homemade by monica

eleven.

2012-02-13T09:29:00.001-06:00

our sweet baby boy is eleven months old today. i really can't believe it. i know i said a couple months ago that 9 months was my favorite age, but i've changed my mind eleven months is my new favorite. i've seen such a huge change in cohen over the last month personality wise. he's funny, charming, joyful, and a total ham. he loves social situations, interaction, and all the attention he gets from strangers when he's out and about. it's as if he is starting to understand the life he is living and how he should interact with the world around him.

hand's down, this last month has been the funniest month of his existence. i've lost count of how many times i''ve been brought to tears, laughing hysterically at his antics. last week alone he laughed so hard he fell over, went to the bathroom in the middle of the kitchen floor (a long story), drank his baby-sitters chocolate milk when she wasn't looking, took a lint roller to bed with him, and learned how to take all of his clothes off at nap time. this little boy we have is quite the character.

eleven months will soon be long gone sweet boy, but i hope we always remember each one of your sweet moments and milestones. you mean the world to your father and i, and we continue to be amazed by each and everything you do. we love you to pieces. happy monday! {monica}

weekly links.

2012-02-10T06:55:00.001-06:00

one. these wedding photos are to die for. so lovely, they kinda makes me want to get married all over again (to the same guy of course). what a beautiful wedding, maybe the prettiest i've seen?

two. these scandinavian rooms. i've been scouring pinterest as of late, for light, bright spaces. i truly think i'm going to paint the interior space of our future home entirely white. i love how bright, airy and big all white spaces feel. plus, i really enjoy color and like the idea of adding color to rooms with furniture and accessories instead of wall paint, it seems to allow for more creativity and change as trends come and go.

all images found via

three. since valentine's day is right around the corner, i thought i'd share this super cute free download from eat drink chic for all you coffee lovers.

have a great weekend everyone. we plan on celebrating valentine's day this weekend in a one way or another. we aren't really valentine's day people, but i'm sure we'll figure out something cheesy to do to celebrate. anyone else celebrating valentine's day this weekend? happy friday!{monica}

5 things i love and don't love about the iPhone

2012-02-09T06:26:00.001-06:00

{via}

i mentioned this a few weekends ago, but in case you missed it...my super rad husband bought me an iphone. and not just any iphone but the 4s (i'm still not sure what that means by the way, but it makes chris happy so i'll pretend it makes me just as excited). as a first time iphone owner i've come to realize there are some serious benefits of owning this pocket sized gadget, but i've also come to realize there are things i miss about my old phone (which was a HTC EVOO 4G by the way).

5 things i love about the iphone

-instagram: in my opinion instagram kicks twitter's butt. why? because it's all pictures. yeah there are comments about the pictures, but if you post an update, a picture must be included. it's pretty darn awesome
-the camera: the simple editing features are such a huge time saver. you can reduce red-eye, crop, rotate, and enhance with a simple click. it's perfect for quick blog posts and all the cohen emails we send to our family and friends.
-facetime: let me just say facetime rocks! with our family in oregon and chris working 2-hours away from cohen and i, facetime really is amazing. it's so much easier to use than skype. i just pick up my phone, dial my chris' number, and there is cute little face is. it's so easy even i can figure it out. we still use skype often, since not everyone has an iphone/ipad to facetime with, but even my parents are considering buying iphones now solely because of facetime.
-no fingerprints: i realize this isn't a big deal to most people, but with a 10 month old who is constantly covering my phone with his sticky fingers it's amazing. the screen is covered with some kind of oil repels finger prints. crazy huh?
-overall ease of use: i find the iphone easier to use. simple.as.that.

5 thing i don't love about the iphone

-the battery life: the battery life hasn't been great thus far. i use my phone tons, so i've been having to charge my phone at least once a day if not more. maybe i'm doing something wrong or have too many features turned on at the same time? who knows? i'm still trying to figure it out.
-no bubble breaker: are you kidding me iphone? no bubble breaker? you have a bunch of free apps claiming to be bubble breaker, but all of them are lame impersonations of the real deal. looks like i have to find a new addicting game for road trips.

-no 4G: let me start this one by saying, i had absolutely no idea what 4G meant before owning the iphone. chris always raved about 4G and i would nod my head in a desperate attempt to act like i knew what he was talking about. well, i now know what 4G is and let me tell you...i miss it. i really notice the difference with internet download times, the iphone is slower.
-the price: iphone you are expensive.
-the wireless network pop-ups: this may just be because i haven't set up my phone correctly, but why is there a pop-up every time i enter a new wireless area? i sincerely hope there is a way of blocking them.

if i had to choose between the two, i'd probably choose the iphone. mostly because we use facetime daily, it's really been a perfect phone for our long distance marriage. chris can see cohen and and i every night, cohen can see his daddy, once again facetime rocks. have i said enough about facetime yet?. happy thursday! {monica}

snippets

2012-02-08T07:09:00.027-06:00

chris got home early friday night so we meet at noodles & company for dinner. i wish i had a video of cohen's expression when chris drove up, it was the cutest thing! he had the biggest smile on his face, like he was smiling with his entire body. this sweet boy loves his daddy.

saturday, was colton's first birthday party. tim and jessica were the first friends we made when we moved to iowa, and honestly probably the sweetest people we know. i remember waddling into the hospital 9 months pregnant to visit jessica and meet colton the day after he was born, seems like yesterday. jessica was the most beautiful mom post labor, she looked like she just went to the spa...not like a woman who just delivered a 9+lb baby. it was great catching up with them and celebrating colton's special day.

we stopped and got frozen yogurt from a new place in town. normally, i am strictly a chocolate yogurt topped with almonds girl, but i just couldn't pass up the giant heart shaped marshmallows. it's almost valentine's day, so i have an excuse right?

sunday we got up early, went to church since chris and i were on nursery duty, came home had lunch, and watched the super bowl. cohen decided this weekend that he only needed one nap a day, which was really odd for a habitual two nap a day guy. he laid on chris' chest for a long 3 hour nap, i snapped this picture when we woke up. he still looks like he could sleep longer, but we made him get up fearing he would never go to bed on time. once cohen went down for the night we went to bed early, then things took a turn for the worse. at around 10 i woke up with the horrible "i need to throw up" feeling. it was a long night. a really long night. thankfully chris was home to get cohen ready in the morning and take him to the babysitter, i really don't know what i would have done without him there. i couldn't eat, drink, or go an hour without throwing up. talk about awful! i'm still not sure if it was food poisoning (because chris/cohen ate the same things i did) or if i had the flu? whatever it was, i'm praying cohen and chris don't get it. operation sanitize the entire house is on tonight! happy wednesday! {monica}

diy neon striped sunglass case

2012-02-07T09:19:00.001-06:00

i'm all about cheater crafting these days. let's face it...i'm a single mom 5 days a week, my 10 1/2 month old son doesn't stop moving unless he's eating or sleeping, and i work full time which leaves me with little time to do anything creative. long gone are the days where i could sit down at my sewing machine for hours each night. long gone are the weekends filled with large scale projects and you know what? i'm just fine with that, because i've been able to find "cheater" ways around large scale projects. like this diy neon striped sunglass case.

the way i made this diy quick and easy was to use a store bought case. instead of sewing a sunglass case on my own, i purchased a premade wool sunglass case from hobby lobby (our local craft store). to measure, cut, and sew a case on my own would have taken at least an hour, which is time i just don't have anymore. if you can't find a sunglass case at your craft store, feel free to make one on your own or even paint the existing case you have.

what you need: neon paint (i used this), store bought sunglass case (i used this then cut the star off), and a small paint brush.

once you have the supplies all you have to do is paint the neon stripe. i painted the stripe free hand, but you can easily measure the stripe if you don't feel comfortable free handing it. once the first layer of paint has dried, go over the stripe one more time with a second layer of paint (because my case is a coarse haired fabric, i needed two layers of paint to cover well). when the second layer of paint has dried completely it's done. easy as that! the total work time for this was less than 10 minutes.

can i just say, i'm slightly obsessed with neon at the moment. i find myself wanting to put a little on everything. my poor husband keeps rolling his eyes at me. i have a couple more neon projects i'll share shortly, but until then i hope you find a little time to try this diy for yourself! it's one of those instant gratification projects that i love, and hope you will too.

happy tuesday! {monica}

weekly links

2012-02-03T07:39:00.001-06:00

here are a few things i'm loving this week.

one. scandinavian rabbit softies from jane foster. can you say easter basket?

two. this blog. the images are beautiful. the people are beautiful. the animals are ridiculously adorable. it almost makes me want to quit my job and live on a farm. almost.

three. single serving ciao bella sorbet. have you seen these tiny jewels in your supermarket yet? if so, you must try one. not only are the flavors absolutely delicious but the packaging is adorable. i'm a total sucker for packaging and these don't disappoint. inside each of these tiny bowls is a tiny sorbet spoon, a sweet note, and a vibrantly colored sweet treat. yum.

any weekend plans? besides watching the super bowl and attending a first birthday party, we plan on staying hunkered down in the house soaking up as much time together as possible before chris goes back to work monday. should be a fun weekend and i hope yours is too. happy friday! {monica}

orzo pasta salad

2012-02-02T08:48:00.002-06:00

meet my favorite pasta salad. it's quick, it's easy, and most importantly it's really darn yummy. i like to double the recipe (since this salad keeps well) and eat on for breakfast, lunch and dinner all week long. it's great as a side dish or a light main course.

what you need.

1 lb orzo pasta, 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley, 7 oz olive tapenade, 1/2 c finely chopped sundried tomatoes, 1 clove minced garlic, the juice of one lemon, salt/pepper.

directions.

cook pasta according to package directions. once pasta is al dente, drain and rinse with cold water to immediately stop the cooking process. in a large bowl, mix the pasta, parsley, tapenade, sundried tomatoes, garlic, and lemon juice. once mixed thoroughly, add salt/pepper to taste.

what's great about this salad is that you can add/subtract/substitute ingredients as you like. some of my favorite additions: parmesan, green onions, basil, pine nuts and/or dried currents. hope you enjoy. happy thursday! {monica}

look of the day. clearance euphoria.

2012-02-01T09:04:00.000-06:00

top: tj maxx (clearance), skinnies/belt: f21, shoes: seychelles (purchased 10 years ago), cardigan/bag:thrifted, bangles: target/h&m(gift)/diy

ever buy something because you think it's such a great deal, but bring it home and realize what you bought wasn't as great as you thought? i call it clearance euphoria. defined as: a momentary lapse in fashion judgement caused by the surprisingly low price on a clearance tag. this shirt was one of those clearance euphoria moments. i bought it and now i hate it. it makes me feel like a hawaiian tourist, minus the spf 70 and camera around my neck. and what made this purchase even worse was the fact that it was a final sale, which means no returns. so rather than let this top sit in my closet and haunt me, i was determined to make it work. here you have it...my clearance euphoria shirt. made to look much better by the clothespin holding an extra seven inches of fabric behind my back.

that's my clearance euphoria story, now what's yours? i'd love to hear it. happy wednesday! {monica)

snippets.

2012-01-31T07:00:00.010-06:00

can i please tell you how nice it was to be together as a family again? what a wonderful family i have. we spent the weekend at home, leaving only for a coffee run and to pick up a couple groceries. it was simply lovely. here's a few snippets from our weekend.

i'm a lucky girl when it comes to vacuuming. chris loves, and i mean loves to vacuum. i've never once vacuumed our house in our entire marriage (crazy, huh?). chris vacuums every time we clean and sometimes multiple times a week. i'm not sure how i got so lucky, but i'm not going to argue with his obsession. it's great. cohen seems to follow in his father's footsteps and loves the vacuum too. he follows chris around from room to room laughing and studying how the machine works. it's the sweetest thing.
left. mr. bolt, who i'm convinced is the craziest poodle on earth. right. story time before bed.

left: the cutest little red shoes chris walked in the front door with for cohen. right. a sore teething boy, who hardly wants to chew.

aren't those shoes the cutest? they look so adorable on cohen's chubby feet. we rarely put shoes on him, so it took a while for him to catch onto how to walk in them, but now he's got it down. chris also brought me home the new iphone which i absolutely love. i'd never had one before, so i'm still learning, but i'm obsessed with instagram ( i'm @madebymonica if you want to follow). in fact i think i like it better than twitter, since it's all pictures? what are your thoughts? in other weekend news, poor cohen spent the weekend cutting two more teeth. he's ten months and now has ten teeth. i know parents get excited about their kid's teeth, but i really dislike him getting this many teeth this young. the little guy hardly ate and had super high teething fevers. anyone else have issues with high teething fevers? cohen's are usually 104-105 and scare me. my pediatrician doesn't seem alarmed since the fevers break quickly, but this is his third high grade fever in two months (each one with a new tooth).

also, if you missed yesterday's post, i really need your help with cohen's birthday, so check it out and lend some advice. happy tuesday! {monica}

attention creative people! I NEED YOUR HELP!

2012-01-30T07:45:00.001-06:00

the time has come to start planning a little mister's first birthday party. the fact that i'm even writing first birthday party really freaks me out a bit (what happened to my baby?), but that's beside the point. anyways, this is why i need your help. i really want the theme, and i use the the word theme lightly, to be "anchors and fish". random i know, but i'm kind of obsessed with them both at the moment. plus, my parent's beach house is one of our favorite places on earth and we wanted to honor our love for the ocean in one way or another. my problem? finding non-cheesy, non-gaudy, non-tchotchke anchor things. to give you an idea of what i'm thinking here are a couple of things i'm going to try to recreate (most we're found via pinterest).

i plan on making a few of these as a gift for the birthday boy {via}

i thought it would be fun for everyone at the party to make driftwood fish for themselves and for cohen. my folks will be flying out from the northwest for the party, and they'll be bringing the driftwood from their beach house. love them.

{on a side note can i please just take a minute to tell you how much i love the website made by joel. these first two projects were his creations, and he has tons of other great diy's and projects i'd love to take on in the future. if you haven't visited his website, you must go there when you have the time!}

i've been collecting lots of nautical fabric since before cohen was born, so i plan on making a pretty fabric garland of some kind. i really like the drama of this one and hope to recreate something like it for the party.

i've loved these watercolor cups for a while now and have been waiting for the perfect event to try the out myself. cohen's party might just be the time? i love how the blue ones look like the ocean.

here are the only two things i've purchased for the party so far. i bought these two nautical numbers for the birthday boy at old navy last month since they were on clearance. the cardigan has anchors on the side and i really wish it came in my size!

so there you have it. those are my ideas! now i need yours. i need help with cake ideas, food, and anything else you can think of really! please send links to my email (homemadebymonica@gmail.com) or leave them in your comments below....any help would be much appreciated! thanks faithful readers. happy monday{monica}

weekly links.

2012-01-27T08:35:00.000-06:00

here are some of my favorite things this week.

one. my weekend project: diy patches for well loved shoes. go here for a full tutorial from baby blackbird.

two. love these FREE printable valentines from love vs. design.

three. this amazing blog about a mother's journey post late-pregnancy miscarriage (or stillbirth). bethany is the sister-in-law of one of my college roommates, and her words are simply beautiful amidst unimaginable tragedy. if you are a mother, trying to conceive, or have lost a child yourself, i encourage you to read her words.

have a great weekend everyone! chris is coming tonight and i can't wait to get my arms around him. happy friday! {monica}

single mama.

2012-01-26T09:12:00.001-06:00

i've only been a single mama for three days now, and let me tell you it is hard. to all you single parents out there...i salute you. you are superhuman! i really don't know how you do it each and every day? small things like taking a shower, cooking healthful meals, or using the restroom require a well planned strategy. although it's hard, being home alone with cohen is the best. he says mama all the time, gives me lots of big smiles and hugs, and is even being more snuggly than usual (he must know i need the cuddle time). being his mom is pretty darn great. here are a few pictures of what we've been up to.

cohen got a big package from his great grandparents in wyoming. this was the first time he's gotten into ripping the paper off of a gift. it was pretty cute! thanks grandpa don and gradma k for the gift.

i've been busy painting wooden toys for cohen after he goes to bed. i'm trying to get a jump start on his birthday gifts while i have the time (more on this later).

after eating wendy's spicy chicken nuggets monday night and a frozen burrito tuesday night, i was ready for a something fresh and heathy. i made this red curry bowl, and it really hit the spot. can't wait to eat the leftovers today.

excited to spend another fun evening with my little guy tonight, but even more excited to have chris come home tomorrow night. although, i'm really enjoying all this special alone time with cohen, life is much better when chris is home too! happy thursday! {monica}

look of the day. i got my hair did.

2012-01-25T09:09:00.001-06:00

{sweater (gift): h &m, shoes: payless, courderouy pants: thrifted, tank: target, lace top: vintage, necklace: f21}

remember this post? yeah, that one i wrote nearly 2 months ago. the one where i said i desperately needed my hair cut and colored. well, guess who finally had some time to follow through with it? this girl! that's right. i got my hair cut. and i l.o.v.e it! it's really drastic, but exactly what i envisioned. chris loves it, but told me he thinks i look like a russian spy (hence us messing around with charlie's angels-esque photo above). happy wednesday! {monica}

weekend goodbyes.

2012-01-24T07:53:00.000-06:00

our goodbyes were as expected. i cried. chris wiped my tears, hugged me tight and said sweet words. cohen smiled oblivious to the changes ahead. chris signed i love you as we drove away. it was hard. much harder than expected, but i'm determined to put on my big girl pants and put on a happy face for cohen (while secretly counting the hours until chris is home again). happy tuesday! {monica}

saying goodbye.

2012-01-20T11:24:00.000-06:00

cohen and i will be saying our goodbyes to chris this weekend. he'll be moving, looking for a place we can have a short term lease at and starting his new job, while cohen and i stay behind and get some things finalized here at home. chris and i have spent nearly a year of our marriage apart, so you'd think i would be used to this short term set up, but this will be the first time living apart since having cohen. it makes me sad. for myself, but mostly for cohen and chris who spend most evenings glued at the hip. it's going to be a big change for them both. thankfully, chris will only be a two hour drive away so we plan on being together every weekend, but it will still be hard. we don't know how long we'll live this way, but we're hoping to get our plan of action settled within the next thirty days. i'll be back tuesday to let you know how our goodbyes went, but my posts may be sporadic for the next little while as i figure out how to be a semi-single mama. happy friday! {monica}

weekly links.

2012-01-19T08:44:00.000-06:00

here are a few of my favorite finds this week. if you follow me on pinterest, you've already seen most of these, but not all. so please enjoy.

in starting to dream about cohen's future big boy room. here are two things that caught my eye. a lovely orange headboard from tabletonic and this oh so adorable mini desk from kenzipoo.

i love the whimsy of this heart sweater (worn by krystal) and yellow bow tie (worn by indiana). i think i might attempt to recreate these in a future diy? we'll see.

these free printables from i rock so what. i'm pretty sure this bacon one is going up in our house somewhere.

this awesome article on a child's perception of the word no. what children hear is much different from what we say.

the sewing school turtorials on a beautiful mess last week. as a novice seamstress, i've been learning a bunch.

what's caught your eye this week? happy thursday! {monica}

a pregnancy wives tale i believe.

2012-01-17T08:20:00.008-06:00

when we were pregnant, i read about all sorts of pregnancy wives tales. all of them proved to be incorrect in our case, but the one wives tale i whole heartedly believe to be true now that i'm a mom, is the if you eat a wide variety of foods while you are pregnant, your child won't be a picky eater one. our birthing class teacher said this over and over through out my pregnancy, and although i wasn't completely sold on this notion then, i did as i was told like the good student i am.

eating a variety of food while pregnant wasn't a difficult thing for me, as i never had pregnancy food aversions and i have never been a picky eater in my entire life. even as a kid, i ate everything my mom fed me. for my entire pregnancy i tried my hardest to eat the widest variety of food possible. i ate sweet/sour/spicy/extra spicy/thai/mexican/american/dairy/bland foods/sushi/seafood/tons of different vegetables and fruits/occasional lattes and anything else i could get my swollen hands on. even though i wasn't fully on board with this theory at the time, i secretly hoped it was true. you see, i come from a foodie family. my parents are both unusually great cooks. they have always experimented with ingredients and flavors and passed their love of great food onto me, so naturally i wanted to pass this foodie tradition onto our children.

once cohen was born, i was anxious to see what type of eater he would be. we started of the usual way, with doctor recommended rice cereal, then slowly introduced new foods into his diet. when we were able to rule out any food allergies (thank you jesus), the real test began. we decided that whatever chris and i ate for dinner would be thrown into the food processor and fed to cohen for dinner too. the first meal we fed him was roasted brussel sprouts and mustard crusted pork loin. it kind of makes me laugh to think this was his first meal, but hey it's what chris and i were having for dinner and i was sticking to my guns. as i hesitently fed him his first spoonful, i waited in anticipation for a reaction but nothing happened. cohen was a champ. without blinking an eye, he gulped down every last bite of that meal, and has continued to gulp down every bite since. there has not been a single food we've fed cohen that he has yet to eat. no joke. we've even gone so far as feeding him capers, lemons, grapefruit, plain yogurt, and green olives, just to test him a bit (and because we are horrible parents and wanted to see if he would make an america's funniest home videos style face) but no. nada. nothing.

he may not look anything like me physically (duh, he is an exact replica of chris), but i know one thing is for sure, cohen inherited my affinity for food. here's what he eats.

mango. fresh mozzarella. thai ground pork salad (recipe).

spicy beef, barley and vegetable soup.

fresh mozzarella, tomato, raw garlic and basil salad. {and not pictured because he ate it before i snapped the picture...lemon dill salmon burgers (recipe)}

annie's cheddar bunny mix and leftover beef with peppers (recipe)

and this is how i came to believe the if you eat a wide variety of foods while you are pregnant, your child won't be a picky eater wives tale. happy tuesday! {monica}

look of the day. happy thoughts.

2012-01-16T09:06:00.000-06:00

[blazer (thrifted) - old navy, denim button up (thrifted) - ralph lauren, skirt-gap, tote-can't remember, tights-target, heals-payless, black onyx ring (gift from my grandmother) - vintage]

i can't help but find myself happy about the following things:

one. did you notice my hair is finally long enough to fit in a ponytail? that's exciting.

two. our little family. we spent the entire weekend at home together, mostly in our pajamas. it's was wonderful.

three. the vintage lacoste sweater i scored at salvation army for $1.99.

what are you happy about today? happy monday {monica}

ten.

2012-01-12T13:03:00.002-06:00

ten. months. old. it's hard to believe.

a brief update on mister cohen... he has eight teeth four on top and four on the bottom. he tips the scales at 24 lbs and is 30 inches tall. he's a real life walker now. not just a ten steps at a time-crash-five steps at a time-crash kind of walker, but an honest to goodness goes from a sit to a stand walker. a hardly even tries to crawl anymore kind of walker. it's just plain crazy. he likes to read, talk (in babbling form), and try new things. he is busy. he doesn't sit still unless he's sleeping or eating, which makes for long, but oh-so fun days. he enjoys getting into everything he shouldn't get into like kitchen cabinets, dog food, trash cans, and other disgusting things.

his big personality is really starting to shine these days. he's turned into quite the talker. last month he hardly babbled, this month he's saying "ma ma" "da da" "gogg (which means dog)" and all sorts of other hilarious noises. in the last couple weeks, he's really gotten into building toys like blocks and tinker toys. he could play with blocks all night long i think. tinkertoys are still far to advanced for his little hands to figure out, but he loves to watch chris and i build things with them. am i sensing another architect in our house? of course it's too early to tell.

happy ten months baby bug. we love you to pieces. happy thursday! {monica}

deep thoughts continued.

2012-01-11T15:23:00.004-06:00

after my last post, i'm starting to think it's not this blog that's making me crazy...it's our life. more specifically where we are in our life at the moment. there is so much to think about, figure out, and settle out it's making my head spin. here's an abbreviated list of the hysteria.

one. we've put our little bungalow, that we've really grown to love, on the market. there was a period of time when we considered renting it out, but came to the realization we aren't ready to be landlords any time soon. so for now we are in operation keep the house clean mode. for all of you who have sold a home you know first hand the joys of trying to keep the house in "showing form". really, this isn't a huge issue, as chris and i are fairly tidy people, it's just kind of time consuming. dishes can't be left in the sink, clothes can't be left in the hamper, toys need to be picked up nightly, etc.

two. in addition to selling our home, we've had difficulties finding our temporary home in iowa city. we've called hotels, who want to charge us $3500 a month (this is iowa people, not new york city), apartments who refuse to let us sign short term leases, and of the two month-to-month places we've found; one doesn't allow dogs, and the other looked like a straight up crack house (no joke).

three. continuing on the housing theme...we found a house we like in a tiny town east of iowa city. it's really a dream house for chris and i, with one huge exception: it needs A LOT of work. updated electrical, new drywall on the entire second floor and bonus room, central air and gobs of cosmetic work. i'm super excited about all the possibilities, but also nervous about cost to fix everything. we've been calling every contractor, electrician, and hvac company in central iowa for the past couple days to try and get a feel for what we could be getting ourselves into.

four. applying for jobs, while trying to finish (and train my replacement) at my current position, is a heck of a lot of work. for nearly my entire professional life, i've taken jobs that aren't exactly what i want to do, just so chris and i will have income/health care/etc while he's been in school. we've bounced around from place to place as he was completing his degree, so i was fine with taking a job i wasn't exactly thrilled with knowing it would be a short term commitment. but now that we're trying to plant roots somewhere, i'd love to find something that makes me wake up in the morning excited to go to work. i realize this is a difficult thing to find, but as a working mama, i dream of finding something challenging, but also that sets a good example for our children. like my working mom did for me. i remember growing up thinking to myself, "wow. i want to be just like my mom when i grow up." she was, and still is the most incredible woman i know. she's incredibly successful, travelled all over the country watching me chase my adolescent dream of being a college athlete, she cooked, cleaned, told quirky stories, is still the most talented person i've ever seen when it comes to conflict resolution (no joke. she can resolve any and every struggle known to man), and she enjoyed life along the way. she's pretty great.

five. deciding to live apart makes me sad! really sad. rather than move to iowa city, and bounce around from place to place, chris and i thought it would be best for cohen and i to stay behind in our house while it's on the market, and while chris tries to secure a place for us. it was a hard decision to make, but we both know it's the right thing to do. living two hours apart won't be fun for either of us, but we're hoping things will get settled quickly so cohen and i can join chris in our new place as soon as possible.

other things we've got going on before chris moves: a house showing tomorrow, our moving company comes later this week to walk through their plan (thankfully chris' company moves us...one less thing to figure out), interviewing childcare for cohen, my own job interviews, doctor's appointments, moving chris to iowa city, lots trips back and forth to iowa city, and much. much. m.u.c.h more.

uggh. i know this entire post seems like such a buzz kill (for lack of a better analogy), but i promise we are super excited to make this move. i've dreamed of this day for a long time. for chris to be done with school, take a job he's worked so hard for, and for finding a city we can actually see ourselves living in for longer than two years. i keep reminding myself that the end result is worth this whole process. i'm sure these next two months (or three, or four...) will be gone before we know it, and we'll be settling in nicely to our future home. i can't wait.

thanks for reading my picture-less little rant. you guys are great and i promise to be back (without little rants) soon. happy wednesday {monica}

deep thoughts.

2012-01-04T08:44:00.004-06:00

i've been thinking about this blog a lot lately. mostly, about the direction i want it to go. for the past couple years, i've loved sitting down everyday to write a bit about our day to day happenings, what i'm wearing, or my latest creative endeavours. it's been my little creative escape, a much needed break from nine to five number crunching and a husband in graduate school. that being said, i've begun to feel a bit different about this 'ol blog lately, and i'm not sure why? i'm not as excited or inspired to sit down and write posts as i once was. two weeks ago, i had grand plans of photographing our christmas tree, then posting some garland tutorials when i looked over at our baby boy and thought to myself, i'd much rather be playing with him than doing this; so, i stopped photographing and did just that. we sat on the floor, played with blocks and listened to raffi on pandora for the rest of the afternoon. it was pure bliss. i find myself doing that a lot lately. that being, thinking of a million different things i'd rather be and/or need to be doing than writing an uninspired post. i'm thinking a lot of this has to do with feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment about our move, but i'm not exactly sure that's it either. so, i'm going to take some time to think about what it is i want to do here.

until then, here are a few recent happenings.
sipping lattes at our new neighborhood spot and enjoying cool winter walks

basketball game with friends.

an ever inquisitive nine month old

cohen's new side kick

happy wednesday! {monica}

diy. faux fur clutch.

2012-01-03T06:00:00.005-06:00

i'm slightly obsessed with fur at the moment. a trend in which my husband rolls his eyes at. he thinks fur is solely for those who live in russia or davy crockett type outdoorsmen who wear coonskin caps. i beg to differ. fur is a trend i fully embrace. in fact, i find myself fur-i-fying everything lately. like this lovely clutch i threw together while we were in indiana last month.

once again, i kinda cheated and went the store bought route again just like i did on my last diy anthropologie inspired clutch. hobby lobby has the cheapest clutches (this one was only $4.99), you can't make them yourself for the same price, so i save myself the time and buy them from the store.

what you need:

store bought clutch (here's the one i used), faux fur, scissors, heavy duty fabric glue

directions: put a thin layer of heavy duty fabric glue on the exterior surface of the flap. once glue is applied, place faux fur (you can cut the fur to size prior to gluing, or once the glue is dry) on top of the glue, pressing the fur in place. let dry. once glue is dry, trim off any excess fur around the perimeter of the flap. it's simple as that.

simple. easy. stylish. my three favorite craft words.

happy tuesday! {monica}

look of the day. winter staples.

2011-12-29T06:28:00.001-06:00

{top/skinnies-target, boots-gift, belt-gap}

meet my go-to winter wardrobe: skinny jeans, a flannel shirt, riding boots, and a fun belt. i think i could wear this combination of clothing every day of my life, and pretty much do as of late. what is it about fall/winter clothing that i can't seem to get enough of? what are your go-to winter staples? happy thursday! {monica}

look of the day. my only christmas request.

2011-12-28T06:17:00.002-06:00

{sweater/shoes-christmas gift, jeans-gap, belt-f21, button up-target}

i only asked chris for one thing this christmas. a pair of minnetonka classic fringe boots. brown leather, size nine, with hard soles minnetonka classic fringe boots to be more specific; i even emailed him the link just in case he got confused:) i kinda felt like that poor kid ralphie on a christmas story, who begged for his red rider bb gun. all i wanted for christmas were these lovely shoes. thankfully i have a husband who spoils me and obliged my gift request. he also bought cohen this matching pair in red. they are so sweet. i can't wait for his little feet to grow into them. happy wednesday! {monica}

christmas and big updates.

2011-12-27T11:05:00.000-06:00

we had a lovely time celebrating cohen's first christmas. we took advantage of cohen's complete lack of the christmas concept and slept in, ate a big helping of freshly baked monkey bread, slowly sipped a few cups of coffee, and then finally got around to opening gifts at a snails pace. we attempted to let cohen open gifts, but he could have cared less about all of the little bags and boxes lovingly wrapped just for him. chris and i laughed each time we opened a gift, and he would play with the box/paper instead of the actual gift. oh, and the thing he loved most was hiding out under the tree. he would drag a book under the tree and sit there for what seemed like half the day. just a boy, a book, and a twinkle lit tree fort. it doesn't get better than that when you are 9 months old.

this christmas was a lot different than ones in the past. with all of the decisions chris and i had to make in the couple weeks leading up to christmas, we barely had time to set up a tree, send christmas cards, or decorate. no really. i stunk at sending out christmas cards (sorry to all of you who didn't get one this year, i promise next years will be in your mailbox) and instead of decorating the tree in my usually obsessive way, i just made this simple fabric and burlap garland to wrap around it. when the garland was up and i was sad because of our overall lack of christmas cheer around the house, chris sweetly told me he thought this tree was the best one yet. i really needed to hear those sweet words.

now onto these decisions i keep referring to.

as most of you know, chris recently finished grad school which meant we had to start figuring out what was next for our family. we had to put on our big kid pants and start making decisions. the main decision we had to make was where we would want to live. more importantly, where did we want to start raising our family. when we moved to iowa two and a half years ago, i always assumed the move would be temporary. chris applied to jobs all over the world, so i assumed we would move somewhere new and exotic, but when offers started coming in nothing seemed right. so we sat down, and listed out everything we wanted for our future city. our main criteria included:

-college town

-good schools

-safe neighborhoods

-close to family

(can you tell we are parents now?)

the first three were easy, but the proximity to family was the difficult one. chris and i were born and raised in the northwest, our parents and siblings still live in the area but the place where our largest amount of family members live is iowa. so we really started praying about staying in iowa or moving back to oregon. a couple weeks later, chris got a job offer from a company in iowa city. iowa city, home to the university of iowa (college town check), safe neighborhoods and lots of great schools (check and check), the same city where all of my family lives (check). oh, and it's same city my parents fell in love in (not on the list but amazing). we were shocked! the interview he had there was three and a half hours long and consisted of three separate panel interviews. talk about intense. by the end of the interview chris was so brain dead he couldn't remember half the things he said. he didn't know if he had nailed it or completely blew it. apparently he nailed it because the offer was also his best yet. after a few back and forth negotiations, the contract was signed last week making it official. chris got an awesome job and we are moving to iowa city.

two huge decisions complete.

we still have a bunch of other hurdles to cross in the next couple months, including listing our house for sale, finishing my job, packing our house, finding a short term rental and house hunting in iowa city, but the two biggest decisions are behind us. yay! lots to celebrate. happy tuesday! {monica}

merry christmas.

2011-12-22T06:04:00.002-06:00

we're off for a lovely four days of christmas vacation. yay. be back next week with lots of updates (hopefully). merry christmas everyone. happy thursday! {monica}

diy: anthropologie inspired clutch.

2011-12-21T06:46:00.004-06:00

when i saw this clutch a couple months ago at anthropologie i knew i wanted to try to recreate a similar clutch on my own. i kinda cheated on this one because i bought a store made clutch, but hey, a girl can cheat every once in a while right? it was just $3.99, had this super cute leopard lining, and i knew i wouldn't sew it on my own for that price, so i had to buy it.

to make this clutch you will need.

a store bought clutch (mine found here), vivid orange paint (here), a paint brush, painters tape

once you have the supplies, it's super easy. all you have to do is wrap the painters tape around the clutch on both sides of the stripe. the stripe i made was 4" wide, but feel free to make it as wide as you like. once the tape is set, apply a thin layer of paint to the clutch in between the taped lines. you will have to do this step in stages, letting the paint dry on each side before painting the next. once the paint is applied and dry, remove the tape and enjoy. it's easy as that.

i love pops of bright color in the dreary winter months, and this clutch is perfect for that. you know what it's also perfect for? a last minute christmas gift. happy wednesday! {monica}

pictures from the road.

2011-12-19T11:07:00.001-06:00

{from the top-a normal taylor family car ride: mama drives while the boys sleep, the cutest knuckle dimples on earth, digg the champion road trip lap dog, bug at the base of the st. louis arch, bundled up family shots with the arch, beautiful midwest cities, carousel ride}

well hello there. we are back from a lovely nine days on the road. we were spoiled rotten by family, visited beautiful cities, chris and i snuck off on as many dates as we could, and ate enough southern food to make my pants feel a bit snug. this trip was just what we needed to gear up for all the changes we have ahead of us. i will update you all on life and changes to come when i am able to sit down and type more than ten sentences. until then i have lots of look of the day posts and a couple diys scheduled, so stay tuned for those. happy monday! {monica}

nine.

2011-12-13T06:40:00.000-06:00

it's hard to believe we have a nine month old. it's even harder to believe we have a three-quarters of the way to one year old. this little guy has been a complete joy for each and every day of his entire life. although nine months had some really scary moments, it also had some pretty darn amazing moments we will never forget. at the top of that list would be the fact that cohen has started to take steps. without showing even a single stitch of fear, he is has taken on walking with reckless abandonment. it's been hard for me to find the balance between letting him test his limits and wanting to wrap him from head to toe in bubble wrap, but we are figuring this walking thing out.

{video i took of his first steps last week. i'm so glad i was able to capture this moment so chris could see this milestone for himself when he got home from school. he was one happy daddy}

besides walking he is really becoming aware of his body: he's learning to wave, clap, and climb. he loves books. in fact, i swear he can say the word book (okay, it sounds more like "ouk"), but he says it every time he grabs a book. he still loves food, following us around the house, and new places.

happy nine months baby bug. love you to pieces.

happy tuesday! {monica}

a letter to my husband.

2011-12-09T06:29:00.017-06:00

chris, it's officially official. as of tomorrow you will be a graduate. project presented, finals passed, officially d.o.n.e. what you have been able to accomplish in the years since we met continues to baffle my mind. you've now earned two masters degrees, graduated with honors each time, taught college courses, worked countless hours at work, created a baby boy who couldn't look more like you, coached me through nearly two whole days of labor, travelled to china, moved our entire house cross country all by yourself, travelled all over the place on my random adventures, bought a fixer upper in a town you knew nothing about because you trusted my instincts, and so much more. i'm sure i'm forgetting a million other things, but you managed to do all these things while not forgetting to have some fun along the way.

i don't know how you did it, but you did. you really did it, and i couldn't be more proud to be your wife. if cohen could talk i'm sure he would say the same thing (only he'd say son instead of wife, and he'd probably add thanks dad for the shoulder rides, sweet new toys, and sneaking me cookies while mom isn't looking). congratulations babe, i can't wait to see what you think up next. now it's time to celebrate. my love forever and ever-monica

happy friday! {monica}

road tripping with a baby, our advice.

2011-12-08T07:38:00.001-06:00

we are headed out for another road trip this weekend. i'm incredibly thankful to be blessed with a husband who loves to hit the road as much as i do, and for a baby boy who travels really well in a car. we are headed off to southern indiana for a whopping nine days, and plan on making a bunch of stops along the way.

{watercolor via}

we travel to evansville every year for a big christmas soiree with my dad's side of the family. it's a long drive, and with an ever increasingly mobile nine month old, ten hours is an extremely long time to be in a car, so you have to be prepared for everything, including lots of stops along the way. because we hit the road often (cohen will have visited 15 states by the end of this trip), we have learned first hand about what to do and what not to do when travelling with a baby. here are a few things we have learned along the way.

one. plan ahead. i cannot stress this enough. you must plan ahead with a baby. at least a week before your departure, write a list of everything you need to pack. make plans ahead of time for keeping your baby on a some what consistent sleep schedule, snack times, meal times, emergency plans (hotels, roadside assistance, weather, etc), activities, sightseeing, and so on. everything must be planned. even planning for the unexpected should be planned. i know this sounds stressful, but believe me, being organized makes for a much smoother trip. here are a few of my favorite websites to help plan ahead. roadside america- this is one of my favorite road trip websites. it has thousands of easily accessible road side attractions. all you have to do is type in your route, and thousands of roadside attractions are listed in a map fashion, so you can easily see what is closest to your route. if you have to make a pit stop, you might as well see a famous site while you stop, right? bathroom diaries-i know. who knew there was even a website out there for such a thing, but there is, and i take full advantage of it. i will never forget the first road trip chris and i took with cohen, he was only six weeks old and we were driving to oregon from iowa (that's a long haul). we stopped at numerous places for diaper changes and many of them were not equipped with changing tables or clean areas to lay him down on, it got really frustrating. this website helps with all of that. you just type in your location, and the highest recommended bathroom pops up. sounds stupid, but it's really helpful. mom's minivan- especially helpful when your kids are a bit older, this site offers tons of free printables and activity ideas to make the road trip fun. chris and i even print out cheesy games like travel bingo, just in case we need a little something to do on long stretches of the drive.

two. pack smart. early on, we would take road trips and pretty much pack our entire nursery. the activity mat, bumbo, swing, vibrating chair, and everything else just in case. our poor little car was packed to the brim, occasionally we'd even bring our car top carrier, because we were packed so full. this got old really fast, and we learned quickly what we really needed and didn't need at all. i know it's hard, but try to only pack the necessities. also, make sure you have the things you need most right at hand so you don't have to make extra stops to dig in the trunk to find what you are looking for. keep snacks, toys, and other baby distractions right at hand.
three. make time for fun. road trips are all about seeing the country, so take time to eat at a great restaurant, explore a new city, take a swim in a near by lake, and try something you've always wanted to try. listen to an audio book, download songs or buy a new cd, buy your kiddo a couple new toys and give them out along the way, visit friends and family, try to be creative, the sky is the limit. if you make trips fun, your kiddos will likely want to take more of them. here are some fun stops we've made on recent road trips.

left-catching up with my life long friend ericka in chicago, right-tigers game in detroit with family

even the dogs need a break from the car. our dogs loved running on the oregon coast.

left-stopping for dutch letters in pella, ia. center-waterfront walk in milwaukee, wi. right-cohen on first base at the field of dreams in dyersville, iowa.

happy thursday! {monica}

winter diys.

2011-12-06T10:03:00.000-06:00

i've been on the prowl for some cozy winter diys. the kind of things that will make me want to curl up on the couch and snuggle with my guys with a warm cup o'somethin (preferably a latte) in hand. here are a few projects which fit just those criteria.

for those cold nights when you need an extra layer of warmth, leg warmers made from old sweaters (via)

for your fingers, cashmere mittens (pattern here)

for that warm cup o'somethin, a hand painted mug (tutorial here)

for the tights i can't seem to stop wearing (via)

now, all i have to do is find the time to try some of these out. i can guarantee that it won't be this week or the next. chris is in his final week of grad school guys. can you believe it? i'm over the moon excited to have my husband back again. this week will be ridiculously crazy for him, leaving me and little man to fend for ourselves. then next week we have a whole 9 days (yes, i said nine) of family vacation. i could cry with joy i'm so happy. if my posts are few and far between the next couple weeks this is the reason.

oh, and i finally caved and joined pinterest, which is where i found all of these lovely ideas. follow me here if you'd like.

happy tuesday! {monica}

look of the day. hair questions

2011-12-05T06:13:00.003-06:00

help! i need your advice. my hair is in desperate need of some tlc. i'm kind of embarrassed to admit this...but i haven't had my hair cut or colored since february (right before cohen was born) and as you can tell by my horrid roots, it's time to get my hair did. okay, it was time to get my hair did about 7 months ago, but that's beside the point.

{pants/necklace-target, shoes-payless, neon yellow tee-gap, sweater-gift (gap), jacket-thrifted}

so my questions are these.

color? what should i do? blonde, auburn or brunette? and cut? i really like my hair best above the shoulder, but not sure what to do with it? i need your help! any advice would be much appreciated.

happy monday{monica}

look of the day. heart-y har har.

2011-12-01T06:02:00.016-06:00

{skirt (it's actually a dress)/tights/necklace-target, boots-gift, belt-f21, cardigan/top-gap}

i've never been much of a girly girl. i like dirt, sports, beer, cheeseburgers, and power tools and i'm proud of it. yeah, i like clothes and fashion, but i'm usually not one frilly, sparkly, pink-y kinds of clothes. these heart tights are a very unusual choice for me, but i actually really like them. call it my attempt to embrace my inner girlie girl.

happy thursday! {monica}

diy: puff painted ball jars

2011-11-30T06:02:00.005-06:00

it's safe to say i have approximately fifty bazillion ball jars, this is only a rough estimate, no data has been officially collected. and because we have ball jars coming out of our ears, i'm always trying to think up easy ways to spruce them up a bit. so one night i was sitting around watching troop beverly hills, which on a completely unrelated side note is pretty much the greatest movie ever, when i decided give puff paint a try.

after they dried, i added some tea lights and voila...instant candle holders. not bad for a random, spur of the moment idea. they look really pretty at night twinkling on our mantle.

happy wednesday! {monica}

look of the day. hot pants

2011-11-29T07:05:00.009-06:00

{pants/top/necklace-target, jacket-gap, shoes-payless, poodle in desperate need of a haircut-heartland humane society}

remember this post? the one where i showed six outfits i wanted to copy? well this is my take on molly's look. i was able to stay pretty close to her look on the bottom, but it's way too cold here to go jacketless, so i added a jacket to keep cozy and warm. i'm really loving colored pants as of late. blue, grey, turquoise, i just can't get enough...so please bear with me while i go through this phase. this definitely won't be the last colored pants post you see.

happy tuesday! {monica}

thanksgiving for three.

2011-11-28T06:56:00.000-06:00

chris, cohen and i spent thanksgiving alone this year. just the three of us. i worked a bit friday, since i'll be taking nine days off in a couple weeks (more on this later) i needed to get some things done in preparation for our trip. so rather than drive seven hours (round trip) with an eight month old for a family meal, we decided to stay home and have cohen's first thanksgiving together. i was kind of sad about staying home by ourselves, so i came up with a few fun things for us to do while we celebrated, and you know what? it turned out to be one of my favorite thanksgivings so far. funny how that works?

we wore feather headbands

made a last minute table setting, that turned out pretty darn cute. we used ball jars, sticks with yarn pom poms, and pumpkins we had around the house.

of course we ate way too much food. i didn't want to omit any of our favorite dishes just because there were only three of us, so i went all out. we had roasted turkey breasts, green bean casserole, stuffing, roasted butternut squash, cranberry chutney, sauteed brussel sprouts, and pumpkin pie.

we made a thankful jar.

but, the thing i will remember most about this thanksgiving, is the fact that a little someone decided thanksgiving would be a great time to take his first step. i was too busy completely freaking about the fact that cohen took a step to even contemplate taking a picture, so i'm glad chris was the sane one in our relationship and snapped this picture. at 8 months and 11 days our baby boy took his first step. i'm still in awe of the whole thing.

as a working mom, one of the things i was most worried about was missing out on all of his "firsts". so watching him take his first step, was a bit more emotional than it probably should have been, but i couldn't help but be overly joyful when i witnessed his little leg take that first step. it's something i will forever be thankful for.

we also napped, took a long walk, watched hilarious thanksgiving episodes from friends, watched a bit of football, and sat in awe of our ever changing little boy. hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, i know we sure did.

happy monday! {monica}

on bread.

2011-11-23T07:47:00.005-06:00

weekend lunch

toasted french bread, shaved turkey, dill havarti, avocado, red bell pepper

yum.

have a great thanksgiving everyone. make sure to stop, look around, and recognize all the things you are thankful for. this will be our first thanksgiving as a family of three, and i'm incredibly thankful for that. i'll be back monday to tell you how we celebrated.

happy wednesday! {monica}

wrinkles and thoughts.

2011-11-22T07:05:00.005-06:00

oh, lovely wrinkles around my eyes, where did you come from? you appeared somehow overnight, and i don't feel quite prepared for your arrival. in fact, i don't feel prepared at all. i mean really, wrinkles? i'm too young for wrinkles. right? you are forcing me to relive my father's words as he pointed to his own wrinkles, "you just wait until you have children. you'll see! when you have children, wrinkles come out of nowhere."

his words have now seemingly come back to haunt me.

cohen is quite possibly the greatest thing on earth. he's seems filled to the brim with an abundance of joy and the carefree spirit i prayed he would have. though my love for him is never ending, i find myself both consciously and subconsciously worrying about every little bit of his existence.

okay, first time mothers (or anyone else with sound advice), please tell me... is this normal? is it normal to obsess about your child's well being day and night? is it normal wonder if you are doing the right thing? raising them in the right way? and setting a good example? sometimes, i feel like i'm the only one who feels this way.

and for all you beauty experts...i need wrinkle cream advice.

happy tuesday! {monica}

eight.

2011-11-16T07:24:00.018-06:00

mini-chris (it's scary how much they look alike isn't it?) is officially eight months old. i can't believe it my baby boy is only 4 months away from turning one. it seems like just yesterday i was walking into the hospital breathing through contractions (birth story here).

eight months is my favorite age so far. he's completely full of personality these days. he loves noises, in fact i'm shocked how well he does in noisy places. he really loves people too, i don't think there is a person he's met that he doesn't like. we've been waiting for him to show signs of separation anxiety, but he's yet to show any signs remotely close to it. don't get me wrong, he loves chris and i, and smiles from ear to ear every time he sees us, but he really seems to thrive in the hustle and bustle of social gatherings. the funniest thing about this age is his babbling. oh my gosh, i get side aches laughing at his noises. he is constantly trying to copy what chris and i say. we say hi, he says huh. it's too cute.

he's also extremely mobile now. he climbs on everything and isn't afraid of anything, in fact, if he tries to climb something and falls, he gets right back up and tries it again. it scares me to death. he is 100% boy for sure.

his stats

weight-21lbs, i was really worried his lack of weight gain when we took him in last week for his cold, but the doctor assured me this was normal due to how active and mobile he is now.

teeth-seven, almost doubling his tooth count from last month. holy cow.

favorite things-people, trying to walk, being tickled, forts, playing tug of war with our dog bolt, giving himself kisses in the mirror and all types of food.

least favorite things-being sick (poor guy was sick for two weeks), having his nose wiped, the word "no", and sleeping on his back.

words-getting really close to saying hi consistently

happy eight months baby bug. we love you to pieces!

happy wednesday! {monica}

oh, and the hoodie cohen's wearing was one of my autumn craft goals. you can't really see the details in this photo, but the blue spikes were hand stitched with orange embroidery thread, and made from reptile print felt. go here for the super simple (and fun) tutorial.

look of the day. wedding black

2011-11-15T07:55:00.001-06:00

when i get dressed up for events, i tend to dress against the norm. i wouldn't say it's a conscious effort to dress this way, but some how it just happens. for example: this is what i wore to kerry and rebekah's wedding over the weekend. while most people at the event wore bright, beautiful, cheery colors, i wore lots of black, neon yellow, and leopard with biker-esque boots. probably not the first thing you think of when you think wedding, right?

{boots-gift, tights/skirt/necklace-target, yellow tee-gap, black top-tj maxx, belt-f21, cardigan/bangles-gift}

and because he looked so darn cute, here is what cohen wore.

{socks-trumpette, everything else-thrifted/garage sales}

happy tuesday! {monica}

wedding weekend.

2011-11-14T08:54:00.006-06:00

for months now i've been mentioning all the little projects (here and here) i've been helping with for my friend rebekah's wedding, and this weekend it was fun to see every one's hard work all put together. rebekah and kerry's wedding could not have turned out more beautiful, i hope it was everything she dreamed of.

here are some snippets of the final preparations, little details, and everything else i could snap on my camera phone. enjoy.

julia and i (and kristin who's snapping the picture) had a last minute, late night boutonniere making session. for our first time making boutonnieres i think they turned out pretty great, and the best part about working late at night is that we got to wear our pajamas while crafting.

left. their gift (i love love love how the gift wrap turned out. normally, i'm strictly a brown paper wrapping kind of gal, but i loved this vintage looking wrapping paper i found a few years ago) right. the desserts i made for the wedding..ball jars filled with strawberry shortcake and vintage fabric bows. super simple.

by far the prettiest part of the wedding (besides rebekah) was the ceiling. it took 20 people to cut out all of the pennants, and hours upon hours of sewing. the ceiling was stunning.

left. the centerpieces(handmade pinwheels, terrariums, yarn wrapped jars). right. bekah and cohen

she was stunning.

other details not pictured.

+ a giant table of board games for guests to play after dinner

+ paper straws to sip strawberry lemonade

+ kerry pouncing on rebekah for their first kiss. it was pretty darn cute.

hope everyone had a great weekend.

happy monday! {monica}

on bread.

2011-11-11T07:56:00.005-06:00

breakfast

toasted french bread, homemade pesto, and fried egg.

(with a big cup of stumptown coffee on the side)

have a great weekend friends. ours will be spent helping with a friend's wedding, working on a logo design project (me), working on a final grad project (chris), and hopefully crafting a bit. yay.

happy friday! {monica}

look of the day. blue jeans.

2011-11-10T07:51:00.002-06:00

when i met chris six-ish years ago he was finishing up his degree at oregon state. after his bachelor's degree he decided to go on to grad school, then after grad school he decided go on to more grad school (are you sensing a trend here?). although this last term has been his most difficult, i've never seen anyone love school like he does. he truly loves to learn. it's going to be strange when it's all done. for the entirety of our relationship, there has always been a school schedule to juggle.

last week, chris met with his advisor who told him he's officially been approved for graduation in december. 30 days from now chris will be done with school. final project presented, degree in hand, and homework free forever. i know i'm biased...but i'm pretty sure his graduation should be a national holiday. i'm ready to have my husband all to myself (ok, i'll share him with cohen too) without any distractions. i get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it.

me {button up/jeans-target, cardigan/ring/belt-thrifted, boots-gift}

cohen{everything-thrifted}

happy thursday! {monica}

look of the day. fall shorts

2011-11-09T07:22:00.003-06:00

i was feeling pretty great about this outfit when i wore it, but when i look at these pictures, i realize the proportions are really wrong on top. from the shorts down, i'm happy, but this top is another story. i really dislike how the shoulders are way too wide, and the sleeve doesn't start until 1/2 way down my bicep. it kinda makes me look like i have line backer shoulders. does this ever happen to you guys? ever wear something you feel great in, but then realize you don't look as great as you feel? uggh, i hate it when this happens.

{top-gift, necklace-f21, shorts-gap, tights-target, boots-gift, wedding ring-custom made by a friend}

happy wednesday! {monica}

look of the day. outhouse art?

2011-11-08T11:00:00.001-06:00

meet my grandpa's outhouse. it sits at the south entrance of his large property and for years the bikers, hikers, cross-country skiers, and fisherman have used this entrance as it has easy lake access. as far as outhouses go, it's a pretty fancy one. two summers ago we painted it barn red and white, this summer he is adding a porch with benches for people to rest, my grandma puts fresh flowers inside on occasion, but next summer he has another grand plan...he's asked me to create a piece of art for the structure. a welcome piece for all to enjoy. sounds kinda strange i know, but my grandpa has a strange sense of humor. all he mentioned was he wants it to have a forest theme???

so i ask you this...what type of art does this barn red outhouse need?

{pants-gap, top-tj maxx, cardigan-gift, necklace-f21, boots-gift}

on a completely unrelated side note: how awesome is this poodle cardigan chris found for me? every time i wear it i think of my two little pups and grin from ear to ear.

have a great day and don't forget to send your outhouse art ideas my way.

happy tuesday! {monica}

fourth anniversary snippets.

2011-11-04T08:59:00.012-05:00

take-out from our favorite place

homemade cards with lovely words

candlelit dinner for two

have a wonderful weekend.

happy friday! {monica}

look of the day. plaid at sunset

2011-11-03T08:15:00.013-05:00

confessions II

one. this is what i wore on our road trip friday evening. i wasn't exactly planning to do a look of the day post, but the sunset was so beautiful, i made chris stop and snap some photos. what you can't see is the fact that it was 30 degrees and windy (hence my massive goosebumps in the last shot).

two. if you are a new follower, i promise i have other shoes besides these boots. think i've worn them almost every day since chris bought them, i am obsessed.

three. today is our anniversary. in four short years we've bought two homes, survived grad school, moved 2000 miles from everything familiar, taken too many road trips to count, and created the most amazing little boy on planet earth. we make a pretty great team babe. i love you.

{top-birthday gift, leggings-target, boots-birthday gift, bracelets-homemade}

tonight we will be celebrating our anniversary our favorite way.. take-out by candlelight, homemade cards, and snuggling with the greatest 7 month old we know.

happy thurday! {monica}

ombre pretzels.

2011-11-02T08:26:00.001-05:00

i realize making chocolate covered pretzels is neither crafting nor all that difficult, but it was something i really wanted to test out this fall so i included it in my autumn craft goals anyway (it's my blog, so i can make the rules, right?). in an effort to make my first batch of pretzels a bit more special than the usual white, i knew i wanted to add a bit of color in some way. using my beloved new wilton food coloring set (yes, i said beloved), i decided on ombre pretzels...graduating the colors from light to dark.

starting with a big bowl of melted white chocolate, i would add a bit more food coloring every 20 pretzels or so. the white chocolate started with a light pinkish-peach and ended with a lovely shade of purple.

in the end we were left with a big bowl of beautiful pretzels almost to pretty to eat. almost.

happy wednesday! {monica}

thrifing finds: am i sensing a trend here?

2011-11-01T08:34:00.006-05:00

for some odd reason i can't stop buying native american-esuque clothing? maybe it's my native american roots calling? don't let this blonde hair fool you, there is blackfoot indian inside this lady. whatever it is, i keep finding little native american prints/bags on my thrift store excursions.

from top to bottom {christopher & banks sweater (seen here)-$2.99, men's sweater-$1.99, montgomery ward vest-.$1.99, abercrombie bag-.99 cents, leather shoulder bag-.99c cents}

what are you finding at thrift stores these days? it's officially november, which means winter is right around the corner, so i hope you are finding lots of warm and cozy things.

happy tuesday! {monica}

uncertainty

2011-10-28T09:25:00.003-05:00

{via}

One thing I wholeheartedly admit I struggle with is uncertainty. I turn into a nervous, emotional train wreck when I feel uncertain and right now there is a lot of uncertainty in our lives. I find myself repeating Isaiah 41:10 over and over, praying for a sense of peace with the impending decisions to come. Chris will be graduating in about six weeks now, but with this highly anticipated achievement comes a heap of questions we soon need to find answers for. Where will he work? Will we have to move? If we move, should we list our house now (knowing winter is coming and our house will be buried in 3 feet of snow) or wait until the season passes? And so on. And so on. I feel sad about the possibility of leaving a city that finally started to feel like home. Sad about selling the place we brought Cohen home to, where he first laughed, crawled, and made our days infinitely more exciting. Yet, on the other hand, I feel a bit of excitement about the possibilities that come with a move. About having a new place to make memories in, a new city to explore, and for Chris to have the career he has work 12 long years for. I keep thinking about one of the many things that made me fall in love with Chris, one of those being the fact that I could look down the road 5 years and not know where we would be. I liked the sense of adventure he brought out in me. It’s funny that what made me fall in love with my husband, is the thing I struggle with myself? Sometimes the Lord really does have a sense of humor {whether i like it or not}. He knows what I truly “need”, which isn’t always what I think i "need".

I'll be sure to keep you updated on the decisions to come, hang on it could be a bumpy ride.

happy friday! {monica}

seven.

2011-10-27T08:25:00.001-05:00

when it comes to documenting cohen's monthly milestones, i have failed majorly. if keeping track of his milestones were a class assignment, the teacher would have got out her/his giant rubber stamp and placed a big fat "f" on the top of my mom card right around month four. it's not that i don't notice his monumental transformations or day to day happenings, it's just i forget to write down when they happen. i vow right here and right now to get better at this.

these photos are a perfect representative of cohen at the seven month mark. he was a very early crawler {about five and a half months to be more exact}, but it wasn't until the seven month mark that he truly became increasingly mobile. like barricading the entire house mobile. like pulling himself up on everything mobile. like being able to get into the bathtub by himself mobile {which also happens to be the scariest thing ever}. around seven months he also became adorably inquisitive. when he gets his hand on a new bauble {like chris' mouse for his computer in the photos above} he looks over the "new toy" with evident inquisition. he tilts his head from side to side, flips it over, stretches out the cord, and then gives chris and i the, "what is this thing?" look. it's the cutest.thing.ever.

here's all of his stats, facts, and things only my parents/sister/family will care to read:

height/weight: not sure, at his 6 month appointment he was 27"/20.8lbs.

teeth: four

favorite things: attention, his parents, anything on wheels, food, trying to feed himself, animal noises, watching someone blow bubbles with their gum, being tickled, and riding in the shopping cart.

talking: real words, no...baby words, lots

happy thursday! {monica}

thrifting finds. designer baby clothes

2011-10-26T11:17:00.005-05:00

i've been mentioning for weeks now that i would share some of the awesome designer children's clothing we have picked up at thrift stores/garage sales recently, and i'm finally getting around to sharing our great finds with you. as i said, in this post, chris and i are avid thrift store junkies when it comes to clothing. especially when it comes to children's clothing, because we have realized quickly that kids go through clothing very quickly. whether it's making a mess on clothes or just plain growing out of them, believe me when i say...you don't need brand new designer clothing for your kids. don't get me wrong, we occasionally buy new, but normally it's because it's on clearance {wow, that makes us sound cheap, but it's true}.

i think i would be more tempted to buy new clothes, if i didn't now all the great deals you can find if you take the little bit of extra time to hit a garage sale instead of the mall. you wouldn't believe what you can find at thrift stores/garage sales if you peruse what they have to offer. no seriously. we have saved hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars shopping second hand. don't believe me? here a few highlights from our recent finds, you may be surprised by how much we really did save.

left-emu children's size 4 boots we purchased for $1.99

{couldn't find a similar style online but here is a cute pair for $49}

right-red salt water sandals children's size 6 we purchased for $2.99.

{found here for $31.95}

left - children's size 6 gap sleepwear we purchased for .50 cents

{similar pair found here for $24.95}

center - 2 pairs of gap herringbone pants we purchased for .50 cents each

{similar pair found here for $17.99}

2 striped tops we purchased for .25 cents each

{similar sweater here for $41.60}

right-hanna andersson (which happens to be my absolute favorite children's clothing store) stripped long johns children's size 6 we purchased for .25 cents

{similar set here for $28}

left - gap sweater size 24 months we purchased for $1.99
{similar sweater found here for $39.95}

right - ralph lauren vest size 18 months we purchased for .25 cents

{similar one found here for a whopping $85}

can you believe how much we saved? i know i didn't find exact replica's of everything but if my calculations are correct we saved roughly $325.00!! crazy isn't it?

happy wednesday! {monica}

autumn craft #3 complete

2011-10-25T11:06:00.001-05:00

it's been almost a month since i displayed my autumn craft goals for all the world to see (or at least those of you who read this blog). i may not have mentioned this when i wrote my original post, but part of my decision to list these goals to all of you, was to keep me accountable for my lack of crafty follow through as of late....and i'm happy to report this rational seems to have worked because i'm halfway through my eight crafty goals. yay.

here's the newest edition to our fall mantel. thanks a beautiful mess for another super simple tutorial.

normally i'm not one to decorate the house seasonally (except for christmas when i go a bit over the top), but now that there is a kiddo in our house, chris and i find ourselves getting much more excited about holidays. besides our new leaf garland, this year's fall decor includes lots and lots of pumpkins and gourds.

what is your favorite holiday to decorate for?

happy tuesday! {monica}

i've decided...

2011-10-20T09:43:00.000-05:00

i've decided sweden has the most beautiful people on earth. no, seriously. every single person on stockholm streetstyle (i am completely obsessed with this website by the way) looks like they stepped straight off the pages of a fashion magazine.

don't you agree? absolutely beautiful people.

{all images found in archives here}

happy thursday! {monica}

i'm gonna copy these looks

2011-10-19T14:12:00.004-05:00

at times i feel like having this blog makes my closet look a bit limited, as i often find myself scouring our closet thinking i have nothing to wear. because i chronicle what i wear on this little ol' blog (although i have been seriously slacking on look of the day posts), sometimes i feel pressure to never wear the same thing twice?! is that weird? maybe it is, but it's how i feel at times. does anyone else feel this way? in no way am i blaming my blog for feeling this way, it is something i've always struggled with (blog or no blog). when i look at some of my favorite style blogs and realize, it's all a matter of perspective. given another person's perspective, i really do have things to wear, in fact, i have lots of things to wear. with a little inspiration from my fellow bloggers, the styles are endless.

take these looks for example. i have all of these pieces; they may be different colors, cuts, or patterns, but i have them all. in fact i think most all of us do. i just would never think of styling them in these ways.

{via, via, via}

or these

{via, via, via}

in fact, i love these so much i just may have to copy these (or steal) and make them my own.

what do you do to reinvent your wardrobe? i'd love to hear advice and tips on making the most of what i have.

happy wednesday! {monica}

family time.

2011-10-14T06:10:00.001-05:00

{via}

we've been in davenport the past couple days soaking up as many seconds with my family as possible. the people i love the most are all gathered here together in little davenport, iowa celebrating my grandpa's extraordinary life. tomorrow is his 80th birthday party, so today will be dedicated to setting up for his shin-dig. we can't wait to see his face when he sees everyone there.

have a great weekend!

happy friday! {monica}

puzzles, books, and poodles oh, my!

2011-10-12T06:44:00.002-05:00

growing up, my mom kept everything my sister and i brought home. and by everything...i mean EVERYTHING! our drawings, paintings, sunday school projects, writing assignments, rocks, toys, clothes, etc. in fact, her hoarding has been a running joke in our family for years. well, a few months ago, my mom finally decided to begin purging some of these "collections," as she calls them.

so when chris and i ventured back to oregon this summer (pictures from our trip here and here), my mom had tons of old toys and books she wanted my sister and i to go through to see if there was anything we wanted to keep. reluctantly we started delving into the storage bins, preparing ourselves for having to sort through 900 million childhood "masterpieces", but what we found were boxes full of fantastic memories. postcards from all the places we travelled, our collection of carebears (my grandma bought my sister and i carebears every year for christmas), our favorite books, hilarious stories we used to write, dolls, games, and so much more. for the first time i was actually happy my mom kept everything. my sister and i sat on the floor in my parents guest room for hours looking though everything, it was such a fun evening.

now that i'm a mom, i find myself collecting all of cohen's "firsts". we have a box of things we've been "collecting" over his first year, and i'm sure we will continue to amass an ridiculously doting amount of storage bins in the years to come. kinda like my mom did. kinda like what i made fun of my mom for doing.

here are some of our favorite books and puzzles we have now passed down to cohen. i love watching his eyes light up just as ours did 25ish years ago when he opens the pages of these classics. we have a ton more stuff saved in the basement we will give him as he grows up, but for now these are perfect.

thanks mom for not listening to our constant jokes about all you saved. as always you were right...and probably always will be.

happy wednesday! {monica}

when grandpa's come to town

2011-10-10T09:14:00.001-05:00

when grandpa's come to town they spoil their only grandchild rotten. they give lots of shoulder rides, feed their grandson food that their mother would never give them (aka.. spoonfuls of gravy), take them to the pumpkin patch and buy their ONE grandchild FOUR pumpkins, purchase the most expensive big-boy car seat at babies-r-us because the salesman really worked the safety features ploy, and babysit while mommy's are at work.

it's pretty dang great to have my dad here again. there is something about having my parents around that makes me feel like i'm 10 years old again.

my parents are both actually here (in iowa) for a whole 9 days, but my mom's over in davenport helping my grandparents finalize all of the party plans for my grandpa's pending 80th birthday bash. we'll be driving over to meet up my my mom and grandparents on wednesday, my cousins/aunts/uncles will be flying/driving in throughout the week, and then my sister and brother-in-law are flying in on friday. i can't wait to see everyone. it's a rarity to have my entire family together in the same place at once (we are spread out all over the country), so i have to pinch myself to believe it's true.

i just hope the next couple days fly by because i'm ready for a vacation with my family.

happy monday! {monica}

killer mojitos

2011-10-05T06:05:00.029-05:00

nothing screams warm friday evening like a killer mojito. last friday, after a long work week, chris and i whipped up a batch of these mint-y, citrus-y, icy cocktails. we basked in the last few rays warm sunshine and sipped away while cohen napped. it was simply lovely.

ingredients

Ice, 6 ounces light rum, 12 mint sprigs or spearmint (8 roughly broken apart), 6 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 4 tablespoons sugar, Club soda, 4 slices lime

directions

Place ice in beverage shaker (we used a mason jar) then add in the rum, 8 broken up mint sprigs, lime juice and sugar. Shake well and serve over ice in a high ball glass. Top off each glass with a splash of club soda.
Garnish each with a slice of lime and a sprig of mint.

happy wednesday! {monica}

the sewing projects are almost done.

2011-10-04T06:41:00.006-05:00

remember my sewing to-do list for the past couple weekends? well i am happy to say, i was able to get nearly ALL of it completed with the help of chris, who was on daddy duty for the past couple saturday's. while the boys were out grocery shopping, bonding and picking up odds and ends, i was home crossing off my to-do list (and drinking lots of coffee).

this is what my list looks like as of today...

~~-hem kaylee's jeans~~
~~-fix a broken zipper on tess' fleece~~

-~~finish pennants for rebekah's wedding~~ (didn't she choose pretty fabric?)

-make seam adjustments to 5 (now 6) thrift store dresses (more on this later)..(i didn't get them finished, but i did get them pinned and ready for the sewing machine).

-~~patch work on a couple cardigan holes/rips.~~

- ~~finish~~ ~~burp cloths~~ ~~for baby showers.~~

all that's left to do is finish my thrift store dresses. can i get an amen?

i finally feel like chris and i have been able to establish a bit of a weekend routine, leaving me some time for myself. i know this may sound a bit selfish, but i am adamant about the fact that every mom needs "mama time"! being able to do something creative lets me unwind, rejuvenate, and recharge and makes a huge difference in my weekly outlook. this "mama time" makes me a better mom, wife, and person. it's funny how just a few minutes to myself really does make a difference.

what do you do do recharge yourself?

happy tuesday! {monica}

look of the day, baby! blue and white stripes

2011-10-03T06:52:00.004-05:00

i didn't realize cohen and i were wearing semi-matching outfits until chris was getting ready and said, "do i have to wear blue and white stripes today too?" i had to giggle, because we did look pretty coordinated.

me: sunglasses/tank/flats-target, stiped shirt-f21, pants-j.crew, earrings- h &m, ring-vintage
cohen: stripped tee-thrifted, white shirt/pants-gifted, socks-trumpette

happy monday! {monica}

recipe...eggplant salad country-style.

2011-09-29T07:47:00.007-05:00

let's face it...eggplant isn't exactly the greatest vegetable. it's bland, mushy, and kinda boring (okay, really boring if i'm being honest). so when my aunt sent me this recipe for eggplant salad country-style from the cookbook olive and the caper: adventures in greek cooking, i was excited to try it.

maybe this would be the recipe to make me actually enjoy eggplant?

well, let me tell you, this recipe is awesome! so good, i am almost positive i will be buying this cookbook over the weekend. (see some book reviews here and here).

the taste is very mediterranean, similar to tabbouleh (although chris for some reason thought it tasted like guacamole?). if you like greek food, you will love this. also, it's extremely diet friendly. it's vegan, vegetarian, low carb, low sugar, low calorie, and gluten free. yay for healthy yummy things!

happy thursday! {monica}

autumn craft goals.

2011-09-26T06:42:00.001-05:00

nothing like seeing a few of your projects pinned on people's pinterest boards to re-ignight the crafting desire. yep that's right. i was scrolling through some fall diy projects on pinterest this morning, and what did i see? a few of my projects...what the? i couldn't believe it! it seriously made my day! this was just what i needed to see my huge list of crafty projects through fruition. here's what i'll be tackling after my sewing projects are complete.

one. two. three. four.

five. six. seven. eight.

let the projects begin!

happy monday! {monica}

national sewing month.

2011-09-22T06:00:00.008-05:00

i'm doing my best to contribute to national sewing month (who knew, there was actually a month devoted to sewing). this weekend chris volunteered to take baby bug to des moines to have a bit of man time, knowing i had a heap of sewing projects to complete. by heap i mean...

-hemming kaylee's jeans
-fixing a broken zipper on tess' fleece
-finishing the pennants below for rebekah's wedding (see details from craft party i threw to cut all 500 pennants here)

-make some seam adjustments to 5 thrift store dresses (more on this later)

-patch work on a couple cardigan holes/rips.

- finish burp cloths for a couple baby showers.

now, if only i could complete these all on saturday morning!

wish me luck!

happy thursday! {monica}

look of the day. embarrassing mom-moment

2011-09-21T06:53:00.026-05:00

what i'm about to say falls into the "too much information category", so feel free to just bypass this entire post completely. it's a humiliating story, but it happened. it actually happened.

cohen and i were out and about hitting up a few thrift stores over the weekend. chris was in boston for a school trip, and if he were here none of this would have ever happened (yes, babe...i blame you for this).

so there we were in the car travelling to our last destination when i felt the sudden urge to pee. pre-baby, i could have held this urge for hours, but, post baby? not so much. i knew there wasn't much time and i needed to find a restroom asap. since we were only a few blocks away from the store, i decided to hold it (a decision i would soon regret), praying there would be a public bathroom i could use. as i drove those few last blocks, getting stopped by every single stinking red traffic light, the urge was getting so bad, i honestly contemplated using one of cohen's diapers to pee in (not the best thought, and no! i didn't follow through with it).

finally, i got to the store, jumped out of the car, loaded baby bug in his stroller and power walked inside. as soon as i walked in, i saw the restroom sign, thanked the lord for answering my prayer, and headed for the bathroom. once inside, i bolted for the only handicapped stall i could fit the stroller in and what did i find? the most disgusting (too disgusting to describe) toilet i had ever laid eyes on. let's just say, by the looks of it, it probably hadn't been cleaned in 20 years.

"crap," i thought (no pun intended), what am i going to do now? there's no way i was going to leave cohen in the bathroom unattended. not only was i afraid he would touch something, we were also in a seedy part of town. so i made the decision (hey, i was desperate), to use the restroom with the door open so i could keep my eye on the little guy.

after covering the seat with what i can only assume was 13 layers of toilet paper, i sat down to finally use the restroom....and this is when it happened....the MOST embarrassing thing EVER. i was mid urination when someone came walking into the bathroom. there i was on the toilet, door wide open, and a stranger was walking toward us. with cohen in the walkway, i was hoping the mystery person would use one of the first stalls and not make it to us, but that i soon realized this was wishful thinking. as the mystery person came closer, i kept thinking, "i'm a terrible mother and this person is going to see me with my pants down."

my idea of barricading my open stall with my child completely backfired, because next thing i know, a little old woman's face peeking in my stall.

"is this your son?" she asked
me, "yep" (trying to keep my answers short...hoping she would leave quickly)
old woman, "well isn't he cute"
me, "yep"
old woman, "well isn't he happy?"
[insert cohen laughing and smiling. apparently he thought this was a good time to charm this new person]
me, "uh-huh" (since yep didn't work)

by now, i'm all done and ready to get out of the bathroom as soon as possible, but there is no way i'm going to stand up (and show my business) with a stranger talking to me. this was humiliating enough on its own. i mean who does this lady think she is, and how does she not realize how awkward this is? she continues on and on, asking me what felt like 647 questions, completely unphased by the fact that i'm sitting on a toilet.

that's when i got an idea. since she obviously wasn't going to move (or stop talking) on her own, maybe i could move her myself? so that's what i did. using my right foot (which barely reached cohen's stroller), i started rolling his stroller back towards the door. inch by inch, i backed the elderly woman up to where she couldn't see me and i couldn't see her. she was un-phased! still gabbing without even noticing.

as soon as she was out of sight i got up, cleaned up, and pulled my pants up; still in disbelief about what just happened. i felt like i was in a movie. i don't even remember how i made it out of the bathroom, i was so utterly uncomfortable with what just happened, my departure was a blur.

so there you have it, my most uncomfortable mom-moment to date.

button up-f21, tee-target, jeans-gap, shoes-target

{these photos were taken at the previous disgusting thrift store bathroom (chris was gone so sorry about the bad cell phone pics with fluorescent light)...little did i know what would happen in the next one}

happy wednesday! {monica}

thrifting finds. afghans and dresses.

2011-09-20T06:20:00.004-05:00

we pretty much hit the thrift store jackpot over the weekend. maybe cohen's my lucky charm? i got a gigantic mound of lovely things. here is part one of our finds (the other part to come)...

we have been on the hunt for handmade afghans for a while now. i knew what i wanted, but i didn't want to spend a lot to get them, so i waited. i waited and i waited, hoping to find them at a thrift store for a decent price. after a few months of looking i finally hit the jackpot and found these two beauties for $1.99 a piece. can you say, cha ching? of course i was completely freaked out about the possibility of bed bugs, so i did what any irrational mother would do, and quarantined the blankets for 3 days inspecting them on a daily basis, then washed and dried them at a super high temperature three times. i can now say they are bed bug free.

aren't they great? i just love all the colors.

we also found, these fun dresses.
the blue dress will need a couple modifications, but i plan to get those completed over the upcoming weekend.
the other dress was an awesome steal. it's a brand new forever 21 dress that i swear i remember spotting on their website last month! not only was it brand new, with the $24.99 price tag still on it, but i was able to buy it for $1.49 at salvation army. crazy huh?

don't you just love a good deal?
happy tuesday! {monica}

stay tuned for tomorrow's post where i spill my guts about the most embarassing thing ever!

weekending. monster hat.

2011-09-19T10:35:00.001-05:00

i cannot tell you how happy i am that it's monday! don't get me wrong, i loved every second of having baby bug to myself for the past five days, but we really miss chris around these parts! i mean REALLY miss him!

rather than wallowing in our sorrows, cohen and i did manage to get out and have a little fun on our own while daddy was playing on the east coast. we went on our usual morning coffee dates, did a bit of thrift store perusing (more on this later), made a big pot of my favorite soup , alex stopped by for a chat and to pick up a pair of kicks for a baby shower, oh, and cohen picked out his first accessory all by himself. that's right, i'm teaching him young. i held out a monster hat and a raccoon hat, and he went straight for the moster, it was the cutest thing.

and speaking of cute, how cute is he in his little hat? he wore it all night long!

how was your weekend?

happy monday! {monica}

prayers needed.

2011-09-16T09:43:00.001-05:00

i don't normally write about my faith or blog requesting prayer requests. i created this blog as my creative outlet, a place for me to talk about clothes, our growing family and the endless diy projects chris and i have amassed. that being said, today i am asking for prayers.

a high school friend of mine hallie, has a one-year-old daughter allesandra, who suddenly suffered from heart failure last week. hallie is a wife and mother of two other small children (one of them being just a couple weeks old). her daughter has recently been moved to another hospital (at stanford) and doctor's are still looking for answers, but it looks as though little allesandra is going to need a heart-transplant.

please be praying for hallie, allesandra, allesandra's doctors and the rest of their family. prayers for a donor heart to be found quickly (which in hallie's words would be a "miracle"), prayers for peace of mind, for the doctor's to find answers as to why this is happening, and for allesandra's pain to be comforted.

life is fragile and can be unexpectedly changed in an instance, so please take some time today to look around you; look at all of the people in your life and be appreciative no matter the circumstance.

thanks.

recipe. blender gazpacho

2011-09-16T07:01:00.010-05:00

in an effort to savor the last few days of summer we made blender gazpacho for dinner. this recipe just screams summer to me! it's quick, easy, there is no cooking required, and it's a great way to use up our never ending surplus of summer produce. oh, and did i mention there are less than 100 calories per serving?

{recipe}

we topped ours with citantro and a dash of hot sauce.

happy friday! {monica}

a night of crafting.

2011-09-15T06:15:00.007-05:00

monday night i hosted a little party. an evening of wedding crafting for my friend rebekah, to be more precise. she's an amazingly creative bride-to-be with a bunch of diy projects to complete before her november nuptuals. in an effort to get a jump start on her to-do list, a bunch of her friends and family got together at our place for a night of gabbing, noshing, and crafting. here are a couple of fun little details i created for the party (yes, finally i got crafty again).

details {top left-glass reusable straws, top right-our project for the evening...cutting 500 pennants, center-leftover cupcakes, bottom left-details from the snack table, bottom right-various garland}

what a fun night!

happy thursday! {monica}

look of the day. jump jump.

2011-09-13T07:24:00.010-05:00

we may have gotten a tad bit crazy for this post. hey it was 7am, and it was either pump up the energy or fall back asleep...so please enjoy my sweet jumping skills.

leggings/tee-american apparel, everything else-thrifted

happy tuesday! {monica}

weekending. road trip to wisconsin

2011-09-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

whew, what a great weekend! we travelled 800+ miles in 3 days and had the best time with our friends. rather than bore you with the tragic story of our poor beavers getting trampled by the badgers, the sentimental story about watching my baby boy (who will be six months tomorrow) crawl around on the field of dreams, or a repeated story about how crazy we are to jam so many things into every single trip we take...i'll just show you some snippets from the weekend.

all smiles before the beaver game

sites from milwaukee, what a beautiful city.

brewers game

early morning on the lake at my grandparent's cabin

madison, wi

little man at the field of dreams.

chris and his friend adam (who flew out for the game).

happy monday! {monica}

off to wisconsin we go.

2011-09-08T08:10:00.003-05:00

We picked up Adam this morning from the airport, we’re picking up Imelda this afternoon, then the five of us are off on our
fun filled weekend in Wisconsin.

{via}

Our trip will include this game (Go Beavs!!), this game, a pit stop here, here, maybe here, ....oh and lots of eating and laughing too.

happy thursday! {monica}

weekending. labor day sniffles.

2011-09-02T10:36:00.000-05:00

i wish i could report all the fabulous things we did over our three day weekend, but sadly our weekend was anything but fabulous. we spent the majority of the weekend blowing our noses, sipping tea, coughing, sniffling, and every other nasty thing that comes with all three of us having a cold. it never fails, every single september when the seasons start to change our house gets hit with a nasty cold, and this year was no different.

on the bright side, we did manage to do some planning for my grandpa's 80 birthday in october and take a quick trip to the park where baby bug took his first ride down the slide. here's his joyous pre-slide smile...

which is in stark contrast to his, post-slide "i'm not so sure about this?" face. how cute is this? kuddos to my hubby for snapping these on his camera phone, they are such great shots.

happy tuesday! {monica}

nursery jealousy.

2011-09-02T10:07:00.001-05:00

one of my favorite design blogs is 6th street design school. not only is she a fabulous designer herself, but she also has an incredible ability to find others with inspiring rooms, homes and ideas. her post today featured a native american themed nursery from the coterie blog and it left me with an extreme case of nursery envy. normally i am not one for "themed" rooms, but this nursery is an exception.

click here for a full room tour and before and after pictures.

have a great weekend!

happy friday! {monica}

are we nuts? i think YES!

2011-08-31T07:25:00.003-05:00

in an effort to forewarn all of you...the next three weeks will be pure crazy around our house, hence there is a large possibility my posts could be few and far between. on top of chris right-smack-dab in the middle of his hardest term EVER, and me right-smack-dab in my busiest time at work, we have decided to squeeze three trips into the next three weeks. are we nuts or what? baby bug sure has crossed lots of state lines in his 5 1/2 months of life (9 states to be exact)....but he's about to cross off a few more.

our trip schedule is as follows...
september 2-5th visiting family in eastern iowa
september 9-11th madison, wisconsin for the oregon state v wisconsin fb game.
september 14th-19th boston, massachusettes for chris' school.

{via}

i think it's safe to say we'll be living out of suitcases for the next few weeks, but we are super excited about seeing lots of new places! taking any trips with your kiddos in the near future? if so here are a few of my favorite helpful resources...

-a checklist for travelling with baby.

-motoring without meltdowns.

-want to see unique sites while taking pit stops to change diapers?

-need to find the cleanest bathroom around?

-roadtrip tips

happy wednesday! {monica}

sometimes you spend your weekend eating.

2011-08-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

Ever have a weekend that revolves around food? This was one of those weekends for us. If we weren’t eating, we were cooking. If we weren’t cooking, we were snacking. Chris unknowingly became my recipe test dummy Saturday and Sunday as I decided to try a new recipe for each meal. Surprisingly, we enjoyed every recipe we tried. No epic fails. Other than stuffing our faces, we did manage to make it to a church bbq, work on cohen’s rocking horse and the buffet we’re turning into an entertainment console, take long evening walks, and plan for our Wisconsin trip (more on this later). It was a perfect relaxing weekend at home. Here are some snippets….

happy tuesday! {monica}

sometimes you marry a brainiac.

2011-08-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

he's probably going to kill me for bragging about him like this...but, oh well, that's what doting wives are for, so here it goes...

after nearly 12 long years of college and grad school (yes, i did say twelve, that's not a misprint), chris began his last term of grad school this week. four months from now he will finally be done with this long haul, accomplishing more than we ever expected possible. he will have earned two bachelor's degrees AND two master's degrees , all while working full-time, owning a business, teaching classes at the university, taking a trip to china, planning a wedding, getting married, being a rock star husband, having a wonderful baby boy, being an rock star father to that wonderful baby boy, performing countless hours of research, moving 3 times (one of those moves being 2,000 miles), taking 3 cross country road trips to appease my need to see new places, completing who knows how many projects around the house, the oh and did i mention he did all of these things while keeping his grades high enough to graduate with honors?

yeah, he's pretty much the most amazing brainiac husband and daddy ever!
{in my biased wifely opinion}

thank you chris for all your hard work and dedication. i couldn't be blessed with a more perfect partner in life. the next couple months will be a whirlwind, but i can't wait to see where the lord takes us next.

happy thursday! {monica}

what we've been up to.

2011-08-24T08:00:00.002-05:00

i feel like we've been up to our ears in projects lately. i'm not exactly sure how we get ourselves into these never ending project piles? oh, wait. yes, i do. we can't say no to bargains, forget we are on a 5 month old baby's schedule, and we take on way too many things at once. yep, that's how we get way too busy.

speaking of busy, here are a few snippets of projects in the works (more to come on these later)

1. a head board update 2. garage sale chair redo 3. turning a buffet into a media console

oh, gotta love projects.
happy wednesday! {monica}

post-pregnancy body.

2011-08-18T08:00:00.001-05:00

after my son's arrival, i told myself i wouldn't stress out about losing my baby weight. after all, it took nine months for me to gain it, so i figured it would take me about nine months to lose it, and i was fine with that (and i still am). i had gained roughly 30lbs in my 40 week + one day pregnancy, which was about average for my 5"9 frame, so when you factor in my 9lb son and the fluid that came out with him, i lost nearly 15lbs (about half my weight gain) the day baby bug was born...seams ideal right?

at first the baby weight fell off. since cohen was breastfed, i burned extra calories and i was 100% focused on everything i put in my mouth. i ate mostly raw foods for the first couple weeks with the exception of puffy cheetos (hey, a girl has to cheat a little), and within the first month i had lost nearly all of the baby weight. i know that sounds perfect/amazing/ideal, but what i soon realized was i had a long way to go. long gone was my pre-baby muscle tone, and in it's place was excess chub . yeah, the weight is gone, yeah my pre-baby clothes fit again, but my body is far from what i am happy with. i needed (and still need) an all-around tone up.

with baby bug at the 5 month mark now...it's time to get a bit more serious about my fitness. it's time to lift weights again, take some yoga classes, train for a race, anything active really. i could care less about losing another pound, this is more about toning up and getting back to my pre-baby routine. it's going to be hard work, but it will be worth every bead of sweat in the end.

if you are a mom....what did you do to tone up after pregnancy? how long did it take you to get back in shape? have any advice for speedy workouts, so i don't have to spend much time away from the little guy?

ugggh. ok...off to the gym i go.

happy thursday! {monica}

my favorite time of day.

2011-08-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

as i laid cohen on my chest yesterday for his last nap of the day, i realized these last naps were my favorite time of day. every evening when i get home from work, bug and i play for a bit, eat a snack, then lay down for a nap (well, he naps and i watch tv).

if only i could freeze moments in time, last nap times would be one of those moments.

it's moments like these that make life sweet. that remind me how utterly awesome motherhood truly is. it was out of pure love that chris and i created this little being, and we thank the lord daily for this precious gift of life.

happy wednesday! {monica}

look of the day, baby! iron-on ties and reunions.

2011-08-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

last weekend baby bug attended his first family reunion. our family reunions always have a theme, and this year's was red, white, and blue; so of course he had to dress accordingly. seeing as he is popping out of most his clothing, i tried to make due with what we had around the house. his pants (which were high-waters) were rolled up, and we ironed on a tie i got at a baby shower a while back. his little ensemble turned out pretty darn cute.

me: shorts-h&m, tee-target, top/necklace-f21, sunglasses-san fransisco street vendor, shoes-can't remember (i got them over 10 years ago and the sole is rubbed off)
baby bug: onsie-carters, iron-on tie-gift (but i think it's from hobby lobby), pants-thrifted

happy tuesday! {monica}

roadtrip.

2011-08-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

on our way to our family reunion this past weekend, we took a bit of a detour to visit the town of pella, iowa. for the two years we have been in iowa, we've heard lots about this little town and we finally got around to visiting. pella is a sweet little dutch town. all of the it buildings both new and old adhere to original dutch architecture, they're colorful, quaint, and full of character. the town boast lots of little tourist shops, bakeries, a canal, and it even has it's own windmill.

although we didn't have much time to visit, we made the most with the time we had. to start our visit, chris purchased breakfast at a little bakery in town. we took his pastries to-go, found a bench, and enjoyed the sweet treats while we people watched (baby bug got to eat the bag).

we admired the windmill and old brick buildings that follow alongside the canal.

we strolled through historic gardens, saw wyatt earp's boyhood home, and watched baby bug's eyes light up as we ran through a sprinkler.
before we left, we made sure to take lot's of tourist-y photos. you know, the kind of photos our kids will hate when they grow up. yeah, we took lots of those.

all-in-all, it was a wonderful trip. pella is a must see if you are ever in central iowa, we are already planning a trip back next spring for the tulip festival.

hope you guys had a wonderful weekend!
happy monday! {monica}

recipe. man eggs.

2011-08-10T02:00:00.003-05:00

the most requested breakfast item in our house (besides blueberry pancakes), would have to be what we aptly refer to as man eggs. the first time i made man eggs, chris and i were sitting at our kitchen table, and our conversation went a little something like this...

chris-why do these eggs taste like bacon?
me-they don't taste like bacon, they taste like smoked gouda.
chris-no they don't, they taste like bacon.
me-is that a bad thing?
chris-no! bacon is manly.

and that's how man eggs got their start.

here's to a happy husband and his eggs.
the recipe (serves two)

4 eggs
1/4 c shredded smoked gouda (plus a little more to sprinkle on top)
1tbsp butter
2 tbsp milk
salt and pepper

melt butter in a small pan over medium-low heat. while the butter is melting, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl. poor eggs into the pan and stir frequently (the key to good scrambled eggs is cooking them low and slow). when eggs are almost done, add the cheese and stir until eggs have finished cooking.

sprinkle the the eggs with the remaining cheese and more black pepper, then serve.

{it's basically scrambled eggs with a bit of a kick}

happy wednesday! {monica}

someone has two teeth.

2011-08-08T09:26:00.001-05:00

it's official, this little guy has two teeth . after weeks of endless drooling and gnawing, baby bug finally cut his teeth. one came in tuesday, the 2nd finally broke through thursday night, 8 days shy of 5 months. next thing we know he'll be crawling, then walking, going to school and driving. ugghhh. they grow up so stinkin' fast!

happy monday! {monica}

look of the day, baby! neon and tie dye.

2011-07-26T02:00:00.002-05:00

this little man makes me smile.
a big hearty smile, not one of those wimpy grins.
a smile brighter than my neon red vest.

love him to the moon and back!

me: skirt-thrifted, then tailored by me. earrings and shoes-target. belt-f21. top-thrifted. vest-thrifted. necklace/ring-vintage.

cohen: tie dye romper-garage sale (baby gap)

happy tuesdsay! {monica}

put it in a packet.

2011-07-20T02:00:00.001-05:00

one of my favorite ways to cook during the summertime is in a packet. using heavy duty tin foil, i make a little boat-like packet and fill it with dinner. sometimes it's chicken, sometimes it's veggies, last night it was fish. i layered onion, white fish, parsley, and lemon onto the foil, then placed it on the grill for 15ish minutes.

oh, and i nearly forgot to mention my favorite thing about packet meals...the clean up. because there is none, all you have to do is pitch the tin foil in the trash when you're done. when the fish is firm to the touch, it's done. easy as that.

we paired our fish with succotash salad (english peas, sweet corn, red onion, and red bell pepper).

what are your favorite things to cook in the summer?

happy wednesday! {monica}

look of the day. on walkabout.

2011-07-19T02:00:00.001-05:00

i kinda feel like i look like i'm on my way to the australian outback.
maybe it's the plaid? or the plethora of khaki? the fact that i really want to go to australia? or maybe i can't get the recently watched crocodile dundee out of my head?

cropped pants, shirt, and cardigan-gap, everything else-thrifted.

happy tuesday! {monica}

rocking horse re-do.

2011-07-07T02:00:00.000-05:00

last fall i bought an old wooden rocking horse at an antique mall, for close to nothing.

it's dingy.
it's damaged.
it's just plain gross.

since it's purchase, it's been sitting in our basement, mostly because i have been trying to figure out what i want to do with the thing. i know i want to freshen it up, clean it up, and pretty much re-do every single surface of it. i just have to decide on the overall look i want. i'm thinking of painting it like this. i absolutely love swedish dala horses.

overly ambitious? probably! i just hope i can finish this project, before baby bug is ready to ride it. my current lack of project completion is getting pretty ridiculous.

happy thursday! {monica}

i don't care if you think we're nerdy.

2011-06-30T02:00:00.000-05:00

what do you get for the guy who has everything? the solar system of course.
for father's day this year, i went the non-traditional route (as usual) and got chris this super-awesome diy romantic star projector. neat, huh? how incredible will it be to project a clear nights sky any night of the week? i know what you are thinking...what weirdos!?!

but, i agree. yes, we are nerds...and proud of it.

i really wish it would have got here for actual father's day, so i could have wrapped it all pretty--but it finally arrived on our door step yesterday after 20 days of traveling from hong kong. chris and i were like little kids putting it together. it was so much fun.

i just can't wait to build a fort in the living room, make some popcorn and snuggle up with my two guys watching the stars.

happy thursday! {monica}

i made it. chevron tee.

2011-06-29T02:00:00.000-05:00

someone finally finished one of her twelve projects...and that person is ME!!!

ughh. it only took a couple months, but i was eventually able complete this super sweet, and super simple

chevron tee.

don't pay attention to the wanky stitches, my sewing machine was not happy with me, but this project was as simple as simple can be. even if your sewing skills are novice, you can do this!

go over to cheri's tutorial for the SUPER easy directions.

happy wednesday! {monica}

summer solstice and farm shares.

2011-06-23T02:00:00.001-05:00

with tuesday being both the summer solstice and farm share pick up day, we took advantage of the daylight and made a wonderful dinner for two (since cohen was sleeping). we ate dinner in the kitchen, surrounded by our big windows to enjoy the sunshine, and enjoyed the evening.

this week's farm share included... spinach, red russian kale, radishes, dill, rhubarb, strawberries, and peas.

here's what we made for dinner...strawberry basil lemonade, pork chops will dill and lemon, 7 grain pilaf, and sauteed spinach with crispy garlic.

it was a perfect at home date night meal! sometimes simple meals, prepared together are better than any night out.

happy thursday! {monica}

oregon trip part two. the beach.

2011-06-02T02:00:00.001-05:00

one of the best things about our oregon trip was our time at the beach. i spent nearly two whole weeks enjoying the sand, surf and seafood. we are completely spoiled by the fact that my parents have a beach house, so we took advantage of their generosity and stayed at their place as much as we could. we walked in the sand, ate lots of seafood, sipped our morning coffee watching the waves, cohen stuck his feet in the sand and pacific ocean, the dogs ran wild, chris's family visited, our friends stopped by, and my parents were able to take a bunch of time off of work to come stay with us. it was simply perfect.

the oregon coast is a wonderful place.
here are some pictures from our relaxing stay.

if you ever visit oregon, you really should take a trip over to the coast. the entire coastline is astonishingly beautiful, rain or shine.

happy thursday! {monica}

oregon trip part one. chris' family.

2011-05-10T02:45:00.001-05:00

let me start by saying, oregon is awesome. we have really been enjoying our trip back to the northwest so far. even though we miss our new home back in iowa, it has been really nice to come back to the state we both grew up in, fell in love in, bought our first home in, went to college in, and so-on.

one of our main priorities our first week back was to spend some time with chris' side of the family before he left on his china trip. it just so happened that we were able to spend time with his dad and sister, but also his grandparents who were in town from casper, wy too...so cohen got to meet lots more family.

here are some pictures from our time with chris' fam in corvallis.

walking around town with chris' grandparents don and k on a gorgeous spring day.

cohen getting some pizza with his great-grandma

a nice trail walk with chris' dad and sister

spring is beautiful in oregon...especially when it's not raining.

what a special few days!
thanks corvallis for spoiling us with such great friends, food and family!

on a side note: since i have kind of been taking pictures like a maniac, i'll be dividing our trip posts into a bunch of parts...so stay tuned.

happy tuesday! {monica}

little red shoes.

2011-05-05T02:15:00.001-05:00

these little red shoes make me smile.

especially when they are nestled up next to my red shoes.

sometimes it's the little things, like little red shoes, that make life a bit sweeter.
what is making you smile today?
happy thursday!{monica}

look of the day. green pleats

2011-04-26T03:14:00.002-05:00

mark this look on in your calendars ladies, because it's quite the rarity to see me in heels.

why don't i wear heels often? the reasons are as follows....
1. i'm 5'9 which means i'm at least 6' in heels. even though chris is 6'3, i really don't like feeling so tall next to him. i feel like a giant.
2. they are uncomfortable. i don't care what you say (i used to wear heels religiously when i started working, so i know comfortable heels exist)...but they still aren't as comfortable as flats.
3. i'm extremely clumsy. when i used to wear heels i would trip, slip, and fall too many times to count. heels+me=an injury waiting to happen.
4. i read an article in shape magazine. i wish i remembered the issue, but it was all about the negative side effects of prolonged heel wearing. i won't go into all of the details, but it really freaked me out.

that being said, i wish i wore heels more often. i have a bunch of pretty heels collecting dust in our closet, and they really do spice up an outfit.

heels-bcbg, skirt-thrifted, tank-american apparel, clutch-vintage, belt-thrifted, necklace-f21, ring-vintage

happy tuesday! {monica}