A Trip to the Strawberry Patch

Last week we had a little fun picking strawberries and even more fun filling our bellies. Our trip was not without toddler tantrums and strawberry stained clothes, but we still left happy with lots of strawberries.

Winsley ate half her weight in strawberries right there in the field. That's the real  reason to pick your own strawberries, right?

We ended up with a few bruised strawberries and I will definitely go earlier in the season next time to get the best of the batch (This is the last week for strawberry picking in our area).

It is truly a joy to share this experience with my little ladies and I am so happy that we live so close to so many farms. We even discovered that this very farm (Page Farms) will be growing blackberries soon.

My tummy is already growling with anticipation.

What grows in abundance where you live? I am so eager to check out other farms in our area after discovering that blueberry season starts next month!

Busy Bee + Design Updates

Between kiddos, house chores, and making endless future plans with everything, I can't seem to keep my blogging hat on long enough to form a proper post. This weekend was a great refresher. No big relaxing trip or reflection time, just quality time with my mom and little sister and watching my own two little ones grow their own little sister friendship.

A few hours walking around a local art festival was enough to inspire creativity and enliven passion. All while observing the world through little eyes. A sand pit becomes a castle construction site, a public piano becomes a grand piano on center stage, and climbing an art sculpture translates to conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro (which my mom actually did in real life a few months back).

And now a few fun blogs I've designed over the past couple of weeks. Check out these amazing ladies and their awesome blogs.

Abbey at Everyday Champagne has always let do as I please with her blog. She recently decided to branch off from solely food blogging to blogging more about fashion and beauty, so a subtle redesign was in order.

Laura from Sweet Cheeks Photography has a great eye for photography! She captures incredible moments in time during her everyday shenanigans with her two blonde haired cuties.

Sarah from The Baum Squad is a fellow momma with a hilarious daughter and a deliciously chunky baby boy (seriously, this kid puts my daughters' baby rolls to shame). She, like me, blogs about everyday life except she succeeds in her scheduling and consistency far better than I could ever even attempt.

Waiting on the snow...

I'm taking a snow day today. We are expecting at least an inch or snow in NC. May not sound like much to my northern friends, but it is a massive amount here in the South.
Seriously, the whole city usually shuts down for a few flurries. An inch? An inch could mean closings for days! I'm clearly exaggerating, but not really.
In my blogging absence, I'll leave you with cute baby picture. 

On the left is Ellington's first snow (February 2012). On the right is Winsley's first snow just last week (January 2014).
I rarely compare my two girls because they are so different, but I just couldn't resist this cute side-by-side of their first snow experiences. Adorableness.

Meet the Blog

Oh, Hi there… Have we met before? Looks like there are plenty of new faces around this little ol' blog and I haven't even introduced myself yet. How rude of me!

If you've been a long time reader, then you know a little bit about my story. However, if you're new to these parts, then you're probably wondering about a few things. Like "What's up with the name of this blog?" or "Who is this Quinn girl anyway?"

Well, let's get started with a little blog history:

I started this little blog to share pictures and stories of our adventures on our honeymoon to Korea with friends and family. When we got back to the US, I kept blogging on and off to share our everyday life with family back in NC (since we moved to Alabama after the wedding). 

Then, I had kids. 

There is just something about having kids that makes you want to share all of that chubby baby goodness with the world. 

Somewhere along the way, this blog has become more than a glamorized photo album / diary. Since having my little ones, it has become more of a space for me to talk to adults (yes, I understand that I'm actually just typing on a blank screen and not chatting with a friend). Still, this is where I find my me-time and I have discovered a world of support and friendship all over the blogging world. 

So, while this blog started off as a way to document the cultural clashes of two newly weds (Kimchi = his Korean background, Sweet Tea = my Southern background in the US), it has evolved into an email update to the world about everyday happenings and struggles of a momma raising 2 multicultural little ladies. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see a lot more of you soon!

Weekend Recap

1. Lots of block building was included in our weekend happenings. This masterpiece was created when I had to run upstairs to change the baby. I came back down to find an incredibly tall block tower and an incredibly proud little architect. 

2. Another moment in mommyhood where I was focusing on the baby and the toddler took the moment to sneak away. When I finally found the key to unlock the toddler locked door, I found one mischievous little lady who was covered head to toe in aquaphor (if you have no idea what that is, think vaseline). It took THREE shampoos + TWO shampoos with dish soap to get all of that greasy stuff our of her hair. 

3. I had to do it. I caved into the trend of 'cupping'. And I'm not sorry in the least bit. I'm not guaranteeing that this will be the last 'baby cupping' you will see in my instagram (@kimchisweettea) feed. 

4. Exciting happenings in the neighborhood! We were apart of our very first block party in our new neighborhood. It was glorious! Plenty of kids for my girls to play with and we met all of our neighbors.  Ellington was so worn out that she passed out right in the stroller. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me -  knowing that there will be many many more of these community events in our sweet little neighborhood. 

5. Unfortunately, our weekend ended + our week has started with rain. Lightning, flooding, and more rain to come. 

How was your weekend? I hope all of my East Coast friends had some fun before the rain came and all of my West Coast friends found some way to beat the heat.

Linking up with Sami and Rachel today. 

A Week at the Beach, Part 4 of 4

Okay, people. This is the last of the pictures from our beach trip. I was hoping to get a family photo on this trip (it's on my summer bucket list), so we headed to the beach for a short photo session and enjoy the feeling of sand between our toes for the last time.

I cannot believe how much our annual beach trip has changed over the past 3 years. Ellington was so little the first time we headed to the beach with the same awesome couples that joined us again this year. The second time (here and here) at the beach, Ellington was still an amateur beach goer and a little weary of getting her hands covered in sand. This year (here, here, and here), she was a true professional. I even had to bribe her a few times to get her off of the beach.

Next year's beach trip will be even more fun! I just know it. We started out with 3 couples and a baby. Now we have 3 couples and 4 babies. I foresee many more crazy times at the beach!

A Week at the Beach, Part 3 of 4

My grown up little lady absolutely adores the beach! Just a few months ago she was hesitant to play in the sandbox for fear of getting dirt on her hands, but now she is one with the sand. I have to trick her into going back to the beach house and, unfortunately for her little sister, I often use Winsley as an excuse. 'The baby needs to go home to eat' 'The baby has to get out of the sun for a little while' Seriously, this girl is obsessed with the ocean waves and the miles of sand. 

 I am not really sure why she is making that face, but I love it!

Ellington was really upset when she noticed that the dads were using her football to play a game on the beach, so she grabbed it the first chance she got and marched back to where I was sitting saying, 'No Daddy play my football!' I guess we need to work on sharing a little more before Winsley gets old enough to take her toys. :)

I see many more beach weeks in our future with these two little ladies! 

And just in case you're wondering if my 12 week old is super advanced and sitting up on her own already. . . she's not. I sneakily photoshopped my hand out of the picture. :)

A Week at the Beach, Part 2 of 4

Yesterday, we visited the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. It's not huge and doesn't have a big feature exhibit like a beluga whale, but it's a special place for me because this is where I visited the fishies when I was a child. I clearly remember many visits to this aquarium (especially the trips to the arcade and doughnut shop at Carolina Beach while we were in the area. :)

We took a ferry ride over to see the aquarium and Ellington absolutely loved every bit of that short boat ride. She had seen many boats in the ocean on Sunday and Monday at the beach and was very eager to ride on a boat. 

Now on to the photos from our aquarium visit. Ellington was not so eager to get her picture taken while we were at the museum, so you'll see lots of Elli blurs and me trying to hold her down to get one good picture of all of us. . . it didn't work out too well. The museum tired her out and both girls slept the entire way home. :)

Thankfully, Ellington was gracious enough to let us take one family picture last night. :)

A Week at the Beach, Part 1 of 4

We take a beach trip every year with two wonderful couples and this year we ALL have babies! For the past two years, Ellington has been the only kid around and we just went for a long weekend. This year there are 4 kids and we are at the beach for an entire week!  I am super excited and because of all the friend time + craziness involved with vacationing with kids, this post will be short and sweet with lots and LOTS of pictures. Expect more posts this week with many more pictures. :) I'll get back to normal blogging new week. Enjoy your week and pretend like you're on a mini vacation if your not at the beach. Your boss won't mind if you show up in a swimsuit smelling of suntan lotion, right?

I'm not sure what exactly Ellington is doing here (she claimed she was 'washing' the baby), but lets just say we won't be leaving her alone with the baby anytime soon.