I haven't really introduced you to my little one yet. She is just about 12 weeks old now...which is insane! Soon she will be going to school, then getting married. Slow down time! Anyhow, here are some photos we had taken when she was brand new, by a very talented photographer, Kelly Gemmell. She rocks! And I cherish these photos of sweet little Sage.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
sage's nursery featured on ohdeedoh!
Yippee! Today Sage's nursery was featured on one of my favourite children's design websites, ohdeedoh. I am so honoured! A lot of love and personal touches went into her room and I'm proud that I am able to share it. Thanks so much to Carrie McBride of ohdeedoh! You can see a few more nursery pics here too.
halle berry dresses cool too
so simple, love it
also simple, but so cool
long layers over long layers ... with boots
also simple, but so cool
long layers over long layers ... with boots
i have a thing for just plain white tanks paired with jeans.
So, I found a pic of Halle Berry's outfit that I liked the other day, and was trying to locate it online. Then I realized, Halle Berry does have some really cool outfits in general. I love a cool chic dress down vibe, and it seems when she's out and about casually, she nails it for me!! I'm sure it helps just to be Halle Berry - all those wonderful curves and hairdos. How beautiful can one woman be? AND her baby?! Geez louisa.
My life is complete
D found Krusovice cerny at BevMo*. It isn't my beloved Staropramen cerny, but it's pretty amazing. Cerny (which translates to black) beers are dark and just a teeny bit sweet and caramelized but not as smoky or as coffee flavored as you sometimes find in dark beers.
Prague ruins you for life, guys. Nothing else is ever good enough.
*Looks like they're currently sold out online, but he found it at our local store.
Prague ruins you for life, guys. Nothing else is ever good enough.
*Looks like they're currently sold out online, but he found it at our local store.
Favors Table
One of my favorite parts of planning a party is coming up with a favor that will be a little present to your guests and not something they’ll just trash. For a backyard harvest party that I recently threw, I sewed up some tote bags created from dish towels (I told guests not to look too closely at the stitching) and then filled the table with some fresh takeaways: monster cookies, baguettes, strawberries and flowers. Overall a simple concept but appreciated and not ignored. At least that’s what my guests made me believe.
Calligraphy done by Cathie
Guest Post by Melanie Blodgett from You Are My Fave.
What's there to be afraid of?
Boo! Did I scare you? Hi it’s Meghan:)
Fall vegetables are ripe, the air's getting cooler... and 'tis the season for ghosts and goblins! I love fall and I really love Halloween. Just ask my sister, who came home on September 15 to find that I had already decorated our dining room with fake cobwebs and spiders! I also love haunted houses, and my favorite place to get scared is Halloween Haunt at Kings Island.
Some friends and I went last Friday and we all had a blast. We didn’t make it through all 14 haunted attractions, but we did venture through about half. Of course we checked out the newest one, Wolf Pack. It’s a werewolf-themed maze that will make you think twice before taking that next hike in the woods when there's a full moon (which there actually was that night). The actor working the front door even had this amazing ability to produce a growl just like a werewolf. Wolf Pack is near Flight Deck back in the Action Zone.
Outside the entrance to Club Blood a sexy vampiress greeted us by saying, “don’t touch my girls and they won’t touch you.” That should have given us an idea of what type of “club” we were about to enter. The guys all seemed like they'd be willing to risk a bite on the neck for a chance to meet one of the Club Blood dancers. :) My favorite though was Trail of Terror. As you might guess, this one is through the woods, where I did more running than walking. I discovered there’s something terrifying about a guy dressed in a long black trench coat and hat, dragging a stick. The sound and sight of that really gave me the chills.
Kings Island goes overboard to turn the park into a fright fest. Coffins, cobwebs, monsters and skeletons are everywhere! Plus most of the rides are open and – here’s the best part – the lines were short. Everyone wants to go into the haunted attractions so we were able to walk right on to rides like Diamondback and Delirium. There's nothing quite like riding The Beast in the dark with flashing lights and smoke in your face.
For thrills and chills this Halloween season, Kings Island is the spot. It’s open 7pm to close on Fridays and Saturdays in October. If you aren't afraid of a few nightmares, you should check it out… I dare you!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
shayna bloomer belly update: 8ish months
{5 months!}
{6 months!}
{7 months!}
{8 months!}
{8.5 months! I couldn't get to the gym to get my climbing shot for 2 weeks because the Gardiner kept being closed and I'm not good with sitting in traffic anymore due to lack of immediate access toilets!}
{6 months!}
{7 months!}
{8 months!}
{8.5 months! I couldn't get to the gym to get my climbing shot for 2 weeks because the Gardiner kept being closed and I'm not good with sitting in traffic anymore due to lack of immediate access toilets!}
Wow how time flies and also creeps at a glacial rate! Can't believe I'm already at this point and can't believe he isn't coming out for another 5 weeks!! Seems like a lifetime of schlepping at this point. I guess the schlepping doesn't really stop after he comes out but at least you can put him down for a few minutes every once in awhile instead of carrying that load 24/7 in the most awkward part of the body for carrying something! I think babies should implant on the upper back...wouldn't that make more sense? You can't sleep on the back anyways...it would greatly reduce lower back and pelvis pain and you wouldn't need to waddle! Although that would be quite a long journey down toward the birth canal I suppose!
Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze one more picture in although I have to say hopping up even one foot off the ground was a whole new experience for me...I've never felt gravity quite like that before! And getting down was even funnier...check out my favorite awkward shot that Melanie Bloomer took...this visualizes exactly how I feel!! Gives me a good laugh...especially seeing Lynn Bloomer giggling in the corner there!
Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze one more picture in although I have to say hopping up even one foot off the ground was a whole new experience for me...I've never felt gravity quite like that before! And getting down was even funnier...check out my favorite awkward shot that Melanie Bloomer took...this visualizes exactly how I feel!! Gives me a good laugh...especially seeing Lynn Bloomer giggling in the corner there!
Roasted root vegetables
Despite the record temperatures, our CSA box assures me that fall has indeed arrived. A sane person would have made some kind of cold slaw or pickled dish with the root vegetables. I decided that I MUST enjoy the first roots of the season roasted, weather be damned.
I sliced turnips, carrots, fingerling potatoes and radishes with the mandoline (makes life much easier), tossed them with some fancy mustard, a tablespoon or two of olive oil, fresh thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper. And then I baked them at 375 for about 40 minutes. I cursed every time I had to open the oven to flip them. We couldn't face them hot, so we waited until dusk had fallen and ate them room temperature, with roasted chicken that we purchased already cooked. Because there was no way I was going to turn the oven on again.
It was fall-ish. And we'll eat the leftovers cold out of the fridge.
{root vegetables}
I sliced turnips, carrots, fingerling potatoes and radishes with the mandoline (makes life much easier), tossed them with some fancy mustard, a tablespoon or two of olive oil, fresh thyme and rosemary, salt and pepper. And then I baked them at 375 for about 40 minutes. I cursed every time I had to open the oven to flip them. We couldn't face them hot, so we waited until dusk had fallen and ate them room temperature, with roasted chicken that we purchased already cooked. Because there was no way I was going to turn the oven on again.
{roasted root vegetables}
It was fall-ish. And we'll eat the leftovers cold out of the fridge.
White Stone Croft
This white stone croft (I had to Wikipedia that, basically just a fenced plot of land) in Scotland is 50 yards from the sea and is available for rent as a holiday cottage. Wouldn’t you love to spend your vacation curled up on the weathered couch while listening to the sea? It’s like the perfect setup for a romantic comedy complete with the only young, cute townsfolk that would so happen to be the sheepherder.
Guest Post by Melanie Blodgett from You Are My Fave.
REDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I almost can't believe it!!! We've been waiting for 15 years, but the drought is over!
Sheila here.
Our Cincinnati Reds clinched the National League Central last night in front of the home crowd at Great American Ballpark.
The fans couldn't have asked for a more dramatic, incredible ending, as Jay Bruce hit a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning to break a 2-2 tie and beat the Houston Astros. Bruce knew as soon as he hit it, and his teammates jumped out of the dugout and clobbered him at home plate.
Then the celebration was on. From Great American Ballpark to Fountain Square, fans dressed in red hit the streets to show the world our Reds are back in the playoffs. After interviews at GABP, the team headed to Mynt Martini on the square to mingle with fans and throw back some cold ones. Bruce calls it a dream come true. Manager Dusty Baker said he's had a feeling about this team ever since spring training.
We don't know who the Reds will play in the National League Championship series. Some don't give them much of a chance of beating the Phillies if that's who they face. Me? I say we erect a huge sign that says "Believe" on the Cincinnati skyline. Ron Oester said this week that the Reds weren't widely predicted to win the World Series in 1990,
Like every other Reds fan, I've been waiting a long time to see them do it again. And I can't wait to see how it turns out.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Purchasing ...
Kristina mentioned that she's been living in the Threads for Thought tanks (um, for nursing, but they AREN'T nursing tanks and normal people can wear them). I am always on the lookout for shirts that will fit my oddly long torso and Kristina promised they would. Double bonus points because Whole Foods carries them. If I can avoid going to an actual clothing store, I almost always will.
I bought a couple of the tanks and also the v-neck tees and I'm sold. Sadly, my WF is being really lax about re-stocking, so I finally went online* and placed a big order. They are the most perfect gym tops, super long and very soft, but also decent enough that you could actually wear them out in public with jeans.
Sizing wise, these aren't meant to be skin tight, but they're nicely cut. I've tried small, medium and large in both styles and settled on a medium. For reference, I'm 5'6 and a wee bit (okay, approximately 20 lbs) away from being the skinny minnie I was in college (um, possibly making some progress on this front, which I may or may not share at some point - weight stuff is tricky) - I would call myself comfortably average at the moment, when I'm not being overly self critical.
* Please be forewarned - their website kind of sucks. It somehow managed to empty my shopping cart the first time I tried to check out and then made me go through what seemed like a lot of pages in order to actually get checked out. If I didn't already know how good the shirts feel in person, I might not have persevered. And the pictures do not do the shirts justice, at all. I almost bailed on the whole idea when I saw the picture of the model in the tank top. But they're so much better in real life.
{tanks, image from threads for thought and yes, i'm using the exact same image kristina did, but only because the photos of the models wearing the shirts are so unflattering and i didn't want to scare you off}
I bought a couple of the tanks and also the v-neck tees and I'm sold. Sadly, my WF is being really lax about re-stocking, so I finally went online* and placed a big order. They are the most perfect gym tops, super long and very soft, but also decent enough that you could actually wear them out in public with jeans.
Sizing wise, these aren't meant to be skin tight, but they're nicely cut. I've tried small, medium and large in both styles and settled on a medium. For reference, I'm 5'6 and a wee bit (okay, approximately 20 lbs) away from being the skinny minnie I was in college (um, possibly making some progress on this front, which I may or may not share at some point - weight stuff is tricky) - I would call myself comfortably average at the moment, when I'm not being overly self critical.
* Please be forewarned - their website kind of sucks. It somehow managed to empty my shopping cart the first time I tried to check out and then made me go through what seemed like a lot of pages in order to actually get checked out. If I didn't already know how good the shirts feel in person, I might not have persevered. And the pictures do not do the shirts justice, at all. I almost bailed on the whole idea when I saw the picture of the model in the tank top. But they're so much better in real life.
Emma Robertson
Graphic designer, Emma Robertson, recently introduced herself and it didn’t take me long before I was sending her fan mail. I love everything about her personal identity design, especially the color choice and the handwritten text.
Emma also just opened up a shop of knitted goods that are as adorable as the model, another one of her many titles. Emma, congrats on earning the right to call yourself cool.
Guest Post by Melanie Blodgett from You Are My Fave.
Sophie's Angel Run
Had the honor of kicking off the run over the weekend.
Hi everyone. Rob here.
4 years ago I was asked by Fox19's mom at the movies to kick off the run, and have done so every year since.
It is to honor Sophie Grace Meinhardt who passed away on August 2006 after doctors discovered an aggressive brain tumor. Sophie's dad said, he wanted his family to be better not bitter. So the family along with friends and fellow parishioners at St. Jude Church organized Sophie's Angel Run. Amazingly, it was organized just months after Sophie Passed away. There were hundreds of runners and walkers. This year, nearly 2,500 runners and walkers took part which is a record number. Sophie's mother said, when everybody wears her short her story is told again. It also raises awareness for pediatric brain tumor research.
The run has raised more than $150,000 for Children's Hospital.
Find out more about Sophie and her run. Also, about the incredible Meinhardt family who taught us all how to be better and not bitter. http://www.sophiesangelrun.org/
On Sophie's headstone the family had the following words inscribed: "If we could sit across the porch from God we would thank him for lending us to you."
We will forever be grateful that God chose us for Sophie's Family - Mark & Missy Meinhardt (Sophie's Loving Parents)
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