First off, big congrats to Ryan’s little sis Lindy for
graduating from Cal Poly! Woohoo!

And secondly, if you ever visit San Luis Obispo, I recommend:
Breakfast sandwiches from Frank’s and/or cheese danish from Utopia,
Sandwiches from Gus’ (picnic lunch it at Mitchell park),
and dinner at Big Sky Cafe.

Ahh, I miss San Luis already!
Maybe we’re already prodding our kids to attend Poly one day…

I spent a good half hour playing with my new Tilt Shift Effect app for the iPhone (thanks for the tip Melissa!). It’s the best time-waster since Kitteh Roulette. Three things are for sure: I love taking pics of my kids, I love my husband’s music, and I love cats.

Have you met Candace yet? If not, you should. She is inspiring, honest, has the neatest tutorials, and designs rad posters. In short, I hope to be like her some day.

This week, she has a wonderful line up of giveaways and guest posts on motherhood. I encourage you to check out her lovely blog, because it is a happy place. And you can read my thoughts on being a mother here.

First things first:
Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

And secondly,

…the Mother’s Day card I designed last year. Download here.
Have a happy day!

Pictures also by Kai.

Doesn’t she look so graceful and serene in these old photographs?

Lola Carmen passed away this morning around 4am. She went peacefully and had family with her. The past few years have been very hard on her body, but she fought carcinoid cancer bravely and remained with us longer than was expected. I wish I were able to give her one last hug and hold her hand again, because I miss her. Everyone misses her.

My heart is comforted with the knowledge that I will one day see her again, and that she is at rest now, freed from pain and her earthly body. I hope she had an awesome welcome party in heaven. Filipino-style.

Rest in peace, Lola. We love you. Till we meet again.

Watching them stumble around with pillows on their heads was just like the ascot scene.

Let’s see, we have Raphael the Ninja Turtle, Le Skunk, Filipino Riding Hood, and Teen Wolf.

And that is a closeup of Riding Hood’s basket of goodies for her sick Lola (grandma): Pan de leche and a bowl of sinigang. Sarap!

Ryan had Thursday off to make up for an extra day at work this week, so we went down to Long Beach for fun. Still can’t believe everything we managed to pack into the day; Saw the ship the Queen Mary, went on an old Russian submarine, drove through the incredible Port of Long Beach as well as through Retro Row (vintage shopping galore), picked up some supplies for my Etsy shop, visited the beach, ate at Five Guys and a frozen yogurt place, and lastly Ikea, because us Venturans would never miss out on a chance to drop into Ikea if we happen to drive right by it. Plus, it’s tradition to pick up a couple of packages of pretty napkins.

Because he’s so handsome, I don’t mind baking him chocolate chip cookies at 10:30 pm.

And my latest round of Holga photos came out crazy cool. It must have found out I became slightly disenchanted with it, and was having a fling with my Polaroid because it brought its A-game and came out roaring.

1) Mid-cent home at El Rancho Vista Estates (drool), 2) Cabazon Dinosaurs, 3) Air Museum, 4) Children’s Discovery Museum.

Ever since some friends of ours invited us on their vacay to Palm Springs, I’ve been counting down the days. Now the time is finally here and I am so, SO excited. Looking forward to lazing next to the pool, putting in some much-needed family time (Ryan has been working very hard) and hopefully testing out the $1.50 Poloroid camera I found in a thrift store. If it even works at all, and my film arrives in the mail on time.

Happy weekending wishes to all!

{Photo by Jen Gotch}

I am suprised at how many of my friends LOVE the June gloom characteristic of this part of Cali. But me, it puts me in such a weird state. I lose all sense of motivation and just want to rot on the couch while popping bon bons and watching soaps. Not possible with two boys, BTW. And I’ve sworn of off soaps since my Passions kick in college. Ew!

But today was sunny and all sorts of oceany breezy. “Just like San Luis!” Ryan and I would observe, and nod in agreement (if you’ve ever lived in San Luis Obispo, you would forever use the climate there as a measure of perfect weather and act as if you’re an expert on what is a suitable ratio of clouds to blue sky to ocean breeze).

We played in LA, going for a train ride in Griffith Park and stopping in Beverly Hills for Sprinkles cupcakes. Finally. I can join the club and never have to hear “What?! You’ve never had Sprinkles?” Now I get to do that to people. Because it’s good. The frosting is a little much for me, but the cupcake as a whole. I approve.

So now that I’ve tried Sprinkles, where to next?

{Pic by Anna}

And that last pic is an x-ray of my father-in-law’s elbow post surgery after a motorcycle accident he was involved in last Friday. Brad was heading back home from the Sierras, when a truck pulling a trailer, coming the opposite direction and speeding, rounded a corner and crossed over into Brad’s lane. Brad skidded his bike to a stop in order to avoid a head-on collision, but his arm and left-side of his body still smashed into the trailer. He ended up with a compound fracture in his arm, intense bruising on his upper body, and a rash from skidding across the asphalt. A two-night hospital stay, surgery, and a number of metal screws later, Brad is now back at home recovering. We feel so grateful that this was the extent of his injuries, considering how awful this could have turned out. We love you Brad, and are praying you get back to 100% soon.

Thank you for being great.

And for passing on such great genes.

We love you and miss you!
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

‘Twas once a gloomy, lazy Tuesday.
(But now it is the weekend and the sun is out. Happiness.)

I really love Marimekko. Here a few spreads from their latest Holiday Catalog. I’m especially digging on the plum + ruby red color scheme. What a visual treat. Those Finns are so impossibly cool.

And since we’re on the topic of things Finnish, did you know:
Ryan served his mission in Finland?
And that’s how we came up with Kai’s name? Because Ryan met a cool guy named ‘Kai’ on his mission (and not because we wanted his name to mean ‘ocean’ or ‘sea’ in Hawaiian as so many believe…)

We had a very nice and mellow Thanksgiving, just the four of us. Words cannot adequately describe how I feel right now, but I am so happy and feel so blessed. I love my family. I love them. I love spending time with them and being a mother. I love where we live. I love having the gospel in my life and the peace it offers.

My life is truly, truly full and I am grateful.