From Carpools to Cocktails

* I was compensated by the CHPA's Educational Foundation, KnowYourOTCs, but all opinions are my own.

Cancer sucks right? But part of my personality is to find the levity in all situations. so back when my mother was first diagnosed with breast cancer my brother and I joked that she should try medical marijuana to help her with pain. She was not amused and did not opt to try it out, even though we told her how Melissa Etheridge swore by humidifying with it. 
Fast forward a few years and my sister in love Mimi was also diagnosed with breast cancer, however, since then, California made marijuana legal, first medicinally and now recreation-ally and now there are bud shops all over so cal.

We did a ton of research and learned a lot about the soothing affects cannabis can have on cancer patients like Mimi so we asked if she wanted to get some and she said yeah.  But unlike some of her other family members she didn't want to smoke it. Instead she opted for hard and gummy candies. And la…

“This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Macy’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.“

Okay so I love holiday style and the ability to be EXTRA for no particular reason for a whole season. There is something about that added bit of glitz and bling that makes your spirit bright. Or it's just the glare from the Christmas lights. Whatever. Either way, it's always fun to have a reason to celebrate. I'm the type that enjoys a good theme party and you know what's hot right now? Ugly holiday sweaters. 
In case you hadn't noticed everything old is new again and those hideous sweaters that the ladies in the school office would wear and your great aunt would inevitably give you each year are making a comeback. Except now, they're kinda cool? 






Weird right? We are truly living in an alternate universe it seems as my own teenager is now into them. What was once thought to be super cheesy and so embarrassing has now become quite the fashion …

"I can't even believe it's been a full two weeks. 
7 days since you closed your eyes one last time and went forever to sleep.
I still hear your laugh in my head can see your smile and I am reminded of your silliness in when I am inappropriate too.
My dear sweet Meems. Oh how I miss you.
I want to hear you say 'hey Ambs.." while giving you a squeeze.
I keep waiting to hear you giggle before you get to the punch line and ruin the joke. 
I miss your stories about my husband from when he was young.
Your light shined brighter than this earth could handle and we are all better for basking in your glow.
Sleep well sister.
We'll see you again."





It's weird the way life throws things at you.
A few weeks ago I was writing about my father and his stroke and how it was taking a toll but I was sort of making it through. What I never touched on was the battle that my sister-in-love was fighting in a hospital a few miles over from him. Since August cancer has been wreaking hav…

Gathering a group of girlfriends together once you have kids can sometimes be a struggle. I don't mean getting together for coffee or brunch dates with local friends (and by local I mean within a 10-20 minute drive) in the middle of the week. I'm talking about a full evening of letting loose with the ladies, sans kids and significant others.  A few hours to talk and mingle with other mothers who get it, and who also enjoy the idea of eating "fancy" hors d'oeuvres while sipping wine & champagne and not having to cut anyone's food.

A mom's night out is a glorious thing y'all. But it doesn't have to be this over the top catered event like what you see on the Real Houswives of Wherever. In reality, the #housewifethuglife keeps it 100 and works with a budget that's more realistic to the rest of the world. I love my ladies but I can't ball out the way I'd like so I do my best to work with what I got. Fortunately my homegirls are just grat…

It seems as though you spend your entire young life waiting to 'grow up' and "be grown". But no one tells you what adulthood actually looks like. When you're young and not indoctrinated to the ways of the grown folks, it all seems like it's super easy. You go to work, come home, eat some dinner, go to bed and do it all over again, occasionally you get together with friends and perhaps add in a spouse and throw some kids into the mix for good measure. That's where life starts to get a little more complicated. But no worries because you've sort of got this adult thing down. Right? What else is there left to tackle? Then you get a phone call that stops you dead in your tracks and causes your heart and mind to leave your body and brain explode all at once. Except you're still holding the phone hearing that something has happened to a loved one. More often than not it's a parent or older sibling and when that happens it can turn your whole world upsi…

One of my favorite feeds on Instagram is my girl LaShawn of Everyday Eye CandyI have mad of respect for her ability to get up at the ass crack of dawn each day and still create quality content at the same time. I mean damn. She legit makes me want to have coffee and breakfast each day. If y'all aren't following her you should. Naturally, I scoffed at the concept of how getting up early could be so amazing for me as a wife, mother and business owner. Who wants to do that? What's the fun in being up for HOURS before everyone else and not hitting the snooze button two or three times before finally rolling out of bed? It's dark, it's cold, no thank you! 
I spent years getting up stupid early to catch a train to school, work, or to hop on the freeway and trying to get back into that same frame of mind seemed like a battle I had no interest in fighting.  But I've got secret I must confess: Lately, I've been doing that weird thing where I get up early too. 
I know..…

Halloween was last week and I was totally prepared until a family emergency took me away from my house and my weekend "plans". By the time Monday rolled around I had barely slept let alone finalized Sweet Pea's costume  when I suddenly remembered that Baby Ninja's get up was a tad too big. And while I could do something about the outfit by simply rolling the waist, the belt was another story. 






It already had an adjustable closure which was awesome but it wasn't long enough for what I needed and because the clock to trick or treat was ticking like crazy, I had to get creative. And I was adamant about not cutting any part of it.  Enter the VELCRO® Brand Products swag I scored at BlogHer this past August! I just KNEW there was something in that pouch that would help me solve my dilemma. I also didn't want to hot glue any thing to the belt either lest, I was stuck with that as he grew larger. And we all know that the test of a good Halloween costume is how many tim…

It's crazy to think things were all good about a week ago. But then again, I guess they weren't really. 
Last Saturday, October 29, my dad had a stroke some time in the morning. He managed to reach out to me and in turn, I called both my brother and the paramedics & jammed down to the hospital. It was the longest drive back to the neighborhoods I grew up in I've ever had. Seeing my dad back in a hospital bed with leads attached was jarring to say the least. Having him become upset over my concern was heartbreaking.  It's been a ridiculous roller-coaster ride of emotions and I've felt slightly unhinged for days. 

I've always been a Daddy's girl, and he my right hand man. We've been known to chat on the phone several times a week and still find new things to discuss. I used to half-joke that we all know I'm not wrapped too tight and that if anything ever happened to my dad, they'd need to put me in a padded cell for awhile and then two years ago…

The other day I was scrolling through Instagram creeping on everyone business and shenanigans and stumbled across a stunning (to me) metallic silver pleated skirt via Curly.Edgy .
I immediately tagged my shopping partner in crime and she then text me a photo of similar version at H&M.
Except it wasn't quite as twirly as I would want it to be. So that was a hard pass for me. Go big or go home right?



I've stated that I'm committed to only buying what I absolutely love (if I buy anything) and then only if I can come up with at least three ways to wear it. So while I've sort of had my eye on a metallic skirt, I wasn't 100 percent committed to searching for one. A few days later, I was again taking a work break and scrolling IG and came across @awedbymoni  in this effortlessly fly silver and gold number and I got lost in the sauce.




After a quick trip down the rabbit hole of the internet searching for one that might suit both my sartorial tastes and my meager budget, I r…

"This post is sponsored by Everywhere Agency on behalf of Macy’s; however, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own."




I often get crap from my husbands friends and my brother because they I only focus on women's fashion, to which they have a point but I'm a woman. Focusing on women's fashion and helping them develop their personal style, is kind of my thing. But that doesn't mean I don't have love for the fellas and their personal style struggles, I truly do. It's just that shopping for them can be a little trickier for as sometimes my vision isn't necessarily what they have in mind. My brother is a bit more of a risk taker when it comes to what he'll wear but even he's on the fence about some things I think work. I want to get better at analyzing what will work for all the men I love. 





Lucky for me, Macy's is going to help me out a bit in that department with their semi-annual men's style events. Even better for me, there will…

To all the friends I've loved before......
The ones I used to spend hours on the phone with but life and children and distance have made that seemingly impossible.
The ones I used to spend all my free time with. Those that used to come to every event we hosted. To the ones who hung in there even after kids, and countless moves and life changes. The ones I met in Mommy & Me classes as well as actual classrooms. The ones I've worked with over the years or met because of work. The ones I met online and in bathrooms.
I miss you and I hope you're well. 
I'm not sure when things changed or how. Life began to get in the way of our friendship and unlike some others, neither of us really made the effort to fix it. Or if we did it was one sided and less seemed like more so we just let it die out. Sometimes there were last ditch attempts to make it work but for whatever reason, maybe it was for the best, we didn't happen. There is no blame to be laid, this is just the way lif…