A Sign

The other day, some friends and I took a walk. At the end of the road, on a cliff by the sea, we saw 4 to 5 white doves perched on the telephone wires above our heads. It was such a strange sight, we were kind of in awe. We expect to see seagulls, pigeons, and other typical seaside fowl, not a tiny flock of pure white doves. But there they were, just sitting on those wires like it was the most usual thing in the world. We stood there and stared, trying to figure out if maybe there was a wedding or a funeral to explain their existence in our coastal town. We jokingly decided it was the end of the world and those doves were sent as a sign. A very logical explanation if you ask me....

A hand drawn rendering of the mysterious white doves:

Today, 2 days after seeing the white doves, I was sitting on the couch with the girls when Beatrice said, "hey, big birdie! What's your name?" I turned to look out the window and guess what I saw sitting on the railing by our front porch? AN EAGLE.

A connection was made right there. He looked into my eyes and he communicated something to me. It may have just been CA-CAW, but it was communication and eye contact with an eagle. Has that ever happened to you on your front porch? I'm gonna guess probably not...

Eagles are kind of like unicorns, except for the fact that they actually exist. They are rare though, protected, and seeing them is kind of special. You're probably not going to see one flying across the sky on any given day. So when one lands on your porch railing and looks you straight in the eye, you must ask yourself, does it have something to tell me? Do the birds have a message for me? Is this a sign?

I may never know. He flew away before he said anything else. I was totally dumbfounded about an eagle on my porch to check my camera settings. This picture is terrible, but watch him soar!

Tomorrow if I see an ostrich, it's the end of the world for sure.

10 Things

10 things I'm enjoying right now...

1. Chipotle cheddar cheese. Go to your grocer's deli and get some. If they don't have any, demand they get some. It's delicious.

2. Itty bitty biker boots. My friend gave these to Penelope yesterday and they are too much. She loves them.

3. Sister photo shoots that start like this:

And end like this:

And this:

4. Homemade pizza night. After a year of making pizza on my own, I've perfected my dough. It's all about how the dough feels and tonight, it felt perfect.

5. Our sunflower garden. My neighbor planted these sunflowers from seeds for the girls. They have grown lightning fast and skyscraper high. They are almost at their peak and soon, the squirrels and birds will feast on sunflower seeds for days.

6. My gray nails. I always feel pretty when my nails are painted.

7. A basketful of birch logs. I had the darnedest time finding white birch logs, but eBay saved the day.

8. The harvest spice tea blend from Trader Joe's. It tastes like pumpkin, apples, cranberries, cinnamon, and cloves all in one spicy, fruity hot tea. It's my nightly treat.

9. Matching sister braids.

10. These girls. Specifically, this wild monkey:

And this silly goose:

Lemons!

It's a been a few months since I've been responsible for keeping a fruit tree alive and I'm happy to report everything has been going pretty good! I've learned that my little tree doesn't like to be watered every day, a good soak every other day seems to be perfect. Also, it doesn't like the strong winds we have whipping down the hill behind our house so I have moved it in front of the house. Other than that, this little lemon tree is pretty low maintenance.

We picked our first lemon the other day! The tree has been covered with green lemons for months now, but there was 1 gorgeous yellow one that was finally ripe enough to pick. I let Beatrice pick it and we sliced it together.

It was tart and citrusy and lemony and perfect. It made a mean lemon water too. I'm so proud of me for keeping this little guy alive and healthy. I can't wait for the other 20 lemons to ripen!

Favorite Kid's Gift

A few months ago, I found the cutest thing at a children's store: a gummy bear nightlight. I bought 2 for my niece and nephew's birthdays, then got Penelope one for her birthday. They were a big hit with all the kids, score for Aunt Aly! Poor Beatrice was so upset though, she desperately wanted a gummy bear nightlight too. I told her she had to wait until her birthday, but I couldn't torture her for another month so I went ahead and ordered her one too. It arrived today.

 

The girls absolutely love their nightlights. Beatrice named hers Aurora and Penelope named hers Gummy Bear. They play with them day and night and think they are the coolest things ever. If you are looking for a gift for a kid, this will be a sure favorite!

New Couch

It's been an exciting week for our living room. I finally got rid of our old couch. Picking out a new one was pretty simple, and after careful consideration I chose this:

After sinking into the old couch for 6 years, I knew I wanted furniture with more support. This baby is firm and structured without being uncomfortable. No one is sinking into this one for a long, long time.

We bought a bold rug a few months ago so I went with a light gray couch. I have so much more to do in terms of window treatments, pillows, and decor in our living room - that's why you're only getting a glimpse of the new couch - but the light gray will go with so much, I'm excited about the possibilities.

The best seat on the couch is the lounger. It's long and perfect for sitting and lounging or curling up for a catnap. It can be positioned on either the right or the left side so it works no matter how we set up our living room.

The best part about having a new couch is just having a couch. I got rid of our old furniture back in July. The new furniture arrived last week. I'm not sure what lesson I was supposed to learn by not having anywhere to sit for 6 weeks, but all I know is the floor is hard and it's better to sit on a couch.

Hopefully I will complete all of the decorating details in the next week or so. Until then, we are loving our new furniture.

Girls' Night In: Wine and Cheese Night

Last week in Arizona, my sister in law and I went to a wine bar for our girls' night out. It was this swanky little place that served small plates along with their impressive wine selections. Jenny and I ordered the butcher block, a meat and cheese plate with olives, hummus, and nuts to complement our vino. It was so good, we gobbled every bite and declared it to be the only way to eat for all time and eternity.

I wanted to recreate that experience with my girlfriends here in California, but with traveling husbands, babies, and schedules to synchronize, going out was going to be difficult. So we stayed in and had a wine night at my house!

I don't formally entertain very often because the thought of preparing my home and food for other people makes me anxious. But, it was so simple, there was nothing to be anxious about. There was very little prep involved. I assembled groupings of food that traditionally pair well with wine. Everything was very simple, the only food items I prepared were the roasted asparagus, caprese skewers, and a cake. I laid everything out a few minutes before my friends showed up, turned on some music, and waited for the fun to start.

Wine and Cheese Girls' Night In Menu:

- Cheese, I served manchego and toscano
- Grapes
- Mediterranean olives
- Roasted asparugus
- Caprese skewers (skewer grape tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella on toothpicks or kabob skewers)
- An assortment of cured meats. I served salami, prosciutto, and capicola (tip: wrap the asparagus in the meat and eat it rolled up together)
- Artisanal bread with butter and/or pesto
- Caramel cake
- Wine

It was such a fun night. We ate, sipped our wine, and told hilarious stories until after midnight. And my friend Monica told us a ghost story that is still freaking me out and I don't even believe in ghosts!! It was a great night in and I can't wait to host another one! 

Master Bedroom Tour

Recently I totally redecorated our master bedroom. I wish I thought to take a before picture, but I didn't. Imagine lots of brown, red, and gold. This, of course, is the after.

It took me forever to decide on the duvet cover. Originally I wanted something with a wide yellow and white stripe. I found the perfect duvet at West Elm, but once I saw the Ikat (above), I couldn't decide. I went with the gray Ikat (obviously) and haven't regretted it once!

I am still in search of real art (instead of portraits of my children) for over the bed, but for now the portraits remain. I took the photos on the left and the right, my friend Sara Rose took the one in the middle. Canvases ordered thru Canvas People.

When I ordered the Ikat bedding, I decided I would make wide yellow and white striped curtain panels to incorporate some of my original design plans. My mother in law went to the fabric store with me and talked me into something totally different. I'm so glad she did because I love it. It's another Ikat print, but I figure Ikat is the new chevron and you can't have too much of either. Right?

If you're getting the idea that our room is really small, it is. It's really, really small. We managed to squeeze our giant furniture into it though with a tiny bit of space to walk around. For this reason, I try really hard to always make the bed and never let piles of clothes/books/junk accumulate. Small messes in small rooms make everything look even smaller and more claustrophobic. Ignore the small collection of things that do not go together on that dresser...photos of my newborn girls, a broken Tiffany lamp, an oscillating fan, and a leather journal. 

In search of more yellow things for this room, I came across this wood plank fabric and knew that I needed it. I made a simple quilt for the end of the bed. It's weird, warm, and quite possibly my favorite thing in the room.

Actually no, my favorite thing in the room is my DIY plastic elephant taxidermy. I made these a few months ago and they turned out exactly as I envisioned.

I bought a plastic toy elephant in the Toys R Us dollar bin, had my friend's husband saw him in half, glued each of his halves to cheap wooden plaques (Hobby Lobby), and spray painted everything metallic silver. I love, love, love this guy (and his bottom).

My nightstand:

JD's nightstand. Clearly I am more sentimental and read more...

Here is the other side of the room.

And that's it, our little love nest. It is tiny, but feels fresh and bright with the new linens and decor. There is a tiny closet that JD uses (not pictured) near the bedroom door, I use the larger one in Beatrice's room next door. We did the best we could with the little space we have and are pretty happy with how it turned out!