the paper pony

Pillows!

2008-05-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

After last week's drama I needed to do something relaxing and "homey". So I finally got over my zipper phobia and made two pillows for the back of our couch. These were surprisingly easy and quick especially with the zipper foot that came with my sewing machine.

A trick my mom showed me is to round the corners slightly before you sew the two sides together so that when you insert the pillow form they don't bow out. I'm thrilled with how these turned out and am never buying pillows again! I have the fabric for my throw pillows, just need to pre-wash it and buy more zippers. Yay!

Valerie and Gabe's Wedding Preview

2008-05-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

There is so much to show and talk about, but here are just a few quick favorites from the day. More details and a slide show coming soon!

A New Week

2008-05-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad last week is over and we're onto a new one. It just continued to get more interesting as we went into the weekend.

Forest caught an early flight home from NY to take care of the baby since his mom was now sick and I would be shooting all Friday and Saturday.

Baker stopped throwing up Friday which was good, and which also made me certain it was a reaction to the antibiotics I was on. Everything seemed to be better and since I had a large storage of pumped milk I was not worried about him anymore. Then Saturday morning came...

I woke up with an upset stomach. Two hours before I needed to leave for a very long day. Wow, what else could go wrong this week. I feel like I've had a very mellow first three months of motherhood and this week was like a big "catch up" dose of all that is hard about being a mom.

The wedding went wonderfully and I will post a few photos very soon. We weren't done yet though and on Sunday (Mother's Day) Forest woke up not feeling well as did his sister and he spent the day in bed. We had planned to go home that day, but Forest needed a day to sleep. I don't know what was going around in that house, but whatever it was it made me want to come home and wash EVERYTHING anyone might have touched. And I did. Viruses are so nasty.

Baker seems to be doing better, but I have to feed him in very small doses or his stomach does not take the food well. My doctor asked me to feed him again to see if it really was the antibiotics. So scary! To know that you might potentially make your kid sick again - I did NOT want to do that. We've pretty much determined that he had a bug since everyone in the house had a day of the similar symptoms. Yikes...but glad It wasn't me that was making him sick. Talk about mommy guilt.

Sorry for all the gory details, but I just needed to get that out there. After lots of tears and questioning my skills and judgment as a mom, things are on the mend. Hope all you mothers who are reading this had a better day than we did. Here's to next year!

Hard Week

2008-05-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

*sigh* It's been a hard week over here, so sorry I have been absent on the blog.

First, I got sick and tried to kick it with natural methods (rest, Echinacea, Advil), but that didn't work. So I went and got antibiotics since I have a wedding this weekend and need to be at 100% for that.

Then, B started throwing up this morning around 4am and hasn't stopped. Maybe a reaction to the antibiotics, I don't know, but he didn't even keep down the frozen milk I had. It breaks my heart to watch him be sick - poor little guy.

To top it all off Forest is at a conference on the East Coast so I am missing him through all of this : ( Thankfully I am down at his family's house and they are giving me lots of help.

On a happy note, B rolled over all the way for the first time on Tuesday, yay! Everything pretty much went downhill after that.

Hope to be back next week with a healthy body and baby, and maybe some wedding pics from this weekend.

5/9 UPDATE: Forest's mom is now feeling sick with the flu! Lord help us. Thankfully Forest caught and early flight home and will be here in a few hours.

Spring Sale @ d a c e

2008-05-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

If you look over to the right you'll see links to some places I like to shop. One of these is dace - the clothes are classic with a little twist and I've loved them ever since my friend Christa introduced me.

Adele at dace just emailed me and let me know they are having a spring sale and offering 20% off everything even sale items. Thought I'd pass it along to all of you - do some spring cleaning in your closet and add some new items to fill in those holes!

Sale is going on now and ends Tuesday May 6.
Enter SPRING at checkout to receive the discount.

Thanks Adele!

I could not outrun them so I got tagged

2008-05-02T14:09:00.000-07:00

Faith and Anna both tagged me to share 6 quirky things/habits that you might not already know. This was not hard and I'm sure there is plenty weirdness to be shared. Hopefully this will be somewhat entertaining - I always like knowing the less obvious about people : )

The rules:

* link to the person that tagged you
* post the rules on your blog
* share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
* tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
* let each random person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Here goes:

1. I looove drinking straws. In the midst of labor I was very concerned that Forest remembered the straws as we were heading to the birthing center. Heaven forbid I would have to drink my electrolytes straight from a cup. I actually don't like rims of glasses and to be honest, they kind of creep me out.

2. I have anxiety dreams a lot. I'm shooting a wedding next weekend and last night I dreamt that a) I didn't show up at the rehearsal, b) I forgot to rent equip. for my 2nd shooter, c) I didn't give her directions or tell her what time to arrive, and d) I wore jeans and the church lady at the catholic church wouldn't let me in to the ceremony. (Valerie, if you're reading this, DON'T WORRY! None of this will actually happen, but see how much I care about doing a good job? See you Friday!)

3. I have a habit of building a shoe pile outside my closet every week. They start out all stacked nicely on the racks, but after 7 days of figuring out what to wear it is chaos. This is because my shoe racks are behind my hanging clothes and it's just too much work to put them back. If you're looking at houses to buy or rent never believe yourself when the voice inside says having small closets will be no big deal. It will be a big deal and no matter how nice your pool is or how big your kitchen is you'll wish you had more closet space.

4. I like wearing makeup, but hate putting it on.

5. Hip hop/rap is my favorite genre of music. I love Tupac AND Biggie.

6. I'm very self conscious about my legs and do not own a pair of shorts. I've tried multiple times to purchase them, but once I get into the dressing room it's all over. I barely even wear skirts or dresses unless its to a fancy event and I have 4 inch heels on.

I'm not tagging anyone ( I know, what a party pooper), but there you go! Happy Friday to all.

Jena + Ryan's Rehearsal

2008-05-01T10:12:00.001-07:00

the happy couple arrive. practicing their "we're married!" smiles. Jena and her proud papa.

details details

a beautiful day + lots and lots of beautiful food.
*Click on an image to see it larger

My Favorite

2008-04-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite photo of little B recently. I took it for my "365 days of baby project" and man, I just can't even handle the cuteness.

Yeah, so whatever happened to that project anyway? Hasn't it been like a month and a half since you posted anything?

Right. About that. I'm still taking a picture every day, it's just the posting that I'm having problems with. But I'll get to it soon - being a mom has made me face the fact that I just can't do everything all the time. Priorities you know?

BTW, my brother's rehearsal and wedding were beautiful and I'm also working on those photos right now. I didn't get sick like I thought so I was able to shoot a bunch at the rehearsal and just a few at the wedding. They had two photographers so I just enjoyed the day and let them do their thing. Hopefully Josh will send me the slide show he made so I can post it here!

Happy Wednesday from B and me!

Wedding Prep

2008-04-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

We are up in Santa Cruz for my little brother's wedding this weekend. He's marrying a cute Southern Belle who is quite the DIYer even while working all the way up until yesterday - she's amazing. My parents are turning the house inside out to prepare for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner they are hosting tomorrow, and I am trying to help though I am not feeling well and really hope I'm not getting sick.

The decor for the rehearsal is Martha Stewart lovlieness and I look forward to photographing all the little details that are going to make it pretty! I don't have the energy to take any photos right now, but here's the inspiration courtesy of marthastewart.com:

Click on the photos to see the how-to

Dying to Sew

2008-04-21T12:22:00.001-07:00

After 10.5 weeks of not sewing, I am dying to get out my machine. If I can swing it today I'm going to at least cut out my pillows. I've decided on these two from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern and a chocolate brown velvet for the couch pillows. I asked Forest if he cares about having pink pillows and he said no. What a guy.

My mom gave me a few pillow sewing tips that I will share when I post the final product. Wish me luck!

Diana+ Shooting Tips

2008-04-17T09:12:00.001-07:00

I've had a few questions in the comments of my last Diana+ post so I thought I'd throw out a few tips for shooting with this camera. It can be intimidating to use medium format film and it definitely takes a little trial-and-error to figure out what works best, but here is a bit of info that will hopefully be of help:

• This camera uses 120 (or medium format) film. Depending on which frame you use inside the camera it will either take 12 or 16 exposures.
• Because this camera does not have an on/off switch it is very easy for the shutter to be released accidentally (like if it's in your purse and hits something - happens to me all the time). For this reason always leave the lens cap on when you are not using it. That way nothing will be exposed if the shutter gets released because no light is coming in.
• I always advance my film after a shot even if I'm not going to take another one right away. That way I don't forget and accidentally make a double exposure. Though that can be a "happy accident" sometimes!
• I usually use negative film because I think it's a bit less expensive to develop than slide film.
• My favorite film right now is Kodak NC 160. This a good OUTDOOR film, but does not work well inside.
• If you want to shoot inside with this camera I recommend using at least 400 speed film and making sure you still have good natural light.
• I've found the best photos I've made are in bright sunlight with the sun behind me to get a rich blue sky.
• To save money I never have prints made right away. Instead I just have the film processed and ask for low res scans on a CD. These scans are suitable for printing 4x4 prints, but if I want a larger print of a particular image I can always have an enlargement made later.
• I use a local professional lab because I get so excited to see my photos that I want them back as soon as possible, but there are some good labs you can mail your film to if there is not a lab that processes medium format film in your area.

Tips for loading film:
• See if you can get an expired foll from your local photo supply store, then practice loading with that roll until you get comfortable to use a new, unexposed roll.
• Always load film in subdued light, or better yet -
• If you have a room in your house that is very dark (closet, laundry room, etc..) preferably with no windows it is sometimes a good idea to load your film in there to avoid light leaks. It's also helpful in case you are having issues and have to try a couple times to get the film loaded correctly. It's hard to do it without being able to see, but it can save wasting money since film is not cheap these days.
• When you have the film loaded it should be tight across the back so it will wind correctly. If it's loose you could end up exposing your film when you take it out of your camera, thus ruining all your pretty pictures.

Diana+ cameras are sold in a few places:
Lomography.com
Amazon.com
Samys.com

You can also get inspired here:
Diana+ photos on flickr

Hope this helps get your cameras out of their pretty boxes and into the world. Don't be discouraged if your first few rolls are nothing to post on your blog about. It might take some practice, but the feeling I get when I use this camera and see what comes from it is magical. Yes magical. It's like these photos come with built-in nostalgia. I can already see myself looking at them in 20 years and feeling a rush of warm memories from the days when we were young and just starting our family. Film just does that, I think.

Have fun!

A New Header for Spring

2008-04-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

After browsing my Martha Stewart Weddings Mags to find inspiration for something I'm helping my soon-to-be sister in law with (wedding is in two weeks!) I was craving a new springy blog header. These are my peonies from sometime last year. No, not from my garden but hopefully some day.

Saturday with Diana+

2008-04-16T22:16:00.000-07:00

I'll be there!

2008-04-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

We're really doin' it. Thanks to my loving husband I will be at the Design Sponge Biz Ladies Meetup tonight in LA! He's taking the baby to his parents so I can hang with the girls for a couple hours.

I'm SO excited to attend this event! My friend Lindsay is the financial speaker so it will be great to support her and meet the lovely Grace who is hugely responsible for many who read this blog.

Are you going? If you are I'd love to meet you. There's my picture over to the right, or look for the average girl standing next to the 5'11" blonde model-looking one (my friend Amy) : )

Amy Amy Amy

2008-04-08T08:51:00.000-07:00

I forgot to share a very fun surprise I came home to after B's birth. Nan at Amy Butler sent me a care package with Amy's new book Midwest Modern and some new patterns to try out. So fun!

I really love this book, especially after my third or fourth look-through when I actually read the words. I do this with magazines too - flip through a few times and look at photos, then actually read the articles. I loved reading about her design process and learning that she still does all the original art for her fabric by hand with paint and paper.

I'm excited to make some of these bags when I get to sewing again and also wanted to send out a public THANK YOU to Nan for thinking of me : )

And continuing with Midwest Modern love, here is what is currently on my inspiration board.

I would be a horrible interior designer because I can NEVER make a decision and stick to one thing in my house. Before I've bought fabric or furniture for my current "idea" I've moved onto something else.

That said, I ditched my old color scheme and now thinking about pink/brown/yellow for the living room. Pink in the living room? Really? Yes, for now. I think. I don't know!

We went to a baby shower last weekend and the mom-to-be's house was beautiful, all neutrals and whites. Then I come back to my golden rod chairs and green kitchen walls and start to doubt myself. Something I heard recently is encouraging though and here it is: "Just do what you do". I think that rings true for me in every area of my life. I have to just do what I do and be myself - with my photography, home decor, wardrobe. All these things have a certain style and I need to just roll with it.

That said, all these pink-y fabrics from Amy's Midwest Modern line intrigue me. So we'll see. When I see them in person that might change, but if I actually get as far as making pillows I will let you know. So far that hasn't happened : )

The Laptop...It was inevitable.

2008-04-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

[photo by Robert Doisneau from Parisiennes ISBN-13:978-2-0803-0037-9]

This girl was quite ahead of her time wasn't she? I give her props for hauling that big piece of machinery all the way from her flat to the banks of the Seine. Though I have to think I would do the same were I alive in...1947. I'm sure when she saw the first laptop she was like "that's nothing. When I was a kid..."

Speaking of kid, B. is wearing his hand-me down Osh Kosh B'Gosh overalls from his cousin P. and he looks Puhhhh-recious. There is nothing so classic as Osh Kosh B'Gosh on a baby.

Oh wait.
I just looked and they are Baby Gap. Hmph. Well they're still overalls and they're still cute.

Diana+

2008-03-28T14:25:00.001-07:00

A photo from my first experimental roll with the Diana+ camera I received for Christmas. Dreamy...

Meet me over at sfgirlbybay

2008-03-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to say I'm an Unexpected Guest over at sfgirlbybay today!

This is one of my favorite segments of Victoria's blog and I was so honored she asked me. She usually features fancy artists who actually have you know, work to show so I wasn't quite sure what she would do with me. But thanks to Flickr she found enough interestingness and I just love the diptics she put together. A photo can become so much more when placed next to another.

Read the whole interview on her blog here

Thanks Victoria! I have a mojito chilling and a lounge chair with your name on it any time : )

Obsession: Chambray

2008-03-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

I did a little guilt-free shopping last night with my birthday cash (thanks forest!) and found myself gravitating toward all things chambray. It's so classic.

Does anyone know where you can buy it? I would love to make a clutch or bag out of it. If any of you have a source I'd love to know.

Vote for Emily and Brian!

2008-03-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

Well, hullo. I have not blogged in a week - whats up with that? Babies, that's what's up. We are visiting my parents for the weekend and I brought my flash card which is full of good stuff intended for this blog. So if I find some time tomorrow I am going to try and catch up. Catch up - that's my mantra right now.

But real quick I wanted to post about an email I just received from one of my 2007 brides, Emily. She and Brian entered a handful of their photos in theknot.com's Real Weddings Contest and we need your votes! I had such a blast with them on their wedding day, am SO happy they liked their photos enough to enter them in a contest, and would love to see them win.

If you have a second follow this link and give their photos a big fat 5 hearts. If you don't have a knot log-in you have to create one, but it literally takes 30 seconds (I did it too). So will you vote? Pretty pretty please?

View my Real Wedding Awards Nominee!

Their website is also in the contest. They were #1 yesterday!

View my Real Wedding Awards Nominee!

Good luck you two! If you ask me you definitely had one of the best weddings of 2007 : ) xo

polyvore.com: GO

2008-03-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well, it's a good thing it's 4:10pm because if you are someone with a 9-5 you only have 50 minutes left in your day to waste on this site. If it were 10am I think you'd be in trouble.

My lil' sis Corrie introduced polyvore.com to me about 45 minutes ago and it is AMAZING. I may be late in the game on this one, I don't know, but it's like the flickr of fashion. You can look at thousands of items from online stores, even import anything you want and make up outfits and collages to your heart's content.

We are collage making girls (my sister has binders full) and this is like having all our fashion magazines at our finger tips without the scissors and glue! Next time I'm stumped for what to wear you know I will be heading here. The coolest thing is that you can make up an outfit, then buy the whole thing right afterward! My clothing budget never saw this coming. polyvore.com - go!

Fashion District:LA

2008-03-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun taking photos. These are a joint effort between my mom and I.
Click here to see more on flickr.

Slipcover

2008-03-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

My mom was in town for a few a days (yay) while my dad and Forest fly-fished in Mammoth. Mom visits are always fun, especially this one because it involved a lot of fabric and sewing talk.

While she was here she made a slipcover pattern for the yellow chairs:

As much as I love my yellow chairs, they really need to be recovered. Maisy attacked one about a week after we got them (thanks, Dog) so one half is permanently covered by a blanket and the other is starting to rip now too because the fabric is old and worn thin. I thought about having them reupholstered in leather or another fabric, but leather is out right now due to budget concerns and with our lifestyle slipcovers really are the best option.

I have said this before, but do you know how awesome it is to have a mom who sews professionally? It's awesome. I am determined to learn slipcovers myself so I don't have to bother her, but I'm starting small with some pillows for our couch.

Part of our weekend involved a trip to LA's fashion district. I have been wanting to take my mom there for awhile so we packed up the baby and went for it. Little B did great in the Moby Wrap for 2+ hours (I CAN have a life and a baby!) and we were successful in our fabric search despite only covering um, 1 of the 90 blocks that is the fashion district. I think we had more fun taking pictures and I'll show you my favorites scenes from Maple Avenue in an upcoming post.

So now, pillows with zippers. My mom says they aren't as scary as I might think. We'll see.

365: A baby's first year :: 024

2008-03-05T13:32:00.001-08:00

Almost caught up! I just posted updates to my 365 project and am just about up to date. I backposted a bunch of photos today, so click here if you want to see the whole project so far.

I Have a New Crush

2008-03-05T07:56:00.001-08:00

And it's not on a celebrity or even a human being...it's this mini cupcake from Crushcakes, a brand new cupcakery in Santa Barbara.

Our dear friends Lindsay & Katie brought us dinner last night and included a box of these sweet little desserts. Some of you may know that I wasn't eating sugar during my pregnancy because I had gestational diabetes, so now that I'm done with that people have been spoiling me with treats. Yum yum yum - no complaints here. The two I tried were scrumptious and I will most likely devour this one after lunch today.