Cote d'Azur

With the close of another season upon us, I sit here feeling a little sorry for myself as I watch everyone else preparing to head home, because we are not. Well at least not now. We still have another three months here away from our friends and family. Don't get me wrong, I am glad Scott is getting his MBA and am so proud of him for juggling school, hockey and family (read: my constant nagging about this and that) and actually making it work. I know it wasn't always easy. So as much as I complain about it, which is probably a little too often, I am glad we are still here. Sort of.

However, the one bright note in being here longer than usual is taking advantage of the beautiful places to visit within arm's reach. We are heading to the Cote d'Azur for a family vacation at the end of April. The countdown has begun. I can't wait!

How can views like this not cheer me up?!

Girl Talk

We all need a little girl talk now and then. Sure, I love talking to my husband. I share everything with him. Partly because it’s just he and I so much of time, and partly because he’s my best friend and I like talking to my best friend. But it definitely doesn’t replace having a little girl talk in your life. There are just some things he could care less about or just doesn’t get. Like listening to me talk about fashion and actually showing him pictures of my latest obsessions to really drive the point home (as if he’s even looking). He hates that. My girlfriends on the other hand, well that’s right up our alley.

Even though my girlfriends back home are spread out over the country or world, we can always pick up right where we left off, talking and laughing for hours on end. It’s what I love about them. We’re just that close. There’s definitely something to be said about that kind of friendship.

As for my girlfriends here, the ones I’ve met along the way; my experiences just wouldn’t be the same without them. They’re better because of them.

Like Mother, Like Daughter?

When it comes to a few of our latest spring fashion buys, definitely! It’s so much fun to shop for a little one. Especially when I still get to pick out what she wears. My favorite things for her are ones I’d wear myself. But seriously, how cute are these finds in the mini version?!

Mealtime Favorites

During the hockey season, pasta is a mainstay of our diet. With all that pasta, it’s nice to throw in some lighter meals here and there too. Here is one of our favorite salad recipes. It’s a modified version of the Cosi signature salad and a recipe I got from one of the girls a couple years ago (thanks K!). We usually make our homemade foccacia (another great one from one of the wives a few years back) to go along with it. Delicious!

Recipes can be found here.

Since I’m posting about food today, thought I’d share a video of Reese doing a little cooking too. She loves to make food and feed it to all of her buddies.

Date night is more than just a date

I’ve realized that life with little ones changes things. A lot. Not a shocking revelation, I know. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busy schedules and routines of kids. Not leaving too much extra time for much else. So date nights are important. Even more important than they were pre-kids. I really believe they help keep our marriage strong because it forces us to set aside time to get out and enjoy ourselves.

Even if it’s hard to make that time… Even if the food at dinner wasn’t worth the money… Even if the movie was terrible… Even if it costs more money to get a sitter… And creates more stress to get things in order for watching the little one… It’s all worth it. It’s more than just a date. It’s about getting out with the hubby and spending some quality time together. The value of that will always be greater than the cost.

We had the team’s year-end banquet this week. It was a perfect excuse to get out for a date night. Luckily for us, it was my Dad’s last night in town so naturally we put him to work watching Reese. Dinner, drinks and dancing made for a great night out with friends!

Spring Lust List

The weather here has been warm and sunny this week without a chill in the air. It’s making me lust after Spring even more. So in the spirit of Spring, here are a few things I'm lusting after right now.




Love the bright blue color of this Topshop top




Park Bench Fedora from Madewell- a perfect spring accessory



LOVE these wedges from Topshop




Cute maxi dress from Anthropologie




Okay, so this one could be for any season, but how good do these look?! I've seen them all over lately and I'm dying to get my hands on some!

Adventures in Shopping with Baby

Reese, playing with purses and modeling a new spring dress

I love to shop. It just puts me in a happy place. I feel like I'm really starting to enjoy that happy place again since before my pregnancy. It's just not the same when you're shopping for your pregnant body (or post-pregnant body for that matter).

Anyways, shopping for me is fun again. Of course when I venture out with Reese, it's not quite as leisurely as it used to be. Even when she was a tiny baby I could still browse at my own pace. Now it's more of a grab and try on over what I'm wearing or not at all. We work with what we have, right?

Reese and I went out the other day and had quite the successful trip. We managed to get a cute pair skinny jeans for me, 2 shirts for the hubby and lots of cute spring finds for her.

In order to get this done, it's key to stock the diaper bag with plenty of snacks to keep her occupied. Is it bad that I'm just shoving food at my baby so I can shop? A little mommy guilt here. At least I try and plan it around snack time.

We got all of that in about 30 minutes! I think I'm finally getting the hang of this shopping with baby.

Now, if only I could get the hubs on board. Fat chance.