My Summer To-Do List

A silly picture from yesterday, which was officially our first summer beach day. 

Summertime to me is all about late nights in the backyard, beach sand in your hair, sunny days where you eat way too many popsicles and celebrating all three of my boys birthdays, which are literally days apart.  I have recently gotten into making to-do lists (I even downloaded an app ha!)...I know I am like the last human on Earth to jump on this bandwagon but I have officially decided that there is nothing more powerful than checking things off of a to-do list.  In fact, every time I do I say, "Booooo yaaaa!" Say it with a little gusto out loud and you will know how it feels.

So here is my summer to-do list...

1. Have a s'mores making party in our backyard.  I can admit that I need to step up my hosting game and this summer I plan to do so. 
2. Go to a Dodger's game with my family.  We are serious fans.  In fact, I am pretty sure my husband would not have agreed to marry me if I had not been on board with his favorite team...not a joke!
3. Set up a tent in our backyard and have a campout with the boys.  
4. Get out our ice cream maker and make this recipe, which is my favorite! 
5. Make it a point to go all out on the Fourth of July.  I plan on buying tons of sparklers and those little popper things and letting the boys go crazy. 
6. Go skinny dipping.  Yep...you only live once. 
7. Have a fish cookout with the yummy trout my husband recently caught on his man trip to Mammoth. 
8. Get Ronin swim safe.  Max is finally swim safe thanks to this swim school and his awesome teacher named Irena! 
9. Have a girls wine tasting day with my friends.  There is nothing like a beautiful summer day in the wineries. 
10. Visit new beaches and venture out of our usual comfort zone. 

What fun things do you plan on doing this summer?  I wold love to hear. 

Strawberry Pineapple Salsa

Summer just got a little bit more awesome because my sister is home from Germany for a couple months.  I haven't seen her in over a year so catch up time has been a major priority.  We have been doing all kinds of fun things and each day usually ends with her at my house, while we enjoy a glass  of wine (or two), make a yummy snack and watch the boys run around the backyard like complete nut jobs.  The other afternoon we put together this salsa, which I must say is pretty much the ultimate summer-time snack.

What you will need:

• 1 cup of diced strawberries
• 1 cup of diced pineapple
• 1 jalepeno diced (remove seeds) 
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup of diced red onion 
• Juice from 1 lime
• Dash of sea salt 

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients into a bowl and throughly mix everything up together. 
2. Serve with whatever chips you prefer (I love roasted sweet potato and beet chips) and enjoy!

The combination of the sweet, tart and spicy is just perfect...and completely addicting!

TATCHA Skin Care Giveaway!

Summer is finally here!  If you are anything like me then summer time means drier than normal skin.  Playing in the sun and not remembering to reapply your sunscreen or forgetting to use a moisturizer can easily leave you feeling like your skin is in alligator mode and in major need of some added skin care help.

I promise to never mention anything on my blog that I do not personally use and love and I love TATCHA skin care.  I have mentioned them before here but everything that I have used from this line has just been wonderful.  I recently got to try out the new hydration firming serum along with the deep hydration eye mask and I am just so happy with the results that I have seen so far!  My skin visibly looks more hydrated and toned.  What's even better is that all of their products are free of parabens, synthetic fragrances, mineral oil and sulfate detergents so you can feel confident that you are only infusing your skin with the best natural ingredients.

I am teaming up with TATCHA today to give one lucky reader two of my recent favorite products from the line, which are Luminous Deep Hydration Firming Serum (hey we can all use a little extra firming help) and the Luminous Deep Hydration Revitalizing Eye Mask.

To enter the giveaway:

• Sign up for their newsletter or like them on Facebook and let me know how you are following them in a comment below along with your e-mail address. 
• For an extra entry (leave an extra comment please) tweet (tag with @delightedmomma) or mention giveaway on Facebook. 

Good luck! The winner will be selected at random this Friday and contacted via e-mail. 

Things That Make Me Say Yeay

We recently celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary and a couple selfie (is that even a thing?) was definitely necessary.

A new addition to our backyard table...a succulent that looks like it is covered in spider webs, which I think is beautiful and different.

Art in our master bedroom, which can be found here.  I feel like art is so personal and what one person might find beautiful another person might not understand and for that reason my husband and I placed this in our master where we both appreciate the unknown beauty in the painting.  I'm feelin deep today ;)

The boy's new playhouse, which my husband and father-in-law recently finished.

Crispy Brussels sprout, egg and shallots with a mustard vinaigrette.  Basically it was the most delicious appetizer ever at a local pub, which I must try to recreate at home soon.

This week was for relaxing and taking a breather from the blog since last Friday I had this little issue surgically corrected.  But let's be real no mom ever gets to really "take it easy" like the doctor orders when she has two little boys running all over acting like they ate espresso brownies laced with Red Bull for breakfast.  I mean...come on!  So thank God it's almost the weekend.  I plan on letting my husband fully take over :)

Have a great weekend!

Ronin Turns 2 + A Non Themed Birthday Party...What?!

Over the weekend we celebrated my littlest man's second birthday.  I cried like a baby the night before because like most mothers say...I just couldn't believe it.   I decided that for this birthday I was not going to stress about a theme and a giant expensive party and I just wanted us all to enjoy the day with all the things that my two year old loves.  Now don't get me wrong I still love a good ole themed birthday party but sometimes it's nice to just not worry about all those little details and just savor the day.

Here are a few pictures from Ronin's 2nd Birthday...

The birthday boy got his very first real bike.  He soon figured out that he had to push the pedals by himself to make it actually work.  He threw a giant fit when I made him wear his new helmet as we went for a test drive around our neighborhood but hey what's a morning (birthday or not) without a tantrum?

I let my OCD clean freak take a nap in the closet and the boys made a mess while we made birthday cupcakes.  Best little helpers ever.

Cupcake decorating courtesy of Ronin.  If you are my neighbor and you are reading...don't worry this cupcake was not yours ;)

All of our family was there when we sang Happy Birthday...and even though Ronin is not the spotlight kinda person I know he enjoyed every minute of it.  Happy 2nd Birthday Ronin!

Pin-tester *Ultimate Greek Chopped Salad*

It has been forever since I did a Pin-tester post but I decided it was time to bring it back since I have been doing a whole lotta pinning and not a lot of doing or making as of recently.

I decided I would start off the series with food because to be honest I have been sucking in the dinner making department.  Nothing sounds exciting and the creative/imaginative part of my brain seems to be on vacation.  So I searched my main food board and found something that sounded perfect for a hot (almost) summer night.

This pin came from a blog called The Garden Grazer 

What you will need:

• 1 hothouse cucumber 
• 4-5 ripe Roma tomatoes (I omitted these) 
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 small red onion
• 1/3 cup of feta cheese 
• 15 oz can of garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained) 

What you will need for the dressing:

• 3 tbs of red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 tsp of oregano 
• 1/4 tsp of salt

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix together the ingredients for the dressing and set aside. 
2. Dice the cucumbers, bell pepper and onion and add to a large bowl. 
3. Add in the garbanzo beans and the feta cheese. 
4. Add dressing and toss.
5. Serve and eat immediately (the leftovers were soggy so this is best fresh). 

Final verdict:  Win win win.  I did not use tomatoes like the original recipe called for since our garden is not ready yet and all the tomatoes at my local organic market were from Mexico, so I passed on those.  Ian and I loved this.  The garbanzo beans added a fun element that I have never used before in a salad.  The kids were not fans but that wasn't too surprising considering some of the raw ingredients.  I will be making this again for sure and I think it's the perfect dish to bring to a summer BBQ as well.

My Good Morning America Segment

ABC US News | ABC International News

When I originally wrote this post I had no idea how fast it would spread.  My intention for sharing my story was not to scare people or make moms never want to take their children to the pool again...it was the opposite.  I wanted to share the story simply for the fact that I wanted to make others aware of something that I have never heard of.

My post went viral and it blew me away how many people were unaware.  ABC Good Morning America called me recently and asked if they could do an interview.   I felt like it was such blessing because it was allowing me to share about the dangers of secondary drowning on a much bigger scale.

I am beyond terrified of public speaking (or speaking in front of cameras) but I decided to go ahead with the interview, which you can watch above if you want.  Where is that little emoticon with the monkey covering his eyes when you need him? Ha!

And for all of those of you who have sent me e-mails asking how Ronin is doing, he is doing great.  I have both boys in swimming lessons three times a week, with a sweet lady who comes to our house.  Ronin is slowly getting more comfortable with the water and my hope is that he will learn to love the water and swimming will soon be second nature to him.

Our Yearly Tradition

Last year we started a yearly blueberry picking tradition and the boys love it!  They basically eat half of their buckets of blueberries before we even get up to the weighing station to pay...but hey!  It would actually make more sense if they weighed my kids before they started picking and then again at the end instead of just weighing their buckets.  This year Max was a blueberry picking pro.  And Ronin thought the blueberries were frauds since he kept picking and eating the green ones but he soon caught on that the green ones were no bueno and the purple ones were the keepers.  My sister is also home from Germany for a couple months so she came along as well to help me chase around my crazy boys.

Here are a few pictures from our morning...

The most comfortable shorts in the world that I am wearing can be found here 

They even put them in legitamate blueberry containers in the end :)

On a side note: Today my awesome friends over at Brickyard Buffalo are having a 30% off sale and I wanted to share so no one misses out!  Enter the code SUMMER30 at checkout to receive the discount.

My Summer Skin & Beauty Must-Haves

With summer quickly approaching I wanted to share some of my recent favorite skin and beauty must-haves.  During the summer I usually stay away from a ton of makeup and tend to keep things semi minimalist in that department.  Instead, I usually pay more attention to the little details like fun nail colors, creating messy beach waves in my hair and keeping my skin extra hydrated and protected from all the summer sun.

1. Alterna Bamboo Beach Summer Ocean Waves: This product is super light weight, smells fresh and gives you that perfect, "I just got back from the beach" look.  I use it on my hair when it is damp or spray it on after I style it like I did here.

2. Kate Somerville Face and Body Self Tanning Pads: Perfect for when you need a quick, streak free boost of color.  I love these because they give you a natural sun kissed glow without turning your skin orange.  You can also apply as often as you like if you prefer a deeper tan color, which is always nice.

3. Poppy Austin Rose Water Facial Toner: If you aren't up for making your own, this is the next best thing.  This is soothing, refreshing and perfect for after you have had a little too much sun and need a little skin TLC.

4. Jack Black Intense Lip Therapy SPF 25: This is the ultimate lip treatment.  It soothes and protects your lips from sun and wind and keeps them feeling moisturized for hours on end without feeling like you need to keep re-applying.

5. See By Chloe Perfume: My current favorite perfume.  I love that it is light enough to wear every day without it being overwhelming.  It has hints of jasmine and vanilla which makes this the perfect summer time scent.

6. Supergoop! Sun-Defying Sunscreen Oil: You guys...this stuff is amazing.  It is lightweight, non-greasy and provides super antioxidant protection. It is also formulated without parabens and sulfates, which I love.

7. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream: This amazing whipped, non-greasy emollient cream is perfect for distressed skin that can sometimes become agitated from the dry summer weather. It provides immediate relief and visible improvement. A must have.

8. Essie "Under Where?" nail polish: I am currently obsessed with all shades of purple and this one is my favorite go-to color.

9. Skin Trip Mountain Ocean Coconut Moisturizer:  If you want to smell like a beach goddess then use this all over your body.  It smells heavenly and instantly hydrates your skin.

10. bkr Glass Water Bottle: Okay so this is not really a beauty or skin care product BUT one of the most important things you can do for your skin during the summer is to keep it hydrated.  So why not have a cute bottle that will make you want to drink more water?  That philosophy works for me anyway :)



Do you have any current favorite summer beauty products that you just can't live without?  I would love to hear!