we had visitors!  nathaniel returned home from college!  we went kayaking!  we made cars out of boxes--and, believe it or not, all that entails is six construction paper circles: two headlights, four wheels!  you're gonna wanna pin that shit!  parker plays bach on the piano!  i eat granola and berries!  

are we over the exclamations yet?  really, it's been a nice start to summer for the most part.  i mean, college re-entry (re-entry to the world of kitchens that don't have staff to clean your dishes) has been... interesting?  we went kayaking together.  while there, william tipped the kayak with lindsey on it and we lost snorkel goggles that, i'm pretty sure, hadn't even been on anyone's face yet.  i told william i'd get him a medium pinkberry (instead of a small) if he found 'em but the murky crud at the bottom of the lake proved too great an opponent so there they remain.  and yes!  we had pinkberry.  turns out, they are popping up all over the place and we're glad to have one nearby.  we had kate, mike, and quinn come and stay.  a few days earlier parker caught his first cold (plus croup.  and it sucked.) but kate decided to come nevertheless and hoped quinn wouldn't catch it.  while they were here, the cold and cough moved onto lindsey (william started it!) and then quinn got a bit of a fever.  steve and i referred to our home as 'bleak house' where disease crept from person to person.  i'll say this much: i was never far from an antibacterial wipe.  remotes, keyboards, and handles all got the treatment!  so, all in all, it has been a nice few weeks, despite a few dips here and there.  and, get this, jordan (he's alive!) goes to prom tomorrow night!

oh, and that song?  so good.  it's been on repeat lately.  enjoy!

ohhh, shabby apple.  what can i say?!  i like 'em!  i like their clothes.  they're sexy and classy and pretty.  and what more does one need in a dress?!  here i am in the desert modern dress from the new twins palm line (pictures from the new line (their models, not my pictures above!) were shot at frank sinatra's old home.  how fun is that?).  it's an awesome quality jersey... which is among my favorite types of dresses to wear: comfortable + sexy at the same time... and has lovely drapey sleeves that give it a little extra fancy.  

the whole line has some really gorgeous pieces that have a bit of a throwback vibe to them... like many of shabby apple's dresses.  i love the summer wind and the impamena (fun print!) too. 

enter to win

the dress i'm wearing!

to enter:

{u.s. addresses only!}

+ enter a comment below--include email!

additional entries:

{separate comments, please!}

+ like shabby apple on facebook

+ blog / tweet / fb about the giveaway

{my earrings by ike & co.!}

giveaway closed.

jessica is the winner!

last week's bachelorette recap was a bit jumbled.  hard to follow.  this week is more organized.  you're welcome.

  

a date with chris.

+ all this, "there's no one i'd rather be here with" talk.  come on.  you've spent all of 3.8 minutes together in your life.

+ he's 25.  awkward.  (he looks a lot older, no?)  

tony's phone call.

+ you're not meeting your future wife.  you can go home to your kid.  now.

back to date with chris.

+ she's into him.

+ he wants a family.  he's a 25 year old guy.  this is funny.

+ (he is cute.)

+ "keep the tongue in while you're spinning her." -steve

+ kissing her is the greatest thing he's ever experienced?  EVER, chris?  i'm sorry.

+ here come the charlotte crowds.  the l.a. crowds are better dressed.

group date.

+ i like the green/white striped blousey shirt.  i do not like mc-stevie.

+ crazy hair ryan is getting chummy with her all "we already had a date and i'm heads above you guys."  obnoxious.

+ no offense to emily's friends, but they don't look like they're... how should i say this... young fashionista whipper-snappers like herself.

+ "taking my son to school.  taking my son to activities."  tony.  barf.

+ i want one of the guys to say, "HELLS NO" when asked if they are ready to be a dad by one of the friends.

+ john "wolf" is cute.  his name, less so.

+ jersey steve is not gonna be able to break dance his way through every rose ceremony.  and hopefully he's already seen his last.

+ i think emily's blonde friend would like to have a swingers-relationship if emily and sean end up together.

+ more kids?  i'm not watching supernanny.  i'm watching the bachelorette.  WHERE ARE THE HELICOPTERS?

+ sean.  doug.  sean and doug.  friends' picks.  WHAT ABOUT JEF?  (and i-have-a-kid-too-doug is stupid.)

+ sean needs a clean & clear oil-absorbing sheet on his face.

+ "you can drive a stick shift?"  really, helicopter man?

+ emily should send tony home.  she knows she's not gonna pick him and he misses his kid.

+ i think tony's gonna be home before 9 weeks.  with all due respect.

+ emily's hoping tony leaves voluntarily so she doesn't have to do it.... annnnd, he's out.

date with arie.

+ why are all the girls on the bachelor/bachelorette always such wusses?  scared of heights, scared of rollercoasters... 

+ win something for ricky.  that was cute.

+ i like emily's boots.  and her hair.  a little more cas (as in casual) than her ush (as in usual) curls.  

+ to state the obvious... dolly parton's boobs are ENORMOUS.

+ i am impressed that arie was doing the dad-thing with his ex.  and he seems like he's not whoring it out there (#doug).

+ she welcomes the busy schedule... likes her own space... she said that a bit too eagerly.

+ i hate the cliffhanger 'but' -- messing with him.  why?!?  

+ i am glad he is getting a rose.

+ arie's a keeper.

rose ceremony.

+ her and kaelen!  let her say something!  this is so awkward.

+ um, holy shit.  "i love it when you talk but i wish you'd let me finish."  goodbye.  deal breaker.

+ THAT WAS GOING TO BE A BABY OSTRICH. #animalmistreatment

+ brazilian man has goofy hair.  and he should be biting her language-barrier-bait.  "YES.  I MEAN WHAT YOU MEAN.  LANGUAGE BARRIER, YES.  COMPROMISE, HONOR, SYNONYMS."  but... he's not.

+ was she wearing black boots under that prom dress?

+ arie gets to be the knight in shining armor.  he's all, "right place at the right time, aww yeah!" 

+ sean.  saying alllllllll the right things.  "ricky would be mine." BOOM.  "doesn't have to call me sean."  BOOM.

+ doug's eyes look on disapprovingly as jef gets a rose.  "i don't know, ems.  would he make a good dad?  i would.  I AM ONE."

+ kalon/kaelen seems like a character from a movie.  the villain.  a little like scarecrow in dark knight, am i right?!?

+ kaelen got a rose?  you have GOT to be kidding me.

+ sorry mc-stevie.  your time has come.  break dance to the car?

+ sorry, ryan.  arie is not dainty.  he may be many things but dainty?  

+ "i am a gypsy.  i can't even have a pet." i think it's best that brazilian man is gone.

alright.  thoughts?!  fave guy so far?  my picks: hipster jef (though, i do think they're so different.  i mean, she likes dolly parton, he rides skateboards.  come on.), wannabe-dad sean, race car driver arie.

 let him sleep for when he wakes, he will move mountains.

my sweet little man.  whether or not you move mountains is really of no consequence to me.  besides, to someone, you'll move mountains.  even if no one else notices.  but now i want to just tell you a little about your ten-month-old self.  you stand!  you stand a lot, in fact.  and you use a little push walker to cross the room making eye contact with everyone in the room.  CHECK ME OUT is what your face is saying.  and you have the most enormous, proud smile on your face too.  what's it like to learn everything for the first time???  of course, i can't remember, but it sure is fun to watch you do it.  you are 20 lbs. of smooshiness.  you got your first cold and cough and mama worried.  that's what we (i) do.  but, miracle of all miracles (!!), you got well.  you are happy and content and a perfect little baby.  you still nurse at least 2 or 3 times a night, and i don't see you giving it up anytime soon.  you go to bed at 7 and wake around 6 (sometimes earlier) and have 7 teeth!!  you don't really eat food yet, but we've had a little success with avocado and a bit of banana!

well, that's it my sweet one.  you are loved.

oh, and that spot on your left cheek??  a bruise!  yep.  we're getting those these days too.  sad face.

katie from a fresh coat of paint makes fabulous zinc-like letters that are great additions to your wall!  

from spelling out a name in a nursery to a fun adornment on a wedding dessert table...

there are a lot of possibilities!  

(here's the one in parker's room!)

and fun note: the creative director of oprah mag just ordered a bunch of her numbers!

also, she makes glittered ones now too!

and, let's not forget her furniture. 

i want this union jack bureau.

enter to win a 

$40 credit to her shop!

to enter:

(u.s. addresses only!)

+ leave a comment below (with email)

additional entries:

+ like her facebook page 

+ favorite the shop on etsy

+ tweet / blog / FB about the giveaway

giveaway closed.

lady lee is the winner!

you get commentary from me AND my sister (of the now defunct lipstick junglegym... she's just on a hiatus!  albeit a long one but a hiatus nevertheless!) this week people!  hold on to your horses!

steve's in here too!  commentary all around!

ryan.  first date!  i like him. doin' the whole domestics thing.  is this how the whole season is gonna go?  domestics duty?  his hair?  not so into it.  kate says, "no more black shirts, ryan.  you're not robert deniro."  why's there animal fur only where they are sitting and no where else?  of COURSE you found her most attractive in her kitchen.  whatEVER.

i think it's stupid when they get praise for not feeling 'bummed out for it not being a bigger date.'  like, seriously?!  is he going to be like, "i'm getting the hell outta here, WHERE'S MY HELICOPTER?"  please.

emily is beautiful but there's some lip injections goin' on over thur.

i'm not digging all the papparazzi around.

"i'd feel like such a goober doing this in front of everyone." -kate

now we're onto the group date...

kate's saying ugly things about the dj guy but i won't write them here.

poor charlie.

he's cute.

"i'm the most confident insecure person you've ever met" -steve, about charlie

i'm voting for hair guy.  hair-skateboard guy that is.  i guess a few people could be 'hair guy' this season.

whorin' herself out to kermie.  inappropriate.

i like jef.  "i like how she doesn't think she's cool enough for him.  cause I AGREE." -kate

"why do they keep showing him?!  i can't watch the show if they keep showing him." -steve, on dj guy

JEF.  STEP UP YOUR GAME.  (she totally likes him.)  "best talk anybody's had with her yet."  well, jef, you don't lack confidence.

chopper guy.  blahhhhhhhhhh.  (yes, emily, you are giving him too much credit.  i cannot imagine girls throwing themselves at chopper guy.)

(ooh, but in the dj vs. chopper guy fight.  dj guy 0 // chopper guy 1)

boom.  jef.  kate doesn't think jef's into her though.  we'll see.

we don't remember this guy's name.  the last date.  we're calling him 'mighty fine hair jelly' guy -- in a southern accent.  we don't really love the hair but we're calling him that anyway.

joe!  that's his name.

holding her nose in that pool?  come on emily.

(then we had a discussion about whether we're holder-nosers.  we're not.)

is there really anything wrong with chopper-guy saying the whole 'putting on hold' comment?  i think his offense is a little silly.

STOP RIGHT THERE.  JUST CHECK IT.  (hahaha.)
BACK THAT CHOPPER UP.
"check yo'self before you wreck yo'self."  "before i give you a swirly whirly." (we're just saying nonsense now and have the sleepy haha's.  thus, it may be hard to follow this nonsense.)

joe.  he seems nice.

// here's where my computer died... so i'll try to remember the rest //

emily read a novel while a guy waited in the wings?  AWKWARD.  and rude.  put it aside till later.

i would've said goodbye to dj-stevie (duh) and kept biology-man-with-the-cool-glasses for sure.

alright, that's about all.  your thoughts?

(AND i'm too comp-illiterate for a linkup slash haven't given the time to figure it out BUT if you've got your own commentary haps on your blog, link in the comments cause i wanna seeeee).

yummy, nutritious, and delicious.  that's cashew milk for ya.  actually, i'm going to call it a cashew smoothie because you leave all the pulp behind and drink/eat it up (it settles a bit, so have a spoon?).  if you want cashew milk, strain it.  my friend laura told me about it (thanks laur!).  it's creamy and a bit frothy and (bear with me as i stretch the truth a wee bit here) a little bit like a vanilla ice cream milkshake.  

cashew milk smoothie

1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews soaked in a cup of filtered water for an hour (or longer)

2 cups filtered water (to make mine more smoothie-like, i used coconut milk!)

1 1/2 t coconut oil

1/4 t vanilla extract (yum)

2 t agave

a pinch of salt (laura recommended cinnamon instead - it was good)

blend it all.  store it up to five days in fridge and shake well before drinking.

i think zulily is getting better.

you want in?

on sunday (mother's day!), we headed into the city to go to SoWa to check out the goods and, let's be honest, the food trucks.  it was really hot and some of the lines were insanely long but i made my way to the clover food truck for a chick pea fritter and some rosemary fries.  both were good.  steve and william got hot dogs and lindsey got a frozen lemonade (girlfriend was dyyyyyyyying of heat, she said--no drama there!)  next time?  i need to try the gourmet grilled cheese truck.  that line was cah-ray-zee long though so it was not happening this time.  highlights?  the fashion truck, this woman who made these adorable skirts from vintage fabrics (didn't buy one!  the price wasn't the best), and the fact that nearly every vendor accepted credit card with this fancy swiping thing on their iphone.  

afterwards, the crowds got to us so we bolted out of there to walk around the south end--a part of boston i don't visit nearly enough.  some of the streets are just lined with trees which is such a welcome sight in the middle of the city.  i love little bits of country (maybe country is a stretch... but residential life) in the midst of all the busy.  the south end has some sections full of that sort of thing.  then we ate at the buttery, walked some more, and headed home for some showers and bed.

i must mention parker's adorable get-up.  the lovely emily sent that to me straight from her shop, clementine, in vermont!  you remember that shop?  i love the shop and i love this onesie.  it's soft and sweet and the bike graphic on it is my favorite.  i spotted it long ago when she was my sponsor and she was kind enough to send it along.  she also sent along this AMAZING body wash called mum+bub by the aden and anais (my favorite!) people.  i cannot (cannot, cannot, cannot!) say enough things about how amazing this stuff smells.  it's free of all that stuff we like lotions and such to be free of (parabens!  sulfates!) and smells like sandalwood and, seriously, it's heavenly.  i'd wear it as a light perfume (i'm totally being serious) forever if i could.  thanks clementine!

...so don't laugh at it.

h is for hunt, actually.

surprisingly, this one isn't a common occurence.

just the other night, actually!

"mmmhmm, sorry steve.  bed's not big enough for the three of us."

(this one usually comes right after 'the booby trap')

in the snow?  in bed?  who cares?!

oh we know this one well.  those creepy babies!

(this actually had steve and i dying laughing 

cause, well, it's so true.)

tweeted by rachael // originally marvelous kiddo.

oh man, guys.  

so, i know that not all of you are bachelorette fans.  you're gonna want to skip this post.  but, for those that are, emily's season is pretty much the pinnacle of all the bachelor/bachelorette seasons ever, yes?!  she was my favorite on brad's season--which i blogged here.  and i've been crazy excited for this season.  to get lost in the crazy world of abc's the bachelorette on a boring monday night?  sign me up.  i'll be blogging my commentary every tuesday (barring any sleepless nights, etc. which are altogether possible!) for the duration of the season.  and i'm usually in bed by the time this is starting so this is legit commitment.

let's go!

emily looks beautiful.  duh.  

there are some plain, old goofy entrances (ostrich egg guy??) per usual but since we hardly know one guy from another at this point, i'll save more specific commentary on them till later.  but, if emily said what was on her mind instead of being polite, i think it would've been funnier.

(i liked the guy who held the note that said you're so beautiful // i'm so nervous.  touche, man, touche!)

first impressions?

i kinda like jef, the skateboard guy.  he seems genuine and funky.  

i like that doug asked where ricky is.  single-parents, unite!  the note from his son... good work, my man (he probably oversaw the writing of that letter BIG TIME.  "make sure you include that i tuck you in EVERY NIGHT DAMMIT!)

the green shirt MC guy is a little too cheesy and has too many bones to pick with helicopter guy.  lay off.

but on that note, helicopter guy is cheesy too.  luxury brand consultant isn't a thing.  or, if it is, then can i be a fancy yummy food taste tester?  expensive shoe trier-outer?

brazil man looks like maybe he's had some work done on his face?

egg-man sticks around.  questions: will we have a baby ostrich later on?  will he smash the egg if/when he isn't picked?

jean-paul?  heart got trampled?  you just tryin' to be dramatic with a name like jean-paul?!

season preview:

emily gets mad!  drops the f-bomb!  southern lady with spunk!

pink shirt man: shit!  i didn't have the chance to get naked in the pool!  all that work for naught!  oh well, i'll just take my shirt off now.

annnnnd see you next week!

but not before you tell me... who are your faves?!

this weekend was a good one, a full one, a tiring one.  it's only 8:30 sunday night and i've already been showered and in my pjs for two hours (and steve is already asleep on the couch snoring!).  i plan on heading to bed just after i finish this post.  

we had hot weather, a neighborhood party, a movie at home, bike rides, a trip to boston, and watching a certain very-busy-moving-all-the-time little boy.  i made fruit popsicles, smoothies, and finished up our (very!) small supply of avocados just in time to get the coolest gift from my sweet friend sara (+ bonz!): a whole boxful of hand-picked santa barbara avocados straight from her backyard (!!).  i have them in a pretty dish on my counter waiting to ripen where we will eat guacamole for days.  guac is a favorite around here, so this isn't a problem.  

there was mother's day breakfast in bed (thank you guys!!), and lots of love from the kids that make me a mother (and from steve too!).  this gig is a good one and it's my favorite gig of all.  i want nothing more than to keep doing it and giving it my all.    

The other day I was in line paying for a gelato.  Parker was tucked into his stroller by my side.  My money was at the ready as my gelato was rung up.  The man working behind the counter was making faces at Parker, sticking his tongue out,  opening his eyes wide. Parker was smiling.  Tentatively, but smiling nonetheless.  He looked at me as if to say: Is this guy ok, Mom?  I smiled back at him: It's ok, Parker.  He continued looking happily at the man, and the man continued making faces at Parker.

Then, Parker's smile disappeared.  At first, his face registered, "Ok.  I'm over it."  But, he breezed right through that territory.  Then, the tears welled up in his eyes.  He frantically looked over to me as his mouth turned sad and a little cry began.  I got close to his face and said, "It's ok, sweetie!"  I said to the man that he's in that stage, paid for my gelato, and left.

It took him no time at all to calm down, but once outside the store, I gave him a little reassurance-snuggle anyway.  I'm sure I whispered some sort of soft I-love-you's in his ear, then began walking again, eating my gelato as we went on our merry way.

Though his tears were short-lived, I couldn't help thinking this moment was something more significant and one I wouldn't soon forget.  My luck, really.  My luck, my blessing, my call-it-what-you-will.  This little boy, still so new to this world, was scared.  An unfamiliar face shook him up a bit, and he ran the gamut of emotions from thinking it was quite fun to fear in about five seconds flat.  When he got scared, his eyes darted over to me.  To me!  His mama!  His eyes settled in mine, mine in his, and that's what calmed him down.  He knows me and I know him.  He needs me and I (really) need him too.

I am somebody to him.

I can't help bubbling over when I think about it.  It's a pretty sweet thing I've got going here.