How to Spend 10 days in London and France

My husband and I went to London and France the beginning of April with two of our friends and we had the best time! We lucked out on the weather and felt like this was a great time to go because although it was still busy, we missed the insane summer crowds. Below is our itinerary over the 10 days we were there (long post ahead because I want to remember all the details).

Day 1 London

High Tea at Savoy, Porterhouse Drinks & Live Music, Piccadilly Circus, Burgers and Gelato

We took a red eye flight, arrived in London around 1pm and took a taxi from the airport to our hotel (the price of a taxi vs train is about the same so I would recommend taking a Taxi since you can get to your destination faster and won’t have to haul your luggage around connecting trains). We stayed at The Z Hotel in Covent Garden. Although the rooms were tiny, the location was perfect and we were able to walk almost everywhere we wanted to go. I would recommend staying here based on the location alone. We took a nap after our long flight (did not sleep much on the plane) and then got ready for Afternoon Tea at The Savoy. This experience was so much fun and was a highlight for me from our trip. We were served traditional sandwiches and savory bites, pan seared salmon and a variety of pastries and scones while sipping our tea. Everything was delicious!

After tea we walked around Covent Garden until we stumbled upon The Porterhouse. This bar was massive with three levels and felt like there was something there for everyone. We found a table, had some drinks and enjoyed the live music from the band playing behind the bar down below. A fun place to go in London.

Then we decided to take the train to Piccadilly Circus which reminded me of Time Square in New York. Lots of billboards and lights, shops and people walking around even late at night. We stopped into Gordon Ramsay Street Burger for some food and ended the night at Amorino Gelato (which we later discovered is a chain all over Europe). A great start to our trip!

Day 2 London

Hop on Hop off Bus, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Eye, China Town, Adelphi Theatre-Back to the Future, Little Italy

Tommy and I purchased a London Pass which covered admission to many of the places we wanted to visit. We started the morning getting on a Hop On Hop Off Bus which allowed us to explore the city at our own pace. They have headphones available on the buses but it’s mainly used to get on and off wherever you need based on what attractions you want to see. We took a long walk through St James’s Park and made our way to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of The King’s Guard. Well, we thought we were going to see this but when it was 11am and nothing was happening we discovered this only happens on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. We were there on Saturday so we didn’t get a chance to see this but still enjoyed seeing Buckingham Palace.

From there we went to Westminster Abbey and explored the royal church. Then we walked to Big Ben, the world’s famous clocktower (we didn’t go inside since it was closed but were able to walk all around it). We crossed Westminster bridge and walked over to London Eye to take some photos.

Then we hopped back on the bus and went to China Town. There were endless places to eat and lots to explore. We also tried Taiyaki which is a fish-shaped pastry with custard inside.

Later we went back to our hotel in Convent Garden and got ready to see Back to the Future: The Musical at Adelphi Theatre. This was another highlight of the trip for me. I definitely recommend checking out this show if you are in London!

After the show we found some late night eats exploring Little Italy in the Soho area. This part of London was wild at night. Endless night clubs, restaurants and people walking around the streets. It reminded me a bit like Mardi Gras in New Orleans or like 6th Street in Austin, Texas. This is definitely the area you would want to explore in your early 20s/bar and club scene season of life. We would love to come back here for a milestone birthday! Tommy and I enjoyed a delicious pizza before making our way back to our hotel and calling it a night.

Day 3 London

Neal’s Yard, Opera House, The Shard, Borough Market, London Tower, London Bridge, Soho Hobson`s Fish & Chips, Gelato

We walked about 10 minutes from Covent Garden to Neal’s Yard which was a small alley with little shops and restaurants. We snapped some photos then kept walking and stumbled upon The Royal Opera House and grabbed a quick bite to eat. We learned that every Sunday is Family Day where they do events and performances for the families. Seeing all the kids made us miss our little guy at home!

We were trying to decide if we should walk the 45 min to The Shard or get onto the Hop on Hop off Bus. Well, we discovered The London Landmarks Half-Marathon was happening this morning which changed all the bus routes so we decided to just continue to walk and keep exploring the city along the way. When we reached The Shard (another activity you can use with The London Pass) we took the elevator up to the top and soaked in the 360 degree views of the city. I know I keep saying this but this was another highlight of the trip for me! It reminded me of the time we went to Bangkok and saw the city at sunset (read about that trip here).

After spending some time enjoying the views of the city, we went back down and walked across the street to Borough Market. This is a must do if you are visiting London! Many vendors selling any type of food you can think of, gifts, cheese, desserts, souvenirs, really it was endless. We had a great time trying out an assortment of foods and exploring this market (The mushroom risotto was my favorite, so delicious!).

From the market we walked to the Tower of London and explored the iconic castle. Then we walked to Tower Bridge and climbed the 206 steps to the top. Both of these excursions are included in the London Pass.

After a day full of walking and exploring, we made our way back to our hotel for a quick rest before heading out to dinner. We went to Hobson’s Fish & Chips in Soho. The food was good but pretty much everything is fried so something to keep in mind if you are thinking about checking out this spot. Then we ended the night with dessert, some yummy gelato.

Day 4 Travel From London To Amboise

Travel Day- Train from London to Paris, Train from Paris to Amboise, Dinner in Amboise at L’Epicerie

This was a long day of traveling from London to Paris and then from Paris to Amboise. We used RailEurope to book our train tickets and had a couple of transfers along the way. I definitely recommend taking the train over flying since the process is pretty seamless. We arrived in Amboise around 6pm, checked into our hotel and relaxed a bit before dinner. We stayed at Hotel Au Charme Rabelaisien which was a charming hotel with comfortable rooms and within walking distance to everything.

We had our first French meal in Amboise at L’Epicerie and everything was delicious.

Day 5 Amboise

Château Day- Château de Chenonceau, Château de Cheverny, Château de Chambord

Today was a day spent exploring three different châteaus. We hired a driver to drive us to and from each one, picking us up in Amboise and taking us first to Château de Chenonceau. This château was by far my favorite and the one I found the most beautiful. The first château was built between the 12th and 13th centuries while the château in its current form was built between 1513 and 1517. Not only is the castle stunning inside but the gardens worked on by Queen Catherine de’ Medici are absolutely perfect. If you are looking to visit a château in the Loire Valley, this is it!

Next we drove to Château de Cheverny, which was constructed in the 17th century and is currently occupied by the descendants of the Hurault family (living in the right wing while the left wing is open to the public for tours). This château was full of furniture and had a more homey feeling. We were also able to see all the hunting dogs in their kennels and see all the decorations out for Easter. This was a nice place to visit but was no comparison to Château de Chenonceau and one I would not recommend if you are short on time.

The final château we visited was Château de Chambord and wow, this castle is massive. Commissioned by King Francis I, the Chateau de Chambord is the largest castle of the Loire Valley and is a symbol of the French Renaissance. Chambord has 426 rooms, 83 staircases and 282 fireplaces (yet was built without any bathrooms)! It was very beautiful with massive rooms, although was a little overwhelming and we felt pretty tired by the time we came here. We opted to explore a bit and then grabbed a snack at the café nearby.

We arrived back in Amboise around 6pm, relaxed for a bit and then got ready for dinner. Make sure you make reservations ahead of time since most places in Amboise are on the smaller side and fill up fast. We ended the night hanging out at the hotel and playing some card games.

Day 6 Amboise

Café Breakfast, Shopping in Amboise, Chateau Amboise, Wine Tasting at La Cave, Dinner at Chez Bruno, Card Games at Hotel

We started the morning with a typical French breakfast-croissants and pastries, at a local café. Then we walked down the main street in Amboise, exploring the different shops and looking for souvenirs to bring back home for our family.

We then went to Château d’Amboise since it is right in the center of town and explored this final chateau of the trip.

After, it was time for some wine tasting at La Cave where you can pay 5 Euro to taste a variety of either white or red wines while enjoying the view of the castle right outside. We ended up taking three bottles home and strategically packed them in our suitcase for the plane ride back. Later we stumbled upon St. Denis church in Amboise and explored this church built in the 12th century.

We enjoyed another delicious dinner in Amboise at Chez Bruno. If you go here don’t skip out on dessert and order the chocolate, so delicious!

Day 7 Travel From Amboise to Paris

Train from Amboise to Paris, Walk Luxembourg Gardens, Lunch near Opera House, Walk Champs-Élysées, Seine River Cruise at Sunset, Eiffel Tower, McDonalds in Bed

We took the two hour train from Amboise to Paris in the early afternoon and arrived in Paris around 2pm. We checked into our hotel, Hotel Mercure La Sorbonne Saint-Germain-des-Prés which is located in the Latin Quarter. The rooms were clean, comfy and much larger than the hotel we stayed at in London. I would recommend staying here if you are interested in staying in the Latin Quarter of Paris. However, we found that Paris is very spread out and not as walkable as London. The 7th arrondissement of Paris might be a more appealing area to stay in if you are looking to be closer to some of the main monuments in Paris and not have to take the train form one destination to the next. The train is very easy to navigate though and most hubs are only about a 5 or 10 min walk away from each other.

After checking in and getting settled, we walked the Luxembourg Gardens and then down Champs-Élysées (one of the worlds most famous commercial streets), basically just killing some time before the Seine River cruise at sunset. We tried to visit Palais Garnier and stopped for lunch before but then realized it was closed by the time we were ready to enter. We decided to make our way back near the Eiffel Tower to get ready for the river cruise.

I really enjoyed the Seine River Cruise and felt like this was a great way to see the city on our first night there. There are many options to book online with a variety of boats and I believe they are all about the same. The only difference is if you decide to do a dinner cruise with the tour which we opted not to. You are able to board the boat at anytime you want throughout the day without a reservation. We got on at 7:30pm which I felt was a great time to see the city right before sunset. The cruise is 1 hour, starting at the Eiffel Tower then passing by known monuments such as Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral and Louvre Museum.

After the cruise we walked around the Eiffel Tower and watched it sparkle at night. The Eiffel Tower sparklers every hour as soon as it gets dark for 5 minutes until dusk. We stumbled upon this Free Photo-booth where a woman takes photos with a vintage camera and it instantly prints. This was a fun souvenir from the night.

We took the train back to the Latin Quarter area and decided to end the night with good old McDonalds back in bed at our hotel. A classic first dinner choice for our first night in Paris (haha).

Day 8 Paris

Louvre Museum, Cafe Marley, Arc de Triomphe, Drinks along Seine River, Notre Dame, Italian Dinner in Rue de la Huchett, Jazz Club-Le Caveau de la Huchette

If you want to check out the Louvre Museum (which I highly recommend) get there early! We booked our tickets online ahead of time and choose the 9:30am time slot. When we got to the museum, we saw a huge line that wrapped around the corner. Then we saw another line which looked to be the entrance. We showed the person working their our tickets and he told us to go to another area instead. We walked past Café Marley, down the escalator to a sperate entrance with no line at all! We actually didn’t even realize we were inside the museum once we entered since we got in so fast. Try entering this way if you have a select time for tickets and you can get in within 5 minutes.

The museum is massive and one could easily spend a of couple days here and still not see everything. We decided to head to Mona Lisa right away since there wasn’t a line. From there we explored the different levels and exhibits in complete awe of the history behind the pieces that have been around for so many years. Spending time in the Louvre Museum was definitely another highlight for me from this trip.

After a couple of hours in the museum, we stopped at Le Café Marley for some lunch. This café has one of the best views and was a a nice resting place after walking around the museum. We sat on the balcony people watching while enjoying a club sandwich. If you do come here make sure to book a reservation ahead of time online and know that you are paying for the scenic view when it comes to the food prices.

We took the train to Arc de Triomphe, crossed underneath and snapped some photos. Then we made our way to Île de la Cité which is an island in the Seine River in the center of Paris. We had some drinks, sat on a bench and waved to the boats passing by.

We walked to Notre Dame and read all about the incredible reconstruction of the church then grabbed dinner in Rue de la Huchett (one of the oldest streets that is now famous for having the highest concentration of restaurants in the city). We went to a fun Italian restaurant called Il Gigolo and had some delicious pizza and pasta.

Then we walked a couple minutes to Le Caveau de la Huchette which is a Jazz Club in the Latin Quarter. This was one of my favorite nights in Paris! We walked down to this cellar/compact basement with a midcentury vibe to find an open area of seats and a stage for the band. We listened to jazz music while watching the locals swing dance. Get there early to get a good seat or if you get there later you can join the locals on the dance floor. It was so much fun! A must do for a memorable evening in Paris.

Day 9 Paris

Breakfast, Shakespeare and Company, Sainte-Chapelle, Palais Garnier, Ladurée Macaroons, Picnic in Jardin Des Tuileries, Eiffel Tower at Night

We had breakfast nearby our hotel and walked along the river checking out the bouquinistes’ stalls. There was a huge line to get into Shakespeare and Company which I probably would have been more into if I was more of a book lover. Then we went to Sainte-Chapelle, a royal chapel in gothic style with gorgeous stained glass windows.

We took the train back to Palais-Garnier and got in this time. The opera house was absolutely stunning and a place I definitely recommend checking out if you are in Paris.

After exploring Opéra Garnier we grabbed some famous Ladurée Macaroons and sat in The Tuileries Gardens while people watching and relaxing in the sunshine. It was a beautiful day in Paris!

That night we had dinner near the Eiffel Tower and after met up with our tour group to go to the top! If you do plan to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, I recommend booking with a tour group just to skip the lines. We went through the company Get Your Guide and met up with the group at 9:30pm. It still felt like it took awhile to get in even with our group so I can’t imagine waiting in line on our own. Our guide told us during the summer months the wait time is around 4 hours! A couple things to note, there are several options for going to the top. You can get a ticket with stair access to the second floor (this is probably the fasted way up), a ticket with access lift to the second floor or a ticket with access lift to the top. We had tickets with access lift to the top but honestly I would recommend skipping going to the top and just staying on the second floor (in hindsight we wish we would have done this). The view is still incredible and you can miss out on waiting on the long lines to get to the top.

Day 10 Paris

McDonalds and Starbucks breakfast, Shopping and exploring in Montmartre, Dinner at Bouillon Racine

Our last day in Paris! We slept in and got a typical American breakfast-Starbucks and McDonalds breakfast sandwiches. Then we took the train to Montmartre to explore and shop. The hilly area in the 18th arrondissement has cobblestone streets, lots of traditional cafes and restaurants and lots of little unique shops for souvenirs to bring home.

We had a delicious lunch at Le Vrai Paris and sat on the street while enjoying the views like true Parisians.

That night we celebrated my husbands birthday and enjoyed our last dinner in Paris at Bouillon Racine. Many restaurants in Paris offer le menu, which may also be called the formule with first course (appetizer), second course (entrée) and third course (dessert). Sometimes a fourth course is offered before dessert which can be a cheese option. This is offered as a three or four course package for a set price and is often the best deal in the house!

If you made it this far, props to you for reading this whole thing (haha)! I also took about 1,000+ more photos but narrowed it down to these in this post. My husband and I had a wonderful time in London, Amboise and Paris and did everything we wanted to do. This definitely was a nice little vacation that we feel so lucky we were to be able to take together and experience with our close friends before our baby #2 arrives later this August!

Our Baby’s First Birthday

Our boy turned one in November! We blinked and a year went by. Even though we know our baby won’t remember his first birthday, I love any reason to celebrate and have a party. This was also a day to celebrate my husband and I as parents for surviving the first year!

We invited our close friends and family over to our home to celebrate our little guy. I got this balloon arch kit from Amazon and spent the night before blowing up balloons and putting it together. Luckily I also invested in this balloon pump a couple of years ago which makes the process go a lot faster. These are never my favorite to make but I always love how they turn out and doing it yourself saves so much money (of course our dog Edgar had to get in the photo). I also order this one balloon to use as a decoration.

A girl I met in a local moms group made this smash cake and it was delicious! Our boy loved it so much that we eventually had to take it away from him. My husband and I ended up finishing the cake throughout the week because it was too good to throw away. I order these Wood Round Pedestal Risers to display his cake and now use them for plants and other items to display in our home.

I made a letter template on cardstock where guests could write a letter to our son on his first birthday. I took the letters and added them to his baby book. I absolutely love this baby book from Artifact Uprising called The Story of You and I hope this will be something my son treasures when he is older. I forgot to get a photo of this from the party but below are a couple photos of his baby book.

I also got this First Birthday Photo Banner from Etsy and thought it turned out so cute with a photo of him from each month (Several months later and we still have this banner hanging up! I think it may be time to take it down).

I found this One Year Old Birthday Crown and little Suspender Outfit on Amazon. His Birthday Boy shirt was a hand-me-down from a friend, but there are many on Etsy.

Chipotle does catering and is very affordable so we decided to go this route instead of worrying about cooking. It was delicious and we had a lot of left overs for Chipotle Bowls. Our little 1 year old loved it too.

The party ended with opening gifts and signing happy birthday. There is something so special about seeing all the people you love in your life sing happy birthday to this little guy who you adore. It was also very obvious that our boy is the first grandchild on both sides. 😄 He was spoiled and loved opening his gifts (Well he kind of opened them, I helped a lot but it was great practice for him right before Christmas-haha). It was a very memorable day and I’m looking forward to celebrating our son each year!

Disneyland with an 11-Month-Old

Thinking of bringing your baby on a trip to Disneyland? I 100 percent recommend going! We brought our son to Disneyland with us when he was exactly 11-months-old back in October 2022 and we had the most incredible trip. I feel like this was a great age to enjoy the park with a little one while they are out of the infant stage but before they become full toddler mode and wanting to explore all over the place.

Many people say things like, well the baby won’t remember the trip so what’s the point? You should wait until they are older. My response to them is, why wait? Things could come up and you never know where you will be in life in the future. So I say if you can, take the trip now! Disneyland is also very expensive but free for little ones under the age of 3. Also, babies fly free under the age 2 so this would save families a lot of money. And it doesn’t matter if your baby won’t remember because YOU will. You will have those sweet photos and experiences and treasured memories and that to me makes it beyond worth it.

So if you are thinking of planning a trip with your baby, go for it! Here are some things that helped make everything go smoothly when we experienced Disneyland with our 11-month-old.

1. Book a hotel within walking distance to the park

We stayed at Hyatt House at Anaheim Resort which was about a 10 minute walk to the park. We loved that this hotel offer suites with a kitchen/living room area to make meals for our son and a separate bedroom from where he would be sleeping if we wanted to stay up later. They also had pack n plays available and a delicious breakfast spread that we ate at every morning (which also saved us a lot of money).

2. Get Genie+

I believe they raised the price of Genie+ since we went back in October 2022 but I still think it is absolutely worth it. In fact, I would not go to Disneyland without getting Genie+. Genie+ allows you to schedule rides for a specific time and skip the main lines for the bigger attractions. We would not have been able to ride everything we wanted to without Genie+ and would have spent most of our time waiting in lines. Not all rides are offered on Genie+ so I would recommend starting in Fantasyland (most of these rides don’t have Genie+), doing those rides first thing in the morning before the lines get out of control and then using Genie+ for rides after. The wait time for rides that have Genie+ was anywhere from 5-20 minutes compared to 60-90 minutes without. Also, once you redeemed a ride, you can book the next one right away!

3. Use Rider Swap

Rider swap is amazing! Lets say you have a group of 3 adults and a baby. Two adults go on the ride while the other person waits with the baby. After the ride is over, the adults switch places, one stays with the baby while the other two go and ride the ride again. You don’t have to wait in line. All you do is go to a cast member at the start of the ride, tell them you want to use rider swap when they scan your phone, then a ticket will appear on your account. We used rider swap all throughout our trip since it was me, my husband, my mom and son. Another perk of this is one person gets to ride the ride two times in a row! You can also do this if it’s just the two of you and a baby and take turns riding rides and watching the baby.

4. Bring Your Own Food, Drinks and Snacks Inside

Since our hotel room had a full kitchen, we used Door Dash our first day in California and stocked up on a bunch of food and snacks for our son. We brought a small cooler filled with food and a picnic blanket. We found a spot in the park to each lunch each day. This helped us not only save money but also enjoy a quick meal together without having to go to a sit down restaurant. We also used the meal ordering service on the Genie+ app to make sure we weren’t wasting time waiting for food.

5. Book Out of Order/Rides Out for Maintenance on Genie+

If you see a ride is not available on the app, book that ride as soon as you can! If the ride happens to get fixed, that’s great and you can go on it during your scheduled time. But if the ride does not get fixed before your scheduled time, you will automatically be given a pass on the app where you can now skip the line for any ride that you like (not just the ride you booked)! We got about 4 or 5 of these passes because we kept booking rides that didn’t get fixed in time. We then chose a ride with a long wait time, walked up to the exit, showed a cast member the ticket and they let us on right away while skipping the normal 60+ min line.

6. Stop for the Free Photos

When you purchase Genie+ you also have access to all the professional photo locations in the park. It’s worth it to stop and have your picture taken! A photograph will scan the barcode on your app and then they will automatically be available for you to download directly to your phone. Photos from all the rides are also included for free! You just find the photo number after the ride and enter it on your account.

7. Bring a Family Member or Hire a Disneyland Nanny

We were fortunate that my mom was able to come with us on this trip. Day 1 and 2 we went to Disneyland and Day 3 we went to California Adventure. By around 6pm each day, we made our way back to our hotel to wind down and put our son to bed. Once he was in bed, my mom stayed back at the hotel while my husband and I went back to explore the parks at night. There is something so magical about seeing the park at night and even if you don’t have someone with you to watch your baby, I recommend having your child stay up late at least one night to experience this. If you don’t have a family member with you, you can hire a Disneyland Nanny (just google Disneyland Nanny and a bunch of options will come up). The nanny can help watch your baby at the park or just stay back at the hotel while they are sleeping so you can head to the park at night.

8. Purchase Toys Outside the Park

This is more of a tip for the plane ride but we purchased some toys from the dollar store, wrapped them up in wrapping paper and then gave them to our baby to occupy him on the plane ride. This meant we also had a couple of toys for him back at the hotel to play with before bedtime. You can also purchase a Disney Bubble Wand at half the price and bring it inside which kids at all ages love. Since we went around Halloween I found this adorable Dumbo Costume and he wore it the morning at the park.

Of course we did splurge on a couple souvenirs. Inside the park we purchased our son a mickey mouse ornament (one tradition we are starting is buying him one every year then giving them to him when he is older and has his own Christmas tree). We also purchased this Dumbo Stuffed Animal and that our son now sleep with it every night. Something else I recommend doing with your baby is going to Silhouette Studio and getting this special keepsake!

9. Take Advantage of the Baby Center

Although we never actually went to a baby center, I’ve read great things from this blog here if you need a quiet place to rest or to feed your baby. This might be especially important if you are a nursing/pumping mama and you’re looking for some privacy.

10. Have a blast and take your baby on as many rides you can!

There are so many rides at Disneyland with no height requirement which means you can take your baby on them! Here are some rides we took our 11-month-old on (but there are many more beyond this list!):

  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Dumbo
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Jungle Cruise
  • King Arthur Carrousel
  • Mad Tea Party
  • Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride
  • Pinocchio’s Daring Journey
  • Pirates of the Caribbean (our favorite)
  • Snow White’s Enchanted Wish
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

We enjoyed Disneyland more than California Adventure with our 11-month-old but there are also many rides in that park with no height requirement. We took our son on Golden Zephyr and The Little Mermaid and then spent a lot of our time in Animation Academy and the Sorcerer’s Workshop.

These are just a couple of tips and reasons to take your baby to Disneyland so if you are thinking about going, definitely do! I promise you will not regret it and the memories you make will be so special that you will probably want to keep going year after year. 🙂

Cherry Blossom Trees

It’s that time of year where the weather is beginning to get warmer! This also means the Cherry Blossom Trees are in full bloom. If you are looking for something to do, I recommend finding the famous trees to take some photos. Maybe not necessarily the place we went but you can find these trees all over the city. Plus we got these adorable pictures which is pretty much the only reason I wrote this blog post-to share these photos and memory☺️.

Around this time last year, my husband and I took our son to UW to see the cherry blossom trees. It was insanely busy (my husband described the crowds as his own personal hell, haha) but I still made him walk around with me. We saw a very diverse group of people from students to grandparents to babies and kids. We noticed some families had an entire picnic set up with a tea kettle and tea cups and others brought in dim sum and take out orders. It was wild but also great to get out of the house as new parents and walk around with our 4 month old at the time.

I told my husband that we now have to do this every year and recreate the pictures of our boy since they turned out so great. Maybe this year we’ll try for a week day and will miss out on some of the crowds, but we will definitely be back to visit the cherry blossom trees and will carry on this new spring tradition!

DIY Nursery Transformation

My sons nursery was originally used as a room for storage, filled with unpacked boxes from when we first moved into our home. When we first moved in, we ripped out the stained carpet, closed the door and let the room sit for months. This was until we found out we were pregnant and knew we would have to get this room ready for our baby!

All of our bedrooms in our home are small with limited closet and storage space. I knew I wanted to transform the closet into something more functional, especially since babies need so many things. This was when I discovered the IKEA Pax closet system. Very affordable and customizable to fit your design and your space. It took a couple of weeks to get all the parts I wanted due to supplies being out of stock but I’m very happy with the end results and happy with how much we are able to pack into this closet (The Pax systems were also easy to build and put together-I did this 8 months pregnant)! I also ended up getting the Billy Book Case from IKEA and used it on the left side of the closet since there was more space but the smallest PAX base didn’t fit. This worked out great for toy storage and other misc. items. The bins in the bookcase are also from IKEA and fit perfectly. I added wallpaper to the back to make it look more like a finished custom closet and used drawer inserts to organize clothes.

The other huge transformation to this room was the hardwood floors. My husband rented a sander and sanded them all down, trying his best to get the deep stains and paint off. He used a clear coat to finish them off. The floor transformation is night and day!

We also decided to give the walls a fresh coat of paint. Choosing a color was very challenging since this room looks completely different depending on the light and the time of day. I also have a very hard time making decisions and being pregnant didn’t help (ha!). We went with the color Evergreen Fog from Sherwin Williams which was also the color of the year of 2021 when our son was born.

We ordered some new shades for the window, added a new light fixture, replaced the door/doorknob, replaced the trim and added quarter round to cover the small gaps on the floor, added trim around the closet (we may add bifold doors one day), replaced the light switch with a dimmer and then this room was ready (we finished everything probably about a week or two before our son was due-always last minute around here but we get it done)!

We love how this space turned out for our son and feel so proud to call this his room.

On the left is my last “bump picture” before my son was born and on the right is our son in his finished bedroom!

Baby Shower For Our Boy

On Sunday we had our baby shower to honor our baby boy that is due in November. It’s hard to believe that in just two short months we will have our baby. A BABY!! Wow has the time flown by. Seeing our close friends and family made everything feel much more real and much closer to our due date. Am I feeling all prepared and ready? Definitely not! But my husband and I greatly appreciate all the love and support we received on Sunday honoring our baby boy and we feel more ready as each day goes by.

We couldn’t have asked for a better party for Baby K! We decided to have a co-ed shower (since my husband Tommy is just as important) and planned the party during the Seahawks game since we thought it would be fun to watch with our favorite people. Tommy set up one of our TVs outside and made a couple of seating areas with tables and chairs under a large canopy tent on the patio. Somehow the weather held up throughout the day right up until the hawks went into overtime. Then came an intense downpour and we ended up loosing. But for a Seahawks loss, we sure had an amazing time.

All of our immediate family pitched in to to make the day very special. We had an abundance of sweets since Tommy and I both LOVE dessert. Cupcakes, chocolate chip blonde bars, espresso cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and the most delicious vanilla cake with chocolate filling that my mom ordered from a local bakery nearby. She also brought some sides and made endless pasta salad, her staple. My sister-in-law created and planned some fun games to play during half time (Guess Who: Mom or Dad, Baby Trivia and Who is the dad?). And my in-laws hosted everyone at their house on the patio and made some delicious pulled pork and food that was served.

We definitely felt the love from the amazing people in our lives and are feeling so very excited to meet our son soon!

My Surprise Birthday Celebration

I turned 31 two weeks ago and my husband threw me a surprise party! I’ve never had a surprise party before and I couldn’t believe it, he actually got me! This birthday was completely different from my 30th (check out my post Ain’t No Party Like a Disco Party! to read about that wild party). To be honest, this year I wasn’t really in the celebrating mood since I was 20 weeks pregnant and not feeling like myself. Also, our summer has already been so busy and then still everything going on with Covid. Luckily my husband knows me well and knows that typically I am ALLLLL about birthdays, so he went above and beyond (and so did my mom and friends!) to make me feel loved and special.

We started the day being tourists in Seattle walking along the pier. We saw a caricature artist on the side walk doing drawings and decided to go for it. I have always wanted to do this! Welp, in the picture I look like a crazy person while my husband looks like Mr. Incredible. 😂

Our first stop along the pier was the The Crab Pot which you should definitely check out if you are ever visiting Seattle. Crab, fish, salmon, muscles, clams..seafood galore. We went with the Crab Louie and Fish and Chips and split everything (One of the best things about having a partner is sharing food at restaurants so you always get to try two meals instead of one, agree?). We also got a side of melted butter to dip some of the crab from the salad in. Mmmmm, I’m getting hungry just thinking about this meal.

Our next stop was going to MoPOP, Museum of Pop and Culture (which I still call the EMP). This is a unique place if you have never been. My husband knows I love everything Disney and they were having a special Heroes & Villains exhibit showing many costumes from Disney movies and TV shows, so he decided to get tickets. The last time we were at the EMP was for a NYE party in 2017. Again, this year was a little different from the last time we were there 🙃. It was fun reminiscing on those memories (the photo below of me in the vampire coffin was from the NYE party in 2017!). After walking through all the exhibits at the EMP, we made our way to another classic tourist spot, the International Fountain and lounged around in the sunshine.

At this point I was feeling pretty tired and ready to head home, but what I didn’t know was that my husband was trying to kill time before heading back for the surprise party. He suggested we go to UVillage to get some maternity clothes. Shopping? Sure! Also, the past couple of weeks I had been feeling a little down about my clothes and what was/wasn’t fitting me (was using hair ties to keep my shorts buttoned) so I was excited to find some pieces that actually fit my changing body.

After shopping we made our way back to our house and at this point my husband was acting a little strange but I still didn’t know about the party. (Some strange things: Our Ring Doorbell was covered in tape so I couldn’t see the camera, he told me I should wear one of my new dresses out of the store home, he asked me to look at some marble tile on his phone as we were driving so I wouldn’t see all the cars parked on our street). When we walked inside, I noticed some balloons and decorations on our deck when I looked through the window. I turned the corner into our back room and everyone yelled SURPRISE! I was actually shocked. So excited and so so happy to see my friends, my mom and my favorite pups there to celebrate.

After all my questions of “How did you you guys pull this off? Wait, you made this?! Aww you guys! Tommy how long have you been planning this?” everyone brought out the food and snacks. Watermelon, 7-layer bean dip that one of my friends makes and is always BOMB!, and my absolute favorite – fried chicken and jojos. Mmm also my friend brought a dozen cookies from Crumbl Cookies and they were absolutely incredible. (Get the pink one always and their menu changes each week to mix and match the rest. I’m seriously about to order these right now just to have around the house because they are so delicious).

This birthday was much different than the last but in the best way possible. It was a surprise party that I won’t ever forget and the perfect celebration for this time in my life right now. My husband, my mom and my friends outdid themselves and I felt SO much love. Very memorable and a very special day turning 31!

Fireplace Upgrade..and Some Surprises

The last time my husband and I updated our fireplace was last year when we were living in our townhome. We gave that fireplace a facelift with some fresh tile, paint and a new marble hearth. We were only able to enjoy it for a couple of months before renting to our tenants but I still love the way it came out! You can read about that DIY Project Here.

The fireplace in our current home is much different. It’s covered in brick, much larger and is used for real fires instead of gas. (One day randomly, a women who used to live in our home when she was 4 years old dropped by and told me the story about how her dad built the house and fireplace. She said the fireplace looked similar to how she remembered it over 60 years ago!) I know this meant it needed a bit of an upgrade. 😊 We wanted to keep this project as inexpensive as possible since we had (still have actually) many other projects to complete throughout the house.

This fireplace had an electrical insert when we first moved in. But we love the coziness of real fires so we removed the insert and got a grate before remodeling.

A quick paint job, an updated mantel and some decor items was what I was envisioning. But there was a little more to this project than just that. We bought our house knowing there was a leak in the fireplace/chimney and had that fixed right away. But what we didn’t know was that the leak had been there for years and years causing moisture ants to take up residence behind the wall.

Luckily we discovered the ants because my husband wanted to add an outlet above the fireplace for our TV which meant removing the drywall and rewiring the electrical outlet close by. When he removed the drywall, we discovered the most disgusting amount of ants hidden behind the wall where the leak used to be (way more than in the photo even!). He used a shock vac to vacuum all the ants up and then we left the drywall off for a couple of days to ensure everything was completely dry and no longer leaking.

Yikes! After that mess my husband added an electrical outlet to the center of the wall, added new drywall, learned how to do knockdown texture and then painted everything. He is incredible! From there him and my father-in-law used pine boards to extend the mantel, taking inspiration from this blog to make it look a bit more modern. I found these Wood Sheets on Amazon which we used to cover the seams on the ends for a perfect match.

We added some Wall Sconces and Puck Lights, found this Crate&Barrel Fireplace Screen on Offer Up for 50 bucks! and added some decor items that we had stuck in boxes from the past couple of months. And here is our fireplace now.

Clean, fresh, updated and most importantly….ANT FREE (And our pup Edgar loves it too)!

Gender Reveal Party

When my husband and I first found out we were pregnant, we immediately decided we would find out if we were having a boy or a girl. (There is absolutely no way the teacher/planner in me would be able to wait). And we love to have parties so we decided why not have a little gender reveal party!

At 14 weeks, we did the NIPT blood test which screened our baby for the most common defects, including Down Syndrome, trisomy 13, and trisomy 18. We added on the option to find out the sex and then had the results put in a sealed envelope which we got on May 23rd. That very night we gave the envelope to our friend Amber since it would be way too tempting to sneak a peak at the results. (We had our party on June 19th and waited 3 weeks after we received the results to accommodate our schedules). Waiting was hard but also fun because during that time we would go back and forth discussing if baby was a boy or girl and why.

We invited our immediate family and some of our close friends to keep things small and intimate. I made a Balloon Arch to use as a background and love how it turned out. I also got these Gender Reveal Buttons for friends and family to guess if they thought baby was a boy or girl. We had some charcuterie boards and snacks and did a pasta salad bar with a bunch of different cold pasta salads to eat. For dessert, funfetti cupcakes! And I had to somehow include our pup Edgar so I got him a Big Brother Bandana (totally unnecessary but I think was very cute).

For the actual reveal we used 10 Confetti Cannons which Amber ordered for us since she was the only person who knew the sex. Instead of releasing the cannons ourselves, we had our friends and family circle around us and count down while we watched under the balloon arch. This made for such a special and memorable moment. Honestly it was incredible watching the colors fly in the sky and a day we both won’t ever forget.

And we are having a baby boy!!! We had such an amazing time and this party made us even more excited for our little babe. Now to think of and decide on a name. Any suggestions? ☺️

Palm Desert Vacation

If you’re looking to get away on a relaxing vacation, lounge by the pool, maybe do a little shopping and be in the hot sun, I know just the place….Palm Desert, CA! (Or Palm Springs). My husband and I traveled to Palm Desert in the middle of May with four of our close friends. This was our first trip flying somewhere new since our honeymoon to Thailand back in January 2020, 16 months ago. (Wow that is wild to think about!)

Palm Desert is full of restaurants, colorful shops, swimming pools and many luxury cars! Oh and golf, lots and lots of golf. My husband said the courses here were some of the nicest golf courses he has ever played on.

The six of us stayed at Embarc Palm Desert which was right in the center of everything and close to the main strip, El Paseo Shopping District. The community was right next to a couple of golf courses and had multiple pools to lounge by. This was great for the guys to head to golf in the morning and the girls to go for a swim.

We went out to eat almost every night which was new for us since we hadn’t dined at a restaurant in so long with covid restrictions. My three favorite restaurants from the trip were:

  • Guillermo’s Restaurante – Delicious Mexican food! The chips, salsa, guac, margs…all amazing. I had the chicken fajitas and would recommend.
  • Ristorante Mamma Gina – Incredible homemade pasta and Italian food. They even gave us a complimentary slice of cheesecake for desert!
  • Wilma & Frieda’s Cafe – Everything you can imagine for amazing brunch food and drinks. Short rib eggs benny, churro waffles, home-made buttery flakey giant biscuits with raspberry jam. Yum!

One memorable night was when we out to eat at the The Nest in Palm Springs. We sat out on the patio in 70 degree weather (my favorite temperature) and watched live music while eating dinner. As we were getting ready to leave, one of our friends recognized a woman at the bar from the show: The Real Housewife of Orange Country, Elizabeth Lyn Vargas. My sister-in-law and I went up to her and got a photo. Even though neither of us watch the show, we pretended like we did and pretended like we knew who she was 😀 (She was very friendly and we can now say we had a celebrity spotting).

On our second to last day my husband and I took an early morning drive to Joshua Tree National Park which is about an hour away from Palm Springs. The park is full of beautiful scenery, places to camp, rock climbing and lots of trails to explore. In mid May it was 100+ degrees outside so we didn’t do much hiking but enjoyed driving through the park and taking in all the sites.

About a 20 minute drive from Joshua Tree is a place called Pioneertown which was such a unique town to visit. This historic landmark is an Old Western Town built as a 1940s movie set that has all the Westworld feels. Surround by frontier stables, saloons, a jail, and a church along a dirt road; it truly felt like a step back in time into the wild wild west.  

We were there for 6 nights and like any vacation the time always flies by! Most of our days were spent relaxing in the sunshine, eating out at a bunch of different restaurants and spending time with each other at the resort.

The best part about any vacation is who you spent it with and I had a great time vacationing with my favorite people!