I like the idea of having a count-down dinner for New Year's Eve. I'd decorate with clocks and numbers everywhere, and these dishes would fit in perfectly.
I'm sure they could be hand painted for a reasonable price. Maybe that will be one of my DIY projects in '09. Martha Stewart has a similar idea {and instructions!} for champagne flutes.
As my first year of blogging comes to an end, I just want to say "Thank You" to all of you out there. For reading, for sharing your inspirational ideas, and for being such a friendly community. Truly, I feel blessed. Happy New Year!
This Christmas season was a cozy one. We spent every weekend looking at lights, watching Christmas movies, making treats, and decorating. The children were old enough to participate, to save money to buy gifts for each other, and to understand when we taught about the birth of Christ. They were also young enough to still believe in magic, to be giddy with anticipation, and to wake us early Christmas morn' with carols.
Baby L received a retro rocket and his first tooth!
Little Miss C rocked out with her pink electric guitar.
And E was content to race his cars for hours.
After a hearty breakfast of eggs, hash browns, orange juice and {local!} sausage and bacon, we dressed and braved the rain storm to go to Grandma's. E could hardly contain his excitement to give his gift to his cousin L for the gift exchange. He absolutely LOVES her, and saved his allowance for three weeks before going shopping.
Once at the store, he found a remote-control Speed Racer car, which he instantly became enamored with. He couldn't be convinced to buy something more 'girly', nor was he swayed when I informed him that he would be giving it away, not keeping it for himself. "She will share with me!" he proclaimed confidently.
He carried it around with him everywhere. He kissed the box. He was dying to open it, but repeated our caution over and over, "It's L's present. I can't open it, 'cause then she will be sad". When she finally arrived at Grandma's on Christmas, this was the exchange:
That's E pointing to himself and announcing, "I picked it out!" as if we couldn't tell. It was very sweet.
This happens every year. I get so wrapped up in the glitter that is Christmas, I forget all about preparing for New Years Eve. I'm craving a black tie event to go to, or a close group of friends to gather {sans children} for finger food and cards before the toast at midnight. Anyone game?
I've been pondering New Years resolutions today. First on the list: Talk to Little Miss C about the birds and the bees. Goodness, I can't believe I'm old enough to have a daughter who is old enough to hear about this stuff!
This is what happens when you mix photography, Tetris and Christmas lights. Our gift to you. Feel free to regift. :)
{PS When I was a kid, my mom was addicted to Tetris and spent one Christmas break playing late into the night in our freezing basement. To this day, when I hear the music from the Nutcracker, I think of Tetris and Christmas, not ballet and Christmas.}
UPDATE: Upper management was intimidated by the ultra-cool atmosphere of this video. They have requested that we make the video private, even though they weren't fortunate enough to have the company logo displayed anywhere within. Ah well. Those of you who had a chance to see it before this happened-- count yourselves lucky. :) {want to be lucky? Send me an email and I may give you the password.}
When you sat down in front of your computer just now, I'm sure you were searching for something. Something you couldn't quite put a name to. Something funny. Entertaining. Distracting. Without knowing it, you were searching for this: ugly sweaters! :)
At my husband's recent company Christmas party, he and a few of his awesome videographer colleagues pulled out their cameras and talked everyone into doing an impromptu lip-dub to Weezer's 'Undone'. Appropriate, considering the required attire. It was so much more fun than sitting around the cocktail weenies and chatting.
The winner of the ugly sweater contest was the guy pictured above. I think his hat put him over the top. I came in second wearing a sweater I borrowed from my mother-in-law's closet {and my new skinny jeans!}. When I told her the news, she replied, "Oh.... good?" {We all thought Jared was robbed. His sweater was hideous-- he dug it out of the $1 bin in the ladies section of Goodwill.}
And a final note: the latter part of the video {where it gets fast, blurry and strobe-like} is actually done with tons of still shots taken with an SLR and strung together. I thought that was kinda neat.
On the agenda for today: baking, cleaning, listening to holiday music and pausing to sip hot cocoa. Hope you're having an enjoyable afternoon of holiday preparations as well. {Photo via West Elm}
E could hardly wait for December 1st so we could set up the train around the Christmas Tree. Every day after the baby has been put down for a nap, he carefully places the engine and cars on the track and watches, mesmerized, as it circles over and over. Next year, I vow to take him on this. I have a feeling that despite aging a year, he will still think of trains as wondrous and magical. After all, his father has never stopped.
Jared has started an online project called My Family Portrait. It simply encourages everyone to film a bit of every family member {such as the example above of our family over 4th of July weekend} and submit it to the Family Project Group on Vimeo. With the holidays upon us, most of us will have extended family visiting. Even if you don't have much experience with film, would you please consider participating in this project? I've found that there is something truly special about video. It captures nuances and mannerisms and expressions that still photos can't. If you contribute, please leave a comment and let me know. I'd love to see your family!
If money were never an issue, J would always dress like an extra in Quadrophenia. Now that he has a couple of mini me's to dress, he keeps his eye out for similarly styled duds of the miniature variety. He sent me a link to the Ben Sherman Kid Collection, and isn't it fabulous? Love the skinny suspenders, and this shirt would be a great addition to E's growing Vespa and Lambretta collection.
It's rather an understatement to say that we moved a lot when I was a child. By way of explanation, my mom used to joke that dad was 'born under a wandering star'. The longest I can remember staying in one place was two years, and by the time I was married {at the age of 19} I had, to the the best of my recollection, moved 29 times.
In comparison, my life is sedate and mundane now. When I'm hit with a sudden bout of wanderlust, Jared calmly tells me that it's time for a vacation, not a move. {Which makes sense. Our family used to visit stability- friends and relatives who stayed in one place. We had enough change in our everyday life.}
I've been contemplating getaways of late. Specifically, unusual places I'd like to spend a night. Here are my top picks:
I'll admit, it has taken me a long time to warm up to the skinny jean. Blame it on years of watching What Not to Wear, but I felt that I was too short to wear them, afraid that they'd make my hips look huge and my legs too short. However, I'm a hopeless slave to fashion. I started surreptitiously eyeing them, thinking "They look so cute on the J Crew models! I could tuck them into my boots! Let's face it, I can't always wear a skirt..."
So when Liz posted the link to this great tutorial on taking your old boot cut jeans and transforming them into the skinny variety, I figured I had nothing to lose. I was already in the middle of altering all my skirts and jeans, taking them in a bit to accommodate my marathon-training bod. And you know what? I like them. They may not be skin tight, but they add a bit of edge to my wardrobe. I like that they're perfectly broken in, and best of all, they were free!
I'm a little obsessed with feathers right now. Last week I picked up a variety of them at my local craft store, and have used them to make this pheasant feather headband, a black ribbon and feathered belt, and am now affixing a few golden yellow ones to the toes of a pair of black patent heels. A little much? Perhaps. But I'm enjoying myself. :)
It's been a long time since I've been captivated by a Barbie {let alone coveted her wardrobe!}, but this one has certainly caught my eye. Isn't she chic? Just like Tippi, she makes those birds look like the ultimate in fashionable accessories. {Via bOing bOing. Thanks to Jared for the link.}
This one's also quite snazzy. I find that once again, I'm tempted to dye my hair black....
While displaying it in a prominent window has proven to be impossible, I am nevertheless hopelessly flattered to have received an award from Lisa of Away From It All. The fact that someone as far away as Poland knows that I exist {let alone takes the time to follow my little posts} is something that I continue to find mind boggling.
I'd like to pass this {major} award on to Spyglass. Not only is she beautiful, talented, and {intimidatingly} intelligent, her posts never fail to surprise me with their variety, restraint and humor. Knowing her in person is an honor, but reading her blog is like being handed a secret decoder ring that periodically reveals snippets of her life, interests and thoughts.
Plus, her husband is hot. :)
Give her a visit, and make sure to scroll down to some of her posts on photography and music. Love those.
I am pleasantly surprised by the styling of Layer's Winter Clothing Collection. The gloves, the hats, that car! It's enough to make me want each of these outfits {though I wonder if the pleats on the white pencil skirt would put too much emphasis on my hips}. The overall feel of each of them is exactly what I'd like to capture with my holiday wardrobe. To that end, I'm going to try my hand at making a feathered headband {or maybe a belt like the one below} to accessorize my current pencil skirts and ruffled blouses. Don't you love the holidays? Such a perfect excuse to dress up!
Baby L has a birthday soon after Christmas, so I'm doing my shopping early. Jared and I really like this silver speedster or this Mini Cooper {or maybe this one}, but they're so expensive. We've settled for the Radio Flyer Rocket instead {only $25 at Once Upon A Child!}
I may be feeling blue today, but this was a fun pick-me-up! My brother and sister in law always throw the greatest parties. This year, they had an ugly sweater contest at their annual christmas bash. Can you guess the winners?
Baby L has been sick this week. Last night, he woke up with a fever of 103. We gave him tylenol and a lukewarm bath, then bundled him off to bed once his temperature was close to normal. This morning, his fever is lower but he crawls around despondently, collapsing onto anything soft for an impromptu nap, or sits in the middle of the floor with his arms raised, crying for me to hold him.
I feel like doing the same.
I'm sad. Since I'm used to fighting depression, part of me wants to get rid of this feeling by any means possible, afraid that it will snowball and rob me of all will to function. But I'm not depressed, I'm just sad, and for good reason. I think I need time to mull over events, process my emotions, and let it run it's course. It's simply providential that baby L requires a quiet day as well, allowing me to hunker down in a warm quilt and watch daily routines crumble to pieces around me.
I'm quite taken with the snowflakes Marian Bantjes drew for the Saks Fifth Ave catalogue. Look closely- some are like ribbons, others antlers, people, and houses. Beautiful.
Seeing these makes me want to draw a bunch of my own and have a gallery wall of snowflakes to display during the holidays.
Is it silly that I would buy something at Saks just to get this bag?
Oooh, the hat is on sale for $25. Too bad it isn't even remotely hat weather around here. :(
But it's ALWAYS jewelry weather! Aren't they fabulous? It would cost as much as my house, but I'd like one of each, please.
I ran 16 miles on Saturday morning. {!!!} One section of my running route weaves through a semi-rural area with equestrian property. At this time last year, I was walking that same route, pregnant and trying very hard not to be miserable. I may still be the slowest runner on earth, but when I see how far I've come, I can't help but feel victorious.
At least, that's what the children believe. There doesn't seem to be any other explanation for the fat and furry visitor that has shown up at our door every morning since Monday. Considering my current {dim} view of pets, the children know that the only way they might possibly end up with a kitty of their own is if it adopts us the way this one has. They are very, very hopeful.
Back when Little Miss C was just a baby bump on a skinny-minnie body that I took for granted, we adopted a kitten named Cleo. Oh, how I hated that cat! She wasn't the type to sit on your lap and purr, opting instead to bite the hand that stroked her. She meowed maniacally at night, and slept {shed} on my clean laundry , and hissed at our friends. We had her for several years, but I wasn't sorry when she inexplicably disappeared one day and never returned. {I believe my husband still suspects me of foul play.}
But this cat seems to be different. She's huge and friendly. She allows the baby to follow her around and grab her tail. She sits patiently as Little Miss C fawns all over her, making her a bed of pillows in a drawer of the entertainment center. She purrs. Loudly and constantly! And as if sensing that I'm going to be the toughest one to win over, she takes every opportunity to curl up next to me, laying her sleepy head on my hands as I try to type on the laptop. Most importantly, no matter what the kids put her through during the day, she always comes back the next morning.
We finished off the last of the Thanksgiving pie(s) a few days ago. Since then, I've had a hard time making myself eat breakfast. Embarrassing but true: nothing sounds appetizing now that I no longer have apple pie a la mode to wake up to. :(
I've never been much of a jewelry person, but lately I find myself craving a big, bold necklace. Something like Banana Republic's Dazzle Brooch Necklace {pictured above, and sadly sold out online!}. Here are a few more I've been eyeing:
It's December 1st, and I've never felt more ready to revel in the holidays! So, let's get this season started off right, shall we? In lieu of the standard Christmas card/photo combo, our family spent the long weekend putting together this little video for all of you. Hope you enjoy it, and please have yourself a lovely, old fashioned Christmas!
I'm sure they could be hand painted for a reasonable price. Maybe that will be one of my DIY projects in '09. Martha Stewart has a similar idea {and instructions!} for champagne flutes. 
