The Best Kind of Saturday

This past weekend was wonderful. And it wasn't just Father's Day that made it so great- Saturday we had another fun family day that still has me smiling. It was our town's annual Tsunami on the Square, which is an all-ages, outdoor performing arts and culture festival. It's always so much fun and there is a ton to look at, which was great for Henry. There were people on stilts, people in costume, fire eaters, hula hoopers, and live music everywhere you turned. It was truly a visual treat for Henry, and he spent most of the day eyes wide, staring at everything around him. 

It's days like this that make me fall in love with this town all over again. When I was younger I always imagined myself living in a big city, people and culture and things to do at every turn. But I somehow ended up here, in this small town, and I couldn't imagine a better place to raise a family. It's not for everyone, but small town living is definitely for me.

Here are some photos from our day. And for those who asked on the last post and via Twitter, I use a Nikon D60 and almost always use my 35mm lens. I also tried out a friend's Photoshop action set on these images that I'll share more about later in the week. I might say this for awhile, but again, I am SO happy I'm been bringing my camera out and about. It makes me so much more excited to blog, and so much more inspired to stop and notice all the pretty little moments in life that are so easy to skim over. 

Here are some bits and pieces from our Saturday:
 

What a weekend!

This weekend was one of the best I've had in a long time. I think the extra-greatness came from a combination of finally starting to feel better, warm, warm weather down in Phoenix, and being able to spend two whole days with my family, both immediate and extended. My Uncle Brian and cousin Daron Grace flew in from New York and we spent the weekend eating way too much, looking at so many old, amazing photos, and catching up. My sister and I also decided we were feeling brave and took Daron shopping for some clothes. Keep in mind that she is 12-years old- that should help you make sense of the "brave" part. I had no idea it was so difficult to find modest length shorts for a little girl!

Saturday was also my sweet mama's birthday, and she turned 58! My Aunt Pat and Uncle Bob came up, and we all celebrated together with a big meal and a delicious ice cream cake. Afterward Henry had a bit of an early Easter and made out like a bandit, thanks to my parents. He's super into Elmo right now and my sister and Abe got him the cutest little singing Elmo doll too. He's a lucky boy.

Some of my most favorite parts- the long walk my Mom, Hank, Henry and I took Sunday morning, the Greek yogurt onion dip my Mom made, watching Henry get so excited over his new treasures, dinner at Nando's Friday night (I could live on guacamole), and seeing how happy my Mom was to be surrounded by almost all of her family. It was such a good weekend. 

We have a busy, busy week ahead and I can't say enough how excited I am to be (almost) back to normal. If you remember I had that crazy food poisoning in San Francisco, followed by that weird prolonged sickness, and then this whole wisdom teeth thing. I'm never, ever sick, so it's been a very weird past couple of months...and to to say I have a new appreciation of feeling healthy and happy is an understatement.

Here are some Instagram photos from the past couple of days. Enjoy!


my still swollen face on Day 9, Mexican food with the whole family, smoothies and shorts- it almost felt like summer! shopping with Laur and Daron, Lauren's "I'm done" smile, the guys and the dogs heading to the park to throw around the football.


the birthday girl, Carvel ice cream cake- so good! Uncle Brian and Daron, our 2nd frozen yogurt trip of the day, our big family Sunday dinner, and Henry zoning out while watching basketball in his new chair from Grandma and Grandpa.

this past week via Instagram

This past week...

I wore a lot of fall colors,

took Henry to our public library's storytime,

played games and sang Halloween songs with him,

treated myself to a delicious breakfast,

visited baby Zelia and her proud parents (mama Mary not pictured),

made up my own concoction of sea-salt dark chocolate raspberries,

laughed at my toothy, goofy boy and took a lot of walks in the cool mornings,

went to a dinner party at The Molines...

enjoyed homemade soup,

got in some Adie time,

Hank cooked us a delicious vegan meal,

we snapped lots of family photos,

enjoyed the gorgeous fall days,

had an apple slice dipping bar + Hocus Pocus night at our house,

and we bought our Christmas tree! Although we won't be putting it up quite yet!

How about you? Did you do anything fun this past week?

xoxo

Our weekend, on a Monday.

These past few days have been wonderful, and one of those weekends that you really don't want to end. It started off with Taylor Swift on Friday with Sarah. She had gotten us tickets months ago so it was really exciting that the day had finally come!  It's funny though because even though Sarah is one of my close friends, I had no idea that she was a Taylor Swift "superfan." I consider myself to definitely be a Taylor fan, but I don't know every word to every song, or even the story or meaning behind all of them.  Sarah definitely did, as well as every word she would say during the show due to watching so many youtube videos! ha! It was awesome. The show was great and I pretty much fell even more in love with the lovely Ms. Swift. She's so adorable and her sweet personality really shines through, even from the stage. The set design was out of this world also- I loved all of the various scenes and artwork, and beyond that all of her outfits were to die for.  Overall it was a really fun night and I went to bed with a smile on my face.










The next day Hank and I woke up early and headed out for a day of fall and winter shopping. My Mom graciously watched Henry, so Hank and I spent the day out and about, shopping and then lunching at Green. It was a ton of fun and we got a lot check off of our to do/to get lists. We got home later in the day and got ready for Chad and Michelle's wedding reception, then headed over. Michelle's Aunt hosted it at her house and it was SUCH a good time. Really delicious food and sweets, and I even got to reconnect with someone I hadn't talked to in years and years. It was fun to celebrate Chad and Michelle, and they sure know how to throw a party. Hank and I got silly in the photobooth, ate too many cookies, spent time with great friends, and drove home listening to top 40 radio. Success? I think so.

from Chad and Michelle's makeshift photobooth - they took an iMac and built a photobooth around it! So awesome.
the newlyweds





Sunday was family day so we did my parent's usual Sunday morning routine with them. Breakfast, then Trader Joe's. We picked up tons of fun things, including some delicious pumpkin cream cheese. Yum!  I can't wait until TJ's opens up here in just a few months. So many of my favorite things come from there, and not having to stock up every few weeks when we're down in the valley is going to be fabulous. So we shopped, then spent Sunday doing family stuff, and ending our weekend with the biggest vegan meal courtesy of my mama before we hit the road.

Fall at Trader Joe's! My favorite.

It was a great weekend! :) I hope you had a good one, too! xoxo

this weekend

We're back at home, winding down after a half-sad, half-wonderful weekend.  Yesterday morning my family and I attended the memorial service of my best friend's mama, and it was so hard, but also such a beautiful tribute to an amazing woman, wife and mother.  It was difficult to see my friend in so much pain, but I know it was really helpful to have so many loving faces surrounding her.  Any time someone close to you or someone you love passes away it's always hard to see the meaning in all of it- why people have to go through pain or suffering, why we have to lose the ones we care so much about.  To hear my sweet sister of a friend speak about her mother today was so moving, and made me think about life and time and so many things that we don't always keep in the forefront of our minds day after day.

Afterward we went to Green for lunch and ran into some friends, then headed back to my parents' so Hank and my Dad could go to the Cardinals game. We have season tickets this year (great seats!) so it was fun for the guys to go do that and have some "manly" time. ha. My Mom and I stayed behind and watched a lot of reality television and ate a Kashi Greek pizza. Perfect night.

This morning we woke up bright and early to do some laps at the pool and then went on our usual Sunday morning trek to breakfast and food shopping. When we're at my parents' we always do what they do- which is Starbucks, Trader Joe's and Sprouts. Sometimes Costco and sometimes Whole Foods. I'm kind of weird and really, really love food shopping so it works. Afterward we went over to the Loops' so Henry and I could hang out with his Auntie Autumn and the kiddos, and Hank and Jason could go down the street to a sports bar and do their fantasy draft. Have I mentioned that my hubby is sports obsessed? And I have I mentioned that he is on FIVE fantasy teams? Yup. Insanity. 

Now we're back home, the little one is asleep, and I'm gearing up for a busy week. I hope you all have a great Monday!

above: scarves makes even lazy days prettier; puppy/baby cuddles; IKEA; 7am and a peaceful pool; post-swim; sister sister; getting ready to lighten my hair; Autumn; my handsome frozen yogurt date.