bath time.

speaking of our play date with evie, i think this photo of the two girlies in the bathtub has stolen my heart. how darling can they get? i really truly hope and pray there is a sister (or brother!) somewhere for eleanor so she can experience moments like this on a daily basis soon (having four siblings of my own, i have to say, it's the best thing ever).

play date with evie.

while in utah last week eleanor had a little play date at the kiddie pool with the adorable 8-month old evie. of course our luggage was still lost somewhere between phoenix and salt lake city when we got together, but evie let eleanor borrow one of her fashionable bathing suits so we could still splash around...

here are a couple of photos from their play date that make me laugh out loud every time i see them:

anyway, we had a lot of fun with evie (and of course her mama, nicole.) it's fun to think about these girlies growing up together. maybe if we promise to work on that ear grabbing thing (what is up with that? what am i raising?), they'll end up best friends? ;)

claire gets married.

here are a couple photos from my iphone from claire's wedding last week.

that temple sealing was unbelievably beautiful and i'm so proud of claire. i love this girl. she's creative and talented and silly and always happy. she's also such a wonderful friend, even when we live so far away from each other these days. friends like that are the best.

plus, to think of all the ridiculous double dates we went on together back in the day and to see us now, with our best friends as our husbands... who'd of thought? it's pretty darn cool.

congratulations again, claire! now come move to d.c., ok?

"ma ma."

on monday, our flight out of salt lake city was delayed about an hour or so, so eleanor and i sat down on the floor of the airport together near our gate. i was standing her up on my legs to face me as i held her arms and talked to her. a few minutes into our chat the biggest grin came over her face and she looked up at me and said clear as day, "ma ma."

i think my heart stopped.

i kept saying, "what did you say? did you say 'ma ma'?" all the while she just kept smiling up at me repeating it. sure, i know she hasn't fully made that connection yet and she's mostly just saying "ma ma ma ma" as she's learning to put new sounds together. but i have to tell you, whether or not it's legit, i'm claiming it as her first word.

also, not going to lie... it's making me feel like a million bucks.

photos from utah.

eleanor and i are back from utah.

we had such a great time with family and friends.

but i can't believe how quickly that week flew by...

it's always difficult leaving...

1- brother + eleanor. 2- my family. 3 +4- making homemade pasta with the family.

5- my mama's garden. 6- my mama's chickens. 7- my siblings and me 8- a shot of the valley

have a great weekend! (+ our giveaway winner announced!)

it's beautiful here in utah today.

makes eleanor and me thankful we are dodging

those heat indexes above 120 in d.c. today.

we're sad josh and kingsley are having to experience it.

hope all of you back east are surviving!

and we can't move into the weekend

without announcing our giveaway winner!

congrats to amelianne mary!

please email me to claim your shop credit!
naomi.megan{at}gmail.com

have a fabulous weekend!

xo

in utah.

eleanor and i have been loving our time in utah so far this past week. time with the family, all those sparkly stars in the sky, and breezy weather that's simply perfect. but you know, every day here has proven to be a new adventure. we barely made it to utah monday night thanks to a delayed flight which gave us 2 minutes to catch our connecting flight in pheonix. 2 minutes! i do not kid! it was like a scene from a movie-- crazy lady running down the halls of the airport holding a baby and a big bag, and just getting to the plane door as they're closing it completely out of breath. "waaaaaaaaaiiiiittt!" oh you should have seen me. i felt really cool.

and then of course, our luggage did not arrive until the following evening. and oh yes, us airways sure gave us the run around all day tuesday. "it's 10:30 in the morning and your bag is on it's way... should be there within 2-4 hours." 6 hours later, "your bag is still here. will get it to you by six." sometime after 7, "your bag is on it's way, will arrive around 9." let me tell you, that's a really fun game to play when you're traveling with an infant and sort of need the straight up truth as to when the bag is really arriving so you know to go buy more diapers already.

but the best (worst?) part so far is the part where my mom's car broke down on the way to my friend's wedding this afternoon. we were still forty five minutes away and by the time our cab arrived, i was supposed to be there 5 minutes ago. i ended up texting the bride saying i didn't think i'd make it. talk about worst bridesmaid ever. but somehow, and seriously, i have no idea how, i made it in time. all thanks to a really speedy cabbie (and i thought those were only in nyc), a temple sealing that somehow got delayed by 15 minutes and some pretty great running in heels on my part. classic. but i made it! and it was beautiful! and i'm really thankful it all worked out.

it's only thursday. hopefully the weekend will be more predictable and all the surprises are over with. i'm just saying...

happy thursday!

life lately, according to my iphone pictures.

rockstar giveaway! (closed)

today we have a giveaway for you from our sponsor, the greedy seagull! this vintage etsy shop has quickly become one of my favorites and i don't think there is anything in this shop i do not love.

the greedy seagull is offering one lucky reader a $100 gift certificate!

to enter, please visit the greedy seagull and then come back over here to comment below telling me what you'd use your $100 shop credit towards purchasing....

the winner will be drawn at random and announced friday, july 22nd. good luck!

this week...

this week i get to see my dear friend claire marry her best friend chris!

isn't she the cutest? oh gosh, i'm so happy for her!

this week i also get to spend every single day with my family! woooo hooooo!

and i can't tell you how much i'm looking forward to seeing all their faces.

this week (well, today) i'm also flying solo with a baby (and i've got the middle seat) so maybe cross your fingers for e and me and hope folks are friendly on the plane? ok, thanks.

see you in a few hours, utah.

photo by jessica peterson.

last week.

we hope you had a happy weekend! here are just a couple of moments documented around our house this past week...

i really love this little family of mine.

this man who is my best friend, this baby girl attached to my hip with just the right amount of chubby cheek to kiss kiss kiss all day long, and that bully of ours who keeps us laughing and entertained...

of course there are difficult moments during every day. of course. but this little family of mine, i just can't describe how they make me feel. life is good when i'm with them. really really good. you know what i'm saying?

terrain.

the other week when we drove to philly for the day, we stopped by terrain in pennsylvania on our way. oh how long i have dreamed of checking out that beautiful little garden spot and try out their cafe. the entire experience did not disappoint. such beautiful indoor and outdoor space, and absolutely delicious food. (we are still talking about that bread and lavender butter...and the gnocchi too, oh my!) we left dreaming about our future family garden, both flower and vegetable. someday, right? someday....

a few photos from our weekend with meg.

the weekend was wonderful in every way.

good food, great conversation, nice weather and a happy baby.

i love me some meg time and i can tell eleanor feels the same.

this evening i'm feeling really thankful for good friends

who mean the world to me. friends that challenge and inspire me.

friends that i feel i can confide in because they're trustworthy,

they listen, and even if we don't see eye to eye on many things,

they're there for me, because they're just good people. simple as that.

i certainly need to be better on my end when it comes to friendships

but i just wanted to say thanks to all those friends who are so great.

and especially to meg... because your support, love,

encouragement and trust over these last however many years

means a great deal to me. and i love you.