Mary's Mix

Project #101: Nursing Cover

2012-02-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm settled at my parents' house for the rest of the week (and have a few extra pairs of hands to help with the baby), I'm going to start on my new DIY project - my new nursing cover! We're heading to the store later to buy supplies and then I'll warm up my sewing skills.

Source: sewmuchado.blogspot.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

Thanks again Pinterest for another great inspiration!

Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups

2012-02-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

Source: ivillage.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

I was planning on making these tonight because of how easy the recipe seemed to be. Unfortunately, I bought the wrong lasagna noodles. I bought a no-cook Barilla noodle and realized that the only way to soften them (that I was aware of) was actually make a lasagna and cook it. :(

So bummed - my ingredients on hand didn't quite meet the requirements for a full platter of lasagna, so it wasn't too successful.

Oh well - lesson learned. Next time!

Garden Time...

2012-01-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

Every year, I try my hand at gardening. This year is no different. And since Winter seems to be giving way to very Spring-like weather (and I've got a baby on the way) - I thought I'd get an early jump start.

Of course, Mike got some jabs in calling me the 'plant-killer' since I haven't been very successful at gardening in the past. LOL! I am approaching it a little differently and starting with plants that are native to California and are supposedly easy to care for. As much as I love hydrangeas, orchids and gardenias, they aren't quite native to California and require more work....at least for me.

So my bedroom balcony now has a new pot of California Poppies, Anemones and a Dwarf (bonsai) Calamondin (or Calamansi in our household).

The bonsai Calamondin was awesome at the store. It came in a nice pot and had plenty of fruit and blooms. It's perfect for my patio dining set. The tag says it likes plenty of sun and needs minimal watering. So fingers crossed! I hope it survives because it's so adorable and will give me the coveted citrus plant that I've always wanted on my balcony. And seriously - it's so cute!

The California Poppies and the Anemone should bring some great pops of color throughout the balcony. Luckily, both like the sun so the balcony is a great location. So spring and summer should be truly beautiful. Maybe I can finally enjoy my morning coffee out there, bonding with baby girl.

I also re-potted my peppermint into a larger container. I want that to grow full so that we can enjoy the fresh smell and make some great mint-sugar water for afternoon tea. I plan on adding lavendar and basil to my little herb garden too - so it should be nice and green out there.

Fingers crossed!

Easy Curls!

2012-01-29T11:08:00.000-08:00

I think I finally found a savior for my hair!
Since I'm not a morning person and my hair doesn't have a wash and go style, that means I have to either use a lot of product or put it through a lot of heat.

But last night I discovered the sock bun method! I cut up one of the hubby's old socks, rolled my hair in it and woke up to great curls! No heat, no product and so comfortable to sleep in. Hopefully this method will help keep my hair healthier and stronger.

I've always had a hard time growing my hair longer than bra level, so I hope the reduced stress on my hair will help it get longer so my hair will look like this! :)

Source: aspottedpony.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

Pinterest DIY Project: Lampshade

2012-01-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

Source: designsponge.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

I can't wait to take on this project for the baby room. The current lamp has a boring plain shade. I'm going to refurbish it with a white island fabric I got from Hawaii. It's simple, has a nice pattern that should show up really beautifully when the lamp is lit and it should provide great illumination.

Fingers crossed! Stay tuned for the before and after. :)

This week's Pinterest

2012-01-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

Have I told you yet how much I love this site?

Here are some of my finds for this week:

Home Decor

Source: tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

I would LOVE to have the shelving built in our Master Bath. And the crown moulding is great too!

Food

Source: aisletoaloha.blogspot.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

Photo Inspiration

Source: google.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

Stay tuned for next week's finds!

What to do....

2012-01-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

There are plenty of people out there that probably love not having to go to work. And while I admit that being on maternity leave has done wonders for my blood pressure, I miss the social interaction, the routine tasks and projects that keep my mind busy, and the feeling of productivity that I get from work.

I'm in week #2 of maternity leave and I find myself alone most of the time, trying to find something to do that goes beyond laundry or cooking. And while I'm trying to be more crafty, crocheting and sewing can only take you so far. It'd be easier if I could move around the way I'd like too - bike rides, morning jogs, or even an early morning photo walk-about to get me inspired. But being this far along in my pregnancy, I don't want to venture too far or put unnecessary stress on me or the baby.

I suppose I should take the advice of all the other mother's out there and get my rest when I can. But I'm not very good at that. LOL

Oh well....

Great Finds: Pinterest

2012-01-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

I recently came across Pinterest when I was searching for some design inspiration for the baby's room.
What a great find!

I got an invitation to join and recently set-up my profile. Now that I've started playing with it, it's AWESOME! My primary "pin" board right now is my Baby Inspiration Board. It lets me pin photos from different sites/profiles to keep my brainstorming in one place.

Source: babybedding.com via Maryrose on Pinterest

But now I can use it as a place to store my ideas in other areas like photography, event planning, reading, travel, food, etc. It's awesome! I can't wait to really start using it.

If you're on pinterest, please add me or send me your profile. I'd love to browse through your boards too. :)

Thanks Mom...

2012-01-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

I was packing my hospital bag today and saw my mom's Christmas gift out of the corner of my eye. It finally dawned on me why she chose it. It's perfect for taking with me to the hospital!

It comes with a blanket, eye mask, ear plugs and neck pillow. Oh yeah! I've seen the hospital pillows. They don't look very comfortable! LOL
Thanks mom!

Resolutions

2012-01-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

My New Year Resolutions are usually a mix of lifestyle changes and a bucket list of things I need to do for myself. The usual suspects are always in the list, not necessarily because I failed at them the year before but because there's always room for improvement. I am going to focus the resolutions a little more so that I attack them in a specific way and make it more realistic. So here we go:

More home cooking: With a baby coming just weeks away, the days of eating out are going to dim a little. For one, we need to watch our spending. Two, I want to have more control over what we're consuming as a family. Three, I want to capture the wonderful family moments my parents gave us of home cooked meals and dinner as a family. Dinner was always one of those times in the day where we disconnected from technology and spent time talking to one another.
Spend Wisely: It's easy to say "Pay off Bills" or "Save More Money" - but it's not really easy to do. Yikes! What I really want to do is monitor where our money is going, learn to make smarter shopping decisions, and value what we already have in our possession. Seriously, do I need another pair of jeans, just because there's another 50% off of clearance? And really, am I really saving off of a purse just because it has a 30% coupon attached to it? At the end of the day, I'm still spending money. Right? Well, my baby girl will need an education and extra curricular activities to save for. So it's time to manage that better and I'm going to start at the base level. Where are we spending our money on a daily basis?
Live Healthy: An oldie but goodie. Hopefully with eating well and cooking more, it will boost this resolution even more. I've always been pretty active but life will be a little crazy and new in 2012. I want to make sure I stay active with long walks, bike rides and running. I'll have to learn how to include my family in this so that our time is still spent together and we're all learning to live a healthier life together as a family.
Stay Organized: This is a new one for me. For most of my life, I've spread my life a little thin. Work, weddings, photography, running, sports, travel....not to mention quality time with family. Some of that is going to have to fall to the wayside, but time is still precious. I can't waste it on clutter anymore.

The Bucket List

Buy a life insurance policy. Oh yeah, it's time to get that checked off. My family will be protected if something ever happens to me.
Learn one new photography technique a week. Photography is where I let my creativity come to life. I want to nurture that.
Write a clearly defined business plan for photography. In the end I may follow through with that business plan or not. Either way, I'll know exactly where I want to focus that passion.
Start each day like I'm going to have guests over. LOL! I love wearing Mike's sweats and t-shirts, but really? I don't need to be on an episode of What Not To Wear. A nice pair of jeans, a t-shirt, polished hair and lip gloss can't be that hard, can it?

So that's my 2012. Not a bad way to get things started, yeah?

Fingers crossed that I'm successful. :)

2011 A Year In Review

2011-12-31T19:04:00.000-08:00

I'm blessed every year with great laughs, great moments and great people. For me, it's not about being lucky, it's been about appreciating every moment that life brings my way....good and bad.

So 2011 was filled with so much joy and with so, so many blessings.

We enjoyed our annual trips to the home of our hearts, Hawaii....finding time to slow down and enjoy nature at its best. Give me sun and sand, and my mind and body are rejuvenated!

We fed our souls with food, laughter and love with our families. From holiday dinners to weekend cooking, the bonding time were countless and priceless.

We danced and sang to our hearts content. From Bruno Mars to Maroon 5 - we sang until our voices left us and danced until our feet swelled out of our shoes.

We worked hard and played harder. I saw my photography business grow in leaps and bounds. I looked forward to every day I could say that I had a job and a career to go to.

We celebrated life for those who moved on from this world and those that joined. While our hearts overflowed with heart ache, we cherished and laughed at the memories....and hugged those that we'd make new memories with.

But the greatest gift of all for 2011 was when Mike and I learned that we were finally going to be parents. A blessing I can't even measure or describe in words. It's a prayer we long waited to have answered and a joy only our innermost thoughts can express. And now, as we enter 2012, we'll be awaiting her arrival into our family....and facing a new and different life together, not only as husband and wife, but as mother and father.

So this year was extra special and next year is going to bring a new and exciting adventure - one that Mike and I are ready to take on together. I'm happy and proud that we have another year filled with so much happiness. Through all of the ups and downs, we continue to be great partners and best of friends. I can't wait to see what 2012 brings for us.

Happy New Year to all my family and friends. I wish you good health, prosperity, love and joy!

Year End Shopping

2011-12-30T15:48:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh! Year-End Shopping at it's finest.....with Flex!
I hit the optometrist today to use up the rest of my flex spending account. New glasses and new shades!

Bring on summer!

After Christmas Shopping

2011-12-26T19:28:00.000-08:00

I think I much prefer the After Christmas Day sales over Black Friday sales. Less pressure, great sales and not as annoyingly crowded. I didn't start at the crack of dawn today, so I may have missed some of the really good stuff. But I did end up with some really great deals...this is especially helpful for those last minute gifts too. Ha!

Some of today's special finds...
The Gap

OldNavy.com

40% additional discount on all clearance items: I scored on a footed onesie that I wanted for the baby so badly. It's so so so adorable! Pre-Christmas the price ranged from $13.99-24.99. Today's deal? $8. I also got some great deals on Gap Body including a lounge robe and a hoodie for around the house...under $12 for each item. Winter sweaters - oh yeah, time to stock up!
20% Orbitz coupon: Add an additional 20% off your total purchase with an online Orbitz-Gap coupon....yep, good shopping day for me!
And thank you for the holiday gift cards too. :) It's nice not having to come out of pocket when you're on a shopping spree. LOL

Old Navy

I'm not a fan of shopping at Old Navy Clearance if there's no additional off. But I did score on the 75% off deals they had throughout the store. I got some Spring-Summer dresses for under $9.00! And since I'll be back to my pre-pregnancy build, I decided to get ready for summer. And stocking up on Old Navy light-weight cardigan sweaters is always a good idea. They're great for wearing over a dress or sleeveless top. They're even better when they're under $6. And I got my mom 3 complete outfits for Christmas (she comes home in January!) using a combination of these deals. Awesome!

Holiday Decor

I try to stock up on holiday decor and necessities after Christmas, but I was a little lazy this year. I like to look for nutcrackers and unique ornaments for the tree. No luck. I did end up with a snowman buddy to stand by the door or next to a tree and I stocked up on some stashing ribbon for the tree next year (50% off at Sears). I left it at that this year.

Happy Holidays!!!

Project: Bedding

2011-12-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

With only a couple weeks left until I go on maternity leave, I'm doing a little project management to make sure my nesting period goes smoothly. First on the agenda is sewing the nursery bedding. I love the simple crib skirt from this Simplicity 3795 Pattern

Thankfully, I have plenty of resources to turn to when I tackle on this roject. My fingers and toes are crossed that it all goes smoothly!

Crafty Mom...

2011-11-21T15:19:00.000-08:00

Oy - I love the idea of crafts. And while, for the most part, I haven't been excellent at it....I think I have a decent "crafty" person in me. Now that I'm on the verge of motherhood, I've got all kinds of jobs swirling around in my head - from crocheting to sewing...it seems I have my maternity scheduled to tackle sewing jobs.

Right now I'm hoping to tackle baby bedding type stuff and have been brainstorming ideas. I've got tons of great fabrics from trips to Hawaii that I want to use for the baby. Now I just have to find the design and pattern.

Here are some ideas I'm looking at:

http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/sewtakeahike/2008/07/diaper-changing.html

http://www.luvinthemommyhood.com/2010/05/crib-toddler-bed-sheet-tutorial-with.html

http://everydaybeautiful.typepad.com/everyday_beautiful/tutorial-easy-blanket-with-patty-young-knit-fabrics.html

http://sew4home.com/projects/pillows-cushions/356-stylish-baby-nursery-crib-bumpers

I'll probably update this post to add to the "to-do" list noted above....but I'm getting kind of excited!

Extreme Couponer? Me?

2011-11-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

I caught a few of the episodes from the show Extreme Coupon.
Now I doubt I'll ever be able to do it to the extent that they do it on the show but I do find myself re-evaluating my spending habits.

Dare I venture into the world of couponing?

I'm going to try!
I spent last night perusing through the ads and coupons in our newspaper. Gah! It's hard! I'm going to have to find a way to organize my way through this. But I want to see what I can get for free this weekend. LOL! And I'm starting to check out other couponers to see how they manage this strange new world.

Fingers crossed! Wish me luck. I'll be happy if I manage to come home with a couple of free things. LOL

Compression Socks

2011-10-28T17:01:00.000-07:00

Call me a fan!

I was lucky enough to win a pair of Nike Compression Socks during a training run with a local athlete store. I wasn't initially thrilled by the idea of winning socks, but my girlfriend reminded me what a savior they'd be as I progressed through my pregnancy.

And SCORE!

After a long day working a conference and being on my feet, I decided to take a hot shower, moisturized my tired feet and legs, yanked on those socks (no easy feat with my big calves) and happily propped my feet on the hotel pillows.

I could almost feel the blood circulating out of my legs and move toward the rest of my body.

Relief!

I'm definitely a fan and am now looking to add more of these socks to my sock drawer.

I miss shopping...

2011-10-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I shop too much. I love sales. Purses. Shoes. Clothes. And when I get the chance to stay in San Francisco on business travel, shopping is usually in the forefront of my mind.

But being pregnant has limited my shopping a bit (at least for myself!) One, I don't want to spend money on clothes that I won't wear again in a month or two (shoot, I'm only going to get bigger), much less after the pregnancy. Two, my body has morphed into so many different shapes that I'm at a loss as to what looks good on me.

So I'm still trying to find clothes that I can wear after pregnancy...luckily I LOVE showing off my pregnant belly so if the tops are a little snug into of "flowy", that's okay. :) Baby loves to be on display!

Jury Duty

2011-10-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm, for the first time in my 30+ years, I actually got called into jury duty and WHOA - they actually picked me to be a part of the panel. Interesting.

And you know, it really was interesting. I suppose I could have found a way to be dismissed on the vandalism case, but why not do my part to be a part of our judicial system. I'm a smart, fair and rational person (I think) so I'd make a great juror.

Fortunately, for my first run at it, I had an "easy" case. Easy in there were only a few witnesses, 1 count, and it lasted only a day. The case was pretty straightforward, the laws were laid out clearly and the judge was clear and concise in her directions.

Jury deliberations was probably the most interesting part with varying degrees of patience, lots of personalities and a mix of mental and physical exhaustion. The hardest part was getting everyone to focus on the key point of the trial and the exact points we had to focus on.

The one thing I did walk away with after the experience is that I really, really do not want to be in a position to be judged by a panel of my "peers". There are so many life experiences, cultural & personal values that its a little scary to put your fate in the hands of the collective.

So I'll live my life on my best behavior. :)

Oh - and baby girl seemed to enjoy herself. Every time the judge spoke, she kicked. Maybe she'll pick up some vibes and become a judge one day!

Gap.com Online Sale

2011-10-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

I just bought some cute tops for work and a dress for my baby shower at Gap.com!
Take 30% off clearance items with coupon code: GAPSALE

Not sure when it ends, but I was able to use it this morning!
Happy shopping!

Revival?

2011-10-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

I think Mary's Mix may be coming upon a revival.
If you didn't know, I started a new blog called My Honu, that documents my journey through our first pregnancy. The blog was meant to be like a letter to our little girl and the future "honus" in our family....something for her/him to read about, to get to know their parents, our dreams, etc.

As it turns out - there's a lot more to parenthood than just our hopes and dreams. There's the every day, the ups and downs....the changes.

Not wanting to mar the overall purpose of the My Honu site, I thought it was better to revive my Mary's Mix to share the tips and tricks, the deals and steals, the reviews and life in general as a woman now evolving into a mom. While I love sharing my thoughts with baby, mama needs her own place to talk about life.

So I hope you enjoy the blog revival!

Check in!

2011-04-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile since I've posted an update on here hasn't it?
If you miss Mary's Mix, be sure to swing by the Bamboo Leaf Studios Blog for regular updates.

But here's what you've missed:

Easter Weekend | Denver Colorado | Niner love | Raider Nation | Love & Basketball

Weekly Review: Pancakes, Photos and Portraits

2011-01-17T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here's my week in review:

Pancakes and Tots ::: 1.11.11! ::: Photo Style ::: Portraits

In case you forgot, keep up to date with the going-ons in my world at the Bamboo Leaf Blog. 2011 has been incredible so far!

Kings and Rockstars

2011-01-04T11:17:00.001-08:00

Check out some of the highlights from my New Year's Weekend.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011 Changes

2010-12-31T12:29:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote about "Trimming the Fat". I've been looking for ways to make my life run a little smoother and keep it as drama free as possible.

After a lot of thought and insight, I've decided to shut down Mary's Mix. Well, not really shut down. I won't really go away. But I will combine my Bamboo Leaf Blog with my personal blog. Since photography has increasingly become a part of my life, there shouldn't be a problem combining the professional with the personal, right?

If I've learned anything about myself in 2010, it's that I love life. I enjoy capturing the brightest moments, the emotional milestones and those single moments in history that color your past. I've come to love photography so much that I find myself immersing in it on a daily basis. So now my personal life and my professional life are starting to merge together a little bit.

Starting in 2011, the Bamboo Leaf Blog will have a new category/meme called, Marys Mix. The category's sole purpose is to provide a view of my personal life - just like this blog. It's a little bit of everything and a lot of me - with a little photographic enhancement. I've loved everything about this blog and hope you'll continue to follow my personal journey at Bamboo Leaf.

I'll keep this site up to date with the latest posts from the Bamboo Leaf blog. In the meantime, I invite you to visit Bamboo Leaf. If you follow us on Facebook, you already receive regular updates. If not, what's your problem? :) Click on the images below to get re-directed to Bamboo Leaf. Please take the time to "like" my page and you'll receive regular updates.