happy early birthday to me

Look who is home...

with merriment and cheer

and a Happy New Year too!

There's a Change in the Haus

And now for some pictoral goodies showcasing what's been going on w/ the state of the house post move-in.  I'm far from done, but we're getting there.

Dining Room:

Our Bar Right after we moved in:

Our Bar Now... almost done

THIS clock goes in the void.  come on amazon

Dining Room table

Kitchen:

Our new "counter space" via Ikea right after I finished assembling it:

Two people for assembly?  Pshh, please Ikea.

The counter now:

spices and knives to be wall hung once I'm not scared
of drilling into concrete.

The Kitchen wall sans pictures:

Voila!  Pictures:

our kitchen stove, etc right before me moved in:

Kitchen now (i feel though as if it is lacking bikes hanging from rafters above):

View from the Kitchen into the Dining Room:

Heading Upstairs

The family wall. Yeah. Needs "something"

Hard at work on that 'Something":

The Family wall now.  Love me some bunting.

Office (Das Buro):

Yeah, it's messy.  But I'm getting there 

(and no, that is not my desk.  That is Mr Bama's I've been relegated to use)

Yippee I have a place to "do stuff"

view from the desk

So that's all well and dandy, and theres a whole lot more of the house that I have barely touched yet, for example:
The Living Room:

hide yo eyes.  

And of course, there have been some aesthetic bumps in the road:

Like this beauty that was hanging in the dining room

flock of seagulls anyone?

and this AWESOME government-issued couch in a shade that goes with everything:

I have always wanted a purple multicolored uncomfortable couch!  Finally!!!

I guess the name of the game is just improvisation.  Take this as an example.

Need a side table but all you have is an unnecessary amount of architecture & engineering books?  No problem!

no, we did not pick out the chairs.  They were "issued" to us.  sigh.

So much more to do with the house (and pictures to come), but at least for now I have my side table of knowledge!  I am unstoppable.

My Awkward Puppy - the Graduate

Bear just graduated a few Saturdays ago from intermediate obedience class at Petco (product of our hoping he'll have manners in Europe).  One of the things we found out that came with his graduation packet, in addition to more treats than he'll ever need, was a free professional 8x10 graduation photo.  We figured "hey, it's free, so why not?"

Turns out our dog is quite the diva.  The first few shots were a little awkward, but by the end, Bear was totally posing for the camera, complete with stuffed Easter chickens and fuzzy blue blankets.  His attention to the camera was seriously impressive.  The photos were processed and when we went back to pick out what picture we wanted to have as our one 8x10, the photo lady said "oh, well if you use the free photo coupon, then you can only choose the first picture out of the entire series."  Um, terrible policy if you ask me, but whatever.

So instead of having a picture of our bundle of joy posing perfectly and looking adorable, this is the picture we were required to choose:

awkward? yes

It also wasn't til we received the print that I realized just how large an 8x10 picture is.  We have NO idea what to do with this photo, which is as awkwardly large as our pup.  An odd combination of weird factors that actually add up to make perfect sense.  Such is life!

Project: This is My Home

Some exciting news has come down the pipe here in the Bama household.  Ok - exciting AND nerve wracking wrapped into one lovely little package.

I'm not sure if i mentioned it in the past, but Mr. Bama's job requires him to move every 2-3 years.  Promotion or jobs don't change this fact, so until he decides to completely leave his profession, we'll be picking up and moving to another part of the country every few years.  Unfortunately this means that our time in New Orleans is up come April -- a fact that crushes me to the core.  New Orleans was a dream assignment that so many people in Mr. Bama's profession NEVER have an opportunity to experience.  However, we were given the opportunity to call this  amazing city home for a little, and during that time we got to see the inner-working of a city that really suffers from being misunderstood.  So many people think it is a drunken fest (yes, if you're in the FQ), a city where crime is rampant (yes, in some parts), a city that is gluttonous or a city where you party 24-7 (once again, true in the FQ).  But it is so much more than that and has stolen my heart.

So I'm beginning a project that I welcome any of my fellow bloggers and followers to partake in on their own way - whether their blogs, their facebook albums, their twitter accounts, etc.  Its called Project: This is My Home.  Over the next few months I'm going to be photo/video documenting my home, my neighborhood, my city .. the things I see everyday that Ive never quite taken much note of but know that I will miss when I leave New Orleans.  And I plan on doing this at every place I live -- because in my life my home will be a collection of where I live and where I have lived - the people I have met, the sights I've experienced, the little things that I've never noticed until I stopped and looked around.

source

So what makes where you live YOUR home?

PS - I'll be releasing where we're moving soon once it's more solidified.  Its about 95% sure, but theres always the 5% chance that something will change, so I've decided to keep it underwrap until we're positive!

If someone breaks your heart

I have to admit - 2011 has been a rough year (yes, i know its only February) so far, filled with professional frustrations & questions, worry about where we're going to be in a few months, and difficulty balancing work with being a good wife and a good friend.  Much of the frustration has stemmed from being let down by people around me -- and it doesn't matter if its personal or professional, getting your hopes up on a promise and it falling through or it being neglected is still the equivalent of having your heart broken.  I was conveying my frustration to my ever amazing friend Misa earlier in the day yesterday, her patiently listening to my tales of ups and downs.  I came home from work and found this tidbit in my inbox.  Serious at first, I found myself laughing a little at the end. 

If someone breaks your heart, just punch them in the face.

Oh sure, it seems obvious now, but you’d be amazed at how many people don’t think of it when it’s relevant.

Seriously, punch them in the face and go get some ice cream.

--Chuck Klosterman

Needless to say, no punching was involved yesterday, but I did go get some ice cream.  Theres nothing some Creole Creamery or Pinkberry won't cure, at least temporarily.

Our Other Weekend

While it seems as if Bear-drama consumed our weekend (only kinda sorta), it was also Mr. Bama's Birthday.  We decided to go low key, unlike last year, and just have a nice dinner at our local fave Italian restaurant.  Mr. Bama was showered with gifts (a basket Louisiana fave food stuffs from my rents, a 6 pack of beer of Mr. Bama's choice from Bear, just to name a few)

the happy birthday boy w/ his Louisiana bounty.

My gift to Mr. Bama was 6 months to Ancestry.com.  He's always had an idea where his family came from (Arkansas), but nothing too deep past maybe the late 1800s.  I also thought that I'd be able to mooch off of his subscription and find my family on my mom's dad's side of the tree - the one no one ever talks about because of a big family blow up in the 40s, name changes, etc.  Some really touchy stuff apparently.

So off we went finding our families.  Turns out when you talk about American, you mean my husband.  He traces 3 of the 4 main branches of his family ALL the way back to Colonial America (theres a relative from the1630's in there!).  Pretty amazing.  Even more amazing is that at least 2 of them were from Virginia - so no more comments from him about Virginia not being a southern state, since that would mean he's not a southern boy (and for him thats the equivalent of  telling a child there is no Santa).  The one branch that doesn't go back to the 1700 only goes back to the 1830s.  Darn.

So then I start trying to find my family.... and that quickly ended in the late 1890s.  In all. four. branches.  Apparently I'm so much of a mutt that no one I'm related to lived in America pre the 1870s.  Whats even worse, is that the names were soo butchered when they came over that its impossible to tell who is who.  So while my husband can trace his entire family back to the infanthood of our country, mine is just one giant dead-end.  Guess I should have purchased the "Global' ancestry package, at least I know 100% for sure that I'm an Italian, German, English, Scottish mutt whose families came over from the old country at sometime in the late 19th century, which I knew before my Ancestry.com adventure.  Awesome.

On another note: Today yours truly did a guest post over on the brank spankin' new Trashy Diva Blog.  I'll be posting about every other week, so take a peek and tell me what you think!

P-update

Our eventful weekend-

Step Backward: on Saturday during the day Bear developed a nasty, gross hacking cough.  Not the ex-smoker type from before, but rather "hey I don't need a lung, let me cough it up" cough, partnered with the occasional upchucking of clear liquid and foam (hey, no one said this blog is free from occasional gross-ness).  The poor baby sounded awful and looked even more pitiful.  To add insult to injury, out vet was closed for the weekend and the emergency vet in the area has a horrible reputation (plus outrageous fees).  The most we could offer to our sad pup was a quiet, stress-free environment and a constant source of cleaning up his icky mess every 10 mins.  Pet MD and every other source says "congrats, your pup has an upper respiratory infection!"  Nothing serious, but still something to be concerned about

"I sorry I sick.  I sorry I upchuck clear gunk
on uz new house shuz"

Step Backward: Pup and I get no sleep do to his upchucck-age every 3 hours.  Mr. Bama sleeps right through it all, lucky duck.

Step Forward:  Bear gets enough sleep so that the next day (sunday), hes not moping, hes not upchucking, he's just coughing.  Yippee!!  I'm still taking him to the vet tomorrow, but at least he's acting like his ol' amazingly chipper self.  Bonus- i dont have to clean up everything every 10 mins!

Hope you'r weekend was much less eventful (in a good way) than ours.  Hopefully the trip to the vet tomorrow will start the process of kicking this dumb sickness in the butt once & for all!

A Happy White Christmas and a NOLA New Year

A few pictoral tidbits from our recent travels to VA for Christmas and then back to NOLA to ring in 2011!

One of the highlights was being able to experience a VERY rare white Christmas in eastern VA.  when all was said and done, we had 14.2 inches !

Starting to snow Christmas night.

what we woke up to the next morning. - GORGEOUS!

Bear's first time experiencing the snow.  To say
he loved it would be an understatement

resting after an awesome time in the snow.

the rents house under 12+ inches

One of the small trees in the yard next to our house that
was lit up for christmas and is carrying the
beautiful burden of 12+ inches of snow

The unprecedented snowfall delayed our return to New Orleans, but after driving 18 hours straight through (no one said we werent crazy) we made it and were ready to ring in the new year.  My little sis even endured the crazy drive to spend the holiday with us.

Mr. Bama and I in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel

with the little sis.  Can you tell she's in a sorority?
 (love you sis!)

View of Jackson Square (St. Louis Cathedral is to the
left of this pic) while everyone waits for the gigantic
fleur de lis to drop above Jax brewery

Hubs and little sis!

Little sis is thrilled to ring in 2011

Happy Christmas-time

Drum roll please... unveiling the 2010 Bama family Christmas card, designed by yours truly at www.onepounddesign.com

I didnt realize until after they were printed and we received the cards that our little fluff ball of joy looks kind of exiled to the corner -- which in the end makes sense since he's been playing the"which christmas ornaments can I eat" game recently.  Bad puppy!

The bama house has of lately has been swamped by getting christmas gifts bought and out the door, as well as prepping for our 2 day trek up to Virginia for the holidays to be with my side of the fam.  Its truly a two day ordeal, but it goes by fairly painlessly and I cannot wait to see my family & friends from home.

Did you manage to get Christmas cards in the mail this year or did you find another, more creative way to spread holiday greetings to your family and friend this year?  I'd love to hear what you, my wonderful readers, are doing for the holidays and if you've got any unique plans in the works.  Also, if you have a christmas card that you'd like to share, I'd love to have you post a link to them in the comments section.  Holiday cheer abounds!

Home for the Holidays

Shame Shame on me.  Wow,  I really must admit that I've been a terrible blogger over the last month.  I would attribute my absence to being a full time and then some worker - I'm now at TD 5 days a week manning one of their divisions (whoop!) in addition to being in full blown designing mode (there's been a lot of  "hey can you get this design rushed to me?" around here lately - ah Holidays) and still running the house.  No time to get in trouble I guess.

So heres whats been going on since I last was around:

- One of my friends from Arch school and her boyfriend came to visit us in NOLA, which was wonderful since the last time we saw them was our wedding.  We did the French Quarter Circuit, complete with breakfast at Brennan's and drinks and the Carousel Bar & the Sazerac.  It was fun playing tourist in our city for a weekend and a blast hanging out with great friends

Aggie Arch Grads in a pretty Vieux Carre Alley

- We went to Alabama for Thanksgiving.  I amazingly didn't take any pictures during our week-long stay, but Mr. Bama's camera happy Aunt did -- If she snapped any of us, I have a feeling it would feature me stuffing my face with turkey while Mr. Bama downs a brewski or a sazerac (I distinctly remember bringing a new bottle of Sazerac Rye Whiskey down with us and it being absent from our goods on the way back).  Turkey Day just isn't the same w/out good family, great friends, carbo & tryptophan loading as well as a continuous source of  libations.

- The day after we got back from Bama, I came down with a NASTY head cold.  To douse the fire in my throat my life for a full week consisted of OJ, Theraflu (AM and PM), a whole bag of Ricola throat drops and a whole box of Throat Coat Traditional Medicinals Tea. Thankfully I had an amazing Mr. Bama to be my nurse, so we nixed the sickness before it became anything serious.  PS - how cute are the Trader Joe's tissue boxes below?  Almost makes me wish we had a TJ here, but not soo quick.

(source)

- In some excitement, TD has had some A-MA-ZING new silk dresses come in recently. They are part of the designer/ store owner, Candice Gwinn's, new "Candice Gwinn - New Orleans Collection" label.   Truly drool worthy, and here are just my fave of the new collection:

Rosalind Dress in Dragonfly/Black

Joan Studs Dress in Black. 
Badass and Flirty all in one dress

Sadie Dress in Dragonfly
Art Deco Beading!? Oh love.

You can see the entire Trashy Diva Silk Holiday Collection here.  Also, a new store blog has been started, so make sure to follow the updates of so many of the new company developments at http://trashydivaclothing.wordpress.com/.  Who knows, maybe you'll see yours truly making an appearance?

- Decorations abound in the Bama household.  After last year where we were moving during the holidays and had no time to get a tree, nonetheless actually decorate, we went all out this year! We went and found a great pre-lit, artificial tree - with all of the Bear hair in the house, the last thing I need to do is add pine needles to the mix.

Mr. Bama putting the "star" (really its a snowflake) on the tree

all glittery and pretty

Somes is rightfully very pleased with himself

TaDA!

Bear approves of the new tree.  That is, until he
tries to eat it or he pulls it over onto himself

So now its crunch time, between getting Christmas cards out for myself and clients and surviving the madness that surrounds getting everyone's gifts and then shipping them.  So let the races begin and be sure to take some time to step back and observe the magic of the season.

Halloween Wrap Up

I'm a little exhausted from the events of the weekend, plus I had a "gift" day off -- spent catching up with the 100,376 million things I needed to get done today (and no, I still didn't get around to vacuuming).  But I did manage to make Mr. Bama a killer, all-be-it very Al-dente, shrimp pasta dish for dinner.

Soo, drumroll:
Quick recap the events from Halloween weekend:
 Saturday:
the "Louisiana Myths, Legends and Famous People" Halloween Party

its hard to tell, but we're Bonnie & Clyde

The Trashy Diva Crew

Rocky, the VERY poorly taxidermedied racoon, modelling my
 Bonnie wig & beret

umm, babe, thats not me.

Sunday:

Halloween / Bear's First Birthday Party

the pupcakes pre-peanut butter frosting

applying the all-important peanut butter "frosting" to the pup-cakes

voila! de pup-cakes est fini!

Bear says: Thanks for the Birthday Pupcake Mom & Dad - nom nom nom 

Now time for spooktacular Halloween fun!

the house all spooked-out

Mr Bama carving his masterpiece

what's to come

guess whose is whose

the birthday boy waiting for trick or treaters

and the piece de resistance:

the Headless horseman's horse!

needless to say we had an awesome Halloween weekend - we actually ran out of candy Sunday night (wow!) so I'd say things went very well.  Onward to November!