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April & October

A Life Blog

Review: Girasol Marley



January 22, 2016

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Girasol Marley, Cuervo (black weft), size 5

  • 100% cotton
  • $$
  • machine woven
  • Support: Average
  • Best for: Any age
  • Carries: Single pass carries for babies, multi pass carries for heavier babies
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I totally researched this wrap when I was pregnant. I’m a huge Bob Marley fan, and I love all things reggae. So I knew that I needed this wrap. I grew up in the islands, and was immersed into the culture. So I wanted something that reminded me of the time. I researched this wrap when I was pregnant with Tot. It just stood out to me, but I knew there was a bit of a learning curve. I had only used SSCs and mei tais, previously. So I waited on the purchase.
Marley was the perfect first wrap for me. The colors were great for me to learn to wrap with. The striping made it easy to figure out which rail I was looking for. It is a workhorse wrap. I had no issues using it. It wasn’t about being afraid to get it dirty. That’s for sure. I could use it for anything and everything. The wrap was thin enough, that I wasn’t getting overwhelmed while I practiced wrapping. It was nice and floppy once it was broken in. It molded to me well and I loved the passes that I got from it. Marley is a nice, textured wrap. Passes glided well. It wasn’t too sticky at all.

IMG_3143 copyI loved the knot that I could tie. It wasn’t too big, but it wasn’t too small. It didn’t slip at all. It covered Tot well. It’s a pretty solid wrap, that doesn’t sag. I wouldn’t consider the wrap tone too bouncy either. I felt like once Tot got bigger, it was starting to get diggy. He needed multiple passes and couldn’t be up in for too long.

I ended up selling it off once I felt like he got too big for it. I think the wrap is amazing for smaller babies. With a larger baby, you need multiple passes, so you’ll need a longer wrap, which I didn’t have access to purchasing.

 

 

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CATEGORIES | Woven Wrap Review 4 Comments

Monterey Bay Aquarium



October 5, 2015

My sister’s boyfriend won tickets to Monterey Bay Aquarium on the radio and couldn’t go. So he gifted the tickets over to me and I couldn’t be more thrilled! I love the aquarium. It is one of my favorite places to go. We used to have a membership, but we didn’t renew it this year. We might have to, because the kids simply love it!

  

We got there early enough to check out the majority of feedings. We saw an albatross, the sea of kelp, penguins and sea otters get fed. The kelp feeding was amazing. You don’t even think of the plants as being that alive until you see them feed. 

Birdie was completely over the moon. I like to surprise her with excursions so she had no idea that we were headed there. She wanted to see “everything” first and had no idea what she wanted to do. She loved lunch because she was able to pick whatever she wanted to off of the menu. 
  

I love seeing the Penguins. They like to swim up to the glass and just play with you. They’re the most playful creatures at the aquarium aside from the sea otters. The sea otters were great. I couldn’t get a decent picture, because there were so many people in front of the exhibit. 

They also had puffins, which I think are just as fun as the Penguins. They were just the cutest little animals. 

  
  

Jellyfish are my favorite. They changed up the exhibit from the last time I was there. I was a little sad about that, but I still get to see them! I only like to see them in aquariums. I saw them last year at the beach and it didn’t end too well for me. 

 

We stayed until closing and walked around the Cannery for a bit. It was the perfect day, perfect weather. 

CATEGORIES | Adventures 10 Comments

Up in the City with Christina



October 2, 2015

Before Christina moved back to Southern California, we came up with a Bay Area bucket list  so we could check out some things we’ve never seen before. I just really wanted Christina to have some fun before she left Northern California. 

So Christina came up with the idea of spending the day in San Francisco. We started by taking the ferry over, which I’ve never done before. The kids loved being on a boat and I’m pretty sure that was Tot’s first time on a boat. We got to see the ports in Oakland and it was just the perfect day. 
First stop was Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Actually, it was Quickly for some milk tea – can’t turn down the milk tea. Then we went back to Ripley’s.  I’ve always been curious about this place. I’ve walked past it so many times, but have never went inside. It was like a museum of the weird. We got to see so many different things that I’ve never even heard of. We saw statues made out of car parts, buildings made out of toothpicks – we even figured out that Birdie can make her tongue go sideways thanks to an exhibit. 
They also had a mirror maze, which amused us for a good 15 minutes. I’m pretty sure we all bumped our foreheads into the mirror at least once. We also got to do a laser maze, where you tried to get through all of the different lasers. Birdie was really good and quick at that. 


Then we got to check out the Aquariun by the Bay. I love sea life so I was pretty excited. I can’t believe that I’ve been to Pier 39 and I’ve never stopped by the aquarium before. 

    
My favorite part of the aquarium is always the jellyfish. They might as well be my favorite marine animal. I could watch them and take tons of photos of them. 

  This octopus was also pretty amazing. I’ve never seen them all sprawled out like this before. They always seem to be in a giant ball in the corner of the tank, but not this one!  


After all of that walking around, we ended up at Pier Market for dinner. They had unlimited New England clam chowder, so we just filled up on that. I love fresh seafood!

 

Is it a real trip to the pier if you don’t stop by and see the sea lions? I always have to snap a photo when I’m walking by.  
 

CATEGORIES | Adventures 7 Comments

Tot Tank, Alameda, CA



September 28, 2015

One of my favorite things to do is shop around for the kids. After checking out the Oakland Zoo, we decided to drive over to Alameda and check out Tot Tank. I heard they had a great selection of carriers, so I wanted to see. 

  

I had to go find some street parking in the area so make sure you bring some change for the meters. I couldn’t find any kind of a lot so we just parallel parked at the first spot that we saw and walked over. It’s right dead smack in the middle of the cutest little downtown area. There were so many little shops to see. I would love to walk through here again. 

There were restaurants and shops. I saw a consignment shop for kids across the way. There was a lot of foot traffic, so there must be some good business happening in the area. 
  

This store was way bigger than I anticipated. They had everything that you could think of. Clothes, toys, books, diaper bags, carriers, furniture, strollers, cloth diapers… They had it all. Birdie ended up making friends with the sister of someone who worked there. They ended up playing around while Tot and I got to look around. 

I loved that they had a cloth diaper section, but honestly wasn’t too much to choose from. They were kind of hidden away in a drawer too, so I didn’t see them on my first walk through. 

 

They had a nice looking baby carrier section. There was a good selection – so many to choose from. They had SSCs (soft structured carriers), ring slings and some wraps (woven and stretchy). I loved to see the huge selection. 

I had a fun little walk through when I was in the area. I actually contemplated way too much and left at closing time. Check out Tot Tank if you’re ever in Alameda!

CATEGORIES | Review 4 Comments

A Day Away



September 23, 2015

Monday was insanely hot. There has been a heatwave going on and it jumped up almost twenty degrees warmer than it has been. The kids were quite unhappy and it was just time to go. So we headed towards the coast. I figured it would be cooler there. It was freezing. Almost 40 degrees cooler, but the kids got a nice nap on the way and everyone was in a better mood. 

 
We stopped at a produce stand. These are my favorite. If I could get all my produce from these stands or farmers markets, I would. We picked up artichokes, nectarines, apples, melons… We mainly come for the artichokes though. They seem to be a family favorite. 
 
We got to see a bit of the sunset. One of those things that you take for granted. It was gorgeous over the water. There were a lot of seagulls everywhere and they made for some fun photos. I just feel lucky to be able to see stuff like this on a somewhat regular basis. 

 
Dinner! I live for seafood. Phil’s Fish Market and Eatery does not disappoint. This is one of my favorite dishes and we get it as a starter every single time. If you’re ever in Moss Landing, check out Phil’s. On Mondays, they have live music and tot loved it. The lead singer of the band came over to sing to him and he thought it was the most amazing thing ever. 
Just a fun little time. One I want to remember forever. 

CATEGORIES | Adventures 8 Comments

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