Quick snap...

...before my day of appointments and errands begins! 

I've been absent for a few weeks, but I'll be blogging on the regularly again soon. 

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget deep breaths as you navigate the busy holiday season!

Polyvore Outfit: Featuring Azaya Blue Lulu Necklace

This would be perfect for a day out with the boys to the museums and lunch!  I have plenty of striped tops, and with the floral-ish motif of the Lulu necklace, it's (almost) like pattern mixing.  With some dark skinny jeans and comfy slip-on boots, any mom (or non-mom) would feel comfortable and casually refined in this outfit.  At least I think so.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

AB Lulu with B&W Striped Top by tima922 featuring slip on boots
www.azayablue.com

!

"I have always
thought of

accessories as the 

exclamation point

of a woman's 

outfit."

-Michael Kors

www.azayablue.com

Life lately...

...has been a bit hectic, but so goes the mommy life sometimes. Fevers, coughs, earaches...I didn't know becoming a mom would make me a nurse in practice, but it's all good. Anything for my family!

Between it all, I was able to take Little Brother to the park on our street and get a breath of fresh air.  Which was one small reminder that despite it all, life is so good!

Thanks for stopping by!

One of our favorite places to spend the day as a family is the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.  When we moved here, it only made sense to us to get a membership for the San Diego Zoo, and to our surprise, the Safari Park was part of the deal!  We don't get there as much as the zoo, as it's about a half hour away.  But when we do, we spend hours, and always observe something new.  Here are some photos from our visit this weekend.  If you're ever in the San Diego area, the Safari Park is a must do!

Welcomed by a lion

Pretty walkway to the Tiger Trail

Blurry shot through the glass, but look at that fang and the size of those paws!

Slinking by on the other side of the fence, beautiful stripes!

The view from Condor Ridge

Perching birdie

Ducks in a row

Lovely pink flower in the aviary

Pelicans stretching out as the sun starts to go down

There are many more animals that we didn't visit this time, like elephants, lemurs and cheetahs.  But I hope you enjoyed these, and thanks for visiting!

It's kinda, almost scarf weather...

I know living in Southern California makes it so that I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to the weather.  I'll have you know, I grew up in what most would call "real" weather...the Great Pacific Northwest (U.P./Tacoma & Seattle to be specific)!  And if that wasn't enough, I spent 4 years of my mid-20's living in Chicago, talking the "El", bus, cabs, biking and walking all over the city, in various degrees of extremes of "real" weather.  But now, I digress. 

Despite all of that, it didn't take long for me to acclimate to SoCal.  And with the temps having been in low 70's over the weekend, I found myself needing to wear a scarf on our trip to the Safari Park over the weekend.  I decided to pair my plain old black henley with my grey Azaya Blue Aria scarf.  It was a nice contrast, and kept my temperature just right, especially when we were in shady spots.  I actually hope that the temps stay down a bit, as one of things I do actually miss about "real" weather is accessorizing with scarves!

 

 sunglasses: Tahari, earrings: Azaya Blue Lyon, Scarf: Azaya Blue Aria, top: J.Crew, jeans: DKNY, purse: Polo

 

 

 Aria scarf chain tassel and beads

Word!

www.azayablue.com

Up a notch

Some days, a mama just has to step it up a notch.  

Yesterday, for shopping and lunch, I went with my typical jeans and a tee.  

However, to feel a bit more "put together", I also wore my Azaya Blue Baylee necklace. 

I felt amazing wearing it, and noticed a few pairs of eyes glance towards my neck as well!

top: Gap, necklace: Azaya Blue Baylee, belt: gap, jeans: WESC

Afternoon jaunt

I took a quick snap on a little shopping and lunch outing yesterday. 

 I'm so happy and fortunate to live in Southern California!

 

 

November nights

I think tonight is the night that I finally get to crack into these glossy beauties!  Most of my magazine reading is done in the evenings after the boys are asleep, and the house is quiet.  I'll take it :)

South Mountain

It wasn't all food and booze while I was in Arizona.  We went on a beautiful hike early one morning at South Mountain Park and Preserve.  Next time, I plan to spend more time there exploring!

Ladies only

It goes beyond words how happy I was to be able to spend four days with one of my dearest and 

long-time friends ever!  A few weeks ago, I went to visit Kat (pictured below, middle) in Arizona.  We had a blast, as she whisked me to breakfast, shopping, and several happy hours!  We also got our fit on in between it all, with one morning of NTC (Nike Training Club) and

 another on a hike at South Mountain Park and Preserve.  

The quality of the images is not so great, as these were all taken with my phone.

This picture was snapped on my last night at 

Caffe Boa, in Tempe, AZ., before we headed to El Hefe's.  

The food and service here were excellent!

wearing: Azaya Blue Baylee necklace (here), Limited tee (old), Merona chambray shorts

Leo sniffing through my bag while I was unpacking.

 First stop, Postino!  Such yummy bruschetta!

The happy hour deals were amazing!

And oh so delicious!

The next afternoon, after shopping and lounging, found us at Olive & Ivy!

After which we walked over the the other side of the Arizona Canal to continue the fun at 

Tapas Papas Fritas!  I didn't take any pictures other than this shot between the trees of the 

outdoor seating area, where we wined and dined.  The food was delicious and the service terrific!

A sunset view on the Arizona Canal.

Leo had warmed up to me by then, and let me snap this shot of him relaxing.

On Saturday after our hike, we headed to Morning Glory Cafe on the Farm at South Mountain.  It was just what we needed after our early morning hike in the sun!

On my last night, we kicked it up a notch as far as the atmosphere, and headed over to South Mill in the midst of the ASU area, and hung out with the college kids.  We were reliving our younger youth, by having a shot then giant margaritas at El Hefe!

The tacos were tasty too!

Selfie fun!

I'm really good at goofing around, having fun, making light of things, and laughing out loud!  So last week, I had a little selfie fun with my SLR, wearing the Firenze necklace from Azaya Blue.

Big love

The hippos were being sweet on each other when we visited them at the zoo a few weeks.  Feel the love!

Halloweenie time was here...

This post is a week later, but better late than never, right!?

We have some serious Halloween lovers just a few blocks down from us.  I think the pictures speak for themselves.  The boys loved it of course!

 

Getaway reads

Well, I have some extra time while I'm visiting Kat...so why not indulge in some extracurricular reading?

It's that time again

Since day one, my dear husband has known that I like to get away. It doesn't have to be far, just meaningful.  So this coming weekend, I get to go visit one of my dearest friends ever!  It's been over 5 years since we've seen each other (I was pregnant with Big Brother). She moved to Arizona while I lived in Chicago, and this will be my first time visiting her there. It'll also be my first time back to Arizona in almost 15 years.  So all in all, it's going to be a wonderful little trip! 

And I hope I get a chance to wear almost every item of clothing and accessory that are going along with me. Especially all my amazing Azaya Blue pieces!  Do you think I'm over doing it?  Wait, there is no such thing for a trip like this...a lady's gotta have options!

Trying

One day in the future, I'll once again be able to start reading my magazines on day 1 of each month. For now, all I can do is try. But at least I still manage to start by mid-month.

Reece has always been a favorite of mine, so I look forward to the feature story.  And just thinking about what's in store in The Food Issue...my mouth is watering!

Happy Saturday!