Browse Category: design

Wall Art

hangingartworkI finally put up some of the wall art that I’ve collected over the past two years.  I couldn’t hang frames over her bed so I kinda sat on this project for a while.  Then I found some clear command hooks at the store and figured out that I could juset tie a ribbon on them and used some binder clips to hang the prints.  I also found these cool Scotch Restickable Dots that I used to display her artwork.

IMG_9890The prints are all from local artists.  Below are the original versions of two of the prints.  I met the artist, Genevieve Santos at a craft faire and was so sweet to offer to paint the boy’s hair black in both of the prints.

pillowfortPillow Forttreehouse“Let me in.  I have cookies.”

Here are a few from a girl named Elda The.  I love her work.

angrybirdsAngry BirdselephantI don’t know what this one is called but I imagine this is where Koa lives now.

IMG_7618She also designed the Koa pillow that Kumquat sleeps with every night.

herecomestherainThis is a cute one that Kumquat loves to point to and label “bus” and “GG”.  The artist’s name is Nidhi Chanani.  Love her stuff.

It looks a little tacky but I kept the plastic sleeves on them for now to keep them from getting greasy from the kitchen. They’ll come off when she has an enclosed room to herself one day.  For now, this will just have to do.IMG_9895Little by little, this space will be covered in scribbles…hopefully, they’ll all be on paper and not the actual wall.

Dragon Party!

DSC_3308We went to Zoe’s 1st Birthday Party on Sunday afternoon in Alameda.  There was a dragon theme and there were lots of dragons (including Kumquat) at the party!

DSC_3283DSC_3299Eleen and Jimmy worked very hard to make this party decked out in dragon stuff.

DSC_3348Kumquat scored some crayons and lots of other goodies that day.

DSC_3286Oh and we can’t forget about the Zoe cookies they had made for the party.  Hilarious.

DSC_3323When it was time to sing “Happy Birthday”, Zoe really enjoyed herself.DSC_3328She soaked in all the extra attention and hammed-it-up for the crowd.  So cute.

DSC_3353Here is Zoe and her happy parents.

DSC_3351Jimmy’s mom also flew up from Cerritos and it was nice to see her again.

DSC_3344The cake was a rich red velvet with super sweet frosting.  Kumquat and I got a couple bites and then we had to call it quits.

DSC_3304Keenan was there and giving his dad (flying solo that day) a hard time during lunch.  Funny kid.DSC_3302The Bangs came too and Isla was NOT a fan of Uncle Jimmy that day.  She literally cried every time she saw him.DSC_3314This is little Athena, Aylang and Dave’s 12-month-old.  Look at those curls!

DSC_3361What a fun birthday party!  I’m sure this is just the beginning of these kid-infested parties.  It seemed like there was almost one child per adult at the party.  We’ll wait for Kumquat to grow up a little more before she can have her face painted.  Until then, balloons and crayons will do.

new bridge

IMG_8276 I drove across the new bridge today.  It’s surprisingly sunny going eastbound since I’m used to being covered by the upper deck.  IMG_8277It was cool to see the old bridge off to the side and I also saw some pedestrians and cyclists on the walkway to the right.

IMG_4883Here are photos while going westbound back to SF. IMG_8305  It’s a pretty impressive bridge.

Bay Bridge

bridge lightsThe Bay Bridge has a special light display that started last month.  It’s on the western span of the bridge and you can see if from The Embarcadero.  I hadn’t seen it yet so after the baby went to sleep, I took Koa for a long walk down to see the lights.

Here’s one part of the show.

Here’s another part of the show.

It’s going to be on display until 2015 and turns on a dusk and turns off at 2am everyday.  Pretty cool!

muniIt was pretty late when it was time to head back so the dog and I took Muni home.  Koa’s ridden Muni and the bus before but I guess it had been a while because when we got on, he was shakin’ in his britches the whole way home.  Silly dog.

My Christmas Story

Back in November, Jes managed to convince me that it was a good idea for him to buy an overpriced jacket from Superdry.  Fortunately, he LOVES this jacket and wears it every chance he gets.  I admit, it’s a pretty cool jacket and saw how much he liked it, so I quickly got over the price.  A couple weeks ago, Ryan commented to Michelle that it was a cool jacket.  He NEVER comments on clothes so she thought it would make a good birthday gift for him.  So, now they’re twinsies and it drives Jesse a little nuts to think that someone else has his coolio jacket and has been threatening to buy a new jacket.  So this afternoon I got a photo texted to me of him in a new jacket and a message that said he was going to model it for me tonight. This is VERY typical of him…a guy who never waits for anything and thrives off of instant gratification.  During the whole ride across the bridge, I kept thinking how this was going to be how he was going to make us poor.

When I picked him up from work this evening, he was carrying a big box that held his new jacket.  I was SO annoyed that he went ahead and bought ANOTHER jacket that costed even more than the first one!  During the short drive home, I threw a minor hissy fit and vowed to go shopping for myself this weekend and to forget about trying to save money by buying $20 Target bags instead of the fancy Kate Spade that I saw in the window. In his usual fashion when he gets in trouble, he just laughed it off while I practically had smoke coming out of my ears.

Once we got home, I was about to make him put on his new jacket to walk the dog for me until he finally admitted that it was actually a gift for me.  I thought he was lying to get out of walking the dog but it was true.  I opened the box and it turned out to be a fancy Michael Kors Hamilton Tote!  I didn’t know whether to punch him in the face or give him a big hug.  Lucky for him, he got a big hug and I felt really embarrassed while he had a smug look on his face.  He doesn’t surprise me very often and this was certainly his best “Bazinga” yet.  I got a memorable gift and he got a really good laugh.  Apparently, I fell right into his trap and everything went exactly as he had planned all day long.

Here’s a photo of the my Christmas present.  Isn’t it lovely?  I have the best (and worst) husband ever!!!  Love you!

 

Last Sunday Supper…

…of 2011.

Haha.  Yep, we had an impromptu Sunday Whitey Supper last night and it was a fun way to finish the weekend. Jes served braised short ribs with veggies and wild rice and it was DELICIOUS.  Michelle also brought her yummy lemon chess pie.

The kids were off the hook last night and it’s fun to have so much energy in the house.  There was a bipolar eating match between the two Sokol-Jun kids.  One one side, you had Reese chowing down on hummus and tomatoes with the hummus going up her nose and in her hair.

On the other side, you had Jack doing everything BUT eating.  With the threat of missing out on the scrumptious dessert, he finally plowed through his dinner while on the verge of tears.

We were also entertained by Rowan and his new raspberry trick.  He’s very musical and proud of it too!

Oh and Jack also gave me a new ornament for my Christmas tree!  I love it!!!  (Thanks Michelle!)

Here are a few more photos.