mad hatters

listening to: the turtles

last week my friends and sister got together to have a fun tea party with our kids 

in lieu of the movie ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

it was so much fun!

all of the kids loved it!  as you see in the massive amounts of pictures i am about to post you will see how much fun it was...

AMAZING lopsided cake by wendy dear and lindsay sweet, sandwiches just like the movie lovely ashley made, incredible tea salad lindsay made, little tea-cups full of assorted candies by the dope wendy and other fun things!  the kids enjoyed their organic apple juice out of the large glass jar that was divided up amongst the bebes by their tiny tea kettle, and so many other cute things they did.  i wanted to just sit there with all the kids the whole time and enjoy how much they were loving that moment.  i am so grateful my camera was passed around so we could get everyone's perspective.

{L: ava and micah aka: alice and mad hatter; R: jadey bug and me aka: white rabbit and proud aunt that dressed her that morning}

wendy has such a great backyard.  swings and toys everywhere.

{L: kaden being kaden... so sweet and unpredictable!; R: jade trying to figure out why we are drinking out of fine china}

{the ladies! so candid...}

seriously... so cute.  she is such a girl.  i love that she wanted to be alice.

{L: indie being coy; R: shae aka: queen of hearts}

i love this picture.  the boys being boys.

probably pushing too hard, not being patient for their turn and eager to get a bruise

{R: jade.  can't get enough of her.  she fills my cup of having a girl on hold.  i love her so.

L: kaden took a picture of his mommy and me}

taylor and jade only a few days apart.

thanks so much girls for all of your help with this.  i randomly thought it would be fun to have a tea party with the kids the day alice in wonderland was coming out and they were all on board.  they seriously did most of the work.  thank you thank you thank you!!!!  love you sisters!

a few of you sent me emails saying you were going to do the same thing when i mentioned it a few weeks ago, and i would love to see your pictures!  let me know if it happened or will happen!  

loves xo

academy awards/oscars/awesome night

tonight is the oscars... 

currently up to que on the tivo, so i had some time to vent about the oscars.

one of my favorite things to do when i have down time, or go on a date, my choice would be to go to the cinemas.  el capitan is a theatre i still have not been to for a movie but think someday i will go.  

i am so enjoying the oscars tonight as i have seen a lot of these movies.

++ best quote of the night, "i love you more than rainbows baby." - the guy who won from "crazy heart"

++ so the actor from avatar has an accent? yeeeeeeessssss. um, thank you.

++ kristen stewart... nervous or sick or both or just really shy?
++ john hughes tribute... perfect.

++ i loved the dancing segment but i so wish i wasn't so critical when i watch any dance performance.  my eyes went straight to the dancers that were probably one second off.  i still enjoyed it.

++ blind side was one of my favorite movies and sandra bullock is one of my favorite actresses so i'm not going to lie, i started to have tears.  she looked incredible.  oh man, that was great she won.  i went to the blockbuster awards at that kodak theatre in high school and remember sandra winning - she is sooooooo goood.

++ that short film (picture below) logorama was brilliant. i want to see it. ever since working at the ritz, i notice which brand logos stay around and why.

++ oprah: looked amazing.  she needs to wear navy more often. pretty cool that oprah was an announcer.

++ the horror film tribute; great.

++ merryl streep; wow, woman of the night.  i enjoyed her display of grace and poise.

++ lovely bones; read the book but don't want to see it even though that guy won. creeeepy.

++ sean penn got up... my sister bree, "is something wrong with him?"

okay, well that is all.  i can't believe i just blogged about this.  

so unlike me.  

happy oscar night!

{images: here}

{simple}

"The sun rises and sets with us."

{Lauren}

- don't get mad, but i lost the link... sorry! 

possibly fffound...

grey giveaway!! - happy weekend!

listening to: the watson twins new album

little shop of shavs is offering another give-a-way!

last year she gave away a custom painting that a person won so this time she will be offering a banner like below...

she and i have worked on some weddings together and this particular wedding was featured in this years edition of REAL + SIMPLE WEDDINGS magazine.  she did mostly everything along with Aubrey Messick who did the flowers - all I did was give some decor as well as did the wedding party and bridal hair.  since this edition she has been so busy with lots of paintings, banners and even decorated for the bachelor's wedding!

so to win, comment on what you want the hand-stichted banner to say and why you think you should win.  shawna will pick a winner by next friday march 12th.

j-dawg update

listening to: cat power - free
my hair is dripping wet like this picture above.

this is going to be quick jack update...

so we are in the phase of the "why" ... "why did Jesus give me my hands?"... "why did you brush your hair like that"... "why is that man bald"... 

why questions like that.  it makes me rethink saying certain things to avoid the WHY or contemplate why things are the way they are.
that saying in Matthew 18 1:6 is such a great example of the relationship jackson and i have. he reminds me daily to be meek like a child in some way or form.

yesterday we were driving.  he rolls down the window and throws out his gum.  i asked him what happened? he said, "the window ate the gum and then it flew up to the clouds to Jesus and now he is chewing it; but he won't swallow it mom.  he will spit it out when he is done."
++ we have been working on not swallowing the gum he chews but he mixed that with whenever he has let go of a balloon i tell him the clouds ate it.  made me smile.

we are also in the fear phase.

he is afraid of everything.

especially villans in his favorite movies or his play spiders.

we also are into what he wears.

he wants to wear the same bear shirt, orange shirt and same sweater everyday.
if i pick out his outfit, he usually changes it.
good thing his only options are the options i've given him...

top three things i say almost everyday all day to jack are:

1. pull up your pants buddy

2. your head doesn't fit between the couch and wall

3. you don't need to say hi to every person that walks by

 this kid completes me.  he makes me want to have a slew of jacksons and just have this great life hanging out with cool kids all day talking about whatever.

he is one of the many reasons i will never feel a shortage of reasons to be happy. 

runner's block to block

listening to: regina spektor

waiting for my clients to get to class

at the studio.

so you know that movie YES MAN...

well i really liked it.

probably because i have developed some sort of girl crush, moderate obsession slash adoration for zooey.

there is a part that stuck out to me.

how corky she is.

she teaches a class of runners who like to take pictures.

so this past weekend when i was up north, i jogged everyday.

one of those days in palo alto, i brought my red camera.

{i didn't jog with my camera in the city because i was nervous of getting mugged}

these are so random... but i thought they were a tidbit interesting now that i'm looking at them.

{i'm upside-down tying my laces....}

it's no griffith park but i thought this hour long run made a few pretty pictures.

it's sooooo green in northern california.

i was loving the cherry blossoms that were in full bloom there...

more pictures from my recent travels will be posted...

my goal this year is to bring my real camera around.

eden

quote for the week:


"That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything it's value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price on it's goods."
-Thomas Paine