{the blog}

full heart, tired body

Mornin' friends.  The coffee is brewin' for the first time in about 6 months... 1/2 caf' coffee of course... this morning I need a little pep in my step. 

I returned from Memphis last night at 10:45... that's late for the baby-momma.  The little girl enjoyed the flight, despite the inappropriate and very awkward conversation with the man I sat beside.  He interrupted my reading {Same Kind of Different As Me} to tell me he could see the baby moving through my dress... which wouldn't have been half as weird A) had the baby actually been moving or B) had it been appropriate for a grown man to be staring at my stomach.  Hmm.  He proceeded to tell me his son was almost a daddy a few weeks ago but luckily it didn't work out.  I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that one.  There are some strange birds out there.

I headed off to Memphis to meet some wonderful new clients.  Together we are about to embark on a major renovation of a very cool house that is 100 years old.  It's going to be a fun one!  I love the challenge of a renovation... the unforeseen, the curveballs, the not-knowing-what-you-are-going-to-find-factor.

The benefit of a project in Memphis is the added bonus of old college friends now calling Memphis home.  I passed on the hotel-offer from my clients and requested to shack up with my dear friend Laurin... she has a precious (new-to-her) quaint little house and I knew the accommodations and company would be better than any 5-star hotel. 

When I arrived Laurin had dinner planned with 4 other college friends.  In my book there is nothing, I repeat... NOTHING, like college friends (they are really right up there on the list with family).  There is something about being able to pick up where you left off as if you were just living in the dorm together yesterday.  We shared a lot of laughs, a lot of memories (some which gladly can be forgotten, Laurin!) and a lot of good times.  It really filled my heart to the brim to be with those girls (and Chris too!)... hope to see you again very soon!

 

Yours Truly, Kristen, Laurin, and Lindsey (due 10 days before me)

After dinner we hit up TCBY.  We could have sat there til 2am, but it was obvious at 10:15 that the employees probably wanted to close up shop.  Since I was about 10 years old I have always ordered the same thing at TCBY "kiddie cup of chocolate with gummi bears"... this is not a weird pregnancy thing, it is what I have always loved.  Something about the ice cream making the gummi bears chewier?  Not sure... but I like it.

 

After some serious catching up over frozen yogurt, we headed home to Laurin's place. Where I was greeted with fresh flowers on my bedside table and a hilarious collage of pictures from college.

 

Her house is impeccable.  Reminds me that I should edit my own home more often.  The roses in mint julep cups were good for my soul. 

 

She has just recently renovated her kitchen.  Her inset cabinets and honed travertine countertops are so perfect... do you spy a Panera bag on the counter?  Of course she had fresh bagels!

 

I tried to photograph her darling cafe curtains, but too much light was coming through the windows, so I finally gave up... and photographed her newly reupholstered chair.

 

 

Memphis friends, thanks for the hospitality!!!! 

I'm leaving again in less than 24 hours for an eleven hour drive to my parents farm... where we will spend the 4th of July.  Doctor wants me to wear support hose and get up every hour and stretch.  Hello?  That sounds down-right delightful.  Dad has threatened to disown me if I don't go home... so I guess we'll make the trek.  When I return next week I have 48 hours of downtime before the next big adventure.  "Downtime" is a poor choice of words... it'll be more like 48 hours of madness before we hit the road again.  More on that later.  Can you tell I'm trying to squeeze a lot into these next 10 weeks of freedom before the baby comes?  

I started this post at 6am, but since I've spent the morning repairing a modem and now have 100+ emails in my inbox as a result.  If you have emailed me in the last couple of weeks and not yet gotten a response... I'm workin' on it. 

The Nursery Diaries :: Chapter 3

We had a very full weekend.  Lots of fun times with overnight guests, family, and friends.  A boat ride, a little beach, little pool, a lot of food, and some ice cream.  And in the nursery department: crib and chair assembly.  Roman shade install.  All crib linens and draperies measured for and designed, fabrics pre-washed, ironed and ready to send out to seamstress. 

As I noted yesterday the chair doesn't rock... I know what you are thinking- strike 2 on the nursery.  (Strike 1 being the paint mistake I noted in Chapter 1.)  If you knew what I'm juggling right now you'd wonder how I even find time to breathe... much less work on something other than 'work'.  For those of you who want to revel in my error (ha!)... I've attached a photo of the chair, painted and assembled.  Thing is, it looks great.  Love the look actually, just not functional... if you want to rock.  The terriers like it.  

The painters brought back the crib and the chair at 8:00 sharp on Saturday morning.  These painters are the best.  I've worked with a lot of painters, but Bobby & Brian are the best ever.  If you are local and need a painter - email me - I'll give you their info.  They refused to let us pay them for painting.  They painted the crib, the chair, and the walls of the nursery and attached bathroom... for free.  Thank you Lord again for generous people!  And get this... they are hilarious.  I'm sure 2 men think a gold crib is a little weird... I don't blame them.  But they went to Wal-mart and bought a pair of baby shoes and painted them gold too, as a gift for the baby.  I'm not sure if it was meant to be funny, but I have never laughed so hard in all my life.  I told them they were very "Michael Jackson-ish" and that I loved them. 

 

They'll be perfectly hilarious on the bookshelf!

    

Daddy assembled the crib... I don't know what I'd do without a husband who loves to create, build, assemble, design, etc.  We started early Saturday morning before our company arrived.

 

While Daddy worked on the crib, Mommy assembled the Ikea chair.  It will stay put in the nursery until the new one arrives.  I do love the pique cushion covers that are on it... originally planned to cover them, but they are nice.  Here's the new swivel glider chair that's coming from Lee.  It is slipcovered in a washable fabric that is the same color as the walls (not the white shown below).  I'm still humbled and blown away by the generosity of such a gift.     

 

I was going to show you other fabrics... but I forgot to photograph them... so I'll save that for next chapter. 

mom's fruit pizza

Just call me Darby.  She's always been the kitchen queen.  Okay, so they aren't Petit Fours, but I can hold my own.

This weekend I made Momma's Fruit Pizza...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mom's Fruit Pizza

(makes 2 pizzas)

Pizza Crust:

1/2 C. butter, softened

1/2 C. Crisco (butter flavor)

1-1/2 C. sugar

2 eggs

2-3/4 C. Flour

2 t. cream of tartar

1 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

Filling:

16 oz. cream cheese

1 C. sugar

2 t. milk

Assorted fresh fruit.  I used raspberries, strawberries, bananas, peaches, kiwi, and blueberries.  I tossed the bananas and the peaches in lemon juice to prevent oxidation (browning).

Pecans for top (optional).

Directions:

Cream butter and shortening together, add sugar.  Beat in eggs.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Grease 2 pizza pans (mine were 12").  (Refrigerating the dough prior to spreading makes it easier.) Spread dough on pizza pans and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cool completely.

Cream together all ingredients for filling and spread on cooled crusts. 

Top with fresh fruit and pecans. 

ENJOY!!!

it doesn't rock!

 

the Lillberg by Ikea

In the words of me engineering husband: "someone messed up the parabolic curve on this thing!"

When I noted that I purchased this rocking chair for the nursery I got a few comments that it doesn't rock (thanks for your honest feedback!).  Hmmm... unfortunately I sent it off to be painted before I assembled and tested it. 

Sidenote: thank you also for all your toaster suggestions, who knew people were so toaster crazy!?

The chair came back from the painters yesterday, we assembled it... and indeed: it does not rock.

It also sits low and very deep.

I'm a whopping 5 foot 2 inches tall and perhaps it's me that's the problem?  I'm not sure. 

But I do know for sure that I would not recommend the chair.  I feel certain that my friend who vouched for the chair sat in one at Ikea that had been very broken in?  And she is taller than I.  

The $150 I spent on it was not money wasted, I needed a chair for the office and this will suffice.

An EXTREMELY GENEROUS client insisted that she buy me the rocking chair I originally wanted... I am so very grateful and blessed.  I'll tell you more about it later. 

a friend who needs prayers

I come into the office early to exchange non-work emails.  Kara and I emailed back and forth yesterday and I after I emailed her back this morning she wrote back and said:

I am in shock right now, Erika. My Dad just died unexpectedly yesterday. I came in to email my friends to ask for prayers. Can you please pray for me and my mom and brother? He was on a motorcycle trip in Alaska with his 2 best friends.  They think he had a heart attack while riding. Not sure. I am in total disbelief. Please pray for me.

Kara writes the blog Diary of A Steel Magnolia... she is an unbelievable person, she has a precious little family, she loves the Lord, and has a heart of gold... will you PLEASE pray for her and her family?  And if you have a minute to spare PLEASE go leave her a comment and let her know you are praying for her and/or thinking of her.  Here's a link to HER BLOG.

Thanks.  The picture above is of Kara, her husband George and their 2 children.

 

I need a good toaster.

This is my toaster.  I bought it for its good looks. 

  

It doesn't toast worth a darn.  Uneven.  Extremely annoying.

I'm looking for a decent 4-slice toaster. 

Sebastien Gaudard has a Dualit. And a really cute dog in a sweatshirt.

 

 

Do you love your toaster?  If so, please tell me about it.

Thank you.

it is really, really hot here

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes via Stewart & James

If this weather is any indication of what the rest of the summer will be like I'm in for a miserably hot third trimester.  We've had a daily heat index of 100+ degrees everyday for a week now.  I'm trying to exercise and eat healthy... and I'm thinking these (above) fall into the healthy category considering they are from Cooking Light.  Don't they look delicious!? 

not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin

Joan has been bringing Cori (her boxer you may remember from this post) with her to the office lately...

 

It's hard to concentrate on work when this angel is resting her big boxer jowls on the side of my office chair.  Who could resist that face? Not I!

 

In other canine news... the sisters have hit the road with the 31 rescue dogs they are transporting to New Hampshire!  You can keep up with their live on-the-road blog feed here!  Let's keep them in our prayers as they have a loooong weekend ahead of them!     

The Nursery Diaries :: Chapter 2

Things in the nursery department are coming together smoothly despite the rocky start.  All fabrics have been ordered and the walls are painted.

I am in love with the new paint color. Sherwin Williams "Comfort Gray" SW6205. 

 

Hopefully it'll hold true to its name and be so comforting she'll never cry, have explosions in her diaper, or projectile vomit.  But in the event that she does, the paint is Behr's Flat Enamel... it's my favorite kind of paint (available at Home Depot).  It's not shiny (I like a good flat paint) and if something like vomit gets on it, it's scrubbable.  It goes on thick with little to no odor... it's awesome paint!  

The color is listed on Sherwin William's website as a Cool Neutral.  I like that description.

The crib and rocking chair are being painted this week.  As I mentioned before, the crib was mine.  Mom had it stripped and brought it down when she visited a few weeks ago. The painters came for it and the rocking chair on Tuesday.  We pre-sanded the rocking chair to make it easier on the painters to just prime and paint.

The chair: I was originally set on a slipcovered Lee Swivel Glider (or something similar)... but my budget told me this Ikea rocking chair was a wiser choice.  For $149 I couldn't resist.  And the fact that it was available online really sealed the deal.  I'm having a lumbar bolster pillow made and the cushions are being recovered. But the white covers that came with the chair will be great in the future when I move this chair to another room in the house.

A fellow pregnant friend went to Ikea and sat in it for me, gave me play by play on it's comfort... and liked it so well she might just buy it for her nursery too.

You might wonder what color the crib and chair are being painted?  Ralph Lauren Regent Metallics "Golden Candlesticks" (also available at Home Depot, beware this comes with a heftier price tag than that Behr paint)... but I am not finishing the crib and chair with their funky faux finish, just a smooth finish.

 

Remember my friend Katie's nursery, where we selected a gold paint for the crib?  Maybe this will jog your memory:

 

My bumpers will be custom made just like these we had made for sweet Sophie (above)... boxed with contrasting welt. 

This week I've been narrowing down art, lamps, and other little details.  This evening we are moving our bar table up to the nursery to see if it will work well as a changing table. 

 

I got a new camera lens for my birthday, I was really testing the lens, not taking a picture of the table, but you get the point, right?

Okay, that's it for Chapter 2 of The Nursery Diaries... maybe in Chapter 3 you'll see a sneak peek of the fabrics... stay tuned friends! 

i'll take one of these, please

I'm with Meg, I'd like one of these black and white umbrellas for my backyard too.

Because it would match my dogs really nicely.

 

I know, she's kissable.  Unless you are the UPS Man, then she's dangerous.