a little of our 'Memorial Day' weekend

Eli and Olive, so sweet!

We served June for dinner. ;)

such a good helper

hmmm....what appetizer should I order?

Santa Crazy!!!

Elis new walker

So Elis Grandpa Bob and Grandma JoJo sent him this walker in the mail yesterday and we gave it a spin this morning. He is still a little too short for it, his feet just graze the floor but he seemed to like it, have a look. 

He kept scaring Olive our cat in it, too funny!

Natural Bridges Beach

I took Eli to the beach for the first time yesterday and he loved it!

Preview

mmm...sand!

how about a serious shot mom?

now a silly one!

sand face!

Hello from Santa Cruz!

Hello friends. It's been awhile, a month exactly from my last post and that's because we moved! Scott my husband got a job with the city of Santa Cruz in the city managers office. For those of you who don't know, we both went to college here (which is nice that things are familiar) and Scott had been wanting to get back to the coast for awhile and the timing seemed just right! Over the years I had been reluctant to leave Denver. My family is there, we have so many wonderful friends there, and my job at the time was going well, I was dancing consistently and had opportunities to grow in the interior design field... It was alot for me to give up, pre-baby! But after having a little one your priorities shift, all that really matters is the happiness of your home and home truly is where your heart is, not your zip-code. Oddly enough, I had a psychic tell me that once years ago and I rolled my eyes at her and thought to myself  'girlfriend, you don't me.' Hahaha!

So here we are back in California, and let me tell you it's not the worst place to be. ;) It is absolutely beautiful here in Santa Cruz and our outdoor life will greatly expand throughout the year since we won't be having harsh winters! We also have wonderful friends here still, which has made this move SO MUCH EASIER for me. Without my friends here I think I would be having a much harder time, as leaving my family was really, really tough!! So thank you Santa Cruz/Bay Area/So Cal peeps, you're the best!

Moving with a baby is really tough and if you ever need advice, I'm your gal. Eli and I had our first flight together just the two of us on our way here (Scott and his dad drove a moving truck and pulled the Subaru, and spared Eli and I 28hrs. of driving, thank you!!!) And then two weeks later Eli and I flew again just the two of us to LA there and back for a family wedding. Let me tell you, traveling solo with a baby is really tough!! If you need advice there, I'm your gal again. ;) Eli did really well though on all flights and for the most part travels well. He doesn't like to be in the car for too long which is tough, and I'm hoping will improve when we get a front facing car-seat (this new 2 years old 'rear car-seat rule' won't work for us!) He also doesn't sleep that great in hotels, oh well, who does right?

So the family is adjusting. Eli is doing great despite some sleep troubles and tummy troubles in the beginning, things are more consistent now. The cats have adjusted, although the first week Olive had a herpes outbreak (she has feline herpes from her feral mama, slutty cat, haha) and had to have eye-drops and anti-viral meds for a week, but she is fine now. A little needy but in a cute way, she follows me everywhere and sleeps with me more now, sometimes face to face. :) Our house is coming together, I had a hard time adjusting to the newness of it all since it is only 2 years old, it had burned down before that I guess... But I am now starting to see a vision of sorts for it. We ordered a new couch and that should be here mid-June, so we're hoping to paint a little before then and work on the front yard and making it more 'homey.' I have the bedrooms 'done' (although my thinking is a home is never 'done') and the kitchen and bathroom too, but I am struggling with the kitchen. I don't like the wood color of the cabinets and since it's a rental there is not much I can do there...we'll see? I'll post pictures when I'm ready, perhaps room by room.

So I'm back and hope to continue blogging about our new beach life, and share pictures/stories of our itsy bitsy beach bum who is about to turn one! Oh my! I'll blog about the planning of his party too, as I am starting that process... Hopefully I'll get more vegetarian recipes up here as well, as another friend asked about those. Just bare with me as I continue to get settled, but it feels good just writing this! Thanks for listening, till next time. xoxo