hello, are you still there? I'm back!

{our lovely photographer samantha kelly. check her out!}

well, hello.

it has been quite awhile, wouldn't you say?

so, so, so much has happened while i've been away.

big things and little things.

since my last post, here are the "top 10" since then.

1. i'm retired! i decided after much thought that it was time

to move on from the wonderful world of ballet.

it was the best chapter of my life. i will always be a ballerina at heart.

2. we made a quick move and lived in utah for a few months 

this summer while lovebird enjoyed a wonderful internship.

3. i chopped my hair. 

it's new, a change and something i have always wanted to do.

{not having to put my hair in a bun every day anymore, gave me the green light!}

4. baby stice will be joining us january 2014.

we couldn't be more excited.

5. this summer i did a bit of "local" traveling;

portland, island park, hawaii and west yellowstone.

it was a fun summer.

6. this summer, we lived with my parents.

it was a complete joy- family is one of my most important gems in life. 

7. we are back in california preparing for baby and lovebird's graduation.

california feels like home to me. we are oh-so-happy here.

8. mowgli turned one this month!

{happy birthday to our favorite pup}

we are kind of in shock that we have already had him for a whole year.

time needs to s l o w down.

9. our favorite things from summer:

fly fishing, frozen yogurt, camping in kauia, pickles,

hanging with old/best friends, salt lake restaurants, finding out about baby stice,

home cooked meals and the beauty of utah.

10. lovebird and i celebrated our 3rd year anniversary this summer.

time flies when you are in love-

and boy, am i in love. 

it's so good to be back.

i'll be here to stay for awhile.

happy holiday weekend.

xoxo

swimsuits to leotards.

{photo credit: milano photography}

summer is officially over. for me, at least.

ballet begins today.

i'm sad to bid farewell to summer,

but am happy to say hello to dance {and working out}.

this picture is from the yosemite shoot a few weeks ago-

lovebird finds great joy in making fun of that mole of mine.

i on the other hand, find great joy in these recent cravings:

can i please hang you on my wall?

the olympics may now be over, but i still want you.

i'm squeezing this simple recipe in before summer is over. 

my trip to montana has me craving indian patterns. these especially. 

while we are on that topic, i adore this sweater too. 

i wouldn't mind you in my living room. 

this is a back to school must. right?

happy monday. 

just a taste.

here's a little taste of venice. 

i am still sorting through the ba-jillion pictures we managed to snap.

if only it was a quick and easy job to sort, edit and post pictures.

part of me has needed a vacation from my vacation. {if that makes any sense}.

i've been taking things slow:  

running errands, slowly getting back into work,

visiting with friends, laying by the pool and cleaning my home 

that seemed to have collected an inch of dust while we were gone.

{what a nice welcome home gift, right?}

so, please bare with me-

i do promise to eventually post pictures from italy. 

meanwhile, it's back to dance i go.

today is going to be ruff.

 tomorrow my muscles will be screaming.

wednesday, they will want  to kill me.

thursday they'll still be paying for the consequences 

of not me not staying in shape over the summer.

friday they may finally be used to the pain

and saturday they'll be rejoicing in a day off.

my reply to the pain will simply be:

sorry that i'm not sorry, because italy was well worth it; 

every last second of it.

life seems to suddenly be starting back up again at full force.

where did summer go?

is it really already over?

at least we have one last destination wedding to look forward too-

oh, and our anniversary too!

it's not quite over, and believe me- 

i'm holding out for every last second of summer i can get. 

summer lovin'

{when in doubt: add blush.}

just a little list of my current obsessions.

summer, obsessions that is:

must have makeup item: blush. i don't go a day without it.  

{currently using and loving this one in "rose lustre" from avon.}

home decor: these anthropologie mugs. 

book: rick steves' travel book for italy, of course. 

beauty product: burt's bees tinted lip balm in honeysuckle. 

{it's on clearance at target right now. run (literally) and get it!}

go-to clothing item: maxi skirt in any and every color.

summer secret: baby sunscreen. it works like a charm.

snack: these delicious pretzels. holy cow- addicting.

color: orange. i'll sport anything orange. 

activity: laying by the pool.  i feel spoiled. 

random facts of summer, but thought i'd jot them down.

i'm curious, what are your summer obsessions?

do share. 

summer at last.

school's out! boo-ya, baby!

{picture taken minutes after my final. such a relief to be done}

tuff finals are finally behind me.

summer has officially begun

 and i'm already celebrating accordingly:

i painted my nails this bright color to embrace my happiness.

i went on a little shopping spree at target.

lovebird's least favorite store, for the mere fact that i'm guaranteed to 

walk out with more items than initially planned for.  {every.single.time}

worked a little, played a little and danced a little.

my bestest friend and her cute hubby arrive today!

they're coming out to visit for the weekend- we are more than stoked. big plans ahead. 

the packing for italy has finally started. slowly, but surely. 

 mac lip stick, maxi skirts and messy braids are my favorite summer trends.

give me anything neon right now and i'll love you forever.

favorite summery product: grapefruit all purpose cleaner. 

{completely shocked that my favorite product at the moment is in the cleaning department, but it is.}

i'm totally eating everything in sight. 

in my books, that's the number one sign that's it's summertime.

hope you are embracing, celebrating and rejoicing over summertime.

how can you not?

bring on anything summer. i'm ready for you now.

summer and fall

{picture from summer}

do you feel like summer has flown by?

nearly passed by without stopping by?

said hello for a second but ran out the door?

i do. i certainly do.

wedding season is over. getting fat and being lazy is coming to an end.

wearing white and dressing in summer clothes is nearly over.

sleeping in and staying up late (for no reason) will soon be foreign.

i'm okay with it though. why?

i love fall. everything about it.

the change of weather, the smell of air, fall clothing, back to school...

and the list goes on. 

i'm already craving layers of clothing, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, leather boots and homework.

although, that being said i am holding on to every ounce of summer.

am i contradicting?

probably so. oh well. 

my thoughts exactly

i found this little pic online today and i fell in love.

yep, love.

i fell in love with the weekend. 

but then again, that happens every friday morning.

i fell in love with those yummy popsicles.

i have got to get my hands on a freaking mold already.

and i fell in love with the word "relaxing".

that's just what i want this weekend to be.

after all, it's my last weekend before our ballet season starts up again.

i honestly can't believe summer is already at an end for me. 

yipes.

all that blabbing, to simply wish you a lovely and certainly a relaxing weekend.

tgif. xoxo 

summertime is a busy time.

it's been a busy summer.

which is a complete understatement.

working like a crazy women.

road trips and visits home.

weddings galore.

  housesitting three houses at the same time.

lovebird's surgery, 'sytycd' parties, keeping up on cleaning.

days at the pool, dates with friends, and teaching piano.

which makes our long summer days seem short.

which makes our summer months pass by too quickly.

which also means fall is around the corner. literally.

lovebird and i went "home" to salt lake for a couple weeks.

we had a blast. enjoyed our visit with loved ones. and ate far too much.

here's to seeing those we miss and love...

cute cousin patsy.

isn't she adorable?

{and yes patsy, you made it on the blog ;)}

more pictures to come, as soon as i can run away from

the business of life and sit down with enough time to download photos

and write up a post to do our trip justice.

love you all. sorry for being too busy to neglect this blog world.