Vroom, vroom and off we go.

A little delay in posting our last minute road trip up to Santa Maria during the 4th of July long weekend but hey better late than never when it’s summer time and your littles are so active and having two is much harder than one. Ok, enough with the excuses. 

Hubs wanted to demonstrate how eco-friendly his electric car is (ok, and save on gas!!) so we took his ride instead of my mom-mobile. 

📷: everyone has a nice ride especially Addison with her #venicechild Kangaroo stroller. 

We always like to travel with our kids and have them see the world as well. We kept it fair with an adult event and a kiddo event too. Our adult event was visiting one of our favorite wineries we are members at. #Foxen has 2 tasting locations so it’s quite the deal to be a member. Free tastings here we come! 

📷 💟 P.S. We love our #venicechild stroller. All terrain and so easy to open/close. 

We stayed at the quaint historic inn in Santa Maria. Renovated and definitely kept some of its charming appeal. We had some nice bay windows where the kids loved to stand and look outside on. The service was great and it was nice to walk around the hotel grounds. We wished we stayed longer to enjoy the pool. 

The next day we headed to ostrich land (emus too!) in Solvang. It was so cute to see them and a little scary to feed when the signs were saying they bite! 

📷: Fun fact: An ostrich egg is equivalent to approximately (2) dozen chicken eggs. 

Good and quick trip in beautiful California (since we took the electric car, we just HAD to stop at the Carlsbad outlets 😂). 

📷: #electriccar #tesla #supercharge #carlsbad 

P.S. You know you live in Southern California when your daughter starts to call palm trees beach trees. 

Cooking Must Have.

I’m the type of person that follows the phrase – “sharing is caring.” So, when I finally got to try from a dear friend of mine in London this magic kitchen appliance I fell in love. I just knew I had to purchase one. 

Can you guess it? Nope, not the instant pot (which I LOVE as well). It’s an air fryer – not to be confused with a deep fryer. 

📷: chicken wings. Recipe – Use frozen wings and add a little bit of olive oil along with seasoning. My new favorite is with creole seasoning. 

This is amazing. I have set it out on my counter since I use it daily if not twice a day. Quick and easy to use/clean. 

📷: sweet potato wedges. Recipe – cut sweet potatoes into desired sizes. Add olive oil and seasoning into ziplock bag with the sweet potatoes. Mix and stick in freezer for more moist fries inside. No need if you like it more crispy. 

Seriously, you can cook anything with it. From raw meats (e.g. Wings, spare ribs) to cauliflower, this appliance is a must have. Or it can be just reheating foods! 

Tip – raw meats coming from the freezer taste even better since it retains the moisture. I haven’t tried with fish yet – soon enough! 

📷: corn tortilla chips almost cooked. Recipe – cut small corn tortillas into quarters. Spray some olive oil and lightly season. 

Anyhow, quick post – take a break and do a little online shopping. Cheers for now. xx

A Girl Can’t Have Enough…

Bags.

It’s a lot harder now with having 2 littles to carrying around a nice little purse, but now that we’re back in California with a car I decided it’s time to not just be a mom, but also feel nice with what we’re able to accessorize with and still be functional.

I wanted a diaper bag with a lot of compartments and leather to really feel like this is a nice bag. I also wanted one that could give you the option of being a backpack when necessary.

It took awhile, but I found my dream bag at a designer brand called Lily Jade.

Seriously, here’s why:

• Leather is so soft!

💟  P.S. sneak peek of Addison’s room – we clearly love the color grey. The London storage bins are from KaiKai&Ash – city collection.

• designs are clean/colors are lovely

• just enough compartments inside and outside the bag

• it gets better – 12 compartment tote inside the bag can be easily taken out to leave with the “grandparents” while you go out with your non-mom items!  Fear not, there are still compartments and zippers to store your goodies when the tote is removed.

💟  P.S. I have some of my favorite essentials from Bebe Au Lait (they have the cutest patterns!).  Pictured is the Muslin nightingale nursing scarf and hot air balloon wet/dry bag sitting on the Muslin moon crib sheet.

• big enough to put your laptop in as well so you don’t have to use it just as a diaper bag (or maybe your little too)

• did I mention there is a removable tote inside so if you’re the type that really wants to use your Longchamp’s bag with not enough compartments or need to make a quick bigger bag change, you are able to put a little “Lily Jade” in there for a quick transfer of your little’s necessities. How well thought out is that?
• And of course, you can wear as a backpack to be hands free. Yay!

I’ve had my Lily Jade bag for a bit now and it’s been perfect for all types of weather and adventures. Oh yes, in California we can get to the snow driving in 1.5 hours.

Cheers for now and yes, this bag is everyday perfect. #lilyjade

#musthave #inlove

Dear Littles.

Isn’t it crazy to think as parents we will help in molding them to be grown ups? We will show them our habits (the crazy ones), skills (the daily ones), and our life experiences (the ones where they’re included). I’m astonished how intuitive Abigail is to our day to day and listening to me interact and portray myself. She is almost 3 year 5 months old and tells me things I would never expect to come out of her mouth.

Top 3 in the past 24 hours:

• I have nipples, mum and dad have nipples. Mum’s has milk to feed Addison but dad doesn’t. Why don’t I have any milk?
• I want to be superman for Halloween. I am a girl. Can I still be superman?
• I like you a lot mum. I like daddy and baby Addison too (me: who else?). No one else as much. Not even Grandma.

These little things she says really makes me want to write/record to show her later but is there enough time in the day to do that?  I think I would opt to sleep since my #bellabeatleaf is telling me I need more sleep than the 3 hour average I’m getting which by the way is a gorgeous health tracker.

Anyhow, I’m inspired by a mama I met on Instagram to write letters to my littles. She writes daily letters to baby M. They’re so sweet and I know her little is going to love reading them when she can.  So, I’m going to try real hard to include some of these notes in my blog posts.

First one to my dear littles:

Dear A squared,

Abigail – I’m so sorry it has taken 3 years and 5 months to write you a note but better late than never right. You are my first and I love you so much. I may not show it as much with how sleep deprived I’ve been but you’re a shining star. You’re independent, strong willed, caring, and so loving to just name a few traits of you. I thought you would be jealous of the attention Addison is currently getting but you’ve been an amazing big sister and so helpful. I am so lucky to have a daughter like you. Just the other day you melted my heart when you said, “Mummy, I want to sit closer to you because I like you very much.” I pray you say this to me when you’re in high school or junior high. 

Addison – oh my, you are currently 54 days old and I can honestly say it has not flown by. You are keeping us on our toes from being a light sleeper to cradle cap, but I’m forever in love with you when you smile at me with your happy eyes and mouth. It has been a crazy experience having you literally pop out and I am happy with the push present you got me as I really didn’t push much for you to come into this world. You also came early and didn’t want to share your birthday with me! 

📷: Push present happy picture in the store.

My littles – for now, I hope you two will share with each other and please don’t fight. Don’t ever go to sleep upset with each other. 

Love, mama A  

Product LOVE: Mochi Kids & West Coast Beads Shop

Mama owner Amanda is too sweet just like her designs. Mochi Kids clothing is printed with 100% solvent free inks on American Apparel garments made in the USA. So, yes, they are super soft and toddler approved!

Mama owner Laura from Canada is amazing! She specializes in functional and baby friendly teething necklaces. Yay! My toddler loves wearing them and I know they are safe on her with the safety clasp. I found her because I originally thought West Coast meant California not Canada.

#shopsmall

📷: clearly sisters. Do they look like me?

📷: omg baby acne & cradle cap. 😢😓 Any remedy recommendations PLEASE?

Cheers for now and thanks for reading. Maybe you will have some noodles now! xx

Travel Bug is Back.

Baby Addison hit 6 weeks and we wanted a weekend getaway from London so we decided to go to Devon (about a 4 hour drive from central London – can be more with the painful traffic out of the city).

As now a family of 4, I started thinking early on what to pack for a 2 night trip with a newborn and 3 year old (I can’t forget myself too, but I did forget hub’s toiletries – apparently as wife you’re suppose to remember to bring his shaver and hair gel).

Newborn

• nappies
• wet wipes
• 4 outfits
• hat
• face towel
• nail clippers (oh so important at this stage!)
• sleep accessories (e.g. sound maker, sleepyhead, blankets/swaddles)
• Nuby bottles & pump

3 year old

• 3 outfits
• 3 undies & socks
• outerwear (something with a hood) and a scarf
• 1 pair of shoes
• pajamas & indoor slippers (once the weather is colder, they’re usually freshly picked moccasins to pack easily)
• blankie (I always bring a muslin blankie as they’re compact and makes my little feel at home)
• toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, face towel, lotion, shampoo, body wash, sunscreen)

And can you believe all of the above fit into our BabyBeau diaper bag?  This diaper bag has it all and its so stylish in grey.  One of the most unique qualities it has is the extra layer (silky soft material) inside to take out and wash should something spill inside the bag. Good thinking!

Furthermore, if you take out the extra layer to clean, there is still another zippered side pocket to put accessories in or if you just don’t want these compartments in the bag. I would probably put my ipad/laptop in this area with the extra layer if I didn’t use it as a weekend bag.

Compartments – there are also just enough compartments to find things quickly in BabyBeau. The 4 side compartments are soft on the hands when you’re sifting through the bag and a nice addition that it can be taken out easily should you just want to pack something that doesn’t need to be separated.

The diaper bag also came with a nice diaper changing pad (that didn’t actually fit in with BOTH my kiddos things) and insulated bottle holder – both lovely accessories to match the bag.  Inside the bag, there is also a detachable zippered pouch for small items (e.g. mommy items, snacks).

I would have to say this bag is definitely well thought out and can transition with your family and doesn’t even have to be called a diaper bag, but a weekend bag due to its size (to note, I wouldn’t call the bag lightweight, but hey – it’s canvas with leather).

BabyBeau Isabelle can be compacted to look smaller with the hooks on both sides of the bag. The bottom of the bag also has the 4 metal balls so the material isn’t touching sometimes dirty floors.

We travel light and only bring necessities, but we’re also lucky in that we (and the kids) don’t have special products that we can’t live without besides now the MiaMily hipster carrier.– a practical carrier where you can run some errands in and not have to bring a diaper bag as well. YAY!

We used ours for the first time this weekend and LOVE it. I didn’t have the original MiaMily carrier and used the Ergo with baby #1 so here are my thoughts.

• Infant insert is so soft and perfect size for my 6 week old to keep her nice and secure in there.  There are 2 snaps to adjust as your infant grows
• Carrier material is easy to clean and I was wearing a tank top so it didn’t hurt my shoulders or arms (no marks on me – it is also fall here in England so no feedback on hot weather, but for babe there is mesh lining inside which can be zippered down to be more breathable).
• Shoulder and waist straps are easy to clip together and velcro can be adjusted easily.
• Amazing feature is the zippered pouch below the seat of babe to put accessories in (e.g. bottle, diaper, phone, keys, snack) for some errands instead of bringing a bag. There is also a side mesh pouch to put a phone at – wow, MiaMily thought of everything!

Any cons you might be thinking? I would have to say – hot, humid weather may be rough with the carrier and babe in it since the carrier isn’t a cotton material.  Another thing is that it doesn’t fold into a super compact size, but it does come with a travel bag that can also fit the infant insert in it.

We chose to stay at an Airbnb for the weekend and found the cutest place – The Lakehouse. Our place overlooked our own little lake and it was so peaceful minus Addison crying a lot. The owner also had sheep, alpacas, pigs, and dogs which absolutely made Abigail’s weekend to play and see them. Beautiful countryside property and would highly recommend (one thing – bring your own toiletries, none provided).

These alpacas were insanely cute and soft.

Daddy and daughter selfie with the pigs (piglets in the back too).

We were going to do a baby animal petting zoo for Abigail’s 4th birthday, but seeing her with the cockapoos, probably not.

The property. – this building was a Roman bathhouse back in the day.

We also checked out the town before we left back to London in our Joovy. Abigail LOVES to roll in this as she can also keep a close eye on her baby sister. This double stroller is definitely more suitable in a spacious setting like here. Big perks – super smooth wheels, can put a car seat on it, and kickboard for toddler to stand on built in.

Loved our much needed weekend getaway and looking forward to our next adventure in October.

Cheers for now and thanks for reading. xx

It’s One Month.

Do you start your day with a list of things you’re going to do and wonder why at the end of the day you didn’t finish it? I’m currently on that boat with having a now one month old.

Addison is a tough egg to crack. She’s a super light sleeper and it sure has been a struggle getting her to sleep and then keeping her asleep. Painful is what I would call it so here’s to hoping month two is better in our flat.

BUT, at least she has some cute accessories from some amazing shops. 

📷: Hello world! I’m all smiles for mummy. 

Product LOVES (serious Liberty love!)

Mille & Bee – this mama gives back a portion of her proceeds from Liberty hair bands to a UK miscarriage association. Amazing! 

Made by Jay – baby and children’s clothing in Liberty print along with other cute accessories. She also knits shoes too! 

📷: Millie & Bee even sent this lovely card as well. 

📷: Product LOVE: Lorena Canals

2 words for the extra clean mom – machine washable. This sold me quickly and I’m in love with this rug. My 3 year old also takes her daily naps after nursery on it and insists she sleep on London. So, yes it is soft and thick enough for a toddler to nap on! 

On a happy note from one mama to another (sorry if you’re a male reading this!), 1 month post partum and everyone keeps telling me I’m looking great and what is the secret. Here goes (drum roll please):

Product LOVE: Belly Bandit

From maternity to post, Belly Bandit has me covered. I wore the upsie belly during pregnancy and it totally helped with back support and all the walking I was doing. It also had the hot/cold pack which was wonderful to use on the back as well.

After giving birth, I started wearing the bamboo belly bandit with belly shield and have been for a month now. It has been helpful as you can hopefully see and has made me feel better – now if the stretch marks would just magically disappear!

OK, now the true secret – ladies, I know you’re looking for the perfect black leggings – here they are – Mother Tucker leggings. I’m wearing them in a small.

Heading to check out the gorgeous London Aquatics centre by the late Zaha Hadid. This is pretty neat to check out if you want to visit Queen Elizabeth Olympic park (also across from the mall). There is a fun playground with sand for kids, the world tallest tunnel slide, water fun, and a river!  Worth checking out if you’re visiting for a week with kids! 

Quick note, the diaper backpack I’m wearing is from Jujube. They have a huge collection of styles and just launched a new selection. I must agree that their bag is light and a perfect fit for this mama of two so far. LOVE – the one I have is called the Black Widow from the Be Right Back collection. 

📷: Now, please give mama some sleep too.

Cheers for now and thanks for reading (would love if you subscribe – I promise I won’t “spam” you). xx

That’s My Sleepyhead.

Product LOVE: Sleepyhead / Dockatot

Oh wow, all the hype about the sleepyhead / dockatot rings true – I’m a believer now that it really creates a magic portable bed for my newborn to sleep soundly in.

FYI: the Sleepyhead is what it is called in Europe (and also where it originated) and Dockatot is the USA name. 

We got the Sleepyhead Deluxe and it’s perfect for our cozy little London flat as we only have 2 bedrooms. Who needs another crib when you can use this to approximately 8 months.  If you would like to see our flat/episode from House Hunters International, I finally got it posted on my website under sprinkles.  The hilarious bit now is seeing the comments that people post on there – so “kind” behind a screen, I must say. 😯

Anyhow, I want to note a couple things about the Sleepyhead and the already noticeable personality differences between the girls that make this product work for our family of four. 

• My first loved her Rock n’ Play and being patted and rocked. Addison just wants to be held and not moved so Sleepyhead is perfect for her.
• Addison was breeched until 38 weeks so I think being in this “womb” like pod is ideal as she absolutely loves being swaddled where Abigail hated it.
• We realized from our travels with Abigail that we need to get a travel cot that is compact and light and not have to create a baby bed with a now extremely active toddler. The Sleepyhead fits perfectly what we are looking for. It is mobile to be in the flat and out. It will be easy to use for bed sharing, play pod, tummy time, sleep positioner, etc. 
• With the tight quarters in our London flat, we have utilized all the space so having this has made it easier for us to move our newborn around quickly (but not with her in it!) and find a spot for her to sleep peacefully without a million kisses from her sister. 😘

Muslin swaddle blankets LOVE to small shops (pictured above photo). 

• Small Stuff – based in the UK with limited edition clothes and products for our little bears. This mama picks the cutest things.  We love our monochrome goodies from her at an affordable price.  
• The Bobbin Belle – based in Florida, USA. Handmade blankets on my favorite Muslin material. This mama customizes and has so many colors to choose from (newest is oombre). I wish she has blankets in adult size! 

Cheers for now and thanks for reading. 

If you’re toying with the idea of getting a sleepyhead / dockatot, I would say hands down, “donut” worry, you won’t regret this purchase! 

♥️ Addison

In 37 Minutes.

Disclaimer: May be just a sprinkle of TMI but a wonderful surprise comes along with a giveaway at the end. 😯

How quickly it can fly by when you’re in pain but you keep thinking, “Is baby Addison ok in there after baking for almost 39 weeks?”

The adrenaline rush is insane.

📷 : The birthing story.

We will just go with the day of Addison’s arrival into the world of adventures and jetsetting around the world with the family. 

The contractions started around 5pm but I really didn’t think anything of it since I was comparing this pregnancy with Abigail (I had contractions yet wasn’t dilated for well over 24 hours). After about a hour, I started wondering if maybe this was different and told the hubs cooking a scrumptious dinner of Korean food which is hard to come by in London. I told him we should probably go after dinner just to see what’s going on since I heard all these horror stories of waiting around for ages to get a bed.  He agreed.  About a hour later, the contractions started getting much more painful and I timed it at about 1 min each and less than 4 minutes apart. Hmm, I think that I may be in labor.  I calmly told hubs, my mom, and Abigail that I need to go to the hospital now. 

We called Uber (wish we had a car in London) and it promptly came at 6:28pm. 

UCLH – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing, here we come. We got to the hospital at 6:43pm and I was in pain. We both seem to have forgotten exactly where to go again and the halls were pretty empty along with the swinging double doors needing to be rung to be buzzed in.

Finally, got to the correct unit and the receptionist asked me for an urine sample. “OMG – urine in a cup at this time?! I painfully walked what seemed like a mile down the hallway and made it back (almost tossing the urine at the receptionist for making me do this).  

Shortly, Evelyn, a super sweet nurse, took me to a room and that’s when it became a blur.

Starting with umm, I think I’m in a labor, uhh I think I’m going to have it now. Ow, I can’t hold it. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Huh? Breathe, don’t scream? What, I can’t have the baby on this bed, we have to go somewhere else?!!! WHAT!!!

Anyhow, Evelyn was a goddess.  Super calm and quickly got things executed.

• Called all the right people the 1st time around
• Got a labor & delivery room
• Called for a midwife to be there to deliver baby
• Wheeled us downstairs or upstairs (not sure) while I thought I was peeing in the wheelchair
• Set up the room and kept telling me I can’t deliver just quite yet.

In the room, Evelyn kept relaying to me to breath and wait for the midwife (with NHS, you get whoever is on shift as with your midwife appointments throughout your pregnancy). Seemed like a decade, but Chloe the midwife arrives (first impression – looks REALLY young) and they catch each other up and she starts saying that I’m healthy maybe I want to sign some papers to donate my cord to the bank.

HELLOO ladies, I think I think I’m going to push NOW…and this part becomes the real blur that hubs has to fill in.

He said I told them I had to go to the bathroom first but changed my mind and said my water is breaking. Barely made it to the delivery bed (while they still wanted to check my blood pressure) and baby was already crowning once my pants came off (who needs to waste a hospital gown?). 😜

They gave me gas by the bed (I thought it was just oxygen to tell me to just remember to breathe) and I pushed and out popped the head. A couple more pushes while I was thinking “just think you’re pooping” and out came baby Addison. It was crazy that I felt the hands and feet coming out. 

All I can remember saying is, “How come she’s not crying?” and then it came:

” Wahhh!”

📷 : Time into the world, Addison. 7:20pm @ 7.1 pounds & 19 inches, August 13, 2016.

I still can’t believe the record time I arrived into the hospital to delivery of baby Addison at 7:20pm. 37 minutes to be precise and I have #jordwatches and #uber to thank for that.

Why Jord Watches? This is my 2nd watch in my lifetime of nice watches and I love the choice I made. The bigger face plate makes it much easier to see the time while one is a state of pain. I love how the watch is automatic – no worries about changing the batteries, yay!  This particular rose gold watch is made of a Koa wood (a species native to Hawaii – sold me on feeling relaxed and at ease). I got it on that Saturday so I was happily wearing it and my hubs was telling me this would be our 5 year anniversary present since it is “wood” this year.

Anyhow, as cheesy as I am, I thank Jord Watches for keeping me at ease and a watchful eye on the time to the birth of Addison. Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to capture pictures of it in the labor room – may be a bit much. lol.

So, I partnered with Jord Watches to run a GIVEAWAY where one winner will receive a $75 gift card and every ENTRANT will automatically receive a $20 gift card toward any watch.

Enter the GIVEAWAY here .

📷 : Cora Koa & Rose Gold Jord Watch 

📷 : Cora Koa & Rose Gold Jord Watch 

Cheers for now, enter the giveaway (click this giveaway link), and more to come on the experience after the birth! xx

Ladies Wood Watch
//www.woodwatches.com/widget-article/ajangsley

Home Stretch.

OMG, 38 weeks pregnant and I should probably have my hospital bag packed and ready to go (along with bottles and baby products that go in the mouth sterilized and clothes/bibdanas/muslin blankies washed). Good thing my mum came in this past Saturday to help with my super chatty little bugaboo, Abigail. ♥️

Back to the hospital bag, I was finally able to talk to a doctor and nurse about the whole labor/delivery/after process (quite the waiting game at the hospital is what it looks like) and now I’m all set on what I need to bring/provide for baby girl NHS style.

• Nappies
• Hat
• Formula
• Clothes

Guess that’s everything (I won’t be needing a spare empty bag like the US). 😉

To note: private rooms can run to £800/night but being in the hospital ward (4 to a room) is free. Earphones/plugs – hello, I will need you.

No worries on bunking with other Brits as I’ll still make our stay comfy with some key items below.

• Lalabu soothe shirt – I can’t wait to baby wear my newborn. Also, they’re an amazing shop, they give 2% of all sales back to moms in Africa, supporting mom entrepreneurs through micro-finance. I can’t wait to use my shirt with my little as the material is so soft. They also just came out with new colors. 😍
• Belly bandit bamboo wrap – I recommend the bamboo material as its much softer and we’re so sensitive in that area with just giving birth. I also got the belly shield to apply oils and lotions since sadly I did not get the lucky genes of stretchy perfect skin to keep my wrap clean.
• Small Stuff bibdana to keep baby clean and styling 
• Thebobbinbelle Muslin swaddle and Muslin blankie – I can’t rave enough how this new small shop has the cutest designs.  This mama also does custom ones so definitely ask! The blankie is approximately 45″ x 45″ so something even my now 3 year old still uses.
• Nuby breast pump – Oh so portable and looks easy to use. I know the hospital will provide a pump should I need it, but figured I will bring to get used to this new device.

  • Digital Breast Pump has won the 2016 Prima Baby Magazine SIlver Award for the best electric breast pump.

• Anna Crochet Knit panda bear beanie – found this sweet mama on Instagram and she takes custom orders as I’ve been getting so many panda bear prints (monochrome love). If you’re interested, her email is anna.crochet.knit@gmail.com
• TWELVE little changing pad – this one came with my diaper backpack and has 12 different animals on it to represent one year of the 12-year cycle based on the Chinese zodiac. The year the person is born determines their animal sign. Curious which animal you are? Check here.
• Wubbanub hippo – Abigail loved hers so we figured we would get one for baby.  With the stuffed animal attached to the pacifier, it helps to not fall far away from baby
• Motherlove nipple cream – I swear by this from Abigail. All organic ingredients. LOVE
• Footed onsies – I even got zippered ones just to make my life a lot easier. 

Of course, even with the new baby girl coming, we want to make sure Abigail isn’t forgotten and always my #1 bugaboo. We took her out and about with a new dress from Petit Peony and she was ecstatic (she insists on wearing a dress daily – rain or shine). I hope this dress-loving toddler lasts forever. 👗

We are swooning over Petite Peony for a couple reasons that will get you to fall in love with this mama of three.

• She donates to children from Room To Grow (I also donate 25% of my net proceeds from my F is For Fox book to this amazing non-profit! #lovebooksbyAJ)
• Petit Peony‘s designs are a modern take on classic designs
• This mama’s shop is in over 85 boutiques in US and was also just featured in British Vogue August issue. Awesome!
• They only use 100% premium and organic cotton.

📷: Background of the Shard – the tallest building in London.

📷: I thought this would be my favorite #bfgdreamjars piece to bid on but looks a lot different live. More on the dream jar trail (see previous post).

📷: Walking the line on Tower Bridge

📷:: A little break at this cool and yummy establishment. 1st floor – tavern, 2nd floor – pizzeria, 3rd floor – grill.  We ate at the pizzeria and enjoyed a nice outdoor view with tasty food!

📷: Seriously, moms helping moms on getting a reversible wrap dress – two dresses in one. Stains be gone in a flash.

📷: Cheers for now and thanks for reading. xx

Missing Cali.

With summer finally here in London (I think it’s short lived as it says it will be raining yet again on Friday and Saturday), it’s funny the particular things I miss and wish we had in London. Who knew I would think of toilet seat covers as one of them? 

📷: LAX bathroom before flight back to London. 

I also think of good charmin’ toilet paper as well since I just can’t seem to find the perfect toilet paper in London. 

Target – oh man, how I love thee. Although my husband sure doesn’t miss this, I do. It’s seriously the one stop shop to everything along with great deals and the cutest things from marimekko to ohjoy. By the way, she’s got an amazing blog on DIY to pictures of her family to cute clothing to dress your littles in. I would jump on following her blog and just subscribe to get in your inbox. This gal is a serious inspiration and goal to strive to become a mom boss. ♥️

📷: ohjoy collection – love the alphabet line of course to tie in with my alphabet boardbook series. #lovebooksbyaj 

California Pizza Kitchen – my chain restaurant that I love way too much. Two must haves are the Sicilian pizza (if you’re a protein lover) and the delicious spinach artichoke dip. Yummy in everyone’s tummy – I swear. Ok, maybe not the super health conscious or anyone wanting to be remotely healthy. #cheatmeal

Water time – living in the ‘burbs, definitely spoiled with the abundant pools, splash pads, beaches and fountains to frolic in. 

📷: beach water fun in Cali #nofilter

📷: penthouse water fun in London 

Snacks – just to name a few I haven’t found in a normal London market (so many and we wonder why obesity is a problem in the USA 😮)

• Red vine (I hear it’s at Costco!)
• Cheetos – flaming hots
• Chex mix
• Cheez-its
• Goldfish
• Lemon heads 
• Tostitos – restaurant style (they’re the thin ones)

Am I leaving you with a case of the munchies now? BUT, don’t get me wrong either, I love London and all the adventures we can go on so quickly around Europe. Maybe I got overloaded with vitamin D yesterday and today and that’s why I wrote this blog or maybe I’m just missing Cali – soon enough we’ll be home as a family of 4 + reunited with our dog. 

Side note: currently at 35 weeks pregnant and feeling a lot better with the belly bandit upsie belly for back support and this growing belly (ultrasound said baby is at 5 pounds!). Bamboo soft wrap and comfy to wear with nothing digging into your growing belly. The other fabulous thing is it comes with a cold/hot gel pack that sticks into a pocket in the wrap to soothe your back – perfect for this “heatwave” here. 👍🏻☀️🇬🇧 #bellybandit 

Cheers for now and thanks for reading! xx