Pictures With Brooke Aliceon + Tips for Finding The Right Photographer For You

I would say I've got the car selfie thing down haha, but as of lately I have needed photos of just me for a few projects I've been working on. And since my husband would rather do just about anything else other than take pictures of me (no but for reals I don't know how those fashion bloggers do it) I decided to go with a pro, Brooke Aliceon.  I love her beautiful, outdoor, natural style and I couldn't be happier with how the pictures she took turned out.  Plus we had a blast and she was cracking me up. Win win when taking pictures.

Getting pictures taken can be pretty nerveracking whatever the occasion may be. I mean.... you want to love them right?!  So here are a few tips when looking for and booking a photographer:

• Determine the style you are going for.  This is the most important part because it will reflect how you are portrayed. Are you going for total glam and edgy, or are you going for a more natural candid look? There are dozens of others styles you just have to figure it out in the very beginning. After you have determined a style you can begin to narrow down a photographer.

• Once you have found a photographer that matches you style, stalk them a little bit (the nice kind of stalking of course) on social media. Check out their Facebook page, Instagram account, and website to make sure the vibe you are going for matches the vibe the photographer is putting out there. Every photographer has their own individual style and by checking out their past work you can get a pretty good idea of what exactly that is.

• Make sure your personalities mesh.  This is also very important because getting pictures taken is already pretty stressful...What to wear? Will my kids be little a-holes? Will my husband be in a good mood? Why did I get this zit this morning? Ha! Those are just some of the things that go through my mind, and you want to make sure your photographer is going to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. The last thing you want when you are already more than likely stressed is a photographer who irritates you. Right?! Plus the more at ease you feel, the better and more natural your pictures will look. 

• And lastly when it comes down to the actual picture day, remember to relax, have fun and go with the flow! 

And those are my tips that I have found to be quite handy over the last couple of years!  

To see more of Brooke's work you can check out her website - blog - and Instagram 

Palm Springs Recap

My mom and I headed out to Palm Springs last week for our annual mother daughter trip, and we had a freaking blast! My mom is just about the funnest (I say it's a word) and most spontaneous gal around and we are never short of adventures whenever we get together.  We stayed at the Saguaro, which is this amazing colorful hotel.  I have never seen so many purple walls in my life, and I actually loved it...and coming from a white wall only chick that's saying a lot.  It has a super chill vibe during the week, which was perfect for us since we got the pool basically to ourselves during the day. BUT I did hear it gets pretty poppin on the weekends so if you want to stay at a fun place I would definitely recommend it! 

Here are a few pictures from our trip...

My mom and I getting our selfie on at one of the many colorful walls at the Saguaro.

We rented bikes and explored all the super fabulous midcentury modern homes up in the hills... So many heart eyes and too many pictures to even post! I was in time warp heaven.

And our final stop before heading home was the Moorten Botanical Garden. This place is unreal! A must see if you visit Palm Springs.

Palm Springs is one of my all time favorite places to escape to.  It feels like you enter a zone where time doesn't exist the moment you arrive and it stays that way until the moment you leave.

Palm Springs Bound!

I am off to Palm Springs this morning with my Mom for our yearly mother daughter trip! We plan on renting bikes, doing a little shopping, visiting some rad restaurants, and lounging by the pool. The weather should be pretty perfect and I can't wait to soak up all the sunshine humanly possible...with my usual SPF 50 on of course ;)

Be back Friday!

Homemade Fruit Snacks (3 ingredients)

I grocery shop on Sunday and by Wednesday (wed-nes-day...you know you do that too) we are fresh outta snacks. I swear my boys are legitimate bottomless pits. So last week I thought it would be fun to create an easy to make snack that the boys could help me with...AKA keep them busy for 10 whole minutes until they asked for another snack again. 

What you will need:

• 1 cup of organic grape juice (or whatever juice you prefer) 

• 1/4 cup of unflavored gelatin 

• 6-8 drops of liquid Stevia (or you can use 3 tbs of honey if you want them a little sweeter) 

• Silicone mold 

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients together in a small saucepan and on medium heat whisk everything together until well combined. 
2. Remove from heat and quickly and carefully pour the mixture into your molds (do not let it cool) 
3. Place in the refrigerator for an hour or until fully set. 
4. Enjoy!  

A quick, healthy and fun to make snack.  My boys loved these!

Things That Make Me Say Yeay

Fresh blueberries picked by Ronin on our blueberry picking date this week. We plan on making this cobbler with them...yummm!

The best Mother's Day brunch basically ever! It was buffet style and I felt like Peter Pan in that scene in the movie Hook where they go and have that giant feast, and there is everything you could possibly imagine to eat.  It was pretty incredible and this was all that I could pile on without looking like a lost boy.

Farmer Max taking his garden watering job very seriously.

My happy and dirty three year old, who will be FOUR (wahhhhhh) in just a few short weeks. I hope I always remember him just like this.

A little peek into the boy's bathroom, which we are finally getting around to finishing up (just need a shower door). It's a subway explosion and I love it.  Also, super happy we went with dark grout and flooring since you know...boys are giant dirt balls.

Have an awesome weekend! And thank you for all the support and positive feedback on this post.  I was waiting for the negative nelly flood gates to open and they never really did. I'm pretty sure I have the coolest most supportive readers ever. You guys are the best.

Camper Renovation Inspiration

You can't always pick your neighbors, and sometimes you are just stuck living next to a couple of  weirdos who you have zero relationship with. So when we moved into our house last year we couldn't have hand picked better neighbors if we tried. We've recently started going on camping trips with them and it's been so much fun and something we all enjoy so much...especially the boys who think adventures, dirt and minimal showers are the key to happiness.

Since we don't have a camper of our own we have been renting from my friend's company called Luv 2 Camp, which has been awesome and super convenient since they do everything for you and all you do is show up!  But more recently we've been throwing the idea around of getting an old camper or airstream off of Craigslist and fully renovating it to make it super bad ass. 

Here's some of my inspiration...Ya know since we just can't seem to get enough out of renovating things...ahh!

source

 source

source 

source 

source

source

Seriously how cute are all of these?! Love them all and I am feeling super inspired and ready for a new adventure and project. 

How Medical Marijuana Has Improved My Life

WOA WOA WOA wait what?!  Before we get all huffy and puffy let me tell you the story of how I got to where I am today, which just so happens to be a very good place...

In high school I was diagnosed with PMDD, which is a severe extension of PMS.  Every month for as long as I can remember I would experience bouts of depression, crazy anxiety, horrible mood swings, debilitating cramping, insane headaches, high blood sugars from the hormonal changes (I have type 1 diabetes), insomnia, and major withdrawal from my friends and normal activities that I usually otherwise loved.  It made me feel out of control and it was taking a toll on my marriage and my life. In the beginning of this year I knew I had to make a change and needed to find something that would manage my ugly symptoms.

I made an appointment with my OB where I told her everything I was experiencing.  I actually started crying in the room because I realized how crazy I sounded saying all of that out loud.  After a few minutes of listening she said I was the perfect candidate for Xanax with a side of antidepressants.  I told her I wasn't ready for the antidepressants but said I would give the Xanax a try.  She told me to take it when the feelings were beginning to come on and I should feel better.  Just like that.  I didn't like the fact that I like to live my life as natural as possible and yet here I was filling my prescription, and about to pop a Xanax.  But I was desperate so I did and within about 10 minutes I felt like a complete muted vegetable-like robot mom.  I couldn't believe this was a legal thing that my doctor was so eager to prescribe.  That was the first and last time I was ever going to take another one of those bad boys. So here I was again back at square one, although this time I was determined to find a more natural holistic solution, since growing a third eye in 20 years is not on the tippy top of my to-do list ;)

I live in California where Prop 215 has made it legal for patients to use marijuana for their personal medical use given the recommendation or approval by a California-licensed physician. So with my husband's blessing I made an appointment. I was SO nervous.  The doctor I saw was amazing and empathetic as I told him all of the things I was experiencing. I told him I was a busy mom of two boys and wasn't totally digging the idea of smokin it up during the day. He explained to me that there are certain forms of cannabis that you don't have to smoke, which are actually very potent with few or no psychoactive effects.  That sounded like a good medicinal plan for me.  I left that day with my first ever medical marijuana prescription.  I was intrigued and hopeful.

My first experience with medical marijuana was the following week as I was getting ready to start my damn period again. This time it was a whole different ball game.  My period came and went without disrupting my life and ZERO negative side effects...well other than being hungry ha.  I mean WHAT?! This hadn't happened everrrrrrrrr.  I can't even express how liberating it felt knowing that I was taking something that is 100% natural and it was freaking working.

It has now been 5 months since I have started using marijuana for its medicinal purposes and it has improved my life without a doubt.  Here are the benefits that I have experienced:

• PMDD is gone...like gone girls gone.  That right there was a game changer. 

• My marriage is better than ever because I made the decision to improve my mental health. 

• My anxiety is at an all time low. 

• My blood sugars are in the best control ever, since marijuana is known to benefit people with diabetes. 

• Headaches are nonexistent. 

• I am off all prescription medications except for insulin. 

• I am happier and living a more fulfilled life since I am not experiencing the symptoms I described above anymore.

Besides what I have experienced, medical marijuana is also being used to:

• Treat epilepsy in children 
• Slow and stop cancer cells from spreading 
• Slow and stop the progression of Alzheimers 
• Treat Crohn's disease
• Treat ADD/ADHD
• Ease tremors in Parkinson's disease 
• Improve brain function after a stroke 
• Treat Autism and more 

So there you have it. My "secret" is out. It feels so scary to share this with the world because so many people have stereotypes and may be uneducated about all the positives effects medical marijuana can have...but that's okay.  I know not everyone will understand this alternative holistic route I have decided to take, but if I can help just one person by sharing my story that is good enough for me.

*Disclaimer: I am not saying that all prescription medications are bad.  I am simply sharing my story and what did and did not work me for. 

Things That Make Me Say Yeay

I chopped my hair off and I love it.  And thanks to wayyyyy too many You Tube videos I've got the beachy waves and side braid down haha.

Lunch with a girlfriend at my favorite winery and the prettiest spring salad.

Ronin at his first Messy Play class.  He goes once a week for an hour with two of his little buddies and it's the cutest thing.  I have decided not to put Ronin in preschool (blog post on that coming soon) so these types of activities are perfect for him.

The prettiest flowering cactus, which are all over our property.

You know you have good neighbors when...you find your husbands adding an access gate between our two properties.

Have an awesome weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing mommas out there!

Our Repurposed Barn Wood Fort

Last week my husband casually mentioned that he wanted to use up some of the leftover barn wood from our renovation to build the boys a fort.  Little did I know he was going to create the boy's childhood dream hangout. I mean... he basically blew my idea of what I had envisioned it to look like.  Okay bragging over. I just love that guy of mine.

Here are a few pictures of the their new hangout... They love it!

It's near impossible to get them to come inside now but I'm totally fine with that. Peter Pan life forever please.

My Go-To Cure For Writers Block

Helllllllllllo friends.

Long time no talky.  I have been super busy lately (rolls eyes..but really I have!) with life and all the crazy awesome-ness that can sometimes come along with that.  Whenever I tend to go through dry spells here on my blog I discovered that the best cure is to get outside and just live, and the blogging part will come naturally.

I have been making it a point to do more exploring, see more things, step out of my comfort zone, say yes more to my boys, and say no more to things that tend to zap my energy.  It's been incredibly rewarding and I haven't been this content in a pretty long time.  It's a good feeling.  I just wanted to pop in and say I haven't forgotten about this space I love so much. I have just decided to take a little time to re-focus where I want to take my blog and how.

You are all awesome and thank you for reading. xoxo