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.

girl's night

so, i just have to say that it's probably the most girly thing i have done in months, but i am SO excited to get caught up in all the hype and go see the sex and the city movie tonight. it's going to be a fabulous girls night, complete with dinner and cocktails before, then the movie.

SO EXCITED. i just had to share.

architecture [nerd]

yeah yeah yeah, i am an architecture nerd but i embrace it. we are trying to figure out a space plan for the nursery, and so i decided to have some fun in handy dandy autocad and draft up the initial idea. things might get changed around with the addition of a toy box (from our childhood), which might delete another piece of furniture (namely the ikea storage unit, which would actually be okay if we actually installed some shelves as i've shown on the elevations...don't mind me, i'm thinking this out as i type). actually, it might be fun to customize the old toy box...we'll see how adventurous i get. i get creative leave from work, right? to implement the nursery?

anyway, the plan...

north elevation (i actually have no idea which way is north, i'm just going off north being up on the plan that i drew)

east elevation (going around the room clockwise)

south elevation

west elevation

it's not exactly set which walls will be painted, or if all of them will be. it also hasn't been decided which wall the "mural" will be on, although currently i'm leaning towards the wall behind the rocking chair and the cub station (east elevation). we'll see! the bedding arrived and is very cute (i have yet to see it in person) but i think the blue is going to be a bit too bold to paint the entire room, so it's going to be the challenge to find the right shade/saturation of the color to paint. also, i know some of the walls look a little bare, but keep in mind there will be a rocking chair in the corner (which i didn't extend my nerdiness to attempt in elevation), books and things on the shelves, and a mobile above the crib to spice things up.

bezd

this weekend was (finally) our trip to bend, or to see the mates of state, the decemberists and death cab for cutie. we had an amazing time! we took off friday night after work and drove up to redding, where we spent the night (and that is where the rain began). the next day we continued on up through california into oregon--it was so beautiful! i love the urban and cities, but occasionally it's great just to see such beautiful natural landscape. we saw snow-dusted mountains, valleys, forests, it was just amazing.

we arrived in bend, ate, checked into the hotel, and then got bundled up for the concert (although not enough). mind you, most of this time it was raining. and we were going to an outdoor concert. we arrived at the gates a little before 4:30 (when they opened) and as i was grabbing blankets from the car i see a flash and then hear the following kaboom! rumble rumble....that's right, a nice thunderstorm. while i love thunderstorms, i prefer them from an indoor, safe spot as opposed to outdoors in the open. it was interesting attempting to stay dry, but the thunderstorms did pass, and about an hour later (when the first band finally started) the rain ceased and we spent a wonderful (muddy and freezing, but wonderful) evening listening to amazing music! colin meloy even traipsed through the crowd and ending up walking right by us (and stepping on brandon's foot). the concert did not disappoint!

on sunday we woke up around 9, packed up, hit dutch bros. coffee and then got on the road....again. we made the trip back in one shot (broken up by a stop at a pizza parlor and a driver switch). it was a long car ride but not as bad as i had thought it would be. it was a whirlwind trip, but well worth it!

and now, some pictures...

learning to embroider in redding

the rain

the crew

the scenery

"and all the stars were crashing 'round as i laid eyes on what i found..."

the mountains

and home