family – Page 4 – emerald city diaries

my weekend in pictures.

{eloise had her first bath. well, at home; she had one at the hospital.}

{welcome home eloise grace! thanks for the lettering mom!}

{we rarely drink soda, but aaron saw these at work & they seemed so appropriate!}

{eloise being completely overstimulated with sophie the giraffe & her activity mat. she particularly liked the elephant which appropriately has the letter E on it!}

{this little card came with a gift we received this weekend. a good reminder! I think I’ll keep it on top of our changing table.}

{aaron & eloise cuddles.}

{eloise enjoying a sunday afternoon nap.}

{a friend brought over the most beautiful dahlias – thanks ashley!}

{in honor of the late robin williams, we watched a bit of the birdcage.}

this was our first full weekend as a family & boy was it a great one! my mom is still in town & it has been so nice to have an extra set of hands around. the weather was a little hotter than I would have liked, but since our nursery is in the basement, it is much more tolerable. we stayed around the house & tried to get things organized {I definitely owe you an update on the house!} & even managed to get some sleep! today also marked eloise’s first full week – the longest, craziest, best week ever! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{sadie cuddling with the bump.}

{hit up the nordy’s anni sale with my mom on saturday. haven’t been to the anni sale in person in years since I always pre-sale. what a nut house!}

{I finally decided I could wear a pair of birkenstocks. then I found out my feet are too small… #fail}

{got the car seat this weekend & finally got to see my cover in action!}

{found my grandmother’s old slides & enjoyed lots of slideshows of her life.}

{finally got the glider for the nursery delivered! it is living in the living room until the nursery space is ready.}

{started doing lots of baby laundry. #nesting}

{went on a double date to see begin again with aaron & my parents. it was really cute & has a great soundtrack!}

this weekend we had the pleasure of hosting my parents & some cooler summer weather! I feel like we got quite a few things checked off the to-do list which is feeling really great. a little weird to be going into my last week of work this week – it’s hard to complain about monday morning!

how was your weekend?
M

project baby {maternity photos}

as some of you may have seen here or here we were getting sneak peaks to our maternity photoshoot from a few weeks back. we worked with melissa from tiny newborn photography which was amazing! she suggested & then met us out at golden gardens in the ballard neighborhood of seattle. it was a beautiful day with lots of light – great for pics!

{HER: ingrid & isabel maternity leggings (similar) // banana republic black knit patio dress // laundry by shelli segal necklace via nordstrom (old) // kimono wrap cardigan // old navy maternity tank // stella & dot earrings & bracelet}

{HIM: nordstrom shirt (similar)}

{BABY: freshly picked gold moccasins}

thank you so much melissa – we are in love with these family photos! this was such a great way to capture our growing family of three & we are so excited for baby lower to join us! if you are interested in a print or downloaded image {um, mom} let me know!

did you do a maternity photoshoot? did you go solo or include the whole family?

p.s. this banana republic dress is not maternity, but fits so well over the bump! it is on sale, so if you are preggers & need a great black maxi dress, this is the one. I bought it in petite which means it isn’t dragging on the ground. seriously, I will be living in this dress until fall comes (& will likely pair it with a cardi or jacket by then!).

my {long} weekend in pictures.

{on saturday afternoon we celebrated & remembered the life of my grandmother.}

{mmm, s’mores!}

{a fierce family board game commenced. aaron & I were victorious!}

{the bump & I got all dressed up for a baby shower on sunday! pics to come later in the week.}

{I love being at my parents’ house & catching up on all of my mom’s magazines!}

{dinner out at smoky mountain pizza – a local fav!}

{my parents’ dog bentley. love this guy. & he loves you when you have food!}

{so. many. donuts & cookies. we were sent home by the shower hostesses with lots of sprinkled & sugared goodies. an apparent test of self-control at 8 months pregnant.}

{sad to leave boise after such a quick trip!}

we spent the long weekend in boise to celebrate the life of my grandmother. it was an emotional time, but so, so good to see so many family & friends. we had a small family “service” at my parents’ cabin to remember & celebrate my grandmother. it was perfectly small & succinct – just how she would have wanted it to be.

I also had the pleasure of being “sprinkled” {baby sprinkled that is} by two of my best friends in celebration of baby lower. it was really great to see family & friends, & meet a few new babies that were in tow. I plan on sharing pics of the shower later in the week, so hold tight!

it was hard to spend so little time in boise before having to make the trip back to the real world, but it is nice that we have a short work week to look forward to. how was your weekend?

my week{end} in pictures {indiana edition}.

{sorry for the delay in this post – we landed in seattle late yesterday night & hit the ground running!}

{we got off a red-eye flight from seattle to chicago last week & drove to indiana. in hindsight, this was a terrible idea. #wenappedinapaneraparkinglot}

{aaron being a great uncle!}

{our friend colt & aaron picked these beautiful peonies for me!}

{hanging out with our sweetest niece charlotte.}

{headed to colt & erin’s wedding on friday. more pics to come!}

{aaron spent a lot of time shooting clays at the post-wedding picnic.}

{aaron’s stepmom diane made sugar cookies & someone had to eat the last one. #takingonefortheteam}

{watched the french open finals – go rafa!}

{got to have dinner with aunt kathi, uncle stan, aunt sharon, & uncle mike. what a treat!}

{got to see kait & oliver while in alex. aaron & oliver shooting with a bow & arrow.}

{kait, me, & the bump.}

{our rental car – a kia soul. actually not a bad car, just an awful color!}

{aaron & frankie getting in some male bonding time.}

{we got a chance to see meg & her littles on our way out of town. aaron & si were bffs by the end of our trip!}

{after having lunch in chicago, we got to see wrigley field on our way to o’hare!}

{the route to terminal c at o’hare is always fun!}

{as we approached seattle, we opened the airplane window to discover the most beautiful view of mount rainer!}

we had a whirlwind trip to indiana to see aaron’s family & attend colt & erin’s nuptials this past week. it was so great to see so much family & get to spend some quality time with our niece & nephews {though it is so tough to not see them more often!}. the weather was beautiful & we both enjoyed a stretch of sunny weather with very little humidity {yay!} – looking forward to the summer weather that will hopefully descend upon the emerald city in the coming months. thanks to everyone who made time to hang out with us while we were in town – hope to do it again sometime very soon!

how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{starting to sort baby clothes – eep!}

{panera for lunch is always a good idea. also, I can’t get enough lemonade these days!}

{stripes & salt waters. dress: asos maternity dress in breton stripe}

{bumpin’ in dvf to see once at the paramount with mom.}

{two of the gorgeous chandeliers at the paramount theater.}

{manis & pedis at julep. so many colors to choose from.}

{sadie was really sad when she couldn’t join us at rain city burgers for lunch.}

{sadie & the bump.}

{crafting for the nursery. very excited to share this project once it’s done!}

my mom was in town visiting this weekend & it was sunny, so all-in-all a great weekend! we enjoyed the weather, ran some errands, & got some things checked off the to-do list.

how was your weekend?

miss me, but let me go.

this past weekend we lost my grandmother. a loss that has been harder than I ever imagined it would be. she was the most amazing, fabulous, incredible, & generous person I have {& will ever} know.

she will be forever in my memories: a mariner’s or red sox game, a sale at macy’s, a trip to boston, a nordstrom note, a gin martini, a dog park, a trip abroad, a hardback book, a well-tailored jacket, a dessert after every meal, a pair of drugstore reading glasses, a well-set dinner table, a perfect flower arrangement, a set of freshly starched sheets, a Post-It inside a birthday card, a crossword puzzle.

{her wedding day}

{with her late husband alan}

{cocktails & dinner were her favorite}

{with her dog elsa}

{with her dog raison}

{in ireland celebrating her 80th}

{a girl’s trip to morocco}

{in bermuda}

miss me, but let me go

when I come to the end of the road,

and the sun has set for me,

I want no rites

in a gloom filled room,

why cry for a soul set free.

miss me a little, but not for too long

and not with your head bowed low.

remember the love that we once shared…

miss me, but let me go.

when you are lonely and sick of heart,

go to the friends we know,

and bury your sorrow in doing good deeds…

miss me, but let me go!!!

by liz ferhrenbacher

halmoni – I miss you immensely. thank you for the most amazing years of love & friendship.

xo M

my weekend in pictures.

{on our way east out of the city on friday morning sadie & I got stuck at the bridge opening at the ship canal bridge. sadie didn’t mind at all that we had to sit in the sunshine for a few minutes.}

{started some spring cleaning by tackling our office closet. at least I made some progress on it.}

{celebrated baby blakely & her mama-to-be this weekend!}

{dinner date at purple café with our friends rhett & lindsay saturday evening.}

{it was an official date night at the paramount theater to see the lion king. this was my very favorite movie as a kid & the musical is phenomenal. just the opening scene – breathtaking!}

{it was rain, rain, rain this weekend after a gorgeous & sunny week.}

{coffee date with my mama!}

{enjoyed some rum cake straight from little cayman. thanks mom & dad!}

gosh, how is the weekend over already? it poured rain for most of the weekend which stunk because it was so beautiful at the end of last week. bummer. while I am excited about the spring-look to seattle – flowers, bushes, & trees starting to bloom – I am SO ready for spring weather! my mama was in town which is always a treat, but seems to make time fly even faster. how was your weekend?

my {long} weekend in pictures.

{I joined some girlfriends for some lift, tone, burn at the pure barre in boise.}

{in an effort to pack light I didn’t bring my own hairdryer & planned on borrowing my mom’s. little did I know that hers recently bit the dust & she has been using this one from the 1970s…}

{on saturday I had the great joy of showering a soon-to-be-mama with my best & oldest girlfriends. it was so amazing to see these ladies & makes me wish we all lived in the same city again. {sigh} maybe someday! thanks jen for throwing a beautiful shower & congrats to beth!}

{watch out world, according to my fortune I am about to unleash some talents!}

{this morning my mom & I caught up on the men’s final match at the australian open & did our best not to read any news. I felt so, so bad for rafa but excited for wawrinka!}

{I dined with my mom & dad at an old favorite, da vinci’s, this evening. really good italian food if you ever find yourself in downtown eagle, idaho.}

{hopped on a plane tonight for the quick trip back to seattle!}

this long weekend was spent in idaho visiting family & friends, & was much-needed for me. we didn’t make it over for the holidays, so it felt good to be home at least for a few days this winter. it is always such a treat to catch up with family & old friends, & this weekend did not disappoint. we got to see my brother, sister, sister-in-law, & nephews for dinner one night, & I got to see all of my very best & oldest girlfriends all in one place at once – amazing! even though I am sad that the weekend is over, it is great to be home & to see sadie!

how was your weekend?

highlights of 2013.

{via}

happy 2014!

i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again!, yearly recaps are always my favorite kinds of blog posts. its a small way to sum up your year & to see how much the last 365 days have brought. as i look forward to the New Year, i am humbled & grateful by all of the wondrous events of 2013. here’s the rundown of ours:

january: I started out the new year with a bout of the flu. we hosted our first blog giveaway! we installed the west elm hanging capiz chandelier over our dining room table. I framed my diy polaroids for our bedroom walls. amanda & I met john & sherry from young house love during their book signing tour! I diy-ed campaign dressers for our bedroom.

february: I did lots of diy-ing for valentine’s day {here, here, & here} I celebrated my birthday! we bought a kitchen island. I tried to be better about getting in front of the camera!

march: I tried my hand at painting an antler {& was so impressed with the results!}. we took my 91-year-old grandmother to target for the first time! amanda & I diy-ed framed house keys on maps. we sold jez the jetta & bought a new car.

april: we updated our bathroom vanity with a converted antique sideboard. we updated the closet doors by stripping off the old paint in a crock pot. we celebrated our one year anniversary in our house & I reviewed all of the house diys!

may: we finally got some good weather in seattle! I painted the ceiling & hallway walls. we celebrated aaron’s thirtieth birthday with a beer tasting party! we had a fun-filled memorial day weekend. we were featured in west elm’s blog front & main.

june: aaron replaced our toilet. sadie was featured in the seattle dog spot blog. my parents visited for a long weekend en route to the olympic peninsula. my diy his & hers maps were featured. we finally got some summer weather!

july: we celebrated the long Fourth of July weekend with a holiday parade, fireworks, & time with friends. I made a nine layer ombre cake! we replaced our kitchen track lights with globe pendants from west elm. we road-tripped to idaho for my ten-year high school reunion. we started growing our first eggplant.

august: we celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. the blog got a Liebster Award Nomination. I diy-ed the tiniest baby hats for our friends’ new baby. we road-tripped to hood river, oregon to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

september: we went to the husky vs. bronco game to kick-off labor day weekend complete with husky-style tailgating {via boat}. we took advantage of the warm weather & cleaned up the front yard with a fun game called love it or lose it. we celebrated sadie’s ninth birthday! I attended the Alt Summit for Everyone blog conference.

october: I attempted to start doing fashion posts again. we celebrated our two year blog anniversary at emerald city diaries! I finished up with the #embracethecamera challenge. we went to the pumpkin patch & carved pumpkins with friends.

november: aaron joined a team for movember 2013. we snuck off to hawaii for thanksgiving.

december: I reviewed some of my favorite weekend in pictures pics. I participated in A Pinterest Christmas for the third year {see this year’s projects here, here, here, here, & here}! we celebrated Christmas in indiana with aaron’s family.

reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2013 – was it a year to remember, or are you itching to start 2014 already?

see past yearly highlights for 2011 & 2012.