December « 2011 « mayjuneandjuly.com

Archive for December, 2011

sore fingers

Friday, December 30th, 2011

Along with hanging out with family, traveling to Portland, visiting friends and Grandparents, I have spent every free moment of the last three days cross stitching a new iphone case. My sister made one for my Mom for Christmas and gave me an extra one she had bought. Its a plastic case specifically made for cross stitching and I was so excited to give it a try. I came up with the simplest pattern I could start immediately. And it pretty much took forever. But I am so happy with the final product and I finished it just in time. I am heading back to California in the morning with Adelaide and leaving all my babysitters family behind.

The very beginning.

Halfway.

Yes! Love it! And yes my fingers are very sore.

Posted in Crafts | No Comments »

holiday cheer

Saturday, December 24th, 2011

We have been busy the last few weeks preparing for the Holidays and hosting guests (which means going on fun adventures). The whole family is now here and we are having fun gearing up for Christmas. Its such a magical time of year (even if its relatively warm outside). Its our first Christmas in California and its a fun new experience.

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas filled with special times with loved ones.

Arrived! A’s first cookie making experience.

Everyone decorating cookies for the competition.

The judging. Winners!

Team effort gingerbread house. The city.

Tartine! Union Square.

California Christmas. Santa hats on our sights and lights cable car ride.

Its not Christmas without candy canes. Life size gingerbread house!

Posted in Family | No Comments »

still coming along

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Yes, I am still working on our house. Everything is generally unpacked and set up but many details and decorating bits are missing. I have not been very proactive as we are not sure how long we will stay in this house we are renting. But in the meantime, I like to feel at home so I keep doing bits and pieces.

We just recently got a rug for the living room and I finally finished hanging everything behind the couch. Here is a glimpse:

I also got a bit more done in Adelaide’s room thanks to my visitors babysitters that were in town last week. I had gotten the side table that was in her room back in Salt Lake City. I never really liked the color and the paint was beginning to chip off so I gave it a new fresh coat of white paint. Adelaide’s room has a lot of color in it so it was time for a neutral color. The knobs were also in bad shape from all the moves so I scoured Anthropologie’s sale section and found some that fit with her room.

Before:

After:

Kinda looks like a little monster.

I also had a footstool that we currently have not been using in the living room. I wanted one for Adelaide’s room to go with the glider. So I gave it a bit of a makeover.

Before (I forgot to take a before pic and the only one I could find was from our house in SLC):

Its the little stool in front of the floral chair.

After:

I spray painted it white and then made a cover for the cushion with a different fabric on each side.

I also made a little pillow for the glider:

Other than the above, I’ve been busy making lots of little things. Although they are all Christmas gifts so I’ll have to post them later.

Posted in Crafts, Decorating, sewing | 1 Comment »

rainforest

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

We went on a big adventure while in Costa Rica. My parents purchased 250 acres of rainforest and we needed to explore it. Although, no trails and lots of mud makes for difficult exploration. We got up early (5am) and drove the 2.5 hours to the property. Our goal was to hike in to a waterfall and hike out before the sun set. Six hours later and mission accomplished, with about 15 minutes to spare (till complete darkness).

The beginning of the hike.

Entering the rainforest.

That’s a lot of mud.

The fog rolling in.

After about 3 hours of hiking, we made it to a clearing. This is where the gentleman who sold the property used to live with his wife and 4 kids. Apparently she made the rigorous 4 hour hike with no trail 2 weeks before her due date with all four kids. Then hiked back in to live in the middle of nowhere with a newborn. They had a tarp set up and made us some coffee (just what you want when your hot and sweaty and taking a hiking break).

After our coffee and lunch snacks we kept going.

The ladder the gentleman and his son built to help us get down this cliff (they are obviously the pros).

All that hard work and mud was worth turning the corner to see this beauty.

We were pretty clean.

Taking a break and admiring the view.

The boys jumped in.

And then we had to turn around and get back to the cars before it got dark, much of that being in the pouring rain. It was a serious adventure. And we had a blast. Its pretty amazing to think that we experienced nature and saw a waterfall that very few people ever have. If you want a better idea of what it was like, here are a few videos:

Posted in Family, Traveling | No Comments »

journey a.

Friday, December 9th, 2011

So my parents have this piece of property in Cartago thats just been sitting around for a long time and long story (involving squatters and flooding) short they decided to turn it into a Salon de Eventos (place you rent out to have parties). And they so lovingly decided to call it Journey A., after the one and only. Although its a pretty hilarious name considering Spanish speakers dont really know how to pronounce any of that. But hey, its hip and cool and American. And now everyone wants their party at Journey A. While in Costa Rica we threw Danny a sweet 24th birthday party there. All the cousins came out and we had a blast.

The building.

Adelaide with her namesake (does that even make any sense?), the outside of the building.

Hanging out with a few cousins.

Danny and his cake.

All the cousins (I think minus 3)

Lauren, Mariana, and I

Mark and Lauren had so much fun!

Adelaide was so tired at the end of the night. On our way home she put her blanket over her head and went to sleep.

Okay, I’m almost done with Costa Rica. Stay tuned for the grand adventure of the week.

Posted in Adelaide, Family, Traveling | No Comments »

fishing

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Whats a trip to Costa Rica without catching your own fish and then enjoying it for lunch? We headed to our trusty fishing spot (aka stocked pond) in the Orosi valley. Its a beautiful spot and you are always guaranteed a catch. Whats not to like?

I believe at this point Josh and Mark were competing to see who could catch a fish the fastest. I guess thats what happens when you go fishing in a pond where hundreds of fish are hudled at the edge waiting for you to drop some bait.

After a lesson on how to cast your piece of fishing line, Lauren quickly caught her first fish.

All hudled up watching them being gutted and cleaned. Educational right??

Now begins the waiting… for your delicious fried fish.

Adelaide spent the time climbing,

Picking up big rocks,

Making new Tica friends,

And taking silly pictures. Unfortunately after all that waiting, I was too excited to eat my fish I didn’t get a picture. Oh well.

Although Josh did snap this beauty on our way home.

Posted in Adelaide, Family, Traveling | No Comments »

costa rica

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Its time to finally catch up on all our travels. We spent Thanksgiving week in Costa Rica with my whole family. We spent most the week in Cartago visiting all our favorite spots. Mark’s girlfriend Lauren was the only novice of the group and we had fun showing her all around. And of course we started out at Volcan Irazu.

Waiting for the fog to clear.

The crater.

Me, Katie and Lauren

Mark emerging from the fog.

Trying to stay warm.

Adelaide loving hanging out with her Aunt and Uncle.

Adelaide showing off her Tica side and warming up with some coffee.

Because I have so may photos (and I’m tired and want to go to bed), I’ll spread our trip out into several posts. Coming up next….fishing! Get excited!

Posted in Adelaide, Family, Traveling | No Comments »

cheese

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Posted in Adelaide | No Comments »

decorations

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

We went and picked out our Christmas tree this week. The real deal is the only way to go. We found a gem, threw it on top of the car, and set it up at home. And our house smells wonderful. Although the 70 degree temps outside are not helping my Christmas spirit. But dont worry, thats not stopping us from building fires in our fire place and drinking lots of hot cocoa.

I made some felt bunting garland to add some life to our tree. Im rather traditional and pretty adamant about red and white being the main colors on my tree.