the uniform project

i first read about this in the recent glamour magazine. (yes, i read glamour. i've been getting it in the mail, so why not? i hope i don't have to pay for it later, because i don't know how it has been coming to my address.)

anyway, this talented and adorable indian girl, Sheena Matheiken, came up with this idea called "the uniform project" which is raising money for uniforms and educational expenses for children living in the slums of india. she's raised over $13,000 so far in only a few months, which is pretty awesome.

the premise of her project is to wear 7 identical black dresses for a whole year, and each day will look different depending on what item of clothing or accessory she pairs with it. it's a sort of sustainable way of dressing yourself, you might say. a lot of the "extra" items, she is buying on super sale, getting at thrift stores or getting hand-me-downs from people helping to support her cause. i don't have the courage to pull of her style anymore, but i totally love a lot of these looks. she has some great inspiration for me, as i wallow in my fashion rut. here are some of my favorites:

bye bye birdie

so i have never been into watching musicals. it's not that i don't like them. it's just that i've never thought of them when picking out movies to watch. the few that i have ever watched in my life, i have loved (west side story, sound of music, seven brides for seven brothers, etc).

i got "bye bye birdie" for my birthday, and izzy and i have really enjoyed the catchy songs and the beautifully colorful images.






the dialogue is pretty funny too. you gotta see it, if you haven't.

happy birthday to my bestest guy

my hubs turns 32 today. because he already bought himself a bunch of cool, expensive stuff he's been wanting, i got him a fancy tie holder. i know, i go crazy with gifts!



here is an outdated picture of pete when he liked shag-burns. oh, if you didn't know already, he likes cats. A LOT. he even had an interview once and told the interviewer that when he was describing himself. he didn't get the job.

lately...

sometimes i wish my pictures were prettier (or that i had a better camera) or that i wrote about or know about more interesting and beautiful things. i've come to realize that i am a little boring. maybe i wasn't before, or maybe i always was and just pretended that i wasn't.

whatever. my kid's ridiculously cute and awesome, so i can forget about all that other stuff.

here is what she's been up to (cuz i know you have missed seeing pictures of her):


if you can't already tell, she is practically making out with this tootsie pop. this was her junk treat on our way out to utah from minnesota.


proof that my kid is asian. she loves rice A LOT. btw, the new thai place in provo that is in the old location of thai chili gardens charges extra for their rice. i know, right?! redonkulous! who ever heard of getting a thai dish without rice? i tried to tell the new waitress that she was wrong without actually telling her, but she didn't get it and refused to ask the owner. guess who is not going back...


one of izzy's new things is to get me to say "ewwwww!" whenever she sticks her finger in her nose. she was just itching the other night, and i said it to an immense amount of giggling. i think i just gave her a good reason to pick her nose all the time. darn it!


uh yeah, this is not izzy. it is the wasps' nest that has been hanging out on our balcony for weeks now. the pesky bugs have been persistent and hardy, or they have sent reinforcements to come back to this thing. it has taken us a couple of weeks to take them all out. this is just a small part of the bug murdering that has occurred at our home. doesn't it look gross? i hate cellular-looking things. i don't know why, but they give me the heebie-jeebies.

bad egg. bad! (you too, peanut!)

some of you already know this, but izzy we recently tested izzy for specific allergies. we got her blood test info back last week, and she is highly allergic to eggs and peanuts. poor kid. all this time, she has been eating foods made with eggs or with trace amounts of peanuts and having skin issues (hives and rashes). what stinks is that there are tons of things made with eggs or processed on equipment that has had eggs on it and vice versa with peanuts.


(how i envision an egg now--scary, with an intense look on his shell)


(a nut with a smile and a cane. i want to kick that cane out from under him for making my child sick.)

needless to say, we label read A LOT now. i also make it a point to grill waiters/waitresses wherever we go out to eat to make sure we don't order anything that izzy cannot have. i'm probably endlessly annoying, but i always tell them how i much appreciate their checking for me.

recently, i made a vegan sponge cake to use in my trifle dessert for a friend's dinner-get-together so izzy could partake. i got the recipe from some lady's blog here. it was sooooo good. i think i might use this recipe for izzy's birthday cake next year or for some other dessert. i might even use lemons instead of limes.


if you've not ever had a trifle, you better go have one. it's best with the delicious summer fruits that are still in abundance.

all in all, i am grateful her allergy is not any worse than it could be. it does make things a tiny bit more difficult, but izzy eats 10x healthier than most kids now because of it.

bluh-duh

so at izzy's 15 month appointment the other day, we found out she has only grown an inch in the past 3 months but has gained no weight. her head has grown a little bit, but just barely. i guess that part is okay, because she doesn't like hats anyway.

i've been concerned about how small she is, because everyone and their dog points out how tiny she is. i know they mean well, but i don't really like it when they call her "a peanut." what does that even mean? she doesn't look like a peanut. she doesn't act like a peanut (wears a top hat and carries a cane). she can't even eat peanuts. she's allergic to them.

anyhoo...

she's skinny. not weird for a kid who was born from a woman who is 5'2" and was always petite growing up. in the process of talking about her growth, i mentioned to the doctor that i wanted to get izzy tested for her food allergies. i have found out (the hard way) what things produce hives, so i have stayed away from those items. as a concerned parent, i just wanted to be sure and also have the precaution for a possible severe reaction should it occur (i.e. an epi-pen).

i took her in (unfortunately, for the second time) to get her blood drawn. poor thing did not "produce" enough the other day, so i had to bring her in again. i filled her up with apple juice this time, so it was thankfully fail-safe.

as soon as i stepped into the room, izzy knew. she grabbed my neck and wailed. she saw the nurses come in and screamed. she was so horrified that she even started shaking her head "no" to tell herself or me that she couldn't believe this was happening again. she was such a brave girl though, because she actually looked at the needle. i can't even do that. i abhor needles and drawing blood.

needless to say, i am totally proud of her. despite the tragedy of the day, she came out of it giving the nurses a pissy-face with no crying. good thing we're moving. the blood will be traveling to the infamous mayo clinic, and we'll know in a week. meanwhile, enjoy some random video of how crummy it is to be a baby at the doctor.

cousin it look-a-like

with my crazy kinks growing out (thank you hormone changes) and my bangs acting as my own personal shades, i feel it is time to get a new haircut. plus, we are moving and i am leaving my beloved hairstylist. it took me a little while to find her here in minnesota, so i am dreading the hunt and potential bad haircuts in utah.

you see, not everyone can cut straight, asian hair well. all you girls with hair similar to mine know what i mean. mistakes are not easily hidden. lack of layering can make one's head look like a paintbrush. too much layering or poor cutting skills can wreak havoc on the hair. plus, i hate it when certain hairstylists feel that they have to impose their style on your head. i never tell them i want my hair to be giant and heavily-laden with product. they just assume.

anyway, i found a couple of 'dos i like. they're not terribly new or exciting, because i am trying to be realistic with how much time my child allows me to do my hair.





hairstyles were found on rasysa.