Dish with me

My diet went well. I didn't feel deprived for one second. It was touch and go for a moment just remembering to snap a picture but it was good.  There were a few things I noticed while I was gone that I wanted to share with you but since I was dieting I decided to wait.

1. I think I need a stylish BFF that wears glasses with thick rims. Think Brad or Tommy. And apparently striped ties.

 2. Don't you think accessories are a quick way to spruce up what you have going on in your closet? Here are a few things that my closet is wishing for this spring. Wedges and new sunnies.

3. Let's talk TV for one moment, have you been watching Real Housewives of Orange County? It's so bad I have to cover my eyes at least 10 times per episode. Hopefully I can make it through. Tamra is pitiful and Gretchen and Slade? Eww, no more morning shots please I might just die. Do you watch Glee? I don't normally talk about it but I think that Blaine is my absolute favorite character and he's not even one of the main ones. He's just so adorable and is the best male singer hands down. Lastly on the subject the show that I love watch and am slightly embarrassed about is Kourtney and Kim take New York. Why? I have no idea, I'm like one of million other people in America, fascinated by the Kardashians. I definitely think that Khloe and Kourtney is where the entertainment is but Kim is stunning so I guess she can be allowed to stay.

Sorry, I know it's early but doesn't this slightly make you want to barf?

Brothers

I know it looks like all Big does is play his DS but we're pretty strict about when he can use it. He is limited to weekends so when he's able to play he does and Little hangs out and acts as his cheering section. I couldn't help but snap a pic of them yesterday afternoon. Little sometimes takes any opportunity for a nap pretty darn seriously and Big well he didn't move a muscle as to not wake him.

They are typical brothers who tease, play and laugh with each other. They genuinely seem to like each other too which thrills me to no end. Before I know it they'll be speaking in their secret code, laughing at their dad or I because we do something adult and lame. But that's ok because we all know there's nothing funnier than inside sibling jokes. When you think back are some of your most hilarious moments with your sibs?

Leisurely mornings

So today is a mini Spring Break for Big and regular old Spring Break for Little and it was our first day to wake up a little later, no lunches to make and savoring those first cups of coffee. Nice. Not to mention the hanging out with a buddy for Big and me finally catching up on much needed housework.

These little game thingies can sync up when they're playing next to each other, how's that for a cool toy?

Who's for having nothing scheduled? It's like heaven I tell you. So what makes the perfect leisurely morning for you?

Trying new things

Well Big is at least. Here is a picture of him trying swim team for the first time. Speaking from experience there's nothing harder than your first practice. He told me this morning that he wants to make sure he goes back for the next practice so I know he felt a huge sense of accomplishment. Yay for him, I'm so glad he's excited.

So try something new it will do wonders for your confidence.

I'm dieting

A few months ago a couple of us local bloggers (Jaimee, Christina and Marni) toyed with going on a blog diet. You know that bloated, jaded feeling you get with all of gorgeous interiors, blogs filled with stuff that makes you want, want, want? We thought it would be fun get rid of that feeling together. Take a break from the pretty that leaves you satisfied for a minute but like that crazy sugar rush leaves feeling like you've crashed and burned. That feeling of needing more, ick who needs it? So I think for a week I'm going to try and stay in the moment and snap some pics with my phone and blog about what really leaves me feeling content. A blog diet, healthy and happy stuff only.

{See what I mean, doesn't this make you want to go out and buy a cabinet just to fill it with gorgeous shoes?}

Anyone feeling like joining me? One week it will be fun.  In one week we'll all be feeling skinny and gorgeous by the end of it, I just know it!

Got brats?

Dear smug childless people and old grouches,

When you shout it out to the universe via facebook, twitter or shoot daggers out of your eyes let me be clear when a kid has a meltdown it's just as mortifying to the parents as it is to you. It's not like parents head out the door hoping to incite their child into a frenzy by saying no to fruit snacks, them being inexplicably hot, tired or hungry or simply looking at them cross-eyed. Grouches please remember what it was like to have a child and smug kidless peeps remember karma's a bitch and this could be you someday so try a little compassion.

Love, Me

PS - If you want to be mortified do it at the adult that has the haircut like this one. Because they unlike the kids have a little more choice in matters.

Laundry or errands?

Dude I'm ready to pull out some hair. I've got piles of laundy and here I sit lollygagging. I have mucho to do today and I can't manage to pull it together. It's a very carefully orchestrated dance of procrastination. I really need to work out to get rid of all of this stressy energy but do I have the time today? I'm one of the chairs for Big's big school fundraiser so I'm feeling the heat, it's Saturday. It's a little earlier than normal because at a parochial school there's no partying during Lent so this year it's bright and early. So I have lots of annoying errands to run, details to tie up and then I can't stop thinking about the piles....And then to top it off if I'm doing something I can't just hop into bed and go to sleep I have to unwind for an hour or so in order to just get to sleep. I get insomnia when I have things on my mind and things to do. Oh and let's not forget Little's big 5 year birthday is tomorrow. Crap. I guess I should go and get some presents or something.

I won't kid myself, sorry honey it's the laundry that's going to have to wait! See you kids at the gym.

{This picture from Dillon Kyle has nothing to do with anything it just looks like a fun place to hang, gossip with my girlfriends while the guys bbq and the kids play hide and seek. Wanna join us?}

Organized

I'm pitifully unorganized and I often fantasize about being meticulously tidy. I know I'll stay cluttery but I can look at pretty pictures and pretend if I did something like this it would stay just as nice.

I really like how it looks just like a regular bookshelf, something that can be picked up at Home Depot or Ikea and made to look special by the vintage looking labels and baskets. Excuse me while I go dream of tidy closets.

{image via paper playne}

My Oscar observations

While everyone else is breaking down the Oscars fashion I will be sharing a few observations I made throughout.

Reese Witherspoon's giant pony actually made her look a little like a My Little Pony. 

(While finding a picture I realized that her hair was some odd half-up, half-down concoction with that being said yes strange but still channels Pony as in My Little.)

Wow Weight Watchers got the best ad in Jennifer Hudson. Diet and exercise looks good on you!

One reason I hate HD is that you notice things like how tired people look. I can't be the only one who noticed James Franco's fatigue. My husband said his eyes looked like they had vampire circles and I tend to agree. I couldn't find the right picture of Mr. Franco but trust me he looked like a bored blood-sucker.

{Here is she is in her botoxed glory}

Nicole Kidman's forehead actually moved!  I promise, I saw it with my own eyes when they showed her during her nomination for Best Actress. Seriously Nicole you look good with a wrinkle between your eyes. Thankfully you saw the light and decided to stop it already with the botox. When your forehead is so shiny and smooth you look like some eerie weird wax figure.  Sidenote: I wrote this post last night and figured I could snag images this morning, it seems I'm not the only one with a strange fascination with "The Forehead".  You must see this, hilarious!

I wish, wish, wish I had thick hair so I could wear it like Annie did in the gold de La Renta gown.

Please dish your observations and your faves in comments. It's Monday morning for heavens sake, no working just playing!

Tuscan Kale Salad

Saturday I made my way to True Food Kitchen (Andrew Weil's collaboration with Fox Restaurants) and I had to get my favorite Tuscan Kale Salad. I just knew I would find it online so here's the recipe so we can all enjoy it's tastiness while feeling smugly superior for being so healthy.

{image from here}

Ingredients

4-6 cups kale, loosely packed, sliced leaves of Italian black (Lacinato, "dinosaur," cavolo nero) midribs removed juice of 1 lemon 3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, mashed salt & pepper, to taste hot red pepper flakes, to taste 2/3 cup grated Pecorino Toscano cheese (Rosselino variety if you can find it) or other flavorful grating cheese such as Asiago or Parmesan 1/2 cup freshly made bread crumbs from lightly toasted bread

Instructions

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a generous pinch (or more to taste) of hot red pepper flakes. Pour over kale in serving bowl and toss well. Add 2/3 of the cheese and toss again. Let kale sit for at least 5 minutes. Add bread crumbs, toss again, and top with remaining cheese.

Hello there

Hello there. I've been working a lot so forgive my absence this week.  I hate it too. Sometimes I have things to say but no pictures to say it with and that's no good. So hopefully I'll catch up today, even though it's already Thursday.  Here's a few things that are on my mind.

-My brother surprised us on his 4 day pass from the Army by coming home to visit us. It took us all completely by surprise, so we had a long weekend with family. It was fun we ate all his favorites, played games, hung out, all in all a very good one!

-I have issues. Last night I watched 2 straight hours of Toddlers & Tiaras. WTF is wrong with me?! The first one I made my husband watch with me just so I could watch his face. Then the next one I was on my own and I watched it simply because the people were from Arizona. Good thing to watch for parenting Don'ts that's for sure

-I have these antique corbels that my mom got in Nebraska that I need to do something with. Ideas? Maybe later today I'll post a picture.

-Why does Trader Joe's kill me with the most delicious things like Dark Chocolate covered Almonds with Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar? If you haven't tried them you must, they're divine.

-I'm finally getting a smart phone and it's coming today. I feel like a kid at Christmas! 

{image via vi.sualize}

I have a condition

I've turned into a green-eyed monster with a serious case of the I-Wants. It's a bad case of it and it makes me itchy. I know I should be thankful for all my blessings and what I have and it will most certainly pass but sometimes wanting a living room instead of a playroom really, really gets under my skin.  The other day another mom and I were talking at school about just wanting "stuff", is that so bad? We're both in the fortunate position of staying home with our children but sometimes finding a job so we can have stuff seems really appealing. Don't get me wrong I realize that staying home is a huge job in itself but what's going to happen when Little heads off to kindy?

So don't kill me for my little tangent but sometimes those cases of the I-Wants are bad. Anyways obvs the most covetable interiors of designers Tia Zoldan found in High Gloss aren't what sparked my infection but I do love them (and the magazine). So if money were no object a nice comfy living room would be in my future. It's a formal living room but I would like it to be a place where you can hang out too. If you had your choice what's the first itch you would scratch in your home? 

Love it :: Blair Waldorf

While we're on the subject of fashion did you watch Gossip Girl last night? Seriously Blair could not have looked more beautiful during last night's party du jour. 

These images don't do the gown justice! This dress with her hair and makeup were stunning, stuff dreams are made of. Not to mention her other looks weren't too shabby either.

You know I love some daytime sparkle!

{all images from the CW}

Marc Jacobs Fall 2011

We all know that Marc Jacobs is super cool, genius, etc, etc, but I love his little details. This season it's the polka dot hosiery. Just perfect.

{images via The Sartorialist}

Happy Valentine's Day

I know it's a little early but Happy Valentine's Day!

{image via vi.sualize}

Warm fun

This time of year is bittersweet for those of us that live in Arizona. While we obviously like the heat our brief respite from it is almost over. We'll have the gorgeous days of spring here in the next several weeks and then the heat will set in. It actually doesn't get unbearable until about July (well at least to me) but I know the forecast will be warm and sunny for the months to come. So instead of whining about it I'll try to be positive...think happy thoughts.

{Images via Aurevoir Paris, Absolutely Beautiful Things, ianton flickr}

Green + Blue

When I was a kid green was my favorite color. There was a girl in first grade named Karen Lin and her favorite color was green too, her favorite food was cheese and she had perfect penmanship. She liked green and I liked green but she liked orange cheese with her green...Weird. So I had a hard time deciding if I should keep green as my favorite color because everyone knows that green and orange don't go together and I didn't want to be thought of as a green paired with orange lover too.  Ahh, the mind of a 6 year old. But what I have realized is that green does look lovely with blue.

Oh and who knows I might just become a green + orange lover because I haven't seen it paired the perfect way yet.

The weekend

Hi there. How were your Super Bowl festivities? Are you a big football fan? By the time the Super Bowl rolls around I could give a fig about any football. I check out around the college bowl season because I'm so tired of it. But hey if you're a Packers fan, woot woot! We took Little to Disneyland for his birthday, well it's not quite his birthday but it's when we could fit it in. He got to meet his idol Lightning McQueen and added a few more Cars items to his collection. We are a Disney marketers dream, he LOVES Cars.

When you're 5 you get to go all alone at our house, we did it for Big too and it ends up being pretty special. You get to do whatever you want without an impatient brother standing by, not to mention at 5 you're usually tall enough to ride most of the rides. When we went a couple of years ago for Big's 5th birthday we realized that you can bring food into the park now. No worries about eating the world's grossest lunch you can swing by Trader Joe's and bring it in. Thank goodness. You know Little doesn't eat anything so it came in pretty handy. I did however eat my weight in churros and had to have the yummy pineapple soft serve over by Adventure Land. I've always thought that churros in Disneyland taste the best, I can't be the only one.

High Gloss

If you haven't checked out the newest online magazine High Gloss you should, it's gorge! 

Enjoy!

Metallic Grasscloth

Warm and shiny? Metallic grasscloth equals perfection.

{via Style at Home}