Independence Day

A few quick snaps from our 4th of July...

xo,

chelsea

parade perfect

I found out yesterday that my sweet little Harper Lee was picked to walk in the 4th of July parade with some of her summer camp gals at Girls Inc. During "morning celebration" at her first day of camp, I was told she took the mic and told a knock-knock joke. She made quite a few friends that day. 


For today's Wardrobe Wednesday I thought I'd put together a little dream outfit for parade watching this coming 4th of July.


1. Red, White and Blue all in one adorable Lauren Moffatt dress


2. Protect those peepers with some retro Super Lucias.  


3. Shade yourself from the blazing sun with a cool and casual Panama Hat. 


4. Keep hands free for clapping and waving with a cross-body bag. 


5. Wearable sandals for chasing little ones. 


6. Star-spangled nails for fun. 

xo,

chelsea

happy mama's day!

I hope all you mamas out there are having a wonderful day that makes you feel as special, awesome, amazing and wonderful as you are!!

xo,

chelsea

Yosemite Turkey Day Trek

In a moment of what I'd now like to refer to as brief insanity, I agreed to spend our Thanksgiving weekend camped out at Yosemite. We spent last Thanksgiving camping in Big Sur and although it was chilly and rained a bit, we have great memories with the kids from that trip. This year, the kids were spending Thanksgiving with their dad. So a romantic weekend in a tent sounded harmless and fun.  A great time to get away, connect with nature and each other, get in a few hikes and come home rested and rejuvenated.

The sign of snow on the side of the road and the required chains warning should have been my first clue. Lets keep in mind that I am a born-and-raised California girl. And although I spent a few seasons living in Lake Tahoe, I certainly didn't spend my days and nights seeking out the cold. A long (almost 10 hour) drive later and we arrived at Camp 4. There was snow. Everywhere. Carl could not have been more thrilled. I, on the other hand, was in total shock that we were actually planning to sleep in this stuff. There was only one site left that was shoveled out (yes, there were actually other people with the same crazy idea!!) so we picked our spot and set up camp. At 1. In. The. Morning. Setting up went fairly quickly and as soon as I regained the feeling in my toes and put on my layers - one pair of silk long john, flannel pj pants, two pairs of wool socks, a thermal shirt, a fleece, a hooded sweatshirt and an earflap cap - we climbed into our ONE sleeping bag and snoozed away.

Waking up was beautiful. The sights of Yosemite are breathtaking. And even though it was still freezing-buns cold and there were trails of yellow snow from our neighboring campsite, I was still excited to get in a great hike. Just as soon as we both climbed back in the tent, in our jackets, for another hour of sleep. Or two.

A belated campsite breakfast and we were ready to trek up Yosemite Falls. 3.5 miles in the snow. It was beautiful and sketchy, but well worth the view.

Lets keep in mind that this picture was taken 30 seconds after Carl stated that it looked like things were flattening out. Riiiiight.

And this is after the trail where other people had hiked ended and Carl decided that we should make our own tracks. In thigh-high snow.

That road came to an abrupt end when we could no longer tell what was rock and what was snow that would give way to nothing underneath.

Unfortunately, our trek back down the falls wasn't nearly as pleasant. Melting snow turned to ice as soon as the sun started its ascent down the sky.

Carl was certain to keep a weapon on hand in the event that we met with any bears or mountain lions.

Promises of a hot shower soon turned to tears when the showers we did find were closed for the winter. We took shelter in the laundry room where we quickly changed into dry clothes under the watchful eye of a bat that kept swooping closer to us. Believe it or not, I could've cared less about the shower and was far more interested in what awaited at the Lodge. Thanksgiving dinner. A well-earned turkey dinner. We waited in line for what seemed like an eternity. I threatened to swipe a cornbread muffin to nosh while we waited in line. I thought it was my imagination and hunger that made it seem as though the line wasn't moving. In fact, it wasn't. There were about 20-30 people actually waiting, WAITING, for stuffing. As soon as the man called out, "anyone who doesn't want stuffing line up here!" I bolted. Carl actually gave me a look as if to say, "but I really want stuffing", but I'm pretty sure I shot daggers at him so that cleared up that pretty quickly. I was literally shaking from exhaustion, cold and hunger by the time we sat down to eat. I almost lost both my milk and my chocolate mousse from shaking and trying to walk with my warped food tray.

Leaving the warmth of the Lodge was a pretty difficult task, but my aching body needed to be in a horizontal position. I fantasized about the great night of sleep ahead (how wrong I would be, more on that later!). We capped off the evening with a warm mug of Tuaca and apple cider, packed our goodies away in the Bear Box and tucked into our one sleeping bag. Yes, one sleeping bag. I was feeling very thankful for that one sleeping bag at the end of my Thanksgiving.

The rest of the trip for tomorrow's post.

How was your holiday?

XO,

Chelsea

a david stark christmas

There was a lot of internet/blog buzz about the new West Elm holiday collection when it debuted last month. I personally prefer a much more "collected and curated" look for my holidays, but there are quite a few things over there right now that have caught my eye - and some pieces that have enough power to stay up long after the New Year has rung its bells.

Some things I'm loving over there right now

of course I'm a sucker for hearts. Ok, a really, really big sucker. But I'm actually very smitten with this marble diamond. Free shipping and the proceeds go to St. Jude. 

These origami ornaments would look at home on a tree, a mantel or your window. And I'm thinking they would spruce up a wreath or garland and look sweet year-round

So, I'm also kind of a sucker for mushroom decor, which is why these babies caught my eye. Cute as they are, I'm thinking DIY is the route to go. 

These sweet little birds can perch at my place any day. 

I'd love to pop one of these banks in the kids' room. 

And while we're looking at that fantastic clock...I suppose I should mention how much I love it!

It feels a little silly to be thinking about holiday decorations in the midst of our 90 degree heat wave, but that's what the holidays in California are all about! Our weather has an identity crisis. 

What's your holiday decorating style? 

XO,

Chelsea

Halloween!!

Halloween definitely has to be one of my favorite holidays. My mom always made our costumes as a kid and I have continued that tradition throughout my teens/young adulthood and now as a mama. I think its so much more fun and special to source or make your own costume than to just go with a packaged one. Its all about getting creative, which I love!!

Our Halloween weekend was mighty hectic. Both kids had parties at school on Friday, we had an office Mad Men party and then we hosted a spooky kid-friendly cocktail party at our house. Bleeding heart martinis, shrunken head cider, blood soup with eyeballs and bat wings were all on the menu!

They performed a sweet little poem at Harper's school. I'm loving her one Tink slipper and one sparkly shoe. She's such a silly girl!

Lunch at Sutter's school, plus craft time in the classroom. He was the cutest little muscle man at school on Friday. His real costume wasn't exactly ready for the class.

Saturday was a whirlwind of last minute costume assembly for Carl (who became Magnum PI) and getting the last of my own things for my transformation into Lady Gaga along with about 7 other of my girlfriends who were different versions of the Gagaloo. It was a pretty insane gaggle of Gagas we had running around an adult party at the rooftop party of the Canary Hotel.

This photo is missing the drop-dead sexy red-hooded Gaga in our clan, so I have to include an additional shot of Alison looking fabulous as Lady G.

Sunday was the final stretch as I finished up the kids costumes, did a major cleanup of our house and then discovered that our garage had leaked in the rain and a bunch of my books were ruined :(

But nothing can stop the force that is Halloween

This is Harper doing what she called the Pippi-stand.  And Sutter, as Atreyu from the Neverending Story could not have his chest puffed up more. The blood was even his idea. Those kids crack me up!

Trick-or-treating was an insane adventure. A pirate house that looked like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, another Pippi and an awesome zombie bride made for a pretty fun evening.

When we got home, the kids got set to sorting out their candy, cleaned up and crashed out hard at bedtime.

It was quite the whirlwind weekend. I'm kind of glad to get back to life as usual, but secretly I'm already planning for next year!!

How was your Halloween??

XO,

Chelsea

Best.Day.Ever

There is something amazing about being served breakfast in bed, complete with Swedish lullaby (at least I think it was a lullaby...), fresh squeezed orange juice mimosa, smoothie, kanelbullar, some apple tart, handpicked flowers, and sweet little cards by my sweet little family. Sutter had made me several cards and strewn them about the house but he was too excited and instead told me where they were or went and retrieved them for me.

And how could I forgot my awesome card, drawn by Sutter, promising me a new pair of shoes from my two little ones. Apparently it was all their idea, Carl is just the financial sponsor. They certainly know what their mama likes.

After my amazing breakfast, I even got to fall back asleep and get some extra beauty rest. A picnic lunch at the beach, some visiting time with my mom and then some relaxed alone time with my honey made for a perfect day.

I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful little clan to take care of me and remind me of how awesome it is to be a mom.

I hope all you mommy's out there had a wonderful day, felt lots of love, and took some time to revel in how amazing you are for being a mom.

XO,

Chelsea

weekend rewind

I really do need to get better at posting weekend highlights on Monday, rather than Thursday! I just never quite get it together by then though! That will be my new goal for next week. Maybe.

This last weekend was a whirlwind of activity! From charging it down to LA for a night with some friends and much needed catchup to a pit stop on our way back to SB for some cliff soaring and then lots of get togethers back in town to celebrate the fun Easter weekend!

Graham about to take a picture of me taking a picture of him. He was having "lens envy"...

We had dinner at Spanish Kitchen on La Cienega. The black mole was outstanding! One bottle of champagne, 3 desserts, a latte and a round of port later and we were all stuffed! But we somehow managed to finish off the night with a dip in the hot tub and a bottle of Cristal! How's that for fabulousness?

A little breakfast at Basix the next morning was something we could hardly wait for!

Saw a Harper Ave sign on our way and of course had to stop and snap a shot of that!

you know I love me some Freeeeench Toast and Tam and I love our fishbowl mimosas!

modern buildings in West Hollywood

Highway 101

Carl ridge soaring Bates, while I ran along the train tracks overlooking the ocean and then jetted down to the beach to built a heart with rocks for him to see from the sky.

We rushed home to scoop up the kiddos, color some Easter eggs and prep for a huge brunch feast the next day! Fantastic Mr. Fox was an awesome diversion for the kids while the adults were busy in the kitchen.

Easter egg hunt madness

backyard "lasso golf" which is the PC name for testy toss!!

my favorite part of brunch - dessert

it looks like eggs, but they are really homemade meringue cups with lemon curd! YUM!!

Clearly a good time had by all. 

(and yes, that is my new Liberty of London for Target shirt. I was surprised that the Tar-jay I hit up on the way to LA had quite a bit of Liberty left. Yay!!)

Everyone retreated after brunch for a little naptime. I cleaned, grocery shopped and we watched Sherlock Holmes. Being lazy felt pretty awesome, but we somehow rallied ourselves for another party Sunday eve. 

Whew!!

I need a nap just thinking about the busy weekend!

Thankfully, its been a restful week.

Looking forward to a date night with my two hunky guys tonight. 

A little dinner and How to Train Your Dragon 3D.

What's your favorite part of brunch?

XO,

Chelsea