florida sun

Ormond Beach - directly across from our condo. 

It's Daddy-Daughter Time!

That bikini kills me.

Lunch at High Tide, AKA Snack Jack, AKA SIL Jenny's favorite place

Sangria on Spring Break. 

That's Sophie - as if you didn't already know. She makes a few appearances on this trip.

Liquid lunch at Lagerheads.

Quinn turned 7 months on March 20. 

Washington Oaks Gardens

Beautiful. Love the hanging Spanish moss. Found out when we came home that the cockroaches loves to hang in it. Eek!

Her smile. GAWD.

I love our little family. 

Look up. Big tree. Look for me. Bigger than you thought, huh?!

Sunrise on my birthday!

Slayed. 

Double slayed. Smiles and giggles?!?!!?

A perfect start to my 35th year.

Until next time...

Q52 Week 12: First Family Trip!

We took a family trip to Ormond Beach, FL, to stay in a family's condo this past week. Neel had spring break from work, and he deserved some time off. This was Quinn's first flight, which was very successful. She was a little noisy toward the end, but at that point, we were making our descent and I didn't feel so horrible that she was keeping people awake. 

The trip was short, but relaxing. I turned 35 while we were there. We started my birthday by waking up to watch the sunrise (see below), and then drove to St. Augustine for a day trip and a delicious lunch. It was perfect. I love my friends and appreciated their calls/texts/FB wall posts, but I loved having my family with me to do a little bit of nothing together. 

Upon returning, we celebrated in a big way with friends at a local beer garden. Birthdays give us all a reason to get together, and I love that!

See all other Q52 posts here.

Photo via Rebekka Seale

Idea via Che & Fidel

Q52 Week 11: When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

Feast your eyes on that bottom gum. There are two tiny teeth poking through! I will miss the gummy smile but I have a feeling that toothy smile will be just as adorable.

See all other Q52 posts here.

Photo via Rebekka Seale

Idea via Che & Fidel

nursery tour.

Quinn's room was a labor of love in the literal sense by myself and so many people who love her. For now, I consider it complete, because I have no more projects in my back pocket. But that does not mean that I won't change my mind and add more and more! 

I should correct myself. I have decided to call this the 'baby room,' as Quinn is the resident for the time being, but should there be another child, Quinn gets to graduate to a big girl room, and K2 occupies this space. 

The tour begins now...

Quinn's changing table comes from an old friend. Initially, it was unfinished with wooden knobs. Aunt Tracy stained it black and added checkered knobs from Anthropologie. More on the art later. 

The chair. I love this chair. It used to be my Grandmother's rocking chair, and it used to be brown. Aunt Tracy spray painted it the most awesome color yellow. Giraffe from Target, gifted from Aunt Kat. The pillow and blanket can be custom made through Curly Hair Conspiracy.

Painting made by our friend Adam, and bean bag purchased for photography props, but ended up fitting perfectly in Quinn's room! The chevron blanket you see here was made with love by my friend Kristen.

See that extra door behind the bedroom door? That is the secret entrance to the next bedroom, where Quinn will move on up if K2 decides to become a reality. Wow, I really hate the color of those doors.

The ottoman was repurposed from an old ottoman/chair combo I had from Crate and Barrel. I found striped upholstery fabric online, took it apart, and then passed it onto Aunt Tracy to make beautiful. And that she did! That's Murphy on the bottom left. 

This very awesome elephant print was done by our friend Dan. Since making this one for Quinn, I have seen some other truly incredible animal paintings that he's done. He does them on brown paper bags, and they really are masterpieces!

hi!

The screenprints above were made by our friend Corinne. (Do you see a pattern here?) Both prints are mantras from Sathya Sai Baba, Neel's family guru. (He was raised Hindu.) You might recognize the "Love All Serve All" as Hard Rock Cafe's corporate motto. That is because one of the co-founders of the Hard Rock, Isaac Tigrett, was a devoted follower of Sai Baba. 

Vintage blocks purchased off etsy.

Dictionary bunting purchased here. 

Limited edition Dr. Suess print from Green Eggs and Ham, from a close friend.

Quinn's first bank, from our friend Danielle.  

My first attempt at pom pom bunting. It could be better, but it could also be worse. 

Shanti. You can find either her or Sneaky taking up residence on one of the many comfy padded spots in the room. 

This hat box is already full of so many loving gifts from our friend Lauren, of Curly Hair Conspiracy. We are so lucky to have her skill, and she is so lucky to have the cutest muse ever!

xx.

currently...

Can you even handle this?? Hat by Curly Hair Conspiracy. 

watching: I have really gotten into Hart of Dixie. Running an hour on the treadmill is much more enticing when I know I can also sneak in an hour episode of this show. Sadly, I'm mostly through the first season, and the second isn't streaming on Netflix yet. Next up, I'll be starting Friday Night Lights, at the recommendation of my good friend Anna. 

thinking about: Family. I love our little unit with Quinn, and cannot wait to add to it, but then again I can wait. Getting and being pregnant was not fun! We were one of the first in our group to have a child, so I will be very excited when everyone else starts adding to the brood. Soon, bringing Quinn out to eat with us will not be as easy, but the dinners will still occur until the kids start popping out. And I am one to have a serious case of FOMS (fear of missing something) when these things go on without me. 

reading: The Silver Linings Playbook. It's a quick and easy read - and I enjoy getting the book read before seeing the movie. I am a bit confused because the lead characters behaviors don't seem to be so much bi-polar as they are supposed to be. I see more OCD or Autism spectrum, but I guess the author gets creative freedom with that end. 

looking forward to: Florida!! One week from tomorrow, we leave for Ormond Beach. Just Neel, Mommy, and Quinn. In the end, we'll only have three full days there, but relaxing with each other and no specific plans or responsibilities seems so appealing. Well, that and the weather of course. 

making me happy: Lame, I know, but my success on the treadmill. Five miles per gym visit is my minimum! I am sticking with the training program app on my phone, Run 10k, which was formerly called Couch to 10k. It is helping me to increase my endurance over time, and keeping my weight off. I challenge myself to keep a decent pace (read: not fast) and I always try to match, if not beat, my 5k time. Since starting, I am have shaved over ten minutes off it! Once I finish this program, which culminates the same week as the Jersey Shore 5, I am considering attempting the 13.1 app to train for a half marathon!

Currently post inspired by Danielle of Sometimes Sweet. 

Q52 Week 10: Clapping!

What you see here is a baby so proud of her accomplishment to put two hands together! She still has a bit of learning to do in the clapping department considering her left hand is a fist, and no noise comes out, but they don't call them baby steps for nothing!

Quinn is wearing a hat from Curly Hair Conspiracy, a friend's shop of crocheted hats, homemade purses, and more! Check her out!

See all other Q52 posts here.

Photo via Rebekka Seale

Idea via Che & Fidel