she walks

Today, it finally happened. Lotus walked, all by herself. No hand holding, no candy corn bribes, she just totally did it. And once she started, she was making the rounds all over the entire house, every room, non-stop. The kid has endurance.

Now, I realize this is a completely normal milestone for kids. But this day is extra special for us and we've waited an extra long time to see these first steps. I didn't blog about this before because I was too sad about it (and I felt a lot of guilt) but last February, right after L's first birthday, I fell while carrying her and broke her leg. It was horrible. It could have been worse, absolutely, but I had to carry this little girl into the doctor's office and get x-rays and it was not a good time. I later found out I had cracked my own ribs from the fall, but that was nothing compared to seeing my little girly in pain, in a tiny pink cast.

Understandably the broken bone delayed the whole learning to walk thing. But we didn't know how long it would take. (She is nearly 20 months old - lots of toddlers are walking by their first birthday.) Our doc assured us that she had healed completely, that she would be perfectly fine and would walk in her own time, but I talked him into referring a physical therapist, and ironically her first visit to our house was today. She just came to observe Lotus while playing and asked me a bunch of questions. So no real therapy occurred today, but that's apparently all it took.

Bo got home from work and we did our usual pass back and forth, 'walk to daddy, walk back to mommy' (which usually isn't all that successful.) But then I sent her down the hallway and that was it! She was so graceful, and fast, and could go really far without falling down. Fists clenched, brow furrowed with concentration. It was a sight to see.

We went out for ice cream to celebrate.

And I can't wait for tomorrow. I'll know be chasing her everywhere. :)

Beaverdale Fall Fest...

Come see us from 9:00-4:00 this Saturday (tomorrow) at Beaverdale Fall Fest.


I'll be bringing the kids' birthday t-shirts, and lots of new long-sleeved fall colors.

Some knotted bracelets. (Give one to a friend for good karma!)

And ribbon hair clips/bows for the little girlies. I've been getting ready all week. Or for the past two days really. Because I always procrastinate.


Erin and I are going out tonight (on assignment, ahem) and then chilling at her place even later to get crafty and finish up anything else that we have time for before tomorrow. Glad to be working + having fun with my P.I.C. (partner in craft.) It's more fun to do these types of things together (especially @ craft fairs... a second person comes in handy during bathroom/lunch breaks.) Check out Erin's super rad recycled vinyl goods here. Or come see us tomorrow.

Weather's looking great and it's going to be a fun day - stop by and say hi!

random notes...

First of all, Death Magnetic has swept my little metal-loving heart of its feet. You must understand, Metallica might have been my very first love. Maybe just a little scary for a sixth (seventh?) grade small town girl in 1991, but I was into it. Bad. I bought the black album, the best-selling heavy metal album of all time, with babysitting money. My first cassette tape. I have seen them play live many times, and they'll always be one of my favorite bands. But now, they go ahead and put out heavy metal perfection. (And I'll admit, I was skeptical and figured I wouldn't like this album. I did not like St. Anger.) But if I could travel back in time (yes, I'm imagining time travel again) and listen to this album back then, I'd never guess it would be put out 20-some years after Master of Puppets. (Did that make sense?) They're back. Old school Metallica ... fast and heavy and perfect.

This is cool. The Esquire e-ink (as in electric ink) issue. We picked up the last one on the rack. Impressive. See it in action here. Neat-o.

The Sequined Shoe. This is my new fave Etsy shop with tons of fun creative little things to make you happy, all made by the talented Kara.

(Hope you don't mind that I jacked your photo, Kara, but wanted to show off how awesome your stuff is.)


This Saturday, lovely Erin and I will be selling our goods at the Beaverdale Fall Festival. Never done this before, so wish us luck, come say hi if you're in the area - and pray for nice weather.


Here's some pics of this weird purpley-pink sky a couple of nights ago. That I took just for fun. It's fall, if you haven't noticed. I actually sort of hadn't. This whole time I've been thinking we'd have one more week where it was really hot and in the 80s-90s. I didn't put L's summer tank tops + shorts away just because I was so sure it would get really hot again. We didn't have enough of a transition this season, and as much as I dig sweaters and jeans, I wasn't quite ready for fall.


I've been illin' for the past week (poor L too) so we've ended up watching quite a few movies. Bo and I, that is. Lotus doesn't really have the patience to watch movies with us and they're usually not suitable for little eyes and ears anyway. We watched No Country for Old Men (Javier Bardem has me officially creeped out) and Dan in Real Life and the last few episodes in season four of Entourage. So feeling a little bit more caught up in some way and had some nice relaxing couch time with my dude. Which is nice when you're not feeling so hot.


And I've been wearing my glasses more. Like I'm supposed to. Helps with the headaches. And they help me see. I took this photo for the first part of Rachel's 'Steady Hand, Faulty Heart' and I'm super antsy to get going. I've been meaning to get started on this new art journal project for too long and I can't wait to sit down and go forth. And I'm totally annoyed that I haven't had time to paint my nails dark again. It bugs me when they're plain. Maybe later tonight.

I mailed off my 'wreck this journal' yesterday. I couldn't find my masking tape or duct tape so I used this bright yellow electrical tape that I used one year for Halloween to make Uma Thurman/Kill Bill customized Asics for my costume. Um, what was I saying? Yeah. I taped up my journal yesterday. Mailed it to myself...

...and it came back today in surprisingly good shape. I was kind of bummed.

So I ripped off the tape, hoping to do a little more damage. It worked. And the instructions say that you have to take it everywhere with you, so I know that will cause more wreckage. Life in the diaper bag is dangerous.

I also cracked the spine.

(Text in the photos is backwards because I'm taking these pictures on my Mac. Tongue is out because I'm serious about destruction.) I'll be posting more photos of my wrecking process on Flickr if you're bored and want to check it out.

That is all for now. Not too exciting, huh. But this is my life. ;)

September goodness...

I got my September Red Velvet kit in the mail a couple days ago... oh yeah, I already blogged about my excitement, didn't I. Anyway. Have you seen the re-design of the RVKC blog? It's awesome if you haven't checked it out yet - my girls Michelle and Marie have absolutely rocked it. And Theresa's gallery + fun tutorial is up over there already, so go check it all out.

I had so much fun with this kit and these Sassafras + Scenic Route papers were just too perfect for making pages about the L. So I used a lot of her photos this time - so many cute stories to tell and to add to her book.

L's fave word this summer has been 'flower' and she wants to pick everything she sees, even weeds.


We have this awesome sculpture ('El Alma del Ebro,' by Juame Plesnsa) in downtown Des Moines at Gateway Park and it makes for some rad pictures when you stand inside...


Total sweetness when she wakes up in the morning, and these pj's are just my favorite. They were labeled on the tag as 'yoga loungewear' which just totally cracks me up and they're the softest material ever. Wish I had some. (Okay, enough about the pajamas.)


This page is for Dare 107. Which is about telling a lie.


And this might have been the most fun project of all. Rachel had mentioned seeing some Martha Stewart paper covered clipboards, and then I ran across some more at a local vintage shop where they used old paper and the glossed over it with some kind of sealant. So this is just a paper collage + that adorable green pom-pom trim glued to the clip and then I covered the collage with clear contact paper (included in this month's kit) to keep the paper from getting messed up. Totally cute and durable.

So yeah, this time of year really gets me in the mood to make stuff. It also gives me a good excuse to hide away at my desk downstairs with a warm Starbucks beverage of some sort and listen to some fab tunes. Still listening to the new Slipknot (yes, metal is part of my creative soundtrack) and the new Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst and the mix that Kim sent me. (But Kim, if you read this, I gotta get the playlist from you because I can't see the artists or song titles - and I have to know who sings the one that goes 'oh my god I can't believe it, I've never been this far away from home.' Very catchy, that one.)

So going along with my it's-fall-let's-make-something mood, I'm super stoked to get started on an exciting project that Rachel has dreamed up. Check out her blog post here to see some totally inspiring photos of what I'm talking about. It's an online art journaling class - the first installment started last month and now we're on part two. It's glorious and I've poured over her ideas/photos/writings/materials over the last few weeks and I'm just hoping to set aside a few hours to go crazy fun with it. Ack. I can hardly wait. If this sounds like something that would be fun for you too, check it out here and join me in this super freeing creative experience. Trust me, let Rachel be your guide.

9.10.08 (ode to Bo)

Today is Bo's birthday (he's 35 but you'd never know it.) So I'm posting today all about him. He'll probably be embarrassed... but anyway. He's awesome and you should know why.

Things about Bo that kick ass:

He's a loyal friend and high-kicker.

He's an amazing daddy. And he's funny.

He loves Vespas and the Big Lebowski.

He's a great listener and loves quiet walks on the beach.

He is extremely talented at pretty much everything. It's honestly quite impressive.
Like skateboarding.

and kayaking.

and surfing.

and bowling.

and off-road uni-cycling.

and snowboarding.

and biking on his Surly.

and building sand castles.

But most of all (and you knew this was coming, so go ahead and say it... awwww) he's an amazing husband + BFF. He's an optimist. He doesn't mind helping with dishes and laundry and after he's done, he still does all the outdoor yard work/chores/car washing. I am in awe of his design skillz and his uncanny ability to always be on top of what's new and cool in furniture/cars/environmentally-friendly things/architecture/design/technology/everything. He knows me well enough to crack a joke just when I'm hitting my breaking point. And laughs at me when all I can bear to do is smirk and roll my eyes. He's a pleasure to be around, has great taste in music and is hilarious. Not to mention handsome.

I totally married up.

Happy birthday, nerd. ;D

and so...

Quick Labor Day weekend recap...

Bo and I went to Kansas City minus the little one and had a great time. We spent a good portion of the day at the Plaza. Where I was majorly drooling over every single damn thing in Anthropologie. Ugh. I'll bring my sleeping bag, just let me move into the store already.



I managed to resist most of my temptations at Anthro, but convinced Bo that I had to get these... (now I shall daydream about me and the L baking cookies together at Christmas... don't gag.)


Spent too much at Paper Source and wanted so much more than I bought.

I can't even talk about it. I had been eyeing these 'inanimate' things for, um, forever... might be years, even.

...but they were out of the 'shit' eraser again. Do they still make the 'shit' eraser?


Found this little dear (and I know that deer is spelled deer) on sale at UOs and decided it was perfect for Lotus' room. And it really is. It looks so great on her wall and she adores it.



Hung out at the Power and Light District downtown. Which we loved. Although I don't quite understand the western girly cut-outs up against the skyline, but they have concerts there (all genres.) We had dinner there and just chilled outside and enjoyed our 'alone-ness.' And I while I could just leave it at that, I must be honest and admit that Bo and I quickly realized that we really missed having little L along for the ride. We like to enjoy the fun stuff with her. She probably wouldn't have made it through the entire day w/o a series of major meltdowns - that is the way children work - food + drink + rest = happy, which can be hard to achieve when you're away from home. But I'm well aware that it was very good for us to get away and necessary to our sanity, and that your foundation as a family has to be rock solid if you want a chance in hell of out-smurfing the 50% chance (or higher) of the d-word. So I'm glad we're working it.


Obsessed with Keri Smith's 'wreck this journal.' It is surely the most exciting thing I have ever owned, I think.


Along with these beauties. The first two are PopInk and the second is a set of 30 postcards by Adrian Tomine. I'm in love.


I joined twitter this week (despite warnings that twitter = crack) and convinced several of my friends to do the same. Because if you're going down, you should absolutely drag your friends with you.


I have a serious addiction to clothes from Free People. I'm even addicted to their catalogs and emails. It's bad and and oh so good.


I had such good intentions with these fat quarters but no solid plans and so I have just been admiring them stacked neatly in my Amy Butler sewing basket.

Luckily, I have embarked on a group project of sorts with Amy, Catherine and Sarah. They have promised to help me through my first (maybe second) sewing project since 7th grade. (Where we only made one tote bag. What kind of home ec class is that anyway? It's not my fault that I suck at sewing.) We shopped for fabric last night and we're using a pattern from my 'A is for apron' book. We'll see how that turns out.
* Group photo to come. Even if mine turns out to be a dish towel.


I also got happy happy overseas happy mail over the weekend. Super sweet, thanks so much girl! With a bonus soundtrack included. Which I've been listening to ever since. (Along with the new Bright Eyes, or Conor Oberst, or whatever.)


Also found the parts to make another mobile like the one I made for L. This pink+brown one is for my friend Jane. Who is giving it to another friend as a baby shower gift. I'm thinking of throwing a couple more out on my Etsy shop if you know anyone who would be interested in something like that.


My 'bio' piece went up on The Creative Type a couple of days ago. (Exit light, enter night. Take my hand...) It was our first official Typist assignment and a fun way to introduce the Design Team. Stay tuned for rad new stuff on Monday - I promise, you'll love what you see.


Go check out kc's new online shop - love the name so much. Of course she's got some pretty amazing stuff out there - letterpress sweetness from Elise, journals, a little bit of night owl and egg press, and even some of my tags from the etsy shop. And lots more. So go!

Thanks for all the kind words in response to my RVKC news. I'm super excited to get the September kit in the mail (fingers crossed) hopefully today!

I can't wait to put all that NEW Sassafrass to good use.

There are still a few September kits for sale in the RVKC etsy shop - hurry up and get one!

Off to hopefully scrap tonight, maybe do Dare 107 and some stuff for The Creative Type... have a great weekend!

the big news...

So, I've been dying to spill my secret, and today it's official, so I can go ahead and say it...

Yes! I am the newest member of the Red Velvet Kit Club Design Team!

Yup, that's right. Only the coolest kit club on the block.

So you can't imagine my excitement. I was absolutely stoked to be invited to join in as Guest Designer during the month of August. That alone was too much fun, and I couldn't have imagined being asked to do anything more.

But then I got the sweetest email from Rachel after my guest stint was over, and she was wondering if I'd like to join the RVKC Design Team. (Ummm, YES?!) So now I get to play with with all of Rachel's delicious conglomerations with three fabulous girls every month. I am so excited and it is quite an honor.

What more could a girl ask for?




So, now you must check out the RVKC September paper kit, 'Into the Woods' (pictured above) immediately... hello! Totally rad - you do not want to miss this one! Brand new Sassafras Lass and Scenic Route, a tube of *98* pink felt alpha letters/numbers, that gorgeous green pom-pom trim in the photo above (and lots, lots more.) You can see the complete list of products included in the kit here.

September kits are up for sale RIGHT NOW, so run over to the RVKC etsy shop to get one while you still can!

** A big apology to my local non-scrapper friends who understandably thought that big news = preggo. So sorry. We're waiting a couple of years, so you can keep your pants on. And I'll do the same. :)

t.g.i.effer.

Dare 106 is up! Go check it out immediately. It's beyond cool. (my little project is in the photo above... you can click on it to see it better.)

Jamaica put together several mini-kits filled with woodgrain and letterpress papers that were too yummy to even touch.

And then us lucky girls got to make whatever we wanted with them. Way too much fun, I tell you. And so much gorgeousness from everyone. Totally perfect way to start off the long weekend.


And while we're on the subject of long weekends, Bo and I are off to Kansas City tomorrow. Last-minute trip but I'm super excited to shop (or at least browse) at good old Anthro and Paper Source and American Apparel and UO's and Betsey Johnson and my favorite kids' store in the world (thanks to Erin,) Lillibelle. We're definitely going to hit the Power and Light District, too. Bo and I have not had an entire day like this alone, together, for a long time. So we're very excited. Drinks and a nice dinner for two are in the plan.

On a less thrilling and more boring note...

I organized L's clothes yesterday. Which sounds daunting (and boring) but I like projects like that. (Why I am writing about this, I don't know... stop reading now. You have my permission.) I went through all of her clothes to see what we still need to buy for fall, and put the rest away in the pink storage bin. The jean count was lower than I expected. But we're ahead of the game in other areas. We already have her Christmas dress and two winter coats (that I bought at the end of the season last year.) And I discovered that her checkered Vans slip-ons finally fit now! I've waited for those babies to fit for months. I'm still getting used to this new clothing rotation. One of the hardest things for me to deal with is packing away these cute outfits after only one season because they're too small!? No fair, I say. I get sentimental when I don't think she had the chance to wear a certain shirt or dress enough times. And it's always crazy to see the new jeans in new, bigger sizes that look so 'huge' that I can never imagine them fitting. (And then a few months later, they do.) It's bizarre and I'm never ready for it. L is growing but I can never see it while it's happening and as a result, things sneak up on me.

I have some super exciting news that will be announced in just a couple of days! Like Monday, to be exact. Can't say anything yet, but it's big.

In the meantime, happy long weekend!

just stuff... :)

We bought the new Slipknot album today and so far, it's pretty sic. When you talk about Slipknot, you have to say 'sic' not 'sick.' It's maggot-speak. When it comes to albums like this, Bo and I always buy the CD instead of downloading from iTunes. It's cooler to own the artwork and the packaging. And the artwork for this one is killer. I keep listening to the songs over and over again. I like it that much. I really do.


And, see that 'I'm a Typist' thing on the right column of my blog? Click on it. (I keep forgetting to post about this.) See, there's this girl, Patty, who lives in New York, and she loves typography (and Yo Gabba Gabba.) She has started a blog called The Creative Type - it's a challenge blog for scrappers, but it's also a community and source of inspiration. There's a big team of us 'typists' over there - and we all love fonts, handwriting, lettering, stamps, letterpress, you name it. It's pretty rad and I'm very excited to be over there. If you haven't had a chance yet, go check it out! Right now, there are tons of projects inspired by old (and new) concert posters. There's some amazing work already, so you can only imagine what's ahead!

I grew up with these girls...

Our girls' weekend @ Jane's family cabin...

• 'it was on a Wednesday...'
• sparklers
• eating @ the muskie
• sunburns out on the dock
• cabin coffee
• the most fantastic retro dishes/glasses/towels ever
• sleeping bag slumber party
• camp fire
• s'mores
• blue UV
• real strawberry daiquiris
• laughing
• snorting
• a big wooden fish
• being rebellious
• no serious injuries
• zero inhibitions
• '3 weeks... I mean 3 blocks away'
• pedicures
• gorgeous sun + perfect breeze
• 90s remix
• no internet, no emails, no laptops
• no phone calls (except for short 'checking-in, we're still alive' calls)
• talking about good times
• tears over the sad times
• non-stop girl talk *

* just what we needed