Birthday Delights for a Toddler

[Prudence, $44, bla bla]

My sweet little neice turns 1 today, so in honor of her birthday, here are some of my toddler favorites...

[Pram I Am, $79, Land of Nod]

[Donut Box Set, Yellow Label Kids*; at Maher Dry Goods for $35]
*Yellow Label Kids is a member of the Fair Trade Federation +
their handcrafted products are made by groups of artisans
spanning the globe from Chile to Nepal

[Rockabye Storage Rocker, Offi; at 2modern.com for $149]

[Two Tune TV, Fisher Price; at Back to Basics Toys for $22.99]

[Contemporary Dollhouse, Plan Toys; at amazon.com for $100]


[felt baby swing, Filzschaukel, approx. $140]


Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl! We love you!

My [dirty] Hair Secret

In high school, my hairdresser told me that it was better for my hair not to wash it everyday. That was all I needed to hear. There were times I would take the not washing a day too long, so I would put powder in my hair, a trick my mom passed on to me. I used to use regular old baby powder, but with each pregnancy my hair got darker and darker, and that's when I found this hair powder from Bumble and Bumble. It's great for those days you just don't have the time to wash and dry, and don't want to look like a total grease-ball.


Yesterday was one of those days. Thanks to the oh-so-kind and generous Jennifer, I had an appointment at the spa. I was getting a facial and had no idea that that included a head/hair massage. The one thing about this hair powder is that it has a color tint to it that will come off on your fingers. I'm sure Amanda, my technician, was wondering why hair color was coming off my head! It was an awesome facial, though [if you are in the area, it was at Pyara in Harvard Square] - completely relaxing and energizing.

And Bumble and Bumble has a fun website...there is a section on their site about all their logos. I've always liked their identity systems and think they've done a great job at keeping things fresh while maintaining the same overall vibe. There's also a section with their history - I especially like the drawing of the future!

Chase Away the Laundry Room Blues

With this awesome hamper...



I wonder if I could fit all our laundry and both kids in it?? Probably not all of our laundry. It's available at The Mut. The Mut used to be a store in Cambridge and is part of Black Ink. They evidently closed down the physical Mut store, but still sell the items online [they have a very fun website] and carry some items in the Black Ink store. Now if only I could find a fairy to actually do the laundry for me...

I *heart* Office Supplies

I get weak in the knees whenever I walk into an office supply store. It doesn't matter if it's big or small, Office Max or Sam Flax. I love all the paper and binders and pens and clips. When I was little and went to my dad's office with him on the weekend, I would spend a lot of time in the supply closet, stuffing highlighters and post-it notes in my pockets. I just couldn't believe my good fortune! Yes, I was a 6-yr-old supply closet klepto. If I had a supply closet of my own and a bunch of moola to use to fill it up, I can guarantee that a lot would be spent at Russell + Hazel. Perusing their site makes me feel giddy - it's just brimming with possibilities!





What would you/do you use to fill your supply closet??

A Day on the Farm

Posting late today...we are soaking in our last two weeks here and took a trip up the north shore to go blueberry/raspberry picking and see Ipswich and Newburyport. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. The north shore is lovely...we traveled through one quaint little New England town to another.

[Picking blueberries!]

[We ate fried clams at Clam Box - yum!]

[Outside Newburyport]

Have a great weekend!
[We are picking up our Mini convertible in the morning + heading to the beach!]

Judging a Catalog by it's Cover

One catalog I consistently look forward to getting in the mail is the Land of Nod catalog. They have cute things, but the main reason is to see what the cover art will be! This most recent cover was designed by Lisa DeJohn a painter, designer and mixed media artist currently living on the north shore of Massachusetts. She's got an awesome website [www.lisadejohn.com] and some amazing art...



If she's a regular at Land of Nod, I look forward to seeing what's to come!

Pickle Fork

My sister sent me an email with the heading "pickle fork"...hmmm. Attached was the image above, which is from a MikWright card she just bought. The inside message of the card is:

"where the hell is my pickle fork? I can't have anything nice with you kids."

Every time I read it, it makes me laugh! The lady in the picture reminds me of my sweet Mimi, who totally had a pickle fork and made things like congealed salads and who I could never imagine having ever said "hell" but probably thought it those times when her silver went missing! Thanks, Weez - you seriously made my day!

Love-Rock

The Public Theater is starting a run of Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical today [July 22nd-August 31st] as part of Shakespeare in the Park. Lucky Star, anyone?! There was also a spread in the July issue of Vogue magazine with the cast from Hair - they look like so much fun! [the posters are from Kideko and don't have anything to do with Hair - they were just the first things I thought of when I read "love-rock"!]

Zippin' Around Town!

As of this weekend, I am officially a Zipcar member. I haven't driven a Zipcar yet, but I have my eye on a Mini Cooper convertible that I want to take to the beach! If you live in a city with Zipcar, and car sharing would realistically work for you, check it out...not only do you get to drive all kinds of different cars [which, for me, a person who gets bored with the same car and just likes cars in general that's a happy thing], but you never have to pay for gas [or insurance and repairs for that matter]. And there are some "green" benefits, too:

Each Zipcar replaces over 15 privately owned vehicles...

Older cars are replaced with new ones that have more stringent pollution controls.

Green space is preserved as fewer parking spaces are required to meet the driving needs of the same number of people.

Less strain on urban parking infrastructure — saving businesses, governments, and universities money.

Lower fuel consumption means fewer greenhouse gas emissions and particulates.

And less congestion on the roads.

I'll keep you posted on how things go...still trying to work out for the times when I am by myself with the kids, how I am actually going to get to a Zipcar with 2 carseats and 2 kids in tow...any suggestions?!

A Box a Day?

Our house is becoming overrun with boxes. In every corner, along every wall there is a stack of boxes that we [well, mainly Reggie] have scavenged over the last few weeks. Thankfully, there are a lot of people moving into Cambridge in the summer, so we haven't had to look very hard. Now I just need to fill them! I get a little nervous when I look at them and realize that I have less than 3 weeks to pack the whole place up...plenty of time, right?! I keep thinking that maybe if I pack a box a day it won't be so painful. Then again, maybe it would be less painful to not drag it out and just go for it the last couple days. Yes, that's probably what I will do.

And to make my procrastination even worse, Aunt Weez [my sister] just sent me a box full [we're talking 15] of magazines...my most favorite kind of package. I'm so glad that I have someone to share my magazine addiction with!

Ciao Bella!

One charming thing I experienced while living abroad in Florence, Italy was hearing those words [ciao bella] pretty much everyday. It's an "Italian guy sees young American girl" thing, I know, but I still enjoyed it. Who wouldn't want to be addressed as "beautiful" everyday?! Anyway, I also enjoyed my fair share of gelato while I was there, so when I saw these pints of Ciao Bella gelato in the Whole Foods freezer section I was curious. How could freezer gelato even compare with the real deal?

For months, I have strode past the gelato, liking the packaging, but not willing to fork over the $ for a pint of gelato that I was convinced wouldn't come close to real gelato. Well, this past week, there was a guy handing out samples of Ciao Bella. I am convinced that whenever the samples person sees me and my two kids walking up to the sample station they must cringe, knowing that we are going to wipe them out of samples - especially with something like ice cream. Of course my kids want to try every flavor! I was pleasantly surprised by the texture and taste of the gelato [I tried Chocolate Hazelnut]; it's not exactly like the real thing [because of the whole freezer thing] but it comes close. They started a national "discover-savor-share" tour this month, so look for them at a market near you!

It's that time again...

Project Runway season 5 starts tonight [it's on Bravo at 9/8c]! This show is one of my faves - love the creativity, love seeing the random things some designers will come up with, love the drama. If I had to pick a favorite designer from the past 4 seasons, I think it would be Kara Saun from season 1. Remember the postal challenge? If not, they were given a challenge to transform the USPS uniform and her new version [pictured above] was awesome...kinda made me want to be a postal worker just so I could wear this uniform. And who doesn't love drama like last season's prom dress challenge where Christian gets into a tiff with his teenage client...


In other reality TV drama [because I admit that I'm a sucker for a good reality show], I started watching this season of Flipping Out...the main guy, Jeff, cracks me up.


In this picture he's cleaning out a gutter and telling his client [the owner of the home] that he's disappointed in her for letting her house go [the house also a rat infestation - disgusting!].

The Be Good Tanyas

Have you heard of them? I first started listening to them while we were in Houston, TX and loved it. In fact, I listened to them all the time. The problem was that I was very sick when I was pregnant with my first, so after he was born, I couldn't listen to any music I listened to when I was pregnant without feeling like I was going to vomit. Not a good feeling. But, finally, those feelings have subsided, and lately I have been listening to them a lot and loving it. They have three albums [Hello Love, Chinatown, and Blue Horse] all of which are great. If you haven't heard of them and you are looking for some good new music, check them out!

Delicious Dresses

I went shopping this weekend all by myself...it was delightful. 2 hours of just walking around - no negotiating for snacks or toys - just looking at clothes. I spent a lot of time in Anthropologie. Every time I go there I get so overwhelmed because I like so much and want it all that then I can't make up my mind and I leave without buying anything. And today all I can think about are their pretty dresses. Here are a few that I have my eye on...



And just because I want to "feel crazy good" [that really is the slogan on the website!], I'll take a pair of these on the side...
[Dr. Scholl's Eco-Friendly Renew Exercise Sandal. Vegetable tanned leather or natural hemp fiber upper in the classic slide sandal style. Front strap features a recycled metal adjustable buckle, light padding for comfort and a smooth lining. Contoured sustainable Brazilian wood footbed means forests aren’t harmed to create the style. Flat traction corn-based outsole is durable, yet biodegradable. For each pair purchased, 10 trees are planted.]

A Public Identity

I am a big fan of the identity of the Public Theater, designed by Paula Scher of Pentagram. This system is a great example of something that is always evolving to stay fresh, but still maintains that original flavor of when Scher redesigned the theater's image in 1994. Here are some promotional pieces for this seasons Shakespeare in the Park...



And for comparison, here are posters from previous years...

[1995]

[1999]

[2003]

[2007]

Space Ghost?

Lately, I feel like I am in some alternate 1960's world...maybe it's the Holga pictures or maybe it's the fact that my son has been watching Space Ghost and Dino Boy. Have you heard of it? I hadn't, but we were at the library yesterday and he found it. My son has a slight obsession with bad guys - if he's going to watch something there had better be a bad guy in it or has he says, "I'll be mad." Luckily for me, this TV series does have bad guys, but in a totally wholesome 1960's kind of way [the series originally aired from 1966-1968]. Their laser guns make a little whirring sound when they go off and the only effect you see of their having been fired is a little force field around the person; no jarring sound effects or images of people writhing around. Such a relief to find something that feeds a 4-yr-old boy's need for adventure and battle and my not wanting him to be exposed to so much violence. If there is a little boy in you life who likes bad guys, check it out!

Second Round of Holgas

We got our second batch of Holga pics in the mail yesterday. Here are three of my favs from the bunch...




The first two were taken in Newport, RI - in my opinion, one of the most beautiful places in the country - and the third was in our front common yard. I wish I could remember what the little guy was saying when it was taken; it was probably something like "no, i don't want to take my picture." [to see more, click here for my hubby's photostream on flickr]