Welcome, Baby Girl! | A Shower Package

I got so excited at the fabric store. And since the gift is from our whole family, I had a bigger allowance. I also have a huge stash of scraps, which are all usable for baby dresses because babies are so little.

Here's a breakdown of the gifts we're giving!

1. Infinity Scarf/Nursing Cover
I saw something like this on Etsy and thought, "I can make that!!!" So I did. Totally simple, totally clever. No more lugging around an obvious nursing cover, or needing to dig through your diaper bag for it. Just wear it as a fashion accessory...

and unwind it (ta da!) to use it as a nursing cover. You can either be comletely covered...

or half covered. Your choice. Classy, chic, and discreet.

N.B. - Mirror selfies with a DSLR are really challenging. Holy Toledo. Took me soooo long to get these photos.

2. Sunny Days Blanket
 

I know the baby is a little girl, but that doesn't mean everything needs to be pink. I love bright colors and I know the new mama does, too! This blanket is a delicious yellow and aqua blue. Yummy, right?

I have these fabric tags that I accidentally bought from a scrapbooking sale, but they were perfect for these projects!

3. Sweet Blossoms Blanket
Not everything has to be pink, but a little pink is sweet. ;)

 Just the blanket by itself makes me melt. Can you imagine how heart-stopping the cuteness will be when there's a precious baby inside it? I can't even handle it.

4. Reversible Car-seat Canopy
This is my pride and joy from this project. These things are a rather new trend: a piece of fabric to drape over the car-seat to protect the baby from the sun. Instead of just tossing a blanket over, which can slide off and makes carrying the seat a challenge, they have velcro loops (that I embellished with oh-so-cute bows) that attach to the handle. That way the baby can be protected and you can hold the handle safely.

Many car-seat canopies are one-sided. But why?? The baby has different outfits that the mama can choose between... why shouldn't the car-seat cover be accommodating as well? So I made it reversible.

One side is bold and beautiful: black, yellow, and grey floral.

The other side is a little sweeter. Coral pink and light brown.

Both are tied together by a bright blue trim that practically screams happy.

5. Dress #1
Size 0-3 months. So pretty.

6. Dress #2
Size 0-3 months. Sunshine and happiness. Totally country. Totally channeling the new mama's spirit.

7. Dress #3
Size 3-6 months. It's pink. It has butterflies. Irrefutably precious.

8. Dress #4
Size 3-6 months. Not so girly, but I like that. Perfect for Indian Summer.

To package it, I wrapped every individual present in tissue paper, sealed them with washi tape, and numbered them using alpha stickers. Then I stacked them in the box, covered them with a sheet of tissue paper and affixed a "Gift Guide" card to the top, indicating which each numbered package contains. I impress myself sometimes.

Trip Time

... as in I'm going on a trip. Not going to trip. Although, I might do that, too. Probably will. I tend to do that.

I'm going to Belmont Abbey to visit my brother! It will be super fun! Also super wet. I'm bringing boots. I'm excited. I love rain. I also love my brother. And I love the outside of their church.

I try not to think about the inside of their church too much, though. It depresses me. Not what happens in it. It just looks a bit... different... from the outside.

I'll be back next week sometime! I have a post full of baby goodies scheduled to post on Monday morning to keep you amused.

Ciao!

xoxo

This Post Brought To You By SouthLAnd

 I say this post is brought to you by SouthLAnd. That isn't true in the monetary sense. If SouthLAnd had any money left, it would probably still be on the air. It might need a network, too, but there are no problems money can't fix in the industry. Or some shanking. Or some shagging. But I digress.

It's brought to you by SouthLAnd because of the massive influence that SouthLAnd has had on my life, directly and indirectly.

The first SouthLAnd episode I saw was the one that ended with Cooper in an alley getting his neck bitten out. Ew. Not terribly attractive.

Left to my own devices, I never, ever would've watched that show again.

The things we do for love, though, are incredible.

You see, my mother loves SouthLAnd. Like yelling out how many hours and/or minutes were left until the next episode aired. She has a SouthLAnd shrine set up. (Not really... but sorta. Kinda.) So although I wouldn't have let SouthLAnd affect my life, I let it affect my life through my mother's life. I sat for hours, hunched over her iPad screen, watching old episodes that she had purchased on iTunes.

I came to love Ben Sherman.

Then I developed a fierce desire to slap him. Maybe shake him. Holy cow, that guy had issues. It's like Nietzsche got into his head and made a happy home there. Bad Ben. Bad Ben.

I knew Ben was troubled. But I had no idea how troubled until Sunday.

There's a scene where Sammy (I want to marry him) Bryant and Ben Sherman are discussing coffee. Ben wants Intelligentsia coffee. Sammy ridicules him for wanting the super expensive, hipster coffee. He refuses to go to Silver Lake to get that coffee.

Wellllllll, we were in Silver Lake on Sunday. Guess what was a mile from the restaurant where we had dinner? Yep. Intelligentsia coffee. Being SouthLAnd fans, we had to go. It was a moral imperative.

In my stupidity, I had assumed that Sammy was exaggerating. I mean, really - Starbucks sells five dollar cups of coffee. And it's pretty much the opposite of hipster. It's just Starbucks.

After fighting with a parking space (not for a parking space, but with a parking space) for five minutes, we got ourselves into the coffee place.

Let me set the scene. It's this enormously tall building. The ceiling isn't even in your peripheral when you walk in. The menu is in a little plastic stand thing. No chalkboard, no signs. Just an 8.5x11 paper. There's coffee. All expensive.

All around the room are people with MacBook Pros. Every. Single. Person. No PCs, no MacBook Airs or just normal MacBooks in sight. All shiny, silver, 13" MacBook Pros. It was like some kind of cult or something. Or like an Apple store.  That sounds less judgmental.

Mum and I ordered Americanos. I don't know why she ordered hers, but I ordered mine because it seemed like it would be a little bigger; you know, more caffeine bang for my buck. There was normal brew coffee, but it was all confusingly named. I was afraid I'd mispronounce it and look silly. I am no hipster.

When I got my coffee, I was shocked. So shocked, in fact, that I uttered my first f-word. I'm not proud of this. But I was like "what the....?????"

It's so tiny.

WHERE IS MY COFFEE???

That cup is so small, the word "Intelligentsia," which is printed around the circumference, doesn't fit. It gets cut off.

I was so distressed and upset that when I got back into the car, I opened the door right into my forehead. I have a bruised eyebrow now.

To clarify, I wasn't simply upset over the size of my coffee. It was small, yes. Tiny, even. But I was upset with myself for having judged Sammy for judging Ben. I was also sad for Ben. Because no sane, healthy person would voluntarily purchase this coffee.

And I have no flipping idea why Brooke would've dated him. If I was taken out for a coffee date to this place, I'd be like "uh, can I have three?", "Is this the appetizer coffee?", or "GOODBYE."

It made me feel bad for poor Ben Sherman. He needs some serious help. Good thing he's fictional.

I'm sorry, Sammy. I need to marry you. Too bad you're fictional.

How To Do PaleyFest LA | A Guide for Fans

Our decision to go to PaleyFest 2014 was totally spontaneous. We love taking day trips to LA, we love Agents of SHIELD, and there was an opportunity to indulge both loves in one event. How could we say no?

First let me say that I was really excited. Like my-mind-is-numb excited. Jittery-skittery excited.

But I was also seriously confused.

I had purchased the tickets. But what was I supposed to do then? Where was I supposed to go? How early should I get there? Where was the line? Where was the box office to pick up tickets? Where do I park? Can I bring my camera?

So many questions. I turned to the internet for answers. And I found nothing.

Seriously. Nothing. There were no "what to expect at PaleyFest" or "How to do PaleyFest" or "PaleyFest for Fan Dummies" articles, blog posts, etc., that I could find anywhere.

I resolved that I would write one for posterity. Because these answers need to be available. It would've made me a lot more comfortable with the whole thing. So for your comfort and my shoddy memory, here's How To Do PaleyFest - A Guide for Fans

~~~

Location: PaleyFest in LA is held at the Dolby Theater right in the middle of Hollywood. It's next to the Chinese theater, across from the El Capitan theater, etc. It's a magical place.

Parking: a cinch. The great thing about the Dolby Theater is that it's in the Hollywood and Highland Center. The great thing about the H&H Center is that it's right on top of a massive parking structure. Parking is pricey, but that's easily taken care of: just get your parking validated and it's $2! (we forgot to do this...)

Box Office: Once you're in the Dolby Center, hit the Box Office first to pick up your Will Call tickets. (If you got them some other way, then you get to conveniently skip this step.) The Box Office is on the first floor, located right by the Dolby Theater entrance doors.

- If you came in from the parking structure, the box office will literally be right in front of you as you come up the escalator and head into the H&H Center.
- If you came in from the street, don't head up the stairs, but around them, toward the theater doors. It will be on the left of the rotunda.

Lining up / fighting crowds: Ok. You got your tickets safely tucked away. Where's the line? Sadly (and counterintuitively), it isn't by the box office. There are doors there, but that's where the VIPs line up. If you're a normal, only sorta important, person, head up the the second floor (up those famous stairs!). This year (2014), the line of "Paley Center Members" was to the right of the second floor doors, and the line for the rest of us was to the left of those doors.

We got in line about 11:45 since there were a few people in it. The event started at 1, but again I had no idea when they opened the doors because that information was mysteriously absent for the internet.

They opened the doors and let us in at 12. So an hour before our event.

You do have an assigned seat, though, so there's not really a rush to get into line and head into the building. We sat in the Dolby Theater (which was AWESOME) for half an hour before there were many people in it. It really didn't fill up until five or ten minutes before 1.

Don't push your luck, though - they started precisely at 1. Don't be late!

N.B. - for more popular, fan-crazy shows (like the Vampire Diaries) there might be a bigger line and people arriving early. But that doesn't change the fact that you have your seat reserved. So don't wig out.

The event itself: For our Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel they started with an introduction from executive producer Jeph Loeb greeting us, telling us we were going to have an advanced screening of the next Agents of SHIELD episode, but please don't spoil anything or we'll have to kill you.

(He didn't actually threaten us. He said he would be disappointed. We were granted Level 7 security clearance and he was trusting us. Yes, sir!)

After our screening, we had 45 minutes of moderator questions, followed by 30 minutes or so of fan questions.

Meeting the stars: if you're out of your mind crazy very brave, you can join the people in the giant stampede toward the stage at the end of panel. The stars hang around for autographs and selfies.

It sounded awesome. It also sounded like a herd of elephants stampeding along the Serengeti. Not really my thing. I like myself too much.

Cameras: I didn't see a ton of people lugging in DSLR cameras, but everyone had an iPad or iPhone. I had my nice point-and-shoot tucked in my Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. messenger bag. That's how I got so many awesome pictures.

They didn't have any "no photography" or "no camera" signs posted, although they did have scary men patrolling the aisles during the episode screening to enforce the no recording policy. Jeph Loeb also mentioned that Marvel takes its security seriously and that they "probably took a blood sample and made you check your camera at the door," which makes me think if you're toting a big ol' camera in, you're not going to keep it. But I don't have any positive information on that.

~~~

I hope someone, someday finds this post when they need it. It should be quite helpful.

You're welcome.

Our PaleyFest 2014 Adventure | Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

I had the most amazing day, guys. Seriously. Totally amazing.

First off, we were in the Dolby Theater. The Dolby Theater. As in where the Oscars are. Talk about CRAZY AWESOME.

Second, we got to see an advanced screening of the next episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That's right. The one that is airing on April 1. Yeah, I saw it. But they made me promise not to spoil it for you. Took my blood and everything. (Not really, but they joked about it. Maybe they weren't joking. Marvel takes its security seriously, guys.)

All I can say is that it was FUN, chilling, and made me go WHAT??? alternated with "awwwww" and "I KNEW IT!"

But mostly "Whaaaat?"

That's all I'm saying. Oh, and that it was fun. (Jeph Loeb told me to emphasize that part.) It was really, really fun. Don't miss it. And if you haven't caught up on your Agents of SHIELD, you might want to before Winter Soldier comes out April 4th. And then Agents of SHIELD is back new again (no breaks, no reruns!) starting April 8th.

During the panel, I alternated between taking photos and writing down quotes I found to be funny and/or memorable. (I used the back of my ticketmaster confirmation email printout and a pen. I'm old fashioned like that.) I'm going to try to order them accordingly here, so they at least approximately match. Enjoy :)

The marvelous Felicia Day moderated the panel discussion. She's so cute.

 

 "I'm not trying to flash you. Well, only a little." Felicia Day

And this guy. So classy. So perfect. I love Clark Gregg. (Not in a creepy way. Like a father. Not because he's old. That got awkward fast.)

(I think the security guy likes Clark, too. Totally man-hugging him to get that mic on.)

When asked how they got this show from an idea to a reality, Jeph Loeb, exec producer of the show quipped, "We cheated. We got Joss Whedon." 

"How did we get Clark? It was really hard. We asked him." Jeph Loeb
"And I found myself suddenly free." Clark Gregg (hereafter referred to as Clark. Can I do that? Am I allowed to do that? Since I love him and all that. Clark?)

Ugh. How cute is FitzSimmons??? Iain DeCaestecker and Elizabeth Henstridge (or Iain and Lil) rock my socks off.

"I can now confess I have eleven thousand twitter aliases." Clark

Again with Iain and Lil. I want to be Lil when I grow up. And I want Iain to use twitter so we can have even more reason to crush on him.

 "Originally, Agent May was Agent Rice. And then we cast Ming Na Wen... " Mo Tancharoen

"... and so we dropped the whole Agent Rice thing..." (their faces in the below shot slay me)

"When did you know you wanted these people to play your characters. Was it immediately?" Felicia

"Yeah, it was. Well, with all except one. We didn't want that one to be on the show at all." Jed Whedon
(Mo and Jed look at Chloe Bennet)

"And she believes us every time!" Mo (& can I just say the way Iain is looking at Chloe here? FANTASTICALLY CUTE)

"We ship Skimmons." Chloe and Lil

"When I was dying, I was like 'this sucks.' I was clearly dead. There was a lot of blood. Then Joss said, 'Well, you might not be so dead.'" Clark

"Joss came in. I always said I knew I was a fan boy. I suspected he was my crush. And I'm ok with that." Clark

"Marvel is SHIELD." Ming Na Wen

This explains the security...

"I want Skye to be the love child of May and Thor. And I want there to be flashbacks. Slow motion flashbacks." Ming Na. The dirty mind of this lady is a joy to behold. (wait, did I say that out loud?)

"Brett - how is it sleeping with everyone?" Felicia

"He started out not so much of a team player. Now he's definitely learned how to play with the team." Brett Dalton

This is just a series of awesomely awkward/candid family photos.

Cuteness overload with these two. Every time.

"They have this cool, uh, young father-daughter relationship." Chloe ...

... "I'm just glad she didn't say grandfather." Clark

Chloe lists off a number of potential superpowers Skye might have, ending with, "I feel like it could maybe be mindreading...?"
"Or just decision making." Jeffrey Bell

"We've definitely talked about [FitzSimmons becoming a romantic item]. But we've played it more as a brother and sister kind of thing..."

"... which could get really awkward if they do decide to go the other way with it." Iain

"Are we going to get a season 2? If not, who do I have to shank?" fan ...

...(Chloe and Ming Na both point at Brett)...

... "PLEASE DON'T SHANK ME!" Brett
"Oh, I thought she said something else..." Ming Na
(Oh Ming & Chloe's dirty minds. Hearing 'shag' instead of 'shank')

"I'd bring Brett's abs [as my one thing to a desert island]. But just his abs. I'd wash my clothes on that washboard." Chloe
"This is why we write their dialogue." Mo

"This has been the most flattering day for me." Brett
"It's fun being objectified, isn't it?" Felicia

This next photos is of one of the most touching moments of the afternoon. I teared up and everything. During the fan Q&A, a woman with Down Syndrome was handed the mic. She stood, pointed at Clark, and said, "I want him."

The woman who was with her leaned in to the mic and said, "She's just really happy you're alive, Coulson."

Some of the cast clearly looked uncomfortable and at a loss about what to do (doesn't mean I love them less, but it means I love Clark more). But Clark? He grinned big, hopped up from his chair, leaped off the stage, and gave her the most enormous hug.

Oh. My. Heart.

What a classy guy.
 

Aaaand back to the mayhem. This is Chloe doing her "Uh Oh" dance. Yep. Popstar life.

"We knew Brett would be up for stunts because on his resume it said 'clown school.'" Mo
"Well, this was a flattering day for me." Brett

Here's are two random quotes. I don't have corresponding photos for them, but they're awesome quotes on their own.

Fan Question: "Who were your real life superheros growing up?"
Jeffrey Bell: "Matthew McConaughey in 10 years."

Lil: "I'd like a scene with Loki."
Chloe: "I'd like to watch that happen. Not like that, you perverts. Well, maybe." 
(brief pause)
Clark: "I had a scene with Loki once..."