Play ball ⚾

 This past weekend we caught the Dodgers while they were in Oakland with the family!

Though we live in Northern California, Gray and his family are big Dodger fans. And while Oakland isn't exactly close, it's a lot closer than LA.

Me? Oh I came along for my truest of loves: a soft pretzel 🥨 Kidddddin! Mostly 😬

I've been to a few Dodgers games at this point and they're always an event! It doesn't matter if its a home game or an away game- Dodgers fan turn out! As you can see our section was a sea of Dodger Blue.

My second must have baseball food is a helmet of nachos (or fries depending on the park). I'm not about buying an overpriced hot dog when I'm a Costco Executive Member 😂 

Two games. Two pretzels. Two wins. Two days with family.

One great weekend. 

Little Free Library Tour

Everyone knows their local library is a great resource to get books but did you know your neighborhood might have many "secret" libraries? Come along while I tell you more about Little Free Libraries and show you some of the ones in my area!

Little Free Libraries (LFL) are hidden gems that can be found all over the world and, likely, right in your own community. LFL is a nonprofit based in St. Paul, Minnesota who's mission is to build community, inspire readers and expand book access.

 

There's a good chance you may have passed a LFL and not even know it. They could definitely be overlooked as an oversized mail box but often look like little homes.  

 

The best way to find LFL in your area is to visit their website or to download their App. The app is actually great because not only can you find the LFL based off your current location but you also have the option to get directions to them. 

 

What I also love about LFL is that anyone can start one! You can purchase a prefab LFL off their website or build your own. The ones in my area are pretty standard but I've seen a few really unique ones online!

I would love to have my own LFL someday. Logistically our road isn't the best place for one. One side is a ditch and the other is vineyard... and let's just say out mailbox has encountered a tractor once or twice! So right now I'm just a dreamer and a donater : ]

 

So how good are they? Honestly, I think that depends on the steward and the community. Some I visited were bursting with books but one I visited seemed to be completely abandoned : [

However, I would like to note that I've seen some of my favorite authors donate their books to LFL. Some even before their official release date! So all that to say it can be hit or miss. 

 

 

There is a little bit of etiquette that comes with LFL but I think the overall motto is "Take a book. Share a book". The point of these is to expand access to books right? So it's nice if you are able to exchange a book while you are there. I have a box of "donate" books in my car that comes in handy when visiting a LFL.

 

My hot (not so LFL related) tip is that your local thrift store can be a great place to snag books at a great price. My local goodwill sells $1 paperbacks and $2 hardcovers. Sometimes if I see a great title that I already own I snatch it up for my LFL donate box!

I encourage everyone to check out their local LFLs! It is like a fun scavenger hunt and you might even get a great read out of it!

Garden loading █▒▒▒▒

 I think the last time I mentioned the weather I was excited about it being 100°. Welp, since then it's been 100 plus degrees everyday and I am definitely less than excited about it 🤣 But you know who is (mostly) loving it? The garden! 

We've already got blackberries starting to ripen!

This year I wanted to do some flower rows. I bought a TON of seeds off amazon. I am honestly so pleased and surprised by the success I'm having. My sunflowers  just started blooming and I can't wait to see when everything is in full bloom. 

I'm spotting new little friends in the garden each day. 

Speaking of friends, we've also seen evidence of Tremors in the garden... But seriously, we have no idea what left this gigantic mound behind 🫢

Very excited to see my strawberries coming back strong 💪We planted them three years ago and they just keep getting better every year. This year they even sent out runners and took over another barrel on their own. If you can get your hands on the Albion varietal I highly recommend them!

Happy little squash plant! We *thought* this was a pumpkin but evidence is starting to suggest otherwise. 

I am more confident that this one actually is a pumpkin 🤣 And yes right now there is only one, single pumpkin. I don't think we'll be opening a pumpkin patch anytime soon. 

And now for a bunch of sunflower photos because I'm obsessed! 

The sunflower seeds I got were a mixed varietal packet so it's really neat to see some of the darker ones bloom!

This was one of my first blooms. My little mutant sunflower!

It's still really early in the garden season but with this heat who knows how fast things will grow. I'm eagerly waiting for more berries to make a pie and our Zinnias to bloom. 

Life Lately

I feel like I blinked my eyes and it’s already June! The past *almost* two months have flown by and while I’ve still been on browsing and reading social media I’ve barely posted anything myself.
So here’s some ramblings and a photo dump from what’s been happening over here.

Reading:

14. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
15. Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
16. Every Summer After by Carly Fortune
17. Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
18. Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
19. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
20. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahuri
21. Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
22. Blood & Honey by Shelby Mahuri
23. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
24. Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter
25. None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
26. The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber
27. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
28. The Hating Game by Sally Throne
29. Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
30. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
31. A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber
32. Elanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
33. Bride by Ali Hazelwood
34. Legendary by Stephanie Garber
35. The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
36. The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand  (currently reading)

Phew! Well I *thought* I slowed down in my reading but seeing it all listed out here I guess not. I’ve got summer on the brain and have jumped back on the island with Elin Hilderbrand. I’m looking forward to her upcoming release Swan Song but I’m also a little sad that this will be the end of my visits to Nantucket with her.

After that I’m hoping to get my hands on a copy of Funny Story by Emily Henry. I’ve got a hold placed at my library but I’m about the 100^th person in line so it might be a minute before I get it. 

Listening:

The Torture Poets Department- on repeat, since April 19^th. 

And the surprise double album drop! 🤯 I've been loving this album more and more with every listen. I will say that this album is such a mind-f*uck. Each listen has me questioning who, what and when???? I just know Blondie was just maniacally laughing when she dropped that Red Herring Easter Egg. 

 I also got a chance to head into my local vinyl shop for RSD and snag a few vinyl on my wanted list.  They are also a pizza shop so they packed my goods up in a pizza box 🍕

Watching:

Bridgerton! I’m actually a little surprised I even have something to include here. We don’t really watch TV anymore but there are a few “must see” for me and Bridgerton is one of them. I really enjoyed the eye candy that was the first two seasons. So far this season has been… OK? Before I go any further let me fully exclaim that Nicola Coughlan is a QUEEN and I have been really looking forward to “her” season. That being said there was something a little lack luster so far about this season. There were also times that the pacing seemed off or that the scene went on awkwardly silent when it should have been cut 10 seconds earlier. Maybe I’m just not used to watching TV shows? I've heard mixed reviews on the book series and haven't picked them up myself yet. I definitely will be tuning in for the second half of the season when it drops. I know we're alllll waiting for the drama when Collin finds our she's Lady Whistledown.

Don't worry, I get pleeeenty of little screen time. I've been tuning into grainy, live streams of the Eras Tour weekly since it's started back up. I love the new TTPD set. I absolutely CANNOT WAIT for my show in November! 

Life:

Yard work. Yard work. Yard Work.

Remember all that rain? Yeah, well all that rain really jump started our yard work season. The hour log on my lawnmower makes me want to cry.

We also are working on building a new fence and have just planted our garden. My strawberries have come back and are already producing the biggest, sweetest berries! This year I’m attempting two rows of flowers for a cut garden. Heavy emphasis on the attempting.

Not so fun life- I’m scheduled to get all four wisdom teeth out next week. I am nooooot excited. Teeth really give me the heebie jeebies. My teeth, your teeth, my dogs teeth 🤢 The dental anxiety is high over here. Thankfully I’ll be at a facility that can completely knock me out. ( This also freaks me out a little bit since this will actually be my first ever surgery. Eek! 😬) The upside of this all is I have a week off of work for recovery.

Yes, my dentist recommended I take a week to recover because “it’s harder for our bodies to recover as we get older”. Ummm thanks Doc?

On that note, I am getting older and received the sweetest gifts from my amigas. At this point birthdays are pretty low key and I started the day by sleeping in with my pups and then eating alllll the junk food. Very exciting stuff.

Next week’s forecast includes our first day breaking into the 100s!  Summer here we come!  

Never have I ever...

We're almost two full month into the new year and I haven't set any resolutions or intentions for this year. Why? If I'm being honest the winter funk has really got me in it's grip this year and I have really fallen into the work-eat-sleep-repeat of life. Even just reflecting on last years resolutions seems like work.

So at the moment my only resolution/intention is to climb out of the funk and find something productive to do on the weekends. Right now I'm in my rot girl era and that is definitely not helping me get out of the winter funk. If my tiktok feed is to be believed, I am not the only one feeling stuck in this depressive cycle.

So what's the plan? Good question, I was hoping you knew 😬

Tentatively, my plan is to make some lists. Ground breaking, I know. 

I've never been an agenda/planner girly but I'm hoping having a physical to do list will help get me off my phone doom scrolling and back in action. 

Now I know for most of us to-do lists aren't particularly fun but here's my TWO list plan of attack. 

List one: home tasks and chores that often get put off until they become overwhelming. Obviously this is not the fun list. The best cleaning in our house happens right before a guest comes over and hopefully a regular list routine will help get to the other house tasks that get pushed to the wayside. Winter/early spring is the best time to get jumpstarted on this because once it warms up we end up having to dedicate A LOT of time to outside yard upkeep. Even as I say this I can see the grass growing out the window 👀

List two: the never have I ever list. This will (hopefully) be the fun list. I'm nearing living almost half of my life in California and half of my life in Illinois. But even after 16 years of being in CA there are still things I haven't done because of what I'll call the tourist complex. The best way I can explain this is that I've been to Disneyland a few times when I was younger and lived in IL and absolutely zero times since I've lived in CA. When you're on vacation you make more of a priority to take in all that's around you. When you live there it falls on your "some day I'll get around to it" list. So my never have I ever list is also my be a tourist in my own town/county/state. There's definitely a financial component to this list, because let's be real anytime we leave the house these days it feels like we're dropping no less that $150. With that in mind, I'm hoping to do at least one "task" from this list each month. At the moment I really only have ideas of things to do for this list but I'm hoping with more research and climbing out of the funk I'll get a good localized list. Start small right? 

First up one my lists...
List one: Besides get ahead on spring cleaning is to start making an effort to down size. I am actually near positive this is a failed resolution I made last year 😬 That being said I'm going to make an effort to start poshmarking and donating things.
List two: The Skunk Train! This is a one of the top tourist things to do in Mendocino Co and I have even seen it grace my FYP touting to have "the most unique bar in California". The next trains leave mid March so I'll have to report back!

Phew! I'm already feeling a little better now that I have an action plan. Now if only I get it to stop raining and gett a little sunshine to top it off...

What novelty pieces I’m looking forward to this spring from Kate Spade

 Something sweet is dropping this spring at Kate Spade and there are a few must haves for me!

First off is the Coffee Break 3D Donut Crossbody. Isn't it a-dough-rable? I've got the biggest sweet tooth so I'm always down for a dessert/pastry/candy bag. Kate Spade if you're reading this we want another cake bag PLEASE!

I don't usually get the card holders but this Coffee Break 3D Sugar Packet Small Card Holder needs to find it's way home to me. Right before we went to see Fennec at the shelter for the first time I said "I think I've got a purse that this dog looks like". And low a behold I did- see below! That being said I didn't think I would get a Kate Spade novelty piece for Sugar when she came into our lives but then this Sugar packer came along. Maybe I'll be able to attach a chain and make it a micro-crossbody.

One quirky thing about Fennec is that his nose was actually black when we got him and slowly it turned pink. The purse was spot on when we got him. 

Also dropping at outlet it this Coffee Break 3D Crossbody I don't drink coffee or have the NY connection to this cup but it's a cute idea! I like that little sugar packet and wish it was a necklace charm!

Ribbit Ribbit! Frogs are hoping back to Kate Spade this spring. There's another wicker frog and this adorable Lily Patent Leather 3D Frog Hobo Bag.  I really like the pearl eyes. 

Another favorite from the past, a reimagined golf collection is coming this spring. This collection includes a new design on the highly sought after golf ball bag and this adorable wicker put-put windmill bag. 

Even though we are just getting our first peeks of Spring hitting the sales floor Kate Spade is already teasing for Fall 2024. Looks like we’re getting some sort of car/transportation/city theme? Not totally crazy about a stop sign purse but I'll keep my fingers crossed for something cuter. 

65 Years of Creating Sunshine, Lilly launches Spring 2024!

 

It all started with a juice stand... and now 65 years later Lilly Pulitzer is still creating the sunshine in our closets!

Also launching today is Spring 2024 and I'M SO READY FOR SOME SPRING SUNSHINE!

One of my favorites from this drop is the Aria Cotton Shift Dress. I was just looking at a blue and white dress with bows on Tuckernuck and then this beauty dropped. Definitely an "add to cart" for me! 

Bows? Check! Pink? Double check! I'm pretty sure this Ellara Jacquard Midi Bow Dress is inspired from the Carlynn dress that we all lost our minds over winter. I think I like this silhouette even more and really wish I had a store I could try this beauty on. 

The Kristen Swing Dress is my ultimate grab and go Lilly Dress. This Kristen is coming in the "Roxie Pink Pb Anniversary Toile" colorway. I love my Kristens but I really wish this anniversary print came in more silhouettes. I'm going to keep my finders crossed that maybe they drop more but probably unlikely if they didn't make it into the initial launch. 

A moment for a bold maxi. This is the Wisteria V-Neck Maxi Dress and if I wasn't deadset on the Aria Shift in this same print I'd be adding to cart. 

 

Ladies and gentlemen: HER. Obsessed doesn't begin to cover how I feel about the Gulianna Cotton Maxi Shift Dress. This maxi shift to celebrate 65 of Lilly couldn't get any better! I'm already stalking my email for tracking info. 

Coincidentally AppleTV also dropped their "Palm Royal" series trailer today. The trailer is filled with a glorious amount of vintage Lilly Pulitzer! 

"Palm Royale is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society. As Maxine attempts to cross that impermeable line between the haves and the have-nots, “Palm Royale” asks the same question that still baffles us today: “How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to get what someone else has?” Set during the powder keg year of 1969, Palm Royale is a testament to every outsider fighting for their chance to truly belong."

Now I'm off to day dream about Palm Beach livin' 🌞👗🌴🌺🌊