Best Hospital Newborn Pictures Ever

I don't know about you, but the newborn pictures they offered me of my kids at the hospital looked nothing like these. They were more of the alien/weird lighting variety.



That hair. Those cheeks. Really? I could just eat him up.

A Nephew!

This little bundle of sweetness arrived today into the arms of my older sister. We have three precious nieces, and I love adding a little man to the mix. I only wish I were there to give him lots of snuzzles! It really is almost painful to look at his picture and talk to my sister and not be able to be there with them. Hopefully soon I will get to meet him! Love you, Baby J.

A Day in Atlanta

Okay, so this may totally bore you if you aren't like me and, well, nosy. Last Friday, I documented [most] of my day while we were visiting in Atlanta. When we visit, I usually have lots of things to check off my list, so this is a typical errand day. Next time, I'll try to document a kid day there because there are so many great things for kids to do in Atlanta.

9:22 -- I start out with my sister in the passenger seat.



I was born and raised in ATL. Born at Piedmont Hospital and lived in several different houses in Buckhead, Vinings and near Chastain Park. My parents used to be house flippers, and I was known to tell my mom "My room is dirty. It's time to move." All this to say that I can get you around town using mostly back roads, which is definitely my preferred method because not only can you avoid the gnarly traffic, but you also get the scenic route.



Spring is by far my favorite season in my hometown -- the hydrangeas, flowering trees, green grass, tulips -- it makes me so happy. Yes, I think I'd have to say the snowball hydrangeas are my all time fave.



Weez wanted me to show you this house:



It's one if her faves with the ivy crawling up the front. This gal has got great things ahead, and I'm excited to see the guest house she's going to build me one day. Just sayin'.

We are headed to get some bloomers for Mags at The Children's Shop.



Are monogrammed bloomers a Southern thing? She doesn't wear them all the time, but I have a dress that I bought for her in Copenhagen last summer that didn't come with bloomers and I'm trying to match it. I ordered white bloomers with a circle monogram in cream. Can't wait to see how they turn out.

Next stop, checking out Laura's studio! I was so excited to see what was going on, and I love her new studio. It's right in the middle of everything, but feels calm and peaceful inside.



I wish this picture wasn't blurry [all these photos were taken with my phone] because it is amazing.



[Check out more of her beautiful work here]

11:15 -- We race to my 11:00 haircut appointment. If you are in the area and looking for a good haircut, call Seldon. She's the best.



She's opening up her own salon next month that will be on Pharr Road off Peachtree. I decided at the last minute to get bangs. Loved them at the salon, but then got back to the horrendous humidity down here and realized they were probably a mistake! Oh well -- I like trying new things and can always pull them back.

1:00 -- Lunch. We ate at the Buckhead Bread Company and it was scrumptious.



That dude in the back is all "are you taking my picture?" Why yes, I am. For my blog. Anyway, I ordered Potato Soup and a Fried Green Tomato BLT because when in the south, do as the southerners do. Weez and I actually halved our sandwiches, so I also got to have the chicken salad. It was fantastico.



After lunch, we hit Lenox. Can I just tell you how much I look forward to going here? Is that weird? Because malls aren't usually the most fun places.



But there are so many great stores here and I have so many memories of being here in High School, racing around the giant speed bumps behind the mall in my friend's white Jeep, listening to Rusted Root. Plus, practically speaking, I can't get a lot of things where we live that I can at Lenox. And there are always better sales here, too, and I love a good sale.

A few hours later, we make a stock-up stop at T.Joe's [forgot the camera]. On the list: coffee, Stockyard beer, Fig bars, Sunflower Butter and Sweet and Savory trail mix. Plus some other things that found their way into my cart.

Now we are headed back home for dinner. I can't remember what time it was at this point, but probably around 5? The littlest munchkin is waiting at the door. She was with her dad and some friends at Piedmont Park and the Botanic Gardens. Both excellent places to take kids, especially when it is so pretty outside.



With Weez around, I know dinner is going to be good. Tonight we are having Jeffrey's Roast Chicken, Roasted Butternut Squash and Stilton and Pecan salad. Mmmmmmmmm.



The boys had been at the zoo with my parents, and had a blast. I'm sure all the cotton candy and toys had nothing to do with it, either.

After the kids are bedded down, we caught the Swamp People marathon. You guys, I'm hooked. Who knew there was so much drama in reality alligator hunting? There's this one guy named Willy who is a complete Bad-A when it comes to catching those rascals.



And a bonus picture for any of you still reading this! Saturday, my dad came downstairs to see about building a shelf in the TV armoire. Weez and I were watching The Real Housewives of the OC. Guess who took a load off in the chair next to me?



He says he was still inspecting the armoire, but we knew better.

That's all for now! If you need any recommendations for ATL, let me know!

Road Trip

We headed to Atlanta last Thursday and stayed for a long weekend. Driving with 3 kids for hours on end is not my favorite thing to do, but things went smoothly this time around. All three of them even slept at the same time on the way there. It was only for 30 minutes, but I'll take what I can get!

To keep things real, here's a clip from the drive back. It's pouring down rain almost the entire 5+ hour drive and we are hauling a trailer carrying a sofa [to be recovered for our living room!] and a patio table and chairs set. The boys were trying to watch a movie, but M wouldn't stop playing her singing stuffed animal...



Can you guess what song has been in my head the past two days?

Silly Bandz meet John Fowles

Wonder what he would've thought of these crazy little bands? I thought that I had eradicated our house of them, sneaking them into the garage whenever I found one, only to come across this little stash hiding on the bookshelf. They are quite possibly one of the most annoying trends we've experienced yet.

I read The Magus a few years ago and was completely enthralled. Fowles is a master of language. I did almost throw it across the room after I read the last sentence, though. I'm not going to ruin the end for those of you out there who haven't read it and might want to, but let's just say that after spending hours of my precious free time becoming invested in the characters, I felt abandoned. But, I think that was his point. And with some space, I'm coming to accept it. I like endings. And I like a good love story. And I think it's safe to say that neither of those were a top priority for Fowles in this one. Have you read it? If so, what did you think?

Here's to Happily Ever After

Hey gang. It's been a little quiet on the blog of late. I've been working away at getting some new designs up, and I'm happy to report that the 2011 wedding collection is live! I couldn't be more excited about these latest new ones.





I was feeling a little bookish, so I took some pictures in front of some of my favorite love stories. It may be too hard to tell what's back there, but there is a lot of Jane Austen and a little Tolstoy mixed in with some Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Truman Capote.

In other happy news, three b.wise wedding related designs are now available on minted:



[The Perfect Match]



[Hold the Date]



[All for Love]

Cheerio, my friends!

The Book of Baby Mine

I recently discovered my grandmother's baby book in a stack of her letters -- a true treasure, reminding me why I take the time to write in and collect things for my kids' books.



In no other way would I have ever known that she started crawling at 8 months, and walking shortly after her first birthday. Or that some of her first words were "Billy," "Betty" and "Pearl." How funny is that? You don't come across many "Pearls" these days.



But, the other reason I wanted to share this with you is for the advice. It was published in 1915, and literally half of this baby book is parenting tips and ads for baby gear. For example, were you aware of the perils of tying a bonnet too tight?



[Sentence starts halfway through the first line]

And a few choice words for those parents considering an indulgent parenting technique:



[Last two lines of the first paragraph]

Beer??!! Coffee??!! Oh the horror of imagining my kids more hyped up than they already are!

Tote Slinging

I'm going to give you something deep to ponder over the weekend. Which one of these totes should I buy?



I like the fabric of the tote with the rockin' studded handles, but the fact that said handles snap on and off makes me a little nervous. You see, I often find myself having to sling my bag quickly over my shoulder to perform various, time-sensitive acts, such as grabbing a 17-month-old before she dives head first into the street, or catching a molded clay alligator that has slipped from the hands of a 6-yr-old and is headed toward destruction on the pavement. Always at the ready, I am. So even though I'd prefer the other fabric, the double metal chain handles would probably win in the tote slinging competition.

I wonder if customer service has ever received an inquiry about just how snappy their snaps are?

[Both totes by Fabric & Handle; Left is $39, Right is $69]

Oh, Baby!

I'm excited to announce new baby designs! Designing for baby is one of my favorite things, so I hope you guys enjoy the new ones [a small little sampling below] as much as I enjoyed creating them.



In other news, I've recently partnered up with Atlanta based photographer Laura Negri! Laura is the talented photographer behind many of the photos used on my site. We are joining forces to offer custom card packages that include photo reproduction rights and top-quality printing. I'm thrilled to be working with her and her clients.

And P.S., the top photo was taken on M's baby orange tree that has just started to bloom. In my opinion, there are few things better than an orange blossom. Spring has sprung down here for sure!

And P.P.S, speaking of Blossom, did any of you used to watch "Blossom?" I thought she was the coolest with her flower hats and 80's pants.

Off to see the Wizard

I got M all dressed today, took a step back, and thought "Hmmm. You remind me of someone."



Then she clicked her heels together and it came to me.

Shoe

Baby girl has a bit of a shoe thing going on. Can I blame her? The options for toddler girl shoes are usually too darn cute to pass up, especially compared to the choices I had with the boys. Come to think of it, she may actually have more shoes than I do.

"Shoe" was one of her first words, and she doesn't just say it in the morning when we are getting dressed. Most nights while we are putting on her pajamas she will say "shoe, shoe, shoe" and point to the a pair she will then insist on sleeping in:



Wow, that yellow looks bright with the flash on! I promise her room doesn't look like the outside of a school bus.

Some of my favorites that she has had so far? A pair of red mary janes by See Kai Run, and some high tops and sandals [right sleeping picture] that I bought for her in Copenhagen. They are made by a Danish company called Bisgaard, and are super soft. Frankly, I'd want to wear her shoes all the time, too.

A Collection a Day: The Book

You know the wildly popular blog A Collection a Day? If no, I'll fill you in: Lisa Congdon started it last January, and for every day of 2010 there was a new little collection of something: stamps, labels, tags, erasers, vintage flash cards, etc. Sometimes the collections were drawn and imagined; others were real objects.





Well now, it's being published as a book by Uppercase! And it doesn't look like any old ordinary book, either. A real stunner this one.

Pictures of the book at press are on the Uppercase blog today, too. Personally I can't get enough of the whole printing process, and find these behind the scenes peaks fascinating.





A Collection a Day will be available this Spring; pre-order here. And did I mention it comes in a collector's tin? Yes sirey Mr. Bob -- it does!

[Top images from A Collection a Day; bottom two images from Uppercase]

Mousestache and Antlers

Yesterday, I randomly happened upon these charmingly unusual prints by hisss illustration. As the tagline goes, they are all parts "funny creepy cute." The subtitles are pretty great, too.


["He liked the idea of it but it turned out to be a real inconvenience."]

Inspired By [Johnny Miller]

This past weekend, I found myself lost scrolling through the pages of Johnny Miller's website. [Wait, does that sentence make sense? You can find yourself lost somewhere, right?!] The compositions, colors, lighting -- incroyable...





and sometimes downright delicious...