Baby Shower

Yesterday, we had our baby shower. It's so strange to be nearing the end of this pregnancy.

I am HUGE though

The location was an outdoor park pavilion, and the day was cold and cloudy, but we made the most of it. Our amazing friend, Beth organized the whole thing. And she made sure there was coffee, warm food, and space heaters. I owe a huge thanks to her and to all the people who came out to brave the cold with us.

I insisted on a family-style shower. It seems silly to me to only invite women. So everyone was welcome, and we had an informal potluck set-up.

I was also opposed to the usual shower games. I know... I'm a pain. We were not without activities though. Our friend Michelle worked with Beth to coordinate a baby-clothing decorating table. I think it was a big hit!

I can't wait to dress our wee one in these bespoke puff-paint masterpieces!

One tradition I guess I couldn't get out of was opening gifts in front of everyone. I told our guests they didn't all have to drop everything and watch, but they did anyway. God bless our friends!

One of the first times I ever felt like an 'adult' was when I got really excited about buying a vacuum cleaner. I guess I'm starting to dip my toes into parenthood now, because I got really excited about diapers and disposable milk bags!

My husband and I ended the day feeling very well loved and supported. I know welcoming a new life into the world is tough, but we sure aren't doing it alone!

THANK YOU!

Snow, Snow, Go Away...

I really hate winter. As soon as the weather dips below freezing, I just want to crawl into bed and stay there until spring comes. But society won't let me. What gives, society!? Anyway, that general malaise is why I haven't written anything new in a while. (Does that count as an apology? Probably not...)

The view from my office today (why!?)

To make it up to you, I'd like to do a quick run-through of some things I wanted to blog about last fall, and never got to. I also have a few "real" posts in my head. I'll work at extracting them for you soon.

Kick the Debt Party
In October, four of our friends threw a party to celebrate finally paying off their student loans. (...a joy I hope to know myself someday...) There was a bouncy castle, and kangaroo meat, and there were lots of old friends. It was like a family-of-choice reunion!

Rooke Wedding
The next weekend was the most beautiful and amazing wedding I have ever attended. Our friends, Amber and Dylan tied the knot on his family's farm. They did everything themselves, and on the cheap. It was absolutely genuine, and truly their style. The warm glow of it made my whole life sweeter! Amber has put up lots of posts about it on her blog if you're curious. (Her pictures are much better.)

Parental Visit
At the end of October, my folks drove all the way from Minnesota for a visit. They took the whole week off so they could spend two weekends with us, and the in-between days touring the East Coast. By all accounts, they had a fabulous time! We visited lots of nice Pittsburgh restaurants, they brought us farm-stand apples from Ohio, and we went furniture shopping at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

Me & Mom in our natural environment: a coffee shop

Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
Remember last year's show? This one was done a bit earlier to accommodate a Christmas theme. I played a wreath. Jim described the character as like the furniture in Pee-Wee's Playhouse. Shane got into the act too this year. He played grown-up Cindy-Lou-Who's damaged boyfriend. I got to put together both of their costumes. Yes, got to. I LOVE making costumes!

In Charge? Me?
That's right. I'm an officially ordained ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church now. Crazy, right? I was nominated to serve on our church's finance committee. After much careful consideration, I said "yes". It is a big commitment. The term is three years long, and I'll be helping make some difficult decisions. Furthermore, I had to kneel in front of everyone at the all-church meeting and promise to do my best to be awesome.

Coming Up
(Hopefully!) I plan to catch you up on my Christmas and a couple of projects I've been working on lately. I have lots of exciting things planned for 2014!!

Kira's Art Show

I would like to introduce you to my housemate Kira! I have lived with Kira for a year and a half now, and I've learned that she likes indie music, cute dinosaurs, and quiet time at home. She devours fiction books and gluten-free baked goods with equal enthusiasm. She is ridiculously skilled at braiding her super long hair, and is learning to play the glockenspiel. But I think the first thing most people remember about Kira is her art. She majored in art at college. She carries her sketchbook with her everywhere. And this month, she put up a public art show!

I got to help hang her pieces. Here she is making sure everything is just right. They had a really neat mounting system; a metal runner stretched across the wall and wires were hanging from it. Each wire had an adjustable hook attached, so we could easily change the height and spacing of every frame.

The ‘gallery’ is also a hair salon. Tula Organic Salon & Spa is a new business in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Every month they feature a different local artist on their walls.

(Fun fact: Tula means “balance” in Sanskrit.)

A week ago, she held an art show opening party. Here’s Kira in her cute new "I'm the artist" outfit:

(The dress is from ModCloth. And you can’t see it here, but her earrings totally match her tights!)

My husband and I bused straight from work to the event. We arrived a bit after it started and the place was packed!

Everyone had a great time talking and checking out Kira’s work.

And what was I doing this whole time? Why, taking pictures of course! Here’s a self-portrait of me being overwhelmed by all the happy people:

I suppose you would like to see the art itself. Here you go:

The middle frame in the top picture got a lot of attention. Kira is considering making prints of it since the original has already been sold. The right one is the background for her business cards. She works mostly in colored pencil, but has started adding water-color paint sometimes too. Her pictures are often semi-autobiographical, and tend to have a flowing feeling of movement to them.

You can check out more of Kira’s art on her portfolio page. And if you’re in Pittsburgh, you can stop by Tula to see them in person! The salon welcomes visitors. Kira’s work will be on display until February 28^th!

^{UPDATE: Kira has an album up now of all her pieces from this show. They look much better than my hastily color-adjusted snapshots. Check them out HERE.}