Our Morning at Birch

This morning, we spent some time strolling around Birch Aquarium. The kids love checking out all the aquariums, their favorite being the jellyfish, and they especially enjoy the interaction at the tide pools. We have the family membership there, $75 a year. What a bargain!

My favorite picture of the day.

Paige getting in touch with an urchin.

Nick would only look, just a tad nervous to touch anything.

Another beautiful day in sunny San Diego.



Full of Love Treat Bags

I cannot resist Valentine's Day crafts. I just love all the girly colors and messages of love! I made some treat bags for the kids' preschool teachers and Paige's dance teacher. I hope they like the yummy chocolates inside. All the papers came from Michael's. I'm so happy that Michael's carries a lot more variety now especially all of the Martha Stewart products.

The Actual Morning Room

When we started looking for a house, one of the rooms I dreamed of having was my very own craft room. So, I knew this house was the one as soon as I saw it. The builder called this room "The Morning Room". You know they always have to cleverly name each room of the house on the brochure. This room is downstairs and is situated behind the kitchen. It has lots of light, easy access to snacks, and a french door so that I can see all the pretty flowers (well eventually, landscape isn't done yet) and beautiful sky. We purposely put in tile after I convinced Brian that a wood floor is probably not the best idea since I use hot glue guns, and glitter, lots of glitter. Didn't take too much convincing after hearing that.

It's great to be able to leave my projects out so that I can work on them any time.



One day I hope to add built in cabinets above the computer to store more stuff.



The corner art table for the kids.

My Little Cupcake

When Paige was three months old, I took some fun pictures of her for Valentine's Day cards. I remember distinctly the grandmothers loving this rosy-cheeked photo. Last year, I found a heart shaped wooden frame at Michael's for a dollar. I knew just what picture would fit in there and thought it would be cute to include with my Valentine's decorations. I painted it white, cut out and adhered the paper, used some old doilies from my teaching days, and 'voila', my very own little cupcake smiling upon me. Now, everytime I walk by this frame, a huge smile comes across my face!

The Perfect Breakfast Spot

One of my favorite places to eat breakfast is Claire's on Cedros in Solana Beach. If you haven't been there yet, make sure to put it on your list of places to try out. All of their food is made fresh on site. Their ingredients are used from the local farmers. Their breads, scones, and muffins are crazy good. They also make specialty coffees if you are just stopping in for something quick. I'm looking forward to going back and having lunch there with a nice glass of white wine.

Enjoying breakfast together before taking off to Dallas.




Walnut Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Wild Mushroom Omelet, with a side salad




Strawberry Rhubarb Stuffed French Toast with fresh ricotta.

And then if you stuff yourselves too much, cross the bridge and take a nice walk to Cardiff State Beach.

Monkey Business

Over the holiday break, we took a day trip to San Juan Capistrano. On our way back from the petting zoo, I saw the perfect opportunity for a photo. And as usual, Nick was in no form to participate in the way I was hoping. Just can't resist the need to climb.

Then, completely unhappy that we brought him down.

So, Paige ends up posing alone. Typical.

His & Hers

After we moved into our house, my first project that I was eager to tackle was to make His & Her signs for above each of our towel racks. I went to one of my favorite craft stores and went straight to one of my favorite paper makers, Bo Bunny. They always have such beautiful, coordinating papers. I was really happy with the way they turned out and they give a nice personal touch to the bathroom.

Swinging

My sister-in-law planned a day for all of us to get a big family portrait together since everyone was here for the holidays. The photographer and his wife live in Poway on a beautiful, spacious porperty. While we were waiting for our turn, I took advantage of the kids having fun on the swing by using my telephoto lens. It was so much fun getting pure, unstaged photos of the kids.

Tamales

Each year, my mom carries on our Costa Rican tradition of making tamales. This year was no exception, especially since my cousin, Marcela, was visting for Christmas. Once again, my mom did most of the work to prepare, but after she brought everything to my house, Marcela and I became her assembly line workers. We made five dozen tamales and they took approximately six hours from start to finish.
Aren't they pretty before they get wrapped up?Finally, my two big stockpots come in handy. Here's the tamale after it's been cooked. So good!
Paige happily took this picture for us, thus the reason it's a little crooked.

The Morning Room

I loved my family blog and still plan to include them in this one; however, I feel it's time to focus on my other passions. Since our move, I've had so much fun finding things to decorate the home with. Home Goods has become one of my favorite places to shop. I always seem to find some little gem each time I go there. I've also been crafting and cardmaking more than ever. Some days the juices flow better than others, but I try to keep at it. Definitely helps subscribing to some amazing blogs out there that inspire me. My latest craze has been in the kitchen. I love trying out new recipes and even started "Happy Hour Fridays" to try out new dishes on my family and friends. They are always willing to be happy participants. Once our landscaping is finished, I plan to garden, a lot. Not going to buy a pair of crocs just yet, but I have my bright green sunhat ready to go. Lastly, Brian bought me a new camera for Christmas. I must have been begging for a new camera for years, and I'm so thrilled! So, my list of hobbies is growing and I show no signs of stopping. The Morning Room is the place that I spend most of my time, besides the laundry room and kitchen, both close seconds. It's become the hub of our home. The kids create in this room with all of my scraps while I work. It's also the home of our computer, calendar, and project table. Once I tidy it up, I'll post of picture of it. So, cheers to a new year of new adventures!