Instafriday 4/27/2012

Instafriday time!

We started the week off with car troubles.  Broke down on the way to church.

 Sisi waved and said "bye bye" to our car as the tow truck drove away.  She seemed a little confused.

 What's that Sisi's trying to get her hands on? 

 Our new favorite treat from trader joe's!  Super thin slices of Korean mandarin oranges (I guess they are a special tart variety) freeze dried and extra crispy.  That's something I miss on the paleo diet- crispy snacks. Only downside is TJ's majorly skimped-  you open the bag all excited and it's 75% empty. 

 Met up with Christina and Trista to admire this little guy. 

 Joe had this extremely chunky, ghetto cell phone for 6 years.  It finally bit the dust! The verizon guy literally laughed at him when he walked in. Joe chose the 2nd cheapest phone in the store, although it's light years beyond this one.  As you can see, he's totally not into techno gadgets, despite his job as a computer engineer. 

 More rainy day play.

 My herbs are growing!  It's a miracle!  Hey, maybe I do like gardening!

Then I notice these orange spots all over my new flowering vines.  I look closer, and they are BUGS.  EWWWWW.  Aphids according to google.  I sprayed them with soap, but they are still going strong.   For the record:  I do not like gardening.  It's dirty and unpredictable and there are bugs.  I like hobbies where I can control the outcome, like crafting or painting my toe nails.

 Joe zipped over to the mall after work to spend time with his girls.  Here we are in Banana Republic, with another free Nordstrom balloon :)

 Looks like Joe in the above pic, and me in the bottom pic. 

Ciao darlings!!!

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Siena At 15 Months

Our hearts are stretched to the max with love for our 15 month old baby girl.  Or toddler??  Can it be?

YES, she took her first steps a few days ago. 5 quick little steps while drinking from her bottle- then she realized what she was doing and plop, her diaper butt hit the floor.  I laugh-cried when it happened.  I was so happy-sad to see her cross into toddler-dome on tip-toe. I'm full of mixed emotions these days.  Since then, she'll take about 10 deliberate steps a day, but is quite cautious about walking.  She's in no hurry.

we started the shoot off on the right foot with fuel and cuddles

 The rain let up for a few moments, and I put on her cute trenchcoat (Thanks Trista!) and headed outside for pics.  Didn't even have time to put shoes on the poor kid, although I know she prefers bare feet. She's quite the hippie. 

from right to left (*edit: I mean, from left- I am notorious for mixing up the two!) :  golf swing, exploring, smiling, dancing like elaine from seinfeld :)

I made these fun geometric kids' headbands out of cotton, felt and contrasting thread.  They were a happy accident actually- the result of trying to make leaf shapes with my sewing machine :/  Turns out, straight lines are easier than curved lines, so I rolled with it and made prisms instead. Don't they look like little makeshift crowns?  I'll be adding these to the site soon.

This one below is my favorite- sherbert colors and navy blue stitching.

 She found a spiky thingamabob, and looks quite pleased!

 My sweet little Angel face. Her face is very squarish, like a legoman head (in a cute way.)

And those feet!  I could nibble them all day long (Don't worry, I'd clean them first!)

It just keeps getting better! 

• Talking, singing, grooving.
• She babbles so animatedly as she "reads" out loud (usually with the book upside down!) 
• She uses baby talk and bats her eyelashes to ask for something...
• ...then she throws a tantrum if we don't give it to her. 
• After the tantrum has run it's course, she comes crawling into my lap for cuddles as she chants "hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm"  and plays with my necklace to soothe herself.  It's heartbreaking and sweet.  She's been doing the chanting to soothe herself since 4 months old when she learned to fall asleep on her own.  Since then, she applies it to all sorts of situations, like when she can't figure out how to work a toy.
• Her eyes are still blue, but hazel in the sun.  Still not sure what they will become. 
•  Her hair is getting lighter and lighter, almost dirty blonde.
• We're only nursing 1x a day now.  I'm glad we've kept breastfeeding going this long, but I'm not sure how much longer I can stretch it out.  Tonight she latched on, pulled off, looked at me and said "nada".  Coincidence, I'm sure, but it rang true.

THANK YOU JOE FOR ALL THE PICS!  YOU'RE THE BEST DADDY AND HUSBAND EVER!

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Dress Into Romper!

Thanks to Make It and Love It's fabulous tutorial, Turn A Dress Into A Bubble Romper, I turned a sorta outdated dress I got in a big ebay lot into something way cuter.

the original dress

Bubble rompers are infinitely cuter than plain ol' dresses!  They really accentuate the puffy diaper butt region.  Who can resist? 

upcycled romper!

snaps and elastic leg openings

I get extra credit for turning the no longer needed bloomers into a cute flower accent, which updates this outfit even more. 

no longer needed bloomers

floral accent with button

For the flower, I doubled up the bloomer fabric and sewed petal shapes with my sewing machine.  I left the bottom of the petal open so I could trim the petal and turn it inside out, then I pinched the bottom with my fingers, and sewed the petal to the dress.  I added an eyelet cover button to the center.

some tools 

This is the perfect project for a sewing machine newbie- almost instant gratification, plus it forces you to learn some valuable skills, like hammering snaps and making elastic casings.

Here's the sucky part-IT DOESN'T FIT HER!  Sisi was napping when I made this, and I just eyeballed it and figured she'd fit in it.  Not even close. In the last few months, Sisi has grown a ton. 

((( If anyone wants this romper for their little one, size 12 months or under (I think it'd fit a 6-10 month baby best), let me know!  I'm serious, I'll just send it to you in the mail.  Just don't laugh at my stitching and gray thread (b/c there was gray thread in the machine and I was too lazy to swap it).  Hopefully your baby's leg fat rolls will cover all that up.)))

Mommies, be sure to check out the tutorial Turn A Dress Into A Bubble Romper.  Make It and Love It is one of my favorite craft blogs ever.  She really demystifies sewing for the rest of us.

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Instafriday 4/20/12

This week's instafriday is not very comprehensive, but here's what I've got!

Taiko drums at sushi night.  She devoured her salmon eggs and kama collar, as usual.  It's kinda interesting that sushi is a normal part of life for her.  I think I tried my first real sushi in college.

 Basil stole one of the baby's toys.

The dogs held their pee in all day due to a storm.  When it let up for a bit, they finally ventured out. Their poor bladders!

 Sisi ventured out too.

 Hands and feet gorilla walking is still her preferred mode of transport.  At 15 months, is it weird that she's not walking?  Not that I really care about milestones necessarily.

 Chipotle takeout, made better with citrus sangria and homemade guacamole.

 I met up with Angel for breakfast in downtown LA so I could catch a glimpse of Olivia.  Sisi seemed curious, and a little wary of the new baby in town.

 The doting mama, absolutely smitten with her newborn. It's a beautiful thing. 

 New week, new garden offerings for the mantle. 

Not pictured:

• Window shopping at Fashion Island where we always pretend to be interested in the Nordstrom's kids shoes so they will give us a free balloon.  Is that bad?  
• I crafted, neglected the housework, took a lot of naps.  Nothing really worthy of whipping out the camera phone. 
• I ate a LOT of sour fruit. Grape fruit, strawberries, frozen raspberries, pineapple. Constantly!  I don't even like fruit. No, I'm not pregnant.

Sisi wishes you a wonderful weekend!!!

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Lovely New Bridal Creations

Ashleigh Taylor Henning, a super-talented and sweet photographer, asked me to provide a few fun and flirty accessories for a recent photoshoot. I always jump at the chance to participate in photoshoots.  I'm forced to think outside the box and create something new and fabulous on short notice.  Plus, in return, I get STUNNING images of my work like these.

Recognize this pretty face behind the mask?  That's my good friend Jodi, also known as my favorite Petal and Thorn model.  Just check out my site- she's plastered all over it :) 

 This black, white, and champagne mask is inspired by one of my favorite flowers, the anenome.  I decided to go a bit abstract, and used handmade black tassels as the characteristic black stamens.  Add va-va-voom feathers and a flirty black beandeau veil, and you've got one vivacious accessory!

 I also made a floral crown to complement the mask made of braided satin and fabric anenomes.

Kelly is wearing a super sweet pink silk and lace bow with spotted white veil.  It's a headband, so it's an effortless bridal accessory.  No combs, no fidgeting.  BTW, how striking are Kelly's blue eyes?

I've posted the making of this cocktail hat before, but never had a chance to really photograph and list it.  This photo definitely does it more justice than my silly cell phone pics :) 

Thanks again Ashleigh, Jodi and Kelly!  So fun to be a small part of the action. 

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Instafriday 4/13/12

Linking up with Life Rearranged for another Instafriday show and tell!

Relatively speaking, I'd say this was a pretty exciting week!

On Saturday, I attended a very girly bridal shower for my good friend Marysia. 

Yum! Look at that spread. (I totally broke my diet that day because I cannot resist quiche and funfetti cake.)

Easter started off with a wonderful church service and brunch at my house afterward.

We started with sangrias (thanks Courtney for the recipe!)

 .
And the menu included sweet potato au gratin, Italian sausage, and paleo frittata.

Mint sprigs and garden roses on the mantle.

Siena and I did some shopping.  This picture was taken 2 minutes before I got my first ever bee sting.  Ouuuuuch.

Just hanging out... (thanks Rachel for that tunic!!!)

And the most exciting event this week, by far...
OH NO SHE DIDN'T!*

OH YES I DID!

*The bumpit is an "As Seen On TV" product that adds a nice little poof to your hair.  I found that the smaller bumpit (see picture above) looks fairly natural, especially when I put my hair in a ponytail after.  I did have to tease my hair a bit with the included comb, but didn't use any hairspray like the directions called for, and it stayed in just fine.  And I have slick/straight/thin half-asian hair.  I give it a thumbs up!  Warning:  the larger bumpit makes you look like an alien.  There is no reason to sport a bump that big unless it's on your tummy and you're 9 months pregnant.  I got my bumpits on amazon for really cheap.

P.S. I do like nifty hair inventions.  I have the perfect bun twisty thing and am really tempted to buy the tony tail because I can never get my hair wrapped around the elastic nicely.  I also had the topsy tail in 3rd grade.  Remember those? I just noticed the other day that they still sell those in drug stores!

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