Category Archives: Real Life : Alix

happy birthday wolfgang!!!!!!!!

Real Life : Alix

Today is the day. The day that my little boy takes another step into “big kid” territory. Little Wolfie, you have brought so much sunshine and laughter into our lives! I can’t believe you are EIGHT. Wow. How did time fly so quickly??

How did this cutie:

….become this little coolie??

Friends, allow me to indulge in a little nostalgic mommy show boatin’…..as I was looking through all these old photos last night I got totally verklempt!

CUTIE BOY

Aw, the best lil chewy cheeks in the biz! I still love to smooch on them….even at a young age my little bunny had the CURLS and those little eyebrows. Killers, I tell ya!

My little Wolf, people would stop me everywhere I went to comment on how adorable you were. I think they were drawn to your curls, but truly it was your face that won them over. Not because you are so handsome (which, of course, I think you are!) but because whenever you smiled you had such pure joy and happiness radiating out of you. You are one of those people who smiles with a twinkle in their eyes. As I was looking through all these photos I was struck by what a HAPPY little guy you were! Always grinning and smiling and laughing! You really are our sunshine boy and seem to always find the joy in every situation. I hope you never lose that….

HAPPY BOY

SILLY BOY

On the rare occasion when you aren’t smiling, you are making a myriad of other awesome faces….sometimes this very serious “blue steel” look (that makes me think, “Dang, I shoulda had you be a little kiddo model!”) and then other times…well. Take a look for yourself!

SWEET BOY

Wolfie my little boy. You are, in a word, AWESOME. You are our little animal lover who is kind and gentle to all (cats! dogs! horses! cheetahs!). You never cease to amaze us with your quirky personality and ideas (like your amazing halloween costume this year!).

You have always been my gentle little soul, but recently you have become so much more active! Swimming! Soccer! Little League! Archery! WOW! It’s so fun to watch you leap and soar.

As you grow, I love seeing you develop your own tastes and opinions. (And you have SO many opinions!) You still love video games and computers. You are a whiz at math. You love singing, playing the drums and Queen is one of your top favorite bands. Your favorite movies are Harry Potter, the Narnia movies, and you have become intrigued by Pirates, thanks to a recent viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean! You love playing Monopoly Jr., Trouble and Uno. Even though you are somewhat picky, you love to cook and watching shows like Top Chef and Cupcake Wars. You just started watching The Regular Show (which daddy lets you watch and is probably inappropriate, although very funny) but you still love watching Peppa Pig. You have a great sense of humor, love joking around and we have a lot of laughter in our house thanks to you! Your favorite foods are pizza and onion bagels and you still really dislike most sweets. (Your teacher told me the other day you all went around the class room and were sharing something that “made you angry or frustrated you”. Your answer? “I am frustrated when people try to give me chocolate.”). You have your own little sense of style and you aren’t afraid to wear purple skinny jeans to school. In short, you are one cool little dude, my boy.

But ultimately, you are so kind and loving, my little blue green-eyed boy. Thoughtful, sweet and always a good friend to your classmates and buddies and ready with a big hug. I’m so happy you still hold mama’s hand when we walk to school. I know soon you’ll be too cool for things like that, but I’m holding on to that hand while I can!

You’ve been such a joy to watch grow, little Wolfgang. I can’t wait to see what this next year brings!

Last Week, We Cleaned Up Our Act.

Real Life : Alix, Real Life : Dottie, Sponsored Post

Last week Dottie and I were thrilled to participate in a very special event, thanks to our wonderful friends at method. They are one of my very favorite cleaning products, with a line that is as stylish as it is smart & eco-friendly. When they approached us about working with them, Dottie and I knew it was a perfect fit. Dottie is especially concerned with finding cleaning products that are tough on dirt but are natural and eco-friendly. And I’m a packaging victim who is dazzled by pretty colors. Just kiddin’. Sorta. If you follow us on instagram (@galexina & @missdottie) then you might have seen some of the photos we posted! It was a unique 2 day event for a small group of bloggers from all across the country, and man oh man did we have fun!

Here’s what went down. The kind folks of method flew everyone in on a Thursday. That night we had a lovely “getting to know you” dinner and then went to the groovy Hotel Monaco to call it a night. Yep, even though Dottie and I are local, they booked us each a room so we could relax and be a part of the whole event without having to dash back and forth. It was pretty luxurious staying at a hotel in your own home town!

The next morning we all hopped aboard a little shuttle bus to head on over to method headquarters to meet the team and start our day. As we turned a corner, we suddenly heard gasps coming from the ladies seated at the front of the bus. We craned our necks to look out the window, and saw the entire company lining the streets with balloons—clapping and cheering for us. It was so thoughtful and charming and unexpected, and definitely a sign of  great things to come!

The day was spent immersing ourselves in the method culture. We learned about the company’s history, chatted about the importance of great design, smelled oodles of yummy new fragrances, talked at length about how important sustainability is and how being “green” infuses everything they do. It was an action packed day filled with a real passion and warmth that was completely infectious! I was a fan before, but I really learned SO much that day. The most impressive thing were the people. This wasn’t a hard-sell, schmoozy crowd. These were funny, real, awesome folk who truly believe in what they do. They shared their many success stories but I was impressed that they also shared some of their failures—explaining what they learned from things that didn’t work out the way they planned.

Oh, these are the two cool guys behind the entire method family, Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry:

The other awesome part of our weekend was meeting up with so many other fabulous bloggers. There were lots of familiar faces and many new wonderful friendships made.

(ok, Victoria {sfgirlbybay} isn’t exactly new….but she *is* one of our favorite SF pals!)

above: with bloggin’ cutie Dani Hampton {sometimes sweet} below: and lovely Liz Stanley {say yes to hoboken}

left: the gorgeous girls with glasses brooke & summer and the sparklin’ jordan ferney {OhHappyDay} // right: the supah sassy susan peterson {Freshly-Picked}

We got to experience lotsa product—including their latest fragrances:  lime + sea salt, coconut grove, and daffodil bouquet. Here’s my gal Dottie washin’ her hands and experiencing the different fragrance “notes”….yes friends. Soap has NOTES.

Ahhhh. watch the bloggers come clean:

above: the fab EZ Pudewa {creature comforts}, the stunning Denene Millner {MyBrownBaby}, darlin’ Dani, and the adorable Illana Wiles {Mommy Shorts} // below: Dottie scopin’ out some early product designs right outta the method sketch book.

How cute is this?? mickey smelled like lemonade, minnie smelled like strawberries.

Then we got a little sneaky peek of things to come, thanks to Mekanism—the geniusy agency who created their new campaign. It’s as colorful, quirky and cool as the people of method….we can’t wait to share it with you.

Yes, that wall lit up. And no, it’s not affiliated with any bright lite toys of the 70s (ahem) but it was reeeeally cool.

The vibe was really one of positivity and fun and I think all of us “Method Mavens” (as the team dubbed us) were kind of grinning from ear to ear the whole time. Of course the main focus of this event was to learn more about method, but I have to tell you people…..these guys really spoiled us silly. Apologies if this next part sounds a little braggadocious, but it’s more about wanting to share with you how generous and thoughtful these guys were. In addition to our wonderful opening night meal, we had a fun photoshoot (see above), completed a DIY project with Danny Seo and got to check out the latest method book on a complimentary Kindle Fire. Yeah. We each got one. Wowzers.

As if that weren’t enough, on Friday night we were treated to a “clandestine dining” experience. The Stag Dining group is a collective of chefs that host traveling dinners, in unique locals. Method asked them to base our 5-course meal around some of the method fragrance profiles (water+ citrus, herbaceous, fruity etc). And holy moley, it was a meal unlike any other!!

Did I mention it was held at the William Westerfeld House? It’s an infamous, huge Victorian that used to be the Russian Embassy. The place was four stories of decadent Victorian maddness. With ornate chandeliers and taxidermy for days, I felt like I was in a real life version of the board game Clue.

At the end we went around the loooong dining room table and were asked to sum up the two day’s experience in one word. I think they were hoping for things like “informative” “inspiring” “designy”…..but truly friends, I had to bust out this one:

So what does this all mean? It means that in the coming months we have lots of awesome goodness coming your way. We’ll be sharing more fun stories, talking about the importance of cleaning with products that are better for the environment (AND you & your family), plus test-driving new products. We’ll even be giving you guys the chance to try ’em out for yourself and would love to know what you think. As for us:

A special thanks to dani //sometimes sweet for letting me snag some of her photos for this post.

Guess Where We Went This Weekend?

Disney, Real Life : Alix

I’ve been down in LA for a week and half freelancing. It’s tough to be away from my boys, but this weekend they drove down and it was SO GOOD to see them! As a special treat we took Wolfie to Disneyland on Sunday. Normally we plot our trips there around the “good” times to go (aka, when the crowds are low). This being Presidents Day Weekend, however, was not one of those times. The joint was PACKED. Greg technically isn’t as enamored with the Disney experience as I am, although having a child has made him appreciate it so much more.

Me? Well, it’s one of my favorite places to go. When I lived in San Diego as a kid (before moving to Michigan), we would go pretty much once a year and I have SUCH fond memories. It wasn’t nearly as crowded as it is these days. I admit, I love the “old school” Disney most. But even Greg remarked that pretty much everyone who works there is super friendly and even all the park goers are all in a good mood! Despite the long lines, we never saw anyone getting cranky. I also love the attention to detail at the place and the fact that’s it’s pretty amazingly CLEAN.

All the pics in this post are from the Tyler family photo album and are some of my favorites! That one up on top especially…

Here’ s me and my pops hanging out in the tea cups:

I love this photo of my mom, she looks so cute. I’m also impressed because I think she’s wearing platform sandals….oh, and yep. That’s lil ol’ me kickin’ back in my polka dot stroller.

This photo (from a few years later) kills me too….me and my mom in our plaid pants. My mom looks like a groovy modern day hipster with those cool shades! My whole family loves Disneyland, and I’d love for my brother Karl to join us there one day. Wolfie would love it!

I’m writing up a Guide to Disneyland (which I’ll probably post next week, once I’m back up in San Francisco) so if you have any questions about traveling there with (or without!) kiddos, just leave me a comment! I promise I’ll try to answer ’em all.

Kiddo Flashback :: Alix’s 80s Valentines Dance

Real Life : Alix

Gather round friends. It’s time for my Annual Valentines Story. Embarrassing, but too good not to share once again!

Like many towns, my high school in Flint, Michigan always had dances as school fundraisers. They weren’t formal (that was the PROM) and were held in the gym (of course). During my sophomore year, I was the Class Vice President and one of my main duties was to work the Valentines dance—manning the front desk, selling tickets, selling photo packages etc. Todd Richardson, our class treasurer, was working the same shift with me. The dance was pretty well attended and we were feeling all happy. As we sat there, this guy Lance from my choir class (yes. choir. I was Glee before Glee, ya’ll.) strolls up in his work out gear and casually asks, “Hey what’s going on here?” Obviously he didn’t see the GIGANTIC hearts and streamers. So I tell him it’s the Valentines Dance. (duh) Now Lance was a good looking guy and fancied himself a bit of a ladies man. He was also convinced that he *was* Prince and was workin’ that 80s Prince hair. I guess he kinda liked me because after a little chit chat he said, “Hey, so if I come back dressed up, will you dance with me??” I sort of grinned awkwardly not sure what to say. To sweeten the deal he added, “We can get our picture taken!” I wasn’t sure how to respond and stuttered lamely, “Uh…well.. I’m kind of working.” I look pleadingly at my buddy Todd, who totally pimped me out, saying, “You can totally dance. I’ll cover.” Then to Lance, “She’ll definitely dance with you!!” Lance grinned and sauntered out the door. I was peeved, but Todd looked at me all indignant, “We need to sell tickets! It’s a fundraiser!” *sigh*

To Lance’s credit, he got cleaned up pretty quickly—to my surprise he strolled in 15 minutes later in a plum colored Miami Vice suit. Hot! We shared an awkward dance to Union of the Snake by Duran Duran and then got in line to get our picture taken. Bear in mind I’m totally NOT dressed up and look like a huge dork. Not to mention the photography set up was sooo low budget—it was literally a chair next to a tall skinny table with a rose on it. Lance thanks me and  immediately leaves after getting our pic taken. So much for our “date”. I trot back to the table where Todd asks me “How was the dance?” I shoot him a look. I’m thinking, “What am I going to do with all these photos of me and Lance?” Cut to the end of the night. Our photographer comes over and says, “Hey, you two kids have been working so hard all night. How about a picture on the house??” Todd lights up. “Sure!” Good lord, so now I have to take another awkward wierd photo with ANOTHER non-date??? This was turning out to be the most random dance EVER.

Two weeks later I was presented with not one, but TWO sets of photos. I was now the proud owner of multiple 5x7s and far too many wallet pics of the Valentines Dance… TWO different dates. Of course I handed them out to all my friends. “Would you like something from the Lance or Todd Collection?” I would offer.

Do you wanna see the photos? Oh you KNOW you do. Presenting:

TODD. Rockin’ the high waisted jeans and running shoes. Goober chic.

LANCE. Workin’ the plum trousers and grey leather skinny tie. Suave.

I’m not sure why Lance took his sport jacket off (probably because we had worked up such a sweat Cabbage Patchin’ to Duran Duran). All I know is I look like hell in these photos. It’s a testament to how much I love you guys I’m sharing ’em. Now that I have divulged the PHOTOS, I wanted to clarify a few issues I’m SURE are burning in your mind:

1) YES I am wearing a black lace bow in my hair. We don’t know why. Maybe I think I’m Madonna?
2) YES the photographer made me sit with my legs demurely crossed like that.
3) NO I was not jaundiced.
4) NO I was not responsible for the wicker chair and single rose.
5) YES, I picked that outfit out. I look like the Easter Bunny. I have on this GOD AWFUL Esprit pink sweatshirt that was all 80s and had no defined sleeves…the hood was also “freeform,” hence the pink linebacker effect. I think I have on pink cords and weird grey sneakers shoes that look suspicously like jazz shoes. Which are actually in style again, so hell, maybe I’m not as far off as I thought.
6) On a positive note, I *am* wearing a lovely vintage rhinesone necklace. Which you can’t really see. But trust me. It’s perty. Can I get a few points for that?? This is me again. Slightly better photo.

I was made fun of by my friends for YEARS afterwards. I had actually pushed the whole sordid affair back into the far corners of my mind, when I got a Valentine’s Day card  from my friend Jennifer, who I had lost touch with. Inside were the two wallet sized pics of me—one with Lance and one with Todd. I couldn’t help it, a small tear welled up in my right eye. Not from nostaligia, but from the realization that I was wearing Madonna-style lace gloves, but ONLY in the picture with Lance. It’s true. Scroll back up if you don’t believe me. Happy Valentines Day, Kiddos.