It's a boy! (and we're moving)

It's been a big few weeks for us. First we found out we're having a little man. Which is absolutely thrilling and I can't wait to squeeze his tiny toes! Second we realized we needed a bigger apartment for that little man to grow and run around in. So we found one and we're heading back to Oakland from our cute little place in Berkeley (which in all reality is only about 15min. away). 

That being said we are currently in the middle of moving and I've found I'd rather contemplate our new apartment and surroundings rather than actually move in. What can I say I'm pregnant and tired? 

In this contemplation process I've plotted out what to do with our quite large patio. It involves tons of DIY from Instructables.com. Here are some of my favorites:

Vertical Vegetables

Milk Crate Air Pot

Urban Homestead Garden 

And in totally unrelated news we've just wrapped up our Art History Month at my work. We finished with learning about the Abstract Expressionists and did a little Jackson Pollock inspired marble painting. 

Howstuffworks.com has the easiest instructions on this simple and fun activity. My preschoolers absolutely LOVE marble painting.    

Happy Spring Everyone!

Baby update

So we should know in a week or so what we're having. Which is up there with the day you get engaged and the week before your birthday (the anticipation periods). In attempt to quell some of this excitement I've tried to focus on what we'll do with the little one when it finally comes. Here are some wee one oriented things:



Gdiapers - Eco friendly cloth diapers with disposable and flushable inserts. Costs slightly more than a regular diaper, but I think it evens out in the end. 

Bumgenius -  Very similar to Gdiapers. Washable , cloth diapers, eco friendly and available at Target! Yay!

 Barley and Birch Organic Children's Clothing
inhabitots.com

Barley and Birch - Green-wear for babies and beyond. I love how this image captures the two sides of me.  

ByrdieGraphics at Etsy 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/byrdiegraphics 

Byrdie Graphics - Wall decals for every room. Joe liked the idea of a tree on the wall behind the crib. I am a fan of the chubby bird decal (above). 




That's all for now. Off to buy Easter candy for my husband. I know he's a bit old for Easter baskets, but I can't help myself, I looooove hiding that basket and watching him search around the house for it, sometimes it takes him a good half hour before he gives up. 

Lil Owl

Recently my little sister has become interested in Artists Trading Cards. Something that, despite my Art History BA eluded me. So I looked into it (eh hem "wikied" it) and found that it started in Switzerland in the 1950s and 1960s, most likely as an extension of Mail Art. Artists made miniature baseball card sized pieces and traded them with other artists or individuals.


I found this pretty interesting and started thinking about making something she might like in exchange for her card, however that was months ago. Like any other teen her interest in the subject came and went before any progress was made. So to inspire her I decided to go ahead and make my own and mail it to her. Here it is, I went for the disgustingly cute route:

 I think I'm on an owl kick. 

So here's what we've been up to, mentally and physically

Again I wait months before I reappear to post anything. Blame it on a busy schedule, or laziness, either way is fine. In the time that has lapsed since I last wrote anything I've developed quite a few ideas that I wanted to share. So here goes...

Recently I've noticed that I see faces and objects in almost everything. Actually this has been happening for quite some time, but I've just recently started to take photos of the things I see or make quick sketches of them. Here is my favorite, two whales that appeared in the oil I was preparing for pancakes.

And here is this gnarly tree Joe and I saw taking a hike a few weeks ago. There was something quite magical about it, and I mean that in all sincerity, not like a hippie.  I kinda thought it looked like something you'd see in a Tim Burton film. It looks like it has something to say, just open your mouth already!  

Some inspiration for baby shower decoration, found at a little cafe in Pacific Grove (near Monterey):

And finally, on a completely different note, we've taken to vacationing as much as possible before the bubs (which is what my friend in Australia calls the baby) comes. Three weeks ago we went to Carmel near Big Sur and Monterey to see the seal pups and their mommas and the following weekend we headed to Mendocino to hang out with some friends in a beautiful cabin on the cliff side. Here is Joe jumping on the bed in his excitement that we got to stay in a nice fancy hotel in Carmel:

A seal Joe aptly named "Orson Whales" 

Joe looking like a nice country boy at the Red Barn Cafe in Pacific Grove:

And our enthusiasm simply to be away from home for yet another beautiful weekend in Mendocino, I kinda look like I had a big lunch:

 

Valentine's Crafts

If you asked me about five years ago how I felt about Valentine's Day I'd let you know I wasn't impressed. Not that I didn't celebrate it, but I never felt like going all out. Well now, as the baby bug has hit me and I look at my husband with adoring eyes I feel the need not only to celebrate, but to decorate. So for today I'm highlighting some of my favorite v-day crafts.

image taken from : http://www.magueyweaves.com/

Papel Picado is one of my favorite forms of decoration. Maybe it's growing up in the southwest, but I find it absolutely beautiful. It's also not all that difficult to make. If you're me, you fold it up and make a haphazard design with scissors, but if you're a little more talented, then I suggest printing out your favorite design and placing it over the tissue paper. Then with an exacto knife you can "easily" (I say that with a chuckle), carve out your design. If you keep a small strip on the top intact you can glue string to your piece and hang it up.

image definitely property of: www.marthastewart.com

This is one for the kiddies. It's fairly simple and rather cute. A great little valentine for kids to make and take to school for their friends, or consume completely on their own. You can find the instructions here, because let's be honest, nobody does it better than Martha.

Just a quick note

As I descend into the world of babies and toddlers I've found myself recently infatuated with a kid's magazine that I cannot have. Honestly I haven't even held the magazine to see all the magical contents, yet I am smitten. If I were a 10yr old again, I'd be in heaven.

So without further ado: Anorak Magazine: The Happy Mag for Kids!

Here's the best inside peak I've been able to get: Book By Its Cover

This fabulous little magazine is out of the UK and available on amazon, for 53 bucks! Yikes. I'm sure I'll stumble upon it in some Bay Area bookstore eventually....

Poster Image: Anorak Magazine 2009

Til then I'll contemplate the meaning of the Wisdom Clouds.

I'll eventually catch up with it all

First off Happy New Year to the two people who read this, myself excluded. Thus far my new year has been a whirlwind of getting life straightened out so that I can A. finish my Montessori teacher training by this summer B. have a baby in August and C. nap between eating double what I normally eat.

Here is our little cashew/peanut/squish at 7 weeks
looking like a baby chick.

But I find I'm spending most of my time mentally preparing a nursery, mainly focusing on the decor of course and wondering how on earth we're going to arrange our tiny two bedroom apt. (of which one room is the office/music room) into an actual two BEDROOM apt. How do you tell your child, "I love you, but I'm not giving up the bass"? Will they even notice that half of their room is filled with Dad's music equipment? Can we easily hide that bass amp under the crib? Yes, these are my problems. It doesn't help that I received my new Real Simple in the mail yesterday and it has a section on these hyper organized moms. I hate them. I also would like to fly them out so that they can categorize all of Joe's cables and miscellaneous music instruments, with labels and proper space.

Oh, but I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about art right? At least I think that was the initial intention of this blog. Well for now here are the ideas and sites I've been looking at for baby nursery decor:

• My brother made my husband this painting for his birthday and at present I think it will fit nicely in the baby's room, despite being a little dark. There is something comforting about it, like a grisly old grandpa watching over our wee one.
  

• I kinda love birds, despite hating real life birds. So when I saw this painting that can be customized with your child's first initial I got all gooey inside just thinking about the name debate that will soon ensue.
  

• This Etsy shop has too many wonderful pieces to choose from, so I'll just post a link to their homepage. I love the colors she uses! Are they a throw back to the 70s? Possibly, but then how else would we match that hideous Ethan Allen dresser my husband has had since birth and insists on keeping?
  

• As far as bedding goes, I'm kinda hooked on orange. I saw this crib sheet while perusing the web the other day and I'm stuck on it, the only problem is, does it have to be 60 bucks? I mean my own bedsheets aren't $60! Plus imagine the copious amounts of drool and other bodily secretions we'll have to clean off these fancy things? Oh well, they're organic and it's all for the baby right?