things i love right now: striped baby clothes and zombies

 

James' sweet mother took us shopping for some baby clothes for Claire this past weekend (thanks Kathy!) and I ended up selecting about every pair of striped leggings we could find. If you can't tell, I have a small obsession with stripes at the moment.  Every once in a while James will come in the living room holding up these little pink and grey pants and say, "She is going to be so little! Why can't she get here already?" It makes me sad. I want to be cuddling with my little girl already. 

We decided to spend one of the rainy days this weekend at the bookstore drinking hot chocolate and doing some light reading... so naturally, I grab the biggest zombie apocalypse graphic novel I could find, The Walking Dead. This book does not disappoint. It quickly became the #1 item on my "want" list. I even tried to convince James that it was on my "need" list, but it didn't work. I courteously made this last picture extra large for you so you could see some of the details. And because I know that you are dying to see more infected humans eating the living, here are some other zombie things that I've really enjoyed...

 

 

 

if you spent your weekend filming your husband in a bathtub, covered in pancakes, then we had the same weekend

To say the least, this weekend started off really strange. First, before I go into the explanation of why my husband and his best friend are in a bathtub, covered in pancakes, I need to preface this story. My husband and his two best friends graduated from film school together and have been conspiring to create a scetch comedy group on Youtube. Every Friday for the past three weeks they have been hashing out a short, five minute episode for their Youtube campaign. Needless to say, these episodes don't follow the lives of the average trio of friends. James, Jeremy, and Chris just launched their first video on Youtube today. You can check out the short episode here. Trust me. You are in for a treat. Anyway, this weekend they shot a little story involving a certain breakfast escapade. You can see the entire episode on their Youtube channel in a couple of weeks if you are dying for further explanation. I have been doing the production sound for their episodes and it has been a treat. I've learned a lot more in the past three weeks on production sound and it renews my love for sound every time I have a creative experience. I know. It's extremely geeky. You would have a ball in my sound classes. We get really excited about good (and bad) sound... we had a pretty long discussion about the super bowl halftime show. Who didn't have a pretty long discussion about that?

 The next day James and I ventured to Costco, the coolest grocery store known to man (besides Trader Joe's). Where else can you get a colossal polish hot dog and a drink for $1.50? P.S.- I have been craving hot dogs like mad since I've been pregnant. Anyone else? And, believe it or not, this was the best picture of me. If any of you are as un-photogenic as I am, I sympathize with you.

On Sunday, James and I took a little drive to a really great neighborhood, Daybreak. Even if you don't live in Utah, you might have heard of it. The subdivision was designed to be completely sustainable on it's own. There is an elementary school in the middle of it, as well as a grocery store, a downtown area, and a huge lake for boating and outdoor activities. Each individual home is different than the next, and there is a playground every couple of blocks. This house is still in the construction stage, but we really liked it.

We spent our Valentine's Day eating... it seams like that is what most of my posts are about. Eating. Anyway, we made baked asparagus wrapped in bacon... what a contradiction. It was so delicious, but I don't think I am going to want to eat bacon for the next year, much less look at it. Later that night, we went to the mall and spent our Cold Stone gift card (thanks Chelsea and Ryan) on some much needed ice cream. We stopped at Baby Gap on the way out, and I fell in love with Claire all over again. I can't wait to see her, especially in a denim jumper. My summer baby needs to get here sooner. I just can't wait to be able to do so many things with her, like taking a walk or reading a book to her. I know every musician-mom-to-be must say this, but I am being completely honest when I say that I think Claire may have inherited my musical genes. She immediately starts kicking around as soon as rehearsals start, and she only responds to music as opposed to other loud noises. Who knows. I'm just being hopeful.

nicolitalia pizzeria = best pizza in utah

I know all of The Pie fans from Salt Lake City might try to kill me once I have said this, but Nicolitalia Pizzeria is the best pizza place in Utah. Do you know of another restaurant where the owner announces your food in a Yoda accent? The owner of the place, a true east-coaster with a high pitched Boston accent, is there 24/7 making pizzas and taking orders. I love coming here just to talk to him. He is just this jolly little man who always seems so happy that I half expect him to say, "It's me, Mario!" when I walk in. You will often hear him yell through this little microphone, "I got a thick and juicy pizza fa Steve!" in his overly high pitched voice. This is half the reason I come. Reason #2 is this; the food is really good! James and I always get their Greek Salad with the most delicious Italian dressing and a Mahgarita Pizza. The only downside is that our breath reeks of garlic for the next couple of days. I love supporting a restaurant where the owner is always there, always cheerful, and even the one who makes my pizza. Witnessing a person in the process of creating their dream, and knowing that I can participate in the making of his success is really rewarding to me. Their pizza might not be the best tasting pizza I've ever had, but knowing this guy's story, and seeing how passionate he is about what he does makes it one of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had.

wallpaper

recently, i have formed a slight obsession with wallpaper. this scrap wood wallpaper by Piet Hein Eek kills me.

the baby bump.

Five months along. Four more to go. I look at all these other pregnant women who have bulging bellies at five months and mine is barely noticeable. What's the deal? I guess it doesn't help to wear a potato sack for a shirt.

James is pregnant too! 

Don't believe me?

In the meantime, I've been researching the whole cloth vs disposable diapers and came across bumgenius. They seem so great! One size fits all?! Wallet and planet friendly?! Less diaper rashes?! Get out! Before doing research, I had heard that cloth diapers were more expensive, caused more diaper rashes, and were extremely inconvenient. But after doing some research, I've found all of that information to be the reverse. Some experienced mothers even offered suggestions for a hybrid solution so when you are out and about for longer periods of time it's OK to use disposables. Good ideas, no? So what's your opinion? Cloth or disposable?

New Haircut and a Sunday Morning Breakfast.

The new dew.

This morning, I had the most delicious breakfast. The only good thing about winter after Christmas is really good grapefruit followed by toast and peppermint tea.

A Wedding! A Kitten! A Graduation! A Baby!

Much has happened between the year 2008 and 2011. Sorry to have left you out! Here is a recap in pictures of what has been going on in the past couple of years. Beginning this blog again with a big bang is a good start I think.

James and I got engaged in February of 2009 and were married three and a half months later on May 29th. We love, love, love our wedding pictures, thanks to Jill Thomas, our photographer. You can see some of her other work here. If it weren't for these pictures, I would have considered eloping.

Apparently I made a weird face just before this shot was taken. James continued to laugh at me, and I quickly got angry with him. The last of these three shots is of me attempting to push him over. Attempt failed.

This was our first home. Our entire apartment was literally 450 square feet, so we had to get a raised bed to fit our couch... I know... a married couple sleeping on a bunk bed. Pathetic. However, our adorable apartment was well worth the overcrowded mess... plus, it was fun to get experimental designing a living space in such a small room.

We got a kitten! Curtis enjoys sharing my pillow at night, biting me on the head if I moved during one of his precious naps, performing acrobatics from our bed to the kitchen cupboards, and flinging cat litter all over the bathroom. He stinks, he bites, he scratches, but he makes up for it with this face...

James and I went to Disneyland not once, not twice, but thrice this year, one of those said trips with my family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. From left to right: My brother Chris, sisters Rachel, Maren, and Lauren, James, and I. In only a matter of months since our wedding, even though I promised myself we would not be THAT couple, James and I got fat. Yes. Fat. Which leads me to our next couple of photos; the New York trip.

James and I decided to use our tax return on a well deserved vacation to New York City. We spent all of it in New York, mainly on food. Here, James and I are enjoying a delicious corn from my all-time favorite restaurant in the world...Cafe Habana. I have referenced this restaurant on two different occasions in this blog and I am sure I will reference it again when we make another trip there. If you happen to go to New York, please go to Cafe Habana and order their Steak Sandwich with a side of grilled corn. Best. Sandwich. Ever.

  

James graduated in film at Brigham Young University, along with his best friends Jeremy and Chris in August of 2010! Yay James!

As much as James didn't want me to post this (he thinks he looks like a hunchback), this might be my favorite picture in the bunch. This photo was taken at James' sister's wedding. Little did I know that two hours later I would be barfing in the bathroom and miss the entire reception. Apparently it gets hot in August and drinking water is key to avoiding dehydration. Lesson learned.

And finally, we seemed to have gone crazy in September and decided to start a family. We went to our third appointment two days ago and got to see the little stinker again, but this time we found out the baby is a girl! I've got four months left until she makes her appearance. She is moving around in there almost constantly, and, to my delight, she responds especially when she hears music during my rehearsals (I'm in college right now as a music major). Without further ado, Claire Alexander.