our new normal

Ok, so I have a LOT to catch up on. But I just wanted to upload pics from today. We're just now starting to feel normal again. It's been 3 weeks since our movers came and packed up our life in San Diego (that reminds me...I've got to come up with a new tagline for our blog name!) and now we're settling in back east. We're having a great time being back home. The heat doesn't even bother me right now, because, there's RAIN! And crickets! And so many other wonderful familiar things that make everything feel extra special.

We managed to move into our old house, and get everything set up for now. It's a looong road ahead - lots of house projects we want to accomplish. But we're totally loving the extra space. Emma literally runs around and dances in all the open areas. :)

Technically, we're still living by the 'water'. We traded the Pacific Ocean for the lake and even though we lived here before, it's awesome now with a little one! There is a 2 mile path around the lake, and a perfect tot lot just steps from our back door. We went exploring this morning before lunch.

checking out the ducks down by the dock:

Where on EARTH did she get those curls? And do you see that bow in her hair? Don't tell her it's there - she NEVER lets me go near her with one.

Putting the moves on Mason at the playground.

Enjoying the slide and the swing (or as she calls it, 'Whee!')

Poaching some sunscreen from Mason's grandma. She loves any kind of cream - she's definitely a girly girl. Just doesn't like bows!!

Checking out mom's shades. Hey - who's that in the reflection? hehe.

You may think I took this picture to show off her beautiful eyelashes. They are beautiful, but that's not what I was trying to show. I think hands down, one of my absolute FAVORITE things about my daughter, one of the things I hope she NEVER outgrows, is the thick, blonde, wispy layer of baby hair she has all over her face. It's so thick that it grows in two different directions around her forehead. It's so thick that it shows through the sunscreen. The hair on her head isn't super thick, but her baby hair is. I'm not sure if you can see the reflection of the sun on the blonde hair in the picture, but I wanted to remember it forever. She's my little fuzzy peach. I could just eat her.

And finally, she's still obsessed with those darn squirrels. Here she is following one up a tree as we walked back up to the house. What a great day!

Chronicles of the Hyper-Organized

Ok, so maybe the title of this post is a little misleading. I'm not really all that organized, let alone hyper-organized. But I do love a challenge!


Living in such a small space forces one to try to be as tidy as possible, and even more so - utilize wall space so that you can free up your surfaces. I thought I had found the perfect solution for organizing our daily ebb and flow of errands, doctor's appts, travel schedules, classes, work events, visitors, birthday cards, invitations, coupons, recipes, yada yada yada. I had my eye on this collection from Pottery Barn (ok, it was more like I reeealllly wanted it), but I couldn't justify the $400 price tag (for exactly what you see here).

So, I put my old college thinking cap on, and hopped down to one of my favorite places - IKEA. I put together a similar (albeit simpler) system that works pretty well. Grand total? $58.73. Not bad eh? (you can click on the image for a larger view).

The Arlington Girls: Next Generation

For the Arlington girls, it's now an annual tradition to get together during the holidays to get caught up and give hugs in person. It's usually the only time the three of us are in the same place at the same time.

This year, the three of us got together at Potbelly Deli in Bethesda, along with the next generation - Charlotte and Emma. I daydreamed on the way home that our kids will all carry on this tradition some day in the future! How fun would that be?!

Our new table! (sort of)

We bought this set last year off of craig's list for a great deal. It is an oak set, and while we weren't crazy about the color, it was too good to pass up. So just recently, we had it repainted and it made a WORLD of difference. The chairs aren't really my style, so we'll replace them someday. But for now, we're really happy with the way the set turned out and it really brightened up the kitchen!