enJOY it

for the love of september.

September 8, 2015

floral fitbit flex bands, siiso giclee art print, behance succulent downloadable icon set, the jungalow DIY hanging planter, hey baby co floral leggings, a house in the hills bougainvilla print, rifle paper co for tattly temporary tattoos, design love fest edible flowers cake.

I'm ignoring that it's almost fall and rolling with a floral & plants theme this month (always a good idea).

I recently upgraded to that floral fitbit band and I am LOVING it. I also used those sweet plant icons on a baby shower invite (I'll share soon) and they are just too cute. Ellerie is obsessed with all stickers, band-aids and temporary tattoos…she'd flip over those florals (or these). Plants for the win.
weekend links / 81.

September 5, 2015

some fun finds from around the Internet this week…

loved this post on relationships.

an app(!) that is designed to help with anxiety.

the most lovely paper flowers.

these beauties are almost enough to turn me into a necklace person.

fun newborn photos.

we've got baby girl clothing coming out our ears but I couldn't resist this romper.

this is an art class I would love to take.

if you're looking for a great birth story to read.

more wisdom from Dallas Clayton.

Google launched a new logo this week.

new podcast alert! Question of the Day.

when toddlers tell the truth.

love my baby/ies but this makes me excited for young adult children too.

super cool rock, paper, scissors print.

and random…the blog got a tiny refresh! click through to see the new banner and I'm finally getting more posts added to the archive pages.
around here.

September 4, 2015

There was the slightest shift around here this week. Nothing crazy like "changing colored leaves" or "feels like tea weather" or "anything resembling brisk." But for a minute or two these past few days, I contemplated foreign and absurd ideas like "wearing pants" and "knitting" and even "heating the oven to cook something."

Don't get me wrong, these thoughts were fleeting, but it's nice to consider that soon(ish) they'll be back on the table. I would really (really) love to bake some bread (this is first and this will be second).

In the meantime, as we wait for cooler weather, I'm doing a little house refresh. I moved most of the rugs out of the bedroom. They were fun (and I certainly miss the color statement) but I knew that once the baby arrived and I was sitting in the rocking chair for hours on end, any wrinkles on the floor where going to drive me insane. So up they came and are currently in the garage … eventually they'll be re-allocated to other spots in the house. (Or sold on craigslist.)

We did decide to swap one out in the TV room and it was a good change. I loved our old rug (and I moved it to the spot in front of the windows), but this one is a bit more color and way bigger so it probably fits the space better. It's making me happy every time I see it so that's a win.

Soon enough it will be time to get out fall decor and I'm really looking forward to a season change. I loved having a summer baby but I've got to admit the excitement for a fall baby (and holidays with a newborn!) is pretty high. It's going to be a really great few months around here.

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend (with some college football watching maybe!?).
august on film.

September 3, 2015

I've been doing this project – taking one roll of film of Ellerie – for a year. The first time was September 2014. It's not cheap, I pay about $8 for the film and then $18 to have it developed, printed as 4×6 and for the digital files to be transferred to a CD, but there hasn't been a single month where I haven't been pleased with the results.

I say this every time but film is just magic. It captures something extra that my iPhone or my DSLR just cannot. The three big favorites this month are the pigtails, the backpack and the bandaids. Those (plus still in the crib) pretty much sum up August in EllerieLand.

These photos are part of my "film project" where I take a roll of film of Ellerie each month. You can see all of these posts here. I shoot with an old film camera similar to this and this lens. I have been using Kodak Portra 400 film. I have my photos printed at Nelson's Photo Supply. These images are un-retouched digital scans of the film.
september : currently.

September 2, 2015

appreciating your kind comments on my birth story.

reading The Year of Magical Thinking.

crossing my fingers that we get some moderately fall(ish) weather this month.

re-committing to getting my 10k steps in…August was tough with the heat.

ordering a few tiny long-sleeve onesies.

preparing to start shipping 2016 GTWBs in just a few weeks.

feeling so glad we're right on schedule with production and that I'll have more time this season.

listening to the most recent This American Life episode about Hurricane Katrina victims, ten years later.

realizing that I recently replaced one bad habit (Candy Crush) with another not so great habit (house-hunting).

counting the days until we are done with Paul's night and evening rotation.

having dreams where I am writing blog posts and interviewing podcast guests.

(thinking that means it will be wonderful to take a long maternity leave.)

celebrating my mom's retirement this week!

loving little baby kicks all day long.

remarking that there are just nine weekends between now and my due date…

…shaking my head in disbelief that we have plans for seven of them.

looking forward to having some friends visit for the long weekend!

chatting with Jen Geigley on the podcast this week about her rad goal (and success!) to write a knitting book in 100 days. subscribe or stream the episode here.
pizza on the grill.

September 1, 2015

Our go to these past few month (minus whole30) has been pizza on the grill. It's much too hot to do something crazy like "heat the oven" and this process is actually much faster and more delicious anyway.

We use our usual pizza dough recipe (it's heavily Ellerie directed at this point but somehow still always turns out) and give it a few hours to rise.

Then I roll it out on the pizza peel like normal (being sure to use some cornmeal to prevent sticking) and Paul throws it directly onto the grill (heated to about 400*F) for five minutes.

When it comes off the grill, it looks like the photo above, hard and sort of "bubbly" on top.

Our easy summer sauce (again, takes no heat) is just olive oil and this pizza we topped with mozzarella, leftover grilled pork, pear, onion, garlic, feta and salt & pepper.

After being built it goes back on the grill (just directly onto it – no pan or anything) at 400*F for another 10-12 minutes.

The difference of a grilled pizza vs. an oven pizza (aside from the fact that it doesn't heat my house) is so noticeable. Crispy crust and sort of smokey taste. Worth cooking up before summer officially ends, for sure.
weekend links / 80.

August 29, 2015

before we get rolling … giveaway winners! Thank you so much to the 1200 of you who entered to win the rainbow fabric! Randomorg.com picked:

Sarah who at 5:31AM on 8/25 said "Fingers crossed!"

Michelle Kelly who at 11:53 AM on 8/25 said "your quilt rocks!!"

Pheobe G who at 11:06 AM on 8/27 said "Love this so much! I'm inspired to tackle this for my first quilting project. I've been wanting to start quilting for awhile! So I'm entering!!"

If that's you, email me elise.blahaATgmail.com to claim your fabric. 🙂

and now some favorites from around the web this week…

this was insane. Taylor, Justin, I LOVE you. But to see Smelly Cat preformed live with my college girlfriends who watched every single Friends episode with me at least 10 times was just unreal.

a serious plea for the flamingo and taco emojis.

random, but I saw three really great pieces of advice on IG this week: from @ohhappyday on doing what makes you happy, from @thetinytwig on saving kid art and from @jengotch on pushing through failure.

cool update to the Instagram platform.

and Joy the Baker on making Instagram beautiful and bearable. (okay, that's enough IG.)

such inspiring photos of clay (and a great "maker" behind the scenes).

tough to look at this kitchen and not say "wow."

"Don’t send yourself into shock by immediately 'doing things.' Let yourself actually wake up." – how to be a morning person.

finally, a video game I can get behind.

the evolution of magazine covers.

I just want to get my sh*t together…or maybe I don't.

beautiful cement planters.

of course there's been a boom in the Birkenstock repair business.

And from me: I was honored to be on the Little Yellow Couch Podcast this week talking about style.
week in the life album progress.

August 28, 2015

I realized last night I'm not going to get this album finished by the end of this week but I wanted to share an update since I said I would. I snapped these photos outside since the light was fading, apologies that they came out sort of strange.

I took SO FEW photos. Maybe 20 on the "good" days and closer to six on the other days. It is what it is. Monday was the best with photos and so that day is pretty much done.

I am relying heavily on the cards from the kit to help fill the space.

That's sort of fun though. I'm glad to do some journaling again and the thoughts are the stuff that's easier to forget for me.

I'm also tucking in little bits from our week like business cards and the band-aids Ellerie's obsessed with.

The rainbow quilt is getting a decent focus, mostly because I was taking so many photos of it 😉

And any excuse to print more candid photos is a win. As you can see – lots of blank space to still fill in and I would love to add more embellishments. For the most part, the writing is all done, I just need to commit and get the photos all printed out.

It's a busy season, but I am glad I am taking the time for this project. If you're interested in Week in the Life, you can learn more here!
9 books our toddler loves.

August 27, 2015

When Ellerie was nine months old, I shared nine books we were loving.

It's crazy to think back on that time. Now, my two year old READS me the books. Based half on memory, half on pictures, she says the words as she turns the pages and my heart grows seven or eight sizes.

All of the books we loved then we still enjoy today and they remain in heavy rotation. There are some new favorites on the shelf though too. These are the ones she likes to listen to or play along with and they are the ones that I like to read, usually because they have great "flow" and are fun to say.

Zoom – fun rhymes, cute illustrations and of course…colors!

Mommy Hugs – probably the simplest book on this list, but so sweet. We hug each page.

Little Blue Truck – the best message, fun animal sounds and SUCH a great rhythm to say. The companion book is good too.

How Hippo Says Hello – simple and fun!

Wheels on the Bus – a great book version of her favorite song.

Mix It Up! – she's getting this one more and more which is so fun for me.

The Paper Bag Princess – Ellerie loves this one and I LOVE that she loves it.

Eight Silly Monkeys – she likes to act this one out which is a little intense.

Dear Zoo – a classic and a favorite.

There are so many it's hard to pick just nine, but these are the ones we reach for over and over again (this week). I'd love to hear what your kiddos love(d).

*links are affiliate
around here.

August 26, 2015

around here I am really hoping to get my Week in the Life album complete and on the blog by Friday at some point (most likely that will not be 5AM). This is one of those projects that I need to finish quickly or I'll lose steam. I didn't take nearly as many photos as I would have hoped. I'm most inclined to blame the heat for this, but really I think it's because Ellerie's at sort of a tough age for me to be like "hold on from this sweet moment while I set my camera up and use the timer." When she was tiny it was easier. I imagine when she's a bit old and "gets" what I'm doing it might be easier again. But right now, she's pretty engaged and it's hard to break away from that to pick up the camera.

around here the Braxton Hicks contractions have arrived in full force. I don't remember this at all from my first pregnancy so it's a bit different. Makes me hopeful that I'll actually go into labor this time around, but considering I'm only 30 weeks today, I hope the little lady sits tight for awhile.

around here the park is our best friend. Ellerie is at the stage where she is happy to play on everything and can almost handle it by herself. I am already imagining our fall and winter when the new baby will be content to sit (or sleep, or nurse?) and Ellerie will be able to run out some energy. So grateful for the local parks and so grateful for my brother who captured the above photos of her last weekend – one pig tail and all.

around here I am still slooooooowly making my way through Cutting for Stone. I feel like at the end of September I'll have read just one book and that will be it. But in other book news, I got to be a lucky recipient of a press copy of Lovable Livable Home, the new book from John and Sherry Petersik. My job has a few perks but getting cool free books definitely tops that list.

around here I got a video recorded that goes into more detail on some of the "extra features" of the Get To Work Book®. There is no right or wrong way to use the book but if you feel like you want to get some extra mileage from it or just want to hear a bit more, it might be worth a watch. It's the second video down on this page.

around here I am thrilled to have gotten all my photos off my phone and into Google Photo. It's a total gamechanger (made even better by the fact that it's free). Besides the great news that I'm not going to get that dreaded "out of storage" message this fall when I am taking another 600 photos a day of the new baby, everything backs up instantly (when I am connected to a wireless network). No more emailing photos to myself or using airdrop. I just open Google Photos on my computer and boom, there they are – for use on the blog or as the case was this week, my WITL album. You can read more about this here. Beth's explanation is great.

around here I want to thank you for your support this year. There has been a lot going on and I am learning how to handle it all. Safe to say that some days I do better than others and many days I make mistakes. I'm working on it always.

around here I'm headed up to LA to see Taylor Swift in concert with some college girlfriends!

around here on the podcast I'm chatting with Samantha Shepard and Amber Housley in another episode about marketing your small business. This chat in particular was a good one; I love when there are concrete tips. Subscribe or stream here.