Instafriday 8/31/12

A few weeks worth of cell phone pics!  

My baby is adorable, especially on those rare days when she falls asleep on my bosom.

 Hot thai chilis (which I should probably cut down.  Can you imagine if Sisi got into them?)
 Also, kung pao shrimp and shellfish miso soup. I could eat shellfish every day of the week! 

 A lazy Sunday afternoon at the local handmade mall.  I purposely dressed like that Sisi that day.

 Summer, please stay!  I'm enjoying the evening bike rides, play dates, and beach trips!

Sorry Pesto, you cannot come in the house, not with a raw meaty bone in your mouth.

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Crafting in Color

Here is another look at some new pieces for the shop:

Black Mask: I'm so pleased to know that masquerade balls still happen all over the world  in these modern times.  I get inquiries for masks year round!   

Rock Candy Headbands:  I especially had bridesmaids in mind when I created the jade and blush gemstone headbands.

Ombre peonies: Light and soft as feathers, with little tassels as stamens.  Perfect for brides, bridesmaids, and flower girls.  Mix and match in your wedding colors.

***No instafriday this week!  Most of the noteworthy events (surf lessons with hubby, offroad biking with Sisi in tow, and scoring $2.40 tank tops on clearance at Target) were much too adrenaline-filled to stop and take pictures.  Next week I'll be back!

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Siena is 19 Months!

Our honey boo boo child just turned 19 months.  She doesn't look all that different from last month, but believe me, she's grown up a lot. 

 It's amazing to watch Siena come out of her shell.  Her stranger anxiety is decreasing, and now she waves at strangers she likes, and offers them her ducky.  When she gets a lot of attention, she gets bashful.  She squinches her face like a raison and closes her eyes, as if people can't see her because she can't see them.

She's a spirited dancer!  Around 10 or 11 months, we'd see rare 3 second spurts of the robot.  But now, girl can DANCE!  Her moves are reminiscent of Corky from Waiting for Guffman (see video below).  I'm so stoked about this because dorky dancing is one of my passions, and I'm eager to choreograph some mother/daughter routines.

• She is singing more and more, especially Yo Gabba Gabba songs.  We have a fairly strict no TV rule for her, but we do play the audio of a few of her favorite episodes. 
• Stats:  25 pounds (about 75th percentile), can't remember how tall (but Dr. said she was taller than average) 
• Doesn't like most veggies now, but will eat sauteed spinach by the boat load. 
• Suddenly, she's interested in stacking blocks and coloring with crayons, two baby behaviors I've been eagerly waiting to see.  
• She feeds anyone and anything her bottle (including the dogs, her baby doll, and characters in books.)
• Anytime she sees a picture of a baby, she says, "heyyyyyyy!" in a gentle voice.  But she likes to pinch/slap her baby doll and say "oww!"
• She insists on eating all her meals with a spoon like a big kid, even liquids like kefir and soup.  It's super messy.
• We will be starting official potty training in a few weeks.  I'm not dreading potty training at all.  If this book works like many claim, we should be okay. As with sleep training and putting her on a schedule, I believe in starting her young (but not  too young) and getting it over with as quickly as possible (although not in an extreme or rigid way).  Cold turkey, but not too cold.  We shall see how it goes!
• Her catch phrase is "ALL DONE!"  It translates as "all done", "no", "stop", "I don't like that", "I don't like you", "that tastes gross", "I'm bored", "get me out of here!" etc.  Anything slightly negative is "all done."  At least she hasn't learned the NO word yet. In due time, I'm sure!

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Crafting in Shades of White

Not much blogging going on here, but that doesn't mean I've been idle.  I'm knee deep in creamy tulle, ribbons, rhinestones and bows.  Eat your hearts out, brides!  Will be listed soon on Petal and Thorn.

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Instafriday 8/17/12

I dropped my phone into the doggie water bowl and lost camera capabilities for a few days. It was a great week, but this is all I have to share.  You'll have to take my word for it.

FIRST OF ALL, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE!  You are totally aging in reverse.  You have the stamina of a jack russell terrier and the exuberance of a labradoodle.  I love you!

For Joe's birthday, I got him surf lessons, boxers, duck fat in a jar, and these gorgeous Pottery Barn tapas bowls since he always buys cheap mismatching rice bowls from asian markets. (They always seem to end up in the goodwill pile.  Sorry!)


Left: I cooked the paleo birthday boy a special bacon, scallop, egg and kale breakfast :)  
Right: The restaurant brought this bizarre funnel cake, cream puff, creme brulee hybrid.  I was proud of us for not eating it, but sad to see it go to waste. 

We bought a used burley bike trailer off craigslist and have been toting Sisi around in it.  I'm not super confident dragging my precious child behind me as I bike the streets of Orange County, but I'm getting used to it and building endurance.

 Close up on her facial expression- she's not super confident in me either :)  Doesn't she look cute in that helmet?  There are evil looking rabbits all over it.

Like mother like daughter.  See anthro.  Like anthro.  See the price tags.  Walk away.

 Fun with baby friends at the local mall!

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Instafriday 8/10/12: Anniversary Edition

Happy Instafriday! 

Ants on a log!  She can't quite chew the celery yet, but she always gives it to Pesto.

 Poster child for airheads.  Why must she EAT her toys?  Like completely consume them?

We visited my friend Connie, who's decorating style is fabulous.  Check out that Chanel dog bed for her shih tzu, Zha Zha! 

 Colorful felt hair clips and matching water balloons.Last summer at the lagoon, Sisi was just a crawling baby like her cute friend Hito.  Now she's a very tan toddler, playing in the sand and stealing toys from all the babies. She is the ball gladiator, and even clocked a baby in the head with a golf ball for even looking interested in it.  :(

BEFORE: Here's Sisi at the doctor's before the nurse came in to stab her 3 times while I pinned her down. She didn't just cry, she screamed bloody murder and said in between sobs "all done!  all done!" My heart broke a little.  No more shots until 4 years old.  Phew!

 

AFTER:  Post-vaccination nap, which she's still in 3 hours later as I type this. 

 Rest up, my sweet angel!  Please don't wake up with a mild fever like you usually do after shots.

***************

Last but not least, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!  5 years of marriage, and I still wag my tail like a puppy when Joe comes home from work. I miss him all day long.  I love you, sweetie!
(Wedding Photos by my sweet friend, Trista Lerit)

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Instafriday 8/3/12

A mellow week.  Less computer time, Dawson's Creek, and shopping.  More walks, pondering, and reading. I'm reading The Four Hour Work Week (even though I'm not "working" per se) and it's changed my whole housewifey system.  Here's a quote that I've been mulling over all day...

"Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important." 

So what's really important to me and my little family?  What tasks are just time wasters?  I am a busy bee, always multitasking and trying to be efficient.  But being efficient at things that aren't real priorities is a form of laziness.  Lazy thinking, that is.  It's easier to NOT challenge our assumptions and spin our wheels than it is to simplify our lives and put our energy toward a few really important things.  And have energy left for fun, service, and relaxation, too!

With that said, in lieu of proper blogging, I'll probably just be instafridaying for a while, because instafridaying takes 10 minutes but captures priceless memories of my little girl's life.  I can justify it.  I'm not totally sure about all the rest.  If you miss me, you can follow me on instagram (krissycus) or through my Paleo Plus One blog.  

xoxo,
Kristin

 The bottom picture of Basil was taken during one of Sisi's epic tantrums.

 Life inspiring craft (btw, those ombre peony clips will be available soon!)

 Do-a-dots

Sardines, I love you. You are so convenient. I don't like eating you and you smell funky, but my daughter gets most of her nutrients from you.

 We found a small hidden garden by the library and we've been back twice to explore.

 Even though I'm a girly girl, I prefer to buy gender neutral toys. But all these potty training supplies (doll that wets, underpants, and potty book) happen to be obnoxiously bubble gum hued.

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