shophouse.

we tried out the new shophouse kitchen over at dupont circle the other week with friends. we hear it's the new asian spin-off from the people that brought us chipotle. the grilled steak was delicious but overall the meal was far too spicy for us (and we had the mildest sauce.) i suppose we are pretty wimpy though when it comes to spices so we aren't really the ones you should ask.

we did however enjoy watching eleanor sit on papa's shoulder while eating her bowl of brown rice. that child knows how to entertain.

refinery29 feature!

today i am sharing 4 looks on refinery29 if you'd like to check them out! i consider myself in no way a fashion blogger but had a blast with refinery29's dc team the other week on this shoot. you can check out my interview and looks HERE if you'd like! thanks again for having me, refinery29!

rice to riches.

one of my favorite little places to grab a treat when we lived in new york was rice to riches. i am a big rice pudding girl so it's kind of perfect. my favorite is their sex, drugs and rocky road. uh-mazing! we stopped by while we were in new york the other week and stuffed ourselves with as much rice pudding as we could before feeling too sick. we let eleanor try a little of papa's vanilla and she loved it. smart little cookie, that one. it's fun to share my favorite things with her and have her approve of them, if you know what i mean. makes me feel like we're kindred spirits, or something.

holiday dessert party.

on christmas eve-eve, we had a few friends over for some dessert and christmas music. (a dessert party sounded like the perfect excuse to whip up all of the holiday treats i've been wanting to make!) but before we move onto some photos, i would like to take this opportunity to tell you that cake pops are the most torturous thing i have ever made and doubt i'll be attempting them again anytime soon... or ever. (emma and emily made it look so easy.) i wanted to crawl under a rock and cry when my first batch turned out like this.

besides that sorry experience, we had a great time celebrating christmas with some music, conversation and of course, yummy treats.

hope everyone had a beautiful christmas holiday!

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eleanor walking!

santa claus brought eleanor a little push toy for christmas to help her practice walking! here she is below cracking herself up as she takes her first steps with her new little walker...

oh my gosh i just love that squishy smiley face! she is such a character!

...

*ps. a few inquired as to where we found this push toy. i was in the same boat as you! most i found were ugly plastic & the beautiful wood ones i loved online were hundreds of dollars but somehow i walked by this one at babiesrus the other week and scored it for less than $30 dollars. hopefully it's still there if you're in the market!

christmas weekend in dc.

christmas has always been my favorite holiday and every year as december 25th goes by, i think, "it can't get better than this." of course, it always gets better. with eleanor's first christmas celebration and a new little miracle in my tummy this year, next year's christmas better watch out! this one will be hard to top!

hope you had a beautiful christmas spent with the ones you love. i know it's such cheese but i look at my husband and baby girl and new baby bump and think, "who needs presents?" it's just so wonderful to have the ones i love most beside me everyday. i hope they know they are my world...

...and eleanor was the star in her first nativity

over the weekend with cousins in virginia. cutest star ever, that one.

life lately, according to my iphone pictures.

...and josh's phone too.

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merry christmas!

...wishing your christmas weekend goes much better

than the 5 seconds eleanor endured with santa claus last week!

merry christmas!!!

a holiday weekend together in new york city, part I

last time we were in new york city, baby girl was only about 8 weeks old... so this trip was kind of extra special since she's more aware of her surroundings. josh and i had so much fun watching her take it all in... meeting our old friends, people watching and making friends with strangers on the subway or in restaurants or stores, listening to all of the sounds and noises on the street.

also, that baby snow suit saved us. talk about cold. eleanor, you are a little trouper. and you make our family trips extra fun.