Mick’s been working from home more as he works on his new startup. It’s nice to have him run over and help when I’m changing Sam’s diapers and he’s kicking and screaming.  And it’s really nice to have someone home when Sam’s sleeps.

This morning I was able to run some work errands all on my own while Sam took his morning nap.  I’m learning and trying to be more confident as a working mom, but sometimes my insecurities come out and I get nervous taking him to the showrooms.  Often times I feel like the helpers are rolling their eyes behind my back.  I’m sure they’re not, they’re always so excited to see Sam and say, “oh we never see babies around here!” And even today they asked where my kid was.  {I guess it’s good to be remembered!}  Anyway, my hands were free, so I decided to snap some pics along the way:

Forecast called for rain.  So wellies, corduroys, and a jacket were appropriate attire….until I took a few steps with my blistered feet (too much dancing, if you know what I mean) and realized wellies weren’t cutting it.   Maybe I’ll beat the rain…

Nope.

Had to run into Restoration Hardware.  Love their effortless style and the architecture theme they’ve got going on.  DON’T like the aviator theme.

Sometimes I think they can go a little too far with their effortless style.  Giant compasses just hanging out?! Not very practical or safe.  Or maybe I just have a toddler.

Had to return some samples to Kravet and look at some other fabrics.  In this particular project the client loves smokey, calm colors.  I’m thinking some of these fabrics from Windsor Smith’s line…

And we’re still searching for that perfect cocktail table for the SF Living Room project.  Forgotten Shanghai is a great modern/Asian mix with some beautiful imported pieces.

This one has been my favorite for months.  It has sleek lines, minimum wood (there’s a lot of wood in the home), gorgeous shinny top that will help reflect the light, and petite frame.

It’s great to have a list, know my route, and get things done in such a short time!  It’s a rainy, rainy, day.  I’ve gotten my entertainment, now I just need to figure out how to entertain Sam…

You know those crazy people who act out Renaissance jousting scenes on their school campus?!  And everyone walks by and snickers?  Now I know what they feel like.

How are my acting skills at the beginning?  Do I looked surprised that there’s a flash mob going on…and then I nonchalantly start busting out MJ moves.  Yeah, I practiced that part over and over in my head.  At least I can check that off my bucket list.  In all reality, it was pretty awesome being in a Michael Jackson flashmob in the middle of Union Square.  Two of the highlights:

-Hearing people giddily say, “oh it’s a flash mob!!”  I’m glad I was able to help fulfill people’s San Francisco dream vacation.  They can check that off their SF to-do list.

-Seeing my son in a stroller pathetically look at his mom.  I mean, he sees me dance like this in our home–but in public?!  Oh I can’t wait for the teenage years.  You better believe I’m going to be that mom.

Here’s to humiliating myself.

{shout out to all my girlies who learned this together.  We decided we were too cool to go to the Flash Mob practices, and decided to hold them on our own.  Check out teacher?!

More pics from Hawaii.  I kind of already miss it.

Reaching the end of our hike…

and enjoying a secluded beach.

Sam is never with us when we attend the temple, so when we visited as a family we had to take some pics…

Interested in visiting an LDS temple?  You’re in luck, the temple grounds are open to anyone who wants to walk around!  Your local temple might even have a visitor’s center.  And anyone who wants to enter the temple just has to have a temple recommend from your local LDS bishop…meaning you do have to become a Mormon member and go through a series of interview questions.  Sometimes the road to entering the temple may seem challenging.  But I promise, it’s all worth it.  From the perspective of a designer, the architecture and interiors are GORGEOUS!! Really, there are a lot of Greek and Moorish influences.  From the perspective of a Mormon, temples are the place to go to find inspiration, comfort, and solace.  You should see if there’s a temple by you to walk around.  If anything, take some family pics :) the grounds and gardens are always so pretty!

We started out the day a little rough.  Luckily spilled milk, cereal, and eggs caused no one to cry.  You’re not a mom if you don’t clean up food at least once a day…

The weather here has been beautiful!!! So we headed to the beach for some summer fun.  Unfortunately Sam’s fear of sand was multiplied when well, the sand multiplied.  Luckily there were p l e n t y of dogs and birds to keep him a little distracted.  I should have been catching up on emails, projects, and laundry; but I just wanted to hang out with this little stud…

Then Sam was so worn out from the sun and fear he took an amazing nap…allowing me to be a bit more responsible and get some much needed work done.  Wallpaper anyone?  Trying to convince a client that these will. make. the room.

The warm weather causes some serious afternoon heat in our non-air-conditioned, no-working-window home.  So we cooled off in the pool…

And worked up the apatite to clean off the kale.

Welcome summer.  Will you last? I would really love to spend my days with sand and snow cones, but I have a feeling it’ll be soup and scarves.

Guess who forgot their battery charger for their camera?  So you’ll have to be entertained by our iphone pics.

We had SO much fun! We traveled with my parents and siblings and their spouses sans kids.  It was really nice for us all to reconnect on an adult level.  I’m so lucky to be in a family where we all make the effort to stay in touch and strengthen our relationships.  And needless to say Mick and I got our much needed time together.  I’m about ten pounds heavier from all the food, and still so, so white.  But we are recharged and ready to get back to parenthood, church obligations, and work endeavors.

We’re back! And on our travels back I was catching up on blogs and saw that Jordan is at it again…a trip to Paris!!? Yes please!!!

photos of Jordan’s family from the Oh Happy Day blog.

I wanted to make sure I blogged this out before tomorrow’s deadline.  Sam had such a wonderful time with his grandparents in Utah that I feel 100% confident leaving him with them again WHEN we win this trip. :)  Make sure you check out the giveaway, it sounds amazing!

Thank you all for your sweet words and advice.  The night I blogged about it I was out with a bunch of girlfriends and everyone gave me such great advice and reassuring words.  Thank you all.

Sam and I spent three days in Utah letting him get used to his MamiBella and GrandPapa.  And judging by his excitement and happiness, I think he’ll have so much fun with them.  Hopefully he’ll want to see me when I get back!  We are now safe and sound in the tropics of Hawaii.

Before we left we were able to get some family portraits done by Red Poppy Photography.  The fabulous Stacy Thiot did a great job highlighting our neighborhood and family.

Be back to blogging when I’m back to real life.  Mahalo.

This time next week we will be cruising the Hawaiian Islands…without the little one.  And to say I have mixed emotions is a bit of an understatement.  Part of me is super excited to have a full week of WARM summer weather, and vacationing without the concern of changing diapers or carrying bottles and snacks around.  I know part of me will miss Sam and yearn to be with him.  But to be honest, my biggest concern is him thinking I deserted him.  He’s so young that he doesn’t really understand that I’ll be back in seven days fully recharged to be his mom100%.

photos from Sam’s first time on a ferris wheel

In regards to leaving the baby behind, my mom said she “did it all the time with us” which I think is a bit of an exaggeration.  But I do know she and my dad would take trips with either just the two of them, or leave the baby behind (they have seven kids, so there was always a baby at one time)  so the older kids could have a fun family trip without being slowed down by the necessities of babies.  When I was in third grade my parents brought the oldest six kids to Paris for Spring Break.  It is a trip I still remember to this day.  My youngest sibling was a baby and stayed with my grandparents.

I can see how some might think of it as leaving the baby out, but I’m starting to learn the benefits  of doing so.  The baby is too young to remember anything, and a vacation for them is spending time with grandparents!  And with a big family, I don’t think it’s fair to deny the older kids experiences.  I know it’s possible to travel with a baby.  Heck, we went to Bejing! And some of those experiences we shared as a family are priceless for us.

What do you think about leaving babies with grandparents so mom and dad can recharge?  Selfish or necessary?  Any tips on leaving a one year old with grandparents he doesn’t know very well? I’d love some suggestions!

I’m loving Thom Filicia’s new line this season.  When picking out fabrics for a project I order a ton of samples: some are obvious choices, some the client would never think of, some I would never think of {but the sweet workers at the showrooms show me what’s new}, and some that are just too good not to order.  While there are some great online resources {that I use all the time}, I also think it’s important to order fabric samples so you know how they are to the touch and how they drape.

Here’s the elimination process of a few fabrics for a current project.   The project I’m working on is mostly neutrals, so we’re trying to add a lot of interest in with textures and patterns.

Grey and yellow is a bit too now for us.  So we’ve decided to use this gorgeous ikat in a different colorway {not shown} to help tie in the more subtle brown and grays used elsewhere in the room.

For some reason I LOVE the faux bois fabric, but the space already has a lot of wood.  So we’ve decided not to go with it.

The striped crewel embroidered fabric has a beautiful sheen to it–in the sun it has a light shimmer.  But we thought it a little too shimmery for this single bachelor.  The fabrics we did decide to go with are amazing, and are being sewn into beautiful little pillow covers as we speak.  Can’t wait to see them!

Some are a bit pricier, but absolutely gorgeous (minus the distressed paint work)…

And others are totally funky, would be the statement of the room, and are completely affordable.

I found while going through my computer.  I’m not sure how old Sam was here, but I know it was before Christmas.  Oh he’s growing up.  Gone are the days of his toothless little grin and sort-of baby chub.  Even though my heart tugs a little while looking at these, I do love how fun he’s getting.  The table are turning, and he’s starting to make us laugh.  It is so. much. fun.

We went to the museum yesterday where some guy randomly started dancing.  At first I thought it was really cool.  Then I learned he brought his own music and speakers and shoved all the kids aside.  He went from sheek to geek in .5 seconds.  Lets hope Sam never does that.

Did you watch it?  My sorry love for rich reality shows + dramatic high end designers couldn’t pull me away from the telly last night.  It’s kind of fun to see these designers that I’ve worshiped and studied in front of the camera.  For instance, I NEVER pictured Kathy Ireland the way she is.  While her personal home style isn’t my favorite, her fabrics are classic, and somehow her crazy three teenage sons really resonate with me.  Plus, her life motto is quite similar to mine:  ”Food, Sex, and Decorating”

But my ultimate favorite:

Martyn Lawrence Bullard who came in with the best one-liner of the night: “I’ll raise my heavily botoxed eyebrow and scare everybody.”  Plus, I like a smiley designer (who shopped at the same store I just highlighted!), and I LOVE his design philosophy: “I sell you your look.  Find your fantasy, and make it a reality.”  It’s refreshing to see a world renowned designer still respect a client’s style as opposed to imposing their own.  To me, that’s what makes a good designer.  Someone who is versatile and able to really show who the client is as a person.  People always ask what my favorite style of design is.  And to be honest, I love all kinds.  I’ve studied so many different styles that I’ve learned to see the beauty in all kinds.  Can’t wait for next week, it’s so refreshing to see high-end design on TV!