The Royal Tenenbaums Wall

A few people asked about the prints and paintings on my dining room wall after this post. I'm happy you noticed the great artists and I swear I wasn't ignoring your comments, I just wanted to collect all the artists involved to answer with the right links. Thanks for your patience! 

It's obviously a Royal Tenenbaums film theme. It's one of my favorite movies because it reminds me of my own close family. We're academic and successful in our own ways, but we have dysfunctional painful moments (don't worry, nothing incestuous like Margot and Richie). We've overcome so much together and in the end, just like the movie, we are redeemed by love and not our shortcomings. I may not have family portraits displayed, but the beautiful memories embedded can't be framed. 

Prepping the frames 

+ The Royal Tenenbaums movie poster print was purchased at a local comic book store

+ The original movie poster that inspired the art work is from Claudia Varosio on etsy. Her work has been featured on fab.com but her prices are great if you are impatient like me. 

+ The canvas of my own photo I took in NYC was printed through Photo Canvas Prints. 

+ The Japanese movie poster was a gift from my husband but I'm sure with a quick ebay search, there are re-prints available. 

+ The Margot poster was purchased through Danny Brito's etsy shop

+ Big thank you to Dee for the heads up on the artist! Mab Graves will hopefully have some in stock soon. 

+ The top two of Margot and Richie were purchased on Etsy from this awesome artist. 

+ The Nan Lawson double prints to the left were purchased from Community in Anaheim, CA but her shop is full of Wes Anderson inspired art.

+ The pink framed print is available from Red Panda Designs on etsy

The pink frames are custom made through Michaels with a lighter acrylic to hold the photos on the wall better. I hope this answers all your questions! 

Spawning

I hated doing outfit posts because I always felt uncomfortable. It didn't feel natural posing for the camera, and I wasn't crazy about anything I wore enough to share it with the world. Now that my body is changing with pregnancy, I could be wearing a potato sack and I'll love it. I'm finding out pregnancy really changes you- I love my body more than ever. What I don't love? Maternity shopping. I'm taking advantage of fast fashion but just like the cravings I'm having, it's not going to last long. 

a little over 4 months! 

Is this the part bloggers have outfit details? GAP Jacket, F21 Lace Dress, Dr. Martens 1461, Moorea Seal necklace, Tumbleweeds glasses, Scott's baby. 

At Home with A Beautiful Mess

I'm sharing my kitchen and dining room on A Beautiful Mess today. Thank you so much to the team at ABM for having me!

excuse the messy hair and the baby bump trying to make an appearance. 

A big loving thank you to my husband for being my model. If you're curious how he's able to agree with so much pink, I've written about it here.

The Before

I was a guest post on Moorea Seal's blog, sharing my bedroom. Sometimes it's a little messy if I get too busy but this is one room I try to keep clear of clutter at all times. I remember when I was in college, my bed was made for not just sleeping, but it was my breakfast/lunch/dinner table, my desk, my reading nook, and a place to just hang out. I had a really hard time sleeping back then- I think it was the psychology that a bed was made for sleep and I barely used it for that. Now that I have something more than a tiny twin bed, I wanted to devout a bedroom to some of the best sleep I've had (mainly because it's not full of crumbs, books and papers). This is the before pic below when we first began working on it. Click here to see the after. Thanks for having me, Moorea! 

The Silver Anniversary

Scott mentioned to me it was our last day as a couple on Valentine’s Day. I was sick, throwing up on what would be our last. I don't know if it was hormones, or exhaustion but I was overcome with uncontrollable ugly crying. We've had 5 years together to grow as a couple, individually, and share our lives. We traveled the world, the country, and build a home and company together. I instantly felt like i didn't do enough in our marriage. Did I work too hard? Was i on my phone too much? Did we not spend enough time alone?  He did comfort me saying it was amazing time being married to me and it was time to grow a family, but there's a part of me I felt I could have done more.

This year was a big five year wedding anniversary, and it was not what I was expecting, but everything I needed. I didn't want to celebrate to pay to stay somewhere stuck indoors, with a better view of what lunch looks like in pieces than the outside view. It was a quiet day, and Scott and I celebrated not only being married five years, but being soon to be parents. We knew it was our last anniversary together and we weren't distracted by long flights, touristy views, and being exhausted from hours of walking in a new city. Instead, we just had each other's company and good conversation. I felt like this is how I could do more. To just be there. 

I got Scott this hip Ju-Ju Be diaper bag, it'll come in handy in a few months. For those mentioning the dress I'm wearing, I actually got this skater dress on Amazon also. I just wear a bodysuit underneath and I can avoid the polyester. It's one of my favorite dresses and I'm thinking of going up a couple sizes during maternity. So yeah, we're that couple now, giving each other baby gifts for baby instead of for us. It's honestly one of my favorite anniversaries, and I'm grateful to quietly share it with Scott.

In Bookstores This September

We are so excited starting a new story in our lives! We found out New Years day, so Happy New Year to us! This is my first successful pregnancy and I'm praying everything goes well. To get this stage was hard but worth it after I was threatened with infertility due to my weight. While everyone at the gym and Pure Barre classes squeezed into their skinny jeans, I wanted to squeeze into maternity jeans. 8 sizes down, one beat up Eat to Live book to go by, I've never felt healthier. I'm just hoping my pregnancy is just as healthy. I've gained a couple pounds since I'm at 10 weeks, but I've never loved and appreciated my body more than right now. 

I was first told I was at least 6 weeks along because my hcg levels were so high. When I had more testing done, this baby was barely 2 weeks old. It’s a strong and growing baby and it tells me this every day with morning sickness. I’m at the end of my 10 weeks. I’m a little worried to announce it so early, but it’s Valentine’s Day- the perfect day to tell the world I’m expecting a bundle of LOVE. I'll be happy to share more in later posts, I feel like I've been holding my breath and it feels good to let it out! In the meantime, thank you for letting me share the great news for our little family.

What I've Learned Through Social Media

Most bloggers I know have hit their late 20's/early 30's and Nicole from Rose Runs Wild has a great feature appropriately titled, The Growing. Going into a new decade is an exciting part of our life and reading Nicole's feature makes me feel right at home. She covers all the bases when it comes to aging gracefully. I have the opportunity to guest post what I've learned through social media- it's pushed me to levels of creativity I never imagined,  and opened the doors to people I love. However, there is also a dark side I wish I was warned about, like the internet mistaking kindness for weakness. I shared some insights on Nicole's feature here. I'd love to hear your thoughts over there and see what other advice you may have for others. Thanks for letting me share, Nicole! 

The Couple Who Builds LEGO Together....

I love LEGO. One of my favorite cameras is a LEGO (in pink!) Scott and I challenged ourselves with building the Volkswagen T1 Camper Van. It took a few months to build unlike the couple of weeks we overachieved.  As soon as we had opportunities, of course we were too tired, or our space was too messy. We finally finished it and it's glorious! It was worth taking the time- the details are amazing. Here are a few photos of our before, during and after. Ahhh! 

There are so many more details, and I don't want to flood my post but you can check out more on my flickr set.

You can buy the LEGO Camper here. Our next project? We hope to tackle this baby sometime soon! It's been sitting in our extra room since summer. 

Sunny Side Up

What ended up being a trip to run an errand, turned into a visit to Sprinkles, a hike to Pirates Cove, and then enjoying the beach and sun. Spontaneity is not my best asset, but this makes it worth it. Cupcakes and the beach sound ideal, but I only photographed the pretty side of the cupcake- the other side is a melted hot mess dripping down my hand. It was equally delicious and sandy! 

The Fireplace

I loved the idea of having a fireplace when I moved into our place, but just not a very 80's looking one (apologies if you love that look, but seriously, WHY). We wanted something to look as old as the house, so we hired a tile contractor who designs historical homes. It was perfect what he picked out (he did our kitchen, and he also did our guest bathroom, which I'd love to share later). The neutral colors go with our dark space and highlight Kate Gabrielle's print. It's the perfect print to inspire our library nook, it's my favorite spot in the house right now. It's so COZY. 

We are really happy with Tim. If you're in the area, give him a call! (714) 272-6386. He seriously does a great job with a better price. I'll be sharing more before and after pics of our space. Whether you own a home, a fancy loft, a tiny cabin, or a cozy apartment spot, doing what works best for you is exciting. 

Currently

I'm taking some inspiration from one of my favorites, Dani  of Sometimes Sweet. Her Currently posts are a great way to share what's going. Right now I am...  

Watching Movies! Yes, I got Movie Pass, it's like Netflix but for films! Since we work from home, we can go on our time. We've been going to the movies everyday and even cut our premium cable channels. If we really miss certain tv shows (like Homeland!) we can wait for the seasons to come up on iTunes. I'll be having a full review on Gadchick soon.

Listening to a little bit of everything. I'm going back to my roots and loving Mr. T Experience, The Riverdales, and Bouncing Souls. It's not a case of nostalgia but a case of coming to terms that I really love American pop punk. I'm also adding in Emma Wallace in the mix for a great balance.

Planning Scott and I are leaving to Arizona for one night for work and some play. We're catching Sufjan Stevens on his Christmas tour, finally!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q71j5GbFCDc

Thinking About blogging, and privacy. How do I keep blogging what I love without sharing too much? After a decade of blogging, I'm still getting the hang of it. It's easy to blog about an innate objects, but it's different to post about the person behind it.

Looking Forward To my house being done! When it seemed like we finally had a quiet moment of renovation (it was non-stop the first year) we decided to get our built in bookcases, along with a built in pantry in the dining room. It's almost cleaned up and set up and the "after" pic will deserve it's own blog post, but here are some "before" and "in-between" pics of the renovation. (Please excuse the poor quality of the pic. You'd think the iPhone 5 would take better photos in a dim light by now)

Reading nothing! Really, I'm not reading anything at the moment and I'm a little embarrassed to admit this. I've had books open on my Kindle, and dabbled a bit in iBooks, and even have a few paperbacks I tried out, but my heart isn't in it to read right now, as heartbreaking as that sounds. It's okay to take a break from hobbies.

Making Me Happy All the Instagram pics of the holidays. People are getting their Christmas tree's out, baking, turning on the fireplace, making hot cocoa, and all the cheesy things that make the holidays the holidays.

Did you have a Currently post? Please share a link, I'd love to catch up on what everyone is up to.

Wincing the Night Away

A couple weeks ago, Scott bought us tickets for the Shins. We don't like driving to LA, and we're total old people when it comes to going out. We stayed at a hotel nearby, did some window shopping, caught up on work, and enjoyed room service. It was a great couple of days to get away. I finally was able to use my Crewcuts weekender.

Our views were great, and with temperatures reaching 106 that week, it was nice to see LA without going out much.

Scott tried a California Roll for the first time...with a fork. He needs a set of Hello Kitty chopsticks to learn how to eat sushi in public.

We walked to the City Walk from our hotel

When we finally got to the concert, I saw some familiar Instagram'ers, and I was glad to see we weren't the only people over 25 there. They put on a good show as always!

Also, Washed Out opened for them, and they had cassette tapes!!

Every once in a while it's good to get away but I did miss my pups and cats, and yes, I did miss my pink kitchen :P

The Cinema Alone

Scott and I walked in the movie theatre during the day, in the middle of the week, thinking how awesome it is to have an empty movie theatre to ourselves. Going to a movie theatre and listening at other people's crazy laughs and reactions is part of the fun. Do you guys go to the movie theatre alone or do you prefer a full house?

Puppy Photos

Sometimes i take breaks from blogging. and i won’t tell you. i also won’t come back saying i’m sorry, i’m a terrible blogger. because i’m not a terrible blogger, especially for wanting to take a break. my lack of blog posts won’t merit if i’m a terrible blogger or not, but terrible blog posts will say that. (side note- isn’t the word BLOG so ugly?) To make up for those lack of blog posts, I have something that makes up for all of that! Puppy pics!! Meet Cinderella! (yes, she's named after a five year old who goes to Disneyland, a lot).

My nieces were blessed with a little puppy. She is growing really fast. When I first met her, she fit in the palm of my hand. Now, she I can hold her with two hands. She's still tiny, and absolutely adorable. They're in the process of moving into their new home and we get to pup-sit for them while they settle. I'll be posting more pics on Instagram!

August Break

I had a few people ask where this tote was purchased on Instagram. Fab.com had a sale on it and I got it for cheaper. I did find the etsy seller, Yours is the Earth. The bag is burlap, roomy and the quality is great. Buy it here.

August Break

I remember when I had the Floral Fantasy room at the Madonna Inn, I absolutely thought the pink was hilarious and couldn't imagine being there for a weekend let alone living in it. Wow, how times have changed. More of that "hilarious" pink here.

"The jacket—is it James Dean or Jason Priestley?"

I picked up a leather jacket in NYC and I can't wait to wear for Fall, or any cool weather which doesn't look like I'll be seeing for a while. I feel more Joan Jett than Jason Priestly or James Dean. \m/

If you know where the title quote is from without searching Google, you're my favorite.

A Husband and His Pink Garage

Scott's response on living with so much pink-

"It's easy. I love my wife more than I hate the color pink".

I married a good, good man.

The Family Wall

Since today marks the release of The Royal Tenenbaums on Blu-ray, Criterion Collection Editon (!!), I thought it'd be appropriate to share my dining room wall. Photo-Canvas contacted me asking if I wanted to endorse their product. I've never owned a printed canvas before, and I loved the idea. I wasn't sure what to expect but I loved it!! I placed my order online, it was easy to upload, I was able to choose a colorful side, and the shipping was just as quick. The quality is great, and I'm really happy with the results. I chose this photo from my Flickr when I visited NYC a few years ago.

I loved this Polaroid but the quality was already a little grainy, so I went with digital. I'm loving the detail of the canvas. It looks so sharp, I can even see the cracks on the concrete and the shape of the leaves.

The artists on my wall are Nan Lawson, Claudia Varosio, Red Panda Designs, and now Photo Canvas.

Check them out here and on Facebook.

August Break

I'm finally editing photos from our trip to Paris and Disneyland in March (even Katie's a little late so I don't feel so bad, ha!) Here's one of my favorite shots from Disneyland Paris hotel. You guys are going to flip when I post pics of the inside.