18 Months, A Visit from the Stomach Flu (again) and Random Updates from the CD Household

 I found the above card on Pinterest the other day and it literally had me laughing out loud.  B is notorious for never remembering where he put things and is constantly asking where I "moved" his things.

 Luke is 18 months old and as cute and clever as ever.  He loves to play with his cars, listen to music and play in his pop up firetruck.  He is very vocal and demands that you "sit down" as he pats the spot on the floor next to him.  He loves all things Sesame Street and nothing can put him in a trance quite like Elmo's World, a gift for those moments when I just need 10 minutes to myself.  He's eating with a spoon and fork and his favorite foods are pasta, applesauce, Cat Cookies from TJs and my broccoli and cauliflower soup.

He loves to grab sunglasses off our faces and put them on himself.  I got the below pink heart shades from a girlfriends bachelorette party and Luke rocks them around the house.

 Luke loves to go outside and constantly stands by the sliding door with his hand on the glass looking up at B and I with the most adorable puppy dog eyes as he repeats over and over "owside mama, owside dada."  He then runs back and forth, sometimes stopping to pick a tomato or two, and then he's off again exploring and getting into the dirt, bark or rocks - he's such a boy.

 My mom and Jeff came out a few weekends back to watch my sister race in the Nike Women's Half Marathon (GO BECKY) and Luke was eating up all the attention and cuddles.

 This past weekend we got a surprise from the stomach flu and Luke spent all of Friday night until early Saturday morning, throwing up.  It was heartbreaking to see his little face as he was so pale and tired.  We had our last wedding of the year on Saturday but I stayed home with Luke and was so glad I did.  He had a rough weekend but thankfully by Sunday night he seemed to be feeling better.

Our house addition plans are still sitting with the city for approval so we've been working on some smaller projects we've had on our to-do list while we wait, like getting a better storage system for the living room.  I have been talking about built in bookshelves for about the last 5 years.  When we first moved in to our home we bought the brown and black shelves below from Pier 1 to use as a temporary solution, but it took us 5 YEARS to finally put in what we wanted.  The bookshelves didn't bother me as much until Luke started getting into everything and we had to put the baby fence along the whole wall to keep him out of our stuff.

While my mom was here, we had custom cabinets built with doors for the bottom and on top, adjustable shelves going all the way up to the ceiling.  They then painted the whole thing white and we had to wait 8 days before setting anything on the shelves so they could fully dry.  I am almost done putting the room back together and will post pics of the completed shelves soon.  It looks 100 times better, and the baby gate is gone! WooHoo!

 Lastly, here's a sneak peak at Luke's Halloween costume (please disregard the cabinet hinge he's chewing on)...

Santa Barbara

We've had quite the busy wedding season this year, and this past weekend was spent celebrating our friends Dee and Drew in a beautiful ceremony at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.   My sister Becky and SIL Stacey offered to watch Luke while we were gone so we could make it into a mini kid free vacation.  It was definitely a treat and B and I had the best time.

Friends with the Bride and Groom

B went to school in Santa Barbara and this was the first time we had been there together.  He showed me around the old bar he used to work at, all his old local hangouts and where most of his college stories took place. 

Butterfly Beach

We had a fun dinner out with friends at Brophy Bros on the harbor on Saturday night and then headed to State street for drinks.  I definitely felt OLD visiting all the bars along State Street as it's dominated mostly by college students and probably a few high school kids as well.

On Sunday Blake took me to the Biltmore for the fanciest, most delicious brunch of my life.  We sat and ate for almost 3 hours at their all you can eat buffet and sipped on Bloddy Mary's and Mimosas.  They had all of my favorite things, gourmet cheese platters, crab legs, sushi, every bread imaginable, caviar, shrimp, all the staple breakfast items and a dessert bar that still has me dreaming.  I made it my mission to eat enough to hold me over the entire day, and succeeded.

My first of 6 plates              Individual Pots of warm chocolate for dipping        "Birdy" Mary and Mimosa

The wedding was Sunday afternoon and they could not have picked a more perfect day or location.  The Santa Barbara Historical Museum was the perfect backdrop for their Mexican-Italian themed wedding and the 15 YEARS they have been together was evident when no one there could really identify whether they should sit on the bride or grooms side as their friendship circles are completely intertwined.

Ceremony in the courtyard shaded by trees

Mr and Mrs Iacopelli

Friends

Prom Photo with the gang

Not only did they have a delicious candy bar, they had a mustache bar, seriously. 

Announcing the bridal party -- all wearing Mexican wrestling masks and mustaches

The beautiful bride

Yummy cake and cute toppers

15

I was 15 years old when my brother was born.  I remember being so excited when my dad and step-mom told us the news they were expecting, and then the first time I held him and feeling so proud to be his big sister.  He was a beautiful baby, happy and easygoing and everything about him amazed me.  Living across the country from him and watching him grow up through pictures and bi-annual trips to Minnesota was hard, but it was also fun because every time I did see him he was in a different phase, bigger, smarter, and with new interests.

Adam has continued to amaze me, with his smarts (he skipped a grade and still manages to stay at the top of his class),  his interest in worldly events, his empathy and kindness towards others and confidence in himself even from a young age.  He's just a really great kid.  

This past year and a half has been so fun watching Adam interact with Luke.  Adam is so good with his nephew, and watching them interact together brings me back to the days when Adam was little.  Luke has been drawn to Adam since the first time they met, pointing and smiling up at his uncle, and I know their relationship will always be special.

So, shopping for a birthday present for my 15 year old brother was tough, but in the end, I modified an idea I found on pinterest and did the following:

1. Cut out numbers/letters/design from card stock to use as an address label

2. Gather an assortment of small water balloons or the long skinny balloons

3. Set aside bills in the amount your comfortable gifting. $1's work great if you have a large box to fill
4. Roll each bill and insert into a balloon before blowing up with air
5. Blow up enough balloons to fill the entire size of your box

6. Tape a note to the top inside of the box with instructions and a safety pin to pop the balloons.

Happy Birthday Adam!  I love you and am still so proud to be your big sister.  

The Cage

Happy Friday!  I thought I would share a project we completed a few weeks ago, a new railing and gate for our outdoor living room (aka the cage).  Luke loves to be outside and wander around the backyard.  We installed an AllSafe pool net the second Luke started crawling as an extra safety precaution from the pool, but the truth is, there are lots of other things for Luke to get into aside from the pool.  So, a few weekends ago we had the railing built and installed all around the perimeter of the room and I have to say, I am really happy with the way it turned out. (To see what it looked like before, check out this past post on our Outdoor Oasis.) It makes the space feel more like a room, and it gives me extra peace of mind knowing there is an extra layer between Luke and the pool, (and bark, dog poop, and our plants).

Luke seems to really like the space too and we can now all sit outside without B or I hovering over Luke while he plays.   It also doubles as a dog gate to keep the dogs away if we're eating or playing on the floor.

On a side note, the last time we were up at the ranch, we were looking through B's parents storage barn and came across some goodies; the two wooden chairs tucked into the table in the above picture, and the cute little rocking chair.  They looked pretty warn and tattered, but a few rounds of sanding and a fresh coat of white glossy paint fixed them right up and they're a perfect size for Luke and his buddies.

We also grabbed the below pot from a pile of trash and after scrubbing it with some soap and water and spraying a fresh coat of paint it looks good as new.

Before                                                                            After

Score!

Have a great weekend!

A Moroccan Inspired Wedding

Saying their vows

This past weekend, B and I went to an inspiring Moroccan themed wedding at the Castlewood Country Club in Pleasanton perched high up on a hill overlooking the valley.   Our good friend Yasser married his love Sandy in a short and sweet ceremony followed by a really fun and unique reception.

The cocktail hour was hosted in an outdoor patio over looking the valley with mini  rooms for sitting and socializing. 

Towards the end of the cocktail hour, they brought out Hookah's all with different flavors of tobacco.  Such a fun touch for their theme.  

I loved the warm glow cast in the reception hall and all the candlelight. 

The tables were set with fresh pomegranates, raspberry branches, fresh dahlia blossoms and beautiful lanterns.   Each of their guests also got a jeweled box filled with chocolate. 

Cake cutting

Not sure how the light beam got there, but here's B and I relaxing from dancing on the pillows. 

First dance as husband and wife.  Congrats you two!