L.A. Vacation Family Photos

During our California trip, we stayed in a charming rental home in Los Angeles with the loveliest enclosed patios full of succulents and citrus trees. My dear friend Amy of Reams Photo paid us a visit from San Diego and did an impromptu family photo shoot for us one afternoon because the setting and light were just too pretty to pass up. I love how she captured this moment in time for our family. These are a few of my favorites.

Family Photos at Joshua Tree

During our California vacation, we stayed at Joshua Tree National Park for one night. I'd come across these beautiful family photos a while back, so I wanted to take some of our own during our brief stay. Despite the hot sun, a rattlesnake sighting (eep!), and Harrison getting a face full of sand, we managed to capture a few sweet moments. It seemed fitting to share them today since I'll be enjoying my first Mother's Day this weekend. I'm so happy to be a part of our fun, little family. Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful women out there!

California, Here We Come

We're flying to L.A. today for a nice long California vacation. We have lots of friends to introduce to Harrison, there's a new baby girl we get to meet, and we're just excited to relax, check out some shops and food trucks and enjoy the sunshine. Follow along on instagram if you like. Have a great weekend!

Duffel Shuffle

We're heading to Savannah and Charleston this week for a quick visit with family. When we fly, we usually bring along our very efficient and sensible Briggs & Riley carry-ons, but these cute duffel bags make we want to be a little less practical.

[found here: mustard polka dot; sailor stripe; dark navy; hearts; blush stripe; green]

Where to Stay: House vs. Hotel

I've always loved a good hotel. A pool, room service, tiny shampoos, they're all part of the joy of vacation for me, but more and more, I find myself drawn to vacation rental homes. Over the holidays, we took a quick trip to Portland and stayed in an adorable 2-bedroom bungalow we found on Airbnb. It was so nice to have extra space, especially with the baby and all his stuff in tow. A full kitchen, washer and dryer and multiple trash cans (to keep the dirty diapers away) were all important amenities I hadn't even thought about. Plus, if you're traveling with family or friends, a house quickly becomes the more affordable option. Where do you prefer to stay when traveling?

Napa Valley Babymoon

We're back from our trip to Northern California. It was such a relaxing getaway! The cool nights were a perfect break from the Texas heat, the food was delicious and the scenery was beautiful. We flew into San Francisco and spent the first part of the trip there, walking around, singing the Full House theme, seeking out our favorite sandwich from RoliRoti and giving Dynamo Donuts a try.

We drove up to Calistoga along the winding, scenic Highway 1 and arrived at the Solage where we spent the rest of our stay. It's a beautiful resort with a spa, mineral pools and a Michelin-starred restaurant, Solbar, on the property. Our dinner there was delicious. We spent time exploring shops and markets in nearby towns Napa and St. Helena and spent an afternoon walking around Yountville before our dinner at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc. The menu on Sunday night featured spaghetti and meatballs and ice cream sundaes -- what pregnant dreams are made of.

Even with the lack of wine-drinking for me, I'm so glad we picked the Napa area for our trip. It's such a beautiful part of the country and turned out to be the perfect place to unwind for a few days.

Paint Wall

While we were in Houston, we made a point to visit the very instagrammable paint wall at Biscuit Home. I'm declaring it the happiest wall on earth.

Weekend in Photos

We went to Houston for the weekend to spend time with our friends Nick and Nora. They gave us a tour of the city's neighborhoods, parks, public art and tasty food (biscuits!), and our dogs, Zuzu and Winston, got to spend some quality time together.

Coffee in Charleston

When Jonah and I passed through Charleston in December, we spent a couple of hours just sitting and sipping at Black Tap Coffee. Plenty of seating, all that gorgeous light and delicious iced lattes -- I'd spend every afternoon there if I could.

Year in Photos

It's a little late, but I thought a recap of 2013 was in order. I made homemade marshmallows, subway-inspired Easter eggs (my most viewed blog post ever) and desserts galore. Jonah and I celebrated six years of marriage, and I turned 30. We took our usual trips to Savannah and Seattle as well as a trip Denver, one to Portland and two to Austin. There were some fun date nights. We had my favorite meal all year at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. I continued shaking up frocktails and even teamed up with Ruche for a few.

There weren't any major life events (unless you count meeting Martha Stewart), but it sure feels like we're on the cusp of some. Mostly, it was a year spent enjoying family, friends, life's little joys and you lovely people. I can't thank you enough for spending your time here. I so appreciate it and count myself lucky to have such wonderful readers and internet friends. I'm excited to see what 2014 has in store for all of us.