Monthly Archives: November 2010

The Babysitters Club

Please tell me I am not the only oldie who read these series of books as a wee lass??

Yesterday we had our own BSC with Evelyn & Dion. I went to meet Antz at his job so we could go see Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. It was good, I read the book so I knew what to expect. They did a good job staying true to the book but it was quite long and I was starving!! I picked up Sedthee *super yums* for Evelyn & Dion and I came home and we hung out with Liv until Antz got off. Liv was an angel, she didn’t cry once and they had an awesome time with her *of course now Evelyn wants a bebe of her own*

The Babysitters Club

Dion did his best DJ Lance impression for Liv, she was totally cracking up!

At the movie theater, I couldn’t resist the Biebs, Darrell got in on the action too!!

By the time we got back from dropping Evelyn & Dion home, Liv was knocked-out.

This morning Antz and I put on a mini fashion show since Mr Mailman dropped off her order from BabyGap. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE her new clothes!! I ordered everything in 6 – 12 months but she can fit them now.

She’s wearing this today, doesn’t she look like an adult?? I would totally wear this outfit.

Punk rock face!!
We went to the South Bay Galleria *all the way on the other side of the Earth in Redondo Beach* to pick up some things at the Gap *they had a one day only 40% off everything sale* and it was a madhouse!!
We couldn’t find anything in our sizes, because the place looked like a hurricane hit it. Nothing was folded, everything was thrown askew, we were lucky to find anything. Antz got a sweater *I call it the Professor sweater* and some business socks and I got a gorgeous sweater. We also went to Nordstrom to see if they had some Uggs in Liv’s size but we found out they only carry size 4 *toddler* in stores. Antz bought some sweet Adidas.

I’m a Friend of Gabba!!

Okay, I am obviously fronting that Olivia is the big Yo Gabba Gabba! fan but it’s really all me *and now starting to rub off on Antz* I was soo excited that Liv got her Gabbs stuff on Tuesday and even more stoked that Liv is loving her Brobee pillow.

I would LOVE to get my nails done like this for the show next week…I love how ghetto fabulous they are!!
I found these at this site that is all things YGG!
So my new thing is shoes shots…I haven’t worn my green Converse in years
 Antz Mommy hasn’t made up her mind if she’s cooking for Thanksgiving this year so we may be turkey-less. How cool is this Baskin-Robbins ice cream turkey cake?? Deliciously gluttonous.

Sorry about the schizo photos but I was having issues uploading these and I finally got them up, Success! Today was Aimee Day, we went to our favorite place in the world….
I picked up a can of pumpkin cupcake mix to make for Turkey day, I’m taking some to Aimee’s Mom’s house *we’re dropping by to let her see Liv*
The girls thought Liv was adorable and gave her this sticker

Today’s free cupcake was coconut, *gross* so I’m sending it to work with Antz to give to Leslie. We went to West Hollywood Target and I am so proud of myself, I saved $40 in coupons and used my 10% discount. I hung out at Aimee’s house for a few hours and she desperately needs my help to furnish and design her place. I’m gonna crank out a mood board for her this weekend. Tomorrow Evelyn & Dion are coming over to babysit, which means I need to pump a bottle *ew* I am mega sleepy, so sorry if this post is coming off incoherent, my brain is fuzzy!! Nighty Night!!

2 Days till Deathly Hallows Part One

I am such a geek, this Harry Potter is bittersweet because it’s such a tragic book and there will only be 1 more movie forever *sads* I wonder if this will be the equivalent to Star Wars to my generation for Olivia? So yesterday, I’m totally moaning and groaning about not being busy, today I was running around town running errands and now I’m beat. I took Antz car today to get it *a badly needed* wash and filled his tank up. I went to the grocery store and why did it feel like I was there for hours? I am now doing laundry, just took Liv’s week 24 *sooo many cute choices* and I even had time to cut coupons for Target tomorrow. Aimee and I are going to Sprinkles and I’m buying their pumpkin mix for my pumpkin/maple cream cheese cupcakes.

I am still undecided about our Black Friday shopping plans. I want to buy a new TV for the living room but I don’t know if I should brave the crazies at Target at 4am or try to order it online at Bestbuy.com. I am hoping Gap has a good sale so Antz can get some new shirts and pants. I would be super stoked if Anthro had a sale because I have my eye on some Christmas decorations
Boxing Day Tree Skirt

Merry Christmas Garland
Antz and I are thinking of trying to make this wreath next month.
I’m surprised no packages came today, still waiting for BabyGap, I am hoping I get it before next Wednesday because I wanted to take week 24 in her new Thanksgiving outfit.
I need to fold and put away the laundry, fun…Cheers!!

Banality sucks

Today was pretty…meh! I am looking forward to Friday, I’m seeing Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows with Antz and his company *I’ve seen all the HP movies with his job*. Dion & Evelyn *our favorite nephew & niece*

They are babysitting Liv for me while I meet Antz at the theater. I know I should kick back and enjoy this down time but I am used to being constantly on the go. I’m also bummed because I found out Antz Christmas company party will be employee only *again*. It’s going to be a an awesome club *that’s brand new and not even open to the public yet* and it sounds kick ass. Last year the party was at the club that the cast from The Hills goes to. Well, on a cheerier note, I got Liv’s Yo Gabba Gabba! toys today and she LOVES her Brobee pillow!

Antz just sent me a diner in downtown we are going to check out tomorrow. It looks awesome! It was featured on a Food Network show so I suppose that’s a good sign.

I can’t wait to order the red velvet cake. Thursday Aimee & I are going to Target. I am torn between Best Buy and Target for our Black Friday shopping. I want to buy a Samsung for the living room and they are both the same price now but I don’t know which place will have the best deal. I am worried if we try to get it at Target, it will sell out before we get there *I am not getting up at 4 am the day of the Yo Gabba Gabba show* and I am having trouble with my Best Buy online account so I can’t order it online like I did with the Nikon camera last year. LAME!!

I have been pulling my hair out trying to perfect Liv’s Christmas List and after hours scouring every Yo Gabba Gabba store, Amazon, eBay and Target I think I have everything. Now Mommy happened to prepare a list for Santa too…

Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer

Karen Hilton Etsy Union Jack Pillow *Antz says we can make this ourselves*

Martha Stewart Cupcake Stand

Anthro Pebbled & Primped Boots

Ban.do sequin heart shoe clip *shoes not included*

Turquoise and Chartreuse Pom Pom Scarf

Frye Tall Jane Boot *drool*
I’ll be lucky if I get a candy cane this Christmas, we have so many other priorities *mainly getting both our cars serviced {that’s a big chunk of no-fun} and I am ready to own a dining table we can all sit down as a family together and give the kitchen a mini-makeover*

Tomorrow our lovely will be 24 weeks old…almost 6 months old!!!

Aye Curumba!!

Tonight I cooked dinner for Olivia while Antz cooked dinner for us. We feasted on blue cheese burgers and homemade fries and I attempted to make Kale & Carrots for Liv with the Beaba Babycook.

I had to look up how to use it on youtube since we didn’t have the manual. I must have watched the video 7 times before I could even figure out how to put the lid on it *Liv’s favorite song*. I chopped half a carrot in tiny pieces, added water in the steamer and waited about 5 minutes until I saw steam coming out the top. I took the carrots out, emptied the water in the cup and pressed the puree button. I was super excited and anxious only to find a cup of tiny chunks of carrots and no puree at all. LAME!! So round two, I watched the youtube video AGAIN and realized I forgot to add water to the carrots when I pureed them. This time I waited 15 full minutes for the carrots to steam and I didn’t cut them so small. *light bulb moment* This is how the second attempt came out

I am soo proud of myself. I typically can’t boil water, I could hardly make tea for Jennifer yesterday so me cooking for Olivia was a daunting task. I repeated the same steps for the kale but sadly it came out like this

No wonder I didn’t see any recipes for kale in my Cooking for Baby book. So tonight she had carrots for dinner but she seemed quite pleased

There were a few large pieces but Antz just picked them out *next time I’ll blend longer* I put the leftovers in the freezer and I watched a video that shows you how to defrost food with the Beaba. Overall, I like the Beaba, it’s easy to use, not too messy. The only con is the lids get hot so I was having trouble removing the lids without a potholder but I am very happy we bought it. I like that you can use the spoon to pour the hot water out. I am thinking of buying the Beaba cookbook but I am not so happy about the $39.99 price tag. I can’t wait until I can combine more foods *like fruits and veggies* so I can try the recipes in my cookbook. I want to get some softer veggies *peas, green beans and broccoli* I think tomorrow I’ll go to Target and maybe Culver City farmers market. We decided to only go to volleyball every other week because driving Olivia to Antz Mom’s house every Tuesday and then driving to Hollywood is a bit much for me *close to 3 hours in the car*.

Pretty Handwriting

I adore fanciful penmanship. When I was a wee lass in Catholic School we had a calligraphy class and I was in heaven. I used to play school at home and practice my cursive all day long *that’s how only children do it* As an adult, I pride myself in my nice handwriting but I have a huge problem with keeping my writing straight. I cannot correct my writing where is turns out centered and the same size. I have somehow completely forgotten the calligraphy techniques I learned so many years ago but that doesn’t stop me from buying pen sets from stationary stores. My grandmother had the most entricate and gorgeous cursive. If I was a handwriting analyst I would say her handwriting said alot about her character. She carried herself in a old-school prissy but cool sort of way. She would wear gloves *not like Madonna, more like Lucy* and match her handbag to her shoes. Her penmanship was very refined and elegant and I really want to pass that to Olivia. I feel like handwriting is a lost art in this digital age. I still enjoy sending thank you notes on paper in the mail. Anyway, long story, short…*too late* I saw this on facebook and it made me want to practice my calligraphy skillz.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12733075&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0
Legacy of Letters from Luca Barcellona on Vimeo.

Simply lovely. I think I’ll try my hand at making a video…depends on how lame or not my writing turns out. I know we are lagging on making Olivia’s video but I am making a promise to complete it by her first birthday!!

Good Times

Whew, what a busy, super fun weekend. It started off with a package arriving on Saturday morning whilst *love British words* Antz & I were cleaning the house.

YAY!! Presents, not really but I was excited to get Liv’s cookbook just in time for us to go to the farmers market to buy veggies. We packed up several bags of old junk *we were hoarding in the corner of our living room* and took it to LAfreestore. It wasn’t as big as I thought it was but they snapped up our stuff right away.

Goodbye yoga junk!!

They gave us stickers with our trades so we could swap, mine was baker, a ton of people came up to say hi to me!
These cool chicks were running the show
This guy snapped up Antz shirt!

If I were to get chickens *which I wouldn’t* I would want them to live in this lovely house

We didn’t see anything we liked
We ran some errands *bank, World Market and Whole Foods* then got home in time to get dressed for….
We met Dave & Nadya there
Charlie was super stoked for sushi
The food is served on conveyor belt boats that float by and you grab what you want. It’s super cute but we ended up overeating.
I had the waitress take our pic… *nerdy!*

Yummers, we ate sooo much!!
Unagi eel is my favorite

After eluding me all night, I finally got a pic of our chef, he was shy but sweet

16 plates!!! They charge by the color of your plates, black is most expensive, that was the best ones!!

I think I have a new favorite sushi place *sorry Tenno Sushi*
Today we went to the Larchmont Village farmers market to shop for veggies and flowers. I really love Larchmont but it’s surrounded by gross neighborhoods and it’s ridiculously overpriced.  

Our persimmons never look this awesome
Larchmont Village is one of my favorite places
Here’s the winners…rainbow chard and kale. We are starting off strong, screw you butternut squash!!

Everything looks yummy Mommy!

I had my eye on this turqouise necklace….

Cobb & Jennifer came over for a playdate with their baby, Charlotte *she’s 5 days older then Liv*. We had so much fun talking about our baby’s milestones. The girls were sooo cute together and they were talking up a storm.

Future Friends Forever, how cute are they???

We had some wholesome family fun. I feel like I talked too much but I tend to do that. We are pretty much in agreement with each other’s parenting styles. I wish they could go to the same school but Cobb & Jenn live in Montrose and that’s a bit far for us *plus, I love Camelot Kids* They invited us to their house in 2 weeks so I’m looking forward to another playdate *for us parents* It’s nice to chat with friends with babies since I’m sure I’m boring our other friends out of their mind discussing poopy diapers and saggy boobs. I’m so tired, haven’t had a chance to laze out all weekend so I’ve got to watch Amazing Race after Liv goes to bed.
Bonne Nuit!!

Some Things are Big, Some Things are Small

This is a video from Yo Gabbs that is my favorite:

However the message is resonating with me a lot. Mommy is big and wants to be small. I have slacked the past five months under the guise that I “just” had a baby and I would get back in shape when she’s older. Well, she’s old enough and I can’t be that Mommy at the playground who’s too fat, too lazy and too embarrassing to run around with her kid.

 

Everyone keeps telling me, she’s going to start crawling soon and you’ll never sit down again. We are close to selling her bassinet and swing because she’s too big for them so I won’t be able to put her down, I’ll be carrying her all the time and so far, it’s tough. She’s 15 pounds and my arms are killing me! I have been faking like volleyball has been sufficient exercise but I know the truth. I should be hiking, swimming and biking every week. Maybe if the weather is nice we’ll take Liv on our favorite hike in Malibu.

Liz in a not-too super size

Our *only* baby friends, Cobb & Jennifer will be coming over tomorrow with their baby, Charlotte for tea so we have to clean our dungeon hardcore. Antz is giving Max a bath, I’m on floor duty and Liv is hanging in her nursery having a conversation with her self *HAPPY HAPPY she’s talking again* I wonder if they want to go on a hike with us? It’s super easy but it’s pretty long and I don’t know how the girls will do. On second thought, maybe a hike is a bit much since the weather has been pretty cold but we can definitely go to the Larchmont farmer’s market and stock up on veggies since we are starting them next week. Well, the time has come for my lazy Liz rebellion *wahh!* Ugh, I need some energy!

*the Bingo Wings as Antz calls them, has got to go!!*

Since we are having company tomorrow, it’s a good time to take all our junk *a pile has been accumulating in the corner of the living room to a place in Highland Park called LAfreestore. It’s a terrific concept, drop off stuff, pick up stuff, Simple! I know Antz thinks he gonna score some treasure but I think our stuff will be the best there *we are getting rid of brand new stuff/clothes Olivia can no longer use* and I’m getting rid of my prenatal yoga mats because mine are too short for me and I always end up using the yoga studio’s mat. We also have a ton of candles that my Mom’s best friend, Debbie gave us but we don’t have room for them. It’s definitely going to be a score for someone else. I would love to find a shelf similar to this yellow one.

I want to put in the nursery for her books *which are starting to overflow on her bookshelf*

Tonight we are double dating with our friend Dave and his date, Nadya *I’m looking forward to discussing Europe and her hometown in Russia* we are going to A’float Sushi which has a conveyor belt of boats with sushi on them floating along a tiny river in the restaurant. I’ll take pictures since that was a poor explanation.

I am sooo eager beaver because I ordered a bunch of stuff for Liv. I got these hairbows *in red* from Etsy.

 

A bunch of stuff from this shop, All Aboard Toys

 

 

Her dishware and recipe book from Amazon has been shipped so I am waiting….waiting…

Day #8…I am super thankies that we are getting rid of our junk and mega cleaning our house. I am sure all the dust is not good for us or Olivia. I really love our pets but they make soo much pet dander. I am thinking it may be a good idea to get an air purifier for Liv’s nursery. We are about to go to LAfreestore and then we are going to Anthro to check out the teapot I saw on sale the other day *see, I knew I should have bought it then* I know it will be gone just because I want it *LAME*

Mix Tape Fridays Vol. 6

Well, it’s Mix Tape Friday and this week, I have been in my car probably close to 40 hours so I have been listening to alot of old CDs of mine.

I popped in a CD I named Happiness and instantly remembered why I named it so…

“Happiness” Goldfrapp

The most lovely name in all the world..We saw this band for New Years at the Disney Concert Hall and it was super fantastic!!  The lead singer China Forbes was 7 months preggo and she was amazing. I also was blown away by Thomas Lauderdale piano skills.

“Lilly” Pink Martini

*New Year’s Eve 2008*

I would LOVE for Olivia to be a concert pianist *she has the fingers for it* I totally took years of piano lessons but I somehow blocked that creative flow in my brain. Now when I sit in front of my Mommy’s piano I can just play “Shave and a haircut, 2 bits”

I would LOVE to see this band live. Beth Gibbons is the modern day Billie Holiday, she smokes and drinks while she sings. I have the Live at Roseland NYC dvd and every song rocks.

“Over” Portishead

It’s been awhile since I heard my man, Tommy. This song is super sexy, all the years I’ve listened to it I always thought one of the lyrics was “you’re the ice in my drink” but one day Antz corrected me “it’s AND the ice in my drink” I like it better my way. This song is from the album Alice and I love every song on it. Tom’s music reminds me of a turn-of-the century carnival in New Orleans. I must see Tom live in the next year, I should add that to my life list. He is so fucking rad.

“Alice” Tom Waits

My obligatory Björk of the week is an oldie but goody *well, great* it’s such a cute song and I adore the way she says Ghetto Blaster. Oh my Gawd, she is soooo fucking cute!! This is Aimee’s favorite Björk song so this one is for you babe!!

“There’s More to Life Than This” Björk

Richard James is the weirdest guy in the world. I have no idea what the fuck he was thinking when he made this video but the director is Chris Cunningham *the genuis behind Alll is Full of Love by Björk* I have the works of Chris Cunningham dvd and when I first saw this video, all I could say was What Tee Fuck?? Now, it’s pretty much my anthem, but I’m a weirdo too!

“Windowlicker” Aphex Twin

This is my random song of the week. It’s not as random as others but I have a serious obsession with the 1960’s. I love Brigette Bardot’s style and Serge’s lovely French accent. I am pretty sure it’s my destiny to live in France for a year.

“Pauvre Lola” Serge Gainsbourg

Hope you enjoyed this week’s Mixtape. I know I did!!

Mommy put on her big girl pants

Sigh, well this morning the tickets for the Saturday 11am show went on sale. I had 5th row from the stage with the VIP party package in my cart but when I saw the $290 total, I pumped my brakes!! I would normally just charge them and not even think about how it would take 3 years and $500 in interest to get a photo with the cast but the new Mommy Liz realized I would rather spend that $300 at BabyGap. I didn’t get any responses from my craigslist ad and Antz *Mr Voice of Reason*

told me I would end up stuck with the orginal tickets and spend over $400 for one day. Soooo, we will have just as much fun way back in the P row and hopefully I will be able to bring my Nikon and I’ll try to get really good pics. She’ll have to take pics with the cutouts and NEXT YEAR, she’ll have VIP tickets *as God is my witness!*

On another note, Wednesday we found a Beaba Babycook on criagslist for $80 just around the corner of our house in Eagle Rock.

They chick selling it was sooo awesome. She had 2 super cute boys *Boone & Haskell* and she was really nice, she invited me in to show me how to use it. She also recommended a recipe book and gave me some containers to store leftover food in. I LOVED her house!! I really wish I could have taken pictures, it was hillside so on the side of the house on the hill there was floor to ceiling windows with incredible views. The house was 1960’s Traditional style but it had an open floorplan. We talked for awhile and she said we may see each other at the Mommy & Me classes in Eagle Rock. I ordered this recipe book from Amazon.

We attempted to go to the Northridge farmers market but unfortunately, it’s only from March – October so we are going to the Monrovia farmers market this weekend to buy Liv some organic veggies. She has done so well with her rice cereal *we give her 2 ounces twice a day*, I know she’s ready to start veggies. Am I ready to start is the question??!!