Spring is Here!

Our house was feeling decidedly un-Springy, like the remnants of Winter were clinging on for dear life. When the temperature hit 60 yesterday with sunshine, I was ready to do a bit of Spring sprucing.

I had been holding onto these pretty blossoming branches since last Fall, when I found them at Pier 1 Imports for only $2.00. TWO DOLLARS! Ok, sorry, apparently Spring makes me really bargain happy too.

Normally I'm not a huge fan of faux-florals, but in this case I think it works. The flowers are very realistic, and I just love the burst of color that you see when you are walking in the front door. Now, I only need to clear up the winter coats and boots...

Spring isn't the only thing that's busting out all over... I seem to be outgrowing every item of clothing that I own! So today I went on a little shopping spree to Target and bought a cute light sweater, and a yellow necklace. I don't think I will ever get sick of the color yellow. 

Please try to ignore my dorky facial expression, and the cat toy that looks like a huge, colorful dust bunny on the floor.

So how are you celebrating the first signs of Spring?

Life Lately...

Life lately has been pretty wonderful. A couple weekends ago I helped plan and host a baby shower for my friend Katie... she's due in May!

These pictures were not taken by me... but snagged from another friends facebook page. What, you don't do that? 

Katie's friend Stacia brought this amazing cake, isn't it the cutest baby shower cake you've ever seen? I also got to try fondant for the first time ever. I've always wondered what it tastes like, every time I hear Buddy the Cake Boss say "fonDANT." It's not too bad, but I wouldn't want a whole cake covered in it! Thankfully this one had mostly frosting with fondant animals and decorations.

The next weekend, we had a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Melissa. I'm still hoping and praying that I will fit into my bridesmaid gown at 5 months pregnant... I might need to visit a seamstress. 

In other news, I had been going around telling people that I don't have morning sickness, but my mom informed me that food aversions and even mild nausea are considered morning sickness. I guess I thought you had to be throwing up daily in order for it to be labeled "morning sickness." 

Food aversion is probably the worst thing ever. Normally, I love food. But lately, even things I once loved to the point of obsession have become disgusting to me. 

• Coffee- some days I can't look at it or smell it, let alone drink it. This saddens me.
• Spinach flavored tortilla wraps- I used to love them, but now they aren't allowed in the house. 
• Pizza- Ugh. The grease. 
• Chicken- I can still eat it most of the time, but once in a while if there's too much fat or anything gross left on it I can't eat it. 

There's more, but I won't bore you. =) Basically, it's hard to find anything that I want to eat. But here are a few things that I adore:

• Ranch dressing- I love it on salads, with baby carrots, straight from the jar... hehe
• Plain strawberry poptarts- I could eat those suckers all day long. 
• Decaf black tea with milk and sugar- my replacement for coffee. Comfort beverage.
• WATER! I can't get enough water, I have to carry a bottle of it around with me all the time. 
• Sandwiches- Yes, I know that technically you aren't supposed to have deli meats. But there were a couple occasions where the only thing I wanted was a Sierra Turkey sandwich from Panera Bread. So good. 

Anyway, that's life lately. I'm hoping that soon inspiration will come and kick me in the hindquarters so I can actually do something blogworthy... How have you all been? 

Crafting, Circa 1990

I was out and about with my hubs recently and of course, we had to stop at ye olde GW. No trip is complete (for me) without a peek around the thrift store to see what's available. On this particular trip, however, we were slightly disappointed. GW has a maternity clothing section that is literally 1 foot wide, and filled with 3X size maternity pants. Bummer.

However, I did come across a little piece of history that I wanted to share with you. Here, we have some examples of crafts that probably date back to the 1990's, perhaps even earlier.

 

I can just imagine the caption on the crafting manual, "If your black thumb extends even to the hardiest varieties of plants, why not fashion a pair of precious cacti out of gingham? Just place your creation in a pot with some rocks and people will marvel at your creative talents."

I'm just so glad that crafting has come such a long way since then. I also sincerely hope that whoever made these (H & H originals?) does not read my blog. =) 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Happy Friday! And some News!

Josh and I are just floating on air this week, because for the first time ever we got to see a glimpse of our baby! The news is finally out- we are expecting our first child in September.

Here's our first pic of the wee one- he or she was really moving around a lot during the ultrasound, waving arms and kicking little legs. There is really nothing that can prepare you for seeing that, it's the most amazing feeling in the whole world.

I'm so excited to be a mom, I've dreamed of this ever since I was five and would pray that God would leave a baby on my doorstep for me to take care of! =)

Also- that's part of the reason this blog has been a little vacant lately. I haven't forgotten about it, but after being sick for so long, plus dealing with fatigue and a few episodes of morning sickness, it's been on the back burner. Hope you are all doing well! I can't wait to share updates on the pregnancy! I'm already starting to show a little...

Bye bye, Cali!

Wow- I can't believe it's been so long since I last blogged! Long story short- I ended up starting to feel sick the last day of our vacation, and by the time I got home it was not good. I went to the dr. and it turns out I had a double ear infection, a sinus infection, and a cold! It's safe to say I have never been so miserable in my life. I had to cancel everything last week and pretty much laid on the couch all day every day. It's so good to be back among the living finally!

Anyway- it's time for the final update on our trip to Cali. Friday afternoon, we headed to LA to see some sights. We searched for "Hollywood Sign" on our gps, and it led us up the mountain, through housing developments and wooded areas and finally to this gorgeous vista over looking the city. 

And of course, it led us right to the famous sign. No trip to LA is complete without a touristy-glamour shot by the Hollywood sign, right? 

We found a fellow tourist, a nice British chap, who took our photo for us.

He asked us to return the favor by taking a photo of him in his sweet rental car (a red convertible? totally jealous). Then he offered to let us sit in the buttery leather seats as well and of course, we couldn't resist. 

Then it was on to the WB Studios where we took a tour of this famous movie and television hot spot. It was so fun to see the buildings that have been used in SO many movies and TV shows, as well as the prop warehouse, the set for "Hart of Dixie," and the Ellen Degeneres show set. One of the funnest parts of the tour is getting to see "Central Perk," the famous coffee shop from Friends.  It's the only TV set that has been saved on the WB lot. Our pic was a little blurry, but at least you can see the set!

The next day, we headed to San Diego to go to the zoo. It's such a huge zoo! It was fun to walk around and see all the animals, especially the flamingos. These guys were really loud and obnoxious! 

After the zoo, we went to Old Town San Diego and found a yummy Mexican restaurant to grab dinner at. It was some of the most authentic (and delicious) Mexican food I've ever had!

On Sunday, our final full day, we drove up the coast a bit and went to Balboa Island (and peninsula). 

We took a ferry ride over to the island,

 and rode around on rented bikes to see some of the sights. I think I want to live there. Maybe all the tourists would get annoying, but it's such a beautiful place (and houses start at $1 mil only! wow!).

So that was our trip. It was fun and we made some great memories together! Aside from the fact that I never ever want to set foot on a plane again, I can't wait to do more traveling with my man. So what have you guys been up to?

CA So Far

I love California. It's so beautiful here, and there's just a wealth of things to see and do! I've been on my own for most of this week since Josh is in training all day, so I've been trying to get out and do as much as I can! Thankfully, we were able to get a rental car for the whole week so that makes getting around a whole lot easier!

I went for a lovely 3-mile hike one day on Oso Creek trail. It was really beautiful. It felt so nice to be out in the fresh air soaking up some sunshine!

I've also been frequenting Starbucks... so lovely. My favorite drink right now is the iced tea lemonade! I also finished reading "A Picture of Dorian Gray." Obviously a classic, but I had my doubts while reading it at times. However, I stuck it out and finished it and I'm glad I did. It was very interesting! I probably won't ever read it again though. 

I've also been just driving around and exploring. I drove down to Laguna Beach one day, it's SO beautiful. I love the ocean!

Yay! I'm exploring by myself! Ok, I know it sounds silly, but I'm actually rather proud of myself. I'm a huge people-person, so being alone is like torture for me. But I've actually been kind of enjoying it, surprisingly! 

Yesterday, I went to the Spectrum Mall in Irvine. It was recommended by one of Josh's classmates, who had been there on a previous trip. Um, you guys, this place is girl heaven. It has all of the best shops (Anthro, Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, tons of cool specialty shops...) and it was designed with a Spanish influence. There are sparkling fountains, gorgeous hanging lanterns, it's just beautiful. Oh, and they have a ferris wheel and a carousel to boot! 

It was so great I talked Josh into going back there that evening for dinner. Love the fountains...

We ate at Cucina Enoteca, a new upscale California-style Italian place. It was amazing.

The ferris wheel, all lit up at night. 

The view from about 3/4 of the way up- you could see Los Angeles in the distance 30 miles away! 

So- that's what we've been up to so far. Today, Josh is done with training so our real vacation begins! We are heading to L.A. for a studio tour today, and plan to hit up the San Diego zoo tomorrow and then cruise along the coast on Sunday. So far- so good! 

Blogging from another corner of the country

I still can't get over how crazy it is that you can wake up in the morning in somewhat snowy Minnesota, and then a mere 8 hours later find yourself staring at something like this:

Laguna Beach, California. Josh has a work function out here, so I flew with him for a little vacation from the snow. We're excited to see California, neither of us have ever been here! We plan on fitting as much as we can into our week long stay. So, the blog may be a little silent for a wee bit longer, but hopefully I will come back well-rested and with some fun pictures to share. Hope you all are having a fabulous week!