blah, blah, blah...I finally filled up the shelving unit. Most of the objects came from my parent's home. D and I finally took the time to go through the boxes of things I've snagged over the last couple of visits and just shoved in our basement. To be honest, I forgot I had most of them. That includes the demijohn which I found in their attic in its original protective basket. I'm so glad I share my parent's taste.

merry christmas

D and I have been enjoying a quiet Christmas at home. We had plans of heading to Illinois to spend the holiday with Grandma Lorraine, but a snowstorm kept us away. Instead we made the traditional Oates brunch which has to include egg casserole. We kept it simple and added homemade cinnamon rolls, french press coffee, and mimosas. The rest of the day included:

D reading his favorite kiddo book, The Snowy Day, to baby.

Making baby a present, the build your own mobile kit from Banquet. We must craft together more often.

True Grit

Naps

And possibly ordering Chinese take-out tonight.

Friends, I hope you've had a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas!

snow

December 1st we woke up to a blanket of snow. We've only had a few flurries since then, but the temperature dropped keeping the beautiful white snow from turning into a brown slushy mess. These photos were taken on a little hike yesterday. There's not too many things that make D happier than hiking in snow and breathing crisp winter air. Except of course, backcountry skiing and getting hit with face shots. We'll take what we can get.

owen & naomi

Right before Thanksgiving my sister had her second baby. Owen is an excited big brother as you can see. Baby Naomi weighed just a touch over six pounds when she came home from the hospital. She is so tiny and sweet, smelled of baby goodness, and slept all the time.

30 things to do before I turn 31

I'm less than 3 months away from my 31st birthday. I thought it was time to bust out the list again (I think this is only my second time?) and evaluate how I'm doing. Here we go...

1. visit Renee and Jes in Chicago - done
2. grow out my hair - doing
3. stay in school - fail
I did the whole school thing last spring. Then I got pregnant and plans changed. I'm now slowly pursuing my dreams, but it's taking a different direction than I thought.
4. visit Mel in St. Louis - done
She got married!
5. start an etsy store - done
6. remodel the basement and basement bathroom - doing
The bathroom is mostly done. I just need to find the right finishing touches. The main room is a work in progress. We said goodbye to the gross indoor/outdoor carpet, painted the floor, and gave the ceiling a bright white coat of paint. Now we need to frame up the walls, insulate, drywall, paint, decorate. This will NOT happen before I turn 30.
7. become a runner - ish??
I was making really good progress on this goal and then I got pregnant.
8. organize the garage - done
With the help of my amazing mother-in-law we scrubbed the walls, gave them a fresh coat of paint, painted and organized the worktable, painted and hung pegboard, and organized everything else.
9. eat well - doing
10. plant our garden and be dedicated to it - ish??
I have to admit, D did most of the planting and was the dedicated one.
11. reduce our household energy consumption - doing
We saved and bought a new furnace and programmable thermostat.
12. contact my grandma’s via phone or letters at least once every month - fail
I definitely have not done this every month, but we have driven and seen them a couple of times this year. Counts, right?
13. take the bus or bike to work in the fall - done
14. take a road trip with my girlfriends - done
15. ride my bike more (for errands and recreation) - done
16. drink more water - doing
17. become a better climber - done
18. go to the Red River Gorge - fail
19. spend a weekend with Missy, Melissa, Rod, Nathalie, and D - done
20. volunteer throughout the year - doing
21. work on personal art/design projects over the summer - fail
22. build rain barrels for our house - done
23. spend time in Yosemite and the East Side with friends - done
24. continue to save money for impending purchases (water heater and car) - doing
25. work on landscaping - done
26. read six books - doing
27. spend quality time with D - doing
28. go to the dentist - ???
29. expand my knowledge on wine (I worked part-time at a local winery? - done
I say "done" because I no longer work there. I did however learn a lot this year.
30. spend quality time with extended family - doing

Overall, not bad. I thought my failed goals would disappoint me more. Honestly they don't. I think I'm just happy I took a little bit of time last year and made goals. The fact that I've accomplished some and am working on others is icing on the cake. To the next three months!

Bloesem has up a pretty amazing print/poster/art round-up. Check it out here.