knit + crochet design week: sneak a peek.

hello! happy sunday afternoon!

i'm thoroughly enjoying my afternoon sketching and getting things prepared for Knit + Crochet Design Week... so much so that i had to give a little sneak peak at the little sea cuties that are appearing on my page. i started rough sketches awhile ago and am now picking a few out a few to focus on for the week. i'm kind of already in love with these little guys ♥

i got a new friend today.
i'm very happy.
love.

making christmas. week 1.

hello friends!

this past week i began all of the planning and preparations for our holiday season here at the taylor flat. i love this time of year. last year we did so much traveling in november that putting time into our holiday decor (and then turning right around to spend two weeks in indiana) didn't really make too much sense. especially with a 6 month old little miss who wasn't terribly interested in christmas just yet but...

this year is completely different! this year we are staying home and celebrating thanksgiving together as our little family of 3. this year we are starting our own traditions. we have the unique opportunity to stop, reflect, give thanks, and dream a little about our future too!

i feel so blessed that we have the ability each year to celebrate christmas at my parents'... their home is always so amazingly decorated, and tends to feel more like home to me than our tiny apartment. but this year i have the time to make christmas at our house!

so for the next few weeks leading up to christmas (can you believe there are only like 5 left!) i'll be sharing how i am 'making christmas' at our house. each week i plan to do a 'vignette love' recap post, share projects, and hopefully i can help share a little inspiration this season on how you can make christmas at your house without spending lots and lots on new decorations (no matter how much those target christmas aisles tempt).

as i said, this week was all about getting a solid plan together. we pulled out our two boxes of christmas decor from storage. i have a feeling we'll be putting more than two boxes back... but i'll worry about that later. :)

i started clearing some of our spaces and pulled some non-seasonal non-essential bits and pieces to be packed up in the christmas boxes to make way for  holiday vignettes.

i made goal lists that i felt were reasonable without overloading myself with too many projects... which is something i love to do. bite off more than you can chew much? i do! i made some recipe plans for thanksgiving weekend and grocery lists.  i wrote a plan for each room in the house and a supply list for all of the projects on my queue. oh, and gift lists!

later in the week i started working on a few of the diy ideas and patterns i've collected to experiment and see how long some of them would take. i'll share in more detail a little later but i LOVE the 'simple statement wreath' pattern by Good Knits. wreath #1, huge success!

and then to wrap up the week, on saturday we took a trip to the craft store.
i'm sure the first trip of many! hehe.

what's on the agenda this week? thanksgiving for sure. did i mention the 5 whole days little miss and i get with our most favorite? so happy. ♥

also...

cleaning. cleaning. cleaning.

(can't put nice new handmade decorations on dusty shelves!)

complete project list for little miss's room.

find a tree!

i hope everyone is having an amazing season so far and enjoying some time with family this thanksgiving week!

love.

vignette love: what a week.

 

  

  

 

besides my christmas planning (and birthday shopping) this week...

little miss had a doc visit, and some vaccines. not happy.

lots of teething, drooling, and sniffles 

(can't wait to try her amber necklace when it gets here)

a sick pup (roxy is much better now, thanks!)

a broken needle and other clumsy mishaps
tested a few diys for 'making christmas'
some harajuku mini shopping
(you know to help make the teething hurt less and make up for the shots)

despite the teething grumpiness we did have a great week. little miss turned 17 months old this week and every day i'm surprised at what a smart cute little girl she's becoming. i know i say this all the time but she learns things so quickly and comes up with things that just crack me up.


i'm very excited to start a series of posts for the holidays... 'making christmas' week 1 will be coming tonight!

love.

par for the course.

today has been one of those days where somewhere in the middle of cleaning up after a sick dog, chasing and soothing a cranky post-vaccine little miss, and dropping or breaking just about everything i touch... i have to sit back, surrender, laugh a lot, and take life as it comes.

tomorrow is a new day.

love.

vignette love: the palace of fine arts

before leaving san francisco we made a quick stop for a snack at one last scenic spot, the palace of fine arts. i was really hoping we would be able to squeeze this into the trip and was so happy that we did (well, so happy we missed a turn and were dumped right into it's gorgeous lap!)

i learned about this place from joe when we first met... he had shot a wedding there during drydock for the pride of aloha. the footage he shot and how he edited it together made the place look magical and i knew i wanted to see it in person. i was not at all disappointed.

we enjoyed a mango and some time relaxing in the sun...
then did a walk through the pergola and rotunda.

 

it was such a beautiful day and the perfect end to our trip.
love.


*all photos taken in "retro" preset toy camera mode using vignette for android.

how to road trip with a toddler.

choose a travel buddy.

bring something for everyone.

pack refreshments.

be courteous.

make a few unscheduled pit stops.

prepare for a few breakdowns.

turn distractions into learning opportunities.

savor every moment.

 757 miles.

14 'ish hours.

good conversation.

lots of giggles.

a few road blocks.

piggies all counted.

many car naps.

i know travelling with a toddler isn't easy,

but it's getting to be so much fun.

love.

vignette love: falling for asbury park.

hello friends.
today was an amazing day and as i've had to retire my canon rebel (story coming soon...) it's a perfect time for me to start sharing some our adventures via vignette (my droid's version of instagram).

today we went on a scouting mission to asbury park. it's about 1 hour south of us on the jersey shore (2 by train) and it's the cutest little beach town we've visited in a LONG time.


we took a stroll on the boardwalk... LOVED the art on the old abandoned casino building and the artsy/surfer/vintage vibe of the whole place.


stopped for a fruity drink...


we ate at Langosta Lounge. we shared the Sahtki Tuna Wrap and Pop's Burger which was amazing! grilled pineapple, grilled onion, jalapenos, & chipotle mayo on a cheesy burger... yum!


after that abby and i checked out some surf shops...


and the little waterpark on the boardwalk for kids. we didn't play this time because we needed to get back home BUT i can't wait to take her to it. there is also a cute little playground area right on the beach that's sectioned off for kids. like the beach could get any cooler?

so we actually went down today to look at a couple of potential places. no decisions have been made and we are seriously weighing on the options because the commute would be killer for joey but seriously it was hard not to fall hard for this little lady...


i don't want to share too much and jinx it... we could also totally decide it's just not the right move logically for us right now, but she really does have everything we need. yard, washer/dryer, enough space, garden, established compost area! a little place to call our own and have a real sense of home until we decide where in this crazy country we really do belong permanently.

maybe it's asbury park? little miss seemed to approve of the place...

(not sure what she was telling me at this point but she was very emphatic about it!)

other things i loved about asbury park: concerts at the stone pony, another park about 3 blocks from the place we LOVED, so many consignment/thrift/antique stores as we took a drive on main (really wished we had time for a little thrifting fun for mommy!), so many cute bed & breakfasts for our family to enjoy... oysterfest... lots of seafood, ice cream, tacos, & other tasties...

ok. time to start getting objective! hope you all are having a great weekend so far! tomorrow promises to be a lazy day at home, then a trip to the laundromat (ugh, seriously despise that place)... i'm sure we'll spend the whole time talking about how wonderful it would be to live in a house with a washer & dryer.

love.