a hidden treasure

I hardly ever use my point and shoot camera any more. Like, Nuh-Ever. So on Saturday when I pulled it out to take some quick snappies of our junk to sell on Craigslist I was so surprised when I saw some photos of our last week in Santa Monica before we moved back in July. It was like opening a treasure chest! It's great how the things in life aren't things but people and places and the memories you make with them, right? And it's so fantastic that those memories can be captured by film {or now a days pixels} for the heart to reminisce with. When I get to heaven I am going to walk straight up to that camera inventor man and give him a big hug, supposing he made it to heaven and all {... or supposing I do...}

FYI - last year at this time I was on maternity leave and me and my pregnant belly laid out at the beach every day until I was induced. That made for some mean green fightin machine tan lines, my friends, IN JANUARY!! I disagree with you, Dorothy - there's no place like Los Angeles!

Funny Friday is Here!

You know, I like to laugh. A LOT. There are so many things out there in this world that are so darn hilarious and I think that's what I like most about YouTube. Just the random funny things out there. Last week Jared and I spent an hour - AN HOUR - watching news bloopers. They got so good that we both had tears rolling down our cheeks and cramps in our abdomen. You know the feeling, right? It's the best in the world! They say that "laughter is the best medicine" and so I thought I'd try and cure the world every Friday for the year of 2012 by ending the week with a comedic spectacle of some sort. Just anything that might cause you to break out in a smile and chuckle a bit. Capiche?

So as I was thinking about funny friday, two thoughts collided and this revolutionary idea was born. So we all know I love Ellen, right? I should say so and I think a good majority of you do too! Well, I would totally give anything to be there for her 12 Days of Giveaways come Christmas. When I saw what the Letter 4 sisters did to get on the Martha Stewart show that gave me an idea. The first Friday of every month I will post my favorite Ellen clip. Then come October I'll send it in to her crew and they'll totally judge me as her most supreme fan and give me tickets to the giveaway days in December!! I'm a dreamer, what can I say? Regardless of how improbable my plot is, I'm going to post a video of hers anyway today. This was brought to my attention by Bridget. I don't know how I had never seen this before! Ellen and Dennis at their finest. 

Happy Friday! 
May all your wildest weekend plans come true!

it's finally happened!

The other night Jared was taking a shower and I was on the computer. It was awfully quiet and I noticed that there wasn't any stirring around me so I turned to find Ev. There she was, sitting down the dark hallway facing the bathroom door. Her fingers were in her mouth and she was patiently waiting for dad to come out. I yelled to Jared to open the door because it was too darn cute. From where I was sitting I heard the creak of a door, saw a burst of light fill the hallway and a smile appear on a little girl's face. She lion leaped to dad and giddily laughed as they wrestled.

I knew there had to be truth to the statement "she's a daddy's girl" but for the past 10 months Ev's been more team Mom. That's not to say that she and Jared didn't get along, of course they did! But the past month there has been an evolution in their relationship that I can't get enough of. She lunges out of my arms for dad now, will stand begging at his feet rather than mine. They have their own games, even! It adds a whole new dimension and enlarges the appreciation I have for the two of them, if that is even possible. On Monday Jared came home from work and said he thought about Evelyn all day and how marvelous she is. Aren't they cute together?! I am so anxious to see them grow in the years to come. Jared wears fatherhood very well. It makes him all the more charming.

my new year ambitions + surprise giveaway

That image above? Yes, those are handmade dolls by moi. I'll get back to them in a sec but I just want to keep you in suspense for a bit while I drag you through my insignificant fun goals for 2012! I know, I'm a sly one.

1. Take more bathes. Hold up, hold up. This doesn't mean I don't wash myself regularly! I take a shower every day. But I never ever take a bath. It seems grimy to me. And although I still can't shake that thought, I also can't resist this aromatherapy bath gel a friend gave me for Christmas that makes me feel all Marilyn Monroe-esque when I dip in the bubbles. Sexy and soothing in one bundle? yes, this mama will take it!

2. Leave Evelyn with a babysitter. Still unsure about that one. My heart is weak when it comes to this and I don't know why. She always goes down at 7pm and 99% of the time stays down but I'm afraid there will be some freak time where she wakes up screaming with the sitter, she cries and cries all the while I'm tucked away in a movie theatre, I see my phone ring and it's our babysitter, I tell Jared I want to leave immediately, he might get a bit flustered, there will be terrible traffic on the way home, I'll cry, our once nice sitter will be at the end of her whits when we get home and we'll never leave the home again. I have a psycho brain.

3. Wear lipstick. First off, I am no make-up person. I don't own foundation. Anything beyond blush, mascara and eyeliner are beyond me. I buy NYC, Wet'nWild and if i'm feeling like a superstar maybe Almay. It's not that I wouldn't like to doll myself up more but I'm too thrifty to indulge myself in that department. Also, I'm 25 - shouldn't I know how to do makeup already? Confession - I don't. So it's my goal to go to Sephora and get did up and buy one thing. And I want that thing to be lipstick. I don't think red is my thing so maybe a darker maroon.

4. Stop nailbiting. Uh, this was totally on my list for last year and I did it!.... for about 3 months. This is such an ugly habit and I shouldn't be a quarter-of-a-century-old-mom and still doing it. Gotta kick it.


5. Grow my etsy shop, I think. I'm on the fence with this to be honest. While I like what's in my shop, there's this insurmountable pressure inside of me that makes me hesitant about spreading it's news. I feel like when someone pays for something that I made it has to be prestine, top quality. And while I try my best to make it look immaculate, the truth is that sometimes you will see the glue and threads might show. So I'm afraid of my working appearing as, well, shoddy, when in fact I worked hours on it.

But I think I still like doing it when it is all said and done. That's why I graced my shop with the presence of something new yesterday. Remember that doll I made for Evelyn for Christmas? Well, here's a New Year surprise. This week you could WIN one over HERE! Make sure to visit Bridget, she's a doll herself. You'll love her! Good luck!

on the eve of 2012

Boy, I'll tell ya something. Celebrating New Years at 7pm with an 11 month old is better than any layered bean dip, buffalo wings, overdosage of sugar, belly bloated midnight shenanigans combined. When we were at the store earlier on Saturday and walked by some blow horns we picked them up on a whim, totally anticipating that Evelyn would not want any part of annoying loud noises. But we stood corrected! We had never seen her laugh so hard. Here's the evidence.

The evening began with us three at Cafe Rio. I will sing praises to that chicken taco salad for as long as I live. Then came on the party hats accompanied by blowers, lots of tickles and laughs. After Ev went to bed Jared and I pulled out the big guns and loaded ourselves up on a homemade pazookie. Have you ever had one of these sweet things? They are TO. DIE. FOR. Yes, that would be a 9" pan cookie topped with peanut butter sundae ice cream. We couldn't even finish it.

We weren't planning on staying up til midnight but somehow we did {??? still trying to figure out the how and why on that one}. We're ready for ya 2012! We like the looks of you so far.

New York! New York!

Here is our adventure in the Big Apple brought to you in storyboard form.

I have to break here and say how amazed we were with the city at this point. I mean, completely struck with how foreign it seemed to us in comparison to LA. It was so crowded, tall, bustling, stressful,  and magical at the same time. And I can't tell you how elated we both were when we looked down and saw Ev asleep in the umbrella stroller {thanks Jessica for letting us borrow it!}. She most certainly is not a napper on the go-er and that was tickling my nerves the whole afternoon of how I was going to get her to nap but bless her, she eased my worry and slept away for a whole hour and a half!

All other storyboards here.

a Christmas of Firsts

Our household has been one big pajama fest the past 3 days. It's been amazing! I would live in pj's my whole life if I could. or knit sweater tights. those are pretty comfy too. This whole holiday season has been a bit different for us and has been one that has led to many firsts. Sometimes trying out new things can be scary but luckily all of our first attempts at things have been a success:

1. Evelyn's first Christmas! She didn't enjoy ripping paper as much as we thought she would have. That was a bit perplexing, seeing that she loves to rip any book she can get her hands on but the one thing we WANT her to tear at she refuses. She better practice her unwrapping skills because she hits the big O-N-E in 32 days! 

2. Our first Christmas being away from family since being married. Thanks goodness for Skype!

3. First time playing Santa Claus. Loved every minute of it!

4. First time sleeping in until 8am Christmas morn.

5. First time Evelyn has had both parents sick at the same time and her being healthy {cross our fingers it stays that way! I don't know if I could handle her having her 7th cold of the season!}

6. First time roasting a chicken. 

7. Evelyn's first ride in her new...dare I say it... TODDLER car seat! Ahh!

8. First time I have ever made a doll. I thought it would be special for her to have something homemade from her momma but when she opened the box she quickly cast the doll aside. It gave us a good laugh.

9. First time seeing a house this decked out for Christmas. I had never seen a house sync its lights to music before. It was probably better than the fountain outside the Bellagio.

We're excited to welcome in the New Year and see what 2012 has in store! 

Merry Christmas! Love, Us. 2011.

No words nor one single photo could do justice to the joy and events that have taken place in our lives during this past year. I felt then it was necessary to send out an audiovisual card this year to best recognize all of our many, many blessings.

Merry Christmas!!

not a tear was shed. that brave gal!

I always wondered what it would feel like to be that proud parent watching your child do something so courageous. I thought maybe those feelings would first surface on the first day of kindergarten, when Evelyn scored her first soccer goal, or when she pulled out her first tooth. I had no idea I would find that feeling of pride when placing her on the lap of a jolly man with a fake beard and plump red suit. But when I let go of her, stepped back 5 feet and anticipated the cry and a reach out for me and it didn't happen... I felt like she was no longer my baby. She looked at Santa in the eyes, studied him, looked back at me and sat there content. Not a whine to be heard.

In that moment my brain was on fire! My thoughts immediately jumped to her future - how independent and confident she would be! She would go on to star in school plays and run for class president with no hesitation. She would try her hand at the piano, and tap her feet in dance class with no shame. She would be a polite young lady, reach out to others and accept everyone no matter if they had a scary beard or not. But wait, that means she would have to give up being a baby to be all those things! Quick, grab her off that red man's lap before it's too late! Don't let her be courageous anymore! Atleast not yet... I'm not quite ready for her to take on the world without me... So on I dashed to sweep her away back in to my arms as the next child filed on to St. Nick.

The hormonal brain of a mother is a wonderous thing. It can be so boastfully proud and obnoxiously scared at the same time. It takes a lot of courage to be a mother!

Speaking of courage, we're off BRAVING the streets of NYC today! We're probably on the road as we speak. The #1 on the hit list is to get on the TODAY SHOW tomorrow! So be on the look out for us on the plaza. The ultimate goal is to get Al Roker to wish us a happy 3rd anniversary! HAPPY 3 YEARS TO US TODAY! Couldn't have picked a better man to be a husband and father.

group date.

We had big plans on Saturday to join the holiday masses and throw an ugly sweater party complete with photobooth, prizes, and all but we were stinkers and cancelled the shindig. After a week of two christmas parties and a cookie exchange I had had my fill of christmas joy. So instead we got a group of friends together and satisfied our itching for some bbq.

Things I learned at dinner:

:: there are many types of bbq and apparently they all taste significantly different. we inhaled north carolina pork but I guess there's such a thing as Louisiana bbq and that tastes more vinegary? I think I would like that.
:: two baby front teeth can puncture through a small container of butter. my friend had to tell me that my baby's mouth was oozing with the sticky cream, all the while I failed to notice because I was too busy stuffing my face with mashed potatoes
:: there are three foods in this world I love: grilled cheese, macaroni and cheese and pulled pork. that's it.
:: even if I have had way too many cookies for my own good and shouldn't order dessert I will never EVER pass up key lime pie. even if husband gives me the look that says "are you sure you really want to do that?" yes, i'm sure! even if I gain back the 5 lbs I worked off, yes I'm SURE!
:: group dates are fun! and I think Evelyn behaves much better when others are around.