Riley's Jewelry.

If you know Leif and I, you know that our favorite place to shop is J. Crew. The day Riley could fit into their childrens clothes was an exciting day for us. Monterey doesn't have many of our favorite shops but thankfully there is a J. Crew! Sadly it only carries womens clothing... So we drive the 45 minutes to Gilroy to go to the outlet. Its always worth the drive. The last few times we've gone I asked Leif if I could buy Riley some of the kid jewelry, but he told me I was ridiculous, you don't put jewelry on a baby.
We went to the J. Crew outlet last night for fun & while Leif was paying I went outside with Riley so she could run around. When we got home Leif showed me the necklace and two bracelets he bought for Riley. I was just like "Seriously?" He told me they were just so pretty and she'd look cute in them. This morning he showed her and she was so happy! She loves wearing my necklaces and was excited to have her own. The bracelets amazed her and anytime they fell off she'd try to put them back on right away. Usually she couldn't so she'd hand them to daddy to put back on and bounce because she was so excited.

Someone is definitely a daddy's girl:)

A story.

Riley and I went to the mall yesterday, mostly so I could go to Cinnabon. And when I say we went to the mall, I mean we drove 20 miles to Salinas to go to the mall. We have a mall here in Monterey but its a small outdoor mall. It has your basic stores I suppose but its really a boring place to go. I had a craving and I didn't care that I'd have to drive almost a half hour to fulfill it. Plus it got Riley and I out of the house.

After I got my cinnabon, we walked around the mall. If you can call Riley's walking actual walking. It takes forever to get anywhere when shes walking. But she's so proud of herself and wears the biggest smile, so I let her. While in Victorias Secret a few people made comments to me about Riley. One lady argued with me about the color of Riley's eyes. She told me that Riley had to have blue in her eyes. I assured her that she did not. She asked me if I was sure. I was like "I'm very sure". Then she looked a bit disappointed that Riley had only brown eyes. After this conversation someone else asked if Riley was white and my first thought was "no". But then I remembered, "My child is white". Ha! After I said yes, the lady asked: "So black and white?". Part of me really wanted to ask her if she was serious, obviously I'm black... But I didn't. I just smiled, nodded, and walked away. Not because I'm rude though, because Riley was pushing the stroller into some displays. While catching up to Riley, a sales associate came up to me and asked if Riley was my child because she didn't look like me at all. I almost rolled my eyes but I simply replied that she looks just like her dad.

I'm always surprised by questions strangers will ask you. I guess it keeps things interesting though. It made my visit to Victorias Secret a lot more entertaining than it would have been otherwise. Not only did I leave the store with my correct bra measurements but also an amusing story to share with my husband and I guess those that read my blog:)

I married a good man.

Leif brings me home surprises all the time. He loves it. I usually know what it is because I'll prod and plead with him to give me hints. He's learned to not tell me when he's bringing me something because I am impatient and get too excited...

Today he brought me home these:

I knew he had bought them but I didn't know when they were coming. I've been in love with Sperry Top Siders since I saw my friend Meg's (check out her blog btw... She's about to move to NY and live in Brooklyn. I'm jealous!) Leif has a pair and just bought a second. I love mine, especially the alligator pattern:) I wish I had somewhere to go tonight so I could wear them out. I've been wearing them most of the night and I can't wait until tomorrow so I can wear them again!

I also love my adorable husband who always tries to surprise me, and even though he's usually unsuccessful... He never gives up. :)

Monterey... So far.

We are enjoying Monterey. We really like the weather and we really like living 2 miles from the beach. Its fun living somewhere you've never lived before:) So much exploring can be done. So many adventures can take place. We've barely begun to scratch the surface. We've gone into town a few times, driven around, walked a bit. There is a lot to do up here. We're trying to tackle Monterey and the surrounding areas before we even head up to Santa Cruz, Big Sur, Berkeley and San Fran. I am looking forward to that though! We have good friends up that way and the more north you go the better the camping.
We're looking into getting bikes, especially since Leif lives within a mile of his new job. Its such a nice place to bike. So beautiful and peaceful. We are also looking into getting into hiking. There are a lot of good trails we want to try out. I love the idea of hiking on the ocean yet being amongst tall trees. Best of both worlds:)
Also, our new favorite thing to do is Thrift Store & antique shop. We picked up these antique glasses the other day at the Salvation Army.

Then today we went to a consignment store that was similar to Buffalo Exchange, but its nicer and the prices are a lot better. Its nice to be able to get rid of clothes and in return get different clothes. I love it. I support any form of recycling.

Keep us in your prayers, we're about to start church shopping... I hate calling it that. I know God has a church home for us, and I know He'll lead us there. I just want to remember to trust Him and allow Him to do the choosing for us, not us.