Aug 31st 2010 05:37:10 pm

I am getting old. I can’t remember when this photo was taken. I must have been three or four, still living in Saint Louis, and totally rocking a sparkly unicorn face painting. Where did I get it? Did I request to have this photo taken? Why is my shirt so dirty? It is so funny to think that I lived inside that little girl for years and can’t quite even remember what it was like… Someday will I forget what it was like to be me, now, at 29?

I got this idea of a “30 before 30″ list from one of my favorite blogs, Making It Lovely, and thought it would be fun to do since I am turning 30 in February…

Here are 30 things I would like to do before my 30th birthday:

♥ Redesign the Swap-bot homepage.
♥ Go to dinner at Al Di La.
♥ Get super-comfortable using our DSLR camera.
♥ Run the NYC marathon!
♥ Be noticeably sweeter to my husband.
♥ Take my donation pile to the thrift store.
♥ Visit The Cloisters.
♥ Lose 15 pounds. (Isn’t this on everyone’s list?)
♥ Buy a really beautiful and practical dress.
♥ Make marinara sauce from scratch.
♥ Take an overnight trip with my husband that is not at a relative’s house.
♥ Visit the Bronx Zoo.
♥ Watch every episode of Tosh.0.
♥ Get the Florence + The Machine album on vinyl.
♥ Make Crusher a super-cute Halloween costume.
♥ Try to live in the moment.
♥ Make blueberry pancakes.
♥ Start taking a weekly yoga class.
♥ Figure out how to style my hair in loose waves/curls.
♥ Watch Meet Me in St. Louis again.
♥ Do all of my mending!
♥ Drive upstate to see the autumn foliage.
♥ Make cupcakes with some sort of filling.
♥ Reduce my internal negativity.
♥ Call my brothers and sister-in-law every week (or at least more frequently).
♥ Visit all five boroughs in NYC (should happen during the marathon).
♥ Get a new laptop.
♥ Read a novel. (Maybe this one?)
♥ Reduce the amount of time I spend on Facebook.
♥ Vote!
♥ Promote peace.
♥ Get a unicorn face painting!

What else should I add to the list?

16 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Thinking

Mar 14th 2010 07:33:28 pm

Crusher turned two on Saturday! His grandma and grandpa sent him a great birthday package filled with chew bones (already scarfed) and a new toy (which he loves), plus a few goodies for his human friends! He had a great birthday, but woke up with a bit of a tummy ache this morning. Poor little two-year-old. Too many treats! Now that he is in his teenage doggy years, he needs to start eating better, i.e. no more human food!

(p.s. Have you joined the EightFiveThree Classic, yet? Crusher and I have already made our bracket picks!)

1 Comment » Categories: Birthday, Crusher, Family

Feb 17th 2010 03:25:39 pm

Living in New York City is difficult. Especially for a midwest girl who spent the previous four years in the laid-back, hippie town of Eugene. I have been trying to stay positive about the move (almost a year later!) and have tried to be the strong, confident, optimistic woman that I would like to be. Ha! Some days it works, some days it doesn’t.

On Monday, I had a meeting in Manhattan and then Travis and I planned to eat dinner at one of the many confusing, but oh-so-popular Momofuku restaurants. I was so cheerful and energetic when I started out! I took the 40 minute subway ride, ran some errands, went to my meeting, did some shopping, then hung out at Barnes & Noble waiting for Travis. Barnes & Noble is cool because they let you use their bathroom even without a purchase (very rare in NY), but they are uncool because I got scolded for sitting on the floor reading a book. There are no comfy chairs in this NY Barnes & Noble, only a handful of folding chairs that were already full with other tired city goers, and apparently, you aren’t allowed to sit on the floor. So… basically, by the time Travis got to me I was exhausted and dehydrated, and promises of Momofuku pork buns wasn’t enough to get me pumped up. Plus, we had to walk lots of blocks to the Noodle Bar (one of the Momofuku restaurants), which was too crowded. Then, we walked lots more blocks to the Momofuku Ssam Bar and waited for a seat at the super-crowded, loud bar. I was so tired and so hungry. Poor Travis. BUT, here is the good news: New York City always seems to make up for its inherent hassle and hardship. Our pork buns and barbecue sandwich arrived and they were just about the best food I have ever tasted! Too expensive, too trendy, too difficult to get, but still worth it. Plus, then we went next door to the bakery (the Milk Bar) and got two slices of amazing cake and their signature Cereal Milk (above you see the left-overs in our fridge). Travis even splurged on a taxi ride home! Ahhhh.

What else have I been up to?

• Watched The Hangover last weekend and I loved, loved, loved it! I was totally caught off guard by how much I loved it. It is, like, my new favorite movie, and I don’t even like Las Vegas!
• Travis and I have also been making our way through Entourage, and again, I was surprised by how much I like it. I thought it was all about womanizing and partying (and it is), but it is way sweeter than I expected.
• Oh. This isn’t great, but I have abandoned the thing-a-day project. My daily creative submissions just weren’t very good and I didn’t need another thing to feel stressed over. I am a thing-a-day failure.
• This guy is my favorite thing about the Olympics.
• I had another article (a book review of Weekend Sewing) published on CraftCritique.com this week.
• I have been doing these Dance and Be Fit workouts on FitTV and I am really enjoying them. The instructor, Kimberly Miguel Mullen, is really cute and fun. They make me want to take some “real” dance classes…

What have you been doing to keep sane during this long, cold February? I need suggestions!

11 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Feeling Happy, Feeling Sad, Food, New York

Feb 16th 2010 12:32:59 pm

My 29th birthday was last Wednesday and it was a perfect day. It had snowed overnight which meant Travis got to work from home. We started the day with muffins from my favorite bakery, and I spent the day crafting and avoiding email. In the evening, we headed out into the two feet of snow and sleet to get dinner at our favorite, local restaurant, Stone Park Cafe. We went all out with an appetizer, entrees, dessert, and coffee. It was all delicious, and because of the snow, the restaurant was almost empty and very quiet. We sat by the window and watched the snow fall. It was a perfect evening, and it didn’t even end there! I came home and opened too many fabulous presents and cards from my family. Thank you so much to everyone, especially Travis, for making my birthday so special. I know that I am spoiled.

No Comments » Categories: Birthday

Feb 11th 2010 11:06:07 pm

I am still working on a big birthday wrap-up post, I promise. I know all of you want to see photos of me opening presents, but for now you will have to settle for my 11th creative thing-a-day. My parents sent me a very cool sketching pencil/pen and I was eager to try it out. Now, I haven’t drawn without a computer for quite a while and I am out of practice, so forgive my quick, simple sketch. The subjects of my still life were two of the fabulous birthday gifts sent to me from Chelsea & Scott. I love them so much and have no idea how Chelsea read my mind and got me the two make-up items I was wishing for. I really liked using the sketching pen. It kept my hand clean and is comfortable to hold… now I just need to do more sketches!

1 Comment » Categories: Art, Birthday, Make-up & Beauty

Feb 11th 2010 04:17:47 pm

I am working on a huge birthday post (it was a really great day), but I wanted to fit in this thing-a-day post first:

I worked on these two scrapbook pages yesterday, which was my birthday and the 10th day of the thing-a-day challenge. They are for the scrapbook I do with my sister-in-law, Chelsea, and I have been meaning to complete them for a long time. (The Christmas page is for 2008!) I figured I could make some time for fun crafting on my birthday and I am glad I did.

1 Comment » Categories: Birthday, Crafts, Family, Projects

Feb 10th 2010 12:14:18 am

Travis got me this mini, instant Polaroid printer for my birthday (which is tomorrow). And I have been playing around with it today. I think that counts as a creative endeavor for thing-a-day. That little photo of Crusher (stuck to my computer with a heart sticker) is an example of the prints it produces. They actually have sticky backs on each of the prints, but I just wasn’t committed enough to peel off the back of the print to stick on my computer forever. It is a pretty fun little printer! The photos print out in less than a minute. You can even send photos directly from your cell phone. I need to keep playing around with it! (Sorry for the burned out photo – I had to use flash.)

Since I am doing a little birthday gift preview, check out this amazing La Mer treasure trove sent to me by my parents! I feel so spoiled! …and that was only a part of the gift package they sent! Stay tuned for more birthday details tomorrow.

9 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Photos, Projects

Feb 8th 2010 12:03:33 pm

So… I missed my thing-a-day yesterday. To be honest, I was having a bad day. I was trying to work on Swap-bot, but I came down with a bad case of cabin fever. Plus, the Superbowl really gets on my nerves. Finally, Travis broke down and took my out to dinner at Miriam, an Israeli restaurant near our apartment. It was wonderful. The place was empty and I had seafood risotto. A great start to my birthday week!

For day 8 of thing-a-day, I made this matchbox for my February Love Matchbox Swap. Today is the last day to send your swap package, so I cut it a little close to the deadline. I was going to send one of the previous matchboxes I had made for Etsy Craft Night, but I decided I wanted to make something new for my partner. She likes bright and bold colors. I hope she likes her package!

2 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Brooklyn, Crafts, Food, Swap-bot

Nov 9th 2009 12:45:25 pm

2 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Family, Just for Fun

Oct 10th 2009 10:48:46 am

Just some of the things taking up my brain space this month….

• Family – Travis and I traveled to Kansas last month for the grand opening of his dad’s new business. I haven’t had a chance to report about the trip until now, but it was a fun whirlwind!
• Food – The glob under the family photo is a bowl of homemade Asian Noodle Soup. I have been making most of our meals these days in an attempt to be healthier (read: skinnier) and a little more thrifty. Travis and I are trying to completely eliminate high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils from our diet… it is going well, but I wish I had a bigger kitchen for all the cooking I am doing.
• Boots – I have a burning desire for new boots, specifically these $500 Siegerson Morrison boots. Sadly, it ain’t gonna happen.
• Halloween! – I really like cute Halloween things. These stickers are from Doodlebug. I bought them impulsively and now I can’t bring myself to use them. They are just too cute! I’ll just have to keep them forever and ever…
• Swaps – Speaking of cute Halloween stuff… I am hosting a quick Halloween matchbox swap over on the ‘bot. Tomorrow is the last day to sign up, so hop to it!
• Vampire Weekend – They have a new single, Horchata, that you can download for free on their website.
• Crumbs – After months of research, I have finally narrowed down my favorite NYC cupcake shop: Crumbs Bake Shop. This is the Pumpkin flavor, their cupcake of the month. I haven’t tried it, but maybe someone will need to have some at his birthday party…

2 Comments » Categories: Birthday, Family, Food, New York, Shoes, Travis, holidays