Who Said Pink Was For Girls?

Pink doesn't hold me back from buying it for James. If its cute, I buy it and James wears it. I've always thought it was silly to put labels on colors and my boy rocks pink!

When I put James in pink or another so called "girly" color, I make sure to pair it with an obvious boy pant like denim! 

^^^ James has been going sans shoes for all walks in the stroller and outdoor adventuring in grandpa and grandmas backyard. With summer approaching and the warm weather upon us, mommy says that's okay. 

Sadly we are back home in Bakersfield now. I say sadly because I really love visiting my family so much. My sweet mom watched James for a few hours every single day when I was down so that I could do fun things like get brunch with friends, do solo shopping trips, and get my hair done! Bless her. It's so nice having family close and it's something that should not be taken for granted! 

Maybe I should clarify because it can be confusing... I am born and raised in La county (boarder of OC) but for the past two years we've been moving to different parts of CA for my husbands job. Currently in Bakersfield. We will be done with the moving next year (thank god) and finally relocating permanently back in Orange County where we'll buy a house. Hopefully a duplex with my parents. No joke. That's how close I want to be to them!! LOVE THEM! 

Now that this post just got so off topic lets wrap it up with some simple outfit details shall we?

Outfit details- 

Black jeans are Shawn White for Target and tee is also from Target for just $5! I think this ensemble cost me a total of $15! 

Happy Tuesday! Thanks for reading friends!

California Boy

After I took these low quality photos, I looked at them and it hit me- James is SUCH a California boy. Obviously I already knew my child was born and is being raised in California but it just hit me when I saw these pictures how much James just ELUDES California. The sunshine, clear skies, happiness, he has a palm tree on his shirt for goodness sakes. If that isn't "California", I don't know what is! Kind of perfect because these photos were taken in front of my parents perfect palm tree. 

^^^ yup, he is still all about the "paca" aka pacifier. 

Outfit details- 

Tank- Hello Apparel

Colored denim- H&M

Sandals- Salt water sandals 

Disney, We're Available

I'm thinking maybe if I eventually post enough Disney posts, a Disney rep will contact me and book James for something. Disney, James is fully available for all commercials and movies. You're welcome. I mean, look at these "head shots". The kid has posing down crazy good and you know you'd watch a commercial if James' sweet face was in it.

  

We went to Disneyland this week and had the best day. One of those perfect Disney days where the weather is cool, the park is empty, and the characters are plenty. 

I've always loved Disneyland, but I think I love it even more now that I'm a mom. Seeing things through James' eyes makes everything so much more magical. 

^^ James spent a good half hour running around the park with his arms up in the air chasing bubbles. This kid lives quite the life I tell ya. 

^^ I let James choose any candy he wanted from a HUGE candy store in the park and he chose the yuckiest one.. A marshmallow stick shaped like Tigger's tail. Maybe he did that so his mom and grandma wouldn't steal any. Smart kid.

^^ What do you mean there aren't anymore characters to see?!!!

I'm so thankful that I'm surrounded by fun things to do and amazing places to take my son. 

We've been having a really nice week down here with my family. My husband and I were able to sneak a couple day dates in to go out to lunch and see The Great Gatsby. I took James to a little kids gymnastics play class. He was more interested in running around like a wild man and didn't care for any parts that involved sitting down and listening. We've done some good shopping and gotten to see all our family. I hope your weeks have been equally as nice! 

Outfit details- 

Shirt- Target

Leggings- Jennifer Ann

I wanted to post a close up of the amazing leggings James is wearing so you can see that his name is written all over them! You can choose the font and the colors and obviously the name, too. Jennifer does sweet matching blanket sets, too!

Moccasins- Metallic blue sapphire c/o Fresly Picked

Follow Freshly Picked on Facebook and Instagram to get all the details on their huge upcoming sale!!

****Annnnndddddd, because I haven't updated you guys in so long I have a ton of Baby Gizmo posts to share with you, too. My paid job is to blog for Baby Gizmo so these are all my recent posts. Check them out for further reading.*****

 Baby Wearing 101

 10 Beauty Products And Morning Routines That Will Make Your Morning Life Easier

10 Mock-Tail Recipes

25 Uses For Baby Wipes Besides On Your Baby

Hands Free Sundays This one is really important to me and something I think EVERYONE should read.

Terrible Twos- Are They Really That Terrible?

Should You Sign Your Little One Up For Organized Sports?

Family Photos Done Right This one features my family and will give you a sneak peek at our recent family photo sesh.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Banana Cupcakes Just in case you can't get enough of my recipes.

How To Make Hotel Stays For Longer Periods Of Time Work Because clearly you all know I'm an expert in this field.

Supporting Other Moms

TGIF! I hope you all have an amazing weekend planned. Thanks for reading!

Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel And Sea Salt Brownies

I'm back with a second recipe post today. Sorry or you're welcome (depending on if you're into sweet recipes or not... This is the last one though)

I should have titled this post brownies on crack because the title is so long. I'm not going to lie, these take a bit of work and have multiple steps but the pay off is TOTALLY worth it. These may just be the best thing I've ever made. When my husband tried them, I swear his eyes rolled back in his head and he almost fainted. MAKE THEM!!

Step 1- Brownies

In a bowl mix together- 

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup  melted butter

1 and a half cups sugar

1 and a half teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

(I actually doubled this because I needed to make a lot for Mother's Day)

Once you're done, line a baking pan with wax paper and pour your batter in. 

Step 2- peanut butter filling. 

Put the following in a bowl and mix until well blended. 

4 tbl of butter, melted 

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

Pinch of salt 

1 tsp vanilla

Pour the peanut butter mix on top of the brownie batter and then use a knife to swirl everything together like you see in the picture above. 

Take pretzel sticks and layer them on top in whatever pattern makes you happy. Just remember that you're going to have to cut these babies so try to arrange the pretzels in a way that will be easy for you to cut squares out of. 

Best part ever and NOT to be left out-- sprinkle ground sea salt on top. Don't skimp but don't overload. This really makes the brownies!! 

Bake them in a 325 degree oven for 40-45 minutes. Like I said, I doubled this recipe so my baking time was more like an hour or a little more even. 

Let them cool for 30 minutes before cutting them. Boom baby, you're done!

These brownies are straight heavenly and I will be making them over and over and over again. The combo of the chocolate and peanut butter and sea salt is SO dreamy and the pretzels are fun and give it a nice little crunch. 

Enjoy, and if you make them don't forget to comment and let me know how they turned out! 

Recipe: Candy Bark

I tried my hand at homemade candy bark for Mother's Day and I was VERY impressed with the results. I basically made up the recipe and just winged it. 

The first batch I made was white chocolate with Andes mints and Oreos. 

All I did was melt the white chocolate chips and then I stirred in the Oreos and Andes mints. The Andes mints turned the white chocolate to a light chocolate color. If you want the white chocolate to be white, don't add chocolate of any kind. The mint gave it an amazing flavor, though. This combo was my favorite. 

I also did a milk chocolate with M&M's and pretzels. 

Once the milk chocolate chips were melted I mixed in the pretzels and then I put the M&M's on top.  

Once everything is melted and mixed just smooth it onto wax paper on top of baking sheets and pop them in the freezer. They harden really fast. Use a knife to break them up. 

The white chocolate seems to hold up a lot better than the milk. For example, once I took them out of the freezer, the white chocolate stayed perfectly but the milk chocolate got melty VERY fast. I recommend storing them in the freezer until you're ready to eat them. 

I've already got a list of new mixes to try next (I'm thinking dark chocolate with rolos and pretzels would be bomb). I love trying new creations in the kitchen and I'm very pleased with how these turned out!!

Playground Junkies

A while ago I decided I was going to stop asking myself what I wanted to do each day and start asking James what HE wanted to do each day. 9 times out of 10 James chooses to go to the playground, so that's where we go. The thing is, I'm a stay at home mom so that  means it's my JOB to do what my kid wants to do. Sure I have an occasional errand to run here and there but for the most part, it's all about James. And that's how it should be. If having a kid will teach you anything (okay besides love and all that sappy stuff) it will teach you selfless-ness. Putting James before myself comes naturally. I would do anything for him. And if that means becoming a playground junkie, so be it. There are far worse things.

Usually I keep my phone in the car for our playground dates because I don't want to be like every other parent out there who ignores their kids to be on their cell phone. I want James to see that mommy is WATCHING. I want him to know that what he's doing is interesting to me and that he's important. However, I really wanted to capture some cute photos of him in his element so I broke the rule this time. 

^^ This would be James demanding that I climb up with him and go down the slides, too. Of course I did. How could I resist that cute... scream?

While we're on the subject of putting James first and putting my phone away, I want to tell you how much better our mornings have been lately. Instead of catching up on ALL my social media sites right away while James watches a movie, we read books. We cuddle under a blanket with our bed head hair and we read. And then we bake, and I always let James help. I think it's important to start your day off right with your kids. Is checking my phone the first thing I should be doing every morning? Is that the most important thing in my life? It shouldn't be. 

I've just been realizing more and more each day how fleeting time is. Before I know it James is going to be grown and out of the house and then I'll have all day to be on my phone. But I will wish that I was cuddling my sweet baby and reading him books. 

Don't let time pass you by friends. These are the moments you'll wish for later. Live them. 

 

 

 

Outfit details-

 

Tank- Hello Apparel

Leggings- c/o Little Boogaweezin

Sandals- Salt Waters

Mother's Day

To all the wonderful mothers in the world,  today is for you. Being a mother is the hardest job in the whole world, but it is also the best and most fulfilling, too. 

I have always wanted to be a mother and that dream came true on April 26th, 2011. There's nothing I would rather be than a mother. My son fills up every part of my heart and because of him I love a crazy huge love that I never knew I could. 

Not one day goes by that I wish I was out working a job or doing something else. Being a mother is my calling and I am so blessed that I can stay home and mother my son every second of every day. 

I am fortunate in that I have an amazing mother who is beautiful, selfless, and kind. A mother who epitomizes what every mother should be and a mother who puts all others before herself. I have had a perfect example to learn from my whole life, and for that I am thankful beyond words. 

To every mother, I hope you get to sleep in, take naps, and have a day off from doing dishes today. 

I will be spending the day with my mother, my grandmother, and all my family. We're gathering together by the beach today to feast and enjoy company. I brought a FEAST of treats for everyone to enjoy because baking is my love language and my most favorite thing to do. I also made a big tray of these goodies for all my mom friends to enjoy. 

I made three different kinds of cookies- peanut butter, chocolate chip, and chocolate with white chocolate chips. Then I made double chocolate devils food cupcakes, two different kinds of candy bark (not pictured) and the most amazing chocolate and peanut butter brownies with pretzels and sea salt. I will share a recipe or two this week with you all because the stuff came out the bomb!

I was under the impression that my husband would be working on Mother's Day so James and I packed up and headed down to see my fam yesterday. My husband told me to expect a package around 8pm and I thought it would be something like Pro Flowers since you can pick the date and time of delivery for those... He called me at 8 to ask if the package arrived yet and he was outside!!!! Best husband ever. Not only can he spend Mother's Day with me but he took the week off, too!! I also got some sweet gifts and a shopping spree approval. The best gift of all, though, is the gift of my son and the opportunity to love him and raise him and take care of him always.