Friday Five: Five Things You Need For Summer!

Hi gals,

No one looks forward to the Summer more than me. I live in California for a reason! I want to be at the beach. Here are some fun things I think would make Summer complete.


1. The Lilly Pulitzer Over-sized Beverage Bucket in Chiquita Bonita! I know my friend LULU would love this to hide her "Sneeky" cocktails in as she heads to the beach. Isn't it divine? I got one for my birthday and I LOVE it.

2. Mudpies Full Length Caftan. Beyond.

 

3. Fabio's Italian Kitchen Cook Book!

I'm dying to try some of these recipes this summer and finally get my pantry stocked correctly!!

4.  Monogrammed Acrylic Cuff Bracelets!

I have one in pink and about to order some more!!

5. Gazpacho: I could eat this all year long!

Gazpacho adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:
Serves  8


1 egg
2 cups chopped fresh plum tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped red or yellow pepper
1 cup chopped cucumber, seeds removed
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
2/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups beef broth (optional) *you can also use veggie broth 
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 46-ounce can tomato/veggie juice *I highly recommend R.W. Knudsen's Organic Very Veggie
1/2 cup panko crumbs
Tabasco, to taste


What are your Five things you are wanting/ loving for this Summer?

The Best Hotel In Santa Barbara- The Montecito Inn - Part Deux

Well it took me a while but I finally did part two, I mean deux (cause you know I'm fancy) of my Santa Barbara birthday post. Santa Barbara is my favorite vacation spot and Montecito is the jewel of Santa Barbara.

As you saw in my earlier post I am obsessed with the Montecito Inn. When my husband called to confirm our reservation he asked the one question you should always ask. "Is there anything else I should know about that would make this stay more incredible?" to which they said "well....". This is how we learned of: The Apartment.

The apartment is a two bedroom apartment with full kitchen, amazing master bedroom, jacuzzi tub, dining room, living room and DECK!

You can bet I enjoyed that jacuzzi tub! Gorgeous! Loved the whole thing and cannot say enough about it!

In addition to the "apartment" we set up a very special dinner at Trattoria Mollie. Yes, the one that OPRAH goes to. Yes that one. We did a special dinner with our dearest friends.

Mollie and her son treated us to the meal of a lifetime!!

And the best part of the night was the toasts everyone made to me. So touching! You just don't know what you mean to someone until they stand up and tell you!

When I blew out the candles with these girls I have never felt more LOVED!!!

The Best Hotel In Santa Barbara- Montecito Inn

What a fabulous birthday ( day...week...month!) I have had!

There were birthday drinks....(go this striped number at Marshalls for $29)

Birthday Lunch (At Villa Blanca OF COURSE!)

But the best time of all was being at my dream place, my new home away from home, The Montecito Inn. Yes, I am talking Montecito, home of Oprah, Rob Lowe, Drew Barrymore...and hopefully one day me! I digress...

Montecito is the jewel of Santa Barbara with fabulous things like: Butterfly Beach..

And the cutest town you've ever seen. And right on the Boulevard is Montecito Inn.

 

 It was built in 1928 by Charlie Chaplin!! Amazing history and a boutique luxury hotel! The rooms are fabulous and best of all you can walk to lunch, dinner, or shopping! They even have a pool. And it is kid friendly!

You can even make things super easy and dine downstairs in their cute little cafe! The food is great.

 

But there's one special room you will not believe. Something called "The Apartment". And yes, my husband wrangled this for us for my birthday weekend. Wait until you see it in my next post! Have you been to Santa Barbara? Or to the Montecito Inn?

RIP Lilly Pulitzer- Anything Is Possible With Sunshine And A Little Pink

I was so sad to learn of Lilly Pulitzers passing. She was such an iconic figure and was able to accomplish so much. Lilly was one of my personal idols for many reasons but not for just her clothes, for the way she embraced life. Here are some of her greatest quotes and a little perspective from moi.

“Being happy never goes out of style.”

I learned a long time ago that whatever life throws at you, being happy is a choice. I have been through my share of tragedy and hard times. I have learned that life is hard. I am still cheerful and happy because that is what I choose. Being happy is like being a Love spreader. You make others happy. You have no idea how a kind word or funny moment can affect someone. It can turn their day around. Rose colored glasses are not a bad thing. They're pink!

“It's always summer somewhere.”

I grew up on the East Coast and absolutely hated the winter. I even hated the fall! Hated the leaves dying, falling off the trees, the whole thing really got to me. I was probably one of those people who needed to stare into a lightbox. Instead I turned up the heat to 80 degrees and slathered on Coppertone while listening to the Beach Boys every time my parents went out. Yes I got in trouble, but from this I learned that I had no other option then to go to college in Florida. Clearly I had my priorities straight.

“I was a gypsy, living a carefree life of ponies and tennis.”

Going to Rollins College in Winter Park Florida was a dream. I studied by the pool and handed in suntan oil stained papers to my Sociology teacher. I belonged to the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and made some of the best friends of my life. Life was so carefree then and I am so grateful to have had that experience! I was introduced to Lilly Pulitzer in college and fell in love instantly. I never looked back. Seeing sorority pictures like this continue to pop up just makes me so happy!

“Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink.”

If it weren't for my can do attitude I have no idea where I would be. Certainly NOT in California, where I always dreamed of living, and certainly not having my own business. I have always been a girls girl. I treasure my time with girl friends and all things fabulous. My two business partners are women and I love that too. Supporting other women, mothers, girls is always something important to me. I am raising Coco with this in mind. Here we are in our matching Lilly.

Tell me your Lilly Pulitzer experiences. When did you buy your first Lilly? Learn about her? I will always have Lilly in my heart. And on my back!

Little Girls With Broken Collar Bones Need "Arm Purses"

As if life isn't hectic or hard enough....

Coco broke her collar bone. We can hardly believe it. We were not mountain climbing, roller blading, skiing, nope. She was just climbing onto a 1 foot high TV cabinet and trying to make her legs into "butterfly wings" and fell backwards.

When it happened we heard the thump and cry in the next room and went running. You know that kind of cry that is SCARY and you RUN to make sure something REALLY BAD hasn't occurred. At first I thought she just scared herself but when she couldn't lift her arm, off we went to the emergency room.

X-rays confirmed a broken bone. The Mr and I are astonished because he has never broken a bone and I broke my wrists (yes both) but not until 27! She was in so much pain she was scaring me. Soon we go the Tylenol rolling and everything was better.

The next day we visited the orthopedic surgeon and he said this is a very common injury in kinds (who knew?)

I have to say she is really the best patient ever. We call her sling an "arm purse" (you know I had to call it something good so she would USE it!) She quite likes it. She's in phenomenal spirits (with drugs!) and apparently will heal up fast. So there you have it.

Just remember that little girls with broken collar bones need "arm purses" and drugs and you can survive this ordeal too.

PS Might have to burn sage in the house because there's been way too much drama lately!!!
PPS Got her a smaller "arm purse" at the medical supply store. Will post on that one another day.

Great Easter Basket Ideas That AREN'T CANDY!

I don't know about you but we still have our Halloween candy! We can never get through it all, even with Landon being a candy monster. I really am more of a savory, salty gal, so the candy sits and sits.

For that reason (along with my lack of love for dentists) I am more into the candy free Easter Basket! I picked a few things up that you might like too!

Princess/ Cars mini chairs:

 

 Now coco and Landon can be sitting in style when we go to games! How cute are these?

Also since we are on spring break I thought they might want to fish with magnetic fish!

Also got them some kites. Perfect for our beach trip coming up!

And life wouldn't be complete without bubbles!

We put pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters inside the Easter Eggs and the kids LOVE it. We give them each one big chocolate bunny and a few other sweets but that's it! You can have a great Easter without a ton of candy! What's in your Easter Basket?

Rise Of The Gaurdians on DVD!

We were so excited to see that Rise Of The Guardians came out of DVD March 12th! We loved the movie in the theater! I even got the kids this little pack for Easter!

How cute is that!? Perfect for the Easter basket!

Have you seen the movie?

Rise Of The Guardians shows how Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman are all working together. The menacing bad guy, Pitch Black, turns children's dreams into nightmares with his scary stallions. Based on the book by author/illustrator William Joyce, RISE OF THE GUARDIANS follows Jack Frost, who creates winter fun for children who don't really believe in him. Everything changes when Pitch Black rallies his nightmare forces to cause worldwide despair and make children stop believing in the Guardians of Childhood: Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman. When the Man in the Moon tells the existing Guardians that Jack Frost has been chosen to join them, they must convince him to take up the cause before Pitch can snuff out the light of hope in every child of the world.

I loved the concept of this movie and the lessons it teaches. How important it is to have faith and believe! I bawled I loved it so much. It's very creative, funny, heartwarming and DEEP!

Can't say enough about it!

You can buy it today! The Blu-ray/DVD combo and the DVD will be released in a special gift pack with the film and two hopping toy eggs (inspired by the ones seen in the film)!

Happy Birthday My Darling Coco!

Happy Birthday My Darling Coco!

You came to us at a time when we needed hope and sunshine and you delivered ten fold. Every day with you is like a day on vacation. Your joy is so unstoppable you can make even the biggest synic smile. Thank you for being happy to be uniquely yourself. You never copy another person, instead you go your own way and you LOVE it. Thank you for being 100%, unapologetically GIRL. Your love of tutus and girly things makes us all love those things even more! Thank you for being the most grateful kid I have ever come across. Your gratitude and wonder makes me so glad I make the sacrifices I do. And Thank you for making our family more bright, more spirited, more joyful and loving. Those days when you were in the hospital were when this family was the most lost. We never want that to happen again!

I love you. I am proud of you. And best of all I look forward to becoming not just your Mother but your best friend.

I love you Coco Miss.

xo

Mommy 

March Is National Reading Month With LeVar Burton!!

You know I love my Reading Rainbow and LeVar Burton! My kids are obsessed with the Reading Rainbow I pad app!


This month is National Reading month and LeVar posted all about it on the Reading Rainbow blog. I am loving all the reading and book suggestions they give there. Right now they are all about gardening!

My cutey pie friend LeVar tells you why reading is so important here:


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Even little babies love reading. I am always amazed at how young you can start getting kids into books! What books do your kids love? Do you read a lot with them?


***Try their FREE  Reading Rainbow iPad app in the App Store, download any of their Classic Reading Rainbow episodes on iTunes or learn more about Reading Rainbow and all their digital products at www.readingrainbow.com

The Going Rate For The Tooth Fairy- How Much Do You Give?

Maybe I'm cheap.

Actually I'm not cheap I'm smart. I shop at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Target. I love a bargain. I am not cheap with my kids. They have nice clothes, toys, take gymnastics and ballet....I'm not afraid to spend money on those two!

Which brings me to the Tooth Fairy. Apparently I am the cheapest one around.

Landon has been losing teeth left and right for a few months. We have been giving him 2 silver dollars. Yes darlings that is 2 bucks!

Asking around I am finding out people are giving $10 and $20 a tooth!! WHAT?? Really? I thought it was crazy. They explained that they got $1 when they where kids so they are adding for inflation. Landon is perfectly happy with his 2 bucks, but I started to feel guilty! Am I not giving enough?

Maybe I need to adjust it a little. Give $5? Or am I keeping them unspoiled and sweet?

I need to know. How much do you give for teeth? What's the going rate for the tooth fairy??