Kids Clothes

Last week in between doctor appointments Mike and I went down to Japan town and visited our favorite bookstore. I came away with a darling pattern book for making children's clothes. Now all I have to do is figure out the Japanese instructions.

Baby Book

If I did not already have a baby book that I love, (and bought for $1.50 at the Honolulu savers) there would be nothing holding me back from buying this one. But honestly, I will probably get this Sara Midda one anyway.

Craigslist

It has been a while, I am not very consistent with this. Sorry. I've been spending quite a bit of time looking for things on Craigslist for the baby's room, and I just want to vent about a few things:

1. Put a picture with your item. Why even bother posting something online if you don't have a picture?

2. PLEASE put the dimensions of your item in the description. People, if you area as serious about selling your dresser/couch/crib/piece of furniture as I am about buying it then tell me how big the darn thing is.

3. Don't post an item and then go on vacation for three days. Post it when you get back from your trip and will actually respond to my queries.

4. If you've sold your item please respond to my emails, or at the very least take your post down.

Do you think I've missed anything?

26 weeks

Here are some artsy fartsy pictures Mike took of me. My stomach is finally looking pregnant and not just like a big beer belly.

Here...

are two pictures, since you keep asking. Let's see, this is me this morning at 21 weeks in a trusty wrap dress. Enjoy you harpies.

New

Got these silly little shoes today.

Mani Pedi

Went with Jordan to get a mani pedi (the last one I had was 3 years ago) and saw this lady . My feet don't look half as ugly with a nice coat of polish and a good soak.

A good dress

if you are pregnant, or if you aren't. I guess a wrap dress is a girls best friend right? I have the Calypso Julia dress in this color and and a russet color. Don't be silly and pay full price, troll ebay for one, or wait for the dress to go on sale on the Calypso site.

Decor

I am in love with these bright cheery colors. Perfect for a baby girl, no?

via Brooke's blog.

Adam

I got tickets from work to see the premiere of Adam at the Clay theater. Emily, who has been abandoned by her family and Tracy, met up with us at the theater. I think that if you don't have to pay to see a movie then you automatically become more critical of it. I wonder if I would have liked the movie any better had we payed to see it. The movie was okay, the company was great.

The News

I'm pregnant. And it is a girl. We are SO happy! Due date is December 24th. Merry Christmas to us.

Just a side note and something to look at. Mike has said more than a few times that he thinks newborns are really ugly. Well they have been smooshed in the uterus and then the birth canal, so yes they can look a little freakish (this little one sort of reminds me of a Who). And it would seem that he is not alone in his thinking. Check out Thierry Bouet's pictures of newborns. Pretty funny.

Hi

I have something to tell you on Thursday. I bet you can guess what it is.

Tights

Ladies, for the record tights are NOT pants! If I see one more Sienna Miller wana-be/fashion victim/art student running around San Francisco wearing tights as pants, I will scream.

See how crazy she looks? See how it looks like she is wearing granny panties? This is how you look, just as crazy, just as silly. I am sure you have lovely legs, and a nice rump, but really I don't need to be acquainted with your inner thighs and bum. That's all.

Marin

We went on this great hike Monday. A bit over 7 miles round trip and so, so pretty. After the hike Mike got me some clam chowder and we drove around a bit before coming back to the city.

again and again

I am in Idaho again, and that is why I have not been very good about answering my phone.  And we were out boating all day today.

Mike

is vacuuming in his underwear right now. I did not even ask him to. Love him.

Hi

Still here, sort of. Just thought I would throw this up here because it has been on my mind.

Aromatics Elixir makes me think of a Nubian princess. This scent is very heavy with incense, I imagine this is what it might have smelled like in some ancient Egyptian temple. That doesn't sound appealing to you? You don't want to be mistaken for some one who has been embalmed? Fear not, I do not suggest this because it will make you smell like mothballs or a cedar chest, but because it is unexpectedly wonderful.

Recently I smelled two different women wearing this, how do I know this is what they were wearing? Because I asked them you silly ducks! They smelled so good I had to stop them and ask, what is that glorious scent you are wearing? The first woman layered AE with Clinique Happy Heart, and it sort of smoothed out the ancient temple and tombs smell of AE with the fresher cleaner notes of HH (a fragrance I really don't like on its own, it is too vinegary for my taste, but one I found delightful layered with AE). The second woman said she was just wearing the AE lotion, which was lighter and lovely.

Aromatics Elixir is much like the essential oils and incense that it calls to mind, it mixes well with other fragrances, or is great on it's own.

On a side note, this fragrance makes me think of Mattie Thomas, a sassy, classy, beautiful black woman I met on my mission. She wore this scent and it made her seem at 81, even more regal and sexy. She sort of was a Nubian Queen.

If You Miss Me

I am in Idaho watching my sister's four kids. Four of them. I've been here since the 22nd and I am going home on the 5th (don't worry my sister comes back Sunday morning). Mike flew in last night bringing some much needed backup. The kids definitely prefer Mike to me, he is much more fun than mean Aunt Bille. Today was so much better with him here. Seriously how do people do it alone? Thank you Mike, you saved me!

We Are Rich

Finally, all our hard work is paying off. The check is in the mail.

Hello,

Your overdue Inheritance/Contract payment valued at US$2,000,000.00 has been approved to be transferred to you before the end of next week.

Your payment codes are; Transfer code is: 695823HG and Payment Reference number is: LL214572. You will be able to collect your money at any Bank in your country as soon as the approval document is endorsed. Therefore you are required to provide US$149.22 to the High Court of Nigeria to endorse the approval document.

Truly,

Dr. Benson Sonya.
Legal Operator,
Federal Ministry of Finance.

The Motherland

My family comes from Poland. You know, screen doors on submarines, and whatnot. This is the latest news from a country that brings you countless jokes at its own expense.

"We didn't pay 37 million zlotys ($11 million) for the largest elephant house in Europe to have a gay elephant live there," Michal Grzes, a conservative councillor in the city of Poznan in western Poland, was quoted as saying.

Lamp

I saw this lamp today in UO. I like the looks of it. You could certainly jazz it up a bit with your choice of a lamp shade.

Mr. T-bow

After we went to the Palm Springs museum of art I learned that Wayne Thiebaud, at the age of 88 still paints every day and lives in Sacramento. I began to fantasize that I would meet him and he would be enchanted by me at first site and demand that I sit as a model for him (crazy I know, all those happy colours did something to my brain). Well part of my little fantasy came true last Tuesday when Mike and I went to the Paul Thiebaud Gallery open house. Yup I got to speak to Mr. T for a few moments and shake his hand. As far as I know he was not enchanted by me, but I certainly was enchanted by him, bow tie and all.

ps I know this is an awful picture.

Lolita Lempicka

The name alone (and one look at the bottle) should tell you that Lolita Lempicka is a sweet, flirty, fruity scent. If you like anise and black licorice you'll like Lolita. This reminds me of Angel, because it is big and complex, but not so grown up. I can also tell you that the fragrance for men, by the same name, is really yummy too.

Sun Flares and Slurpees

This was us rounding out the day in PS.

Alex Katz

Have I mentioned that I love Alex Katz? Well I do.

Melting Moments

Made these last week, they hail from the Donna Hay cookbook Modern Classics 2. Beware if you make them, they may not last longer than one night in your house. They barely made it 12 hours in ours.

Melting Moments
175g (6 oz) butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup corn starch, sifted

Filling
60g butter (2 oz), softened
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Add the flour and cornstarch and mix until it comes together.
Put the batter in a bag and with a fluted tip and pipe 1" circles onto parchment lined baking sheets.
Bake 12-14 minutes until golden brown.

For the frosting, cream the butter, sugar, lemon juice and zest.
When the cookies are cool, sandwich them together with some frosting.
Makes about 16 sandwiches

A Monster Weekend Update

We drove down to LA this past weekend to go to the LA fashion district, see the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit in Palm Springs, and go to the Getty. We did lots and lots of driving and some sleeping in the car too. Mike is the perfect road trip companion, an easy going guy who loves to drive. We filled the iPod with books on tape and took off late (8:30 to be exact) Thursday night, and rolled into town around 3:00 am Friday. We are terrible about getting out the door in a timely manner, something we definitely need to work on.

Fashion District: So many beautiful fabrics and notions. I had to exercise all the self control I could muster to not buy tons and tons of fabric. I ended up buying only two fabrics for myself (silk for a blouse and grey wool for a skirt) and some fabric for our project couch (!!!). This place was way more ghetto than I expected, but totally worth the trip. Michael Levine and Fabrics Fabrics are worthy of your time if you are going there. Thanks Tracy for the tips!

Palm Springs: We drove down to Palm Springs to see the Wayne Theibaud exhibit and stopped in a few shops on the way. The owner, Glenn, of the first shop we stopped in, 20 First Modern & Vintage Furnishings, was very helpful. He gave us direction to the Museum, told us where the Kaufmann House was, which neighborhoods we should check out and gave us a recommendation for a swanky place to have dinner. Plus his shop had amazing things in it, I could have been happy with anything in there.

Palm Springs Museum of Art

Some nice homes, not done justice in these pictures.

Okay, that is all for now. More tomorrow.

Bare Floors

I am kind of in love with these rugs. All that color, and detail. Yummy.

Angel by Thierry Mugler

Angel has been one of my favorite fragrances for several years, maybe even my number one favorite fragrance, but the first time I smelled Angel I hated it. When I was introduced to Angel for the first time I thought of BO on a hot bus (you know what I am talking about). I could not figure out why my friend Danielle had shelled out so much cash to smell like a sweaty dude on a hot summer day. I could not get over the overwhelming pachouli smell, and I attributed Danielle's affinity for the fragrance to that pachouli smell. I thought, it must reminded her of her college days at UC Santa Cruz.

I don't remember where I was the next time I smelled Angel but my reaction to it was completely different, and I even tried the stuff on! I came to relish that "BO" smell and every other layer of this delicious scent. Not to get too carried away, but I want to share an excerpt from Perfumes the Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez. Here is what they say about Angel and I could not agree more:

Look for Angel's Adam's apple: a handsome, resinous woody patchouli straight out of the pipes-and-leather-slippers realm of men's fragrance, in a head-on collision with a bold black currant and a screechy white floral. The two halves, masculine and feminine share a camphoraceous (mothball) smell, which gives Angel a covering of unsentimental, icy brightness above its overripe (some say "rotting") rumble. The effect kills the possibility of cloying sweetness, despite megadoses of the cotton-candy smell of ethylmaltol, leaving Angel in a high-energy state of contradictions. Many perfumes are beautiful or pleasant, but how many are exciting? Like a woman in a film who seethes, "He's so annoying!" and marries him in the end.

So there you go, a big post about a big fragrance.

We're Back

We went to LA and Palm Springs on Thursday and got back last night. More on that later.

Maths

If you have some time to waste (which I did) watch one of these look around you videos. The films make fun of educational videos.

Found on Jenn Ski.

Mouse

I am getting a little irritated with my mouse. When I scroll down the ball does not catch, and so I just scroll and scroll and nothing happens. This is the third mouse I have had since June. When I consider why my mice keep breaking I feel a little embarrassed. Am I scrolling around on too many blogs? Am I spending too much time online (I think I know the answer to that one)? Or maybe I should not eat while sitting at the computer and then use my greasy fingers on the mouse? But I am sure I've just had three defective mice, right?

Bread

Do you look at Nicole's blog a little sussy? If not you should because it is full of pretty things and little gems like bread recipes. I was at Nicole's place Friday while she was making this bread and the house smelled so good. I got the recipe and made it twice over the weekend, once at my house and once at my parent's. This bread is so delicious, and super easy to make. So stop what you are doing and go make it. Here is the recipe for Sullivan no knead bread and some prettier pictures of the bread.

Letterpress

I went to Jordan's letterpress class Saturday and made some "business" cards. It was pretty exhilarating being part of making them, and getting a little taste of what goes into the whole letterpress process. I love how you really have to use your whole body (rolling the drums over thick paper is not for sissies) to turn out the finished product. It was fun to hang out with friends and learn something new. Look here if you are interested in taking the class.

Cleopatra

The fragrances I've tried from the Tocca line, Brigitte, Stella, Cleopatra and Touch I have really liked, and I recommend trying each one out. However, Cleopatra has been my favorite so far. I like Cleopatra so well because the fragrance morphs from a pretty distinct aroma, that is strong and lovely, to a softer mellowed down scent that seems to be a close cousin or a cooler older sister to the initial scent.

Cleopatra is like Sabrina. When you first meet her you think she is a nice sweet girl but nothing too remarkable. When you meet her again after she has grown up a bit and been to Paris, you begin to appreciate that she has come into her own, and she has developed a defined but unobtrusive style you can't get enough of.

If anyone tries any of these perfumes out I would love to hear what you think. Love them or hate them I'd be curious to know.