Golden.

My golden birthday (I turned 27 on the 27th) was deliciously simple.

Evans surprised me in the morning with a beautiful ring that has my birthstone, peridot, in the setting.

We went to dinner at a locally owned French restaurant, Saint-Jacques (which I HIGHLY recommend). {I wish my tastebuds could explain how divine this food was}

Evans's parents brought over this beautiful bouquet of sunflowers and lillies when they came to babysit:

I sewed a new curtain and shower curtain bottom for Van's bathroom...{all his bath toys are hidden for the sake of the picture!}

Sunday, Rhombus hosted a nice family luncheon {with coconut cake!} to celebrate.

Consdering how quickly my week days are flying by, I decided to get a jumpstart on Van's first birthday planning.  I am so excited that I have to reveal a teeny little invitation proof:

And disclose Van's "birthday suit" from Ragsland

My original intention was to just do the blog for the first year of Van's life {which is so quickly approaching!!} then have it printed into a book, and give to him for his first birthday. It has been such a great/easy way to keep track of all of his stories and pictures!

Baby Steps!

Van is standing and attempting to walk on his own!! I wish I could capture this maneuver on video, but I am scared to not have my hands quickly available to catch him.  He starts propped up against something then he'll slowly bend forward and take a little step. This step is usually accompanied by a huge "did you see me??" smile:)

followed by a mischevious "it won't be long" grin...

Goodness gracious.

In his rather tedious and sometimes boring novel, News From Nowhere, William Morris writes:

“If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

I am trying to decorate our house with that concept in mind.  So yay for Auntie Snags sending a beautiful birthday gift, already put to good use this morning!

...And not so much on the beautiful end, but we can justify its usefulness in the sense that it helps to "uncork" my creativity...

Here is my 2nd Wine & Design painting:

(I think Mary Rob analyzed it beautifully--"It sort of looks like an 80s sweater") haha!

Tomorrow we are headed to Saint-Jacques for my birthday dinner and I am so excited! Happy little Fridays!!

Highs and Lows

High : Receiving first pay check in over a year.

Low : Dipping ruffles potato chips into pimento cheese as a hurried working mommy attempts make-shift lunch.


High : Painting Wine & Design #2. (Raleigh skyline!)

Low : Getting dead car battery in parking deck.


High : Having the cutest child ever snuggling in my arms all weekend!

Low : {Above mentioned cutest child ever} - Cutting his 3rd & 4th teeth.


High : Van loves his daycare!

Low : We all have colds.


Ending on a HIGH: Friday is my birthday!!

Keys to a happy marriage.

While my mom and I were shopping for her mother-of-the-bride dress back when Evans & I got married, the old man who owned the store offered me three pieces of advice for a happy marriage:

1. Change bed sheets often.

2. Make lots of pound cake.

3. Never speak badly about others.

Not exactly what you were expecting?

Me either. But maybe thats why Pioneer Woman and Marlboro man are so happy. I tried two of her suggestions over the weekend:

CLEAN SHEETS!

-and-

POUND CAKE!

Don't worry. I was skeptical about the damp sheets, but it really works {and you will soon learn not to ever doubt P-Dub}.  You should try it. Especially if you are known to share your bed with squirmy rascals such as:

And as for not speaking badly of others, try browsing her "love" photos. They will warm your heart and you might recognize a face or two!! :)

Wine Spectator.

Fun Firsts!

Van's first day of daycare {all he needs is a bookbag + lunchbox}

{Don't you love his sneakers?}

How do I drop this precious face off at daycare?

well...Daddy has done it so far...

Auntie Snags's first major book!! Go check it out.

This is also my first week of work! So far it has been surprisingly better than I expected. By far. I had underestimated the value of a morning shower and getting to wear dressy clothes. :)

{Terrible quality pics are courtesy of my crackberry. Which I am slightly addicted to already.}

Signs of a good weekend.

I can confidently say Evans rang in my master's degree celebration properly.

Friday afternoon he surprised me with an {original} 1889 edition of Anne Bradstreet's poems {sidenote,  I wrote my master's thesis on Bradstreet...let me know if you are interested in reading, she was quite a woman!}

The book had a beautifully handwritten thank-you note from the editor to his friend.

Saturday, he installed the space savers in my closet to make room for all my work clothes.

before...

after...

Saturday evening he cooked his famous pot roast and we had our parents over for chocolate cake and champagne!

As for Van? He was his typical happy-go-lucky self.

Did I mention he had a bite of chocolate cake? I think it may be the reason he is still wide awake tonight and smiling right next to me on the couch {2 hours past bedtime...}

Lastly, I decided it was time to join you other techies out there in the land of smart phones.

Time to go back to work!! Yikes.

Happy 20th Birthday, Rhombus!

Today we celebrate Rhombus's 20th birthday. :) Such a wonderful mom and grandmother to this rowdy bunch:

And still looking cute as ever!

Van has something to share:

{Let me translate from the giggles into English: we love you Rhombus!!}

I saw this about Operation Beautiful on the Today Show yesterday morning and almost cried! Its such a sweet idea.

For my graduation present, Evans is constructing a new closet for me! Before and after pictures to come. I am so excited & need to make room for all of my "working-mom" clothes which comprise an entirely separate wardrobe from the lounge-y stay-at-home-mom/student frocks I have been sporting all summer. Off to empty the closet!!

Have a great weekend!

Pure Joy!

Somehow--after selling the condo, purchasing a house, moving, getting pregnant, breaking a foot, having a baby, nursing a newborn, and writing a master's thesis...I have officially finished the requirements for graduate school!

I got the confirmation that I passed from my advisor this morning and broke down into tears. {Then got over myself, cranked up Dixie Chicks and sang and danced with Van like a crazy woman} I will present my thesis in the December Graduate Symposium, but it will not affect my degree.

This week its just Van & me chilling.

Finally!

On the move!

Van took an accidental first three steps over the weekend!! Lately he has been plowing around the house full speed while holding onto our hands. Saturday afternoon, he took off before I had a good hold on him and managed to waddle three whole steps before falling over!! I was surprised and proud. {And now, nervous about what a walking Van will entail}...

You can see the progression {and sense his sneaky ambition}:

...got a good grip on this table...

I can probably go play with that outlet over there while she is busy taking pictures...{waddles to the right}

yeah, I'm goin for it

{Takes one step and mommy drops camera to catch me just in time!}

Van is also starting to wave! I never knew how endearing it would be to see a little baby-head waving at you through the front door. When its not too hot, Van, Sophie, and I sit on the front porch and wait for Evans to come home. As soon as he pulls in the driveway, Van gets an excited, overactive arm wave and flops his hand around. I can only imagine its the best way to be greeted after a long day in the office {plus a nice enthusiastic tail-wag from Soph}

Van has gotten into the touch-and-feel books. His favorite at the moment is:

In other news...after a day-long cracked out read and re-read and re-edit and re-read and re-edit {you get the idea} I am officially done with my thesis as of yesterday!!  I still technically have to defend it before I graduate, but I'm actually looking forward to that part.

I got this email while I was finishing up on Sunday and melted:

We are proud of you mommy!
Just got out of my bath.
Love, Evans & Van