Imagine if you will that this guy, is saying the below.
In the far corner in the urine soaked pants, we have the homeless guy, from the streets of San Francisco. Who hasn’t seen the inside of a shower in 5 years.
And
In the near corner in the cheap, polyester pants we have the old guy from India, who compulsively readjusts his junk and passes gas.
Who wins this round?!
Posted in Leo, tagged Cuddle, Leo, Sleep Training on May 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »
3:14 A.M.
Day 3
First two nights, which I have heard were the worst, were a piece of cake .
Tonight, I was supposed to wait ten minutes before first check.
I made it five.
Went up and found Leo, on his tummy crying. I started patting him and talking softly he responded by crying harder.
I panicked.
I picked him up and nursed him.
Complete Ferber failure.
Sigh.
Will try again.
Posted in House Stuff, tagged Decorating, Furniture, Treasure Hunting, Used on May 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »
There are very few things in this life that make me happier than used furniture.
Does this make me weird?
To some people I would say yes, but I know there are others of you out there that feel the same way.
I have purchased all of my furniture from thrift stores and/or Craigslist, with the exception of my couch, coffee table, and mattress.
Mattress is a no brainer, who wants to buy a used mattress. DISGUSTING. Pardon me while I vomit.
Couch kind of falls into the same category, but not so severely.
Coffee table was a piece I had no intention of buying. I got a really good deal due to a small dent that is barely noticeable.
My Mother-in-law came to town a couple of weeks ago and took me to a store called Consignment Plus; a furniture consignment store.
Entrance
This place was freaking enormous, I have only seen two other places like it in Los Angeles.
I looked it up on Yelp and it gets mixed reviews. Good reviews say “good customer services and great prices”, bad reviews say, “shady business practices and overpriced”.
As with most things of this nature there are always going to be positive and negative feelings, the truth often times falls in the middle.
My two experiences so far have been very positive; good to great customer service and personally, I think the prices are great.
With that being said the quality of the pieces ranges from sub-par to fabulous. As the old saying goes “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
I can see how people may think they are overpriced. Some of the stuff is overpriced but I did see some great deals.
Now going back to the good stuff.
My first time walking through I had what I can only describe as a “Holy Mary, mother of God” moment. (Can you guess that movie?)
My heart was racing, I felt light headed, and I literally almost started sobbing. I am not joking not even a little bit.
Joey thought this was absolutely hilarious and kept repeatedly asking me over and over again if I was ok while laughing at me the whole time.
If we had the money and a home to furnish there were six things that would have been snapped up on that first trip.
I have decided that I will venture out to that store every couple of weeks to see what new things have popped in.
Today we went for our second visit and I remembered to take some photos.
This table greeted us at the door; last time we were there I loved this table. The love was a little less this time around not sure why but it was.
Dark brown with swirly legs
Followed by the super eager saleswoman who although very nice was a bit chatty for my taste. She came up to me at least three times asking me what I was looking for.
I almost peed my pants over this buffet, which was already sold. It was a beautiful piece, solid wood and very substantial.
Here is a photo of HALF of the dining room section.
HUGE, right?!
Gotta love these hideous chairs; guarantee they came with a glass topped table. 80s was such bad design/taste decade.
This set was interesting (FYI; when I say interesting it is generally never a good thing).
Man Cave Stuff (if we had the room for a man cave; babe, I promise we will get you one)
This bar was sold but would look amazing with a new stain job.
I am intensely drawn to this couch. Not sure if it is real leather but how perfectly man cave is this?
Look at those nail heads.
Green couch? Sure, right this way.
Huge round mirror that is completely gaudy. I want to make her mine.
Isn’t my new favorite store, beyond fabulous?
Posted in BNO, tagged baby names, Leo on May 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »
This post is so incredibly LATE; my apologies.
Let’s pretend it is mid-afternoon Tuesday, May 14, 2012.
You rock for indulging me.
I woke up Monday morning feeling groggy, because of these stupid allergies until I realized that it was the release of the 2011 Social Security Most Popular Baby Name List.
Then I had a…
…moment.
Hopped out of bed and grabbed my coffee diet Pepsi (I know, I know the aspartame is giving me cancer) and posted up in my nook.
First and foremost, I would like to mention that I was right about Sophia being #1 when I wrote my confessional BNO post.
Girls:
All top 10 from last year in the girl category stayed the same with some minor rearrangement.
Sophia kicked Isabella’s little booty down to the #2 spot.
Emma, Olivia, Ava, Emily, Abigail and Madison held on to their rank.
Mia edged out Chloe to take #9 leaving her with #10.
Interesting movements:
Addison, which didn’t even clear the top 100 prior to 2006 has been made popular by the lovely Kate Walsh. Who plays Dr. Addison Montgomery on Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice which started in 2005-2007. Over the past seven years has seen a jump from 106 to 13 this year, which is down two spots from last year. Not to give Ms. Walsh all of the credit, I see Addison prior to Grey’s as being a modified Madison.
Bristol GAY-hating Palin pushed her name to make an appearance in the top 1000 in 2009 at 666 (the irony) and has jumped 100 spots in each subsequent year.
Notable mentions:
Rivka –to bind
Milagros –religious folk charms that are traditionally used for healing purposes and as votive offerings in Mexico
Milana – favored
Ximena – Spanish form Simone – hear, listen
Aracely – Heavenly Homemaker (seems a little chauvinistic)
Boys:
Jacob still reigns supreme at #1, with Mason (love the name) jumping from #12 to #2 (dislike that the jump is most likely from Kardashians) kicking Anthony out of the top ten.
Besides that movement the top ten remains the same as 2010 albeit in a different order: Jacob, Mason, William, Jayden, Noah, Michael, Ethan, Alexander, Aiden, and Daniel.
Interesting movements:
Not a movement per say but after reviewing the list over and over the only thing that really screams at me is the HUGE “den” sound. As in Jayden, Aiden, Brayden, Ayden, Kayden, Aidan, Kaden, Caden, Cayden, Camden, Kaiden, Jaiden, Landen, Braden, Caiden, Aden, Zayden, Kayden, Adan, Kamden, Raiden, Aydin, Jorden, Aydan, Aaden, Bradyn, Rayden, Jaeden, Jaidyn, Jaydan, Haiden, Jaydin, etc.
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT*:
For the love of God, please stop changing the spelling of names to make them “unique”; it doesn’t.
Adding a “Y” to a boy’s name makes it look feminine; Mayson and Kayden.
*Just my opinion and only that; please don’t stab me take it personally.
Notable Mentions:
Clinton – Almost fell out of the top 1000 last year at #993 but has made a subtle comeback to #923; I mention this name because it was #211 in 1992. Did Wild Bill have anything to do with that?!
Maxwell – Makes the list #134 for BOYS this year, I wonder if that will change due to Jessica Simpson naming her DAUGHTER Maxwell.
Personal Mentions:
Our baby Leo’s name moved from 192 to 167; we are seeing it everywhere as well. From IKEA Commercials (Leo Proof Kitchen; can’t find the video for it),characters in movies and T.V. shows to celebrity babies.
Friend’s choices, that have had a baby last year or having a baby this year:
Alexander – 6 to 8
Dylan – 31 to 33
Asher – 138 to 113
Zoe – stayed the same at 31
Mia – 10 to 9
That’s my breakdown.*
New girl name, I am loving is Adelaide and Joey is a big fan of Hannah.
Ok, I am done. If you are still reading this, you either really love me or you’re just as crazy as I am.
Either way I am digging it.
*I have delved deeper; you know what that means, right?! Another BNO post coming your way.
Posted in Uncategorized on May 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Yes, I am screaming cake at you!
CAKE! CAKE! CAKE!
I’m a HUGE fan of cake, and I am a cake snob.
I rarely think cake is good, always thinking it is too dry, too dense, etc.
Mind you, I am known for my disastrous desserts that I have brought to dinner parties.
Bad doesn’t even begin to tell you how awful they have been.
I used to be pretty good at baking, not sure what happened there.
Anywhoooo….
My oldest (since we were 14) gf Amber, is a mother of four, 6mths-7 years old.
She is an awesome mom!
Besides the cooking, cleaning, shopping, chauffeuring, etc. that is a mom’s job, she always makes sure to do the little things that kids remember.
Self-admittedly, Amber is not the most artistic/creative person out there (although, I disagree), she tries hard.
She’s the cat’s pajamas!
When her second daughter, Ella requested a homemade Smurf cake, she made one.
It wasn’t perfect but Ella WANTED her mama to make it; she didn’t care about the rough edges.
The best part, is when Ella is 30 and looks back she’s going to remember, how excited she was that her mama made that cake.
Amber and I got pregnant with our sons within days of each other. Our due dates where one day apart, I had Leo two weeks before her Alex came into the world.
Over the weekend, Alex turned six months.
How freaking CUTE is he?!
His creative, cat’s pajamas mama, made him half a cake for half a year.
I LOVE it!
Good job, Hon!
Posted in House Stuff, tagged Decor, Lamp, Nook, Reading, Window on May 18, 2012| 1 Comment »
Nooks make me so happy, just saying the word makes me feel good. There is just something so relaxing and inviting about a nook.
Here are some yummy nooks.
I didn’t know how amazing they were until we created one, in our Santa Monica (SM) apartment and learned the importance of zones.
This is especially important if you like to entertain or have an open floor plan that combines kitchen, living room and dining room.
The nook in SM was a happy accident. We were moving in together and combining all of our stuff trying like hell, to make a HUGE sectional (his) and a regular sized sofa (mine) work. You know neither one of us wanted to get rid of anything.
After pushing them around and around, Joey said, “How about if they face each other?” A lightbulb flashed in my head and I knew exactly how it needed to go. Separate the chaise lounge part of the sectional into a new area and face the remaining piece to my couch.
We had zones and it was amazing.
Here is my beautiful and peaceful nook.
You can’t tell me that this nook doesn’t SCREAM to you saying “Come, lie down and take a spell!”
Moving right along so I don’t break down and cry missing my SM nook…. sob
When we moved to the new place, I did not have any desire to attempt decorating or nesting due to being enormously pregnant.
I didn’t create a nook until we were forced by Leo (cosleeping) to buy a king size bed; our sanity and relationship depended on it.
The purchase of the king size bed meant some furniture rearrangement, this is as terrible to me as having to go to Napa. My very large pedestal night stand (Pottery Barn that I scored on CL for $100) could no longer fit on my side of the bed. So up it went, into the living room and a skinny, buffet type table became my night stand.
I moved other bits and pieces around and managed to create myself a great little nook that fits all of the nook must haves:
My new nook has all of these, and functions pretty well. However, it is not as pretty or as talkative as the SM one. I have some ideas and will update as I go, but here is the less than impressive nook.
View from the outside, that I first mentioned here.
View from the kitchen.
Breakdown:
Future plans/ideas:
This post was going to start out as a BBD, due to the delays BART was experiencing.
However, something far worse developed.
Let me paint a picture for you:
Train is stuck in a tunnel due to the delays so there is nothing but darkness to see out the windows.
It’s getting hot, almost too hot. I don’t do well when heated up; I’ve been known to absolutely lose my mind when I get hot. Add any stress to that and eek…..
I have finished reading all my blogs and Pandora isn’t working due to the lack of reception.
Trying to keep myself calm and distracted, I start casually checking out all of the other Bartians.
Playing a game, I have for years where I make up a story/life for someone. Where they are going, what they do, yada yada yada.
One blonde gal sitting diagonally from me catches my eye.
I look at her and move along to the next person, but my eye keeps going back to her.
I think to myself she is recently engaged, she just got her graduate degree and is looking for fellowships, she looks good in a bikini, and she has no children but wants them.
Then details fill in those areas; she got engaged on a beach holiday and had a beautiful engagement party.
I’m seeing photos (in my mind)of these events, and realize that I know this gal.
Although, I’m certain I have never laid eyes on her in my life.
After rolling all of this around in my mind for about 20 minutes, her name pops into my head.
How do I know this gal and all her details, without ever actually meeting her or ever talking to her?!
FACEBOOK!!
She was a FB friend of Joey’s, prior to him deleting his account.
How f’ing scary is that?!
This poor girl has no idea that a total freaking creeper, is sitting across from her, knowing all her business.
To further prove who she is, I snap a photo (creeper of the year award) and send it off to Joey.
I would post the photo to give you something besides text to look at but that’s just capital W, wrong.
He confirms and suggests I say hi.
Ummmm hell to the no!
“Tis far better to be thought a creeper than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”
I took some artistic license with that quote.
One more reason to ditch FB and keep it ditched.
Don’t think the irony of me being pro-ditching FB and writing this blog, is lost on me.
Here’s a photo since your eyes have been continually averted because my creeper status makes you uncomfortable.
Sneak peek for tomorrow’s post!
Posted in Leo, tagged Bottle, Leo on May 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »
I’m completely in love.
How could I not be?!
Kid was rolling all over the bed having that bottle, kind of looked like a hamster in the top left photo.
Posted in House Stuff on May 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »
UPDATE:
I’m not the best waterer. Some of the flowers are showing signs of this and some are doing well.
The alstroemeria is doing quite well, it does have a drip line in it though.
She has gotten so much fuller.
The glamourous and oh so sophisticated dahlias are looking downright pathetic.
😦
Take a look at this photo and tell me what you see.
Look under the door frame to the right of the planter.
He is being chameleon like and blending in; let’s try again.
Close up.
He obviously is a ham, because when I was taking photos of the sad dahlias he ran over to photo bomb.
Attention Whore!
Only negative to our little buddies is the presents they have been leaving us.
Do I need to curb my lizards?!
I’ll try to be a better waterer and hopefully the dahlias will come back to life.
Posted in AD, tagged Golden Gate Bridge, Napa, Ocean Beach, Twin Peaks, Wine on May 14, 2012| 1 Comment »
Joey’s good friend and his girlfriend came into town over the weekend and we acted as tour guides and decided to push this into AD #3.
We are members of the Beringer Winery wine club and we were due to pick up our bimonthly selection, so we HAD to go to Napa. Terrible isn’t it?!
The five of us climbed into the jeep and headed on up.
First stop was in downtown Napa to walk the shops and then off to the Franciscan Winery.
Fountain in front of Franciscan Winery, these are our lovely guests.
The winery had the best air conditioning EVER. Hands down. I’m serious about my AC. There is probably medication for this too, in addition to this.
Beautiful interior, friendly sommeliers, $15 dollars for the tasting, and a cheese platter. The cheese was DELICIOUS (notice that it is GONE), I am becoming a huge fan of gouda.
The wine on the other hand not so great, I am not a wine connoisseur in any sense of the word nor do I consider myself a wine snob, but I was not impressed.
Rosey with a hint of watermelon. Yucky!
SAVOR that wine!
Wine tasting with child; that’s how we roll!
My take on wine and wine tasting, you ask?!
I actually find the whole process quite pretentious with phony baloneys swirling and sniffing their wine as if they had any idea what they were doing. Looking down their noses at those of us who just think that there are two types of wine; wine you like and wine you don’t (I stole that line from Chuck).
After finishing, we drove over to the American Culinary Institute which is housed in an amazing castle like building.
Not the best shot, but you get the point.
I am completely in LOVE with the look of this place and plan to eat at the restaurant there the next time we do a pick up. SO EXCITED!
Arriving at Beringer we popped Leo into his stroller and headed up to the wine tasting area which had a wheelchair stroller (because a winery is an age appropriate place for an infant) accessible path that lead to an elevator.
I love my stroller and surprisingly I like this photo of myself.
I felt like such a dork taking the elevator and it was SO loud that people were staring at me.
Awkward.
I love the wine tasting area and shop at Beringer, they have old framed photos hung around the room with lots of wood architectural details. As members we have free tastings, which is such a bonus especially if we plan to bring out of town guests to Napa. Free is in our budget!
Chuck is on the right.
Our sommelier was Chuck who was a fantastic older gentleman with a slight case of RBO.
Playing “toss the ball in the air” to entertain Leo.
Auntie Bird sent Leo the outfit and is Daddy handsome or what?!
Leo is having a great time, some older ladies were chatting him up and he was loving that.
That’s Utah white.
We picked up our club wine at the Rhine House (gorgeous freaking mansion), I did not get any photos of the interior. I will get better at this I promise. Next time we go I will post photos. Here are some shots of the fountain outside including us getting photo bombed by someone who enjoyed his wine a smidge too much.
See what I mean?!
The look on Leo’s face cracks me up.
We drove through the Petrified Forest , stopped in Petaluma for lunch and ended up at this little seafood shack which had really good food and AMAZING chocolate dipped ice cream cones.
Our guests wanted to see the ocean during their trip since they are in a landlocked state so we drove over the Golden Gate bridge
…to Ocean Beach.
This is my artisty photo.
Last stop of the day was Twin Peaks, which is a spot that overlooks San Francisco and has a breathtaking view if you happen to go up there when the sky is clear.
It was freezing cold and have I told you how unphotogenic I am?
Awww…love birds.
We cruised home across Bay Bridge with the sun setting behind us after a full day of sightseeing and lots of driving.
Honeybee with a side of Lion 