Back on the bag wagon.

After completing a custom-designed motorcycle bag on request (photos to come), I think I'm officially back in the bag-making groove.

I also just got a new diaper bag order, so I've updated my fabric choices on Etsy. Have at it.

family photographing

I've decided to try my hand (and photography degree) at a little family photography in my downtime. Took these of some dear friends last week. You'll have to click on them, because I can't figure out how to prevent this blog from turning them into compressed garbage.

You gotta put the baby in a basket.

And, of course, I had to sneak in a couple of 'Lil O.

"cushion" is a fancy name for "pillow"

I made these guys for our new sofa. It's an odd fabric choice, but I fell in love with the stuff at a recent moving sale. I still have a ton left, which will probably become a diaper bag and matching wallet.

The Resulting Dreamcatcher.

The dreamcatcher is finished. Looks like this:

I used some scrap colored leather and this tutorial for the feathers. Love them. They will make appearances in other projects, no doubt.

Some similar inspiration I've stumbled upon:

From Pretty Little Things.

raw emeralds.

The emerald is 'lil O's birthstone. In a perfect world, I would get this for Mother's Day. Alas...

From Grey Area.

We like what we like.

Old couch, meet new couch.

So, I found this on Etsy. I want it for Lil' O's room.

I cannot afford it. So, it's inspirational.

I already have all of the materials to make something similar.

Sorry, seller. Call it flattery?

If you can afford the real deal, find it here.

Lil' "O" has been out as long as she was in.

Sometimes

Sometimes you have to leave your baby on the floor watching Pawn Stars until she curls herself into a ball and falls asleep.

If you are the kind of person who likes to take a shower every now and then, sometimes you have to do that.

sorrys!

So, don't make promises to keep your blog updated the day before you return to work. Not. Gonna. Happen.

Grandma H. has found this for Ola's big Christmas present. Lucky girl, no?

Also, as a stylist, I need to comment: What is going on with that poor baby's toes?

From magiccabin.com.

(.)(.)

This isn't all about pregnancy. We're doing real-time too.

Let's talk fashion for a second.

Boob fashion. Fashionable nursingwear. It doesn't exist.

So this genius of a lady, Maryam, started a blog called Milk-Friendly. If nursing-friendly clothes are available at Free People, Forever 21, Anthropologie, ASOS she finds them. It's helped me immensely since I spent my first week postpartum desperately stretching or cutting off the necks of all of my t-shirts.

When I decided I could use some help finding a bridesmaid's dress for my girl, Katie's, wedding I asked Maryam if she had any ideas for me.

And (yay!!!) she put together a whole post.

Check it.

Thanks, Maryam! I think I'm going with the first one.

So I haven't posted in FOREVER.

I was busy making one of these:

Her name is Ola Mae and I found out she was on her way one year ago today.

We'd only been trying for two months, and I already knew that I was pregnant before I took the test. I could feel stuff going on in there. Weird cramps, pinches. Stuff that I had never experienced before.

I was standing in the most disgusting venue in all of Chicago, Ronny's, watching my friend's band, Blood Feathers, play and I felt it and I knew. Ola's first show. Over the next two weeks she attended her dad's show, Pavement, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and on the day I found out I was pregnant she was on stage in my belly while I played with my band. I remember when we were loading our equipment on to the stage I asked my bandmate to lift my rig for me and he was all "Yeah, I kind of thought you shouldn't lift it." Because everybody thought I was pregs before I even was. Mama likes her beer and I hadn't had a drink since we started trying.

From the moment I looked at that stick with the two lines on it I was terrified. I wasn't scared of being a parent or pregnancy or even giving birth, just scared it would get erased somehow. So I didn't tell my family or most of my friends for fourteen weeks. I suck at keeping my own secrets. I really don't know how I did it.

I was too superstitious to document any of it then, so congratulations, Morningnoonannight, you're now a Mommy blog.

Garfield Park!

When my father came into town on an especially cold Chicago winter day, I thought it would be the perfect time to finally check out The Garfield Park Conservatory. I drive past it every day on my way to work, but have never managed to stop in. My friends who are parents can't get enough of the place, so I wanted to see if the childless could have fun there, too. We can!

We were lucky enough to be there on one of their Sweet Saturdays, which meant a treasure map of sweet stops where we learned about and sampled everything delicious that grows there. Cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut, and agave were my favorites.

There was free haagen-dazs ice cream, live music, crafts and activities for the wee ones, food vendors (including vegetarian!) and a packet of seeds prize at the end of the treasure hunt.

Unfortunately for you, the Sweet Saturdays are over for this year, but these events look like they could be even better:

Fleurotica

Green and Growing Fair

Beer Under Glass

You'll definitely be seeing me at Beer Under Glass.

The Pops in The Palm Room

(Slightly) older than The Pops, Century Agave. This thing is over a hundred years old and the size of a minivan.

The Palm Room

Shot in The Palm Room:

We named this one The Preying Mantis.

Look-alikes?

Mar Caribe

Reading Station

Where I've been.

Photo by John Sturdy

Photo by Nathaniel E. Bell

I've been out of touch for a while. Sorry about that.

I joined a new band, and it's pretty rad.

We're called Village:

Our MySpace with some tunage.

Our Facebook.

And, if you're in the Chicagoland area, come see us play.

Saturday 13 March at Bloodline Gallery (corner of Armitage and Humboldt) with Rabble Rabble and Other Minds

Friday 19 March at The Hideout with Soft Speaker and Cains & Abels

Wednesday 24 March at Schubas with Warm Ones and Honest Engines

I'll be back soon with some posts I've been working on. DIY wedding and a day at The Garfield Park Conservatory coming right up.

California!!

So, my friends, Callie and Jay, invited me to their wedding in San Francisco, and I decided to make a trip of it. I flew into L.A. where I met up with my girl, Katie (the best off-beat/kitschy tour guide in the U.S.A.).

Katie looking cute in front of Wurstküche. I would go here ALL THE TIME if I lived in L.A. Gourmet sausages (vegetarian sausages for me), belgian white truffle oil glazed fries, and like a zillion delicious german beers. I fell in love with the Koestritzer Schwarzbier. The giant sunshiny, lofty, chic space didn't hurt either. And it wasn't crowded.

We were totally full, but Katie wanted me to see Clifton's Brookdale so bad, we went there for dessert. Also in downtown L.A., it's a Cafeteria built in the 1930's decorated in a woodland lodge theme. There are waterfalls, animated stuffed woodland creatures, wall to wall scenic murals, trees, and a little chapel in a mountain. It used to be even more over the top. We were able see photo evidence of that and check out the place's history and artifacts in the banquet room on the third floor.

My tres leches was pretty good, too.

We ended the night drinking local beers and finishing off these seating card trees for the wedding. Katie's boyfriend gets bonus points for cutting out every one of those little leaves while watching Project Runway with us.

Before setting off for SF, we had breakfast at the cutest, tastiest, little outdoor cafe, The Trails, which is inside Griffith Park. The food (mushroom-cashew savory pie and iced coffee for me) was all veggie/vegan friendly and delicious. They had all kinds of baked goods with herbs and lavender in them. And I saw a coyote come out of the woods while we ate!

Our hotel in San Francisco: Good Hotel was pretty sweet. It's made mostly of reclaimed or recycled building materials, has this neat little sink that runs water when you flush the toilet so you can wash your hands before the water fills the toilet tank, and is a lot like staying inside a ReadyMade magazine. They are somehow affiliated with the magazine, because they have a ReadyMade vending machine in the lobby and I recognized some completed ReadyMade projects in the hotel's decor. Also in the lobby: a place where you can very easily sign up to volunteer locally, bicycles for borrowing, a photobooth, and a puppy channel on flatscreen.

Oh, and my room cost $89 a night. Brian and I once slept in our car in SF because the only affordable room we could find had literally 20-30 roaches crawling the walls.

The Wedding:

Sooo impressed with the D.I.Y. woodland-themed decor. Everything was cute and cozy and so very fitting for Callie and Jay.

The wedding was held in a lodge in the Berkeley Hills, The Brazilian Room.

Callie's dress, 1968 Bill Blass was actually featured on Good Morning America before she snatched it up.

They walked down the aisle to Thirteen by Big Star which obviously got everyone sobbing, except for Katie (singing Boogie Shoes in her head to prevent said sobbing).

The cake was uhhhmazing, especially loved the little owl couple/ bride and groom.

The centerpieces consisted of bunches of wildflowers, votives in Ball jars, little woodland creatures (I think from the couple's personal collection), moustaches on sticks (fun for everybody!), Katie's little potted, hand-embroidered table numbers, a silhouette of the couple in a vintage frame, and the favors which were antique keys in stamped pouches.

With D.J.s Carrie and Kylee rocking the house, the night was perfect.

I tried out two of the best brunch places while in SF, Foreign Cinema in The Mission, and a French Bistro The Butler and The Chef, Looooved The Butler and The Chef. Their pastries and quiche looked incredible.

Another good find: the fabric outlet in the Mission, found a bunch of great trim for my bags at insanely cheap prices.

On the road back to L.A. we stopped in Gilroy, The Garlic Capital, where we bought garlic ice cream and garlic lollypops at The Garlic Shoppe, a place which peddles all kinds of garlicy goods and Thai home decor? Also in Gilroy, tons of really great antique shops. I picked up this scary mid-century owl and little bear guy mounted on genuine California redwood.

We hit up a carnival in Soledad. Jeremy lost the gun game.

And, finally, we arrived at The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. The Madonna Inn is a themed room hotel with some fantastic ornate vintage kitsch decor. I highly recommend clicking the link and checking out some of the guest suites. This is Katie's Favorite Place in The World. Since she wanted to pick up one of their signature goblets for her collection, we had a drink in their bar, where you can sit in these sweet vinyl club chairs and the sassy bartender will begrudgingly keep you in peanuts for the duration.

And that's where my trip pretty much ended with the onset of the virus from hell. But, good times, good times. Thanks to my hosts, Katie and Jeremy, and congrats to Callie and Jay!