This feels weird. . .

I present to you. . . my new project! What can I say, it was L-O, L-O,LO-,L-O-V-E (is ashlee simpson singing in your head?. . .) at first sight. But this project will take every ounce of my patience as I quietly sit and wait to decide what color to paint/fabric it. Plus, the best news is that it's not just a desk! It's a. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .?

changing table!!

Sorry if you get creeped out by ultrasound pictures- I know they aren't for everyone. But it just wouldn't be as dramatic without it! Yikes. . . it feels weird to be pregnant. I still feel like I'm 14 years old- I can't be a mom!

Well, it started off as shock (is that put delicately enough for you?), and then you start to convince yourself that you really are pregnant- I mean when else has your 5th bowl of 'Oh's' cereal and brushing your teeth induced vomiting? It never had for me! So you start to get used to the idea, even though you don't really 'feel' pregnant. And then you have an ultrasound, and you think, 'Okay. . .MAYBE I'm a LITTLE pregnant. . .'

So, I am 4 months pregnant today (17 weeks/July 9th). Hooray for the 2nd trimester! Minus the part where you haven't really popped yet so you REALLY look like you are gaining weight. Well, this is a lot of pregnancy talk. For the future, fear not. There will be no postings about "dream" nursery's, strollers, baby clothes, etc. . . I live in the real world with a dusty old apartment that has a view of naked people showering (literally- but I will save that story for another time, it's straight out of a 'friends' episode). I guess what I am saying is that it will feature more 'projects'.

P.S. When my belly does start to pop, please don't touch it (crazy street people included).

Come Out Meg- They're Ready!

These have been on my mind the last couple weeks. They have been on my mind in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and in my sleep- especially last night. I had been working on these little soft blocks so much it was all I could dream about. So while tossing and turning at 4 this morning, I promised myself I would finish them and rid myself of these monotonous dreams.

They may look a little crazy in the pictures, but they are pretty cute in real-life, if I do say so myself. What I love most about these little blocks are the textures. Some of the pictures have

3-d wings or ears, button eyes, and each block has a side covered in satiny soft ribbon tags of different lengths.

A, B, C's, but I guess you can read since your reading this blog so that was really pointless.

This dino is kinda freaky looking. I think it's because the teeth pop out. Now don't look too close at these when you get them Alex, I made plenty of mistakes. . . but thanks for letting me practice on you! It was really fun using up my old fat quarters. Now lets just hope this is some motivation for your babay.

3 day weekend update

This weekend we had Andy and Alex over for a riveting game of blokus.

If you haven't played it before, you should. Doesn't it just look fun? And I'm not being sarcastic, those are genuine expressions.

The object of the game is to try and put all your tile down without getting blocked. Taft won with the green, then Andy with the yellow, Alex with the red, and I lost big time with the blue. It's funny because growing up, whenever I would play games, I liked losing because I didn't mind and that way nobody had to have their feelings hurt. Now, even when I try to win, I loose- so I guess I'll just keep telling myself I do it on purpose to spare other peoples feelings.

We finished the night off with this deliciousness. The bad thing about this dessert is that it is so compact, you can eat alot of it without even realizing. Also, it is probably the most caloricly dense dessert I have ever made. Did I mention it is totally worth it?


And just to tease you for upcoming events. . . We did go shopping this weekend and I do have a new bed. I love it. It is almost done. I can't wait to be able to post the after shot! We will finally be off the floor! Oh, and in case you are confused, we stick our bed into this little nook next to the closet. That way our room is alot more open and now Taft has room for a little studio. By studio I mean for music. A lot of people in Chicago don't know the depths of Taft's musicianary. You are missing out.

Jazzin' it up!

A year and a half ago, Taft and I moved to Chicago with one suitcase, a guitar, and about 100 dollars in our bank account. We had never seen the apartment we were moving into, and had no idea what our neighborhood was going to be like. Luckily we were only in that first apartment for a month. . . but we think we hit the jackpot moving to Goldcoast. The second apartment we moved was definitely nothing fancy. It is often described as 'charmingly vintage' which I guess you could liken to character. I could never bring myself to buy the nice furniture I actually wanted. Why? First, we had no idea if we would be here any longer than a year, and I would rather get rid of any furniture we had than pay to move it. Second, after we moved into this apartment (with no furniture) we realized that the coat closet juts out in front of the door, making a normal couch impossible to fit through. Lastly, and MOST importantly, we wanted to pay off any debt we had. Good news! After living frugally and making the most of what we have, we are going into 2009 debt free!

Anyways, this is a longer post than I'm used to writing- gosh I'm liking all this time on my hands! Well with all this time I've been busting out the sewing machine and getting a little crafty.

This is what our old computer desk/chair from costco used to look like. Drumroll please. . .

Ta Dahhh! Yea still nothing too fancy, but maybe when it's not -14 outside I will do some spraypainting of some sort.


Yikes! Just looking at the old pictures of these brings back bad memories! Just look at those stains. . .

The best part? This wasn't just a mere staple gun feat, that fabric is tightly wrapped with an elastic hem on the bottom. So next time you come over for dinner and you happen to spill on the chair, don't sweat it! I can pop it off and throw it in the washer!

My next project is a bed. In that one suitcase of ours was a rolled up air mattress that we slept on for almost the whole first year. Then my parents were kind enough to trade us our dead car that had been sitting in their driveway this whole time, for a bed of our choice. Now I'm in love with our memory foam mattress, but would like to get it off the floor. Stay tuned for before and after pictures!

Catch Up Part 1

You would think that with school over, I would be a little more on the ball with the blog. Not so much. But I will slowly try and play catch up. First- early December, Erin and I decided to treat Alex to a special night to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Meg (can't wait!). We did a little dinner at CPK- Alex's fav, a little 'Twilight' even though the other 2 cheated over Thanksgiving and saw it! And last but certainly not least- a sleepover at 'The Inn of Chicago' complete with a feast of grapes for Alex's poor gall stones! She was such a good sport. It was so fun staying up late and talking with these girls-I couldn't be luckier- and I can't wait for the next girls night! We hope you felt special Alex. You deserve it and we love you!