diapers and skinny jeans

Hello! Happy mid-week to you. This is the roll of photos we shot over our Easter weekend , and oh what a wonderful weekend it was. It was so nice to have family here to visit - even if the weather was cooler than we anticipated! We visited the redwoods in Felton, ate vegetarian burritos, went to the epic shoreside in Montara, and the brewing company in Half Moon Bay. Our hearts are full and our home is feeling quite empty now ;) As a side note, I've found a renewed love with film. This is a post for another time, but it bears mentioning here! There has been much on my mind re: photography, and hopefully this will be the space I can share that. For the curious, all the above were shot on a Nikon FM10 with Fuji Superia 400 speed film.

Hi, friends. How was your weekend? After having non-stop rain for nearly a month, we finally received a short break in the El Niño weather to head to the coast. Even though it's not in our backyard, I still feel like twenty miles to the beach is a good compromise. It really is lovely here and it makes me happy to see the girls so at home in the sea. This week we are gearing up for Easter and some very special visitors -- my Mama and my sister! It will be the first time Mom has seen our new home or visited the Bay Area, so to say we are excited would be an understatement. We cannot wait. I've even kept it as a surprise from the girls, so I'm sure the look on their faces alone when they see Grammie and their Auntie will be the highlight of the whole trip. What about you? Any special Easter plans or crafting? We made some hot crossed buns for the first time last year, and I'm hoping I can bake a little something special this year too. We're going to try this...

Oh, weekend. We are so happy you're here. It's been a doozy lately. I won't put you through the pitiful details, don't worry-- but I'm just happy to exhale a little bit and am welcoming these days of togetherness with open arms. PS- look at me using unfiltered iPhone photos in a blog post. Who am I? Sometimes I don't even recognize myself. Truly a measure of just how exhausted I really am both mentally and physically ;) And while I've been seriously down and out in every other area of my life, we've actually been doing some pretty cool things at home. I'm so proud of Sofia and her desire to soak up new information, to learn, and to think of me as a pretty cool "teacher". I'm so in awe of everything she does. But this is all part of the inevitable fact that these kiddos of ours are growing up.  Most days we'll do some kind of worksheet, practicing our letters and cutting skills and getting to color.... other days we...

Spring is in the air.... we can feel it. In California, that's meant lovely 80 degree days in February and now a sudden and massive downpour of rain. It has rained for two weeks straight now, not like I'm counting or anything. Erick and I were talking about it, and it's all very interesting to me. It's as if the crazy weather we're having all around the world is a means of the earth healing itself. In California especially, this crazy drought had finally reached a dangerous peak and now we've been pummeled with rain by the coast and snow in the mountains... my heart feels like it's the earth finding its own balance in some way. We humans can be quite nasty! Sure, we're sure missing our beach trips, but for now, barefoot puddle jumping suits us just fine.

I've gotta tell you, I was in no way truly prepared to make this move. We checked and double checked, we read all the helpful articles online, we had our things shipped and boxed, and while they were packing up all that we had in Chicago, we realized quickly that we were bare-bones equipped for a proper "adult" home. Erick and I met in our young twenties, our partying show-going, dancing till the wee hours days. I didn't have a piece of furniture when we moved in together. Our hand-me-down love seat grew much too small for our family of four and when visitors stopped by (which was a very rare occurrence, I might add... but still... preparation is key!) we just never had anywhere for them to sit. So many memories of people happily squeezing their bums together on that love seat while others awkwardly paced our floors probably wondering, gee, can't these people just figure their seating situation out already?! Enter California. Our stuff arrives, nearly a mon...

* screeeeeeech.... opens door * Hello? Are you in there? I'm baaaaaaack! Holy shnikeys! It's only been a good two years or so. Talk about a blogging hiatus. So, after many many failed attempts at fancy Squarespace sites and having absolutely zero direction on which way I wanted to go, I found myself right back here. Good 'ol blogger. Good 'ol free simple template. Good 'ol feed with all my old friends. It's been a long, long time. And it feels weird! But I'm dusting off the cobwebs anyway and just writing because I need to. Plain and simple. Now, a few things-- the blog title is a bit different. My kiddos are nearly three and five years old so diapers [thankfully] are a thing of the past. Hallelujah! And if you haven't heard, folks, skinny jeans are out. They're done! Bring on the bellbottoms, culottes and 90's fashion revival. You heard it here first, everyone. Just wait.  Also. Growing up. I kinda laugh at how much...

Today you can see the piece I wrote / photographed for the lovely  Off Switch Blog . It's an untraditional take on New Year's resolutions and a look into our family's culture.

Hi, friends! I've decided to take a huge leap and start my own 365 project with the girls. Gulp! I may be in over my head, but if you're interested, it will be at a lovely separate space to keep things un-cluttered and solely 365 related. You can follow along and be updated when I post our daily photos  via bloglovin' . We'll be posting weekly over at Jodi's place, too! So, what does this mean for Diapers & Skinny Jeans? To be honest, I'm not 100% certain yet; the space will mostly likely receive some sort of a face-lift within the new year, and I will keep on writing when my heart feels like it. This is, and will continue to be, the home of my Sling Diaries entries and has been such an integral part of my online history. This is where it all began. This is my outlet to journal, to get creative. Where over the course of the years, I have tried out all of the blogging fads like recipe making, DIYs, and starting my own columns. You try on differ...

52/52 "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013." That's it! That's a wrap. I cannot even BELIEVE that I made it a whole year. Obviously, I'm a little behind, but I am still so incredibly happy to be standing here at the proverbial end of the 52 Project and looking back at the memories made this past year. How incredible. We're all incredible. I have to thank Jodi for being such an amazing inspiration and host, that woman is a true talent. She brought about such a wonderful community of moms and dads, and even though I haven't been commenting much, I've been browsing around everyone's photos and am continually blown away. This photo-documenting business is no easy feat, and this project has taught me, shaped me, in more ways that I can even articulate at the moment. I've thought long and hard about this, and I will be continuing in 2014 in a brand new space with an even loftier goal~~~ 3  6  5   ! I hope you...

51/52 "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013." Sofia & Alba: exactly as you are, 100% of the time. One more to go!

in the quiet of your heart, you will hear them. little wild moments, free of judgement and fear. they are authentic, sweet girls, and they are yours. no need to be embarrassed; don't be pressured into shame. deep, deep, desires and your hopes of life and change. dreams in the night sky, dreams at the sun's rise. twirling through your headspace, everything your heart says, v i b r a t i n g  w i d l y, jotted down on a page. ____  i've been thinking a lot about my own dreams lately, the things i've been lucky enough to accomplish this year and everything i hope for 2014. the sling diaries experience has brought out the creative side of me that had been pushed to the back of my mind for a while. it has inspired me to bare everything - to have the confidence to believe in myself and manifest some of my own treasured visions to light. to contribute to something even bigger t...

50/52 "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013." Sofia- having a bit of fun playing around after our sling diaries shoot Alba- also in on the aforementioned shenanigans ;) Here we are, two portraits left until the end of the series. I'm a bit behind some of you still, but I feel proud as I near the end of this project that I know I will see to completion. I feel a book and some framed prints coming on!

49/52 "A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013." Alba- most everyone thinks you're a serious baby, but I always see your smirks. Sofia- wrapped up in linen, never too old to be worn - I'll treasure this photo forever. I cannot believe we're almost done with this series! Only a few weeks left now. Just looking at this diptych I am reminded of how much my children have grown over the year. I can't keep thinking about it or I might get too teary... thank you all for letting me catch up these past few days. This blog of mine will be getting some much needed attention and care in the new year : )