spoonflower

if you haven't heard of spoonflower yet, it's a fantastic website where you can upload YOUR OWN DESIGNS and have custom printed fabric made. how fun is that??? my friend maeve motivated me to finally start an account, so you can find me under rhymeswithfun (you can even vote for me in this week's kawaii contest). although our house is cute fabric overload, i feel like buying your own prints would be too fun to miss out on!

poor blog...

i can't believe how i've neglected you dear blog, i feel like time has just flown by! here is what's been going on since february in a nutshell, more details and pics to [belatedly] follow:

1. chris and i went to copenhangen and london with a mini stop in helsingborg, sweden too! it was all UH-MAY-ZING. (i'm surprised we even came back ;)

2. chris turned 30 so besides joining him in europe, i threw him a photo scavenger hunt/photo reenactment birthday party, followed by dinner at brasa and drinks & games at chatterbox.

3. i also turned 30 so chris, dana, and lauren (with help from mike and hieu) threw me a HUGE loft party complete with a red&aqua theme, puppy movies & rockband projected on a screen, frost your own cupcakes, italian food, a paparazzi wall, and...the EASTER BUNNY.

4. i started and completed a super fun pottery throwing class through the minneapolis community ed program with melissa and leah. i successfully mis-dated one of my pieces the year "2100."

5. i took a textile center class with melissa (thanks again, friend!) her cute mom and elisa at the textile center on dyeing wool felt with kool-aid and hand sewing woodland creatures. i made an eye-patch-wearing embroidered pirate bunny.

6. i have been working...A LOT. and it sadly makes me really tired.

7. to offset the pain of working, i have been trying to eat better (for me ;) and get exercise, so after losing 2 pounds already, i am starting to feel pretty great!

8. i've discovered this cuteoverload baby sloth post and it makes me SOOOOO HAPPY!!! when you watch the video my absolute FAVORITE part is when they show this lil guy above for the 2nd time. AHHH, SO FREAKIN' CUTE!!!

wishing a very good night to everyone and sweet dreams!

ps. did you think that i had posted a picture of an actual baby sloth in my own yard as my blog update? i just figured this would be cuter than stock clipart of a jagged highlighted alarm clock symbolizing time passing by and my lack of posts as of late ;P

pps. if you are still reading this, i truly thank you and would like to extend a virtual high five in your general direction. way to stick it out, this is a lot of writing--even for me.

skål & cheers

chris and i are lucky to be spending ten amazing days in copenhagen and london, so watch for fun posts when i get back!

(we brought meerkat milo too...the real one wouldn't fare well on a european adventure ;)

tea shirts

my cute and talented friend becca (who is MOVING TO TEXAS, sad) recommended i check out a blog called lovely package and it IS lovely, and i LOVE it! this was one of my favorite products featured--who wouldn't want mini tee-shirt shaped tea bags hanging around their kitchen??? or hanging in their cube at work??? super adorable.

(becca also generously gave me her namesake for ordering coffee at starbucks, so i can avoid the awkwardness of "van," "von," or [you can only laugh] "vune." she is so sweet...i will miss that fun girl!!!

tea party baby shower

i've been friends with lauren and lisa for over 3 years now, so it was only natural for us to celebrate the first pregnancy between us in a big way! lauren and i threw the CUTEST tea party baby shower for lisa that you could imagine (if i do say so myself) i designed the invitations and put a hidden "lisa b" on the tea pot for fun. we had everyone wear pearls and fancy hats and had the most amazing spread of delicious apps and cupcakes. (i baked 65 cupcakes--the most i've ever done in one night) lauren had the sweetest idea of having all the guests bring baby vivienne a tea cup as a keepsake memento and seeing them all together was just adorable. the extremely talented amber was generous enough to take beautiful pictures for us, thank you! :)

vivi is due in 20 days, and i cannot WAIT to meet her!

1. summer 2006 2. shower invitation 3. tea pot close-up 4. lauren and i hosting (photo: amber) 5. becca and kara looking cute (photo: amber) 6. clockwise from top left: tea making station, tea cup collection, lauren's sweet fruit tartlets, vegan/gluten-free chocolate cupcakes, vanilla/cream cheese frosting cupcakes (photo: amber)

lights

look what calvin gets to look at above his tank. the lamp shines fun heart-shaped projections on the wall!

ps. calvin is my cute turtle, he turns 10 this year :)

love is in the air

i cannot believe how fast january is flying by, it's already february in less than 2 weeks! i need to get started my valentine's day cards, yikes.

(see more cute letterpressed cards at egg press :)

coquelicotsalon

i LOVE hand warmers/wrist warmers/fingerless gloves (melissa knows!) and how cute are these embellished fingerless gloves by coquelicotsalon--i love them! the bow and buttons make them so fancy. and how fun are the polar bear fingerless gloves, i can't even believe it. (the kitty charm is INSANELY cute too, look at that lil winking eye ;)

found via housemartin--a REALLY cute blog

change something.

i saw this linked on the bedlam of beefy and i just loved the simplicity of it. my parents always told me if i didn't like the way something was, then do something about it. i think it's still so motivating, even if i'm just being reminded of things i already know :)

happy new year.

i made a list of 30 resolutions for 2010 and i was all set to share them, but i think i might hold for now so i can keep them to myself. it was a very eventful and busy (but FUN) year so i am really looking forward to relaxing weekends (as they can be with milo!) and time for chris and i to put some order to the chaos that is our home.

as every new year comes, i'm optimistic i'll be a better person and do better things. i always think "this year is the one!" that i'll be able to catch up on all the things i wanted to do the year before and find the time to do the new things i've thought up since then.

so cheers to a new year, whatever it may bring!

[a beautiful night :: top of the rock NYC :: sept 2009]

happy holidays

we were lucky to have a beautiful white christmas and to be able to spend the holidays with both sides of our families. hope that everyone had a wonderful christmas as well!

nib necklaces

i have finished my christmas shopping and all my presents are wrapped and under the tree, yay! i didn't need to get anyone jewelry, but if i did i'd buy some of erica weiner's fountain pen nib necklaces--how fun are they??? i've been looking for a calligraphy class to take, but i'd probably save a lot of money if i just bought one of her necklaces and practiced with that...or at least i'd look that much cuter in class, ha.

seen on the daily candy girls' gift guide

ducks in a row

if you thought notcot (one of my most favorite blogs in the world) was only for seeing the de-packaging (i love/hoard great packaging) of eye-catching fun product, you were wrong. just like last year, she has fun contest after fun contest during the holiday season!

i've already registered for the ninja of the month club and baggu giveaway and it's only the beginning of december. even if i don't win, it's been really great reading the designers' stories behind all their work. and that new baggu duck bag is freakin' cute and looks super useful. so...maybe santa could wrap 8 presents for me, one in each color bag! or maybe he could wrap 7 bags inside 1 bag! ok, even no present in 1 bag would be greatly appreciated. thanks santa! (or lady luck of the draw :)

robin's egg blue

oh, i was also busy last month buying this lovely gift for myself. the second i saw it in the san francisco store window i fell in love, and now [after a kate spade sale] it's finally mine...yippee!

(and yes, it matches my kitchenaid stand mixer)

HELLO.

image from {this is glamorous}

it's been a busy time since i last wrote...we had 2 BIG weddings (congrats dana + mike! yay steph + court!), i dislocated my kneecap (my hyper-mobility means no surgery needed, but no driving or snowboarding for awhile either...boo), finished steph + court's thank you cards, then designed notecards [and screenprinted onesies with dana] for finch's holiday time boutique (come stop by this weekend!). and in between all that, chris and i have been slooooooowly trying to purge our house. PHEW.

you may think that i have been too busy to share my (obviously amazing) stories with the world but i have been tweeting away, so if you miss me lots you can always see what i'm up to. in the likely event that you don't want to go to twitter (it's ok, most people don't) i promise to post again really soon.

xoxo.