a mr. monkey for mr. van

I've been waiting for months to make this little guy for my favoritest nephew for his 1st birthday. Ever since I bought the pattern waaay back in January.

Newsboy hat...

Blue eyes...

I made sure to dress him in an outfit appropriate for church- 'cause Van is going to love him so much he will insist on taking him everywhere.

And the details- I'm all about the details. I had SO much fun obsessing and designing the details!

Like the pockets- front...

...and back...

And his little Van's slip-ons.

But I've saved the best for last...

A pirate dress up set.

Arrrgghhhh!

Are you dying yet? Cuz I am. All over again.

All that's missing is a tiny little parrot. Seen any around?

Look out, matey!

(Don't worry- its only felt!)

And now you've seen our yellow walls. I'm not much of a yellow person, so I was worried that I would hate them- but I've actually grown quite fond of them.

project tree: spring- part 2

Remember those sweet little bluebirds and apple blossoms that I made for baby Mina's nursery earlier this year?

Well, now that I actually live in the same city as they do- I got to meet little Mina and take some photos of my own!

I've seen a lot of tree murals floating around the internets- but hers is my favorite. All the others are bare trees- which is cool and all, but I really like the look of this one. It has movement that bare branches, even decorated with cute flowers can't have. Shawna said it took forever to paint- but I really think all her hard work paid off!

And she hung the little birds from Mina's simple little mobile.

Love, love, love! Now I can't wait for her to put summer up!

heading back...

...to Utah. (just for a visit!)

I'm staying with my Lindsay Loo-loo while my parents go to see some friends in Colorado.

I'm making Van's birthday cake and cupcakes for his party on Saturday. (YEA!)

I'm finally getting my wedding rings back- they've been at the jewelers. Oh how I've missed them! (I've been wearing some fake ones in the meantime and they just look so...fake.)

I'm picking up the Hushabye quilt from the quilters that my mom and I finished before we moved- I'll take lots of pics to show you!

I'm the luckiest girl in the world- I get to have my teeth deep cleaned 2 days in a row. That means I even get to get numbed up! And that is how bad I have let my teeth get. I have learned that just because I don't have any new cavities does not mean my teeth are healthy.

I'd rather have a root canal, that's how excited I am.

After I'm finished drooling in the corner in a fetal position trying to block out the pain, I plan to hunt down some fabulous fabric for a few commissioned projects that I got over the weekend!

While I'm away I have a few posts scheduled about some fun new things I have made- some for gifts, some for the shop, and one that I need help on deciding if it's cute or not.

OMG- the weed smoking here is crazy! Every evening as the sun sets, huge wafts of weed smoke come in our open windows. It's not the most pleasant smell- but I'll take it over poisonous second-hand cigarette smoke any day!

a glimpse into the insanity that is me

In the last few months I've had a few salads that had goat cheese in it. I decided that I like it very much.

So when I was planning a very delicious dinner for my husband and I, of course I wanted to have a salad that included goat cheese in the recipe. So I got a tub of it at our local Costco.

The day before the planned fancy dinner, I made Elephants Tomato Orange Soup, with grilled cheese sandwiches. I thought it would be delicious to add some of that creamy delicious goat cheese to the sandwiches along with mozzarella.

While making the sandwiches, I stole a little goat cheese to taste it.

It tasted exactly like how goats smell. I know how goats smell- we liked to visit the ones at The Old Hen B&B.

I put it out of my mind. "I'm crazy. That's ridiculous. I like goat cheese." I finished making dinner, and sat down to eat. "How's dinner?" I asked Danny. "Great! The sandwich is amazing!"

I happily took a bite. Goat smell filled my mouth. I tried to just swallow the bite whole, and instead it spread all over my tongue. I proclaimed "I'm gonna puke!" and ran to the sink, gagging and spitting out the offending cheese and rinsing out my mouth.

"SERIOUSLY?!?!?!" says my husband. "Was that really necessary?"

Sadly- yes it was. It was that horrible. I have been a picky eater my whole life, and I'll admit to performing theatrics in the past tasting something new that I had already decided I hated and would do anything not to have to eat it.

But this? This was real disgust. What in the world is wrong with me? I seriously, honestly, truly, tasted nastiness. And Danny tasted nothing but good creamy goat cheese.

If I could only harness my mind's power for good, not evil.

how we are doing in the big city...

...and some things I have learned about myself, the city, and life in general.

I am a food hoarder.

We don't really need 10 pkgs of spaghetti noodles and 12 cans of black beans at the same time. (I had no idea that we had that much food in our cupboards before we moved.)

Walking does wonders for my digestive system, TMI.

I love the feel of sea level air- it's thicker. I don't get winded just walking down stairs anymore.

The food here is so good it's criminal. Danny pointed out one night that we don't eat this good on vacation.

There are worse fashion choices than socks with flip flops.

While walking through the city, breathe through your mouth to avoid puking on the sidewalk. Concentrated urine from an unknown number of people equals public gagging while in the midst of unknown people. I've got to practice my poker face.

Water takes longer to boil at sea level. And cupcakes take longer to bake.

Having 100 megabit internet is very nice. Photos upload in seconds, as opposed to 15 minutes.

It also makes streaming Netflix way better. Which is great considering that for the first time in my adult life we don't have cable.

The people here are crazy about baseball. Insane. Getting around town is difficult if not impossible when there is a game. Thousands of people line the streets for every game. (the ballpark sits right between us and downtown.)

I love our new place. It's not quite photo ready, but as soon as it is I'll do a photo post.

Danny is off a few nights a week hanging with his new nerd buddies, talking their nerd language and laughing about things I will never understand.

We love it here. We feel right at home. And it's got to be the social networking stuff- facebook, twitter, email, the cell phone- but I'm not homesick. I get to talk to and get updated on my families activities every day- I don't feel like we're living that far away. (and I'm sure that will change the longer we are here.)

I also need to take into account that by nature Danny and I are hermits. We don't get out much. Me mostly. I'm doing the same things I was back in Utah- sleeping in, watching t.v on netflix while sewing, or listening to Lady Gaga while doing housework.

I am going back to Utah for Van's first birthday party (SO EXCITED I COULD DIE) the first part of August for a week. So wait for the post. With photos of Van eating cake (my cake!) for the FIRST TIME EVER. (I just finished his birthday present and you are going to die when you see it!)

So Nan, if you go to get Van out of his room one morning and I am curled up next to your sweet little blond haired boy's crib, don't be freaked out. I miss him. And I miss you too.

the world's smallest postal service

Remember this post from earlier in the year?

My dream has come true. Chronicle books came out with a kit!!

I'm so excited to find teeny tiny treasures for all my friends and send them to them. I hope they find them as delightful as I do!

a day in the life

Danny leaves for work, a 3 mile bike ride. Pretty soon I'm gonna have a ripped husband. I'd better keep up!

A while later, I walk to the metro station.

Over the Caltrain tracks.

Through the fennel forest... (fennel grows wild on every corner in our neighborhood.)

I'm headed downtown...

To bring Danny and his co-workers some cupcakes. Yes, I use my husband and his co-workers to validate my self worth through my baking. Your welcome.

They are a hit, duh!

There is a park nearby that's old school- wooden playground, metal slides and monkey bars.

And it's a gorgeous sunny day.

I passed by a pepto pink masonic temple.

And then I was naughty and snuck into the Chronicle bookstore. But it's ok- I found the perfect present for a friend.

What's more American than construction cranes in the sky?

Then I hopped onto a bus and headed for Market street.

This is the Powell Mason cable car where all the tourists line up to ride it down to Fisherman's Wharf. And the crowds get insane!

I went across the street and had lunch at Nordstroms. Nice view. The berry fig salad was so good.

I got back on the metro to go and find the rest of the birthday present.

The Utah. I did some more walking. Puff, puff.

I spotted the Chrome store- I needed a cell phone holder for my bag so I stopped by. BTW I finally figured out the perfect traveling camera bag/purse situation. But that's a post all on its own.

Back on the metro.

Going home to take a shower before a class. I was overheated by then- I'm not quite used to all this walking around and getting sweaty stuff. I actually took a cold shower. It was amazingly refreshing.

Danny arrived home, dripping with sweat, it was hot today! In the low 70's! Have I told you how much we love love the weather here? Danny says "It's like living indoors".

Back out and about! Uphill to the bus stop.

Number 19. I really, really don't like this bus stop. It takes waaay too much effort to walk up those two hills.

I took an infant & child CPR class at Recess, so that if I decide to become a nanny or a babysitter I'll be certified. (yes- I'm thinking of training to be a nanny as a job)

Candlelit dinner at Serpentine with my husband. I would have taken photos of the fabulous dinner and dessert we had, but- candlelight.

Elevator up to the 4th floor. Time to catch up on some Modern Family.

(This is not a typical day. Mostly I stay hide in the apartment in my sweats, braless, with crazy homeless hair, trying desperately to organize and unpack all our junk. I say desperately because there is no where to put anything. I can't sew Van's birthday present until the chaos is gone, so can I pay someone to fix it? How about hypnotizing me into being okay with chaos? Because his birthday is coming up very very soon. But that's not very fun to photograph- or is it? What do you think? Wanna see a horror show? With cat hair and my uneven boobs? Did I tell you that they are lopsided? Am I a freak? Please tell me yours are too. If I could just lose 10 pounds then they'd go back to normal. Oh my. Tangent? Tangent and TMI. )

life & lemons

My anxiety kicked my ass last week and left me in a puddle of depression. My face was showing stress like war paint- breaking out across my forehead and cheeks in ugly blotchy patches.

But it got better- it always does. I slowly unpacked boxes and organized their contents. I eventually made it out of the house (apartment) and into the city, where I bought a bag of lemons.

I spent two hours on Friday evening making lemonade. I stood at our tiny counter, slicing lemons in half and squeezing them dry. When I was done, I cracked some ice out of the tray, put it in one of our new glasses, filled it with fresh lemonade, and handed it to my husband. Handing that glass off was like ending the war in my head. I've won this round.

I never knew making lemonade could be so therapeutic.

moving day, the longest car ride ever, and moving in

Remember all the drama involving the Pack Rat moving container? Yea. So we rented a 20 foot Uhaul instead and had Danny's dad Craig drive it to Cali for us. And we filled it full. Danny was joking about how when he got out of the military, all his worldly possessions fit into his VW bug. Hahaha! Then he met me. And all my stuff.

Since we would be traveling with 2 cats- oh yeah. I forgot to update you on the cat issue. Ahem.

So Danny and I had very different opinions about how Kobe cow cow would do on the trip. Danny said she'd be fine, and I would have rather put her down than torture her to death via a 12 hour car ride. My point was that I would never get over it if she got so scared/crazy/etc that she died in the car and we had to bury her on the side of the road, therefore putting her down was the humane thing to do. Danny said that with the right approach, she could do just fine in the car.

So while my mom and I were house hunting in SF, Danny began training Kobe to tolerate the car. He'd take her out and sit in the car for 30 mins or so. Then he would start the car, and sit with her for 5 mins or so. Then when I got home, we would take "family drives" about a half and hour long with both cats. And guess what? They did just fine. Sometimes it's a good idea to listen to your husband, because you are not always right.

Back to the story. We didn't really want to drive for 12 straight hours, but splitting it up and spending a night in a hotel with 2 cats was not ideal. So we decided to have Craig start driving on Thursday so at least he could split the drive. He says never to stay in Winnemucca, NV.

We headed out at about 8 a.m.

About an hour into the drive, the panting began. Poor little cow. I had to lock her in her carrier twice to get her to calm down.

She had a few glorious moments of lucidity where she would just lay on my lap and be quiet.

And then there were the crazy moments where both of them insisted on sitting on my lap, Kobe was panting and meowing, and Tilda was seriously poofing off gobs of fur- making me sneeze and sneeze and sneeze and the tissues were in the trunk so I had to use the one tiny napkin I found in the glove compartment to blow my snotty nose.

I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am that Danny talked me out of putting her down. She is my baby. She cuddles with me at night, and sleeps on my head each morning. Even if she caused me great stress on that awful car ride- I am so glad that she is here with us. Oh, and I had to take her to the vet to get a rabies shot before we traveled- and they did a blood test and she is super hyper thyroid. So now I can give her pills twice a day and she should start gaining weight back and get better!

I started reading the chronicles of narnia on the way...

And we went from Nevada desert...

...to rocky snow topped California mountains.

Finally! Once we hit sea level- the cats went in the back and fell asleep. Seriously. WHY COULDN'T THEY HAVE DONE THAT 10 HOURS AGO?!?!

Bay bridge.

Checking out the new place- including hiding spots. We weaseled our mattress out of the Uhaul and ordered a pizza. Done for the day.

We (Craig & Danny) unloaded the truck on Saturday, while I sat in the truck to make sure nobody would steal our junk.

Kobe found the best spot in the house. Well, the coolest spot. She gets hot, and needs cool air blowing on her to nap. Yes, this thinly furred, 5 pound cat gets too hot. And fatty fatso Tilda gets cold. Weirdos.

On Sunday I made the boys go out to play while I tried to unpack. Haha. All I did that day was re-arrange the boxes of stuff into the correct rooms so that the un-packing could begin. They ventured to the Mission to buy Danny a bike, you know, so he can ride his bike to work. Then they drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, and took some horrible photos. I made dinner and we went to bed early.

On Monday Danny rode his bike to work, Craig put together a 6 drawer dresser from Ikea, and I got some unpacking done. Then we took the metro into the city so we could ride a cable car down to Fisherman's Wharf and have dinner.

Going up Powell.

We had dinner at Aliotos- the first place Danny and I had dinner when came here last fall. It was delicious- but we were there for over 2 hours! On a Monday night! It was kinda chilly- and we had to wait for a bus and wait for a train and we were freezing. Remember- jackets and sweaters are always appropriate in SF.

Craig left the following morning, and Danny and I have been trying to get back into a normal routine since. It's happening- but slowly.