Lovely

Sweet little animation video. The result of a collaboration between two BYU professors - one dance, one animation.

Thought of You from Ryan J Woodward on Vimeo.

Gold Star!

Do you use Google Reader? It's kind of, totally addicting. WAY worse than email. With email, I constantly check back and am disappointed, because no one ever emails me. With Reader, there's always something new, because it loves me more than email. I love it too, because it allows me to "Star" posts that I like, and keeps them all in one place for me. That Reader, so thoughtful. Here are some posts I've recently starred in Reader:

• Recipe for Homemade S'more candy bars. Yum...
  
• Ingenious new use for broken clock.


• Cute [free] softie pattern with tutorial.


• Delicious Melt Aways recipe.


• How-To for cabinet knob wall hanger.


• Gorgeous and inspiring table before and after.

Have a lovely weekend!

Yup, She's My Sister!

Witness the moment my sister's company becomes a household name! Katie Richardson and her husband own Puj Baby, and her baby bath tub was on Ellen today. I couldn't be more excited for her! Click here for a link to the video. (I was having a hard time trying to embed it). Now go buy an awesome baby tub, or booties, or sling for every pregnant lady you know!

Puj Tub Review

Whoa.

Did you know that having a baby will totally consume your entire life? It's true. Don't get me wrong, it's not in a bad way. There's nothing else I'd rather have consume my days. And nights. Well, maybe it'd be nice if my nights were still consumed by sleep, but other than that, nothing. I even have an extremely helpful, hands-on husband, but somehow the baby seems to dominate our attentions. But, I mean, look at her. She's so dang cute, how could she not captivate your attention?

Also, did you know that a baby can totally make you feel like an idiot? It's true. Even though I have had previous experience with other people's babies, mine is sure keeping me humble and reminding me that I have a lot to learn when it comes to taking care of her. Fortunately, she won't remember anything from this part of her life. The seemingly simplest of tasks, it turns out, are not always so simple.
For instance, let's say I was changing the baby's diaper, because a good mom knows that you're supposed to change your babies diaper. I've even got these fancy diapers that change color when the diaper is wet, so you know the diaper needs to be changed. See, that sounds pretty easy. I can do that. But maybe I didn't know that sometimes babies will go ahead and relieve themselves right in the middle of you changing their diaper. And there's no way to stop it from getting all over my once sweet little baby, who is now not-so-sweet.

Okay, deep breath to gather yourself. You can handle this. Remind yourself of all your many accomplishments, you college grad, you. You'll just give your baby a bath, and she'll be sweet again. No problem.
So I get out the baby bath tub. It looks something like this:

It got the job done, but not so easily. I had to entirely devote one hand to holding her upright so she didn't go under water. It turns out there's no good way to hold a slippery-wet baby with one hand. Especially not one who's wiggling and kicking, because she's naked and wet, and can tell her mom has no idea how to hold her upright with one hand. But if I used both hands, I couldn't actually bathe her. We'd just be sitting there, awkwardly starring at each other, wishing one of us had telekinesis to move the wash cloth over her. So we muddled through and eventually got her clean.

And then one day, the UPS man brings this to my doorstep:

No, not another cute baby, a Puj tub! Let's all give three cheers for Internet giveaways. Now when I give the baby a bath, the tub holds the baby upright for me, and she doesn't feel insecure, so she's not wiggling and kicking. She's actually quite content to sit there while I bathe her without the aid of super-human powers. Awesome, because I don't have those.

Thanks Puj!

I'm In Love

With a really expensive chair (the one on the left).

First I saw it on DesignSponge, but there wasn't any reference, so I googled "plywood elephant stool". Turns out it's famous. Nuts! I could always get the cheap(er) plastic version.

The pink one is pretty cute. But that's still a lot, especially for the cheaper plastic version. Or the miniature version. Yeah, it's so famous, you can buy it in miniature. But that's even more than I would likely spend on a normal sized chair. Probably, I'll just admire it for free in picture form.

So Pretty

I came across Ruthi Auda's blog today via Jordan's blog. She makes amazing in store displays at Anthropologie. My favorite one she did is this wisteria tree. Lovely.

Sweet Shoes, Sweet Deal

Remember how I liked these?

Well, I was just at Target and saw these, for half as much. Nice!

Especially considering I fit in little girls shoes. And since they were so much less, I figured I might as well get these as well, and still spend less than if I had gotten the first pair at Gap.

Gotta Love two new pairs of shoes!

Enjoying Lately

This picture

This Recipe

These Sandals This Dish

This Movie

This Utah Spring Weather

Okay, April Fools on that last one. Just making sure you were paying attention.

Is it just me?

Or do you ever wish that you could get away with wearing things like this in your hair?

It's not so much that I'm self-conscious and would feel silly (okay, it's a little bit of that), but when, exactly, does one have occasion to wear feathers in her hair?

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Remember that calendar I got last year for Christmas? Well, it's wonderful. Every time the 1st of the month comes around, I get all excited for a new page on this gorgeous calendar. It's got lots of great hand done details that make it feel so special. And the 2009 calendar is now up in the shop! You better believe this is going at the top of my wish list.



I especially like the June page, which is important because that's my birthday month, and you have to like that month! I love all the cards in this shop too! Be sure to check it out

Things I'm Enjoying Lately

1. This DVD - Great to throw in while you're cleaning or making dinner


2. This Lotion - I just love the way it smells.


3. This Farmer's Market - a big bag of delicious apples for one buck!


4. This Face Wash - It's a little weird at first, but I'm a big fan.


5. This Blush - It has a powder finish, but lasts longer.
   
6. This Ribbon - The first spool on the post.
   
7. This Painting - It's weird, but I kind of love it.
   
8. These Soft Sculptures - Because they're more art than toy.
   
9. This shop - Okay, so I haven't actually been there, but who wants to go check it out with me?

And a late addition to the list:

10. This Mobile - Complete with instructions on making your own!

Beauties from Blogland

Well, I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend. I know I did! Friday night I tried to replicate the recipe for PF Changs Shrimp with Candied Walnuts (seriously, get it the next time you go, it will change your life). It turned out pretty good, but the recipe still needs some tweaking. I'll post it here when it's perfected.
Brian had to work Monday so I kept myself occupied with a sewing project and new jewelry(which I'll post about later).
And Jordan, I mailed your earrings yesterday, so keep an eye out for them!
For now, here are some pretty things from the Blogosphere.

Pretty Cards and Gift Wrap from Julia Rothman

found via design*sponge


This cool kitchen make-over

found via design*sponge

These fun Valentine's Cards

Both Found via Oh Happy Day

Welcome to December

Well, it finally happened. We got our first real snow storm Friday night and all day Saturday. I don't deny that the snow is pretty, but only through the window from inside my heated home. However, I might be persuaded to venture out into the wet stuff if I had a pair of these


Pretty cute, huh? I saw them while looking through the Sunday ad's. They're a screaming deal for only $18 big ones. Do you think I could get away with wearing them to work?

Blueprint Discount

Just in case any of you were thinking about subscribing to Blueprint Magazine, Hostest with the Mostest is having a promotion where you can subscribe for just $10.00 a year. Not too shabby...
Check it out here.

Window Shopping

Abby was talking about liking things because she felt like she should, and she got me thinking. Sometimes I like things that I would never own, not because of they're necessarily out of my price range, but because they just aren't something I would own. Does that make sense? Anyway, here's a list of some things I like. Some of them I do own, some of them I would own, some of them I would not own, and some of them are not really things anyone would "own".

These measuring cups, because they're clever.
This mirror, even though I do not have a vanity.
This and That to go in my red kitchen.
This shirt, because you know you've all thought it.
This chandelier, because who wouldn't want to spend $90,000 on a light fixture?
This Mecca of deliciousness, because they're opening one in the U.T. tomorrow!
This album, because it's what's playing non-stop on my ipod/computer/car stereo, and if you're unfamiliar with him, this is a good one too.
These glasses, because painted tumblers always remind me of my grandpa's house.
This desk calendar, because it's lovely.
The guitarist in this band, because he's got mad skills.