What's Blooming at the Casa

We have a yard full of bloom right now. This is what helps me survive summer! When my mom was a little girl she used to dream she'd marry a man who raised palomino horses. She got close - just a different breed. Even as a kid I preferred flowers to most other things and managed to marry a man who keeps us surrounded by them. Thanks, honey!

I adore these spidery orchids. We have several blooming right now and some blooms are as big as my hand! They are kind of ominous looking but have the sweetest smell. We have some inside and some on porch on my orchid rack.These will bloom for as long as 8 weeks!

One of Aaron's rose friends has so many blooms that cutting all of them to encourage growth becomes a chore for her! Can you imagine? I happily take the blooms off her hands whenever I can!

Ahhh. I look forward to lily season every year. They always manage to bloom around July 4. I have a ridiculous amount of blooms to pick this year so our house smells very sweet.

Old fashioned daylilly. These are super big and very tall. They are fun to look at in the garden.

One of my very favorites - the pineapple lily. I love this burgundy color. We also have lime green

Gorgeous clear yellow daylily.

Elegant white agapanthus blooms from the college. Look at the cool box Aime brought me from China!

Something to Make You Laugh at Work

This was an actual posting on Craigslist. Maybe I should hire a nemesis to keep me from getting bored on bedrest.

Nemesis required. 6-month project with possibilty to extend
Date: 2008-05-07, 2:49PM PDT

I've been trying to think of ways to spice up my life. I'm 35 years old, happily married with two kids and I have a good job in insurance. But somethings missing. I feel like I'm old before my time. I need to inject some excitement into my daily routine through my arm before its too late. I need a challenge, something to get the adrenaline pumping again. An addiction would be nice, but, in short, I need a nemesis. I'm willing to pay $350 up front for you services as an arch enemy over the next six months. Nothing crazy. Steal my parking space, knock my coffee over, trip me when Im running to catch the BART and occasionaly whisper in my ear, "Ahha, we meet again". That kind of thing. Just keep me on my toes. Complacency will be the death of me. You need to have an evil streak and be blessed with innate guile and cunning. You should also be adept at inconsicuous pursuit. Evil laugh preferred. Send me a photo and a brief explanation why you would be a good nemesis. British accent preferred.
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests Compensation: $350 up front

Bedrest Day 1: Still Smiling

One week to go and the doc didn't want me working this week since I have an active job and its quite hot here so she told me to take it easy. Twist my arm, doc. Actually, it has been harder than I thought it would be tapering down my responsibilities as the day draws near. I stopped going to my furthest destination last week and it drives me a little nuts not to have my finger on the pulse of my territory for 8 weeks. But this is Day One of no work and as of today, I am good. As you can see the dogs are using this as an excuse to spend quality time with me and I am listening to XM radio online, reading magazines, and blogging (okay, and doing some work via the computer). Aaron also put Gus' camo overalls on Teddy to entertain me. It worked. Keep you posted.

August Comes Early This Year

Most of you know the name of our future son at this point but we are making the formal announcement while we wait for his arrival in about a week (Yikes!).

We have chosen the name "August Reid" for many reasons. In fact, we (Aaron actually) came up with it years ago before we even discussed having kids. We've always liked the first name and he really liked the name of an acquaintances's son (Reid) and together it just felt right. So all these years later we get to use it!

August has many appropriate meanings for us. Aaron first found the name from his fathers (German) family tree, it is also Aaron's birth month, and we tend to make our biggest life changes in August for some reason - all major moves we have made have been during this hot month. I think this constitutes a major life change! Another few weeks and he would have been born in August!

August means inspiring awe or admiration; magnificent, majestic, and sublime. We particularly like the reference to nobility and "befitting a lord" (just kidding). We also like that it shortens to "Gus" which is what he will be called for the most part. Aaron was also playing around with words and found "Gusto" (another appropriate nickname?) meaning "vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment". Uh oh. Might be a handful.

Reid is the spooky part. I have always liked the name and Aaron found out a few months ago that it means "red haired" (can you believe that??) or "near the reeds" which is a botanical reference Aaron loves. So that settled it.

It was important for us to have it be a flexible name he could grow with and also be just unique enough without being very strange (ie, Wingspan or Banjo). You will all be getting a better view of his stationery soon (see above with his personalized album and Teddy as spokesbear). He could be a lawyer (August Reid, A.R. Reid) or a lumberjack (Gus) with that name, don't you think?

Warning: in case you are considering monogramming something for us (this is primarily for the grandma's) - don't bother. His initials spell "ARS" which is the same reason Aaron and I cannot have a proper monogram with our married initials which spell "ASS" if done in the traditional way. Let's just hope none of his buddies are familiar with old English.

We can't wait to meet him and introduce you all to him!

Stuff White People Like

www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

Shocked by the title? I was at first until I read the blog of the same name a few weeks ago and howled. I started out trying to be offended because everything is so PC these days that a list like this about ANY race would get serious controversy if everyone knew about it but this is too funny and true.


To save time when you visit the blog, click at the top on the "full list of stuff white people like" to get the best idea. His/her later additions are reaching a bit but still funny. The ones at the beginning are either really funny or just really TRUE in our case. Click on them whenever you are bored at work to get an actual description of what the writer means (come on, its July 3 and everyone in your office is gone so don't act like you're working).

Between David Sedaris (#25), Farmer's Markets (#5), Wes Anderson Movies (#10), Breakfast places (#44), and National Public Radio (and countless others on the list) it is undeniable proof that Aaron and I are very, very white.



PS - TO PROVE HOW WHITE WE ARE AARON HAD CREATED A LINK TO AN APPEARANCE BY DAVID SEDARIS ON DAVID LETTERMAN. ITS AT THE END OF THE POST ON HIS NEW BOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST - YOU CAN BARELY SEE THE LINK BUT IF YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES AT WORK YOU'LL WANT TO SEE THIS. YOU'RE WELCOME!

Showered with Love

This weekend was a testament to how blessed we are with great friends. We are fortunate enough to have great friends all over the map and so lucky to have some right in our own neighborhood. Saturday Richard and Dewayne helped Aaron install hardwood floors in our guest room. Needless to say this was a time consuming project. I know how much I love my Saturdays and getting a break from work so to have 2 people donate so much of their precious free time to pitch in and help was just amazing. Aaron now has a new skill and we have lovely, clean floors. Not to mention the value they add to our house. Without their knowledge, we probably would not have gotten around to it on our own. Here are some action shots. Lucky for me I am too large to be anything but in the way at this point so I just cleaned out the fridge and freezer (nesting again).

Then Sunday night Jeff, Julie, Richard, and Dewayne threw us a neighborhood shower which was perfect in every way. The food was incredible - everyone had been cooking all weekend for it. Richard made blue cheese ranch burgers, cheddar bacon burgers, and incredible baked beans with creamy deviled eggs. Julie made her excellent guacamole (seriously good), her mom's potato salad and another one of her oh-so-professional cakes. Aaron was in charge of drinks as usual and made yummy Sunshine Punch with fresh mint, mangos, pineapple and citrus. Cucumber sandwiches and crudite?? Pulleez!! This is my idea of baby shower food! Do these people know us or what?

Aaron modeling his carrier that his mom got us (plus my childhood teddy bear). We love it. Its very modern and comfortable and Aaron has secretly always wanted a pouch. Soon he'll have something to put in one!

Harrison playing with Bourdreaux Butt Paste and a travel size bottle of vodka that he loves to carry around. The butt paste was part of Jeff and Julie's present. We probably need the bottle of vodka as well for those first few crazy weeks with the baby!

Me trying to figure out how Aaron worked the carrier. Richard about choked on his punch when I pulled Teddy Bear out by the ear. Probably what NOT to do. Those parenting classes might not have been as successful as we thought.

Harrison hitting the bottle.

Thanks again guys for everything! We are really touched by your thoughtfulness time and time again. Its so neat for us to think our little one will have such a great family unit so close to home as well as a little play mate!

New David Sedaris Book

In case you didn't know or already have a copy - "Engulfed in Flames", the new David Sedaris book is out! Yea! This was exactly what I needed to give me a break from parenting and baby care books. I am 3/4 of the way through and it is quite amusing although not the same snort-inducing stuff of "Naked" and "Barrel Fever" which is to be expected because there are only so many hilarious things that can happen in a person's life, even in a family like Sedaris'.

For anyone who isn't familiar with the author, he is actually from Raleigh but I accidentally stumbled upon him before we left Oklahoma. In fact, his book "Naked" was on the shelf at my ex-boyfriend's house and I grabbed it to read on a road trip to Colorado with Aaron! (FYI: ex and I had amicably broken up but still were trying to figure out how to share the dog so I was still popping in from time to time). Ex had never read the book. His mom had purchased it because the title "Naked" was tongue and cheek and she thought it decorated HER bathroom in HIS house well (maybe a contributor to the breakup perhaps?)

Anyhoot, I don't know what I expected from the title -maybe porn? Just kidding but the book was so funny that I am sure that Aaron was having second thoughts about his new girlfriend who was crying the ugly cry through tears she was laughing so hard all the way to Colorado. I insisted reading passages to him while he drove. Long story short, we have enjoyed every book of his since and followed his career closely. He is a regular contributor and was discovered on "This American Life" on NPR - great show. I highly recommend getting his books on audio because his voice is half the fun. We even drove to Charlotte to hear him read from his new book years ago.

His sister, Amy Sedaris was on "Strangers with Candy" and "Sex and the City" and wrote "I Like You" which was a very funny recipe and entertaining book that came out last year I think. I'll try to put some YouTube stuff of his on blog soon.

See Sedaris reading on Letterman...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBdymtyXt8Y

Random Picture to Make You Laugh -Pito the Cat

Thought this was funny. Pito is a cat in Asia who walks around with his owner wearing a kitty backpack. When they wait for the bus he sits on his owner's lap using his pack as a cushion. I thought this was hilarious odd behavior until I saw Shiloh in the pics below in other post. Still funny.

Pimp My Stroller

I cannot believe I am posting about our stroller. First, I cannot believe I now OWN a stroller but much more surprised that I am so excited about it. This was a present from my parent's and it is quite possibly the coolest stroller ever. The reason we were interested in it is that it is actually a jogging stroller so it rides like butter and is all-terrain - perfect for those botanical gardens we frequent. See, for all you newbies (like us) you usually have to buy both kinds of strollers but some genius put the two together.

I am so close to swaddling Fitzi up and taking this baby around the block to show it off. I am that proud. It didn't help that our neighbor, Jeff, just got back from Prague and told us we were very European because they were all over the place there. We puffed up even more. What have we become?

I'd like to give a "shout out" to Lindsay for finding this masterpiece and mom and dad for such a cool gift. We hope the baby gets as much out of it as his parents.

The Get-Along Gang

Here are some pictures of our furry friends. Between JoJo and Fitzi - our pups at home, Izzy - our home garden cat, Shiloh - Aaron's nursery cat at Meredith College and Lacy - Aaron's visiting work companion at Meredith, we have quite a menagerie. Funny thing is they all love each other. Take a look.

Okay, Fitzi and JoJo love Lacy but I'm pretty sure she thinks they are overly friendly rodents.

I wish I could have captured the snuggle fest that happened before Shiloh decided to sit like this. She and Fitzi were having a sleepover at our house last weekend when we realized how close they really are. They wrap up in each other's arms and Shiloh licks Fitzi's face and back and Fitzi licks Shiloh's ears inside out. If we were quick enough we'd put it on YouTube. So cute.

Shiloh was actually watching a movie this way for quite a while. If she had on pants, I'm pretty sure her paw would have been in them a la Al Bundy*.

(* have to make fun of myself here. I originally had "Ted Bundy" written down and actually posted it so for those of you who read it and were too polite not to point out that Ted was a serial killer, not a couch potato, thank you).

Catching up

It has been forever since my last post and not because there hasn't been anything going on - that's for sure! I've just been a bad blogger and haven't been taking many pictures either due to fatigue or time going too quickly! In a quick recap of what has been on the agenda here:


1.)Aaron's dad, Mick, came to help us paint the nursery and add to our crown moulding project - the dining room and nursery are done! Yea! Thanks Mick! I hope to post nursery pics soon. He always works very hard when he's here but hopefully he was able to enjoy some good Southern food, plants and Jeep excitement,too. You should never tell people you are handy at anything! They will put you to work, right Mick?



2.)Aaron has had Meredith College graduation which is a very busy time for him. He and his guys work for weeks to make the campus look spectacular so he has been working several weekends and the reward is that the campus looks AMAZING. Here's an idea but doesn't do it justice. It was actually a huge project that you must see in person. Pictured is Lacy, Aaron's work companion.


3.) My parents came in from KY and we had a wonderful time doing the things we all love to do when they visit. Mom likes to do a little shopping around and going to Hays Barton Pharmacy for burgers and a piece of cake. Dad likes any culinary stop and outdoor excursion like Duke gardens and the Farmer's Market. He won't leave without a biscuit and I love taking them to the actual market. They get as big a kick out of the gorgeous produce as I do. You don't even have to buy anything - its just so beautiful. We did buy some stuff for mom to make my favorite childhood meal - pinto beans, fried squash and potatoes with cornbread. Yum. We also pigged out on strawberries that are just ridiculously red and sweet right now. I was terrible about taking pics but Aaron got a couple of gorgeous ones from Duke.

The rest of the weekend was low key - evenings and mornings in the backyard in hammock and chairs with pups, rainy evenings were on the front porch watching it come down which we used to do in Pauls Valley. We all enjoyed the relaxation after what has been a very busy Spring for everyone.

Nursery Inspiration Board

Vintage 50's pull down map
Morrocan rug (in orange)

Blabla sock animals

adorable "Jellycat" lions - supersoft

Steal of a crib similar to high dollar modern crib I loved. This is not the bedding we're using. Unsure of that at this time.

Already purchased antique teak bench


Not too soon to start baby collecting Jonathan Adler pottery like his mom.

Possibly a large plush giraffe or something

The nursery is far from done but we do have some pieces assembled. Here are some inspiration pieces we are using for sure or just using to inspire the look. We'll be using turquoise, green, and orange as most of the color and the vintage pull down map pictured is similar to the one we are using as "art" off of ebay. This has been somewhat of a challenge for me as I am not liking most children's furniture and I promise that there will be some functional pieces in there! We're kind of doing it intuitively by what we like and think our son would like until he has his own opinion. Then bring on the Cheryl Tiegs posters and lava lamps! Just kidding. Keep you posted!

Awwwww!

There is no point to this post other than to make everyone say "Awwww". This was from one of my design blogs that lets people send in pictures of their dogs in their home decor. Not sure if this is even real but who cares? Look at that tummy! I can practically smell the puppy breath. Always liked the chair, too.

With Friends Like These...

Still homebound for voice and have the opportunity to do something I have been wanting to do for a while. The above picture is just a glimpse at the generosity of our friends. In preparation for our arrival, Jeff and Julie were so sweet to lend us a TON of Harrison's baby gear. We are talking Exersaucers, Carseats, Swings, Bouncie Seats, Bathtubs, Car mirrors, Diaper Warmers, Boppie, the list goes on and on. These would have been major purchases for us and this act of kindness will save us about $1000. Not to mention it is definitely the "green" thing to do by recycling this stuff rather than buy it all new again AND we didn't have to put it together! We appreciate it so much!

Not pictured (because I am not about to become a maternity model) are the scads of maternity clothes both Julie and my friend Lindsay have loaned me. Odds are every day I am wearing something of theirs. I've gotten many compliments on how stylish I've been while pregnant and I give all credit to them. Not fun to spend tons of money on temporary clothes. This stuff is so cute I actually look forward to wearing it.

I have also really enjoyed the useful books (Sharon) and pj's (Aime) sent which have been so handy and have spoiled me so much. These things always came about the time I realized I needed to be getting them soon. The books because we know nothing at this point and the pj's because Aaron's boxers were probably never cute on me and certainly aren't with this belly.

Speaking of spoiling, Richard and Dwayne have been making sure my cravings have been met. Dwayne bought me a huge bag of Laffy Taffy (the only candy I really, really like) and Richard made sure that I had met my calcium needs for the day by bringing 3 pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream over when they knew Aaron wasn't home. Don't worry I didn't eat all 3 - we each took one although Aaron was a little concerned when he came home to find 3 empty ice cream containers in the trash.

You guys are so great! It is so touching to have this support and love all around us. Maybe it pays to be the last one to have kids - you get all of the stuff! Love you guys!

Frog in My Throat

Some of you know this by now but I am home because I have NO VOICE!!! AT ALL!!! I've had a bad cold for several days but woke up yesterday to answer the phone and nothing came out. I've never had this happen before. Its very frustrating. If you want to irritate a sales rep to death, take away her voice. I even had to miss a big dinner program I worked really hard on last night. Sigh. This sucks. So if you are feeling bored at work email me. My emails have grown very long the last 24 hours or so because I can't do any other talking during the day.

This is the frog I picture in my throat. He looks annoying and he probably is smoking just to make sure I sound extra croaky.

Evolving Patio

Well, now that the pergola is almost finished, we are trying to get the back patio as comfortable as possible. See, from what I hear, after a baby is born, you become quite a bit more homebound. So we are trying to find ways to maximize our space and create more "destinations" in our home to enjoy. We scored the motherload this weekend!
After the dejection of finding out that outdoor furniture is INSANELY EXPENSIVE at several places or extremely ugly, we went to Target to find that they had successfully knocked off Smith and Hawken in a weather proof set that is ridiculously comfortable for cheap, cheap, cheap. Aaron is building a firepit in the center of the four chairs to prop our feet and make s'mores. We'll move the chimenea when we get that part finished.

Luckily, they had a coordinating hammock or the deal would have been off. This has really added quality to our evenings. The weather has been so nice and we have spent at least 30 minutes each night out here enjoying a fire or just gazing up at the stars. We have barely turned on the television in two weeks. So worth it.

Izzy loves it as well. She's getting older and appreciates a good cushion to nap on.