Easters Coming! Cannot Wait!

I just love Easter. Joyful happy colors, people dressed up, Cadbury Eggs, Peeps! Best of all we celebrate the day Christ is risen! Amen!!

I think it's a time for us all to rise out of the muck and mire, like a phoenix from the ashes!!

Time to celebrate life and get out those cute Easter outfits!

Coco will be wearing a frilly pink dress that will make her look like a little cupcake!!!


Landon will be in khakis and a light blue polo with a pink pony.



Mr will be adorned in a pink shirt and blue blazer and myself in my pink Lilly eyelit!



We are going to church and then brunch and Easter Egg hunt at Coco's Godmothers house. I know Landon will love it!

Hopefully the weather here won't shift and turn cold and rainy! I know you guys have had enough of that on the east coast! What are you doing for Easter? And what are you wearing?

It's Mine! Starfish Necklace From Target

Can you believe this beauty is from Target? I searched high and low for it when people showed me the picture of it but couldn't get one! I put out the twitter alert and so many of you looked for me! Thank you so much! It was my friend Lindsay who got it for me. Thank you Lindsay!

Coco's First Birthday Week- Minnie Mouse Birthday Party!

It was a fabulous party from beginning to end. Coco was beaming when she saw her jumpy and her Minnie Mouse balloons and cake!

Some people thought I was KRAZY getting a jumpy for one year old Coco. You look at her face below and you be the judge! She was in that jumpy all day long!!!!



They took away the jumpy at 7:30pm, Landon got out at 7:29. he was so dirty after the party he left a ring around the tub!!! That jumpy was the best money ever spent. The kids loved it!!

We served flatbread pizzas for the adults, beer and wine (come on people), and for the kids chicken nuggets, mac n cheese and strawberries. Coco had the best birthday week ever. I swear this is the last of the birthday posts!!! LOL.

Coco's First Birthday Week-Dear Coco

Every year on their birthdays I write a letter to my kids. When Landon and Coco are twenty-one I will give them all of them to read so they can know how I felt about them each year of their lives. It also helps to chronicle exactly what milestones they were hitting at the time.

I won't bore you with the whole thing...but here's a little but of it.


"Coco, when I found out I was having a girl I nearly fainted. They joy was so overwhelming, I literally felt light headed! Just seeing your dresses hanging in the closet, your chandelier, your pink room, makes me feel like life is good. Having you in my life fills me with a sense of purpose I have never known. I cannot wait for you to grow up, and for us to grow closer as mother and daughter. There are so many memories we will share. I just hope I don't bawl through every one!!"

Saturday is Coco's Minnie Mouse party, I will post a few pics. Thank you for helping me honor my Coco this week!!!

Coco's First Birthday Week!!!- First Birthday Gifts!

Coco had such a wonderful tea party, and this weekend she will have a Minnie Mouse birthday party with some kids from the neighborhood and some of her friends. How cute! she has friends!!!

Coco did already get some meaningful gifts, I thought I would share them with you!

Neighbor Sheila, who wore Lilly to the tea and helped me set up, gave Coco pearls. That's right. Coco has her first set of pearls. I bawled. Can you stand it?



Katie (Landon's besties Mommie and Coco's too!) gave Coco the most gorgeous monogrammed jewelry box from Pottery Barn. So special, for all her baubles!



Godmother Annie gave Coco a gold dipped porcelain tea set she bought at an antique store. She told me she got it for a song because it had a chip on the tea pot (you can hardly see it!) and encouraged me to just let her and Landon play with it! After hyperventilating I agreed and we had a tea party today just the three of us.

My mom, along with helping pay for the tea, sent the biggest box of gifts I've ever seen. Loaded with clothes and a doll, the best part were the HOT PINK PATENT LEATHER DRIVING MOCS. I nearly passed out.



Have you received any memorable first birthday gifts? What were they? Do tell!

Coco's First Birthday! Lilly Pulitzer Tea at The Beverly Hills Hotel!

Coco's first birthday was one of the most wonderful days of my life and hers. The weather was perfect, the setting divine, and Miss Coco enjoyed every second. As we pulled up to the pink and green palace (The Beverly Hill Hotel), we saw Luke Wilson. Was he coming to the tea? No, he wasn't invited, but still fun to see!!

When we first arrived we did a little photo session in the lobby so we could remember the day.


Coco wore her Lilly Pulitzer shift, I had on my Lilly. Notice my shoes, with bows, and Coco's pink patent leather Mary Janes!!! We were so ready for the fabulous tea to begin!



The table was set outside on the patio at the Polo Lounge. The hotel is pink and they have gorgeous white and green awnings everywhere. I hardly needed to decorate the table except for the favors and a few of the Lilly Pulitzer Cabanarama invitations on the table.


Setting up the table before the ladies arrived I spied Natalie Cole sitting at the next table (SKINNNNNYYYYY!!!) and Lionel Richie stopped by her table to say hello. The patio at the Beverly Hills Hotel is a very celebrity spotting place. A lot of deals are made on that patio!!! Or in the Polo Lounge Bar.



When the ladies arrived and we were all seated we were offered four tea choices. Mint, Chamomile, Earl Gray, or English Breakfast (Normally they offer many more choices but with a big party too hard to do). Such a great group of ladies, everyone there was so happy for Miss Coco!! They know it was a dream of mine to have a girl!



Coco sat at the head of the table and knew it was her special day. She adored our waiter Barrett, who was wonderful.



We dined on the most spectacular tea sandwiches. Egg salad, cucumber topped with asparagus, smoked salmon on pumpernickle with caviar. Served on three tiered silver platters of course! Then the desserts came out which were also divine, but not as fabulous as the Cabanarama cake!!!



Crafted by The Big Sugar Bakery, it was a show stopper! Coco couldn't wait to eat it!! She applauded it's arrival!!





If you can believe it she was great for two hours, until the end when she got cranky and tired. She even was passed around the table to everyone and said "Hiiiiiii" to all the ladies. It was a magical day and thanks to the sweet people at The Beverly Hills Hotel, it felt like a vacation! Coco truly appreciated being there which is how I know for sure we're related!



Happy Birthday my darling baby Coco. I will never forget you're first birthday, and I know years from now, we will look back on this wonderful day and the happiness and love we felt. Thank you to my Mom and Dad who helped underwrite this spectacular event! You made my dream come true for my daughter and I love you guys!!

Coco's First Birthday Week!!!

Oh how excited I was when I heard from my blog friend Keeks and Brie. She offered to make key fobs for my guests in Cabanarama Lilly Pulitzer fabric!!! She even shipped them and got them here in time! I can't wait to start using mine!

Hop on over to her site and check out her stuff. It is so cute!! KeeksandBrie.com PS you should follow her on twitter cause she is HI-Larious! Anyhoo, back to Coco!!

Coco also received her first gift!!! A fabulous pink car from Cece and Peepaw!
These push cars from Step 2 are the absolute best!!



A big box has also arrived from Mimi and Pop! Can't wait to see what's inside!!

Coco's First Birthday Week!!!

It has started. The week of celebration of Miss Coco's first birthday. Where has the time gone!!! I feel like it has flown by and yet I have enjoyed so much of it!!! This week started with receiving a giant Cinderella card from GrandDad, Mini-moo and Uncle W. I opened it for Coco and the music played:

"A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you're fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true"

That is what this baby girl is to me. A dream. A wish my heart made, and it came true.

Lilly Cabanarama cake is coming! And more Lilly Pulitzer Party News!

I am so excited. I have found a bakery who will make Coco's Cabanarama cake! She will now have the perfect Lilly Pulitzer Pink and Green Tea party! I am also getting little party favors. Some people will the getting these gorgeous fireplace matches above.

Need to figure out what the other half of the girls should get!

I will be posting all next week about Coco's first birthday because as well all know, Birthdays are not just one day but a week or a month long!!! LOL.

Real Houswives of NY- Part 2! Where's the party?

As the next episode begins Ramona is spending time with Bethany and her man Jason. Ramona retells the "contess-less" story. Bethany counters with LuAnn "lost her husband and grew a penis" line, classic. Notice that Mario (low blow Mario) looks like a Vegas black jack dealer/ pimp. Ramona dances on the tables like a hooker. They are a perfect match.

LuAnn has her old nanny/ housekeeper over for a very awkward "I miss you cooking for me" moment. But that's okay she has a "new girl", it's "double the work" she says, teaching her. I'm not sure if Rosie got a word in, but LuAnn says they confide n each other. Ahhhh countess. You are so clueless.

At dinner with Simon and Alex, Mario realizes he and Simon are dressed as twins. What is Ramona doing making the rounds? Is she the mayor of the housewives? Because she ain't no "Cameron Diaz!!!" WTF! Mario makes a phone call to LuAnn and leaves a message with an olive branch.

Jill, staying at LuAnns house, calls Ramona on speaker phone (ultimate mean girl trick), and LuAnn hears what Ramona really thinks of her. Wow. Did countess really have boyfriends while married? You know the count had his ladies! LuAnn then recounts the Bethany story and let me say, like in a crazy game of telephone, got the whole conversation wrong. Love women and their friendships don't you? They decide to have their own labor day

Meanwhile, Bethany, looking so sexy with cute Jason, decide to live together. She starts bawling at the prospect of having it all, something she had told herself would never happen. I am loving Bethany this season.

So Ramona has her party, Alex and Simon go (they are trying to be so politically correct it's barfy), and Bethany and Jason. Low and behold Alex and Simon were invited to both parties. Ramona is pissed!

Kelly, who I could care less about and wish would leave the show, comes to LuAnns and has something to tell everyone. Back in jail? Losing your kids to childrens services for being a bad mother? No! Posing for Playboy! Classic. I loved watching them act like it was an honor. So uncomfortable and the way she told them was WEIRD.

So there you have it. Soon we will see Bethany and Jill have it out, I am secretly hoping they patch it up but I think there's no way. Also starting to think this is a big waste of time but dammit get sucked in every time!

The Mrs LOVES Magpie Lovely!! Discount code here!

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!
We are staging our Irish meal, more on that later....



I was looking all over the Magpie Lovely site and just dying. Everything is so feminine and adorable!! I have my eye on this bag pictured above!

Or how about this clutch! Can't you see it for the summer?



And for Miss Coco?

This dress is so darling!!



And love this one with the Seagulls!



You know I am always looking to add to her shoe collection!













And the fabulous Holly is giving you a 15% discount! Just enter FM15 at check out until this Sunday! Hop to it! Get shopping!!

Sanity Break! Lilly Pulitzer Store Visit!

I highly recommend when you are having a down moment to just trot on over to your closest Lilly Pulitzer store and try on clothes! Even better if you have a fabulous one like the Cabana store on Montana. It was there that Anne and Laura took such great care of this weary Mama!



Who could not love the Pink and Green, the chandeliers, the vacationy feel you have when you are there under the Lilly Palm Trees!

I was so happy to return my size Large "Joy Knit" tunic and get a Medium! Yahoo! Even happier when I tried on these white, incredibly soft, "Palm Beach Jeans"!! On my birthday wish list are these fabulous shoes (the McKim Wedge)!





This Illona Caftan is so fabulous I can hardly stand it. Makes me want to just move to Palm Beach and throw parties all day long!




The little baby girl section was full of cuteness for Miss Coco. I got her the "reef" bathing suit. Pink and adorable! She's ready for summer!

Landon Update: When One Door Closes...another falls in the street

Thank you so much for taking the time to write me those sweet comments about Landon. I was having a low moment indeed and needed some understanding and boy were you guys there for me. Thank you. Here's a little Landon Update:

I am slowly realizing (I'm slow on the uptake), that there will never be an end to worrying about my kids. Landon gave us a real scare by waking up Friday morning with his arm swollen to three times it's size. I ran him to the doctor who was mystified (fabulous.) He is now on anti-biotics. It's getting better, the swelling has come down a lot, but having to watch this thing like a hawk is exhausting.

We spent the weekend cleaning up the house, and the back yard/pool area getting ready for summer. Landon was thrilled and danced around everywhere. We decided to take a trip to Lowes for a new screendoor. Oh you know where I'm headed...

We pick one, strap it to the roof, and start driving home slooooowly. The next thing we know, this thing acts like a giant sail, and lifts off of the car. It flies in the air and lands in a pile behind us. I could not believe it. Thank God it didn't hit anyone!

Sunday at church preacher kind of brought things into focus. He said everythings a little "off". The economy is off, the government is off, the earth (because of the Chilean earthquake is now a minute or two off and some countries were moved 2 feet! I guess it's okay I'm a little off too.

At least I still have my sense of humor and so does Landon. When he saw his arm all swollen he told me there was a baby in there. LOL. He also danced around last night with his underwear on his head singing the theme song to Wow Wow Wubsy.

See? When one door closes another one opens and the person answering may have underwear on their head. At least that's how it is at our house.

Real Houswives of NY- Get a hobby! Part 1!

Good to have the ladies back isn't it? But hold it. No one is friends anymore! And everyone is mmmmmeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaannnn! What should we do with them? Trap them on a boat together!

The episode begins with Ramona hosting everyone but Kelly and Bethenny on her rented Yacht (somehow rent and yacht don't belong in the same sentence but whatever). I love that she showed off her new haircut and brags that she gained five pounds! HA! (Note to self use this to confuse friends and enemies). Either way retire the bikini Ramona. Too much! (Actually all those women on the boat were too old for bikinis!)

Jill says Ramona is cheap because she won't give out free jewelry. It's fun to talk about someone behind their back after they've invited you on their boat!

The Countess, ever since she has become Miss Manners, seems to have lost all of hers. Bringing up how she can't go to Ramona's house because Mario was mean to her saying she was now "countless" rather than the countess, ("low blow" Mario will be his new name) could have been saved for another time. Ramonas reaction was just as insane. All she had to say was, that was mean. I'll talk to him. Instead she went insane. Crying and freaking out. Hello, there's no where to go on the boat! You're stuck!

Then the countess attacks Bethenny the moment she walks into the bar to meet her. She didn't even notice half the things that Bethenny was talking about. Makes fun of her skinny girl car, asks if she's paying for drinks, and is just awful.

Kelly doesn't fool me at all. She's acting humbly, and is acting like she cares about people...come on. No idea what her angle is. Staying on the show? Either way she beat up her boyfriend so we know what kinda girl she is! It rhymes with flashy.

Jill has become the meanest one of all which is sad cause I used to like her! So critical and nasty! Gangs up on everyone and expects everyone to do things her way. She's the ultimate nag which may be why Bethanny told her to "get a hobby".

Bethanny is doing very well. Hot fiance, hot career, hot body! Trifecta! I like her fiance. Seems sweet!


What do we have to looks forward to this season?

The countess sings (gag), Bethenny is knocked up, and we find out just what caused the riff between Bethanny and Jill. Best of all Ramona and her crazy eyes walk in a fashion show and Jill Zarin skates. Fabulous.

This Was Supposed To Be A RHONY Post...but I'm too upset.

I could be fake and just run my post on the Housewives (will tomorrow cause I do love them), but I am upset.

Yesterday Landon got his cast off. Now to most people this would be a great thing but not for us. His arm is not broken, the cast is only there to protect the surgery and skin grafting they did. Every time we've gone in for a cast change I have been careful to play a movie, hold up a partition, so he could not see his arm (Thank you Katie for the suggestion). I have seen what the skin graft looks like and let me just say, it is not for the faint of heart. It's hard to see my baby like that.

Up until now he has been shielded from it. This past surgery was hard. He knew what was happening, he was scared, but he was brave.

Today though, after the cast came off it was time for him to see his arm. Oh friends, his face (I am crying as I write this), his little face seeing his torn up arm. I continually said "it looks great! Awesome!", but inside I wanted to bawl. He knew it looked bad. He was shocked and scared.

I made the day as good as possible. Brought baby Coco, made jokes, went for lunch after complete with cheesburgers and milkshakes. Thankfully he went down for his nap happy and satisfied with a splint on his arm.

But tonight, (and here is one way we are so alike), as night fell, he started to get more and more scared. He was thinking, pondering his arm as he lay in bed in the dark, and he started to get really freaked out. It was time for reality. Three year old reality. I asked him what he was scared of? Was it his arm? Did it look scary? He nodded.

I explained that it was rough looking now but it will heal and get better over time. I explained it like when he falls and gets a scrape and then it heals. It seemed to make sense. He started to feel better. I told him it would look better.

Times like these I could care less about the Housewives, New York or OC. About the petty fights, misunderstandings, and jealousy's. About financial woes or world events. I just want my son to feel safe and his arm to be healed. This is a long journey and some days I am not up for it.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Coco's First Birthday! Lilly Pulitzer and The Beverly Hills Hotel!

Coco's first birthday is fast approaching! I cannot believe she is already turning one! Where has the time gone! I'm scared!

Landon set the bar very high by having his first birthday in Hawaii. We were in Hawaii for brother in laws wedding and it fell on his birthday weekend! We had a party for him on the grassy lawn of a fabulous resort overlooking the ocean. He wore a smocked john john with a froggy and had a frog prince cake! Divine!

Now I know we are in a financial crunch (you too?) but I just have to blow it out a little for my only daughters first birthday.

I had an idea to do a ladies tea for Coco at the Beverly Hills Hotel. No others babies but her, her first ladies tea! The Beverly Hills Hotel is simply the most pink and green place we have here in Los Angeles, fabulous in every way. Besides, I'm in the Preppy Mafia now so I have to really step it up!

At first they tried to tell me how there are only tables of six, how we'd have to sit in the bar...low and behold the catering manager saved the day!

We will have a table in the restaurant, all my girlfriends, sisters and godmothers of Coco and of course darling Coco herself. She will wear Lilly and so will I. I sent out these Lilly Pulitzer invitations!




Now I am working on a cake based on my cabanarama invites. Coco will also have a Minnie Mouse birthday with her Daddy, brother and friends at home. Landon wants cake! I am so happy to celebrate with Miss Coco!!!

Palm Springs! Sanity Break!!!

Reason number 3,3445 I am the luckiest girl ever (1. married best man ever, 2. Have greatest kids, etc etc) is that sister Robyn has a fabulous house in Palm Springs that she graciously let's hubby and I use from time to time. Robyn is a decorator and makes every place she does look like a fabulous hotel.

Forgot my camera and of course no pics of the house. Gonna beg her for a few so stay tuned.

Hubby and I were so thrilled to get away, and Aunt ReRe and Uncle Sharpy babysat the kids. While Landon was going to farmers markets, sliding down giant tiger slides and eating hot dogs, we were having the best time ever.

After champagne in the Jacuzzi, we headed to The Purple Palm. It's a restaurant at the Colony Palms Hotel and it is fabulous!



Then we went to our favorite kitchy piano bar Melvins.



Best of all we did a whole bunch of nothing. No babies to feed, diapers to change, no computers. We just reconnected and relaxed. Now that's a sanity break!!!

Oscar Snoozefest- But yeah women!!!!

Good Golly were the Oscars boring. I had high hopes with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin hosting. They were funny, but even they couldn't save this boring show! You'd think after 82 years they would know how to entertain us! Even the stars looked bored!

At least we can talk about the dresses. These are the ones I loved:











































The ones I thought were a big miss:






Best of all though (other than seeing the Brat Packers again), was Kathryn Bigelow's win for Best Director. The first woman to win. I am so thrilled. Makes it easier when I win!!!

PS GO SANDY B!!!