One last belly shot

These have been hanging on our refrigerator door for a few weeks now and every time I pass by I am amazed that my baby used to be so small and round and tucked so perfectly inside my belly.



Also, they were taken by Jose Villa which is like winning the accidental belly shot lottery. Last month Amanda and Danielle and I (hugely pregnant) trekked up to Santa Barbara for a little tablescape project for 100LC, shot by Señor Villa himself. (So so lucky we are!) At the end of the day, he had a few shots left on his last roll of film and snapped these pictures of my largeness.

Let me say that my uggs, hoodie and ponytail were NOT exactly the most perfectest outfit for the occasion, but we make do in such dire situations, don't we?

And look who I have instead of a belly:



(shameless posting of cute baby alert)

Now that I'm on the other side, I realize that pregnancy and birth fade quickly when you spend the day staring at your newborn. Which makes it really neat to have a visual reminder of the mysterious amniotic sea you carry for so many months. I was so super lucky to have Jen take photos at our house and then ended up with these extras too. What I'm trying to say is in retrospect, it's so worth it to have pretty pictures taken during the final weeks of pregnancy. Any of your out there on the fence about whether or not to spring for the maternity sesh should just do it. You're only pregnant with your first baby once, after all.

(PS. You can see the whole tablescape project on 100LC here.)

this february weekend

Winter is subtle in California... at least at the southern end. We have cold clear days mixed in with a warm weekend or a massive rainstorm. But things still shift and we enjoy our seasons just the same. This weekend brought

Winter flowers:





I am ever enamored with Magnolias. Our neighborhood is full of the slender pink buds right now. (and Camellias too).


Winter foods:



citrus citrus citruscitruscitrus. I cannot get enough. At least 3 oranges per day must be consumed. And the Cara Caras are in season right now. Run to the farmer's market and find them if you can.


Winter projects:



Or should we say mega nesting? I went on a roman shade kick this weekend and turned mini blinds for 4 windows into roman shades. Tutorial here on Little Green Notebook. SO easy and, no they're not the most polished looking window coverings, but they are sooooooo much better than old mini blinds.


And winter babies:



My dear friend Jessica who I've been on the pregnancy journey with for the last 9+ months had her little girl on Saturday. She was due 3 days before me. I think because we've been so close through this whole process, the arrival of little Yvette (Friday night not here, Saturday morning HERE), so quickly has made the end of the journey feel very real and very unpredictable. And truly like a little poof of magic. I talked to Jessica on Friday night about normal boring household stuff, she wondered if she was ever going to go into real labor (she'd been having random contractions and a number of other "signs" for a week), and we pondered what it would be like to insert a newborn into our lives and our homes. Couldn't imagine it, really. And then an hour later she was in labor. And by noon the next day I had a surprise email from her husband with this photo. Completely amazing.

And now, as it goes... I'm next. Though it could be another 3 or 4 weeks I suppose. Trying to prepare myself for however and whenever this baby wants to come. I realized after seeing little tiny perfect Yvette, that I can plan all I want for my perfect birth but when it comes down to it, I don't care how he or she gets here as long as (s)he's here and healthy and home.

happy thanksgiving

A few iPhone pics from the market yesterday. I went early and it was completely mobbed (obviously) and absolutely stacked to the sky with beautiful produce. I wanted to make 3 extra things for today just to take advantage of all the vegetal options. I restrained myself however. As much because I couldn't carry anything else as other reasons, like remaining sane.







Which had me thinking... do I need one of those farmer's market trollies? They do look tempting when you're lugging huge winter squashes and pounds of apples and tangerines around with your 7 month pregnant belly. I've been jabbed in the shins by those on more than one occasion so I'm a little hesitant.

Or maybe just a more sturdy basket? In a few months I will have a stroller after all and that seems like it would serve the same purpose?

Hope you all have a delicious weekend of friends and family and food!

georgia, very briefly

I managed to leave georgia with mostly pictures of pigs. But here are a few snaps of fall in babyland...



big winter squashes ready for dinner.




pretty little vignette at olivia's house




a very sweet baby




more babies of the porcine nature. sadly i missed seeing the teeny piglets because mama pig had them covered up with straw when we stopped by. smart mom, but how selfish.




and the quiet woods surrounding laura's house. good place to take sleeping baby walking in the moby wrap while his mom naps.

early morning walk with my camera

One of the few benefits to being woken v. early for no apparent reason by the chickens in your backyard is you have a lot more time in the morning to putter about before you have to leave for work. And when I say few benefits, I actually mean ONLY benefit.

The chickens are not being looked upon favorably at the moment.

But I did take a nice walk through my funky little neighborhood, enjoying the changing light of early fall mornings. It's still hot, but the light changes even when the temperature stays summery.

And before I forget, I made this last night (with a few substitutions due to ingredients on hand) and it was delicious. Make it, if you know what's good for you.



Strawflowers I've been drying to use for an undecided project.



scabiosa pods left over from our wedding.



Our neighborhood has a system of little alleys that run behind some of the houses and one in particular has been an urban farm plot, probably since the 40's when our neighborhood was built. It's a real victory garden! It's also fairly neglected these days, but still one of my favorite places to walk.



asian squash vines peek over fences.



fence. I love grey.



see, I live in a city! we have graffiti!



tangle.



tiny spider thread.



workbench. people are very into DIY home projects in our neighborhood.



particularly pretty flower.



Those fig trees I mentioned yesterday. I only took what would fit in my coffee cup. Must return with a bag.

these two are v. v. cute

Did anyone see this insanely adorable engagement shoot on Green Wedding Shoes?



You need to go see the whole thing here. Dying.

Photography by the groom, Tim Melideo.

max wanger = the engagement shoot savant

this sesh in particular. woah.









you must see the whole day's progression on his blog.

exactly how long does one need to wait before planning a vow renewal. and if one plans said vow renewal, are engagement renewal photos also allowed?

you totally think i'm serious don't you? i'm not. for now.

scenes from the weekend + signs of spring

mushroom and beet green scramble



chai tea from soap making extravaganza



a visit to dandelion ranch



pretty pink flowers on the peach tree



tiny fall pomegranates gone to seed



one of many... see below


Spring is not my favorite season. I like it in theory, the little buds appearing on fruit trees, weedy flowers and clover carpeting the otherwise untended parts of the backyard, artichokes, longer days, getting home before dark... that's all great. But isn't it just such a tease? It's windy and sort of warmish if you stand in the sun with a sweater on, but really it's still cold and my feet turn purple when i insist on wearing sandals to work. arrg. i need summer. now. and it's months away.

I do love snooping around neighborhood gardens this time of year though. And smelling orange blossoms at night when the bedroom window is open. And figuring out what to do with the colony of baby artichokes forming outside the kitchen door.

Any ideas? I need easy baby artichoke ideas.

maybe i'll hold off on getting that goat

Karissa's wild pack:





My friend Karissa lives on an inexplicably huge property in Encinitas (San Diego), tucked behind The Gifted Preschool and the 7-Eleven. She and her man Travis started the goat experiment to ultimately make goat tacos from scratch, but other members of the project have since ruled the original intention out. So now they have a herd of goats roaming their yard, eating every single bit of green in sight. Plus things like the rubber on their car bumpers.

Okay then! So much for my perfect idea of getting a little goat to mow our backyard. But they are super cute. And much better to visit than to keep myself. For now. Until I get my own farm.

so this is how it's going to be...

apparently keeping up 2 blogs and a full time job is more difficult than i anticipated.

which is why i have the weekend to sort things out.

have a pretty weekend. back soon.

showgirls have all the fun

That makeup. I'm in love.

The Tropicana is canceling the Folies after 49 years. There's something about the end of an era that always feels kind of sad.

From my always reliable favorite news source, NPR.

happy <3 day

Hope everyone has a love-filled long weekend.

Drink some wine. And then save your corks so you can make neat tonally ordered sculptures on Sunday afternoons.







What about a cork bulletin board with the pretty pink parts facing out? I have a few more corks to work with.

alec soth at the national portrait gallery

These are like opposing perfections:





If I lived in DC, this exhibit would be part of my weekend plans.

Via NPR (the other love of my life). Rest of his work here.

the picture tag

Afton at Freckle Farm (love her blog. If I move to portland will I automatically become a notch cooler? I'm thinking yes) tagged me the other day... You've seen this game going around?

Choose the 4th picture in your 4th picture folder and describe it.

I'm not sure how other people's photos are organized on their computers, but mine does not follow this sort of reason. Meaning there are about 6 layers of folders before you actually get to the photos. So I kind of adjusted, but still used increments of fours. This is the fourth picture from the fourth date folder from this year.



At least it's kind of in focus? and is not something completely devoid of life?

Brock's niece, Monique and his nephew, Isaiah... held by Brock's older brother Sky at a recent family party. Monique might seriously be the cutest little girl I've ever met. Even though she spent the entire party showing off the frosting coating the inside of her mouth. Still cute.

garden stalking

I have (yet another) mildly unhealthy obsession to share. SURPRISE! I like to cruise neighborhoods peering into people's gardens, snooping their ideas for plant combinations and ogling particularly impressive botanical specimens. Is that so weird, really? It's like unorganized garden touring...

Brock and I dropped into Del Mar for a moment over the weekend to have dinner with my grandpa while my parents are out of town, in Africa (ahem, jealous) for 3 weeks. And we fit in a little moseying around the old 'hood. Del Mar has some beautiful tangly gardens and overgrown alleys for interested parties like moi. Beautiful in the old, neglected, fed by sea air sort of way.



It was so beautiful in San Diego over the weekend I could barely take it. One of those mornings that makes us consider moving back down sooner than planned. The light, I'm telling you, it was all about the wintery clear light.

Also, the 2nd picture... current object of particular affection for me: Two. Story. Cactus. I want. It lives next door to Brock's dad. But that is not good enough. No.

officially a poladroid convert

seriously, this is the best toy since... well, camera bag.



and winter afternoon light is sooo pretty for taking pictures.

January in our yard = rose hips, paper whites, seed pods and carnival colored camilias.

(Thanks jora for reminding me to download poladroid. I don't think I can live without it ever again.)

friday morning...

filtered light, sun, fog.



hope everyone has a happy wintery (whatever that means for you) weekend.