I panicked. Completely panicked. This may be the last warm week. We may not be able to go to the beach in t-shirts again for a long time and by then, Greta will be walking and a whole 'nother baby. Which of course will be super fun, but it just won't be the same. Especially if she copies her sister and is awful at letting me take photos of her. And Holly, she'll be bigger and taller and more grown up and there will be less baby fat on her bones. So I panicked and packed up the girls and headed for the beach. And we'll do it again later this week because you just never know. And then I was that Mom at the beach. No, not the one with the baby belly flub in a string bikini sporting a really bad fake tan. I was the Mom who was totally camera crazy because if I could've frozen time, I would've. We had such a lovely time. The highlight was getting Holly in the water. She's been afraid of it even since the ocean nearly sucked her in. But, yesterday, I had enough. My daughter was going to love the ocean no matter what. I scooped that little girl up and held her and let the water wash over my feet and I talked about it with her. It was the bubbles that sold her. After that, we spent a good long while, holding hands running around in the waves, screaming and laughing. If I could've frozen time... I was perfectly happy playing with Holly in the ocean and holding Greta on my hip. Except that my arm hurt from holding Greta on my hip. The whole way home, Holly talked about the bubbles. And it was a long drive home because I got turned around more than once and was stubborn and wouldn't take out the GPS. 

Greta became a real baby and ate sand for the first time. She loved picking it up and letting it fall out of her hand and then naturally, she wanted to know how it would taste. So into her mouth it went. And I laughed and scolded half-heartedly until I knew that it really couldn't continue and I moved her out of reach of the sand. And then I noticed Holly taste the sand a couple times because she obviously wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I'll be laughing about that for the rest of my life.

For me, there's something so magical about the beach and the ocean. I always feel happy and content when I'm there. And that's why I drive a long ways and haul my two young children to the beach all by myself. It's absolutely worth it.

Holly loved pushing the sand dollars into the sand.

This was the cutest. Holly invited Greta to sit on her towel with her.

We drive past a strawberry farm on the way to our favourite beach. At one point, we can see the ocean and these beautiful farmlands. It's heaven!

I'm officially in love with San Francisco. It's so darling. I kind of wish we lived there. Except then Conor's commute would be longer. I can't have it all. We headed up to the city after a leisurely morning. Our best laid plans had to be changed, but we still had a lovely time. We picnicked in Sausolito in a little park that opened up to the water. Holly loved throwing rocks into the water. We were planning on taking a little stroll on the golden gate, but Greta was fussy and a little pukey (she had shots on Friday), so we decided to postpone that event and we went directly to a confectionary that I wanted to go to - Miette. It was as cute as it was promised to be. I ate my first parisian macaron and it was delicious! The texture was divine and I fully intend to master making them in my own kitchen. Now I just need to schedule well-behaved time with my daughters. Ha! We also went to a little ice cream shop that we wanted to try but we couldn't remember the name. It was a perfect coincidence that it was right across the street from Miette.

On the drive home, I asked Holly what her favourite part of the day was. And she remembered and brought up a dog she had met at a park, named "Lola." Holly was smitten with the dog and the owner's were so kind and gracious about Holly's obsessing! I wish I had taken a photo of her and the dog.

This picture makes me think of Nathan and Daria's Lola so much! I love it when my children remind me of family members.

A dirty shot of Holly's pants. These babies are so cute and I'm so glad I splurged on them!

This is Holly's treat - funny little gummy penguins with juicy tummies.

Sweet displays that I want to recreate.

I was so excited to make something boyish for my cousin Delaine. It was fun to work with these fabrics as they're so different from what I'm typically shopping for and using. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I bought a free motion foot and quilted it all special. It was my first time doing this and even though I was worrying about it until I finally did it, it turned out pretty good. And oh how I love zig-zag! Last night I was telling Conor about the plans I'm hatching for my next zig-zag quilt.

Holly wanted me to take a picture of her baby too.

Holly and Greta's room started out a little rough. We didn't have a crib. I was planning on picking one up from Ikea when we got here, but then Ikea stopped selling cribs. We found one second hand instead for $60. Having the crib in the room makes a big difference. I got rid of the yellow side table. At some point, I'd like to replace their bookshelf, even if it's just with something from Ikea like this. But right now, that's not a priority. I would like to either purchase a moroccan pouf or try my hand at crocheting a big old pouf. I think that could be really cool, however if I decide to make a pouf that'll probably have to wait until after Christmas. I'd love to get a little lamp to put on their dresser and make some fabric baskets to replace the current white drawer dividers that are used to hold socks and tights, etc. We ordered this print and I'm going to hang it above Greta's crib. On the wall above both their beds, I plan on putting up a whole bunch of different prints and photos including this princess and the pea embroidery (once I have it embroidered of course) and this free printable. I'm not in love with Holly's bedding. The color of the walls makes it feel really harsh so I'd like to switch that out and make a couple pillows too. Holly was playing with some spools of thread yesterday and totally inspired me. I'm really excited to get going on that. I think it's going to be really pretty. We'll see if I can get that done before Christmas. I'd also like to make some curtains and a throw pillow or two for the glider. Ha. My goal for the room is: simple, comfortable and personal. Without spending too much. Hopefully I can make it happen!

Before. It looked even worse when it was messy!

The girls have a great closet that we're using to store all sorts of things besides clothing.

After. By no means is it a miracle transformation that you'd see on HGTV, but I feel like it's a good start.

We finally hung some frames in our new apartment over the weekend. Without fighting about it. And.... we unpacked the remainder of the boxes (note: pantry stuff is still in boxes, but right now, that doesn't count). It's kind of a big deal. Our living room feels a million times more spacious and there's no more messy boxes hanging out in the hallway. The photos in the frames aren't going to stay, except for our SLC temple print. Hopefully I'll find some time to get lost in our collection of photographs and pick the perfect ones soon.