little mommy.

Ammie is such a fair little mommy. I observed this quality yesterday when she took all four of the babies for a stroller ride. It's nice to see her loving them all equally.

design bria.

So I know that my goal was to do one design post a week, but that was two months ago so it clearly didn't happen. What can I say? Life is busy with two toddlers. This won't be a horribly inspiring post, just a quickie. I've been meaning share a glorious website chalk full of design tid-bits passed down from the Good Lord himself...not joking (okay, I'm joking). I'm a tad hesitant to give it up, but that would be just silly of me. The site is called Apartment Therapy and I promise, if you find yourself looking through design magazines on a regular basis then this website will be at the top of your list in no time at all. There. I did it.

You wouldn't believe how much I love these vases, I actually squeaked when I came across them on the Urban Outfitters website. They are designed by Maxim Velcovsky and go for $240 each. While slightly out of my vase budget, I wouldn't mind splurging on these beauties. I can just picture them holding some brightly coloured flowers sitting whimsically by my front door. I feel so inspired when such ordinary things are turned into pieces of beautiful art, it makes me take a second look at my monotonous environment.

That's all for today. Enjoy.

fashionista.

This was Ammie's doing...

She wanted to wear the ballerina costume and mittens-turned-elbow warmers around all day. She's got her own agenda.

fargo.

Since having the babies James and I have only been able to sneak away a handful of times. This week we were able to take another short trip to spend time as a couple. Yay! This whole year we were excitedly planning a vacation down to Cuba but we decided on a much better location, FARGO! Woo-hoo! As much as both of us wanted to take a warm holiday we were mainly set on spending a few days enjoying each others company...wherever that may be. Awe. So Fargo it was and I must admit that I had a grand ol' time. I forgot how much fun it was to just be young 20-somethings; I don't get to do that too often...ever.

We stayed at a really nice hotel with a great big hot tub and pool area (a must in my books). We shopped and ate and shopped and ate and ate and ate and ate. Glorious.

This may sound horrendous, but one thing that struck us as we were down there was how BIG everything was; big stores, big food, big portions, big products (small prices), big sizes, big people. BIG! James ordered a large popcorn at a movie that we went to and HOLY COW we could have lived in that thing. We didn't even eat half of the bucket between the two of us.

I met Abraham Lincoln! He wasn't very chatty even though I kept asking him about the excitement surrounding the presidential inauguration that was taking place at that very moment! You'd think he'd have more to say on the topic considering Obama has tried to parallel himself to Ol' Abe. Hm.

There was a freaking Ferris Wheel inside one of the stores that we went to! I couldn't believe it when I walked into the place. It was located in Scheel's, a store that will outfit you for any kind of sport known to mankind. Odd combination. You go there to buy a gun or a kayak and get a Ferris Wheel ride on the way out. ?

One thing that Fargo and Cuba had in common were the Margaritas! Whoever invented that blissful drink is a sheer genius in my books. Seriously. I enjoy them a bit too much.

We also frequented the restaurant 'HuHot', a scrumptious Mongolian grill. On one of our binge trips I noticed the chopsticks packaging and had to take a picture of it. What the picture doesn't show is the period that comes after the word 'history'. So it should read "glorious history. and culture". Too funny.

I also had my first Caribou Coffee! I've noticed this coffee shop franchise everywhere in the states, similar to Starbucks. It was actually really good coffee and I really enjoyed the 'back wood' feel to the place. Cozy. They had a sign on the wall that read, "A day without coffee is like a day without coffee"...how true that is.

It was a really really enjoyable trip and I'm already missing the time that James and I were able to spend with each other. Without having the kids around we were actually able to focus on one another! Rare. I can't wait until we can do it again. However, at the end of the trip we both were very excited to see the kids. It's nice to be together as a family again.

a proud parent.

We hit a milestone today people! James had to light a match because of how stinky my sons bowel movement was! Oh yes, I am a very proud parent.

random bria: 16 things

I often stop by Chronicles Of Blunderview to have a peek and see what's going on. Today, during my visit, I was tagged to do a 16 Things post (you get tagged when you read the post). You are in no way, shape, or form REQUIRED to do one of your own, but I figured I was up for it. Here we go:

1. I absolutely hate ferrets. I find them to be unbelievably hideous and vile.
2. I used to have (6 years ago) a pet Blue Lobster. I named her Lola and for some reason I would put my face right up to her bowl and yell her name...all of the time. Maybe that's what killed her. She was cute.
3. Laundry is one of my least favorite things to do in the entire world.
4. I've been eating insanely well for the past week and a half. I can usually stuff a box of candy, a few chocolate bars, a big glass of pop, and other various snacks into one movie viewing. Now I can hardly eat a square of dark chocolate and I'm quite amused by this fact.
5. I'm somewhat embarrassed by how many craft supplies I have in my possession.
6. I don't know how it happens, but I always have a house full of useless and unwanted junk. I purge and purge and purge but it's like all of the junk is breeding like horny rabbits in my spare bedroom while I'm not looking! Can I call exterminators for this problem?
7. When I was little my brother, sister and I would sing a three part 'In The Jungle' for anyone willing to give us a few moments of their time. We were geeky and rich...what else were we supposed to be doing with our time?
8. I was on the receiving end of two marriage proposals during my time with YWAM. *james just read my post and informed me that he too proposed while I was with YWAM (i don't know why i forgot that one), so the number goes up to three.
9. Sugar Snap Peas are one of my favorite snacks.
10. When I get overly frustrated my head starts to get itchy. This is a subconscious quirk on my part but has become a very useful tool for James.
11. Thursday is one of my favorite days of the week because Thursdays are flyer days. Information from the Outside World is always good...even in flyer form.
12. I have a hard time thinking that what I do is good enough. I just finished a rough copy and illustration concept for my second children's book but have a hard time getting past my negative thought pattern for it to actually go anywhere.
13. Photography is my favorite art form and I wish that I had more time/resources so I could further expand my understanding/use of it.
14. I want a cup of coffee.
15. James and I have always wanted to open up a design store. My husband has impeccable taste and when we put our heads together we become design superheros. I've always wanted to call it 'Erskine House Of Design'.
16. One of my favorite things in life is going into the kids room when they're sleeping and just looking at them. Mainly because they aren't a blur, running circles around me screaming at the top of their lungs. I can actually see their faces. So peaceful and precious.

There you go! I hope you learnt something new about me today!

cabbage patch.

You can't get much cuter than this (and yes, the picture uploaded sideways for who knows what reason...not my fault).

point. click.

Today I decided to teach Rhys how to use my camera (I hope it doesn't come back to haunt me). Enjoy seeing the world through my toddlers eyes because I may just have to make him a guest photographer on my blog :)

random bria - warning: VERY STRANGE!

All was quiet and peaceful in The Upper World. For as long as any of them could remember, the Compact Cars and Cereal Boxes had lived side-by-side in their little villages. Each Car and Box did it's own share of the daily chores all working together towards the same goal; to protect their way of life. The Upper World was filled with sunshine and happiness and the inhabitants wanted to keep it that way. To the Cars and Boxes everything was perfect, everything except....The Lower World. Every single Car and Box that inhabited The Upper World feared the Evil Monkeys that inhabited The Lower World. They did not live in constant fear though, it was only every once-in-awhile when they remembered the attacks the settlers of The Upper World had suffered. The Lower World was very far away, so far in fact, that it was located at the very bottom of the deepest Sea...The Evil Monkey Sea. Thankfully, neither Car nor Box had had any contact with an Evil Monkey in years. That is, until today.
The Lower World was a dark and scary place and even though the Evil Monkeys were indeed very evil, they too liked the sunshine and happiness that The Upper World had to offer. They were sick and tired of the damp Lower World were ready to take The Upper World by force. It had taken many many months to come up with a solid plan of attack and today was the day they would see it through. While the Compact Cars and Cereal Boxes were a very smart and thrifty group, the Evil Monkey's found their one weakness, a weakness The Upper world was oblivious to.
So The Evil Monkey Sea started bubbling and rumbling as the Evil Monkey's swam up to the banks of The Upper world. It just so happened that a Compact Car was out for a leisurely stroll by the beach when it saw the bubbles start. The Car knew right away that it was an attack and began warning the surrounding villages of the ravenous group of Evil Monkeys. Both The Lower World inhabitants and The Upper World inhabitants formed ranks on the largest beach of The Evil Monkey Sea; with the Cars honking, the Boxes flapping, and the Monkey's hissing and calling. The Cars and Boxes outnumbered the Evil Monkeys greatly, but the Monkeys were very very evil. Waisting no time at all the Evil Monkeys charged at the group in what seemed, to the Cars and Boxes, to be an odd plan of attack...but the Evil Monkeys knew victory was theirs. For you see, the Cereal Boxes had not evolved enough to be able to stand-up straight, they went about their days shifting around on their bellies. And the Compact Cars had never taken into account that they had roofs as not of them was a convertible. So the Evil Monkeys made their way through the ranks of Cars and Boxes by hoping on the roofs and backs of The Upper World inhabitants. Shocked at the sheer genius of the Evil Monkeys, the Compact Cars and the Cereal Boxes worked themselves up into a frenzy and were easily pushed into The Evil Monkey Sea...which quickly became known as The Compact Car and Cereal Box Sea. The tides had turned and the Evil Monkeys prevailed; they got their sunshine and happiness, but were still very,very evil.

(In case you're wondering, this was a dream that I had two nights ago. I told James about it as soon as I woke up and he thought that it was worthy of its very own blog post. I have no idea what I ate that would have given me such a sketchy dream.)