Where I Left Off...

I can't believe it's been over seven months since I last blogged!  The time has flown and so much has changed.  First off, Cam has gone from this little bean:

to a giggling, curious, happy and super active little boy.  While it isn't always easy, being a mom is the best job I've ever had by far.

The other big change in our life is... we bought a house in Newburyport!  It is actually Mike's parent's house that they have lived in for the past seven years.  My in-laws decided that they wanted to move to to a 55 and over community. We were sad to hear that they were moving because we loved their house and had so many happy memories there.  Then it dawned on us that we wanted to buy a house in the next few months and we should buy it from them. The timing just worked out perfectly! Never in a million years did I think that we'd be one day be living here.  It hasn't taken much for the place to feel like ours and I hope to share all the changes with you on the blog.  Sadly, I never finished showing you the rental apartment but while it had a lot of character, it wasn't all that comfortable.  Our new place definitely feels like home.

Navy is doing great too.  He's loving life in Newburyport although he is adjusting to life as a big brother.  In short, life is great and I can honestly say I've never been happier in my life.  Thanks for continuing to follow my blog, your readership means so much to me.  I promise there will be lots of posts about our new house and our life in Newburyport.  More to come soon!

Meet Cameron

Our little boy was born last Thursday, tipping the scales at 10lb. 5oz.  He is the light of our lives and we are so in love!  I hope you'll understand the lack of posts for the next few months... I'll be busy trying to figure out this whole motherhood thing.

xoxo,
Janis




For those of you inquiring about my calligraphy or graphic design, I will be on maternity leave until mid March and will not be accepting jobs until then.  Thank you so much for understanding!

Goodbye NYC

Hi Everyone,
We're packing up and moving out... this Friday!!  I can't believe we'll finally be living in Newburyport in just a few days.  To say I'm stressed is an understatement; moving while 32 weeks pregnant has been a bit of a challenge.  But I'm hanging in there and I will feel so much better when we're settled into our new place.  I apologize if the next few weeks are spotty with posts (although you're used to that by now!) I can't wait to share the next chapter of our lives with you!

xoxo,
Janis

Navy Friday and Some News...

 

Happy Friday everyone!  And I wanted to share some news- I'm 22 weeks pregnant!  We are thrilled to be expecting a little boy in early January.  You'll have to excuse me, I think this is one of the reasons I've been a bad blogger lately, I've been slightly distracted. We've had a few complications along the way, which were especially nerve wracking because of our past experience, but for the most part I'm feeling great.  I hope you'll stick with me as my family grows... I'm excited to have you along for the ride!

*And in case you're wondering, yes, I had to bribe Navy with some bacon to get this shot. 

Blogger Burnout

Hi everyone, I'm suffering from a major case of blogger burnout recently. I apologize for the lack of posts. Rather than post about random, uninteresting things I think I'll just take a little break for now. I hope you'll bear with me during my writer's block! I am working on lots of projects so I will be sure to post about them when I'm finished. Thanks for understanding!

If this was my view I'm sure I'd have a lot more inspiration! (via)

Blogging Break

Hi everyone, I do apologize but I'm taking a blogging break this week. I have a bunch of projects going on and we're heading down to Tennessee to visit family this weekend. So I need some time to get all my ducks in order. Hope you all have a great week and I'll be back in full force next Monday. Thanks for your patience!

Random, but how cute is this gray cupcake?

In the meantime, visit my Pinterest Boards and start your own if you haven't already!

Strength

My heart goes out to all of those who are suffering in Japan.  Tragedies like this make you realize the power of human strength.

 

                                 
Source: imgfave.com via Navy Bean on Pinterest

When it Rains it Pours

The saying is always true for me when it comes to work.  No post today because I have a ton of client projects in the works.  I've been so busy lately that I feel like I'm barely able to keep my head above water. Plus my desk/entire apartment looks like a tornado has ripped through!  But it's also exciting to see my business grow.  Be back tomorrow with a picture of your favorite French Bulldog!

                 Source: etsy.com via MacKenzie on Pinterest

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!  Mike surprised me with these gorgeous flowers yesterday and tonight we are going to our favorite Italian place in the city, Pinocchio Ristorante.  It's this tiny little restaurant on the Upper East Side run by a husband and wife team and it's absolutely divine.  We have such wonderful memories there so I'm excited to go back after two years away.

 

Having a blog is great because I can re-live the past.  Remember this cute Valentine's story?  And three years ago I made these tasty Valentine's Day treats.  I hope you have a sweet day with the ones you love!

Time Flies

My days have been so busy lately that I feel like time is flying by.  So I'm cherishing these quite moments right before bedtime.  Isn't it so lovely to reflect upon your day, knowing that you will soon float away to dreamland and wake up refreshed only to begin again? 


Clock from Pottery Barn

Happy New Year!

I can't believe 2010 is almost over. This has been an eventful year for us: Mike graduated from business school and started a new job, we vacationed in Las Vegas, Florida, and Bali, I continued to grow my own calligraphy and design business, we moved from Ithaca back to New York City and Navy remained as photogenic as ever. While many good things have happened to us, we also have had some setbacks. I suffered a miscarriage in July after a year of trying to conceive and we continue to fight the heartbreaking, gut-wrenching roller coaster of a ride that is infertility. I'm hoping that we will be able to overcome it in the new year.

An important constant in my life has been my blog and I'm so grateful that you have followed me throughout. Thank you for taking the time to stop by every day and for all of your wonderful comments and encouragement- I truly cherish every single one of you. I hope that you will join me in 2011 for all my calligraphy, stationery, cooking and design endeavors. I look forward to a productive and fruitful year and I wish you the same. Cheers to the New Year!


Love,
Janis

Scenes from a Winter Wonderland

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! We East Coasters were blessed with a white Christmas due to a huge blizzard that passed through our way. Mike, Navy and I were in Newburyport at the time and this little city was transformed into a magical wonderland!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I myself am looking forward to a ginormous slice of pumpkin pie and Navy told me he's looking forward to a turkey leg. Enjoy the day with the ones you love!


Photo by Pillsbury.com

I'm working on a big wedding project (that I can't wait to share with you!) so I'll be away for the rest of the week. See you on Monday!

Sick Day

I've been battling a really bad cold this week so I apologize for the lack of posts. I hope to be back in a few days!

A New Home

A sneak preview of my chair project

Hello friends! It's been a long time since I've blogged and I do apologize for my absence. But we're settling nicely into our new home and I've got so many exciting things to share with you in these upcoming weeks. Right now I'm in full-on decorator mode, trying to make our NYC apartment into a cozy home.



I was thumbing through my Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook and found a great excerpt by Ina describing her personal home style:

"...I've evolved a style that seems to work for me: big sofas for a nap on Sunday afternoon; comfy reading chairs with good light and a view out the window for daydreaming; great CDs piled up by the stereo; and my favorite old videos next to the television. I like knowing that there are twenty new magazines on the coffee table, delicious French teas in the pantry and expensive bath bubbles next to the tub. A good home should gather you up in its arms like a warm cashmere blanket, soothe your hurt feelings, and prepare you to go back out into that big bad world tomorrow all ready to fight the dragons."

To me, these are words to live by. There's nothing that makes me happier than a cozy, inviting home. So slowly I'm trying to pull everything together. I hope you'll join me on this process.

And thanks for sticking with me, it feels great to be back!

Bali Bound

Hello, hello! Well we survived graduation weekend and now we're off to our post grad school trip... to Bali! I'm very excited but I'm sad to be leaving you for the rest of the month. We'll be traveling for the next two weeks and then we're packing up and moving back to NYC July 1st. I hope you don't mind that I'll be taking some time off from blogging. Instead of Eat, Pray, Love, my world is Vacation, Pack, Move!

Rice paddies in Ubud, Bali

But next month I'm thrilled to share with you some exciting projects that I've been working on. I finished the chair, and I can't wait to show you the final details from Joe and Michaela's wedding.

Finally, here's one last gratuitous shot of Navy to tide you over. We'll miss the little guy while we're traveling but not to worry, he's having a blast at summer camp with the Snells in Newburyport!


Be back soon!

Love,
Janis

The Burren Finale

After weeks of suspense, Matt and Aideen made it to the Today Show to compete in DIY's Most Desperate Landscape contest. Luckily our NYC apartment search perfectly coincided with the contest so we were able to watch it in person.

The obstacle course took place outside, right in Rockefellar plaza. Too bad it was a rainy and dreary day.

We were lucky to get prime spots right in front of the finish line!


The wacky obstacle course started off with sod rolling, followed by tree planting, brick laying and window box planting.

A tractor race across the finish line completes the course.

The contestants take group photos before the race. Matt and Aideen are the gray team!

Cameras and crew gather around to film the race.

Kathy and Hoda give the play by play.

Matt and Aideen had a great start but the tree planting slowed them down. Matt is in second place!

Soo close! Unfortunately the red team won.

The anchors in referee garb, announce the winners.

And final group photos were taken.

It was such a great race Matt and Aideen! At least you won a Club Cadet rider mower. And you'll have such great memories to look back on!

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Update on The Burren 2

If you've been following my story on my brother and sister-in-law and their "Burren," you'll be excited to know that they made it to the Today Show and will be on TODAY at the 8:00am hour!
Mike and I will be there cheering them on as they need to compete in an obstacle course to win DIY's Landscape Contest. Check out last year's competetors as they race through the obstacle course to see what they are up against! GO MATT & AIDEEN!

I'm Here...

but I've been super busy lately so I apologize for the lack of posts. I must admit that the blog posts might be a little spotty for the next couple months. In addition to searching for an apartment, getting ready for the move, enjoying our last few weeks in Ithaca and all the graduation festivities, we're also planning to go half way across the world for an amazing trip that I'll share with you later on. Needless to say, these next two months will be a little hectic for me. But stick with me, I have a lot planned for the summer months ahead!

-Janis