WeeTRADE is THIS WEEK!

All outfits pictured above were purchased from Wee Trade in years past from $10-20 each!

WeeTRADE is one of my most FAVORITE events in Jacksonville. I missed the sale while I was in California, but thankfully a fellow Jacksonville Mom writer shopped for me and mailed out some adorable clothing items to me! Thanks, Jessica!

The sale is open to the public starting on Thursday 9/19 at 9am. Admission is FREE and if you are a military, first responder or first time parent or grandparent, you can actually get a FREE ticket to shop the sale early on Wednesday. 

Register here for Military/First Responder 

Register here for First Time Parent/Grandparent

Location:

Shoppes of San Jose

2777 University Blvd W

Jacksonville, FL 32216

Some of my most favorite outfits for my kids have come from the WeeTRADE Sale! The sale happens once in the Spring and once in the Fall and this year they are celebrating 15 YEARS! Pam and Jennifer are the gracious women who put on this sale every year. They could have never dreamed the sale would grow this large as it started right in Jennifer's living room with about 30 friends and 600 items of clothing. This year the sale has over 500 consigners and over 50,000 items! 

What does that mean for you? You get access to adorable clothing, like new toys and every piece of baby equipment that you could ever imagine needing at a fraction of the price. Every item that goes into the sale is hand inspected by a WeeTRADE Team member ensuring the item meets criteria and quality. 

Here are just a few photos of the current inventory that you will get to shop. 

Every shopper is different, but my plan of attack is to go through the clothing racks first! Now I have two kids to shop for so this should be interesting! Then I go to costumes and dancewear, then toys. Even better, on Saturday from 9am-5pm you can bring your kids to shop the 1/2 off sale. 

I am literally giddy about the sale. I dropped off my items on Saturday and did a quick peek-around and saw some ADORABLE things for $10, 12, $15. You literally cannot beat the prices! I'll go live from the sale and I look forward to showing you all the goodies! Happy Shopping!

Lilly Pulitzer After Party Sale

Lilly Fans look forward to this day every year! The After Party Sale is an amazing one and here are some inside tips and fit guides to help you with your online purchases. The sale goes LIVE at 8am EST (approximately) and will go through Wednesday, 9/11. If you haven't already, be sure to create an account to update your shipping and credit card info for easy checkout. You can also shop on Nordstrom, Amazon and Zappos (for my military friends, don't forget to verify so you get 10% off)! If you are absolutely hoping for that one dress or top, checkout immediately. Having something in your cart does not mean it is yours! And remember, all sales are final, but you can easily resell on buy, sell, trade groups if need be!

I was able to shop the sale in stores on Saturday morning. My friend Tina and I arrived around 8:30 with coffee and breakfast in tow to wait for the store to open. Our store in Jacksonville is relatively small, but the line moved quickly and we were greeted with waters, mini Coronas and snacks from the lovely Lilly staff members.

Tina and I with our try-ons!

When shopping these sales, I always look for Minnie items first. I'm not sure why, but I buy for my daughter first, then I try to find matching items for me. The Minnie section at our store was pretty limited, but I did get an amazing dress and matching mommy dress for my daughter.

My biggest advice for this sale is to read reviews and fit guidelines as all sales are final. When sizes are XS, S, M, etc. I can guess pretty well, but on numbered sizes, fits can be weird and trying things on can be important.

Here are some items I purchased during the early release in stores this weekend.

The Kristen dress is a perfect "thrown on" dress that you can dress up or dress down. I love the detail in the back and that you can wear a regular bra! Huge points!

Retail: $98        Sale: $39

The Steffi Stretch dress has been on my list for a while and love that it has a matching Minnie. This style runs small, so size up! I love the ruffles on this dress. Also wearing a regular bra here. I tried on a 6 and 8 in this dress and the size 6 fit better/more generous than the 8.

Retail: $178     Sale: $54

Minnie is $34

The Alessa Romper was a total sleeper. I probably would have never ordered this online. I found it in a bin during the sale and just loved it. Best part, it has built-in shorts so perfect for chasing the kids around or just mammon' and running errands! I'm wearing a size small here.

Retail:$138   Sale:$54

The Shelli Stretch Shift dress was a maybe for me, but I ultimately decided to get it because I love the keyhole back and there is a matching Minnie. I don't loves spaghetti straps, but this has built-in cups, so no bra needed. This dress if perfect for a date night! I'm wearing a size 6 here.

Retail: $168   Sale: $64

I did try on a few other things including this dress, but I was too cheap to purchase! You're welcome, Kyle. It was gorgeous, but I had to have it hemmed and I felt like I wouldn't get a ton of wear. It was $119 in store.

I also loved the fit and feel of the Dani Dress in Navy, but at $54, I couldn't justify spending the money since I have a dress from Gap that is similar. The material was really nice and easy to dress up or down.

I'm excited to see what items are included online tomorrow. I do have one dress I am hoping to find. It's the Adalee Dress in Pink! 

What are you hoping to find in the sale? 

P.S- Big thanks to my husband who helped snap my photos in the 100 degree heat!! 

Hux: 18 Months

Look at those teeth

Our sweet Hux was 18 MONTHS last week. We don't know where the last year and a half went, but we are loving all of our time with our little guy. He is so special to our family and we love watching the bond he has with Charlotte. He gives her the best kisses.

I didn't know what a Momma's Boy truly was til I had Hux. To say he is obsessed with me is an understatement. He rarely isn't attached to my hip and is always saying, "Maammaaa, Maamma". The moments are sometimes frustrating, but I know I will miss it when he doesn't want me as much.

We had his 18 month check up with his new pediatrician and he did great! I hadn't mentioned it much before, but Huxie has been in the 2% percentile for height for most of his life. We had blood work done to rule out any issues and I guess he is just a late bloomer, because he grew ALOT since his 15 month appt. and is now 27% percentile for height!

People mostly say that Huxie and Charlotte are Kyle's twins, but I think Huxie looks a little like me too.

Allison in '91 (around 18 months)

Kyle in '87 (closer to 15 months)

Stats 
Weight: 24lbs 15oz. (62%)
Height: 31.75 inches (27%)
Head: 50.5 inches (99%)

Weight: 24lbs. 15 oz.
Diaper Size: size 5
Teeth: His bottom two teeth have been in for a while now and he has about six other teeth that are working their way in. His top two front teeth just broke through. He has been teething HARD!
Favorite Toy: A PJ Mask scooter that I got for FREE at MOPS Swap earlier this year. By far their favorite thing to ride around the house and act crazy!
Looking forward to: Taking him to his first Gator game!
Clothing Size: 18-24 months/ 2T
Nickname: Huxie, Huxie Boy, Buddy
Sleeping Habits:  99% of the time he does really good. Both of my kids love to wake up early most days. 
Adventures this Month: Getting settled in our new house.
Visitors: Papa, Gaga and Ashley and Kate have come to see our new house and our friends the Crowells visited last weekend. 
Milestones:  Running everywhere, saying SO many words (including "ohh no", "cheese", "nigh nigh" and he knows all of his animal sounds, he still loves to sign for "more" and "please" (and it is the cutest thing ever when he does it)

24 Hours in Solvang, CA

While Kyle was training in Port Hueneme, CA, and I was still in Monterey, we met up halfway in the adorable Danish town of Solvang. USA Today named Solvang one of "The Best Historic Small Towns in America" and it definitely met the mark of being amazing! It was recommended to me by several friends and like anything, we kind of just ran out of time to make a trip to visit.

I texted Kyle on a Thursday and said, "Hey do you want to meet up this weekend?". The answer was, "of course", but that meant either of us would be driving two hours each and we really couldn't meet until Saturday because of his school schedule. The easy option was to go to on our favorites, Paso Robles, but Kyle pushed me to "try something new". I searched online for hotels and was honestly a little scared! The town is so small that there aren't a ton of hotels or chains. Kyle found a nice Marriott about 10 minutes away, but I really wanted to be in the downtown.

So, I left out of Monterey on Saturday morning with no idea of where we would stay. We agreed to meet up at the Cracker Barrel in Santa Maria and then we would go from there. We took the plunge and decided to go to Solvang (with no hotel reservation). We drove the main downtown and found some cute hotels. They were either booked or $1,000 night (I'm not joking). We found one little roadside motel called Solvang Inn and Cottages. I googled it and the pictures that I saw were a little interesting, but I decided to walk in and see if they had a room we could check out. Thankfully they did and it looked WAY better than the photos. It was clean and plenty of space for us and the kids and a little corner to tuck Huxie into. And it was right outside of the pool, which was perfect for Char! I think the room was around $200, which seemed to be the going rate for the hotels in the area. It also included a breakfast at the danish bakery next door, called Olsen's , which we learned was owned by the same owner as our hotel!

Our cottage

We immediately took a dip in the pool. Charlotte has missed swimming so much, so any chance that we can go, we do. After a nice swim, we loaded up the double stroller to walk around Solvang. We were surprised at how hot it was! The area was experiencing a heat wave and that definitely prepared us for the FL heat. Our first stop was at a beautiful tasting room, Sanger Wines, right of off the main road. The kids played on the patio and turf while we tasted. The atmosphere was beautiful. We continued to walk around the area and visited another tasting room called, Casa Cassara, which was absolutely amazing for our kids. The owners greeted us with crayons, markers, coloring books and fresh strawberries and pretzels for them to snack on. They also had an old piano that played itself and the kids loved it! I highly recommend this room if you are looking for a family-friendly tasting room.

Sanger Tasting Room

Exploring 

Casa Cassara Tasting Room

We were getting hungry at this point, so we ventured over to Toscana, which was recommended to us by multiple people. We were so sad that they were completely full and unable to accommodate us, so we headed to Succulent Cafe. Hux was asleep at this point, so we enjoyed a semi-quiet meal while he napped. We had the brussel sprouts and scallops and they were amazing! Everything was farm to table and the atmosphere was amazing.

After dinner we headed back to get ready for bed. Everyone was really tired and I am not even joking when I say that we were all laying down by 7:45pm. We closed all the blinds, turned on the sound machine and tried to be as quiet as possible to get Huxie down for bed. Of course, Charlotte had to go to the bathroom, which required her to walk past the crib, so he woke up and cried for a bit. Never a dull moment when traveling with kids.

We were up early and headed across the street to Paula's Pancake House, which is about the CUTEST breakfast place I've ever been too. Charlotte got to watch the oranges be squeezed and we enjoyed a yummy pancake breakfast. Next we venturned to the Hans Christian Anderson Park.  The entire town pays homage to Hans Christian Anderson, who wrote over 160 fairytales including The Little Mermaid, the Ugly Duckling and The Snow Queen (Frozen). We enjoyed playing at the park and then headed back to our room for a swim! It was time to pack up, check out and head out. First, we needed to get a picture with the Little Mermaid Statue!

Little Mermaid Statue

On our way out, we stopped at Shoestring Winery for a tasting. This vineyard was absolutely beautiful and the wine was yummy too. The owners of the vineyard recently passed away, so it was very interesting and sad to hear about their story and legacy. Their son now runs the winery and they even had goats that we were able to feed and pet.

On our drive in, we saw Ostrichland and I knew we had to make a stop there. Talk about a CASH COW business. They have over 200 ostriches on property that you can feed and take photos with. The kids loved it! Be sure to wash your hands after!

We were starving, so before Kyle and I split and went our separate ways, we had lunch at an amazing place, Industrial Eats, right at the interstate. Their menu changes daily and the food was incredible! We were sad to say good-bye to Daddy, but it was an amazing 24 hours in a beautiful place.

Glass Bottle Cokes at Industrial Eats.. Then my phone died. 

Two other notable places that we didn't make it to:

Pea Soup Anderson's (you'll see signs on the interstate on your way to Solvang). They are famous for their Pea Soup and serve over 2 million/bowls year.

Quicksilver Ranch - miniature horse farm. We didn't end up going because Google said it was closed on Sunday, but another family told us that wasn't true, so I would definitely call ahead. You cannot feed or pet them, but you can look at them! :)

Ode to Monterey

Photo by Christine B Photography

Two years has passed by in the blink of an eye. I arrived to Monterey June 22, 2017 kicking and screaming. Leaving our home and my business in Florida was so hard for me! Little did I know that our life would be turned upside and I would find out I was pregnant a few days later while we were still living in a hotel!

Oh Monterey, where do I even start?! We've seriously had a love-hate relationship since day one. If the sun is out and it is remotely warm (60s), I will love you all day. But, the fog, mist, gloom all day, everyday (especially in the summer months) was just miserable!

I quickly realized that we weren't in the south anymore when Kyle and I unsuccessfully tried multiple BBQ restaurants throughout California and not one delivered. Their version of BBQ is tri-tip and it just isn't good! Or when I tried California's version of "shrimp and grits" only to be horribly disappointed. Monterey did bring some amazing food into our lives including Monterey Donuts, Dametra Mediterranean, Mission Ranch, Baldemiro's Taco Shop (hole in the wall taco shop and amazing carne asada fries), Tarpy's, Michael's Tacqueria, Crystalfish Sushi, Krua Thai, Il Vecchio, Saltwood Kitchen (thank you for having fried chicken and cheddar biscuits!!) just to name a few.

We traveled to some amazing places including Disneyland, Paso Robles, Lake Tahoe, San Diego, Napa/Sonoma, San Francisco/Sausalito, Solvang, Yosemite and L.A. I am so grateful that we were able to fully embrace our time on the west coast and see SO many places. I can't wait to show our kids all of the adventures and all the places they went!

We met some incredible people and lifelong friends. As I write this, many of our friends have moved on to their next duty station. I am constantly picking up my phone ready to text friends to make plans only to remind myself that they aren't here anymore. Our friends became family here and they definitely MADE our time in Monterey what it was. I truly think I wouldn't love this place so much if it wasn't for the wonderful people that we got to experience Monterey with.

I joined an amazing brokerage and opened the cutest real estate office you have ever seen. I grew a client base and started receiving referrals from friends and locals and my business took off. There is nothing more amazing than when you have friends referring you.

We attended an amazing church, Shoreline, and hosted a growth group. I also led a MOPS group with a fellow military spouse. Some weeks I was at church every day of the week, but it was such a joy and I am SO incredibly blessed by all the people I met through Shoreline.

Charlotte started formal education with Pre-K at Santa Catalina and we spent the last 7 months living on campus at her school. I honestly don't know if we will ever experience a more beautiful place or more lovely, kind people. The school was such a blessing for our family.

Huxie attend La Mesa CDC and we were so blessed by his teachers in the Bubblefish and Shrimps class. He loved going to "school" and has so much fun with his little friends.

When I try to think of what I will miss most, I can't even begin, but here is a snapshot. I hope this will remind me in years to come of this sweet, but tiring, season of life with two small kids.

• Walks on the Monterey Rec Trail. 
• Afternoons after school/daycare at MyMuseum (we shut the place down on multiple occasions). 
• Weekends at Folktale Winery with friends (thank you for having pimento cheese). 
• Usually followed by dinner at Baja Cantina. 
• Finding Monty, the sea otter, at Trader Joe's. Although Charlotte preferred the Pacific Grove TJ's which included mini carts for the kids. 
• Impromptu dinners at the Trident Room on campus at NPS. 
• Tacos at church during Night of Worship. 
• Working in a beautiful office in the heart of Pacific Grove. 
• Driving through McDonald's for my daily Diet Coke (complete with a paper straw...AHH)
• Dinners with visitors at Mission Ranch, one of our favorite places. 
• Giving birth to Huxie at CHOMP and all that followed with that. My faith is stronger because of those circumstances for sure.
• Spa escapades with friends. We visited over six local spas and became experts of mommy relaxation. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Bernardus. 
• Kyle's weekly workouts (and every Saturday at 7am) with the men of F3 and forged amazing relationships! 
• Escaping to beautiful Carmel Valley for the sunshine and beautiful wineries.
• Kyle's weekly trip to Poke Time, which I also went kicking and screaming!
• Monterey Farmer's Market on Tuesday nights. 
• Getting to attend the AT&T Pro-Am and the US Open. 
• Amazing shows through PacRep at the Golden Bough and Forest Theater. I am so BUMMED we are missing Beauty and the Beast next month 
• Trips to the outlets in Gilroy because the shopping in Monterey was severely lacking! 

And I'll leave you with this - an article I wrote six months into our time in Monterey. Who would have ever thought I would have been sad to leave! The truth is, I am, but I am so grateful for our time here and all that I learned from this special place. 

Charlotte's 5th Birthday Party at MY Museum

We celebrated Charlotte's 5th birthday a few weekends back. Her actual birthday is on the 19th, in a couple of days. I think I planned her party in all of one week, which is the opposite of how I normally plan things, but with a big move in the immediate future, Kyle in a different city and her party falling on a holiday weekend, we did our best and it turned out fantastic. 

The ease of the party was in large part to MY Museum (who just won Monterey Bay Parent's awards for "Best Indoor Birthday Party" and "Best Place to Play Inside"). From booking the party with their staff to them helping us out to our car with all of the gifts, leftover food, etc. after the party they could not have been more helpful and accommodating. 

I dropped off some tablecloths and balloons on the Friday before our party and when we arrived on Sunday, they were all set and ready to go. They include red tablecloths and coordinating balloons in the package, but you are able to bring in your own if you prefer. 

Speaking of theme, we didn't really have one because Charlotte kept changing her mind, but we ultimately ended up with unicorns and dress up. All of the party supplies were purchased locally from Target and Dollar Tree! 

Yummy Monterey Donuts!

The only slot available when I booked was a Sunday morning from 9-11am, before the museum opens for the day. A few positives, the whole space is yours and you can invite up to 75 people and you can have adult beverages (hello, bloody marys and mimosas). I looked into having some breakfast quiches/casseroles, fruit, pastries catered, but then asked Kyle if we would whip up some casseroles and he did an excellent job! We had a tater tot casserole, oatmeal bake, egg casserole and fresh fruit with lime-honey vinaigrette. Instead of a traditional cake, we had DONUTS! 

Amazing Daddy, Chef and Bartender!

MY Museum allows you in 15 minutes before your start time to set up and decorate, but it was all hands on deck and we had everything in place before the first guest arrived. One of the staff members even chased after Huxie for me! 

Charlotte had an absolute blast being the birthday princess for the day! She is going to REALLY miss going to MY Museum. If you are local and don't have a membership, it is the best $100 you will spend. Sometimes we go for 30 minutes and sometimes we stay for 2 hours. 

MY Museum offers a few different packages for birthday parties. Check our their website for more information! I give them 5 stars and more for the easiest birthday party, ever!! 

Yosemite

The view of the Valley from Tunnel View

Yosemite has been on my bucket list since we arrived in California, but we kept delaying. I booked this trip back in December and scored a great deal of "buy 2 nights, get 1 free". After researching, I knew that we wanted to stay inside of the park, which limited our options. I really wanted to stay at the Majestic, but couldn't justify spending the money, so we opted for the Yosemite Valley Lodge and it was really perfect. I highly recommend staying within the park if you are able to get a reservation.

Our room! 

To make the most of our time, we decided to make the almost 4 hour drive at night after work and school on a Wednesday. The kids slept for most of the trip and it was a fairly easy drive despite the darkness. We couldn't see anything, which made it for an amazing experience to wake up to such beauty. 

We woke up Thursday morning and immediately started adventuring. On site, the lodge had a cafeteria called "Base Camp". The food was pricy, but very good and easy to access. We ate breakfast then started our journey to Mirror Lake. This was a 2 mile round trip hike on a paved trail. We took the double stroller and it was very easy. As we were getting out the car to get ready to make the hike, we saw two coyotes! Mirror Lake was beautiful and Charlotte had fun exploring. 

After Mirror Lake, we headed to the Majestic Hotel (formerly the Ahwahnee) which was built in 1927 and visited by JFK, Queen Elizabeth and Lucille Ball just to name a few! We hung out in the Grand Hall and let the kids play, caught up on emails and relaxed. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Majestic Bar and then set out to Badger Pass to play in the snow. The kids took a nice nap on the drive up.

Badger Pass is about an hour away and is a ski area offering mountain skiing, cross country skiing and snow tubing. Tubing is offered at specific times, so be sure to check their website or call ahead to confirm. The cost is $17/tube. We arrived a little early and enjoyed some hot chocolate in the little restaurant before we tubed. The snow wasn't very fresh, so the tubes didn't slide as well, but we had so much fun!

We headed back to our hotel to attempt naps, but the kids had other plans. I took them up to the "Kid's Corner" in the lobby while Kyle rested. We had an early dinner in the Mountain Room (the sit down restaurant at Yosemite Valley Lodge) I told Kyle that being at Yosemite is like being on cruise in the sense that you literally see the same people everywhere you go. There are only so many places to eat! Dinner was yummy. Kyle and I shared a salad and steak. 

It was early to bed for us as Huxie isn't the best when it comes to sleeping in a hotel. 

On Friday it was back to Base Camp to fuel up for the day! After breakfast we let the kids play in the Kid's Corner and Huxie took a nap. We were scheduled for the 10am Valley Floor Tour, which in the summer time, is an open air tour, but because of the cooler weather, it is inside of a tour bus. Both Charlotte and Hux were free and they also gave a military discount, which made our tickets about $20/each. The tour was super interesting and informative and the bus made several stops for us to get out and take pictures. It was a great way to see the sights and I highly recommend it! 

After the tour, we ate lunch at the Base Camp and headed out for Yosemite Lower Falls. This is a super easy trail that is completely paved as well and offers beautiful views of the Falls. The trail is about 1 mile round trip. After the Falls, we continued on a dirt trail to get to the museum and visitor center. We attempted to watch the 25 minute film about Yosemite, but the kids had other plans. The visitor center had some neat exhibits and history and Charlotte got her National Park Passport where she will get stamps at all of the parks we visit. I had one growing up, too! 

Next stop was at the beautiful park located at the Yosemite Valley School. I had no idea there was a school in Yosemite, but this is where the children of park rangers and other staff attend. We played on the playground and had a beautiful view of Yosemite Falls. We walked back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at the Majestic! 

The park offers a free shuttle to get you around, so we decided to be adventurous and take it. Charlotte loved the adventure! It's a great way to get around when the park is busy and there isn't parking available. 

Dinner at the Majestic was nothing short of fabulous! Hux ended up sleeping through the entire dinner, but Charlotte really enjoyed the piano music and danced her way through dinner. Kyle and I had prime rib and it was fabulous! We ended dinner with their signature boysenberry pie. Although the experience was pricy, the ambiance is incredible and I highly recommend it. We waited for the shuttle (and saw a coyote) and it was back to our room for bed. 

We woke up on Saturday to a downpour! We couldn't see any of the sites and the park was starting to close some of the roads. We decided we better get on the road after breakfast. We had to take a different road out, through the south gate. As we were going up towards Badger Pass, the snow started falling! It was truly incredible! We made a quick stop and played in the snow! Charlotte's dream came true. We passed Mariposa Grove, which is currently closed due to trash/human waste from the shut down. It was a bummer to not see the sequoias, but hopefully we will get another opportunity. 

We made a lunch stop in Oakhurst at South Gate Brewing Company! Lunch was super yummy! Then it was off to the Children's Museum of the Sierra  right around the corner to let the kids burn off some energy before we finished the drive home. They had a blast. The museum was very interesting, but super affordable ($6/person) and Charlotte had fun in their hands-on exhibits. After the children's museum, we made a quick stop at Idle Hour Winery for a quick tasting before heading home. 

Such a wonderful trip! I would highly recommend Yosemite this time of year. Although we weren't able to see all of the sites due to road closures (Glacier Point/Tioga Rd/Tuolomne) the park was empty and we were really able to enjoy our time without a million other visitors around!