I love dance parties! When my day needs some flavor, I turn on my Pandora (I’m loving the Wedding DJ station right now), and my baby girl and I boogie on down. We also go on either a walk or a bike ride daily because we both get cabin fever.

  

I have the travel bug something fierce, so I have many, many dream vacations. I’ve been lucky enough to go to on a couple of them so far, but the vacation that I didn’t realize was my dream until I went was Japan. We went there last year to visit some family, and I fell in love! Japan is beautiful, fascinating, and most of all, delicious. I can’t wait to go back.

Pizza. I have yet to find a pizza I didn’t love.

Favorite Posts of Erica’s you might like: Ways I use Coconut Oil,  10 Recipes for Summer BBQs, Keeping Kid Learning Over Summer Break

Go out to eat! Just kidding…I keep a bag of salmon in the freezer for nights where I don’t have a lot of time or I don’t want to put a lot of effort into dinner (or both!). It defrosts super quick in a cool bath and cooks in less than 10 minutes on the grill (all you need to add is fresh lemon juice, butter,  salt and pepper). Then I pull out some Trader Joe’s rice from the freezer (cooks in 3 mins!) and steam up whatever veggie I have on hand. Bonus: it’s one of my toddler’s favorite dinners!

On the weekends we love to hit up garage sales and look for treasures. It’s become such a habit that even our toddler requests to go! We also love to hike, swim, and take advantage of the fun seasonal things in the area (like berry picking most recently). And of course one of our very favorite things to do is go out for a sweet treat.

I’m really into linen right now. I just love the way it looks and feels (not to mention how cool it is for summer). My husband got me this linen dress I’ve been eyeing for Mother’s Day and I finally got to wear it this weekend! Two thumbs way up for nursing friendly dresses that also have pockets.

Favorite Posts of Ashley’s you might like: Back to School Shopping for Boys and Girls, Packed School Lunch Ideas, Neckware for Summer

  

From my experience, finding inspiration for projects can be very natural and intuitive when I can relax into it. I like to create time for myself to be introspective by getting into nature. Whether its taking a long walk on the beach, camping, or traveling somewhere I have never been before, to feel truly inspired I need to breath fresh air and see things from a different perspective. For me, inspiration for new projects comes when I fully embrace my passions, let go of expectations, and give myself space to think independently.

Two years ago I realized my dream vacation to Bali. My best friend Stephanie and I (yes, we are both named Stephanie) took on the 24 hour journey to land in magical Bali. A land of breath-taking beaches, manta ray filled waters, daily offerings to the Gods, and some seriously good yoga. The air smells distinctly of incense and you can zip around this tiny island on a moped for just a few dollars a day!

 

These days it feels like life can get overwhelmingly busy and so much of my time is spent working. To spice things up, I try to make sure there are a few fun things I do each week. I do my best to make it to at least 1 yoga class a week, and I make plans with my girlfriends to do something fun around town. We like to go to art galleries, get to know different parks in the area, and go to see music or comedy shows.

 Favorites Posts I’ve worked on with Stephanie you might like: A Garden Date (as the photographer), High Rise Skinny Jeans, Three Ways (as the model),  DIY Neon Marbled Dinnerware (as an assistant stylist)

We like getting out with the dog together. She’s got a lot of energy and so she gets us out. We often go to this nature preserve close to the house. It’s right on the bay and the kids can ride bikes and skip rocks while the dog runs around. The wide open space is good for all of us at the end of the day.

This year we celebrated my husbands 40th with a trip to Maui. We swam all day and watched the sunset on the beach every night. It was a really simple, memorable trip that I hope to make many more times! House swap anyone??

I love cooking for friends. Maybe I’m getting old but I much prefer having friends over for a meal than going out these days. I remember as a kid loving when my parents had a house full of guests and all the freedom that came with that, and I think our kids enjoy it to. Vince just built a huge table in our backyard that we hope to get lots of use out of.

Favorite posts I’ve worked on with Sarah you might like: 7 Easy Ideas for a Date Night at Home, Secrets of Stylish Mom: Sarah, 5 Brilliant Tips for Curly Hair.