Blog

quick takes

Linking up!

one

The internet is a pretty cool place sometimes. Someone who had just bought the midnight edition of Project Life emailed me about doing a trade for some of the seafoam cards that I have, and I just got her package in the mail yesterday. So now I don’t have to buy the whole midnight edition and I can work those cards into my spreads! Pretty excited.

two

This week I had to place an order for a book I want to give to a friend (and none of my local bookstores had it) so I thought it only made sense to order one more thing to get the free shipping…right? So this was a total impulse buy:

but it’s one I don’t regret in the least. As much as I am interested in all types of crafts, I think needlework and specifically cross stitch is going to remain my favorite and probably what I focus on. I want to do my part to keep the modern stitching trend alive and pass it down to the next generation. :)

three

Last night David and I had an appointment to go to right after work so we arranged for his mom to pick Meredith up from daycare. We didn’t make it to get her and bring her home until around 7:45pm and I thought she might be fussy and needy for us but instead she was mad that we were there. All she wanted was for Mimi to hold her and read her books and when we had to leave she cried huge tears and was calling out Mimi’s name for half the car ride home until she exhausted herself. So basically I’m worrying less and less about leaving her the weekend of our anniversary trip in November because it seems she’ll be just fine.

four

So this baby in my belly: I have no idea what to name him. I know I have a few months to go but it’s still worrying me because I haven’t come across a single name that really calls to me. There are a couple of common, traditional names that I like but when I think of using them on our baby they don’t sit right. And there are some less common names that I like but I can’t really picture using them. I just don’t know.

five

Sadly we are about out of hand-me-downs for Meredith and she has exactly one pair of pants that fit her. The rest are all shorts or capri-length leggings, and as we are finally getting some cooler temperatures I should probably outfit her a bit more appropriately. Similarly, she only has one pair of shoes that fit and they are sandals. So this weekend we’re going to hit a couple of consignment stores and I’m actually pretty excited about it because I hardly ever shop for Meredith because I’m ~~cheap~~ frugal but it’s so much fun.

six

Also this weekend I want to go thrifting specifically to look for a bedroom dresser, organize the buffet cabinets, attempt a fall garland, do a Project Life spread, and switch out the electrical outlets in our bedroom. I also have book club and a jewelry-selling party to go to so I hope I wake up with a lot of energy and a well-behaved child.

October 18, 2013
just for fun craft inspiration

Here are a few ideas for “just for fun” crafts that I might try this month to fulfill one of my goals. They are all super simple and cute, so maybe I’ll get to all of them before too long!

1. himmeli – my hanging plant is dying so I want something to hang in its place and this looks cute. The straw version probably wouldn’t be significant enough for that spot but I’d like to try it first before I take on a bigger version like this.

2. sharpie-decorated mug – I’ve seen tutorials on this a bunch of places, but I really want to do it because I don’t have any fun mugs at all.

3. painted vase – I have a bunch of boring clear vases that this would be perfect for. Such a simple touch but it makes a big difference.

4. leather shape keychain – my car key broke off from the rest of my keys and since it’s the main one I use anyway I’d love to make it a keychain for itself. If I don’t do this soon I will probably lose my key at some point. :)

5. stained letterpress block – I need more simple, cute, graphic decorations for random places. Love this idea.

October 17, 2013
project life 2013 : weeks 38 – 39

Weeks 38 and 39 are from September 16 to 29th.

As I talked about yesterday, a magical thing happened over the weekend where Meredith was in an incredibly good mood the entire time and I was even able to do some crafting and work around the house while she was awake. Usually she is a demander of 100% of my attention but for some reason she happily entertained herself for awhile. She also took good naps and spent some time with David, so all this to say, I spent more time on this spread than usual and it was so much fun.

Most of this is just normal, everyday stuff.

A rare family photo!

We found out that we are having a boy during this time so I decided to devote an entire insert to that. I haven’t been focusing too much on the pregnancy (in life or with documentation) so I figured this was worth a little extra.

It was fun just to play around with papers. The front of the insert:

I blurred all the ultrasound photos because it just seemed weird not to.

The back of the insert:

On to the right side of the page. Mostly back to normal stuff.

The hospital visit wasn’t exactly normal though!

I have high hopes to complete another spread this coming weekend and then I’ll be caught up. Such a great project.

October 15, 2013
around here // rainy weekend

Sorry for the picture overload today but it was a good weekend. We went with all of David’s family to a local pumpkin patch first thing Saturday morning before the rain hit, and even though it was hot and muggy (I mean, it’s the middle of October so why wouldn’t it be?) the kids had such a good time. The highlight was riding ponies and the petting zoo. Super cute.

Then it turned rainy and miracle of miracles, Meredith was in a good mood the entire weekend, took decent naps on both days, and even entertained herself for a lot longer than usual. I was able to actually do some crafting while she was awake! I made a lot of progress on my niece’s stocking, cleaned and organized the house a bit, and made a start on some fall decorating. David also took Meredith to the store a couple of times so I hardly had to leave the house. We even got a date night in and saw the movie Gravity which was really good (but stressful, and emotional).

Yesterday afternoon as I was cozied up in the recliner in the craft room doing some embroidery, listening to the rain fall while Meredith napped, I thought of the Kurt Vonnegut quote: “I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’” My inclination was to turn over in my mind all the things I needed to do, or to double task by listening to a podcast or audiobook, but instead I decided to just sit there and listen to the rain and think, I am happy.

October 14, 2013
24 weeks

Symptoms: Really just normal aches and pains as things adjust in there. I’m sure my backaches are made worse by a certain 30-pound toddler demanding to be held and carried too. Heartburn comes and goes, I get full fast and tired more easily, but overall I’m doing well. Still no carpal tunnel signs!

Medical stuff: Our anatomy scan was perfect which was a huge relief. I’ve gained about 15 pounds so far which is fine I guess. My doctor gave me a hard time about not taking my iron pills so I guess I’ll try to be good. My 1-hour glucose tolerance test is coming up this week and she told me that I’ll probably fail it (like I did with Meredith) because I have PCOS. How fun!

Movement: It’s much more pronounced now. Not constant, but daily. Loving that.

Clothes: I wear almost exclusively maternity clothes now except for some stretchy skirts. For work I broke out my larger scrub pants that I wore during my last pregnancy and postpartum, and even though I could squeeze into my regular tops it’s just not comfortable so I wear maternity t-shirts and scrub jackets.

Preparation: Got our new carpet and I’m working on our bedroom! Okay so it’s not specifically new baby preparation but it’s something on my list that I want to get done beforehand. Otherwise we haven’t done much other than throw a few names around that we both kind of like. Still completely not sold on them though and I had a dream that the baby was born nameless so that might happen. With the holidays coming up and lots of other unrelated things on my to-do list this whole baby thing is going to take me by surprise if I’m not careful. I’ll have to do a “before baby” post because the more I think about it the more there probably is on it.

Also: It’s funny how much I’m not focused on the pregnancy this time around. I’m just way too busy with Meredith and work. I guess I can attribute some of my mania where the house is concerned to pregnancy because it gives me a deadline, but overall it’s just kind of there in the background. I still can hardly imagine having a second kid in the house and a male version at that. Pretty excited though. :)

October 11, 2013