happy post!

these are the things that have been making me happy lately...

(going clockwise)1. wearing fabric headband that i made

2.discovering healthy and delicious local restuarant

3. my child watching Korean cartoons and learning

4. glitter nail polish

1. shopping at Wholefoods, and making meals out of fresh ingredients.

2. have red matching shoes with Sophia. i have a weird obsession with red shoes.

3. writing in my "Quotable Kid" journal every night of Sophia's funny sayings.

4. eating Korean sushi (kimbap) leftover in the morning covered in fried eggs.

thinking of fall..

i have fall on the brain and dreaming of these two lovelies.. <3

dress 1

dress 2

weekend recap

what a great weekend! Saturday we went to a friend's house for a BBQ and let all the kiddos play in the blowup pool. my friend made the yummiest fajitas and taquila marinated and grilled peaches (my only regret was not taking pictures of them). I was obviously too busy scarfing it down. :/ after dinner the mommies got to sneak away for a little while for some shopping.

sunday's are turning out to be the best day of the week lately. we found a church that we love. its almost like a hidden gem among the most beautiful neighborhoods. (we dream on moving there one of these days and just walking to church).then we just hang out downtown.. eating good food, dessert on froyo's... and listen to street music.

citrus cake {stella cake}

i usually am the designated baker for any family birthday party. yesterday was my dad's birthday and i made a citrus cake with lemon curd filling and orange lemon icing. it turned out delicious!

i saw this recipe a while back and new that i had to make it before summer ended. the only bummer was that it called for blood oranges and since blood oranges are seasonal only in the fall, i used grapefruit instead to decorate.

PINKalicious {book+food}

Sophia is currently fixated on this book. i love reading books with sophia that have to do with food and then we make the book come alive by making something very similar to it. in this case it was pink cupcakes! in the book... this little girl eats too many pink cupcakes and end up turning pink and eventually RED. Although, i know my sophia would love to eat just as many cupcakes to turn pink (maybe even red).. i prefer not. SO, we made a healthier alternative without compromising the flavor. we made beet cupcakes with drops of chocolate. In the words of my two year old, "it taste good, mom!"


rinse and roast 2 beets. 400 degrees for 1 hr. cool and peel skin. 1 large beet for batter. 1 medium size for the frosting.
puree the two beets. i used my beaba baby cook to puree it. i use this instead of my food processor...just easier to wash and handle. i love it.
look at the bright and beautiful color. no food coloring added! i love that!
once baked, the color is still so vibrant. it almost looks like a red velvet cupcake.
once i frosted it, i sprinkled some more dark chocolate pieces on top.
isn't the color of the frosting amazing. this frosting tastes so good (and i'm actually not much of a frosting gal). i think i found the frosting recipe. aaand there is my anticipating toddler in the background chanting "cupcakes! more cupcakes mom!"
very moist inside with pieces of dark chocolate. yum! we have honestly had at least 3 cupcakes today, including one at breakfast... and i didn't feel guilty once for doing it.
ps: you and your kiddos will never know you're eating a vegetable. beets are very good for you and many people skimp out on it because it can be intimating to cook. but, once you realize how easy and tasty it can be, you'll thank me : )


here's the recipe for the cupcakes and frosting. I just added about a cup of dark chocolate pieces to the batter before baking.

our new favorite shoes

salt water sandals. in red.

Beach days + nights

we have been spending a lot of our free time on the beach lately. Last week i think we were at the beach at least 5 out of the 7 days, plus we watched a movie outside at the newport beach dunes one night. summer days and nights are the best.