Fantasy NYC Vacay

image via a blind flaneur

I wish I was there although it's for good reasons I'm not. I'm strangely concerned about flying and being pregnant although everyone assures me I'm crazy I don't really care. Also, those fancy nurseries won't pay for themselves and there are some fancy nursery items I have my eye on but...

I am slightly jonesing for NYC. I had never been then went a million times (or 5) in a 4 month period and I was hooked. I became a city junkie. I loved the crowds, the noise, the restaurants, the shopping, all of it. Even the husband doesn't mind and there's tasty food options and good walking so he avoids boredom.

I think our weekend would kick off with Time Warner Center and Bouchon followed by a walk in the park with lots of picture opportunities. We've never really explored anything north of that area so this might be the time. Next, a day down in Soho which wouldn't be complete without a visit to Balthazar's and Pearl River. I think a little more exploration of the East Side and Chinatown would also work into the mix. I'm sure we'd also work in a significant amount of baby shopping and general wandering.

I think I may combine my new love of journaling (OMG Teesha Moore's videos are fantastic and how did I miss them?!) and the fantasy vacation. More gushing to come in a future post.

Happy Thursday!

Neighbors

... and this is why I love our neighborhood in McKinney. My neighbors one block from our house.

I also love the halftone app the husband showed me on my phone. Greatness.

Here If You Need Me: Book Recommendation

In my new role as shut in I haven't done much besides lay in bed and watch TV but I did manage to get a little readying in and this has been my favorite so far.



It's Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup and it's fantastic. I love the spiritual journey she takes but also the humor and humanity she brings to all of her stories. It was exactly what I needed at the time and I can't recommend it enough.

Now that I'm not regularly throwing up and can manage to walk from the kitchen to the bedroom without being exhausted I'm hoping to get in some baking. Nothing says fall like baking during football. That and soup making but we'll start small with some pumpkin bread.

Also, regular blogging would be nice. I've missed it.

Where the hell have I been?

Mostly I've been laying in bed at home doing a whole lot of nothing but obsessing about things like this.



Image courtesy of QuinnleesBoutique

Note: not our baby... but we hope to have one very similar sometime towards the end of February.

The process has definitely been, well, a process to get here. After trying for a while (I'm 38 and we've been married for 16 years so there you go) we decided to get serious and after a year of IUI and fertility drugs that meant IVF. For me, it really wasn't a taxing process other than being really tired and acting as a human pin cushion. Seriously, 11 weeks of shots in the ass will take a toll on anyone. And that was really the only downside. In fact, several folks - including my husband - have all pointed out that I seem much more mellow and calm. But it's a roller coaster of ups and downs which can take a toll. So, I've purposefully just taken a break from everything but doing a lot of nothing and relaxing. Thank God for Bravo and reality TV! Yay, The Rachel Zoe Project and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are back.

And after everything, we got pregnant and are now at 17 weeks and early indicators are she's a girl baby (not that this was ever the real question as much as the sex of the baby) but we'll have a more definitive sono in a couple of weeks. I do continue to worry about everything, Rolland can verify this, but am trying to just let it go and enjoy the process. Of course this includes finally tackling the guest bathroom remodel and completely flipping the studio and guest room so the guest room will now be the nursery and the studio will combine with the guest room. It's good that I've spent months resting up!

Now, I have to apologize that the blog may be taken over with tons of pictures like the above and decorating/remodeling images.

Summer Lovin'

Past summers have most likely been fairly hellacious for my husband as I spend mid-May through October bitching about how hot it is here. I have vowed this summer will be different and I will embrace all things that are good about summer. So far that has included:

1. Kaftans: My favorite has been from World Market

2. Reading, reading and more reading. So far I've finished the Twilight Series, the latest Sookie Stackhouse, read this fantastic book called Spellcast that I can't recommend enough, and am working my way through the books stacked on the nightstand.

3. Have not complained about the heat once. Seriously, this is miraculous.

4. Watching all the fantastic summer programming and looking forward to others starting: White Collar, Burn Notice, Eureka, Haven and all things Real Housewife on Bravo.

5. Cooking: I'm trying to avoid the oven which is tricky since I want to work my way through some of my baking books but with the heat (of which I'm just mentioning but I'm not complaining about) it's much better to not turn on the oven and just cook it all outside. The husband has cooked some tasty goodness on the grill.

6. Travel: So far this has been a bit of a summer wish list but we've got a trip to Austin next week planned and there are several minor road trips I've got my eye on so again with the wish list. And if I eek summer into September I have a trip to NYC planned with a friend and I can't wait!

Ok, I'm packing it in at the top 6 since I've been working on this post for a couple of weeks and it's sad how little progress I've made. More summer to-do items include:
more studio time, playing with the digital camera and my light box to figure it all out, have a garage sale, clean out my studio, update studio space in the garage and work on some home improvement projects. Good thing summer is a fairly decent amount of time in Texas!

What are your summer plans?

Random Catch Up

One would think with a super new fancy 5 minute commute you'd get all the time in the world back but so far that's only true in the morning, which don't get me wrong is fantastic. But, my days have started stretching out fairly long into the evening so my plan for taking over the kitchen every night and pulling a Donna Reed has not worked out. Luckily, the husband is terrific and hasn't complained once and has even handled dinner. I'm not giving up the kitchen dream and plan to get back on the bandwagon post Memorial Day.

I'm also behind in the blogging but I'm slowly going through my pictures that have seriously accumulated on the camera. This one is a favorite wall pic I snapped in Vegas. Louis Vuitton was everywhere including a new 3 story store in Aria. I was overcome with the need for purchasing fine leather goods but resisted the astronomical prices. We did wonder about the woman purchasing 5 bags at once. I hope they ship!

Still finalizing my plans for summer vacation, working on serious summer to do list as summer and are working on making friends, or at least not being hated enemies. We'll see how it goes.

Heading to the office, happy Tuesday!

Vegas Baby!

We've come to Vegas for a long weekend with tasty food and excellent shopping. It's the last night and I've borrowed the hubby's iPad for a quick check in. I'm also working on my list for things i want to do this summer. It's already long but I'm open to suggestions!

Happy Sunday!

Super Fancy Royal Wedding

I have the wedding and all the appropriate accompaniments on the DVR but haven't settled in to watch. It seems like a Sunday morning kind of thing.



Inspired by all the super fancy outfits and pictures I made these pieces with some gorgeous quartz (pink and silver). The pink has gold plated findings and is strung on pink silk thread. The silver is all sterling with some matching earrings.




They'll be perfect for all of our formal occasions - or our trip to Vegas in a couple of weeks.

Lame Friday Update

This is another gemstone necklace I made a week or so ago. I'm loving the simple necklaces and how the stones warm up through the day. Admittedly, these stones are a little bigger than usual and it got a little heavy by the end of the day. I still love it and can't wait to figure out how to layer it with a few more pieces since it may be too subtle on it's own. :)



This one I finished this week and it has a matching pair of earrings. The rosary connector is a locket which also happens to be connected to a locket just in case you might need a few options for carrying favorite photos around. This one should eventually make it's way into the Etsy shop but I've been busy and kind of lazy.

I'm a little overwhelmed at my 22 item to do list for this weekend and I just remembered I need to add grocery shopping to it. Ugh. I think it's time to curl up in bed and read until tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

Fort Worth's Main Street Arts Festival 2011

The husband knows it's a little rocky at work right now so to take my mind off of it he volunteered to take me to the Fort Worth Main Street Art Festival. I've gone a few times before and it's always fabulous. I always want to move afterwards to a place that has tons of wall space and square footage for gallery walls.

Me as a happy art camper. I even dressed in a reasonable fashion with white t-shirt (usually wear black and bake in the sun), sunscreen in lotion and make-up along with hat to protect head from sunburn along with forehead and nose.



I saw these pieces and immediately wished for an extra $10k hanging around so I could take one, or two, home with me. These were incredible in person. The artist is Aaron Hequembourg and I'm already planning to start an art piggy bank for one of his pieces along with that house that was previously mentioned. I'd need it since some of them are huge.



This little guy, which was pretty large as well, is adorable and has such a great expression especially for a metal sculpture. I think this one would fit in the backyard but not necessarily the car.



You can have one of these fabulous sculptures for a measly $25k and a huge truck for transport. The pieces had more than a few folks mesmerized.




I fell hard for these pieces. The artist, Micheal Paul Cole, creates a plaster background on a wood canvas and mounts a photograph (not digital but actual film and dark room image) on the piece. He also made the frame out of maple. In fact, I loved this one so much it's now hanging on my living room wall!



I got a few more pieces that I'll have to put in future posts since they're unframed prints and it's dark to take an image at this point. Also, I'd like them to be framed to truly show them off. I also picked up a few gifts. Buying directly from the artist is my favorite way to shop. People get one of a kind gifts and I get to support artists I really admire and respect who are trying to make a living doing what they love. Puppies, unicorns and glitter for everyone!

And because the husband is such a sport, I took him for burgers over at Tim Love's Love Shack.



Burger with what I believe to be the perfect bottom bun with a finger hold for adding condiments.



Burger Love... sigh. Seriously, this place was fabulous and the outside setting is gorgeous. The sky was the perfect Texas blue sky with a breeze and mild temps. Heaven on a patio. If you find yourself in Fort Worth with a burger hankering run over to try it out. I promise, it's fantastic!



In case you didn't believe me, blue skies. The red (neon), white building and blue sky are the perfect red, white, and blue combo.



I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.

Back in the Saddle

source


It's been a rough few weeks but I'm finally on the mend. I had been having a lot of issues as I start new meds, stop some old ones and then hope for the best. In the process of it all I started feeling incredibly exhausted. It went on for a few weeks then a couple of weeks ago, on a Friday, I got the full on cough and sinus congestion. Hubby wanted to take me to the doctor right away but I felt stupid seeing as how I was sick for only a few days but finally on Monday we went... pneumonia and a sinus infection so not so silly. A full week at home doing nothing but napping and taking meds finally got me back to the land of the living and then another week and a half and I'm starting to feel pretty good. I've even managed some fun jewelry projects and a little baking.

Hopefully, I'll be back to regular blogging and I'm working on a summer project list. I'm determined to embrace the summer, even the heat here in Texas, and have fun a la summer vacation!

Hope everyone's having a great week and I am off to snuggle with the family and watch lots of reality TV.

Latest Books

In case anyone's interested, and you're a fan of urban fantasy (if you're not, please don't tell me), here's a quick list of a few favorites I read in the last couple of weeks.

I just finished reading Jim Butcher's anthology of short stories in the Harry Dresden series Side Jobs. Serious greatness. Plus, I'm now super excited and totally nervous (i.e. slightly dreading) the release of Ghost Story coming out in a few months.



Patricia Briggs and the Mercy Thompson series may be my favorite right now. I love Mercy and am a big fan of where the series is headed.



I love the Hollows series but the last couple of books haven't been my favorites. This one was similar and I'm not sure I like the direction of the series. It's not a big enough issue to stop reading (in part because I have a series book monkey on my back) but I'm hoping they eventually get back to somewhere I want it to go.



My comments on Late Eclipses are the exact opposite. I love where this series is headed and Tobey Daye becomes a more compelling character with each book. The amount of research that must go into the this series is a little staggering but I'm completely appreciative and these books are fantastic.



Rob Thurman rocks the Cal Leandros series and this was no exception. Loved it and was ready for more way too quickly. I'm pretty sure I read this in one day and drove the hubby nuts. Her dedication also made me all teary eyed before I even started.



Ok, I'm done and would've posted all the new books coming out that are exciting the book monkey but I'm tired and doing all the links would push me to the edge. May be later this week. Hope everyone had a terrific weekend.

Pretties and a small post

The studio clean up is going pretty well. I'm actually at a point where I can see pretty things like this again. Once it's all back in order, I'll post pics. In this case, no before images will be shown.



I got this on a trip back home to Missouri last fall - and it doesn't matter how long we live in Texas, back home will always mean Missouri - and I love him. He hangs above my dresser with my growing rosary collection (some are in the studio) and a few favorite necklaces. Originally I had planned to hang him in the kitchen but he never made it.



Necklace I re-worked. It had been strung on a cord with swarovski beads but it was too fussy for me (shocking I know!) so now it's back to simple chain with clasp. Much better for layering.



Happy Tuesday! I'm off to catch up on junk TV before Rolland makes it home. He doesn't complain too often but if I can get it out of the way so he doesn't even have to tolerate it, even better!

Quick Weekend Update

So far the weekend has been pretty good but busy. I did a local market on Saturday with a friend basically selling jewelry I like but don't really wear anymore and a few quick pieces I made last week. Had a fairly decent take rate and discovered everyone loves a set! Earrings, earrings, earrings. Now I know for next time!

I've been loving the chunky necklaces I'm seeing everywhere and decided to use some of my splurge finds. These are large amethyst stones and a silver clasp I got a couple of years ago in Omaha. Wired together a la silver 20 gauge wire and now I've got a lovely necklace of my own. Awesome for spring and summer but I think it will look terrific mixed in with a lot of the gray pieces I own.



I'm also working on a spring cleaning of the studio which is only slightly less of a disaster now. I can't complain too much since hubby's tackling the garage. :o

Happy Sunday Guys!

Baking and Stuff

I've been doing a lot of this lately.



I find it incredibly relaxing to bake and have the house smell yummy. There's a reason I love Julie & Julia so much - Nora Ephron really got it right that it's such a comfort to know mixing eggs and chocolate will thicken. It really is a law of the universe. It's reassuring to know if you follow instructions, have a little patience and a really good mixing bowl that lovely baked goods will emerge. This is not always true for the rest of the outside world. I prefer to stay all hermit like in the house.

Except for last weekend. I went to the Bishop Arts District with a friend to check out what's new. We found this incredible shop (I saw it on Unique Eats on the cooking channel) that I couldn't believe was in Dallas.



I highly recommend a visit. They let you sample everything and really know their stuff. A chocolate and foodie lover's paradise.

A nice view of downtown and the Pegasus way off in the distance.



Love the Belmont Hotel perched high up on the hill. I'm dying to try Smoke right next door.



I've got big plans for some bread baking this weekend.