Holiday Decorating

I saw this on Apartment Therapy and was immediately smitten:

What do you think?  I had never considered an artificial tree to be beautiful or pretty, but this tree has swayed me.  And I love how the ornaments are hung by color.  Such fun!

But no real tree?  What about that festive smell?  What about not having to clean up the needles every day?  Hmm...

Gratitude: part 2

Over the last week I kept thinking of things that I am grateful for, so continuing on this post, here it goes:

1) Cousins.  Over the Thanksgiving holiday break, we went to visit my hubby's family in North Carolina, and the seven cousins on that side of our family were able to spend lots of time together.  The giggling, playing, tickling, hugging, loving, merrymaking was just awesome to hear and see.  My girls had such a blast with their big and little cousins, and I am so grateful that they were able to spend time together and have so much fun.

2)"That's a mitzvah, remember to enjoy it." These lovely words were emailed to me on Monday from one of the women in my book club.  It made me smile, laugh, and remember not to get so worried about the upcoming holiday fair that I am organizing for my daughters' school.  I have been a ball of nerves all week and my mind is absolutely racing with everything I need to get done, so to have her take a moment to respond to my group email about why I can't be at our meeting this week really made me appreciative.  I love my girls' school and I am happy to do whatever I can to help, and I just hope the school and the vendors make some money!

3) Health.  A very close family friend had triple bypass surgery on Wednesday of last week, and he is now home recovering.  Thank goodness for awesome doctors, an awesome hospital, and good friends and family, of course.  GP, we have been thinking about you and are wishing you a very speedy recovery!

4) Tomie dePaola. Yes, I just wrote a post about him and his incredible children's books, but really, his books make me happy.  My girls love them, my husband loves them, and I love them.  The stories are great and the illustrations are fun, and I am grateful that this artist has chosen the path that he has.  Our story times are richer for his creative mind.

5) My therapist.  Yup, I am grateful for her.  I have been in therapy on and off for half of my life (I'm only 33 so it's not that long...oh, who am I kidding, yes it is!), and I am extremely happy to have someone to talk to about my funny little intricacies and help me to understand them.  My girls know that on Monday afternoons I go to see Dr. S and hopefully they will see no stigma in anyone seeking help when they need it.

Gift Ideas

Here are two things I would love to receive this holiday season:

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue

I have been wanting to read this since it came out!

How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

I desperately need help with my cooking.  Mark, if you can't help me, I don't know who can.

Can you tell I stopped by Barnes and Noble this morning?

What I'm Reading

This post should actually be titled 'What I Read' since I finished this last night:

I can't remember where I read a review that made me want to read Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan, but just looking at the cover, don't you want to read it?

Maine is about the Kelleher family - Alice and Daniel and their adult children, their sons- and daughters-in-law, their grandchildren.  Talk about a dysfunctional family!  With all of the craziness of almost every member of the family, none of the characters were so over-the-top that I found it hard to believe.  I really felt like I could have been reading one family's true story.  There were some funny moments and some surprising moments, but overall it was a fairly depressing depiction of family life.  I thought for sure there would be one character that I would identify with or root for, but I could see myself in almost all of them, including the incredibly unlikable ones!  Oh, and I still have no idea which character that is supposed to be, lying on the beach in her bikini...

Overall, it was an entertaining book that I looked forward to cuddling up with.

Kids Book of the Week: Strega Nona

I saw Strega Nona sitting on P's bedside table last night, and it was like finding a little present sitting there waiting for me.

It is the fantastic story of Strega Nona, or Grandma Witch, and all of her magic, but most importantly her magic pasta pot.  Tomie dePaola is the author/illustrator, and my girls and I just love his drawings.  We like to read all of Strega Nona's lines with an italian accent, and I highly recommend you do the same.  Smiles will shine.

Another one by dePaola that I adore is his book The Art Lesson which tells the great story of dePaola's passion for art as a child and in school.  Clearly dePaola found his calling at a very young age!

If you haven't read Strega Nona or anything else by Tomie dePaola, I highly recommend it!

Stocking Stuffers for kids - Land of Nod edition

My girls would love these:

finger monsters

 $1.25 each

 shadow flashlight

$3.95

P and L each have one of these and they love it!

Old Maid

$12.95

Scribble It Postcards

$9.95

the grandparents love to receive mail, and my girls love to send it

Memory

$24.95

we have this and we all love it (and I am a Memory rock star!)

Gratitude

Did you see this article in yesterday's New York Times?

Ok, so here are five things for which I am grateful:

1)  P, L, and B - my sweet, wonderful, loving, exhausting, funny family.  I could really list each of them separately but I think that would be cheating.
-P is my sweet, sensitive, 5 year old who just wants to please and help, when she isn't being melodramatic or sucking her thumb.  Sweet girl.
-L is my feisty 2 1/2 year old who loves to get a rise out of everyone and be a little trouble-maker at home.  At school, she is a sweet little helper who does nothing wrong.  So she saves it all for us at home.  Lucky us.  No, really, though, she is strong and feisty and wonderful.  And she loves to cuddle and caress my face when I lay in bed with her.
-B is my awesome hubby, my partner, my saving grace when I feel like I am going to rip my hair out.  Our marriage isn't always mushy gushy romance or picture perfect, but we laugh together and love one another, and we are on this incredible journey of marriage and parenthood together.

2) My extremely supportive parents - they would really do anything for me, my girls, and B, and for that I am extremely grateful. My brothers who are so smart and funny - truly unique and wonderful dudes.  I am grateful to have my family.

3) Friends - Where would I be without my friends?  Old friends who know me so well and are always there to support me; new friends who have helped me through the transition of moving to a new place and away from everything I know.

4) Photography and Pottery - my creative outlets that give me so much peace and joy.  I just love creating things, and while I will probably never sew a quilt or paint an oil masterpiece (although my gum balls were pretty awesome), I can capture a great photograph and throw a pot.  Or at least I am working on those two!  I still have to learn Photoshop Elements to make my photos better, but I'm working on it.

5) Time to myself - as I sit here at Starbucks, I am grateful for the time I have to myself right now.  The time to be with myself and my thoughts, and to do exactly as I please.  This also goes back to being grateful for B, who is off, out and about with the girls, while I am here alone.  What a guy!

Thankfulness Tree

A few years ago we started a little Thanksgiving tradition - to make a Thankfulness Tree.  We collect leaves, decorate them with paint pens, and on these beautiful leaves write what we are thankful for.  The girls love drawing all over the leaves, and then when we ask them what they are thankful for they say something like "you" or "my family."  Hey, I can't complain about that!

 last year's tree which we kept on the mantle in our playroom all year long

 something I am thankful for

 one of my hubby's leaves (isn't he an excellent artist!)

 the first step is to head out and collect leaves

(some little ones would rather sit in the middle of the path and not chose a single leaf)

begin a pile of leaves 

find some pretty ones!

begin decorating them

and keep going....

and going...

until you have a nice collection!

Then use a hot glue gun to attach them to branches, and you are done!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've Created a Monster

Uh oh.  She is not even 3.  I am wholly to blame!

What a sweet and feisty gal she is!

Truck love!

I love this truck and pass it on my way down Grove Avenue a few times each week.  I have no idea who it belongs to, but I had to stop and take a photo one morning this week.  The falls colors weren't too shabby, either.

Fog

Last week we had a few incredibly beautiful foggy mornings here in the good ole RVA.  I had to get my camera out (despite two girls whining for breakfast and needing to get them fed and out the door to school!).

Gummy Bears

I saw this last night when I was browsing through the latest Uncommon Goods catalogue:

How cute, right?  And only $28! Find it here.

These are a little different and I like them more (better true-to-candy gummy bear shape), but they are $125 each here ($500 for a set of five, if you are so inclined).

Who knew there are so many choices when it comes to gummy bear lights?

Dream Car

Yes, my friends, I have a dream car.  How cute would I look bopping around town in this bad boy:

Yup, that's it.  A white Range Rover Sport with tinted windows. So beautiful.  Ahh....

I found them!

I want these stools:

I saw them while reading Design*Sponge last night, and I love them!  Now where, oh where, can I buy them?  Please tell me they are not $500 each!

Wish me luck on my hunt!

Thankful

Every afternoon over the last few days the girls have decided to change into their princess costumes, because, really, why wouldn't you wear such a beautiful gown if you have one?

I am so thankful for so many things, especially these little amazing girls:

P.S.  Yes, the leaves are out of control!

Today's Book: The Empty Pot

Last night I read The Empty Pot to L, and I was surprised to see how interested she was in a book that I thought would be over her head.  I learned my lesson: don't underestimate my children.  I did have to explain the word "successor" and I'm not quite sure she grasped that, but it didn't take away from her enjoyment of the story at all.

The Empty Pot is a lovely story of honesty and courage, and the illustrations are really beautiful.  We were given the gift by one of my husband's students when P was born, and it is one of the books that I come back to again and again.

I think I could be a children's librarian.  I love books and reading with my kids.  And I absolutely adore BBGB, a local children's bookstore here in Richmond, with fantastic owners and wonderful, knowledgeable employees.

They suggested we read The Doll People to P, and we all loved it.  So if you live in Richmond and haven't been to BBGB yet, go!  And bring your kids.  The shop has a cute and unique space for the children to explore, play, and read.

Hope you have a great day (and read something good!).

Scenes from today 11.13.2011

Today I never changed out of my pajamas and we just lounged all day long.  I did leave the house once to get the paper which gets delivered about 10 feet from our front door.  I absolutely loved the entire day.  I had planned to go do lots of errands, but I didn't do a thing.  It was wonderful.

I think the hustle during the week of getting myself and the girls up, dressed, and fed by 7:45am to get to school by 8 has me totally exhausted by the time the weekend rolls around.  And Sunday just feels like a day of rest.  The girls love coming up with new games around the house, and B and I luxuriate in our free moments to read the Sunday New York Times.

So, here are moments from today (all taken with my iphone):

this was at 6:45 this morning - a nice, quiet time for a bath

my morning - coffee and the paper (and my camera nearby)

a vase I made in pottery class 

(with some fake flower pens I made too!)

never put my boots away last night

afternoon lounging

I hope your day was as relaxing as mine.  It was probably more productive than mine...

Stool Boom! aka Stools for the Kitchen

After over a year of living without stools in our kitchen, we are ready to take the plunge.  The only real requirement is that they have a back so that one of our precious little ladies doesn't lean back and fall on her head.  It would be lovely if we could find something adjustable because isn't it uncomfortable when you are sitting in a chair that feels too high or low for the table (or as in this case, counter) in front of you?

Here are my top choices after a little internet research:

The Modern Windsor Bar and Counter Stool from West Elm

$358 for 2

pros: decent price, nice design

cons: perhaps too simple?

The Spin Barstools from Crate & Barrel

$92.65 on sale (barstool price)

pros: love the price, love the design, adjustable

cons: no back (boo!)

The Delta Barstool from Crate & Barrel

$126.65 (without the cushion)

pros: nice design,  back support/comfortable

cons: I see these everywhere

The Gubi Barstool from Design Within Reach

$695

pros: stunning design!

cons: price

The Kant Stool by Karim Rashid

$260

I bet you won't see these at every house on your block!

pros: love the fun design and colors

cons: no back

The Kong Counter Stool from Design Within Reach

$1,710! (the polished version is over $3,000)

pros: design

cons: price!!!

The Magino Bar Stool by Karim Rashid

$500 (yikes!)

pros: design - I love that it is clear

cons: price, no back

I think one of the stools from Crate & Barrel or the West Elm stool will win out because of price and practicality.  With two girls, ages 5 and 2, I think I have to stick to my guns and buy stools with a back.  I do prefer most of the back-less designs, but my girls' safety comes first!  What a good mom I am...