vintage weekend...

so excited...my absolute favorite vinage expo is happening this weekend in santa monica. i've been going in both san francisco and santa monica for years...in fact, i bought my amazing vintage wedding dress {circa 1930's} from a great vendor there. it's probably the best spot to find a genuine vintage wedding gown...as there are so many under one roof...

this weekend!  february fourth & fifth in santa monica!

and the band played on for diane...

a good friend of patty's lost her battle with breast cancer this weekend.  she was only 31.  and while i didn't know diane very well, this loss seems especially profound...diane was such a sweet and caring soul.  i always looked forward to her posts on facebook, as inevitably there were pictures of her in all her vintage fashion glory.  she ran a magazine about vintage fashion called zelda and also threw fabulous vintage parties called wit's end.  

we saw her last in march, when we were in new york for the hit so hard premiere. she was in amazing spirits and health, and one would never know she was sick...i honestly thought she was in remission and had it "beat."  i'm so grateful we made time to see her while we were in new york as she was a good friend to patty...

my heart goes out to her boyfriend, friends and family...i especially can't imagine what her mother is going through now...experiencing the loss of one's child, whether six or thirty-one...i don't even have the words...

with all the breast cancer awareness and charities, it just seems simply mind boggling that we lose such young and vivacious souls to this disease...

so please send love & light diane's way and cherish your loved ones...

bea's garden vintage nursery...

 

finally after nine months i'm sharing bea's little nursery with you.  i've shared some of my inspiration {here & here}, and i think it came together really well, considering most everything in beatrice's nursery was a hand-me-down...i had to work with what i was given...

 we inherited this dresser from a friend of patty's...it's beautiful and everytime i open one of the drawers beatrice crawls over like flash lightening and starts to pull all of her clothes out!  we've been collecting little cards that i keep meaning to frame...someday...

both the dresser and the changing table top were hand-me-downs, from two different people, but they work great for our changing station.  i use cloth diapers for beatrice, so i had to get some new shelves to hold them all...all her colorful diaper covers are in the drawers...i'll do a cloth diapering post soon...

 we've been co-sleeping with beatrice, but in the bed in her room.  this room used to be the guest room, so we just kept the bed.  it was easier to co-sleep with her in her own room in the beginning, and now we just stay here....we'll probably move back to our bed soon.  the cute wall decals are fabric...not vinyl...so sweet!

 since we call beatrice "bea," and pronounce it "bee," we've had some really cute bee gifts...so that's become another theme in her nursery.  how cute is this vintage bee costume from the 50's?  i can't wait until she can wear it...

i painted the walls a super pale pink, but really wanted to bring more color and pattern in...i found these cute buntings on etsy {triangles here and liberty here}.

the beginning of the reading nook...she *loves* the piano, though.  and she loves to pull all the books off the shelves...next step: actually sitting down and reading them!  we read together everyday, but she's really into eating the books right now {teething baby}...

 beatrice had a mobile over her changing table and for some reason she really got excited by the elephant, so we've started a little elephant collection...{both were handmade gifts}...

the crib was the first "baby" item we inherited...i wasn't thrilled about black, but now i love it.  she's never slept in it though!

 it's really just a resting spot for her toys and cute animals from blabla kids...organic sheets from plover organic...

 sweet mobile from blabla kids as well.  this mobile was one of my big splurges for the nursery...love, love, love it...

we inherited the rocker as well...i really wanted to re-cover it, but i didn't really have the money...so i just covered it with some of the many, many blankets that beatrice received.  i don't use it much anymore, so i'm thinking of handing it down to someone else...sweet custom rag doll from warm sugar.  this was one of my favorite purchases.  she made it completely custom for me...i gave her colors and picked socks, etc. and she made the cutest doll...it's hard to see but there are even bees are the fabric!  just for bea...

 some details from her dresser and bookshelves...cute wooden teether from little sapling toys...the vintage planters are from a friend...i still need to put plants in them!

and finally, her "uncle" dj lance gave her a sweet picture...she's still never seen yo gabba gabba {no screens until she is two}, but she's met all the characters!  patty & i are big fans and lance is a good friend of beatrice's uncle {her donor}...and remember my original nursery inspiration? well, of course he had to make it into her room...

next up: beatrice's vintage closet!

headband fit for a hippie...

i'm loving this headband, i would wear it everyday, or...

perfect for a hippie wedding...

{photo credit: liasion by kat swank}

steady as she grows {sixteen weeks}

first of all, happy friday! i'm late on this post this week...

sixteen weeks is four months...so unbelievable that beatrice has been with me for four months...we're out of her so-called 'fourth trimester,' where she nurses and sleeps all the time...it's amazing to see her take in the world and learn to grasp, smile, laugh and start to play...

i'm so excited to continue to watch her grow and get to know her personality, but i really love this stage--she's such a small little bundle that still falls asleep when nursing. what an amazing gift that i've been able to nurse her, i hope that i can keep it up for at least a year, if not longer...

i've been reading about how facebook deleted, then re-instated, then deleted, then re-instated {confused yet?} the breastfeeding support page, the leaky b@@b...it really saddens me that the natural process of a mother feeding her child can be so provoking. breastfeeding obscene? really? i'm so grateful that i've had nothing but support as a breastfeeding mom. there's really nothing more amazing that a mom can give her child...

she's wearing:

first three photos

{baby gap dress & luvette leggings}

{hand-me-down socks}

{blanket hand-knit by my grandma for me when i was a baby!}

last photo

{splendid thermal}

luving luvette...

i have to say it's been pretty cold here in los angeles. i know, i'm spoiled--no snow blizzards or anything, but for sunny so cal, drops into the 4o's are considered cold. so beatrice has been keeping her little bum warm with cashmere. yes, cashmere. she got a pair of bum warmers as a gift from luvette.

luvette is run by an eco-responsible mom who re-purposes sweaters into adorable baby & toddler wear. you'll find pants, diaper covers, even blankets, all lovingly hand-crafted for your little one. how genius & adorable...beatrice's little pants are made from an old cashmere sweater {the sleeves are the legs!}...so soft & luxurious for her little tush!

i think beatrice needs to sport that little skirt...

{photo credit: luvette}

steady as she grows {fourteen & fifteen weeks}

fourteen weeks:

fifteen weeks:

sweet bea is getting bigger everyday...she loves to look around and is so curious about the world around her. her giggle is absolutely infectious...

she spent time with grandmas & grandpa, uncle larry and lots of friends last week and she sure got spoiled. she loves being around people and seems like a pretty social little lady.

i love being her mama & i miss her when she's sleeping...i'm still concocting lots of plans to stay home longer with her...who knew she would steal my heart?

she's wearing:

fourteen weeks

{vintage sweater, top & cashmere leggings}

{trumpette socks}

fifteen weeks

{baby gap top & tutu with leggings}

{trumpette socks}

steady as she grows {thirteen weeks}

lucky thirteen weeks old...beatrice is really much more alert to the world and enjoying every minute of it. smiles, smiles and laughter. she's also graduated to facing out in her moby wrap. she can hold her head up very well and loves looking at the world go by...she's still a great sleeper at night, although lately she's been waking a bit more for feedings...but i can't complain...

she also took her first plane trip last week...it was a short flight, just one hour home to oakland, but she did great! she nursed on take off and landing and didn't fuss at all. i'm so glad i bought an extra seat for her, it's so much safer...i never understood just holding a baby on a flight. both my parents are in the airline business, though, and they always said it was better to have a baby secure in their own seat if {god forbid} anything happened. patty & i were flying home once and the plane had so much turbulence, the wings were at a ninety degree angle to the ground! i can't imagine having to put beatrice under the seat in front of me in that situation...

so if you're traveling this upcoming holiday season with baby, spring for the seat & bring her carseat, hopefully you won't need it, but it's worth it!

she's wearing:

{adorable vintage 2-piece bunny outfit}

{pixie lily booties}

happy friday...

so i was off to such a good start posting every day, then i had to go away and it all went down the tubes. it's been quite a week, i went home to a funeral, celebrated my aunt's birthday, visited with family, showed off bea to my parents' friends {at their urging, of course}, mourned a lost dog, celebrated the safe return of said dog, found out another favorite dog has heart disease, talked to the vet after one of our long-time client dogs got out of surgery, and did more work on a project that will hopefully allow me to spend more time at home with the baby...phew...

the passing of my friend's brother at the much too early age of 36 really put things in perspective. the funeral was a wonderful celebration of his short & full life...the church was full of friends and family, it was quite a showing. since this was a friend from childhood, there were many faces from the past at the funeral that i hadn't seen in ages. of course it was great to see them, but too bad such unfortunate circumstances brought us together. i brought baby bea and when i hugged my friend at the service, she said, "i'm so glad you brought her, it reminds me of the cycle of life and that life continues on..."

i'm so grateful for all the friends, family, dogs and love in my life.

have a wonderful weekend! i'm going to put together posts for next week, do lots of laundry, go to the farmer's market, spend time with friends, family & dogs, and of course nurse the baby...

{photo credit: snappy bex on flickr}

steady as she grows {eleven weeks}

i cannot believe she's eleven weeks old already. so cliche, i know, but time flies...

this is a really fun time, she's still very cuddly, but really starting to wake up to the world. she really loves to look around and see what's going on around her. she loves mirrors and mobiles...she's even starting to grab for toys and smile a lot more. she's still a pretty serious baby, though! everyday it seems like there are huge milestones. she still doesn't want to take the bottle, so i've had to stick pretty close to her...i'm trying to concoct some plans so i can stay home longer with her. production hours don't really work too well nursing a new baby. so fingers crossed...

she's wearing:

{ralph lauren dress & bloomers} from kids re-sale shop, grow kid grow

{baby gap tights}

steady as she grows...

i can't believe it's been ten weeks since baby beatrice arrived. i swore i would blog everyday...but that proved a bit difficult one handed while nursing! but here's an attempt to catch up.

happy thanksgiving...there is so much to be grateful for!

one week

two weeks

three weeks

four weeks

five weeks

six weeks

seven weeks

eight weeks

nine weeks

next time, i'll let you know what she's wearing...

vintage clothes go on vintage hangers...

i've been falling down the etsy k-hole a lot lately...the other night i was up until midnight favorite-ing {i'm making that a new word} a TON of cute vintage baby clothes. i didn't purchase them all yet, but i'm close. {expect a post about that soon.}

so what do vintage baby clothes hang on? vintage hangers of course. so cute, i can't stand it. yes, they are plastic & i'm anti-plastic...but they are vintage {and mostly made in USA}, so i'm not contributing to the plastic consumption, right? it's reducing and reusing...

{photo credits: 1. thl vintage; 2. my favorite finds; 3. squirreley girley; 4. scrappy jessi}

vintage baby

i'm a bit obsessed with vintage baby rompers right now...just bought two from oh sydney vintage on etsy. kill me now with cuteness.

and...only four more weeks to go!

{photo credit: here and here}

finally, introducing the bump...

...32 weeks along...so close and so big!

{photo credits: these photos were taken by the amazing planet swan. vintage 1930's slip from the butler's cottage {the place where i bought my wedding dress}; cameo from la marquis des anges}