Still here!

brooklyn

A quick note to say: I'm still here, promise! And new posts are coming soon...including Miles' 6 month update, which is slightly overdue, and our fun Saturday outing crossing the Brooklyn Bridge in this glorious weather we've been having. Stay tuned :) 

Randomness.

central park views at twilight. 

Thought I'd post a pic of NYC, like the old days. And maybe make a list of randomness, also like the old days. Here we go!

~little man has continued to improve on his new dairy/soy-free diet. hooray! sometimes there are still super difficult/fussy days, though. such is life, right?

~this new diet has forced me to cook more (like, every night. goodbye take-out!) and get creative with recipes. it's been a really, really good thing for us. tonight i made a peanut/coconut thai-like chicken dish. yummmm. almost as good as our favorite nyc thai take-out!

~a friend recently watched miles for us so we could go to the movies, something i daydream about often these days. we saw this. it was ah-mazing. and then i got the stomach flu later that night. not so amazing. taking care of a little one while sick is the worst.

~today miles got one of his vaccinations (we split them up since last time he had such a bad reaction w/ getting them all at once) and he didn't make a peep. no crying. no screaming. not one peep! crazy! such a brave little man. 

~i miss reading books. trying to get through this now (written by a friend of a friend) on my new nook (i got a nook!). and this, for sleep training purposes. has been impossible to make headway on either. 

~it's rainy here in NYC. feels like it's been raining a lot lately. hard to get motivated to schlep outside when the weather stinks.  

~i am feeling grateful for my friends these days. and grateful that we live in NYC again. b/c man, it's isolating enough being a new mama, i can't imagine not being in a city that i love and not being close to the people that i love. grateful. 

~have i plugged dan's new company on here? i haven't?? well here you go -- gively.com -- so proud of him.  

the end and goodnight. 

So much to say...

So little time!

Still not sleeping (ack)...waiting with bated breath for next week's GI appointment for Miles in hopes that it will resolve his tummy/spit-up/sleeping issues...just trying to keep my head above water 'til then (and nap whenever possible!). Whew. I have lots of things I say, but seriously...no time! So for now, enjoy some photos from our Christmas Day twilight stroll through Central Park. :)

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A trip to the hospital (x2).

a visit from Miles at the hospital

As I mentioned last week, we had a stretch of pretty bad luck there for awhile, medically speaking. All is okay now and we've managed to stay out of the hospital for nearly two weeks now (yessss!). 

Our first trip to the ER was late one Tuesday night after Miles started spitting up blood (a lot of blood) which was absolutely terrifying. So we did what any first-time, panic stricken parents would do -- we called 911 and headed to the hospital where I had just delivered 3 weeks before. Turns out he had ingested the blood from me after a rough breastfeeding session (that kid has a pretty serious latch), and his little tummy had simply rejected it, giving us the scare of our lives. I couldn't believe a small crack produced so much blood but apparently it's quite common and they found him to be in perfect health after examining him (thank you Lord).

The second trip to the ER came just 3 days later after I developed severe abdominal pain (like, worse than labor kind of pain). I am not at all the type to just head to the ER at the first sign of pain (more the grin and bear it type), but since it was after hours, and my doctor recommended I go if it got worse, we decided to take trip number two back to New York Presbyterian Hospital. I could barely walk from the pain but refused to call an ambulance again -- don't want to earn ourselves a reputation in the building of those crazy people who call ambulances every other day :) Thankfully (providentially), a friend had stopped by when all of this started, so she stayed with Miles while Dan and I headed to the hospital. And thank goodness -- the ER was awful that night (no place for a baby). 

The pain only intensified once I got there and by the time I was finally seen, I was in more pain than I've ever been in before. They decided it was most likely postpartum related, so after lots of pain meds and numerous tests (and about 16 hours spent on a bed in the middle of the hallway of the ER), I was finally admitted to my own room on the postpartum floor. It was quiet and clean and had this killer view:  

view of the east river

I spent a total of five days there while they tried to figure out what was wrong with me. Blood work indicated I was definitely fighting an infection of some kind, but the real culprit of the pain was a mystery. Uterine infection, ruptured cyst, passed kidney stone were all theories that were discussed, and some signs of each popped up in the tests they ran, but nothing was conclusive or obvious according to the doctors (who seemed just as frustrated as I was to not be able to conclusively identify the source of such intense pain). In the end, the pain got much better while on antibiotics, and so I was given the green light to go home. It was awful to be away from Miles for that long -- Dan would bring him to see me in the evenings, which was the highlight of my day, but I was sooo glad to finally be heading home.

So thankful to have all of that behind us now. We feel like it really stretched us as first-time parents and our ability to handle stress -- sleepless nights and a fussy baby? No problem! As long as we can stay out of the ER, we're good to go :) Here's hoping for a drama-free (hospital-free) month of October!

One month!

Can't believe it's been a month already! My plan is to do a photo shoot with Miles each month with the scottie dog stuffed animal to track his growth. But he wasn't really into it :) Some more shots from our "session": 

(ha, it looks like the dog is chasing him:)

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And another favorite from today: 

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I'll be back later with stories from our "exciting" week (and by exciting I mean awful and traumatic). Two trips to the hospital: one for Miles, one for me. We're all okay -- but not fun.

Still here.

cutest feet ever

A quick note to say: I'm still here! I keep thinking how nice it would be to jump on the blog and post pictures of Miles, or type out a post about motherhood and the first weeks of this crazy roller coaster ride...but time is the strangest thing these days. It literally slips through my fingers -- every day -- and I am not sure how morning to night happens so quickly! This teeny tiny person consumes most moments of my day leaving little to no time for things like blogging, emailing people back, showering, eating, etc. But I'll try to get on here more often, promise. 

And p.s.: Miles is 3 weeks old today!! 

June.

Cambridge is pretty in June

Can't believe June has come and (almost) gone. And you know what else is hard to believe?? It's been about one year exactly since we moved here! Wow...that just dawned on me this week. Last year at this time we were going through a huge transition, embarking on a completely new and unknown journey. And here we are, one year later, about to do the same thing again! Baby, of course, and...well, more....but I can't share quite yet! (such a tease, I know). I just don't want to speak too soon -- would love for things to be a tad more solidified before spilling the beans. And on that note....off to bed! 

(more later :) 

New York, Graduation Week, etc.

a bridge in Upper Manhattan, taken from the car

We are back from our weekend getaway to New York (plus a quick jaunt down to the Eastern Shore in Maryland for a friend's wedding on Saturday) and once again it was a wonderful whirlwind that has left me pooped (as I've said before: it's much less exhausting to live in New York than to visit, I think). Even though it rained part (most) of the time, it was still so lovely to reconnect with good friends and some of my old, favorite places in the city that make my heart happy.

And now we have a full week of craziness/busyness/excitement in front of us. Family is coming to town and Dan graduates this week, folks! Can you believe how quickly time has passed? I feel like we just got here, and that he just embarked on this journey of grad school, but here we are....another chapter behind us. And in front of us? Not totally sure at this point. There are some plans in the works, but nothing is for certain. We've been planning and praying and trying to make some decisions over here for quite some time, but so much is in flux that it's been hard to nail anything down. Throw into all of that a baby on the way, and what you get is a mild case of STRESS. Actually, I've been handling it pretty well over the last several weeks/months (if I do say so myself :) -- but now that school is officially done, and the baby's arrival is feeling not so surreally far away anymore, I must admit that a tad bit of stress has crept in! It will all work out, I know. It always does. Will keep you posted as things unfold!

a Monday list.

snapshot of newbury street, boston

So many things to say, I don't know where to start...

~It feels so good to be sitting on my sofa right now in comfy clothes as opposed to in a theater in big hair, high heels and full make-up.

~I am e-x-h-a-u-s-t-e-d from the last 7 straight days of shows (dress rehearsals + opening weekend). 

~Exhausted, yes, but so so happy with the show and the way things have been going. Opening night was a success, we had friends and my dad in town to celebrate, and it felt so good to finally show the world all of our hard work from the last four (4!) months.

~A few reviews are out and so far, so good! Go here.

~Next weekend the moms come to town and the weekend after that more friends! I like having visitors :)

~Much, much more to say but I'll think I will save it for later posts this week....time for bed (YAY, sleep).

Happy weekend-ing.

I've been really bad about posting on Fridays lately....we usually end up going out, getting home late, then I forget all about it! 

Here are a few pics from the store yesterday (of my display). It was a good experience, overall, though I saw first-hand how the cold weather is affecting foot traffic. So, yes, a bit discouraging at times, but the silver lining was getting to work in a new environment and interacting with the few customers that did make it in. 

Local Collection, Boston

Enjoy the weekend!

Cold. Very cold.

the only thing warm around these parts....

I've been home from running errands for over an hour now and still. can't. get. warm. Despite the scarf and the blanket and the fire going. Sigh. I know I keep talking about the weather (sorry) but I really do feel like this winter is like one giant hurdle that I can't quite clear. Dan and I agreed tonight, as we drove home past 20 foot snow drifts and swerved our way down Massachusetts Avenue in order to keep from getting hit by reckless Boston drivers (no offense, Boston, but your driving needs work), that this place is tough. Or maybe it's just us? Don't know what's going on, but it's just....well, it's all just been a bit rougher than I/we imagined. Adjusting to this place and feeling connected and the weather, etc. There are certainly very high high-points (ie: getting to audit classes, rehearsals, etc.) but the day to day in all this gray/cold can be tough. 

Just have to remind myself that it would be that way in the vast majority of the country right now -- seems like we're all in a deep freeze. Even magical New York isn't immune to this mess, I know. 

Anyway, just venting a bit, from beneath my many layers of clothing and piles of blankets and...yeah -- just venting :)

Busy.

a day in the life ~ walk home through harvard square

It's 11:00 and we've only just finished dinner. Terrible, I know, but it's just been one of those days. So busy, from morning to night, behind on everything. But I had a realization today (not necessarily a new one): I like being busy. I like having things to do. I am working about 5 different jobs at the moment & it's making me a bit crazy but I love it. Love the varying interests, love the challenges, love the freedom to format my day the way that I want/need. 

With that said, there is still work to do tonight & a deadline (art related -- I'll share more specifics later!), so I must run. Goodnight, all. 

Sunset.

It was an 'eh' sort of day. And then this:

No camera could do it justice. But believe me, pretty spectacular.  

{and tomorrow? New York!}

[untitled]

Newbury Street windows
After yesterday's epic post, I think I will keep it short & sweet tonight. Plus Dan's mom is coming to town tomorrow and there is still mucho cleaning to be done tonight.

The big news around here is that I leave for Scotland in just FOUR short days!! I don't think I've actually even mentioned it on here -- it somehow slipped through the cracks -- but I'm going to visit a dear friend who just had her first baby back in March. It's a trip that's long overdue, that I've been eagerly anticipating for months now, but it somehow just snuck up on me and so now I don't feel so prepared. Nonetheless, s-o-e-x-c-i-t-e-d....!!

Blue Skies & House Love.

through the glass ~ Prudential Tower, downtown Boston
The sky was not this blue today (confession: sometimes I stock up on photos. which means I am not always taking a new photo each day. I don't get out much). I did, however, get out today, but it was raining too hard for picture-taking. Anyhoo...

Tonight while watching HGTV in the background as I worked on all my latest projects, they showcased three D.C. homes to see which renovation got more bang for their buck. I fell in love with one of the homes and promptly jumped onto Trulia.com to see how much houses cost in that particular neighborhood (a fun game I play sometimes).

And...I. fell. in. love. With this house. With this YARD!

{source}
It's like The Secret Garden!! So full of nooks and magic. Can't you just envision the most perfect evening garden party back there, complete with twinkle lights, champagne and Van Morrison music?

And it's only a mere 3.4 Million. I have such reasonable taste.

Happy Fall!

a pretty store in Harvard Square
Finally, the day I've been waiting for, September 21st*, the first day of Fall, hallelujah! (I love Fall).

But instead of feeling free & full of possibility at the start of this season, I felt a little lost, unsettled, sad.

This changing your life and moving to a new city thing can be pretty rough, people. I keep waiting for it to *not* be rough, and there are certainly moments of non-roughness, but there are also lots of moments of the aforementioned lostness/unsettledness/sadness.

Thank goodness for Dan, who, though buried in books much of the time, is my rock, my bff, my sanity.

And thank goodness for Anthropologie, which is just a brisk 15 minute walk away in the heart of Harvard Square (a multi-leveled glass cube of goodness that I couldn't quite get a good photo of today). It's new in town & I'm happy she's here. I want this:

Wild Bramble Tote
You know what else helps? A new season of Glee. Hooray!

And one last thing that helps (see? this is helping, talking about what's helping): our apartment. Which I have finally gotten cleaned up, decorated & photographed. So tomorrow I'll share some pics. Sound good? :) See you then....

*I've always had it in my brain that Sept. 21 is the first day of Fall, but I just checked my calendar for verification & it says Sept. 23. And some internet sources say Sept. 22. Hmmmm. Anyone know?

Fresh air.

Cambridge, Mass.
I am happy to report that today was a much better day than yesterday (and the ones before that). Partly because I really tried to find more balance with my work today, and partly because the weather was so lovely and cool. I could *almost* smell Fall in the fresh, crisp air, which made me SO HAPPY! Fall = new beginnings, fresh starts, cooler weather. All things I really need right now.

AND it's my first Fall in New England, which I am so looking forward to. Even though it is looking like it will be an incredibly busy season, I think I am ready to leave the sweltering summer behind and move into something new & fresh -- ideas, inspiration, life. Fresh air.

No words.

good ole Harvard Square (which is filled to the brim with students now)
late, late night with dan and his classmates + karaoke = bedtime and no words.

'night...

Randomness on a Monday.

Boston sky
Not much time for writing today (and my computer is not behaving, making everything I try to do on here ten times harder) but a quick post to say we all arrived safe & sound back in Boston on Saturday! Have been busy little bees ever since showing mom the sights & sounds of our new city, sorta half-diving back into artwork & Etsy-ing (me), and "shopping" for classes (which is sort of like previewing) in preparation for Harvard Kennedy's Fall semester (Dan)...among other things.

AND, some random exciting-ness, tonight I play my very first Boston show! Okay, well it's not really my show, per se, but rather an open mic, so I will be contributing only 10 minutes of music to the night. BUT it's also a competition (a very competitive one, apparently, because I had to sign up four weeks in advance), and if I win *then* I get my own show! Or share the stage with past winners. Or something like that. But it's a start! And this is what I did (open mics, competitions, etc.) when I moved to New York, and that turned out pretty well. So I am excited! If you are reading this and live in the Cambridge area (though I really don't think I have any Cambridge readers. Do I?) then come on out to Lizard Lounge this evening at 8pm!

Wish me luck :)

Goodbye, vacation...

Lady Liberty (as seen from the Staten Island Ferry)
Here we are, sharing our last moments at the condo in Stone Harbor before driving back up to Boston early tomorrow (with my mom in tow ~ she's anxious to see our new digs and spend a couple days exploring Beantown!). Not quite ready to say goodbye to vacation just yet (it's never easy), but feeling refreshed and ready to dive back into life up there -- it's been a rejuvenating time of reconnecting with all my people in my city and on the beach. Perfect.

My days are all wonky but I just realized it's Friday, sooo...hope you have a great weekend and see you back here on Monday!