Shirley's Bachelorette Weekend in CA

This past weekend I had the best time with some of my most favorite girls on the entire planet, all in celebration of Shirley!  I talk about Shirley all the time in this space- she is one of my best friends that I met in college. She came up to NAU already being childhood best friends with Autumn, who I had met when she rushed Pi Phi her sophomore year, and had become one of my closest friends too. One evening on one of our regular nightly runs, Autumn suggested that we swing by one of the dorms so I could meet Shirley and we could all run together. To make a long story short, it was friend love at first sight, and over the next three years of college the three of us would become inseparable. We ended up living together both in college and after college too, and I consider both of these girls not just two of my very best friends but also my sisters. We've seen each other in so many stages of our lives- crazy college nights, serious boyfriends, serious breakups, heart aches, happiness, marriage, kids, new careers, etc. And over those years at NAU our group of friends grew as we all met girls we couldn't live without, and all of my most favorite memories involve Alana, Brenda, Erin, Carrie, and Amy. I feel so lucky to have had such a fun/crazy/memorable college experience, and I fully credit all of those girls for all of those memories.

What's great now though, is that even though we are all so, so different, with our own families, different interests, and different lives, we all manage to come together to celebrate each other in these various stages of life. We've gone on countless girls trips, celebrated bridal showers, baby showers, bachelorette parties, weddings, and everything in between. Outside of Autumn, Shirley, Erin and Alana, I don't see the faraway girls as much as I'd like, but I know that if I needed them, they'd be there in a heartbeat, and vice versa.  And I also know that no matter how much time has passed, it will always feel just as good to reunite.

So this past weekend was a very special time.  Shirley is one of those girls that you immediately fall in love with. Her heart is the biggest and kindest of anyone I've ever known, and it was neat to be around her other groups of friends and see how much they love her too. The couple of days we spent celebrating Shirley was a blast- we stayed in Venice at the Marriott Marina Del Ray (originally Manhattan Beach but we changed hotels at the last minute) and it was a great time.

I flew into LAX on Friday afternoon and even though it was so hard to leave Henry, I was super excited for a "me" weekend. I hopped into a cab and headed to the airport upon arrival in LA, and the girls were already having fun and getting ready for the evening. That night we went to dinner at Primitivo in Venice and I had one of the best meals I've ever had- a mixture of a million types of tapas and a scallop/shrimp meal. To-die-for delicious. Afterward we headed to a bar close by and had a good time dancing and being silly.

The next morning we woke up and walked down to breakfast at The Terrace then a few of us went for  a nice run along the beach. We got to experience some of Venice's "local flair" and interesting patrons too. The rest of the day was spent over in Santa Monica, walking around, having lunch, and enjoying some drinks at the Hotel Shangri-la, and we actually spent the evening down in Santa Monica too. First we came back to the hotel to get ready and to throw Shirl a lingerie shower, and then headed back out for sushi at Makai and drinks and dancing at a few different bars. It was a really, really perfect bachelorette party kind of night, and by the end of the evening (3am, yikes!) my feet were sore from dancing so much, and my cheeks hurt from all the laughing. Mission accomplished? I think so.

Here are some photos from the weekend, from my little point and shoot (c/o Samsung) and iphone -





 
 

Friday links to love!

{us, at a wedding while on vacation. I'm still editing photos, but I'll share next week!}

Hello, happy Friday! Today is a special/sad/exciting day for me because this afternoon I fly out to California for a girl's weekend! One of my dear friends Shirley is getting married in a couple of months so this weekend is her bachelorette party extravaganza. I'm gearing up for good food, drinks, beach and pool time, and tons of catching up with my college girlfriends. The sad part though? Leaving my baby for the first time. I know he'll be in great hands- Hank is such a wonderful Dad- but I'm just sad thinking about not seeing him first thing in the morning, not having all of my Henry cuddles throughout the day, no bathtime, no storytime, you get the point. Granted, it's only until Sunday but it seems like a long time to me. In preparation I've been pumping like crazy and our freezer is chock full of milk ready to go. So wish me luck (and Hank too)!

In the meantime, here are some links to enjoy:

I am loving these pennants! Henry needs one for sure.

"Things That Kill People More Than Sharks." Whoa.

Clickety-click to read about at-home, DIY beauty products.

Like cute things to make your photos pretty? How about free, cute things to make your photos pretty? Love these. Thanks Vanessa!

This song.

If you have daughter I think she may just need one of these for her hair. Too cute.

I will always share links about old circus photos. It's kind of a rule. However, circuses in general make me sad.

This post is just plain inspiring to me. So visually pleasing.

A quote on a clock that makes so much sense!

"Hey, that's a nice 'teenage lobotomy pendant necklace.'" Did the name draw you in already? So neat.

You may already know one of my fave blogging pals (and daddy blogger extraordinaire) Don. But did you know he had a shop? Adorable onesies, tees, and art.

Oh, Tracy. Every week I feel like I share a recipe of hers, I can't get enough. And how good do these cream cheese cinnamon rolls look? (you had me at cream cheese!)

There are still a few weeks of summer left! It's not too late to make an ice cream terrine, and impress all your friends. I promise I won't tell them how easy it is.

Pregnancy superfoods by my fave fitness blogger!

I love Seesaw. I love Jason Wu. I love this post.

H&M's video for their kid's fall line is all sorts of adorable.

And here are a couple blogs I'm extra-loving this week: one (always) and two (love me some Lola Birdie).

Happy weekend!

Product review: Boon Flair Highchair

When Boon offered to send us one of their best-selling Flair chairs to try out and review (and give one away too!), I was really excited. I'd heard great things about not only Boon, but this chair in particular, and I was really looking forward to having one of our own.

The chair arrived in a large box and the simple directions made assembly a breeze. Hank put it together very easily and within ten minutes it was ready for use.  We chose the white (coconut) seat with the blue pad, and I wasn't exactly sure about having a white highchair but those hesitations were completely silly because this is THE easiest thing to clean in our home.

From the Boon website:

We know you have a Flair for good taste. No cracks. No crevices. Therefore, no abyss full of crumbs. This one-piece seat is the sleekest, smoothest thing going and it makes cleanup unbelievably easy. Its dishwasher-safe tray cover actually fits in a dishwasher. And the continuous height positioning with pneumatic lift is just a fancy way of saying you can pick the exact height you want to fit your table.

Yes, yes and yes! And the whole no abyss full of crumbs thing? So true. Henry isn't into crunchy, crumbly food yet, but the worst offender in terms of messiness would have to be peas, and this chair makes clean up a lot easier than it would normally be. Simply use a damp cloth and wipe it up. And we love that you can just pop the tray in the dishwasher.  And on a clean up note, if you happen to destroy the colored pad, you can always order more of those, or even another color to change it up.

Everyone who comes over comments on our "Jetsons meets barber chair" and loves it. I thought long and hard about what I liked best about this chair and here's a short list:

• easy clean up


• the pneumatic lift - I love that H. can at all different levels - our counter, table, etc.


• it's pretty!


• super simple to put Henry in the chair and get him out


• I feel like he's secure and safe 


• one-handed removal of the tray


• wheels on the bottom (also has a great lock)

What I don't like - NOTHING. Seriously. And I'm not just saying this because they gave us one. I honestly love it.  If you're in market for a high chair and don't mind spending a little bit of money, I highly recommend the Boon Flair.  And if you have one, let me know what you think! 

The past few weeks on Hello Giggles...

 {image via}

While traveling I didn't get a chance to share some of my recent Hello Giggles columns!  

Today - "Thoughts on Being 'That' Mom"

And also check out:

"Dear Snuza: A Letter to the Best Baby Product of All Time" 

and

"5 Reasons Getting Older Rules."

Enjoy!

Dinner idea: Potato Tacos

Here's a very easy dinner idea that's vegetarian (vegan if you omit the cheese and Greek yogurt), healthy, and delicious!

You'll need:

2 medium potatoes (sweet potatoes would be great as well!)
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 jalapeno
1 clove of garlic (minced)
can of black beans
can of corn
red pepper flakes
sea salt
cumin
and any other types of spices you like - even taco seasoning could be substituted for all of this- Trader Joe's has a delicious mix available!
corn tortillas (I prefer Ezekial brand)
fresh cilantro
tomatoes
lime
cheese
and the MOST important part - plain, non-fat, Greek Yogurt (more on this later)

 1. Chop all your veggies (peel the potatoes) and throw them into a big bowl.

2. Add in the black beans, corn, and all the spices and mix. Now, when we cook we don't always follow a recipe and when it comes to spice we are heavy handed...so just add spice to suit your taste!

3. Heat up a little oil in a pan and throw everything in there. Cook on medium heat until the potatoes get a nice, golden crisp to them.  If you want to get fancy you can cook the onions and garlic first with the spices. That's what Hank usually does but see that glass pan in the photo above? We initially tried to bake this concoction in that, but found it didn't work, so we switched the pan, which was great! But because of that little hiccup we weren't able to brown the onions, etc. Either way must work though because the end result was delicious!

 

3. Then, make your tacos pretty with all of the other stuff! Cilantro, lime, tomatoes, whatever floats your boat.  And let me continue my little plug about non-fat Greek yogurt. It is the BEST substitute for sour cream, ever.  Hank even prefers it.  You get great health benefits, no fat, and it tastes so good. And once you go this way, you'll start to want to put it on and in everything! Dips, dressings, icing...the list goes on.

Happy potato-taco-ing!

 

9 to 5: Molly McAleer

[photo credit]

When I was younger, if you asked me "what do you want to be when you grow up?" the answer would have changed on any given day. From President, astronaut, fashion designer, horse trainer, writer, PE teacher, cruise director, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, it was always different. And even now, I find myself being completely engrossed whenever I meet someone who happens to have an interesting career.

The more people I meet in this wide world the more I realize just how many amazing things there are to do with your life.  So a couple months ago I asked my Twitter friends if anyone had an extra-interesting career.  I also contacted a few of my friends.  And here's the result - an 8-week series showcasing fabulous women and what they do for a living.

Today's super special lady is one of my favorite internet people. Can I actually just say my most favorite? She's hilarious. Adorable. And a whole lotta wonderful. I kinda, sorta live for her "5 Faves" she posts each week (seriously, check them out), and she also happens to be a founder of Hello Giggles and a writer for CBS. Awesome, right? Meet Molly McAleer, aka Molls.

Tell us about yourself. 

I'm Molly McAleer, I'm from Lexington, Massachusetts, but I currently live in Los Angeles with my chihuahua Wagandstuff and awesome roomie, Sara. I run the blog MollsSheWrote.com, am a co-founder of HelloGiggles.com and write on the upcoming CBS sitcom, "2 Broke Girls."

Describe a typical day at work.

Basically my "typical" day is a lot more routine than it used to be. I used to wake up, walk a dog, grab a coffee, read the news, figure out what kind of stories I was writing for the day and then write them. I used to go out at night a lot. These days I'm on a staff schedule, so I wake up, walk the dog, head to Burbank and work in the room all day. It's a lot of bouncing around ideas and figuring out the outlines for each episode. By the time I get home, I'm pretty exhausted, so I just eat some dinner, watch TV, walk the dog again and pass out.

Did you always want to be a writer? How did you get into this field? What kind of schooling or background did it entail?

I joined a sketch comedy group my first week of college and was always much more into the writing end of things than performing. Once I graduated, I took a series of jobs at places that produced original material (mainly websites) and then, over time, convinced them to give me a shot writing. After I worked at Gawker/Defamer for about a year, freelance jobs started coming to me and that's basically how I've supported myself the last few years. The idea to start HelloGiggles came shortly before I decided that it was time to take the leap into TV writing, so I wrote a sample and wound up getting hired on 2BG.

Is this what you hope to do for the rest of your life? Where do you see yourself in 10 years, career-wise?

I'm honestly just focused on the present. I absolutely have big dreams, but right now I want to focus on maintaining and watching HelloGiggles grow and helping make 2 Broke Girls a hit.

If you could tell your 17-year old self (fresh out of high school and ready to face the world!) anything about your life today, what would you tell her?  Is there anything you wish you would have known back then? Was there anything you would have done differently as far as your career, setting yourself up for success, etc. etc.?

I would just tell my 17-year old self not to sell myself short and to be ready when opportunities arise no matter how daunting they seemed or how unworthy I may have felt. Dream big. I really think a younger me didn't understand that I could actually see anything good ever happen to myself. I was ready to find a way in through the backdoor or settling for something adjacent to my actual dream. Obviously there's been a lot of hard work on my end, but I've also kind of mastered the art of taking advantage of everything in front of me. I should have known that that was in my DNA and just kept my chin up this whole time.

Tattoo Tuesday V.82

Name/blog name: Mia Wäppling- mariakalinka.blogspot.com

Age: 37

Occupation: I live in a town in the middle of Sweden, Örebro. I am a youth worker and work with kids and teenagers in after school activities and with something called “Open pre-school”. Open pre-school is a place where the parents and their children can come to play, sing, paint, and meet other kids and their parents. It’s a very creative job, I often play theatre, sing and paint with the kids at work.. I get to use all my creativity and get paid for it at the same time. I`m an artist and paint as much as possible in my spare time.  I also make things in wood and concrete, wooden boxes for kitchen herbs, cabinets, frames and signs. I mould plates and pots in concrete and I love doing ceramics.  Recently I’ve had the opportunity to work a little extra with taking pictures at concerts which is fantastic as I get to combine my interest in metal music with photographic art. 

Age of first tattoo: 35

Favorite tattoo: It’s a friendship tattoo. One of my best friends gave me a tattoo for my birthday. We have talked for a long time about getting matching tattoos. I drew two tattoos and we got them done. Mine is a portrait of myself coming out of a rose. Hers is the same but with her own face.

Featured tattoo: chest piece

Artist/shop of feature tattoo: All my tattoos (except my Babushka) are made by Lisa Engberg at Everlasting and Traditional Tattoo Parlor in Orebro, Sweden. They have a facebook group for anyone interested. My Babushka is made by Lisa´s apprentice Anna Lernvik.

1) Tell us about your featured tattoo- is there a background story or special meaning? Why did you choose this particular piece of art? 

My chestpiece. It's two swallows with the words “My loved ones”. The two sparrows are my two kids. The sparrows symbolize my kids being free and independent people. First I wanted to have my kids’ names but then I started thinking of all people that I have close to my heart. Some have passed away, like my dad, and some lives far away so I decided that my loved ones was better, it includes ALL people I hold dear in my life.

2) Do you have any other tattoos?  If so, what do you have and where? 

Yes I have a sleeve. It has a seven roses (including the rose girl). The text, “this fire burn always” is from a Killswitch Engage song, “This fire”. It stands for the people and things in my life I feel deep love and passion for……my kids, painting, music etc. On my other arm I’m going to tattoo the first sentence of the lyric, “ Even through the darkest days”. The lyrics symbolize how my love and passion carries me through even the darkest days when challenges and sorrows throws a spanner in the wheel of life. 

I also have a feather pen tattoo with a little bottle of ink on the side.  It’s a feather of a peacock.  The pen symbolize my art and peacocks symbolize immortality. I have painted my whole life and creative expression is life for me. 

The two butterflies on my arm symbolize resurrection. I really like the symbolic in butterflies, the three different stages. The caterpillar stands for the earthly life, the chrysalis stands for death and the butterfly stands for the resurrection. I have a key with a four leaved clover on it. My last name means clover in Swedish. I also have two violets, a hibiscus and some other Hawaiian themed flowers. On my other arm I have a Babushka doll. It is not completely finished yet but it is there to symbolize all the layers a person have to their persona, most people will just see the outer shell but only a few will be let in to see the inner core and maybe the smallest, most vulnerable part of me.

 

3) Do you plan on getting more?  

OF COURSE! I have plans for a sleeve on my other arm and both my legs needs colour and I have nothing on my back yet….

4) How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)?  Have you run into any adversity or negativity because of them? 

I have wanted to get tattoos since I was young but after thinking about it for fifteen years I decided that life is short and you should do the things you really want. You only have a lifetime to live so stop thinking so much and do it! I made them for myself so I don´t really care if anybody else like them or not it is something I want to do for myself! Actually, I think the more tattoos I get, the more girly I feel. 

I have two kids and they like my tattoos. My mother is not a fan of them. But she accepts them. Almost all my friends like them. The most people I meet don’t have a problem with my tattoos but sometimes people say -what are you going to do with them when you get old and wrinkly? Well, by that time most old people will have ink all over so that’s no problem for me. It is art, it is a way to tell people things about you and most of all it is a way to express for yourself important events and people in your life. All my tattoos have a special meaning for me. 

5) Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed but haven't gotten one yet? 

Choose your tattoo carefully. Don´t go for cool  and fashionable tattoos. Fashion and what is cool changes over time so the tattoo should be meaningful to you, as your personal expression. And don't forget to look at your tattoo artist work BEFORE you let them put their ink on you.