WanderLux

Gift Guide to Buying Local in Spokane

2011-12-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

I do love supporting local businesses and I haven't done as many posts as I would like to about them. If you need some last minute easy gift ideas here are afew. I've listed my favorite little spots in Spokane. I used to not love Spokane, I just had to dig a little deeper to find the good places! This little post would also be a good little guide to fun places to check out if you are visiting.

For the food lover: Get a gift card to a restaurant. Here are my favorites: South Perry Cafe, South Perry Pizza, Luna, Madelines, Chaps

For fun little gifts head to Atticus or Ferrante's, or for pretty paper flowers go to Anemone

For vintage lovers get a gift card to Pink or The Vintage Rabbit, those are my top two Antique places for Spokane.

For coffee lovers get a gift card to The Shop, or Rocket Bakery

For someone who loves clothes Fringe and Fray is the perfect spot. This shop is so awesome! They have great prices and they have a great eye. They only carry really nice and cool things.

For Green people go to Sun People Dry Goods

For the sewer we have a lot of great places, there is The Quilting Bee, The Quilting Cottage, The Top Stitch, and Sew Easy. I love all of these shops.

Our Decorations

2011-12-22T03:56:00.000-08:00

We hung a giant bulletin board in our entry way. Come on upstairs.

Christmas Craftathon: The Projects

2011-12-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

3 Block Ornaments:

Jewelry: (4 pairs of earrings, 8 bobby pins, and 4 hair clips)

8 magnets and a cute tin to hold them:

8 Gift Tags:

10 large clothespins and 3 mini clothespins:

Freezer Paper T-Shirt and 2 Tote Bags:

I wish I had more pictures. Some people did a deer image, some did a doily, some did fishing lures up the sleeve and some people did a tent image.
Wood Tree:

3 Fabric Rosettes:

Set of 6 Cloth Napkins:

Paper Garland:

Last weekend I hosted a Christmas Crafting extravaganza in our vacant downstairs unit. Courtney helped throw it. (I linked to her post on her amazing birthday party) Courtney also does farm chicks and together we have enough stuff to throw together any pretty event!

We had a lot of fun coming up with crafty ideas. I think we each brought 50 ideas and pared them down to 12. 12 is crazy, and maybe a little too many for one day, but it worked out well. I wanted to use up my stash of stuff and get the most bang for our buck. We did all of this for $25 a person. I was proud that I came in pretty much right on budget with the supplies. Thanks to many trips to hobby lobby with a 40% off coupon and all the stuff I already had. I may do a little post on some little tips do doing crafts on a shoe string budget.

Christmas Craftathon

2011-12-19T23:25:00.000-08:00

The night before the craftathon I was able to snap a few photos. It looked so pretty and cozy at night.

The key to making all of these projects work was prep work! I knew that I had to be VERY organized. This is something that doesn't come very easily to me! I spent nights getting ready. (Of course the thing that took the most time was the cleaning. This is our vacant apartment that we have been working on after we had to evict the tenants) I made sure everyone had an individual space with all of their supplies sorted out and ready to go. I spent an afternoon sorting jewelry, one afternoon cutting 64 napkins, one afternoon chatting with Court and punching out circles, one afternoon making jewelry, one afternoon making the tags, a couple all-night cleaning sessions, and a couple days of decorating. Everyone totally saved us in the food department. I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to precut the shapes for the freezer paper, this really slowed things down on Saturday. One friend made soup, someone else brought coffee and cocoa, another girl brought soda and chips and salsa, and hummus and veggies. Friends and family watched Luna. Sam was sweet enough to babysit any kiddos upstairs who needed a little supervision. He helped get the food together. So everyone really came together to make this work! I absolutely love doing this stuff. It's so much fun for me. I love using the stuff I have to craft with and all of my old junk to make it look pretty.

We made sure we had examples of all the crafts. Of course we had to display them cutely! And you can't craft without salty and sweet snacks (especially when you have pregnant crafters!)

Cutting Down the Tree 2011

2011-12-17T01:51:00.000-08:00

We decided to get 3 this year. One for the upstairs, one for Luna, and one for downstairs. For once we decided to leave early so we wouldn't be hunting in the dark with our headlights. We headed up the mountain road. There were big icy ruts in the road, only a path for one car. It was a little scary, I get to be such a chicken with Luna in the car. We had a lot of fun hiking in the snow.

Our Christmas Tree Tradition

2011-12-16T01:59:00.000-08:00

Yay! We made it to December! We cut down a tree from the forest every year. This might be my favorite Christmas tradition. It all started when we lived in Winter Park and wanted a little adventure. The only year we didn't do it was 2006 because we were in Wisconsin and the closest national forest was too far. Here is 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 Yes it's legal. We buy a $5 permit at the ranger station!

Our 2005 tree in Winter Park. I didn't bring many ornaments with me so I blew some eggs and painted them gold. I also took test tubes and put white daisies in them (after this pic was taken)

Our 2006 tree in Eau Claire, WI (the cheater year) It was from a lot-gasp! It was a Fraser Fir tree, to remind us of the town we lived in in Colorado.

Our 2007 tree in Gold Bar, WA

Our 2008 tree in a duplex in Spokane

Our 2009 tree while we were housesitting in Spokane. This is probably our most pathetic tree. It's quite ironic because it's the nicest house we've been in!

Our 2010 tree with our little baby! And her first baby tree

Our 2011 upstairs tree

Our 2011 downstairs tree

Luna's tree 2011

Sam and I have come to love our Charlie Brown trees. They may not be the most perfect, but they have character and hold memories of hunting them down. If you've seen Christmas Vacation you know how the tree always looks smaller in the forest. This always happens to us every year. I like it when they're too big because then we can make a wreath out of the extra trimmings. The other nice thing about trees that aren't so full is that you can load them with ornaments. You can tuck them deep in the tree and outside. A downside is that they usually require many strands of lights to get them glowing good! I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane!

Hey Girl

2011-12-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

These are cracking me up. They are so hilarious! I can't wait for Sam to see them. You have to check out Ryan Gosling Handmade for more great ones. Courtney showed me these and I had to share.

Thanksgiving on the Coast- The Ocean

2011-12-15T10:41:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the beach:

Discovering that sand isn't all that tasty!

Thanksgiving on the Coast- The House

2011-12-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

Love the jeggings and the turkey bib!

photo from this website

Searching for fairy materials in our PJ's. So here is the deal with the fairy house. I checked out this book from the library and thought it would be fun to build one while on vacation. Everyone had fun looking for good materials, no one really wanted to take the time to build it. This would be a fun family activity. The books on these houses are awesome. Then, while shopping in town they found a fairy calendar and got it for me for my birthday.

I brought aprons and made everyone wear one!

A gift for Dr. Heidi, the classy way to drink wine for optometrists!

I'll let the pictures do the talking. I found this great rental outside of Florence, Oregon. My sister flew in, my little bro and his wife drove from San Fran, we drove from Spokane and at 1:00 am we made it! Most of the time was spent cooking, eating, drinking good wine, relaxing by the fire, relaxing with a movie. We had a king size bed and it was heaven! We watched Misery, Muppet Christmas, Peter and the Wolf, The Great Outdoors, and The Baxter. I may be missing a few. It was nice and relaxing!

Wrapping Up The Gratitude Days 18-30

2011-12-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

So we're well into December, but I started writing this and I just have to post it, so bear with me! We celebrated Luna's birthday, my birthday, and thanksgiving with my family in Oregon. The first birthday party was cancelled, or shall I say postponed? I still think I might do one in January. She'll never know!

Day 18

Thankful for:
Long, consistant naps
Going out for the first time all week
Hobby Lobby
Keeping my receipts

Day 19:
Relaxing
Deciding to cancel Luna's party, I was sad about this, but grateful because I didn't have the energy to pull it off and I didn't want to get everyone sick
Grandparents who watched Luna so we could rest

Day 20:
My sweet little baby girl has been with us one year!
Seeing her demolish her pumpkin bar cake
Having a little family time-just the three of us to celebrate Luna
Getting together with family
Easy pasta meals

Day 21:
For a meeting with a friend to plan a craft party
For staying up way too late planning and ordering supplies
Etsy, I love etsy
For a husband who stayed up way, way, way too late and folded laundry

Day 22:
For finishing the planning for the party
For pinterest
For groceries stores that stay open late
For a rental car

Day 23:
For a husband who doesn't stress because we didn't leave on time
For a girl who slept in so we could finish getting ready for our trip
For his suggestion to blog about this fun stop on our way. It's rare, but every once in awhile he tells me he has a blog idea. We picked up some yummy salsa, and some great chocolate and Luna climbed the stairs a couple of times and stretched her legs. It was the Country Mercantile in Pasco. They make lots of homemade yumminess. I love finding little gems by accident!
For Trader Joes- good snacks for the road trip
The traffic cooperated
Spending 10 hours in the car- ok, this was a little rough at times with a one year old, but she did pretty well
For a guy who can pack a car- I mean really pack!

Day 24:
Thankful we all made it safe to our rental
Thankful it actually worked to get together
Thankful for good food, good family
Thankful for a good year

Day 25:
Thankful for the ocean
Thankful for fun little shops
Thankful for a low stress black friday
Thankful that shops in a little town aren't crazy

Day 26:
Thankful to celebrate my birthday with my family
Thankful for my amazing gift- a new iphone! I am so beyond spoiled
Thankful that my parents gave me a flight home to visit
Thankful to sit and build a fairy house
Thankful to find a cute pyrex bowl for $5.00
Thankful I can still make hollandaise sauce (we made eggs benedict with crab) I hadn't made hollandaise for years, and all those weeks of whisking 9 years ago back at culinary school paid off)
Thankful for great weather

Day 27:
Sad to return back home
Thankful for having a good lunch and seeing some seals at Mo's
Thankful my little girl was being a good sport and liked shrimp and clam chowder
Thankful we got to stop at Mirror Lake at a fun bistro for dinner
Thankful Sam made it the whole way- we got back at about 2:00 am

Day 28:
Thankful Luna slept in for the first time in days
Thankful my sister got to see our place
Thankful we had a rental car or we would have been stuck at home when my battery had died
Thankful for activating my phone

Day 29:
Thankful I got to make some jewelry with a friend
Thankful I called the massage place
Thankful for a cleanish house
Thankful for a slow day

Day 30:
Feeling totally pampered
Thankful for the gift of a massage
Thankful for the pedi
Thankful I got so many things checked off of my list
Thankful for this little exercise in gratitude every day

Thankful- so thankful for everything

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 17

2011-11-18T14:37:00.001-08:00

thankful for:
soup from safeway
the laundry pile seems to finally be dissipating
a day without being puked on
luna seems to have her energy back
another dress almost finished sewing

a girl who loves buttons as much as i do. i spilled them on the floor in search of the perfect ones and she loved combing through them all (none went in the mouth, i was watching)
preparations for a first birthday party
packages arriving daily in the mail for my sweet girl
free magazines from frequent flyer points
planning a crafty day with friends- having an empty apartment to fill with crafty messes!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 16

2011-11-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

*for a sweet moment when luna was feeding me chex cereal. two for mommy, one for luna, it was so cute. i guess she got tired of me feeding her all the time!
*for leftovers
*late night sewing. one dress is almost done
*cuddle time on the couch watching sense and sensibility. luna thought the mean lady with the weird curls and black hair was hilarious. she started giggling so hard when she saw her!

*here's for keeping it real- this is what a lot of the week looked like
*cherishing the cuddle times
*listening to music

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 15

2011-11-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

Thankful:
That my baby seems a little more settled (She threw up 6 times this morning, poor girl)
A good smelling baby (thanks to the bath and lotion)
A girl who makes the funniest faces and knows how to make us laugh
Getting sucked in watching a Molly Ringwald 80's flick (For Keeps) with my husband and staying up way too late!
An amazing dinner. Tonight I made the butternut squash lasagna, yum, yum, yum! Lots of prep work but so worth it!
Things are slowly getting organized
A doctor who answers my questions promptly and cares and checks in
For that washer and dryer (yes, after 6 pj changes and puking on all of her bedding and ours, and 4 outfits I went through, I'm glad I didn't have to lug that to the laundromat)
A friend who picked up something from the store so I wouldn't have to go out
A good conversation over dinner
Feeling very much on the same page as my husband
Getting some sewing projects started (now to finish them...)
Listening to new music
The chill in the air- the changing seasons
Anticipating the next few months, they will be full, but very good

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 14

2011-11-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

Thankful for:

Friends who remember their cameras and take beautiful pictures
An amazing night out with friends (Sara Groves, Audrey Assad, and Jenny and Tyler concert)
Dinner at twigs to celebrate a birthday
Really lovely and beautiful friends
A great concert
The chance to help out
That at least one Starbucks stays open until midnight!
Getting a bunch of bills taken care of and annoying phone calls done with
Finally making a dentist apmt (yeah, i think it's been about 3 years since the last one- oops! i'm so scared to find out the cavity count!)

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 13

2011-11-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

Thankful for:
A good church
taking a break
relaxing

wrinkly toes after bath time

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 12

2011-11-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Thankful for:
Getting some serious work done in the downstairs

Yeah, it's pretty gross, here is a little side by side comparison. I scrubbed the left side.

A clean house (upstairs)
Some time alone with Sam
Grandparents who offer to babysit and bring dinner
Sam picking up Mrs. Meyers clove scent
Getting a chance to do a little demo work, I love smashing things, so gratifying!

The first snowfall

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 11

2011-11-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

Thankful for more good food on the table. (this roasted pork was so good)
Thankful for friends who drop by unexpectedly
Thankful for a good family

Thankful someone enjoyed the apple sauce (Luna was more interested in throwing it on the floor)
FYI, Luna loved the pumpkin smoothie, me not so much. I'm just not a pumpkin pie girl. I'm curious if I make it from a real pumpkin if I'll like it better.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 10

2011-11-10T23:18:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful for:

The smell of applesauce cooking. It was so yummy, but took forever to peel the apples. I'm thinking I may try leaving the peels on next time and finishing it with an immersion blender. It makes me happy every time I use my dutch oven.

A yummy dinner. Here is my take on this recipe my sister heard on npr and shared with me.

-Frozen everything mini baguette (that had dried out)
-Red bell pepper
-Cheddar cheese
-Rosemary
-Smoked Sausage
-Heavy Cream
-Green Onions
-Garlic

This looks beautiful but it's so yummy and easy to throw together. I could have used a cuter pumpkin, but this works. Sam asked, "Are we eating our fall decorations?" Yep, that is the plan. I'm excited to try some other recipes using pumpkins and butternut squash.
Ina's butternut risotto (I will be using some of that saffron I got)
Pioneer Woman's pumpkin soup
This butternut squash, rosemary, and garlic lasagna
Pioneer Woman's Pork Roast with apples and onions
I still need to make an apple pie and caramel apples and homemade donuts sound good. We'll see if Luna likes pumpkin smoothies tomorrow

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 9

2011-11-10T22:46:00.000-08:00

Today I'm thankful that:

I have a little brother who I can swap tips on fermenting heirloom tomato seeds, yeah we're both nerds like that

That I have friends and family requesting the best soup recipe ever, it's on the menu for the week (warning, if you make it, plan on inviting some friends over or having leftovers to freeze-it's a big recipe)

Family who sends the cutest little pjs. They even glow in the dark!

A little girl who is just killing me with her cuteness today. I just had to put her in a sweater dress that was slightly too small to reveal the bear butt! I know, a fashion faux pas for adults, but Lunabelle can pull it off!

This is my little reminder. Yeah, dishes aren't my favorite thing.

A fridge full of food for some good cooking. Yeah, I'm on a bit of a cooking kick! I even bought saffron! (It's $20 for less than an ounce, yikes- but so worth it!)

An easy dinner of gnocchi and it went really well with this Argentinian Malbec that I picked up. Yum, make this- you won't be sorry!

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 8- The Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

Before it gets too far into November, I have to post pictures of our trip to the pumpkin patch. Luna wore a little pumpkin hat that my mom knit for her last year and it was so cute.

We also got to pick some golden raspberries, they are yummy! I love that we get to actually go to a real pumpkin patch. So many pumpkin patches are grassy fields that randomly have pumpkins strewn about. I love that we have to chop them off the vine. Luna was more into the vines than the pumpkins, silly girl!

So there are the photos of that day, but today I'm thankful for:

Not having to cook tonight because someone brought some yummy shrimp and chicken from Bangkok Thai.

That Excedrin Migraine works so well, I love it!

A girl who is starting to walk. She is taking little steps.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 7

2011-11-08T01:08:00.000-08:00

Thankful for:

An upcoming siblings vacation over Thanksgiving to a cabin on a river near the coast of Oregon. I will turn 28 there. My brother and sister-in-law will drive north, we will drive south, and my older sister will fly.

Planning events to do for my December advent activities. I'm going to work on it and then I will share them with you, if you want to try them too.

Excited to be going to Minnesota for Christmas

Waiting for the snow to fly. Looking up ski conditioning exercises. Looking forward to downhill and cross country ski this winter.

Planning on cooking this week. I'm restocking my pantry. I want to spend some time baking.

God's outpouring of love. I'm feeling really blessed.

Thankful for a husband who skipped band practice tonight because I needed him here.

Thankful for a cutie who loves green smoothies as much as I do. Two days in a row she had a whole glass. Do you think it's true that babies will like what you ate when they were in your belly? I drank these green smoothies daily.

Having a kinda crummy day, but still rejoicing!

When clearing out and organizing we found our high school yearbooks. I had to read the cheesy things we wrote to each other. Sam had written that we will look at them later in life and think of how weird we were in high school. Yep, it's pretty true. So thankful that 12 years later we're still together.

30 Days of Gratefulness: Day 6, My Garden

2011-11-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

I am thankful that despite the fact that our tenants were doing all the gardening at our house, I was still able to have one across the street at a community garden. It was just built this year. I love the neighborhood we live in, it's growing and new and exciting things are happening all the time. We got to rent this plot for only $20.00. They had water right there and we got to know some of our neighbors. We met another VW Van lover who lives right around the corner.

It was so fun to check on the progress every day. It is such a miracle to watch food grow from seeds.

Doesn't food that you grow taste so much better? Yum!

I'm still pretty new to gardening, but it was fun to give it a go. We planted white beans, green onions, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, cilantro, basil, butternut squash, and some cucumbers. We bordered the garden with zinnias.
Some notes:
The butternut squash took over by the end of the season and overshadowed and killed the carrots and lettuce. We could have picked the squash just before it got ripe to let it ripen inside. Maybe it could grow on a trellis? It was so exciting to see them grow. We waited patiently to pick them only to find out the squirrels beat us to them!

We had a little weird thing happen. Right after we planted, someone stole our basil plant and replaced it with a puny one. Someone planted a nice big pepper plant in our plot. Someone or something pulled up the cucumber plants. I guess this is what happens with a community garden. Not too bad considering there was no fence.

I had so much fun sharing my zinnias with kids strolling through the garden. Flowers are always a good idea. One little girl got to pick some and she planned on giving them to her mom who was in the hospital. I want to also plant dahlias next year, even though they come up later. A little sunflower plant would be fun also.

The green onions did great. The broccoli got huge. Eventually it produced, I'm not sure why it got so tall. The tomatoes did ok. It will be better to plant earlier next year. The peppers did well. The basil and cilantro grew great, much better than how it grew in the pots. I still think it's worth it to buy a good basil plant, I have trouble growing them from seed.

Things I would like to plant next year: kale, jalapenos, fingerling potatoes, garlic, shallots

All in all, we only got a little bit of food, but it was a good learning experience and I think next year will be even better!

30 Days of Gratefulness: Day 5

2011-11-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today I'm having to dig a little deeper for the gratitude. We are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done to our house. I am thankful for the opportunity to work on it, and I am hopeful. I stood at the top of our stairs in our attic and imagined myself sitting at a table overlooking Spokane and painting. It will be wonderful. And I imagined the tall steep stairs painted with a fun quote. I'm hoping to get the attic cleared out soon.

I am thankful for a washer and dryer. This is so huge. We got an awesome one that can add steam to the washer and dryer. This makes washing the diapers a breeze. It's also fabulous for making sure thrift store scores are clean. I did the smell test, and I thought it passed, but by the time I got an orange beach towel home it was a little musty smelling. I washed in a regular washing machine and had it out in the sun for a while, but it still smelled a bit. After running it through the sanitize cycle in our washer it smells oh so fresh. It also has a huge capacity, so I can really wash a lot of clothes at once. It's also awesome because it doesn't use much water at all, which makes the tree hugger in me happy. We save $80 a month by having a washer and dryer, and I get an extra day at home each week. Good bye laundromat.

I am thankful for friends who happen to have awesome furniture in their garages. (Thank you Courtney) I am having fun folding fabric and storing my milk glass collection in an awesome green hutch.

I'm thankful for skype. It makes it easier that my family lives so far away. Luna will grow up thinking people live in the computer!

I am thankful for Luna's little friend Gage. They are finally old enough to start playing together. They were killing me with their cuteness!
I am thankful for a girl who went to bed early (8:00 pm) and the extra hour we get tonight. It is the best night of the year in my opinion! I need the extra hour tonight for sure!

Aren't you proud of my blogging frequency? I'm thankful to be back in the swing again.

30 Days of Gratefulness: Day 4

2011-11-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Today I'm thankful for:

A few minutes to doodle and collect my favorite fall quotes in my first ever giveaway win!
Sipping Sweet Ginger Peach Black tea with local honey

Using my ultra fancy crayons, they just glide on the page like butter

Thankful today's cloth diapers aren't anything like my momma's cloth diapers (yes we're giving it a whirl again now that I've got a washer and dryer- we just started yesterday, this will probably warrant a post in itself.) A little girl who's busy, too busy for focused pictures!

Enjoying the little, tiny gourds and pumpkins we found at green bluff. Loving my cozy house

Being flexible, canceling tentative plans because nap time was a little more necessary
Realization that I can wear the leg warmers I knit with my boots (I loved them, but was stumped as to how to wear them)

A funny bath mat that Sam bought for me

An evening among friends with big hearts

30 Days of Gratefulness: Color

2011-11-03T16:26:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful that God made beautiful colors. I realized I never shared after pictures of my dining room painting. I was waiting until I replace the lighting, but that may take a little while, so I'll share it as it is. It's so hard to get a picture, I need a wider angle lens for my dslr. I love color. I love red, bright blue, and green. It's so fun. I love 50 cent thrift store mugs.

I'm thankful for color.
I'm thankful for spray paint.
I'm thankful for green couches.
I'm thankful for thrift stores.
I'm thankful for the 60's and 70's.
I'm thankful for cheerful mugs.
I'm thankful for round little bellies.

Filled With Joy

2011-11-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

We are reading Philippians in our little bible study group and I'm enjoying getting into the word again, I have been away from it for too long. I am so blessed and encouraged by this group of friends I have. Philippians is such a cool letter. It is good to be reminded of the joy in Christ. And it's interesting to remember that it's written by Paul while he is in jail, yet he is so filled with joy. The key to the joy is being filled with Christ and his spirit. I want to try to capture the joy and record it by taking pictures this month. I think I'll start a flickr page and link to it on here. One thing that I want to do that is different than what I normally do with pictures is to take more of a mix of pictures. I want some pictures to be the beautiful and pretty things, but I also want to capture the mundane, or the chores, or maybe pictures of people serving. I want a little mix of everything. The blog world is a place of pretty inspiration, but sometimes it's a little too sickeningly perfect if you ask me. It can make you start feeling like everyone else has a better life. I know this isn't true, and I know blogs are just a little slice of life, and I know it's not good to compare, but it is hard when you see amazing pictures and fun things all the time online. I just need to remember to fill my mind with His words rather than the worlds. Philippians 2:3-7 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus...but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant..." Finding joy in serving others, in lowering yourself and helping others, it's not something we see or hear everyday, but it is true. There is joy to be found in Him. I need this reminder. I have been so encouraged and filled with the Spirit by these words. I want to post mundane pictures saying- I am content. Seriously, what's so wrong with contentment, not everything needs to be fabulous all the time. I think it's hard to live in our society because we're disillusioned to think we ought to live a fun life all the time. I love Phil 4:4-11 It speaks of rejoicing to God, to pray, be thankful, dwell on what is lovely, good, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you...for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." Ok, so I'm majorly paraphrasing there but it is a beautiful section of the bible, one of my favorites.

Luna's whole outfit is from the thrift store. Except for the scarf, my sister in law made that, and the shoes are from her grandma.

I am reminded of the book One Thousand Gifts. The book chronicles the story of Ann Voskamp recording a list of gifts she is thankful to God for. The habit is to be mindful and thankful to God. I love Christmas- love it, but I do hate that thanksgiving gets completely looked over. If you ask me, we Americans have it pretty good. We're pretty rich and spoiled by many nice things. So I want to take the time to slow down, rejoice, recognize and thank God for it all this year. I'm joining in with many others to list some things I'm grateful for.

Here goes:
I'm thankful for
changing seasons. I love the crisp smell of leaves at autumn, and the sound of them crunching beneath my feet. I love the vibrant colors of fall. The rich oranges, yellows and red. I had fun playing with Luna in the leaves. Fall is my favorite time of year. I used to spend hours outside playing in the leaves, raking them into houses. I hope Luna enjoys it too! She kills me with her cuteness, kills me- I love these pictures. I'm so thankful for a camera to capture her.

I'm rejoicing that the sun is shining. I love seeing the sun

I'm thankful to have heat in my house.

I'm thankful I have dishes to eat off of- dishes that get dirty every day. And I am thankful I can just turn a knob and fill my sink with water to wash them. After our summer of hauling water and only having 2 jugs at one time, I am so thankful for running water. I know that people in other parts of the world go to great lengths to get water.

I'm thankful for good friends who encourage me

I'm thankful for health. I am so thankful we don't have any major health issues. That is so awesome.

I'm thankful for fresh flowers that were cheap from Trader Joes. They make me happy when I see them. I love gerber daisies, they're my fave. and I love that the roses came with eucalyptus.

I could go on and on.

What I Wore

2011-11-01T01:34:00.000-07:00

I stole the sweater from my mom years ago. My dad bought it for my mom when she was my age.

The jacket is from Fringe and Fray, my favorite clothing store in Spokane. I had store credit so I got it for free! It was only $18 bucks though, they have such awesome stuff for great prices! The shoes are Minnetonka Moccasins, funny story- I ordered them online while I was in labor. Sam thought I was crazy, while he was rushing around packing last minute items in our bag, I was filling my shopping basket at midnight entering in credit card info. in between contractions!

My mom knit the scarf for me. The basket was bought at Hansen's last year. I love it and use it all the time!

Man, as I look closer I keep seeing things people made for me. I have a crafty family! My dad made me that silver ring on my ring finger from an old spoon. The other ring I got at a boutique in Colorado.

This blanket was made by my grandma for my brother. I'll have to get another picture of it one day, it's awesome. The yellow sweater she is wearing was made for my oldest brother- yep that was before ultrasounds revealing the sex, it's a pretty girly sweater if you ask me.

My mom crocheted this adorable little hat for miss luna bug.

I'm eager to try some new things out with my hair. I have gobs of it, so I figure I should do more than just a plain pony tail, or leave it down and boring. Pinterest has my wheels turning for new ideas. I tried out this hairstyle. I don't know, I kinda liked how it turned out- but I also think I look like a cross between a German masseuse named Helga and Princess Lei, nevertheless I tried something new!

I'm toying with the idea of posting some daily outfits. I'm nervous to do this because I am the last person on earth to look at for style cues or inspiration on what to wear. I have been inspired by Rachel and Rubyellen's Vintage Here, Vintage There feature and have been wanting to try it for a while. I love dressing my little girl up in fun things, mixing old sweaters with cute little jeans. So I thought I'd share my clothing and thrift store scores with you. I think this will also be a good way to share all the handcrafted love that we've received. It will also get me wearing more than the same 3 outfits all the time! I'd love it if you comment, or link up with your own clothing post. You can be honest, and I hope you will (I'm thinking my little sis especially- she has better fashion sense than me and she's truthful) I think this means I'm getting old enough to not care if I have some weird outfits going on, it's my style and it works for me. I think you can make anything work if you like it and wear it with confidence.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

While we were out in Denver for my friend's wedding she surprised us with this gnome outfit. And the Everyone Poops book and the little knit shawl.

I think this is her halloween outfit, I need to still make sure it fits and make it a little more girly by adding some pink and flowers.

Here are two silly ones, this could pass for halloween too. It cracks me up!

Glacier Park

2011-10-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize till I saw these how much I'm looking like a hippie again. Yeah, the hair is so bad- it's to the point that I may have to trim it before I go to get it cut, just because I'm so embarrassed by how bad my split ends are! I'm thinking about bangs.

Yes, that flat section is the road back there, no shoulder whatsoever one slip and you would be off the road flipping over the cliff. I would cringe every time a car would pass by in the other direction, I always felt like I was going to hit the car!

We went to Glacier National Park over Labor Day weekend. We left Sunday at 1 pm and stayed overnight. We had been wanting to go and it isn't that far away, maybe a 5 hour drive. It is gorgeous and it's a huge park. We stayed at a dumpy hotel- it would have been more fun to camp, but we didn't have our act together. We bought an annual pass, so we will be back and next time we plan on taking the van and camping. The trip was mainly spent in the car driving. I did most of the driving. The first picture proves Luna was with us, she slept for most of the trip! We drove the going to the sun road, it is an amazing road, very steep and narrow- it was a white knuckle drive for sure. It was good to get away- as our life was so crazy then. Being outside in gorgeous surroundings always puts me back in a good mood.

Apple Picking

2011-10-27T01:23:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, or almost past that time of year. We had a late summer, so I was late in picking apples. Greenbluff is my favorite place to visit. I look forward to going to Hansen's Orchard and picking apples every year. Sam has to go away for work this weekend, so he got off early today and we had a lovely afternoon. We had lunch at the Alpine Bistro on Monroe Street. I had a yummy chicken pot pie. It was so nice to see my husband in the middle of the day for once! He has been working a lot lately, and we have been busy getting things done around our house, so we haven't spent much time doing fun things. It is so rejuvenating!

This fall has been sunny and gorgeous, but today got a little nippy. Nothing to complain about, but chilly-yes.

Our Little Luna bug had so much fun today. She was just giggling away. The cold weather didn't bother her one bit! I think she must be the happiest baby on the planet! The trees were the perfect stroller height, those apples were on there tight, it took some work, but she got them and she knew what to do with them right away. She wasted no time in shoving them straight in her mouth!

On Faith

2011-08-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hmm, what to write, what to write? Well life has been a little hard lately. We haven't been able to live in the house that we bought a few months ago. I have been spending time reading books and having chats with lawyers. I do know that God is here and I have faith in Him. It's not always easy when things aren't going your way. I have been stressing, but everytime I start to feel sorry for myself I say a little prayer and ask for strength and comfort. Sure, I complain and am stressed out and I don't really know why this has to be happening to us, but I do know that I have been met with the strength I need from God. It's not like the stress of dealing with our problems goes away. I still have to research it all and deal with this, but it has been more bearable. I think I've only shed tears once, which is pretty remarkable for me. Having a little dialog with God before I want to feel sorry for myself has been so good. I still worry more than I should, I should trust more. At least I know now that the more I trust the more at peace I feel. I do know that in a few months we will be past this. We will learn a lot and be much stronger. One more chapter for the book of Becca and Sam's crazy adventure. It seems that doing a conventional thing such as buy a house is a little more complicated for us. I have been able to laugh at it all! I do know that things could be so much worse. We are all healthy and that is so good. We aren't dying of starvation, we are safe. Our life isn't going as we would have planned, but that's ok. Hmm, sorry I can't really share more than that on here. But I wouldn't be able to do a post showing that life is pretty and sweet right now. In some ways it is, but behind the scenes we are dealing with a lot. I am taking it one day at a time, and asking for patience. Because the patience is starting to wear out. Sam has been really swamped at work on top of this. I do think our past experiences have made us more prepared for this. And as Sam would say, we will definitely appreciate our house much more after all of this!

Friends With Berries

2011-07-27T09:43:00.001-07:00

This was so cute and typical. My friend's boy was interested in pulling, swinging and jumping on the tree, while my friend's little girl was more interested and delighted in picking the cherries!

I always anticipate seeing the fun little outfit that she comes up with. It is always bright, and cheery and has many layers. She usually is wearing more than one skirt! She is so sweet and adores my baby. The feeling is pretty mutual.

You all know I love Greenbluff. I could go every week in the summer. But this last week I didn't have to. The berries came to me. Our church community garden has strawberries and raspberries. My friend gave me a little jar of fresh raspberry jam. My friend Lindsey invited me over to pick raspberries. Yum, I think they are my favorite berry. Then, my friend Amy told me she had 2 cherry trees that we could pick from. She was so sweet and even rented a ladder for us. The berry season goes by so quickly, you must hurry and pick them and eat as many as you can! My freezer, fridge, and tummy is currently filled to the brim of berries! Courtney has a fun post about the cherries. We had such a good time!

A Random Summer Day

2011-07-26T21:31:00.000-07:00

I did manage to finally print a picture of my baby girl. Yes, she is 8 months old now, and I just printed my first picture of her. Oh the negative side of digital photography. I even got some frames for them. This beautiful picture was taken by my talented friend Jessica (Jeff Loves Jessica Photography) at my friend Amy's wedding. I got it in a 12x12 size. It's a fun photo size. I must brag, I love this picture, and Jess just snapped it-not planned or posed, outside of the aqua VW van as we were decorating it, just like that. Aren't the best photos the unplanned ones? Yes, I am so spoiled and blessed to have a best friend who happens to be a professional photographer! And I would kill to be able to grab my camera and just casually snap a pic like this!

Blah day.

I'm feeling blah
I want to get projects done on this house. I've learned that it's best to get the idea out of your head and into reality, it helps bring on new ideas and more creative thinking. I've waited so long to paint a house, I have so many projects in my head, they just need some execution.

I'm just about finished with my dining room, a few final details and it will be done.

I realize I've been away from my Bible for too long. And for some strange reason I keep putting off reading it. I know I will feel better, but I'm being weird and avoiding it.

We have 2 big bass amps in our little house. One needs to go. We have 2 coffee tables in our living room. One needs to go. I have a vintage sled in my entry way. It needs to go to the basement. I have an ugly couch on my porch. (The couch is not ours, it's our neighbor's) Our Christmas tree stand is still on our back porch. I have an extra bedroom that needs to be turned into a bedroom/studio. I cannot walk into said bedroom. Did I mention I have a baby on the brink of crawling? She scoots backwards and rolls all over the place. The clutter is driving me mad. You might be thankful that you don't buy and resell things as a living if you saw my house today.

I am leaving for my brother's wedding in two days. I need to make practice cupcake cheesecakes and make some cupcake wrappers using my silhouette machine.

I have pitted cherries, and homemade pie crust sitting in the fridge begging to be made into pie. Apparently you need tapioca to make homemade cherry pie. Who knew? I don't have tapioca sitting around.

This is a silly thing, but I had to take a photo. I sold my sugar jar to the people at Etsy. It is going in the Etsy office space in Brooklyn. So I may not have many sales, but if the people who work at etsy want to buy something of mine to have in their office I might be doing something right, huh? It gives me a little nudge to list all the other crap I have sitting around here. I kinda geeked out about this!

Another big accomplishment for me is that my kitchen floor is clean. My floor is always gross and I hate it!

So there is my brain dump for the day. It's nothing pretty or nice, but it's what is going on over here. I think I want more posts like this. The reality of my day. The challenge of wanting to get things done, versus actually doing them. And you know what, after posting this it is giving me the motivation to scratch some things off the list.

The summer is slipping by. I will enjoy it!

His Band

2011-07-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

top two photos courtesy of Blank Line Studios

I'm really excited for Sam's band. I finally got to see them perform (I've just heard them practice) They played at the Perry Street Fair (the last picture) They also played at Ionic Burrito. I'm pretty sure they are going to be at Perry Street Pizza on Wednesday night. And the coolest thing is that I heard them on the radio the other day. And it was my favorite radio station- KPND. That must be surreal to hear yourself as you're driving in your car. So I'm pretty proud of them. They are going to be playing live on KPND next Wednesday. In fact Sam is cutting his vacation short to come back for it. I don't blame him, I'd do the same thing. He will be playing at Trinity at Willow Bay for their pint night. Here is a link to hear some of their stuff.

He's Back (for now)

2011-07-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

Sam came back on Saturday and we had a nice day Sunday.

Before he came back we got one more trip to Greenbluff and picked lots of big juicy strawberries. (And this time Luna was wearing the apropos attire- the strawberry capris!)

Then we hurried back for a picnic with friends at the park. She loved swinging!

On Sunday we went to Liberty Pool. It was so much fun, and not just for Luna. I know I may sound like a dork saying this, but Sam and I had fun too! Grandma and Grandpa came and watched and took pictures. After Luna was done swimming we went down the big kid water slides, and I even tried out the whirlpool. The slides didn't look too impressive, but they were really fun! It's good to act like a kid again, and kids today have it good with cool pools like this in every neighborhood.

She is half fish I think. She loves splashing and doesn't mind getting water in her face, she just sticks her tongue out hoping to get a little taste of that water in her mouth! She liked the water slides.

In the evening we went on the City Drive. Have you ever seen the brown arrowhead sign around town? We didn't head out to Green Bluff, but we did the rest of it and it was really fun. We saw parts of Spokane that I hadn't seen. It takes you through the most scenic spots around Spokane. The next time someone new comes to town I will take them on it for sure.

And then we came home and were starving. We were going to order take out from South Perry Pizza, but when they're busy they don't even have take out available. Then I realized I had the ingredients to make a salad just as yummy, and a pizza just as good. I just cheated by using crescent rolls for crust instead of pizza dough.

The Waiting Game And Letting Go

2011-07-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Sam was supposed to come home Wednesday night, then Thursday night, then tonight, now tomorrow afternoon. 9 times out of 10 these jobs always take longer than anticipated so I always try not to look forward to the actual day he is supposed to arrive home. It is so hard not to know when to expect him, and to be disappointed at the last minute every night! It's 11 pm his time and he's still working tonight as I write this! So, who knows- maybe he'll be home Sunday. I'm not going to assume anything until I get a call from the airport! 3 weeks as a single parent is so tiring! I have so much more respect now. Luna is chewing on a vintage block as we speak and I'm trying not to think about where they have been. I'm just hoping that their age will help her build a strong immune system. This girl has also figured out how to scoot all over the place and roll from one area to another. It's no longer safe to leave the room and expect to find her where she started out! She has such a strong little personality. She scrunches her nose and squints her eyes when she laughs- it's the cutest thing. I don't know if her dad will recognize her! I really miss him. I also know it could be much worse, I'm glad he's here most of the time. I'm glad he's not in the military. I'm glad I'm not a single parent!

Her little vintage bathrobe- all clean after a bath!

Being a homeowner and first time landlord has been a little stressful to deal with all alone. I have been so thankful for my friends and family who have helped out so much. Friends have invited me over for dinner. They have listened to me talk for hours on the phone, venting! They have watched Luna so I could haul our weeds to the transfer station. They helped drive my truck home when it broke down on the way home! They helped me put together our lawn mower. (I can't wait to show you- it's a reel mower-(no gas) and so much fun to use.) When Jess and Jeff came I was planning on making this cake for them, but it didn't happen, my kitchen floors didn't get mopped and my pile of crap from an estate sale didn't find a home. It resides in a pile in my dining room! It's hard for me, because I like everything to look perfect, but it just didn't happen. But I'm learning to just roll with it. I felt bad that I couldn't make the perfect meal. It was so much more fun to just chat at a restaurant and enjoy food that someone else made. It's so good to just get together with friends. It's a lesson for me to let go of my own expectations and pride and just be! God is good and is getting me through. It really has gone by fast. Having a community of people to help is so nice. It's great to have people who love and care and understand!

So the past few weeks have been very busy. Staying busy makes the time go fast, but it was almost too busy. One day last week I helped sell things for our church's community garden and some weaving made by refugee friends. I was excited about it, but it didn't really work out. We were not organized enough and had some miscommunication. So sadly, we aren't selling anymore- but to be honest I'm a little relieved! It was fun to sit and chat with a friend I hadn't talked to in awhile. And it was fun talking to the other vendors. Hopefully we can get it together someday!

Our little garden is growing bigger by the day. It still looks pretty pathetic, and since I forgot to add the markers before the pencil washed away everything is a mystery! I know the tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and squash- but that's it. Every night Luna and I go. She loves to get sprayed by the hose (on the gentle mist setting) She makes her little squinty face, it's fun! She was my little helper weeding all day yesterday!

I painted a little accent wall. It's the first time I've been able to paint in any place that I've lived. Let's just say I didn't ease into it! I'll show you the full reveal when I get my art on the wall.

I also made another trip to Greenbluff and got to pick my $16 worth of berries! There have been many play dates at the park splash pad, a girls night spent chatting much too late at night, and lots of time outside. Trying to make the most of summer, and trying to choose to be happy even though Sam is gone!

Happy 4th

2011-07-05T17:08:00.000-07:00

I made a little cake for our low key 4th of July. It looks so pretty and is very yummy, but it's super simple to make. I simply baked a white boxed cake, whipped some heavy cream and sugar, cut the cake into three layers, and piped some stars and a reverse shell with an extra large star tip. I added some strawberries that Luna and I picked from Green Bluff and some store bought blueberries. I wish I remembered to use my trifle dish more often. It makes things so pretty, but I tend to only remember it on the 4th of July.

Aunt Katie took Luna swimming. Luna loves to swim. She even does a little frog kick. She loves to float and lay on her back and swim to toys. She enjoyed the floating even more after we put the sunglasses on, the sun was so bright!

Nothing better after a long day of swimming than a nap in Grandma's arms on the back patio swing.

We had a good old fashioned American barbeque. We didn't get to watch the fireworks though. I thought we might be able to see them from my porch-pesky trees were in the way! We also had fun with friends in town the night before.

My Little Strawberry Shortcake

2011-07-02T22:35:00.000-07:00

It has been so long since I last blogged. Luna had her first trip to Green Bluff today. Last year, she was in my belly when I was picking. It was more fun and comfortable this time! She had so much fun and ate so many strawberries! She has it pretty good, eating her first berry picked all by herself and still warm from the sun! Sam has been out of town for over a week and it has been so busy and I've been so tired! The berries were so small, I only picked $0.82 worth of strawberries! (It was more about the experience, and I was a slacker and didn't get out until around 1 pm, when it was sooo hot!) Normally I can pick about $16, at least. I think I'll wait a bit and go to Knapps. This was at Siemers and I must say their berries are usually smaller and they have no system. At Knapp's they give you a little flag and you put it down to indicate where you picked at, so the next person can pick up where you left off with no guessing.

The girl has 8 teeth!

Farm Chicks 2011

2011-06-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a full 2 weeks indeed! We were in Denver the week before Farm Chicks celebrating my best friend's wedding. We got home and packed up for Farm Chicks. And yesterday we officially became homeowners. So I have so many awesome things to blog about. Life has been so full!

My favorite little family photo- even though it's a bit blurry.

Here are some photos of our booth. I will post a few more on flickr. Sadly I didn't get as many as last year. This year was good and different. I was a little disappointed in myself in not having very many good big pieces. I decided to embrace the fact that we moved over the summer and had a baby, and were out of town the week before. Of course it was very fun. I was more relaxed during set up than last year.

Still Here

2011-05-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

So I'm still here. Just thought I'd do a little update on this blog because I've been absent for too long! I'm busy busy slaving away getting ready for the Farm Chicks show! I can't procrastinate quite as bad as usual because my best friend is getting married in Denver the weekend before. (This leaves me with 7 more days-eek) I'm trying to be cool accepting the fact that not everything I have in my mind will come to fruition.

I had a little helper bee out at the shop (don't worry she was in a separate room- paint fumes aren't good for babies!)

My house is a disaster. I was busy making some paper packs this evening. Last night I stayed up much too late so tonight I'm heading to bed early. I'm eating way too much fast food junk food-bleh!

Earth day came and went, I had a bunch of post ideas for that week. I think those ideas will just happen later. I'm hoping to do some posting while I'm in Denver for 6 days next week.

Thought I'd make a little random list of things I love:

Orange
Red
Being Late
Fall
Turquoise
Raspberry
Typewriters
Bottle Caps
Coffee
Anthropologie
Felt
Gerber Daisies
Simple Living
Yurts
Good Food
Alpacas
Italy
Fires
Forts
Cozy Recessed Beds
Quotes
Garage Sales
Mixed Media Paint Techniques
Canoeing
Morocco
Anna Maria Horner
Tracy Porter
Old Buttons

How's that for the most random post ever?

Little Luna

2011-04-07T02:22:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Jessica came before Christmas. They are very great friends of ours from high school. They took these beautiful photos of Luna. And of course Jessica made that beautiful headband. Here is her tutorial if you want to make one yourself. I know, I'm so blessed to have such sweet and talented friends! I can't even tell you how generous Jessica has been. She crafted so many cute little things for my little girl. Tomorrow I'm going to share the photos they took of my family when I visited them in Minnesota.

Today

2011-04-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

Today:

::I'm looking forward to a baby shower on Saturday.
::Excited for the Funky Junk Sale. The girls throwing it are so sweet and there are awesome finds for great deals. Are you going to be there? More details here
::Glad that friends are coming over for dinner tonight
::Can't wait to ski for free on Friday (49 has free lift tickets all week!)
::Looking forward to a party on Sunday
::Finally decided to purchase a Silhouette machine
::Glad I decided to sell my fancy phone to pay for said machine
::Thankful my little girl finally fell asleep

I had to buy that little pj- and do a coordinating photoshoot of course!

::New episode of Parenthood to watch
::Looking forward to our bible study tomorrow with my friends. We're reading this great book
::Happy that I have yummy leftovers for lunch
::I was able to convince my mom and sis to come to my friends wedding in Denver
::I'm going to plan a getaway for next weekend.
::We finally have heard some actual news about this house we've been wanting to buy (after 5 months of waiting)
::I ran out of photo space on blogger- oops- maybe I need to buy more space

::Am waiting for the best thermos ever to arrive. Sam and I both got one.

Lucy's Shower

2011-04-06T02:25:00.000-07:00

While we're on the subject of showers, here are some gorgeous photos of the whole shower for little Lucy- scheduled to appear very soon! Chelle is the sweetest, most shining person you will meet. We had so much fun scheming for this shower. The photos are from Andi check out her post to see some more pretty photos.

I made the hoops with her name.

We had a table set up to decorate a onesie for Lucy. Chantel arranged all the pretty flowers.

Courtney made the cute banner. Andi made the heart pastries. I made the cookies. Here is the recipe.

Courtney also made these cute Lucy Cake jars.

Amy designed the invitation. We had a fun evening putting them together and dreaming up the shower. We got the inspiration for this shower from Randi

Lucy, we can't wait for you to come.

Luna's Handcrafted Shower

2011-04-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

Next up are the showers that I had. You may have already seen these on Jessica's blog, but I wanted to document them here as well. Luna has been loved on big time. This shower was oh so special. These friends have become so dear. I'm so blessed to hang out with such creative spirits. The food was so so good! This asian pasta salad, beautiful pomegranate salad, and flourless chocolate cake were so so yummy!

Photos by Jessica

I can't believe how tiny she was! She's getting so big!

Of course the blurry photo below I took- I had to grab my camera quickly and capture this. They are so sweet with Luna and just adore her!

Maternity Shoot

2011-04-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Andi Mae Photography

I'm going to share with you this week all the professional pics I've been lucky enough to have taken. I was so so thankful that we were able to squeeze these in just days before Luna was born! I wanted to have some good photos, but I must admit that some maternity photos really make me cringe so I didn't know if I wanted any taken. You really have to trust someone with maternity photos I think. Well, during most of my pregnancy I didn't know anyone I could trust- I was afraid if I'd hire someone I would be sitting forced to take awkward half naked belly shots and I would hate the memory of me looking really awkward with a basketball belly captured forever. Well- then sometime in the fall I started getting to know these blogger girls in real life. I just got to know Andi and was afraid I would be a little too forward asking her to take some photos, but I had this last minute strong strong desire to have these moments captured. So I e-mailed Andi hoping she could squeeze it in, but thinking that maybe she would be too busy. I was so so thankful and felt so at ease with her. Obviously Sam did too. You must hire Andi to take some photos for you. I'm telling you, she has a gift and a special way of capturing life. I love every single photo she took. You can see a few more here. I think you know when a photographer is talented when you feel so so very happy and it brings you back to that moment every time you look at them. It's a sweet memory of us just before our family became 3! I don't think we had photos of us taken like that since our wedding, it was so fun!

I can't wait to have Andi take some more cute candid shots of our little family!

Random Quick Friday Post

2011-04-01T11:37:00.000-07:00

*Luna had her first tooth break through yesterday- and hadn't been that upset since newborn age. Oragel, Hyland's tablets, teething biscuits, teething toys- the only thing that worked was Tylenol. She woke up smiling and happy today. Let's hope that all the teeth aren't this much of a struggle

*I'm in major Spring cleaning mode and just cleared out my wardrobe and Sam did the same. This was so needed since we share one tiny closet between the two of us and one dresser. We're going to try to sell some at Fringe and Fray. Oh how I love that store. It ups Spokane's cool factor in my book. They buy and sell Anthro type of clothes.

*I feel so stupid to admit this- but I'm starting to try out Fly Lady's cleaning tips. Oh she's such a dork- and I feel like a cheesy mom- but I like the daily cleaning thing of focusing on one room each week. I only look at the e-mail they send on Sunday that shows what to do on each day of the week. I started getting the e-mails long ago when I saw it on House on Hill road and kinda made fun of it and never did it. Now that we're living in a smaller place I'm feeling the urge to purge.

It's the first weekend in a long time that we can just chill and get some things done. Are you doing anything fun?

Diner Napkins

2011-03-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

I bought this napkin holder to sell... But now I'm not selling it. I had a free hour to sew, Sam was watching Luna and I made these napkins. Sam asked why I was choosing to make napkins, and not the 5 other things I should have been working on. Like gifts, or stuff for farm chicks. Well, sometimes I just need some instant gratification. I pictured pulling cloth napkins out of this holder and I just had to do it right then. I love this fabric. It was one of my favorites and I was going to hoard it. I'm so happy I decided to use it to make some napkins. This way I'll get to see the happy fabric every day. I think I'm going to be making more from my favorite fabric. I must admit the first time I have really messy hands I may not want to wipe for fear of staining these. I'm sure I'll get over that soon. And that is why I need to make many more. If one is ruined no big deal. Practical sewing is so satisfying. I love the little star on it, it makes it a little homier than just the plain jane ones.

I also made a few bibs for friends with this fabric. Baby items are also satisfying to make- quick, easy, and oh so cute.

Tell me, are you making anything lately? And what are some good fun easy projects to use up your favorite fabrics?

Lovable Luna

2011-03-29T03:06:00.000-07:00

At 4 months I'm loving:

*How she turns her head spontaneously and looks at me with her sparkling eyes and flashes a huge grin.

*The way she always wraps her fingers around me

*The way she chews on her thumb

*Her instincts- she just started to grab things and really hold on

*That she doesn't seem to mind 90 minute walks

*Her little giggle

*Kissing her smooth soft little head hundreds of times every day (not even exaggerating)

*She's going to be tall like me. She's off the charts at 27 inches and quickly outgrowing the cute baby clothes

*Her somewhat regular 3 hour afternoon nap

*How she is rocking the vintage clothes

*Her ever growing bald spot

*These old lady glasses in baby size that were given to us for free from the kind lady at a thrift store on the first sunny day of the season!

* Her little arm wrapped around her dad

*These cute pajamas from grandma

* These chubby ankles

*These pictures of us

*Her strength is growing every day. She likes to be on her tummy and can really flip!

*Crawling into bed between these two late at night

*Her long eyelashes

*Her explorations and bath time swims

*Her first piggy back ride

*How she sleeps with her hands behind her head (She used to sleep with her fingers wrapped around her blanket.

*This face

Appreciating a Walkable Neighborhood

2011-03-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

I love walking on South Altamont. The weather is getting warmer and signs of spring are cropping up everywhere. Ok- so the view was amazing at our last place but we were confined to walking in one little loop- not so fun. I can't wait to check out all the neighborhoods in this area. There are some amazing old houses that are awesome. I get so inspired after long walks. I think taking pictures while walking is my favorite kind of photography. I think you'll see many more of these posts. There are 16 pictures here and that isn't even all of them. Enjoy the pics!

I love seeing bright pops of color peeking through from the brown and gray debris of winter.

Can I admit that I'm secretly hoping to get to know the owner of this place. My goal by the end of the summer is to be invited to tea in this little room. Creepy and stalkerish- yes- but if I walk when they are doing yard work I can chat it up right? And having a cute baby helps- doesn't it?

I'm hoping to get some good gardening ideas from the owners of this place.

And this is my dream place. I also need to get to know the owners of this place. And my agenda here is to let them know that if they ever want to sell the place they wouldn't even need to put their place on the market. Sam and I want to turn this place into a bed and breakfast/wedding facility. Many of these properties have two houses on their lot. And after running a bed and breakfast I realized that it is ideal to live in your own separate house. We could live in the other house and have the best of both worlds. The lot is huge, which means plenty of space for gardening and chickens. And it even has some woods in the backyard. But they have neighbors, so it's not as lonely as the country. This place has 10 bedrooms. Couldn't you imagine beautiful weddings taking place here in the summer? Of course I looked up all the stats on zillow. Am I a complete freak? Does anyone else do this kind of daydreaming?

If I walk far enough, I see this great view.

More signs of spring.

Spotting this red trailer made me happy. Doesn't it look cheerful? I imagined what kind of memories were made inside of it. It made me reminisce the happy days we spent in our van. I also was day dreaming about more trips in our van as a family of 3.

This place was kinda cool. Reminded me of a Frank Lloyd Wright place. I thought they did a good job of modernizing it. I just love this neighborhood. It has every style of house imaginable.

There are big beautiful trees that make the sidewalks crack. My shins were so bruised from the stroller jamming into them. I am definitely thinking of investing in a jogging stroller, even if I have no plans of jogging.

Luna seems to like the walks too!

The Best Sugar Cookie Recipe

2011-03-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

This is the best and easiest sugar cookie recipe you will find. Back when I was a cake decorator a fellow decorator shared this recipe and now it's the only one I use for sugar cookies. I love it because it's great for last minute rolling. Usually you need to refrigerate your dough for several hours before you can roll it out, but not with this recipe. You can mix it up, roll it out, throw it in the oven for 4 minutes and you're ready to decorate. I like to roll mine out a little thicker for a soft cookie.

Sugar Cookies:

1 Cup Soft Butter

1 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cream of tartar (this is the secret ingred. for allowing you to roll them out right away!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Roll out. Cut out. Bake at 400 degrees for 4 minutes. Enjoy!

Frosting

I like this frosting the best. But if you want to do the piping like I did in the pictures below you will need royal icing. Sorry to be confusing, but I like the taste of this frosting best. Royal icing doesn't taste the best, but it makes for the prettiest cookies!

3/4 Cup Soft Butter

4 Cups Powdered Sugar

3 T water

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg white

Sift powdered sugar. Combine butter sugar and water. Mix well. Add vanilla and egg white and mix well. Add food coloring if you'd like. Have fun frosting the cookies!

I wanted to do a tutorial on how to do flood work with pretty designs, but it's kinda tricky to photograph at midnight! I made these cookies for my dear friend's baby shower. We were celebrating the anticipation of Lucy Wren. I didn't get a chance to snap many pics from the shower, but it was gorgeous. I have some talented friends who know how to throw a party. I made this little embroidery hoop sign.

And here are the pictures from the valentine cookie decorating party at my house.

My Favorite Movie

2011-03-07T04:50:00.000-08:00

I really think this is the best movie I saw all year. It is a documentary about a singing group of senior citizens who sing REM songs, The Clash, and Jimi Hendrix. It makes you feel good and might even make you look forward to getting old. These people are so dedicated and in love with singing. Their director is hilarious and expects so much of them. I guarantee it will make you laugh and cry. I can't listen to Coldplay's Fix You without getting a little teary! They play huge venues to sold out crowds. I would love to see them perform.

Here is the trailer:

Laugh Out Loud

2011-03-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

Watch this video for a good laugh. It is slightly weird but so so hilarious and clever. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Happy Monday!

The Ugly Corners of My Home

2011-02-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Have you ever visited favorite corners of my home on flickr? I love it, it's inspiring and nice to see cozy little nooks in people's homes. But for a long time I've been wanting to do an "ugly corner of my home" blog post. I would love to see other people's ugly spots. You know, the old ugly sink that needs replacing, the 70's mustard yellow countertop you've been meaning to replace. I think everyone has them. I've had them in all the places we've lived. I always shared the awesome view and the cozy look of the lodge we lived in, but I never showed you the purple back door!

Here is our backyard view. Nice, huh? All the neighbors have multiple junkers in their backyards! We're no exception! In our driveway sits our van and the neighbors below have a turquoise pontiac that doesn't run!

Well in this house there are more than a few spots. Overall this house has great bones and some lovely built-ins which is why I fell in love with this place. But it's small, about 1000 square feet with 1 and a half closets! We haven't been able to use the basement yet. And I collect things to sell at antique shows and on etsy. So Luna lives in our bedroom and the second bedroom is a dumping grounds. No one ever goes in it. Well today I'm hoping to tackle that room.

Last night Sam and I were dreaming of what could be of this space. I'm hoping to turn our attic into a studio so that the other room can become Luna's room. That is a little bit into the future because we still don't own this house quite yet. But for now we have to be able to walk into this room.

I dream of the attic looking something like this with a little more of my style thrown in. It's not a huge space, and there is only about 10 square feet where I can actually stand. The door to the attic is inside this messy bedroom and I had to spend 5 minutes clearing the space to get to the door, then another five minutes prying the door open, because as you can see, no knob. Can you imagine the stairs being repainted? The vaulted ceiling a nice white wash to brighten up the space. And custom built in storage to utilize the small spaces where the roof slopes down. Right now I can only take pictures from the stairs with a flash. But awful before pictures make the afters that much better, right? Right now it's half insulated on the ceiling and half blown in with one foot of insulation. We were told by the inspector you do one or the other. Sam and I have always loved small spaces and a space like this is right up our alley.

Here you can see why I can't stand in the attic. This is the foot of fluffy insulation.

There are 2 small dormer windows to let some natural light in.

I want to do a full before video tour of our home and then hopefully have a fun after. This place mainly needs paint and some custom storage spaces to make it work for us.

Now tell me. Do you have an ugly corner of your home? Wanna share?

Style Quiz

2011-02-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

I took this style quiz. It was fun and pretty accurate. You pick about 10 pictures and they tell you your style. Try it out, who are you? I'm California Country:
Details of craftsmanship with natural materials surround you. To cook a grand meal in an elegant kitchen is your joy. A bedroom with distinct character - warm and charming. Connecting to the handcrafting of the artist, you sense a skill and some chance. Enjoying elegant outdoor fare. A lithe and agreeable cab - no meal required. Pre-war, upper east side attitude. Wild and crazy days in your wonderful home..

Apparently so is Sandra Bullock, Harrison Ford, and Jeff Bridges.

Luna's Boyfriend

2011-02-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

My friend came over today and brought her little boy who is only 3 weeks older than Luna. I'm a little worried about this little girl because she could have many little boyfriends! I know I'm going a bit overboard with the Luna pics- but come on how could I resist when they were wearing these little matching outfits. And Miss Lunabelle rolled over for the first time tonight and I missed it :( Of course I've only left the girl about 3 times in her entire life and she has her first milestone with Sam. Hopefully she will do it again tomorrow. So now she's getting strapped in everywhere for sure!

Bigger Pictures

2011-02-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad I have real life blogging friends. We were talking about making larger pictures. I still wasn't getting it after our the conversation I had with my friend. After 20 minutes of messing with html coding- I realized the new blogger doesn't even require that!

You need to update to the new post editor. To do that simply go to settings, scroll down to global settings and select Updated Post Editor. When you upload your pictures you have the option of making them extra large- it's that easy.

The new editor also has a better preview option- I'm sure there are more good things, I just haven't explored them yet.

PS
I'm trying to win a gorgeous diaper bag- if you'd like to try to win head on over to Bethany's blog Rinse Repeat To check out the pretty work of Beverly check out her website Remember Me Knots

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T12:59:00.000-08:00

This is the banner I made with my friend Jessica when I visited her in Minnesota. We always make a craft whenever we get together.

Here are some cute Luna pics. I found the quilt at a thrift store.

Her Valentine Church outfit

My sister Jenny made her this cute Valentine mobile. Sam attached it to the bookshelf with a vintage yard stick!

My sweet friends just dropped off a red heart balloon and some of these yummy cookies. So, so sweet!

Love,
Luna and Becca
PS Return To Me is on Netflix watch instantly- one of my favorites- a great one to watch today!

A Long Week

2011-02-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, it's been a tough week. Monday Luna had a rough night, and I was running out of patience. It was one of those nights that I had to just leave the room and let her cry and go into the bathroom because I was out of patience! I started volunteering again on Tuesday. It felt good to get back in the swing of things. But our truck isn't working, so I needed a ride. I was supposed to ease back into it, starting out working just in the morning- well it turned into a whole day. That was fine and great, because I love what I do- (and I need to do a post and explain and share more about it here on my blog.) I forgot my lunch. It was much harder to make my phone calls and assist people with a baby. Stress + Lack of Sleep + Not eating = My three migraine triggers. Tuesday night we went to the community dinner at our church. Sam had worship practice, so he didn't get home until 10 pm.

love this picture our friend took of the worship practice on Tues.

I had kiddos coming to my house Wednesday morning to make Valentine's and I had a terrible migraine Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. I was so looking forward to it, so I didn't want to cancel. So I rested/forced myself to get it all done. Luna woke wide awake between 4:00 and 5:00 am and Sam spent time with her, rocked her and got her back to sleep. I think he even went into work a little later than he was planning. That was so helpful! Everyone came and we had a great time decorating the cookies. Thankfully my migraine disappeared by the time everyone came (I love caffeine.) It just wasn't organized and all ready the way I imagined it to be in my mind. I was supposed to make a cake for a friends birthday, that didn't happen. By midweek I was wearing out. Surprisingly, Thursday I had a great day.

Can you believe my friend just moved into her house this weekend and made it look this cute for hosting a party by Thursday?- amazing!

I haven't been spending much time with God lately and that also just makes a huge difference. I spent some time praying Wednesday and it's just amazing the strength, love, and peace that God gives. Thursday Sam was practicing bass with a different band, so again he was home late. He usually has Fridays off, but this week he had to work Friday and Saturday. It hasn't really felt like much of a weekend. Sam's mom watched Luna for a few hours and we slipped away for a little date. I had a yummy Ahi Tuna Sandwich at Twigs. It was nice to get a chance to reconnect with Sam.

The weather has been warmer and we've been going on walks with Luna in the stroller. The walks have been giving us an opportunity for good conversation. Having a baby changes everything, obviously so it's been good to get outside and spend time together. After the walks and talks we have I realize how much I miss talking to my husband. I'm so thankful the days are lasting a little longer so we can sneak these walks in at dusk. I love the winter, but I've spent this one cooped up more than ever so it's refreshing to get outside again.

You didn't think you'd make it through this post without seeing a picture of this cute face, did you? It is hard to be mad or lose patience with that gummy little grin of hers

In some ways it's easier and I've gotten used to Luna- but weeks like this are bound to happen.

And I've been wanting to post on here. I'm sure anyone else who blogs can relate- I dream up millions of posts in my head and then life keeps happening and I get further and further behind. I really want to post every day but it's just so hard with Luna! I could have sugar coated this post and made this week look magical. I could have done a cute post of the cookies we made on Wednesday, or the fun birthday party with friends on Thursday. (I still want to share the cookie pics with you on here) It was a good week-a full one- but also so rough. I just wanted to keep it real on here.

Next week might not be much better. Sam is recording with his band Tuesday and it will be another busy week at work for him. He tried to fix the truck but it's still not working, so I'm without a car. I'm so glad that he gets to play music so often because he's really passionate about it. I'm thankful he has friends to jam with. It's just hard to have the long days without him. This week I'm starting it out being mindful of keeping God the focus rather than the afterthought- which is so often sadly the case. God is so good. And you can't feel too sorry for me because I'm blessed with an amazing group of friends who are sweet and offer to give me rides.

We've never been good about doing much on Valentine's day- we usually have an overnight getaway around February as a Valentine celebration. I still need to plan that. Tomorrow I hope to cook something yummy and maybe make a fancy dessert or something. I don't think either of us have plans for tomorrow night so I think it will be a fun night. I actually look forward to Mondays because Monday and Fridays are the only days we have nothing going on in the evenings.

I hope you spend tomorrow with people you love! Happy Valentine's Day and lets hope you see more posts this week!

PS If you're noticing the nice big pic size, I'm going to share tomorrow how easy easy it is to do this and I"m so excited to give this blog the much overdue design rehaul soon. I LOVE the new blogger changes, so great!

Snowshoeing the Louisville Swamp

2011-02-03T03:03:00.000-08:00

Remember the Jab Farm we visited in the summer? It's fun to compare the two seasons. Well Andy took us there again this last trip. Except this time we crossed over the frozen lake in snowshoes to get there. It was a gorgeous day. I like the signs that tell you the history of the family that lived there during the depression. They lived off the land, and two sisters lived there up until quite recently- the 80's I think. Built in 1880, and still standing. The little house that is complete has a stove in it and you can light a fire in the winter if you're too cold! I think it would be fun to do a winter overnight camping trip there.

Fun Shopping In Minnesota

2011-02-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

When we were in Minesota I had to check out a few shops that I had seen from other bloggers. Serena talked about Hunt and Gather in Minneapolis- so we had to check it out. Kari of Artsy Mama is always talking about Nature's Harvest. We had a good time shopping in Wayzata. Although it would be more fun to stroll around the town in the Summer I think. We went to Wuollets Bakery- it was the competition of the old dessert place I worked at. So so yummy! And we had lunch at one of my favorites- D'Amico and Sons. We also window shopped at the Oh Baby outlet. Oh my. I LOVED everything there- they even had a designer named Luna Luna. Too bad that the outlet- 50% off price still listed everything at $50 an item! Yikes. It was good inspiration though. A lot of the clothes had embroidery and crocheted detailing and yo yos that I could definitely make myself. The colors were so fun. And since we're talking shopping in Minnesota I should mention The General Store in Minnetonka- it's a must see- especially around Christmas time. If you're searching for a unique gift it's the perfect place.

FYI: on a completely different side not I updated my flickr 365- I made it through January- we'll see how the rest of the year goes. I'm really having fun with this.

Project Restyle: Baby Heart Onesie

2011-02-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

Before:

Luna was really laughing, so fun!

I got some cute little outfits for Luna for Christmas. The only problem is Christmas lasts one day. Babies grow out of things so fast, so I wanted to maximize the wear out of this striped cutie. So I took some felt and felted sweaters and covered up the Christmas part with hearts.

You can find it and other things people have restyled on the flickr page: Project Restyle

Dressing Up

2011-01-24T02:05:00.000-08:00

I think this is my all time favorite photo of Luna with her daddy!

A friend threw a fun Christmas party. I had fun dressing up and feeling human again! Can I admit that I spent an embarrassing amount of time at the mall- in the Gap particularly. I searched and searched the sales racks to find something that would be somewhat flattering for my post baby body. I was so excited at the chance to dress up. I don't know what it is, but for women we just need to dress up and feel pretty sometimes. I even put on make up for the second time of the year!

Christmas eve and Christmas day was spent at a few different places. It was busy. I don't have any pictures of the party, and only one photo taken on Christmas day, but I guess that means that we were having too much fun, which is always a good thing!

Chopping the Tree

2011-01-21T01:13:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me, I realize I'm going back in time here- but with a baby, thanksgiving, my birthday, visitors, Christmas- it's been nuts and I really wanted to share these things on my blog. Luna was welcomed into the world at a busy but happy, happy time!

December just flew by this year. It was a different kind of December- but such a good one! Christmas comes quicker every year, doesn't it?

It had just been snowing like crazy. Then my mom came for a week. We went straight to Coeur D'Alene for an open house at the birthing center and to do our annual tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree. This year we did a drive by hunt

No traipsing through the woods for me this year. We actually found a much better tree than last year. But every year we always cut it too close, it's always dark- or almost dark when we are cutting it down- so sorry- blurry photos as usual!

It was a bit of a steep climb!

It ended up being a Griswald family tree. They always look bigger in the forest! We got it home and did major trimming. It took up most of our dining room! It was a gorgeous day.
We decided since it's only $5 to get a tree from the national forest, we would get 2 trees. It will be a tradition. Luna will get her own little tree. I think it will be fun when she's a little older! Here it is outside.

Here she is with her little Charlie Brown tree.

Luna's First Outing- Thanksgiving and my Birthday

2011-01-20T03:35:00.000-08:00

After Luna was born Sam stayed home for two weeks. It was a nice cozy time spent mainly at home. We had our first outing on Thanksgiving. Of course she was the star of Thanksgiving. It was quite a drive. The roads were terrible and we were slipping and sliding. It was definitely an adventurous first trip out. But we made it to great grandma's house.

The next day was my birthday and we went on our first walk during a beautiful snow fall to the cafe around the block. Luna was the best birthday gift. It was so funny, they asked her name and we told them. The waitress said, "Wait, I've heard about this baby!" I was a little surprised, how could they know about her- she's less than a week old? Our friends had visited the cafe earlier in the week and they were telling the waitress all about Luna. So at 6 days old she was already being talked about!

Smoothies

2011-01-19T03:50:00.000-08:00

The gross and the good. Since I have an abundance of fruit and veggies on hand I'm trying to be more creative with my smoothies. I've fallen in love with green smoothies. I make them with fruits I've frozen from trips to Green Bluff. When I was pregnant I always added some protein powder. Now that I don't choose the fruits and veggies we buy, I don't have quite as much freedom. I love spinach in my fruit smoothies, but I got romaine lettuce in my basket. It tastes a little more leafy, but I can handle it. If you're new to green smoothies, start with baby spinach! I was feeling adventurous and decided to make an all veggie one. I knew it would be oh so healthy. I'm usually good with stomaching things. This smoothie made me gag! I had to toss it!

The Gross One:

1/2 cucumber

2 carrots

1 apple

water

I wasn't done with my veggie attempt. I tried a new one and I love it

The Good One:

2 carrots

2 oranges

1 apple

a good chunk of ginger

orange juice

frozen peaches (optional)

It tastes great, even without the peaches!

Amy's Visit

2011-01-18T12:03:00.001-08:00

Amy came for a visit. She spent a fair amount of time snuggling with Luna.We had fun shopping for bridesmaid dresses, dreaming up wedding color schemes, and of course she tried on wedding dresses!
Chaps for brunch on Sunday. Brunch is my favorite there. Chaps is amazing, it's like a restaurant version of anthropologie!

I think I'm glad Amy doesn't live here- she's got too good of an eye at thrifting! She found this cute cookbook stand that folds up. Adorable! Too bad it's so portable , or maybe I would have had a chance at keeping it. And I have bags and bags of items from thrift stores that need to be inventoried!And I just have to share some of my new favorites of my cutie in her new reversible corduroy vest. I couldn't resist. I justified the purchase because we're making a trip to Minnesota tomorrow and the temps are lower there! I think she's going to be a fashionista, clearly- she loves it!

I love my husband. He's the sweetest and best when I have visitors. One night he made homemade soup for us (even without a recipe) and he cleaned up too. He cooked and cleaned and watched Luna all weekend so we could do some shopping a little more easily.

Bountiful Baskets

2011-01-11T04:11:00.000-08:00

I've started to use bountiful baskets, thanks to the tip from my friend Andi. For $15 each week I receive roughly $50 worth of produce. It is a co-op that gets as much local produce as possible throughout the year. The middle men are cut out and it is volunteer run to keep costs down. You order online on Tuesday and you have a 20 minute window to pick the food up on Saturday. You bring your own container and your "basket" is all ready to go for you to transfer into your basket. If you don't pick it up, it gets donated. Obviously at this time of year there isn't a ton of local produce available, but they tell you where it comes from. And the bananas are bought from small Mexican farmers, versus huge corporations. I was amazed at the huge amount of food I received for only $15, you can also order organic food for only $10 more ($25). You can order the food once a week. If you don't pick it up, it gets donated. You can check if they have this in your area. If they don't, there is also information on how to get it started in your neck of the woods. This has been so good for getting us to eat healthier. I always end up eating what is available, and if I have a ton of produce around, that's what I eat. This is inline with my values and it's cheap which is cool!

This is what I got this week:
:: 1 pineapple
:: 5 bananas

:: 1 head romaine lettuce

:: 1 bag of carrots

:: 1 cucumber

:: 2 avocados

:: 2 large sweet potatoes

:: 12 roma tomatoes

:: 10 oranges

:: 20 baby red potatoes

last time I think was an even better deal:

:: 1 carton of strawberries

:: 2 heads of romaine lettuce

:: bag of russet potatoes

:: 2 bags of carrots

:: 1 pineapple

:: 5 bananas

:: 3 grapefruit

:: 5 oranges

:: 1 bag of celery

:: 8 granny smith apples

:: bag of onions

:: 2 cucumbers

:: 3 green bell peppers

Luna- One month

2011-01-10T01:59:00.000-08:00

Each day is different, and yet very much the same. Luna has no routine yet. She usually likes to stay up late (like her mama). Luna is such a little cutey pie. We just love her to pieces. She has been a smiley girl from the start. I can't even remember when the first one came. I just remember trying so hard to catch a picture of it! This is the first time- teamwork was the key.

She was smiling away at her daddy and I got a whole series of great shots! Forgive me for going overboard, but these are my favorites!

She's already growing so much. She's a strong little girl and holds her head up and stretches her little turtle neck around. She loves to hang out in the moby with her daddy. I'm not sure who likes it more.

She's losing her hair on top- so she's got an old man receding hair line! She loves to dress up- and accessorize! Her favorite place to be is her dresser/ changing pad. She loves to look in the mirror, smile, coo and she kicks her arms and legs like a madwoman.

We spend a lot of our time on this exercise ball when she's not happy.

It calms her like a charm every time. She also loves her little chair.

We also found that she stops crying when she hears the sound of running water. She always knows when it's dinner time and insists on eating when we eat! She is growing like crazy, at 5 weeks she weighed in at 11 pounds! And gained 2 inches.

As a parent I've learned that:

:: Little ones really can be quite trying on the patience. Even Sam, the calmest man alive admits this!

:: I really suck at swaddling.

::It really is wonderful and so worth it each time she flashes a little smile at me.

::Priorities change. If she gets upset when I set her down to try to do something I pick her up. I know that she'll be so big before I know it so I'm just letting things go as I sit and cherish the time spent holding her in my arms.

Time flies-now that I'm actually posting this she is 7 weeks old- closer to 2 months than 1, but I need to catch up!

2011 Here We Come...

2011-01-08T05:13:00.000-08:00

I'm excited for the new year. It should be a good year. It's already starting out fun this month because Amy will be visiting and then my family will head out to MN for everyone to meet Luna.

I'm going to do the 365 project. You can see the start here on flickr. I am really hoping to learn to use my camera better. I keep debating over whether I should hunker down and learn the manual settings. I always feel guilty about not knowing how to. I'm thinking I would love to get a new flash because I'm really struggling getting good pics of Luna with the low light in the house.

I'm really pumped to document Luna's life with this calendar from a sweet friend. It's simple enough and will be so cool to look back on.

I made my first blurb book for a gift this Christmas. It's from the tulip festival in Mt. Vernon. I would love to make more. I've hardly printed any photos from the past 5 years and I would at least like a little book of each year.

Tulip Festival by Rebecca Lux | Make Your Own Book

I need to refresh my google reader with new inspiration. And I need to stop lurking and leave more comments. I'm bad at saying witty one liners. Any suggestions for new blog reads?

I want to do little things for people. It could be super simple or more elaborate.

I want to be happier- more grateful for things. I have trouble always seeing the good in things- I just want to be more mindful of all the good stuff in my life.

Make things. I'm doing Farm Chicks again. I want to get etsy up and going again. And I want to just make more stuff for fun. Hopefully I can be a little more organized for Farm Chicks this year so I'm not running around like a mad person at the end!

Have an inspiration board. I love these.

Organization. Always an ongoing goal of mine- it's my biggest weakness

So that is the plan for now. Nothing too grand, just some good things to keep in mind for this new year.

Headbands

2011-01-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

Part of the joy of having a little girl is being able to dress her up pretty! I love making little things for her. I made some headbands and I thought I would show you my little secret. One band- many styles. It's nothing too impressive. I simply made the band and attached a piece of felt and a snap to it. Every flower I make I simply attach the other side of a snap to. So it's even quicker and easier to whip up an accessory that coordinates with her outfit before leaving the house! I'm planning on making some felt hearts for Valentine's Day.

Now- the part you really want to see, my little model showing them off. I purposely made the headband slightly too big so it will last a long time and so it won't be too snug.

We could seriously nickname this girl smiley. She is always so smiley and happy- it just melts my heart!

2010

2011-01-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

I had three big goals- I thought if I limited it to 3 I would actually accomplish them. I was too much of a chicken to share them on my blog this year. Especially because uh- making a baby isn't a predictable thing and it seems really creepy to have that as a "goal"

So I was 2 for 3. The goal that I thought would be the easiest to accomplish proved to be the toughest. It was the only one I thought that was reasonable. I didn't reach 100 etsy sales, but I am happy with the Farm Chicks turnout. I'm also glad that I got another show in.

Here is the picture of my booth at The Farm Chicks. My friend Jess came out to help. It was so much work, but so worth it. I really need to do some treasure hunting for this year!

Here I am pretty much popping out of my dress!

These are pictures of The Funky Junk Show I did with my friend Janessa. (They're her photos) I never got around to blogging about it. We went camping and had so much fun. The show was a blast. Low key with the nicest people putting it on. Her son Preston is a little cutey! He's the most curious little boy who says the funniest things.

And here are the latest Luna pictures. More on her later! I have so many blog posts to do!

She was so smiley and happy all day today. And she's almost fitting into her skinny jeans- I can't wait!

I had a lot of little goals and I forgot to look at them in 2010. I still like the ideas so I'm going to look at them again for this year.

A Chilly But Pretty One

2011-01-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

I love blogs that have one or two really perfect photos- but I'm one of those more is more kinda people.

It has been C.O.L.D. the last few days. But it's also been gorgeous. The sky has been bright blue and I have been loving it. I had to get out today and take some photos. It's so good for my creative soul to get out and take photos. I still remember the first snowfall of 2009. I love those photos. Doing this reminds me to look at life with new eyes- it's so much easier to do when it's gorgeous and so inspiring outside!

I think this would make a cool backdrop for a photoshoot

One of the cutest houses on a neighboring street!

Love this little new dad addition- Sam sports a burb cloth in his back pocket- so cute! Click on the picture to see it bigger.
My little Spokane boy couldn't handle the cold and had to go in early, even though he had a little heater on his chest (Luna) and long johns on. I had skinny jeans on- but I had toasty boots and a hat and a scarf. But I'm a Minnesota girl, what can I say I love the cold when it's gorgeous out! Here he is calling it quits! (Don't worry Luna was bundled well!)

My hand nearly froze. I had a full card so I had to keep pausing to delete old photos- annoying.

Happy 2011- I'm so doing the 365- photo a day this year!

It's a Girl... Welcome Little Luna

2010-11-27T16:08:00.000-08:00

Luna Violet Lux

Saturday November 20th

5:18 am

7 pounds 11 ounces

20 1/4 inches

She came right on her due date, how perfect is that? On Friday night Sam and I were out shopping and getting some groceries. I started to feel a few contractions but nothing that painful. We came home and made supper and watched an episode of The Office. We decided maybe we should time them and they were 8 to 9 minutes apart. This was at about 8:30 pm. We waited a little while and then called our doula. She said it was still early. I took a bath, I thought they would slow down and I would go to bed that night and get some rest. I was in denial that this was actually it, I thought it would take a really long time. After the bath they were 5 to 6 minutes apart. I was wondering how long it would be like this. The time actually went by kinda fast, before we knew it it was midnight. We decided to ask our doula to come to our house. It seemed to take forever for her to arrive. I thought we would maybe have to leave before she came. I didn't want to have the baby in the car. Megan arrived and decided it was time for me to go. It was the longest 40 minute drive! We arrived at the birth center at about 2:00 am. Our midwife came and checked me. I was at 5 or 6 cm. Then it all went pretty fast. I remember being on the birth ball and finally being able to relax. I walked downstairs, upstairs, downstairs-then my water broke. Transition was really quick, I had two terrible contractions and then I got in the tub and started pushing. I was amazed at how non invasive they were and how I was able to just let my body do what it needed to. I pushed for about an hour. This seemed like the longest part. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. I remember praying in between each contraction. I got a longer break between a contraction and I told my midwife she was coming out on the next push. Inga told me, "They don't just fly out." Well, two seconds later-she flew right out. Later she told me that she literally had to catch our baby! Sam missed it, he said he looked at me, and then he looked down and she was there. We were so overjoyed with our little girl. We got to hold her right away and spend time together. They checked her really quick and she got a perfect score. I can't believe how instantly in love we were. The midwives left and we spent time together as a little family of three and then they came back in with a wonderful breakfast for us to eat. The only sad part was that I had to leave Sam and Luna to go to the ER to get stitched up, I got back to the birth center at about noon. It was a beautiful sunny day. I returned to this:

Luna sleeping soundly on her daddy's chest.

The midwives all left and we had the house to ourselves. We enjoyed a little more time alone together and Luna and I took an herbal bath. We started calling people around 2 pm. Sam's parents came to the birth center and then we went home at around 7 pm. I remember being at home with Luna resting peacefully on my chest at 8:30 and thinking that just yesterday at this time I was at home in labor- she was in my belly.

We got home and settled in and it started snowing that night. She couldn't have had better timing. It's been snowing ever since, so it's been a good excuse to just stay inside and cuddle all cozy with our little girl with all the candles lit.

I'm so thankful that the birth was a good experience, and went just as we hoped it would. I know everyone says that having a baby is the worse pain in the world. And I was nervous wondering if I could really handle a natural unmedicated birth. But honestly, I didn't think it was so terrible. Yes, it was painful but I thought it would be worse. I really think that my yoga class helped me learn how to relax and I think that the Bradley class prepared Sam for how to handle it. I'm so thankful for two wonderful midwives and a great doula and a really supportive husband.

I've been sipping tea and cuddling with lovely Luna all day. I can't believe she's a week old already! We were both tired today I guess. I like to call her Lunabelle. We love staring into her pretty blue eyes and watching her silly faces. We can't seem to put the camera down. Sam has been taking good care of us. He's at the laundromat right now in fact. She's had lots of skype dates with loving aunties and uncles and grandma and grandpa. I'm looking forward to next week. We will get a whole week to spend as a little family of three. My mom is coming on Friday for a week. And we're going to have little Luna here with us for Christmas. I'm looking forward to going and cutting down the tree with her. Sam and I are already talking about the ways we can take her with us cross country skiing and out on adventures. It's a good snow year and Luna's not going to miss it! And I've been telling her about all the pretty vintage dresses I've been saving and the girl clothes I just couldn't resist buying. It's so nice to say her and she! She is a little sweetheart and we love her!

Sandpoint Getaway

2010-11-19T04:11:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago we decided to try to get away for the weekend. I originally wanted to go to Seattle, but we figured we should play it safe and go to Sandpoint Idaho. We only got away for one night but it was really nice. We stayed at The Inn at Sand Creek. It was a really nice place and a good price too. I was sad because I was looking forward to eating at Dish, a gourmet take out restaurant. It had rave reviews and Serena talked about it in Country Living magazine, but it went out of business. It was good to get away one last time for just the two of us.