Ladies Camping Crew

Ladies Camping Crew

Several weekends ago now I went on my third Swanky Boozers ladies camping trip with an amazing group of friends.  Our annual camping trips started as a bachelorette trip for my friend Li, and we had so much fun we decided it needed to be an annual tradition.  

We plan the weekend months in advance to make sure everyone can make it, and we pick out a new location, plan a group menu, and organize supplies. Everyone gets welcomed to the campsite with a shot of tequila and we don't mess around with our camp setup.  We have a group campfire circle, portable camping kitchen, stove, coolers, floating island and every emergency kit supply you could possibly need. 

This year for our third anniversary we had shirts made with our new logo, the Swanky Boozers Ladies Camping Crew on the front and on the back 'Tittie Bumpin' Across Cali' (as we are not allowed to high five or hug during our camping weekends, tittie bumpin only) as well as a listing of the campsite locations where we've stayed.  We joked that the next 5 years we will just have repeat Lake Jenkinson added onto our shirts as check out this years location!  We had a campsite ON the water with beautiful views, great hiking and gorgeous weather.  I have no idea how we'll ever top this years location. 

What I love most about these weekends is how relaxed and fun they are.  We play games, swim, hike, eat, talk, but it's all at everyone's own pace and we laugh, a lot. 

This year my girlfriend Janet and I headed off on an amazing hike all the way around the lake.  It was only about 9 miles, but took us up and down around little fingers and rivers surrounding the lake and past some perfect beaches and pretty cliffs.  When we got back from our hike the rest of the ladies were just starting lunch and we ate while dipping our feet in the cool lake and kicking back a bottle of beer.  Heaven. 

The front of our shirts.

The back. 

Our kitchen set up right on the lake. 

View from my tent waking up in the morning. 

Beautiful view from our hike. 

Happy Birthday B

B turned 34 yesterday and to celebrate I made him a delicious Betty Crocker confetti cake with vanilla frosting, red hots for the 34 and silver sprinkles to match the few gray hairs I keep teasing him about (he doesn't really have any yet, I just like messing with him.)  

Weeks ago I was throwing out different ideas for a party or fun dinner out, but he pushed back and said he just wanted a low key night with family, so that's just what he got.  We ate dinner at home, opened a nice bottle of wine, ate cake and then left Luke with his Auntie Becky and B and I went on our fist movie date since Bridesmaids which we saw over a year ago.  We need to get out more. 

We went and saw the new Batman Movie, 'Dark Knight Rising' which did not disappoint.  The special effects were amazing, the story line unique and twisted, and the ending, perfect.  

Happy Birthday B! 

Kate's Bridal Shower

Justin's aunts threw Kate a beautiful bridal shower brunch last weekend at The Six restaurant in LA.  They reserved the outdoor patio which was perfect for the occasion and decorated the tables with simple flowers and used cute burlap bags filled with soap as both the favors and place cards.  Towards the end of the brunch, Kate's fiance showed up with flowers for his bride and red long stem roses for each of the ladies present.   It was endless mimosas and great food, and I had such a great time connecting with Kate's awesome group of girlfriends and her new family.  Only one more month until the wedding!

Miner - Hey Love

My middle sister Kate is getting married in 5 weeks. In two weeks she'll be walking the red carpet alongside Zack Galifianakis and Will Ferrell for the movie premier of 'The Campaign' in which she plays Will's mistress, a hilarious snake wearing, crazy haired, redneck babe.  To top it off, last week her band 'Miner' released their EP and so far have had over 40,000 people stop in and give their tracks a listen.  40,000 people in ONE WEEK!  They also just won the LA Deli Artist of the Month and have been talked about on countless music blogs across the country.  Needless to say this new group is going places and it's well deserved.  Kate's fiance Justin (formerly from the band Fight From Above) is the lead singer and the rest of the band is comprised of Justin's brother Jeremy and his cousin Mandy.  The sound is folk-like, mellow and happy,  a perfect addition to my morning cup of coffee.   If you want to check them out you can listen here: http://www.thisisminer.com   

So with all that's going on in her life, I guess she'll have to save some time for band practice, as clearly, they'll be hitting the road soon and might even be putting on a show near you. Someone's going to be having the best month ever this August!

Congrats Kate and Justin!

Getting Organized

We're planning some major home renovations around here in the next few months and all of the planning and designing has me so excited and energized.   I have been channeling all that energy into tackling mini projects around the house, and hopefully my remaining to-do list will keep me occupied a few more weeks until we get our permit from the city and can start knocking down walls and building a new deck!

This is a sneak peak at what I've been up to lately:

When I found out I was pregnant with Luke, we decided to make our then home office into the baby room, and had to consolidate all of our office belongings into bins now stored in the garage and this armoire desk I found at Ikea.  Moving 300 sq feet into one tiny desk was no small feat, and for several months it was a jumbled mess, but now with the help of cute files, folders and containers, it finally feels organized and I love that all I have to do is close the doors at the end of the day to hide the clutter.

Say hello to our newly organized "junk" drawer.

   

I have been looking for a solution to the empty wall in Luke's room and recently stumbled across these cute alphabet flashcards from Anthropologie.  I strung them from twine and hung each card with a clothespin and it really helps brighten up his room.

His and hers organized closets.  Waking up and seeing our closets so clean and tidy puts an instant smile on my face every morning.  It also makes getting dressed in the morning a breeze as we can actually see all of our clothes!  If you don't already have velour hangers, you need to go out and buy them!  Not only do they hold up clothes that normally fall right off plastic or metal hangers (hello tanks, dresses, pants, silk anything) but they are thin, so you can actually fit more into your closet.

The Oakland Zoo

A Gibbon Monkey - by far the most entertaining animal to watch.

I have been dying to take Luke to the Oakland Zoo for months as I had heard really good reviews from other moms, and it's only a quick 25 minutes away from our house. Luke loves making animal sounds,  reading animal books, and is always pointing out animals and critters on our walks and visits to the park.  We finally had our chance to head to the zoo this past weekend with one of Luke's best friends, Owen, and both boys had a blast.  Luke was running around the cages, pointing at the animals and watching them intently.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much there was to see and do and we didn't even make it to the other half of the park where they have rides and a train that circles the zoo.   We had so much fun at the zoo that we decided to purchased an annual family membership, and I can't wait to go back!

B and Luke checking out the tigers.

Owen and his Dad. 

Staring intently at the giraffe's while they were fed their lunch. 

I was in love with the baby giraffe.

Elephants!

The head snuggle. 

My very happy boy chowing down on animal crackers. 

Splish Splash

Oh, my it has been HOT this week.  To keep cool, and to help us all sleep better at night we've been doing some nighttime swimming and it feels so, so nice.  Luke loves to swim and squeals with delight every time we go in the water.

Country Living

Pinapple Guava flower in Oma's garden - isn't it beautiful?

A few weekends back, B and I loaded up the truck and took Luke up to the ranch to visit his Oma and Papa.  Summer truly is magical up at the ranch as Oma has a crazy green thumb and an amazing fruit and veggie garden, greenhouse, chicken coops and goats!  Luke was getting a little cranky in the early afternoon so we got back in the car hoping Luke would conk out and  headed up the road to a close family friends house, Rich, to check out his new property and some of his latest projects.  Rich can build anything and has an eye for design.  Just check out the pictures below!

Oma feeding the chickens. 

Luke exploring the grounds on his bike. 

Papa

Oma's Goats. 

Petting a baby chick. 

The Crab shack Rich made for the kids from recycled bard wood. 

The inside of the crab shack, bunk beds and a desk -  a little house for  having friends spend the night. 

Gazebo Rich made with surrounding koi pond. 

The chicken coop. 

The custom porch. 

The bridge Rich built over the river to the other side of the property where the  veggie gardens are planted.  

The best way to plant beans!

Rich built all of the garden structures from upcycled supplies. 

Greenhouse and garden storage. 

Rows of raspberries and blackberries. 

The mushroom hut Rich made to house their water pump.  

Pretty Poppies.