Category Archives: Personal

Remlinger Farm // Fall Harvest Festival // Maya’s Birthday recap!

I feel like the worst mom ever around Maya’s birthday. It’s my busiest time at work, so the thought of planning/organizing a party, or planning anything for that matter just stresses me out. ;{ We always have a family BBQ, but I wanted to do something extra fun for her this year that didn’t involve a lot of planning on my part…

Insert Remlinger Farm Fall Harvest Festival!!

We got there right when they opened at 9:30 am, but the actual entertainment part of the festival didn’t open until 10, so we just walked around the property for a little bit and looked around the Farm Market. I’m soooooo glad we got their early, because we basically just walked up to every single ride and got on.

Maya was in HEAVEN!!!!! I mean, if this doesn’t personify pure joy I don’t know what does!! The entire time she had a smile plastered to her face. Not going to lie. I was too scared to feed them haha. My sister in law and niece met us out there. 🙂 No, I could not believe she wanted to go on this. She LOVED IT!! It actually gets going pretty fast! My dad took a hilarious video of this. You get to control how fast you spin. The Huz kept asking her. “Do you want to go faster? Are you too dizzy??” Nope, they SPUN AWAY!! I felt a little nauseous watching it! Then, as we left, we got to grab free pumpkins! I can’t even 🙂

This so epitomizes everything Maya. Pink tutu, singing her brains out into a bedazzled microphone (both courtesy of her amazing Aunt) And of course, holding onto her rainbow unicorn. DYING!!! 😍

Pretty much the opposite of the the leather jacket, jeans, and boots I put her in earlier 😏

She’s been super into coloring lately, and literally spent a few hours coloring after everyone left!! Happiest of birthdays to you, my sweet Maya!

Love you more than you could ever imagine!

Dresses with Cowboy boots, and…Maya is FOUR!!

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I cannot believe Maya is four!!

I keep searching for the words to say to you to let you know how much you are loved… There are no words that would adequately describe how much you light up the lives of everyone who knows you. You are so incredibly funny and sweet. You find joy in every single day, and make sure I do too. You are also wicked smart and constantly blow my mind. I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be your mom.Yeah, the balloons lasted all of about 3 minutes haha. In all honesty, I had planned to do this shoot at low tide on the beach. But…I somehow got the tide schedule all messed up, and it was high tide instead! So…we headed for a park. Maya took off running, so I had my mom take a few pictures of me. Nothing lures her back like me trying to get pictures by myself haha.

I love this dress, but it’s a liiiiiittle short. I always want to wear it, and then end up not. This day, I threw some Levi’s cut offs under it, and was good to go! I kept wanting to tell people

“I have shorts on!!!” 😉And if there was ever a dress made for twirling, this is it! Sadly…I’m not made for twirling 😉 She looooooves her Meme 🙂I was determined to try again with the balloons. I swear the more I try and put effort into things, the less Maya could care ha! And then I just let her do what she loves most. Jump and dance 🙂 Happy Birthday sweet Peanut.

On me…

Dress- Free People “Sunbeam Mini Dress” (Nordstrom Rack, love this here)

Boots- Nocona (similar here)

On Maya…

Dress- CrewCuts (thrifted, but similar here)

Boots- Nordstrom (thrifted)

Keeping it Real…

She does this thing where she takes my face in both hands and then whips my face back and forth. No, it doesn’t feel great ;}

(all pictures of me and me with Maya taken by my mom :))

Maya’s First day of school!

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We’ve both been anxiously awaiting school to start. That sounds bad, but it’s only 3 hours in the afternoon, so we get all the rest of the day to still play 🙂

Oddly, now that she’s in school, I feel like the summer flew by, and we didn’t do half of what I wanted to do!! Oh, well. Next year…

The day was a little rushed, so we just took a few quick pics outside of our house before school. DYING!!!!Then after school, we played outside with our neighbors and the bubbles that they got in their class!On me…

Top- StyleMint (old, similar here)

Jeans- DL1961 “Nolita Boyfriend Jeans Rockport”

Shoes- Converse (thrifted, similar here)

On Maya…

Top- The LB Brand (sold out, tee available here)

Skirt- Hanna Andersson (thrifted, but similar here)

Leggings- Naartjie (thrifted)

Shoes- Converse (thrifted)

Keeping it Real…

Trying to take pictures of us while Maya’s neighbor boy friends are out playing too…

Challenging, at best. 🙂

And….got a few really cute ones, but in my rush I messed up the focus GRRRR!

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Unexpected pairings…

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I love pairing things that don’t seem to go together upon first look.

It’s hard to tell by these pictures, but this top is actually made out of a somewhat stiff taffeta like material. I can totally see it paired with a high waisted full ball gown like skirt and heels!! Or…distressed mid rise denim and super comfy wedge heels-HA! I am attempting to do a closet purge, but instead I keep finding things that I forgot I had-and LOVE! I bought these wedge sandals 6+ years ago for a trip to Greece. I wanted something cute to wear, that would also be uber comfortable. You can always count on Born shoes to fit that description! I walked all around Greece in these comfortably, and easily ran after Maya all night!(Truth-I totally photoshopped out my ginormous bandage from my surgery. It’s NOT pretty!) The Huz has been out of town since Monday, and won’t be home until Sunday night-let the countdown begin! He usually travels during the week, but this is the longest he’s been gone for. Maya has been SO good and helpful to to me all week. Even helped change my bandage on my back!! So unbelievably proud of the little girl she is becoming! In return, we’ve done a bunch of fun stuff. 🙂And…Maya just wants to wear pink or purple twirl dresses every.single.day. It’s probably pretty obvious that I’m not really a pink girl, and only started wearing purple since I met the Huz (it’s his favorite color, and I now see the appeal ;)) So…I try to add a little fun edginess with her shoes whenever I can 🙂 This next sequence KILLS ME!! There are actually twice as many as I’m posting, but…that smile!!! That laughter!!! It’s so infectious, and I’m soooo lucky I get to see and hear it every day! I think that in any relationship, there are ups and there are downs. That is not different in the relationship between parent and child. There are times when you want to lock them in their room/or YOU in the bathroom. And there are times when you cannot fathom that YOU made this amazing little person who lights up the lives of so many, is wicked funny and smart, and really is just a great little person to hang out with. I’ve had plenty of the former thoughts, but SO glad that most of my days are the latter…I couldn’t be more proud to be this little ones Mama. This next shot, I hid behind a bush to get a different perspective.

Maya said “MOM!! You’re camouflaged!! But I can still kind of see you!!” Pretty sure “camouflage” was the “Word on the Street” recently 😉Time to go home…wahn, wahn, wahn… But then back outside for a walk around the neighborhood with our popsicles. I mean…this is so her hahaha On me…

Top- Zara (on mega sale!)

Jeans- Citizens of Humanity “Carlton Retro High Rise” (thrifted, sold out, similar here)

Wedges- Born (old, similar in gold here)

On Maya…

Dress- Mignone (thrifted, but this is super cute for fall here)

Boots- Zulily (enter “Link” in the search bar)

Keeping it Real…

Let’s go this way. No let’s go THIS WAY!!! 😉

And….this was where I first thought we’d take pictures. Maya had other plans haha.

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Summer Boots ( Fall on my mind! )

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I’m definitely one of those people that associates the seasons with what I get to wear! I’ve been missing my boots, so….I thought I’d break them out! Oh, hey-there’s my ASS! 😉 Never in a million years would I have thought I would post a picture of my butt. BUT, really…I never would have thought I’d post a pictures of me PERIOD! The beauty of the anonymity of this blog 🙂 All that said, I had to show a close up of these jeans. I found these Wrangler jeans while thrifting, and they are SO COMFY! I think most people (me included!) think of Wranglers as being cowboy/cowgirl jeans. Well, like Levi’s, there’s a reason they started with people that needed to work and move in their denim. And…the Huz liked them on me, so… 🙂 I scored these Dr. Martens for Maya for less than $5!! And this little vintage dress was a less than $2! I’ve been dying to pair this outfit together for a while, and it was just as good in reality as it was in my mind haha!

Oh, and…I Photoshopped out my ginormous road rash on my knee from falling while running. I had to. I was too lazy to do it on ALL of the rest of them, but this close up? I couldn’t force you to look at it! DYING!!!We walked over to my parents to say hi, and then they walked back home with us to see Charlie’s Quad in action that he got for his birthday.And then…my dad took these of us, because the swinger gets dizzy, but the swingee does not 🙂On me…

Top- Zara (on sale now!)

Jean Shorts- Wrangler DIY cut off (similar here)

Boots- Rag and Bone (Nordstrom Rack for $111!!, in all black here)

On Maya…

Dress- Vintage (thrifted)

Boots- Dr. Martens (thrifted, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

The shoe shots I get of us are some of my favorites, but they aren’t exactly the easiest. This is what happens when I’m trying to wrangle her back to where I need her to be 🙂

And….every once in a while she says “NO PICTURES!!!!” Thankfully, it’s more of a rarity than a common occurence!!! hahaha It should be noted that the time between this image and her smiling HUGE up above…3 minutes 😉

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Maui Vacation | Day 3

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I’ve always wanted to get a picture of Maya swinging from this vantage point. Usually, I don’t bring my big camera to the park, and even if I did…I’d be pushing her. One of the many reasons it was great to go on the vacation with my parents. My dad pushed Maya super high (which she LOVED!), and I was able to get a shot I’ve wanted to get for a while. This girl loooooves to swing! That little toe drag kills me!! Funny thing. I actually had a different top on, but spilled something on it right before we left for dinner on the beach. A happy accident 🙂 There was actually this snarky little boy next to us that kept throwing and kicking wet sand at us. I kept trying to move, and he kept following us. Maya kept saying “No thank you!!”, and then she wanted to kick sand back at him. I almost let her… ;} I ended up photoshopping him out, so there would just be a happy picture haha. Then…I wisened up from the prior night and made Maya change into her swimsuit. But she kept wanting to go farther and farther out, so I told her she had to wait for me to go put my swimsuit on. This is her pouting because she didn’t want to wait. I guess while I was up changing she said to my mom-

“I want to cheat…”

My mom asked her what she meant, and she said she didn’t want to wait for me to come back. She wanted to cheat and go in the water!

The teenage years are going to be fun… I’m sure my parents are thinking-

“Payback!” 😉

These swimsuits from SwimZip are SO amazing!! Not only are they adorable, but they have SPF50! The zip up all the way up, so there’s no wrestling the top over their heads when you put it on and take it off! They were a life saver on this trip! I got myself one in black 🙂One of my favorite shots from the trip! The sunsets were UNREAL! I’d like to take credit for editing this to make it look amazing, but my dad took this, and it’s straight from my camera with nothing done, but a little crop. And…of course we had to do one of these 😉 On me…

Top- Three Dots (similar here)

Jeans- DL1961, Lola in “Lenox”

Swimsuit- J Crew (similar here)

On Maya…

Dress- Thrifted

Sandals- Saltwater “Surfer” Sandal (thrifted for $1.50!!)

Swimsuit- SwimZip

(all pictures taken of me and Maya taken by my dad :))

Maui Vacation | Day 2

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Well…we finally made it! The first day here was a little crazy, but day 2 was so good.

It started with us going to the pool. Maya used to LOVE swimming. She wanted to go all the time on vacation, and always wanted to go to the pool at the gym. Then…I put her in swim lessons. She did SO well the first day. Even went under water and kiiiind of swam to the wall. The instructor was so cool! Then…they switched instructors on us, and Maya wouldn’t even get in the water. I managed to get her to go with me on non lesson days for a few weeks and then…not at all. She wouldn’t even get in with me. I kept asking here and there, and her response “I’m NOT GOING SWIMMING!” I was more than a little nervous that she would refuse to get in the water on this vacation, which would make it a loooooong 11 days…

Our first day here, we decided to just go walk by the pool. Maya immediately said she wanted to go swimming. REALLY?? YES! So, the next morning we went, and I couldn’t get her out!!

SO HAPPY!!

I posted a little video on my personal Instagram page.

The even better part? She passed out and took a 2.5 hour nap-whoo hoo!!

Later…I took this of her playing with her My Little Ponies…

Then we met my brother and his family down on the beach. She is always the happiest the minute her feet hit the sand…or don’t hit the sand 🙂 Here’s a few iPhone Shots that my mom took. And then my dad got these with my camera. Of course it took all of about 5 minutes for her to be completely soaked. 🙂 This was after the sun had completely gone down. And, another iphone shot during our picnic in the dark. The sun sets around 7 here.

The Maxi Dress I will be LIVING in…and a letter to Maya.

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I’m sure you can tell just by looking at it. This dress is so unbelievably comfortable! Not only is it like wearing a nightgown, but a super soft stretchy one-WIN!!I attempted to twirl to show you how cool and flowy it is…I failed haha, but trust me. 😉 I’ll leave the twirling to Maya 🙂 Her hair…that natural sun kissed, never been cut, ombre that people pay a a buttload to get. LOVE! Living next to my parents and being able to take our eveing walks with them…priceless.On me…

Dress- Splendid

Shoes- Converse (thrifted, but similar here)

On Maya…

Dress- YoBaby (found via Zulily)

Shoes- Converse (thrifted, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

SO….we were supposed to catch a flight to Maui for my parents 45th wedding anniversary. We drove out with my parents (the Huz and boys are meeting us later this week and my brother and his family flew in from Portland). There was a huge traffic delay, even bigger delay at security, a missed train to the gate, and me and Maya missed our flight by minutes. THANKFULLY my parents made it!! But…through it all Maya was a total champ!!! Never once whined, complained, or anything except make me smile. She ran when I told her we needed to run. Sat in the umbrella stroller quickly and quietly when I told her she needed to, and pulled me off the ledge when I almost had a breakdown at the gate. She was my rock and my savior. I fell in love with her HARD even more after that experience, and for that…I guess I’m thankful. I wrote this as a post on social media…

“I didn’t think I could be more proud to be your Mama or love you any more than I already do. But today…at the airport, when I nearly lost my sh*t looking at our airplane sitting in front of us… The gate slowly pulling away from the door… The plane that held our luggage, your car seat, and Meme and BOPO… YOU were the epitome of positive attitude and sweetness. Saying one thing after another that lifted my spirit and reminded me that everything will be ok. “Just take a deep breath, Mama. It will all be ok!” Not once did you cry, even though I was on the verge. Not once did you complain, yet I did… I’m embarrassed that I got so worked up, when in reality… as long as I have you, I’m better off than most. Love you so much Peanut!!! Tomorrow-Maui here we come. No, really…I mean it this time :)”

She is amazing.

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

The beach is our happy place…

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It’s been SO hot here in Seattle lately, that neither of us really have wanted to go to the beach. It’s all about finding some shade to play in, and luckily we have a few wading pool near us that are mixed in shade and sun. But…we both have missed the beach. We had ONE cloudy day last week, and we made the most of it! I also got confirmation yesterday that a spot I found on my back is skin cancer- basal cell carcinoma (aka, the “good” skin cancer, if there really is such a thing). The Dr. seemed pretty confident that we caught it early, and it will all be good. Trying to just be thankful that I noticed it early, but cursing all my bad skin care for the first 30+ years of my life. Not exactly the birthday present I wanted as I head into my birthday weekend… But things could definitely be worse. Using this as a wake up call to appreciate everything that I have.

Which is this… “Look Mommy, it’s an x!” And…she did! On me…

Top- Rachel Pally (old, LOVE this one here)

Jeans- DL1961 “Amanda Skinny” in Seville (eBay, similar here and not distressed here)

Vans- Vans (thrifted)

On Maya…

Dress- Tea Collection (thrifted, but similar here)

Shoes- KK (thrifted, but similar here)

Keeping it Real…

Ok, so a woman walked behind us right as I took this, but I didn’t know until I got home. I loved it though, so I Photoshopped her out haha. 🙂

(all pictures taken with a self timer and tripod, except ones of Maya :))

Pops of color….and honest motherhood.

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I’ve mentioned before that I don’t usually intentionally match with Maya. She still vetos half the stuff I try at first, but for the time being I still pick out what she wears.

In any case… What I’m in the mood for, she gets in the mood for too. And, I’ll admit that if we are taking pics, I’ll maybe adjust what one of us is wearing so it compliments the other.

Usually, MY outfits are pretty basic with a pop of something. Oh, orange shoes??! Don’t mind if I do! Especially when they are thrifted for $5!!

I know from talking to friends and being on social media that having a 3 year old is no joke. Whoever coined the phrase “terrible two’s” was a cruel person, because that totally ruined all of us that thought we totally nailed the 2 year phase!! Maya was seriously the sweetest, funniest, smartest (ok, I’m slightly biased) kid up until about 3.5. After we passed the 2 year mark and then some, I thought “I totally got this!!!” And then…

Tantrums. Defiance. Being stubborn (ok, I own that). RUDENESS. It all came with a vengeance.

Looking back on it now, there were other things going on, so maybe that was it too? It wasn’t a good time for either of us. I didn’t even really want to take pics of us. I felt like it would be a big fraud if I took pictures of me loving on her and us having fun, when…well, we were, but not like we used to…

And then….4th of July weekend was a turning point. I can’t pin point what happened. There was fun stuff, but we’d done fun stuff before. But, we started the weekend with a dinner over at my parents, then the 4th, and then a quiet day. From there on out, it’s been business as usual, but….business as usual from a few months ago. AND I LOVE IT!! I know she does too!! Love, love, LOVE this next one 🙂 I posted this next shot on Instagram as a little sneak peek and it’s my most liked photo to date. Weird, huh? Ok, there are a LOT of pics in the next sequence, but I love all her dance moves!! I’m not a big filter person, but I wanted to have fun on this next one. I like it… 🙂 No filter on the next one…Just haziness from the fires in British Columbia.On me…