Jack's new library

Been a while. I'll acknowledge that. But won't dwell on it. 

Instead, check out the new book shelf Jack got from his grandparents. Practical and aesthetic. Wish I would've gotten an even bigger one to fit all of his gazillion toys.

Slowly turning the former office/guest room/craft room into Jack's big boy room. 

Scrubbies

Made these babies for a friend. Basically, you buy tulle, cut it into 2-inch strips, tie ends together, and then knit them. I used garter stitch for most texture. And then I sewed the ends together to make them sturdier and easier to handle.

Knitting with tulle is rough - literally. My fingers never got this much exfoliation. But there is a reason I'm willing to go through this torture - these scrubbies are amazing for dishes (especially high maintenance pots and pans). They also do not stink after longer use like sponges tend to.

Neutrals

Brights

I will be making more of these for other friends and even for myself. I still have one I made a while ago - still works wonderfully. But the endless color possibilities make these a quick and fun job that instantly brightens your kitchen.

IKEA loot

We made a trip to Ikea on Friday. It was baby's first longish trip out of town... er, out of state, even! He did really well. Traveling with baby is tough, but it's possible.
The only things we ended up buying is some new bedding and a cool mod-style lamp. I really wish there was an IKEA closer to town. Love their stuff!

Not-so-eager baby model

Cleaning ALL the things!

This weekend I've been obsessively cleaning my house. Not sure if it's nesting or spring cleaning or both, but it's been long overdue. I didn't cover more than the living and the dining room, but I cleaned every corner and crevice in detail. There isn't a speck of dust or dog hair anywhere. It won't last impeccable for very long, but we'll try our best to maintain the bliss. In addition to cleaning, hubby and I replaced an old lighting fixture in the dining room.

Before

The old 70s fixture had a cool design, but the gold plating has started chipping off at the bottom. We might spray it chrome and replace the light bulb covers one day, but for now, we were just ready for something more contemporary.

After

The new one was on sale at Menards and is more befitting our light, minimalist style. It also emits a lot more light than the old fixture, which is something we needed in this area of the house.

The Gift

I love my mom and dad. They have sacrificed everything for me and my sisters. We  have lived a modest but comfortable life and never lacked anything. So it breaks my heart every time when my parents give us something so lavish and expensive. They are immigrants who came here with nothing and slowly built a cozy life for themselves through will, persistence and hard work. I hope we can be half as good parents as they have been to me. Thank you mom and dad! I love you soooo much!

So yesterday I received an incredibly luxurious gift from my parents. It took my breath away.  It's a Stokke stroller and the best of the best out there. I've only seen celebrities and posh Europeans pushing this stuff around. It is so incredible, I can't quite believe it's ours.

There are two types of seats. One is a newborn carry cot that is so charmingly nostalgic looking, and the other is a versatile seat that carries a child to up to 4 years old. 

The seat is adjustable and sits quite high, which is beyond awesome. It's so high, you can use it as a high chair when out and about. It can also face you or away, something that was important to me. I'd like to be able to take my baby to the farmers market or the art festival next summer and be able to look at my sweetie's face all the while. 

Speaking of using this next summer, the stroller comes with some other useful accessories (mosquito net, cover for rain, shopping bag). I totally love the neutral and elegant color and the sturdy material it is made of.

The wheels turn a full, smooth 360 degrees, the entire thing is incredibly, surprisingly light, and it's so easy to assemble and disassemble once you know all the right buttons.

This stroller is the best thing I've ever seen in baby gear. I am still in awe of it. Hubby and I have been walking it around the house with baby's toys in it.  So there it is, and I guess you can also see our nursery in progress. There is still some decorating and furnishing we need to do, but at least we have all the essentials assembled and ready for use. Baby, we can't wait to have you!

Craft corner

Since I had to give up my craft room for our dear baby, my thoughtful, handy, and creative husband built me my own little craft corner in the office closet. I absolutely love it, and I love him!

So colorful and quaint

My own little sanctuary corner, built by my love

Air!

I've been missing in action lately when it comes to everything blog, but there is a good reason for that (more on that in another post). Our house is in absolute disarray, but hubby and I have been diligent. We installed some ultra groovy fans in a couple of rooms where there were no fans before. I'm in love with these new helicopters.

Office breeze

Craft room/guest room/future nursery now also comes with air

Where are the strings you pull to turn on/off lights, change fan settings? Why, these babies come with remotes that you mount on the wall. Swoon!

I'm spoiled

Mo' Wall Art

I received beautiful prints of the pacific coast (Oregon) from my dear friend Belma and immediately put them on the most prominent wall in our living room, right above our fireplace.

She has got an eye for photography. Thank you Belmich! You are very talented.

Wall art

It's been a long time since my last post.  I have no excuses. Part summer craziness, part laziness. Also, I couldn't find the charger for my camera battery, so there were no pictures, either. And what is a blog without pictures? Boring. So were my kitchen and office walls (man, what a segway!) I finally decked the walls with something worth looking at. 

First, the most expensive art work of all: my hubby's Juris Doctor and my MBA diplomas. Ironically, neither one of us has a stable job. I'm being laid off and my hubby doesn't have many prospects out there. Sigh...

But at least we are learning how to be frugal. So it's only fitting that we put up the Victory Garden of Tomorrow propaganda posters up to guide us through these tough economic times. (Sorry about the poor lighting.)

Green and conscientious.

"Eat local greens", "You serve when you preserve" and "Grow food on an organic farm"

"Recycling is reusing", "Eat real food" and "Keep them flying"

I do have to give credit to my work pal Amanda for introducing me to these.  (How appropriate that her last blog was about her own victory garden! Kismet!)

Scissors, hammer, and knitting needles

I cut my bangs. I was getting annoyed with the way my front hair didn't know where to go. Parting it just looks awful, and my face is wide enough that I couldn't have a side sweep without covering my eyes. So I grabbed some scissors, and did it myself. I have to say, I'm rather pleased with the result.

New hairdo

In other news, I scored another print at Target. This one is of a moped (something I'd like to own one day).

Added to the random wall

I'm working on a lot of knitting projects. I won't reveal what they are, but thought I'd give you some clues.

Soft ruffles

I got a feeling/somebody's watching me

Stripey

Waterlily blocks

Projects will be revealed soon. Hope I piqued your interest a little. That should motivate me to finish them.

2011 Spring Cleaning Sessions, Part II

One of my favorite rooms in the house is my crafts room that doubles as a guest room. Over the weekend, my hubby and I cleared tons of stuff out it. Most will go to Goodwill. We also bought some colorful containers to store all my yarn and fabrics and other crafty stuff. Say hello to the new and improved crafts/guest room.

Everything in its right place

Jeff showing off his work

The wall of random things we like

I thought this was MY room... sigh...

2011 Spring Cleaning Sessions, Part I

As you may already know, I lead an extremely exciting life, as evident in this blog.
After a productive day at work, I came home and then...

1.  Played as many games of McSolitaire as it took to solve one.
2.  Then decided to tackle some house cleaning - today's focus: dining room (an often overlooked area in the house). This entailed the following (please note - the only person who'll enjoy this part is maybe my mom):

• Taking items that do not belong on the dining room table and put them into their proper place (ahem... tools used to hang up the mirror weeks ago).
• Vacuuming the rug and the floors.
• Mopping the hardwood with some Bona (biodegradable hardwood floor cleaner) and my Shark steam cleaner.
• Wiping clean all the light switches and outlets (4 of them? In a dining room? Why?)
• Placing my wilting plant in a more sunlit location in the corner across from the screen door. I also got to salvage that old wooden stand that was on its way to Goodwill.
• Removing layers of dog slobber off the screen door.
• Wiping the dining room table and chairs with some lemony wood polish.

Nobody is allowed into this room - especially you, dog

3.  Then in my domestic frenzy, I also managed to wash and put away a couple of loads of laundry.
4.  Ironed hubba's dressy shirt for tomorrow (being a lawyer's wife requires a lot of ironing).
5.  Blogged about my accomplished evening. You are welcome.

Working part-time

While looking for ways to land softly after being laid off, two interesting opportunities came up: teaching a course at a local university, and working in a gorgeous little yarn store. I am doing both part-time. I am going to be busy, but at least I will enjoy doing both.

On an unrelated note, a friend introduced me to CanvasPop - a site that will put your favorite photographs onto a canvas. I am so doing this one day!

Randoms

1) I am knitting a rainbow shrug to wear over my multi-colored tank tops. The back is almost done (as seen below).

2) This is my husband. He is a stud. Handsome, intelligent, and overall awesome. And that's our "puppy" behind him. Another really cool alpha-male.

3) And here is a project we've been working on lately: removing the jungle around our house. It's a lot of work and delayed by a nest of vicious bees who stung hubby, me, and even our puppy. We are waiting for the weather to cool to finish cutting these overgrown bushes and planting less invasive plants.

In progress: that entire side of the house was hidden by bushes (like the front side you see on the left)