weekly photo dump. week 11.

this week was crazy town!

i was busy washing clothes, cleaning house, packing, and wrangling a toddler all while making sure he was entertained enough to not get cabin fever.
we will be out of town for awhile so the next few posts will be from various parts of texas! yeehaw!

sunday was a lazy day full of rain, donuts and coffee, and a manicure for mama. that evening we watched basketball and d was shocked that north carolina lost! as was i considering i needed them to win so i could have a shot at winning some money in the pool!

monday d played some games on the iPad while i folded piles of laundry and was kept company by one of my cats. after nap time we played outside for a few hours and i drew our family for d. he calls my mom and dad "ama and abu." no idea why, but it has stuck! that evening i enjoyed a glass of wine after a long day! 

tuesday we had breakfast then went on a long walk and stopped for some tea and apple juice at starbucks. we spent the rest of the morning outside playing basketball and soaking up the sun! while the little guy napped i started laundry and prepped dinner which was later eaten by the toddler while holding the basketball. his new favorite toy!

we were off to texas for a long vacation to see family and friends! d now has to have his own seat and it was awesome! he was way too big to be sitting on my lap! he played on his little laptop and the iPad. he was so good. we had a long layover so we had some dinner and played at the playground for an hour. good way to burn off some steam and stretch the legs! every airport should have one of these. 

thursday we slept in since we got to my parents house late wednesday night. we watched some cartoons, drank some smoothies, and ran some errands. later that evening we were hit with a crazy storm with hail that lasted for an hour in some areas. the hail above was from our house but a few miles away they reported a tornado and golf ball and grapefruit sized hail. it was unbelievable and i have never seen anything like it. luckily d slept throughout the whole thing. 

we did some art this morning, ran around outside for awhile and played on the golf course after it was closed. my parents have a gold course behind their house so it is a nice open area for the little guy to run! the tree that is down in the pic above in in my parents yard. it blew down in the storm and my mom actually heard it snap! so scary! 

today we spent the day with my cousin and her kids. d loves his cousins so much and had so much fun playing with them, running after each other, and sharing toys. yes, sharing! they were pretty good at it! that evening we had a long bath where i swear the bath water was brown! that is how much they ran around and played outside. 


we will be in texas for another 2 weeks and are excited to see everyone and spend some time with family and friends! 


hope you all had a good weekend! 

weekly photo dump. week 10.

10 weeks?!?!? 
there is no way i actually have kept up with this for 10 weeks! yay for a blog milestone!
this week was my first full week back as a single parent during the day. b went back to work and it's just me and the boy. and it is great. but this boy misses his daddy. a lot! so i have tried to keep him busy and keep his mind off of missing him. i think we had a fun week while doing so!

this week started off with sunshine! yay! saturday was full of rain. and cold! so cold! not your typical la weather. 
if you've never had espresso cheese from trader joe's then you are missing out on some major cheese coma. it's so good! i hung up my newest print from LivyLoveDesigns which is pretty much my motto these days! for dinner we had yummy pizza from cpk and caught up on tiro shows. 

monday we ran some errands and hit up target for some new crayons, diapers, and to browse. i fell in love with some chevron print boxes that i think would be good for all of my crafting stuff and d's art supplies. they have a ton of gorgeous stuff out right now. i want it all! after target we went to trader joe's where i bought some yummy falafel chips and d loved them. after nap we face timed with daddy and my mom! 

this morning i made mandy's smoothie recipe in hopes to incorporate more veggies into the little guys diet. it worked. he loved it and i have made 3 since! we ate breakfast and headed out for a walk at the track and then some time at the park. before nap there were a few firetrucks in front of our apartment so that was good entertainment for 20 minutes! 

wednesday we had a special playmate with leah, calen and traci at their house. i fueled with coffee and we headed out. the roses were from their house. gorgeous! spring has sprung in la. the had so much fun playing together! so much so that d fell asleep in the car on the way home! after driving around making sure he got a sufficient nap we came home and played on the iPad and i made some peanut butter, marshmallow cookies. soooo good! 

the morning started very early. we played, read some books, and then passed some time playing hex bugs. if you have never heard of these check them out. they are so fun! d and my cats love them! after breakfast we headed to bed, bath and beyond for some vacuum bags and then hit up the brentwood country mart for lunch. we sat a few tables away from ewan mcgregor and i drooled while eating. holy crap this man is gorgeous. 
later that afternoon we went out to enjoy the sunshine and watered our plants. which btw will not need watering for a month after today! he had so much fun so that is really all that matters!

friday's are gymboree days so we headed to class, had lunch with some friends after, came home for a nap, and then went to a book signing in santa monica. i got to meet courtney from pizzazarie and the author of push up pops. she was so sweet and has the best southern accent! i adore her site and it is full of party inspiration if you are looking for some ideas! after the book signing, i picked up a few cookbooks and then we had dinner at cpk where d devoured mac-n-cheese like he had never eaten before! 

today was a total waste. i was sick all day and did nothing. i hate days like this! i feel like we should be out enjoying the sunshine and doing something fun. instead i was laid up on the couch drinking coffee, reading cookbooks and being kept company by one of my cats. honestly this day was awful because i was sick but if it was any other day and i got to do this stuff it would have been rad! the boys played together and i napped. i felt a little better before d's bedtime so we had some fun with a baby samurai imitation! pretty good, i think!


hope you all had a good week! 
we are gearing up for a long trip out of town so this week will be buys washing clothes, shopping and packing. 


linked up with amy, per usual. 

weekly photo dump. week 9.

what a nice week we had!! 
we did a few things together and then brandon went back to work and it was just me and the little guy!

we enjoyed the extra sunshine with a nice walk, some raspberry lemonade margaritas, and lots of bubbles! i might be the only one who likes daylight savings. i love the extra sunshine in the evenings. especially when we live in a city that is sunny 90% of the time!

tuesday brandon had a morning work call and once that was done we decided to head to lacma to see the levitated mass start up, check out the kid painting room, and have some lunch. the restaurant didn't have a high chair so d sat in a big boy chair and ate his crackers and fruit. he loved it and was so good! brandon and i shared a pizza and some wine. it was such a great day and i was sad to see it end since brandon goes back to work wednesday. 

wednesday started with some morning cartoons and then we were off to have a play date and lunch with a some friends. d and paige played and ran around so much that he feel asleep after lunch not 5 minutes into the car ride! that night we perfected the shampoo mohawk and this one was one of the best to date! 

thursdays at the grove is "kids club" day where they have musical guests and stuff for kids to do. we had a great lunch, listened to some music, walked around and did some window shopping and finished it off with a Jamba Juice and a trolly ride. we love the grove and the farmer's market and there is always something fun to do there! 

friday we hit up gymboree for some playtime and after we watched some traffic and counted buses while d snacked on snap peas! after a nap we had some facetime with leah, d's girlfriend! it was the cutest thing i have ever seen!! they were so happy to see each other and d laughed as leah ran around her house! they are so cute together. 
that evening there was some pie tasting for work! not a bad gig! 

today was full of rain and birthday parties. we celebrated 2 birthdays and had a great time seeing some friends. d fell in love with a kitchen set a both places and was in tears when we left. guess we will be buying a kitchen soon! 
that evening we had some green beer to celebrate st. patrick's day, which by the way is just another day when you have kids!


hope you all had a great week! 
as usual, i am linking up with amy for a good life.

weekly photo dump. week 8.

we were so busy this week!
i am late posting this due to spending lots of family time together before brandon goes back to work.

it was a hot day spent in rain boots (toddlers are weird), sweet rolls for breakfast, and a mani pedi for mama! loving the accent nail these days! 

monday we purchased a basketball hoop for the little man and he loves it. future basketball star right here! i also made my grandma's no peek stew. so easy and so quick. and soooo yum!
this is the one recipe that the little guy usually eats but of course tonight, dinner fail for him! such odd eating habits by toddlers in general so i am gonna try not to sweat it! 

the first tuesdays of the month are free at the natural history museum so we packed up our stuff and headed out to see some dinos! super fun day that ended with chick-fil-a, some waffle fries and a nap! we are slowly getting back to napping around here. thank the lord!

wednesday we stuck around the house and did some arts and crafts, tons of reading and played with magnetic letters on a cookie sheet! hours of entertainment were spent at the dinner table and in the high chair! i love when we go out and do things as a family but days at home are just as special! 

d loves trains so much and we have been wanting to go to the griffith park train ride and also travel town to check out all the trains. we had a blast! we rode the train at both places and then ran around travel town and  got to go in some of the train cars and run around! see below! i think we might have found our next birthday party location! 

today was a gorgeous day so we spent it with a quick run for coffee, then off to the farmers market and the grove where we ate delicious food and rode the trolley. and then picked up stuff to make some grilled pizzas! this is our new favorite way to eat pizza. i think i will blog about how easy it is! really, so easy and fun!

this month is full of birthday parties. we had one saturday and have 3 next weekend! today we went to pasadena to help celebrate d's friends birthday at amy's playground. this place was so cute and had so much to do for the kids. and it was clean! yay for clean play places! d loved the bounce house and the play kitchen and house and cried when we had to leave! the sign of a good party! after the party we stopped for some cupcakes to try out on my never ending quest to find the best cupcakes in la. these were pretty good! 

saturday night i went out with traci for a girls night! we went to dinner at cube, one of my favorite places to eat in la. it is a great little restaurant that specializes in cheeses and meats. we had a great meal, some champagne, a delicious dessert and great convo! it's always nice to go out with girlfriends from time to time! afterwards i made traci drive my lacma to see the lamp posts lite up! i love this place so much and had to share it with her. 

hope you all had a great week! 

next week brandon heads back to work and i try not to freak out to much that he will be gone and it will just be me and d! 

weekly photo dump. week 7.

another fun week in the books for the lott family.

we are enjoying these last few weeks with b before he goes back to work and we don't see much of him.

this week was pretty awesome! d is learning a million new things and words and can communicate so much better. makes life a little easier. 

now if he would only get back to napping! meh.

sunday morning was started off right with some pretty flowers, homemade french toast, dot art for the toddler and mama and a nap.(for once!) we spent the afternoon outside and did some major chalk art and the evening was spent with an awesome cheese and meat platter and champagne while we watched the oscars! we haven't seen a movie in forever but i watched for the fashion. don't we all?

monday i went to traci's where i added some more purple to my hair that didn't take and then i decided maybe i am destined for pink! i did some target shopping and found some mini marshmallows what were perfect for hot chocolate on this dreary day.
i also discovered the joys of the app draw something and got the best drawing ever! if you play, my name is mamainlalaland! i can't promise a masterpiece but i can promise some good lolz!

the boys got their haircut on tuesday. this is d's second cut. the first one was a snip because i couldn't bare to cut the curls. this was a real deal big boy cut! he looks so handsome! after the haircut we went to griffith park to play on the playground and then got chick-fil-a for lunch but i ate it too fast and forgot to take a pic!

it was a gorgeous day for the zoo so we packed up our stuff and headed out to see the animals! d is loving animals these days and loved the petting zoo area where he practically smothered a sheep and i cringed in fear that it would kick him! after checking out the animals we played on their playground for a bit and headed home for some naps. which didn't happen. sigh....

we started off this morning with a yummy homemade breakfast of eggs and toast and got the house cleaned up. i spent most of the day cleaning, laundering, organizing, etc while the boys played outside. i also got my new fruit crate in the mail and filled it with yummy stuff! 

that evening i took d out for dinner and frozen yogurt for our monthly date nights. i love these special nights with just the two of us!

friday is gymboree day so we hit up some playtime, ran around with the dogs in the pet store and came home to prep for a dinner party with friends. i made the pioneer woman's penne a la betsy and it was so yum! they brought cannoli's for dessert and we had the perfect little italian dinner complete with homemade sangria! 

we love our saturdays full of coffee, cartoons, sunshine, and dinner plans with friends. we drove to calabasas to have dinner with friends and enjoyed a delicious dinner and great fun with the kids. d and paige played so well together but ran around all night hence the lack of photo bombs from the night!

hope you all had a great week!

xoxo

i linked up with amy from a good life blog for her week in iPhotos. 

weekly photo dump. week 6.

this week was full of fun in the sun, friends over for dinner, some flea market shopping, and some good food.

can't beat that! 

one of my favorite things to do on sundays is head to the flea market. there are some great finds there and some you are left scratching your head about. really? 14 bucks for a mason jar. not so much!
i found some great stuff for our bedroom and i am super excited to reupholster that stool with a chevron print to match my bedspread! i wanted that green depression glass to come home with me but it was one of those ridiculous prices!
my cat loves our bed and the sun. also, i made our bed for a week straight! and my toddler loves boxes and played in this one for an hour straight. cheap entertainment.

monday we had a playdate at play source with traci, calen, and leah. the kids had so much fun and we got to catch up and gossip  chat about life!
if you live in the la area, this place is a must. very fun!

we always celebrate fat tuesday. a good reason to get together with friends, eat good food and have some wine.
b made some gumbo/jambalaya that was so good! we had some drinks in my newly redone patio/shed and the the boys played together...in the box!
ryland got the baby in the king cake which means he hosts the party next year. he is 3 so i'm not sure how that's gonna work!

wednesday i planted some more plants and spruced up the front patio a bit. we played outside and had some major chalk art time.
we also celebrated national margarita day with out famous margaritas. sooo good!

thursday was mommy day and i got a manicure which is rare these days! one accent nail, too! love this look. i also got my hair cut and colored. purple streak for the win!
in the evening we went to a friends movie screening at the silent movie theatre. yes, the movie had sound! this theater is old and so historic. i was a great time!

friday was full of outdoor fun in the warm weather, some trader joe's shopping and wins, and turkey burgers for dinner. i have a little boy who has been under the weather so staying home and making sure he gets better has been an the agenda!

our saturday morning walks have become a ritual and today we hit up the park on the way back home. we mostly walked around the park and found a tree with a painted heart on it. d wasn't feeling good so we came home for some lunch, a nap and some word world. after the sickie went to bed papa and i had a mojito and watched some tv. saturdays at our house! watch out!

this week we have a few things on the agenda to get done before brandon heads back to work in a few weeks. 

hope you all had a great weekend!

xo

weekly photo dump. week 5.

the fact that i have kept this up for 5 weeks is mind blowing to me. it really is! i have blogged for a year and almost a half and took a huge break for awhile. this is a milestone for me, y'all!
it is fun and the iPhone apps make this genius and easy! 
so yeah, we will see what i say on week 10!

sunday was all donuts, early morning baths, and a fun carnival themed birthday party where i got to see some old friends. i am in love with this theme and the whole lion tamer photo booth was genius! we had a blast, as did the birthday girl. 

today we prepped for valentine's day with some super easy and yum little treats. 
d gave me the "mom enough with the photos" attitude which was both awesome and not so awesome since hello, this is a photo post! 
we played with all the fun play food we have and the play sushi i found in the dollar bin at target was a total win! also ikea has some adorable play food that is not plastic or cardboard. 

we celebrated valentine's day with some homemade heart shaped pancakes that my picky toddler wouldn't touch. why? because they weren't round or frozen! the kid knows what he wants!
we went to whole foods for dinner stuff and b made a delish filet mignon along with a salad and baked potato. it was soooo good! 
valentine's day is so different now that we have d. it is actually more fun. we have always celebrated the day but every day is full of love with this man of mine! 

we had a weird rainy day today so we spent most of it inside playing with trucks, legos, and reading a ton of books. i also made a really good chicken dish i found on pinterest. 
another pinterest win!

thursday was "clean off the crap on the table" day! both the dining room table and the kitchen nook table are free of crafts and laundry! and we can now eat without pushing thing out of the way. let's see how long this lasts!
we also played with play dough for awhile today. i am going to attempt some handmade glitter play dough this week.
i also wore my giraffe scarf i scored the other day because i am obsessed with it! cute, huh?!?!

friday i ran to target, sans toddler for some gardening gloves then saw the boots above and about died in the aisle. i love them!!!! i am considering going back because i need gardening boots! you know for all the gardening in the fields i do!

we also went to gymboree today and after i went into nordstrom to tease myself over buying some tom's ballet flats. i want some so badly but the cost is a killer! 

i also fell in love with a this gorgeous LOVE pillow at cost plus which by the way might be my second favorite store. so. much. stuff that rules! 

cheese and crackers were dinner because both b and i were in the mood for some good espresso cheese and brie!

we had a lazy saturday and it was great! we went to the farmer's market for lunch, the grove for an anywhere chair for d, and got to see a super cute mardi gras dog parade. seriously adorable! 

i ran into anthro for some goodies and decided i want to move in there asap. anyone with me on this?!? 
i am obsessed with coloring my hair and am thinking of trying the chalk technique above for a little color that isn't permanent. not sure yet! i will keep you all posted on this!


hope you everyone had a great weekend! looking forward to this week and a fat tuesday celebration with friends at our house!


i am linking up with the lovely amy at a good life blog. 
check out her weekly baby bump photos! so adorable.