Hey, girl, haaaay! Happy Saturday. I hope you’re doing well. Hello from sunny Novato, Californ-eye-aye. I’m still in celebratory mode because…
Thursday was my birthday, and it was a great one, not that I did anything too ambitious, but we did leave the cave (huzzah!) and brave the outside world for the afternoon with my Babylove (a.k.a. Connor Claire).
Connor actually took me out to lunch (her dad helped, of course). We went to the town of Petaluma a few miles north of us in Sonoma County to a place called Della Fattoria. It’s a really cute Napa-style place right on the downtown boulevard with long wooden tables, communal seating and Italian-inspired California cuisine, and they have this otherworldly fresh-baked bread and a glorious dessert case filled with things that look like homemade Hostess Cupcakes and Ho Hos…but we didn’t have dessert because there was a Baskin-Robbins pistachio almond ice cream cake waiting for me at home.
Anyway, though, at lunch, I had a honey lavender latte for the first time ever, and if you do anything in this life, please, please have a honey lavender latte… SO delicious. You get the sweetness from the honey and the floral notes from the lavender, and I know it might sound weird because, you know, lavender is used in a lot of bath products, but no. They’re really good!
And I also had a cup of broccoli cheddar soup and a spring panzanella salad with crisp, fresh peas; asparagus; various leafy greens; chicken and these HUGE croutons… I’m drooling just thinking about that salad now. If you’re ever in Petaluma, I highly recommend it.
So yeah, nice birthday. Super mellow. After lunch we just did a little window shopping around downtown Petaluma, then headed back home for ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (with Connor supervising…because she can’t quite sing happy birthday yet, LOL!).
And the birthday wasn’t the only milestone this week. Connor had one, too, because she’s starting to hold her head up when we do tummy time now, which is very exciting.
I can’t wait till she starts crawling, but at the same time I’m a little scared, because then she’ll be mobile and, like, I don’t even know how I’m even going to keep up with her.
As for new developments on the beauty front, I got this lotion last week…
My friend Marisol gave me one of those $5 coupons for any lotion from Bath & Body Works, and this one totally rocked my world. It’s called Honolulu Sun.
Ahhh! If you like Bobbi Brown Beach or MAC Turquatic, you’ll probably love it. It has that same sort of, like, oceany, watery fresh element.
One of the main notes is coconut, although it isn’t very coco-nutty. The coconut doesn’t take it over, if you know what I mean.
Some of the other fragrance notes have pretty fancy names, like ocean air accord, sun-drenched citrus and white sand musk. And something Bath & Body Works calls “Pacific Palm.” The scent is very light, very refreshing, and I love that it’s not too overwhelming. It’s like going to the beach on a hot day, swimming in the ocean until your fingers get all prune-y, and then coming back in and wrapping yourself in a huge, sun-warmed beach towel that smells like fresh laundry.
Good stuff! Oh, and it’s very moisturizing.
To go with the lotion’s beachy theme, I also painted my nails (Yay! Third week in a row!) with Deborah Lippmann Gel Lab Pro in Splish Splash.
SO. GOOD.
First of all, I think the color’s absolutely beautiful. It looks like…I dunno…the color of an infinity pool at a really high-end resort on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
Say, like, you’re swimming in that infinity pool, and you’re just floating there, and you’re super relaxed, and you’re wearing a swimsuit that fits you perfectly, and you have no worries in the world, and the color of the pool is the same shade of blue as the ocean just beyond it?
Yeah, that’s what I think of when I wear this nail polish.
I put it on last Sunday night and noticed two small chips on Thursday, so that’s four days…which isn’t bad for me (but not great either). It does dry pretty quickly, though, in about 15 minutes.
OK, my sweet! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. My childhood friend Jen is bringing her family up from San Jose for a visit today, and we’re all going to hang out for a bit. This will be Jen’s first time meeting Connor, so I’m excited about that.
Talk to you soon, my friend. Don’t forget to smile. 🙂 Love you!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Yaaay, happy birthdaaay! Your first one as a mommy 🙂 That soup looks delicious. Such an unusual combination.
Belated birthday wishes karen! Connor looks super cute during tummy time.. doll like cute baby..
That salad looks so yummy..
I had the s’mores cold coffee at Starbucks today.. i tried the caramel macchiato too as per ur recommendation many days ago.. loved both!
Thanks for sharing these beauty vol. pics!
I KNEW it was Birthday time!! Happy Birthday, Karen!! From NOLA to Connor Claire in a year…how amazing! Can that babylove be any cuter?! Gosh, she’s gorgeous! Have a wonderful Birthday weekend!
Something about blog posts from you rock my world & makes for such pleasant reading. It’s like I’m enjoying the day with you. Happy belated birthday. Your day does sound like it was low key & great all at the same time. Yay for milestones for Connor Claire. Love, love when babies hold their heads up. Great descriptions of the body lotion & nail polish. I treated myself to an overnight stay at a trendy, posh, boutique hotel near here that I hadn’t heard about. The nail polish kinda matches one of the fun, funky accent colors the hotel was decorated in. My niece has a recital today that she’s excited about. We also celebrated Father’s Day today since the kids won’t be here next weekend. My three year old nephew kept saying happy birthday to his dad, my brother, because there were balloons & he doesn’t understand Father’s Day yet. To be honest, I could lounge all day. Think my Aunt Flo is visiting any day now so I’m mellow, a bit moody, & in the mood for a Coke. Plus, I need to do my hair. Translation: I’ll be asleep in two hours! Love ya right back, dude!
That soup looks so yummy! I’ve never tried a honey-lavender latte, but I’m a big fan of lavender Earl Grey tea, I don’t know if you’ve tried that before but I really recommend it (many brands make one, including Stash that’s sold at Sprouts and I think Whole Foods, theirs is called Breakfast in Paris).
Connor raising her head already, look at her, she’s practicing her upward facing dog!
Happy belated birthday – it sounds like you had a great one! Also, I love that color of polish, but I have so many blue polishes (and so many nail polishes in general) that I need to abstain for now.
Fab post as usual, food looks/sounds great (love all of the food posting you do – ty for that) but I have to ask….how many times a day do you kiss your beautiful girl…1000’s?! So adorable & sweet. Glad you were able to get out & celebrate your day.
Happy belated birthday! I’m so glad you got to go out. That food looks amazing. Connor Claire is getting so big! She’s such a beauty.
Happy Birthday Karen! Connor Claire is looking just a tad bit mischievous, like she’s planning her next exit to uncover all the nooks and crannies of the world muahaha! She’s so gosh darn cute.
Happy birthday sweetie. Love the nail polish and that soup and salad looks so yummy. Connor Claire is adorable.
Happy Birthday beautiful! Those photos of your food, especially the honey lavendar latte, look amazing! Connor is getting more adorable by the day.
I just picked up the hand soap in that scent! I also picked up a candle called Mahogany Coconut, and it’s my favorite candle I’ve ever smelled. Ever. So good!
Happy birthday!
Lovely photos. Lavender honey lattes sound amazing. I had the honey caramel latte from Starbucks and liked that. Lavender sounds even better.
Happy Belated Birthday Karen! Hope your celebrations continue through the weekend 🙂
Happy belated Birthday! And yes, once they start to crawl things get a whole lot more complicated. No more quickly laying them down to head to the loo.
Happiest of birthdays, Miss Karen!!! Enjoy your birthday month!
I love downtown Petaluma. Cucina Paradiso is my favorite restaurant in that area. Their Gnocchi Gorgonzola E Noci is my ride or die.
All the best to you and the whole fam! May you have a wonderful summer!
Hi HeraKitty,
Ya know, I’ve walked by that restaurant so many times but haven’t eaten there yet. What else do you like besides the gnocchi?
Are you ready?
Pasta: Tortellini di Vitello (veal), Penne Rustica (chicken), Spaghetti Vongole (clams & mussels) and Rigatoni Alla Carcerata (sausage).
Meat dishes: Scaloppine Di Vitello Con Funghi (veal), Roasted chicken stuffed with arugula and pancetta and Beef Medallions in truffle sauce (oh my!) hmmm… Saltimbocca is also great. They serve focaccia with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Salads are wonderful -all veggies are organic. Love soup of the day esp if its the tomato one (Its like Nordstrom’s but better). They have a nice wine selection too.
Ive been there many times over the years for lunch or dinner.
PS: If you like Thai food, Sea Thai is the place to be. Its also in Petaluma. ?
Joyeux anniversaire!Happy birthday!Enjoy your journey ,for this new year, with the new member of your family.(Your photos of her are really beautiful).Have a nice week-end with them.P.S:italian food are the best.
Hi Florence,
Italian food is my *favorite* type of food. I love cooking it and eating it. 🙂
Have a wonderful week!
Happy belated birthday! The soup, salad and latte sound amazing. I need to try all of those!
She’s a cutie!
I have never heard of a honey lavender latte, but your lunch looks yummy…it’s important for new Mums to leave the house!
http://a-woman-of-a-certain-age.com/
The lavender honey latte sounds Ahhhhh-Mazing. I like relaxing birthdays, and days off in general, myself. Connor Claire is such a dollbaby! She looks SO much like you. I think I will love that body lotion, since I’m a sucker for anything with a fresh, water/ocean scent (I love MAC Turquatic, too).
Hi Katherine!
How are you? Are you enjoying your new career? It’s been a while since we’ve chatted about it!
Anywho, please give that lotion a try. It layers so well with MAC Turquatic, by the way. The two complement each other nicely.
I am overall doing well! New career has its highs and lows. I love being able to help people, but I am not totally loving this new learning curve. It’s very difficult at times.
How are you doing with Connor Claire? Parenthood sounds like it can be a big adjustment at first. Some of my fellow lady police officers and I have been talking about what we would do if we got pregnant. It would be a tough career to be in AND be a parent. There are women that stay in somehow and continue to do it and others that leave altogether and stay at home. I don’t know what I would do, when and if that time comes. Loving your posts and your guest bloggers, too. They make me smile when I’ve had a long shift.
Happy belated Birthday! Yum, a lavender honey latte sounds amazing! Conner Claire so cute, as always! Congrats on the milestone!
That latte was amazing. I’m craving one right meow!
Have an excellent week. 🙂
Karen, if you haven’t already, check out the ‘ICE’ line of nail polishes available at Walmart.. solid colors usually take 1 coat, glitter 2 coats.. but they are awesome and budget friendly (CA $1.97-2.97). And for top coats, I swear by Essence top coat, budget friendly @ $3 or less. not sure where you’d find Essence in USA as in CA its at our Shoppers Drug Mart..
Thanks, Twyla! We get Essence here in the US. 🙂 I’ll check out that top coat!
Karen, if you haven’t already, check out the ‘ICE’ line of nail polishes available at Walmart.. solid colors usually take 1 coat, glitter 2 coats.. but they are awesome and budget friendly (CA $1.97-2.97). And for top coats, I swear by Essence top coat, budget friendly @ $3 or less. not sure where you’d find Essence in USA as in CA its at our Shoppers Drug Mart..
Happy Belated Birthday Karen! Wishing you much happiness and health. Connor Claire looks as cute as ever. Have a nice week 🙂
Thanks, Maria! You have a great week, too. 🙂
Happy Belated Birthday!
Connor Claire is beautiful like her mama!
Happy Belated Birthday! And I absolutely love that sky blue nail polish, it’s adorable!
Happy belated birthday, Karen!
I love how Conner Claire is just sitting back and chilling in her little seat! And she is starting to hold her head up- soon she’ll be scooting across the floor chasing after Tabs.
Your birthday brunch sounded and looked delicious. So glad that Conner Claire was able to treat you! Here’s wishing you many more!
Happy Belated Birthday! I’d be lying, though, if I didn’t say the most exciting thing in your post was the news of Connor now holding up her head. The pictures are so cute that I let out an involuntary cross between a SQUEE and an AWWWW. Luckily no one is listening. 🙂
Happy Belated Birthday! The food looks great and I could so use that latte!