I love Ben Watts work! I wish I had gotten a chance to work with him in the past but I still admire his eye… Check out his new book. Lickshot. I know a little place where you can buy a copy signed by Ben also.

The penguin shines across the loving hydrogen.

A guide, to feeling great, losing weight, and saving the planet!

Jodee is a stay at home mom who makes these adorable ties for little guys and big guys too! Handmade ties and bow-ties for boys ages newborn and up. Each tie is custom made according to your specific size and color. Visit littleguyties.etsy.com to see her adorable shop of ties in the best retro modern fabrics ever!

Her ties can be made in any of these sizes:
0-6 mo, 6mo-2T, 2T-4T, 5-8 yrs, 9-12 yrs and mens ties too!

It’s funny how as life whizzes by you can often overlook something that is right in front of you or someone that you know that you need to thank or recognize but for whatever reason your mind neglects to do so at the appropriate time. This morning as I was looking at the handmade shell sconces in my kitchen, I realized that I need to shout out to the world again about how awesome my sister (Heather Kendalls) creations are!

Heather is a shell artist and owns a business aptly named “Elegant Shells” (her website is www.elegantshells.com) and she makes seashell decor. Items like seashell mirrors, seashell lamps, seashell chandeliers, shell fireplaces and the like.  Her work has been featured in Southern Living, DuPont Registry, Florida Travel and Life, Garden Design, Ocean Home, and Tampa Magazine just to name a few. Most of her work is custom done for individual customers or under contract from a design firm, and every piece is hand made. If you would like to purchase something check out her SHOP. I love you and appreciate your talents.

Gilt Groupe provides invitation-only access, to men’s, women’s and kids coveted fashion and luxury brands at prices up to 70% off retail. Each sale lasts only online for 36 hours and many items sell out quickly, so check it out before it’s too late!

Your invitation is: here

Every week there is a new sale so sign up now through this link to receive emails about upcoming sales.

This week, be on standby everyday at 12 pm EST to shop our stellar selection of warm weather-friendly sales. Spruce up your spring style with handbags and classic ready-to-wear items from one of New York’s most iconic designers; lightweight, West Coast-inspired casuals in neutral colors; must-have statement sunglasses and jewelry; and urban avant-garde separates by designers who are coveted by A-listers and the First Lady alike. We’re also hosting the second cosmetic sale in Gilt history, chock-full of makeup that will give you that fresh-face look that is oh so spring.

We are moving again! Into a different house this time, but less than a mile away.
Seems the house we rented had black mold, air quality that children should not be subjected to and now a water bill that is costing us over $500 for one month! The landlord has given us until the 26th – this Friday to be out. We will put our things in storage for a week and move into another house on the 4th of OCT. There we will settle.

I feel like a fish swimming in murky water because the water has been changed so many times. We are happy and doing fine other than these minor bumps.

Life is funny – just when you thought things were calming down they get a little rougher.
I am lifting it all up at this point and letting God sort some things out, no fighting. Just floating….

Yesterday I took Van to the beach and we brought the dogs along. Since Van and I are staying at my moms and the dogs are still in the house we rented he doesn’t get to see them much. So we walked out onto the white sand. Van was in nothing but a diaper, white birds were all around us and the dogs ran into the water, a gentle breeze blew by us. The water was crystal clear and there was not a person in sight. For a moment I got a feeling of what heaven might be like except my husband was missing. No bugs were in sight, the heat was not that bad and for a moment I took it all in. It is for moments like these that we moved here. Lately I have really been missing home (California) my friends, having the door open in our house and letting the cool breeze blow in, watching Van play outside in our yard while I do things in side. The comforts of our life are so missed right now. It’s funny that saying “you don’t know what you got til it’s gone”. It’s true. We will try Florida out for a year and see how it goes. I know it takes time to build a life anywhere, but it’s hard. I know why people stay put now….

We looked at it as an adventure when we were packing up and leaving. Today it seems much harder than I thought it would be. I know this much Van turns one and a half this week and he knows his family, and it makes me smile to hear him call my mom’s name “non”. I always felt out of place here in Florida, the minute I arrived in California I knew that was where I was supposed to be. Turns out that is where I found some of the most important people in my life aside from my family. I love you Conner, thank you for enduring for us, I know you have given up so much to be here. What an adventure we are on huh?

It’s been almost a week since my last post and I honestly cant remember a time when i have ever been this busy. And I have help! Van’s Mimi flew down to be with us for a week while I looked for a place to live… I have found two houses one is amazing and all we could ever want but $200 over what we had budgeted a month. It is on the water, brand new and has 3 bedrooms & 3 bathrooms! It’s absurd. Next is a house with a yard that has 2 bedrooms, and 1 bathroom. The kitchen is the size of a tuna can and it doesn’t have a dishwasher. They are both a block from the beach! So that part is great.
The little one has a fenced in yard for the dogs, and the big one with the ELEVATOR does not have a fenced in yard. Oh and that price is $200 less than we had budgeted for which means we could start paying some debt down! I have been so stressed about this decision that I have not had any other time to think about anything else. My emotions have taken a break lately and I have gone into robot mode. When your in robot mode you can’t really write anything that anyone would want to read either. It’s too shallow. It’s basic and weird. I will have more soon when I get back to normal. I will have photos too!

Well we have arrived officially. It was hard to say goodbye but we did it and by the time all of our things were out of the house it truly didn’t seem much like home anymore. It was hard to say goodbye to all of the people who we will miss so much. Friends who we will continue to miss and love forever. This is quite a journey. Tonight I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the dogs. they flew today and happend to be on a plane that got stranded in Texas for three hours, Zeke doesn’t fly well either. I know he will be scarred from this trip and it will take a little while for him to get back to normal. I plan on taking them somewhere to run and play tomorrow. Van is adjusting well, tonight he danced with a waitress from Thailand who fed him every last bite of his sweet potato and the band sang twinkle twinkle little star and the itsy bitsy spider to him while he sat in his high chair on the dance floor. He is happy and that makes me feel content.

Today was full, and packed literally with things to do. We are weary and tired. I must say i will never again in my life pack up an entire house to move thousands of miles away by ourselves, with a small child running around in circles. Tonight when we got home from our little going away party. I heard Conner say to Van let’s go upstairs and get ready for bed, so I thought awesome time for me to separate the recycling. I heard Conner coming down the stairs a few minutes later with a huge box (my clothes) and I said “hey where is Van”. Conner said I thought he was with you. “uh NO, you took him upstairs to get him ready for bed, Hello!” Our front door was open so I immediately ran outside, and found him standing by our Pod (storage container) talking nonsense and pointing in the sky, as if it were some alien ship that just landed in our parking spot and is now sucking up all of our belongings and turning mom and dad into zombies.

I freaked out, but everything was alright. Last time, we will let this little guy out of our sight. It is soooooo difficult to pack boxes and be efficient with a little one running circles around me. It’s tiring enough just taking care of him! So anyways. The pod is cool and all that but having people to help is so much cooler.