WINTER BEACH DAYS

Have I mentioned how much I love the beach in the winter? Cause if not, I really, really, really love winter beach days. There is just something about the winter sun & the beach, it is the prettiest. Plus,  call me a weirdo but I like when it's not super hot at the beach, where it's just warm enough to wear a swimsuit but have a long sleeve shirt on or sweatshirt, haha. It's still Christmas break here & we are living it up at the beach. A couple families we know all headed up north to Silverstrand beach so we thought we would tag along & it was one of the prettiest days.

My sister in law, Kristen & her kids came to the beach & Russy & Cedar had the best time chasing each other on the beach, playing in the water & digging holes. One of the families we were with brought a beach play pen for the babies to use, but they never had the chance because Russy & Cedar took it over as their fort & literally dumped everything from both of our beach bags in it! It was a mess, but a fun one. I love watching Cedar be able to grow up with his cousins & see them becoming best friends, it's so cute.


CHRISTMAS 2016


First anythings with a new baby are so fun, but Christmas is my favorite "first" to experience with a baby, even if they don't know what's going on! This Christmas was so great, Cedar is finally at the age where he TOTALLY gets it, he was so excited the entire month, always asking when Santa was coming & he was really into our Elf on the Shelf, Dash. Every morning when he woke up he immediately would hunt out where Dash was & was always pumped to show everyone where the elf was. I also did an Advent countdown for Cedar this year since he understood Christmas a bit more & it was really fun. I wrapped 24 different Christmas books & each night he got to pick a new one to open & we would read it before bed, the last night we made sure to open the Poler Express because that is the book my husband grew up reading with his family on Christmas Eve. I love starting new traditions with our little family, they are so sweet & fun to see Cedar completely loving it.

We had Christmas with my family this year which was pretty convenient since we are living with my mom at the moment, ha. Christmas Eve we had the annual Christmas Eve Party with family friends. We are big into traditions so everywhere we have the same buffet-style dinner for Christmas Eve & Christmas Night with the same families we have been celebrating with since I was a teeny tiny girl. So Christmas Eve we had dinner, the kids ran wild & then Santa came & brought everyone their Christmas pajamas. Cedar LOVES santa & totally freaked out when he was at our house, Milo is the complete opposite & freaked out in an entirely different way, haha. I'm a mean mom & find it really funny when Milo cries at Santa. 

After everyone left & the boys were asleep Austin & I set to work prepping our Christmas. Since we are living with my mom & she hosts Christmas for my siblings that are in town, we had to do our Christmas morning a little different. We set up the boys presents from us, Santa & their other grandparents in my moms living room & sort of made a barricade so they wouldn't see in to my mom's christmas. We woke up early with them, opened their presents, then luckily we went to church which was great cause it kept the boys away from my moms christmas even more. After church we went back to our house & my brother & his family came & we had christmas with them, made thinnies for breakfast, played with the new toys so hard & went on a drive to the beach to get the boys a solid nap in before going to Christmas dinner. For dinner we go to our friends house & basically recap our christmas days to each other while the kids play with their toys WE used to go to a movie on Christmas night, but it's a little harder now that we all have little kids, so this year we didn't make it but maybe next year :)

Like Cedar's awesome scab on his nose? He literally walked into a wall & scratched his nose, haha.

OH CHRISTMAS TREE!


This past week we went to a Christmas tree lot to take Christmas card photos for our good friends Ashley & Jake (who also took a few for us too!), & to pick up a Christmas tree! I am so happy Christmas season is here, it is truly the best, everything is more magical. The kids looooved running through the lot, weaving in & out of all the trees. I think we were about to get kicked out but then Austin & I told them we were actually going to buy a tree, haha! They were playing hide & seek in the trees & by the end of it were covered in dirt. We spent at least two hours in the lot taking pictures while the kids played, it was really so much fun. Ashley family is so photogenic, while Cedar literally kicked & screamed while we attempted pictures of our family! Luckily Ashley was able to manage a few good ones with him. Austin & I had the hardest time picking out a tree, I felt bad for the kid helping us because he was pulling out so many trees, spinning them & following us up & down the aisles, haha, but we did find the perfect tree, so it was all worth it!

FAVORITE BEAUTY PRODUCTS


I've always been a girly girl at heart. Since I was little I have loved all things makeup, hair & nails, you may not always be able to tell since I rarely have all three done, but I do love it. I especially love the products. I am always looking up new beauty products, trying to figure out what is best for my skin, finding new brands, all that sort of goodness & after some years of trial & error with different products I have found my go-to stuff.


HAIR
1. Shampoo & Conditioner: Eva-Nyc- The shampoo & conditioner have proteins & vitamins for your hair which leave it feeling amazing & it smells heavenly. You can get giant bottles of their shampoo at costco for such a good deal & they recently started selling at old navy which is super cool if you don't have a costco card!
2. Styling Cream: Bumble & Bumble Don't Blow It- I rarely use any heat on my hair (except my bangs of course) & do all air drying, so when this stuff came into my life last winter it was a game changer. I am pretty lazy when it comes to my hair & if it didn't dry well I usually would douse it with sea-salt spray so it looked semi ok, braid it, or put it in a bun. This cream has made it so my hair drys really really well just about every time i use it. love this stuff.
3. Sea Salt Spray: Eva-Nyc & Not Your Mothers- these two sprays are totally tied for me, I love them both a lot. Both sprays smell amazing & work really great with my hair, they don't weigh it down or make it too gritty, but gives it that perfect beachy look. Can't go wrong with either.
4. Dry Shampoo: Eva-Nyc- This stuff makes your hair look & smell clean without leaving any white residue.

SKIN CARE
1. Moisturizer: Kiehls Ultra Facial Moisturizer + spf- My skin has always been on the dry side & this moisturizer has been really great for it. It doesn't feel heavy on my skin but gives me just enough moisturizer & wears great under makeup.
2. Toner: Thayers Rose Toner- I use this after I wash my face at night before my night cream & before I moisturize in the morning. I have noticed an overall improvement on my skin since I started using it & love how it makes it look & feel, plus its cheap!
3. Exfoliater: Cure- I learned about this stuff from a good friend of mine & it has been a total game changer. I use it three times a week on my face & my skin is so soft & clear because of it. Its an exfoliator & makes your skin feel & look brand-new.
4. Night Cream: No7 Beautiful Skin Night Cream- I had no idea night cream was important until maybe a month ago & when I was looking into them they were all crazy pricey, so I went with the highest rated drugstore night cream & I really do like it. Very creamy which is perfect for my dry skin.
5. Eye Cream: Trish McEvoy Beauty Booster Eye Serum- This stuff is great for bags & puffy eyes, it tightens the skin around your eyes to look more refreshed & smoothes lines.

MAKEUP
1. Foundation: Smashbox Studio Skin- I love love love this foundation. I don't like a caked-on makeup look, i'm more of a natural skin kind of person & this foundation covers what you want, but is pretty sheer so I can still see my freckles.
2. Primer: Smashbox Photofinish- very soft, velvety feeling, seriously helps get rid of crease lines & makeup stay all day.
3. Bronzer: Nars laguna bronzer- I'm pale therefor I use a bronzer everyday. This is my favorite for a few reasons. 1. It smells so good  2. It works for every skin tone 3. it layers really well.
4. Mascara: 1. Too Faced better than sex - I really just love the wand, it covers eyelashes really well & makes them look longer & thicker. 2. Smashbox Full Exposure- I got this as a sample mascara a few months back & have loved it, I layer it with the Too Faced mascara for more dramatic eyelashes. \
5. Brows: Glossier Boy Brow- Works really well to give your brows a darker, thicker look.
6. Lips- 1. Stila Liquid Lip: This stuff stays all through the day. It's really great, you can eat as much as you want & it won't leave your lips. My favorite colors are Patina & Beso. 2.  Nars Pure Matte Lipstick: these are really great for a matte look, I don't like to have overly shiny lips so I instantly loved these when I was introduced. My go-to color is Tonkin for a darker nude shade. 3. NYX Soft Matte: Cause I love my matte lip colors :) This company has so many great colors & for such a good price, they're hard to beat! My favorite is Prague.
9. Blush: 1. Mac Mineralize Blush in gleeful- a bolder, deeper rose color, really great for fall/winter. 2. Smash box Blush Rush in paradise- a perfect soft pink for everyday.

I would love to hear what products you guys love, so please comment below!

MILO // 9 MONTHS

Today marks Milo's 9 month birthday. It's so weird to think just 9 months ago he entered the world cause it feels like he's been here forever, but on the other hand I feel like I was just pregnant.. so that's weird, haha. But really, he just adds a whole new dimension to our lives & we love him for that. Milo is truly so happy, so smiley & so giggly. He loves to cuddle, is constantly babbling strings of "dadada" or "mamama", eats absolutely anything his little fingers can get ahold of & loves playing with his big brother. He is figuring out how to crawl, he scoots & rolls a lot, pushes himself backwards all the time & rocks on his knees, I think it's going to happen soon. He does stand & hold onto things scouting himself around though! He has 2 teeth & we think that he's in the midst of teething right now. The water is his complete happy place, he loves to wriggle & splash in the water & would sit in it for hours if I would let him. He also loooves to try & drink the bath water. I am so happy to have this little boy in our lives.

ONCE UPON A FARM

Since Milo started eating I've tried to give him only organic foods & make the majority of what he eats, but that is pretty time consuming, especially when I have a toddler to chase after! So I try to split it by feeding him homemade food at home & giving him pouch foods while we're on the go because they're a lot easier & Milo is really loves to feed himself. One of my favorite baby food companies I have discovered since having milo is Once Upon a Farm. Their baby food is 100% organic & preservative free, which is pretty hard to find in baby foods. Since these baby foods are preservative free they have to be stored in the fridge & served cold. 

Once Upon a Farm offers so many different flavor options which is really cool, they combine such interesting foods together & Milo has loved every flavor he has tried. One of my favorite things about this brand is the little clear window on the package allowing you to actually see the food that your baby is eating. I really hate how you can't see the food in many of the pouch foods, so this is a huge plus in my book. 

If you are wanting to give your baby organic, fresh made & unprocessed foods I definitely recommend checking out Once Upon a Farm

LA ARTS DISTRICT + LACMA

Can you believe that I grew up an hour north of LA & had never been to the LACMA? Yeah, me either. I have been to hundreds of museums in my life from around the world but I always forget to explore what's near me. I always have the intention of going to all these super cool places, but then I get sucked into daily life & never go, but luckily the other day my friend Jann invited me to go to the Arts District of LA with her & I took her up on it. Jann is in the midst of starting a wedding dress line & is always running around LA doing all sorts of cool things, so she is a pretty good person to go with. The boys & I tagged along with her & her daughter to drop off some of her dresses, got lunch at the delicious Cafe Gratitude & topped the day off with a stop to the LACMA.

Cafe Gratitude is right in the Arts District. It has the cute heart wall outside of it & the restaurant is all about positive vibes & reinforcements. You don't order the typical way at Cafe Gratitude saying: "I want the chicken" its set up in a way that the items have names like, happy, brilliant, celebrating, etc & you order by saying: "I am brilliant". It's super unique & delicious. The restaurant is Completely vegan too. I highly recommend going if you're in the area, they have a few different locations throughout LA, so check it out.

After lunch we hit of the LACMA. Our time there was short, partly due to three kids that hadn't napped & the fact that I think Cedar almost got us kicked out... but it was well worth it & I will definitely be going back soon. It's a pretty big museum with amazing pieces. Cedar & Addison, Jann's little girl, loved the yellow installation that they could run around in & the classic light posts outside. They had so much fun chasing each other through the lights, it was pretty cute watching them play. There is also a kids room where they can draw & paint which was pretty fun, but besides that not a whole lot for the kids & cedar just about gave one of the guards (& me) a heart attack when he touched one of the modern installations inside the museum that was not to play with & then proceeded to run away from me & jump onto a stand that a piece of artwork was displayed on... talk about wild. That's what I get for forgetting my second stroller seat when going to a museum! After that we headed outside so the kids could get their wriggles out.

Oh & Jann & I were totally twinning, which is pretty cool :)