My Latest Obsessions

The Carr version of the Partridge Family
PFC + GMC serenading me the morning of my Birthday

My 35th Birthday Dinner at La Sirena Clandestina

CMC + MMC at American Girl Doll Cafe (loving life)

Happy Friday! I had an awesome birthday on Tuesday. It started with PFC + GMC playing their guitars and the girls singing Happy Birthday. The pic above of GMC + PFC is priceless. I then met PFC downtown and we saw the movie Silver Linings Playbook and had dinner at La Sirena Clandestina. LOVED our dinner. Their menu is awesome. We had the empanadas, shaved brussels sprouts, hangar steak, whole red snapper and some amazing desserts. We'll definitely be back. We then walked across the street to The Aviary. I had a fruit swizzle and I can honestly say that it was the best fruit juice I've ever had. Like EVER.

A good friend of mine called me for my birthday and mentioned how much has changed for me in just 5 years (since my 30th birthday). And that is indeed true. Our group of college friends all went to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate our 30th birthdays. Not long after that trip I met PFC and the rest is history. And now I'm in the burbs and a stay at home with our soon to be 9 and 7 year old daughters (both have January birthdays) and 2 year old son. Crazy how things change. It is nice sometimes to take a moment and reflect on your last year or 5 years for that matter. Here's to another 5 years (and many more)!

I'm meeting PFC downtown tonight and we are going to see the movie Argo. I'm very excited to see it especially after seeing all the Oscar nominations it is up for. Tomorrow the gals have their ice skating lessons in the morning and some of us will be heading downtown to a dear high school friend's son's 2nd birthday in the afternoon. And then PFC and I are off to another party that evening.

And Sunday I cannot wait to get cozy and watch the Golden Globes! I think Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be amazing hosts!

ENJOY! And have an awesome weekend.
XO - D2

Some of my latest faves:

• The most adorable and heartbreaking photos of Obama's Big Year. 
• I fell in love again with Jo Malone's scents. A few weeks ago I was at Oak Brook and picked up a few bottles and remembered how much I LOVE her scents. So, for my birthday PFC gave me both Pomegranate Noir and Blue Agava & Cacao. While alone they are great I love them combined. Jo Malone scents are meant to be combined. Love that you can create your own unique signature scent. 
• When the kiddos are finally down for the night and everything is straightened up I love heading to the couch. I cozy up w/ a blanket and read or watch one of my shows. How cozy do all of these blankets look? Totally digging the modernized Pendleton blanket from Dwell Studio. And I love these striped blankets as well. 
• I love this = Family Movie Celebration. Here's how to turn an average night into a Celebration! So fun. My sister and her family got us a Hot Air Popcorn Maker for Christmas. It is so cute and funny how retro it seems (since we are so into microwave popcorn these days). The girls LOVE it. It was a great family gift. 
• Speaking of family nights, one of my new year's resolutions is to have more family dinners together. The kiddos eat dinner super early (as they are starving) and most of the time they are done w/ dinner by the time PFC comes home from work. I love Jenny Rosenstrach's blog Dinner A Love Story. A dear friend of mine got me her book (which has been on my list) for my bday. I cannot wait to read it. She has gotten a lot of great press about it. I'm hoping her book will help me in my resolution for us to have dinner as a family more often. 
• OMG, doesn't this Grilled Fennel Flatbread look amazing? YUM. Um, and how about these yummy looking Butternut Squash & Kale Quesadillas?! And this Avocado and Watercress salad looks awesome (especially the dressing).
• I remember making a mental note about Joanna Goddard's relationship tip that she posted in her blog last winter. She said that she and her husband try to meet at the restaurant when they are having a dinner date. It makes sense. PFC and I did just that this past Tuesday. I will say that our date night felt different - more fun and exciting for sure. 
• LOVE these cute brogues! I just don't know how I would wear them. Here are some tips on how to wear brogues.
• Next week I want to make this Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Stuffed Chicken for myself and PFC.  We love spicy stuff! Looks yummy. 
• My favorite wallpaper is on sale. This was one of my favorite additions during our big house renovation 2 years ago. We put this wallpaper in the 1st floor powder room. It makes me happy every time I see it. 
• Both C + M received adorable headbands from our good friends for Christmas. The headbands are from Audry and Ulric on Etsy. I've added them to my Etsy favorites so I'll remember them for future gifts. So cute and different. Speaking of great gifts here is another Etsy site that has great gifts for little ones. It is called Little Saplings Toys. 
• How adorable is this Owlphabet Print? Love it! 
• I'm plugging away on Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. I listened/watched Steve Jobs' commencement speech from 2005 at Stanford University. Very inspiring. 
• Some tips to a fresh start. And some Superfoods from Gwenyth's latest GOOP posting.
• I'm saving this article about a Mom that has her son sign an 18 point agreement regarding his iphone. Love this. The gals on The View even discussed this agreement. 
• And wow, Parenthood has been hitting a bunch of heated and intense topics as of late. Only 2 more episodes to go for the season. I LOVED Kristina's white belted jacket she wore 2 episodes ago.