advent calendar

i wanted to make an advent calendar this year after pinning inspiration on pinterest all year long. so on the morning of december 1st i got up early and just started cutting. to make this project you will need:

cardstock (in two colors, three if you want a contrast star)
an x-acto knife
a cutting mat (or in my case--the back of my sketchbook)
fun patterned washi tape

freehand cut both the squares (approximately 2" x 2") and numbers. tape them up to the wall into any shape you like. i did a tree, but it could be fun all in a row or as a square too. as the days go by, tape a contrast color to the back of the numbers until you reach the 24th.

i love that against our white wall it looks very much scandinavian! :)

craftenhagen + blog royalty

last week i had my first evening sans baby! i went to craftenhagen and made ornaments and gift boxes in a workshop led by the lovely tina of traveling mama. there was hands on crafting, i met nice people, and ate delicious homemade snacks in a cozy little studio...perfection.

and the BEST part was...i met brittany of the house that lars built!!! blogging legend!!! she is as cute as can be and so sweet. i wanted to be her copenhagen bff but sadly she is moving back to the us in two weeks...darn it. i am so glad i got to meet her and see her fun studio, and can't wait to hear about her new adventures back stateside!

block by block

some days i can't get much accomplished, being a stay at home mom is both wonderful and maddening at the same time. when oliver is crabby, every minute of every nap is essential to getting things done, whether i need to work or try to make a dent in the never-ending pile of laundry. i've had to really learn to be efficient (a friend told me to imagine how much we could get done without a baby!) and i'm not only freelancing but also making time to work on projects that really inspire and excite me. i love this print not only for the great but simple quote, but also because mid-century modern and scandinavian design hold a dear place in my heart. see more of this fun etsy store here.

latex-dipped baggu

how fun are these latex-dipped canvas baggu bags at west elm??? i never NEED a new tote bag but these seem extra useful and durable and the pop of color is fun. i love baggu bags and their duck bags come in even more great colors since i blogged about wanting one three years ago. (is this a sign i need to just get one already? ;)

thankful.

there are so many things in my life i am thankful for, but this amazing and wonderful little person tops every list.

wishing all of you across the sea a very happy thanksgiving!

bunnies

i sewed these little guys for finch's holiday time boutique and i am really happy with how they turned out. i have been wanting to design my own plush that i can easily reproduce so i took the time and made a pattern too. (though i'm still perfecting the limb placement, as you can see each one is doing their own little dance ;)

my photos have gotten a lot of likes and comments on instagram so i am really excited to make more. i always wanted to make a keepsake baby gift for friends and have already received a request for one, YAY!

calendar sneak peek

i am working on a calendar with my [extremely talented super nice] friend maeve again and i am so excited about the updates we're making for our sophomore attempt! (junior attempt actually, as we did a calendar with our friends kara and sarah two years ago...miss you!)

here is a sneak peek at some work in progress that may or may not end up included. it's so much fun making a million colorways, i don't know how i'll ever choose...

bobby pins

how adorable are these kate spade bobby pins??? i love that they look like a box of matches, the little red ends peeking out of the box are too cute! all of the new arrivals on kate spade are so fun...and good to know my [very similar] bright pink coat is totally back on trend ;)

no.6 clog boots

today was a rainy gray day, typical of autumn in copenhagen. i did work for a client (during somebody's generously long naps!) and laid on my stomach and people watched out the window with that same little.

i wore sweatpants (obv) but wish i had these cute no.6 clog boots to pair with them--they look so warm! and a jumping picture? i love it!

happy halloween!

i am so proud, i sewed this costume all by myself! and even hand stitched the contrast pieces and hems when a certain crabby little someone didn't want to nap and i had to be extra quiet in our small apartment. my mom always sewed our halloween costumes growing up, so it makes me happy to carry on the tradition!

life with a baby

so sorry i've been gone for so long. i am very fortunate that i've been able to take a longer break than originally planned to spend lots of time with little oliver. we had guests all summer which was SO wonderful, but when they all went home we had to get ourselves back to real life. it took awhile before we could get into a routine that worked for us (he likes being awake...all the time!) and for me personally, it's been hard not only being a new mom, but a new mom in such a different land and so far away from family and friends.

luckily the past few weeks have been much better, with oliver sleeping through almost the whole night, and two naps during the day. he and i go on walks with the pram or sometimes out to meet expat friends or mothers' groups. we have become this mini-team, and we charge forth with our daily tasks that we accomplish together.

i can already see him growing up so much already, i try and memorize every moment of joy he brings into my life. even though he can't stay little forever, i know every day brings brand new memories and the happiest of smiles, and i wouldn't trade it for the world.

presenting...

he came exactly on his due date...an amazing feat as both his parents are infamous for being late.

we had names picked out and were planning on knowing instantly once we met him what he should be called. but we were too enamored by the amazingness that is a new baby and we delayed making a final decision. luckily for us in denmark they give you up to six months to name your child. every danish neighbor he met completely understood why he was nameless. so we took advantage of this cultural difference and spent the first few weeks just spending time with our little one, getting to know his personality and practiced saying names until one sounded just right.

so...with my favorite picture of him to accompany the news, we officially present OLIVER! the name fits both his looks and personality perfectly. his middle name is vietnamese and means happiness, optimism and positivity. a perfect name for our happy little baby bebo!

50 days

time is just flying by dear bebo, and we cannot wait to meet you!!!
50 days left to go...you must be excited too because you were kicking and punching up a storm today. (it doesn't bother milo in the least, ha)

32 on 3/2 and time marches on

i turned 32 this year and went to lunch and dessert at paludan bogcafe and la glace with my favorite expat friends, chris got me a waterproof bookbag from the freitag flagship store in zurich (as a solution to my frequent annoyance with denmark's unpredictable weather), had dinner at the delicious quattro fontane, and got lots of overseas birthday love via facebook, email, and even regular post which just makes me so thankful for all of the wonderful friends and family in my life.

margaret (a friend since 4th grade) came to visit in march as well, and it was really nice. we often say our friendship always starts up where we left off, no matter the amount of time or distance since our last time together...and that's neat to have.

my "golden" year is great so far, wanted to just say a big THANKS!!!

gotta catch 'em all

my extremely talented friends at paper bicycle have started a fantastic new venture named light grey art lab and i am excited to be one of the 151 artists in their next group show--the pokémon battle royale! all of the artists have put their own personal style on the original 151 pokémon characters so it will definitely be a fun show to see. i had lickitung...and he REALLY wanted some ice cream.

the opening reception is friday april 20th, 7pm at light gray art lab and it's free to attend PLUS there will be refreshments, music and even giveaways! i will only be there in spirit (and artwork), but if you're in the twin cities i hope you will go check it out. (more details here)

no time! there's never any time!

ok jessie, this is just not true. but it's easy to make yourself THINK you don't have time...trust me, i convince myself this all too easily.

i recently read an article called "are you as busy as you think?" and it reminded me that it's easy to exaggerate and convince yourself that you're TOO busy and there's NO time, when factually there are many hours every week (nay, every day!) that you are probably wasting. i've been trying to use their "choose your language" tip and it's pretty helpful, though also kind of a downer. for example:

when you say: "i don't have time to cook a good-for-me dinner."

it means: "i don't make time to cook a good-for-me dinner because i'm lazy and i prioritize this over my general health."

see? sort of depressing. but you can see how this helps put things in a better perspective. it's always good for me to get re-energized about time management reminders as we are star-crossed lovers, who never seem to meet up. [insert shaking fist at proverbial "time"]

ps. image is from a SAVED BY THE BELL themed party O. M. G.

god morgen solskin!

it has been exceptionally sunny lately and i am loving it! no longer does it get dark at 3pm, and though winter FINALLY came a few weeks ago with some snow and cold temperatures, i will gladly bundle up for a beautiful sunshine-filled day.

yesterday i also passed my danish module 2 final exam, jeg havde en god dag! before i went home, i started at one end of the strøget and just walked around...window shopping and stopping to treat myself to lunch at one of my favorite places, paludan bogcafe. it is so cozy in there--like sitting in an old library, and the food is always delicious.

happy valentine's day!

happy early valentine's day

i have to share this card i saw on pinterest because it's so awesomely pixilated and fun! the blog it was found on (how about orange) and the blog it was originally posted on (mini-eco) are super happy colorful blogs, so make sure to check them out.

revealed!

we nicknamed the baby "bebo" and kept referring to them as "he" by accident, and lo and behold we were right the whole time! the other crazy part is i had a dream when we were still living in our temporary apartment and in the dream i turned to my mom and SUPER casually said "fyi, it's a boy, so think aqua and white stripes" and then walked away just as casually. AHHH!!!

145 days left to go...we can't wait to meet you, sweet little boy!!!

write more

while living far away from family and friends, we are lucky that technology keeps us so connected. with skype and facebook--it's *almost* like we never left. however, one of my resolutions this year is to actually use my extensive stash of stationery and cards and WRITE, WRITE, WRITE to my cute pen pal giulietta, my swiss cousins, and my email pen pal maeve (who i have traded extensive chaptered novels with weekly, thanks friend :)

found via pinterest see more on etsy: marykatemcdevitt

a swiss FOOD christmas

part II of our wonderful weekend in switzerland. there are SOOO many food pictures, i might need to do a part III...! are you drooling yet???

1: clementines, christmas cookies and warm apple tart
2: fresh baked warm, cheesy, gooey, flaky ramequin from the outdoor market
3: homemade fois gras with fleur de sel
4: christmas dinner course styled by my cute aunt
5: the main christmas dinner course(s) by more cute aunts and my grandma
6: chocolate lava cake with raspberry sauce by my cousin khuê (i helped ;)