what the?

so this week has been quite something for many reasons.

1.  work has been a bear and by the time i get home, i eat dinner, watch some tv, and go to bed.  last night i sat at the computer with two camera on my lap intending to download last's weekends photos to share with you.  then i sat them back on the desk, put on my pj's and laid down on the couch.  sorry.

2.  i now have an indistinguishable baby belly.  the little bambino has decided to make quite an appearance.  i swear from saturday night to sunday afternoon my belly grew before my eyes.  last week i fit into this cute little button up shirt and on sunday there was no way i was getting those buttons buttoned.  i think that tonight i am going to try and shop for maternity clothes (which scares me).  this might sound crazy but the thought of buying clothes that look so big freaks me out completely.  Sat. night JD and i were out and walked past a maternity store, he offered to come inside and help me find a few things but i couldn't go over the threshold.  am i the only one here?  so tonight i will do my best to find a few things that will cover my ever growing bump.

3.  the pups have been crazy.  i don't know if there is something going on with the moon this week but the dogs have been off the hook.  baker has been so hyper, beyond his normal dog self.  there was a puddle of drool when we arrived home yesterday from where he sat and waited for us.  normally i wake him up when i come through the door.  rainier has caught the urge to spend all of her waking hours outside.  so no matter if you just returned home from an 1.5 long walk within minutes she is at the back door whining to go out again... ahhh thank god fencing in the back yard is high on the priories list.  this morning we let her out back only to see her sprint out front and down the street.  she is so lucky that A. i went to get her and not JD and B. that the car slowed down in time when she ran across the street. 

well i need to get back at it.  thankfully it is thursday which means only one more day of work before i can get some rest.... ahhhhh

handmade - baby shower gifts

baby gifts!!!

A good friend of mine had a beautiful baby girl a few weeks ago.  i thought i would share with you what i put together for their shower.  guest were asked to bring handmade, eco friendly products for the new baby girl which was a wonderful incentive to sew something up and make some purchase on etsy.

(like i would do anything else)

at the time of the shower we didn't know if the new baby was a boy or a girl.  what we did know were the nursery colors were curry and white... i took that and ran.  for the new little babe i whipped up a baby quilt that would work for warmth over the baby in the stroller or even for a make shift changing pad on the fly. 

i used white and curry fabric mixed with an adorable fish pattern that added pops of orange and red.  the pattern i laid out by eye and then extended the pattern and exaggerated it when quilting the blanket.

i loved (LOVED) how it turned out... a bit more free form than the other quilts i have made in the past and much more me.  it's hard to see here but i quilted the blanket with curry colored thread so it would be a subtle accent on the white fabric.

in addition to the quilt i picked up few other items on etsy. 

this super adorable little fawn teether has been a favorite of mine forever.  the etsy seller little alouette has quite a selection of organic wooden baby items which are to die for.  i am making a list of things i need from this shop for my little one on the way.  seriously, they have so many lovely things i don't know where to start.

 

for the last (but not least) part of my gift i purchased a little eames rocker t-shirt from tiny modernist.  my friend is a fellow architect and design junkie so i knew the little eames rocker wouldn't be lost on her.  the little t-shirt was absolutely adorable and worth every penny.  the new mommy loved it.

it was great to go to a handmade shower... now how to hint to others that i would like handmade things too!  (hmm maybe i just did)

a turning point; MEAT

 

last night was a huge turning point for me in this pregnancy

last night marked the first time since december (yes i said DECEMBER) that i could walk into the meat department at the grocery store.  for the past 4 months i would walk to the end of the isle cover my nose, divert my eyes,  and run into the next isle.  i didn't look or smell for fear that if i did, i would loose it in the grocery store. 

let's face it... no one wants to see a dry heaving person, pregnant or not, in the grocery store where they are shopping for dinner.  so, since december, JD has been our meat shopper and meet preparer.  once the meat started cooking i was fine for the most part.  to be completely honest, he really helped with food preparation for most of the first three months since my belly didn't really like food at all. 

so there i was last night, in the meat isle, standing with hamburger and chicken in my hand and then it came to me.... wait i have meat in my hands and i don't feel the need to run out of the store for fresh air!  yippie...

oh the little joys in life... i can buy meat again.  now if only i could pick up dog poop, then i could take the crazy dogs for a walk by myself again.  well maybe that isn't such a bad thing! 

this weekend - a walk on the trails

saturday morning we awoke to sunshine, which is a treat for a weekend morning the last day of February.  we decided to make the best out of it and took the pups for a walk in the trails by our house. 

rainier and baker led the way

it is so easy to forget how beautiful it is here when i've been sleeping the last few months away.  look at my good looking family on the hike.

the cute family

here's a picture of me and the bug, cleverly concealed within a growing belly bump out for a stroll.  i must say when we got home the bug and i did some resting on the couch while JD made a major house renovation push.  but i'll save that for later.

my ever growing belly bump from above

happy hump day all.

i won - The Handmade Marketplace...

 

i won, i won.  oh i am so excited.

Sweet Paul was having a giveaway and i won.  

this has really just made my day.

our latest purchase

after living in our little house for the past three years, this president's day i made one of the most exciting house purchases of all time - a DISHWASHER!!!

now i know some of you are rolling your eyes... and saying things like paleezzz... but i am seriously excited about this.  in the list of house hold chores, there is always one chore that you absolutely hate to do.  for me it's cleaning the bathroom and folding socks.  i know that they need to be done but i seriously dislike doing them.  for you maybe it's making the bed, or running the vacuum, or dusting?  for JD doing the dishes is the "thing" he hates to do. this is an ever so inconvenient chore to hate because it is one of the few that need done daily.

for three years we have battled with a sink full of dishes... that is all about to change.  i got the call today that our dishwasher, a bosch, is ready for pick up.  oh... am i excited.  our new stainless appliance is pictured above.  isn't it sleek and modern.  it is supposed to be really quiet too which is important in a house like ours that shares the kitchen with the living space.

so guess what we will be doing this weekend??? yep installing a dishwasher!

i'll let you know how it goes.  have a great weekend.  anyone have any really exciting plans?

birthday presents

my 31st b-day (in december)

i thought i would share with you the other awesome presents i got for my birthday.  it was hard to compete with the news that a little baby was on the way but JD did a great job.

first of all i got a surprise dinner at Dahlia Lounge, a Tom Douglas restaurant here in seattle.  the food was great and the atmosphere was relaxing and comfortable.  i thoroughly enjoyed my dinner and then was slipped an envelope with tickets inside...

the tickets inside were for the Seattle Symphony!  every year we have lived here in seattle i have wanted to go to the Seattle Symphony Holiday POPs show.  it sells out sooooo fast we have never gotten tickets.  that was before this year... JD got me tickets for the show!  AND, AND... to make it even better this year it was the Seattle Symphony, presents Holiday POPS with Cirque de la Symphonie. 

Yep they had aerialist, jugglers, dancers, and the most amazing strong men.  they all performed while we listened to holiday favorites played by the symphony.  it was amazing! bliss! i had a complete blast.

if a baby, dinner, and the symphony weren't enough, JD got me the sweetest silver bean necklace ever. 

 

he got me this little baby from Monique Leon Jewelry & Metals on etsy.  isn't it darling?  this necklace is all about new beginnings, good luck, mystery and promise.  he couldn't have picked a better time to give me this little bean huh?

my 31st birthday was a great one... even though it was almost 3 months ago i still wanted to share my day with you. 

hope you all are having a wonderful thursday.  

we even have a bit of sun here this afternoon.  hope the dry weather can hold up for a dog walk tonight.