Beach Bonfire

I will not rest until I roast hot dogs and marshmallows by the ocean.

Yum

Lately, I am captivated by images of little blonde girls being spunky and adorable. Whatever that's about.

Winning at online shopping

Now that I have a toddler who doesn't like napping, doesn't like shopping carts and doesn't like the stroller, I have learned to love online shopping. I love online shopping because it can be done without having to make a second trip through the store to pick up all of the cheerios and/or fruit snacks that my darling one threw dropped on the first trip through the store.

Two of my favorite tricks for online shopping:

1) Retail Me Not. Before I check out anywhere, I always google "_____ (name of the store) promo code." Nearly every time I do this, RetailMeNot has a nifty little coupon code that will knock 20% of my total order, give me free shipping, or otherwise make me feel smart and thrifty!

2) Amazon Prime. Worth it. My family all shares one account. We get free streaming TV and movies and we get free two-day shipping. This makes Amazon the most cost-effective place to shop almost always. Again, before I click the "check out" button on any other site, I do a quick check to see if I can find it on Amazon, for cheaper and with free shipping. Usually, I can.

My last piece of advice is not really a trick, but a mantra: You CAN find what you are looking for. It's the INTERNET, it's out there. You just have to know what to look for and be determined enough to find it. And you will. 

And that's how to win at online shopping.

Flower Chandelier

I'm dreamily in love with this Flower Chandelier project. I need a party to throw or some other fabulous excuse to make one. Ummm... It's Tuesday! Perfect reason to buy fresh flowers and hang them from the ceiling.

Hamish

Birkenstocks. Yes, really.

Can you BELIEVE Birkenstocks have made a comeback??? I mean, I haven't see many around SoCal yet, but granted I don't get out much these days. I've only seen them on hyper-fashion forward blogs and East Coast fashionista friends.
 

It's like a pregnant woman's dream come true. I'll take them in this color please.

On having a girl

It's a girl... This little lump protruding from my lower abdomen that makes me feel like I'm sleeping on a baked potato.

A girl? But I only have boys. Well, I only have one boy. But that's all I know. And I was mentally prepared committed to having another one. I could see it... My two little blond gentleman-rascals, 21 months apart, simultaneously roughing and charming their way through childhood - preferably wearing bow ties.

But it's a girl. Suddenly I'm now picturing my son and daughter with disparate interest amid constant bickering.... I know, I know... Boys fight too. It doesn't make sense... Did I mention I'm pregnant? Not a lot of logic going around these days.

So I went shopping. I thought maybe if I started collecting a few baby girl things that I'd start to feel ready for a baby girl. It was slow going at first - most things looked super-cheesy to me. Cartoony characters, declarations of being somebody's princess, a zebra stripes were not easing my discomfort.

But then I saw the most beautiful dress. It was white eyelet lace with bright blue embroidery around the edges. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at it while my toddler threw cheese-its all over the store. All of a sudden I could see my daughter wearing that dress - all blond hair and giggles and white cotton. My Daughter.

And then she became real and she became mine and I could see her and Milo together, having adventures and discovering the world... with a side of mild squabbling of course. My Kids.

So now she's not just a girl, but our girl.

And she's got some really cute dresses waiting for her.

Two Ingredient Sandwiches

There's nothing like pregnancy to absolutely demolish my desire to cook. So it's been a lot of microwave burritos and protein shakes around here since we've been expecting baby girl. Aaaand if I'm being completely honest, my favorite delivery places have been getting more attention too. Baby girl likes Thai food, what can I say?

Plus, it's California, and it's hot. Yet another reason to avoid both the oven and the stove.

However, via the big beautiful blog-o-sphere, I discovered THIS amazing list of super-tasty two ingredient sandwiches! My preggo cravings' interest has been piqued. I'm especially excited about the gouda and almond butter, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to go all French with the salted butter and raw radish.

Not included on that list, but one of my personal favorites is brie and apricot jam. This is especially good when grilled panini-style between little baguette slices and served as appetizers.