Posted on

34 while 34

dayofbirth

This photo of baby me and my sweet parents was scanned from a Polaroid taken 34 years ago on the day of my birth.

2015 is a very exciting year! My wonderful baby boy was born on January 8th, and we have been entirely focused on caring for him ever since. Therefore, my 34th birthday passed by without too much fanfare. Travis made me french toast for breakfast, got me a delicious ice cream cake from Ample Hills, and he and Kenneth gave me a few fancy gifts. We spent the evening at home snuggled on the couch. Nice!

Due to very limited computer time these days, I am squeezing this list in at the very end of my birthday month…

What now seems like a very long time ago, I made a list of 30 things that I wanted to accomplish before turning 30. I didn’t get all of the items completed, so I converted it to a 30 WHILE 30 list, then a 31 while 31 list, etc. I carry the list over each year, crossing off the things I finish and adding new items to fill out the list to match my birthday number — this year, 34!

34 things to do while 34:

♥ Eat at the Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare.
♥ Go to Canada. I’ve never been!
♥ Visit Dollywood. Yes, I’m serious. I love Dolly Parton.
♥ Go kayaking in the Hudson. (Or paddleboarding!)
♥ Get super-comfortable using our DSLR camera.
♥ Visit the Museum of the City of New York.
♥ Visit the New York Transit Museum.
♥ Eat the Moules Frites at Balthazar.
♥ Create a new craft tutorial for Swap-bot.
♥ Redesign the Swap-bot homepage.
♥ Set up an online Swap-bot merch store.
♥ Lose 15 30 pounds. (Isn’t this on everyone’s list?)
♥ Make marinara sauce from scratch.
♥ Visit the Bronx Zoo.
♥ Make Crusher a super-cute Halloween costume.
♥ Buy a brownstone! (A fantasy, but a girl can dream…)
♥ Do all of my mending.
♥ Make cupcakes with some sort of filling.
♥ Reduce my internal negativity.
♥ Call my brothers and sisters-in-law every week (or at least more frequently).
♥ Read a novel. (Maybe this one?) Still not done! I’m not counting Game of Thrones or all the nonfiction birth and baby books I’ve been reading.
♥ Promote peace.
♥ Get a unicorn face painting!
♥ Be noticeably sweeter to my husband.
♥ Run a full marathon in 4:30.
♥ Run a sub-2-hour half marathon. (This may be impossible.)
♥ Run a trail marathon.
♥ Make a quilt.
♥ Try to live in the moment.
♥ Travel outside of the country with Kenneth.
♥ Attend the opening of the Basquiat exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum in April.
♥ Complete a triathlon.
♥ Complete my 10th full marathon. Hopefully, the 2015 NYC Marathon in November.
♥ Teach Kenneth some baby sign language.

————

Completed items:
This list could get really long!

♥ Embark on a grand adventure! Done! Kenneth is here!!
♥ Travel to Europe! A month traveling throughout Europe with my true love in April was the trip of a lifetime.
♥ Bake a loaf of bread from scratch. I used this sourdough recipe and it was fantastic!
♥ Stop biting my nails. For good. I believe I have accomplished this by keeping my nails polished.
♥ Become an adult. Tough times make tough people… and I think I’m getting stronger.
♥ Eat less candy. I’ve been having a good amount of success eating whole, real food, and a lot of it!
♥ Start taking a weekly yoga class. Changing this to: Cross train once a week. No problem. I now cross train more than I run: swimming, spinning, yoga.
♥ Experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans! Had a great time with my brother Seth.
♥ Learn to tell a really funny, family-friendly joke. Why did the fish get kicked out of school? ………because he was caught with sea WEED!
♥ Figure out how to style my hair in loose waves/curls. I think this counts.
♥ Visit The Cloisters. Went with mom & dad in June.
♥ Run the San Diego Marathon. For the second time. Done!
♥ Attend a taping of the Wendy Williams Show. Done and it was awesome.
♥ Take an overnight trip with my husband that is not at a relative’s house.
♥ Take my donation pile to the thrift store. Housing Works got a big pile!
♥ Buy a really beautiful and practical dress. Thank you Rebecca Taylor!
♥ Go to dinner at Al Di La.
♥ Run the NYC marathon!
♥ Watch every episode of Tosh.0.
♥ Make blueberry pancakes.
♥ Get the Florence + The Machine album on vinyl.
♥ Watch Meet Me in St. Louis again.
♥ Drive upstate to see the autumn foliage.
♥ Visit all five boroughs in NYC (should happen during the marathon).
♥ Get a new laptop. Love my Air!
♥ Reduce the amount of time I spend on Facebook. Done, except for today.
♥ Vote! Always.
♥ Buy awesome, new, flattering jeans. These from J.Crew.
♥ Force Travis to watch Star Trek: Generations with me. He loved it.

————

You can check out my past lists here:

————

What is on your list? What should I add to mine?

Posted on

33 while 33

birthday33

I was born in the middle of a snow storm in Saint Louis, Missouri. You would think that would make me like winter more… It does not.

My 33rd birthday was sort of a bummer. Travis had to work late and I picked up my own cake and sat at home alone. Sounds depressing, but I am an adult. I can deal. Plus, my sweet friends and family sent lots of greetings and gifts, so I know that I am loved. My thirty-third year was really tough and I didn’t feel much like celebrating anyway… but the cake was delicious all the same!

birthday33.2

Since today is the very last day of my birthday month, I figured it is my last chance to continue my birthday list tradition…

What now seems like a very long time ago, I made a list of 30 things that I wanted to accomplish before turning 30. I didn’t get all of the items completed, so I converted it to a 30 WHILE 30 list, then a 31 while 31 list, etc. I carry the list over each year, crossing off the things I finish and adding new items to fill out the list to match my birthday number — this year, 33!

33 things to do while 33:

♥ Eat at the Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare.
♥ Go to Canada. I’ve never been!
♥ Visit Dollywood. Yes, I’m serious. I love Dolly Parton.
♥ Go kayaking in the Hudson. (Or paddleboarding!)
♥ Get super-comfortable using our DSLR camera.
♥ Bake a loaf of bread from scratch.
♥ Visit the Museum of the City of New York.
♥ Visit the New York Transit Museum.
♥ Eat the Moules Frites at Balthazar.
♥ Stop biting my nails. For good.
♥ Create a new craft tutorial for Swap-bot.
♥ Redesign the Swap-bot homepage.
♥ Set up an online Swap-bot merch store.
♥ Lose 15 pounds. (Isn’t this on everyone’s list?)
♥ Make marinara sauce from scratch.
♥ Visit the Bronx Zoo.
♥ Make Crusher a super-cute Halloween costume.
♥ Buy a brownstone! (A fantasy, but a girl can dream…)
♥ Do all of my mending.
♥ Make cupcakes with some sort of filling.
♥ Reduce my internal negativity.
♥ Call my brothers and sisters-in-law every week (or at least more frequently).
♥ Read a novel. (Maybe this one?) Still not done! I’m not counting Game of Thrones or all the nonfiction I’ve been reading.
♥ Promote peace.
♥ Get a unicorn face painting!
♥ Be noticeably sweeter to my husband.
♥ Run a full marathon in 4:30.
♥ Run a sub-2-hour half marathon. (This may be impossible.)
♥ Run a trail marathon.
♥ Make a quilt.
♥ Travel to Europe!
♥ Try to live in the moment.
♥ Embark on a grand adventure!

————

Completed items:
This list could get really long!

♥ Become an adult. Tough times make tough people… and I think I’m getting stronger.
♥ Eat less candy. I’ve been having a good amount of success eating whole, real food, and a lot of it!
♥ Start taking a weekly yoga class. Changing this to: Cross train once a week. No problem. I now cross train more than I run: swimming, spinning, yoga.
♥ Experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans! Had a great time with my brother Seth.
♥ Learn to tell a really funny, family-friendly joke. Why did the fish get kicked out of school? ………because he was caught with sea WEED!
♥ Figure out how to style my hair in loose waves/curls. I think this counts.
♥ Visit The Cloisters. Went with mom & dad in June.
♥ Run the San Diego Marathon. For the second time. Done!
♥ Attend a taping of the Wendy Williams Show. Done and it was awesome.
♥ Take an overnight trip with my husband that is not at a relative’s house.
♥ Take my donation pile to the thrift store. Housing Works got a big pile!
♥ Buy a really beautiful and practical dress. Thank you Rebecca Taylor!
♥ Go to dinner at Al Di La.
♥ Run the NYC marathon!
♥ Watch every episode of Tosh.0.
♥ Make blueberry pancakes.
♥ Get the Florence + The Machine album on vinyl.
♥ Watch Meet Me in St. Louis again.
♥ Drive upstate to see the autumn foliage.
♥ Visit all five boroughs in NYC (should happen during the marathon).
♥ Get a new laptop. Love my Air!
♥ Reduce the amount of time I spend on Facebook. Done, except for today.
♥ Vote! Always.
♥ Buy awesome, new, flattering jeans. These from J.Crew.
♥ Force Travis to watch Star Trek: Generations with me. He loved it.

————

You can check out my past lists here:

————

What is on your list? What should I add to mine?

Posted on

repurposing

I like to think I am fashionable, but in reality, I have a fairly consistent history of questionable fashion choices. Prime example: This Banana Republic poncho I bought in 2004. I loved this poncho so much that I blogged about it THREE times: here, here, and here. It was basically just a rectangular piece of knit fabric with a hole for your head, but I thought it was cool.

Sadly, after purchasing the beloved poncho, I fell out of love. I think I wore it three times. BUT! I had this brilliant idea! I could make a nice striped pillow cover out of the poncho! So… I moved that poncho across the country with us twice, sure that I would enact my pillow plan soon… very soon…

It only took me nine years! I finally made the pillow cover this week. Sweet. It was super-simple. I used one of my existing store-bought 20-inch pillow covers as a template and basically just folded the knit poncho fabric around the template and created an overlapping envelope closure on the back. Then, I stitched straight lines down the sides with my sewing machine. I reinforced the stitching a bit, trimmed off the excess fabric, then turned the whole thing right side out and stuffed a pillow inside. I think it took me fifteen minutes!

Well, nine years and fifteen minutes… ha.

Posted on

32 while 32

I love presents just as much as I did at my 8th birthday!

Sunday was my 32nd birthday. I had a little party because – hey – I love cake and balloons and friends! Complaining about age is lame, but 32 feels quite old. Like, I should probably be an adult by now… isn’t that one of the items on my to do list?

What now seems like a very long time ago, I made a list of 30 things that I wanted to accomplish before turning 30. I didn’t get all of the items completed, so I converted it to a 30 WHILE 30 list, then a 31 while 31 list. I still haven’t gotten all of the items checked off, so I am turning it into an ongoing project. I’ll carry the list over each year, crossing off the things I finish and adding new items to fill out the list to match my birthday number — this year, 32!

32 things to do while 32:

♥ Visit the Museum of the City of New York.
♥ Travel to Europe!
♥ Eat the Moules Frites at Balthazar.
♥ Create a new craft tutorial for Swap-bot.
♥ Stop biting my nails. For good.
♥ Redesign the Swap-bot homepage.
♥ Get super-comfortable using our DSLR camera.
♥ Be noticeably sweeter to my husband.
♥ Run a marathon in 4:30.
♥ Lose 15 pounds. (Isn’t this on everyone’s list?)
♥ Make marinara sauce from scratch.
♥ Visit the Bronx Zoo.
♥ Make Crusher a super-cute Halloween costume.
♥ Try to live in the moment.
♥ Start taking a weekly yoga class. Changing this to: Cross train once a week.
♥ Buy a brownstone! (A fantasy, but a girl can dream…)
♥ Do all of my mending.
♥ Make cupcakes with some sort of filling.
♥ Reduce my internal negativity.
♥ Call my brothers and sisters-in-law every week (or at least more frequently).
♥ Read a novel. (Maybe this one?) Um… it is terrible that I haven’t done this…
♥ Promote peace.
♥ Get a unicorn face painting!
♥ Run a sub-2-hour half marathon. (This may be impossible.)
♥ Set up an online Swap-bot merch store.
♥ Eat less candy.
♥ Run a trail marathon.
♥ Make a quilt.
♥ Visit the New York Transit Museum.
♥ Bake a loaf of bread from scratch.
♥ Become an adult.
♥ Embark on a grand adventure!

————

Completed items:
This list could get really long!

♥ Experience Mardi Gras in New Orleans! Had a great time with my brother Seth.
♥ Learn to tell a really funny, family-friendly joke. Why did the fish get kicked out of school? ………because he was caught with sea WEED!
♥ Figure out how to style my hair in loose waves/curls. I think this counts.
♥ Visit The Cloisters. Went with mom & dad in June.
♥ Run the San Diego Marathon. For the second time. Done!
♥ Attend a taping of the Wendy Williams Show. Done and it was awesome.
♥ Take an overnight trip with my husband that is not at a relative’s house.
♥ Take my donation pile to the thrift store. Housing Works got a big pile!
♥ Buy a really beautiful and practical dress. Thank you Rebecca Taylor!
♥ Go to dinner at Al Di La.
♥ Run the NYC marathon!
♥ Watch every episode of Tosh.0.
♥ Make blueberry pancakes.
♥ Get the Florence + The Machine album on vinyl.
♥ Watch Meet Me in St. Louis again.
♥ Drive upstate to see the autumn foliage.
♥ Visit all five boroughs in NYC (should happen during the marathon).
♥ Get a new laptop. Love my Air!
♥ Reduce the amount of time I spend on Facebook. Done, except for today.
♥ Vote! Always.
♥ Buy awesome, new, flattering jeans. These from J.Crew.
♥ Force Travis to watch Star Trek: Generations with me. He loved it.

————

You can check out my past lists here:

————

What is on your list? What should I add to mine?

Posted on

one little word 2013

Each year I join in on a popular blog phenomenon and chose one little word to focus on throughout the new year. This year, I choose sweetness.

Sweetness sounds so cheesy and cutesy, but it is what came to mind as I thought about what I want for 2013. To me, it encompasses the ideas of kindness, acceptance, and enjoyment. I want to be sweet to others and I want to be sweet to myself. I want to be content and happy and calm and focus on the sweet things in life… no matter what 2013 has in store for me.

My past words:

2012: explore
2011: peace
2010: wonder
2008: hope

(Two of my favorite bloggers chose open and brave this year.)

What is your one little word for 2013?

Posted on

Gardening with GMC

On Thursday night I attended BlogHer, but before that, I took part in a special event hosted by GMC. A group of bloggers (including me) were invited on a day trip to test out the new GMC Terrain SUVs while also helping to donate gardening supplies to a Harlem community garden.

I was happy to be a part of the event, but unfortunately, I am not in the market for a new car. We sold our car more than two years ago and I am not sure when or if we will get another. I was a little too afraid to actually drive the SUVs in the city… BUT I did have a great afternoon!

First we drove to Scarsdale to the family-owned Sprainbrook Nursery and picked up the $2,000 worth of plants purchased by GMC and a few extras donated by the nursery. Then, we headed to Harlem.

Convent Garden is a tiny triangle of green space at 151st St. It is managed, cared for, and loved by Miss Miami (seen here). It is a lovely community gathering spot and many of the neighbors came out to say hello and host a picnic for us. (I had many pieces of fried chicken.) We didn’t end up doing any of the actual gardening, but it was awesome to see the neighborhood in action and meet new people. I need to spend more time exploring Harlem!

I’ll have more details about BlogHer shortly…

Posted on

one little word of the year

Last year, my word was peace. In 2010, my word was wonder. In 2008, it was hope.

This year my word is explore.

I have a lot of travel planned for 2012. Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Little Rock, New Orleans… and that is just in the first two months! I think this year will be filled with many new experiences and I plan to embrace them. Seek them out even.

Did you choose a focus word this year?

Posted on

september

This post is based on the blogging prompt “What do you think of when you think of September?” from IndieBizChicks’ September Blogging Special.

the month of September

Is September half empty or half full? I can’t quite decide, but I am happy it is here even if it is already half over! September makes me think of fall, of course. You can smell the colder air approaching and the weather has been much more hospitable to running. I hate to say good bye to summer, but I have a feeling that autumn is going to be a good time, too!

September also makes me think of school. I am no longer in grad school (thank god!) and I do not have any children returning to school, but it still feels like a month for learning. Maybe that is why I have been adding so many books to my reading list! Right now, I am working my way through Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, and I am determined to finish it even though it breaks my heart every time I pick it up. After that I MUST read these five books:

Books for September

  • The Lampshade – I read the excerpt of this non-fiction book that was in the last issue of New York magazine and I am so totally hooked… is the lampshade a Nazi artifact made of human skin?!!
  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – A nonfiction pick that has been on my list for a while… “a tale of medical wonders and medical arrogance, racism, poverty.”
  • The Warmth of Other Suns – Another nonfiction book that I learned about in New York magazine (love that publication). I am really into historical nonfiction lately and this book would be a new perspective for me: the twentieth century migration of African Americans from the South to the North and West.
  • Let the Great World Spin – Finally a fiction pick! This National Book Award winner has gotten rave reviews and tells the story of New York City in the 1970s. Must read.
  • The First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival – This is a brand new addition to my list. It turns out that the author, Ken Wheaton, is on my Team In Training and he just told me about his book last night. I am fascinated by Louisiana culture and religion in general, so it seems like a perfect match for me!

I wish I could say that I am going to read all of these by the end of September, but that is way too ambitious for this slow reader. I will do my best to get them all finished by the end of the year! Have you read any of these books? What did you think? What other books should I add to my reading list? Besides learning, what do you think of when you think of September?

Posted on

midwest girl

This post is based on the blogging prompt “What do you like best about your hometown?” from IndieBizChicks’ September Blogging Special.

western Kansas prairie

The photo of the flat land you see above was taken in Western Kansas. Not exactly my hometown, but close. There is nothing I can do about it, I am a midwest girl – born in Saint Louis, raised in Kansas City, college in Iowa, vacations in Chicago – and everyone can tell. In New York, people go out of their way to tell me I am the most smiley person they have ever met, or that I am too polite, or that I am definitely NOT a native New Yorker. I just don’t think they were prepared for the midwest invasion…

I always wanted to explore the world. I had aunts and uncles who traveled nearly everywhere and I intended to follow in their footsteps, but now that I am away from my hometown in Kansas, I have definitely grown to appreciate it more.

A few of my favorite things about suburban Kansas City:

♥ The wide open spaces.
♥ The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art where I had my wedding reception.
♥ The running/hiking trails, which are remarkably flat!
♥ The large and numerous movie theaters. (without bedbugs!)
♥ Inexpensive real estate.
♥ The Country Club Plaza.
♥ The freedom to drive anywhere and buy lots of groceries!
♥ My family! xoxo

There have got to be more…. what am I missing?!

I think the thing I like the very best about my hometown is just how comfortable it is. I guess that is what everyone would say about their hometown… even if it is bustling New York City!

p.s. I thought I should add, that while a lot of my personality traits could be traced back to my midwest upbringing, there are also a lot of ways in which I am not a typical midwesterner… my religious and political preferences being two of them. I guess it is never quite accurate to stereotype someone, even when the person I am stereotyping is myself!

p.p.s My brother, who lived for three years in far western Kansas, has informed me that you can’t see the Rocky Mountains from there… so the photo above may actually be from Colorado. (Travis and I have driven across the country twice and I didn’t label my photos extremely well.) So, here is a photo that I KNOW is from Kansas:

Prairie Dog Town in Kansas

Posted on

colorful inspiration

thread

Two of my very cool and creative internet colleagues, Deb & Christy from Toolulu.com, visited New York City for business early this week and they were kind enough to invite me along sight seeing on Tuesday. The weather on Tuesday was actually horrendous. It was cold and windy and pouring rain nearly all day – not the weather you want for sight seeing on foot. But we were determined and we managed to hit many of the crafty destinations in the city.

fabric

The two photos above were taken at Mood Fabrics in the Garment District. The warehouse store has become something of a tourist attraction since it has been featured on Project Runway, but it was my first time there. I would guess Mood has any type of fabric you could possibly be looking for… but you definitely need to have a project in mind if you go there to shop. The choices are overwhelming! I bought some neon pink & grey ribbon that jumped out at me.

bowls

Next, we trekked over to M & J Trimming. (You may recall my previous trip there.) I bought a bunch of ribbon – including more neon, it is sort of my new thing – and some pom-pom fringe. We also checked out Fishs Eddy, where we saw the bowls pictured above, and ABC Carpet and Home. Swoon! I love that place so much. We picked up Crumbs cupcakes, had ‘Wichcraft sandwiches for lunch, and then headed to Soho before the girls had to leave for the airport. It was such a fun “vacation” day for me even with all the rain!

StashBustBadgeGood thing the Toolulu girls’ visit happened in March and I got all of my ribbon buying out of my system, because this month I have taken the April Stash Bust pledge. I have committed to not buying any new craft supplies this month and instead to making things only with items I already have in my stash. The intention is to help the earth a bit in honor of Earth Day on the 22nd and to think about how we use the things we buy. It fits in perfectly with the idea of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Swap-bot is one of the sponsors of the April Stash Bust “event” and you can learn more over on the Swap-bot blog. There is even a stash craft contest with some awesome prizes, but you have to take the pledge in order to enter! I am also hosting an April Stash Bust craft supply swap in conjunction with the Challenge and I’d love to have you join. We are each going to send an envelope of extra, unused supplies from our personal stashes to our swap partner. It’s a great way to give new life to neglected supplies and get some fresh stuff in return! Fun!