Sarah's Bachelorette Party

Well, I've been on a bit of a bachelorette party kick these past couple of weekends, and last night was the last of 'em, at least until my next friend gets married!

We spent the evening in Scottsdale, starting with a little bath and beauty product shower for Sarah (so much Lush!) at our hotel, the Hotel Valley Ho.  I adore the Valley Ho, and it's one of the cutest spots in town for both a little stay-cation or a cocktail. It's a mid-century modern resort so there is eye candy everywhere, and around every corner there's something beautiful.  After we opened presents, ate some candy and toasted with pink champagne, we headed to dinner across the street at Grazie (delicious pizza, salad, and wine - highly recommend it), then spent the evening being silly in Old Town Scottsdale.

Overall it was such a fun night. I got to spend a lot of time with some of my favorite ladies having a super fun girls' night and laughing, laughing, laughing!  We went to sleep around 3:30am, and due to my "awesome" internal clock, I woke up at 6:30. Oh boy. The rest of the day was all about relaxation, and I definitely enjoyed an early bedtime last night.

I am happy we could treat Sarah to such a good time - she's such a great friend to all of us and it was neat to be able to have a fun night in her honor. Next up, the wedding! So excited.

Here are some photos-

Wonderful weekend/Mother's Day

 

{Mother's Day flowers from Hank and Henry}

Oh, what a weekend! I spent half of it in Phoenix, and half it at home, up here, and every moment was just lovely. On Friday Sarah and I spent some time working on a project with a crew from Samsung (more about this tonight) and had the best time. I can't wait to share!  We ended the night with frozen yogurt and I went back to my parents' with a happy heart and stomach!  I've written about Sarah a million times here, but let me say again how wonderful it is to spend time with her. She's been one of my dearest friends for close to a decade now and I am so appreciative of her. I wish you all knew her, because if you did I know you'd be nodding your head in agreement when I talk about what a good person she is. I love love love her. So yes, Friday was awesome, then Saturday I woke up and had a great early Mother's Day with my mama, sister and Henry. We shopped for a little bit, then ate lunch at Pita Jungle. I typically get the Macro Platter but lately have been into the Mediterranean Chicken Salad, so that's what I got. My Mom got a Greek Salad and my sister got the the Macro...and we all shared a hummus trio of course. Afterward I worked out, and then Henry and I headed back up the mountain home (we live about two hours away). Upon our arrival I was greeted with a huge vase filled with the most beautiful Mother's Day flowers! Hank did good. ;) We went downtown for dinner and ate tamales at Hugo's, then came home and relaxed. I went to bed feeling like it was Christmas Eve due to Mother's Day being the next day! It was my very first one, and Hank went above and beyond to make me feel so special, and all day long I felt like my heart was going to burst from a mix of being so happy, and feeling so thankful.  We started the day with cuddles in bed, and then we had a slow morning filled with a yummy breakfast and lots of lounging. Later in the day we went to the champagne brunch at the Sheraton. It was awesome- I think my favorite were the huge dessert tables, filled with eclairs and cream puffs and tarts and pie and cake...DELICIOUS. I had a taste of everything. The rest of my Mother's Day was spent at home- Hank and I finished a ton of "around the house" projects and we ended the day watching Life as We Know It. My choice of course but "my choice" was the theme of the day, so why not?! The entire experience of actually celebrating Mother's Day was amazing- I woke up to so many sweet texts, tweets and voicemails that I felt like it was my birthday. Being a Mom is the absolute best thing that has ever happened to me, and it was so fun to spend an entire day celebrating that. I already can't wait until next year!

Here are some photos from the weekend:

left-right: Tony filming Ethan in some AZ terrain; Tony/Ethan, part of the Samsung crew; playing tourist for the day; prettiest Suki; Friday night pre-frozen yogurt; Mama, Henry and me; Lauren and Mom at Pita Jungle in Mesa; me in one of my favorite vintage tops; hummus trio- regular, cilantro jalapeno, and roasted red pepper; Aunt Lauren and Henry; my delicious salad; Pandora knows me too well- one of my favorite songs off one of my favorite albums- "Cat Heaven" by Jets to Brazil; dinner at Hugo's; Daddy and baby; tamale plate- so good; Facetiming with my Mom on Mother's Day morning; a new spring hat; Greek yogurt, berries and granola, the best snack ever; spring cleaning and getting dresses picked out for a "Shop My Closet" pop up blog; Henry sleeping in his favorite new position.

and p.s. Have you entered the Paper Mama giveaway yet? It ends tonight! 

a May Day picnic

Yesterday my little family went on a wonderful picnic downtown. We got salad and pizza from Bill's, some lemonade (it was National Lemonade Day, after all!) and enjoyed a slightly cool afternoon in the grass. This weekend was the Whiskey Off-Road bicycle race, so there were things going on each day, from the day-before activities/booths, to the pre and post events, to the actual race itself.  On Friday my friend Lisa and I walked downtown and checked out the vendors, sampled some new Clif bar products, and enjoyed seeing all the fancy bikes. Today we managed to catch the tail-end of the event, and there were still some cyclists pulling in as we walked around.

Have I mentioned how much I love our little town? It's one of my favorite places in the world, and I adore the fact that we have so many weekend events throughout the entire summer. It's perfect here in during the warmer months- it never gets too hot, and the crisp mountain air is always refreshing.

Today we definitely felt some of that "crisp" air, and it was almost borderline too cold for a picnic, but we managed to find a spot with tree-filtered sunlight and the afternoon worked out perfectly.  We enjoyed our salad and pesto/tomato pizza, talked and talked, and really soaked in a wonderful Sunday.

Here's a video from our day today, and some pictures below too! If you're curious, the song is "Step Outside" by The Finches.  Happy Monday!

Wonderful Weekend (image heavy)

Oh, Sunday. Today is one of my most favorite days of the week and this one was definitely a good one. The entire weekend was actually pretty perfect, and I needed it, as I've been feeling a little off these past few days. My friend Adie always says that life has an ebb and a flow to it, and she's totally right- and a lot of the time my ebb and flow is a little too up and down for my taste, but I guess that's life. I've just felt a little down lately, a little sad, and a little "something" I can't quite put my finger on. I think this can be attributed to Henry's new wakeful period he's been going through, and rather than sleeping through the night like he has for months, he's been waking up a few times during the night. I'm thinking this is from teething, and I hope the poor little guy settles down soon, I feel terrible for him. And as for me, I'm tired, and that just kind of snowballs as each sleepless night goes by. Part of the problem was that I was going to bed at midnight or 1am, sleeping fitfully right along with Henry (waking to feed him), and then ultimately getting up around 6:30am. That is not conducive to a happy mama! So now, I'm forcing myself to go to bed at 10pm, and that way, at least I get a lot more sleep collectively. I already feel better so I think it's helping. I'm definitely going to continue the 10pm bedtime this week.

So other than my weird moods, things are really, really good. In my mind spring is short- summer is already on its way in and I can't wait. This weekend sure felt like summer up here in Prescott, and the weather was absolutely beautiful last night during our evening downtown. My parents were in town, so we did our normal dinner routine: Bill's pizza for salads and pizza, and a nice stroll around the square. The temperature was in the 70s and Henry was the happiest baby- he loves being outside. We also celebrated an early Easter, and my Mom made Henry the sweetest basket. Holidays are just so much fun with kiddos around!

This morning we woke up and went to brunch at the Dinner Bell, then came home and relaxed for awhile. Later in the day I went to the gym, and a combination of being outside and some hard cardio seemed to snap me out of the funk I've been in. I'm looking forward to having a really positive week and getting a lot accomplished. Some of the things I'm looking forward to: our new family room curtains arriving from Anthro, a hair appointment with Rhonda, and spending some time with some lovely ladies. So- here's to a great week!

Here are some photos from the past few days:

I mentioned before that Erin and her son Kyler came up Thursday. We had the best night hanging out, talking, and laughing. I've talked about Erin a lot on this blog, but we've been close friends since college where we met in our freshman dorm, and then ended up rushing the same sorority. We've had a lifetime of memories made together (11 years of friendship!), and when we got pregnant two months apart it was amazing to go through that experience together. She's the best!

Henry and Kyler

Saturday, celebrating Easter early with Grandma and Grandpa...dying over his ears!

later that evening, downtown after dinner (I wore the same thing on Thursday and Saturday, oh wellll!)

brunch this morning

bathtime tonight- I love how Henry's just lounging! haha.

and a collection of instagram photos from this weekend, too!

 handsome boy

Henry and Kyler, hanging out.

homemade salsa to go with Hank's enchiladas! SO good.

Henry and Auntie Erin.

 

homemade guacamole

making the salsa!

the boys the next morning

 my Mom and me at dinner- Bill's Pizza!

 Dad and Hank

large cheese pizza with Bill's sauce (half tomato/half pesto). So good.

 downtown strolling!

 

brunch this morning- delicious!

my new Cathrineholm bowl, THANK YOU MOM! :)

Hank cooking dinner tonight- he made the most amazing homemade sauce chock full of fresh veggies, accompanied with "chicken" and spaghetti. He is such an amazing chef and I so wish he would just start blogging all of the vegan meals he creates. Maybe one day!

Have a great weekend everyone! xo