BANANA STICKS

while visiting our sweet friends' house a few months back, we were introduced to banana sticks, which are essentially the most miraculous way to give your child bananas. instead of slicing and piling into a heap, this method is so easy and nearly mess - free.

we have been giving augustus banana sticks for months now, almost four times a day (this little man l o v e s bananas) and have no sign of stopping. every single morning i wake up, and before making the coffee, i give him his banana sticks and off he walks.

here is what we do:

simply take a banana, slice it in half (either with a knife or with your hands). next, take your pointer finger and "drill" it gently down the center of the half banana. the banana will naturally yield into three "banana sticks" and your little one will show great independence in walking/crawling/sitting around with the most satisfying fruit there is.

hope you enjoy :)

BODY + FACE

my daily routine takes about as much time as it takes a song on the radio to play. i rarely ever change the look of my makeup because i simply don't know how and i just don't have that much time. but, i make a point every single day to get dressed, to put on a little makeup and to present myself to the world and to show my husband and my son that i care.

as a mama to a now one year old, the time i have to myself is rare and sacred. each minute of every day is filled with this and that, moving and walking and chasing and cleaning and cuddling and holding, and how could i forget, exhaustion. but, you keep going ~ as a mama, that's already written in the stars. there is no other option, there is no giving up when you need a break. there is simply stepping outside, looking up, breathing deeply to twenty, and resuming.

these are some of the products i'm loving right now (that mascara) and have loved for years (like my mom's old blush brush and perfume). they make me feel feminine, sexy and mostly, like my true self. i don't have a lot of products, but what i do have, i really do love.

(you can click on the link to see where they are from)

1. yes to carrots face wipes 
2. sabon bath ball in musk 
3. l'occtaine shea butter
4. the body shop shea butter
5. frederick fekka masque
6. jafra eye cream
7. oi hair oil
8. coconut + hibiscus body wash
9. jean paul gautier perfume in classique
10. amber essential oil (helps calm anxiety)
11. mascara (triples my lashes)
12. mauve rose nail polish
13. "eiffel for you" nail polish
14. rose petal soap
15. favorite blush brush (my mom's old estee lauder)
16. lavender hand lotion
17. water bottle (makes drinking water pretty dreamy)

MOTHER'S DAY 2014

mother's day and my birthday were one day apart this year. when my husband asked what i wanted, i told him.i just wanted to lay on a blanket, anywhere, with them. i wanted to lay and feel the sun cup my eyes like a blindfold and i wanted to watch my baby wobble through the grass talking to the sky and i wanted to watch my handsome husband in the light.

he gave me just that, and a giant fiddle leaf fig and two rings with their names etched into the middle and a surprise dinner to the best sushi of my life. he and gus also woke me up with a little bouquet of garden petals and it felt so good to be alive, to be theirs.

like, i am the woman in their lives. i'm the one they both seek, both need. i am deeply aware of this cyclopean blessing, much like the core of the earth to our life.

much like the moon.

a star.

a bluebird.

a carrot uprooted from the ground.

the air.

it's everything. it's all there is.

BEAUTIFUL MAMA

to know my mom is to love her ~ it's always been that simple and easy and beautiful. she is the air which our whole family breathes. she is our light. she is my very heartbeat. she is my best friend and the one who i owe my life to.

there is no one in the world like her. not one person. she is my dream mom, couldn't have made her up if i spent a lifetime trying. the way her fierce green eyes filled with stories look at you. the way she gardens in her tank top and jean shorts. the way she knows how to cure every single ailment. the way she makes up words and uses them as real ones. the way she laughs until she pees (sorry mom). the way she comes over if only to do your dishes and water your plants and make you a pot of soup from scratch. the way she cooks ~ and knows how to cook ~ everything, perfectly. the way she talks on the phone and leaves voicemails you can never delete. the way she pretends to do yoga. the way she irons all her clothes and always looks so perfect. the way it takes her ten minutes to tell a thirty second story. the way she loves and embraces all that you are. the way she holds her family in heart like it's a necklace around her neck. the way she texts me ten thousand times a day. the way she loves.

oh, how she loves.

the way she loves me feels much like god's love, holy love. it is pure and unending and natural and safe and warm and altogether perfect. i feel like the luckiest girl in the history of the world to be the daughter of my beautiful mama, joanne elaine.

because the truth is, she is why i have always wanted to be a mother ~ she is why i have always dreamt of it. there's no other light more beautiful and there is no other love more deep. as i lay here with my beautiful family making noises throughout the house, the only thing i can possibly say is thank you, mama, for spending your life loving me so i could spend my life loving like you always have.

i love you more than you will ever know and i wish you the happiest of my mother's day, my angel mum.

love,

kerrie

LATELY I LOVE// FIELD NOTES

1. a beautiful blouse i bought, with every intention of wearing it until i am old and grey

2. my absolute FAVORITE new mascara discovery, it's above and beyond any i've ever tried. 

3. a cherished moon necklace gift from my husband. i don't wear much jewelery, but would wear this every day if i could.
4. thrifted wooden bowl set and shoes, perfect for summer everything
5. rearranging corners
6. loved on sandals that i hope never break
7. $1 wildflower mix from Target, simply can't wait
8. morning garden bouquets from my husband
9. an exciting growing collection
10. almond butter + eggs, seems it's all we eat (whole 30, day 8, ugh)

field notes//

it's slightly raining outside but it is so bright, it almost hurts my eyes as i type this on our white bed sheets. i can see so much of our work in the garden right outside our window and my husband's soleri windbells are making music with the slight shift in the wind. we have great plans for this summer in our backyard. we have planted carrots, kale, spinach, lettuce, pineapple heirlooms, brussels, and armenian cucumber and hope to score an old wine barrel soon to put in an herb garden too. i usually strap gus onto my back in the ergo and we spend as much time as we can working away.

lately, much (read: all) of my day is taken up by caring for our wee one and packing orders/buying inventory for the shop or editing photo shoots and it feels like my energy has plummeted. i feel tired and my body aches and the only thing that sounds beautiful is sipping a hot cup of genmaicha and watching any movie with paul rudd.

gus  has been walking for a few weeks now and getting into every. little. thing. even more so than ever. he is obsessed with putting everything in our garbage cans: our cell phones, lotion, his favorite blanket, car chargers, phone chargers, his toys, parts from the vaccuum(?) i found my mascara in the cupboard next to the salad bowl and steve found his amex card at the bottom of his toy chest. this boy! he is so sneaky. he understands how to be and it's beautiful and real and amazing.

steve says beautiful things daily, so much so that i have to ask him to say it again so i can write it down and save to look back on. but this weekend when he whisked me away to an oasis for a surprise couple's massage and bath, he said something i don't ever want to forget ~ "i am going to wait for you outside, and look up at the sky."

it's may and in two days, it's my birthday. i just want to spend it on a blanket outside, picnicking with the ones i love the very most.

AUGUSTUS MOON TURNS ONE

it has been quite some time since i've had the energy and space to write and it feels like a treat to be able to do so this morning. so much has happened in the past weeks, so many stories and new ideas and big, beautiful things. some of which i have on film, others, just experienced, kept only for us.

my sweet baby boy turned one on the twenty-fifth of april. i wrote a little love letter to him on my instagram, and had every hope of making a video/photo dedication to him on here but i truthfully ran out of hours in the day. i have thousands and thousands of photos of him, from his first breath to his first step, all of which i want to show him somehow. and i will, soon.

we kept gus' birthday incredibly simple and sweet and i think he was quite pleased. we had our immediate family over, my mama made a cake, i made two different kinds of enchiladas and spanish rice and i decorated his high chair from clippings from our backyard to make him feel like a king.

there were bubbles and flowers and airplanes and a new radioflyer and pianos and a beautiful speech from my husband (my sensitive, beautiful man) i happened to catch on film.

i don't believe in "pinterest" or "blogger" parties but i do believe in special, heartfelt ones and i truly hope this is what my sweet baby felt.