Toddlerhood, V2.

A park, pizza and falling in love with a city.

On Sunday, after a few days of fighting colds, stuffing our faces with turkey and saying goodbye to my parents and sister, my brother, Chris, Meredith and I headed into the city to have ourselves a perfectly touristy day. It did not disappoint. We started by picking up pizza from Pizzeria Delfina in Pacific Heights. We then drove over the Alamo Square Park, parked the car and braved the hills to find the perfect picnic spot.The perfect spot? A sunny, grassy spot overlooking the Painted Ladies.


Of course all we talked about was Full House. Right? Can you think of anything else when you see those houses? As we debated filming our own intro video (we didn't) we enjoyed the best pizza I've ever had (for real!). I had the prosciutto pie and it was seriously delicious.






After lunch, we drove to the actual Full House home not to far away. 1709 Broderick St, in case you were wondering. We snapped a few pictures and headed toward the crookedest street in the world, Lombard St between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets. It was great, though I find going down the hill at the intersection of Divisadero and Broadway to be even crazier.


After our crazy drive, we headed for Ghiradelli Square. We weren't quite ready for ice cream and chocolate so we roamed about, eventually walking out on Fort Mason pier which had amazing views of the bay and Alcatraz. After our long walk, we had worked up an appetite and headed for Ghiradelli Square for ice cream.







Tired and full, we returned to our car to head home a little more in love with this fantastic city.

Thankful

It's the time of year to stop for a minute and think about gratitude. I have so much to be thankful for. Here's a little list of a few. 

our new house

skype/facebook/texts/phonecalls for keeping in touch

the way meredith says, "hi mama"

how meredith says "baaa" and "mooo" for sheep and cow sounds

getting to see the world through a toddler's eyes

being on the most excellent adventure with my two favorite people in the world

evenings spent on the couch talking with (or just being next to) my husband

new dishes

new sheets

being near so many beautiful new places for us to explore like lake tahoe and yosemite

the promise of visitors in our new home

my mama and talking to her on the phone everyday

a job for my husband that is stable and makes him happy

kisses from my baby girl

the convenience of our new neighborhood

having already met three mamas who i can befriend

my new running shoes

the fact that meredith got to meet her great-great grandfather before he passed away

getting to spend thanksgiving with my family

How about you? What are you most thankful for this year?

image here and here.
inspiration for this post here.

Toddlerhood.

As I mentioned yesterday, this time in Meredith's life is exhausting. It is also awe-inspiring. She is learning new things everyday and really taking in the world around her.

yes, that is a shovel in the VCR

she actually kept her headband on for half an hour because she looked pweeettty.

Random thoughts for a sunday.

1. I love my home. It's really, really coming together. After lots of hard work this weekend, it really feels like home.

2. My family is coming in town this week. Have I told you that? My brother arrives in the morning and the rest get here Wednesday. Chris and I are so excited to have people to show off our new neighborhood. I hope they love it like we do. I think they will.

3. Did you know Thanksgiving is on Thursday?? Gosh, I've been running around like a mad woman getting ready for it without really thinking about what it is. The food, the family time and the chance to take a break from normal routine. I'm really so happy.

4. Meredith is almost 17 months. This is stage is the most exciting and the most exhausting yet. I have never felt more relieved to see bedtime o'clock strike on the clock. She's into everything, testing boundaries and discovering new things every minute of everyday.

5. Did you watch the AMAs tonight? They make me feel old. Like, who are these babies singing songs? And how does half this stuff even count as music? Kids these days. Nicki Minaj's outfit made me want to throw up (I had to google her name).

6. I have been so busy trying to get this house in order that I'm not sure it's sunk in that I live on the other side of the country now and am far, far away from my friends. I'm thinking it might strike after Thanksgiving. I'll keep you posted.

7. I go to Target everyday now.

8. I have a bright blue dining room table now.

9. Everywhere I drive I can see mountains and palm trees. Chris keeps calling it Paradise and I have to say, I agree. We met some people today that said the weather was as bad as it gets. It was 50 and rainy. I can live with that.

10. Since moving we've been having nightly family dance parties. Meredith can seriously get down. I love it. We like to jam to I Gotta Feeling,  Party Rock Anthem and Moves Like Jagger. Any songs we should add?

11. I have made some of these foods in the last couple of weeks. I would recommend them all, especially if you are in need of some comfort food, which apparently we have been.

Tamale Pie
BBQ Chicken
Buffalo Chicken
Oreo Brownies (doooo it!) (i didn't add the chocolate syrup or ice cream. just batter & oreos)
Mellow Mushroom buffalo chicken copycat

12. I kind of (really) want a hot pink Christmas tree this year.

13. I kind of (really) want to see The Descendents.

Embroidered Hands: An easy DIY

A few weeks ago I saw this image on Pinterest and knew I had to make it. Last night I did. I have to say, it was really easy and I've never done any needlework like this before. It took me about two hours. I did it while I watched Private Practice (does anyone still watch it? I haven't all season. Gosh, it's just so dramatic). Anyway. I highly recommend this craft for anyone to try! I'm hoping to do one every year to document the growth of our family.

Materials:
Embroidery hoop
Embroidery needle
Embroidery fabric (bought a small roll of it at Michael's. maybe you can use other kinds of fabric?)
Embroidery floss (one color per hand you'll stitch)
Pencil
Optional:
Paper
Acrylic craft Paint
Paintbrush

Directions:
1. Place fabric into embroidery hoop, making sure it's nice and tight.
2. If you aren't doing a wiggly baby, you can skip to step 4. A baby (at least mine) won't sit still long enough to trace her hand so this was my solution. Paint baby's hand. Do it nice and thick. Place baby's hand on white paper to make a print. I made several prints with the first coat of paint until I got a print that I could work with.

3. Cut out handprint once dry.

4. Trace hand (or handprint) onto fabric.

5. Thread needle.

6. Begin stitching. I used this tutorial and used the backstitch. It was very simple and quick.

7. Stitch all around the hand until complete
8. Trace next hand, switch colors in your needle and stitch through completion.

9. Repeat these steps for all hands.

10. Make ready for display. You could leave it in the hoop or transfer it to a frame. I haven't decided what I'm doing yet. I will probably leave it in the hoop and make it part of a gallery wall I'm working on. Oh, and I still need to add the year. I will likely just add it in sharpie.

Please let me know if you try it! I had so much fun making it!

PS. apologies if I used the wrong terminology for this stuff :)

A date with me, myself and I.

 

On Sunday morning, after I had woken up a bundle  of anxiety and stress over all!the!things! we needed to do around the house, Chris declared that I must go out and see a movie that night. I agreed. I knew I needed it. After two weeks here the only time I had spent by myself was a five minute CVS run for chocolate frosting. That is not enough, espcially with my stress levels with the move and the extra fussiness of a certain toddler housemate of mine.

By 6:00 on Sunday night I was ready. I hopped in the car and headed for errands and sushi. Except halfway there I decided to ditch the errands and just get sushi. I'm so glad I did. I had a delicious dinner of sushi which I enjoyed while reading my Kindle. I shamelessly stuffed my face with some of the yummiest rolls I've ever had.

After dinner I drover over to the movie theater. I got a tiny bit spooked while parking. I've found I get a lot more scared here, I think simply because it's a new place and I don't know it's safe like I did in my old home. Anyway, after scurrying into the mall where the theater was I grabbed some candy and coke and got cozy in my seat. 

I decided to see J. Edgar. By the end of the movie, I was happy to have seen it. There were parts that were slow, but overall he was an interesting character/man. I'd recommend it. 

Bottom line: if you are a mama/wife/person, take yourself out every once in a while. I thought I might feel awkward, but I definitely didn't. I got to read, eat my favorite food, sit quietly in a theater and not think about anything related to unpacking/getting settled. It was perfect.

Muir Woods (picture heavy)

On Saturday we decided to take a break from chores around the house and get out to explore. We had decided a while ago that Muir Woods would be one of our first adventures.

To say it was magical sounds silly, but there isn't a better word for it. It was like walking into another world. The dark, wet air was cool and fresh. The canopy created by the tallest trees in the world left me feeling transported into a giant fort. But instead of sheets held up by dining room chairs, there were branches meeting with one another up above and felled trees coated with velvety moss.

Seeing these trees towering above was a dream come true. I remember learning about them in elementary school and, at the time, it seemed nearly impossible that I would ever get to see them in person. As we entered the gate and got our first glimpse I felt tears prick the inside of my eyes. It felt miraculous, being there, seeing these trees reach so high you can't see the peak. As we walked through the park, it just didn't feel real. It felt like a movie set, or a photoshopped picture or a figment of my imagination. Meredith, at every turn, sighed in awe, "Wow!" over and over again, as if we were all walking through a dream.

But it was real. And I live here. And I just feel so grateful to God for the chance to have this adventure and for the chance to witness his majesty in creation.