How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa? I still remember the Christmas that I found out he was my parents. I was in the sixth grade! (Matt says I should be embarrassed by this) One of my not-so-nice aunts decided to pull me aside and share the bad news. I swear I would have believed until high school if she hadn't spoiled my fun. I was so crushed!

Bella believes!

That is one of my favorite pictures of Bella! It cracks me up. She was TERRIFIED of Santa! And yes I actually paid to have this taken... It was her first Christmas! Is that too ridiculous? I think not.

As you know last weekend M and I went backpacking with some friends in the Sierra Nevada's outside of Fresno. We camped at a place called Dinkey Lakes and had a great time. The hiking was MUCH easier than it was in Yosemite (hello? half dome!) which was a nice break. The boys attempted to do some fishing but didn't have too much luck unfortunately. The views we took in were absolutely stunning though and made the trip worth it. I love being outside and breathing the fresh air while getting exercise. Plus, it makes Bella really happy. :) She went crazy on our hikes and had to be the leader at all times. It was pretty cute.

lunch time on the small hill peak. yosemite is way in the distance

our group

M and B lovin' life

B and I watching M fish. don't judge the crocks...they're only worn backpacking and gardening!

So beautiful!

Natural Bridge

What else could I do but practice my fish tail? I forgot my kindle...

although this is pretty is was filled with mosquitoes! I came home with 12 bites (one on my forehead!)

the camera did not do this place justice...

our huge messy camp. and by our i mean the bushmans...

still waters

So have I convinced any of you city girls to start heading out to the wilderness? If I can do it you can do it! Today I am flying out to San Jose for a wedding on Saturday and am SO excited to stay with my best friends. It's so hard when we live far away. Are your best friends close to you? What are your weekend plans? Monday the kiddos show up and I start a new school year teaching 29 first graders. Does anyone else think this is ridiculous? Sigh. Pray for me...

     Feels great to be back in my own bed and not in a backpacking tent. :) Our trip was great and I'll get into more details about that later but today I wanted to tell you more about Nikki, my family's Canine Companions for Independence dog. A couple of weeks ago Nikki matriculated which basically means she went off to doggy boot camp to become a dog who assists handicapped people. She was a part of our family for 18 months and while it was hard to see her go, she is learning how to help people live a more fulfilling life (hopefully). To be quite honest I am surprised that Nikki hasn't "failed" yet and made her way back to us. She had some issues (not coming when called, jumping on furniture, licking peoples' faces, biting Bella's neck etc.) but maybe she has overcome her bad habits? If Nikki passes she will graduate in February and go to a family/person who needs her more than we do. It would be an incredible experience to hand her over to someone and I hope that is the case in February. Below are some pictures of naughty Nikki...

The first night we brought her home...snoozin!

She loved Bella right from the start...adorable?!

Bronzing

Learning to body surf with Bella

Princess Nikki

Christmas card 2010

Jake and Nikki one week before we turned her in

Lily, Bella, and Nikki at the beach house. The three musketeers!

I'll keep you updated on whether or not she graduates. :) Tomorrow I'm re-capping the Fashion Show I participated in for a friend last Friday. Have a great Wednesday!

Tomorrow we are leaving for our last backpacking trip this summer. It should be a lot easier than my trek up Half Dome (PS did you hear about that 26 year old girl who died there? So sad and scary). We are going to a place called Dinkey Lakes which is outside of Fresno. I am NOT looking forward to the car ride but I am excited because we are taking Bella. :) She even has her own backpack that she carries her dog food in. She also has her own boots. Love her! I decided to post some past photos of trips we took last summer to inspire me you.

relaxing after day one of hiking

no make up. so not cute

man's best friend

long lake

goofy brothers

bella with her boots :)

gooooood morning!

still smells fresh to me!

notice bella in the background. i covered her up and shes eating her dinner laying down.

snazzy red backpack! even bella knows style. ;)

jump if you need a shower!

Bella wins best pose in this picture!

Can't wait to show you the pictures from this weekend! What are you up to? Tonight I am in a small fashion show to help a friend out. It should be fun and she gave us jewelry from her line, Briana Rene to boot! I will give more details next week. Have a great weekend!

For the next two weeks my "outfits" are mostly going to consist of beach-wear...mainly bikinis! I am staying with my family at the beach hence the beach attire. I have to say that even though wearing a bikini does not make me feel 100% confident I absolutely have an obsession with them. Every summer I can't help but pick up two or three. Designers these days are just so creative with prints and cuts and bows and I just get really excited! Sooooo here's a peek at my bikini options for the next two weeks. :) (excuse the bad lighting...i thought six would be late enough. live and learn).

 secretly i love wearing my one piece. :) it's so psychedelic 70s style.

 this looks pink but it's really more purpley. i love the scrunchy sides.

 horrible pic :( but the top has ruffles which make me feel so girly! recurring theme...thick sided bottoms

 this bikini has the best print...neon colored feathers! leave it to Trina Turk!

 akways. love. animal. print.

 i like the subtle metallic stripes and it's reversible!

 i found this store in Huntington Beach two summers ago called "Dare Me Bikini." Totally love their "scrunch butt" bikinis! I had to show the back of the bottoms on this one.

 another "Dare Me" but I accidentally left the bottoms at the house in my suitcase. oops.

 Bella came down to help take pictures. She wishes she could wear bikinis. :)

suits by (in order of appearance):

Point Conception

Vitamin A

O'Neil

Trina Turk

VIX

Vitamin A

Dare Me

Dare Me

Have a sunny Wednesday!

This week I am in the mountains volunteering as a camp counselor for our church's high school youth group. My apologies for being MIA this week in blog world!

      Who has a dog that they love? Me! A year ago Matt and I thought that it would be easy to make some extra change on the side by making dog collars. This means that I picked out all the nylon and ribbon and Matt did all the sewing. The man wears many hats I tell you! Come to find out there are many people on Etsy with this same idea and now that Matt teaches at the local collage at night along with his day job he doesn't have time for sewing. We are trying to rid ourselves of the last few sets of collars and leashes. They are mostly for big dogs since Bella is big and she was our model but we have accommodated smaller dogs as well. Check our shop out here. Below are some pictures of Bella being fashionable. :)

 Originally this collar was for Christmas but it also functions for Valentines Day and Fourth of July!

 

creamsicle cupcakes

my mom bought this one. the ribbon was originally twice as think so we cut it and then sewed it. and then it frayed. bad idea. learned the hard way!

  Bella pretended to be a boy in this shot

...and this one

my friend Dani just bought this one for her sweet golder retriever puppy, Aspen

my friend from college purchased this for her chocolate lab, Toa.

So what do you think? Who has a big dog that needs a new collar? :)Come over to Lily&Bella and check us out!

Helloooooo lovelies! Wow, I had a fantastic weekend but I am totally wiped out from it! Like I said, I went to a friend's bachelorette (yay I finally learned how to spell it) party in West Hollywood. I had the time of my life which was apparent to Matt when I came home and napped for two hours yesterday. ;) More on the party later this week...

Although the weather has been really warm in the day the temperature has been dropping nicely in the evening which makes great weather for walking. Last week Matt and I were on our evening walk and I had worn my favorite ikat dress that day so he snapped some photos of me. I am currently in love with all things ikat print and have been eyeing some pillows (here here here and here) sold on etsy to spice up our family room. One of the cheapest and easiest ways to change the look of a room is to switch out pillows (advice from a blogger friend :) ).

 yay ikat! 

 obsessed with sally hanson nail decals

 um prettiest girl ever?

 me and my girl

ahhhh summertime! 

dress: ATL

cardi: JCrew

sandals: target (top 10 purchases of all time)

shades: Juicy

watch: MK

So are you as in love with the ikat trend as I am? I also love trellis prints as seen here.  Have a lovely Monday!