Summertime and the Livin' Is Easy

I found these killer child-size sunglasses at Target and they are the perfect accessory to go with Ava's summer style.

We had a pretty low-key Father's Day around here. (Well, low-key by our standards I guess.) I barely finished cleaning up from my birthday party (my Father's Day gift to the hubs) but we had both my husband's family and my enormous family all over for some pool party action. We BBQd steaks and some of the chicken we had leftover and drank a yummy rosé. And I am so ready for some downtime.

Three Years

I can hardly believe it's been three years.



(I'll share more details from our wedding soon but while we're on the topic of marriage, you may want to check out {10 things} That Have Made All the Difference.)

Workout Wardrobe Makeover

Last week I was reviewing the expiration dates in my Groupon account and noticed that I had only five weeks to use the remaining 19 classes of a 20-class pass at a local gym. (Would you believe me if I told you I had gone to only one class the week I bought the Groupon and never returned? Sadly, this is true.) So I mapped out the four classes I would attend each week for the next five weeks. This is week two, and I have to report that my body was in dire need of this wake-up call. The Fitness Challenge had kept me in pretty decent shape before I went and birthed a child. And while the Groupon was meant to add some spice to the workouts I should have otherwise been doing, I had yet to really shock my bod back into high gear. So the Groupon is going to do it for me. Since last week, thanks to one particular Cardio Sculpt class (TRX bands, kettleballs, and handweights plus aerobic activity, squats, lunges, you get the picture), I have been sore like never before.

All this working out in public, however, has inspired me to look for a new workout wardrobe. I think a trip to Lululemon is in order...

If I wear these, will my legs look like this?!

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Champagne Cupcakes

A good friend sent me this recipe a few years ago and I've made them several times since. I whipped up a batch to bring to my birthday beach day with the fam. (I pretty much look for any opportunity to make cupcakes.) But sadly I forgot to bring them with us to the beach so we've been eating lots of cupcakes around here.

Festival de Cannes Pool Party Style

I had a little fun with Beso putting together this wardrobe for the party this weekend... What do you think? Would you wear any of these looks to a yacht party in the French Riviera?

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Birthday Beach Day

My 30th birthday is only a few days away, and since Alex is throwing a small fête with friends on Saturday and Father's Day is Sunday, we decided to celebrate with my family today.

One of my favorite things to do with my family is go to the beach. We have a great little spot in Half Moon Bay that provided the most scenic backdrop for a perfect, laid-back gateway to my thirties.

I take after my dad in a lot of ways, but it was pretty apparent I inherited his fashion sense when we both pulled out the same outfit (see my sweatshirt here) to wear when it started getting chilly. Father-daughter twinsies!

This one of my sis and I with my dad will make a lovely Father's Day gift.

Home Makeover Update: The Back Deck

Since we're hosting our own home makeover project, we're not going to limit ourselves to the view from the curb. We'll be taking care of a few other projects we've had on our to-do list since we moved in three and a half years ago.

Such as the back deck... The beautiful redwood hadn't been treated in years and was already completely sun warped by the time we inherited it. Our super trusty contractor just happened to have some free time on his hands so we enlisted his expertise to give the old gal a face lift.

(Of course, this does nothing for the green swampy swimming pool so we'll tackle that project next.)

Here's a tip for you... Rather than replace the warped and rotting boards with new redwood, which is twice the price of douglas fir, we're using the lesser-priced alternative since we decided to paint the deck anyway. A special deck paint can last up to eight years while you'd have to re-stain the deck annually to protect the natural redwood from the direct sun. We're all about low maintenance around here.