It's in the bag!

The sneak peak I posted earlier today...

My co-worker/"desk mate"/friend is expecting her first child at the end of September and I will be attending her baby shower this Saturday. What better excuse to make something?! I've been feeling much more creative lately but all I've done is made a long list of things I want to do. I guess I just needed a project with a deadline! I know she has a lot of family and friends who will probably buy her the must-haves so I decided to break out the ol' bag pattern that I mastered last Christmas to make her a diaper bag (or maybe travel bag because its so BIG!).

I pulled together a somewhat neutral palette with taupes, grays, black, white, and a pop of yellow-

This bag has quite a few peices...I always like the way they look just piled up, waiting to be sewn together-

And....drum roll please.....the finished product! I always have an idea of how I want it to look but it is always fun to see it come to life-

Front

Back

The bottom matches the handles...so happy with this part!

Detail of the button

Lining and inside pockets

The side pockets are lined with a yellow and cream stripe...hard to see in the photo but the peice above the stripe is a linen with a subtle metalic thread woven through it...a nice little suprise when the sunlight hits it!

Congrats to Erica and husband Matt...I hope baby Ben likes his bag! :)

Hopefully, this kicks starts the long list of projects I want to do! Stay tuned for more. I'm finally starting our living room pillows...thank you for my wonderful facebook friends who shared their opinions with me-check back soon to see which palette I picked!

Happy Birthday!

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday one more time to my dear hubby who celebrated number 29 yesterday! Hope you had an amazing one! :)

The Seattle Rock & Roll Half Marathon

Its been a few days since I crossed the finish line of my first half marathon and I can't stop thinking about it. I must still be on a runner's high. I picked up my number and swag bag on Thursday and started to feel really nervous. Its funny how something as simple as a flimsy piece of paper and a set of safety pins can set off such a roller coaster of emotions...I know that sounds silly but this half marathon was something I needed to finish and as a first born and a perfectionist, I needed to finish it with flying colors!

I started the week with a cold and was stuck on the couch on Monday and Tuesday night but that was exactly what I needed to prepare for the 13.1 miles I would be running on Saturday, both physically and mentally. My body rested but it also gave me a chance to come to peace with just finishing, as long as it was under the 4 hour time limit. I decided to give myself a break and just enjoy race day with no pressure. I went on a couple short runs on Wednesday and Thursday and rested on Friday (well, as much as you can rest when you are super excited!). Speaking of Friday......it rained.......ALL DAY....and we had record rainfall. Thankfully, Saturday morning was perfect!

Race day was crazy...from the 6:00am, mile and a half walk to the city center (think Space Needle!) to the estimated 22,000 runners, the bands playing every mile or so, the groups of cheerleaders and random people encouraging runner's along the way...I was completely out of my element and relished every minute of it. I surprised myself and ran the entire way and I finished with a time of 2:20:40. Even though I went into the race that morning not worrying about time, in the back of my head I knew I would be happy with anything under 2:30. If you would have asked me a couple weeks ago if I wanted to keep up with running after the race, I don't know what I would have said. But after the overwhelming feeling of accomplishment I felt on Saturday after I crossed the finish line...I don't know how I could quit. 

And what is a post without photos! Erik tried to take a photo of me close to the finish line but I sprinted up to him, gave him a big kiss, and then ran to the end! Thankfully, there were professional photographers throughout the entire race.

The starting line...it was a little cold that early in the morning!

Yep, the best action photo of me and my ponytail is sticking straight up! 

Crossing the finish line!!!!!!!!!

After crossing the finish line

 So here's the real question....Who's doing it with me next year?!?!?! :)

A Wedding Weekend in STL

It took me a whole week to recover from the four day wedding weekend extravaganza in St. Louis but it was absolutely worth it. My friend Tina married a wonderful guy last weekend and I had the honor of being a bridesmaid. It was one of the sweetest, most personalized weddings I have ever attended. From the groom's and groomsmen's ties to the tree stump cake stands, almost everything was handmade by either Tina, her Maid of Honor (Anastasia), or her father. It was fun to see all of their hard work come to life.

Unfortunately, I didn't take a single photo...we were busy from the second my plane touched down in St. Louis so here a few borrowed photos. 

Dan & Tina

One of the many handmade touches...coasters made by the father of the bride

Dan & Tina with cutout Dan & Tina...such a fun couple!

Such a crazy, busy, fun, beautiful weekend...I'm so happy I could be a part of the amazing celebration. Congratulations to such a great couple!

Its a (half) marathon, not a sprint.

So, I've never really been a runner...well, unless you count 7th grade track and field but I had to quit because I couldn't run track AND be on the Science Olympiad team. I know, a little nerdy, but it was fun and if you knew how well I ran at the time, you would have pushed me towards Science Olympiad too. I played a lot of sports growing up, mainly tennis, but none of them required long distance running. Starting around the age of 6 through high school and some college, I spent summers practicing forehands, backhands, and volleys. I spent many summer mornings sprinting to the net and running drill after drill, learning how to react quickly and move fast. I learned how to follow the opponents body language and move towards the ball before it even hit their racket. I was trained that quickness was key and still thought so until recently, when I decided to put on some running shoes.

About a year and a half ago, Erik and I started writing bucket lists or a 'carpe diem' list (a little more positive spin on it!) and one of the first things I wrote down was the I wanted to run a half marathon. My cousin planted the idea of the Rock 'n Roll half marathon in my head around Christmas and I've been slowly training ever since. The training has been much different than the sprints and drills I was used to. When I started running earlier this year, I had to keep telling myself to pace myself and start slow otherwise I would run fast but not very far. When I first started, my mind would even be racing...I would actually try to think of new things to think about so I didn't get bored and quit mid-run. I've learned to slow my pace and my mind and its becoming more of a stress reliever than a chore. I took tonight off and I have to say, I missed it!

The big race is June 23rd and my goal is just to finish the 13.1 miles, cross the finish line and cross the half marathon off my list of goals. I've enjoyed it quite a bit though and I haven't felt this in shape for a long time. Who knows...maybe this will be the first of many. My race results and photos soon to come!

   

A Night in Vancouver, BC

Erik and I decided to flee the country...ok, so it was only for one night and it was only a two and half hour drive, but it did give us a reason to dust off the old passports. After almost four years in Seattle, we FINALLY made it to Vancouver! We've been talking about going up to Canada since we moved here. It was one of those things we always wanted to do but just never made the plans. About a month ago, I decided we just needed to do it. I booked a night at a cool little hotel a block or so off Robson St. (aka the 'Rodeo Drive of the Northwest'). We had so much fun! We walked around the city, ate amazing food, had a few drinks, took a drive up to Grouse Mountain and just enjoyed hanging out with each other. With just over 24 hours in the city, we barely scraped the surface. I know we'll be back soon!

Our weekend in photos....

The side of our hotel. 

The X-tra large beer on the right is mine...I didn't realize it was going to be THAT big!

A cute narrow building in Gastown...I really just like the flower pots in the window.

A sign in Gastown

Some of our dinner came out with a tiny Hibachi so we could cook it ourselves. 

Later that night we bought a couple bottles of beer and people watched out our window. This is our  'cooler'!

And this is how we opened the bottles...note to self-always carry a bottle opener.

We people watched out our window...it was actually very entertaining!

Sunday morning we drove up to Grouse Mountain.

Cleveland Dam, from our Sunday drive.

From our walk around the dam

I just liked this sign.

More summer adventures....and hopefully some crafting.....to come! :)

Eat. Play. Love.

A couple months ago, while in the midst of self-doubt and my (previously mentioned) creative drought, I booked my ticket out of town. I needed to get out of the routine of work, gym, eat, sleep, repeat. Erik was starting his first project as lead designer and as excited as I am for him, this usually means I'm left with waaaay to much 'me' time on my hands. I needed a break from work, the rain, and, honestly, a break from myself. I was in desperate need of some girl time and sunshine. I was in luck...it just so happens that one of my oldest BFFs lives in sunny Southern California.

My friend Tina and I met a long time ago through community theater in our hometown and have been friends ever since. High school was definitely our golden years. Instead of partying, we were hanging out with the other neighborhood kids, playing games like Capture the Flag, frisbee, and basketball. I can still feel the hot, humid summer night air on my skin while I ran from one backyard to the next trying to hide from whoever was 'it'. We stayed out until 2 am, not because we were passed out somewhere, but because we were waiting for Daylight Donuts to open so we could be the first to stuff our faces with freshly made, warm donuts.  Man, we had fun...

Tina and I have gone through periods when we don't talk for a while, but as soon as we do, we pick up right where we left off. The last time I saw Tina was when Erik and I got married....in August of 2008! We did chat from time to time, including the exciting call about Tina's engagement to her beau, Dan. But over three and a half years without seeing each other?!? Way too long.

I flew in late Thursday night and met Tina's fiance, Dan, for the first time and stayed up late just catching up. We spent the next morning catching up even more and drinking lots of coffee....and I took about a million photos of the orange tree and lemon tree in Tina's backyard.

We met up with Tina's friend, Anastasia, who works at the Fox Studios Lot. We ate lunch and she gave us a  nice tour...I was a little star struck, to say the least, and I didn't even see anyone famous. I did, however, see my fashion idol, Zooey Deschanel's parking spot and Mini Cooper...

 
A few more fun photos from our lunchtime fun at Fox...

A view down one of the streets. I loved the painted buildings.

This is 'New York'...also where a scene from Hello Dolly was filmed.

A bronze cast of Homer in honor of the 500th episode.

Does this one really need a caption?! 

Friday night was our night out. Tina's fiance surprised her by setting up (and paying for!) dinner and drinks for her and two friends (Me and Anastasia) at a very nice place called The Penthouse. It is on the top floor of The Huntley hotel in Santa Monica and all I can say is 'WOW'...This was really 'L.A.' in my mind. The people were beautiful, the view of the city was amazing, and the atmosphere was very posh. I don't know if I've ever used the word 'posh' before but there is no better word to describe this place. All I have to say about where the night went from there is: Old School Hip Hop night, 3:30 am Taco Bell run, 4 am bedtime...a successful bachelorette night out.

The view from The Penthouse

An action shot of our table. Our group grew as the night went on!

Tina and I trying out the sardines on crackers...compliments of the chef so we HAD to at least try it!

After we closed down the club...Tina's model shot.

Tina and Anastasia...I think our walk to the car was just as fun as the club!

Acting goofy on our walk/dance back to the car.

Saturday was spent shopping for craft supplies for the upcoming wedding. Saturday night, although it was more low key than Friday night, it was still a late one (another 4:00 am bedtime) and was filled with homemade pizza, homemade cocktails, and a lot of girl talk.

Our homemade pizza assembly line.

Our cocktail for the evening included homemade simple syrup and fresh lemon juice from  the lemon tree.

Friday night was so much fun but I have to say, Saturday night left a lasting impression on me. I had forgotten how good it feels to really just sit down, talk, vent, laugh, and get advice from female friends. Since we've moved to Seattle, I've only had a handful of opportunities to have some good quality girl time but I've held back. Maybe I was just shy or feeling insecure or maybe I was just out of practice. Who knows...I do know that I couldn't have asked for two better people to spend a weekend with than Tina and Anastasia. We had good food, a lot of fun, and a lot of good ol' fashioned bonding time...Eat. Play. Love.

As I get older, I'm feeling the time moving by faster and faster...and I feel that the phone calls with friends (good friends!!) grow fewer and far between. I've always believed this theory about time going faster as you get older- As you age, each year becomes a smaller percentage of your lifetime. When your two years old, a year must feel like forever because you only have two under your belt...One year is 50% of your lifetime. When you are 50 years old, one year is only 2% of your life. Each year that passes becomes a smaller percentage, making it feel shorter and shorter. My point is, take the time to connect with the friends and family you love RIGHT NOW...not tomorrow, not next week. Next week will turn into next month, and next month turns into next year....in my case, three and a half years. Time goes by so fast (and if you believe my theory, even faster the older we get!) so we all need to enjoy life and time with friends and family as much as you can.

A lot of cliches in this post, I know...

I'm trying to take each day at a time and live life to the fullest. ;)