The New 'Hood...Pacific Heights

We are leaving the Marina and venturing 1.5 miles south (towards downtown). Dave was mentioning to a girlfriend of ours the other day that we'll likely start saving a lot of money on eating out since we "don't have anything" in our new neighborhood. The response from the friend was, "You're moving to Pac Heights - not the DESERT!"

And by the way...when Dave says there is "nothing" around...here is the Google Maps view when you type our new address and then type "search nearby restaurants":


Red Dots = Restaurants...that is Dave's equivalent of "nothing around"

Needless to say, I have a feeling we may not starve to death. Plus there is a Whole Foods, a Mollie Stone's (another small market) and a Safeway (giant grocery store) all within walking distance.

I also pulled up my trusty "BlackBook Guide to San Francisco" for their witty description of the new 'hood:

Clipped hedges, maids in uniform, and chauffeured Bentleys say it all. Just in case you were wondering how the other half lives, Pac Heights is here to show you.... Here we've got the Spreckels Mansion, home to Danielle Steel and her fashionista brood rocking the Proenza Schouler and Chanel couture. There we've got the usual private-school brats cutting calculus and brown-bagging it on the Lyon Street Steps. Upper Fillmore is the boutique strip, drawing tank-topped yoga hotties to the sundeck at Int'l Orange and blueblood playboys in crested blazers swirling their Pernods at Florio.

I'm not sure I completely agree with the description (seriously...it's a pretty chill neighborhood). Yes, it's well-off (for those who OWN...then there are us RENTERS-4-LIFE, but it's not snooty like the description says. Just people enjoying their lives...from a Hefeweizen beer on the sidewalk at The Grove to several clothing resale shops (granted, they sell Prada and Gucci), I for one, am looking forward to the change!

The big move is on Sunday. Mom arrives this morning and I am concerned she may have a heart attack when she walks into our apartment and sees the 2 boxes that we have packed thus far.... But hey...we are basically pros at moving at this point in our lives! I counted this as our 7th move in the last 9 years (yikes). We've got this process down pat!

Anything for The BOB...Stroller, That Is...

My how life is already changed.

This weekend, with our girlfriend Jenn in town, I found myself doing a "photo shoot", but this time with ME as the subject. There is a stroller called The BOB that is super-popular. They hold a contest every month where they give away one BOB stroller and I was determined that this could be "my month".

The topic changes every month, and this month was, "Best Workout Outfit". I hiked up and down the Lyon Street Stairs while Jenn snapped away on the camera (on a tripod), then Dave did PhotoShop magic and here is the final submission!


"How many times do I have to do this???"

Entries are posted on their website for the month. Check out #16 on there now - Lindsay has entered too! She already has a BOB, but was a team player to get an extra creative entry in with ours.


Lindsay and Riggs Gettin' Buff

Fingers crossed!

The Proof Is In The Penis....

We're having a BOY!!!!!

We had our 18-week ultrasound on Friday and got the fantastic news that Baby Bryand is a BOY!!!! No more worries of how I could suffer through hours of playing Barbie Dress-Up (considering at 31-years-old, I just emailed two dear friends to help me shop for a purse because I can't even do that myself), and excited to substitute that with teaching Baby Bryand how to properly throw a football and dunk on his daddy.

We have some pics (these days, they burn a full CD of the ultrasound images - very cool), so here are the pics where the technician labeled what you're looking at, and we took a quick (40 second) video of the experience!


Profile of Baby Bryand


The Proof



We haven't thought of names yet (we had a few girl names lined up, but no boy names), but are open for suggestions! Well, I shouldn't say "no" boy names...Dave has offered up the name "Aristotle" (as in the superhero of philosophy), but I shot that down when he barely got out, "How about Ar....". :-)

The other fun news in 18 weeks was that I finally felt the baby!!! As our friend Jen described, it's like POPCORN! Very, very cool feeling and rewarding to finally FEEL something! Now I get to feel the popcorn every 5-10 minutes and absolutely love knowing there is a little moving pomegranate-sized boy in there.

xoxo

The New Pad (can you keep up?)

Yes, we are moving again!!! This will be our 3rd apartment in less than 3 years in San Francisco, but this one is here to stay (at least for the next 4 or so years we think!!!).

A friend-of-a-friend lived at our new abode for the last 6 years, leaving only because they decided to buy a home and therefore are moving to the 'burbs. We jumped (i.e. did everything but accost the property manager and owner) at the opportunity to apply for the apartment. Let me expand on the features:

* 2 BR (we are in a 1 BR now)
* Dishwasher (and I don't mean the elbow grease hands we have now! a REAL one!)
* Washer/Dryer (that we share with 1 other family - and NO QUARTERS!!!)
* Garage and therefore PARKING (whaaaaat? We have done street parking for the last 7 years - this is the true vision of luxury! No more parking tickets! No more racing around reading the Street Cleaning signs to determine if we are going to be towed that day from 10am-12pm! Yessss!). Although very, very tight space, we can hang our bike (we only have 1) from the ceiling...no more storing it in the living room, then rolling it into the bedroom when we have people over!
* Living Room AND Dining Room (they are separated by pocket doors...as in, there are two separate rooms that we can open as one or separate!
* Private Deck! It's on the south side and appears to get all of the sun - it's HUGE!
* Side area for storage and - gasp - our own grill! We've had one of those travel-grills (the kind that fit 2 burgers comfortably or 4 if you really crowd them). Now we have room (and can legally use) a real, grown-up grill!

Here are some pics:

Front door...2-unit building


Living Room


Dining Room


Private Deck!


Nursery...awwww!

As you can see, this is a complete dream in San Francisco apartment-land. The process was slightly stressful (it always is):
1) Get email from friend-of-friend stating they are going to move and the apartment is not yet on CraigsList!
2) Contact friend-of-friend immediately and set up time to see the apartment that day (giving little to no consideration to mom-group that was over at apartment at the same time...not worry, I'll just crawl over the cute little munchkins)
3) Fall in love and contact property manager the next morning via phone and email to get rental application Word doc.
4) Submit application the same day including "extras":
-- Bank statements (savings & checking)
-- Credit reports
-- Salary history
-- References
-- Personal plea as to why we are fantastic tenants, referencing stories from previous apartments where we "saved the day" by working from home and being available to deal with building crises.
5) Wait.
6) Wait.
7) Wait.
8) 9 days after submission: Get call that we were approved for an INTERVIEW!!!! Nervously stumble through interview with owner and property manager, again emphasizing how much we are looking forward to making this a true home for us. We are asked if they may come to our current apartment to see it. This was new to us, but refreshing that an owner actually cares who his tenants are!
9) Send link to photos of our current apartment within 10 minutes of arriving home (thank you, Blog!)
10) Wait.
11) Wait.
12) Panic.
13) Wait.
14) 2 weeks and 2 days pass and it's the last day they say they will make a decision. Gather confidence and CALL to find out status. Voicemail.
15) Receive call back within 10 minutes - WE ARE IN!!!
16) Freak out and celebrate for the next 24 hours, toasting water, champagne and everything else that arrives in a glass.

So, we are leaving the Marina (our current neighborhood) for Pacific Heights (equally as yuppy, but closer to mid-30s rather than early-30s for age-range...strollers abound). We move on July 1st!

Brooke Bryand Photography: Updates!

Could I be more grateful for a husband who is a fellow photographer AND website designer AND graphic designer??? I am beyond words of gratitude for Dave's work on my kick-a$$ brand spankin' new Brooke Bryand Photography logo and business cards!!!

Check it out - logo (ignore the border around it)!


And the business cards - 6 different designs featuring the various types of photos I specialize in...and that is Riggs in the upper-left! And Lindsay's belly in the maternity one....



I am donating a photog session to a silent auction fundraiser and needed some print collateral, so Dave stepped in and I love them! Next steps? Postcards and my very first print advertisement (for www.thebump.com)!

One to Grow On....

I am 17 weeks and some change! In fact, it will be 18 this Thursday...time is flying by!

We have taken pics each week, but they really aren't that dramatic of changes yet. I think the ice cream is catching up with me, but the growing baby is also the size of a pomegranate this week, which makes me feel a little better about myself (since it's all about me, right?).


15 weeks and 17 weeks

We find out on June 15th if it's a BOY or GIRL - can't wait! Our last check-up was about 1 1/2 weeks ago...the quick 5-minute appointment where we get to hear the heartbeat and head home.

I still don't "feel" pregnant (other than the demonic look I get in my eyes if I don't have ice cream each day...but that's normal, right?). My normal running routine of 3-4 times/week at 4.5 miles each time has cut down to...well...nothing. I attempted a run a week ago and was exhausted, so I ran about 20% and walked the rest of the route. I have been doing more Bar Method workouts. They even let you do a 1/2 class (and pay 1/2) for preggo-girls. So you get the arm, leg and butt workout for the first 30 minutes, then smile broadly and say, "see ya, suckahs" as you stroll out early.

The no-drinking thing has actually been not-so-bad! I can't say "GOOD" because it would be a lie if I didn't admit I'd love a Ketel One Martini any day of the week, but I definitely look forward to my 2-3 glasses per week that I'm allocated and treasure them like liquid gold. Dave got on the sobriety train with me over a month ago and that has been AMAZING. It has been such a tremendous help to have him go through (at least part of) this with me. He has some "freebies" thrown in, such as whenever we go to Napa or if he's with my bro-in-law, Jon, or a few other key events. All in all though, it's been the best gift he could possibly give me...truly.

I do listen to two podcasts that I should pass along for anyone else in my boat. One is Bounty's Preg Podcast and the other is Pea in the Podcast (both available FREE on iTunes). They are a week-by-week 5-minute recap of what is happening to the baby and to your body. I love them because they are so quick and I look forward to hearing them every week!