Bones

Yesterday the family and I decided to head out of Orange County and go check out the Dinosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.  I am one of those people who just adores LA and finds every reason to go up there.  This was a perfect one.  The museum is incredible, with some amazing exhibits that all three children enjoyed.  Beyond just the dinosaurs, the boys also loved the North American Mammals and the Discovery Center (though I must confess, my Oldest may have thought it was cooler to see Staples Center on the way up and the Coliseum next door).  It was nice to do something educational over break since we have spent the majority of our time playing sports, video games and eating snacks.  What?!  It is Christmas Break! Now I feel like a better parent (applying pat on the back now).

Does it look like my Oldest is choking my Middle Man?  Yes, yes it does.  

How hard is it to get a picture of all three looking okay?  Apparently exceptionally hard and I did not get one.

The return of the "Angry Anakin Eyes", reference here.

And what was the parents favorite part?  

The wine press in the California History exhibit

What?  Did you expect anything less?

Hey wait.  I did take them to the Discovery Center to see the Star Wars exhibit too.

See, I am super educational around here.

Cut It Out

Over the next few months, I have a TON of events coming up.   Just think bridal showers, dinners, bachelorettes, rehearsal dinners, fashion shows, tea parties, benefits.  It is going to be a crazy first half of 2012, which I am extremely excited for BUT, coming up with something to wear to all of these is going to be a challenge.  With all the Winter Sales going on right now, I thought what better time to start looking (my husband may disagree but if it saves him money, he will thank me for it later)?  Unfortunately I was not having the luck I thought I would have until I made a visit to Net-A-Porter.  Their current sale is fabulous and I was able to pick up this MASON by Michelle Mason Cutout Dress, originally $460 for $138!

As luck would have it, there was only one dress in one size left, and it was a 4.  PERFECT!  Meant to be right?  I love how the front is very simple and the back adds a little sassiness.  At least now I have a few events covered!

I would highly recommend checking out the sale here if you get the chance.  Yet another great Winter Sale with great sale prices.

AND, because I have no shame, the January issue of Orange Coast Magazine comes hits newsstands today and if you happen to turn to pages 50 and 51, you will see my smiling face, along an article on me and Juggling in Heels!  I am obviously VERY excited about this!

Pretty

Manolo Blahnik Swan Embellished Satin Pump

They are like diamonds for your feet.

I hope you are taking in all that is pretty this last week of 2011.
I am still in shock that it is going to be 2012.
Oh yes, and that I am going to be 34 this year.
In September to be exact.
But back to the pretty shoes.
Perhaps I need these to "juggle" in next year.

It's a Match!

Yes, I match my children.  But only for holidays!  Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas to be exact.  I know it is lame and completely cheesy but I don't care.  I actually go so far as to have the entire family coordinate.  Not in a Hanna Anderson catalog type of way, but enough that we "make sense".

This is for no other reason than I like the way it looks in photos.  And aren't photos the most important thing?  Also, completely off the subject, you may recognize the above sequined skirt from this post.  It was a fabulous purchase and I highly recommend it, just as an FYI to all of you after-holiday shoppers.  Anyway...

When it was only two boys, matching was an easy task.  One shirt/sweater/whatever, two sizes.  Now that Baby girl is involved, it is slightly more complicated and it usually ends up with me deciding what she is going to wear and then simply making the boys go along with her (obviously, girls outfits completely overrule boys outfits.  It is natures way).  

I know as the boys get older, they are going to be the ones to ruin this.  I think it might be hard to get two  teenagers to wear the same thing.  So, all I can do is indulge in this for as long as I can!

Here are some of our other matching outfits through the years...

Easter 2009

Thanksgiving 2010

Family Photos 2011

Cupid has gotten me with an arrow

I am not sure if you know, but Rebecca Minkoff is having a fabulous "End of Year" sale on her website.  I of course traveled on over there to check out what was available.  In true Sarah fashion, I did not find anything in the sale that I HAD to have, but of course found an incredible NON-SALE, FULL PRICED, handbag that I am now dying over.  

Ostrich Embossed Cupid

First off, the color of this bag is amazing.  I have an infatuation with persimmon and this would just simply brighten up my drab (a.k.a mostly black and grey) winter wardrobe.  Then you look at the style and the hardware and you get all around fabulous.  I am well aware that Christmas was only yesterday and that it would be incredible selfish to already be creating a Valentine's Day wish list (it would right?) so I am simply going to email this over to the hubby as a "Isn't this fabulous?" message in hopes that he files it away...

If you are interested in checking out the sale, click here!  There are some incredible items but everything is selling out fast!

Cone-oli

I will admit it.  This holiday, I have not just been "kind of" indulging but completely OVER indulging in all things yummy, sweet and TERRIBLE for you.  It is almost as if my sweet tooth knows it is Christmas time and therefore goes into overdrive.  For Christmas Eve, we decided to keep the indulgence going by creating Cone-oli's for dessert.  The name is exactly what it is, a cannoli created in a cone.  They were incredibly easy to make and a huge hit with my family.

Please excuse the slight blurriness on some of the photos.  I was running around like a crazy lady on Christmas Eve and potentially did not give enough care to focusing as I should.  What can I say?  Hosting Christmas Eve is CRAZY!

In other EXTREMELY EXCITING NEWS, Orange Coast Magazine did a feature on me and the blog and the magazine just hit subscribers mailboxes Saturday!  Such an incredible Christmas present and still a bit surreal to see me and my little blog in a magazine.  If you are not a subscriber, look for it to hit news stands on December 29th!

From Our Family to Yours,

Merry Christmas!
Wishing you and yours a holiday weekend filled with family, friends and lots of laughter.

One of My Favorites: Energy Bubbles

Every day around 2 or 3pm, I hit a major wall.  And I mean MAJOR.  I need a jump start but there is really not an easy solution.  I cannot have coffee that late in the day or I won't be able to sleep and I am just not a soda drinker so that is out of the question. 

At the SPACE.NK event I was introduced to Energy Bubbles by David Kirsch, an alternative to caffeine for that afternoon pick-me-up.  Each packet consists of yerba mate, taurine, ginseng, potassium, and B vitamins and you simple mix with a 16 oz. bottle of water.  I was a little skeptical when I first tried it but could not believe how well it worked.  It felt like I had just had a big cup of coffee but did not give me the after effects of caffeine and did not keep me up all night.  Exactly what I needed.  I now keep a packet on hand at all times for that afternoon slump.  They are a definite must for anyone who needs a pick-me-up at the end of the day (isn't that all of us??). 

Picky, Picky, Picky!

My boys are picky eaters.  Actually, picky is an understatement.  It is more of a “I would rather walk over hot coals than eat what is in front of me” eater.  It is insane. They have even tried the, “I took a bite and it made me gag so bad that I almost threw up” act numerous times (this sometimes involves actually gagging, coughing and throwing up at its most dramatic).  As if forcing themselves to throw up is going to soften me and allow them to have something else.  Granted, it is a good attempt, but apparently they do not know their equally stubborn mother very well.

There was always a slight dislike for certain foods but over the past few months it has gotten much worse.  The other night topped it off when  I ordered a cheese pizza from the new place in town.  They looked at the box, stated that it was not from the normal place we order, and therefore, they do not like it.  Same white cheese, same red sauce, same brown crust, but no, they don't like it.  Are you kidding me?  IT IS CHEESE PIZZA!  What child does not want to eat cheese pizza?  I think that is what gets me the most.  I cannot believe they turn down things that I thought every child loved to consume (i.e. french fries).  It just seems crazy.

Through all of this selective eating,  I continue to stand my ground, usually resulting in them not eating much at dinner (if at all) and getting nothing the rest of the night.  I feel a little bad about this but I am not going to let them think they can refuse something and get something else in its place.  If I say this is for dinner, then it is for dinner.  End of story.  I can only hope this phase ends soon and I can actually make ONE normal meal for dinner without hear the most frustrating words in the world, "I don't like ____ (add any of the 99% of foods)". 

Anyone else have picky eater in their home?  Does it drive you crazy too?

Elizabeth and James gets me every time.

I was just perusing Piperlime while finishing up some last minute Christmas shopping (for others, obviously) when I came across these pants (okay, so perhaps I took a break from others but I was only looking).  I LOVE.  The wide leg.  The polka dots.  The navy blue.  Love it all.  They are absolutely adorable and, if I had no self control, I would have ordered them already.  Is there anything by E&J that I don't like?  I don't think so.

Elizabeth and James Pin Dot Evelyn Trouser

Eye Candy for the Table

One thing I love to collect are designer coffee table books.  I can quickly get lost in the art of fashion and if I ever have time to simply sit and relax, I love flipping through the pages and indulging in the work of some of my favorite designers.  My recent additions have been Manolo Blahnik: Drawings and Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty but I would love to have some of these titles added to my collection this Christmas.

Chanel: The Vocabulary of Style

Harper's Bazaar: Greatest Hits

Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks

Dior Couture

Christian Louboutin

Tis the Season

The Christmas season is my favorite time of year.  Though this has been a somewhat crazy hectic holiday season, I am still sad to see it coming to the end.  With Christmas only a few days away, I thought I would share some things I love about this Christmas season through the eyes of my iPhone.

The Christmas Tree in Union Square in San Francisco.
 A city that I LOVE to visit during the holidays.

A vintage Santa on a festive wine label

An upside Christmas tree hanging in the corner of the
dining room in my friend's home
The BEST Christmas decoration I have ever seen

Hands down my favorite Christmas candy

Gathering our cookie decorations for the kid's decoration party

Too many holiday parties to count!

An ornament, made by my oldest, with his fingerprints all over it.
My FAVORITE gifts to receive during the holidays.

Product Review: Three Senses Gourmet

I am sure I have mentioned this in the past but just to be clear, I have a major addiction to chocolate.  Always have, always will.  I also make an effort to buy all natural products for the family when possible.  I am not crazy about it, but if there is a healthier option for my children, why would I not take it?

So imagine my excitement when Three Senses Gourmet, a company that specializes in at home, gluten free desserts,  asked me to do a product review on their products, which are all made out of CHOCOLATE.  Umm, okay (as if there even was a question).  My dessert dream officially came true when the goodies showed up and my countertop was filled with brownie pops, brownie bites, whoopie pies, and, the icing on the cake, CHOCOLATE SOUFFLES (remember this post?).  They either are extremely generous or wanted to see me gain 50 lbs.  (I am guessing the first but you just never know.)

We instantly dove into the brownie pops, brownie bites and whoopie pie.

   They were all incredible!  The pie and brownies were both extremely moist and the chocolate flavor was very rich and decadent.  Some people worry about a "healthy" taste and there was little trace of it in these.  My sister loved them enough that she is thinking about using the pops instead of a cake for her wedding.  And what did the kids think?  Well, does this face answer the question?

For the souffles, I thought best to share with others.  Last night we had two couples over for dinner so I popped in both the 5 oz. souffles and the 3 oz. souffles from the freezer directly to the oven per the instructions.  No mess, no list of ingredients, just 20 minutes of patience.  The consensus?

DELISH!!  Hands down this was my favorite of all the desserts they delivered.  We all over indulged and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The cake cooked perfectly in their own individual ramekins in the time specified and had a perfect lava center.  YUMMY!  

I am a huge fan of all the products I tried and look forward to indulging in Three Senses Gourmet again. I also love that with so many Americans dealing with Celiac disease (approximately 3 million) and sensitivity to gluten, companies are listening and creating products that otherwise, these individuals would have to avoid.

If you are interested in learning more about Three Senses Gourmet, or if you would like to place an order, you can visit their website here.  If you are in Orange County, you can find their products at Promelis in Newport Beach and Irvine Ranch Market in Costa Mesa.

Disclaimer: I received these products free of charge in order to review but the opinions on these products are 100% my own.

Prom Night with Best Friends, 80's Style!

No, I am not flashing back to my Prom.  For two reasons.  One, my Prom picture is TERRIBLE and I hope to never look that way again.  Two, I was in High School in the 90's and therefore was never able to indulge in all things florescent, big, crimped, and glittery for Prom (though thanks to Molly Ringwald, I thought it would have been awesome!)  Nope, this was the 80's recreated and oh how rad it was! (Yes, rad, don't pretend like you never said it).

This past weekend the two fabulous girls on my left and I surprised the fabulous girl on my right in San Francisco for her 80's inspired engagement party.  We traveled in from Portland, Chicago, and Orange County to dance the night away to some of the best the 80's had to offer while flaunting our fabulous fashion finds from vintage stores and Forever 21 (weird these are in the same sentence.  It almost pains me).  And even though I did not win Prom Queen,  I still had a phenomenal time.   

The best part of the weekend is that we were all able to spend some time together.  With living in four different cities, it just doesn't happen very often.  These three girls are the best BF's a girl could have and we have been through the good, the bad and the ugly together.  Dating, boyfriends, fights, make ups, divorce, engagements, miscarriage, bad haircuts, marriages, death, children.  The list goes on and on.  They truly are a piece of me and have been instrumental in the person I have become.  I love them dearly and think of them as sisters.  Plus, we can totally laugh at ourselves when the lame 12 year olds at the bar make fun of our outfits.  (If I was a bitch, I would say we looked better than they did in their normal clothes but I am not a bitch so I am not going to say it.).  Anyway...

Happy Engagement E &J and congratulations again!

A Fabulous Sale over at ShopBop!

If you were to ask me my favorite online shopping destination, it hands down would be ShopBop.  They have an incredible selection, free 3 day shipping, easy returns AND incredible sales.  What is there not to love?  To make shopping there even more appealing, they are taking an additional 20% off items already reduced 50% and 70% until December 15th with code EXTRA20.  Here are just a few of the things that may need to slip into my shopping cart.  And to make it easy for you, I am showing you the price WITH the 20% deducted.

Tucker Parker Wrap Dress with Pleated Skirt - $89.76

BB Dakota Josie Hooded Jacket - $52

House of Harlow 1960 Chevron Ring - $50

J Brand Ali Wide Leg Corduroy Pants - $87.20

Ash Lenny Mid Heel Booties - $130

One thing to note when shopping: All items that are marked as 70% off are FINAL SALE.  To visit the entire sale, click here!  

Wish List: David Yurman Hematite Cable Classics Bracelet

I have been eyeing this bracelet FOREVER and it has now led into a slight obsession.
My hubby even got to sit through me trying it on at Neiman Marcus, just so I could show him how beautiful it is.

Isn't it gorgeous!

I think it would look absolutely fabulous on my wrist.  Just sayin.

Don't Lose Your Elf!

For all of those who currently use an Elf to help bring the magic of Christmas alive for your children, make sure you do not misplace it.  Why?  Because then the following will occurr.

1. You will have to come up with terrible excuses as to why the Elf has not come yet.  Some of these excuses might be, "He isn't here because he heard you were mean to your brother.", "He hasn't come yet because the lights are not on the house and he cannot find it", or "Perhaps we need to have our tree up and then he will come" (This is the one that worked).

2. You will tear apart your garage, laundry room and bedroom trying to figure out where you put that damn thing.

3. You will call your hubby numerous times at work, trying to think of the last place you both saw it.

4. You will spend another $30 on a new Elf, totaling $60 for TWO packages since the creators of this Elf knew parents like me would lose it and why charge only $15 for JUST THE ELF when you can just charge for the ENTIRE THING.

5. You finally settled in, comforted by the fact that the Elf is back, the kids are happy and now you can really start using the "Santa will find out" threat to keep them behaving.

Liebster Blog Award

Yesterday I received a wonderful surprise from a fellow blogger, Sarah of Coffee and Cabernet.  She passed on to me and Juggling in Heels the Leibster Blog Award!

Beyond having a fabulous name (not biased at all), she also favors my two favorite beverages, coffee and wine.  At this point, there really is no reason why I wouldn't love her blog.  I became a follower a few months ago and really enjoy all her posts on Mommyhood, DIY Projects, Furniture Refurbishing and, my favorite, "It's the Small Things".  Posts are going to start getting even more fun now that she is expecting Baby #2 (I am in no way going to tell her what she is in for).  I highly recommend checking out Coffee and Cabernet (perhaps with a glass of wine???).

Sarah received this award and graciously passed it on to me and four other bloggers so now it is my turn to pay it forward.  At this point you are probably wondering what the hell a Liebster Blog Award is so here are all the details.

The Liebster Blog Award is given to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  Liebster is a German word meaning "dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, enduring and welcomed" (I can see many of you thinking, and why did she pass it on to you?).

To keep this award going, each recipient, in turn, must pass it on to five other bloggers, with less than 200 followers, who really stand out.

The rules of the Liebster Award are:

1. Thank the person that gave you the award and link back to their blog

2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know!

3. Copy and paste the award on your blog post.

4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

So at this point you have got to be wondering who I am naming in my Top 5.  Here they are!

1. Mommy Chic

A mommy who is also a stylist.  DREAM.  Yes, I wish I had her job, but lucky for me she shares all her style secrets on her blog.  She has incredible taste and very often I purchase items that she highlights.  She also might be the funniest person I have never met.  I frequently laugh out loud while reading her posts and truly enjoy her candid commentary.  This is a daily must read for me.

2. Savvy in San Francisco

She is a mother of three, lives in San Francisco (one of my favorite places on earth), is an amazing photographer and attends some pretty fun events around town.  Her posts remind me of my life, jumping from work, pictures of the children, to an evening event, followed by date night with the hubby.  And did I mention she is an amazing photographer?

3. Louise Loves It

Not only is this my best friend but she is also "Deal Finder Extraordinaire"!  She has incredible style and her deal finding abilities are insane.  Her blog highlights all these deals that no normal person would ever be able to find, along with coupon codes galore.  I wish I had the ability to be such a savvy shopper but lucky for me she blogs about it and does all the work for me.

4. Serving Seconds

If you enjoy food as much as I do, you will absolutely love this new blog that has hit the scene.  I have known her since college but had no idea what a fabulous cook she was.  She lives in San Francisco and posts not only her fabulous recipes, but also some pretty incredible food events around the City.  She is a Food Network junkie who knows a thing or two (or three, or four) about great restaurants, chefs and all things delicious.

5. CaliKatrina

Who isn't intrigued by the comment "7 houses in 7 years".  Yep, thats right, this blog chronicles this family's 12 month leases across the state of California.  Not only that, but she has two adorable boys and is pretty crafty with a recently opened Etsy shop.  She is on the go and I am fascinated.  Plus, we met (without knowing it) at a bloggers event and she was extremely nice so, that counts for everything.    

Thank you Sarah for passing this award on to me!      

I Am Forced To "Fake" It

No, I am not talking about sex (dirty minds!!) but Christmas trees.  Yep, we are one of those people who have a fake tree in our house.  And it KILLS me!

I grew up with real Christmas trees and find it somewhat sacreligious to have a fake one.  I ask you, how can a tree come out of a box?  Then I married a man who is allergic to them and if I was not willing to get rid of him, the real trees had to go.  One of my favorite parts of having a real tree is the pine smell.  There is nothing better during the holidays.  To compromise, every holiday season I load up on Mrs. Meyers Iowa Pine scented soy candle.

I have tried numerous pine candles and this one is the absolute best.  I picked up mine at Target but you can order them online as well.  These burn consistently throughout December and allows me to pretend that I have a fabulous real tree in my living room. 

If I am not burning the pine candles, I will also burn these two seasonsal candles by Mrs. Meyers.

Canberry soy candle

Spice Cake soy candle

If you are also one of those people that have a fake tree against your will, I feel sorry for you.  But at least Mrs. Meyers is helping to make up for it.