Nesting

Okay, to be fair, it isn't like we've been on some kind of big nesting binge in the last few weeks or anything - some of these rooms have been set up for quite some time. I just wanted everything to be all in place before I took any pictures.

Here's our living room, complete with the new couches and ottoman. We've also framed up some calligraphy we collected in Japan (you can see this above the TV). Each panel represents one temple that we visited (most of them in Kyoto); big thanks to my aunt Pru for gifting us the frame as a housewarming present.With the new couches downstairs, we moved the old couch/futon upstairs to the guest room. Mike also hung the rest of the pictures in that room. So now our guest room is looking nice and is ready for business (I'm sensing we might have some guests soon!).Last, we've been working in the baby's room. Our nursery doesn't really have a theme or a color scheme or anything; we just sort of gathered items that we liked and that were fun, colorful, and sweet. Big thanks to Mike's parents who gave us the very generous gift of the nursery furniture. Here's a detail shot of the pictures above the crib; they are framed pages from one of our favorite children's books, Guess How Much I Love You. I loved the pictures from the book, but the commercially available posters just didn't seem quite right. So I bought an extra copy of the book, cut it up and framed some of the pages. The total cost for the whole wall, including the frames, was what one poster would have cost!
We also have a rocking chair - a super-sweet gift from my mom. Right now the chair is staying in the corner of our bedroom; since the baby will be sleeping in our room in a bassinet for a while, it seemed to make sense to keep the chair nearby. Eventually, though, the chair will go upstairs in the corner of the baby's room.

Weekend round-up

Saturday marked our second trip to Dallas. We figure we better do these things while we still can....

So, after a yummy breakfast, we were off to the Asian Art Museum. We were particularly interested in the special exhibit there (The Return of the Yellow Peril) but the museum was actually small enough that we were able to see the entire collection in about 2 hours. I liked this a lot - the special exhibit was really well done, and the permanent collection items nicely rounded out the experience without exhausting one (too much).

When we were done, Mike was up for another museum (since we were in the museum 'hood), but I was just up for, well, putting my feet up. So we drove over to a coffeeshop we'd heard about. Fort Worth's last independent coffeehouse closed in January, much to Mike's disappointment. However, the independent coffeehouse scene seems to be alive and well in Dallas. Or, at least, this one coffeeshop was really nice. We'd brought our books, so we just kicked it there, drinking coffee and soaking in the ambiance for a little bit.

Our last Dallas stop took us to the neighborhood of our recent ex-President. No, not for a social call, but for a cupcake call! I'd been hearing all about this cupcake store that had started in Beverly Hills and then has been gradually expanding. The Dallas location was definitely in what one might characterize as a tony neighborhood (i.e., not a lot of Toyota Corollas cruising about). The cupcakes did not disappoint! I didn't think they were quite as good as my favorite Seattle place, but the dark chocolate flavor definitely gave my memories a run for their money. Perhaps more data is needed.....

We were back at our house by late afternoon, which was perfect. Exciting, but not overwhelming.

In other weekend news, we also had the first harvest from our garden:Eggplant on the left and an Anaheim chili on the right. Mike ate the chili pepper on some nachos and then we turned the eggplant into some very yummy baba ganouj.

Sunday we had a little celebratory breakfast for the father-to-be, then watched the Italy-Brazil soccer game, and then went out for some pizza (thanks to the Michigan parents who gifted Mike a dinner out!).

Professional Maternity Pictures

So the pictures below are kind of like the pictures I posted in the last entry. Except, you know, minus the swing-y hair. And the fact that I, um, actually look halfway decent in these.

These were taken by my friend Krista of Midsummer Photography. If you're in the area and need a photographer, I think these pictures make it clear that she's someone you should call!

The cleanest baby ever

Last weekend our friends here in town threw us/me a baby shower. We feel so lucky to have had so many baby showers as well as to made so many good friends here in such a short time. The shower was super-sweet.

(Also, let me say that the delay in posting this is related to my not having a computer at home. But I now do have a desk, so a computer will follow shortly. You know, as soon as I decide what I want....)

The food at the shower was totally yummy! This was a traditional ladies-only kind of shower, but there was food enough for the men when they returned (they had lunch and then went to play laser tag).The shower had lots of games - identifying baby pictures, matching celebrities and the names of their babies (and Apple was one of the easy ones, let me tell you!), word association, writing birthday cards to the baby for future birthdays, identifying baby food, etc. The games were fun, and there were even prizes. I didn't win anything; I have a lot to learn - and not just about celebrity baby names!

We also received some lovely baby gifts, including a hand-made quilt and a swing. As someone who is sloooooowly knitting a baby blanket, I'm so impressed by actual, finished hand-made baby items. We're also super-excited about the swing since I've heard those can really calm babies (you know, just in case our baby cries. Like, occasionally, or something).(Mom, the above picture is for you. I look totally stupid in it [me and my lame swing-y hair], but you wanted a profile picture, so here it is)(Also, apparently, I no longer open my eyes for photos. New policy)

In non-baby-related news, our garden survived our absence in Seattle and is doing fine. The slugs seem overly interested in the pepper plants, though. I've tried the beer trick, but I'm not totally sure this has been successful. The tomato plants, though, are setting flowers and fruit, so that's great. We also have one eggplant, two bell peppers and one chili pepper.Also, coming soon are photos of our new living room and the baby's room. In the living room, we've got the new couches and Mike has assembled our bookcases. I'm just waiting until we hang one more picture, then I'll get some photos. We're also waiting on wall decor to go up in the baby's room - the crib and changing table have been assembled, though.