Throwback socks

I was born in 1981 (shhhh, don't tell how old I am). That being said, I was young enough throughout the 80's that I missed a lot of the trends. Mom never let me get a perm (although I had a light purple crimper that I used every now and then). And, by the way, Nate mentioned that I should thank you, Mom, for never letting me get a perm. So, THANKS! I didn't have mall bangs, usually only wore one pair of scrunch socks, and my denim wasn't stonewashed or acid dyed. All these I feel grateful for in hindsight, but I don't ever remember having a gorgeous pair of legwarmers (despite all my dance classes), and for that I was truly disappointed. Until yesterday, when I finished this pair of beauties.

I'm not sure what's more awesome - the rainbow pattern or the cheesy poses I did for Nate to get photos of these babies.

I had a skein of rainbow yarn that I was itching to use up, and I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the legwarmers in the end, so this was a test-run pair. I knew I wouldn't have quite enough to do full rainbow legwarmers, so I made the top a soft, scarlet bamboo yarn instead. Added bonus? They're like a finely groomed mullet - business on the top and party on the bottom. I'm planning to wear them as boot socks if it ever gets cool enough (side note - it was in the high 70's last night and I was practically chilly), and I'm masquerading as a dancer around the house for now. To each his own, right?

Show and Tell

My husband is amazing. I think you know this already from the amount of times I've said it on the blog, but in case you forgot... My husband is amazing. And now that there's a baby shower in progress, I feel completely comfortable with putting these gorgeous photos up to show you the toy box that we spent a lot of the week working on. (Nate designed it all - I just did the previously mentioned grunt work.) Baby Emma Kate is one lucky girl!

Disclaimers

Okay, I have to make several disclaimers after my last post.
#1 - I am NOT with child. When the time comes, I will be sure to tell all my family first, and then share with all my blog friends. The sweet unborn baby belongs to Nate's co-worker, and she's having her baby shower this weekend!
#2 - I didn't really cuss (out loud, at least). Just wanted to be sure I stressed that since I have a few younger readers (HI ALEX!!!!).
#3 - I want to show you pictures of what I was doing so badly, but I can't until the baby shower is over. So consider yourself warned - there are amazing pictures to follow.
Happy Friday!

It's all in the details

Have I ever told you about my brief stint as an interior design major in college? It was all well and good for about a semester, and then I had a startling realization that poo-pooed my plans. Imagine me trying to get my Southern-belled design professor to sign my transfer of major form while she was going on and on about what a talented and potential-laden student I was... I wasn't trying to hurt her feelings, but eventually I had to be honest with her.
"I just realized - I hate details. I mean, I really hate them. If I have to sit still and color, or draw, or refine any more details, I might come undone. It's that serious."
The look of horror on her face said it all. She signed my paper without another word, and I was well on my way to the journalism degree I should have gone with in the first place.

Fast forward to the present. I am married to the most wonderful, artistic, detail-loving man in Texas. Possibly in the United States, to be honest. Details are his signature. His "I love you." And let me just tell you, he is crafting something special for a baby-to-be. Do you have any idea what that means? It means that I, too, am crafting something special for a baby-to-be. And what that really means is that I am sitting at our dining room table, holding my breath for long periods of time, using a brush tinier than what I use for my eyeshadow (ok, let's be honest - I just go ahead and smudge my eyeshadow on with my finger because it takes less time - do you get my drift???) to paint the details on a damask pattern without saying d*** or a** (just trying to keep things classy) because I have a small child running circles around the table while I work. Translation: I have been singing TobyMac songs out loud to keep myself from cussing. It's the sad truth, people.

But because my wonderful husband is an exquisite craftsman, and this project is important to him, I am painting and painting and painting. He wants it to be just right, and that's what matters. So here is what I have realized. In a marriage, there have to be two personalities. One of them has to love details. The other one has to love that the aforementioned person loves details (therefore freeing her up to not fuss with them at all, unless he's working on a large project and needs lots of help...). If both of us loved details, we'd spend a million years on every project and almost never get anything done. So sometimes, I just have to suck it up and love some damask. But more because I love Nate (and a sweet little unborn babe) than for any other reason.

Ann's biggest fan

There are very few days that I feel anything close to a celebrity. But when Ann was home this weekend, she told me that she looks at my blog every day, and I almost shed a tear. So, sweet Ann, starting a new job today, just wanted to show you a few pictures of you and one of your biggest fans.

Had to add this funny one because, really, what are we all doing?

Zoo trip

Milo and Wrex have been friends all their lives - they just didn't know it. In fact, they'd never met each other until just yesterday, when we all met up to go to the zoo together. Wrex is just about a month older than Milo, and stands at least a head taller. Wrex is on the tall side, and Milo is on the lil' peanut side. It made for lots of interesting photos... But seriously, could these two be any cuter?

 

And look... We actually look alike here!

 

Sometimes you just have to be brave

Milo's figuring out climbing... And I'm figuring out when to let him. So when I say you just have to be brave, I mean I just have to be brave and let him do some little boy things every now and then. (sigh)