Oh, this face...

this handsome six month old face. i made this my desktop background while in a meeting this afternoon. i minimized my screen several times to get a glimpse at this cute little guy. i never get sick of this kid.

i've said it before and i mean it...he is my favorite thing.

peek-a-boo

Enough with the Labels, Okay?

i'm over it. and when i say "labels" i mean literal, physical, handwritten or typed out or chalkboarded labels and shit, labeling items that don't need labeling.

like cutesy little drink tables that label things like "beer" or "wine." or taco bars with labels like "lettuce" or "salsa." or shelves in bathrooms with labels on them that say "towels."

labels should be there to help us out with things that might not be so obvious. so if there's a mystery keg, go ahead and make me an artsy little label that let's me know what i'm about to tap, such as "downtown brown" or "shock top." help me to know which of the salsas at your party is spicy and which is mild. label things vegetarian, vegan or gluten free. that's helpful. is this sun dried tomato hummus, or roasted red pepper hummus? thanks for the little folded card in front labeling it, i couldn't tell by looking at it.

"i'm gonna put a bird on a bird, put it in a jar and label it."

you know portlandia's put a bird on it? i said awhile ago that i wanted to make a follow up called "put it in a jar" to clown on all the silly things in jars. mundane things or ordinary thoughtless things that somehow become special and funky and "indie" (i hate that word) because they are now in their cool jar home.

like this nonsense. cute, but come on. there's not enough basil there to create anything meaningful.

once i make my "put it in a jar follow up", i'm going to follow that up with "label it." anyone have fred armisen's phone number?

Badass. So so so badass.

seriously. does anyone even come close to tina turner?

i was going to list all the cool elements of this video until i realized every freaking thing about it is amazing.

We're Having a Party

i love me a good party. my sister, mom and i spent our weekend prepping some of the decorations for our nana's 80th birthday party next weekend. i found this party online awhile ago that really inspired the look for my nana's party. we even went with shades of green for ours too.

my talented friend christina designed the invitations. we made them into postcards to save a little cash on mailing. a ton of family told me just to do evites for something, but i love receiving something beautiful and printed and hand addressed in the mail.

my pretty nana...no idea what year. she looks like she might be in her late twenties? early thirties?

we made vertical hanging garland out of scrapbook paper circles and some hemp twine stuff i bought at michael's for about 10 dollars. 

every few circles is a scanned photograph of my nana.

we also used the hemp twine stuff to wrap around mason jars and various vases to be used as centerpieces. we stamped some round tags with nana's initial.

mark it with a 'p'

usually when i plan parties i worry about whether or not the decor will look good. i'm really not fretting about this one at all. i think once everything comes together, it will look awesome! 

Piggy Baby

so, rice cereal was a bit of a success last week. the only issue we had was van's natural ravenous nature. it's like he couldn't eat it fast enough. i've been giving him a bottle and then following it up with cereal a couple hours later. he's doing pretty well with it and it's definitely making for some good photos.

nom nom nom...

A Year Ago Today...

i was scared out of my gourd at the sight of the positive pregnancy test sitting on the counter.

and today i'm having a freaking blast with my little mini-me, who will be 4 months old tomorrow. he's my favorite thing!

The Very Best

it's a sad, sad day.

i really feel like i have so much to thank him for. his music is part of my soundtrack. his voice is so ingrained in my mind and so tied up into all these experiences i've had throughout my life; singing along to the weight and cripple creek during impromptu acoustic living room jams as a young child, inheriting my parent's vinyl collection and listening to the last waltz on my first record player in my room as a teenager, seeing the levon helm band perform at the outside lands music festival in san francisco a few summers ago...

thanks for everything, levon.