Having a baby makes every holiday even more special and even more fun. This past weekend we finally got to take Beckett to the pumpkin patch and it was oh, so fun! My Mom even ordered him this adorable shirt to document his first fall! And this adorable monogrammed pumpkin for trick or treating! SO cute. (Yes, i'm from the south, so everything needs to be embroidered and monogrammed! duh!)

Pumpkin onesie from Darling Little Bow Shop and pumpkin treat bag from Pottery Barn Kids (no longer available)

CL found us the most epic pumpkin patch farm and we headed to San Martin last Saturday to check it out! Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Patch is legit... if you live in the Bay Area it's worth the drive! They have an epic corn maze, pumpkin cannons, tons of cool pumpkins, train rides, a hayride, a carousel, pony rides, a petting zoo, all sorts of pumpkin snacks, food- you name it!

the biggest pumpkin was 2,036 pounds this year!

 Beckett couldn't be bothered with anything but hay in the pumpkin patch.. lots and lots of hay. Every time we turned around there was a handful of hay in his hands and mouth. I'm shocked that he didn't get sick!

 Winner winner! There we go! It takes a million shots to get one great one!

 The grounds were beautiful- there were pumpkins and orange and yellow marigolds everywhere!

It was a gorgeous day to be out, so we enjoyed our time at the farm. I know as Beckett gets older he will have more and more fun making these trips! 

They had these tiny little pumpkins called 'Goblin Eggs' Beckett loved them! They are rock hard so he's loving them on his swollen, teething gums. (And yes, I washed it off before letting him go to town with it!)

And if you've made it this far, here is a sneak peek of his Halloween costume...!

Have a great Halloween weekend, everyone!

Beckett's Nursery

Beckett's nursery is finally ready to share and I am so happy to finally share it with you!
Before he was born, we knew we wouldn't have a space for him when he arrived (we were in a 1 bedroom apartment for the first month or so of his life) so we had plenty of time to plan his space. Being an interior designer by education and profession I only changed my mind about a million times, so it was good that we waited!
We knew we wanted something boyish, but not too baby, and not too grown up. We went back and forth between elephants and whales, and eventually the whales came out front and I couldn't be happier! We stuck to a nautical-ish theme, and it really fits him! Since his bedding has lots of shades of blue, it was the perfect anchor to the design of his space! Nice, calming, and easy to find things that go together! Not to mention, its a space he can grow into for a few years!

My tips for creating the perfect nursery! DON'T FRET. If your baby's nursery isn't finished, or you won't be able to give them a space of their own, don't worry, they won't care. Seriously. It drives me nutty when expecting parents are like OMG THE NURSERY ISN'T DONE. The baby will more then likely be in your room for the first few months anyways.

We try and keep everything organized in plastic bins- diapers, burp cloths, bibs, and diaper creams and ointments. If all else fails, at least we know they are in there,organized or not!

Boppy cover by Little Owls Nest and that blue blanket? A birthday gift from my Momadear and Granddaddy. It. Is. DIVINE.

 Use what you have. We re-purposed two chairs and a side table (the leather Ikea Poang Armchair, the little Happy Chic Jonathan Adler side table, and the vintage side chair). While it would have been great to go buy a million dollars worth of nursery furniture, but we didn't have the space, or the million dollars.

Shop wisely. His bedding is from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child and was not cheap.. until it went on sale! If you have your heart set on something that is out of your budget, give it a few weeks. Chances are there will be a sale or a coupon you can use toward something.

  Pick up things as you go! Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was this nursery. We literally got things in phases. We picked up the changing table (similar here) before Beckett was born. My grandparents sent us the bassinet and bassinet bedding (ours is blue and currently residing above Beckett's closet!) before he arrived too. Once we moved my in-laws gifted us the crib, mattress and bedding. Then my Dad gifted us the rug and dresser. And sprinkled throughout my Mom sent the mobile, bean bag chair, canvas wall organizer, books, small toy box, toys, clothes, shoes, you name it! (she literally sends stuff every week. she's the BEST Momadear, ever. She seriously spoils Beckett rotten!) I randomly picked up the driftwood anchor (similar here) at HomeGoods, CL ordered the Foscam (monitor) and I am still picking up things as we go!

Literacy starts early! CL reads 1-3 books to Beckett every night before bedtime! His favorite? 'I am a Bunny'

The artwork is actually a card, and that airplane is one of Beckett's favorite toys! Its Doodletown Toys- American Made since 1987!

  Add personal touches! Since Beckett is a baby (duh) he's not the only one hanging out in his room, its a family space. Personal family photos, framed artwork (it's actually a card from our friends!), a framed Tiny Prints birth announcement (see the post on them here!) and our awesome, large mounted prints from Tiny Prints were the perfect touch to his room. We took the photos at the beach, so they were the perfect addition! I also made his name banner and painted his book shelves to match! (Yes, the book shelves are an Ikea hack! Super easy and inexpensive!) And my favorite? Beckett's tiny feet prints on a small canvas at the head of his crib! (Yes, he can stand up and grab at it, it's since been removed along with the mobile...not to mention the cord for the Foscam has been moved as well.) My mom also ordered this precious zoo animal birth certificate from Baby Fable. It's so much nicer then framing the ugly, but official, one from the state!

  I hope you loved his nursery as much as we do! 

Before anyone calls CPS on us... there are clear plug covers on that outlet.. and every other outlet in our entire apartment. They are just hard to see!

A huge thanks to Tiny Prints for sponsoring the mounted prints, we LOVE them! So easy to order and they are beautiful! Not to mention, they were the perfect finishing touch!

I ran SF.

It happened.  I did it. I ran SF.

I got everything ready on Saturday, and took a nice 2 mile shake out run. I was SO nervous, but knew that it was going to happen whether I was ready or not.
CL cooked me a yummy 'light' pasta dinner (it was SO good) and I set my alarm, and attempted to get some sleep.

 I woke up unusually bright-eyed and bushy tailed and we got ready and hit the road. We didn't hit an ounce of traffic and CL was able to drop me off about a block from my corral, so that was nice.

I was able to pee (TMI, I know) and get to my corral with no problems... and then I waited. And waited. And waited. 

The race 'started' at 6:30am and I didn't start until 7:28am. No joke. It took forever. By the time it was 'go' time, my back was hurting from standing around for an hour. 

  The first two miles were PACKED. It was borderline miserable. The first round of hills weren't bad. Inclines in the city are broken up at the intersections so I knew if I took it easy, there was recovery at each intersection and that seemed to work. It was incredibly foggy and misty, so it kept me cool (and wet) for most of the first 8 miles.

Around mile 6 I had to stop and use the bathroom, or there was no chance in hell I was going to finish. It added time to my already slow run, but I don't care. I ran my slowest, probably ever, but I wanted to run the whole thing and I knew I needed to conserve as much energy for the second hill. I didn't care how long it took as long as I finished.

I felt unusually good about my run until mile 10. I had good music, lots of people around being supportive, and it was cool out, so I was on cruise control. I knew I could run 10 miles, but that was the farthest I had gone in my training. Anything past that was uncharted to me! I also knew that past the big hill was downhill and flat and it was less than 3 miles, and I knew I could handle that!

Mile 10 was HELL. I've driven the hilly mile of the Presidio that we ran and its bad in a car, and now I know its bad on foot. I probably could have crawled faster then I "ran", but I kept going. Nike literally had a sign that said '1000 YARDS LEFT GO HILL SEEKER GO' to let us know we were at 'the hill'. Most people around me walked. It seemed to go on forever because of the fog and then at last  I saw it- the sign that said 'WHAT HILL? YOU MADE IT!' I'd never been so relieved.

The course would have been beautiful on a clear day- we ran past the Painted Ladies in Alamo Square, through Golden Gate Park, up the Presidio and down through Crissy Field onto Marina Green. The fog began to lift as I was approaching mile 12, so it was starting to become more clear out, which was nice! 

CL had texted me throughout the race (as did my Mom, & cousin Veronica!) and let me know he and Beckett were at the mile 13 marker, so I was getting excited to see them! Seeing them gave me that little extra boost I needed to finish.. I was tired and hungry by then!

Poor little fella! He was such a trooper!

I finally reached mile 13 and saw CL and have him a quick kiss! Then I turned the corner and saw my Uncle Garry and got a quick high five before making one last turn and hitting the finish line. I had made it.

at mile 13. CL snagged this before I ran over to him!

I ran a half marathon.

I was elated. And tired. And sore. And emotional. Very emotional. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I of course had to stop and take a selfie. I mean, why not? haha. Whole Foods passed out Nike Women's Half Marathon branded water bottles filled with cold water right after the finish line, which was awesome and much needed. Past that line, Whole Foods also passed out 'Finisher' bags with all sorts of yummy goodies including a banana that I most definitely ate.  Then the good part. Now, according to legend, I was supposed to be handed a famous blue Tiffany & Co. Box by a fireman in a Tuxedo, so imagine my disappointment when it was just a volunteer (an awesome volunteer- they really were great!). haha. None the less, I was so stoked to get that little blue box- after all I had earned it! (For the record there were suited up firemen, but the lines to take photos with them was LONG and yeah, Im good.)

Just an FYI the yellow and red are the hills...

They had flags set up so you could find family members so I posted up under the L-O flag so CL and everyone could find me. It was kind of nice to have some time alone to reflect and stretch. I was definitely hurting, but I also felt on top of the world.
Everyone came to find me and I was so happy to see them! CL, Beckett, my Uncle Garry,  and my cousin Claudia all got sweaty hugs! 

Claudie's next! She's running a half on November 1st!

   We took lots of photos before heading to a yummy brunch at Green's. It was SO good. Thanks Uncle G!

We headed home to shower (I was SO gross) and relax for a bit before heading to Harry's Hofbrau (my FAV) for a post race celebratory dinner. I've been wanting this for months! I ate every. single. thing. I wanted all the food, and Harry's doesn't disappoint! If you live in around San Jose and haven't been.. you are seriously missing out.

I would have taken a pic of my food, but I inhaled it before I even thought about it. 

CL took Monday off so that I could go to the spa. I had a gift card I had been saving since my birthday, and finally cashed it in for an hour long massage and a spa pedicure and it was amazing. 

 So that's that. I ran a half marathon and lived to tell about it 8 months after I had a baby. And it wasn't that bad. I'd probably run another half in a non-hilly, mild climate area, but no, not a full, so don't ask ;)

OH and a HUGE thank you to everyone for all their love, support, texts, comments, emails and calls over the last few days. I couldn't have done it without every single one of you! It was very much appreciated and it meant the world to me!