Author: Faith

Impeccable Timing

He came down with a cold yesterday just in time to slam the brakes on my planned day of efficiently running around town getting a long list of errands accomplished. I couldn’t take him to preschool so instead I dragged him along to the dentist where N and I had appointments for check-ups. E was alternately frightened of all the machinery and fascinated by the drawer full of toys the receptionist had. All afternoon after we came home he kept informing me that he was a doctor and was going to clean my tongue.

E’s feeling a bit better today but is still a little cranky. He’s curled up on the couch watching My Neighbor Totoro. And I’m trying to decide which of the projects I need done before the baby comes I should tackle. But maybe E has the right idea and I should just curl up on the couch and watch Totoro with him.

E Rocks Out

E knows this Free Design song, “I Found Love,” from the tv show Yo Gabba Gabba. We have the original song on CD and the other day when it came on it the car as we were pulling into our driveway E started rocking out.

(I neglected to turn my phone sideways to film it so unfortunately the video is long and skinny instead of wide.)

Here’s the segment from Yo Gabba Gabba that E learned the song from. The animation is really cute and goes well with the music.

Sundance Tickets for Locals


For the past few years N and I have bought locals ticket packages for the Sundance Film Festival. We like to avoid the crowds up in Park City and go to screenings in Salt Lake. Not as many directors/actors attend the shows in Salt Lake as they do in Park City so there aren’t as many Q&A sessions afterward but not having to drive an hour each way in horrible weather + deal with parking = worth it. Every year it’s been a lot of fun and it’s great to see movies that we wouldn’t get the chance to see otherwise. It’s also a nice break to spend some time one-on-one with N after the craziness of the holidays.

However, we decided not to get a ticket package this year since the festival runs from January 20th-30th and my due date is January 31st. Instead we’re going to buy individual tickets to a couple screenings that hopefully fall closer to the 20th than the 30th.

If you’re a local and you’re interested in tickets this year don’t forget to register for a time slot to buy tickets. Registration is free and everyone who registers will be randomly assigned a time slot to go to the box office and purchase tickets. You have until next Monday the 20th to register here.

For the Christmas Card

Yesterday I snapped some photos of E for a Christmas card. I’m trying to decide which of these first two to use for the card. What do you think–any strong opinions?

As he’s gotten older E has less and less patience when it comes to having his photo taken. After about 5 minutes the situation dissolved into this (only with more spittle than pictured flying around the room).

A Very Star Wars Christmas

I like Star Wars but I’m a pretty casual fan as these things go. I need to sit down and watch the original trilogy again because when the subject comes up my knowledge is pretty lacking.

I think it’s fun when kids are into Star Wars and I’m looking forward to seeing if E will be into the movies when he’s older. If you have a Star Wars-loving kid/adult in your life they’ll probably think these things are several kinds of awesome.

Star Wars snowflakes! Instructions and patterns here.

An awesome Jedi Quiet Book

I’m tempted to try and make the quiet book as a Christmas present for E. But E’s really into superheros right now and still clueless about Star Wars so I want to make him a superhero cape and mask for Christmas.

But I might just buy this pattern and stash it for later. It’s just so darn awesome. You can get a kit that comes with supplies or just the PDF version of the pattern. Julie has more pictures of the book up on her blog here and here.

So is anyone making any presents/crafts this year? Except for the cape/mask set for E my crafty Christmas goals are limited to a few felt tree ornaments. I’m trying to keep my expectations reasonable since I have several projects to do around the house to prepare for the baby.

In the Morning Before Church


I’ve been having a lot of fun with my new iPhone. It’s been handy to always have a camera/video camera with me. I downloaded the Hipstamatic photo app and used it to snap these while we hanging out before church yesterday. They remind me of shooting with my Holga only with instant gratification (but I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for film).

Spice Cabinet: Update 7 (or “Woo-hoo! It’s finished!”)

Yesterday was the last day of woodworking class…and I finished my spice cabinet! I got the hinges, cabinet back, and knob put on and the cabinet’s ready to hang on the wall.

Me (and my 31-week belly) with the finished cabinet.

I need to have a small drywall job done before I can hang the cabinet in our kitchen so right now it’s sitting on our kitchen table where I lovingly look at it whenever I walk by.

I’m planning on putting together a slide show of the start-t0-finish process of building the cabinet and will post it when it’s finished.

(Previous spice cabinet updates here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.)

Blogs I like: Design Mom

I know that a lot of people already read Design Mom but I thought I’d say a little something about it just in case someone doesn’t. It’s one of my favorite blogs. Gabrielle Blair is a mother of 6 (!) and blogs professionally about design and parenthood. Her blog is definitely more aspirational rather than super practical but I find it inspiring in an non-intimidating way. Her tastes are more modern than super cutesy and I usually like most of the things she posts about.

Take these glass bottle lights she recently made with her kids. Aren’t they great? I’ve love to make some but don’t think I’ll be able to fit it in this year. Maybe next year. I’m filing it away in my mental holiday craft folder.

Photo via Design Mom

Since her blog is so popular Gabrielle has the opportunity to do a lot of great giveaways for her readers. All this week she’s hosting some amazing giveaways. You should check them out. And if you think there isn’t a point to entering giveaways I’m proof that someone has to win. I recently won a $100 giftcard to myretrobaby.com from her blog! I haven’t decided what to spend it on yet but I was thrilled.