MAD DREAM DESIGN: family

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Happy Easter + What's New

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and Happy Easter. For me it was filled with family...which is always the best. Here is a little preview....

YUM!

Mom knows how to host, and she always has gorgeous displays and delicious dishes, especially during the holidays. Above is her gorgeous, homemade (from scratch!) Strawberry Vanilla Cake.
So yum!

And last but not least...me and this little Easter bunny...Sophie! :)

So what's new?

Mad Dream Design Etsy Shop is officially open!!!
Introducing my Spring 2013 line. Rolling out more designs throughout the week.

How to participate in all the fun?
Join our mailing list to receive a sweet deal! This deal lasts Friday, April 5th, 11pm through Sunday, April 7th, 11 pm. Sign up here!

Come by and say hello at the shop! I am so excited to share it all with you.

Enjoy!
xo,

Christmas 2012

Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season!

Here is a little recap of my Christmas weekend!

December 22nd - Mexico - on the Road

December 23rd - A beautiful and memorable event to celebrate this holiday

December 24th - A mad dash to get home to spend the evening with our families

December 25th - Family all day kinda day

December 26th - Back to reality :/ but can't stop looking at this ring :D

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful for my family and that I get to spend all day with them!


My Family in Paris last Thanksgiving.

Last year we were so lucky to have a very special Thanksgiving in Paris, France and it will be something we will never forget. This year we are having a traditional Thanksgiving at our house which has not happened in a few years, so as you can imagine, we are very excited!

Enjoy what you are thankful for today and eats lots of really good turkey and potatoes!

"Gratitude is the heart's memory." -French Proverb

#Floridainaday

This past weekend Jimi and I were off to Tampa, Florida for the quickest weekend trip ever! This was also my first time Florida, ever! SO I was pretty excited.

California Sunset (Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes)

We caught the red eye out Friday night and arrived in Florida at around 10:30am on Saturday morning. By 1:30pm on Saturday we were down at the Tampa Cruis-A-Cade Boat Club for the family reunion.

The boat club is right on the Hillsborough River with a dock lined river view, nautical community center and plenty of boats. Jimi and I felt right at home there in a boat house on the water. Jimi has a huge extended family and there were about 40-50 people there. His roots are Italian and a lot of their family history is in Tampa so the reunion was full of loud conversation, great food, live music and lots of hugs. It could have been overwhelming, except they make you feel like family, so I found it not to be overwhelming and rather it all to be very endearing and fun!

Hillsborough River (Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes)

After so much great Cuban, Italian and Spanish food (and homemade connolis!), we took a boat ride down the Hillsborough River out into Tampa Bay for the tour of Tampa from the water. I loved seeing the city from the water (this is one of my favorite things to do when in a new place, because you get such a different perspective then you do from a car). Gorgeous big trees, beautiful Spanish, Cuban and Southern homes, bright colors, and lots of boats. Tampa Bay is huge and wide open, it looked like it went on forever.

Hello Tampa Bay (Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes)

We were able to get a full nights sleep that night and the next morning we were up for a good breakfast at Datz which has an enormous and creative menu with things like Red Velvet Pancakes (below) and Eggs Barbacoa. It has a cafe feel to it with lots of fun stuff to look at, plus it turns into a bar at night!

Red Velvet Pancakes (Photo Credit: Maddie Dierkes)

After breakfast we took a tour of Tampa from the car given by Jimi's dad, James. We went down Bay to Bay which runs all the way around Tampa Bay to Davis Island where James grew up as a kid. Then we went over to the Latin Quarter of Tampa, called Ybor City, where Jimi's grandparents lived. This part of Tampa has tons of culture and is home to the famous restaurant, The Columbia Restaurant, which takes up an entire block and is beautifully decorated head to toe with tiles.

Unfortunately, our flight out that afternoon was cancelled but thankfully, it happened before we left for the airport, so we were able to change our flight to that night and spend more time with his family for the afternoon. After all of this we ended up only being in Tampa for a matter of 32 hours, but I still felt like I got a good look and would love to go again.

Costa Rica 2012!

This trip was a little different for me because I was not going with my family like in the years past, but I was going with Jimi's family. I didn't have to plan anything, I didn't have to worry about anything and I didn't have to keep track of anything. That was nice, all I had to do was relax and have fun and I am so appreciative for that!

We flew into Liberia, Costa Rica and about 3.5 hours later (customs, immigration, baggage claim, lost surf board, car rental, 1.5 hour drive) we arrived to a house on the beach stocked with food, beer and drinks. Talk about a dream house, you must check out these picture of Casa Ohana!!! The views were perfect, the pool was calling our names and the house was big enough for everyone to have their own little space in heaven. We were finally in Playa Negra, Guanacate, Costa Rica!

My Aunt Mary who manages the property and live in Costa Rica was there moments after we arrived and it was so good to see her and spend a whole week with her as Jimi's family welcomed her to all of our dinners and events which I am also very grateful for.

Throughout the trip we swam in the ocean almost everyday, did some surfing, did some walking on the beach, laid out by the pool, played in the pool, ate lots of good food, drank lots of good beer and rum drinks, napped (siestas!!!), read our books, watched the waves, had so many great conversations, went shopping, relaxed in some rocking chairs, stared out into the horizon, star gazed, received one hour messages, went zip lining, and went on a sunset sail and snorkel.

What a great trip. It was hard to come for me this time around more then others, but the trip was so amazing there is nothing really that could have ruined it for me.

Thank you to the Spoto's, the Kittinger's, and my Aunt Mary for an amazing trip!

If you are interested in visiting Costa Rica, check out my Aunt Mary's vacation rentals on the beach in Playa Negra, Guanacaste (an infamous surf break of Costa Rica) from Beach Grass Rentals.

Enjoy!

Father's Day!

For those of you who do not know my Dad...we are twins. We look a lot a like, just ask my Mom. You cannot really know our family without knowing my Dad, because he is the guy that completely embraced being the only boy (even our dogs are girls). He is always right in there with three giggly girls at the dinner table making sure the laughter doesn't stop. No way it could be any different. He is the perfect guy for the job.

I feel lucky to have some amazing kindred spirits. You will find these people are the ones closest to me: my immediate family, Jimi and a few amazing pets. My Dad is definitely one of those people.
For some reason it has always been extremely easy with my Dad. There is a connection that I only feel comes from being born from that mold of thought. Dad is great to talk to and I know I am so lucky to be his daughter and that I get to know such an amazing person that a lot of people will never get to see. There are so many perfect little moments with him that makes you think he just gets better with age. And I love that!

Here's to so many more perfect moments. Happy Father's Day to my Dad! Love you.

Family

The Fam (Property of Maddie Dierkes)

This is us.

Jam seshes, lots of good food, good videos, brotherly jokes, Mexican beer, hiking, camping, good design, lots of talk, creative, athletic, at the beach, southern california made, Mammoth trips, paddling out, rocking out, hard work, and a whole lot fun.