yumminess and lots of it!

You have been hearing about my pregnancy and everything going on with that.  You have also heard a little bit about the illnesses and the general tired feeling that I've been dealing with.  Well, a lot of that changed this past week.  I have been feeling so much better!  And with feeling better, I have been taking more interest in my food.  Yes, that was a highlight of my week.  =)  People who know me well know that I absolutely love food.  Tasting things that go together and compliment in texture and flavor is exciting!  It's an art form I can digest!  So I thought I would share some of my eats with you today.

the hubby got a ham and swiss omelet and I got the belgian waffle - amazing!

So the hubby and I have discovered a new cafe that we are LOVING.  It is a small, quiet, cute little place in the downtown area of Anaheim which has been under rehab for a while and is finally starting to come together.  We first went to Cafe Amore last Saturday for a leisurely breakfast and were really surprised at how good it all was (from the street, it looks like a dinky little hole in the wall place.  I have been taught once again, not to judge a book by its cover.).  The coffee was high quality, the food was hot and freshly prepared and they make all their baked goods on site!  Next time any of you come to visit me, I will probably bring you here.  =)  

my udon with tanuki (tempura crumbs) and spicy-tuna don.  uh-mazing!!!

Can I just pause here to say that I have the best hubby in the world?  He knows my likes and dislikes way better than I have ever thought.  And yesterday being Friday, we like to go out and spend the evening out when we can.  So he decided to take me to one of my favorite noodle houses.  Fukada's is, by the far, the best place for udon and soba anywhere!  They hand make all of their noodles the old-fashioned way that the owner brought over from Japan.  One of their dinner menu items allows you to pick either soba or udon and a side dish with it.  So I got hot udon with spicy tuna-don.  SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!  And I was so excited I was bouncing in my chair.  =P  I'm a little uncontrollable when it comes to really good food.  

And as I'm typing this, I am sitting back in Cafe Amore.  Enjoying one of their homemade chocolate chip scones and a lovely decaf vanilla latte.  I am so happy.  =)

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

the hazards of being in the jewelry business

One of the goals I had always wanted for my blog was to educate people about jewelry.  This may seem silly but there is a lot of information out there.  Like why some jewelry you buy at Forever 21 eventually turns green on you and other things that might be mysteries at the beginning.

But going back to my jewelry education.  One thing that has been changing quite a bit lately is the price of metals.  I work exclusively with sterling silver because it has (up until now) been much more reasonable than gold.  But things may be changing for all of us women (and men) who like to indulge our accessory whimsy.

One of the biggest jewelry suppliers in the US, Rio Grande, ran an article on their website last week about rising silver prices.  I thought I would share it with you because it had some generally useful information: http://riograndeblog.com/2010/12/bam-silver-prices-again/.  But to summarize the big points, it is essentially saying that silver jewelry and other items made with silver could be getting more expensive in the near future.  Historically, silver has stayed in a specific ratio with gold based on price.  With gold shooting up the way that it has been, silver could follow as more people invest in the cheaper metal.

So that is my friendly silver public service announcement.  =)

Have a beautiful day!

the reality of being a pregnant lady

So I am getting further along.  I am now 18 weeks and have a decided baby bump.  =)  I'll put pictures of that up later.  But right now I had to rant about a little something.

Now I'm not much of a drinker but I love pairing wine or beer with different meals.  In my attempts to be a good mom starting now, I have cut out virtually all caffeine and all alcohol.  But I made a dinner last night that just begged for a good beer.  So the hubby got one out for himself and then turned to me and asked what I wanted to drink.  I sighed and said juice.  I was a little caught up in my dilemma that I got a picture of our relative drink situations but totally forgot to snap a shot of how good dinner looked.  =)

I do like my cherry grape juice but a beer sounded really good too.  =)

But in happier news, we were able to eat outside yesterday which was thoroughly enjoyable and I quickly forgot about how much I'm looking forward to being able to hold my baby versus carry the kid around inside of me.  And I will make that dinner again and take pictures because it is an awesome and easy summer grilling idea.  =)

life gets crazy!

I love being busy.  Having somewhere to go, someone to see, things like that.  Yes, I do burn myself out and need to stop and get a pedicure or something like it to slow down, take a breath, and start back up.  But once again, it has been a month since I've blogged!  And I really have been dying to get my blog back on.

But I really do have a rather good excuse.  I had two of the most amazing girls in my life come and visit me in the last two weeks and it was a fantastic time.  First, my little sister came and visited me for a week.  Like most sisters, we haven't always gotten long...mostly because I was the big sister telling her what to do and she was the little one not listening (which was probably wise part of the time...)  =).  But now that we have both grown up a lot more, things are better and we are best friends now.  Of course, we went to Disneyland while she was here (we live about two miles from the park which is super fun).  But the definite highlight of the trip was when we went and saw Wicked the Musical!  I've seen it once and my sister has just heard me gush about it for a long time so when she came, I was finally able to share that experience with her!  And it was amazing.

And secondly, my maid of honor is visiting me!  There was a group of us girls who lived together for four years in college and we have remained fast friends.  Anna was my maid of honor at my wedding and we have always been able to talk about anything, anytime, anywhere.  The highlight of her trip?  Probably our multiple trips to In N Out Burger.  =)  She is a little bit of a burger freak and so we went a lot.

But that being said, now that we are moving back into a more regular routine, I am a little jealous of some of my blogging friends who are at Creative Estates this coming week!  But I sincerely hope you all have an amazing time if you are there and the rest of us look forward to hearing your stories!  =)

Have a beautiful day!

Some random thoughts and findings

Hello dear friends!  So I am still working on getting over the early pregnancy yuckiness so today's post is a little less organized than I could hope but I hope you enjoy it anyway.  =)

1) Music Suggestion:  Jane Lui!  http://janelui.com/  You have to check her out!!!  I love her music because she is creative and thinks outside the box when she creates - something I can only hope to emulate!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.  And she's an independent artist.  I guess I think that her work is to music what handmade artists are to Etsy.  =)

2) If you need a gift for a nursing or expecting mom, you need to see this.  This is just one example but I promise you that if the new mommy does not have one yet, she will love you for this.  I have seen moms use this at home or in public for a little bit of privacy from other children or in general.  And it's cute!!!  How much better can it get?!

3) I need inspiration!  I've been hitting a road block with some of my new creations and even decorating the new house.  So I'm turning to all of you!  What do you do to get over creator's block?!

I've missed you all and just wanted to give a little shout out to my blogging buddies - you are all a blessing to me whether it's reading your blogs and getting your comments.  So thank you.  =)

And have a beautiful day!!!