surprise!!!

i am not sure where to start here... this picture makes me giggle every time i look at. it is so great that it is now our desk top picture on our lap top.... it is sheer perfection in every way...

click on the picture so that you can take it alllllll in....

this is a picture that was snapped over this past weekend and yes this is a mural in our crazy little town and yes, that is the mister.... would i grab this picture in a fire?... you bet i would!

so the surprise is a contest and the winner will receive a cute little package from citybirds! RULES: the first person to list all the strange things in this picture wins! a little helpful hint....the mister in his goofy pose does not count... although yes, it is quite special; he is so darn cute and he was nice enough to okay this picture that we don't need to poke fun at him... although i already did but that's my job as his wifey ;D

you can be as creative as you want! i will pick a winner on monday so leave a way for me to contact you! have fun!!!

don't forget tomorrow is another citybirds chirp and the last day of my clothing sale! email me if you want to be a part of citybirds chirp!

xo,

cb

bike package!

happy wednesday! no bike chick tip or outfit today but i did want to share with you the wonderfulness that is the mister...a long while ago he had showed me this really cute oil cloth panniers and i LOVED them...then went i went to the bike expo this year the bicycle muse was there and i saw the one i wanted but i didn't bring my credit card so i couldn't get it...total bummer...so the mister got it for me as my christmas present...and yesterday night i found the wonderful package on our door step waiting for me. i new right away what it was because the outside of package said the bicycle muse...i called the mister right away to ask his permission to rip open the package and squeal with excitement and of course he said yes!!

it is so perfect in every way and i love how bright and happy it is. i have named her sunny!! since she is oil cloth she is perfect for winter wet rides!!! sunny is awesome because she has clips on the back which just slip right onto a rack and then i can take her off when i get to bart! yay!!

what even makes this bike ride to bart even more spectacular is that the forecast said it was going to rain today and when i woke up not a cloud in site...perfection!!

thanks babe for the best present a bike riding girl could ask for!!

any bike accessories on your christmas list?

happy riding!!!

xo,
cb

weekend adventures and some bike porn

hi everyone!

hope everyone's week is going awesomely. this past weekend we tested out gilbert, our tandem and boy was it super weird but nothing i can't over come. a tandem is set up a little different then a normal bike. the person in the front, the mister,  is called the "captain". this person has full control of the bike, meaning that they steer, brake and shift. they are also in charge of pedaling although the person in the bike ME called the "stoker"  pedals as well but our pedaling is in unison so if the captain is pedaling that means i am pedaling...if the captain is coasting then the stoker is coasting. that all was easy but also a bit awkward as i have no control over anything...so the mister aka the captain has to call out what he is doing so that we can ride as smoothly as possible. once we get used to riding as a unit then he won't need to call out what he is doing. since the captain has so much control of the riding it is hard for me, someone who likes being in control very hard not to want to help turn the bike or pedal when he coast or the opposite...when we turn i tense up which is not good and it makes it harder for the captain to make a smooth turn...we definitely need to practice more as stopping and starting is kinda awkward too...we both have to start and stop at the same time but it will get easier as we practice more and more....we road around the park which was empty thank god! gilbert has two sets of chains and in the back there are two on either side of me and at one point my shoelace got stuck which frightened the bejesus out of me...poor shoelace! after riding around a bit we had to switch the handle bars as i hate drop bars and i was putting way to much weight on my wrists...we went back to the house to change the bars for me which made turning more balanced for me.

it was too much trying to take pictures of us riding gilbert so here is some bike porn of gilbert looking so pretty in the park with the fall leaves...

we didn't take the tandem out on the iron horse trail as i just didn't feel comfortable yet being on the road with cars and not being familiar with riding gilbert yet so we took mary and bob out. we stopped at the farmers market and the library before we jumped on bart and bought the YUMMIEST samosas at the market!!

the ride was really great but since the trail cuts through neighborhoods we had to stop and start again every mile or so which got kinda of annoying but it was such a great workout that i woudl totally go again. a nice 20 something mile on a BEAUTIFUL day is sublime! also the scenery was so pretty , all the trees changing colors and the air smelled so sweet and fresh from it raining the day before. we had a great time...although i have come to the conclusion that i am terribly out of shape! so i gotta crack that whip and feel the burn! here are some pictures of our ride...check out my funky outfit! i loved riding around in it!!!

taking a break to eat some pb&j

at one of the many stops...waiting for the light to turn green

a little sweaty after the long ride :

i hope you all have a fantastic weekend! we are off up north to hang out with our little niece who is turning two and then it is craft time on sunday for me!!


xo,
cb

birthday boy!

today is the mister's birthday, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET!!!!!! you are my favorite person in the whole entire world, my best friend, husband, riding partner, thrift store hunter, manly man, partner in crime, father of our kitty..hehehe....basically.... my everything! i wish you the best day..even though you have to go to work, i will be at home waiting for you with a fresh pot of your favorite, ribollita soup (recipe to come) and chocolate pudding pie and a big smooch!

our ray-ban ad..hehehe

he already got his birthday present which was a nice bike rack for a custom bag he is getting made. every year i get him a bike toy because i know he will love it and he always does :)



since his birthday is on a weekend day, we celebrated on saturday with friends. we drank, had pizza, drank, went bowling, drank, played dominoes and then drank....hehehehe...the mister had a great time and it felt good knowing he had fun! and then the next day we went and got breakfast together to get rid of that nasty hangover :)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN MY LOVE, you deserve every bit of happiness and i love you! <3<3<3<3

xo,
cb

love

happy tuesday! just a little post for today. the mister and i are featured on oh my darling's blog today, check it out. melissa is doing a really cute post every week where she features couples. she has a talented artist jaymie callaghan  it is just oh so cute and it was so fun to be a part of it! this is the picture we submitted for the illustration. it is one of our favorites together!

 enjoy your day <3

xo,
cb

happy as a clam

happy friday everyone! cheers to a short work week, YAHOO!! i want to thank everyone for the most wonderful comments on my last post! i was a little nervous to post about the bike and i was so delighted with the responses, so again many many thanks to you all!!

so as tradition should have it the mister met me at bart yesterday and we wheeled our way to thrift town where we got some great stuff. the mister got two really great jackets and some blue bike spandex, can't WAIT to see him wear those bad boys ;D and i got 2 cute blue dresses of which you can see bits of it in the below picture. but since i was so pumped on bike embroidery i made a bee line to the frame section and grabbed some frames and to my surprise there was a TON of bags of embroidery floss...fate right? so i grabbed a bag which had some new colors i didn't have which will be nice for custom orders :) i plan on making another one this weekend and this time the mister will not get his way no matter how cute he is...

oh and found this super cute sterling silver bracelet with flowers carved on it :D yay!

i hope everyone has a great weekend, i will be getting my hands dirty with grease as i fix ursula up :) can't wait to share my bike chick tip with you next week and some new skirts i plan on making on sewing sunday!

xo,
cb