eye. and then others it seems a tad bit longer :) we camped, which is really fun with a crawling riley. but it was great- full sized air mattress and 47* weather forced lots of cuddles, 80* days made lounging in the river with a cold beer the only place id wanna be, anniversary dinner at nepenthe, walk through andrew molera, and a quick night out at "the dog". we have so many good memories in big sur and it was fun to bring little riley and think of all of the future trips we will have with her. we decided it would be a trip we will take every year.

- i am still not back at work. and i think it will be a long time before i go back. and i am ok with this decision and i am proud of myself for committing to being home with riles. and repeat. and repeat.

- scotty: bought the company as of january 1 2012. he has been killin it and working so hard and really taking the little family owned company to the next level. i am so proud of him and what he has single handedly accomplished so far this year. he's only 31 years old ya'll.

- i just spent about 4 minutes staring at the wall trying to update something relating to myself that isnt also riley related... and i got nothing. i read a really great article in the huffington post about the first years of motherhood and trying to relate with your old friends... and when you are finally able to schedule time to catch up- you just want to hear about them because when the conversation turns to you- all you have updates on are your childs bowel movements, or that they are making a new face, or that they nursed 13 times when you were camping... but that is sooooo fucking boring. so anyways, i am struggling with that. so i got a babysitter (i love her, and she loooooves riley) for six whopping hours a week and instead of using that time to go to target or nordstroms, i am reading in the park. so if you want to talk to me about "freedom" by jonathan franzen- come over any time. other than that... im just going to listen to you talk about you :)

- i waste a lot of my day worrying about what kind of mother i am, what kind of wife i am, daughter, friend, sister, etc. and i think it really prevents me from being as good as i could be. so my new motto thanks to florence and the machine is: its hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake it out. (yes, i am a 13 year old quoting a rock band).

im working on letting my head stop making me worry about things out of my control so i can live in the present. because the present is a pretty wonderful place.

now onto what is really going on in my life:

- riley sage: 8 months old. still not sleeping through the night, but thats ok. still in bed with us. sitting up since 4.5 months. legitimately crawling since 7 months. she is hilarious, and saturday and sunday mornings scotty and i can stay in bed laughing with her for hours (these are the top moments of my life thus far). obsessed with: flip flops (in her mouth), going through the garbage, huntley's eyes, pulling herself up to bang on ANYTHING in sight, electrical outlets, and any type of chord. and mum mums. sleep crawls in the middle of the night- always ending in head butting either scotty or i. loves being outside... we spend a lot of time at the pool and park. has tan lines in her fat rolls. is a little performer, always wants the attention on her. gabbing and singing non stop- she sings herself to sleep. is currently napping in her crib- first time ever. hates clothes. prefers boob over anything, but will take a sippy cup with breast milk. dances to hall and oates (truth). is the absolutely positively best thing i have ever done in my entire 29 years of existence.

im so fucking bored. but also so happy. 

nicaragua

well i am a bad blogger. sorry to mostly annie. i think she is the only one who reads.

we just got back from nicaragua. it is such a beautiful place with such beautiful and kind people. and they LOVE babies. we will definitely be back.

it was fun to sit and talk with scotty about future vacations that we are going to take with riley, and our future children. everything is just a tad more fun when you have a little one like riley around, at least for scotty and i. it was all new to her, and it was amazing to get to get so much joy out of making her happy.

im not sure exactly when it happened... but some time ago, scott stopped picking up the baby to relieve me, and started doing it because he missed her and wanted to hold her. he is seriously the best and this trip he was THE BEST. i feel so so lucky to have such a great man for me and the little lady. my little family makes me so happy and full lately that i cant even talk about it without tearing up.

as for scotty- the trip actually made me love the guy more. i am so proud of the man that he is. he's already there/here, you know? he's not still discovering what kind of person he wants to be when he grows up - that man is here. and he's kind, and sometimes quiet, and strong, and he tells bad jokes, and he is sincere. and real and he works hard to make a good life for us. i love him deeper and im so glad i got to rediscover all of these things about him on this trip. and i think he would agree with the sentiment towards me too- we are already the adults we wanted to be. we will of course continue to grow and mature and make mistakes... but we were proud of each other. and it felt good to feel so close and like a unit.

we also realized why people with babies travel with people with babies. its so obvious to us now.

here are some pics. annie- i know you say you only want to go to hawaii... but nicaragua is prettier- and 1/10th of the price. plus culture! let's go!

hanging out in our room with this fat baby and beautiful man was shockingly fun.

the sunsets were amaze-balls.

 people are so nice. thumbs up like crazy in granada. 

water bebe. the best thing. ever.

whole heartedly.

i am obsessed with my child.

when she is awake, i will do anything to make her smile. or coo. her noises are so sweet and angelic. it is heaven to me.

when she sleeps, i stare at her, smiling, and sometimes crying, because i literally love her so much that it makes me so happy but also so scared.

when she naps, which she is actually doing from time to time now, i blog about her. and edit pictures of her. and make videos.

i am that mother. oh well. riley- you are sooo worth it girl.

happy three months my little girl. you are, without a doubt, the best thing i have ever done.

rileys first friend!

we got to spend the last weekend in palm dessert with DUKE. it was so special to see our babies together. so so special.

such a fun time. other than the hangover (scotty was on daddy duty... but i wont be asking that of him again for a loooooooong time).

2 weeks.

our little love turned 2 weeks old yesterday.

my mom baby sat and scotty and i went to a 530 dinner reservation at gjelina. it was nice to get out of the house. and there is no one i would rather have watch riley than my momma.

what have i learned in two weeks little girl?

well... i have a new depth to my ability to love. i love you so much it makes me cry... i cry all of the time (good tears). you are currently strapped to my chest with the ergo- and i find my spare hand holding you even closer. i cant listen to pretty songs anymore. ones about love, family, or home are off limits... they make me too overwhelmed with love and i drown myself in tears. i can survive on no sleep (so far). i can sit and stare at you for the whole day. you change every day, maybe even every hour, and i dont want to miss a second with you. i love your daddy more than i thought i could. little riley, you have already made me better. a better wife, a better and more appreciative daughter, (and a more reclusive friend, but im sure that will pass), and you of course made me a momma. thanks little angel.

heres a bit of your second week with us:

picture heavy vaca.

just got back from a beautiful week with beautiful friends and a beautiful baby girl.


maebel KILLS me.
1. finding ways to get pics of us without asking others...
2. boston
3. duck tour
4. fenway park
5. happy boys with martoonis
6. bread and breakfast-ing in connecticut
7. i love my friends so so much
8. maebel kills me
9. li's wedding with too many adorable touches
10. seriously beautiful
11. happy good looking men
12. straight outta style me pretty
13. nyc with a belly
14. best friends
15. nyc
16. boys in brooklyn. happy birthday chris!
17. eataly by mario battali
18. i love these ladies
19. maebel kills me
20. bradley cooper takes the subway too.

glad to be home. just missing huntley :(

stuff.

life has been pretty simple lately... whatever that means. did a little damage at the nordstroms anniversary sale. ella moss made maxi skirts for prego women. and my new silly shades make me so so happy: sometimes when i get very overwhelmed with things like motherhood, responsibility, and the reality of GIVING BIRTH i search the internet for baby stuff and start to feel better immediately. i really am so excited and so lucky... here's stuff that has made me happy this morning:

1. "chewbeads" are these beautiful necklaces i found through miss amy's bon lemon blog and online shoppe. these cute things are not just easy on the eyes, they are also meant to be sucked on, chewed on, pulled on, and they are made of 100% silicon (similar to pacifiers or bottles) so they are soft on little ones gums, you can clean them in the dishwasher, and they are something colorful for your baby to focus on while nursing. genius.

i ordered the "hudson" necklace in turquoise (left). so so genius.

2. baby clothes: they make me feel very excited. if we have a little girl- she will be so comfy and california cool it will be annoying. and if we have a little man, i intend to dress him just like his papa. jeans, t shirts, and flannels. heaven!

3. grayson: he just makes me feel better about life in GENERAL but i hope i am lucky enough to have a boy half as great as he is. sister did such a good job. and as you can see, he has the best life ever: and i might have gotten him the greatest present ever (sub scotty with grayson):

other than that, same ol same ol. my belly is huge. i feel like a house. we got a new rug. work has been so so busy. we joined the club- so now i can take tennis lessons. im pretty happy.

weekend.

busy. busy. busy.

a lot of beach, a lot of sun (too much for scotty), and some DIY stuff around the house. we hung new shades in the bedroom... very very necessary. and planted some jasmine that will hopefully grow very quickly and cover our ugly little house with leaves and little white flowers. ill post pics later.

other than that...

1. huntley is one year old. wtf? how did that happen?

2. i am just over 12 weeks preggo and i am getting bigger. i'm embracing it (not it the baby, "it" the getting larger. we arent calling the baby it, we are calling the baby "baby" or he). and i am also embracing cheeseburgers and french fries and grape juice.

3. i was talking to my love grayson and was asking him about our baby and if we should have a boy or a girl, and if he would teach the baby how to swim and then i asked him what scotty and i should name the baby... he said "treasure hunt!!!!!". i said, ok we will take that into consideration, but what should the babies middle name be? and he replied, like i am a fool: "hunt". duh, of course he had covered both first and middle name. it was so funny (to us).

4. saw hall and oates at the hollywood bowl. amaze. they are in my top 3 now. for sure.

5. i think my hormones are "kind of" turning me in to a bitch. this girl who is dating one of scotts friends was talking to me at the beach the other day, and as if i had no control over my limbs as she was babbling to me about something i cant even remember i raised my hand and did the "gun to the head pull the trigger" gesture. i didnt even know i was doing it until it was over. not nice, elysia, not nice. and then in my head i have like a weird button that keeps going off that says "who gives a fuck" like all of the time. its terrible. i need to stop.

6. crazy wedding/party summer has officially kicked off.

this weekend: nicole and ians wedding

potters bachelorette

grandma and grandpas 65th (!!!) wedding anniversary party

holla! mazel! woo hoo!

sunshine, babies, pool time

what is better? NOTHING.

by best friend had her baby. and oh em gee. maebel is the cutest little mini-annie i have ever seen. i have not met her yet (which led me to stomp through the house angrily this weekend and complain to my husband A LOT), but i love her already. welcome to this crazy world maebel!

we got a cabana at the shangri la hotel on sunday and swam and ate and it was a merry old time. this is the only picture i took:

at least you can see the super cool striped furniture... if only i took a picture of the pool and the bucket of fries i killed...

and then swam all day monday with my favorite little boy, husband, and sister and bro in law. we ate johns garden and made smores by the fire pit. sister got me some goggles so i could swim under water and grayson thought they were "so space". he is the greatest.

all in all, not TOO depressed that its tuesday and the start of another work week... on the agenda: benihanas tonight (i look forward to food a little too much), my works anniversary gala on thursday, and vegas with the in laws on saturday... life is good...

mitsuwa.

we were just introduced to mitsuwa japanese marketplace. oh em gee.

first: it is a huge market with the oddest things. we picked out three different drinks based on the label and ended up with milk flavored soda. grapefruit pulp in water in a can. and iced tea with a picture of dirt on the label, which, ended up tasting like dirt. oddly enough.

second: the store "trendy" is basically one big engrish store. so funny. and they have talking toilets. what trendy shop doesnt?

third: the ramen shop has 72 varieties of ramen. heaven. i had #31, spicy ramen. it hurt my throat going down it was so spicey and so good.

scotty went a little nuts. here is what he ordered, and ate:

baby shower & i heart olympia.

if you would have told me five years ago that i would be homesick for olympia i would have said no way, no how. but alas, it is true. i had a GREAT weekend there. and i am already homesick.

we threw a baby shower for annie. it was so much fun and to toot my own horn- we did a great great job! we ran around like crazy, but it was so worth it.

from the yummy menu-

tomato basil soup

mini grilled gruyere and smoked cheddar cheese sammys with prosciotto and chorizo. drool.

to the decor- a little flag banner that i made with scrapbook paper and twine that could not have turned out any cuter. to annies baby clothes hanging from clothes pins. to these amazing yellow flower poofs i found at the party store. so. cute.

to the dessert- um, cute sprinkled pink donuts on a cute cakestand? with jars of colorful candy all over. with the cutest table cloth of all time. so. cute.

to the guest of honor- annie is glowing and couldnt have been a cuter or more gracious momma. love. her.

here are some "hip" pics:

clockwise: 1. mini grilled cheeses, piled high. with yummy fig and strawberry jams to make them even yummy-er. and adding cute little signs to things took me like 10 extra minutes and made it just so much cuter. 2. the dessert area. mad hatter tea party-esque. 3. annie's boots from when she was a little nugget. 4. the stupid diaper cake my mom and i made that i lugged up to washington. not my finest decision, but kind of worth it.

regular pics:

and then to top off a beautiful day- why NOT have a wig party and drink a tad too much with your favorite people? why not?

great great weekend.

weekend.

scoot the hoot and i had a great weekend.

date night dinner on friday with the husband. then a dance party with dear friends... one of whom asked scotty to be a groomsman! we love ben and pots.

a truly gluttonous lunch on saturday. cashed in one of my birthday coupons for a taco bell run. and i sat on the couch eating nachos looking at celebrities losing the fight with cellulite... as i contributed to my personal loss with it.

afternoon sunset cocktails with some great views and even better friends.

brunch with my family on sunday. grayson is more kind and loveable than last week.

and i am kind of in love with this picture. my mom is pretty dang beautiful.

and then dinner with scotts family at the bazaar. which it was. had the most beautiful gin and tonic. and scottys dad ordered a drink that came with a nitrogen tank. true sentence.

and now back to work. which isnt too bad either i suppose.

look who learned how to make collages!

my iphone collage for february.

my iphone collage for february.

left to right from row to row:

1. because huntley is a big girl she only eats twice a day now. she is starving come dinner time

2. huntley now gives bear hugs. yes.

3. as of today, bathroom is much cuter than yesterday.

4. it snowed in burbank over the weekend. global warming is real.

5. i got a rad job. i have a rad desk and a new mac.

6. grayson likes to take pics. we will bond over this in the future.

7. he is also even more adorable than before. i didnt think this was possible.

8. scott is cute and still hates having a camera in his face.

9. i let our neighbor blow pot smoke in huntleys face and now she chases shadows. whoops.

im sure many other things happened this month. but i got pics of these 9.