The Little Zoo

These Polaroid prints by Elizabeth Soule may be just the thing to hang up in our house to make me smile when my sweet and crazy little monkeys are out of control!

[The Little Zoo series; 6x6" prints $25 each]

And Now He's 4

This precious little person turns four today. My little ball of sugar, who refuses to take off his pajamas during the day, could build Legos for 10 hours straight, chugs his chocolate milk at dinner, likes to swim in the bathtub, just started saying "Hey Mom...Um, Nevermind!"...i'm incredibly grateful to be his mother.

As quick as you can say "Don Draper"...

...is about how long it would take to convince me to take up residence in this beauty...

Open floor plan, walls of windows, lush surroundings, travertine and steel fireplace -- superb, oui?

[images from dwell.com]

Wall Calendar

This gives a brilliant new meaning to "wall calendar"...

[spotted on HomeShoppingSpy]

So Hot

direct. to the point. and who doesn't want to hear that?

[I think you are hot print, 5x7, $9; available at Little Paper Planes]

Why, Hello!

I may be late on the scene, but I just spotted the book Hello, Cupcake while perusing the aisles of Target yesterday. The cover immediately caught my attention, and since we've got a birthday in our house coming up next week, I quickly flipped through it [baby girl does not like shopping there...she seriously starts crying the second we walk in the store]. I love the photography, and there are some good tips and ideas in it. I mean, who doesn't love a good cupcake?!

Has anyone out there tried any of these playful creations? I'd love to know if so!

[Hello, Cupcake available for $10.37 on Amazon]

Book Mobile

I'm totally digging the whole "book frozen in space" motif going on at the McNally Jackson Books cafe. So often ceilings are forgotten.

[via mocoloco]

2009 Yearbook

I've mentioned my fondness for Blurb before, and how I make a yearly photo book for our family with photos and blog entries from our family blog [last year's pictured here]. For me it is quicker and easier than making a scrapbook or ordering the pictures and putting them into an album. I can't say enough about the quality of these books, especially considering how reasonably priced they are.

This year, I wanted to make a little yearbook for the grandparents that captured our year in pictures. Fortunately for me, Blurb now lets you upload a PDF, which means that I can design my album in InDesign and then just upload it to the site. This brings me much happiness. Here are some snippets from this years photo yearbook [cover pictured above]...






And I did make another blog/photo album this year...here's the cover:

Next up, I'm going to try to figure out a clever way to store and save all the beautiful holiday cards we get every year...I just couldn't bear to throw away all those sweet pictures. Any suggestions?

Beachside

I wouldn't mind a getaway to this beach house over the long weekend! There's nothing like sweeping views of water and mountains...plus the surroundings of a California ranch that has been beautifully remodeled using eco-friendly practices...

[images from Dwell]

Hope your weekend is a good one!

Oh, Salt

Since Ina has gotten my sisters and I hooked on Kosher salt, I was excited to find this wrapped up under the tree for me from Weez. I've got it right next to the stove top now, so there will be no more fumbling with the salt box in the middle of cooking.

P.S. Here is my latest fave recipe of hers -- Brussels Sprouts [from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook; it's super easy and delish!]:

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
[*for the sake of full disclosure, I used regular pepper; I'm sure it would be even better with freshly ground, though!]

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Shake the pan from time to time to brown the sprouts evenly. Sprinkle with more kosher salt [NOTE FROM INA: I like these salty like French fries -- um, me too], and serve immediately.

Family Photo Shoot

Over the holidays, we had some pictures taken by my talented friend Laura Negri Childers. We went to college together, and she provides much of the beautiful photography on the b.wise papers website. I'm so excited to have these pictures of the family -- they make the exhausting chore of dressing an almost 4-yr-old who refuses to wear anything but pajamas well worth the effort!! Come to think of it, next time I should record the "before the pictures" sequence -- it would be most entertaining!

Here is a sampling of my favorites:





Thanks, Laura!!

Have You Seen...

...Lonny, a new online magazine started by some folks that worked at Domino? I just discovered this online treasure, which is now on it's second issue. Below are some images I thoroughly enjoyed -- catch the whole issue online [lonnymag.com].






I don't think that I could fully convert to online magazines because I enjoy holding the pages in my hands, but I do like the accessibility and the limited waste. Plus, I'll look at anything that resembles Domino! What do you think about online magazines?

Happy New Year!

Hello, friends! Happy 2010! We've been away for the holidays and are just getting back into the swing of things. We spent most of our time hanging around the house, just being together...



But, we did sneak away for a couple nights to the mountains with some friends, and had a blast...

I'm playing catch-up this week, but will hopefully be back soon!