Pages

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

presents.


i had to open up some of my gifts.

i mean really.
it's cold.

like static hair, dry skin, giant boot slippers,
robes that make me feel like i gained a hundred lbs,
don't want to get off the couch cuz it's colder in the
kitchen, don't want to answer the phone cuz it's
in the kitchen, don't want to make dinner cuz well,
i just never feel like making dinner. 

anyway, because it's so cold i opened up my new coat
and new boots. and my precious mini Polaroid camera.
the camera has nothing to do with the cold, i know,
but i was on a roll & no one ever said life makes sense.
i think my husband is so used to me opening up
 my gifts early, he's pretty numb
to it. he didn't say one thing this year as i pranced
around the living room in my new coat & boots
like some sort of winter tinkerbell.

i guess i do feel a little lame having the lack of
self control. but not lame enough to retire from it.


xo, amy






Saturday, October 19, 2013

my dear boy.






sometimes i can't believe this baby of mine is 6.
when you have a baby everyone tells you to cherish it.
and "they grow so fast" and blah blah bliippity blah.
but it is true.

if i can offer one piece of advice that i did and am
so glad i did, it is this...

stare at your kids.

truly, stare so bad that your eyes get dry from
not blinking.

when they are talking to you, look at those faces wholly-
stop what you are doing (if you can, don't set the iron on your dress
and then blame me for burning a funny shaped hole in it)
and just take them in! get very near to them, breath them in! 

it's this that i did and i do and i always will. when i bask in those
little faces in total focus & listen to their inflections with my ears
bent in no other direction, these are some of my best memories.

&  yeah, i love it so.


my 6 year old - the photographer



luke took this & i love that!
it's like a double gift.
the gift of the cute pic of me & aria
& the gift of knowing that my little boy snapped it.
ah, love!


a good spin.




records are just charming.
there is no other word to describe them.
except nostalgic.
and lovely.
so there, those three words.
& cute. yes, cute.
records are stinkin cute.


xo, amy

Thursday, September 19, 2013

i worked it


so a couple weeks ago i cleaned my garage out. i
kept waiting for the day my hubby would but after years of feverish daydreams and fasting, i realized some hopes just fizzle as time bounces on.
so i took it upon myself, one warm wednesday afternoon. and i dug in. & i am the sort that once i 
dig a little, it's getting dug till there ain't no more duggin to be digged. wow, sometimes poor grammar makes me feel so powerful. 

so i clean it out, had boxes all heaped up. found things that i had no idea why they were even in there in the first place considering i moved here when i was 25 (mickey mouse bed sheet? a giant book of algebra? come on, why would i need either of those ever again?) 

it felt SO GOOD to get it clean. as i swept it up i truly felt like dancing with the broom but felt i was being spied on so decided to just talk to myself instead, ok i'm kidding, i whispered. 

and then the painting began! yes, i had just purchased loads of spray paint from LOWE'S and the first thing i began painting was my kitchen chairs, a light shade of baby blue. then a baby doll cradle for aria's dolls (vintage, all wood) and then this bench up above. it was just brown wood. my husband says it is not for the living room but i just want it there for now. it's cute! i threw a vintage afghan on it and i bought a pillow from H&M (love their home department online now!) and it's gonna stay for now. and look at my little dumpling girl, i can't exactly swipe the thing out from underneath her when she is that excited about it.

so i have a nice clean garage. and i am almost done with my painting projects, it feels so good to get stuff done! 

xo

Friday, September 6, 2013


happy weekend!

i have a sore throat. 
but i'm still gonna rock. 
"cold ain't no match for me!"
 (say in adam sandler bathtub voice)

xo, amy 

Wednesday, September 4, 2013


she just loves this vintage horsey. 
sure, it may collapse into a heap of dust one day as she sits upon it, but it's worth the risk. 













 

Tuesday, August 27, 2013


i don't want summer to end!
i can not believe we are 5 days away from september, how did this happen.
& before the summer started i was all 
"oh just wait, this is going to be the summer of
accomplishing, oh yeah, you wait and see!" - weird right? 
what's weirder is that
i was saying that to myself in the mirror.

well, i am not going to give up.
i am going to squeeze the daylights out of the next month. 
i am going to take that giant list of mine and checkity my heart out.

and on a completely unrelated note, i started collecting buttons last week.

xo, amy

Friday, August 9, 2013

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Thursday, July 25, 2013

high buns.



what are your thoughts?

yay or nay?  to buns?

i love them dearly but welcome all criticisms of this giant donut atop my head.

xo, amy



Saturday, July 20, 2013

the weekend


 i am so happy the weekend is here. 
wow. 
what a busy week!

today i am buying a kiddie pool for the deck and a pretty little
lounge chair for me to toast in while the kids "swim" in said kiddie pool.

plus i am baking cookies & getting a new bike.

had to return this bike since i couldn't attach aria's baby seat to it
& bonus! it made a super irritating noise upon pedaling it. which you pretty
much have to do. although it's so darn pretty i almost thought of keeping it just to walk it 
around town like a pet. 

so, am looking forward to getting my new *yellow* bike and finally
taking little girlie for a spin. 

if you are reading this i hope you have a wonderful weekend. 
if you are not reading this, i still hope you have a wonderful weekend
though sadly, you will never know.

xo, amy 


UPDATE 8.9.13 - 
i went to a different target and they fixed my bike for not even a penny!
& i found a bike seat that goes in the front, so it should work!
that's right folks, now we can all carry on with a little more pep in our steps because indeed, 
dreams do come true!





Monday, July 1, 2013

mornings





i wake up in the morning feeling not fully rested
but i'm so used to it it's like i just expect the feeling now.

i do remember what it feels like to feel fully rested.

kinda makes you wanna do a mary poppins kick and/or a karate chop dance.
either way, it's just plain fun.

every morning i get my big cup of coffee.
change aria's giant pee diaper as she says "no, no, no"
give luke a hug and "how'd you sleep honey?" as i pet his head.
"good. i'm hungry" he says very quickly.

i took these pics with my self timer mode this morning.
hence the slanted variety,

just wanted to capture us as we are when we wake up.
and yes, i may have bumped into a bit of powder beforehand,
but i didn't do my hair or practice different expressions in the mirror so that
has to count for something.

love these little babes.

xo, amy

Saturday, June 15, 2013

sweet life.


dear sweet life, 

when i am grumpy for no good reason. 
shove this photo in my face and then slap me 
right & good.

i am blessed. let me not forget it! 




bad blogger



i just don't blog like i used to. 
i try to. i really do. but it mostly escapes me.
why? 
i'll tell you why!
cuz blogging takes time and i don't have the time!

no, i'm not shouting at you. but rather talking very
emphatically to my computer screen.

i told myself going in to this - no guilt.
if i promise a post and it doesn't happen, 
oh stinkin' well.

if i take loads of beautiful photos on a trip
and end up only posting the creepy blurry
hotel one - well that's just the way it goes.

i don't want this blog to become a job.
i want this to just be a show tune carnival
everyday. cotton candy for everyone!
ahoy!

oh gosh. i don't know what i'm talking about
now. but i guess alls i'm saying is, love me for
who i am or don't love me at all. or love me a little
if you want to. yeah, i mean, a little is ok too.

& buy me stuff. 
i love presents.

xo, amy


 

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

ombre hair.



really wanting to do this (ombre hair color) soon.

i'd love to do it on my own since it seems fairly easy to achieve.

i love how the coloring process doesn't touch your scalp! but that's a side note bonus, i just truly think this is a great summer look.

i have colored my own hair a lot and have had some great successes (insert blowing it dry doing fancy pivots and triumphed laughter when i'm done)

& some very unsuccessful (insert me crying. and then crying some more).

i say i go ahead and do it. it will be a fun ride either way.

xo, amy 

Monday, June 3, 2013

come to mama


just ordered this from target.com last week and it's already on its way.

am.very.excited.

i am also currently shopping baby bike seats to attach for aria to ride along.

i used to ride my bike all the time when i was younger. and single. and lived at home. i'd ride around the neighborhoods for what seemed like hours but was probably more like 45 minutes or so. then i moved, got married and then for some reason -just stopped. considering the chain of events, it looks like i could blame it all on my husband.

but then, you know how life can be inspiring, i just felt all bikey this season. like every time i'd see a lady riding her bike i'd get this itch to do the same. & especially if she had a little baby chilling behind her in an attached seat. that just got me even more itchy, total chicken pox.

so! i can't wait.

of course i will post pics when i take her out for a spin. you know, those pics where you are pretending you are very involved in the scenery ahead of you but really you are hoping your posture looks good and the sun is hitting your face the best way possible.

xo. amy


Wednesday, May 22, 2013


pretty cute right?

we celebrated aria's birthday on sunday. 

have lots of photos to post but am cross-eyed tired right now. 

oh ok, here's one...

 
the pretty little birthday girl!
 she actually kept her flower crown on for a long while, which made me very happy!


Monday, May 13, 2013

post poning a party & i love a mug.


so I had to postpone aria's birthday party because
luke came down with a touch of the flu.
it was a bummer but hey, gives me more time to
 put my tanning gel on! (I kid) (sorta)
 
I spotted the mug above at target about a month ago.
I really liked it but didn't buy it since I figured I already have a mug.
& it just didn't feel like a "buy a new mug for $9" time 
but the thing about a mug that says "hello!" on it is that
it's just such a friendly mug that it's like it was begging to come home
with me. so last week when it went on sale, I bought it &
i never looked back.
 
it's working out great so far. every morning in shouts "hello!" at
me and i, in turn, drink out of it very happily.
pretty good relationship.
 
xo, amy
 
 



happy mother's day.

 
hope all you mommies had a wonderful mother's day!
i sure did!
i am so very grateful for these two munchkins.
& also - so very blessed with a wonderful mom!
 
xo, amy

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

photographs: aria's world.
















looking forward to this summer.
last summer aria was brand new & I was a big ol' mess.
just cuz I had postpartum depression & well, I was too chubby for all my clothes because of the left over pregnancy weight. I could have gone out and gotten myself a few bigger sized things but I am pretty strange, it's like I'd rather wallow in the same two maxi dresses all summer than buy a size or two up. 

but anyway. spring is here & i am happy. 

 xo


Friday, April 26, 2013

aria's paper doll party.

 i bought this to hang on the wall, it's huge - love!

 
paper doll dress cupcake toppers, i ordered six for the cupcakes
that i'm going to put on either side of the cake

place mats as a party favor. i am printing these out and then laminating them at an office store

 mint colored paper straws, so pretty. 



- still trying to decide if i'm going to buy or make the cake garland topper. seems like an easy decision right? not for me! welcome to my world...

xo

on being happy

(me & luke - summer 2011 -right before i got pregnant with aria)

sometimes the easiest way to feel good when
you are having a rough day is to look
at photos of  yourself when you weren't.

things to not do when your down n out? 
don't compare your life to someone else's -
(you shouldn't do this anyway.)

don't eat those bad favorite foods (temporary happiness,
albeit some super tasty temporary happiness)

don't shop online (took me a while to learn this lesson,
actually still learning my lesson)

don't sit out on your deck & cry (it's just weird & i'm
pretty sure the birds hate this)

xo, amy 

Saturday, April 20, 2013

things i say.




'it's so cold out there, it's just stupid cold. "

"let's get this party started!" (when clearly there is no party)

"hmph" (with my chin tilted high like anne shirley) when i am holding a fake grudge.

"i sure do love ya!" (with a strong country twang) 

ps -  look at my baby girl! she is almost one.
& i don't actually let her play with legos but apparently
when i am taking photos of her i don't notice
dangerous toys in her hand because i am so busy staring
at her darling face. i did notice right after taking it though.

xo,




Monday, April 15, 2013

sometimes i ... (food edition)


sometimes i...

flip food with my fingers instead of a spatula (sausages, chicken patties, etc.)

rip a recipe out of a magazine & buy all the ingredients & don't make it for a really, really long time. or ever. 

do the salsa with my refrigerator door. 
i lead. 

feel like a loser because i don't really do that well in the kitchen. 
 (am really trying to get better.)

buy a giant cake for my birthday that lasts two weeks. this actually only happened once, on my last birthday.  but i really want to make this a tradition.

xo, amy 




Saturday, April 13, 2013

planning a birthday party.

(my daughter, Aria, at one week old)

planning my daughter's first birthday. 
i am very excited.
it's paper doll theme. 
i sorta have a undying love for paper dolls.
my husband still doesn't even understand 
what they are & when i explain for the
72nd time he still looks at me like 
"& what's the point of that"

anyway, i am baking the cake 
it's going to be white, with
ruffled icing & some sort of 
tiny garland hanging upon it. 
can't make up my mind if i want
to just buy this garland off of etsy or get
all martha stewart-ey and make it 
myself. either way, i'm going to set
the finished cake on a lovely glass
cake stand & let the crowd roar. 

 i really can hardly believe my
baby girl is going to be one!
her name is Aria (pronounced ARE-EE-AH)

i also have a five year old son, Luke.
he will be six in june, & that is
completely crazy to me!
i mean, SIX!
i swear it feels like i was just
calling him pumpkin-eater as i 
swung him around on my hip to 
some fancy song. 

time goes too fast, such a cliche
but so true!

xo, amy