His and Hers

I like quirky things. I like pretty things too, but if I have to choose between quirky and pretty, I'm probably going to choose quirky. It's who I am, stylistically speaking.

When I bought new bedding for our bed a few months ago, I knew I wanted some funky throw pillows. I shopped fabric and browsed pillows online, but I wanted to add a personal touch to our room. I considered monogramming a pillow, but then I came across the most ridiculous pillow set that suited us perfectly.

I ended up making these instead of buying them online. I wasn't fully confident that I could replicate them to my liking so I only invested about $10 into all the materials. Black felt, cheap white cotton fabric, and fluffy pillow stuffing. I made them in about an hour and they turned out perfectly!

They aren't pretty, but they are definitely quirky and I smile every time I walk into our bedroom.

Penelope is 2

Penelope turned 2 last Friday.

 

Her day was spent opening gifts, eating birthday pancakes, shopping, and smashing cake. If you ask her how old she is, she will tell you, "almost 3." She's a hoot!

I took her to the park tonight at sunset to capture some photos of her in honor of her birthday.

I can't believe my baby is 2! She is the most fun little person and I love watching her grow. She's the best! Happy birthday, baby.

Jesus On the Roof

We talk a lot about Jesus around here. Beatrice is old enough, and smart enough, to ask questions about where He is and why we can't see Him. I tell her everything I know, trying not to water anything down just because she is a child. He's a big and awesome God and I don't want to diminish anything about Him just because she can't grasp much of what I'm saying. It will penetrate her heart and she will always know His character and might, in the Name of Jesus!

Anyway, the other day we were watching one of their Bible movies and Beatrice asked if Jesus had seen her movie. I told her yes, He can see all things so He has seen the movie. She thought about it for a minute then said, "well, I haven't seen Him in our house, He must be on the roof watching it."

I guess He could be on our roof, He is omnipresent after all. I love her sweet, innocent, and curious heart and how she is trying to figure it all out.

Seek Him out, little person. He's knocking at the door of your heart - and hanging out on our roof.

People Like Balloons

About a month ago, I asked Penelope what she wanted to do for her 2nd birthday party. She thought about it for a minute and said, "ba-woons! Peoples wike ba-woons! And cake! Peoples wuv cake! Juice! Babies wuv juice! Can I drink it? Jump!! Peoples wuv to jump!" It was the sweetest thing, I actually cried. I texted my friend, Carlie, and told her about Penelope's ideas. Her little girl is 4 days older so we wanted to do another joint party for them. Carlie immediately started planning the girls' balloon-juice-cake-jump party.

Penelope really wanted to jump, and jump is what she did!

Mama even got in on the jumping. Check out my sweet moves!

Jumping was not a great idea for me. Right after, I felt totally seasick and got a headache. Boo.

The party was in a little park near Carlie's house. She did all of the awesome decor and most of the food, I brought pesto orzo salad and cupcakes. It was really great having the party somewhere other than my house. I had no stress about preparing anything or being a great hostess, everything was ready. Poor Carlie may not be able to say the same, but she is a great hostess and always throws fun and lovely parties.

These 2 friends had such a sweet, fun party. All of our friends came and we ate, jumped, popped balloons, and celebrated our almost 2 year olds.

 

This girl knew just what she wanted for her birthday party and it was perfect!

Popsicles Saved the Day

We went to the zoo today. I thought it would be a great day to go since it isn't super hot yet and L.A. schools are back in session. My GPS took us on a crazy route that added about 20 minutes to our drive time after hopping on and off the same freeway twice. It was weird and annoying and I was kind of in a mood when we arrived.

It was so hot and crowded. I wore a maxi dress thinking it would be cool and airy if it got too hot. It wasn't cool and airy at all, it felt like I had a sweater down to my ankles. I was hot, my feet ached, and the animals were all in heat or something because we saw many, um,  displays of affection. Lots of animal anatomy just hanging around, begging little kids to ask, "hey mommy, what's that zebra got down there?" Weird.

The girls had fun despite the heat, the crowds, and the x-rated exhibits, but I was so glad to be home. I remembered I made strawberry, lime, and black pepper popsicles last night and couldn't wait to try them.

I didn't tell the girls there was black pepper in them until the very end. I wanted to see if they liked them without knowing the mystery ingredient. They loved them, we all did.

They were the perfect treat after a hot day of watching zebras get it on.

Popsicles saved the day!