girl loves friday.

tv talk.
I did not like the season finale of The City.
Vee and I both agreed Lafayette's message to Tara on last week's episode of TBwould make a good ringtone.
I'm behind on the Hills so I don't know what's going on. I do know that it's time for the Hills to retire.
Top Chef DC. I can make a better minestrone soup.
Real Housewives of NJ. This is soooo my guilty pleasure at the moment. Although I do not condone the act of pulling out one's weave, I still enjoyed watching it.
Fantasy Factory. There's not one episode that goes by where I'm not laughing so hard my cheeks hurt and I"m out of breath.
As annoying as BethF is (I can't stand how she talks over people and repeats herself) I still like watching another woman coping with the ups and downs of pregnancy. God do I wish Anchorage had baby stores like NYC has.
What else am I programming in my dvr? The Baby Story and Bring Home Baby on TLC. I'm trying to prepare myself. I'm also a fan of Sara's Homeon HGTV. Not sure if it's her Canadian accent, her happy assistant or just the combination of both that draws me in but I'm hooked.

My weekend?
Picking up little miss sweet thang after work for a sleepover which will probably be the last for awhile since our home will be torn to bits with all the planned purging of unwanted, unused, and unnecessary items. Garage sale to follow. AND I'm so excited about this one...new flooring! I cannot wait until Jeff rips the peel n stick flooring from our kitchen, the 80's beige carpet in the living room and the white linoleum in our entry way. Weird combo and one I'm glad to see go.
BBQ at inlaws.
Origami party....it was my genius idea to make 1000 paper cranes for my brother's wedding. should be fun get-together with the girls.

enough babble.
onto girl loves.

I want. I want. I want.
Wood camera tape dispenser. How insanely cool. (Parcel Post)

wow. (The Bride's Cafe)

 
This lovely dish. (The Sequined Shoe) I just love Kara's handwriting.

happy weekend! t

real quick like.

I had a good 2 week creative run. Felt really good.
Here are some sneaks of SC's August kit and add ons.

Main kit, add on 1, add on 2.

SC's newest release, Elementary. 

this new line is pretty sweet, possibly my fave. the rub ons....oh the rub ons. just wait, you'll see.

a mini created with the Documentary line.

just a few pages shown. 
fabrip tutorial here.

And last but not least, my Dare. 

all about our internet faves. check it out here. do it this week. post it to the dare's blog. these are prompts people, get to scrappin!

above layout is my first official digital layout. wha?! yes, digital. can't you tell it's my first?
it's such a newbie layout but I like how it turned out. 
I used this kit by Paislee Press which I love and Nisa Fiin's stitches which I couldn't figure out how to color.

outie 5000
t 

currents.

listening: Iron & Wine, Death Cabeating: sesame bagel with loads of cream cheese drinking: black cherry spritzer wearing: leggings feeling: heartbroken. weather: overcast wanting: chocolate covered almonds. needing: to buy birthday gift for my nephew, wedding gift for brother, baby gift for friend. thinking: about how insignificant some things are. enjoying: putting together a design idea for the nursery. wondering: how she's doing.

I found out this morning that a coworkers 20 year old son past away last night. We don't know what happened but it was sudden. I know I complain about certain coworkers but there are some I am close to and she was one of them. I can't fathom what she is going through right now. He was only 20 and had a 3 year old daughter. He spent the day with her before passing. I just hope that the prayers I'm sending are comforting her in some way.

t

woe is me.

nothing but self pity on my part since yesterday.
not sure what the deal is but ever since I was told no more sleeping on my back, I haven't been able to find a comfortable position in bed. Actually no, I do have one position and that is sitting straight up propped up by 5 pillows.
you can give me some suggestions but I've tried everything.
I cannot imagine how this is going to be when I get bigger.
I'm hearing the violins now.
I feel like all I do is complain now.
There is one satisfaction though, something that makes not sleeping, aching back and hips worth it.
I feel him.
Not just flutters anymore.
Like now, as I type, it feels as though he's rolling around. Maybe trying to find a comfy position himself.
It's weird.
But it also makes me more happy than I've even been.
I stop everything when I feel him.
I place my hand over my tummy and talk to him.
"what's up mr?" "how's my fella doin?" "I can't wait to meet you."

And again, I do apologize if you're tired of all the baby updates and you're either not really interested or still trying yourself. I'm using my blog as my baby journal so to speak since I don't have the energy to actually journal in the moleskin I purchased for this specific 9 months. I suppose change is already happening here. It's not just a girl who works in an office and has a great man in her life. A girl who chose to live simply and who's social life consists of solo friday night scrap sessions and sleepovers with niece. A girl who loves her pup and misses her old bear. A girl who likes to shop...well, a girl who still likes to shop except that's it's now at Baby Gap.
This girl is changing.
This girl is becoming a mother.

girl loves friday!

Good morning or afternoon to some of you.
Thank you so much for all your congrats and love yesterday.
It's so exciting to share this with all of you!
The shock has sort have worn off but the excitement and pure joy is still emanating through my body.
Maybe because it's all new again.
I sifted through my stash of fabrics, hunting a new color scheme for the young mr.
I'm headed to Baby Gap to return the girls clothes in exchange for boys clothes. Hopefully the clerk won't laugh in my face when I tell her the reason for returning the skinny jeans and bright pink onesie.
And I do need to go through my registries and delete a few things. :)
All is good.

Onto girl loves.

This photo just screams summer. (+)

 

My mouth drools immensely when I imagine biting into a Kogi taco. I've never had one but I know the taste of Korean food and I know these are damn good. (found here) (kogi)

(pause. had to go and get something to eat)

I really liked the article featuring the Kogi taco truck along with several other food wagons.
I've always had sort of a dream to find a cool food truck to decorate and hustle good simple food out of.
Who knows, maybe one day.

Love because this seems about the most I can accomplish in a day. (+)
 
This digital kit that I purchased this week. No, I've never digi scrapped but this kit makes me want to try. More on digi next week. 

happy weekend!
t

girl is shocked by the results.

because up until this point, I was dead set on having a girl.
I had dreams and thought, mother's intuition, right?
man was I wrong to think that.
it's officially a boy. yep, I'm having a little mr.
mr bean.

xo
t

currents.

listening: to sound of traffic and the hum of my hard drive
eating: (ate) a sausage mcmuffin. not on a healthy run as of late.
drinking: lemon italian soda
wearing: my lazy but suitable office attire. not a fave but it was clean.
feeling: tired.
weather: cool and sunny.
wanting: to go home and change clothes.
needing: at least an extra hour of sleep.
thinking: about my ultrasound tomorrow.
enjoying: no split ends. love my hair after it's been cut.  
wondering: if I'll find out blue or pink tomorrow or if I have to wait another 2 weeks to which I will say "ah, phewy"

(+) (+) (+) (+)
 

girl loves friday.

me at 6am in the restroom at work. excuse my bedhead and tired eyes.
friday, friday, friday. finally.
I'm so ready for this long weekend.
I'm looking forward to getting my SC box today or tomorrow.
I'm looking forward to having the kiddos stay over tonight.
I'm looking forward to lasagna bolognese tonight.
I'm looking forward to bbq, fireworks & cherry pie in the valley.

onto girl loves.

I'm currently dress hunting for my brother's upcoming wedding. This doesn't seem to be an easy task when your belly is growing. Thinking I should tap into the whole maternity clothing thing because I have yet to find something dubbed "maternity" that I truly like to wear. I don't want to do the cinched below the boob dress and I refuse to wear the what I like to call the teepee dress, which is so incredibly shapeless. I would love to wear something like this black number from the new Stella McCartney line. (found)
 
This spider which I would love to put into the nursery. (found) 

This super cute rubber stamp. I do miss wood mounted rubber. (found)

I've been seeing this print all over the web this week and although I love the piece, I'm tucking it away in my "future layout" file.  (found)

You all have a safe 4th of July weekend! 
t.

currents.

listening: Bjork, The Shins, Violent Femmes.
eating: oatmeal. again.  
drinking: black ice tea lemonade.
wearing: black leggings, my fave white tee and purple/lavender cardigan.
feeling: full.
weather: gray, cloudy.
wanting: to head to the yarn shop so I can start my nesting project. (thanks to Jen G's help, I'll be a master at crocheting granny squares)
needing: a new pair of flats. these ones hurt my feet.
thinking: thank god I made it through yesterday.
enjoying: my side braid ponytail. can't believe it's held this long.
wondering: if J fibbed to me when I asked him if this outfit made me look fat.

 (1) (2) (3) (4)
 

so the chocolate milk did help as well as getting out of the office for lunch.
it always helps to get some fresh air.
it's always sweet to pull up to a parking meter that still has 52 minutes left on it.
It's always awesome to walk into the kitchen and find pastries from the good bakery.
It's always comforting to know time can only move forward, even if it's slower some days.

ready for an SC stampede?

And my layouts for July:

This last one is my least favorite layout. It feels incomplete and thrown together. I do love the journaling and the photo so I think I'll re-work it later this week. 
 
t.

Girl fights Tuesday.

Holy shmoly, I so do not want to be in this office today.
pure torture.
I'm trying to buck up and deal but I can't seem to focus on anything at the moment.
I'm fighting it so bad.
My day is only a third way over.
I'm literally just pushing paper around.
Am I crazy for blogging this in fear of a coworker or even my boss reading this?
No, not really.
If you worked here, you'd understand.
Off to the kitchen for some chocolate milk.
Hoping this will help.

More later.

girl loves friday.

Such great responses to yesterday's post.
I was surprised to read how many of you kept your hobby a "secret".
I get it though. It's not something that usually comes up in conversation.
It's usually my family or a friend who knows I scrapbook who spill the beans.
I use to just change the subject right away but lately, I've just come clean.
I scrapbook, big deal.
Some perk up and are genuinely interested. Some, not so much.
Here's what makes the "not so much" responses worth accepting

1. When my husband picks up a layout and says, "that's cool, I love that photo" or talks about what I've journaled. He's my biggest cheerleader and is always the first to bring it up to people. He even raids my scraproom to make me Valentines day and Birthday cards for me. 
2. When my father ask me to put together a scrapbook of all this treasured photos of his dear friend who passed away tragically a few years back. I was honored to use my love and skills to create a keepsake for him.
3. When my niece was snooping around in my scraproom while I was getting ready to take her out. She runs to my bedroom holding a page I had just finished with her photo and yells, "that's me!". Her excitement was pure joy and it gave me such pleasure, I can't even tell you.

onto girl loves, which is just one today.

Scrapbooking, naturally. Anything to do with pretty paper, colorful paints, & wonky sewing. I love it all.
Some sneaks for Studio Calico's July kit and add ons.

Be sure to check out the reveal Sunday night! Miss Vee is the GDT this month!

Have a happy, fabulous, summery weekend folks. We all deserve it. 
T
 

explain thyself scrapbooker!

So, met up with the ladies last night to help address wedding invites.
All in all a good time laughing, sharing stories and getting to know each other a little better.
And there of course was belly rubbing but it's ok when done by some one you know and like. (this occurrence has been happening quite a bit in the past few weeks. odd that one thinks it's ok to just reach out and rub one's pregnant belly...moving on.)

Then it came up.
Scrapbooking.
This is always a strange subject to touch on for me and I know for others who scrap like me, especially when you're childless.
I explain myself. I try to make it sound "cool" but I'm failing miserably.
I hear the usual..."I just don't have time" and "I'm just not that creative" when we really know it means "I'm just not that into it", no?
Totally cool. I get it. We all have different hobbies and/or activities we partake in.
Different folks, different strokes.
I know that what I do which is basically a form of documenting and archiving will be with me to the very end and even beyond.
Simply put, it makes me happy.
I wonder why I feel the need to defend my hobby as one that is not dated or geeky or be made to feel like I'm not a busy person myself.
But because this is a form of release from the everyday things like office gruel, traffic and life in general, I make time. It's not a lot, trust me.
I appreciate the few hours I get hovered over my paint covered desk, cutting up paper, & positioning photos.
I wish I had more time to do dedicate to my love.
 
So, I'm curious to hear your thoughts.
Even if you're not a scrapbooker, I know many of you are creative in some form.
Do you feel the need to defend your art? Your hobby?

holy smokes...3 blog days in row.
seems I have a lot on my mind or more time on my hands. or maybe a little of both.
continuing on with "currents" post just because.

listening: The Cure, Talking Heads, The Decemberists
eating: oatmeal but really wanting an over-medium egg with generously buttered toast and a slice of super crispy bacon. oh and a side of home fries.
drinking: hot chocolate & ice water.
wearing: my new Gap Maternityskinny black jeans I scored on Ebay for $10.
feeling: content.
weather: a little humid.
wanting: a free, no make up, in pajamas weekend to myself.
needing: a free, no make up, in pajamas weekend to myself.
thinking: I need a pedicure in a major way.
enjoying: life....hmm..sounds vague. how about a drama free week so far. (knock on wood)
wondering: what will by little peanut look like?

1. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/36425193@N00/437643549/">acup of chubby goodness, 2. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/52852286@N00/3438608808/">travelbreakfast, 3. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/33230210@N04/3369593248/">stargazing...>, 4. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/23022617@N00/4624432751/">Journal collage</a>

girl pays more attention to salad than hot runner.

Being that it was so beautiful out yesterday and I had an hour to kill before my hair appointment, I decided to grab lunch and head to the park downtown and eat outside. It was a great place to people watch. Lot's of lawyers taking their brisk lunch walk in their white tennis shoes and office wear, tourists fresh off the bus, children playing joyously after being stuck indoors for a week due to the rain. Lot's of runners and mommies with strollers. An ideal setting to sit and enjoy my lunch and get a little sun.
As I drench my fresh asian salad (which I had been looking forward to all morning) with rice wine vinaigrette, I overheard a few women whispering on the park bench next me. I noticed in my peripherals a bare chested, ultra tan runner coming our way.
Pre-pregnancy me: would coyly look up and maybe give a smile.
Pregnant me: too interested in getting the first bite of salad in my mouth to look up and admire.

t.

weekend scrappies.

well...more like Friday night scrappies. I didn't get much else done this weekend since I was hardly at home.
It's nice to have busy weekends and outings but my home is still a wreck since I do all my cleaning on Sundays. Oh well. Can't let life go by just because your house is a mess.

yeah, a blurry mess. 
this week's dare is about mail art.
just head over to the Dares blog so you can view Jen's as well. 

 
want to try something new with FabRips? 
head over to the Studio Calico blog to see how to bind a mini using them.

another wonky photograph. 
something I did for Joy's BOLD challenge, also on the Studio Calico blog.
You can see a close up here.
 
Saturday: a yummy lunch at SushiYa with my girls. I feel like I'm always saying "we gotta go eat" everytime I'm out. We were headed to my nephew's 10th birthday party at the roller rink and I HAD to eat. No sushi for me though. I opted for the bento box with bulgogi and tempura veggies. It was quite tasty.
I wasn't going to skate at first but after a few laps walking with Reagan while she skated, I had to throw on a pair. I use to skate at this roller rink as a teenager and it brought back some crazy memories. It was really fun although I didn't skate for long. I didn't want to over do it. I pretty much crashed on the couch when I got home.

Sunday: met up with the girls again and ran a few errands before heading to a small carnival in town. Reagan had carnival on the brain so she was quite pleased when the ferris wheel was visible. My brother showed up just in time to meet us right from his fishing trip. I was happy to see him spend the day with his kids on Father's day. I just adore observing him with his daughter.

he's in there somewhere. I swear getting a picture of him is like getting a picture of big foot....rare moments I tell ya.

The little guy was not happy at all so all so I didn't get many photos of him. I think he's still a little too young to handle the excitement of fair rides. 
 
monday isn't going too bad so far. could be because I'm out of here at noon for a long over-due hair cut and some "me time". :)

t

girl caught making out with friday.

Give yourself a big pat on the back for surviving another work week folks.
And for those momma's who have had to entertain their out of school kids all week, kudos to you as well.
It's going to be another busy weekend for me. Looking at my calendar, it looks as though it'll be awhile when I'll have a weekend all to myself but hey, I can't complain. I guess I'm just trying to get in as much "me time" as I can before the mr/mrs is born. Oh which btw....baby shower planning has commenced! I know, seems early and it is but time is flying by I tell ya. I never thought I would be one to be into all this party planning and having me as the center of attention (I get a little awkward when everyone's looking at me) but frankly, I'm damn excited.
This lovely lady is going to design my invites which was the very first thing I was excited about doing with the baby shower. You know, it's paper. Got to love that.

Onto girl loves. 

This concept which has been added to my "to do" list. The cover art is also inspiring me to no end.
(Green Wedding Shoes)
So friggin' fraggin' genius. Another thing to add to my crafty "to do's".
(100 Layer Cake)
This haircut. I'm planning on chopping off 2-3 inches of my boring long thin hair but I'm not ready to go short.
(Pretty Mommy)
 
 The prettiest cake. Filed in my baby shower ideas.
(A Little Sussy) 
OMG. A must watch for TB fans. Totally made my day. 

http://www.hbo.com/bin/hboPlayer.swf?vid=1101662

Snoop Dogg - "Oh Sookie"

Happy Friday! 
T

currents.

listening: the Smith's: Please Please Please Let Me Go.
eating: oatmeal.
drinking: hot chocolate. dad lectured me on not getting enough calcium, this is the only way
I can stomach dairy.
wearing: my softest thin gray sweater.
feeling: cozy and also have an overwhelming urge to scrapbook.
weather: rain, the smell is beautiful and my grass needs it.
wanting: a day with my aunt & to finish up purging insanely old scrapbook paper. I can't believe how thin
it was back in the day.
needing: a new read.
thinking: so much to do, so little time & what I'm going to eat for lunch.
enjoying: tumblr & this blog.
wondering: why JCrew doesn't have a maternity line.

your turn.
t.

girl loves friday and honesty.

I'm thoroughly enjoying all the honest, "real" reality's in blogland this week.
Feels good right?
I've never been one to overly exert myself for some one to like me. I often times push people away.
I'm comfortable with my surroundings and having a very small group of "real friends". It's limited I tell ya.
But I am so good with that. More taste, less filler if you catch my drift.  
My point is, I'm not here to impress anyone or to network and I appreciate blogs who share the same virtues.
I think that's why I fell in love with blog reading in the first place.
Not to say that every post needs to be gut-wrenchingly honest about our personal lives. TMI, no?

Onto girl loves...
I'm really into summer dresses right now. I feel more feminine and beautifully pregnant rather than plump.
I really really want a white eyelet dress like this one.(Satorialist)

uh, and those worn in chucks. heaven. 

This colorful project. (Color Me Katie)
 
This salad. (PW) 
 
I'm having huge craving for fresh, crunchy salads right now. I can't wait to try the dressing for this one. My recipe book is getting quite cluttered with printed out recipes from PW. 

That's all for me today.
Enjoy the weekend!
T

perfection is boring.

I was inpsired by Steph's post today about her "real" reality.
It's no secret that I don't sugar coat my life.
I don't always like to come on here and complain.
That's why you won't see an update for week.
I may be having a sh*t week.
Like these past few days....sh*t.
They've been few and far between though.
Especially after finally getting pregnant, all the stupid b.s. seems to mean nothing to me now.
But there are days where I've just had enough.
Here's my real reality this very week.

1. I was lied to by 2 coworkers and that infuriated me because there was no reason for it. I tossed and turned all night thinking about this incident. They were covering their ass for a mistake and tried to pin it on me when I was out of the office. Go figure.

2. I'm not a clean person and often avoid having last minute company.

3. I worry about our finances and wonder if we can afford for me to go part-time after the baby is born. I really don't want to go back to my job at all.

4. I can hold a grudge like nobody's business. I'm trying to change this.

5. There is a lot of work that needs to be done on our home. It constantly gets put off.

6. I love the kinship I share with my 3 1/2 year old niece. I hope that our friendship grows as she gets older.

7. I often have grand ideas but lack the motivation and confidence to go through with them.

8. Some mornings I wake up and wish I were in a different city.

9. Most mornings I wake up and love living in Anchorage. The sweet smell of birch trees and dew on the grass is comforting and reminds me that this is home.

10. I love my husband and we are with each other a lot. But I'm a fan of alone time which are nights when he goes to his friends house to play Modern Warfare.

11. I eat a lot of junk food, candy especially.

12. I rely heavily on spellcheck.