sick day

I spent today at home with my sweet little Harper Lee. It was so good to snuggle her after them being gone with their dad for a few days. Here's how we spent our sick day together.

1. some tulips that I kind of like better dead than I did alive
2. got all fancy with my nails
3. we saw a rainbow. and then a double rainbow. I was actually under rain when I took this and then it was sunny a few feet away.

We also watched lots of Garfield on Netflix, ate soup and giggled a lot. I also sold the kids' crib today. I tried not to shed a tear thinking about how time has flown so quickly that they don't even need a crib anymore. My sweet little babies are sweet little children who are growing too fast. Sutter even lost his other front tooth yesterday. Oh time, sometimes I wish you stood still.

xo,

chelsea

The Animal Print Shop

these adorable baby animals portraits by Sharon Montrose put a huge smile on my face when I came across them a few months back. It was a very pleasant surprise to find them on Fab.com yesterday, so it was hard to resist picking up a few for our home and a few as gifts.

Images are copyrighted by Sharon Montrose Photographs, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kinda perfect timing since the kids were just asking for a pet monkey! Check out the sale on Fab, or head on over to The Animal Print Shop to see even more sweet little animal faces.

xo,

chelsea

7 and 8

Nordiska

August Break: take 2. I plan on making something fun with this fabric this weekend...if I can ever finish the kids' new drapes.

Happy Friday!

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

friday sleepyhead

[image source]

I had every intention of putting together a Fancy Friday post today. Truly, I did. But after a very hectic week and the launch party for WinWin Living last night aboard the Tamsen yacht, I really am just too sleepy to put together anything that will actually be readable. 

Instead, I just sort of wish I was escaping to this tent with lots of books, wooly socks and snuggly kiddos. Of course I'd be too exhausted to actually erect said tent, so I'd need some sort of tent set-up assistant or something. Luckily, it's Friday and we have lots of relaxing with friends on the schedule. 

Where would you like to escape to?

xo,

chelsea

L ♥ V E

I had a great little Mother's Day lunch today at Harper's pre-K class. It was so incredibly sweet hearing all the children talk about their mommies. We were each presented with portraits of us as drawn by our little ones and stories of how much they love us and what they'd buy us with $100. Harper says she loves me to Infinity and she'd buy me a wedding dress, long to the floor with her $100. 

My girl also helped me getting dressed this morning. I thrifted this skirt last summer, but for some reason every time I pulled it out it wasn't quite right. I finally realized it needed to be dressed down for juxtaposition. Sometimes all you need is a little simplicity.

All that pink made Harper happy. And that made me happy. 

[skirt: thrifted, t-shirt: gap, shoes: jessica simpson, bracelets: street vendor, ring: a merry mishap]

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

fancy friday - almost May

Happy Friday folks!


I can't believe how quickly this week zoomed by. The Honey and I started the week off right with a little anniversary celebration on Sunday at the most amazing restaurant - Seagrass Restaurant. We went all out and got the 7-course tasting menu, which was just insane. 


I had quite a gruelling work-week that has left me in a bit of a daze. I'm looking forward to our Live Jazz cruise on the Double Dolphin this evening, soccer for the kids Saturday, a day of fun moonlighting at Consilience Winery and a day of rest on Sunday. Here's my little list of things I Fancied this week. 

1. I've been madly in love with my Polaroid 600 for many years. I'm loving the Impossible Project's re-release of all kinds of cool instant film. I just ordered the limited edition pack featuring package design by Maurizio Galimberti - who created the awesome collage above. 


2. I'm on the hunt for some Creme de Violette so I can sip on a purple-hued Fizz a la Violette. I love old-fashioned drinks and a pastel potion sounds right up my alley. 


3. A great way to use up old fabric scraps and perk up kids (or my) sneakers for spring - braided laces


4. The new S/S Stella McCartney kids line is so adorable - I'm wishing it came in mama-size.


5. Bodie and Fou owner Karine Candice gave readers a peek inside her London home last Friday and it is to-die-for. Her leather sling chairs, taped up mood board and simple white walls all add up to a beautiful, modern space. I picked up the Feathers poster so I can recreate some of that goodness in my own home. 


It's sort of a wimpy list this week, but there hasn't been much time for blogging with work being crazy, The Honey working from this week, milestones being reached,  and me forcing myself to get to bed before 11 this week. Next week is sure to be one of catching up and carving out some me-time. It is Mother's Day after all, and I plan to milk it for all it's worth! 

What are your weekend plans?

xo,

chelsea

growing up

This big 4 and a 1/2 year old girl of mine learned to tie her shoes yesterday. I was incredibly impressed when she got it down in about five minutes flat. She was so proud this morning she asked Carl to take a picture to send to Amma, Farfar and Aunty Friday in Norway.

She also chose to go head-to-toe Hello Kitty outfit to celebrate.

She was so pleased that I couldn't help but share. I love that girl so much. It's also nice that we live in an age where I can document all these milestones digitally. I'm not much of a scrapbooker so someday I'll just have to say, "see, Mommy blogged it".

xo,

chelsea

Berry Bright

I'm always happy when springtime rolls around and the bright colors hit the stores. It's ironic, I finally warmed up to the layered neutrals trend, and now it's bright and bold everywhere I look. I'm always a fan of a colorful life so it's all fine and dandy by me!

Apparently I can't get enough rich berry colors, as evidenced by some recent thrifting loot. Silky, sorbet blouses seem to be hot on my radar. Can't wait to mix these into my warm-weather wear.

A little sneak peek at the new bed I picked up on Craigslist. I'm constantly amazed at the amount of stuff I can squeeze into our little 2-door Honda. All 8.5 feet of this headboard monster fit INSIDE the car. Amazing. I've dubbed it the little Honda That Could. Some new bedding, a decision on those drapes above the bed and I would say the bedroom could be certifiably done. That is until I have another hair-brained idea. A week before finding this bed I look at live-edge wood slabs to make a headboard and then went a full 180 after this showed up on CL. It's safe to say my guy thinks I'm nuts. Although he's rather pleased with the Plycraft Lounger I also just picked up...so it's a fair trade - he deals with me being wacko, I bring home kick-butt furniture.

And this sweet face. It melts me each and every time. He lost a tooth last week. I can't believe how wonderful he gets with every day.

And this absolutely silly girl.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I can't wait for Thursday - it's when my love comes home from his weekly work trip. 

What are your Easter plans?

xo,

chelsea

goodbye Grandpa Boppy

Well, here we are on another Monday and I completely neglected blogging all last week.

It's not that I haven't wanted to blog, but I felt like I would be remiss in going on blogging like normal without saying a few words about Albert Locatelli. We lost Al last Friday, April 8th. He was a loving father, grandfather and friends. And although he's technically my "ex-father-in-law" we are still family. He was the most wonderful grandpa to these kids and I know they will miss him terribly. As sad as we are to have lost him, he wasn't well and he had made peace with the fact that it was his time.

In the last few years of his life, an interest in Buddhism grew into a deeper study. He had Taken Refuge at some point in the last year or so and planned how he would like us to commemorate his passing. A beautiful ceremony was organized at the Hospice House where he had spent his last days. It was an intimate and intense feeling to be in the room with his body, mere hours after his passing, surrounded by all his loved ones. I had never been part of a ceremony like that and it was very overwhelming - in a very positive way.

This is my first experience dealing with the passing of a loved one that was so intimately involved in my children's lives. As difficult for all of us as the experience has been, I feel fortunate that they are surrounded by so many people that love them and have supported them through this time and beyond.

Grandpa Boppy - we love you!!

If anyone else out there has experienced a similar situation with their little ones, how did you deal with it? I'd love to hear others' take on how they handled it. 

Thanks and Happy Tax Day!

xo,

chelsea

KiddoCraft - money magnets

Here's a fun little DIY craft project I put together with the kiddos on a rainy weekend. It's a great way to display and use coins picked up from foreign travels and for holding up those reports cards and art pieces on the fridge.

What You'll Need:

• Pair of Scissors
• Magnet - we used the roll variety but the small dots work too. If you go with the magnet dots, you'll need some strong adhesive as well. I wouldn't recommend Super Glue for a kid project, but any craft store should have the right glue to get the job done.
• Money!! I had some coins collected from our trips to London, Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The Scandinavian coins have some very cool and graphic looking minting on them.

(looks like Sutter snuck a dime in there too!) 

1. Begin by cutting your magnet strip into sizes small enough to fit on the back of your money. Sutter was super precise about getting them all the right size!

2. Decide which side you want facing out, flip it over and stick your magnet strip to the back! 

3. Voila! Money Magnets. Something fun and pretty to look at in just a matter of moments.

This was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy as the kids like to say.

What's your go-to rainy day craft?

xo,

chelsea

a birthday

We threw a little impromptu birthday party for my sweetie last Friday. His real birthday was somewhat derailed by tantrums and bad weather, so we wanted to make it up to him and surprise him after a long work-week out of town. I stayed up late Thursday night baking (somewhat unsuccessfully) a frozen Daim cake, making banners and hanging streamers. The kids were so excited they were shouting surprise before we even got in the front door.

(that fan...it's just hideous. If this were not a rental, it'd be gone in a heartbeat. ok, I digress)

A homemade birthday banner

a little strumming on the guitar. This was my mom's guitar way back in the 70s. When I took lessons from one of the nuns at my Catholic school, this is what I learned on. Now we're working on cleaning it up so either me or one of the kiddos can learn on it again. I love having some kind of instrument in the house.

Some homemade Daim cake. Not the best attempt, but I'm making a promise to make it again and perfect it! I got the recipe from Carl's mother and it's a birthday favorite of his.

I love this little photo that Sutter took (you can see the shadow of his head in the foreground). He loves learning about the camera and he was super anxious to capture the pizza in all it's glory. We tried our hand at making Shaman Bread inspired by one of our favorite restaurants, Full of Life Flatbread. If you're ever in the Central CA area, it's a must-try - and don't forget to save room for their homemade s'mores!

All in all, it was quite a successful little party. We played records, strummed the guitar, ate pizza and cake and played until it was late. So much fun that we even found my little man asleep on the floor in his jammies.

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

xo,

chelsea

thrifted and new

A few peeks from around the house lately...

Thrifted a little enamel pot with wooden handles and a Dutch pewter pitcher with wooden handles. Hoping to shine up that wood a little, but they're nice for now.

The leftovers of a fun St. Patrick's Day bouquet. I could stare at lilies all day. They are so beautiful and erotic.

My new bag from Fabric & Handle. It's even more gorgeous and versatile in person and Salinya was such an absolutely lovely person to work with! It's quite perfect.

Some potatoes we started on St. Patty's Day. The heart-shaped one is so cute! Now I have something nice to look at while I do the dishes.

The kiddos are on Spring Break this week which makes for some chaos. Sutter gets to go to camp and Harper gets some extra time with family including my mom who is sure to spoil her rotten. Sutter asked me last night why I don't get a Spring Break from work. Good question, kiddo. At least I get to take Friday off so we can go camping...can't wait!!

Is anyone else on Spring Break? What are your plans?

XO,

Chelsea

what's new around here

What a wonderful, lazy weekend! I seriously wish every weekend could be like this.

We got the kids up extra early on Saturday morning (in the dark!) to grab some delicious Mexican pastries and head down to Butterfly Beach to watch the sunrise. We all bundled up in sleeping bags and laughed while we ate our delicious treats. Unfortunately, it was a foggy morning but no one seemed to notice!

Other weekend awesomeness included a day at a lovely watering hole watching the kids play in the water and some sun-soaking by the adults, a stop-off at Cold Springs Tavern, a delicious dinner at home, spending a day in bed watching movies and giggling like kids and a nice long walk to a friend's new home to round out the weekend.

A recent little visit to my favorite place...

Why does Anthropologie have so many irresistible things?!?! I had a little birthday gift card to use up and couldn't help but add a few more bowls to the latte collection, a sweetly-hued blouse, the most amazing smelling (and looking) candle in sultry black and possibly my new favorite thing to read at bedtime - a book about macarons! I'm hoping to try my hand at making them again since my last endeavor fell apart - literally.

How was your weekend? 

XO,

Chelsea

dollhouse for a doll

S C O R E!!

Kid tested - Mommy approved.

Feeling very grateful for finding this awesome dollhouse today for my sweet little girl. I definitely feel as though my thrifting luck has been pretty awesome lately. As soon as I've put something on the mental "want" list, I've come across it almost immediately.

I'm digging the simple, clean lines of this all wood dollhouse. Finding the dollhouse was the easy part, now comes the furnishing! I'm really looking forward to the hunt of finding cool accessories and even some awesome DIY action for this sweet find!

Anyone know a great source for dollhouse stuff?

Also - I've noticed that everything is listed by scale. How do I know what scale dollhouse I'm working with? 

XO,

Chelsea

A nautical outing

Well, we are finally back from Europe and feeling rested although a bit discombobulated. To my surprise, I realized late Saturday evening that I would have Monday off work as a holiday! Yippee. That meant one full day to unpack, get organized and snuggle with my much-missed little people.

Yesterday though, it was back to the reality of work. The kiddos stayed home from work to hang with Carl and they decided on a sailing adventure even though thick fog hung in the sky. My sweet girl called to ask if I would like to join them. If only...

Late afternoon I found a wonderful montage of their day awaiting my inbox.

She's ready for Mr. Newton's phone call. Or The Sartorialist. 

Central Coast Summer...ahhhh....

What's your favorite childhood ice cream treat?

XO,

Chelsea