early

Christmas present!

piratical

speaking of dressing as pirates..

free

i received so many wonderful gifts for my birthday..

olives,
chocolate tortes of goodness,
movies,

but this is one i can actually share with someone else...
my sweet friend, rachelle
gave me this supercute pendant
from ablu design:



made on the back
of a scrabble tile.
i love it so, so much.

if you want one,
comment by friday, june 19th
and i'll randomly pick someone
to receive a pendant of your choice.

refresh

lately, i have been feeling blah about my looks.
i know this is normal.
but, my hair is driving me nuts..
i have white strands peeking out on top
and i don't want to color it right now
because of all the chemicals.
and my clothes are old and boring.
so when my girlfriends invited me to go shopping
i jumped at the chance
even though i'm normally a solo shopper.
and, though my focus was accessories only,
interestingly {not really} enough,
i ended up buying four tops:
two for now
and two for after the baby is born.
plus some pretty side flowers..
this one being my favorite:



oh, and some earrings...and a scarf
...and a headband..and some new perfume.
i am feeling pretty again.
{and a little guilty, too.}

happy halloween!

sew hot

so, i have this dress that i bought a while back.
i put it on to wear to church a few weeks ago.
and after putting it on i realized it was a tad too short.
but we were late!
and it was the day i was being released.
{i know, really responsible, right?}
so, i just vowed to not sit down all day.
and left to get into the car.


yes, this me posing outside my ghetto apartment complex..
notice the lovely dead bush and nasty metal railing behind me.
home sweet home.

but at one point i had to sit down
because i was risking passing out.
unfortunately, it was not in a regular, adult-sized chair.
of course i sat down in one of the pint-sized, primary chairs.
and hello legs.
and i don't even have hot legs.
not even close.

long story short..{too late?}
i decided i love my dress too much to return it to h&m
and thought maybe i could try to sew something
along the hem of it.
maybe something a'la this victoria's secret skirt.



a little black ruffle-y extension on the skirt of my dress.
but...
ya, i don't know how to sew.
but i might try, still.
otherwise, my girlfriends suggested some skirt extensions.
and said that shade makes them.
does anyone know anything about these?

happy things

i'm having one of those days.
and i can't put my finger on what is bumming me out.
so, i've decided to just focus on...

the office tomorrow night.
my hopes are for toby to snap in the near future.


ingrid michaelson. i love her.
even though i missed her show last night due to lame circumstances,
i love, love, love her cd.
and love blasting the volume and dancing while listening to it.

hmm. wait, that's making me sad again.

moving on..
my great grandma's brooch that my mom sent me.


and her worn, but beautiful apron.


and her grapefruit knife.
for real.
this makes me really happy.
do you know how much easier it is for me to eat my grapefruit now?


my sweet family playing spin the bottle during fhe
on monday night
to see who would be the next to kiss me
and say thanks to me for all i do.

a darling friend whose out of the blue email a couple hours ago
cheered me up,
and
this amazing family that she told me about.
and whose story brought me to tears.

last night's happy hour cheese and chocolate fondue at $10 a person
with some of my best girlfriends.


max saying "donut" still cracks me up. mm...krispy kreme.


and of course, paul.
who insists on making me happy no matter what.
who wants me to fulfill my dreams no matter what.
who thanks me for doing little things like the laundry
or making a crappy dinner.
he is the reason i am.



...and reading through this post i just wrote was like
a virtual slap in the face for being mopey.
i have so much.
go ahead. tell me to shut up. i can take it.

my new shirt

just in case you didn't already know i was
a dork,
here is photographic proof.

contents

here is my purse.
my favorite features, aside from the very handy front and side pockets..



are the gem zipper pull and the satin turquoise blue interior.



here is what's in my purse.
number coded for your enjoyment..

1. MAC pressed powder. i only use two MAC products, their longlasting lipstick and this powder. p.s. their holiday logo was the inspiration for the design of my 2007 Christmas card.
2. car for max in case of emergencies.
3. squint really hard. i have at least two or three of these tiny ouchless elastics within reach at all times for both ava and myself in case of hair emergencies.
4. NARS orgasm blush. in my opinion it's the best color of blush in the entire history of blush colors.
5. receipt for gas i bought today. this is monumental because paul usually fills the car up since he drives it all over seattle on thursdays and fills up at costco. you can't see it but it was a freakin $3.53 per gallon. and the fact that i have only one receipt in my bag says something because i usually have them all over the place. i'm the CFO of our household and always keep my receipts. no matter what.
6. diaper, size 5.
7. the love of my life, my phone. it's a breeze to text on and i keep all my notes and lists on it. now.
8. lipstick.
9. lip gloss.
10. a sephora sample of what will be my new perfume. i've been test driving a few and this one is the winner. it's vera wang sheer veil. delicious.
11. blush brush.
12. one of my fave in test tube form: archipelago botanicals milk lotion.
13. i pretty much have a stash of these in each and every one of my purses. my kids have low blood sugar issues like myself and when they don't eat they get craaaanky. so fruit leather is my lifesaver. that and breakfast cookies. yum.
14. my bluetooth. i take it back. this is the love of my life. i'm a huge multi-tasker so i pop that thing on and can talk on the phone all day, all the while cleaning my house and doing the dishes and folding laundry. it's awesome.
15. and my wallet. boring.
16. {not pictured} my trusty old camera. it goes everywhere with me. someday i would like to upgrade but for now i'm loyal to my canon powershot A620.

sidenote:
paul scoffed at me when he saw this little project of mine. he said i should go around the house and gather all of my purses and empty the contents and take a picture of THAT. he said i might find some exciting things. he always bugs me about how much crap i have in all of my bags and purses. if i've lost something, anything, he always tells me to check all of my purses. he is still scoffing as i am writing this. he says he will give me a thousand dollars if all of my purses are empty. he just upped it to five thousand. shut it, paul.

update:
a friend sent me an email of a piece that was on good morning america on the 10th about what your purse says about you. i thought this was interesting: the average woman has 10 purses and the average purse weighs 4.3 pounds with an average of 67 items in it.

happy valentine's day to me

these came in the mail today

from me,

for me.

please excuse my super bad posture..

the gift of warmth

i am always cold.
we have a houseful of laminate floors
and only one rug so even if the heat is on full blast,
it is still drafty in our old apartment.
when i'm sitting here at my computer
on a particularly brisk day,
my fingers go numb
and my toes freeze
but i continue to clack away.
because i love you all so much.

mind you,
i don't live in a particularly cold climate.
when i say "brisk" i mean maybe,
just maybe
it will be 40 degrees outside.

my point is:
i am always cold.
i'm sure it has something to do with poor circulation

so, for my Christmas gifts this year,
my man bought me a heated mattress pad,
so that when i climb into bed at night
my mattress is toasty warm;

some luscious liquid chocolate.
aka drink of the gods.
which, by the way, i am sipping right now;

lots and lots of hand warmers,

and these...

battery-powered heated socks.

which, of course, i am wearing right now.

though, they don't work as effectively as if my feet were stuffed into boots.

but they work. just nicely.

thanks, love.

i love

my new earrings.
jessica's email today reminded me
that i hadn't posted pictures of my new earrings.







i wear my brass hoops the most. thanks, jessica!
oh, and i did get one more pair but i didn't take pictures of them because it's a Christmas gift for someone who comes here regularly.

pay it forward

in november i won a little
'pay it forward' contest
at hairyshoefairy.
the deal was
if i was chosen then i, in turn,
needed to do a 'pay it forward' on my blog.
so, my package came yesterday and look! annie knitted me this!




just in time for winter!
and she also included a cd of her singing.
she has a gorgeous voice!

so, my dear readers:

leave a comment before saturday midnight.

not just any comment but a comment of
what you want me to make you.
and don't say anything ridiculous like
you want something crafty because
that will never happen, folks.

i'm talking desserts, here:
cookies, fudge, any kind of deliciousness you want..
i will make.
and send you.
but only if you are

one of the three names randomly chosen.

oh, and don't expect a cd of me singing.

happy halloween

(us in 2001)

i love

my new boots.

old dress

i bought this dress a while back. (this is me rushing to get in front of the camera for the 2 second timer.)



but haven't worn it yet. it was kind of an impulse buy. something i don't normally do. before i make a purchase, i carefully make sure that it will fit in my wardrobe. that it is versatile. that i have shoes to match. etc. well. that is my problem with this dress. i can't wear it alone, for modesty reasons. and i haven't found anything that works to wear over it. like a shrug or a jacket of sorts. and, i don't have any shoes to match it.

moving on. emily has been telling me for quite a while. in fact, she told me this when i tried it on at the shop and modeled it for her. that i could wear a shirt underneath it. and i wasn't into this idea. it seemed too sloppy. but, i recently bought a really great short sleeve white tshirt. (so, great, in fact, that i bought two.) and so i tried it. with jeans. and i think i like it. it might make me look a little prego in the middle. but, oh well. any ideas?

new dress

i love my new dress. and i asked paul to take pictures of it after we got home from church yesterday. in the sincere hopes that he wouldn't make fun of me. he didn't. in fact, rather the opposite. he told me where to stand, how to sit, set up the tripod. etc. and the big kiss that he planted on my lips afterwards was totally worth all the discomfort of sitting in front of the camera while he snapped a dozen pictures of me. he said it was his payment for getting to take pictures of me. duh. why haven't i asked him to do this before? oh right, because it's still really uncomfortable for me. so, please disregard my odd poses and blatant aversion to looking at the camera and just focus on my new dress.

lovely, lovely boots

i am very sad. i bought these online. i am in LOVE with them. they are fabulous. they go with practically everything i own. they look wonderful with my jeans tucked in or out. and they're perfect for the muddy schlopp that is the pathway down to ava's preschool. plus. everywhere i go i get compliments on them. little do people know that they are way too big for me.




this is where the sad comes in. i am giving them to julie. well, she is buying them from me. because she loves them too. who couldn't? i wear size 7-8 shoes. these say size 7. they are HUGE. i could probably fit into a 6 or maybe even a 5. i have clopped around in them for long enough, wishing that either they would shrink in the rain or my feet would grow. that is how much i love them. but. the final straw was last week when i was carrying max up the circus class stairs to the viewing room and i TRIPPED. i caught myself and max. but, my heart pretty much jumped into my mouth and stayed there for the duration of ava's 45 minute class and then some. i didn't put max down to play the whole time. i just held him and firmly decided to either sell them or give them away.

so. dearest julie, please take care of my precious boots.

dress

yesterday when i got back to emily's house after my doc appointment, she told me about this tiny boutique store down by the water that was having a huge sale. i clenched my teeth, grimaced then finally succumbed to temptation (thanks emily!), grabbed my wallet and we left the kids with jimmy. this store is awesome. i am in love with it and hope the reason they are having the sale is not because they are closing. so, i found the sweetest little dress in there that i had to have because it was so dramatically discounted and because...i thought it looked so cute on me. well..i thought so. i would show you a picture of me wearing it but it's virtually impossible for me to get one in the light of this gloomy day. so here is it by itself. now all i need to do is find something to wear over it that doesn't cover up the pretty gems on the bodice. any suggestions? (you can click on the picture to see it close up.)