Running from the Law

Isle of Capri

2012-01-31T12:39:00.000-06:00

On our second day in Sorrento, we decided to take the ferry over to the Isle of Capri and spend the day there. Like Sorrento, Capri was one of those places that people really seemed to had a "love it" or "leave it" attitude about. Some people really love the island and some people said it was a waste of time. We figured since we were there, we might as well check it out because really, is any day spent on an island in Italy a waste of time? No. So we took a ferry on over to the island (about a 30 minute ride from Sorrento).

It was a very hazy day, but the views of the coast and Sorrento from the ferry were fantastic.

As we approached Capri, it was immediately apparent to us that one of the biggest gripes about Capri was completely true - it's CROWDED. And touristy. Not quite the quaint authentic Italian island experience we were looking for, but the harbor was very beautiful and very colorful. I wish it had been sunnier so I could have gotten some pictures of how beautiful the water was and I wish it was less crowded so I could get some pictures of the marina.

We walked around a while, trying to figure out where to go or what to do and finally jumped in a cab to take us to the little town of Anacapri at the top of the island.

The cab was a convertible (so cool!) and the drive was absolutely spectacular. Very vertical!

Once we made it to town, we booked our tickets to ride the gondola up to the very top of the island.

The ride up was slow and peaceful and really beautiful. It was pretty neat looking down on the homes and backyards of Anacapri and getting a little glimpse into their everyday lives.

And at the top, the views were even better.

You could see the whole island from this point.

It was still pretty hazy, but spectacular nonetheless.

We weren't the only ones enjoying the view.

After walking around a while in complete awe, we were starving, so we headed back down to town.

The little town of Anacapri was very cute.

Horribly overpriced, but cute.

Streets lined with shops and restaurants.

Beautiful churches.

Colorful buildings.

Giant lemons!

And fabulous food and coffee. We sat at this little cafe and ate massive bowls of pasta, followed by delicious little cappuccinos and watched two little Italian girls ride their bikes around the plaza chasing each other.

After lunch, we had to decide whether to hit the town or check out the Blue Grotto. Thousands of people visit Capri each year to see the Blue Grotto. It's a sea cave off the coast of Capri that glows blue in the sunlight. Unfortunately, we didn't have much sunlight on the day we visited. It was pretty hazy the entire time we were on the coast, unfortunately. So, we skipped the cave and headed to Capri town proper for a little luxury. Back in the convertible cab we went.

Capri town was beautiful too, in a completely different way. It's all about the money here. The streets were lined with stores like Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. And as much as I love that kind of shopping, I really wasn't interested in dropping a fortune for something I could easily get back home. Plus, the whole place was packed with rich (and rude) American tourists pushing and shoving and giving us all a bad name. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time here.

So we took the Funicolare (gondola) down to the marina to hang out for a while (eat gelato) before catching our ferry back to Sorrento, stopping to admire the views here and there.

All in all, it was a nice day. I hate to say it, but if I had to do it again, Capri would definitely not be on my list of places to go and things to see. The views were beautiful, but it was also very overpriced, very crowded, very touristy. We were hoping for a real authentic Italian feeling and we just didn't get it in Capri. We probably should have known better from what we'd read, but alas, sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. I'm glad we went just to say we've been there, but if you're crunched for time, this is a place I'd skip.

Next: Amalfi Coast

RFT Web Awards

2012-01-26T07:42:00.001-06:00

Tuesday night I had the honor of attending the Riverfront Times 2012 St. Louis Web Awards at the Old Rock House. You may be asking yourself, how did I, preppy pregnant pretty-girl score an invite to this ultra hip and uber-swanky event? Well get this, I was freaking FINALIST in the category of best personal blog! Yes, you read that right...the RFT judges (for some unbeknownst reason) found my blog entertaining enough to consider it one of the four best personal blogs in St. Louis. Shocked is the word that comes to mind for me. WOW is another. Honored and humbled and grateful and surprised are a few more.

Like so many of you, I write this blog for mainly for myself. It's my creative outlet where I get a few minutes away from being a boring old lawyer and I can share photos of vacations, tell stories about my dogs, talk endlessly about my friends' kids, post recipes and projects, document growing a child, make fun of my husband and generally embarrass the hell out of myself. The fact that ANYONE reads this blog, it just icing on the proverbial cake. Blogging really is amazing - through this blog I've met so many amazing friends, been able to connect with people all over the country and I've learned so much about myself. And after four years of blogging, I still get giddy every time I get a comment on a post or a new follower. So to even be nominated for a blogging award in the first place was an absolute thrill...and then to be a finalist? Shut.Up. Crazy cool.

So of course we had to go to the awards ceremony. I must say, it was surreal. As soon as we entered the building we were welcomed by Chad Garrison, Managing Editor of the RFT. Y'all, he "recognized" me. I can't even begin to describe what a strange and amazing feeling it was to be recognized from my blog. That's happened like once before and I turned into a blubbering mess. He said he was a judge in my category and loved my blog. I was blown away. I don't remember anything else he said, probably because I was grinning so big my smile wrapped all the way around my head and covered my ears. Nothing like a "real writer" telling you that you're a good writer. Oh, maybe someday when I grow up I can be a real writer too.

We made our way over to the bar, where Ryan got a vodka cocktail and I had a cupcake.

It's like they know us or something.

See, there we are!

(source)

The cupcakes (courtesy of The Cup) were out of this world.

(source)

About 8 cupcakes later, it was time for the award ceremony to begin.

The trophies were out on display.

(source)

The judges were introduced.

(source)

The envelope was delivered.

(source)

The crowd was anxious.

(I'm on the far left side)

(source)

And the winners were announced.

(source)

The Best Personal Blog award goes to................City in a Jar!

(source)

The Judges Say: Two twentysomethings coming of age in the city. We know; it sounds like the insipid plot of a network sitcom. But City in a Jar is anything but vapid, with bloggers Jessica and Maddie deftly chronicling their experiences with everything from food to fashion to movies and literature. Not only are Jessica and Maddie exceptional writers, but their stunning photography ensures we don't click to the next channel.

So, no, I didn't win. But that's ok! I'm a pretty competitive person, but in this instance, I was just happy to be there as a finalist. That was all the validation I needed. The competition was fierce - the other blogs in my category were outstanding and I'm still shocked and honored to just be a part of it all. I got a chance to meet some new people, discover some new blogs, and eat my weight in cupcakes...not a bad way to spend the evening.

But I must say (here's the cheese), the best part of the evening came later, in the privacy of our home, with no cameras or people around, my husband leaned over, gave me a kiss on the forehead and told me how proud he was of me. Melt my heart. That's about all a girl can ask for right there. He's the best award I've ever been given. My cup runneth over.

So THANK YOU to the Riverfront Times for the honor of being a finalist.

THANK YOU to everyone that reads this blog and keeps me posting week after week.

And CONGRATULATIONS all the winners and all finalists.

We've all won in my book.

*All photos by Kholood Eid

Pompeii & Herculaneum

2012-01-24T09:10:00.000-06:00

Shall we get back to Italy recaps? Ready?.......ok! (No, I was not a cheerleader, but that was pretty convincing, huh.)

How do I even begin to describe the amazingness of Pompeii and Herculaneum? Honestly, there are no words. But, you know me, I like to talk, so I'm going to try anyway. And pictures help, so here are a million. Seriously, this is a LONG post (it's taken me around three weeks to write), so grab a cup of coffee and dig in!

When Ryan and I decided to take this trip, we both knew we wanted to visit these two buried cities. We'd both studied them in school and were fascinated by seeing ancient Roman life completely preserved in such an incredible way. We were told by friends that had visited the excavation sites that they were not only amazing, but they were very expansive and we'd be well served to hire a private guide. Probably the smartest thing we did while we were there. A co-worker recommended a tour guide for us that went above and beyond - she was not cheap, but was worth every ~~penny~~ euro and probably made this day our favorite day of our entire trip. If you're planning on going, send me an email and I will get you her information. She was fabulous.

We met our guide Carolina at the train station, which was just a short ride away from Sorrento, where we were staying.

As we entered the city, Carolina pointed out the moorings on the side of the city walls. She explained that back in 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted, the Mediterranean Sea came all the way up to the city walls. Now, probably much due to all of the displaced ash from the eruption, the shore is miles away.

The entrance to the city was impressive. Surrounded by protective walls and steep inclines, it's obvious that it was built this way for protection. I was already amazed at the size of the place. How did they possibly build this stuff so long ago without cranes or trucks or Home Depot?

As we walked through the main square, we saw ruins of temples and stores and government buildings. It was pretty easy to imagine how it looked years ago and how the city would have revolved around this square. The views of the mountains (including Mt. Vesuvius) behind us were beautiful. The two peaks you see in the photo used to be connected and were one large mountain/volcano. Today it's about 1/3 of the size it was before it blew.

As soon as we mentioned that we were both lawyers, Carolina insisted on taking our picture at the courthouse. This is probably where Ryan would have worked if we lived here. I can just see him now, heading out to work with his briefcase, wearing a toga and some leather sandals. So.hot.

We walked through courtyards of the grand marketplace, where the people of Pompeii purchased their food and groceries (including fish, goats, pottery, wine, bread, slaves, etc.). Some areas had separate stalls for each vendors and some were open air markets where vendors fought over the best real estate. This is probably where I'd work, selling baked goods or fashion accessories or pigs or something.

We also got to visit a few bars and stores along the main drag. Below is a counter top which housed giant pottery jugs of wine. Ancient Italians had great style, the counter tops were all marble, of course. I don't even have marble counter tops...or giant jugs of wine. Totally jealous.

This was a giant oven for baking bread. Not sure why I insisted on getting a picture of us in front of it...but doesn't it remind you of a giant brick pizza oven? Mmmm...brick oven pizza.

Below is a mortal/pestal for grinding the grains into flour for bread. The grain would be placed in the top cavity, sticks would be inserted into the holes on the top portion and people would rotate the heavy stone top to grind the grain, which would fall out the cracks in between the two pieces. Unbelievable. Makes me really appreciate my Cuisinart...and Bread Company.

We then moved on to the "storage area" of Pompeii. Large buildings have been erected to house some of the various items that have been uncovered in the ruins. Most of the "really cool shit" (as our guide put it) was in the museum in Naples, but we got to see hundreds and hundreds of clay jars and jugs. And if that's not cool, then what is? I was amazed at the amount of pottery that survived completely intact. I break a dish or a wine glass once a week. This is some sturdy-ass stuff.

Disclaimer: I interrupt this light-hearted blog post for a somber moment. Feel free to skip this part if you're emotional/hormonal today and can't deal with dead bodies.

We then came to the portion of the tour where the harsh reality of what we were seeing really sank in. This is not just a tourist attraction, this was a burial ground. People lived here and people died here. We saw the cast of a dog that was chained up and unable to run away from all the ash covering the city. I cried.

A person, crouched and covering their mouth and nose, trying not to breathe in the ash and toxic fumes. I'm bawling by this point.

Another man (probably a slave) that didn't make it out.

His finger and skull bones are visible through the plaster mold.

There was also the mold of a pregnant woman, lying on the ground, holding her belly. Just the sight of it pushed me over the edge and I had to get out of there. I can't even imagine what these people went through and how scared they must have been. Our guide said that most of the people managed to escape, they saw the volcano blow and had time to evacuate, but of course, not everyone made it out. And it absolutely broke my heart to imagine the scene.

After I stopped bawling (perhaps not the best idea to visit a burial sight as a pregnant, hormonal, emotional wreck), we eventually made our way to the bath house, which was like a spa or health club. Nothing like the idea of imagining naked Roman men to improve your mood.

The bath houses had dressing rooms (complete with shelving and areas for people to store their belongings), exercise facilities, bathing rooms with giant tubs, steam rooms (heated by ducts in the walls and floors). Pretty impressive. This particular bath house was spectacular - it had everything.

Large windows to let in heat and light.

Beautiful marble tubs.

Cavities in the walls and floors where the heated air could circulate, heating the rooms.

Tables and benches.

Gorgeous carvings on the walls and ceilings of fantastical creatures like Pegasus and angels.

And elaborate carvings of muscle men in little grass skirts.

After the bath house, we moved on to real houses.
Mansions, even. Some of these places were pretty impressive.
This house had giant pillars, lots of bedrooms and two indoor courtyards.

This was the area where the roof was cut away and they could collect rain water in a basin on the floor for use in the house.

This is the kitchen.

Not quite as fancy as our modern day kitchens, but since they probably had slaves do all the cooking, it makes sense that they're not too fancy. And there was a toilet right in the kitchen. Not so sanitary, guys.

Many of the rooms were painted in bright colors or black (both very expensive and signs of wealth).

The frescoes on the wall were surprisingly well preserved.

But my favorite part of the house was the warning at the front door to beware of the dog,

completely done in gorgeous tiny mosaic tile. We saw this same dog and warning on signs all over Italy.

Other houses were more welcoming...this one actually had a welcome mat!

As we walked down the streets of this neighborhood, it was really cool to see all the row houses and try to imagine what it looked like years ago with the narrow streets and the cute little entrances.

Ryan's favorite part of town was the streets. He was so impressed with the stepping stones across the street that you could use to cross when the streets flooded so you didn't have to get your feet wet.

And equally impressed with the grooves in the roads for the horse-drawn carriages/buggies.

But I have to admit that the highlight of the town was the brothel. I'd heard that there was a brothel, but I had no idea it would be so...dirty (in a hilarious way, of course). Our guide said that many of the town's prostitutes were from other countries and did not speak the same language as their customers, so to make things easier for ordering, they drew pictures on the wall of the various sexual positions you could choose from. Yep, Medieval porn. SCORE!

I'd like a #2 please.

And then there were the uber-comfortable stone beds where the deeds occurred. Ouch.

After the brothel, we moved on the amphitheater. Now this was cool.

Can you even imagine how they built this way back in the day? And it was acoustical perfection. Our guide had us take turns standing center stage and had the other person go way up to the top of the seats. When the person on stage would speak (in a normal voice), it could easily be heard way up top like they were using a microphone. Coolest experiment ever. Ryan was so bummed he didn't have his guitar with him. It took everything I had not to break out into One Day More from Les Mis.

And then it was time to leave Pompeii. We walked along the edge of the city and were just so impressed with the gorgeousness of the place. It really did have a magical hidden castle feel to it.

Next stop, Herculaneum. I'd heard mixed reviews on Herculaneum - most people said that it wasn't really worth seeing if you'd done Pompeii, but others said it was completely different and that it couldn't be missed. We wanted the full experience, so we did both. And I am SO glad we did.

I was really excited because our guide said that Herculaneum was one of her favorite places to give tours. It has a completely different look and feel than Pompeii. For one, it's right in the middle of a modern day city. It's not isolated out in the woods somewhere, it's underneath the current town. And it's much smaller. Herculaneum was a luxury resort area on the ocean as opposed to a complete city. It was composed of villas and boutiques and decadence.

Pompeii was buried in ash, but Herculaneum was buried in a mudslide. When the volcano erupted, it displaced the entire side of the mountain, which covered Herculaneum. Herculaneum was discovered before Pompeii and excavations were incredibly tedious and very expensive. A good portion of the city was uncovered, then they found Pompeii. You can imagine that the ash in Pompeii was much easier to deal with, so excavations in Herculaneum were abandoned. They just stopped! You can tell right where the excavations ended, because they built a wall and called it a day. What a shame, I really wish we could have seen more.

Below you can see the difference in elevation of the former city (on the left) and the current city (right). Herculaneum was buried under hundred of feet of mud, dirt and clay.

The bars in Herculaneum had the same stone wine vats and marble counter tops, only look how well preserved they are here. The mud (although harder to get rid of) worked much better as a preserver than the ash. There were all kinds of things that survived in Herculaneum that never would have made it in Pompeii, which made for a very interesting distinction between the two cities.

Since it was a resort town, the streets were better taken of and didn't have the carriage grooves in them.

The bath houses were very similar though.

Arched ceilings (with grooves to collect condensation so they wouldn't get dripped on), shelving, benches.

Marble tubs and wash basins.

Gorgeous mosaic tile floors.

One of the coolest things in Herculaneum was the presence of the original wood in the structures. For real, the wood survived. It's black now (and enforced with a metal casing), but it's there.

This is a real wood doorway, completely intact.

And the best part of Herculaneum, the mosaics and the paintings on the wall that are still there and still beautiful. Can you even believe this?

This is a black dining room. Black paint was a sign of incredible wealth.

This was a temple dedicated to Hercules (where the town got it's name).

Below is an actual advertisement for wine.

As you can see here, this is where they stopped excavation. The front portion of this building is excavated, and then they put up a wall and stopped. And now there are houses built right on top of the city. I could only imagine the case of imminent domain that would come out of this when someone decides to continue excavation.

As we made our way back to the edge of town, we visited a few villas and houses. It was really amazing to see the difference between the two cities. I'm so glad we decided to do both.

I really can't explain how amazing these tours were. Ryan and I were both completely blown away and didn't stop talking about the cities for the rest of our trip. Definitely one of the biggest highlights. If you go to this area, you cannot miss visiting these cities. You'll be amazed.

Next: Isle of Capri

Where in the World...

2012-01-18T20:52:00.001-06:00

Well, don't get too excited, I'm just here for a few days for work. But the weather is gorgeous and this is the view from my room. Seriously, there's a battleship out there! I have an amazing room here at the Del, but I'm starting to think it might be haunted. There is some seriously weird shit going on with the lights and the water and the furniture moving. Weird. But so cool. Last night I got to meet one of my favorite bloggers and dine on some delicious duck. Today Mac and I spent 10 hours in conferences learning all kinds of incredibly interesting and totally fascinating stuff about securities regulations (yeah right) and now we're spending the evening in bed with room service and a movie. Not a bad way to spend the work week. I'm staying as long as the ghost will let me! Hope you all are having a wonderful week too.

Happy Birthday to Me

2012-01-11T07:28:00.002-06:00

Hey y'all! How the heck are you?

Guess what. It's my birthday!

I'm old. Still.

Sorry for my lack of blogging these days. I'm a busy busy girl. I had all kinds of grand plans to do a Year in Review post, but that didn't happen. I also want to give you an update on Mac* and our nursery plans. I have a recipe to share that's going to knock your socks off (and no, it's not for tacos). And I still have tons of Italy pictures to show you. So bear with me while I get my shit together. I'll be back soon.

* Mac and I are doing great by the way - he's the length and weight of a football this week! Crazy. And my bump has taken on a life of its own - it's giant and there's lots of kicking and squirming going on in there! Pictures and updates to come.

Superbaby

2011-12-29T15:54:00.002-06:00

The following conversation actually happened.

(source)

Ryan: I'm a little concerned because Mac's birthstone (emerald) looks like Kryptonite.

Me: Uhhh...

Ryan: Well, it could have weakening powers on him and render him unable to defend himself.

Me: Ummm...

Ryan: Maybe we could somehow arrange for the baby to come a few weeks early or even a few weeks late to avoid the entire month of May?

Me: That's not really how things work...

Ryan: Well, you know, maybe we'll get lucky and having a May birthday could mean that he'll build up a strong resistance to Kryptonite.

Me: Yeah. Fingers crossed.

A New Christmas Tradition - Duck Hunting

2011-12-27T16:00:00.000-06:00

As you might remember, we've skipped Christmas the last two years. Last year we spent the holidays on the slopes in Breckenridge and the year before that we were on a beach in Belize. I highly recommend both. But this year, we stayed home - apparently pregnant ladies aren't allowed to ski and I'd rather die than be caught in a swim suit these days. So home it was. But this year, we decided to do things a little different.

Anyway, my husband has been training our puppy Sage to be a duck dog. For the last few months, he's taken her duck hunting or duck training a few times a week. He takes her out to a friend's farm and she swims, retrieves dummy ducks, responds to the whistle, watches the sky for birds and is basically his side-kick. She comes home soaking wet, covered in mud and burrs, and so tired she can barely move. You can tell she loves it because the few times he hasn't take her with him, she sits at the back door and cries like a baby for hours. It's the saddest thing ever. But when she's at the farm, she's a working dog and the happiest puppy on the block.

Apparently Sage is a very good little duck dog. She's still a puppy and has a long way to go, but she's got the instincts. I'm sure this has something to do with all the time and energy Ryan has devoted to her to get her where she is. He's so proud of her - you can see it in his eyes every time he looks at her. I can't wait until he looks at our son the same way. That's pure love. And because he's so proud of her, he's been wanting to show her off to me so I can be proud of her too. So ~~bright~~ dark and early on Christmas Eve morning, we packed up the truck and the pup and headed out to the farm so mama could see her baby in action.

Of course we picked the coldest day the entire year, so we were bundled to the max.

Sage wore her duck dog camo vest too.

Doesn't she just look thrilled to get her picture taken?

This will probably be the very last time I can wear my super warm clothes because they barely fit over my ever-growing baby bump. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get dressed in 3 layers of pants, 3 layers of tops, waders, boots, coat, hat, gloves etc. while you can barely bend over? Neoprene and Cold Gear aren't that stretchy. Luckily, with a lot of maneuvering and Ryan's help, I got everything on.

Once we were dressed, it was time to head out to the blind.

It was dark and ice cold (barely 6:00 a.m.).

Ryan and Sage forged ahead, while I trudged through the water and ice and mud and questioned my sanity.

It was about this time when I thought maybe that swim suit on the beach wasn't a horrible idea after all.

We made it out to the blind only to discover frozen fields.

Unfortunately, the pumps in the field (that keep the water flowing and from freezing)

were not turned on the night before, so we had a lot of ice to deal with.

Ducks will only land on open (unfrozen) water, so Ryan had to go out and break ice while Sage and I hung out at the blind and waited for the sun to rise.

She hung out in her kennel and watched for birds.

Very serious.

While I goofed off and took a million pictures of her.

Doesn't she have the cutest little puppy butt you've ever seen?

And despite it being ass-crack early and bitter cold, I will say,

it was incredibly peaceful and beautiful out there.

There was definitely a stillness to the place that was quite haunting.

And as the sun began to rise and hit the ice/water, it made the whole place glow gold and red.

Once Ryan finished breaking ice, it was time to get serious.

Sage gave me that look that says, "enough mom, it's time to work."

So I had to get out of the way and into the blind (which is basically a hole in the ground

covered with straw and filled with mud and ice water).

Who said duck hunting wasn't glamorous?

With all my layers of clothing and my giant belly, it took me about 6 hours to climb down the 3 stairs into the blind. I was kid brother Randy from "A Christmas Story" - so bundled I looked like a tick ready to explode.

No, I don't shoot. I was only holding the gun because Ryan said it'd make me look more like a bad-ass in the photo. What do you think?

The sun was finally rising, so we hunkered down in the blind and waited.

And waited...

And waited.

According to Ryan, the weather wasn't "ducky" enough for the birds to be moving. There was no wind and no weather, so they were all staying put.

We even tried calling them, but just got their voice mail.

There were a couple of ducks flying around, but nothing close enough to shoot.

Sage was great at watching the sky for signs of life.

She was so focused.

It made me such a proud mom to watch her do something she loved so much.

But as much as she might like the ducks,

I think her favorite part of hunting is just spending time with her daddy.

She loves him so much and just wants to please him. It's quite adorable.

It's obvious they have a lot of fun together.

And as the sun rose, we realized that there were no ducks coming.

Time to head home.

Ryan helped me out of the blind (with a lot of effort) and we took an opportunity to get a few pictures with the dog of the day.

I told you she's loved.

That's one proud papa.

And my sweet little puppy looks much more bad-ass than I ever could.

And what a grown-up she's become.

She's no longer that tiny puppy that could fit through the cat door.

But still, she'll always be my baby.

And so that was the end of our hunt.

We headed home, back through the icy waters.

A boy and his dog.

The best of friends.

And thus concludes our adventures in duck hunting.

Although I have a feeling Baby Mac will be back as soon as he's old enough to hold his head up.

And Sage will be fully recharged and ready to do it all again after a 20 minute power nap.

Special thanks to John at Duck's Rest for letting us hunt at the farm. I promise I really did have a great time and would love to go again (as long as Ryan promises not to shoot anything while I'm there).

* No ducks were harmed in the making of this post.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

A December to Remember

2011-12-22T09:19:00.000-06:00

So, I know you've all seen those Lexus commercials where people surprise each other with a brand new Lexus with a big red bow on top and thought..."Who does that?"

Well, apparently we do.

Introducing Baby Mac's new ride.

Merry Christmas to my wonderful husband!

I'm pretty sure this wins me the "Wife of the Month" trophy, no?

Ryan, you better remember this in a few weeks...I have a birthday coming up.

(source)

And just for full disclosure: no, it was not a surprise. This was a purchase we've been planning for months. The topic was fully discussed (to death) before any purchase was made. How boring and responsible of us.

Also, they did not let us keep the big red bow...total bummer.

Any of you surprising someone with a fun gift this year?

Sorrento

2011-12-21T10:10:00.001-06:00

Vatican

Forum & Colosseum

Roma

Alright, enough baby talk. Let's get back to Italy pictures. So, after a few days in Rome, we packed up all our stuff and boarded a train to Sorrento. Trains from Rome to Sorrento run pretty frequently, so we just showed up at the train station, bought a first-class super nice ticket to Naples, then changed trains and headed to Sorrento on a jam-packed, subway-style stinky rickety train. Night and day, I'm telling you.

We picked a hotel way outside of town (up in the hills) because we wanted to be able to get the full views of the Bay and the surrounding area.

We had an ocean view room, which was large and comfortable.

With a view of the Bay of Naples.

(view from our balcony)

Unfortunately, every single day we were there was cloudy, so our views were less than spectacular.

Well, until this guy showed up in his pink outfit.

That basically made my day.

Wow.

Anyway. Each morning we took the hotel shuttle, which drove about 80 mph down tiny narrow windy roads, into town. I nearly had a panic attack every time we got in the damn shuttle thinking about the drive. Ryan loved it and wanted to sit up front like he was on a roller coaster or something. He even filmed the drive a few times, just so we could relive the horror whenever we wanted. Thanks honey.

The first thing we saw when we got into Sorrento were these deep gorges, right in the middle of town, containing ruins of what looked to be an old fortress or castle or something.

I was so fascinated with them. How do you get down there? Who used to live there? Can I go down there and look around?

And then a block later, we're in the middle of downtown Sorrento.

So, why Sorrento? Well, we chose Sorrento due to its convenient location. It's a small town on the Bay of Naples, conveniently located in between Rome/Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. We didn't know much about the town, but it was such a perfect spot to stop over for a few days while we checked out Herculaneum/Pompeii and the Island of Capri. A lot of people told us to skip Sorrento, but I'm actually glad we stayed. Yes, you only really need about 2 hours to see the entire town, but it was a really cute little town...touristy, but not as bad as the towns on the Amalfi Coast and it had great food. Seriously, the best lemon gelato I've ever had in my life. I had it multiple times a day!

The streets and alleyways in Sorrento were just packed with fruit stands, gelaterias, people shopping for lemon souvenirs, restaurants, coffee shops, churches, etc. Most of the tourists were British and there was no lack of English and Irish pubs.

But the best part of Sorrento was the bluffs.

The edge of town, where city meets the sea was spectacular.

The city was built right into the bluffs, which was amazing.

(no, I was not drinking beer while pregnant)

And at the end of the day, there was the seafood!

Here's my giant order of the most amazing Seafood Risotto known to man.

Not a bad little place to stay.

Next installment: Pompeii & Herculaneum

Oh Boy!

2011-12-19T15:44:00.000-06:00

Guess what...

Boy, oh Boy, oh BOY!

A healthy, active, beautiful (and not modest) baby boy!

We couldn't be any happier!

White Christmas

2011-12-17T09:09:00.002-06:00

Baby Mac - Boy or Girl?

2011-12-14T06:27:00.002-06:00

(source)

The major question on my mind these days is pink or blue? Tutus and tiaras or trucks and trains? I don't know! It's so hard! I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a slight preference. But then again, I'd be lying if I said that it really mattered to me. As cliche as it is, as long as the baby is healthy, I don't care either way, I just want to know! I want to plan the nursery. I want to pick out names. I want to SHOP for the baby! And I can't do any of that until I know. So, I've become slightly obsessed with the old wives tales predicting gender. I thought it'd be fun to go through some of them to see which side of the fence we fall on. Let's play, shall we?

Chinese calendar (based on mother's age and month of conception): GIRL

Heartbeat (faster than 140 bpm = girl; slower than 140 bpm = boy): GIRL

Morning sickness (very sick = girl; not so sick = boy): BOY

Skin (breakouts = girl; clear skin = boy): BOY

Leg hair growth (no more than usual = girl; lots of growth = boy): GIRL

Cravings (sweet = girl; salty = boy): BOY

Feet (hot = girl; cold = boy): BOY

Bump position (high and wide = girl; low and centered = boy): BOY

Breast growth (lots of growth = girl; not much = boy): GIRL

Mayan calendar (if mother's age at conception and year of conception are both even/odd = girl; if one is even and one is odd = boy): BOY

Sympathy weight (if your husband gains weight during the pregnancy = girl; if he doesn't = boy): GIRL (sorry Ryan)

Ring test (ring swings back and forth = girl; ring swings in a circle = boy): GIRL

My "mother's intuition" says GIRL

Ryan's "father's intuition" says BOY
_________________________________________________________________________

So, that puts the count at 7 for GIRL and 7 for BOY. 50% chance of being right. Hmmm. Not all that helpful, huh?

(source)

What's your guess??

You can vote in the poll up on the right hand corner of the blog or leave your guess in the comment section.

And stay tuned to find out on Monday!

Baby Mac Update - 18 weeks

2011-12-12T18:28:00.000-06:00

Well, since you've been asking, I'd like to interrupt my regularly scheduled Italy photo dump post to give y'all some deets about the baby and the bump. I wasn't really planning on doing weekly bump shots or updates, but I'll make sure to keep you informed on how things are going and how Baby Mac is cooking in there. Especially if you ask (I don't want to bombard you with it - especially those of you who could care less about baby stuff). But, since so many of you have sent me harassing emails lately demanding more info, I shall oblige.

How far along: 18 weeks on Thursday

Total weight gain: 6 lbs.

The bump: Really starting to show now, which I love. Strangers have finally starting asking me when I'm due, when makes me absolutely beam! Honestly, I can't wait until it's bigger! (Yeah, I know I'm probably going to regret saying that in a few months, but I hope not.) I'm having a little more difficulty putting on socks and bending over to snuggle with the dogs, but not too bad. My favorite winter coat is not going to last me too much longer (sads), but I'm going to wear it until it just won't zip over the bump anymore. I have 2 pairs of maternity pants that I've been wearing every now and then (weekends), but mainly I'm getting by with sweater dresses, leggings and tunics. I'm hoping to hit a few maternity stores after the holidays for some good sales. Who knew maternity clothes were so boring and so expensive?

Symptoms: My lower back is pretty achy. I constantly feel like it needs to pop or something, but just won't. And I don't want to try and accidentally throw out my back, so prenatal massages are my best friend right now. I've been seeing a massage therapist who's also in chiropractic school that has done a great job and has given me some exercises and stretches to do to help. My newest symptom is really bizarre to me...anytime I lean back in a chair or lie on my back I get incredibly nauseous. I think the baby has shifted into a position where she's pressing on something that makes me feel like I'm going to vomit when I lean back. So when that happens (which is surprisingly quite often), I have to get down on my hands and knees to relieve the pressure and the sickness goes away. It comes on and goes away pretty quickly, but I'm dreading the day that I have to get down on all fours in a meeting or in my boss's office or something. That'll be fun.

Sex of the baby: We will know whether baby Mac is a he or she in less than one week. YAY! I love playing the guessing game. Usually I'm really good at guessing, but since I've been pregnant, my instincts are way off. I've added a poll at the top right-hand corner of the blog for you to log your guess! I'm happy to go through the old wives tales with you, but I think this deserves it's own post. What do you think? I can't wait to see what you all think we're having! Either way, I'm absolutely dying to know.what this little one is. I need to start planning the nursery and I want to start seriously considering names.

Food cravings: TACOS! Seriously, I cannot get enough tacos. I eat tacos nearly every day for lunch. And my poor husband has to endure taco-mania at our house for dinner now too, because I just want them all the time. About every other day I have to have tacos, taco pizza, taco dip, taco casserole or something. And no, other Mexican foods (enchiladas, burritos, etc.) do not satisfy the craving. It must be tacos. I'm convinced that means Baby Mac will be born on Cinco de Mayo.

Food aversions: I think I'm over my food aversions for the most part. I was pretty anti-seafood there for a while but now seafood sounds great (as long as it's in taco form). And I had a real problem with raw meat for a while as well. At one point I had to ask a woman at the grocery store to pick up some chicken for me and put it in my cart (where I couldn't see it) because I would have tossed my cookies had I had to get anywhere close to raw chicken. Ryan's done all the meat preparation and cooking in our house for the last few months.

Movement: I'm feeling the baby much more regularly these days. Not so much during the day (maybe because I'm distracted at work and not paying attention), but definitely at home when I'm still - either sitting on the couch or lying in bed. It's like flutters and is such a strange and wonderful feeling. For the first few months, at night before we would go to sleep, we'd pull out the doppler and listen to Baby Mac's heartbeat. Seriously, that is the sweetest sound I've ever heard. Being a paranoid wreck, the doppler really helped me relax and know that the baby was ok. Now that I can feel the baby moving (and know that the baby can hear us), at night Ryan sings to the baby. That's when I feel her the most. I really think she likes it. James Taylor is her favorite.

Planning/prep: I take care of THE MOST IMPORTANT things first. No, I don't have a crib or clothing or diapers or anything baby related, but I do have a newborn baby photographer. Because you know me and you know that pictures are VERY important. As soon as we were officially telling people about the baby, I booked Jodie and Kim of Fresh Art Photography to take baby's newborn pictures, 6 month pictures and 1 year photos. So, Baby Mac may be sleeping on the floor with Mally and Sage, but her life will be well documented for the first year. And that, my friends, is my priority. :)

Roma

2011-12-08T11:12:00.000-06:00

Vatican

Forum & Colosseum

I can't even begin to explain how much I loved Rome. We were only there for a couple days, but I didn't want to leave...maybe ever. I think Rome is one of those cities that you could walk around for years and still discover new things every day. Although nothing in Rome seems all that "new," the city is made up of tiny streets and winding alleyways where it's so easy to lose yourself (and your husband, if he's not close) and discover something ancient and magical. Every block seemed to have another gorgeous old church that I was dying to explore. Every alleyway was filled with museums and shops and restaurants that didn't show up on any map we had. Every corner we rounded we were pulled deeper into the heart of a city that stole mine.

We didn't really have a plan or destination as we walked around Rome, just a general desire to get absorbed into the city and see what we could find. I think we did a pretty good job of showing ourselves around. Or maybe Rome just did a pretty good job of showing us her beauty.

We saw at least 6 million churches.

Tons of gorgeous statues.

And don't forget the Bernini fountains.

With Trevi being the most famous.

The Mausoleum of Hadrian (aka the Castel Sant'Angelo).

Remember this from Angels & Demons?

The Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II

The Pantheon, of course.

Raphael's tomb.

Is this amazing or what?

We made another trip here to get some photos at night.

The Spanish Steps.

Which we didn't even attempt to get close to because I would have had a claustrophobic panic attack.

No thanks.

Instead we hiked up to a lookout point in Villa Borghese and watched the sun set in the park on our last night in Rome.

I'm already dreaming of the day I can go back.

Ciao Roma!

Until we meet again.

Next: Sorrento

The Roman Forum & the Colosseum

2011-12-06T10:23:00.001-06:00

Vatican

On Day 2 in Rome, we headed out to the Forum and Colosseum for a little history lesson. Lesson being: know your history or you won't have a clue as to what you're looking at. We did not hire a tour guide for either of these amazing sites and I'm kinda regretting it now. I did all the necessary background reading on what we were going to see in Rome well before our trip, but I was not prepared for the random mess of the Forum. For some reason, I thought it would be a little more self-explanatory. I thought there'd be signs or something. No. Just a giant rectangular plaza containing ruins, columns, and rubble.

Since we didn't have a guide (and I was too annoyed by the vultures at the subway station to hire one), we opted for the audio tour. We stood in line (forever) to get our audio devices, only to find the audio tour was boring and monotonous and hard to follow. I was completely lost and frustrated, but Ryan did a pretty good job making sure we were looking at the right thing (or at least in the right direction) as to what that they were talking about, but after #3 on the tour, I was annoyed. We really did try though, we spent a few hours walking around, gawking at the awesomeness of the place and trying to imagine what life was like back then. Ryan listened to the audio tour and gave me recaps as I climbed around and took photos. We made a pretty good team, but I missed a lot of the commentary and background info on the place.

So, I'm not even going to try to pretend like I know anything about what's in these photos. Mainly this post is going to be a photo dump (I warned you, I'm the worst tour guide ever). There are remains of buildings and columns and churches and homes. And even without knowing exactly what all this stuff is, I think it's pretty obvious from the photos that it's unbelievably beautiful and really mind-blowing that this piece of history is still here and still part of our lives today.

After a few hours in the Forum, we made our way over to the Colosseum. And if we thought the Forum was cool, the Colosseum was AMAZING. I cannot believe this is still here. You really do feel transported back in time when you see this. Honestly, words can't really describe how blown away we both felt staring at this stadium. It's unreal and I suggest you all go there and see it for yourself as soon as possible.

Had I known the Colosseum was going to be this incredible I would have hired a tour guide. We had so many questions and wanted to know so much about the place. Next time I'll know better.

Of course, after seeing the Colosseum, we've had to watch Gladiator at least a dozen times since we got home. Not that I'm complaining about watching Russel Crowe or anything. Just saying. :)

Next up: the rest of Rome

Vatican

2011-11-30T10:06:00.003-06:00

Alrighty then. So are you tired of hearing me whining about getting through our Italy photos and just ready to see them already? Yeah, me too! So, without any further ado...here are about a quarter of the photos I took at the Vatican. I think I ended up with around 400 photos of this day total and have managed to narrow the selection down to a measly 80 or so. Yes, there are a lot, so I'll keep the commentary to a minimum so you don't have to spend the rest of your life reading this post. If you've been to the Vatican and have been on the tour, you probably know what a lot of these things are. However, if you were jet-lagged, pregnant, exhausted and hungry when you took the tour like I was, you probably know just as much as someone who has never been to the Vatican. Welcome to my boat...I can't remember a thing. Forgive me if half this stuff is wrong, I'm making it up as I go!

Outside Vatican City

Approaching Vatican City.

Walls.

(I'm pretty sure that's right, at least)

Museum entrance.

My devilishly handsome husband.

(wait...is that sacrilegious to mention the devil in a post about the Vatican?)

St. Peter's Basilica from inside Vatican City.

Photo op!

The Pope's gardens.

Museum buildings.

There were public water fountains everywhere, which I loved because I was dying of thirst and helped myself to all the free water. This was all done much to my husband's horror and dismay at me drinking unknown "Euro" water while pregnant with his delicate unborn child. I think it's good for the baby...I'm hoping he/she comes out a little Italian. :)

A giant pinecone...

Ok, so I know this pinecone was a symbol for something, but I cannot remember for the life of me remember what it was, nor do I care enough to look it up for you and provide you with a real answer. Sorry. Aren't you glad you didn't pay good money for this tour. I'm the worst tour guide ever.

The grounds.

Giant medal ball...

...don't ask because I can't remember what the hell that was all about.

And now I've mentioned hell too.

Damn it.

Ugh.

The hallway of heads.

I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares about this.

Creepy.

Actually I found a lot of things in the Vatican very creepy.

For instance...below is a baby's coffin.

The baby in the middle is supposedly the one who died and the face was carved to look like that baby's face...but with abs, I guess.

Below is some kind of symbol of fertility.

Not the best statue to see when you're in your first trimester and dealing with painful aching breasts.

This was an entire room filled with animal statues. Lots of "attack" statues too...animals attacking people, people attacking animals, animals attacking other animals. And then, of course, random sheep, because who doesn't love a good sheep statue.

But then there were some statues and carvings that I really liked.

This puppy.

This angel scene.

This guy...hey hot stuff.

And this guy...he must work out.

And of course, this guy with no head or arms or legs to get in the way, leaving just the good stuff.

Oh, sorry, yeah I went there.

Let's move on, shall we?

Not only were the art pieces beautiful, but the building itself was spectacular.

The carvings on the entryways...

The ceilings...

And even the floors.

This ceiling was pretty spectacular.

I was slightly worried the Sistine Chapel ceiling wasn't going to beat this one.

Isn't this incredible?

(side bar: I just showed you 2 of the probably 50 photos I took of this ceiling alone. I was absolutely mesmerized. That's how you end up with millions of photos of crap you'll never look at or care about again.)

And now I just called the Vatican ceiling crap.

I'm probably going to hell for this post. I hope it's worth it.

I got really excited walking down this hallway because the entire thing was full of maps.

Look! The Vatican has a map wall!

Just like me!

There were also beautiful tapestries.

And some creepy ones.

Our tour guide told us that the eyes of this Jesus would follow us anywhere in the room we went.

And yes, they did. How do they do that? And why?

And now we enter the portion of the museum that I remember least.

No idea what any of this stuff is.

And then there were the murals.

They're gorgeous, and yet I completely stopped listening because my knee hurt.

Why did my knee hurt? No clue.

But I spent the rest of the day limping around the Vatican and

falling down the stairs because I couldn't bend my knee.

Yet I managed to take at least 150 photos of murals that I barely remember seeing.

And I think these were Raphael...right?

That's him. Nice legs Raph.

And then we made it to the Sistine Chapel.

No photography allowed.

Being the good little rule abiding citizen I am, I immediately put my camera away.

My husband, on the other hand, snuck out his iPhone for an illegal photo.

Perhaps he didn't see that Claire Danes/Kate Beckinsale movie where they locked them up in a foreign prison for the rest of their lives for breaking the law. Well, I did see that movie and I always make sure to obey EVERY SINGLE law/rule I can while abroad. That movie traumatized me.

Anyway, outside the chapel we were at St. Peter's Basilica.

This place was amazing.

Michaelangelo's Pieta.

Gorgeous.

I could have stared at this all day.

And we finished the tour out in the square...with the Swiss guards

I've seen so many photos and movie scenes of this place, it was really magical

standing here at sunset looking around at all the Bernini statues.

Remember this from Angels and Demons?

And that concludes our tour of the Vatican.

Join us next time for another crappy uninformed made-up tour of the Coliseum and The Forum.

Lots of photos, very little real information.

An Announcement

2011-11-21T10:50:00.004-06:00

Ok friends, I feel like it’s finally time to let you in on a little secret. I’m pregnant. I’m about 15 weeks and due mid-May. Baby Mac is healthy and active and has a serious taco addiction. I’m doing great have never been happier.

You know, I’ve been dreaming of writing this post for nearly three years. And now that it’s finally time that I can shout those incredible words from the rooftops, I find that it’s not that easy to do. Don’t get me wrong, this is the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me, but, it took us a long time to get here. Years filled with pain, heartache, longing, loss, doubt and tears. And sometimes it’s hard to get past that. The pregnancy is the greatest news in the world to my husband and I (and believe me, we're celebrating), but I also know how it felt every time I heard this news from someone else. It was devastating, even if I absolutely loved the person, it hurt every time. It was so hard for me to be happy for anyone when I wanted it for myself so badly. So, it’s taken me a while to put our news out there because I want to be sensitive to everyone else still waiting for their little miracle. I would never want my news to cause anyone else pain or heartache.

That being said, I'm not sure how I would have made it through this past year and everything that happened during it if it weren't for some of the wonderful friends I’ve “met” through this blog. This blog started off as a way for me to document training for my first marathon and has evolved into something that gave me a support system of friends all over the country. Strong women who are also struggling daily with infertility and dreaming of one day holding their own baby in their arms. Some of them are blogging about it (kudos) and some of them have kept their struggles private. Somehow we found each other. We all have our own very individual, unique issues, and having these strong determined women in my life has kept me sane and kept me believing (and even laughing) along the way. I won’t call you guys out, but you know who you are, and I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you. I never felt brave enough to come right out and talk about my struggles on my blog, but someday I hope I can. I think it would help others, even if it’s just by letting them know that they’re not alone. Because one thing I’ve realized is that we definitely aren’t alone. There are so many young women struggling with infertility. It’s a very lonely and isolating experience and I’m grateful to know that I wasn’t the only one dealing with this. And while I wish my friends didn't have these problems, I am selfishly glad I know people who get it. Everyone says it and it's true: You don't get it unless you've been there. And I have been there. And hopefully I can be there for someone else.

Dealing with infertility has forever changed me – for the better, I think. I believe it’s made me more appreciative, more humble, more empathetic, more devout. I’ve learned a lot of lessons in faith and trusting and being patient. It's brought me closer to my husband in a way I never knew was possible and strengthened our relationship, our trust in each other and our love. And I’ve had the chance to share this journey with some amazing friends who will forever be in my heart and my prayers. And in the end, I hope it will make me a better mother, because really, that’s the ultimate goal.

So for now, I just want you to know that I’m good…really really good. Great! This has already been the most incredible experience of my life and I’ve loved every single second of it. I do plan on blogging about my pregnancy – it’s the highlight of my life and I am so excited to be able to share things with friends and family about my pregnancy, the baby, the bump, the nursery, etc. This blog is about my life and my life now revolves around a tiny little thumb-sucking peach-sized miracle. I hope you’ll stick around and share the journey with me, but I also understand that I may lose a few readers along the way that aren’t into all things baby or just can’t handle another pregnancy announcement (believe me, I’ve deleted many a blog from my Google Reader the second someone announced she was pregnant…I understand). So there you have it, friends. Thanks for being along for the ride. It’s going to be a fun one!

Congrats, Vegas Style

2011-11-16T09:49:00.000-06:00

Congratulations to my friends Kirsten & Jewell on getting hitched!

It was one hell of a party!

Thank you so much for letting me be a part of the magic!

More photos to come...once I have a week to sleep it off!

A Mighty Post

2011-11-02T15:42:00.002-05:00

1. I might have a slight taco problem. I've had tacos for lunch nearly every day for almost 2 weeks now. I might need an intervention.

2. I might have purchased these boots during Sak's Friends and Family Sale last weekend. I might be seriously disappointed that it's not negative 40 degrees outside so I can wear them.

3. I might have completely stopped editing Italy pictures because I'm so overwhelmed by how many photos I took. I might be almost half-way through them, which means I might only have about 900 more to go.

4. I might have ordered a gold sequin sparkle mini dress for my friend Kirsten's upcoming Vegas wedding next weekend. Las Vegas might need to watch out!

5. I might be planning a super awesome girls weekend birthday trip to NYC with this girl in December. Our weekend might include seeing four Broadway shows (one with Hugh Jackman and one with Harry Connick, Jr.), serious amounts of shopping and eating ourselves absolutely silly. I might have to wear that gold dress to catch Harry's eye.

6. I might have upset my husband when I put his "badass hunting dog" in a pretty pink tutu and tiara. So, I might have had to buy the dogs a second round of Halloween costumes that were "tougher." This might be a stretch.

Mally might hate me.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T09:37:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,

The pretty pretty princess...

...and the grumpy evil witch...

...would like to wish you all...

...a very Happy Halloween!

Hoping your evening is filled with costumes, candy and creepiness!

Bwaaahaahaahahaahahaaha!!

Julia's Cake Smash

2011-10-27T10:13:00.001-05:00

This week, my friend Jessica's little girl Julia turns 1. I can't believe it's already been ONE WHOLE YEAR since this child was born. Remember that? In honor of her first birthday, I begged Jessica to let me do a cake smash session with Julia. She was very hesitant. Actually, I kept sending her emails about it and would either get no response from her or a very vague, "well...maybe...we'll see..." answer. Jessica's one of those really amazing moms that is very concerned about what her baby eats and doesn't give her kid massive amounts of sugar, processed food and fat. So boring. Kidding!

Eventually she came around, with a little help from Nora over at Heather Drive. After seeing that adorableness, how could anyone say no? Plus, Jessica already had that giant cupcake cake pan and a mixer she received as a wedding gift that she'd never once used, so it was meant to be.

Here's the giant cupcake in all it's wonderous glory.

Take my word for it, it was beautiful and delicious!

I could have eaten the entire thing.

Julia, however, has never had cake, so she was slightly apprehensive.

It took her a little while to figure out what she was supposed to do with it.

Oh, you want me to put my hand in it!

I get it.

Ok, now what?

Eat it?

Are you sure?

Oh, that's not bad.

Yeah, I like this.

More please.

Yeah, this is pretty awesome.

Where has this been all my life, mom?

Seriously you guy, this icing stuff rocks.

I love birthdays!

How long have you guys known about this cake stuff?

Because it's ah-may-zing!

I mean, look at it...

It's pink, it's sticky, it's sweet.

Icing's the bomb!

OHMIGOD, it's so good!

I need a better angle.

I can really get my hands into it if I get a little more leverage.

Oh yeah, that's much better.

Wait...this stuff isn't bad for me or anything, is it?

Oh, who cares.

I've got a lifetime ahead of me to worry about calories, I'm not starting now.

Plus, calories don't count on your birthday, right?

Please say that's right...

What's this stuff underneath the icing?

I like.

I really like!

And these sprinkles are brilliant!

Want to try some?

I'll share!

Missed a piece.

Don't worry, I'll get it.

Oh drats.

Mom, help.

Oh wait, I've still got some in my hand!

Hooray!

This is the best birthday ever.

Thanks for the cake, mom!

Can we do this again tomorrow?

Well, I think our little photo shoot was a hit. We got some adorable photos and I we successfully created a tiny cake monster. At her birthday party, just one week later she ate a cupcake like a pro! So glad we had this practice session!

Happy first birthday, Julia!

Go Cardinals!

2011-10-19T15:59:00.000-05:00

Alex's Baptism

2011-10-11T13:58:00.000-05:00

You guys, I'm so excited to share these photos with you today. A few weeks ago, Ryan and I headed up to Chicago for the baptism of this little lady, our niece and goddaughter, Alexandra. Is she not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

Being the photo snob that I am, I knew that my photos (and Ryan's iPhone pictures) were not going to cut it for such a special occasion, so we hired a real professional photographer for the task. The adorable and talented Anni of Anni Cee Photographie did a fabulous job of capturing the spirit and love of the day.

Alex, of course, being the focus of everyone's attention completely stole the show. I think Anni did a great job getting photos that really captured how much this little girl is loved and adored by her parents, her godparents and her grandparents.

Alex was dressed to the nines in a beautiful white baptismal gown, with a pink flower headband.

I could not get enough of this child.

I completely hogged her and wanted to take her home and keep her for myself.

Thank you Anni for getting these photos of me with Alex.

The bad part about always being the one that takes pictures is that I never have any photos of myself.

These photos mean so much to me.

This one is my favorite.

Even though Alex looks supremely bored with me.

It only takes a bit of tossing her around to get a big smile.

Or just hand her off to Uncle Ryan, who she always smiles for.

Back to me, back to yawning.

I have got to work on this.

We spent some time before the baptism getting photos of everyone with the baby.

This was really important to me because it was the first time both families were there with Alex together.

She spent some quality time bonding with Grandma Bonnie.

And took some adorable photos with Grandpa Louis and Grandma Rose.

And we got some group photos.

Dad's side of the family.

And mom's side of the family.

And then it was time for the magic to happen.

Absolution of original sin.

Alex was such a trooper through the whole ceremony.

She didn't cry or whine or anything.

She was actually making funny noises and faces and cracking us all up.

And then it was our turn.

Time to get serious.

Ryan lit the baptismal candle.

And I had the pleasure of holding Alex while the priest poured the water on her head.

Of course, I was terrified I was going to drop her in the pool.

But we both made it through unscathed.

She made the most hilarious horror-stricken face of panic when she felt the water.

But then she was totally fine. Like nothing happened.

All smiles again.

We took a few more pictures with Alex in the church.

After the baptism, we all headed to one of Justin & Christine's favorite restaurants for lunch.

They had a great outdoor patio where we could all get a few more pictures with Alex.

You can never have too many pictures.

See, she loves Ryan!

One last photo of the whole gang.

Thank you Anni for capturing such a special day for our family. The photos are fantastic!

And thank you Justin & Christine for giving us the incredible honor of being Alex's godparents.

This is one very loved little girl.

* All photos by Anni Cee Photographie

Thoughts on Thursday

2011-10-06T10:48:00.001-05:00

1. I have SO MANY Italy pictures to get through. I sat down at the computer last night to start, spent 3 hours editing and processing and didn't even get all the way through our very first day in Italy. I'm screwed.

2. Our kitty Jigs caught a mouse yesterday. Ryan walked around all day with the biggest proudest grin on his face, like his child won an Olympic gold medal or something. Proud papa. He trapped the mouse and took it outside and released it in the woodpile. He said it was too cute to kill. I didn't want to look at it, but I imagine it looked something like this...

(source)

3. I think I'm going through gelato withdrawals. I had dreams about gelato last night. Chocolate gelato. Nutella gelato. Lemon gelato. Tiramisu gelato. Strawberry gelato. Vanilla gelato. Pistachio gelato. Peach gelato. Chocolate chip gelato. Coffee gelato. Oh, I miss Italy.

(source)

4. My little brother is getting married in exactly 365 days! Happy pre-anniversary Chris & Lindsey! The next year is going to go by so fast, you guys. Enjoy it!

5. My friend Emily has launched her own fashion line called Wai Ming. You must check out her website. She's beautiful and creative and brilliant and has impeccable taste. She just attended a big trade show during Fashion Week in NYC and she's having a preview/launch party for her line here in STL in a few weeks. I cannot wait! I'm thinking it might have a lot of Wai Ming in my wardrobe very soon.

6. So, I completely missed the start of all the new shows this season. I had the best intentions to start watching Pan Am, The Playboy Club, Whitney, New Girl, Charlie's Angels and Hart of Dixie. Yeah, I forgot to record any of them. Oops. Anyone watching them? Or anything else new? What's good? What's worth it? What can I skip?

(source)

7. Only 35 days until VEGAS, baby!

(source)

8. Only 23 days until our Halloween Costume Party. As usual, I have NO CLUE what my costume is going to be. Ugh. Help!

9. I have a LOT of Groupons and Living Social vouchers for restaurants that I need to use in the next few months. Anyone up for dinner, brunch, lunch? It's on me! I'm serious.

10. Yeah, I got nothing for 10. I just couldn't leave you hanging on an odd number. I'm weird like that.

Ok, hope you're having a great Thursday! Anyone have fun plans for the weekend? I'm going to use some Groupons and try to get through my six million photos of Italy. Wish me luck!

Italy in Instagram

2011-10-03T11:15:00.000-05:00

Buon giorno!

How are you?! I've missed you all so much! I'm so sorry for my crazy long absence. I had a busy week at work, followed by a week-long work retreat, followed by 10 days in beautiful Italia! Busy busy! I'm exhausted! I had the best intentions to have at least a couple blog posts scheduled to publish while I was gone, but obviously that didn't happen - sorry. Hope you all are having a wonderful fall so far. It's going to take me ~~a couple days weeks months years~~ a while to get through all my photos, so for now, here are a couple Instragram iPhone pics to hold you over. I can't wait to tell you all about it...hang in there with me.

Amalfi

More Amalfi

Ryan in Piazza Navona in Rome

Me in Sorrento

Pantheon in Rome

Pasta

Sistine Chapel (illegal photo)

Me at the Colosseum in Rome

Ryan in Sorrento

Me at the Vatican (St. Peter's Basilica)

Trevi in Rome

Me in Capri

This makes me so excited to get through the rest of our photos!

Mom, I promise I'll get them posted as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I'm mourning the loss of daily homemade pasta, fresh seafood, decadent gelato and amazing wine. Oh Italy, I miss you so much already!

Ciao for now!

Killer Instincts

2011-09-15T11:07:00.000-05:00

We officially have a duck dog.

She's filthy and smelly and exhausted and deliriously happy.

Oh boy.

The One We Left Behind

2011-09-13T09:48:00.000-05:00

So with all these pictures of the pups on the beach, I feel like there's one little lady that's being left out.

My precious kitty, Jigs.

Jigs did not go to the beach with us.

First, she is the worst car passenger in the history of ever.

Second, she hates wearing sunscreen and refuses to drink cheap beer.

Third, she thinks the beach is one giant litter box.

It's so embarrassing.

So she stayed home and protected the house.

If anyone showed up, she would have loved and kneaded them to death.

But don't feel sorry for her. Jigs likes having the house to herself.

She can sleep for 23.5 hours of the day.

She has full access to all the windowsills, beds, couches, pillows, shelving and laundry piles.

She gets a break from Sage constantly licking her and trying to put her head in her mouth.

She gets daily visitors that spend lots of time snuggling with her and giving her treats.

I think she gained 5 pounds on this last vacation.

Next time we leave I might let a few mice loose in the house to keep her busy and in shape.

Or hang ribbons from the ceiling fans.

Or get her a pet...

Maybe a hamster or a lizard?

Or a flying squirrel?!

How cool would that be?

We could name him Rocky.

Although, that might interfere with the 23.5 hours of sleep she requires.

Guess we'll just have to settle for a well-rested fat cat.

That's the way we like her best anyway.

Happy First Date-iversary

2011-09-10T08:14:00.001-05:00

8 years ago today, I had the very last first date of my life.

It was magic.

Every year has just gotten better and better.

I'm so excited for what this next year is going to bring.

I love you Ryan.

Thank you for being you.

What's on my mind today...

2011-09-08T11:28:00.001-05:00

1. I'm super excited for the private shopping party tonight! I really hope we get a good turnout (please come!). And I really hope the boutique has lots of cute things for me to buy. You know, because I need more things. Duh.

2. Why is it that short work weeks feel 10 times longer than a normal 5 day work week? Seriously, will this week ever end? How is it possibly only Thursday? Come on!

3. What the hell is Scentsy? I don't even care enough to Google it.

4. Some friends and I are starting a Supper Club. We're going to rotate hosting responsibilities and get together every other month. I'm so excited for this! Are any of you in a Supper Club? How does it work for you guys?

5. I really miss The Gilmore Girls. I'm dying to know what Rory's up to these days, how Lane's doing with the twins, if Logan is in prison or rehab, and whether or not Luke ever pulled his head out of his ass and made an honest woman out of Lorelai. I miss them all so much!

6. Sage is going on her first duck hunt on Sunday with Ryan. I'm really excited and nervous for her. I hope she does well and likes it.

7. Did you hear that Reese Witherspoon got hit by a car? What?

8. I cannot stop thinking about Italy. Dreaming of Italy. Longing for Italy. I can taste it. It's delicious.

9. I saw The Help over the weekend and really liked it. I liked the movie more than I liked the book, which never happens. I wasn't as in love with the book as everyone else seemed to be, but I thought the movie was really great. What did you think?

10. Pumpkin spice latte. That's all.

11. Can you believe I did a post with no pictures? What the world coming to?!

How to Properly Raise Awareness

2011-09-07T11:18:00.005-05:00

Hi friends! I'm going to interrupt the beach dog posts for a minute and touch on something that's really been gnawing on me lately. The latest and greatest attempt to raise breast cancer awareness on Facebook by women posting status updates where they pretend to be pregnant. I've been thinking about writing something about this for a while because it has bothered me so much, but I just couldn't come up with the right thing to say. And then I read a post on the subject that my good friend Jenn wrote. With her permission, I'd like to repost that for you here.

Day late, dollar short, what's done is done, blah blah blah

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Posted by Jenn

Even though I haven't seen any of these posts for a few days, a friend's recent post coupled with some lively discussion on a discussion board I follow has prompted me to write this. My apologies for the lack of timeliness. Deal with it. :)

So the most recent "breast cancer awareness" game on facebook has been to post a random week and a craving, pretending that you are pregnant and are having a craving for some junk food. Now, I realize that this seems like it is all fun and games. And I won't be nearly so eloquent or vehement as some of the very well-written blogs I have read on the subject. But, here are my two cents.

Ten to 15 percent of couples in the United States are infertile.

12.2 percent of women born in the United States today will develop breast cancer at some time in their lives.

When you are dealing with infertility, and someone jokes about being pregnant, it hurts. You may not understand if you've never had trouble getting pregnant, but trust me, it hurts.

So, on Facebook, we are encouraged to show support for a percentage of the female population while humiliating/embarrassing/angering another percentage of the "couple" population. How is that helpful? How does that promote breast cancer awareness? What about the women and men of reproductive age that have cancer, and as a direct result of their life-saving treatments, become infertile? Fertility preservation and fertility rescue is pretty new and not available to most cancer patients. I would think that, if someone lost their ability to have a child because of breast cancer, they may not feel supported by a Facebook status where someone pretends to be pregnant.

Infertility is one of those issues that almost no one ever talks about. And it's a real shame. And yes, as a society we do tend to be hypersensitive to too many things. But please, for the love of all things lovable, please think before you post. Does posting "I'm 25 weeks and craving chocolate" or something similar really help spread awareness about breast cancer? Or does it maybe confuse your friends and family, and hurt the hearts of your friends who cannot have a child or another child? You may not know that they are dealing with infertility, because more likely than not they haven't advertised the fact. But, 10-15% of couples is a large enough part of the population that I can almost guarantee that several of your facebook friends are infertile.

Breast cancer is a terrible thing. But please, don't try to support one part of the population while being insensitive to another part.

I don't mean to get all preachy on you, but PLEASE think before you post, this type of thing really hurts.

And if you really want to support breast cancer, I've got an idea for you...if you're in St. Louis, how about stopping by Paperdolls Boutique in Kirkwood tomorrow night for a private shopping party, hosted by yours truly and my good friend Jenna (a breast cancer survivor), where a percentage of all sales will go directly towards breast cancer research.

Feel free to stop by the boutique (located at 110 East Jefferson Ave in Kirkwood) between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 8th. We'll have champagne and dessert for you. No obligation to buy anything. Just swing by and say hi and maybe give a small donation to our cause. Wear something pink to raise awareness!

If you can make it, please click HERE to RSVP. I'd love to see you all!