i like dots, the polka kind

photo #1 // cream blouse: thrifted // brown ploka dot calf skirt: forever 21 // stella's sweater: target
photo #2 // chevron head scarf: forever 21 // blouse: forever 21
 photo #3 // skinny pink pants: h&m // shoes: madwell // tote: ikea

whether they're on on skirts, blouses, totes, or bebe sweaters, i am a huge fan of polka dots.  big or small, wide or tall, white or black, i like them all!  

...perhaps i have been reading baby girl too many dr. seuss books lately, no???  

what's your favorite polka dotted item from your closet?  

a low-key weekend and a baby that's finally feeling better

what a low-key weekend this has been...and for the best. 

baby girl has been sick, and i mean, really, truly, break-mah-heart, sick over the past few days.  on friday night, she had fever that eventually shot up to 102.5 degrees.  you could just tell that she felt miserable; she told us with her sad, swollen eyes, her warm, little body clinging to ours, her soft wimpers, and the silent tears that streamed down her cheeks throughout the day.  we felt so bad for her, and many times, hopeless.  watching your baby hurt is one of the worst things.  ever.  

all she wanted to do was be held and cuddled 24/7, where then she would drift off to sleep for about 20 minutes at a time, crying out of exhaustion in between getting some much needed shut eye.  

andrew and i tried everything to make her feel better.  watching elmo helped a lot, and so did playing with leon's kennel door, but nothing seemed to last or make her feel "back to normal."  so we snuggled, and snuggled, and snuggled.  sweet dada gave her a calming bath and a new fancy hair-do.  i just about fell over when i saw it.  :)  

today stella finally started to feel better, thank goodness, and seemed to start acting like her playful self.  after making a substantial grocery/baby-items-we-are-out-of list, we ventured to costco, and then for brunch.  the rain started to pour on our drive back home to westport, so we decided that french comfort food would do just the trick on this dreary day. 

sidebar:  have i told you how much i love the rain?  

...or brunch, for that matter?

one of our favorite places for brunch in kansas city is westport cafe & bar.  this casual and charming little parisian-style bistro utilizes simple, quality ingredients, and whips up one hell of an eggs benedict and complimentary cocktail!  andrew got their biscuits and gravy and was equally satisfied.  baby girl ate some puffs dipped in sausage gravy and flashed us a few cheeky grins to tell us she was happy and wanted some more.    

with our tummies full, and calm dispositions, we headed back home, looking forward to family nap time and a chance to get back into our jammies, and i, myself, eager to crawl back into our warm bed to read my new book with the covers pulled up to my chin, listening as the rain gently paints our bedroom windows, making this cozy home of ours feel like heaven. 

a new book, a new book!

oui, fellow readers, i'm about to talk about paris, my favoritest city!  right there, you see?  

eeeeeek!  

well, i suppose paris makes up only one part of this story i'm about to tell. 

{pun intended}

oh, yes, and i got a new book, too!

so i am pretty pumped about my new read i scored today at barnes and noble called, sacre bleu: comedy d'art by christopher moore.  based on a wide variety of reviews, i believe this novel is a unique combination of art, mystery, madness, paris, comedy, love, and of course, the color bleu!  

ummm...what this book written for me?  

set in 19th century paris, this fascinating story is centers around the mysterious and untimely death of my favorite artist, vincent van gogh, with hopes to unravel the truths behind his alleged "suicide."  

it's been awhile since i have gotten sucked into the fiction wing of the library, tragic as an english teacher, i know, but with all these parenting and curriculum books ive been so "engrossed in" i haven't made the time.  but now, alas!  i have found my gem; hence, i am quite giddy and ready to shut myself in my room {and read} like an enraged teen and not come out until i say so!  

although i know this story is one of historical fictional, and furthermore, that one of the main characters, artist/baker lucien lessard, is indeed fabricated, i am still eager with high hopes to learn more about the impressionist artists of the time, the magic that is the color blue, and what paris might have been like, in say, 1890.  doesn't this sound like a trip!?

i have a feeling my eyes will be glued to the page this weekend.  however, i will make sure to give you my full review when finished!

my lunch date with stella

today i got the wonderful opportunity, also my very first opportunity, to go visit baby girl over my lunch hour.  it was take your child to work day at school, so naturally there were many students absent.  thankfully, a coworker and i teamed up and so we each got a longer break for lunch.  yippie!

like a bird let out of it's cage, i eagerly flew over to our sitter's home {about three minutes away} and found my little turkey sitting there like a big girl with her lady friends, in a semi-circle might i add, sucking down green beans and discussing how to solve the world's problems.  well, not really, but their adorably confident babble and self-assured head nods indicated that they knew perfectly well what the other was saying.  if only you could have been there!  they might as well have been 80 year old grannys sitting around playing a game of bridge.   

*be still my beating heart*

seeing miss stella sit there so calm and patient with the other little ones made me bubble over with happiness.  being the smallest one in the group, she observed the others very carefully, mimicking their eating habits and being very polite.  i could tell she was thinking, "mama, i a big girl now, too."  i sat there on the floor in a heap with teary eyes thinking to myself, "yes...yes, baby girl.  you are growing up so fast sitting there eating big girl food.  so, yes, i suppose you are a big girl now, too."  

together she and i sat while she finished her lunch.  afterwards we headed outdoors and played on a blanket in the grass.  she picked a few blades, i snuck a few smooches, and then as fast as i had gotten there, my time was up.  

a big part of me pouted on the inside, arms folded and all, for i was dreading going back for fear of missing out.  i anxiously thought to myself, what if she does this...or...what if she says that...and i am not there to see it?  this is a fear i have to combat daily as a working mama.  over time i have realized it's a pointless fear because it causes me more distress than good.  

knowing she is in wonderful hands, i put my big girl pants on and took a giant deep breath.  and you know what?  this fear started to slip away and new feelings took it's place.  i started to feel excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead in just a few short weeks: summer!  

the end of may will not only bring baby girl's 1st birthday, but also a long string of lunch dates i get to have with my little lady.  

...for that thought alone is what gets me through. 

five of my favs: senses edition + linkin' up!

here are little bits of happiness and five of my favs according to my senses as of late:

#1 my sight favors...

watching miss stella play peek-a-boo with our patio shade.  
i spy two adorable feetsies and a curious little lady!

#2 my ears favor...

listening to feist sing "1, 2, 3, 4" on sesame street with baby girl over and over and over again.  she is a smidgen obsessed with all things furry that talk, and i adore feist.  i think we call this a win-win!  thank you dada for sharing your iphone with us.  

#3 my buds favor...

all things green as of late, especially steamed artichokes dipped in lemon butter and anything to do with an avocado.

#4 my nose favors...

the aroma of fresh flowers on our dining room table.

#5 my hands favor...

the soft feel of our new summer bedding!  it was like christmas on sunday picking up this package from a dear friend.  thank you, sharra :)

all of these things have brought me happiness this week. 

what little bits or fav things have brought you happiness this week? 

we're ready to get lost. together.

we're ready to get lost.  together.  

...to dig our toes in the powdery, white sand. 

... to go on another exploration, a new pin in our map.

we're ready to get lost.  together.

...to soak in the smells of the sea-salt breeze.

...to bathe in water bluer than you thought blue can be. 

we're ready to get lost.  together.

...to walk underneath a blanket of twinkling stars.

...to gently sway to the rhythmic beat of the crashing waves.  

we're so, unbelievably ready to get lost.  together. 

...but wherever should we go?

five of my favs: mother's day edition

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5

get ready to get bombarded with the awesome word that is mama.  

mother's day just around the corner, and it will be my very first!  last year i spent mother's day getting tickled by baby girl's feet when she was in my tummy, but this year i get to do the tickling!

i was in paper source the other day {with my mama!} and saw some pretty perfect gifts for all kinds of mamas out there.  there are some unique gifts for those who like to bake, write, craft, and mama's who know how to relax.  

if you are still wondering about what to get your mama bear for mother's day, here are some ideas to help get your wheels-a-turnin'.  if you have any other ideas, feel free to link them up!

multicolored

i'm linkin up with the paper mama for a little
photo challenge for the week.

i adore this photo of our baby girl, stella vivienne, so much because it totally captures her fun-loving spirit.  last weekend at the rose garden she was being her silly self and wanted to try on her mama's fedora.  we had fun playing peek-a-boo with it whilst giggling in the grass. her contagious smile says it all. :)

rose garden wonderland

“no, no! the adventures first, 

explanations take such a dreadful time.”
― lewis carroll, alice's adventures in wonderland & through the looking-glass

here is a lovely photo dairy of our rose garden wonderland 

from this weekend...no explanation needed, 

except that it was pure magic. 

oh you silly little hipster baby!

weekends are wonderful

i am happy to say that this little family is most definitely having a refreshing and relaxing weekend.  it's crazy what a few days of chill and not showering until the afternoon can do for a person.  it is one of those weekends where i am confident that our batteries will pretty much be re-charged for the week ahead, instead of feeling out of breath and exhausted come monday.  man, we needed this.  

and i can't forget to give our wee one a shout out...

happy 11th months to our dear, sweet stella vivienne!  in thirty short days, we will be singing to you, eating your birthday cake, and clapping along {following your cue}.  oh, sweetie pie, we love you so much, and can hardly believe you are almost one year's old.  we love being your mama & dada, xoxo

after work on friday we started off our weekend the right way by hopping over to la bodega for some spanish tapas with my mama before she had to head back to iowa.  holy cow did we sure indulge in some happy hour treats!  i could eat the baked goat cheese and spicy tomatoes all day long.  and guess what?  baby girl tried balsamic vinegar with bread for the first time!  i am so proud of her for trying new things and not throwing a fuss.  you can judge based on the photo above if she liked it or not ;) she also felt like sharing so she fed dada some of her balsamic bread, and she had water out of a straw {also another first for this little nugget}.  check out those puffy cheeks...hehe.  i could just squeeze em and squeeze em!  thanks again, mama, for helping us out this week.  you are awesome and we love you.

after dinner, we went home and snuggled in for a flick and some dessert.  we decided on girl with the dragon tattoo {american version} and some of this goodness teasing you above.  angel food wine + double dark chocolate gelato = heaven {no pun intended}  taaaalk dirty!

  

the rest of our weekend has been filled with snuggles after bath time, playing in baby girl's nursery, eating yummy fruit throughout the day, and sunday plans to spend a lovely afternoon in one of our favorite places on the plaza, loose park's famous rose garden.  stay tuned for a photo diary of our flower-filled adventure!  

we hope you are having a chill weekend with your loves, too.