Hello there!

Hello there!  It's amazing how one week turns into two, next thing you know a month has gone by.  Especially during the summer when we're all trying to soak up every last ounce of beautiful weather as summertime is so short here in Minnesota.  Anyway, the point of that ramble was just to say that I know it's been awhile, but I'm back! :)
That being said, we spent the day up north recently in Duluth and Two Harbors, MN.  We brought a little picnic with no real plan in mind.  We stopped anywhere a long the way that looked like fun!

Sometimes going without a plan is the best plan.  The sun was shining, the weather was perfect...it couldn't have been nicer.

We stopped at the most beautiful garden of flowers along the way and Veronica couldn't get enough of it. She takes after her Grandma with her love of flowers.  I had to convince her not to pick every last one of them.

We ended our day in Two Harbors, MN before heading home.  We had a nice little picnic where Veronica spent the whole time yelling at the seagulls that were anxiously awaiting our departure.  She was convinced they were going to come and snatch up her "sam-ich" right out of her hand. (Which they just might have if we didn't keep shooing them away.  I have the feeling they eat well up there ;)  

A beautiful day with my two loves.  Couldn't have been better.

Until next time,

Abby

Warm Weather Favorites!

V-neck slub pocket T / Chambray shortalls / Canvas Ballet Flats  / Bedtime short sleep set / Knot bow headband / Eyelet fluter T / Printed slip-on sneakers / Denim Bermuda Shorts with Stars / Snorkel kitty one-piece

I'm just itching for the warmer weather to stay.  It's been quite a tease lately giving some really beautiful, warm and sunny days  and then the next day it's cold and dreary.  I cannot wait to be able to break out some of Veronica's summer clothes (although she is growing so fast I'm going to definitely need to do some serious shopping!)
These are just a few of my picks for the warmer weather.  Is anyone else as excited as I am to get to the beach?

Happy Wednesday!

Abby

A Beautiful Easter Sunday.

We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful Easter Sunday!  The sun was shining all day, it was warm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

We started out the day with an Easter egg hunt in my parents back yard and Veronica was old enough this year that she really had fun with it!

The Easter egg hunt was a huge success and in fact Veronica even wanted us to hide some of the eggs again (which we happily did - anything to keep a 2 year old entertained, right?)

After the Easter egg hunt it was time to eat!  The table decorations that my mom did this year were by far my favorite - simple and sweet.

After completely stuffing ourselves on the wonderful meal that my  mom had made, we all felt like a walk was definitely in order.  So we all walked to the little park literally right down the street in the beautiful sunshine.  We brought Veronica's trike and let her have free rein of the tennis courts which she absolutely loved!

We had such a lovely Easter Sunday.  It reminds me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family to spend beautiful day like this.

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

Abby

"Cole" the Fish...

As part of Veronica's Easter basket goodies we decided to include a pet fish (not literally obviously ;)
At her school/daycare they have a couple of little tanks, one with fish and the other with hermit crabs and Veronica just loves them!  Every time I go to pick her up she insists on showing them to me and her face just lights up!  So we decided it would be fun for her to have her very own little fish.
We picked her up from daycare yesterday and headed over to good old Petsmart.  She picked out a blue beta fish and when we asked her what his name was, she responded "Cole" without the least bit of hesitation.  (Where the name Cole came from I have no idea...haha).

She came home today and literally pressed her face up against the side of the glass telling him all about her day and then in typical toddler fashion, he was history for the rest of the night.  She did remember to tell him night night though at bedtime which I thought was pretty cute.

I hope you all are gearing up for a wonderful Easter weekend!

Abby

Easter Basket Goodies!

For the first time in I don't even know how long, I have actually planned ahead for a holiday!  Don't get me wrong, I always have my lists and ideas of what I want to do and buy - but somehow time just seems to slip away and I feel like I'm always scrambling at the last minute.  This year I managed to pull together Veronica's Easter basket in record time.  I found some really cute things and some great deals!

As I've mentioned before Veronica is obsessed with coloring.  I found these Crystal Crayons and the Fancy Scissors on sale at Land of Nod and I think she's going to love them.  (I'm sure I'll be finding cut up paper shavings around the house for the next decade but totally worth it, right?)  I also found the adorable little Woodland Bunny Nightlight at Land of Nod too and I think it's going to be so cute in her room.
I also got a couple of books - Veronica is obsessed with Golden Books and loves putting them in her little Owl Skip-Hop backpack and carrying them around with her.  I think it's something about them all being the same size and easy for her to maneuver in and out of her backpack.  The two books I found are also Golden Books but Easter themed.  I think she'll love them too and hopefully they won't end up as coloring books like some of her other books seem to have...
The stripe shirt is from good ol' Target and so is the cute straw cup.

I shouldn't give myself too much credit because I'm not completely done.  I still need to get a little bit of toddler appropriate "candy" and maybe another book or two.  I'm thinking I'll put a cute bow on the basket too just to dress it up a bit, but all in all, I'm pretty well done!

(I ordered this dress from Zara for Veronica for Easter too and I just need to find a cute little cardigan for her to wear over it since Spring here in MN is laughable until around the beginning of June...).

I hope everyone is surviving their week - I could NOT be more happy that tomorrow is Friday!!

Abby

It's the Little Things: This girl and her babies...

Veronica and her babies.  One minute she is loving and adoring them and the next they're being tossed to the floor (and it happens in literally seconds).  The moments that she is "loving" them though, are some of my favorite!
She has one in particular that she favors (the one she's holding), but she loves all of them.  I always melt a little when I hear her playing all by herself and talking so sweetly to them. "It's okay baby, don't cry" as she rubs their back.  She gives them kisses, tucks them in at night, sits them beside her at her table when she colors...she won't sleep without her favorite baby doll bed with her.
On this particular day we were cleaning the dining room and had moved some of the chairs to mop and she took the opportunity to line up all the chairs and then sit her babies on each one of them.  The funniest part about theses pictures is that she asked me to take them (which is extremely out of character because usually I can't get her to sit still!).  She said, "Mommy, look - they're all lined up in a row."  She was so proud of herself that she actually wanted a picture taken and then refused to smile.  She looks so nonchalant and even a little worried!

These babies were all tossed to the floor moments after this picture ;)

Watching Veronica play and imitate so much of what she hears and learns from me as her mommy makes me so happy and thankful.  I think it's easy to take so much of day to day for granted and often times I find myself happy when she's actually playing on her own, so I can quickly get some things done.  But when we stop to take a moment and realize just how much they are absorbing and learning from you, it makes you really want to slow down and savor every moment.
This girl and her babies is something is the little things that I never want to forget.

As always, thank you to Ashely from Words about Waverly and Jess from Sadie Sky Boutique for this link up and happy Monday!

Abby

A few of my favorite nudes...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you've all had a nice weekend!  It was absolutely gorgeous here in Minnesota (finally) with temperatures reaching the upper 50's.  I had the windows open and Veronica and I even did some running around outside!  She was in heaven!

We had a pretty low key Sunday and during Veronica's nap-time I decided to paint my nails (which I rarely seem to do these days since time is sparse with a little one).   As I was rummaging through my stash looking for a color, it dawned on me that I rarely actually choose a "color".  I definitely have a thing for nudes and always gravitate toward really neutral colors.  I don't know what it is, but I always think they look so neat, clean and polished.

I thought why not do a quick post on some of my favorites?  Here is the lineup:

From left to right: Essie Au Natural, Essie Mademoiselle, Zoya Minka, OPI Bubble Bath

These are my most reached for nude polishes.  They apply really nicely with no streaking, go opaque within two coats and look great on any skin tone.

I'm sure as the weather gets warmer I'll be reaching for some brighter and more colorful colors that look good with a tan ;) but until then, these are my favorites.

What are your most reached for polishes?  Any recommendations?

I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Abby