We finally put the finishing touches on Koobie's nursery. It is all decorated, cleaned and stocked and ready for her arrival! My handy guy did some light work to get the pictures hung on the walls and items hung from the ceiling. Now we are ready to give you all a tour!
Welcome to Koobie's room. The little lamb is leftover from the shower and the baby bootie garland was a gift from Alice. When you step in and close that door you see our main bookcase holding Koobie's toys and supplies. You can see my big pom pom balls found a place to hang. If we work our way around the room we see the dresser turned changing table. I hung a couple more pom pom balls and paper lanterns for Koobie to look at while she gets her bum cleaned off. In the corner is Koobie's co-sleeper all ready to be used. It is hard to see the pictures on the wall but they are manatee watercolors that Greg and I have had for years. The final corner is where we have Greg's Grandmother's rocking chair and a little night stand that holds Koobie's books and odds and ends that come in handy when rocking and feeding. The tree is a vinyl cling from Land of Nod. The final wall is all doors so there is nothing to show. Koobie has 4 doors in her room! That limits the space we had to work with but we are very happy with how her little room turned out. Her dresser is all stocked with diapers, extra wipes, tiny socks and hats and booties. All her 0-3 month clothes are crammed into the second drawer with linens, towels, blankets, and some 3-6 month clothes in the bottom drawer. OK Koobie, we are ready for you to use your new space! Love Mommy and Daddy! Of course after the photo opportunity our work was not really done. We had to actually move the co-sleeper into our room, attach it to the bed and rearrange everything. It is actually pretty huge so we had to really change everything around. I am sad to lose my nightstand but it will be very nice to have her within arms reach for late night feedings. I am glad we tackled this before Koobie arrived. It was a lot more work moving furniture and lifting the mattress than I anticipated.
I know I am very delinquent with my posts! With the holidays we pretty much got completely out of our routines. We had a really nice Christmas and New Year. Spent lots of time relaxing, a fair amount of time playing, a little time cleaning, and a little time prepping for Koobie. Coming back to work this week has been hard but there is so much to accomplish before I go out on maternity leave. I did not manage to take a profile shot during my entire vacation, nor did I manage to take our yearly photo (no New Year's cards I guess!). A couple people who don't read my blog contacted me recently and I am sure it is because they wondered if I was OK since I didn't send out a card.
Here are a few shots I did manage to get during the holiday: Greg opening some of Koobies gifts. For a kid who isn't yet born she sure got lots of Christmas love from the family! This is a little book my mom sent where there are furry ears and tail for the child to wear while reading it. Totally cute! I tried to get a shot of Greg when he decided to put them on! but he was too quick to pull them off to prevent his own embarrassment.
I decided at the last minute to cook a Christmas feast which turned out amazingly well. We of course took pictures of it. The Tofurkey roast, probably our best one ever cooked in a dutch oven with some veggies. I think the dutch oven made all the difference keeping the roast moist and flavorful. We bought another one for the freezer so we can make it again this weekend.
Potato gratin from Everyday Foods. Very rich made with real cream and cheese! It also was a huge mess that boiled over and started smoking up the kitchen. What's a big meal without a little drama right!
And some green beans lightly sauted in pear vinegar. So yummy.
Here is a photo of our annual Christmas tradition which is to do a puzzle. We really only do this once a year. This puzzle is of the Seattle skyline and was a gift we recieved last year. This year my parents sent us a puzzle so we are set for 2010!
A shot of the snow we got during our vacation taken from our kitchen window. And here is a photo I managed to capture of myself documenting what I see when I look down, NOTHING! If I lean over I can see my feet but that is all. I have to trust Greg when he tells me the rest of my body is still there in tact! HA!
I am taking a little break from studying for my last final of the semester. I am so close to being done yet, I have a really long night ahead of me to finish all the practice problems, reading, and note taking I need to do.
I realize I have not posted on the old blog in a while so I snapped a few photos around the living room to show you some of the handy work my mother-in-law and I did while she was here. I have lots of decor items that I have collected over the years or have recieved as gifts but I am REALLY bad at displaying them. They tend to end up all lined up in a row on the 1 or 2 surfaces I have. Greg's mom is really good at styling things and creating little vinettes around her house (she used to run a gift shop where this talent was very useful) so while she was here I asked if she could help me group and display some of my things. Here are the results:
This is the area to the left of the TV on the TV stand. First of all the clock was a gift that Greg's mom and dad brought with them. Originally when they gave it to us I stashed it upstairs because I had no clue what I was going to do with a clock shaped like a sardine can. The main focus here was the giant vase that is really a lab flask. Greg had brought it home from work and we both like it but we could never figure out what to do with it. It has had rocks in it before but mostly it just sat empty. Marcia suggested faux flowers and and we picked out this grass at Michael's. She also suggested anchoring it with rocks which we got at Michael's too. After they had gone Greg brought down the clock and stuck it on top of the TV (just to drive me crazy because I hate stuff up there usually) and I thought, why not move it down with the grass. You know, for some reason I like it there a lot and it is nice to have a clock. It also makes a lot of noise as the fish swings back and forth and I like that rhythmic sound too. I put a few extra rocks in the tea light holder and called it done.
Next I had this votive holder that Greg had gotten for Christmas from his boss. It sat on the buffet for a long time. It had these ugly glass marbels in the bottom of the tray that came with it and I didn't really like them. So I used the extra rocks from the grass vase in here and think it is much cuter. BUT what Marcia did that was so cool is she removed a couple of the votive holders and put the little pots of faux succulents in the empty spaces. I had the little pots in a cabinet. How cute is that! I would never have thought of it. And I wouldn't have thought to put it next to the couch in front of photo frames because I would have thought it was "in the way" but actually it has been great.
On to the table. I had a great grean bowl that Suzan had given me as my secret Santa. At Christmas it had held holiday stuff but I didn't know what to do with it during the rest of the year (and didn't have room to store it with the decorations) so it had been holding napkins. Marcia put it in the middle of the table because she agreed it was a great bowl, filled it with black stones that had been in the bottom of my umbrella stand and stuck this tall grass in the middle (that had been in the bathroom on the shelf). Then she added my candle sticks and my cute salt and pepper shakers as well as the little glass bird. I later used the bird as a weight to hold down some pretty paper napkins from IKEA. I think this turned out great too and again I thought, oh that is too much stuff on the table, it will get in the way. NO IT DOESN'T! We still use the table a lot and in fact the decorations encourage me to clean it off regularly so I can enjoy them. Very scandinavian feel which is cool too. The bird is Finnish, IKEA is swedish, and the candlesticks remind me of danish modern. We even tuck our dice under the bowl out of site until we want to play over dinner.
Next is the buffet. This was where everything ended up in a little row like soldiers standing at attention waiting for an inspection. Marcia helped me make 2 groupings with a generous space between them. The space makes it look intentional and not like a jumbled mess. The first is this grouping of a metal tree, another set of candle sticks, and a couple birds to the left. The second is a grouping of pictures. The poster is new, in my accent color orange, and very appropriate slogan for Greg's and my life right now. "Keep calm and carry on". The poster was designed during world war II in England. Then there are a few smaller pieces that we have found that are kind of funny. We have a running joke in our house that Greg is afraid of squirrels. It is a long story but the imporant thing is that it is true. Greg found this woodcut print at an art show. In his mind all squirrel's look this viccious and mean. And I found this altered photo of two mischivious squirrel brothers from yesteryear on Etsy. And maybe you will recognize this little guy from TV. He is "hungry" from the Weight Watchers ads. They are selling these little plush dolls at our meetings and he was too cute to pass up.
On to the bathroom. You may remember that we had a leak in our bathroom a while ago and water had been running down the inside of one wall. The water weakened the wall board and my little shelf came crashing down and broke almost everything that had been sitting on it. I lost a potted faux orchid and a few small things. The wall was fixed, the shelf rehung and it sat empty. Marcia to the rescue. While at Michael's we picked up these cute puffy flowers and she arranged it in this little bud vase that looks like grass that I had recieved for Christmas and didn't know how to use because it was so small. Then I added a little plate I got for free from Paloma's Nest. They make custom little pieces stamped with words that you can find on Etsy. It is hard to see in the photo but this one says "I Love You". I added a couple stones for a trio. Then there are two little pots from our friend Jin who's father is dabbling in pottery. They are actually candle holders. Everything filled out really nicely on the shelf. The flowers make me smile every time I go in there. Not bad for under an hours worth of work. Thanks Marcia!
Our little anniversary was really nice. We had a lovely dinner filled with delicious food (at Gobo) and lots of great conversation remembering the past and talking about our future. We decided in the end to skip bowling because it was already 11pm by the time we finished our meal and we still had about an hour of travel time just to get home. Plus, there was no reason to shell out all that money at Bowlmor when we could use my gift to Greg for free! For our anniversary I got Greg a Nintendo Wii. He had been eyeing it for a long time and I figured since I leave him home alone so much these days while I am in class or studying at work he would put it to good use. So this weekend we spent a lot of time playing with our new video game system. Like most boys Greg got really into the Wii sports disk and did so much boxing and Tennis that his little arms were sore all weekend. Here he is playing head to head tennis with our downstairs neighbor Corey. I have to say the Wii is great for group socializing. We had Corey and Marie up from the basement for several hours of tennis and bowling. Yep, that top score is me! Much better than I would have done at Bowlmor! The cool think about the Wii is we can hook it up to our wireless internet and surf the web using our TV as well as download games directly to the box. I of course opted to download classic games I loved from the original Nintendo system (lots of Super Mario!). Greg researched new games online we wants to buy and I am going to see if I can get them used at the video game store near my work. Here is Greg relaxing on the couch playing pinball. We love to Wii!
I am a little late in posting this but a week ago last weekend Greg finally got around to hanging up these cool letters I got for Christmas. They are from Viva Terra and are made of upcycled tin (misprinted tin that would have been discarded). It took us so long to get around to hanging them because they were supposed to be hung by screws and none of the holes on the backs were uniform in position to line up easily. We were dreading the immense task of measuring and marking everything so they would hang straight and level. Well I got the brilliant idea to use double sided foam tape instead. That way there will be less damage to the wall and they would be a lot easier to hang in a straight line. It worked great. They are light enough for the tape to hold them up. A fun addition to our kitchen.
Last weekend was my freedom before Spring Term started and how did I spend it? Purging the closet in our bedroom. Greg received a promotion in the new year to a more managerial position and with it came a new wardrobe. Shirts and ties almost daily and recently we got him some new slacks for work too. With the new inflow of clothes we went through the closet (and dresser) taking a look at each item he had and decided if it was worthy to remain. As I have complained before, our closet is horribly designed so that it is very difficult to access the clothes in the back. Because of that we found lots of items crammed in the back that could go. Greg buys most of his clothes at the thrift store so much of his wardrobe was run down or didn't really fit well. We weeded through it all and made notes on what needed to be purchased (as well as what to avoid like blue shirts. We found 6). We also changed out all his hangers for thinner velvet textured hangers that take up less space. I went through my dresser drawers and pulled out all the pants that were too big. My bottom half is shrinking faster than the top so the shirt drawer didn't change. Lastly we tackled the coat closet before sorting the discarded clothes into donation and garbage piles. I will tackle my side of the closet when the weather changes since most of what is in there is warmer weather clothes. In the meantime it is nice to have everything in order again and it should help Greg get ready faster in the morning.
3 Days till Christmas and what would I like to see
A post of miscellany
It is a travel day so I leave you with some random items. First is another benefit of a fabric stash and a sewing machine. I whipped up this cloth bag for a bottle of wine gift Greg took to work. I used some leftover red fabric from the kitchen blind. Sewed up the sides, sewed the bottom corners to give it a slightly flat bottom, then turned the the top and stitched the edge. A silky ribbon and it was done. It turned out really nice.
Here is a little update of our card display this year. It filled out really nicely. I think I will do it again next year for sure.
And a photo of our little snow storm over the weekend. This was taken during the thaw. Thanks to the thaw we were able to move the car and find a perfect and free parking spot for our trip! Yippie! Now if we can just make it to Seattle and get there with all our suitcases!
9 Days till Christmas and what would I like to see
More ornaments on the advent tree
Just a quick post today as I run out to take my last final of the semester in about 40 minutes. This is a photo of our advent tree. It is from Greg's childhood but for some reason I am the only one who puts up the little beaded ornaments each day. It is a fun way to count down the days until Christmas. Unfortunately no one will be putting up the ornaments while we are away in Seattle this year, but don't worry, the blog will roll on until the 25th!
I am excited to be free from studying starting tomorrow so I can get back to my nightly crafting sessions and more DIY posts!
19 Days till Christmas and what would I like to see
Some more decorations pretty
We got home from setting up the Angel Tree party at Manhattan Bible Church tonight just as it started snowing. Very pretty. I didn't manage to take a single photo of the set up party though It was a lot of fun and everything went together really smoothly.So instead I am blogging tonight about holiday decor again.
Today I ran over to Michael's to pick up some more garland and berries to finish my Christmas decorations. I got to take advantage of their 50% off sale. First I found some cute naked pine cone boxes in the Martha Stewart holiday line and picked up some gold glitter. They were not on my list but I like the look of the pine cones and gold accents are a part of my Christmas theme. Once dry I put them into an empty vase with some berry springs I picked up. They added a nice sparkly touch to my buffet and the best part is that they can also hang on the tree. Next year maybe I will hide treats inside them on the tree. I picked up a pine cone garland and had Greg cut it into 4 pieces. 2 went onto the buffet to accent the angel candlesticks (and hide the boxes I use to vary the height) and the metal tree.
I love the way this display turned out. Two other pieces went into the windows where my candles sit. A third piece would have been really nice too but not worth another trip to the store.
Next was a new addition to our lighting. Last year Greg's parents sent us a string of lights from Reseration Hardware that look like a series of votive candles. We put them right away with the decorations last year without even opening them. So this year it was a pleasant surprise to discover them in the decoration box. I unpacked them and thought they would work on the TV stand where there is a 4 inch ledge. First I put the candle lights up on the stand and used a few round boxes to vary their heights. Then I worked a garland through. It already had berries attached which went nicely with my theme. It turned out so nice. I am really happy with it.
Now I am pretty much done with our deocrations for the year. It is looking really nice! I love sitting on my sofa with all the lights on and some candles lit. Very nice mellow lighting. Oh and by the way the Christmas cards are coming in and going up on the ribbon wall.
I am a Seattle native who was transplanted to the Big Apple 12 years ago. I spend my days managing the Biology Department at a major university and spend my nights with my daughter Vivian and my partner in crime (Hubby Greg) trying to keep everyone fed and in clean clothes.
My handy guy did some light work to get the pictures hung on the walls and items hung from the ceiling. Now we are ready to give you all a tour!
The little lamb is leftover from the shower and the baby bootie garland was a gift from Alice. When you step in and close that door you see our main bookcase holding Koobie's toys and supplies. 
You can see my big pom pom balls found a place to hang. If we work our way around the room we see the dresser turned changing table.
I hung a couple more pom pom balls and paper lanterns for Koobie to look at while she gets her bum cleaned off.
In the corner is Koobie's co-sleeper all ready to be used. It is hard to see the pictures on the wall but they are manatee watercolors that Greg and I have had for years. 
The final corner is where we have Greg's Grandmother's rocking chair and a little night stand that holds Koobie's books and odds and ends that come in handy when rocking and feeding. The tree is a vinyl cling from Land of Nod. The final wall is all doors so there is nothing to show. Koobie has 4 doors in her room! That limits the space we had to work with but we are very happy with how her little room turned out. Her dresser is all stocked with diapers, extra wipes, tiny socks and hats and booties.
All her 0-3 month clothes are crammed into the second drawer
with linens, towels, blankets, and some 3-6 month clothes in the bottom drawer. 
OK Koobie, we are ready for you to use your new space! Love Mommy and Daddy! 
Of course after the photo opportunity our work was not really done. We had to actually move the co-sleeper into our room, attach it to the bed and rearrange everything. 
It is actually pretty huge so we had to really change everything around. I am sad to lose my nightstand but it will be very nice to have her within arms reach for late night feedings. I am glad we tackled this before Koobie arrived. It was a lot more work moving furniture and lifting the mattress than I anticipated.
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