Prayer

Red balloons for ryan

I heard about little Ryan on my Instagram feed. It was a repost from someone I follow and I clicked through to read about this little boy in LA who got hit by a truck running into the street to grab a frisbee and my heart broke. I couldn’t stop tearing up. all. day. His mother is baby boy bakery – a lover of food and love and life, and above all, her little boy. And just like that her little boy was gone. At only 3.  I could not imagine what she and her husband are going through right now. To get a phone call about an accident that took your son’s life. Puke. Over the years you hear about horrible accidents that involve young children. On the news, through friends, through Facebook, etc. But for some reason, this one hit me hard. Maybe it’s because I have a son now, a part of me walking around. A little creation I love with all my heart & soul. I don’t know how I would be able to function if something happened to Jace. We said a lot of prayers for this couple this past weekend, and released red balloons on Mother’s Day in honor of little Ryan. I was happy to be a part of this community for Ryan, and hope his parents know how many hearts this little boy has touched. His smile, energy and little face will be remembered always. Love is being outpoured onto this couple from all over. Including this house in Santa Cruz.

 Every day is a gift. Every moment. So, say I love you and enjoy the little things. Every day.
May 14, 2014 by
Aptos, Cheryl

Mother’s Day on hidden beach

I loved going around town this past weekend with Jace and Rob and hearing strangers wish me a Happy Mother’s Day. I obviously know I’m a mom now, but to hear others acknowledge it is surreal! I love that I have a mini person. I love when he locks eyes with me and smiles. I love that I carried him for 9 months. I love when he nestles into my nook for cuddles. I pretty much love being a Mom. Jace’s Mom. And it’s only going to get better. For Mother’s Day this year, we went to one of our favorite beaches here in Santa Cruz: hidden beach. I sure do feel prettier when I have a base tan, so I wanted to get my tan on. We packed a little picnic, Jace’s toys, our beach tent and spent most of the day soaking up the California sunshine. The beach was so white and clean. The breeze was warm. The water was gorgeous. It was the most perfect day with my two men. To all you mommas out there, hope you had a nice Mother’s Day!

{He only got fussy a couple times. Nothing we can’t handle though ;)}
{Did I foresee this or what?! Jace is totally a mini Rob}
{more of that watermelon beer — obsessed! Pardon my boobs.}
May 13, 2014 by
Food, Friends

A summer charcuterie with friends

We recently had some friends over for an afternoon of charcuterie. They, too, just had a baby {6 months ago}, so we were excited to finally see them and introduce the babes. Rob and I love a good charcuterie plate, so we went to Trader Joe’s and went a little crazy. I wanted a summer-themed charcuterie so I made sure to pick up a lot of fruit to complement the cheeses and meat. We were cutting it so close to time that I didn’t quite get everything out that I wanted to, but, after looking at this spread, I think we did ourselves proud. This “snack” actually turned into our dinner. We paired it with a few different beers, sparkling water and good conversation about Ireland, parenthood and future get togethers.

{Jace & Everly!}
{Jace and his bubbles!}
{That watermelon beer again that I’m obsessed with!}
May 12, 2014 by
Friends, Giving Joy, Oakland

Doughnut Dolly & a birthday

While we were in Temescal, we stopped by Doughnut Dolly for some amazingly delicious, filled-to-order doughnuts. I decided on a combo of the naughty cream and strawberry jam ..  and then watched the {sweet} owner, Hannah, inject my doughnut with both. The naughty cream, in case you’re curious, is a vanilla bean cream. Seriously incredible. Later in the day we actually went back for more, but they sold out by 2pm!  Doughnut Dolly, please open up a shop in Santa Cruz! I will work for you for free if you do.

We took our cream-filled doughnuts and iced coffee out to the patio and cheered to Loni’s birthday — May Tird! ;)
{the birthday girl! Love you Lon!}
May 9, 2014 by
Favorite, Oakland

A book signing with Lisa Congdon

After Temescal Alley, us girls zipped up a few blocks to College Ave. for a book signing with illustrator and blogger, Lisa Congdon {and her dog Wilfredo, too!}. She’s illustrated for biggies like The Museum of Modern Art, Martha Stewart, The Land of Nod, The Obama Campaign and more. She has some mad hand lettering skills, among so many others. And I got to see her hand lettering in action as she signed my copy of Whatever You Are, Be a Good One — and with a sharpie! Lisa is down-to-earth and warm and flat out a happy person. So inspiring!

After we immediately went to the flower shop down the way and picked some pretties out. Guess we were inspired for some more color in our lives, ha.

May 8, 2014 by