niagara falls

last sunday we embarked on a very spontaneous trip to toronto, canada. 

sometimes when you get in the mood to go somewhere and see something new, you just have to give into it. so we packed up most of our things, since traveling with a toddler requires lots of things, and off we went on a 6.5 hour road trip north. 

on our way we stopped in erie, pa where it was unseasonably warm and sunny, to let logan run for a while and then again once we go to niagara falls. he did pretty great in the car and enjoyed playing with his lego duplos, showing off his mad puzzle skills and watching a little horton hears a who. 

at niagara falls we ate at the worst, most overpriced romano's macaroni grill where my 9 mushroom ravioli ($23) had the most disgustingly sweet marsala sauce i've ever tasted. our waiter kept hovering and almost ripped our plates away from us before we were even close to being done. overall, not a good experience! 

once we got to toronto and checked into the hotel (we stayed at the westin harbour castle) we were all pretty tired but decided to go back out to explore the city a little bit. we ended up just grabbing street meat for dinner since we had (that gross) lunch kind of late. 

and because there are way too many pictures for one post i'll be posting more throughout the week. yup, because isn't that what a blog is for? 

have you ever been to niagara falls or toronto? 

the truth about pumpkins

no, that picture did not get in there accidentally...
this is the truth about pumpkin picking and trying to get one decent looking picture with my son.
i swear it is impossible!

but yes, we went to pick out a few pumpkins last week. lovely, bright orange, overpriced pumpkins in virtually any size imaginable.
we always go to a local farm that also has weekend festivities throughout the fall. to avoid the crowds and because we had nothing better to do on a wednesday night we put on our warmest sweaters and off we went.

logan wasn't really interested in the pumpkins but rather fond of a bright red, antique tractor. this kid has and will be around tractors all of his life. if it has a motor he's gonna go check it out. if it can be steered he will steer it.

so yeah, instead of the pictures I had imagined of him carrying around his pumpkins I got him riding the tractor, steering the cart and of course picking through rocks and mulch. oh well, I'll take it!

finally, i have to admit that seeing my two guys walking together, wearing the same shoes gave me the warm fuzzies infinitely more than any display of pumpkin affection could ever have.

chicago again

just the last of the chicago pictures today. we really did have a great time and I didn't realize until a few days ago that this was really our goodbye to summer this year. we came home to much cooler temperatures and even the leafs are now starting to turn. 

a few things to do if you're ever in chicago, with or without a toddler:

• the free zoo at lincoln park. gates are wide open and you just walk in and out as you please. lincoln park reminded me a little bit of parts of central park in nyc. the zoo is a decent size with all kinds of different animals. it was an easy walk from very top of michigan avenue where our hotel was and along lake michigan. 
• fun on the beach at lake michigan. like i said, it's right there downtown and when we stopped i didn't realize how eager logan was to actually get in the water... good thing we had backup clothes.
• very touristy things like a visit to millennium park to take pictures of yourself in the bean and a walk up state street to take a picture of the chicago theater and of course stop at american apparel ;) 
• the shedd aquarium to see the beluga whales. they recently had a baby but you can't see them at this point while the mom and babe are still bonding. 
• walk along lakefront trail. just make sure no runners or bikers run you over. seriously crazy there.
• navy pier
• wicker park for all your hipster needs 
• john hancock observatory

eat at:

• pizano's pizza and pasta
• bar toma
• cheesecake factory
• tempo cafe for breakfast
• mike ditka's 
• sprinkles cupcakes (go early, the line is crazy in the evening)

shop at:

• topshop
• zara
• urban outfitters
• american apparel
• intermix
• h&m 
• anthropologie
• the disney store
• atrizia
• free people 
• diesel
• ugg australia
• lululemon 

next time I want to go on one of those architectural cruises through the city. so much more to do there!

effortless

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i truly admire jane birkin's effortless style and natural beauty. 

at the same time, she also makes me want to cut bangs again... and lighten my hair back up since it's just too dark for winter. her style is simple and chic yet never overdone. 

i am still in the process of simplifying my wardrobe. i've been collecting too many things that are just trendy or don't go well with my existing wardrobe and so they hardly ever get worn. 

i have found that the pieces I always go back to are the most simple and timeless items I own.

a few weeks ago i signed up for a big, local re-sale event coming up in october. what i haven't donated yet and most things from the shop my closet section on here will be going there. 

my goal is to de-clutter and simplify my closet as well as the rest of the house before the end of the year. we've only lived in this house for 4 years and already the attic is packed (we don't have a basement) and so are the rooms and closets. 

do you ever feel like the clutter in your life is taking over? how do you handle that? 

i do not own the rights to these images. all images via avantfind.com. 

we're back...

we're back home and man does it feel good.
as much as I love traveling and seeing new places, I really love coming home just as much.
there's just something about the familiar smell and the way it feels to crawl into your own bed at night with the dryer steadily humming until you fall asleep. is that just me?
i think even logan could tell since he went straight for his toy box and then, when he curled up in his bed to go to sleep after this long and stressful day, it definitely seemed like he had missed it as well.

traveling with a 15 month old is much different than traveling with a 6 month old or even a 12 month old. he is just so much more active now and hates being confined to his stroller or a tight airplane seat.
i sure am glad the flight was only an hour long ;)
i am planning to share a little bit more about traveling with an infant vs. traveling with a toddler in a separate post soon.

the rest of this weeks posts will be way too many pictures from our trip to chicago, a giveaway that I can't wait to share and maybe a style files post?

if I haven't returned your email or comments, please forgive me! i will try to catch up this week :) i really appreciate every single one.

this week I...

... found two humongous and luckily already deceased spiders in the house. one under the dining room table and one on logan's play area rug. i still get chills wondering about whether he played with it or not.

... turned the oven on preheat and forgot that I still had the dessert from the night before in there.   covered with plastic wrap. yup. did you know that plastic wrap easily peels off of glass after it's been melted? now you do.

... cleaned up baby pee in the living room.

... thought the play yard was locked. realized it wasn't when I caught logan stirring my cold morning tea with my iphone. i have no idea how it survived but it still works.

... found a box of shoes underneath a box of purses in my closet. cool. new shoes :)

what fun stuff happened to you this week. do share :)
happy friday!

family pictures

a couple of weeks ago I had the glorious idea to take family pictures, on our own, with the tripod and remote. yahhhhh i think the first picture shows quite well how that turned out and the second how logan felt about posing and sitting still, looking at the camera and of course: smiling.

we ended up with some quite hilarious out-takes so it was definitely worth it.
however, i guess i'll just have to suck it up and pay someone to take our picture next time.

are you a control freak like me? because i sure always feel like I just can't trust anyone else with my creative vision. like i'm the only creative person in the whole world, right? right!  ;)

i am now taking recommendations for Pittsburgh area photographers.

a real life picnic, not a fairy tale one

we had a picnic at the park on saturday and looking at these pictures you'd think we had the most fantastic day. granted it wasn't the worst day. however, looking at these pictures and knowing how we struggled with happiness all day, made me think about how deceiving pictures can really be. especially on blogs. you could look at these pictures and believe we were the picture perfect family without a care in the whole world. i know i look at other blogs that way. 

i admire these women i don't even know for their creativity, their looks, their style, their beautiful family and the way they seem to so effortlessly keep it all together.

and then i remind myself that their lives aren't perfect either. it's not real. that all we see are moments frozen in time and a glimpse of what they want us to see. and i understand that no one likes to share the ugliness of their day or the pictures of their messy kitchens and projects gone wrong. no one wants to be that person and no one wants to constantly look at that. we demand to see pretty and perfect and happy. 

so today i wanted to let you know that behind these perfect pictures up there are some not so perfect people.

the reality of our day was not quite as pretty. you know when you're trying so hard to have fun? because you made these wonderful plans but you wake up and that feeling you can't quite define creeps up inside of you that maybe this day won't be so great after all? and despite all your best efforts you can't quite shake it?

i guess what i'm trying to say is that even though these pictures look perfect - we are not! 

we try to do our best but not every day can be like a fairy tale picnic and that's ok too. 

i think sometimes we get so caught up in the pursuit of this perfect life that we forget to actually live in the present. i know that for me this is something i am constantly working on - to enjoy the moment, relax and let things go. to be happy with the many things I have and not constantly pursue the latest trend. 

i don't want to be envious of anyone else's life because even though my life isn't perfect it is the only one i have and i am spending it with some pretty amazing people :) i don't ever want to miss out on that!