block party

 

i love this city...the more i explore, the more my love affair with it grows. the food, the festivals, and most importantly, the people. people who love to support new ventures to bring its community and businesses together. it really is amazing to watch.

 

last friday, we met up with one of our friends to check out h&8th (one of my big time festival favorites) and took it all in. bonus? bleugarten and ocu's school of law opening got in on the event which made for an even bigger block party. more music, adult-sized games (jenga, connect four...), cocktails...it was sublime.

 

[philly cheesesteaks...yum]

 

[i could live in this bowl of ramen]

 

 

[pit stop - our friend, jimmy's, amazing view from his studio apt]

 

[group shot]

 

cositas

 

[twinkly cabana lights]

 

here's to hoping this weekend is nice and sunny. it's been great, temperature-wise but, rainy and grey. i'm completely convinced the pups secretly love getting mud caked into their fur and jowls... ;)

 

 

[pizza and a s'mores calzone from one of our favorite food trucks]

 

[beauties brought from south africa]

 

[grilled delights]

 

[sweets from my favorite deli]

 

[mom n' pop shops, always a good idea]

spring greenery

 

i love learning family traditions and the meanings behind them. shortly after getting married, my parents taught us a new one about our first year of marriage. before you celebrate the first anniversary, you are to plant a tree (preferably more than one) at your home. the tree is not only great for the environment but, is meant to be a symbol for growth. growth not only in your home but, in your marriage, and as individuals.

 

how great is that?

 

candid moment: i had no idea the meaning behind it so, when my mom kept bringing up us getting a tree, i thought nothing of it. and i certainly didn't feel the urge to do it soon either. however, once my mom explained why it had to happen before our first anniversary (plus, spring is best for tree planting as well as for tree shopping), i finally got it.

 

and so, we went to a local tree nursery to search for our tree-to-be...

 

after some great advice at the shop we went to, we picked a red maple for the front, and a tulip tree (my personal favorite) for the back.

 

[impromptu family photo]

 

can't wait to watch these two grow and flourish.

sundays

 

a couple of weeks back, we celebrated my m.i.l's birthday. normally, we get together at his parents' home but, thought this year we would treat them by playing host! we set out to have the normal gang over but, as an added bonus, invite her bff and some of T's childhood friends his family was close to. this paired with a cookout, some outdoor games, and my infamous strawberry cake, had all the makings of a memorable celebration.

 

one of my favorite moments: after singing 'happy birthday' to T's mom, seeing how happy (and a little teary-eyed) she was to have us there just for her. as she left that night, she made a point to say that it was her favorite birthday yet :)

 

i truly do love this little home of ours and all the beautiful memories we're making in it together as a family.

hiccup

 

hey there, and happy hump day! sorry i've been posting so irregularly; i've been trying to resolve some issues with my laptop. i had been able to limp along with it for some time but, i guess it finally had its last straw, and crashed over the weekend (grr!!) since it'll take a bit to repair, i'm sorry to say, my posts will continue to be on the here & there side...but, i promise, it's not forever!

 

in the meantime, i hope you all have been enjoying the slowly warming temperatures!

adelaide

home improvement

in this week's home improvement, T and i are adding several accents to current rooms we are working on. first up, finding the right spot to hang our @ marquee sign...

[get it? it's for adelaide and T!]

it didn't take long for us to decide our sign should be displayed in the living room by the mirrors. T also painted our accent tables a bright pop of green to add a bit of color to the room. and it was only a matter of time before we got the itch to brighten up our thrift-ed coat rack too! 

[this color makes me so happy]

lastly, i've been getting really into collecting new sun-loving plants to fill our rectangular window box in the den (what used to be the garage). not only is the perfect spot for these succulents to thrive, it gives a bit of privacy to the room, as well as acts as a fun accent from the outside. i fully intend to find funky pots to go on the outside wall for an even cooler wow-factor but, as they say, baby steps.  

unrelated: not too long ago, i found a boba fett dog toy and got the biggest kick out of watching our boba fett play with it before solo (aka han solo) tore it to pieces. also, i have been making the best use of our most recent snow days by baking delicious treats...which, if you're me, means we really live here now. don't ask why, it just felt all the more ours with me baking in it for the first time :)

mixing patterns

we are now, and realistically have been for some time now, in that part of winter where getting dressed (in the many layers) for the cold is boring, and utterly dull. i like to think of it as the lull of winter. once the novelty of winter accessories, leggings, and sweaters have lost their appeal...the urge to shed those layers and sport sandals kicks into overdrive. however, i can't exactly fast-forward through this polar vortex but, i can at least try to bring a little extra something to mix and matching my warm layers.