weekend getaway // the sycamore house

It was time, ya'll. The mister and I hadn't been out of San Diego since last summer for our babymoon. We've been elbow-deep in babies and work for what seems like forever. We needed to get out of dodge desperately, even for only a few days. We needed to treat ourselves, and our babies. And we wanted to share it with a few friends at the most beautiful house (in my humble opinion) in Palm Springs, the Sycamore House.

This was my first time staying at an AirBnB, and the bar has been set you guys. The entire process of booking this place was super easy, and the owners were happy to provide a portable crib and highchair (we still had to bring one of each on our own, but still. Saved lots of space in the car). The home is gorgeous, and I feel like my photos don't give it justice. This place is the epitome of that casual Palm Springs vibe mixed with minimal mid-century/boho feel. 

This was my babies' first time staying away from home, and like many first-time moms, all my initial worries were for nothing. Would they be able to sleep in their pack n plays? Yep. Would they fuss too much being in a strange place? Nope. Would I be able to keep their normal feeding/napping schedule? Yep. The babes were champions. All the new sights, smells, pool time, not to mention four doting friends who were happy to play with and amuse the babies, thoroughly filled up their days, and they slept like champs through the night. Plus it really helped that we brought our babygates to set up a play yard area, with thick blankets laid down, because the pebble-rock flooring wasn't super baby-friendly. But we made it work. I also quickly realized it was pointless to bring baby clothes, because they were happy to just rock out in their diapers when they weren't in the pool. 

This trip also made me realize how much I miss bringing my camera wherever I go to just document through photography. I need to make a point of doing that more, because it's one of the main reasons I started this blog in the first place. To share my travels, my thoughts, little gems around town that I never want to forget. These aren't just memories for my husband and I anymore. They're memories for my children too.

The love affair with Palm Springs continues. So happy I got to spend it with family and friends :)

things I've enjoyed recently

1// A quickie Palm Springs getaway from a couple weeks ago, as evidenced above. This was basically a babymoon for my husband and I, a sort of last-hurrah-before-infants-take-over-our-lives. It was wonderful, and I swam in that pool every single day. 

2// This article that tests your Donald Trump vs Frank Reynolds quotes knowledge.

3// How George Washington got his hair to look like that. (Bonus: The Abe Lincoln portrait to trump all Abe Lincoln portraits)

4// Sometimes it's okay not to be so damn happy all the time.

5// Squee-ing over non-pink-or-blue baby clothes like this and this. (and panther pants!)

6// This wonderful article that takes a peek into life and parenting while living in Seoul, South Korea. (I was born and lived there briefly as a baby, and am dying to go back and visit properly as an adult)

7// The Revenant trailer has me so excited!! Can't wait to read the book as well.

bits of life // may

1// A few months ago, some of my girlfriends and I decided that we should get together at least once a month and do something crafty/DIY-able. It would be a good way to hang out/catch up/bonding time, and we'd also be able to fiiiinally put our Pinterest DIY posts to use instead of being just pinned and lonely, never to be made. Our first group outing was a Rais Case workshop where we made our own dreamcatchers, and it was super fun. We finally got around to setting up our second craft event, this time at my house, and we decided we'd try this awesome yarn and eucalyptus wall hanging DIY from the fantastic blog Poppytalk (seriously, it's like DIY porn on that blog). It was ridiculously easy to make, and it came out so beautiful and minimal. I might put it in the twins' nursery, or just leave it in my bedroom where it is now. I haven't decided yet.

2// Fun outings with friends! It's crazy to think this will be our last summer sans children, so we're taking advantage as much as we can. Like bonfiring on Mission Bay, something we'd actually never done our whole time in San Diego thus far. And catching a Padres game with 30+ friends in the Picnic Terrace area. I don't even care for baseball that much, but who cares when your ticket includes all-you-can-eat burgers, dogs, snacks, and drinks? Sign me up, said every pregnant lady ever.

3// The mister and I decided during my 16th week that we couldn't wait any longer to find out the sexes of the babies, so we made an appointment at one of those 4D ultrasound clinics for the very next day. I was nervous that my loinfruits wouldn't be in a good position to view their bits, or that we'd have an awful tech who didn't know what she/he was doing (some of their Yelp reviews weren't too comforting), but we couldn't have gotten a better experience. Our ultrasound tech couldn't have been nicer, positive, or more competent. As soon as she looked at each baby's nether regions, she pointed out right away what she saw. The verdict: Baby A is a girl, and Baby B is a boy! So stoked! We bought these onesies the next day at one of our fave shops, Graffiti Beach, and I can't wait to put them on their tiny bodies.

4// This was taken just a few days ago, at 17 weeks 3 days pregnant. Holy mother of belly. In just three short weeks, I went from "She probably eats a lot of tacos" to "There's definitely at least one baby in there." These babes are growing fast. And I'm definitely feeling it. Lots of lower back pain, round ligament pain that keeps my vocabulary quite colorful, and getting a good night's sleep is impossible. The mister likes to affectionately call me "preggersaurus" and I don't even mind, cause it's true. I'm always waddling, shuffling, grunting with certain movements, and I'm hungry every two hours. Sexy stuff, right?

our west coast wander // big sur and slo

Part two of a photographers' road trip continues! Our short time in Yosemite was rad and filled with new experiences, but by the time we were packing up the rental car on our last day, we were definitely ready to get back to civilization, see the ocean, and sleep in a room that didn't have canvas flaps for doors (or rogue squirrels looking to jack our stuff).

We drove down the famed Highway 1 through Big Sur, and stopped at lookout points along the way to take in views like this one. Sometimes I forget that I live in a state that has such pretty coastlines, so this photo is a good reminder. Even if the apocalypse happens one day and California breaks off and sinks into the ocean, at least it'll look damn good doing it. It'll be very rich-men-refusing-to-wear-life-jackets-on-the-sinking-Titanic of us.

Here's a photo of the Bixby Creek Bridge that I took not too far away from the first photo. We were trying to find interesting angles/locations to shoot the bridge from, but that harsh midday light made it kind of hard. This is the best I could come up with. 

We also made a quickie stop at the Nepenthe Restaurant , where I instagrammed Adrienne and Kristina as the unofficial phone booth babes of Big Sur. I blogged about this awesome little spot a few years ago when the mister and I were doing our up-the-coast trip, so you can see lots more photos of Nepenthe and Big sur right here!

And then we arrived at one of my favorite places on the planet, The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo! Every room is themed and fantastically decorated, everything else at the hotel is pink, and you just can't NOT be in a good mood while staying here. This was my second time staying there, and you can read about my first time right here (you must, MUST check out the work of beauty that is the steakhouse dining room).

Going from camp lodgings to this place felt absolutely decadent. We grabbed dinner and drinks at the Silver Bar inside the hotel, and we discovered that we happened to be there on the night where a bunch of 20 and 30-somethings held their weekly swing dancing. Talk about great people-watching. Kristina (after telling us she knows how to swing dance) even got invited to dance by a very eager young man, and it was so fun to watch.

But did we call it a night? Oh no, my friend. Not in the least. When you put three photographers in the San Francisco room with lighting equipment and color matching clothes, it's a good bet they'll stay up until 2:30 in the morning taking portraits and taking advantage of every single space in the room. Which of course we did. I took the above shot of Kristina while she was working on her self-portrait. I also worked on my week 38 photo with Kristina's help. She let me borrow that awesome red dress as well as her LED light panel to help light the scene.

This was taken the next morning before we had to check out. That red wall is just too good.

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the downtown area of SLO and making little pit stops, like this one in their famous Bubblegum Alley! A germaphobe's nightmare, a photographer's delight. It is equal parts disgusting and fascinating. Literally thousands of pieces of gum lovingly placed by locals and tourists alike. The more creative folks would even spell out entire words or sentences using gum. That's like, ten packs of Orbitz at least. It's really something to look at.

I can't help but share this photo that Adrienne took of me, because it is too comical/perfect that my shirt kind of blends in with that crazy wall. And if you're looking at this and are immediately reminded of this scene from Garden State, I like you and we should be friends.

What kind of person would I be without contributing my own saliva-ridden germ packet to the wall? Some things you just have to do.

We also visited the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, and took more photos, and wanted to eat those delicious smelling grapes. 

One of Kristina's many talents is knowing where all the good tapas joints are, and this day was no exception. She led us to a cute little place called Luna Red, where we tapas'd and sangria'd like three grown women should. It was so good, and a great way to end our little six day road trip.

Let's do it again :)