pool side baby.

we took a break from all our unpacking yesterday to enjoy this hot summer weather by having a little BBQ with these friends on their roof top pool. and since E only has probably 2 more weeks before her little 4 month old body outgrows this bathing suit sized for a 9 month old (this child knows how to eat!) we hope to get in as many pool days as possible in that next little while. :)

hope your week is off to a great start!

wanna wish you a happy long weekend!

we're packing up the last of the boxes,

and loading up the u-haul.

eeeeee!

here.we.go!

have a wonderful happy long weekend!

eat a hamburger and enjoy the sun!

xo

love, taza, husband, baby girl and mister king.

tennis, anyone?

last week when my sisters were in town, i enlisted their help in teaching me how to play tennis. after all, they are tennis rockstars and while i've never been on the court before, tennis has been on my list of things i wanna learn how to do, and do well.

but as you are about to witness by the following photos... tennis is hard for me. just look at my face....

and then i just turn into a dancer on the court,

because that is my comfort zone...

anyway, we finished the day with what we do best.

silly pictures.....

dang, i'm gonna miss these girls all.summer.long.

a few snapshots of life lately, according to my iphone.

getting our move on...

i was afraid something would get in the way--because that tends to be the case when we find a home we love on the hill, but... remember when i mentioned this place? well, we held our breath all week, waiting with a pen in hand to sign that lease... and sign that lease we did! thanks for crossing your fingers for us!

i feel like a huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders-- but then again, i feel like it's been replaced with the thought of packing up our current place in only a few days time with a baby on my hip and a bulldog who likes eating boxes. heaven help us. ;)

baby and bulldog are napping right now, so i'm off to pack up a box or two! enjoy your monday...

i was not kidding when i told you i'm loving the pizza lately.

*and sometimes baby girl has just had enough.

no more pizza, she cries!*

the twinsies are back!

my twins sisters are visiting us for the weekend!

they just got back yesterday from studying in italy,

so right now we're eating pizza together

and looking through all their italy photos

pretending we're there...

so dreamy.

{do you spot all those tennis rackets behind them in this polaroid?

so cute. love these little athletes.}

eleanor + nigel.

our friends patrick + kastle were in d.c. over the weekend

so we got to meet their new 8 month old baby nigel (cutie pie!)

and they got to meet our *almost* 4 month old baby girl.

josh and patrick studied at columbia together.

i love this first photo of the two of them now...

years later, with their new little babies.

it's fun to stand back and watch these guys talk about baby stuff,

exchange birth stories from their view

(cause they know all that child birth lingo now...)

talk baby gadgets and books and hold their babes

like nothing in the world is more precious.

what is it about a man with a baby?

i love it.

*and oh how baby girl's chubby thighs get to me. cutest little rolls ever.*

updates + more updates.

i'm afraid i'll jinx it, because we haven't officially signed the lease just yet... but, we found a big old victorian home (to rent) that just might really-truly-dreams-do-come-true be ours by the end of the month. and, there is natural light! and two full baths! and dogs allowed! with a parking space! and in our price range...which is the best part. although technically i think the best part is that it doesn't have carpet. hooray! because to me, while some love that shaggy rug feeling under their feet, carpet is right up there with growing out bangs and red eye flights in my opinion. it's really hard for me to deal with and basically, i hate it. so yes, our nightmare of finding a new home might just be ending for a little while. and this is good news, because i don't really have any more hair to pull out between baby girl yanking on it and postpartum hair loss. let's all do a happy dance!

in other exciting news, baby girl rolled over for the first time this morning! it's exciting and scary at the same time. when will somebody figure out how to pause time already? can somebody please get on that?

both baby girl and husband went to bed last night before 7pm. i stood there for a second wondering if i should sleep too, or maybe, just sit and have a moment of quiet alone time. let me tell you, it was a weird moment. but i decided to take kingsley out on a little date. we walked all over the neighborhood like the olden days before baby girl sort of changed his life forever. he also got a tummy rub! that pup... i tell you, he still knows how to get to me. hope he doesn't mind coming in second to eleanor these days.

also, i just might run away with my new ebelskiver pan. it's sort of making me love being in the kitchen. and that's big news over here.

an afternoon with brett and chanel.

the trey mcintyre project is in town right now, which means we got to spend the afternoon with our dear friends, brett and chanel! oh how i've missed these two. and i just don't get to see them often enough! the three of us were in the same graduating class at juilliard and it's been so fun to watch these two talented friends really make names for themselves in the dancing world since graduation. they make me proud.

and, of course it was wonderful to have them finally meet baby girl in person! can't wait to see these two blow us away on the stage tomorrow! love you both!

over the weekend...

as the weekend began, josh said to me, "i feel like for mother's day, we should celebrate all weekend with what you love most... food." oh that man, he knows me so well. and so, that's exactly what we did. we ate. all my favorite things, at all my favorite places (yes, this means we maybe ate pizza three times this past weekend... but hey, please tell me i'm not the only one who obsesses over one specific food until i'm sick of it, you do too? i knew it!) these photos are from 2amy's, which is still my most favorite spot in d.c. for pizza. and thanks to husband, for being willing to eat so much pizza with me in a 48 hour span.

anyway, to sum it up, i really enjoyed my weekend. but how can i not with this cute little drooling smiley face? she sure has stolen her mama's heart.

match box dances.

a few years ago i worked with my dear sweet adam, a friend and classmate from our days at juilliard, on a short, four-part dancefilm, match box dances. it's been picked up by a couple of film festivals, which we're thrilled about, and was also just recently released online, which you can view in its entirety here.

match box dances is "a product of an inter-disciplinary collaboration, a snapshot of ongoing investigations of portraiture in dance on camera, ....exploring the intersection of public, private and personal gestures."

i loved being a part of this collaboration... adam is such a genius and i'm so excited to see the film doing so well! hope you enjoy watching. (more info here.)

i am a mother.

last may, the day before mother's day, i took a home pregnancy test in the bathroom. it wouldn't be until the following monday that i'd know "officially" that i was pregnant, but still. i knew. and husband and i? we were sort of over the moon.

all my life, i have dreamed of being a mother. these last three months have often felt so surreal. i have loved every minute of it, even the minutes where i am tired and cranky and little eleanor is fussy. sometimes i am nervous i am tampering with sweet baby girl's spirit, because she is so special and i still have so much to learn. but i thank my father in heaven every single day for giving me this chance and entrusting her to me.

happy mother's day to all of you mothers in the world, to all of you women who play a motherly part in someone's life, to those of you who wish to be mothers and aren't just yet, to the mother who raised my handsome husband, and to my own beautiful mother, who i love so very much. happy happy mother's day to you!

diary by kingsley: introducing E to my favorite place on earth... the beach.

"what's up friends!

last week we drove down to florida for the weekend. i didn't get to steer the car like the olden days, but hey, i'm happy to still be included on family trips and outings now that a baby is in tow, so... you know, pick your battles.

it was dad's 10 year high school reunion, which- by the way- i wasn't invited to. c'mon people, i thought i was the bolles school mascot?! but anyway...

while in florida, we went back to my favorite place on earth. and as you can see by baby girl's face in the photo, i'm pretty sure it's her favorite place on earth too. now what's it going to take to get mom and dad on board with a move to florida? i see how much mom enjoys the sunshine and warm weather... and dad always raves about growing up near the beach and rowing on the river, so, i mean. really? it makes sense to me, and i'm only 10 dog-years-old.

puppy kisses & licks,

Kingsley"

rockstar giveaway! (closed)

this week we have 4 fabulous giveaways for you thanks to a few of our wonderful sponsors!

1. the first item up comes from the beautiful flower shop, honey of a thousand flowers! they are offering one reader a $75 floral arrangement! either a vased arrangement or hand-held bouquet... available for delivery between Provo & Odgen Utah, or for pick up in Salt Lake City, Utah. *Please specify in your entry comment if you live in Utah in order to have your name entered in this portion of the giveaway.

photos by jessica peterson (top) and kate osborne.

2. the second giveaway is a $50 gift certificate to shop mamie! they have some beautiful new pieces and accessories in for spring and summer, making me excited to get out and play in the sun! below are a few of my favorites!

3. our third giveaway today comes from {a} vintage poster, which offers affordable prints that brighten any room! one lucky reader will receive 3 prints of their choice! below are just a few options...

4. and last but not least, coco penny, a lovely shop offering hair accessories for women of all ages as well as embellished onesies for babies and toddlers, is offering one reader a $50 gift certificate to their shop!

please check out all four of these wonderful shops, then come back here and comment below in order to enter! four winners will be drawn and announced friday, may 6th!

good luck!

.....

CONGRATULATIONS to our four winners below,

listed in order of which portion of the giveaway they won!

please email me your contact info- naomi. megan{at}gmail.com

and we'll get you your goodies! :)

thank you to all who entered!

xoxo