winter? faaaaaaalse

coming home from work today all i could think about was getting bundled up in my fleece pants and a sweatshirt and curling up on the couch. on july 30. and no, i don't live in the southern hemisphere where july means winter. yes, i do realize i live in san francisco, and i do know the famous quote supposedly from mark twain (i say supposedly because of this). it doesn't stop me, however, from complaining. i thrive in heat, and this is a constant battle with brandon and i...brandon, who looks outside at this weather and says "it's a glorious day!" which i promptly return with either a snarky look or a comment like "yeah, if it were january." anyway, i just feel like i'm robbed of heat and sun and vitamin d, but i know it's not forever.

on a happier note, stuart was playing in the faucet again and...he prompts me to constantly call him a ding-dong and ask why he's such a goober all the time...i think you'll see what i mean in these pictures...he just cracks me up always looking so serious!

lazy sunday

well, this pretty much sums up my sunday...

this morning i was really sore and could barely get out of bed after yesterday's extravaganza. i got up and headed downtown to pick up a few things i needed/wanted, and then this afternoon i came home and...well....sat. and sat. then i vaccuumed a little and sat some more. i feel SO lazy.

85% reveal

well, here is the big "reveal" of the nursery. it's not completely done, but the majority of the work is finished. phew! my sister has finally seen it so now i can post the full pictures.

brandon assembling the crib for his future niece


the crib in place


the mural, to be finished after the window is replaced


"it is just as it is with the flower. if you love a flower that lives on a star, it is sweet to look at the sky at night. all the stars are a-bloom with flowers."

sneak peak

so today was a very long and exhausting, yet fun-filled day. it was finally the day to begin getting the baby room together. jen and josh were in tahoe so we decided to take the opportunity to kind of put it together while they were out. they knew we were doing it, but it's still a bit of a surprise since they don't know exactly what it will look like. we assembled the crib, painted [most of] the mural (josh had painted the room already), put up a shelf, and started to organize the room. the mural was frustrating because it was REALLY hot today in concord, so the paint was thickening really quickly. it didn't end up quite as i had hoped, but it still looks good i think--i just need to do some touch-ups.

still to be done: finish & install the mobile, get the window replaced, touch up paint as a result of window replacement, touch up mural in general, hang curtain/valence, bring in rocking chair and adjust final furniture plan once rocker is in place. i'm only giving a sneak peak of the nursery because my sister hasn't seen it yet, and i don't want to reveal it to the masses before it's revealed to her. more pictures soon to follow...

waiting...

:::fingers crossed:::

for multiple things...

kitty sitter

i hate to use this to find a cat sitter, but right now it seems like the easiest way. we are going out of town two weekends in a row and are looking for a kitty lover to care for our attention-needing cats. yes, they are cats, but they are more like dogs when we go away--they start to get destructive from loneliness. they loooooooove people and attention and affection. so, if anyone is available either august 9-10 (we're leaving friday night and coming back sunday afternoon, so it'd really only be saturday and sunday morning) or august 15-18 (this one is trickier--we leave thursday night so they'll need care friday, saturday, sunday, and maybe monday morning if possible). for the longer weekend ideally i'd love to find someone who could spend a little more time with them--as i said, they get lonely (i know, isn't this the point of having cats instead of dogs? being able to leave them?). you are welcome to stay in our apartment if you don't live in the city and want a weekend getaway. we have cable, internet, and we are close to a lot in the city!

if you find yourself starving for some pet time or a weekend in the city, please email me: minimarsh6@gmail.com.

this is aimed at people i actually know...sorry strangers, if you're reading this thank you, but i'd prefer to leave my kitties in the hands of my nearest and dearest.

thanks for putting up with me using this as a cat-sitter finder!

games galore

this weekend was busy but VERY fun! it started out on friday night with an amazing coldplay concert. katie drove down from sacramento and joined up with chris, brandon and me for a trip to hp pavilion in san jose. it was a change from the normal concerts i go to--most of the shows i have gone to over the past few years have not been produced shows--it's more just a band performing. this one, however, was complete with videos projected on giant orb type things and a shower of butterfly confetti. chris martin was much more personable than i expected him to be, and the concert was just amazing overall. they were very entertaining and made me swoon as always. *coldplay pictures courtesy of chris asuncion*

laser beams

viva la vida

out in the crowd

butterfly confetti (no, not leaves [brandon] and not bats [chris]...but thanks for trying)

on saturday we had a fun day at at&t park...

brandon with his game face on

chris has not learned to say no to temptation...just couldn't pass up the nachos (mind you, this was AFTER a big bbq beef sandwich)

we met up with some college friends we hadn't seen in a while and enjoyed the beautiful weather and baseball game. i have to confess that once everyone had arrived, i got to chatting and missed most of the last couple innings...ooops! oh well, it was great to catch up with friends i haven't seen in a few years.

we then walked from the ballpark to ghirardelli square to grab some delicious ice cream and then bussed out to the sunset to have a picnic at chris' house. we got take-out chinese (that chris and i had been craving for months) and had some good old fashioned jenga and twister fun.

brandon contemplating his next move, hoping chris will knock it over in the meantime

shaky-handed chris being serious...a rare moment indeed

the demise of the most intense game of jenga EVER...katie and i thought the game was over about 10 minutes before it actually was...ridiculous. we have no idea how that tower held up as long as it did

and the game of twister...i was crying from laughing so hard pretty much the whole time

overall an exhausting but very fun weekend. this morning started out with breakfast at tartine for morning buns, croissants, and a scone. katie and i then ventured over to ikea to meet up with my sister to pick up some items for the baby's rom. next weekend is going to be another busy/fun weekend when we start to put the baby's room together. i can't wait! jen and josh will be in tahoe while brandon and i put it together--it is sort of a "while you were out" idea, except they know we're coming and they know the design...we just have a couple surprises they don't know about. it should be fun! i hope it all comes together as i have it in my head.

picnic

today we had a company picnic for brandon's office in novato...it started out a little awkwardly (there weren't very many people there yet, music hadn't been turned on, and i didn't know most of the people there) but then as the party got started, i enjoyed myself. i even learned to throw a football! i won't say throw it well, but i can at least throw it without completely embarrassing myself...on the way home we stopped at the golden gate bridge lookout to take a few photos...

we are good friends


joey, chris and the sky clipper


brandon tossing a football


the golden gate


at the bridge


the bunker

winter wonderland

so today i picked up an oeuf lounger on craigslist for my sister from someone in san francisco, not too far from my office. when i got home the cats immediately needed to sniff it out...the directions say not to let a baby who can sit up on it's own sit in the lounger....hmmm...



however, the lounger was the least of my issues. when i walked in, i was welcomed by, well, a scene...







that's right. my dining room was covered with...toilet paper. from a brand new pack. multiple rolls. wasted. luckily they only completely demolished one roll...

lake tahoe

this weekend brandon and i went up to the cabin in tahoe to spend the 4th of july with my sister, brother-in-law, grandmother, aunt and uncle (with another uncle and cousin dropping in for a bit). it was so nice to get away and just pretty much do nothing.

back at the lake, finally

the boys on their kayaking adventure


illegal fireworks at one of the lake front cabins...they ended up being better than the ones across the way at southshore, mainly because we could hear them and they were right there...definitely the best illegal fireworks i've ever seen

lounging at the beach...if only the whole summer was like this

baby's first tahoe trip

saturday night taco feed at the beach with the family

pretty much standard procedure during the weekend...i kept wanting to feel the baby move (and she did not disappoint...she was movin' and groovin' all weekend)

the car ride home...it was sooooooo smokey!

overall we had a great time...i got to chat with family at a time that wasn't crazy with holiday chaos, play washers, rest, sit on the beach, go on a boat and just relax! it was glorious...i want to go back.

new toy

on my way home from work yesterday i got a new toy for the cats...they both love it but stu was the one to break it in...here are a few moments i captured...