Olive and Eve

On the subject of yesterday's Royal Weding fascinators (Fun British Headwear) it made me think of my friend Jen's super cool head bands and head pieces that she makes.  I only wish I had a baby girl because if I did she would own several of them!  I would get one for Max but I think putting bunny ears on him at Easter was embarrassing enough.  I might just have to get one for myself.  Oh, and she also makes bridal couture pieces so those of you getting married you need to take a look!

Check out her etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/OliveandEve

Here are a few photos from her new Spring Line.



This one is my favorite.  The model here is Jen's daughter Evie... she's adorable!




I love this one too.  I could maybe see myself wearing it!




There are many different looks to choose from.

 The photos were taken by kjb photography.  I loved her pics of little Evie so much I'm going to have her do my family pics this summer!  You should also check out her website as she's located in Madison and does an amazing job.  http://kjbphotos.com/

Now after writing this I realized, I really need one of these headbands!  I hope you feel the same.

Happy Royal Wedding Day!

I'm not really a "Royal Follower", however, it's hard not to get caught up in such an amazing moment in history.  This is one of those moments that people will remember where they were when watching the Royal wedding of William and Kate, just as I remember what I was doing on the morning of September 11, 2001. 

I was never planning on waking up early to watch as I knew I would be hearing about it all day and looking at the photos and videos online was sufficient enough for me.  Lucky for me, well not really, Max decided he needed to stay home again today from daycare.  From 6:30am - 7:44am he cried.  I tried everything... "Do you want a babba (bottle)?" NO he would turn his head and push it away. "Do you want to play?" NO, he would simply look at me and start to cry harder.  "Do you want momma to hold you?" NO, he would squirm and try to get out of my arms.  I realized after about 45 minutes of this that there was no way I would put this on my daycare provider so I called him in sick, and then I called myself in sick.  The best part about calling in sick because your kid is sick is that you don't have to be laying on the couch all day surrounded by Kleenex and glasses of "fluids".  HURRAY!  In the end I simply put him back to bed and he fell fast asleep.  I guess that's all he wanted.  Who knew?

Due to my child's illness I was able to watch the Today show all morning and therefore catch a glimpse of the Royal Wedding. I LOVED it!  Here are my Top 5 Favorites from the day. (well, morning for us Americans)

TOP 5 ROYAL WEDDING FAVES:

1. The Hats!  Are you kidding me with some of these?  Even some of the crazy hats I love.  I want to wear one so bad that if you see me sporting a crazy concoction of feathers and twigs on top my head at the next party you will know why.  I only wish it was semi normal in the states to wear such crazy things.  They are AWESOME!  Don't get me started about fascinators either, so cool.  Then there is Princesses Beatrice and Princess Eugenie... hmmm.  Not sure I'm really understanding their choice of whatever is attached to their head.  Click here for a photo of these wild hats!

2. Kate's Dress. This was really the only thing I was looking forward to.  She has such classic style and I couldn't wait to see what she chose to wear on the biggest day of her life.  I loved it. Not only did it have a touch of 1950's vintage it was also sexy and modern.  I know that the royals are required to cover their arms and shoulders and I thought she did an amazing job accomplishing that, while still making the dress look modern.  It was beautiful. Princess Katherine's Dress

3. The Support of the Country.  Watching all of those people march down towards Buckingham Palace gave me chills.  They were so proud of their country, there was no ill will towards each other and everyone was so excited to see the newlyweds kiss.  I only wish we got the day off too!  Come to think if it, I do, but not for that reason. Amazing photos of the Royal Wedding

4. The Getaway Car! So super cool.  I was playing with Max and didn't even realize that they were about to be leaving Buckingham Palace until Meredith Vieira announced it.  As I looked up at the TV I saw Prince William and Princess Katherine driving out of Buckingham Palace in a super cute Aston Martin all decked out in a "Ju5t Wed" licence plate, balloons streaming off the back and patriotic ribbons up the hood.  I thought this was such a cool touch.  It truly makes you feel as though they are just a normal couple excited to spend the rest of their lives together.  This is not just a celebration for the country but a major celebration for the couple.  (guys will probably hate me for calling the Aston Martin "cute" but so what, it totally was!) 

5. A Dream Come True.  Kate Middleton is now Princess Katherine, Duchess of Cambridge.  It think most girls dream of some day becoming a princess.  For some reason all my childhood dreams I always wanted to be a Russian Princess.  Not sure why, maybe it was from the Disney movie Anastasia?  This just proves that dreams can come true, whatever they are.  Only a few little girls in the world will ever become a princess, however, there are many other dreams that can come true.

So Happy Royal Wedding Day!  For more photos click here!

Here are some photos from my wedding three years ago :)

Wedding Party on the steps of the Wisconsin Capitol Building

"The Kiss"

Bridal Party

The Church

The Guys... I always thought that this one looked like an advertisment for a suit company.

"Nylenol"

I've got a sick baby home with me today.  What started last week as a slight runny nose has turned into a sea of snot, tears and drool accompanied by a fever.  Yeah!  Both Max and I did not sleep last night.  He tried to but then would wake up crying because he couldn't breathe.  Unfortunately, the crying made more snot flow and along with that came more crying.  Every time I would attempt to put him back to sleep I would pray/beg God to keep him asleep for more than 20 minutes.  These prayers were rarely answered.  The worst part was that I had to get up at 5:30am for work and by had to I mean most days I can be a little late but on Thursdays I must be there by 7:00am sharp!

At 10:30am we visited the doctor to make sure that everything was OK and it looks like it's just a bad cold.  Max cried the entire time and at one point it was so bad that I was attacked by a hug web of drool that clung to my arm and wouldn't let go.  Everywhere I moved it moved too.  The nurse even laughed!  In the end, they advised me to give him some Tylenol every 4 hours and call back tomorrow morning with the progress. 

Here's my little guy after we got home from the doctor... with snot running down his face.
 

I'm exhausted. Did I mention my husband is still not home from playing hockey in Texas?  Don't even ask.
What I realized while caring for my sick little guy is that I am now the mom.  It's a very strange feeling to be the one giving the Tylenol and cleaning up the boogies.  My mom says that when I was little I would say "more nylenol" in a very whiney voice.  Max can't talk yet but if he could I can guess that's what he would be saying. 

Pray that little Max gets better... and fast!

I have FRIENDS!

Guess what everyone, I have FRIENDS!  When I first moved to Madison the summer of 2005 I had 1 friend in town, my best friend from home/new Madison roommate Morgana. At that time Morgana was a Body Shop at Home rep and with her new budding entrepreneurship wanted me to host a party at our new to us but slightly old, however, nicely decorated apartment. 

I was very excited to show off my new home so I invited the 5 people that I new in Madison (including my boyfriends mom/current mother-in-law).  These 5 people were all coworkers of mine and the only women I remotely knew here.  On the day of the party I left work early to race home and prepare a beautiful display of appetizers, put out candles and help Morgana get her foot spa products ready.  I was expecting all 5 people to show up and was so excited but as the evening went on people started to call and cancel.  For various reasons everyone except my future mother-in-law ended up not being able to attend.  I was so devastated and had no idea what I was going to do with all the food I prepared (which was way to much for 5 people let alone 1 guest + Morgana and myself) so I called up Luke to come over and eat it with us.

The party went as such.  No one got a foot spa (I don't blame them, maybe that's why they cancelled?) Luke, his mother, Ann, Morgana and myself ate appetizers and watched TV.  True to form Ann purchased more products than what 5 people together would have purchased so I still was able to get some fun free goodies!  In the end, not a great party memory.

Flash forward 6 years and I'm sending out email invites to my upcoming Scentsy party.  You'd think I would have learned from the last one, not sure why I keep torturing myself like this. As I begin to input the emails into the invite I start to realize that I actually have Friends!!!  A total of 20 good friends have been invited and those are the people that I actually like and want in my home.  Who knows if anyone is going to show up other than my mother and sister in law but at least this time I have a better average going for me.  The party is on May 10th so I will let you know what the outcome is.  There are no foot spas this time so maybe I will get a better turnout!

Baby Giggles

Laughing babies always make my day. At night Max will sit on my tummy while I lay on the couch and I will try to make him laugh.  His little giggle makes me laugh so hard that my belly shakes and he almost falls off.  It's our little game that we play.  I love that time together.

Here is Max laughing because he rubbed squash all over himself.

A New Challenge

Today I was inspired.

This happens to me a lot. 

However, I’m determined to make this time matter.  It’s a rainy day here in Madison, Wisconsin and after spending the morning cleaning up my desk at work I thought it would be a great day to have lunch in one of the local coffee shops.  I’m reading a book by Shauna Niequist titled “Cold Tangerines” and I was really in the mood for something warm to drink, a fireplace and a good book.  Once inside the coffee shop I ordered some lunch and sat down near the fireplace to begin my relaxation hour (well actually 40 minutes considering it takes 10 minutes to drive there and 10 minutes to drive back)

This is the second book of Shauna’s that I have read.  It’s the first book she has written so I’m going about things a little backwards but the end result is the same.  I’m hooked.  I feel as though she is my new friend.  I cry with her, I laugh with her.  There is something about her writing, her honesty and maybe the fact that she lives only 2 hours away from me in Chicago and spent some time in Grand Rapids, Michigan about 30 minutes from where my husband and I lived for 9 months.  I read her entire “Bittersweet” book on a plane ride to Texas about 2 months ago on my way to visit Luke, my husband.  I got off the plane ready to change my life for the better. 

I have always had many hobbies.  Growing up I played soccer, softball, took piano, flute, acting, gymnastics and voice lessons, was on the dance team, took ceramics and stained glass classes in high school, knitted, crocheted and wrote stories, the list goes on and on.  Each time I start a new hobby my husband rolls his eyes and says, “Here we go again, what happened to scarf making? Or scrapbooking?”  I just smile and think, this time it will be different.  This time I’m really going to do it.  Inevitably, it’s never different.  I loose interest, life gets a hold of me and I end up with a tub full of yarn and half crocheted scarves.

So here is my challenge to myself.  Instead of taking on one thing that is going to be my new hobby forever I will take on many things and write about them. 

To begin my new adventure I thought I would research classes at the local Technical College to see if there was something that sparked my interest.  I typed in the name of the college into google and pressed enter.  The main page of the college opened and I searched for the right place for me.  Exploring a Hobby? (YES!  That’s Me!).  A list of available classes came up and I was a little overwhelmed.  Who knew they had classes on Motorcycle Mechanics?  And Chair Yoga?  I don’t even know where to begin with that one.  There’s even a class on “How to write a Holiday Letter” are you serious?  Someone needs to take a class on how to tell their friends and family about their trip to Disney and their recent dog addition?

Anyways, I digress; here is a list of the classes that stood out to me:

Upholstery

Quilting

Stained Glass

Soap Making

Sewing

Knitting and Crocheting

Photography

Ceramics: Wheel Throwing

French I

Jewelry Making

Floral Design

Creative Writing

Yoga

Beading

Wine Tasting (really? You can take a class on this?  Where do I sign up?!)

Norwegian (My heritage is Norwegian so no this is not totally random)

Cake Decorating

As you can see, there are a lot of things I like to do.  After looking at this lengthy list I thought I would start with the basics. If I’m going to start writing more I need to learn to do it better.  I think a six week summer class of Creative Writing may be in my future.  If I can make it until the end of June before I ditch writing and move on to something else.

I’m counting on you to keep me on track.  Please feel free to post your motivating comments J