shopping baby

mabel the hedgie

cute little leggins

lion hat

I am discovering what every mother/mother to be has probably known for a long time. baby stuff is TOO remarkably cute. the kind of cute that makes you hurt inside. so although I know that I won't be able to afford practically any of these things, it doesn't hurt to do a little online window shopping, right?

or maybe i should avert my eyes, save myself from the temptation and just wait until hand-me-downs start rolling in?
what did you do, mommies? or what WOULD you do, future mommies?

last minute winter

old man winter hit us up real quick. he's just on his way out and wanted to at least say hello to portland. well, hello mr. winter.. now you may leave.

sick day survival kit

i used to be prideful of the fact that i hadn't been sick in what felt like 2 and a half years.
that was until monday. i came home from work early, crawled into bed, and that was it.
a sick day.

so in honor of that day here are a few essentials that i would have loved during my time of woe.

bathrobe
whale tissue box
cute mug
flowers
soup

mondays

i'm not going to lie, mondays can be hard.
but maybe this picture gives you hope that spring is right around the corner.
and if that doesn't work maybe this will help..

happy week beginning.

fresh and new

chair: anthropologie
sofa: ikea
pillow: anthropologie

Whatever anyone tells you, the nesting phase is a real thing. Ever since I knew that I had something the size of a bean that will one day be a human life, growing inside of me...I've wanted to fluff, plan, and create a place where I would want our child to grow.

i realize that anywhere we are, the most important thing is love. but i still daydream about having a cute little place, with cute little things like these.

do you think like me?

you decide

sometime i have a real hard time picking out colors and backgrounds. i get stuck.
which do you like more?

contestant, that's me!

i added this little invite to the latest minted design challenge.

and frankly, I quite like it :)
i can say that, right?

freebie!

just a little printable valentine i made for all of you.
just click on it, save, print, and cut and you have yourself a mighty fine valentine to give to those that make you shine.

love to all of you. regardless of the day :)

Michigan

i found this over on design work life and, being a michigander, was instantly in love,.
They are created by the talented Amanda Jane Jones.
makes me feel like there is a little bit of Portland in Michigan :)

window makeover

what do you do when your blinds look like this? (by no fault of your own, might i add)
obviously, you turn to Little Green Notebook's tutorial on making new fabric ones..

oh hello cute little bathroom shade..i love you.

cause no one likes to get sick..

As the winter months go on and we hear of more and more people falling sick with the"ickies" and "no feel goods, I thought it might be nice to make something that people can use to send to that person who is "down for the count." Because its nice to let people know you are thinking of them...

So here is a little freebie download. simply click on the image and then right click to save to your computer.

You can then embed the image into the email that you are sending to the poor sap.

If you have gmail, you can actually embed the image right into the email, so that no one has to do a pesky extra step of downloading it.

For instructions on embedding your image into gmail click here.

Consider it ALL Joy

I have a new print in the shop!
i was inspired to make this print after i returned from mexico, where i learned a little bit more about finding joy in even the stickiest of situations. A little love from James...

hope you like it to... when's the last time you felt really joyful?

baby on the way!

welp. good news is HARD to keep secret. But I have tried... mostly ;)
it's true! We are pregnant. Almost 11 weeks along!
we had been trying for a while and just when i felt at the end of the rope we received our Christmas miracle. i took the test on Christmas Eve. Saw two lines and nearly wet myself out of complete excitement, shock, anxiety, and everything else...

what did we do when we found out? immediately started watching a documentary on babies. haha that's how we roll. gotta be prepared.

People. God is SO faithful. there were times when i doubted that in the past. but, i regret not keeping in mind that He always has my back, and loves me in the deepest way. i am truly grateful.

the little nugget is due August 29th! We'll keep you posted...
for now I welcome any cool sites, books, etc that you might recommend for preggos/ babies/ parenting.

Back in the Saddle Again

well friends, i'm back at it.
i took a healthy amount of r&r and I'm ready to open shop and custom orders once again.
if your blog needs a little lovin, or you need a custom print of something, let me know. because, well, i'm your girl.

how i spent my winter vacation (Part Tres)

Oh Mexico, sweet Mexico.
nate and i returned here, since our last visit one year ago. to see some beautiful friends once again.

like elia. who gives anything and everything to those around her.
because she loves the Lord, and trusts that if she gives her bed away, he will find another way to comfort her.


and lucy, who is the most responsible 20 year old i will ever meet.
the main caregiver for her 6 younger siblings.
with a joyful heart to boot.

and jorge who greeted me with kisses and bubblegum every time i saw him.


and then there is this guy in the back, who drove through it all with me.
my main squeeze. and chauffeur.
the one who got me Gatorade and triscuits when my stomach turned on me.

even though it was a long one, it was another trip to bond the two of us closer.
and that, my friends, is priceless.

how i spent my winter vacation (Part Deux)

holy moly. vegas is a different kind of place. the kind where booze and boobs are everywhere you turn your head. i was pretty much shell shocked instantly. i'm positive that not all vegas is like this. but that main strip. well, there's a lot.

but there were a lot of beautiful things as well.

like twinkle lights everywhere you go...


and the bellagio fountain..



and gondolas floating down a venetian background.


and then, of course, giant golden bunnies.


all in all, it was quite enjoyable. and to recap:
minuses: booze and boobs
pluses: giant golden bunnies

we loved every minute though, and before we knew it, we were off to Mexico!

how i spent my winter vacation (Part One)

ok. first things first. i missed blogging here.

being connected.
eating normally.
bathing normally.
those are all good things that i take for granted on a regular basis.
2 weeks ago we embarked on an epic road trip to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas Nevada, and Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, and the numerous rest stops along the way.

we drove over 2200 miles (my legs don't really work anymore)

Our first stop was Salt Lake for the Alt Design Summit.
I had no idea what I was in for, and thankfully neither did Viv Jordan. She quickly became a conference buddy with me.photo via viv
she is the classy one on the far left.
we journeyed through seminar after seminar, learning how to effectively represent our creative talent on the web-o-sphere. i'm not going to lie, i was intimidated. but the entire thing was a blessing that dished out a ton of wisdom.

we stayed with great friends and saw beautiful things. even this guy at the sundance festival.
we were there for 4 days, and after that we were on our way to Vegas. An entirely different world...