crafty weekend

well, the san francisco summer has settled in on the city this weekend and that meant a perfect excuse to be able to work on some crafty things guilt-free. on saturday morning, brandon and i met up with my sister and her friend for some maternity clothes shopping (for my sister of course) and then brandon and i went to finally get my felting supplies to try out some things from my new felting book. i saw some red roving that inspired me for a mobile for the baby room. our first mobile idea didn't have quite the right colors so i was excited when i thought of this...i just hope i can execute it.

once home, i began my first attempt at felting, which came out better than i thought it would. brandon and i sat on the bed, and he read the paper while i felted (and fought back the cats...they were very interested in "helping"). it was a really nice, relaxing way to spend saturday afternoon. so far i have two of the little birds finished for the potential mobile...i need to add an eye (i'm thinking a black bead) and i'm going to experiment with some wings. i haven't decided whether or not i'll add them...



after that we threw on some nicer clothes and went out to dinner for a "date." we rarely go out to a special dinner (the last time was new year's eve) and it happened to coincide with 8 months of marriage, so we decided it was especially appropriate. it's so nice to just go out and enjoy a meal and talk--we always seem to have really great life discussions out at dinner. i am so thankful that after 4 years together i still have as much to talk about with him and laugh just as much as i did when we first started dating.

between saturday night and sunday afternoon, i decided to finish up more of the onesies--i am notorious for starting many projects and not finishing any of them (for example. our bedroom door which has been half-painted for months). here are the latest additions to the onesie series--i only have one left to go:





overall it was a pretty productive weekend, craft-wise, and very enjoyable! i am very excited about the felted bird mobile--i hope it turns out! the red will be a perfect accent for the baby's room.

where the...is matt?

so brandon sent this video to me the other day and it made me smile. when i looked into what it was about, i thought it was pretty cute/fun/clever. on matt's site you can get a little background about where the whole thing came from, and then enjoy the videos!





just something a little silly to brighten the day!

warm weather makes me happy

whew! how much do i LOVE the heat? if san francisco had summers like thursday-saturday, i think i could settle here forever. the summer warmth and sun really do improve my mood.

anyway, on friday night my parents came into the city for dinner (which we ate OUTSIDE because it was so warm), and then came over to our apartment (aka the toaster...we can't open our windows more than a couple inches because of the cats, so you can imagine how toasty it gets). we hung around for a little while before the parents headed home. then i got an IM from sara, and we decided to have a mini ice cream social on the roof. we had our frozen treats and then laid on the roof and talked and watched the stars and clouds for a few hours before sara headed back. i was in pants and a tank top. in san francisco. from 10pm-midnight. no jacket in sight. i was in heaven. warm summer nights are one of my absolute favorite things, and i rarely get them , so it was a real treat for me. we actually saw some shooting stars and some unidentified flying objects, although i will not claim ufo...

friday night sunset

saturday morning started off with iced coffee, sunglasses, and a summer dress--it doesn't get much better! brandon and i headed out to the new contemporary jewish museum that just opened up. i am so excited for san francisco to be getting on the map architecturally. between the de young, academy of sciends, and jewish museum, things are getting more exciting here. the museum was smaller than i expected, but it was actually a good size--very manageable. it had some interesting exhibits, and overall i enjoyed the space. it's easy to be nit-picky and critical, but my conclusion is that it's a great addition to the city. on a sidenote, for those of you who went to carondelet, i saw ms. tuft and ms. benicasa (or however you spell it) at the museum. it made me giggle.

saturday night the fog and cold air rolled in, so i woke up to a windy, cold sunday morning. while i was not happy with the turn of the weather, it did make it easier to stay in and clean and do the things that actually needed to get done. we were able to do some deep cleaning, as well as some painting/crafts. overall, a nice weekend that was over too soon...

coasters [take two]

while on my embroidery binge, i decided to take a stab at another series of coasters...we'll call these 3 fuzzy + 1 feathered. don't pay attention to the uneven edges--i haven't backed and completely finished them yet. plus the lighting was terrible for trying to take pictures of them, but i just couldn't wait!

*i'd like to take this moment to thank my embroidery teacher, sara june. she has spurred this new fun pastime!*

san francisco sunset

so, tonight while sitting in my living room i looked out the window and noticed an incredible sunset. i decided instead of being lazy and watching from the window, i should run up to the roof and snap a few photos to share...

embroidery bonanza

so, on my embroidery kick lately, i decided to pick up some simple white onesies and add some embellishments for little patootie (my current nickname for my sister's baby). so far i'm pretty pleased with how they have come out--2 down, 3 to go! now i just have to figure out how to finish off the back so the stitching doesn't irritate any tummies. i read about some finishing product you can put on the back...i'm hoping my sister's mother-in-law will be able to lend some insight...

happy birthday/father's day, dad!

phew! this weekend was busy! friday night, sara and i went over to joann's fabrics to get some embroidery supplies of our own. next, chris, sara, brandon and i went to sozai for some delicious japanese tapas. then we wandered over to tuttimelon for some fro-yo. after, we went over to chris' where sara and i embroidered, and chris and brandon played jenga. i can't figure out if we're 12 or 82, but regardless it was awesome.

next, we headed out to benicia on saturday to celebrate my dad's birthday and father's day. it was a fun family event complete with a game of washers. normally it's just the men that play, but this time almost everyone got into the game--it was great! i also got to feel my future niece move and kick, which was crazy. it's so weird when you feel it to realize it's a little human in there moving around.

the birthday boy making a toss

the fam hanging out

sunday was less exciting--brandon and i went and got some coffee and then spent working on various things; brandon was actually at work, and i was getting some other things done at the apartment. as you can see, i had a little help:

helping out

so, first off i know it's been a while and i apologize--i've been busy with some things that i will talk about later, but i cannot talk about it yet. i know it sounds cryptic, but it will make sense in time.

anyway, i wanted to share how excited i am about sponsoring a child! rebecca, my freshman year college roommate, sent me an email about a month or so ago asking if i'd be interested in sponsoring a hope child from rwanda (meaning she comes from an area severely affected by hiv/aids), and brandon and i decided to do it. the organization it is through is world vision, which is an organization that i have known about and has a very good reputation (so i know my money is going where it's supposed to be going). when i was signing up to be a sponsor, i had the opportunity to choose age and gender, but suddenly i felt really strange--who am i to say who is in the most need? i decided to let fate have it's way, and i ended up with an absolutely beautiful 7 year old girl. her name is alphonsine and she is from rwanda. according to her bio:

"alphonsine lives with her parents and 3 brothers. her parents struggle to provide for the family.

alphonsine and her family live in a community severely affected by the hiv/aids crisis. in some communities, aids affects the entire social structure as a generation of hardworking adults is being wiped out. frightened children and exhausted grandparents rarely have money for food, school, or medical care...alphonsine is in primary school and enjoys studying the native language. she helps at home by carrying water. she likes to play ball games. she is in satisfactory health."

the money not only goes towards her physical needs, but it also goes towards prevention, care, and counseling programs for those affected by hiv/aids.

it's been really fun to get this information and find out more about this precious little girl! we are supposed to receive a letter from her in 2-4 months and i can't wait! i am excited to be able to correspond with her and find out more about her life. for me, this has been an excellent opportunity to look outside myself and put my life into perspective. seeing her picture on my fridge will be a daily reminder of the much larger world that we live in.

rebecca said she just received 5 more children that need a sponsor, so while i promise this isn't a ploy to try and recruit people, if you might be interested or know someone else who might be interested, please let me know! you can leave a comment or email me at minimarsh6@gmail.com

texture

when i was making dinner tonight, i saw a fun pattern in the cheese from the cheese grater. i then looked at the bowls i had of chopped things and thought they looked pretty and interesting, so i took some pictures. here is what i came up with...

here's the good old tillamook with the pattern/texture i saw:

and then for my other random thing...in bend i learned to embroider, and here are my projects so far (i realize there is some ironing needed here...the tree one is finished, the grass one is in progress)

p.s. i've noticed that my spacing changes during my post, after i've inserted pictures. does anyone know how to fix this? it's driving me NUTS. i'm thinking i might have to switch to wordpress if i can't figure it out...

cat shelves [update]

well, i just thought i'd give an update on how our cat shelves are working out. we still haven't gotten any carpet tiles or anything to go on them, which i think would encourage the cats to go up there more, but they do go on them more than i expected, so that's good! sometimes they take a surprise dive off them into an unsuspecting victim's lap. lately, their favorite activity has been attack a brother's tail.