Weekend Recap: Big Sur & Carmel

Hello friends and happy Monday! We're back after a nice four-day-long trip up and down the California coast. What an experience! We had the opportunity to witness and be a part of a beautiful elopement, deep in the Redwood forest in Carmel, about 40 miles north of Big Sur. We stayed in an amazing dome house, perfectly named "Jewel in the Forest". The trees, the birds, the ocean and the air, being with Oscar and Luna in nature's hands... It was all so indescribably awakening and healing to the soul. We truly feel a calling to leave the city and pursue life in the wilderness; we know and see we're on a path that will take us there, and it's such an invigorating prospect! To rewild our children and family will be a beautiful thing, indeed.

My sister was kind enough to let me use her fancy camera for the weekend! So I'll be having a ton of photos posted sometime here in the next week or two, whenever I can get to editing and trimming down from the hundreds of photos we have. Oscar has been loving the video camera we got from my Dad, so you also might start seeing some footage from our little adventures here soon! In the meantime, here are the few iPhone photos I took the time to snap. Enjoy!

Jewel in the Forest.

Oscar making friends!

My first Mother's Day. A flower from my honey.

Waking up in the woods.

Knowledge from ancient beings.

That's all for now, folks. I'll be looking forward to getting more pictures posted soon. Have a beautifully blessed week and don't forget to let your light shine!

Weekend Recap: Maternity Shoot

Happy Monday! Can you believe I didn't take a single picture over the weekend?! Remember what I mentioned in our last post about being tired? Well, it's the truth! Regardless of not feeling enough energy to document our weekend, we did have quite the memorable documentation session with my talented younger sister, Cori Jean. 

Saturday was a perfectly sunny/cloudy spring day in San Diego and we spent the morning/afternoon walking all over Balboa Park with our faithful schnauzer, awesome photographer, and my almost-seven-months belly. It was so much fun! My sister does such a great job and she even brought snacks and water for me, already a little mama bear herself. Can't wait to see more photos from our session!

On Sunday we enjoyed a nice lunch with my family, got the car washed, cleaned the apartment, and I took a nap while Oscar went on another one of his epic bike rides. We both believe in how a person takes care of their body being a reflection of how they care for their spirit, and I just adore Oscar for his passion in these areas and how it strengthens us both. Luna is going to be quite the active lil' lady!

Here's hoping the week ahead is filled with peace, harmony and wellness for you and yours! 

Weekend Recap: Farmer's Market, Pancakes, REI

Hello, friends! I know it's a little late to be doing a recap of the weekend, seeing as how we're almost on to the next, but Luna has been demanding my full-time attention in the areas of sleep and relaxation, so I've been a little slow in getting around to a blog update. Managing exhaustion and surrendering to the pace of life that it can require has definitely been a challenge of pregnancy. I'm so thankful for how much responsibility Oscar takes upon himself in keeping our Hive harmonious, in terms of both our physical and spiritual/emotional needs!

Our three-day weekend ended up being delightfully packed with naps, scrumptious food, mini shopping sprees, and lots of family love. We spent most of Saturday hunting down all the perfect pancake ingredients, and on Sunday the mission turned to creating the perfect ice cream sundae. Both a smashing success! At Ross, I found awesome maternity shorts, a few tank-tops, and a pair of flip-flops, just in time for the warming weather. Oscar used his REI dividend for some cool new bike gear, and the helmet (in pine green!) he's been waiting for finally came in the mail. Francois got a new bed and a new chew toy that should last him for some time. All happy campers! 

Photo recap:

1. Fresh-picked berries! The smell was just divine, I think we could live off these.
2. Dad giving Francois some loving discipline on our walk to the market. Such a good dog! 
3. We live in such a great city, with such great access to local foods and markets.
4. Spring is the time! Aromatherapy and the power of flowers. 
5. Like honey, maple syrup is, in my opinion, just one of those things you pay the extra buck for. The quality difference is simply undeniable. We were made to eat pure!
6. Organic buttermilk pancakes, fresh-picked berries, maple syrup, earth balance, raw walnuts and cacao nibs. For breakfast and dinner!     

That's all for now, folks. Here's hoping your Thursday is wildly fantastic and full of magic! Blessings to you and yours. 

Weekend Recap: Snooze, Jyoti Bihanga, Patio Garden

Another weekend past, whoa! Time is truly flying. I promise for more than just weekend recaps to be posted on this here blog. And for a more aesthetically friendly layout to soon meet your eyes! You know, more than one person told me I would be tired during pregnancy, but you don't really understand the impact of what that means until you see/feel it, and boy! It's a powerful force of a thing. Needless to say, there is always a growing to-do list in our midst, and we're tackling it one day at a time! (Patience & grace, two concepts we have learned so much about during pregnancy, and will continue to learn, I'm sure.)

About being tired... sleep is something I did a lot of this weekend. It seems I can never get enough these days! Baby must have gone through a major growth spurt because in addition to the more-than-usual exhaustion, I was forced to clean out my closet and finally brave my way into the maternity section for some new gear. I'm not sure what my prejudice was against maternity clothes, maybe it's that I thought they all must be "frumpy" or whatnot, but nope! Feeling so great with my preggo elastic-waist-jeans on. (I really must thank Oscar for his encouragement in this area. I am completely blessed by that man. What a gem!)

Other than sleeping and shopping, our weekend was filled with the usual delicious food eating, wonderful love sharing, and just-can't-get-enough time together. Not to mention beautiful weather, a great prenatal appointment, ice cream, and an amazing dog. Here's a little photo recap of our past days. Enjoy!

1. Best bagels on the planet.

2. Beautiful sun rain.

3. Coffee!

4. Morning date with my sister to celebrate her birthday. Happy 23, sis!

5. Coconut Chai tea, so yum!

6. SNOOZE!

7. Biscuit and gravy.

8. Hashmash.

9. Tried cake pops - didn't like them at ALL, gross! 

10. Flowers at Jyoti.

11. A favorite place to dine.

12. Ornamental Plum trees are blooming all over San Diego, so beautiful! I love winter blooms. 

13. Oscar surveying our patio garden progress, lookin' good! Major greens harvest soon to come.

14. Frenchy approves. 

15. Pure satisfaction.

16. Have you had a doner today?

17. New flower pot is doing well!

18. I found shoes at Target that I wanted, but they didn't have my size. Baby of course insisted on driving me to three Targets, determined to get what I wanted. So in love with that man! 

19. Out with the old...

20. In with the new!

21. Jeans with a stretchy band around my tummy, oh yeah! Lovin' it. 

22. Had to go on a date to celebrate.

23. Baby got a new hat, quack quack.

24. Straight to my heart.

25. Brownie sundae with caramel and espresso chip ice cream, wowie! 

26. End of the weekend. Went to bed with a full heart and clean apartment. The best! 

We have our ultrasound scheduled for Thursday. If all goes well we will be finding out the gender. Can't wait! Love to you and yours. Make it a great week!  

Weekend Recap: Published, Urban Market, Gender Reveal

Happy Tuesday, friends! It's a cloudy, semi-cold day here in San Diego and the weekend was much the same. Oscar and I took some much needed time for ourselves, to relax and restore our bodies, minds, and spirits. Here's a recap in photos of what kept us happy and occupied, with details below.

1. Thank you so much to Amber over at OB People's Organic Food Market for publishing this article from HOME IN THE HIVE! Great way to start my Friday, and the salad was delicious, too!
2. My sweet man after racing home on his bike to spend his lunch hour with me and pansita. Love!
3. Speaking of tummy, we turned 18 weeks pregnant on Friday! Movements are in full force now and baby is kicking/punching/somersaulting up a storm! It's so magical.
4. Saturday morning coffee. 
5. Love our thrift-store-found vintage tea kettle.
6. Invisible Children and Warby Parker teamed up for the Common Good Urban Market. Local shops, music, and food were in abundance. Check out a video recap here.  
7. When it comes to food trucks, Miho does it right.
8. Farm to Street!
9. GreenGo grilled cheese, yum! 
10. Finally got to meet the amazing Lucia Jayne Warner and catch up with her awesome mommy and daddy.
11. Birds on a wire.
12. Hairball! 
13. Frenchy gets a much-needed haircut
14. And last, but certainly not least, we announced our baby names on Sunday! We will be finding out the gender on Valentine's Day. So excited! 

That's all for now, folks! Make it a great Tuesday, wherever you may be.