Category Archives: Holidays

Holiday Decor Lameness

Today Antz, Liv and I went searching for this year’s holiday decor inspiration but sadly nothing will look as awesome as the tree on the cover of Blueprint from 2007.

I am completely in love with this palette, the understated simplicity of the clear ornaments and the silver and gold wrapping paper. When I told Antz about my obsession with this pink tree he unleashed his power of logical thinking upon me and said, “If we aren’t having a party who will even see it?” Grrr, he is always right. I clearly need to rethink our holiday budget when I have a huge bedroom makeover project, Liv’s never-ending list of Christmas presents and I’m long overdue for a new laptop!

The tree is on sale here.
…Hear me out!! 
I know $150 is too much for a fake tree but it will last forever and it already has the mini lights attached.

 Totally has me dreaming of a pink/gold Christmas.

 I would love to make this wreath

Anthropologie had the BEST decorations a few years back but I talked myself out of spending hundreds of bucks on ornaments. Today I am kicking myself for not snagging these when they finally went on sale in January.

Mythic Nest Tree Topper

Aurora Tree Skirt

Happy Holidays Garland

Simply gor-geous! I am so disappointed in this year’s holiday decor is it me or did they wuss out this year? and Target wasn’t so great either. Three words, tacky & cheap! I didn’t like anything so we ended up empty-handed. Well, not exactly…I did score one item but it’s top secret. I’ll unveil it after Thanksgiving. I’m not so bummed we didn’t get a bunch of stuff I would only use one year since I am getting hoping to get my lovely pink tree when we move. I hate to admit waiting will make me appreciate it more since it will be in my Dream House. Especially if we have a kick-ass holiday soiree!

It’s begining to look a lot like New Years!

Christmas was lovely, our little girl destroyed the wrapping paper and was only slightly amused with her presents.

 

She really enjoyed eating her phone

We went to Aimee’s house to hang out and a torriental storm came from nowhere. We ordered some gross thai food *Boo* We drove past the Venice Canals but it was too rainy to enjoy the houses.

Yesterday we returned from visiting my Mommy and Antz & I discussed my resolutions *and my likeihood of achieving them* I feel very motivated and positive about them all with the exception of Francais!! I have some sort of mental block that will not allow me to retain *and correctly pronounce* le French. I have an app I downloaded on my iphone and I listen to the words but I can’t pick up the accent. I also have a Nintendo DS game but I am much better at written French than spoken. I seem to be the only one who thinks I’ll learn using Rosetta Stone. I even made about 50 flash cards a year ago but I have to find them….sigh! Well, we spent the past 3 day at my Mom’s and I did something that is so random yet amazing! I cooked! I not only cooked but I cooked a complicated recipe and it was super yummy. Antz couldn’t get over how delicious it turned out.

 

Lizzie’s Louisiana Gumbo
It’s funny because this was not only my first time cooking gumbo, but also my first time eating it. The roux was pretty tricky and I cooked it much longer than 30 minutes as the recipe stated but it somehow turned out perfecto.

We had a rad time at my Mom’s, we played Scattergories *hilarious* and I got to sit by the fire *makes me wish our fireplace worked* Early Tuesday morning guess what woke me up?? An owl!! It was hooting right outside our window. It was too dark to see it but that’s pretty gnarly. We went to Target *I like the one by my Mom’s house* and I was looking for some good deals on clearance Christmas decor but I didn’t find anything. It wasn’t too cold in Apple Valley but it is supposed to snow so much today that the freeway to get to there will be closed. I did take this lovely shot on the drive.

All the surrounding mountain peaks were covered in snow. I really wanted to drive to Lake Arrowhead *40 minutes from my Moms* but Antz needed to have snow tires and Liv didn’t have any super warm clothes and shoes *Gah, I must buy her Uggs!!* When we came home yesterday I did some cleaning but I need to take apart all the kitchen cabinets, the laundry nook, linen closet and my closet and organize, donate and clear out all our clutter. I have a big problem with saving boxes but we sell so much of our stuff that I like to have the original box, but they take up so much space. I wanted to start a project while Antz is off but painting or sanding the cabinets may have to wait until March when it’s not rainy. I started a bathroom mood board but it isn’t finished yet *still searching for new paint*

I was pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive the floor tile is. I am pretty confident that we can install it ourselves but I’ll have to rent a wet saw for cutting. My total bathroom budget is under $5k. We should be starting in March because we have to clear out the garage first so we have space for storing the tools. I feel so Design on a Dime!!
Our lovely ball of sunshine is 29 weeks
I couldn’t get one pic without her chewing her shoe
I must get dressed *Lizzie BE ON TIME!!* we are meeting my friend Aura at the Long Beach Aquarium today!!

Mix Tape Fridays Vol. 7

Hark, the Mix tape has made it’s triumphant return and this week I’m bringing you my Christmas Edition

I have a pretty kick-ass itunes playlist playing that has inspired today’s Mix Tape Friday. Let’s go…..

I’ll start with an old classic *I totally love the 60s and cutie pie Doris Day* I used to watch all her movies when I was little *I had no clue of what was going on in those movies* but I loved Doris’s voice and how bright and cheery she always seemed.

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Bing Crosby & Doris Day

Here’s another Golden oldie that instantly sets the mood. I adore Rat Pack!!

“I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” Dean Martin

Since we’re on a Rat Pack Swinging set

“Mistletoe & Holly” Frank Sinatra

Ella has an amazing Christmas Album “Ella Wishes you a Swingin’ Christmas” I would post every single song here but I am only going to choose one, my absolute favorite of hers. She is so major!!!

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Ella Fitzgerald

If you’re gonna make a Christmas playlist, you must include an old favorite but with a modern twist. I love this version of a timeless classic.

“Carol of the Bells” The Bird & the Bee

Anyone born before 1985 knows that Christmas is not complete without A Charlie Brown Christmas. I adore the Vince Guaraldi Trio , but I’m way into composers. I was happily surprised to hear it featured on The Royal Tenenbaums soundtrack *one of my favorite movies*

Christmas songs has one King *his name is not Elvis*, I’ll let you hear who I am talking about.

“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” Nat King Cole

If Nat is the King, I would crown Mr. Kitt, the queen. Her playful Christmas songs are so rad, I totally get excited to bake cookies for Santa while dancing to this tune.

“Santa Baby” Eartha Kitt

And now my last, yet random Christmas tune of the day. This song totally reminds me of my grammar school days, singing in our Christmas Pageant and then heading out to look at the neighborhood lights with my Mom *unknown fact: Antz and I didn’t grow up in the same neighborhood, but we went to see the same neighborhood Christmas lights as children* Here’s an unlikely band you may not relate to Christmas but I wanted to close with a rocking song.

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” Weezer

Please have a safe Christmas, we’ll be hanging around the casa tomorrow, eating Cinnabons, *Liv is loving her new organic pear juice* taking pics of Liv’s 1st Christmas and we’re crafting, I’ll be mood board-ing to our heart’s delight. We’ll be heading out to my Mommy’s house for a couple of days, so hopefully Olivia may have a White Christmas!!

Giving up the Olympic Dream

In reflection to yesterday’s post, I was quite aware that when I made my resolutions, they would come with some level of sacrifice. I had to pretend I was a grown-up, and even remember, I am someones Mother, so I have an obligation to Olivia’s best interest. So, alas, the decision has been made. I shall forgo our big trip to the London Olympics in 2012 in an effort to save for our Dream House. As painful as this may be, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

*Mind the Gap, in London 2003*

Cons *the sucky part about not going to the London Olympics*

Duh, missing out on one of the most historic summer Olympic opening ceremonies.
No longer Fulfilling #23 & #5 on my Life List *lame*
Not being able to travel internationally with Olivia *I am so very desperate to fill my empty passport before it expires in 2017*
I really wanted to stay at the W London – Leicester Square, another goal on my Life List #18
I would like to give Liv a well-travelled childhood *similar to my own*
I’ll miss out on all the lovely photos of our family in London *one of my favorite cities*
It may be a hard pill to swallow, but I’d take getting into a better neighborhood for Liv over anything!!

Pros *let’s look at the brighter side of forgoing the trip*

I can save the money for a down payment for our Dream House *see, I am looking at the bigger picture*
London is terribly expensive *the trip would cost $7000 anywhere else but it’s over $15k in GBP*
It will be ridiculously crowded with annoying tourists
Liv will be too young to remember the trip *not like this has ever stopped me before*
I checked the London2012 site this morning and the opening ceremony price is £995 each *converted into USD that is $4,773!!* also, these tickets are only available to British citizens, I would have to buy tickets through the US National Olympic Committee and I have no idea how expensive or if I would even get tickets.
We can always travel to London at another time *less expensive + less crowds = better vacation*

I think that alone shows my commitment to my New Year’s Resolutions. The money I was going to spend on booking our hotel in March will now fix our *badly needed* plumbing. I am pretty bummed about it, but the Olympics are every 4 years, so in the future, when we’ve moved to Atwater Village, I can look back and say I did what was necessary for the long term. Now, for paying off that credit card debt….

Happy Christmas 2010!!!

The Notcracker?

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday, I’m fighting, cough, sneeze, *hoping Liv doesn’t catch it* a nasty cold and I felt gross yesterday. Feeling a bit better today.

SOOO, I’m torn…I am about to buy tickets for our Christmas outing whilst Antz is on vacation and I was pretty sold on seeing The Nutcracker at the Pasadena Playhouse *although a tiny venue* the price was totally right $45 for both of us on Goldstar for a December 31st matinee. Antz is a bit concerned with bringing Olivia to a ballet because he’s worried she’ll be noisy. I’m not worried about her crying *she seldom does in public *yay* however, she loves to squeal and shriek loudly so I wouldn’t want her to interrupt the dancers. Well…we were out driving in Burbank this Sunday and we saw a giant circus tent, so we assumed it was a Cirque du Soleil show but it’s called Cavalia, it’s pretty identical to Cirque du Soleil *they are from Montreal too* but this a horse/circus show. Now I generally don’t patronize shows that feature animals *I don’t like the way the animals are treated* however reading up on this show, the treatment seems to be more than humane. Now I am obsessed with seeing this show BUT the seating/package I want to buy is $337 and the show doesn’t start until January 27th. BOO! The package I want is seating in the first 5 rows and access to the horse stables after the show and this show is much more child-friendly. Antz is like, are you mad? *of course I am* but even if we did buy the tickets for Cavalia, we still want to do something over his Christmas break. We are going to my Mom’s Sunday till Tuesday. Wednesday we are meeting *our new awesome friend* Aura *from Disneyland* at the Long Beach Aquarium and no plans for New Years Eve so far *not too keen on taking Liv to any of our friend’s parties* I am once again, conflicted…follow my instinct and buy tix for the show I really want to see *horses!* but break the bank and have to wait until January? Be practical and see The Nutcracker on New Years Eve *and get my ballet fix* yet risk that Liv may be chatterbox? I’m sure we’ll go with the latter just because I’ve been wanting to see a ballet since I saw Black Swan, it’s next Friday, it’s under $50 and the Nutcracker is my favorite classical music *we played it during our wedding ceremony*. I just realized I totes forgot to post Liv’s 28th photo last Wednesday *Bad Mummy!!*

I am super excited for the New Year, already we are starting the year off with a huge bang!! We got tickets to see Conan live on January 13th. YAY!! Liv and I are starting a dance class called Rock Toddler and next trip to Disneyland with Sarah taking our photos is February 10th. So in perspective, if I don’t go to the Cavalia show, I won’t cry into my pillow.

It’s the most wonderful time…

Wow, Christmas certainly came early. Antz brought home a sack full of presents so we couldn’t help but rip them open immediately. Liv was awesome at tearing *and eating* the wrapping paper, it was hilarious, she loved the paper more than the actual presents. Our friends are so super rad, Story & Chris gave Liv an adorable onesie *I need to take pics* Dave went overboard and bought us all gifts; Liv got the sweetest Raggedy Anne doll

He also got her a cute bear nightlight which is perfect for her nursery *it’s bright enough to give her a nightly feeding but ambient so she can sleep* and some cute army men for Antz. We got some yummy chocolate  from Warren & Kim and Antz got Scott Pilgrim vs the World *just what he/I wanted* from his Secret Santa. Turns out my cookies were a mega hit! So Antz was all ready to head out to meet friends to see Tron when he hit a few snags, first the theater they planned to see it at didn’t have any 3-D showings until 10:30 and he didn’t want to go out that late, so they tried to find a 3-D showing at another theater that was earlier and it turned out to be practically sold out *only seats available in the first 3 rows* so he didn’t go out. I was a wee bit happy since he was able to put together the highchair just in time for me to give Liv her dinner.

Soooo much better than holding her in my lap while I juggle the bowl and try to keep her fingers out of her mouth. The boon bowl has suction on the bottom that won’t budge while I feed her *so awesome*

I love this highchair, it’s sleek and modern, sturdy and inescapable! It has hidden wheels so we can move it around easily. It’s definitely worth the price, I’ll move it to the kitchen once we get our new dining table in  March *fingers crossed for a fat tax refund!!* These are my next home projects for the Spring.
There are a couple of items I still need to buy for Liv. I mentioned to Dr. Wang that we want to get Liv a walker but she suggested an activity walker because the kind I was thinking of buying have been known to flip over *I didn’t love the one I had in my shopping cart but I was trying to stay under $50*
I found this rad walker on Amazon for only $47.99 *free shipping/no tax* so it’s a much better purchase!

I also need to get her convertible car seat sometime in January. Liv is outgrowing her infant car seat months ahead of time but that’s what happens when you have a tall bebe. Maybe in another month, this Clek Booster seat will have gone down in price. It’s regularly priced at $299 but it’s $273.31 on Amazon so maybe I will get it for about $250.

So Saturday was gloomy, cold and rainy and to make things worse I am fighting a cold *and losing the battle*. I’ve got a sore throat, sneezy, coughing, aching feeling majorly gross but I was still excited because like I said before it was a Big Day. I don’t know how I was able to keep my big mouth shut but we were going to a surprise party for my awesome friend’s Kim & Warren. I am not sure how to describe it so here’s what we were doing…The Accomplice here’s some videos. It’s similar to Michael Douglas movie The Game and I was super stoked to play *I adore all things pop culture and everyone knows I’m the Queen of Tabloids*. We had a group of 10 of us and Antz and I went through a nightmare of finding a babysitter *Weird because EVERYONE has been joking with us that we never call to ask them to babysit, yet when we did call, noone seemed to be available* We finally got Leslie to babysit and an hour before we were going to take Liv to Leslie’s house wouldn’t you know we got a call from Warren saying the game was cancelled due to the stupid rain. Mind you, we live in LA, it was raining consistently but nothing torrential or freezing. BOO! Since Liv was all dressed up we still went to visit Leslie & Stephen. Liv was super Miss Chatterbox and trying to crawl on Les’s rug *not quite but she was moving around*. Liv opened her Christmas gift from them and check it out….!!

My reaction is classic, I am such a dork!!

//www.youtube.com/get_player

I am so glad I didn’t buy these a month ago, she still needs her narrow little feet to grow but I’m sure she’ll be rocking these in a month! After visiting her Godparents, we decided despite the rain we would go for a drive. With no destination in mind, we ended up in the Valley and I found the Woodland Hills Christmas Cane Lane so we showed Liv all the lights/decorated houses. It was very impressive *massive homes with thousands of lights but I saw a special about this neighborhood on HGTV and I was disappointed that every house on the block didn’t have lights. Liv really liked it, she was squealing and her eyes were huge. We got home and I still felt like crap so I vegged out on the couch and Antz worked in his office. I am trying to come up with some loose plans for the week of Christmas *Antz is off until New Years* so I would love to take Liv to the Long Beach Aquarium, maybe go out to my Mom’s for a weekend *hoping for snow*, take a road trip up north *Big Sur or Monterrey* and meet our new friend from Disneyland, Aura *if she hasn’t gone into labor yet* I’m so looking forward to the new year. I am working on my list of resolutions and planning every detail of Olivia’s first birthday.

A Christmas Cookie

More of a Christmas Tale, I was having visions of Sugar cookies, decorated beautifully dancing in my head and all I ended up with was oddly shaped cookies with a drizzle of sprinkles and a headache. This morning when we came home from dropping off Antz Mom I noticed I had a sore throat *BOO*, now I’m sniffling, sneezing, coughing, achy, stuffy head and pretty sure I have a fever. I, of course, took some Dayquill but I am not feeling the love. I had to watch a youtube video to figure out how to use my cookie press and even after watching it 5 or 6 times, I was still not getting the hang of it. Meanwhile, I was on a tight deadline because Antz was coming home to pick up the cookies to pass out at his Secret Santa party. I ended up using what I determined to be the best results *nowhere near Martha approved* but I did have fun using my Kitchenaid Mixer for the first time. I still have no idea on how to detach the wisk to wask it but I’m in no mood to read instruction manuals. I made close to 60 cookies/30 bags of cookies. I am praying I didn’t forget anyone…*I made one extra bag without a nametag* so Antz will give me feedback when he passes them out. So far Antz is Mr Popular at work, this is his office.

A bunch of these are for me and Liv too! Love our amigos!!
So I started out with all my ingredients which….left me no counter space to prep. I really need to figure out a new space for Lola *maybe move the dish rack, and give Lola that counter?* so I can fit the mixer in the corner to free up more room.
I only used 2 of the 5 bags of cookie mix and that was more than plenty. Here’s the first batch
Pretty wonky-looking!
While I was waiting for them to bake, I tested what the cover of my new baker’s cookbook would look like and I thumbed throught my cookie book
Yuck!
See! They look decent going in but coming out they spread out. I had a vision of glitterly snowflakes and this….not so much
I adjusted how much dough I used and made sure the press was working properly
I was still bagging when Antz got home to pick them up but he was totally happy with the cookies. I guess I’m proud being that I didn’t burn them and despite the lack of prettiness, they do taste yummy!

 

I suppose he’s getting a good return on his investment *and I am happy we have something to give our friends*
So, I was totes gonna post an all new Mixtape Friday *I know it’s been MIA for weeks* however you must forgive me. I am illing and I have a BIG day tomorrow, so I need to rest and fight this headache. Antz is going out with a bunch of our friends to see Tron * Lame to the max* so I’m babysitting while he nerds out.
Sayanara

To Wrap, or not to wrap?

That is the question! I am overwhelmed with Christmas decorating *I’ve been watching tons of Martha Stewart show, HGTV and DIY shows as well as every magazine has great ideas* so now I’m conflicted with going through the trouble of wrapping Liv’s Christmas presents. You may think, just do it, it will make for sweet photos and recently, Liv has been attempting to destroy her books when I read to her so she may be able to rip open the boxes. However, a few of her presents are oddly-sized and we don’t have a tree *per say* to put the pressies under. Well, I’ll make up my mind by Thursday when I go to Target *and I wanna buy all the pretty wrapping paper*.  I really, really want to buy these rad cookie cutters for my Christmas cookie gifts *our friends would die* but I doubt this would fly with Antz. I also just bought a cookie press but in retrospect, I am planning on putting walnuts and white chocolate chips and I don’t think they will fit in the press. Last night I watched Goddess Martha’s Cookie Special but her cookies were too over the top *gold guilding, anyone?*

So this week is pretty busy *as always* Not much scheduled until Thursday, we are taking Liv to Antz Mom’s, then picking up Aimee, going to see Black Swan, pick up Liv, go to Afloat Sushi, then Target, and back to Aimee’s house to help her hang frames and attempt to turn this…

You can see the Mona Aimee Antz painted for Aimee’s birthday
Total blank canvas, I would paint but *I’m too lazy and it’s a rental*

Her son, Holden’s surfboard and setsuit dominate the room

Icky, reminds me of our house the day we moved in, it’s GTG *got to go!*

Into this…

It’s Begining to look alot like Christmas!

Murphy’s Law has bitten me in the arse once again. I went to Target on Friday just to pop in to exchange the printer ink. I checked out the Christmas decorations once again *out of sheer habit* and I noticed these exterior lights were on sale

I didn’t think much of it but I just watched Celebrity Holiday Homes on HGTV and I fell in love with Holly Robinson Peete & Brooke Burns houses.

Sorry the pics are lame but I couldn’t find them online

Love this elegant White Christmas design

I knew we could use our old multi-colored lights and I love them, but I was thinking about how much our electric bill goes up. So in the spirit of wanting to be green, I emailed the pic of the lights to Antz to see what he thought. He said sure but I was being indecisive so I thought, “Oh, I’ll just come back tomorrow once I make up my mind”. Hah! Turns out today we went to 2 Targets and not only were they sold out of the 200 bulb strands but the sale ended. LAME!!! We bought 5 sets of 60 so I got my White Christmas!

Our “retro” lights from last year
This year’s lights, I added ornaments to the wreath to jazz it up

Our stupid camera doesn’t seem to want to photograph the lights, this was the best shots I got and it was dusk and rainy.
Antz made these rad snowflakes *stupid camera doesn’t show the glitter detail*

I love his glitter box *that’s what she said*
So it turned out that I had my date with Aimee but we had so much fun at dinner,
Me and the *seriously* 99 year old waitress at Brite Spot diner *she loved me!!*
We ended up missing the movie, Boo! We will raincheck for next Thursday *which will be better because Antz is taking the day off so he can join us. His Mommy will babysit for us*
I gotta hit the sheets, it’s been raining for hours and our house is nice and toasty thanks to our new mini heaters.