San Francisco surprise trip!

i must say that i was so, so proud of myself for being able to keep this San Francisco trip a secret from JD.  i'm not great with secrets, especially when it comes to keeping them from my best friend.  so it was ultra hard not to spill the beans.  that said:  I DID IT!!!! and he was so surprised.

the trip was a quick one but we got to see tons of SF (most of it by walking it!).
we flew Virgin Air which was pretty fancy. they were pretty personable (which is rare in flying these days) and had fancy ipod like seats and satellite tv viewing.

on friday we met up with a college friend and perused the city.

this was taken from the tippy top of nob hill... then we walked down.  urgh.

on our walk down the hill we made our way through the colorful china town.

we eventually made it to the ferry building where we had a wonderful lunch on the water.  after living here in seattle, i can't imagine living without water.  it is just so peaceful even when hustling, bustling with ferry traffic.

while making our way through the city we even managed to find a Steeler's Bar... oh yeah baby.

here we go, steelers, here we go!

friday afternoon we walked up through north beach and down to fisherman's wharf... then it was back to the hotel cause after 7.5 miles of walking i needed a nap.  that evening we had a delicious meal and i even indulged in a few sips of red wine with dinner.  ( i know, i know save the speech for someone else... after 6 months of being pregnant and not having any alcohol i doubt a few sips of red wine is going to hurt.)

saturday morning we drove across that famous bridge... what's its name again?  oh yeah the Golden Gate Bridge... ( seriously i hope you know i am just joking)  i got a bit obsessive with the photography.

we had breakfast in Sausalito then walked along the water enjoying the sunny morning.

by the afternoon we had made our way down to the mission for some amazing tacos and a stroll around the neighborhood to check out some of the beautiful murals.

a

and this is apparently what i need to prepare myself for in the next few months!

 
we even checked out some lucha libre masks...but i couldn't talk the boys into street wrestling

on sunday morning we ended our trip with a cable car ride... cause how can you visit San Fran without seeing the city via cable car?

it was the perfect way to end the trip.
i hope you enjoyed your surprise b-day weekend JD.  you deserved it and i'm glad i got to tag along and share it with you.

roller derby

did i tell you we went to the roller derby a few weeks ago to see the Rat City Roller Girls?

oh my god it was fun.  we had a blast.  i think that next year, when i'm not pregnant, i'll try out.  i mean what could be more fun than skating around in a circle hip checking people?

the finished kitchen!!

woot woot.

i know this has been a long time in coming but here is a picture of our completed kitchen.

no it's not the best light i know... but i haven't thought to take a photo after work and i've stalled long enough.

you can see our new dishwasher installed (boy do i love that thing) and all of our beautiful white dishes (from crate and barrel) on display. 

i still need to resolve where to put our coffee / tea mugs that didn't make it onto a shelf.  over all i LOVE the new kitchen... LOVE IT.

what do you think?

we're back

yup we are back from our trip to San Fran...

and boy oh boy am i tired.  we did a ton of walking and got to visit so many neighborhoods along the way.  i got some great shots which i will share with you later this week.

a few things to get you caught up on:
1.  the pups and kit-cat did great with their new best dog sitter stef.  Rainier and Baker even got to go to the dog park.  we walked in the door last night to 2 tired, happy pups.

2.  i swear i walked 15 miles at least this weekend.  6 months pregnant + 15 miles of walking = one tired lady.

4.   the baby boy is now strong enough to kick and make my whole belly move.  JD could even spot the kicking from across the room!

5.  the blind side is a great movie.  we watched it last night and i highly recommend it.

6.  although i enjoyed a great trip with my wonderful husband, i'm happy to be home.

there is something i need to get off my chest

well actually there is something i need to get off (and on) my chest...

but i digress.

as you all know we are expecting, and with pregnancy comes an growing and expanding belly.  as everyone knows the belly isn't the only thing to grow with pregnancy, yes i am talking about boobs.

as the months roll by the belly grows and so do those lovely girls.  some ladies, less endow in the chest area love the new addition.  for others, like myself, who were already "set" in the chest area, the additional size isn't all that much fun.

let me explain... it isn't so much that i mind my boobs getting bigger.  in fact, i hadn't noticed much of a visual change.  i did notice how ill fitting my current bras had become.

since i had tackled my fear of shopping for maternity clothes a few weeks ago, i felt that buying a bigger bra couldn't be that big of a deal.  (WRONG)

first i went to a maternity shop, because that's logical right?  need a maternity bra?  go to a maternity shop.  the helpful lady there told me a bit about the types of bras they offered and that i should try on a bunch to see what would work best.

then as she turned to help another customer she added a few qualifiers:
1.  "oh when looking at the sizes know that these bras all run about a size small."
2.  "we don't have a DD our sizes go to an E."
3.   "oh and there aren't any sizes above E."
4.  she then should have added... good luck... snicker snicker.

let me translate that for you...  if you normally wear C shop for a D.  if you normally wear a D shop for an E because there is no such thing as a DD. and then of course you will be shopping for at least a size above what you normally wear cause your pregnant!...

so if you normally wear a D... and you need a size bigger, an E in this case... the bras run small so look for a size... WE DON'T CARRY.
wtf.  how is it a shop that is to cater to growing female bodies doesn't have bras above "normal sizes"?  i was pissed.


i left feeling like a large cow or something.  on my way out of the shopping complex i stopped by another famous bra company to find that they too didn't carry anything "that big".

you know what people F U.  i shouldn't have to feel bad about the size of my boobs.  if you hadn't noticed i'm pregnant and they are going to get bigger.

i gave up my search that day and went home to pout.  i guess i will try it again sometime soon, but now even when your pregnant you have to conform to these manufacturer imposed limits of what is normal.  i would venture a guess that there is a large part of the population that doesn't fit, quite literately, into these ridiculous limits.

i shouldn't have to feel bad that my body is changing to accommodate this new little baby that we are so lucky to have. 

oh crap... it's warm

those were the words out of our mouth tuesday night when we opened the freezer.

all those frozen berries, home made pesto, and meat were thawed. the fridge wasn't cold, the freezer wasn't cold.  CRAP.  a broken fridge was all we needed.  JD didn't know at the time, but our San Fran trip was quickly approaching.  there certainly wasn't enough time to shop for a new fridge.  plus, where were we going to come up with the money?

originally we had thought the freezer door had been pushed open and started to thaw... but tuesday night it was apparent the entire thing was no longer working.

i immediately started to have a breakdown.  there were too many variables... shopping for a fridge, the big surprise san fran trip reveal, fridge delivery, scheduling a repair person, and now no fridge for the dog sitter.  urgh.  my head was exploding.

thank god our neighbor has a freezer chest that had room, so we took most of our freezer contents up to their house.  that move alone, saved us a few hundred dollars in meat and frozen fruit.  i returned home to start cooking a few of the things that didn't make the trip to their freezer so, we could eat them before they want bad.

i immediately got online to compare refrigerators but JD said he could fix it.  he ran a few tests on the fridge and he felt he had a pretty good idea he would be able to fix it.  not that i doubted him, but how many people do you know that can diagnose a problem in an appliance and then fix it without the help of a repair man?  where do you get parts for these things anyway?  by the time he had it narrowed down to a specific part it was too late - the stores were closed.

so tuesday night we unloaded the fridge items that wouldn't be able to survive into a cooler in the middle of our kitchen and covered them with ice.

soon after i revealed the san fran trip because the fridge stress was just too much and we needed something to look towards.  we went to bed excited for the new trip and worried about the fridge.

the next day JD found the part and $86 dollars later, he was at home behind the fridge for the second day in a row.  he had some crazy wiring diagrams and a headlamp on... i didn't interrupt.  he meant business. about 30 minutes later i heard my fridge kick on... i looked down to see the look of triumph on his face.  i opened the freezer door, the air blew cold.

he had done it... he fixed the fridge and all before our trip.  the food was saved and in an unexpected bonus both the freezer and fridge got a much needed clean out. 

i'm lucky to have such a handyman... he fixes appliances.  yeah i would say that's a little hot.  ha.

JD's early B-day surprise!

Since this is JD's last 20 something birthday i wanted to do something memorable.  

so a few months ago i began thinking... and thinking hard about what to get him.  he has done such a great job the past couple of years on my birthday.  this past b-day you can read about here, and the birthday before that i got Baker.

so i got down to business and decided to plan a surprise trip to San Francisco!  so we are taking off for a long weekend... i booked tickets, a hotel, a shuttle, arranged things to do while there, worked out schedules with friends who live there, all without him knowing a thing.

the whole trip was revealed when i gave him a Moleskine City Notebook of San Fran.  at first he just looked at the notebook then at me then back to the notebook.  i could see that the early birthday surprise wasn't coming together for him so i squeeled... "we're going to san francisco for a long weekend... pack your bags."  and then he looked at me like i had 2 heads.  "Really?  Like for real?" he said...

ha yes total surprise!

so we will be off frolicking this weekend.  don't worry someone is staying at the house with the fur babies.  i will be sure to take lots of pics. 

the fence is complete

the fence is finally done

and let me tell you i couldn't be happier (and neither could the pups)
we finished up the fence and after a weekend of freedom the pups agree that the fence was a good idea.  this weekend it was beautiful here (70 and sunny).  while we were working on the flooring in the nursery i left the back door open and Rainier and Baker ran in and out as much as they wanted.  they took turns sleeping in the sun on the back porch, laying in the grass, and then coming inside to see how the work progressed.

at the end of the day we got a lot down with minimal interference from the dogs, and they had big smiles on their faces from the amount of time they spent running around the yard.  it was a win, win situation.

i think the fence turned out nicely.  i can already picture the future trellis green with wisteria.  (ah yes one step at a time.  there are only two of us you know.)

don't you think it looks better?

the short side...and a little detail.  now we just need a little landscaping and things will be shaping up.

hope your week is going well... !

Eating In - Avocado Toast

eating in - avocado toast 

i know it has been a long time since i have done one of these.  truth is i really haven't felt like cooking lately, but i have been meaning to share a strange sounding breakfast with you for a while now.

please let me introduce to you... avocado toast.
i know most of you will read this post and think... "ewwww i am so not trying that".  but let me just tell you this is good (and yes i thought that before i was pregnant.  this is actually a modification of a recipe JD saw in a Men's Health magazine and he introduced the idea to me.  i too was skeptical until i tasted it.

here is a picture of our breakfast this weekend.  a yummy egg, fruit salad, and avacado toast.  i'm so excited we still had an avocado in the fridge for this morning (we had avocado toast again... yum)

Avocado Toast

1 avocado
2 slices of whole wheat bread
2 laughing cow wedges
honey
garlic salt

1.  toast the bread and spread 1 wedge of the laughing cow cheese on each piece (the original recipe called for cream cheese but we substituted the laughing cow and we like it better)

2. place thin slices of the avocado on each piece of toast.  we use 1/2 of an avocado per piece.

3.  drizzle toast with honey, sprinkle with garlic salt.

waaaa laa.  yummy toast.  i know what you are thinking... "wait sprinkle with garlic salt and drizzle with honey?"  but yes.... the sweetness of the honey and the savory of the salt really make the avocado toast shine.

try it i dare you.

(oh and if you do try it, let me know what you think - k!)

the weekend wrap up

let me start by saying... oh my god am i tried.
yesterday we worked our buts off installing the wood floor into the second bedroom (what will someday be a nursery) from 8.30 am until about 10.00 pm yesterday we worked.  thank god JD cleaned out the room on sat... or we never would have gotten it all done.

i did take pictures but was so tired last night i could hardly drag myself from the shower to bed. 

the good news is that the room looks like a real room.  we have all sorts of touch ups and all the trim work to do... but with another week or so of steady work we could be ready to move some furniture in.
(note that we don't yet have any furniture to move in...but hey who's counting.)

the not so great part of the weekend is that we are now living with stacks upon stacks of stuff in the living room that came from the second bedroom.  we have over 20 linear feet of books... a stack of boxes of books as tall as me... and countless other things.  urgh.  until we build our storage boxes for the living room wall i think we will be living in stacks of books.

i must remember to just breath... one step at a time.
photos of all sorts of stuff coming soon.  unless i fall asleep early again tonight.

me and my baby belly

this is me with my baby belly... oh, almost 2 weeks ago. 

let's just say since this photo the belly has continued to grow.  

now that i look down, i would say that it has continued to grow at a rapid pace.

this week, i think that our boy must be adding significantly to his size and weight cause i am starving all the time.  last night i ate dinner and could have eaten again an hour later... 

( i should say i didn't eat a second dinner. geez stop judging)

update... update

no pictures today... just a quick update about what has been shakin around these parts.

sometimes i forget that i can post without pictures so here goes.

1.  this weekend was great we got tons done and i took a bunch of pictures for you for up coming posts.  bad news is that i have yet to sit down at the computer to download them.

2.  the fence is complete!... and we all enjoyed happy tired pups lounging about in the sun this weekend. 

3.  my sister finally had her baby... 2 weeks late little Chloe Mae came into this world on Monday afternoon.  she was 8 lbs. 13 oz... a big, cute, healthy baby is all we could have asked for.

4.  i had a fierce migraine tuesday night that made me go to bed while the sun will still up in the sky.  thankfully it was gone by wed AM.

5.  i opened a new etsy store, Blue Poppy Seed.  cause hey what else do i have to do?  you can check it out here.  i now have a place to upload all of my graphic design invites that keep me up at night.  i currently have 3 baby shower invites listed but more to come soon... i just have to get my little fingers working as quickly as my brain.

6.  i have been so hungry this week.  i think the boy is having a growth spurt or something cause i can't seem to eat enough.  from here on out, i think i'll call him bosco until he's born and his name is revealed.  ha. well maybe not.  i will have to think on that one.

hope everyone is having a great wed... remember after today we are more than half way through the work week!.


xoxo
wren

the fence part 2

the fence project continues on, and on, and on.

so the posts are in and painted... next step cedar slats. 

(hence the large pile of cedar scene here on our saw horses)

this is the lesser shown side of the yard.

here you can see the posts in, trimmed to size, and painted a lovely shade of black.

oh... wait check out that cedar... nice.

(missing yet is the actual gate, and some slats on the left hand side.)

now back to the side of our house affectionately know as our staging ground.

the posts are in and painted black... nice.

and look-ie there... now they have cedar.  sweet.

oh.. and this is my cute husband.

(i know it looks like he does all the work cuz he is always the one in the photos... but really i help too!)

here is the almost finished fence, minus the gate.

the tall posts will be the front of the trellis.  

more posts will be needed to create the trellis obviously.  but we take things one step at a time around these parts.

the new fence

so i mentioned that we have been working on a fence 

(for what seems like forever now)

it all started with holes, concrete, and pressure treated posts.

since the neighbors felt the need to rip out all the vegetation between our houses we felt the need to add something back to block their house.

not only will we eventually have a fence but a trellis too!

and then we can say good bye to their lovely facade.

we don't like the look of pressure treated wood... so i painted it black.

excuse my awesome outfit but hey... they are work clothes baby.

tv - what i'm watchin

have you seen this show parenthood?

i think it's hilarious.

you should watch.

some home page changes

today has been a crazy one here at work... no time for blogging or posting pictures of our new fence.  what is new around here, are some pictures on my blog home page of our little family... you can find pics of me, JD, Rainier, Bamboo, Ginkgo, and Bake... the little man will surly join the crowd in August.

i also added a "currently reading" area... it is always fun to see what others are into.  i have a few other things in mind to add to the page but it hasn't happened yet.

i'm sure a lot of you read daily with reader.. so click on over and see my cute little family.

love to hear your thoughts...

xoxo,
wren.

our little man.

i want to share something very exciting and personal with you all... 

this is our baby boy's adorable little face.

(he is in side profile for those of you who aren't accustom to reading ultrasounds)

so yep... we're having a BOY...

secretly i think JD was a bit relieved.

i am so excited... operation nursery is about to kick off this week and we are wrapping up a fencing project that i will post about later in the week. 

lots of things going on.  

just wanted to share.  hope you all are having a great tuesday.

walk about the neighborhood

since we knew the rains were on there way (in a big way i might add) to the seattle area, we took a long walk the other night.  we stopped and smelled the flowers and tried to find a couple minutes of piece in the day.

we looked at white flowers

and pink ones.

the pups took a minute or too to check see what a little girl was playing with in her yard. 

i loved these little yellow pom poms... anyone know what this plant is?

the blossoms are amazing right now.  let's hope all this driving wind and rain doesn't knock them all down.

our new mantel

sorry about the doom and gloom earlier this week... i know no one wants to read about tragedy everyday.  so in an effort to lighten up the blog this week and try and find a silver lining.. i give you our mantel project.

with all the other stuff and baby excitement around here let's just say projects have dropped off the list. 

we have made an effort to finish up a few things and because i have been a bit more tired than usual JD has been handling the bulk of the projects.  this one, although we put off for some time, couldn't have been easier.

we wanted to install a mantel on our freshly furred out fireplace so that the tv wasn't the only item hanging there.  for the mantel its self, we went to the re-store here in seattle that sells used building goods.  you never know what you'll find because the inventory changes daily.  on this particular day we found a laminated beam for $6 that would work great for our mantel.  we used the same steel brackets that are used in the kitchen for the open shelving, to secure the mantel to the wall.

here you can see our mantel all decked out for easter.  (don't mind the wires, we are having a sound issue with the tv that should be solved soon and then - no wires!)

although i didn't get all the easter decorations out i did want to break out my little chick collection. they do make me happy.

here you can see all the little chicks standing at attention.

the egg shaped chicks, JD and i made a few years ago with some wood eggs from Michael's and some paint.  after we painted on the chickies we spray polyed them.  we have a whole family.

(oh yeah and you can see the mantel up close here too)

the paper chick decoration you see in the background is from my grandparents, given to me the year my little sister was born.

chicks in the coral - could that be cuter?  and how about that sequin bunny and chick?

all the little soldier chicks in a row.

tweet, tweet.  happy easter.