And suddenly...it was done

2013 arrived with a visit to the hospital. Whoops.

Then I decided to give up sugar. Why?

We welcomed spring by starting our house hunt. Stressful.

via Evelyn Henson

In April we took a time out. Whew!

Along with the May flowers came a baby shower. Yea!

Then we hit the road. Exhausting.

Designed by Sarah Reed

We began to make ourselves comfortable. Sort of.

August brought our first house guest. Good times!

Suddenly, we had a fourth grader! Say What?

Then, I ate dirt. Hard.

In November I was thankful to find this guy still wants me around after five years. Insane.

December 24 Em lost a tooth and waited up to see the meeting between Santa and the Tooth Fairy. Fail.

The next week we welcomed the new year along with my parents in New Mexico. Actually, we greeted the new year when we woke up New Year's day because we are all either too old or too young to make it to midnight. Whoops.

I hate being a downer, but I'm approaching 2014 with a bit of apprehension. First, I'm only starting year two of my I-broke-a-mirror-and-now-have-seven-years-bad-luck. We've also got a major change in the works later this year, but things haven't developed enough for me to talk about it yet.

I'm sure the year will come with a fair share of exciting and wonderful things too, and those I intend to milk completely!

Suits me

We have a pool (for now). I love the beach. It may surprise you, then, to know how rarely I actually get into the water. As a result I only own two bathing suits. Well that and I can never find anything that fits right. There's either not enough suit (no bikinis for me), not enough support, or too much suit (who are these women with such long torsos?).

Suddenly, however, I am inexplicably gripped by the desire to buy a new swim suit. And, oh, some of the ones I seen online...

The husband isn't a fan, but this ruffled one piece from Wildfox is calling out to my whimsical side.

This beauty from J. Crew's Luxe Tulle line just went on sale. Look at the support that thing has! And ruching hides a multitude of sins often all too visible amongst beach goers. Sadly, the "regular" torso measurement is almost eight inches longer than my torso. Dear J.Crew, add swimwear to your selection for petites. Thanks.

Betsey Johnson calls this raspberry confection "Shortcake." Doesn't it sound perfect for me? I love that it has the feel of a strapless but still has the very thing needed for keeping your suit where it should be even in rough waters.

Now if I could rock a two-piece I'd seriously consider doing it in one of these.

 ChloeScalloped Halterneck

Classic retro bikini in navy from BeBops

Why is bathing suit shopping so hard?!

Beachy Keen

A few weekends ago went to the beach because, you know, we do that sort of thing in Florida. We decided to check out Indian Rocks, a new-to-us spot recommended by my dear friend Michelle. So. Nice.

It was a bit overcast which made for an amazingly temperate day (and amazingly cold water. no thank you.).

But oh, the beach treasures! I found so many cool things I found myself curious to find out more about them.

This, I think, is a tiny piece of bleached Staghorn Coral. I love the look, but bleaching is actually a sign of malnourished reefs off the Florida coast.

Ben's copy of the 1955 Golden Guide "Seashores" tells me this little guys are Royal Terns. You can't imagine how those orange beaks stood out against the grey sand and sky.

This crazy-looking thing is a portion of the egg sac from a Lightening Whelk. Each of those cases can contain 99 tiny eggs! I tore one open after Ben teased me about committing infanticide, but it was empty so I think all the babies are off exploring their new ocean world.

I believe these spiraled shells are actually the former homes of Lightning Whelks - maybe adolescents. I was so thrilled to find unbroken shells like these because I'd always been told that they never make it to the shore without being crushed by the waves. I left behind a few dozen for the other beach-goers, but I snatched these up right quick just in case their presence was some sort of fluke.

But above all, I the most important thing I learned that day is one cannot never get bored at the beach so long as there's room to dig.

Hannah's beach chair

Good to know.