Vacation 2014, Part II

The contents of our week at home on vacation were quite different than a normal week here. Our fancy shmancy hotel vacation and our trip to Orlando transformed into a "STAYcation," over night. So not only was it a vacation for Ryan away from work it was absolutely grand having Ryan home all week helping me with the stay at home mom stuff (this also means sleeping in advantages).

We switched off mornings being able to stay snug in bed while the other did all the morning stuff with Lola. 

^ A perfect example of our Staycation. Sleep, Sleep, and lots of sleep!

This also worked wonders because Sims 4 just released the Tuesday of our vacation and I was getting antsy about staying up late some nights building mansions and becoming a master chef via Sim world. So it totally worked out and we got to pretend we were kids again, feeling like rebels staying up as late as possible AND sleeping in till' noon.

We also took a trip to SAM's to get some bulk shopping done. We went a little crazy, but our house needed re-stocking in stuff we use daily, so it was nice to get it all done in one shot and (bonus) it will last us for quite a while (green tea and cereal heaven). 

So the rest of the week we vegged and vegged some more, and prepared ourselves for the weekend ahead. We were taking our first overnight trip as a family! A while back we scooped up Frozen on Ice tickets because even at a very young age Lola adored the movie and Ryan and I had just visited our first Disney on ice event and loved it. So bringing Lola was a nessecity. We incorporated our vacation around that time and decided that getting a hotel the night before would be the best option for our busy baby schedule (and because we still think it's super cool to stay in a hotel, it also gave us an excuse to spend all of Saturday roaming Orlando.)

Which we did. We explored Seuss landing and went on the few measly rides that were 1 year old accessible, it was still a blast. We took Lola on the Hogwarts express and brought her to Diagon Alley because we just couldn't get enough, but Lola had enough. And after like 3 hours she was pooped, starving and ready to crash. Too be expected bring a 1 year old to an amusement park, how do you pro parents do it?!

Our hotel was smack dab in downtown Orlando which was pretty nifty since the Amway center was right down the street. Our hotel was super nice, and Lola had a blast (minus Ryan dropping us off to get dinner and Lola and I being hotel-less because I forgot the hotel number). Oh boy...that was a story and don't get me started on burger 21 burgers with a hefty scoop of guacamole....ew and our exhausted attempts of pulling out the futon from the couch... AND forgetting our frozen tickets all the way back at home and not realizing it till the night before....our evening wasn't the best, but it's pretty hilarious to think about now. 

The next morning we found a small place for breakfast, ate our bellies full, and arrived in the parking lot really early to let Lola nap before the show. I was so nervous that she was going to be a typical one year old...and she was. But luckily we purchased club seating which meant we had our own little zone and swivel comfy chairs. It made the whole process a gazillion times easier. We were able to stand up and bounce Lola when she got antsy and fussy, and the chairs kind of enclosed her in when she was actively watching the performance and enjoying it. So worth it, and she adored watching her favorite movie unfold with real life characters and real ice! (Well sort of real...). 

A Fairytale Space

One of my favorite rooms in our apartment is Lola's. Actually it might be my all time favorite room. When we first moved in, we had an infestation of german roaches. It was freaky and my pregnant self got sent over the edge. I spent a good 2 weeks over at my moms house, afraid to step foot back into our new apartment.

We moved here a month before Lola was born, so I was itching to start the nesting process. Lola was going to have her own room and that excited the creative crazies going on in my head. Lola's room was a sanctuary of sorts. Mainly because during the extermination of the roaches, none creeped into her soon to be bedroom. Mother Nature was on my side, because Ryan and I were able to complete her bedroom before she arrived (little did we know, she wouldn't use the bedroom until she was 3 months old). New parents...

We sleep trained Lola the day she hit 3 months old, and she snuggled up in her crib and never thought twice about wanting to come back and sleep next to us. But even as the months went on, she had little interest with her bedroom. I suppose she was too little to really adventure in her very own space.

When I found out what I was having, after I bought an abundance of little girly clothes, I started brainstorming her bedroom layout. I've never really believed in "themes" for a room. I never liked the idea of it, so my house is sectioned by color scheme. I like being able to walk into each room and it be a different shade of the rainbow. So I started simple and became totally obsessed with the, "coral peach" color.
Every where I went I brought her color palette with me (garage sales, thrift stores, IKEA, Target, etc.) Pretty much everywhere, and I bought a mixture of pieces that sat in my old childhood bedroom until we moved into our bigger apartment.

And once we moved...I nested...

nested...

and nested some more.

Each piece flowed wonderfully with the other, and it almost became this fairytale bedroom that I dreamt up. I even added some of my own personal touches (hand-sewn curtains and a dream catcher painting to hang above her crib).

Recently, Lola has a grown a fascination with her bedroom. I often catch her crawling in there, and she will play in there for hours, flipping through books or coloring. She's entering the exploring stage and it's so fun to peek around the corner and watch her discover this little space of her very own.  

Flipping the Pages

I love to document everything.
That might be why I started this blog. Before this blog I had a livejournal, that I started back in the high school days. Every once in a while I will sneak into the past and read some of those whiny, "I hate my life, oh my gosh he broke up with me," posts..and I laugh and sometimes I even cry. Those years were so cruel sometimes, but they made me the person I am and sometimes I like to meet up with that old me, especially when I have questions about my life now.
Documenting those years was one of the best things I ever could have done, and I'm glad that I have stuck with this blog for a 9 whole months now! I will appreciate this later, I know it.

When Lola was born I took a lot of pictures, like too many most of the time, whether it be on my phone, or my camera, or sometimes jerking a phone out of a strangers hands to snap a quick photo....(no, that didn't actually happen). Photos are important, but so are words. So I decided to take snapshots of Lola on her monthly birthdays and write about the milestones it held within.
Each month I signed into Shutterfly, plopped the picture down onto the digital "book page," and typed away. As her birthday neared I typed what was left of the 12th month and shut the book and had it shipped.
Shutterfly is such a great website for pretty much their whole selection of goodies. In the past year, I've made three photobooks with them and there is never a disappointment. Not to mention, they always have coupons (especially right when you have a baby, they load you up with free photo books).

Anywho, so the book arrived and I read it a bajillion times. I laughed and I cried and I couldn't help but long for those moments back, but I felt complete because they were right there, staring back at me in my lap. Each page held the most precious moments of her tiny life and all I had to do was turn a page and relive them over and over again. And someday she will go back and flip through the pages of her little self.

Right then and there, was when I made the decision to keep documenting, not just my life here on this blog, but Lola's life written out on pages.
So this year I will be documenting her life through here, monthly, and by the end of June next year a new book of Lola's Life as a One Year Old will be shipped for me to laugh and cry over again...and cherish forever.

If you haven't seen Lola's First Year, here it is:

The Knights at the Rectangular Table

Why is sitting around a table of people you love so heartwarming?

Ever since I can remember, I sat at the table for dinner with my family. As I got a little older though I always wanted to branch out and go finish my dinner in my bedroom, in front of the TV or laptop. And when Ryan and I moved into together typically the place to dine was seated on the couch or our bed (back in the real old days, when we lived with roommates eek).

Not until becoming a parent did I realize how essential it is to have this time together. Sharing a dinner behind a table was such a huge staple in my childhood and I never understood why it was such a big deal. I think it may be because the action of sharing food with the people you love will always be the number one thing that brings you closer to them. It's also a break from the world for a bit. Everything is so fast pace most days and this small endeavor slows the clock a bit and forces us to rewind with one another.

When Ryan and I moved into our very first apartment together, we collected A LOT of odds and ends. Mostly from garage sales and big thrifting adventures. We even found a table in the midst of everything and we thought, "well, we have a dining room...so why not?" It was a decently sturdy piece of work with a coat of solid black paint (not stain, mind you) with iron black poles from legs. It was a stunner. It did come with two chairs though, so that was a score. I got super crafty and reupholstered the stained cushions and was quite proud of us for even having a dining room table to begin with.
Until, we never used it. Well, no...we DID use it just not for the food eating part. It was a catch all for groceries and bills, a table for doing late night homework, an extra counter top (have I mentioned how tiny Park Place's kitchens really are?), and my sewing and cutting table when I taught myself how to sew, OH and we must not forget, it was the cats favorite napping spot.

That table followed us to the apartment we are currently in, and I despised the thing and ONCE again never used it. We were ready for an improvement, and just in time because Lola was beginning to eat table foods, which would in turn mean she must eat the food from the table!
Ryan set to work and crafted my dream table, and I might have fallen in love with him a little bit more because of it. I love when my pinterest fantasties actually come true.

So it took a while of adjusting to, and I sure did miss watching HGTV and chowing down on some grub, but the first night we sat down, all three of us at the table it was bliss. The TV was muted, our phones were somewhere else in the abyss and all we had was each other and our food, laughs, and empty bellies. We have made it a part of our week, every week to sit down at the table together at least 3 nights out of the week. This has also forced us to get back into a cooking routine, which is amazing because home cooked food will always win over take out.
 This table also brings back frequent memories of the last table. It still is a place that I use as a desk every once in a while when I don't feel like blogging in the bedroom, and the cats are in paradise since all three can basically fit on top for nap time now, and the catch all thing is pretty much a given....but it's wonderful and it's lovely how a piece of furniture can accomplish so many things.
Three cheers to conquering the mainstream routines of the folks in this day and age. I'm okay with living in a half old fashioned way once in a while :)

The Fresh Market

You know what makes me giddy inside?

Organic markets.

We have one close by to our house that we go in once in a blue moon (prices are...yeesh.) So it's pretty much a treat to stop by in there and grab all the greatness that isn't found in a local grocery store. The greatness on this trip = raw organic hazelnuts. My ninja has been really handy lately and becoming a daily used tool. With Ryan and I both exploring the concept of eating healthier, it's becoming my best friend in the kitchen. So I'm bringing scratch made to another level. Step aside Nutella.

Walking into the Fresh Market makes me feel so humble and cozy. The lights are dim unlike the eye scorching fluorescents in most supermarkets and there is always so some sort of smell that lingers throughout the store that kind of entrances you. Maybe that's their motive to get you to splurge to the fullest...hm. 

Well, I bypassed the lovely aromas and went straight for the nut bins. The nuts are all safely tucked away in their own little barrels with a silver scoop that tags along. I think that's one of my favorite things about The Fresh Market. The fact that little scoops and self serve centers are scattered throughout the store for coffee beans and candy and snacks.

I scoop my hazelnuts and weigh them. It's like 10 bucks for a bag and I'm sighing over the cart. Instead of doing the walk of shame to the register to purchase my overpriced nuts, I decide to peruse the market fully. Why not right?

The produce section was calling my name, so I ended up with a pair of the juiciest plums ever to enter my mouth. Then the walk of shame didn't seem so shameful. 

Oddly enough, no matter how much I spend at that place, it's always a necessity every few months to make my rounds and gawk at the gigantic apples and prices and still feel giddy about the rustic simplicity of it all.

Oh and the scratch made Nutella? FANTASTIC. So much yum in one jar. A super easy recipe will be shared soon.

    

Patches of Nature

After buying our new car we were so antsy to take it anywhere and everywhere, so a few weeks ago we headed out in search of a new journey with Lola. It was a Sunday evening and the sun was melting into the clouds as the day was soon coming to an end. We found ourselves at The Florida Botanical Gardens. There is something about gardens in general that make me feel so alive. Maybe it's the unconscious feeling that all the surrounding plants are actually living and breathing just like us.

Maybe it's my forever dream to own a garden of my own, with paths of flowers and tomatoes and citrus trees. Anywho, this place was magical in it's own little way and made us feel like magic.

The place was so empty of people and the hustle of the city life surrounding it. We took our time.

We raised our heads to gaze at all the different banana trees and we traced each and every plant searching for the charms it held within. 

We pushed forward to the flowers, the trees and even the several ponds that were scattered about the Gardens. Lola adored being surrounded by so much nature and even being one with it while she sat upon carved out tree stumps made especially for little tushies. 

The sun was just about gone when we decided to leave this humble patch of nature and escape back into the real world. I think the next time we embark on the Botanical Gardens it will be with picnic basket in hand. 

A Little Scorching Hot Mermaid Birthday Party

We decided to celebrate Lola's birthday on the Sunday before her actual birthday because we like to live our lives rebelliously. No, but really we did it because we were trying to escape the crazy Fourth of July freaks on the weekend of her real birthday.
Ultimately this means that we got to celebrate her birthday twice, which turned out being the best part of all.

I was super overly prepared for this day. I had like four big reusable bags filled with decorations that were packed a week in advance, we got the food and cake ordered on time and got all the drinks and food nicely set up in the car the night before so there would be no mishaps. My parents watched Lola while Ryan and I headed to Phillipee park to start the decorating process like 2 and a half hours in advance. I WAS READY.


But not really.
After an hour of being out there I was drenched in sweat (it was 11 AM people). My forever hatred of Florida remains deep deep in my soul. Also, after an hour of decorating, getting it all cute and super decked out the ferocious wind starts gusting through blowing all our hard work to hell. Literal hell, because it was 100 million degrees outside. sigh.
And to top off all that lovely excitement I go to take pictures and forgot my memory card at home, lost in the wilderness. Instead of having a mental breakdown, I sat down with my best friend and stuck a super fancy paper straw in a cup of Hawaiian Punch and let it all happen.

Guests start arriving and so does Lola with my parents. Everything is going peachy until all our guy friends start trying to wish her a Happy Birthday and the world probably ended just right then. She cried...and cried...and cried some more. And if any guy (yes only men) of any sort looked in her direction she started crying alligator tears. We scooted the guys off, with all their dreams of being Lola's favorite, to go play some sort of sport so Lola could actually some what enjoy her birthday party. And that she did, with sweat running through her wisps of hair and being held by Mommy or Daddy the majority of the time.

The last half of the party ended up being a whole lot better, thanks to melted cake smashing and icing face painting. She went to town on that cake and the world kept on spinning even with all the men spinning with it, and she started to be somewhat okay with that.
I was so happy to throw her a party and get all her family and friends together to watch her turn One (kind of). All the people that have been there for us this whole year and supported us through it all. You guys are truly the greatest and I can't wait for Lola to grow up knowing such wonderful people.
^ yep we got a play kitchen for a 1 year old. I couldn't contain myself.



Now as far as next year goes...I'm not too sure yet, but I have eternally vowed to never allow an outdoor party involving Lola's birthday ever ever ever again. Unless a pool is thrown in the mix. Time to get creative from hear on out.