29 April 2014

Gender Neutral Baby Quilt

Now that my most recent quilt has met its new owner, you get to meet it.


This quilt is directly copied from inspired by this quilt. As soon as I saw it, I knew I'd model Baby L's quilt after it because it provided a way to bring a lot of colors into a quilt while keeping it simple, modern, and not too juvenile. I stretched my comfort zone a bit by quilting in a square pattern from the center to the edges.

I don't have specific fabric information for the solids. The backing is Windham Fabrics Wallflowers Vine in grey, designed by Allison Harris of Cluck Cluck Sew.



I can already picture Baby L enjoying tummy time on his/her quilt! Enjoy, Misha and Aaron!

24 April 2014

Weekend in California

We spent this past weekend in California. I'll spare you the details of the various illnesses that caused us to modify the trip on both ends and the sleeping disaster that was our daughter. Instead, here are some photo highlights from the happy parts of the trip. 

On Saturday morning, Madeleine and I were out the door by 5:20am to catch our flight to SJC. She was an angel, and this was probably my easiest flight with her except for her very first one (at six weeks) where she slept virtually the entire time. Knowing that so much is about to change, I especially treasure these little adventures with my girl. And, yes, Mama, belly, toddler, and bear all fit in a seat. Barely.


Each time we see the Midglets, the kids interact more and more and their six-week age gap gets smaller and smaller. In all of their joyful chaos, somehow this photo of the three kids trying to figure out how to play catch in a triangle was the only photo that captured all of them.


John and Sally graciously invited us along to a fun BBQ at their friends' house, and I was able to snap this shot of the boys in their own personal heaven: climbing on a slide while being fed strawberries and cream by their doting parents. True happiness, I tell ya.


Madeleine was a big fan of the strawberries and cream (on top of pound cake that had been flown in from NC!), too. 


One of our favorite things about visiting the south bay is the density of parks. It's a great way for Madeleine to spend some energy and all of us to get some fresh air. 

I have very fond childhood memories of playing on play structure bridges, but they are one of the few things that gives Madeleine serious pause. 


Love this Peek-a-Zoo shirt!




For Sunday brunch with our friends Mike and Tracy, Madeleine wore a dress made by another friend. She sent it to Madeleine for her first birthday, but it fits just about perfectly right now. 


While this trip wasn't the disaster we experienced in Phoenix, it certainly didn't go to plan. Nonetheless, I'm happy to take away these happy memories from our sunny spring weekend. 

20 April 2014

Happy Easter






She has grown a bit from last year, eh?

10 April 2014

Toy Clutter



Have you ever wondered how to curb your toy clutter and keep your kids interested in their toys for longer? Check out my guest post on toy rotation over at Bumble + Bliss.

09 April 2014

When you know, you know.

We shopped for a new house for six months before we walked into this one and, within five minutes, knew that we wanted to place an offer on it. When you know, you know.

And so we knew it would be much the same when we'd found the right thing to display in the art nook that greets guests just inside the front door. We wanted to find something special, something unique and personal and meaningful to us. It also needed to be relatively tall and thin.

While we were on Bainbridge last Friday, we were lured into a gallery by some octopus tentacles we saw displayed in the front window. It wasn't long before we knew they were the thing to go in our art nook. The rest, they say, is history.

By David Franklin

To add some contrast, I painted the back of the art nook the same Benjamin Moore Stampede that we have in our dining room. I'm not convinced that it's the forever color, but it looks acceptable for now and does a good job tying the nook to the nearby dining room. The surrounding walls are Benjamin Moore Senora Gray.

By David Franklin

By David Franklin

Not everyone wants ceramic octopus tentacles prominently displayed in their home, but they are just right for us. 

07 April 2014

Weekend in Photos

Our weekend started on Friday, when George took the day off of work so that we could celebrate his birthday as a family. 


We took the ferry to Bainbridge Island for lunch and enjoyed some windy and sunny weather. Fortunately, the 40-percent chance of rain never materialized.



On Saturday, we attended Tiny Tots at the symphony. Despite all the other pre-performance activities being offered, Madeleine was most interested in the books and watching the buses outside Benaroya Hall


20 week bump; 21 months old

Sunday morning, I enjoyed a single shot mocha while waiting for the rest of my brunch party. It's so nice to be back to a moderate amount of coffee after being completely off of it for about six months. It's also so good to catch up with friends!


Oops, I did it again: why can I never stick to my shopping list at Target?


Sunday dinner was George's birthday meal: homemade from scratch pulled pork enchiladas followed by banana cream pie. 


How did you spend your weekend?