Stuff for the little guy

Atticus, Gina, and I have a play date tomorrow. When I was at Target today, I couldn't help but pick up these two Halloween related items for the little tyke. Halloween has always been Gina's favorite holiday, so I will be excited to see the costumes Atticus has over the next couple years.
I love baby hats, and this one is no exception. It is an owl hat. I'll try and get some pictures of Atticus wearing it tomorrow.
I figured Gina would get a kick out of this bib...."I Love Mummy".....how cute is that? Soon Atticus will start to eat baby food and cereal, so bibs will be a must. Now I just need to find a bib that says "I Love Aunt Jess".

Oh, snap!!

One word: Dang!

I make it no secret that I like to blog stalk. I found Matt Clayton's photography blog through one of my favorite scrapbooker's sister-in-law's blog. Yeah, I know it sounds confusing, but it really isn't. It is like a blog of a blog of a blog type thing. Whatever. Anyway, so I occasionally stalk Matt Clayton's blog because I love his photography style. It is super clean and crisp.

I stumbled across this post the other day. His name is Kyle Beckerman, and apparently he plays for Real Salt Lake.

5 things that I dig about this photo:
1. Dreadlocks. He wears them well.
2. Bow-tie. Why don't more guys wear bow-ties? They kick ass. And look all old-timey sexy.
3. Suspenders. If I didn't have breasts, I would totally rock suspenders.
4. Soccer ball. I have had a weakness for soccer players since I was a wee lass. No other team sport has, in my opinion, more attractive dudes. Which leads to......
5. Overall hotness. On a scale of 1 to 10, this guy is an 11. That's right Spinal Tap, crank it up to 11.

That's Mr. Heartbreaker to you!

I have seen Atticus a few times since I have been back in Seattle, and he looks SOOOOO much different now than he did during the first few months of his life. He is such a little, chubby, adorable baby now! Not that he wasn't super cute before, but now he has the facial expressions to go along with the awesomeness. He is way past the newborn baby stage. I need to take some new shots of him because he almost looks like a different baby now. Gina, Atticus, and I are going to do some hanging out this weekend, so my goal is to take lots of photos of this tyke. If you are interested in checking out more recent pictures of Atticus, check out Gina's blog here.

new music.....

Last weekend while I was hanging out in Ballard, I decided I was due for a trip to Sonic Boom. It has been a long time since I bought a fist full of CDs. I was long overdue. Here is what I picked up:
Mates of State: Re-Arrange Us. Absolutely love this release. Love. It. This has to be my favorite album of theirs. I have been listening to it almost non-stop since I bought it. In the car and at home. My favorite tracks? In no particular order: Get Better, Now, and The Re-Arranger. They apparently had an in-store at Sonic Boom in May, but I missed it because I was in California. I'm not sure when they are going to play in Seattle again, but I will definitely be there!!
I have a soft spot in my heart for all things Beck. I have loved Beck since the days ofMellow Gold circa 1994. I was a junior in highschool at the time and he was pretty much the shit. I remember rockin' it out to Loser and Beercan with my friends....Party at Gina's house! Or PAG as we used to call it. Wow, that was a long time ago.
I freely admit to loving Coldplay. Viva La Vida and Violet Hill are two of my favorite tracks so far, but I haven't really gotten too far in to the CD since Mates of State have been on repeat. Hold on to your hat Chris Martin, I'll get to you. Don't worry.
Not sure I am loving this Neko Case one. I had, and still have, a love affair with Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. That album is amazing. My parents even dig on that album. I love it that my parents are open to listening to music that I like. My dad listened to the Iron & Wine album that I got him so many times that my mom actually commented on how tired she was of listening to it, which brought a smile to my face. Stay tuned for more on this Neko Case album, I need to give it more of a shot.

WWJD?

I don't consider myself a religious person at all, but this neon sign is the shit. Probably my favorite sign in all of Ballard. WWJD? How about construct an enormous hot pink neon sign showcasing his talent for all to see? Done.
Want to see the sign for yourself? Drive north on 24th St NW, close to 80th.

Dog Days of Summer

I took a ton of photos of the dogs out at Vashon this weekend. Here are a few of my favorites....
Lincoln, looking adorable as usual. Those sad eyes get me every time. He knows to come to me for table scraps, I can't resist him!
Mr. Blue (Berry) Lauer. After a rough start with ripped up foot pads and too much sea water, Blue figured out the life of a beach dog quite quickly. It's all about lounging in the sun and playing fetch.
Pip decides to take a much needed afternoon snooze on the deck. She certainly has some beautiful brown eyes.
Pip + Kim = True love. Pip loves Kim, and that fact was verified when Kim and Casey decided to take the kayaks out. They started to paddle away and Pip started to whimper and shake, staring at Kim the whole time. As Kim got farther and farther away, Pip couldn't handle the separation, so she decided to start swimming out to Kim's kayak. It was super cute.

Wizard Staff

This weekend we headed out to Vashon Island to celebrate Casey's 31st birthday. We had an awesome time! The weather was perfect. We arrived early on Friday afternoon, got settled, and started to celebrate Casey's 31st year. The guys decided that this would be the trip where they would try the Wizard Staff. What is a Wizard Staff? Well, in the Lord of the Rings movies, Gandalf the White carried a staff. Gandalf used the staff to cast Saruman out of King Theoden to regain control over Rohan in The Two Towers. The staff was adorned with an intricate and delicately styled crown that held a great power (yes, I plagarized that directly off of another website). Check out the Staff of Gandalf the White here. In our little world of reality, a Wizard Staff is something the guys have been talking about making for a number of months. The idea is to create a Staff out of beer cans. When you are done with your beer, you attach your next beer to your empty can(s) with tape. See pictures below.
The above shot is Casey pretty much douchin' out in the early afternoon with his Staff in the beginning stages of growth. Needless to say, it was quite an entertaining afternoon.
The next shot is after the Wizard Staff had doubled in height. Note the white beard. Gandalf the White is making an appearance.
Here is a shot of Sean's epic Staff. Nic and Casey started to build their Staffs at about 2pm. Sean didn't show up to the island until about 7pm, so he had a lot of catching up to do on Staff construction. He wasted no time. All you 'Couv rats would be proud.

Although the Coors Light Wizard Staffs were quite different in construction and purpose compared to the Staff of Gandalf the White or Saruman, they all held great power. The former being the power of wicked hangovers and drunken debauchery.

Smelling the old 'hood........

I can't imagine what Frank is thinking at this point. I have been leaving the bedroom window open so he can familiarize himself with the smells and sounds of the neighborhood. I wonder if he is thinking..."Didn't we just live here 5 months ago?"....or possibly...."Where is that lame-o neighbor cat, Hashbrown?" The house we moved in to is approximately a block and a half from our old house. Crazy! I love this neighborhood, and was excited at the chance to move back.
Frank hasn't slept too much the last few days. He had been crashing at my parent's place the last couple weeks while I worked on getting settled in to the house. I brought him back with me this past Sunday, and he's been in serious explorer mode since then. He's checked out every nook and cranny in the house, and observed the view from every possible window. His favorite spots so far are the windows in the living room, kitchen, and bedroom.
I sense that he is getting a little tired, considering he usually sleeps about 22 hours a day. I figure he will crash out hard core in the next day or so, once the novelty of the new place has worn off.
Until then, let the exploration continue......

All the pretty flowers.....

This past weekend I was in Moses Lake hanging out with my parents and other family members for my mom's 60th birthday. My parents love to do yard work and their surroundings definitely reflect that. I love going there when all the flowers are in bloom, so many vibrant colors. I couldn't resist taking some photos of a few of my favorites. My parents' love of gardening didn't really rub off on me, as I don't know the first thing about flowers. All I know is that they are pretty, and usually smell good.
Love this orangey pink guy!!

Diabeetus

Two words: Food boner.

This is one of my favorite SNL skits. Enjoy.

To turn off my playlist, it can be found if you scroll down to the bottom of the page.