Crafted

If I could do anything I'd want for a living, I'd open an awesome craft supply store in a rad section of Long Beach within biking distance of our house (and this would be my bike) with my Martha Stewart American Made finalist friend, Jodi. It's kind of has to happen because we have too many great ideas for it to not do it. Such as cross-stitch painted walls, maybe of the store name over the register?

Or/and these cross-stitched sheets of wire mesh, either as an art installation or maybe section name signs like "X-Stitch & Embroidery." Are you feeling the awesomeness yet??

We'll need amazing tables too, and a big cut counter for cutting bolts of dreamy Nani Iro fabric, so we'll make our guys build us these pipe and wood top tables: 

The store will obviously have floor to ceiling storefront windows bringing in gorgeous light all day long, but for when we host evening art openings and guest lectures/workshops from famous crafters, we'll need lots of good lighting, like this copper pipe and ceramic socket lighting at the UBIQ store in Philly:

And our bathroom probably won't have a claw foot tub or a shower in it, but it will likely have amazing tiled walls like this:

It's going to be pretty much the best store in Long Beach, and the best craft supply store in all the land. I'll keep you all posted on our progress. Dream big!

Life Hacks

These are genius. The full list of 50 hacks here.

I never eat bagel sandwiches but I think I'm going to start just so I can tote them around in a CD spindle case.

We're a little ways away from Elsie rolling out of her bed, but this is pretty smart. Unless pool noodles off-gas and she's sleeping next to toxins. Listen to me, I'm so crunchy.

YES. I need to do this tonight.

I almost burned my face off trying to light a candle with a twisted paper towel and the gas stove last night because I couldn't find any matches and I was cleaning the cat box and NEEDED a scented candle. I could have just used spaghetti! Next time.

Awesome for balancing the phone during FaceTime!

Not just for collars... sweater hems for me always need ironing and if I'm doing my bangs anyways, two birds. I feel dumb for not having thought of this before. An iron's an iron.

GENIUS!

Fashions!

Mama got some new fashions! I did a job well done on the annual conference I help to organize so I patted myself on the back with some new J Crew duds! They always trick me with their "extra 40% off sale items" sales. It's just such a good deal! 

I have never been disappointed with J Crew pants, especially their matchstick twill pants which I have in spearmint. And now I have them in neon violet! Which can be crazy, but not when paired with something a little more refined, kind of like.... A NAVY SWISS DOT BLOUSE!

Hey Gorgeous. I love anything swiss dot, but this top is really pretty perfect. And I need more pretty blouses for work. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. 

After I pulled the trigger on those, I got an email from the BabyGap showing off their new baby collection. Holy moly... so cute. Look at these yellow jeans with white polka dots! I want them for myself (minus the stretchy waistband). 

And this shirt! I would wear this one too! The little pink bunnies are sweet, but the trees are so sophisticated. 

I'm dying to do pigtails and hair flair on Elsa but I think I need to ease into it. She likes wearing my headbands (she tries to put them on herself but just ends up balancing them on her head like a tiara) so I think she might be amenable to something like this: 

And it's chambray! Love me some chambray. And then their swimsuits! So sweet. We need to get her a few suits for our Hawaii trip this summer so I'm keeping an eye out. I should probably get her one of the long sleeve rash guard ones but dang they're ugly. We'll have like 8 adults there to slather her with sunscreen constantly, so maybe we don't need them? These three are just too sweet. I think the first is my favorite. 

But I'll stow the Gap card for now. It's not like Elsa just coordinated an international imaging genetics conference and deserves a present or anything. I DID! ME!

Stella & Maude & Gabriel Macht

I love Christmas. Especially in the middle of January. My friend Jodi and I finally exchanged our xmas gifts this weekend and she gifted Miss Elsa with her very own Stella & Maude kitty! I heavily hinted at wanting one on my blog post here, and my dreams were answered. Technically it is for Elsa, and I washed her face and hands and gave it to her for these photos, but that's about all the contact she will be getting with it until she stops drooling and having dirty hands. Mama's kitty. 

She talked to it for awhile, it was pretty cute. I'll try to be more on my game next time and get a YouTube video of it. She "meows" like a kitty but her version is "NEOW!" We're working on it.

It was kind of hard ripping it out of her strong little baby arms.

I'm going to want the whole collection, and since this has worked before, this is a heads-up to family members to buy me Elsa the rest of these dolls for future gifting events. The darling website is StellaandMaude.com.

And apropos of nothing except that both Jodi and I are obsessed with that show Suits and I want a picture of him on my blog, here's a picture of Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter. Swoon.

Elsa, Elsie, Elle and E.

She likes spoonfuls of peanut butter and it always reminds me of that Got Milk commercial with the dog licking PB off a spoon and then licking his chops for like 3 minutes. We're working on using utensils now and she's kind of picking it up!

Whenever we reach for a wipe to clean her hands and face, she hides her eyes, like that's going to stop us. Silly baby.

I love this dress our friends Sean and Gretchen gave us at our baby shower. I've waited impatiently for 18 months for her to fit in it! 

Jan came for a visit and I got to drive his sweet new car. We tore up the streets of Long Beach. Got VTEC dude!

I either need to shorten the straps on this dress or it's meant to be a jumper with a shirt underneath it, because it's looking a little low-cut. Modesty!

She's a fan of filling containers and emptying them, and then repeating fifty more times. Jeff gave her this mini recycling bin that she filled with handfuls of our weeds. Yes, I tried to show her how to pull up weeds. If she's going to be playing outside, she may as well be helpful.

While the rest of the nation watched the 49ers game, Elsa and I strolled around the promenade. She got a lot of comments on her fashions. The Palm Springs mod shift with gold buttons that Lynne got her, Levi's dark denim jeggings, and her gold shoes. Cutest outfit ever, right?

Geez, what did I blog about before I had a baby?? Oh right, the cats.

Just another 80 degree January day in Long Beach...

Started our day with a pitiful nap and a shiny face. 

Then flipped off Instagram and Facebook...

 Got dressed in a super cute dress (thanks Karen and Jerod!) and played with Charlie Be@rbrick. (side note- WHEN DID SHE GET BIGGER THAN THE 1000% BE@RBRICKS!?)

Left a snail trail of drool over Dad's studio...

Contemplated what to destroy first...

Took a rest on Lynne's lounger after getting kicked out of Dad's studio...

Took another breather on the dusty adirondack...

And whined while Mom made her take lots of pictures.

Off to the pediatrician's for her 18 month check up!

We need your help, Dad.

My dad's visit can't come soon enough. Look at the state of our backyard!

Shameful. Poor neglected bougainvillea.

Even Mother Nature is pissed at us for letting it get this bad. She shoots laser beams of sun at our baby. Pew Pew! The dilapidation of the garden makes the graffiti look more slum-like as opposed to the irreverent art look we were going for. Those basil sticks are ridiculous and I need a new lid to my "compost bin."

The beautiful camellias are blooming and we just let them fall to the ground and die.

The bell peppers are toast. I need new compost and some winter plants. And we have piles of Linus' amazing Meyer lemons just lying around, begging to be turned into curd.

Speaking of Linus, never did come up with a better solution for propping him up than these old boards. I wish the nursery would have mentioned a "standard meyer lemon tree" is actually a bush.

 Okay, the Elephant Ears are kind of rad and I don't think I want to cut them. The yoga mats are probably dry though after one month out in the sun, and can be taken down from the fence.

Sigh. It's overwhelming. Come soon Dad!!