baby shower

on saturday, my friend jenn (not my sister, jen) had a baby shower! she lives in the portland area, so she came down for the weekend to celebrate the future arrival of baby p. it was a lovely afternoon, especially because it gave me the chance to hang out with friends from high school. jenn looks amaaaazing and adorable (no surprises there). i can't wait to meet the baby! baby p. is due january 18, but i'm hoping for a 3 day late baby, so he or she can be born on my birthday instead.

joanne made fun of me for taking this picture, but i like the way it turned out

joanne, cristina and brenna

mom-to-be jenn and mel

mid week

brandon is away on a business trip tonight (thankfully it's only one night!) so tonight i'm hanging out and decided that i would update the photos from last night and add some more i took tonight.

i'll start with winter wonderland revisited on a smaller scale...

and some more pics from the visit with claire, jen and josh (a few of the photographs are compliments of josh since i was busy holding the baby)

visit

tonight brandon and i went over to hang out with claire and jen while josh was in class--turns out his class was cancelled, so we got to hang out the five of us! it was a nice, relaxing evening. while i didn't take a ton of photos, i did take a few (which will be posted in the next few days). for now, i just wanted to show one picture, of claire in her "pirate in training" onesie that i made (well, ironed on) for her...well, mostly for my mom for her (my mom is obsessed with pirates)...

and then a photo i took on the cable car ride home, just some experimentation with the camera and light...

modern cat

i'm on modern cat! yay! yesterday i had sent over some photos of the cat-friendly cord charging station for fun, and this morning i got an email letting me know that there was a post created about it!

you can see the post here.

one hundred

well, this is officially my one hundredth post! this blog began almost ten months ago, and looking back i'm happy to say that it has accomplished what i had hoped--this blog has motivated me to do things i enjoy (crafty things), pursue my interest in photography, and get into/keep in contact with friends and family. thank you to all of you readers--those who follow this blog, and also those who just happen upon it and take a moment to peruse! your readership and comments motivate me to keep on truckin'.

this year has been an exciting one in my family, with the two biggest events being my marriage with brandon and the arrival of claire. being married has been such a blessing and a source of happiness for me--every day i am consciously appreciative of brandon. i guess i should save some of this mushiness for our anniversary. for now it's sufficient to say that i am thrilled that we are married. also a major blessing was the pregnancy and birth of claire--jen was so healthy through the entire pregnancy, and gave birth to a perfect baby girl. she has already brought our family so much joy, at only a week old. i have loved every minute of sister-sister time that the wedding and pregnancy has facilitated, and i look forward to the time to come.

some goals for the next few months...to finally start my etsy account with my sister, to begin taking my architecture exams, and to practice my hobbies in order to get better at them. i also am looking forward to lots and lots of quality time with my niece!

anyway, this is the point where i'd love some feedback if anyone has some to give--what do you enjoy? what do you wish there was more of? is there anything you wish i blogged about on here that i currently don't? do you wish i wrote more? less? more photos? too many photos? if you have suggestions, would like to tell me what you enjoy, whatever, feel free to comment here or drop me an email at minimarsh6[at]gmail[dot]com.

thanks again for taking the time to stop by!

cozy sunday

today started out with some delicious brunch at zazie with some friends from high school. it was great--laid back, relaxing, and right next to a heat lamp.


we really enjoyed catching up for a lazy sunday morning. after brunch i went into work for a bit and then went home to do some crafting. i had seen an idea for a cord organizer in readymade magazine using an ikea organizer and decided it was a must for our household--the cats chew on cords like they're full of catnip, so this would be a perfect way to help keep them out of sight. i think it's going to work out very well for us...

stu, testing it out while i put the felt in the drawers



basically the premise is that you have a drawer and feed the cords through the back (you don't put the back on the drawer unit). you then put your phone, ipod, whatever in the drawer while it's charging--this way you always know where the cord is and i don't have to worry about my cats gnawing through my phone cord while it's charging. we decided to move the bottom drawer and use that as a docking station for the laptop, and create a new use for the drawer. also accomplished this weekend? one of two baby booties for a special someone...i need to test them out on claire this week to see if they work...

and a few pictures of what was happening while i was trying to work...

unexpected kindness

on thursday i got home and noticed there was a large envelope in our apartment entry area. although i am never expecting a package to be for me, i always check because i absolutely love getting things in the mail. i was pleasantly surprised when i noticed the package was addressed to brandon and i from a relative in seattle. hooray! what could it be? i tore it open when i got upstairs and found the travel section from the new york times entitled "frugal new york." also enclosed was a very kind card with a note about our coming trip to new york. brandon and i were very touched by the gesture--it's always so nice to get a note, knowing that someone was thinking of you.

thank you for the unexpected kindness...

pumpkin patch

today brandon and i got to go to the pumpkin patch with jen, josh, claire, and josh's parents. i was really excited to be invited--the thought of the punkin at the pumpkin patch was almost too much for me to handle. although claire didn't seem overly impressed with her trip to the patch (she slept through most of it), we did at least take some pictures.

i also got to see her in the nursery, which was exciting for me. i'm pleased with the overall ambiance--it's relaxing and refreshing in there. on the way back into the city, brandon and i stopped at pearl, a craft store on market, and i discovered a new floor with all sorts of goodies, like embroidery thread and knitting needles! this could definitely be dangerous...

anyway, some pictures from today...

and remember bunny?

can you tell i like baby yawns?

jen and lola

claire update

*additional update: just got news that mom, dad and baby are at home! hopefully jen will be able to rest a little bit now...*

last night i took over for josh on the night shift with jen, so new dad could get some sleep before mom and muffin (i've been calling her muffin) come home today. what a sweet little muffin she is! she was being a little bit of a fussypants last night (hence no photos from my time there) but she and i did get some quality snuggle time. i just cannot get over how precious she is! i also cannot get over how you go through this process and then suddenly there is a little human and he/she is yours. such an amazing miracle! i kept looking at claire last night and then turning to my sister and saying "um, this little one is yours, by the way." i can definitely see how becoming a new parent is WAY overwhelming. i think it was a really good idea to see some labor and a glimpse of the first few days before having children (yes, i still want kids after this).

she has lost a little weight, but i hear that's pretty typical for newborns. mom and dad are exhausted, but they're getting through it! jen is really looking forward to being in her own home today, so that will be nice. i'm excited to take pictures of the little muffin in her nursery (although she won't really be in there too much yet). last night we set a little routine of jen feeding her, then i'd burp her and soothe her and try and get her to sleep. we attempted to watch monsters, inc. (it was at least on in the background), and then after that we put on some nice soothing music (thank you kings of convenience, iron & wine, coldplay, and a few others!). i really enjoyed my sister/niece time, and i look forward to next visit with claire, when i can take some pictures!

happy birthday, claire elizabeth

happy birthday to my new niece, claire elizabeth! she entered the world at 1:24pm today--all 7lbs, 11oz and 21" of her! she is precious and beautiful and, most importantly, healthy. my sister was such a champ through labor (which luckily progressed quickly) and is doing very well. it was such an amazing, exciting day and now i'm exhausted, but rest assured that i will keep you posted with pictures! here are some of claire's first hours...