Memorial Day camping trip

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back in 2016 we took our 2nd annual camping trip to humbolt county [blog post here].

we finally made it back, although this time it was a little different, considering we had 3 little ones in tow. but they were troopers and had the best time!

our 2 nights consisted of: playing at our campsite (richardson grove), taking long walks to explore, driving up to the avenue of the giants EARLY thanks to someone being an early riser, hangin’ by the water, lots of snacks and treats by the fire (oren’s first s’more!), skateboarding, scooting, and awesome weather. oren wore his sleeping bag sleep sack (best invention ever). hopefully we’ll back back in another year or two to keep this tradition alive.

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Bodega Bay

B O D E G A B A Y

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Over the holidays we did secret Santa – Kyle had JC and gave him a Mushroom Forage experience for spring (March), and we decided to make a family adventure out of it to also celebrate Oren turning two!

Our Airbnb ended up being one of my favorites we’ve ever rented – it was so clean, perfectly organized, equipped for a toddler, walking distance to the beach, and just a good vibe. We’ll definitely be back.

Highlights from the trip include:
The foggy beach day, Oren running in the sand and saying “foot spin”, epic sandwiches from Spud Point, Huria’s, JC & Kyle coming home from ~8 hours of being gone with 1 tiny mushroom, we couldn’t stop laughing. And a gorilla cake when we got home!

Hoping to start blogging again – such a nice place to save our memories <3

steep ravine cabins

S T E E P R A V I N E C A B I N S

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i found these old photos archived in dropbox and reminisced on what a cozy weekend we had back in … 2017?! … the baby [winnie] in these photos is now 3 and has a little sister if that tells us anything. these cabins are tucked up next to stinson beach and are basically impossible to get a reservation at –– we had been trying for years. we finally secured a spot on a random Tuesday in december and dang, it was cool.

the cabins themselves are, rustic, to say the least. it’s BYO-everything with no electricity or running water –– jake ended up sleeping on a very hard wood surface to give his wife and bebe the only mattress in the place. we made chili, drank wine, watched the sun set, played cards, read poetry by candlelight, and it is such a special memory.

i believe they open up the bookings every 6 months or so here. <3

favorites for a new mom & baby

after i found myself copy-pasting the same email to a few expecting friends / co workers /etc. of some of my favorite things when i was pregnant & post partum, i figured i would compile them all here! enjoy…

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N E W M O M

• Ritual prenatal vitamins | I took these my whole pregnancy and <3’d them

• STORQ Sitz bath | great for after labor/delivery

• The First Forty Days: The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother | I enjoyed reading this

• TUCKS cooling pads | kept these in the fridge for after labor/delivery

• Align leggings | so stretchy and soft and cozy –– but do not put them in the dryer!

• Bone broth | Mama tong is my go-to, but really any bone broth will do – warm fluids are so important for your body after going through labor – and bone broth is packed with nutrients

• Evolve | I’m not usually a protein shake person, but I enjoyed these for the early-morning breast feeding moments when I was starving and needed an energy boost

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N E W B A B Y

• Snuggle Me Organic | Oren slept in this from night 1 until about 9 months old

• Willaby baby blanket | the perfect lil blankey

• Swaddles - don't buy a ton until you learn your baby's preferences. Oren liked to arms up and so we had a bunch of swaddles we didn't need/use.

• Lectro Fan | Our favorite sound machine. Oren has slept with since night 1.

• Bibs paci | We started Oren on a paci pretty early because it was very obvious he wanted to constantly be sucking – he loves them so much

• Burp cloth | these are the best! We bought recycled rags for this to be more eco friendly and they are so absorbent

• Solly wrap | So sunggly and easy when they are teeny

• Bjorn bouncer | We started using this around week 4 or so? It’s THE BEST

• Boon tub | I like this because you don't have to fill your whole bath

• Pumping bra! | Very key

• Space heater | Oren got really cold when he was first born, so we had this by his diaper pad 

• Keekaroo diaper pad | is great, but not the coziest – we usually line with a swaddle

• Diapers | we use Earth Baby SF [brand Dyper] for composting and diaper delivery

• Clothes | Newborn sized things are a waste to buy in my opinion –Oren wore a diaper for the first 4 weeks unless we went outside. I found zip up onsies are the easiest. I tried to get hand-me-downs from friends because they grow so so fast. 

kauai christmas

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kauai is such a special place for us –– we went for my 25th birthday and it was one of our first big trips together. we’d always wanted to go back, and with the new direct flights from oakland, we knew a hawaiian christmas would be perfect for oren’s first.

we rented a cozy little house that was walking distance to both the town [hanalei] and the beach. it came fully loaded with an outdoor shower, multiple cruiser bikes and all the beach gear a family could need. our days were long and mellow, we tried to make minimal plans and wanted to be flexible with a baby.

i was also able to reconnect with the family i used to babysit for in college, they’re all so grown up! it was so lovely to see everyone and madison gave us the best local recs [as they are now hawaiian locals!].

a few of my favorites:

hanalei bread co. | so cozy for coffee and breakfast, get there when they open !
dolphin fish market | we cooked dinner 6 out of 7 nights, and all of the fish was from here
tahiti nui | live music every night, delicious mai thais – we went more than once a day :)
wishing well | delicious smoothies and acai bowls
postcards | in an old house - delicious food and all around very cozy. reservation recommended.
baracuda | another great spot for dinner - highly recommended to get a reservation
PV eats | great specialized grocery store, and really fun for lunch or a glass of wine - epic views
kilauea fish market | a fun little area to wander. order lunch and explore the shops nearby while you wait
on & on | for some spa life on a rainy day
farmer’s market – saturday mornings @ 9 am | rain or shine! we went and it was pouring, but still so cozy
hannalei bay & tunnels | for beach days
hanakapiai falls hike | reservations only! we booked via the shuttle site which worked well for us . *note, this is not a baby friendly hike. we left oren with his grandparents and auntie - best babysitters ever! <3

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p h o t o o v e r l o a d !

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^^ little tiny kyle on the left for scale

^^ the defrees family! <3