The Table

It's finished! Ben's table that he has been working on for quite a while [about 10 years from the time he chopped up the wood] is officially complete. We had our inaugural dinner party on it this weekend, and it was perfect. The table is made out of walnut that he got from a tree that had fallen in his friend's backyard. His friend called him and said "my landlord is about to cut this walnut tree up for firewood" -- can you imagine??!


Still trying to figure out seating since the Morrow chairs are no longer available...I keep thinking [hoping!] that they are going to reissue them...

Babboe

I was browsing the New York Times this past Sunday, and when I saw this picture I instantly ripped it out:


She's got three kids in there!

I did a little google search to try and find out more about these Babboe cargo bikes, and unfortunately, most of the info is in Dutch. It's always the Dutch that come up with these cool bikes! I did find out some more info on the bikes at Spark Design.


And a YouTube video of one in use loaded with kids:



Does anyone out there know more about these/how to get one in the states??

[Click here for the official Babboe website]

To School

It's official -- I now have a child in big school. You know, not preschool, but the big old elementary school? He couldn't be more excited about it...


And was waving us out of his classroom...

I, on the other hand, wanted to stay and follow him around all day just to see what he was doing and if he was making friends with the other kids in his class and if he was eating his lunch. Since I can't, I'll distract myself with happy thoughts about school in general, like this box of chalk...


That's a happy thing for sure.

P.S. you can see our new door color in the top picture...freshly painted this weekend, and I love it!

In With the New

[Inside AFTER]

Here's a glimpse at our new windows! It's amazing what a difference they've made, both aesthetically and just the way the inside air of the house feels {so much less humid}. The old ones were metal, single paned, and levered open, so by this point in their old lives did not close fully, which is the reason the inside felt a little humid. The pictures are of the back room in our house.

Inside BEFORE:

DURING:

Outside BEFORE:
{not great of the whole window, but you get the idea, and the bonus of two cute little boys beating the summer heat!}

Outside AFTER:

We've still got to paint that room, I just can't seem to decide on a color...

Ready to Flip Out?

I am! Jeff and the crew are back tonight on Bravo [10/9c], and I can't wait...

Number Seven

Ben and I celebrate our seventh anniversary today! We actually already celebrated last week with a night away while grandparents watched the boys, but today is the actual day. It was so nice to get away and just be the two of us even if just for a little bit. You know, things like starting a conversation and finishing it in one sitting without interruption -- you forget what that is like.

Our wedding cake was amazing -- so delicious, so beautiful. I wish I could have a recreation every year. It was a vanilla cake with lemon filling, and had Fondant icing on the outside with an inside layer of Buttercream frosting. Scrumptious. What you don't see in this picture is my cousin in the background urging me to smash a piece in Ben's face...I didn't, but he was definitely making me laugh.

And now I'm curious, what kind of cake did you have or do you want to have at your wedding?

Summer Days

The boys are out of camp for a couple weeks, so we packed up the car and went to visit family. We got to celebrate my niece's 2nd birthday...


Weez bought her this super cute handmade skirt:

The name of the company is Chocolatey Claire, but it is not online yet. She found them through a friend, so if you are interested in learning more about where to buy, contact me and I can put you in touch. I think she said they were working on a website, so I'll let you know when it's up.

We've also been catching up with friends, and purely by chance got to see our friends Seth and Deb [who live in Newport]. Deb [on the right] is pregnant with twins - a boy and a girl - due in November...

We thought it was only appropriate to take a belly shot outside of the Waffle House [only 8 more weeks to go for me]!

Holiday 2009 Preview

It's about time to release the NEW HOLIDAY 2009 DESIGNS for b.wise papers! I'm pretty excited about them, so I wanted to give you guys a sneak peak. I'll let you know when they are up on the site, and there will also be a look book of the entire collection coming out soon, so stay tuned!

{the adorable photo on this card was taken by the talented Laura Negri}

My Superheroes

The boys received their first package at our new house, and it definitely did not disappoint -- superhero capes {with their initial as the hero initial} from their good friends Jackson and Annie! Julie said she found them on Etsy at superflykidz...



They were taking a break from chasing each other around the house to watch the thunderstorm last night...they have started watching for lightening and then counting "one Mississippi, two Mississippi, etc." until they hear thunder. Plenty of opportunity for that game around here!