20-weeks, halfway, pregnancy #2

Favorite tips for all trimesters:

FAT is your pregnancy friend. 

(Whipped) cream and butter, avocados, olives and their oil, coconut everything, egg yolk...

You are a client not a patient. Pregnancy is not a medical condition; find HIGH-QUALITY care and support that treats you right.

- Midwife - She is your everything.

- Acupuncturist - Keep the energy channels flowing, receive overall wellness assessment (you may even find one to function as you primary care provider, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, in the future.)

- Chiropractor - Get your endocrine system on point and your mama-body perfectly aligned for delivery. Will also ensure baby is in position.

- Masseuse - A great massage is always a good idea.

Natural body care only, please.

- Honey for skin and hair.

- Coconut milk and castille soap shampoo. 

- Apple cider vinegar hair rinse. And drink 1TBSP a day too.

- Baking soda and hydrogen peroxide for teeth. Coconut Oil pulling/mouth swishing. 

- Coconut oil and Shea butter all over.
- SpaRitual nail polish.

Other than that - enjoy!!

And take lots of cute pictures to lift your spirits and to see how you look - probably way better than you feel.

Bonus points for waiting until birth to find out the sex of the baby. 

This allows for months of bonding with bébé in utero without any preconceived notions, attachments, or projections. It also makes pregnancy more spiritual and less about shopping. This simple decision will align your principals and priorities, keep you present, and allow you to experience life's greatest miracle and mystery. Which brings me to one last point, do you really need that Ultrasound? ...

calm mama happy baby

Children are pretty well programmed by age five; the rest of their life experienced is determined largely by what happens in these early years... 

Stress lies in the discrepancy between what you believe you should feel and what you actually feel... The reflection of your thoughts, mood, and behavior will show up with laser like precision in the mirror image of your child... When you live in your own center, you teach your child to live in her center, too... 

- calm mama happy baby

How you do one thing is how you do every thing.

And thinking of doing something and actually doing it are not the same thing.

to live is

to love and let go

there are no problems, only solutions

"I do not see problems, I only see solutions."

My mother's secret to success when asked how she remains so positive all the time. (Which she certainly does!)

has worrying ever helped?

We may try to convince ourselves otherwise, but fear and worry are useless.

Useless, undesirable and misplaced. 

No, worrying has never helped.

sorry, Joneses

I'm too busy working on my own grass to notice if yours is greener.

t r a n s p a r e n c y

Secrets make us sick.

Sharing our stories will set us free.

there are no mistakes

The Universe makes no mistakes !!! :)

Your Yoga will be tested.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

Just breathe. And when in doubt, do nothing. 

House Build Progress Photos April

Landscape design is my current focus; we're not out of the decision-making woods yet.


Chicken sconces to welcome you in.
Dutch door front door was a must-have-wish-list item from day one.


His Office in wind chime green.


The Kitchen turned out larger than I imagined.


East-facing, neighborhood-facing, lawn-facing sink.


Spiral stair up to guest room.


Living and dining area (or if J gets his way: living and billiards area).


Wood burning fireplace.


First floor Master Bedroom.


First floor Master Bathroom.


Master shower porcelain tile.


Contemporary stair detail.


Upstairs Bathroom also porcelain tile.


Upstairs Bathroom waiting on floating sinks.


Upstairs shower.


Upstairs Guest shower porcelain tile.


Guest bathroom. Lots of fun sloping ceilings upstairs.


Back downstairs, the Powder room.


Powder room exterior.


Side door.


Our 'Lane'.

House Build paint colors

First color pick. Benjamin Moore Proposal is the winner.


Art is likely family photos in distressed white frames and/or children's art. 

The ceilings throughout are Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. AKA White.

House Build Land Photos

Love at first sight - we purchased our plot in early Spring. Spring of 2014, that is! The energy efficiency requirements to build in Boulder and are some of the strictest in the country, hence the planning and review process is more extensive than a usual timeline. The bonus is, in the end you get an earth-friendly, futuristic product with a low cost to power and easier maintenance. A product you can feel good about!


A winter's day and the only thing(s) standing between us and Boulder. Our neighbor, an environmentalist, bought the conservation easement -THANK YOU!!!

House Build Progress Photos January

The roofing materials arrive.


Weighting the roof with concrete tiles before install.


Concrete roof tiles.

 
Mudding the drywall - which means we must choose the plaster finish and eventually colors! Love the asymmetrical, symmetrical mix in the home.




Most current color palette.
The open flow through the home will be white/cream, not shown.



Measure.


Height.
And working through the weekend! Love the team.

friends of Summer

Lilah

Lilah loves accessories, pool-hopping and chatting up a storm!

House Build Progress Photos

August. Astrid moves dirt, breaks ground.


Goldie on the way with her rig.


September. The home gets a form.
After MUCH deliberation there is no basement.


I am smitten by my neighbors. And despite the construction I think they adore me as well ;)


Lots of steel. There will be exposed steel on the front porch, in the living room, and on the back and side patios. We are from Cleveland, so we love steel.


October. The sticks are up. The framers are awesome.
Bring the framers treats to eat - check.


Stick phase is pretty.
(Plywood phase is not; photos of plywood phase are few and far between if any at all.)


Laundry room with a view.


Fireplace. Goldie is 3-feet tall for scale.


Trusses arrive. Prefab, baby.


Beautiful trusses that unfortunately will be hidden away behind walls.


November. Endless discussions in the dining room with architect.


Upstairs. Goldie's suite. Storm a comin'?


Well, Hello, windows!



Stair 'tower' and stairs we and the crew used to use (ladder).
Exposed steel. Bronze windows. Knotty siding to be stained dark.


Long day's work.


January. Radiant heat pipes. A difficult $ decision that I fully recommend!
Steel beams to be powder-coated dark.


Radiant heat pipe patterning and a wood burning fireplace which heats 3,000 square feet.


Dry wall abound. Looking into the kitchen from the living area.
Kitchen is in North-East  corner of home; the most high energy location in any house.


Baking the gypcrete. The radiant heat is on high and for the first time we (they!) are not all freeeezing on site.


Master 'retreat'. Windows on three sides.
The Master is purposefully placed in the South-West corner, where the energy is calmest in any building.


Front of the house as of January 1, 2016.


Back of the house as of January 1, 2016.


Goldie makes her mark in the Garage. Headed out the back door ...

Everything in the project was conceptualized and chosen by myself and architect Mark Ford of Studio 3fold. We did not use a 'designer' so the next phase, 'finishes'!, should be interesting... Lots more fun to come!!