Barn Memories

The Tables

We are fast approaching our wedding anniversary. We have so many gorgeous photos of that night, and I think I've shared more than a few here. We had a wonderful wedding photographer but in hindsight I wish that we had gotten someone to capture the magic of our rehearsal dinner. It seriously rivaled our wedding. We had it in the barn at my Dad's lake house and there were so many incredible details. We ate local beef and corn from our farm and there were all sorts of lovely, homey details. I was looking for images of something else and somehow stumbled upon someone's blog and found all of these pictures of the rehearsal dinner details.

Seating Made From Hay Bales 

The Exterior of the Barn

Weekend Rituals

Hank Chowing Down 

We like to mix it up on the weekends, but there is one thing we seem to do just about every weekend without fail - we head over to the Village Bakery on Los Feliz BLVD for a delicious breakfast that is always great. I think we always end up here in part because we can actually walk here. Atwater Village is truly a walking neighborhood which is a rare thing in Los Angeles. When we lived in Silver Lake we did walk a lot but we had to trek up massive hills just to get back to our house, and riding a bike was often a battle for  me to simply not get off my bike and walk (I rarely ever made it). They bake amazing fresh bread and baked goods daily here. It not really a hip spot but more a homey place that always has delicious breakfast. We tend to go right when they open at 8:00 am and the place is teaming with kids so there is a lot of patience and understanding for screaming toddlers which is a big plus in my book. 

The counter where you order and baked goods tempt you

The lovely back room

Gone Girl

The one thing that really threatened to derail my gorgeous weekend getaway with my husband was the book "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn. Do not start this book unless you are prepared to give up hours upon hours in order to finish it. I read it in a day. I couldn't put it down. The words "crime fiction" kind of scared me a bit. I wasn't really sure if this was something I would like but I was immediately hooked. Luckily the company and scenery were so great that I was able to put down the book, but it was tough. I loved the book so much I am thinking of giving other crime novels a go. Who knew. Here is a good list I found.

A Brief Journey to Heaven and Back

making our way up North to Big Sur

After weeks of anticipation we finally made our way to Big Sur this weekend for an early birthday celebration and boy did it not disappoint. If you've driven the coast of California you know that this is truly one of the most majestic drives one can take. There is the lush, beachy Santa Barbara, to the rolling hills of wine country to the twists and turns through the cliffs of the central coast. I can't tell you how many moments we had where we both simply sat awestruck by the awesome beauty of this part of California.

This is the view from our little deck off of our room. Not bad right? The hotel we stayed at had a lovely little library where we were able to check out books and board games. There are no TVs in Big Sur. I must confess since I don't have a television in my room watching a movie in bed is always one of my favorite indulgences on a trip away but I didn't miss it for a second. 

How could you miss it with this to look at. Can you believe this view? It took my breath away again and again. 

The property was full of clever, well-placed benches and hammocks that required you to simply sit and be awestruck by your surroundings. 

The sunsets were unbelievable. We asked our waitress at the restaurant about the views and sunsets and she said that they change and have their own personality every night. I thought that was incredible. Everyone who worked here realized they worked in one of the most magical settings ever. 

We ventured off of the hotel property only once on Saturday morning to get breakfast at the Big Sur Bakery and hike to the beach at Andrew Molera State Park.  Our short hike took us over a river, through the woods and to the secluded beach. This was the perfect amount of exploration for such a quick trip.

 Here we are having a pre-dinner cocktail at the restaurant. I will confess that we spent most of Sunday in the car facing lots of traffic which made it difficult to cling to that post-vacation glow, but I swear I still have it. The best moment on a very long drive was when we pulled over at a quiet stretch of Route 1 teaming with people trying to catch a glimpse of these giant elephant seals. Seriously these animals are incredible. They weigh up to 5,000 tons and a hundred years ago there were only twenty or so left. Today there are 150,000 along the coast of California and all of them are descendants of those lone twenty. 

The place we stayed was breathtaking and luxurious but I've also stayed at Deetjans which has the same Big Sur loveliness without the hefty price tag in case you want to check out this magical stretch of the California coast. 

Living Room Rev. One

A week or two ago I mentioned that we got some new furniture in an effort to spruce up our living room. Well we have since moved things around a bit and I think it's much better now. My mom has a flair for interiors and both she and her bestie, who is an interior decorator, gently suggested that perhaps things would be better if we shifted the positioning of some stuff, and wow does it ever make a difference. Here is the before:

I mean I liked it at the time but now I get a bit claustrophobic just looking at the before photo. I wish I had a gift for furniture arranging. I love thinking about interior design (I still miss you Domino magazine) and as much as I like to fancy myself as adept at it, well um,  obviously that is not the case. 

Birthday Love in the Meadow

Found Here

The last week or so was full of visitors and lots of work projects. Suddenly you blink and it's been a week or so since you've updated. Sorry for my lack of posts. Despite everything going on I remain singularly focused on our trip to Big Sur this Friday for my birthday next week. I think with such a spectacular trip on the horizon you don't really need to do much more for the actual day of your birthday. We probably won't do anything but if we didn't have a trip planned I would probably just want to round up all of my friends and gather at a local park and have a picnic. We did this a year or so ago for my Husband Mike's birthday at the then newly open meadow in Silver Lake. If you live on the East Side of Los Angeles you probably know about the newish park that surrounds the Silver Lake reservoir referred to as the meadow. It's a lovely green space dotting one side of the reservoir. It's often filled with families and kites (seriously I never knew there were so many kite enthusiasts). I highly recommend checking it out. The only flaw is that there is no shade from the often harsh sun. So unless you are a seirous tanning enthusiast I recommend bringing an umbrella. Here are a few pics from my husband's surprise picnic we threw last year. I can't believe how little Hank is. And see if you can spot the "Mike Rules" sign in the pictures. Yep I made him a sign. 

Mike and Hank

Living Room

Hank and his lambie like it

Operation spruce up our living room is officially in gear folks. We are still in desperate need of some lighting but it does finally feel like a proper living room. Two weeks ago Mike and I finally stomped into a store, made some decisions and used up these credits that we've had since we got married! The new things were delivered this morning. 


I have to include a closeup of the flowers on our new coffee table as well. I am constantly blown away by the quality of flowers at Trader Joe's, especially if you go first thing in the morning when the doors first open. And really why would you ever go any other time of day! The parking lot is the most terrifying, stressful, ruin-your-day kind of place ever. Yes the flowers aren't the most vigorous around but they sure are a sweet deal. 

Trader Joe's Dahlias 

Countdown to Paradise

In less than two weeks my husband and I will pile into our car and head up North for our first proper, just the two of us, vacation since we had Hank. Heck, since our honeymoon really. For two blissful nights we will explore Big Sur and stay here. It is in part to celebrate a rather big birthday that is fast approaching for me. I feel so lucky to have 48-hours to just be present with my husband. I will miss everything there is about this guy:

but I think we will come back refreshed and restored by the glorious Big Sur. I can't wait to report back about this magical place. And I know Hank will have an amazing time with his grandma Becky who has graciously offered to watch our guy while we are away. I wish I had one of those clocks that counts down the minutes/hours/seconds until we head out. It's going to be incredible.

My Stone Fox and Her Amazing Store

Molly and Sunny 

I think every girl grows up with that one friend who just sparkles and you simply long to be her in her orbit. She radiates energy and light and everything she does seems original and fascinating. For me that friend is Molly Guy. We grew up a block away from each other. I remember meeting her at a Halloween party in sixth grade and being instantly smitten. In the years that followed we shared our dreams, our angsty teen poems, late night walks with our dogs (and perhaps some forbidden cigarettes), clothes, unfortunate Rod Stewart haircuts, manic panic dyed rainbow colored tresses and everything else that it is possible to share with a friend. We were the only two girls in my high school group of friends who went to classic East Coast colleges. I would frequently drive three hours through quiet Connecticut towns just to get some Molly love while away at school, and she would cause a stir at Vassar whenever she visited me. She showed up with incredible hair extensions one year that only Molly could pull off and immediately started a hair trend. In New York in our twenties I climbed the corporate ladder at my chosen profession while Molly worked at various stylish magazines bringing home treasures from beauty closets and wild tales of celebrity interviews that I longed to crash. These days Molly has a couple of amazing new projects: her gorgeous family (husband Mike and newborn daughter Sunny) and her other baby - stonefoxbride. There is something wonderful about watching a talented friend blossom in a new way and find her footing in a job that she was born to do. Molly has found all that with this incredible store/lifestyle space she created in Manhattan. What is Stone Fox Bride? It's Molly's incredibly lovely and lush, and fascinating alternative to the world of traditional brides to be. Trust me she is killing it with this place. 

Stone Fox Bride

Molly and a model in a Stone Fox look

Molly did an interview recently where she explained why she opened up Stone Fox Bride: I founded Stone Fox Bride to liberate other women from the tyranny of the perfectly sanitized, storybook wedding.  From synthetic hair and flowers, hysterical bridesmaids, insane mother-in-laws and puff, fluff and phoniness. I don’t expect the world to be free of confusion, shades of gray or cellulite. I’m an imperfect person; you’re are imperfect person. Our imperfections is where our beauty and truth lies. I think few things in life are worse than sacrificing your personal style to please other people. I believe that love —  just like marriage — is beautiful, messy and complicated.  And that weddings are as raw, felt and real as any true art form.

inside Stone Fox Bride 

Inside her showroom you will find gorgeous custom dresses, veils and jewels unlike anything you've ever seen at a traditional bridal salon. She even has meditation and yoga instructors, hair and image consultants, sex therapists and more to help you through the process of not just a wedding day but a life together. Molly has explained that the term Stone Fox is something she has called her friends for years, "it’s an endearing term meant to encapsulate their beauty, style, humor, free-spirit, curiosity and overall je na sais quoi." 

Gowns in Stone Fox Bride 

I wish my lovely friend had found her calling long before I waltzed into Mohnique Lhulier in West Hollywood where a salesgirl made me cry in my effort to find the perfect dress. I encourage everyone to checkout Stone Fox Bride and recommend it to every bride to be who is searching for something a bit outside of the box for their wedding. And if you have a moment check out the store's pinterest. You will be inspired for days on end. 

First Haircut and Golden Road Brewery

Hank had his first haircut this weekend and thankfully it was 100% tear free. We decided not to take him to one of those places where your child sits on some kind of animal and watches television while he or she gets their cut. I can understand the appeal of something like that but I just chose to have the lovely woman who cuts my hair trim Hanks. She has a little boy almost the exact same age so she was totally flexible and had no problem crouching down on the ground and cutting his little curls as fast as she possibly could. Believe it or not two other kids got cuts that very same morning at this little Echo Park salon. At one point Hank did sort of give her a serious glance and eyed those scissors with some concern but I am not ashamed to admit I gave him my iphone at that point to distract him.

It didn't seem like much right after the cut but today his hair seemed much shorter! I kept stealing glances and wondering who this big boy is? 

This morning we checked out Golden Road Brewery. If you live in Los Angeles I think this is a great place that is definitely worth checking out. It's sort of in no mans land in an industrial stretch of Glendale that actually isn't too far from where I work. There's a lovely beer garden/restaurant connected to the craft brewery next door. I have to confess I am not much of a beer person but beer people tell me this is quality stuff. More importantly you can sit outside and enjoy some delicious food all while watching the trains whiz by aka kid heaven!

Fourth of July

There were no fireworks, sparklers, or anything like that yesterday for us. We didn't even indulge in barbecued hot dogs or hamburgers, perhaps I shouldn't even reveal that we went to a neighborhood restaurant for salads on Independence Day! Instead, we chose to celebrate the history of train travel in the United States. Yep, we were all about trains in all of their glory and I have to say it felt kind of patriotic. I think I've mentioned before that we live right next to Griffith Park. One of the many amazing attractions the park has is the Travel Town Museum where you can climb on old steam engines and ride their little train around the grounds. It's great, and it was not crowded at all yesterday. Hope everyone else was blessed with a lovely holiday, guessing yours probably involved more holiday fun and less choo choo magic.

On Not Sleeping Again

found here

This photo pretty much sums up where I am at today. Last night Hank woke up at 2:00 am convinced it was time to giggle and play. In the last week or two we have totally regressed on the sleep front. It is pretty heartbreaking because it took us a LONG time to conquer the sleep issues and get our son sleeping through the night. Hank was very colic-y in the beginning so our first few months were spent endlessly rocking, swaying, and living on one of those giant exercises balls bouncing for what felt like most of the night. Colic eventually passed but Hank didn't sleep through the night until long after he turned one. Full disclosure I am 100% the reason it took so long to get Hank to sleep. My husband pushed us many times to help him through some form of crying and I would end up crying, and give up after a try or two. Sleep is so necessary.  I have read quotes like in the first year parents lose two months of sleep, and boy do I believe it. I tried many failed attempts to get him to sleep through the night with minimal tears but ultimately we had to succumb to a version of crying in order for him to sleep for more than two consecutive hours. This was painful and hard but he always woke up a a happy boy, and the benefits were that my husband and I would find ourselves going to bed and sleeping for up to eight hours in a row! It seemed like a miracle. Hank has never been a late sleeper so most days he wakes up at 5:30 am which would bother some parents but I will gladly take it if it means he sleeps through until then. Why then in the last week or so is he suddenly resistant to be left alone to fall asleep? Skills he had mastered long before he was sleeping through the night? Does this mean he is simply more aware and therefor fearful? Is a new nightlight the answer? Should we put some books and toys in his crib so that he can entertain himself at 2:00 am or 5:00 am if need be? Why is sleep so hard for some kids?

Fourth of July and Sparkler Photos

It's almost the Fourth of July! I am not quite sure how that happened because it feels like it was just the beginning of June yesterday. Growing up the Fourth was one of my favorite holidays, which is funny because in my adult life I have rarely celebrated. Hopefully now that I am a mom we will get back into the spirit of the fourth. We spent every fourth at my Dad's lake house. Someone in our extended family would inevitably drive over the border into Indiana and buy massive amounts of fireworks (because they are legal in Indiana in case you didn't know), and my Dad and his cohorts would put on their own show homemade show for us kids. It's probably a miracle that no one ever lost a finger. It wasn't as massive or impressive as the local town shows or the one put on by the city of Chicago but our firework display always had an air of anticipation built in since we weren't quite sure what would happen. The kids in my family were never really allowed to help out setting off the fireworks (thank goodness!). The only pyrotechnics we got to indulge in were with sparklers. Hank isn't even quite two yet so he probably isn't quite ready for sparklers. When he is I am sure he will love them. There is something pretty magical about them. We even had them at our wedding. 

Someday I want to try and recreate one of these incredible sparkler photos where you make designs or words that have become so popular these days. All you need to do is set your camera on a very low shutter speed and make sure that it is stable and experiment. 

from here

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