Sunday, June 22, 2014

"You Are My Sunshine" Baby Shower

On Saturday, the first day of summer, my wonderful friends here in Okinawa hosted a darling baby shower for me and my babe. I loved how bright and summery it all was, especially since baby will be a summer baby (the best kind: I'm a summer baby too ;) ).

Oh, that food. It was so so yummy.



^^the wonderful hostesses: Mickelle, Milly, and Sherry^^
There are a lot of pregnant women on this island! Mickelle, Heather, and Anna are all due in October. It sure is nice going through the pregnancy experience with them.

It sure was a wonderful day reminding me how blessed we have been with the people we call friends on this island. The support we feel from people here is so great, especially being so far away from our family and friends. We love our Okinawa family!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Nursery Sneak Peak: Some Refashions!

My baby boy's nursery is almost done which makes me really happy! It feels nice. Basically this room is a labor of love because of two big obstacles: the lack of options here for baby furniture, and the cost of things that they do have. 

Starting out, we have a rocking chair. Now, I do not like gliders generally, but all those cute rockers you see at Target do NOT exist here. Boo. So if I don't like gliders, there is no way I'm going to pay a bunch of money for one. So I didn't. I got this thing for $20 (ottoman included but not pictured because I'm not sure if I'll ever get the motivation to finish it).

It smelled like a thrift store, so I just chucked the cushions and made my own with some foam padding. I had to get creative because they don't just have foam pads like you could find easily at Joann's. So I cut up a foam mattress pad and stacked pieces together. Like I said, labor of love. 
The finished product! No it's not perfect. But it will do. And you get to see the baby quilt I made. These fabrics carry through the rest of the room. I'll show you soon. But as you can see, I'm going for just a nice happy colorful space. I read it's good for their developing eyesight and brain development. 
Next project is the curtains. This is what I had in mind:
Only in a different color, and preferably not over $150 for two panels, as Anthropologie wants to charge. So I had my mom send me some good old $10 Ikea curtains, and I ordered some royal blue pom pom trim from Amazon. It was so easy sewing it on. And there you go! I love the playful pop of color it brings to the room. 
 The last refashion was this fun globe I found here. The small one is a constellation globe. Japan loves globes! I have so many I need to stop I know. Anyway, it used to look like this:
Not bad, but I wanted to make it a little more fun since it's in a child's room. So I just took it apart, used some of the same paint I used for the chair, and there you go. 

Can't wait to show you the rest. I've been sewing like mad this last week so I want to show you that. In the meantime, hope you like it so far :)

State of the Union: Our Third Marriage Year

Our traditional picture is starting to look quite different. And I feel like my bump looks fake in this picture ha. 

Anyway, another year of marriage for us yay! This year has been pretty great. No complaints. Last year as we were having our traditional dinner discussion talking about the year before and our goals for our next marriage year, the topic of babies came up as a possibility for us, and BAM, here I am, eight months pregnant. I can't believe it. 

We had our traditional getaway this year as well, but man, things just weren't in our favor. We wanted to stay where we stayed last year, but it was booked. So we booked a Japanese resort, which was nice, but the weather was not cooperating whatsoever. We tried moving it to the next weekend but it was too late to change or get a refund. All we wanted was a weekend on the beach and in the pool, is that so much to ask?! We got a few good hours in to swim and lounge by the pool, which was better than nothing, I guess. We also had a delicious dinner in the evening, so it wasn't all a loss ha. 
^^our view^^

 ^^33 weeks!^^
 Happy Anniversary to us. It's going to be interesting to see what this next year will bring. So many changes! I'm trying not to freak out. At least I have my incredibly supportive and patient husband. I'm so glad to have him.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Fukushuen Gardens (32 Weeks)

The Fukushuen Chinese Gardens is one of my favorite spots here in Okinawa. It's a serene and beautiful place nestled right in the bustling capital of Naha. I've been wanting to bring Victor here for a while now because it's such a beautiful place, and also because I knew he would love feeding the carp and all the turtles that get so excited to see you hovering over the water....and I was right, he did love it ha ha) 

It was an afternoon well spent. The weather was perfect (the heat and humidity are coming) and the magnolia trees were all blossoming: they smelled heavenly! 




 ^^this pigeon knew how to schmooze Victor to get some food. they became good friends ha^^
 And I think this picture is awkward but I still kind of like it ha. But it's an accurate depiction of how Victor is always touching my belly. It's sweet.

Some fun belly info:
Now that there is no denying that I'm pregnant, random belly touchings happen now, and honestly, it doesn't bother me like it does some people. People are just being sweet and excited for me, so why should I be annoyed about that?

The first time it happened was when I was at a Japanese convenient store with Victor and the cashier said to me "baby?" When I said yes, he just reached across the counter and patted my belly. Victor and I both got such a kick out of how a grown man has no shame in wanting to touch a stranger's pregnant belly. We love Japan for that reason. They LOVE all things baby. We love we get to experience having a baby in a culture that loves them so much.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Random Realizations

Technology is great and all, but these thoughts kind of bum me out.

-- If I had a lineup of letters from old friends, I would be able to recognize each and every one of my friends just from their handwriting. I could still do it with those elementary, jr. high, and high school friends. If I were to try to do that now with new friends, it would be almost impossible, considering I communicate with them almost completely through typed text, email, etc. Remember the good old days, where instead of a text message from a friend, they handed you a note they wrote during 3rd period? Brings back fond memories.

-- The other day I was telling someone about a great book I just finished, (this book, if you're wondering), and she asked if she could borrow it. I love the whole idea of passing around a great book from person to person, but I had to tell her no, because it is an ebook only accessible through my amazon account (and she doesn't have any type of technology to access it except for a desktop). For how much I adore my Kindle, it's moments like that that make me sad that I hardly read "real" books, and rarely, if ever, buy them anymore.

--  And speaking of ebooks vs. "real" books, every time I watch the movie "You've Got Mail" (just watched it a few days ago ha) I can't help but think about the karma of it all. That if they were to make a sequel to it, it would be Joe Fox being put out of business by the Amazon revolution. Except I wonder if Fox Books would be like Borders Books (may it rest in peace) or Barnes and Noble, who were on the ball and created the Nook, which really is the reason why B&N stores still exist today. Victor thinks he would have met Borders' fate. Which do you think he would be? Oh, I love that movie.

There was something else I was going to write, but I forgot. So, there you go. Your thoughts?

Carry on!
 
BLOG TEMPLATE BY DESIGNER BLOGS