scuff marks

quick! send me all the magic erasers.  i took this photo to show someone how i finally hung up the frames i had gotten for coco's shoot and then i noticed the scuff marks on the wall from the boys in my house throwing their shoes when they take them off. ugh, things like this haunt me.

 i need to buy more frames asap because i was just testing it out and i like what i see.

breakfast at the dana residence

i love breakfast. i'd eat it all day everyday if i could, sampling every breakfast food carrying restaurant i could find.  here's how we did breakfast this morning.

how the cats do breakfast

how coco does breakfast

how mama did breakfast today (shhh)

don't cry, shopgirl.

today was slightly challenging, my macbook pro decided to stop charging in the middle of a math exam and the mister got home late so i had to miss my appointment at the genius bar.  my macbook is my everything.  well my family and my cats are my everything but materialistically speaking... my macbook would be it.

everything improved tonight at bedtime though because coco read me his favourite book.  he told me the story almost word for word because he has me read it so much its practically memorized, he's so sweet.  

i plan on spending the rest of my night watching one of my favourite movies, you've got mail.  

there was something comforting about the sound of a dial of modem, sometimes i miss it just a little

one last hangout

my best friend came to visit this past weekend.  she's moving to kansas next week and in a few months i will be bavaria's newest resident so she decided to come and visit and have on last hangout.  we spent the weekend in a state of nostalgia, discussing every funny, sad, and crazy moment we've had together.  we also went to my favourite place in the world... tysons corner, where i got the most perfect red lipstick ever (red russian by mac) and i got it for free might i add!  mac has this recycling program where if you turn in 6 of their empty cases you can get a free lipstick.  we also stopped at cake love which i still say is the best cupcakes in virginia.  i don't like frosting but theirs is to die for.

some of the cupcakes and the coveted bag

everyone asked if we were sisters

and just for giggles: 2 girls 1 bathroom...
i wish i could have seen the mister's face when he went to get ready for work and saw this

btw, this sunday it poured all day. i mean like seriously poured, and it was cold! just look at this sky! 

i was able to take some refuge in the shed before closing though... this was the perfect set up.

a favourite snack

coco is a snacker, if he could graze all day he would.  throughout the day i hear the creak of the pantry door and him running past me with some seaweed in his hand, or maybe a few mini rice cakes.  i've been blessed with a natural healthy eater, but i like to think that i helped point him in the right direction.

lately, he's been really into roasted chickpeas, and i must admit that i am too.  not only is it inexpensive, but super easy.  all you do is drain and dry a can or two of chickpeas, and bake on some parchment paper at 400 degrees for about a half hour until they are a little crispy but soft on the inside.  the way we eat them is pretty much as is, with a little pink himalayan sea salt but the seasoning possibilities are endless.

yesterday, i caught a tender moment

so as i was primping and prepping for my big night out with my mister, i overheard coco singing a really sweet song to his cat, brobee about how he was leaving later to his sitter's house and i was able to secretly capture some of the song.  just listen and melt.

happy anniversary to me and the mister!

five years ago today we walked the rainy streets of norfolk and arrived at the courthouse where we took our wedding vows.  it feels like it was just yesterday, definitely not five years!

today i woke up to the same clouds and rain just like on our wedding day.  i spent the day cleaning up so that i could fully relax at our dinner.  my good friend portia said she would watch coco tonight and he was more than excited (in fact, here i am back at home and he's still there because he decided he wanted to have a sleepover!).  it was the first time pretty much ever that i've had a sitter that wasn't family and the first date in years that we've had but i fully trust her so i was able to really be at peace tonight!  we went to the cheesecake factory, it was just as good as i remembered.

the mister

the missus

THE BEST EGGPLANT SANDWICH I'VE EVER HAD omg, seriously.  the. best.

these lights looked like the eye of sauron, yeah the lotr nut in me had to take a photo!

and the top off the night, my favourite cheesecake... the red velvet.

work started again, i worked all weekend long.  like... 30 something hours.  so much watering, my arms are sore from watering hundreds of flowers but luckily its been chilly out so i'm not dying in the heat.  besides it being boring i'm really enjoying this job! its nice to work independently.

after a long day at work

my trusty work boots

told you i get bored!

work snacks

after work we had a family movie night <3

  

a couple of weeks ago i deleted my facebook, its been nice and i don't miss it at all.  i have to reactivate it when i move to bavaria though because i need to connect with the homeschooling moms there and stuff but the break is lovely.

speaking of homeschool, i got coco this really awesome german dictionary for kids and we've been practicing along with the muzzy german dvd.  hopefully he'll have a good idea of the language before we move because i'm flirting with the idea of putting him in a german school the second year we are there.

it was another early day today, left the house by 450 to take the husby to work, now coco and i are out to run a bunch of errands like wegmans, trader joes, etc oh and sallys because there is a sale on lashes.  i can never have enough false lashes.  coco is begging to try blk water so i have to get some, have you heard of it? its black water... i don't know i'm intrigued.  i'll tell you all about it when i try it!

oh, 5 am

 ps have you listened to twin shadow? i'm obsessed with his dreamy voice, i love this song especially:

cat power

today has been pretty good so far, i was awoken by the sound of dan's voice telling me that he is marinating tilapia for fish tacos tonight, and then while i was in bed burying myself in my studies and taking exams, i had three feline visitors.

it feels like a saturday, but if it was saturday i would be at my first day back at the flower stand.  tomorrow will be a long day for sure.

i just love seafood

i do, salmon is my everything.  i've never tried crab legs before for a couple of reasons, the main one being how much effort it takes just for a little bit of meat.  when i'm eating, i want to eat, not spend more time wielding tools and cracking shells after i patiently waited for the food to be finished.  anyway, my neighbor had a seafood boil and she invited me over.  it was so odd to me, you throw potatoes, corn, crab legs and shrimp into a giant pot full of seasoning and boil away.  i'm sure i'm the only person who hasn't ever heard of it but it was delicious.  coco was obsessed with the crab meat and i felt so naughty dipping everything in a bowl of butter.  i was struggling so hard with my crab shells that my friend told me that i reminded her of daryl hannah in splash when she went out to eat hahah.

note: i would never let my child have hi-c, he was drinking the black cup of water (not my house)

afterwards we went to the park for some play time, he passed out a soon as we go home!  so did i ;)

richmond weekend

this past weekend we traveled to richmond for the united blood festival where i got to see some of my friends that i haven't seen in awhile and i got to see one of my favourite bands ever (cro-mags) play.  i didn't get a lot of photos at all because i left coco with my best friend a few blocks away and i had to conserve my phone battery incase she needed me.  they had such a great time, she took him to a space themed diner where i hear they deep fry everything, and then they went to this really cute park/zoo.

obligatory car picture on the way

what i did get an image of was my lunch, food photos always seem to be my top priority.  i declared that i was starving so my brother in law, his girlfriend, and the husby walked quite awhile until we ended up at alamo bbq.  it was a cute little stand that you walk up to and order food and sit outside, richmond always has the coolest places to eat.  i ordered their tilapia taco and my favourite chips.  it was so delicious, and really worth the long walk.

seriously, so good

now i'm sitting watching pocoyo with my babe because he has a fever so my night will be filled with lots of cuddles, reading lots of books, and drinking copious amounts of diet pepsi so i can stay awake!

xx