ice skating in the desert

Dec. 22, 2007
We took Fallon, Mateo and Fran ice skating at Lake Las Vegas. They constructed a man made rink on the lake and blared Christmas music. It was Fallon's first time and she did pretty good! She fell a lot, but it didn't seem to interrupt her Christmas caroling while skating. We met Tina and Thanya (Chinakarn) and her son Noah there. I remember the days when Dad used to take us skating every Saturday in Pittsburgh at Monroeville Mall to ice skate. After skating we had lunch with the kids at Whole Foods and headed over to Bonnie & Oliver's house to check on the progress of their impending arrival

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fallon's first movie

I finally took Fallon to the movies today. We saw Enchanted which begins as a cartoon and turns into a real people movie. Fallon was totally engaged with the whole princess/castle/cartoon thing and then she lost steam when the real part kicked in, however, she did watch the whole thing. She said she liked it except for the "scary part" at the end when the dragon appears. I actually chuckled throughout the movie because it was a bit like 'Kate and Leopold' where Hugh Jackman is a Duke in the past who falls in love with Meg Ryan in present day. Anyway, Amy Adams was entertaining as well as James Marsden and movie-going was a success with Fallon. I will be sure to bring her to more - that are 100% cartoon. I really enjoyed being able to spend girl time with Fallon. I don't want her to grow up too fast - when one day she'll be going to movies with friends.

(after) christmas babies!

Oliver and Bonnie Wharton welcomed their baby girl on her due date, Lola Daphne Wharton, on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 8:22 p.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 11oz. and measured 20 inches long. Bonnie and Lola are doing well. And no Bonnie, you cannot eat sushi while nursing, however, I have had some recently! You can't deny them the omega-3!





Ray and Olivia Mupas welcomed their baby boy before the New Year, Sidney Emmanuel Mupas (left), on Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 12:20 a.m. He weighed 9 lbs. 7oz. and measured 22 inches! Congratulations new parents! We are so excited for you and are eager to meet them soon!

merry christmas to all!

2007 was THE year of transitions. Not only did we move in June, but on September 9, 2007, our daughter Aspen Vance Ayala Gregson was added to our family. At 3 1/2 months, we've been blessed with a happy, vibrant, and interactive baby girl. To cope with the added stresses of moving while pregnant, we were so fortunate to have grandparents, Fernando and Yolanda, to help our during the transition with moving and after Aspen was born. Their tireless support was incredible and deeply appreciated. Fallon grew closer to them while they were here.

Fallon turned 3 on September 8. She has been going to gymnastics every Saturday with Daddy and soon, she'll try ballet and indoor rock climbing. Since I knew I'd be so busy with the baby and business, we enrolled her at Merryhill Preschool. She loves it. It's a small class who all seem advanced - great for her language and socialization skills. She loves her teacher and all her new friends. It has also helped her adjust to the baby. It took her a bit to understand nursing and now asks, "Mommy, when you're done feeding the baby, can you come and play with me?" She has developed a sarcastic sense of humor that can entertain any adult and does it like a 6-year-old. She also has a very bright imagination. One of the many funny stories her teacher told me recently occurred during a Play-Doh session. Her classmate was squeezing out the Play-Doh from one of the tools and Fallon said, "Push! Push! Here it comes! Here comes the baby!" Her current interests include princesses, cooking, baking, imaginative play, building and painting. Even though she's a lazy eater, she is quite the foodie. We try to expose her palate to every type of food. Her favorites are: crabs, gyros, steak, pancit, Japanese food, (esp. tofu) and brie cheese. All in all, we are so lucky to have an easy, happy, affectionate, expressive, articulate, strong and funny girl.

Another big change was when Jonathan finally transferred out of FIX restaurant and into the The Light Group office, working on restaurant design and development. His hours went from 15 hour days to M-F/9-7. What a miracle! He's still getting no sleep as usual due to the baby's hours and is happy to wake up with Fallon before she goes to school. It's very strange to include him at the dinner table and to see him on the weekends! We are truly grateful for his presence this Holiday as Fallon is very much into Santa and because it's Aspen's first Christmas. Jonathan is definitely an involved, fun dad to the girls. He has been great about caring for them both on the weekends if I need a break.

As for me, I remain at home with the kids and continue running my little business, Plain Zane. I finished a tiring, second year. It started out as a "side" thing, but it has seemed to take over every bit of free time and then some. I was so fortunate to receive some press from Las Vegas Home and Design magazine twice: in the May/June issue, in the Sept/Oct issue and on FOX5 TV Las Vegas. It was the boost needed to reach more customers. I also did 8 shows and 1 trunk show at Bleu Gourmet. It was a successful end to the season and the most fun show to date. I want to thank everyone who has been supportive via referrals or by giving products to their friends.

Last, but not least, we are settled into our new, modern home. We tried our best to incorporate sustainable materials and build it as green as we could. Since we still have our old house and braved the double mortgage for a while, we had to postpone some projects. In the first month, I experienced feelings of buyer's remorse, but we're all used to it now and love it more each day. We have unobstruced views of the Red Rock mountains and of the Strip from the sky deck. Within the next few months, we hope to finalize the landscape/pool design. It's coming together and you are all welcome to our home anytime!

2007 was packed with fun events despite our erratic schedule and my pregnancy. Here are more highlights:

- 1/07: I was pregnant with #2.
- 2/07: Fallon became potty-trained!
- 3/07: Fallon and Jonathan rode a horse for the first time.
- 4/07: Ashley and I made a road trip to LA sans kids!
- 5/07: Jon, Fallon and I went to LA.
- 6/07: We vacationed in NYC/CT/OH to visit Jonathan's family and attend his cousin, Kim's wedding. She also met her baby cousin, Michael (Liz and Dave Audie) for the first time. Fallon experienced all that NYC has to offer - cab rides, subways, Chinatown, trains, etc. She especially got an idea of how well I can shop within 2 days. We then made a quick trip to my parents in Ohio and met Roman Elizaga and Max Valderrama. We moved into our new house.
- 8/07: Fallon started school.
- 9/07: Fallon turned 3 on Sept 8 and I delivered Aspen the next day.

As the year comes to an end, I can't help but reflect on how time flies and how precious family and friends are. Our blessings as a family are truly valued. So, my New Year's resolution is to make more time for friends and family. May health, happiness, and fortune be with you this holiday and for the New Year.

When Fallon saw Aspen's announcement photo, she said, "Look Mom. Aspen is signing the letter "A" for Aspen!"

kelly wearstler

I have been an admirer of Kelly Wearstler, especially since she was commissioned to design the KOR Group hotels, my favorite project. I have not seen her project at Bergdorf Goodman and her line of goods, but I'm sure I'd love it. We have stayed at Maison 140 and Avalon, but I am dying to stay at VICEROY Santa Monica. We have only visited it. I just got her book, Modern Glamour, since I can attempt to pull some of it off in our new home. I've always been afraid to paint a modern space, but I feel really inspired now. She was recently on Bravo TV's TOP DESIGN.

christmas baking

I finally had time to do some baking with Fallon. Her favorite are the peanut butter kiss cookies. She was a big help rolling the dough and then placing the kiss on top of the cookies.

bjork @ pearl in the palms hotel

Bjork is over 40 and is still rockin' out. We scrambled to see Bjork tonight after my trunk show. Jon forgot to tell me he got tickets, so we had to find a sitter asap. We were both exhausted from the show, but it was so worth it. I was a little disappointed that she did not sing more old songs. I would have been dancing in the aisles. Even George Maloof was bobbing his head behind us. Check out her comprehensive website.

holiday trunk show "market" @ bleu gourmet

Today was the Holiday Trunk Show @ Bleu Gourmet and it turned out to be a success! For our first retail show, it was so fun and I was happy with the response. I think it was great business for Sonny Ahuja of Bleu Gourmet as well. Many of our friends - old and new came to show support. I especially want to thank the Moms from Merryhill (Fallon's school) who came and made a lunchdate out of it. Even though I was "working," I had a great time and it seemed everyone had fun, too.

ingrid michaelson

Tonight I saw Ingrid Michaelson at the Rock and Roll Wine Event at Ovation at Green Valley with childhood Steubenville friend, Thanya (Chinakarn) Lee (our parents are doctors in the same building in Ohio). I have the order in to change the song to "The Way I Am" on the Plain Zane site. She has that Lisa Loeb-ish sound, but more acoustic. She sounds great live, but I think she started to slur her words after being given a bottle of wine to "hydrate." We had a nice time tasting wines, catching up - talking about our babies and nursing.

happy birthday izzy!

We went to Izzy Gunson's (Ashley & Brent) 3rd birthday party (2 weeks early). Of course, it was all about pink princesses. The party favors were Build-A-Bear kits. We had a hard time doing it within a timeframe, so we decided to do them at home. The house was packed with kids, but it was fun time. Fallon really enjoyed herself, especially watching Izzy open her gifts. Izzy loved the big Cinderella doll from Fallon.

gigi and geri in vegas again

Crazy cousins love the Spice Girls, so they paid ridiculous money to see them in concert at Mandalay Bay. They also got to see Aspen for the first time. It's always great to see relatives.

bonnie wharton's baby shower

Today, I attended Bonnie (& Oliver) Wharton's baby shower in Henderson. I love baby showers (and so does Plain Zane)! It was at their neighbor's home (amazing, by the way) and it was a girly, fun time. Bonnie is 9 months pregnant and was getting teased for not having the baby room done, the car seat and clothes for the baby. Regardless to say, she did very well and got everything they needed to welcome the new baby home. I had delicious Sangria (and so did Aspen via my milk) and Freed's Tres Leches cake - yum! It was so nice for me to be able to go since I rarely got to do Saturday events when Jonathan was working his impossible hours. The baby is due Dec 27, possibly a Christmas baby.

fallon's winter festival program at merryhill

It was Merryhill's Winter Festival Program where the kids perform their songs for all their families. Classroom 8 performed "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." They did awesome! It's so cute to see them perform and no one cried or got scared! Even Fallon was up front and center - singing and doing the motions. You've got to watch it! We were all proud parents!

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a visit from the peckhams

My old friend Niki was back in town from Altanta. She now has 2 kids since she gave birth to Max, a week before Aspen. Her first one is a girl named Emmi. They are cute, cute kids! It was great to see them and catch up!

gotta love ikea

I heard that the Swedish furniture giant, IKEA, is putting roots down in Las Vegas! It's about time!!! Ikea has a been a staple in my decorating needs since the early 90s. Despite it being cheaply made furniture, I love their marketplace and of course, being able to get that modern look for so much less. After selling all our Pottery Barn and Crate Barrel furniture at our old house, I won't lament over the Ikea furniture when it comes time to change styles again. I put this Torsby Dining table in my office.

fallon and friends

We went to the Bedford's house for a little Holiday gathering and a chance for the classmates to get together. It was so nice to see how well Kylee, Michaela and Fallon play outside of school. And of course, it was all about fairies and princesses. Their imagination is amazing. After playing with every single toy in sight, it was time for beauty shop - where Fallon was the guinea pig!

market @ bleu gourmet

We are doing a Holiday TRUNK SHOW event at Bleu Gourmet on Saturday, Decmeber 15, 2007 between 10 am - 4 pm. It will be so fun to be in a retail location where we can snack and get cozy with customers. I will have brand new blankets not seen in the online catalog and gift cards for the Holidays.