The last 6 months

Hi there!

How’s things? Mark has taken Summer swimming, i’ve cleaned the kitchen and now have Mcfly playing (very) loudly and really felt like writing. So here we are – I have even made myself a tea so I must be getting serious… so here’s an update on what’s happened since we have moved back to UK – 6 months ago! Who knew that time goes even faster this side of the world than in LA.
I Got Pregnant 
That’s a big one. It was half planned/half not – you know, we had just done this big move and we wanted to settle in, but also knew we didn’t want a big age gap between Summer and her siblings but it just felt like we were just finding our path and then BOOM morning sickness, tiredness mixed with not being able to nap and all round irritable came into the mix of it! I did a test early in the morning and saw the positive sign but for some reason I did not feel as positive about it… has this happened to anyone else? we did another test a couple of days after and felt a bit better about it all.  I think it was more the thought of timing and everything what had just happened it just felt so overwhelmed how we were going to cope – I mean we were still living at my parents house!

 

My Best Friends Wedding 
My sissy – the one who looks like me but doesn’t, the one everyone thinks is my older sister, the one who I gave my fake ID to before I was even legal age and she was able to use it, the one who I text everyday even when I was million miles away, the one who I can laugh with literally about the smallest thing but then can’t stop- My Melody. She got married!
I had the privilege of being the matron of honour and oh my goodness it was such a special day. As her Prince Ray is Chinese they honoured that with a traditional tea ceremony in the morning and then a western wedding in the afternoon at the beautiful Buxted Hotel. Such a romantic setting and they had both gone above and beyond when thinking of the decorations, the food, the layouts, the outfits – everything was perfect – the string quartet definitely added that extra layer of finesse.
It’s a day they will treasure forever and us too. Also Summer was the flower girl and Mark was a groomsman so we were very involved.

 

Summer Started Nursery
Well this one felt huge to me. I used to be the only one who looked after Summer while Mark was at work – it’s long hours with sometimes only Peppa Pig to keep you company. It had amazing days and days where you’re literally counting every minute until you can talk to someone who could actually communicate back. So the thought of her learning or being away from me for more than a few hours is actually so daunting.
One of the big things about coming back to UK was that it was time she started some kind of nursery – we thought maybe just three days a week in the morning and can go from there. After viewing a few around Brighton we settled on one that focuses a lot on play, time outdoors and good food. When we first walked in it has that sense of little bit crazy, a mixed array of smells from guinea pigs, play dough and wee – and we thought what a great place for you kids to play and be encouraged to be themselves!
It was me who was the one left crying as I watched her “initiation” (putting her coat on her peg she got to pick) and being shown which room she will be in. The staff were all amazing and it overall it was a great experience. Even more so Summer looks forward to the days she gets to play with her aunties all day and I know she’s being fed better than I probably feed her at home!

 

First Christmas in UK 
Christmas suddenly got all the magic back this year – even though everyone moans about the cold its actually quite an essential part to the festive season! This year was great – it was cold enough to be bundled up but not cold enough to ruin the spirit. Summer totally got it this year she was all about the lights outside the house, the songs that come with it and learning about Santa. She possibly was a bit too smart when she realised we don’t have a chimney for him to come down, so out came a special key so he can definitely come to our place. She asked Santa for Pink Presents so that’s what she got as she had been a good girl (Although I overheard her telling her grandma she wanted blue presents and didn’t get any…why do they change their mind last minute??)
Her face on Christmas morning was priceless – she actually gasped when she realised the reindeers had eaten the carrots and Santa had got to the cookies we laid out for him with the milk.

 

Moved House
3 months back at my parents house and 3 months out in our own space. This had been the longest we had spent trying to find somewhere. After realising it’s going to take a bit longer than we wanted to buy our own place we thought we should rent. I think we viewed around 10 places, some were so small i’m not sure how we would have fit just Mark and me in there let alone a toddler and baby with the amount of things they accumulate, and some were amazing but were flats and so high up in grand town houses, with no lifts and buggies involved it just wasn’t really a good idea.
But now we have a place! and we are happy – it’s right by a huge park and hello Nando’s I see you from our bedroom!
I am very lucky to have friends who live nearby and also my parents who live on the other side of the park, it felt like it was just the right choice.
It was one of those moments that when we first viewed it I could imagine Summer running through it and it just felt right.

So this is where we are now – slowly finding our pace. We are fully in the nursery school runs via cars and buses and have found the good softplays (the one with the good selection of cakes and coffees) and we are slowly coming to the realisation that we’re going to be having another baby joining us in the next 3 months

Bring it on.

Our time living in Los Angeles

After many long chats, mental exhaustion and wanting the power to see into the future we have decided that now is a good time to move back to UK. This decision did not come lightly as we have had the best two years out here and because of that it’s making it a lot harder than I thought to leave.
Summer had a lot of firsts here, as soon as we arrived she learnt to crawl in the hotel room (impeccable timing haha) she took her first steps, had her first Christmas and first birthday (and second) all with the Pacific Ocean only 5 miles away.
But I also had a lot of firsts, first time I have lived in a different country, first time actually properly driving on my own, first time starting a photography business and a big one, first time mama trying to work out how to raise a little human the best way possible.
It’s two years of my life that I want to cherish, to be proud of our achievements as a family and to look back as a wonderful life lesson.

Obviously it wasn’t all plain sailing as we wouldn’t of had the urge to move back to UK, We did struggle…a lot. It was mainly financially and adjusting to certain things but something didn’t sit right with us and as a family we decided in order for us to live our best life and for the sake of Summer now is the right time move back. It’s not like when we moved here we knew it would be a walk in the park but we just didn’t expect to be caught up in so many pay monthly deals and having no credit score really did screw us over. Before we knew it we were paying double on many things we found out didn’t need to be, I found it difficult to send Summer to classes/ day cares when I knew in England it was so much cheaper or in fact free.
I don’t think I’m a Scrooge of a person and would often agree or justify spending money on things just to try and live a normal life, but when it came to the point where I am panicking that we don’t have enough money to eat until rent comes out then I feel like something needed to change.
I toyed with the idea of getting a part time job or even full time job daily, but the money I would make would just cover the day care so it seemed kind of pointless to me as I knew I was more than capable of looking after Summer myself, and I also wanted to spend these quality years with her. But also, I managed to work on a picture book and start a photography business all while Summer napped or just worked late in the night so I guess I was never really not working. It’s just hard to see that when you’re not picking up a pay cheque monthly.

So now, after a few days of sleeping on the floor and scrubbing our walls clean we have shipped our belongings back and have 5 huge suitcases, a car seat and stroller to bring back with us onto the plane.
I have no idea how Summer is taking everything so well. She’s adjusted to not having her toys, her bed and no tv. She knows they’re all on a big ship on their way to Lolo and Lola’s house and she knows she’s going to be going seeing them very soon. Every time she sees a plane in the sky she tells me she’s going on a plane to have an adventure and is super excited about it.
But it breaks my heart her not knowing she won’t get to see best friends all the time. I really don’t want her to forget her time here and am planning on making her a photo book to look back on.
Thank goodness she’s also been brought up knowing about FaceTime. We have already done some practice runs and I’m pretty impressed how two two year olds can actually communicate through looking at an iPad! They both got just as excited to see each other on the screen as they do in real life, so this gave me huge hope that they will forever have some kind of relationship.

I am going to miss the small things, how I was able to just walk down the street to one of the most picturesque Starbucks and draw/type away. How we would always hear helicopters in the sky. How every time Summer done something great it would be followed up with “good job”. Obviously going to miss the sunshine. I don’t think Mark has worn trousers for two years now and I’m going to miss the general hospitality and welcoming (however fake or not) of people wherever you go.

We had been here through Trumps augmentation, through the craziest water downfall LA had experienced in 30 years and we even felt an earthquake.
I felt like we discovered amazing places and made friends that I now consider family. It’s been the most challenging, heart felt, two years and grateful for this chapter in life.

Los Angeles, city of stars. You will forever have a special place in my heart and already excited to come back.

 

Palm Springs and Joshua Tree

We are slowly making our way through the USA bucket list and Palm Springs had been on there for quite a while. So on Memorial weekend I managed to book a last minute hotel and we set off for a mini “banchaaaaa” (adventure) as Summer kept repeating in an excited voice.

A couple of things first though, I thought Palm Springs was a LOT further than it actually is so was expecting long drives with nothing but sand around – it’s not it took us just under 2 hours, and second, everyone kept saying “be careful, it’s hot there” and I was like, okay…but really….but it is actually scorching there!! If I lived there I think I would just have to live in a swimming pool. We welcomed that sunshine with open arms.

 

 

So the first day we went look around Palm Canyon Drive and was loving the small boutiques and hat shops. Made me want to buy a hat of course (I didn’t) and fell in love with all the art deco books and postcard and art work they had to offer. I already love the style and look of The Incredibles so it was kind of looking into real life version on this.

We were recommended to go eat at Tylers restaurant for lunch and it was so so good! Food felt really fresh and good size portion and catered for kids well. Then after food it was more walking around. FYI they have the most swankiest Starbucks I have ever seen on that street.

Then a check in to the hotel . To be honest our hotel was nothing special as we literally just needed a place to stay for one night but it was super great it did have a pool and Summer got to splash around and let out all the energy.  She also loved the huge bed and the fact I let her jump around as much as she wanted on it. Mark had it in his head that it would be super fun for us to all stay in one big bed, and yes it was fun- except he forgot that his daughter is one of the most wriggliest sleepers in the world and he ended up waking up with her foot around his neck!

 

The next day we went to explore the Indian Canyons and did a bit of research and found the Andreas loop was best suited for us. It’s a one mile round loop around a really awesome oasis in the middle of the canyons. We did the hike pretty early in the morning as we were worried we were going to get frazzled. It’s honestly one of the best hikes i’ve ever done. Even Summer loved it, pointing out all the lizards and Chips and Dales (chipmunks) she could find. It’s a good one with toddler as she could walk most of it. There are a few rocks here and there you have to step up which Mark just carried her.

It honestly felt like we were on a movie set.

Next was to a little town that we had been told about called Pioneer Town. Now, this is no normal town, this was a western movie set made in 1940’s that soon became an actual place to live! It’s pretty cool, like you’ve just walked onto the set of Westworld or you expect a piece of Tumbleweed to just roll on past you.

Our final destination was the infamous Joshua Tree National Park. I could look at those strange shaped trees all day and would love to camp by them in the near future, but that weekend we just did a quick drive around to the Hidden Valley Trail. 

The trail was a perfect mix of HUGE rocks, crazy trees, landscapes for days and easy walking marked paths that Summer could enjoy on her own. I know she had a good time because the whole way around (about an hour) she did not stop talking and pointing at every single thing she could see.

 

It was a super nice break and felt way longer than 2 days, I guess its because its the memories you get from it makes it feel like so much happened.  Our journey back was interesting. We decided (well, the sat nav decided for us) to kind of go the back route back to LA and it literally felt like we were in the middle of nowhere for a good hour or so. No other cars on the road, the roads had potholes and just vast land as far as we could see.. it was the kind of scene that you imagine on a proper across America road trip with your arm out the window blasting songs, it was kind of like that apart from we had Peppa Pig blasting out the Ipad.

And to end this post, here’s a pic of me and Summer on a rock 😀

Malibu Cafe & Escondido Falls

There’s this place that had been spoken of but I had not seen it with my own two eyes. There is talk of a waterfall hidden in the Santa Monica Mountains. This was my version of The Beach, I needed to see it. Its called Escondido Falls and it’s a 50ft waterfall that has a 3.8 mile round trip hike to go with it.

So one Saturday we thought we would make a day of it. I had also heard of a place called Malibu Cafe that seemed like it was pretty near and was eager to check out. BUT whether I would recommend to others to do these two places on the same day i’m not too sure.
Both are beautiful in their own special way but both totally different experiences.

Lets start with Malibu Cafe

 

Now this place is Instagram heaven. Literally everywhere you look, every angle you turn it’s ready to be snapped up like it’s all been planned. This is down to the layout and the choice of decorations. But not only does it look all ready for Pinterest photoshoots, its actually pretty cool what they have to offer. It’s kind of like going to a mini festival without having to camp. They have designated areas for certain cocktails, an array of food options (hello BBQ sampler plate) and a super chilled restaurant that you can people watch to your hearts content. All of these urrounding the grass areas filled with open tables and oversized chess pieces and and Jenga. Personally I think it’s great as you can kind of let your kids run free without fear of them escaping too far all whilst sipping on that pink cocktail you saw someone else taking photos of.

There’s also a bit at the back of a small lake/pond complete with decking and huge chandelier which i’m sure they’ve hosted a few weddings or two back there. Perfect scenery.

The reason why i’m hesitant to say to do it on the same day is because it’s very trendy. I felt completely out of place rocking up in my gym shoes, workout leggings and not-so-fitted-don’t-care-if-i-sweat top. I know that nobody would even care and there’s no signs on dress code but I just didn’t feel comfortable. It was like showing up to a birthday party where everyone had made an effort and you turn up in pyjamas. I had my huge sunglasses with me that day though so with those I thought I could get away with looking slightly cool as well as hiding my no make up face. But, we still had a great time and would definitely go back some day with a group of friends.

After we had stuffed our faces and taken in the vibe we went off to search for the waterfall

Escondido Falls 

When we first started the hike I was a little taken aback as we were walking past these HUGE Malibu mansions, totally felt like we were going the wrong way, but with the groups of enthusiastic hikers marching past you, you know you’re on the right track (literally), slowly the mansions fade away and you’re on the dirt and surrounded by an abundance of tall trees with mud beneath your feet. Apart from Baldwin Hills, this was the only other hike we have done in L.A and I really did enjoy it.

Even Summer enjoyed it. She loved the fact we let her walk quite a bit of it (which no doubt added a fair chunk of time on our round trip) she was so excited finding all the different types of sticks, jumping in puddles, listening to the birds and even the frogs! There’s also areas where you literally have to step on stones to cross paths of water which makes it feel a bit more adventurous.

We made it to the lower tier but if you’re feeling all Tarzan like then there is another waterfall that is 100ft bigger than this one, it’s meant to be stunning – Google images showed me it is! and apparently not too far from this one. But for us, it was a really nice change of scenery and great way to spend our weekend. Next one we will tackle is the one to the Hollywood Sign!

 

 

 

 

When your besties have babies – Jocelyn

Let me tell you a little story about a good friend of mine. Actually, I think Jocelyn is more than just a friend – we grew up telling people we were cousins as we already called each others families aunties etc, we had spent so much time together growing up listening to all the boybands, learning all the dance moves to the biggest RnB artists out at the time, we spent nights completing Street Fighter with EVERY character on the SNES (still one of my biggest achievements in life) and we were in a lot of classes together through High School. When the internet was just coming big we even shared an email address! now, that is definitely a bestie.

But all those nights dancing around in the living room using the remotes as mics came in handy for Jos as she went on to becoming a model and being a member to a huge girl group, Kitty Girls,  in the Philippines. – (for me, not so much, it was only put into practice on drunk karaoke nights) but while she was on the other side of the world being a mega superstar and I was burying my head in work in London we always kept in contact and I could always count on her to be there for me. We were even lucky enough to go and visit her while she was out there, and when she was in UK visiting we would make sure to see each other (and eat all the food she has missed).

So now for the first time in 14 years we live in the same country, and even the same state!! and what makes it even crazier is that we both now have children. I was very lucky recently to take photos of her newest addition, the beautiful Kingsley Rose. This was a special shoot as Kingsley’s dad was currently deployed with the Marines and he hadn’t met her yet. Also Auntie Zeny was visiting too so we got to get some pics with her in them.

It was so great to see Summer and Harley playing together too. Summer loves Harley so much she has even named one of her bears after her. Harley has such a sweet nature and took it naturally to become a big sister to Kingsley.

I am so grateful for the short time we got to spend together while we are both in the same place, we’ve done pretty well, we’ve had a more than a few trips down to see her in Murietta and at 8 months preggo Jocelyn and Harley came to visit us in LA where we got to show them some of our sites (what a trooper!)

Jocelyn, Brandon and the girls will be moving to North Carolina soon so who knows when we will get to hang out again like this. But I do know that friendships like this are forever so i’m already excited about the all the new memories we will make together.

Interview with a 2 year old

A bunch of questions to remember and look back on how Summer’s personality was when she turned 2. She’s a crazy, smart, sweetheart with a loveable sense of humour and puts a smile on our faces everyday.

Can you say your name?: yes, Summer. Everything is said in third person.

Nicknames: Bubba, Sumi, Sum Sum, Monkey, Summersauras, Summertoa, Baby

How old are you?: two and one week  – tries to do the fingers, but shows me three and half fingers up 

Favourite food right now: ICE CREAM, cheese, yoghurt, strawberries, eats a banana every day. Also can eat about 10 oranges in a row if I let her. Hard to get her to eat meat (blaming it on the texture)

Favourite songs right now to sing: Happy Birthday (to Summer) , Baa Baa Black Sheep, Let it Go (nearly all the words, nearly in tune) Ice cream song, and around and around is the name of the game. I See the Light from Tangled,  also, Tap your sticks song.

Recent obsessions: Sticks, picks any up she can find and collects them too (hope this isn’t the beginnings of a hoarder) Sleeps with Momo (Moana) and Baby and a bottle of water in the bed every night. likes wand shape things, always wants to hold something or take a toy with us when we are out.  Loves Peppa Pig and Dinosaurs too. Also have to read 3 books a night before bed.

 Special words: Gaga – water
Meemeeyaaaa – sleep 
havagoodayyy – have a good day  
I mama, I dada, I Summer – I love mama etc
 Hi Boy
Wooahw (like Joey) 

Favourite toys/things to play with, tea sets (she has 3) play dough, drum sticks. loves anything with colouring and painting. Stickers.

How far can you count: one to ten, sometimes misses out one and nine. knows all the colours.

favourite places to go: the beach, Woodbine park, at home playing with the toys, swimming with daddy, Yuna’s house. Disneyland.

Best friends: Yuna, Joaquin, Tita Alee and Cheechee (Audrey). Once had weird obsession over Gymboree teacher Sam. (kept following her around and only wanted to play with her)

Memorable moments of being 1: Moving to Los Angeles, Meeting Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. Popping your elbow socket out. learning to walk/run/jump.

Most likely to be when you’re older: some kind of artist, loves drawing and singing and playing drums.

We love watching you grow and seeing you light up when we play with you and interact with others. Keep shining, we love you very much, our Summer Grace x

 

Laguna Beach

The other weekend we managed to adventure out of LA and visit Laguna Beach down in the OC. Now, my only knowledge about this place was from MTV show  – Laguna Beach so I was expecting big houses, long beaches with golden sun and the ladies with over sized sunglasses and little dogs hanging out their designer bags. I was not expecting an abundance of little boutiques and art galleries! – I welcomed the pleasant surprise with a nice boba drink and big smile on my face.

It was our first trip to the ocean this year and we picked a nice day for it. Even had a little picnic on the only piece of grass we found. I love people watching and we seemed to have picked a perfect spot for it.
I think Summer was pleased to be re acquainted with the sand

All in all it was a great day trip and change of scenery of Los Angeles. It was on my bucket lists of places to go whilst we lived out on this side. And yeah, I was humming the tune to OC most of the way!

 

Natural History Museum

In between a week of everyone taking it in turns of getting sick in the family, and many hours still playing with the Cake Mountain Play-doh set, it was time to actually make a date with friends and go to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles 
Thanks to a nifty Groupon deal we are proud members and got all of us in for free! So there we were, Catalina and I and Summer and Joaquin all ready to see some bones.

I actually think the kids were just as excited to be going on the train as much as seeing dinosaurs. What is it about getting on them that makes them SO worked up that they have to repeat the word “train” about 100 times? By the time we got to the actual museum they loved how much space there was so just had to run. everywhere.

and they wanted to touch everything.

which I guess is fine as that is kind of what you do in museums anyway, right? oh, there was also a LOT of pointing and dinosaur noises

So my experience of going there with two toddlers to NHM (Summer is 22 months and Joaquin is 20 months) is prepare yourself for them to be more interested in the space around and the environment rather than the actual objects that are on display.
Summer is going through a dinosaur obsession right now (yes, that is Arlo from Good Dinosaur she is traipsing around with her) so she was really into seeing them, and Joaquin loves a good mode of transport so he spotted a few vehicles around which got him excited. There are the rooms with taxidermy animals in them which look like they’re from The Night at the Museum movie which I loved, but for the kids I think they got slightly scared as they are pretty dark rooms. Plus, we weren’t too good on timings and ended up sharing the rooms with about 50 school kids on a field trip. Not gonna lie, was a bit scared to put Summer down when she wanted to run incase I lost her and couldn’t see her in the dark room.
Outside there is a great space for eating and the Nature Gardens are amazing. These alone are worth the trip if you didn’t want to go inside. They have the get dirty zone where you can run around in the mud or splash in the water features and by pure accident trying to find the exit we stumbled across the edible garden where they grow many things that smell delicious.

We only managed to do the first floor as it does get a bit overwhelming and we were getting hungry – no one can concentrate when their bellies are rumbling, but I want to go back to explore more.

I managed to catch the Tattoo exhibition on a different visit and I highly recommend it. I don’t even have any tats myself but still found the exhibition fascinating.

 

Overall, I think it was a successful trip and even just walking through Exposition Park I know there’s plenty more for us to explore.

January

Just over two weeks into 2018. I might have got that “New Year/New Beginnings” mentality (oh hey, sparkling new gym membership card) but if it means it’s an excuse to have a fresh start and the drive and motivation to try new stuff then I’m all up for it.

I can’t say it’s been the easiest of days at the moment.  I have a lot of friends going through some pretty tough times right now, many unexpected life events and some even devestating, makes me realise once again that i’m so far away from loved ones. This also means I value more of what I have to live for and enjoy each moment as it happens.

On a happier note I know two babies already born this year! Both girls and both adorable and gonna rock the year of the dog.

Some of the things we have been up to:

We found a good Dim Sum place! it’s in San Gabriel called Elite and not all fancy. Just good old fashion tasty food. There’s a bit of a wait but its ok it was worth it. Pretty good way to spend the 1st day of a new year.

A drawing of our food – with added faces 🙂

Everyone is sick, literally every family I know in LA has caught some kind of lurgy. There’s a crazy stomach bug going on and also the common cold just seem to linger around. Mark and Summer just seem to keep passing it to each other so it just circulates in our home, but touch wood I have been a strong mama and managed to avoid it!
The other day Mark came home feeling pretty rough and Summer laid herself on the floor next to him complete with her blanket and just stayed next to her daddy. It was the cutest.

Along with that there’s actually been a few days of rain so Summer and me have spent a LOT of time just being at home. It’s okay though – we got out the play dough cake maker machine and have done a lot of dressing up, my love of hats seemed to have been passed down to this little one.

And then the sun came back and we took a nice wonder around Century City Mall and I got my camera out. This place is seriously built to be Instagrammed!

 

So there you have it, just a little update. How’s 2018 been treating you so far?