Happy Independence Day!

Look how cute these magnet six packs are! Designed by Kate Grenier and made from recycled bottle caps. A set for Democrats. A set for Republicans. Or. If you're feeling bipartisan, go with the American Collection.

Today's Blair Family Plans: parades, bbqs and fireworks. I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July! God Bless America!!

PS — remember, you have a whole week to enter the Tretorn Family Shoe Giveaway.

Random Giveaway — Tretorn Shoes for the Family

It's the 4th of July tomorrow. Which is wonderful. I LOVE July 4th! And I think we should celebrate our freedom with some new shoes. Because being able to walk around — when you want, where you want, in whatever shoes you want — is a lovely way to model independence. So how about new shoes for the whole family? A pair for Dad. A pair for Mom. And a pair for your child. All sponsored by Tretorn!



That's right. The winner will receive 3 pairs of shoes from Tretorn. And the winner gets to pick which pairs and which sizes. And it's going to be kind of a big job choosing those 3 pairs of shoes. Because Tretorn carries all sorts of really good-looking options. Check out the men's shoes. And the women's line. And the adorable children's sneakers and boots.





Why is Tretorn feeling so generous and All-American? Well. It's because in addition to the 4th of July, they are also celebrating the opening of their new shop in SoHo — yay Tretorn! It's located on 150 Spring Street, and I for one am dying to pay it a visit. If only so I can see this lovely pair of boots in person.

Thank you Tretorn!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until Midnight PST on Sunday, July 13th to enter this giveaway. (I know that's super, extra long for one of my Giveaways. But I'll be at camp all next week and won't be ready to announce a winner until the 14th. So I thought: why not have an extra-long Giveaway?)
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced on Monday, July 14th.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Stubby Pencil Studio

Do art supplies make your mouth water? Mine too.

I recommend a visit to Stubby Pencil Studio where you will find a well-put-together collection of some of the prettiest pencils around. Apparently, every single product carried by Stubby Pencil is sustainable or recycled or in some other way eco. And while that is completely admirable, in reality, I just like the pencils because they're so gorgeous. And rainbow-y.

Funny Food Day

Knowing this summer was going to kick me in the pants, what with Girls Camp and BlogHer and a family vacation to Utah and on and on, I arranged for a friend, home from college for the summer, to be the family nanny/mother's helper/babysitter/what have you. Her name is Lisette. And she is wonderful. We've made a big calendar of projects and adventures for this summer, and Lisette is helping me make it happen.

On the schedule for yesterday was Funny Food Day (my kids were inspired after seeing the fine food work featured here.) Lisette orchestrated the whole thing and my kids were beyond happy with the results. Fruit Faces in the morning. Weiner Dogs around lunch time. And Crazy Cupcakes in the afternoon.




The thing that surprised me the most about this day was that my kids were as content and happily worn out at the end of the day as if we'd spent the whole time at the park. There was hardly a stitch of fighting and they were creatively engaged the entire day. Funny Food Day was a huge hit! Who knew?




I also want to note that one of the funnest parts was testing out our brand spanking new pocket camera — the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120. It's a sleek little number and I'm loving how clear the images came out, especially considering they were shot at low-resolution.



The memory card arrived in the mail today and I look forward to testing out the camera at high-resolution as well. And experimenting with all the features. According to the instruction booklet, there's one setting where the camera will automatically take the shot when it senses a smile — I'm so curious to try it!

Target Dresses

Three versatile dresses at Target that caught my eye. The flattering, knit dress by Mossimo, $20. The super-sweet smocked, cap-sleeve dress by Mossimo, $23. And the classic Andrea wrap dress by Isaac Mizrahi, $45.

Cute right? Although I don't think my cleavage could sustain the one on the left — I'd have to wear it with another layer.

A Practical Compendium of Random Things

One of my favorite internet stops lately is D. Sharp's Journal (and etsy shop, and studio). When I visit her sites, I am treated to lovelies like:




this collection of tickets (a kirtsy feature), this magical paper birthday crown (also a kirtsy feature — geez, kirtsy is so darn cool), and this completely charming homemade bird feeder. I especially enjoy her "I love" series of badges in the left margin of her blog. So clever. So pretty.

It's Like A Grown Up Backyard Fort

Spotted on kirtsy. I keep coming back to stare at this 140sf retreat designed by architect Jeffrey S. Broadhurst. So much of it is appealing to me — especially the fact that it's completely off the grid. It looks like the perfect place to take a break from your inbox and enjoy the view.



On a related note. I will be taking my own break from my inbox next week when I head up to Whaley Lake to direct the annual Girls Camp — attended by the teenage girls in my church that live in the Bronx and Westchester. Can't wait! Hiking, canoeing, skits, crafts, sleeping in a tent. What's not to love? I'll be posting favorites from my archives all next week — no internet allowed at Camp Liahona.

via the stylefiles. via materialicious.

Fall Down Tree

Couldn't you just plan a whole enterprise around this cat? Her name is Penelope and apparently she's a night owl. And what about Mr. E. L. Phunt? And Rocky the Rooster? Basically, I want one of each of everything Adam and Jill Record create. The laundry, the dreaming children, the Humpty Dumpty who had a great fall. Maybe just one to hang over the bed. Maybe a series on the playroom wall. (Yo. What's with all the talent? Photography too? Save some creativity for the rest of us, guys.)




Bonus: very reasonable prices for prints of these tempting animals. All available at Fall Down Tree.

Irma Niekum

In one of their recent newsletters, Craftsbury Kids featured a new-to-me artist, Irma Niekum. I immediately gave my heart to her little birdy party favors. Designed and hand-sewn by Irma herself from wool felt. They are the sort of creature that would be lovely to leave on your friend's doorstep accompanied by a little note. Or maybe used to top off a beribboned box.

Harmonie Intérieure

Fantastic oversize wall sticks by Harmonie Intérieure. And lots more on their site.

Cupcake Party!

Lucky me. A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a luncheon at Tavern on the Green. Tavern on the Green is practically a New York institution. It's a classic restaurant right in the middle of Central Park. Kind of old school and proper. It's a favorite place to take your mother on Mother's Day. And I had never been before. So I was delighted by the invitation, and the chance to see the famed fabric-covered-garden-lamps that I'd heard all about (they are charming by the way).

But even more fun than the location, was the fact that the gathering was all about cupcakes. For reals. A whole bunch of ladies in summer party dresses, eating a whole bunch of cupcakes at Tavern on the Green. How girly is that?

The purpose of the event was to get the word out about a noble cause: Cancer Care for Kids. What an organization! Any family, finding themselves dealing with cancer, can call this non-profit group and get real, free, professional support for their children — including counseling, education, financial assistance and practical help. And to raise money for this important group, Duncan Hines is sponsoring a huge National Bake Sale Contest — with proceeds going directly to Cancer Care for Kids.

You can find more contest info here, but the basic 411 is: host a bake sale in your school/neighborhood/community center/etc, donate the proceeds to Cancer Care for Kids, let Duncan Hines know about it, and possibly win some cool prizes. Awesome!



In the Tavern Garden, some adorable girls from a high school in Long Island were hosting a bake sale just for party attendees. And I have to say, there were so many pretty ones, and they looked so lovely there on display, that I bought an entire tray. (Isn't it nice to have a bunch of kids that I can use as an excuse to buy sweets?) There's just something about cupcakes. I can't get enough.



For party favors, we were sent home with a box of Duncan Hines yet-to-be-released Decadent Carrot Cake (it launches July 8th, you can see it pictured at the top). Carrot Cake is beloved at our house — yummy. And a darling book, Hey There, Cupcake! by Clare Crespo — a creative cooking genius and one of the contest judges. Clare attended the luncheon as well, and taught us how to make these adorable cupcake hamburgers (directions on page 56 of her great book).



Yay for great organizations! Yay for cupcakes!

cupcake images via Nichelle

Ask Design Mom: White Dress for a Girl

Ask Design Mom Question:
Hi Gabrielle, I'm looking for a white dress for my school age daughter. Any suggestions? xoxox, Emily W.

Design Mom Answer:
Oh. I love this question! Summer is the perfect time to shop for a white dress. I found lots of pretty options. Some are splurges. Some are over the top expensive. And some are quite reasonable.



I love this drop-waist style by Jean Bourget. And this ruffle dress from crewcuts.



Olive Juice has three pretty styles in white — and on sale too! — try here, here and here. And check out this luxe silk organza affair at Flora and Henri (pictured at top).

Some many lovely choices. It makes me long to see my girls in white all summer long.

Neat Receipts

Do you remember seeing the Neat Receipts? It's a little device that quickly scans and stores receipts and business cards as searchable pdfs. And then it exports the information directly into your financial software files or as expense reports. Pretty handy if you keep track of tax deductions or have a home based business. It's the kind of tool that my order-seeking brain craves. But alas, I've never had the excuse to pick one up, because they're PC-only. And I'm a mac.

So imagine my delight when I heard a version had recently become available for Mac users. Be still my heart.

We just so happen to be in the midst of overhauling and questioning how we keep our financial records. What we'll keep on paper. What we'll keep electronically. How we intend to back up e-files and hard copies. How often we'll update the records. Where we'll store information until we can input it. What we can throw away.

We don't know exactly how our system will fall into place. We're still experimenting. But I'm thinking Neat Receipts is a handy little tool that might help us get where we want to be.

Stuff White People Like

Some time ago I noticed a blog listed on kirtsy called Stuff White People Like. And it was so funny. And I loved it. And I shared it here. And then I forgot about it.

And then I remembered. Because last week I received the brilliant book, based on the brilliant blog. And once again I can't stop talking about it. I want to send a copy to everyone I know. And quote the entire contents to you in this blog post. I want to tell you to go out right. this. minute. and buy the book so you can learn about white people stuff like NPR and Oscar Parties and David Sedaris and Native Wisdom. And Cleanses. Because white people love Cleanses.

Seriously, you will love Stuff White People Like. You will belly laugh. And look for excuses to quote from the book to impress your friends. And wonder aloud at the insight, humor and genius of Christan Lander. I think it's my new favorite hostess gift.

Hello Again!

Nice. It feels good to be back.

And now that I'm back, the first thing I want to do is give a big thank you to Burgin for going above and beyond with the fantastic posts last week. She was amazing, right? Yay Burgin! Please come back any time.



Second, I have to tell you that in addition to having a whole week to catch up on work and house and miscellaneous and sundry (which was wonderful), we had a terrific school's-out-summer's-here weekend as well. It was all about WALL-E on Friday — Ralph says it's now his favorite Pixar flick. Grimaldi's, ice cream and the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday. And on Sunday I spoke to a gathering of teenagers from my church about all the cool things to do in the city this summer. Which got me totally pumped for all the cool things to do in the city this summer!

How was your weekend? Do anything fun? Of course you did! Come on, share the fun stuff.

So Long, Farewell — By Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Well, it’s been fun kids. I want to thank Gabrielle so much for allowing me to occupy her space with my rants and raves over the last week. She is such a gracious hostess that I’m crossing all my extremities in hopes of a realio, trulio party invite one day. (Pick me! Pick me! PICK ME!)

Thank you all for the lovely comments, and those of you who skipped on over to my blogs, the door’s always open. To follow me in my quest to collect all the vintage children’s books in the world, come back and see me again at Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves… or to hear me ramble on and on and on about said kid and my life here in the hottest state, come on down to Scribbling in San Antonio. Remember, Monday is the day you can win a book for free, and the rest of the week, well… that’s just filler.

Have a happy fourth gang!!!

Sighning off.

TRAVEL — The World of M. Sasek — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Many of you mod-savvy moms out there will already be familiar with M. Sasek. Yet, as a blogger of vintage kids’ books, if I didn’t post on him here under the realm of kids and travel on a blog with the word design in the title, I would be remiss.

Quite possibly one of the coolest mid-century children’s books authors ever, Czech artist, illustrator, and author — Miroslav Sasek — created a series of travel-related books for tots (sort of) called “This Is”. Wonderful illustrations infused with real-life historical tips and a sharp sarcasm make these a great way to introduce your kids to new places without ever leaving your living room. Some of the titles have been reissued, but for the others, you’ll have to join the search along with the rest of us.

This is Paris (1959, reissued 2004)
This is London (1959, reissued 2004)
This is Rome (1960, reissued 2007)
This is New York (1960, reissued 2003)
This is Edinburgh (1961, reissued 2006)
This is Munich (1961)
This is Venice (1961, reissued 2005)
This is San Francisco (1962, reissued 2003)
This is Israel (1962)
This is Cape Canaveral (1963) (Later published as This is Cape Kennedy)
This is Ireland (1964, reissued 2005)
This is Hong Kong (1965, reissued 2007)
This is Greece (1966)
This is Texas (1967, reissued 2006)
This is the United Nations (1968)
This is Washington, D.C. (1969)
This is Australia (1970)
This is Historic Britain (1974)



This drawing is of the Amarillo Livestock Auction from my son’s all time favorite — of course — This is Texas. Check out a slide show of art from the whole “This Is” series here. You won’t be disappointed.

TRAVEL — Get Moving — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

August has driven cross country twice. Flown to New Orleans, Charleston, Seattle, New York, Santa Fe, and Indiana — some on multiple trips. Most recently, we spent a month in Mexico, getting to know the locals in San Miguel. Even at times when I’ve been home sick, lonely, travel weary, or have found a language barrier to be isolating and frustrating, it didn’t seem to matter much to him. Always resourceful, kids adapt to situations pretty easily if parents keep their cools.

I always try and make each trip engaging for him — making sure he samples the local food, he listens to the local music, and that we have plenty of books on hand so that he can get a feel for the place and its culture. If we stop longer than a moment in any spot on the globe, he’s liable to instantly make friends. He’s seen way more than I ever saw when I was three, so I know how lucky August is.

As a single mom of three on a tight budget, my mom didn’t have a ton of money to spend on vacations. Even so, by the time I was 12, I’d been up and down the east coast any number of times and hit every historical hotspot from NYC to Gettysburg. Granted, in today’s gas guzzling, $4-a-gallon era, it is not as cheap or environmentally-friendly to own the road. (My husband is trying to make up for the giant carbon footprint we left on our driving trip to Mexico by taking the bus to work four times a week.)

Even if you don’t have the time, money, and inclination to get out and show your child the world, you can at least make the next town over seem like paradise. Just north of San Antonio where we live is a little town called New Braunfels. They have a children’s museum way better than ours, a nice main street full of restaurants and shops, a wildlife park, and a snake farm! Taking August there for a day trip… I might as well be jetting him to Paris. There is something about going to a new place (even those close to home) that ignites his imagination and opens up his world view.

So no matter where you go or what you do — a cruise to Jamaica or a bus ride two towns over — get your kids moving. They’ll love you for it.

TRAVEL — Money is Time — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

My husband and I enjoyed our honeymoon before the marriage — taking a sabbatical from our careers to fly round the world. I’ve always thought Social Security should fund a brief mid-life retirement so people can recharge or switch gears if they want to. Sans a government check, we worked, saved up, and loved every hard-earned minute of our new found freedom, but anywho... 16 countries and seven months later, we thought if we can come out of that close-quartered experience still loving each other, we must be doing something right.

The moment August was conceived we began planning and saving for various trips back to share our favorite spots. The safari through Tanzania he’ll take at 11, where he’ll poke his head through the sunroof of a Land Cruiser and see a lion in the wild for the first time. The summer between junior high and high school when the whole family will grab Eurail passes and explore the French countryside. Sipping coffee with August and his fiancé in Hanoi right before their wedding day. To me, saving up for these big life journeys is just as vital as a 529. We’re not loaded either, so these trips have already found their way onto my husband’s savings spreadsheet. Though I realize that’s not the dreamiest sentiment, in the long run, the payoff will be priceless.

We recently attended a friend’s wedding in New Mexico, and in lieu of a traditional registry, they registered online with Traveler’s Joy. I wish this had been around five years ago when we got hitched. Instead of registering for flatware and a china pattern (most of my friends got married over 30 and already had that kind of stuff anyway), they registered for all things honeymoon-related from plane tickets, a new camera, and matching luggage to candlelit dinners on the beach, UV-protective hoodies, and snorkel trips for two. Way more romantic than a toaster oven.

Shoot, a registry like this could work as a funnel for your child’s graduation gifts. Or for a baby shower! Or maybe you already wanna start planning a second honeymoon? Or would that be like registering for a second baby shower? Too presumptuous?

ART — Stuff for Walls… Yummy. — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

August’s room is in a constant state of redecoration as sometimes it more closely resembles a science lab or a library than a child’s room. When not filling his walls with paintings by his grandmother or dinosaur posters out of National Geographic magazine, I am constantly on the lookout for original art and prints I think he might enjoy. I bought one of these hysterical Donald Roller Wilson knockoffs off of eBay all the way from China when he was first born, and he is still obsessed with the “crazy monkey”.

I love all things Etsy – who doesn’t really? – and in addition to the rad drawings by Rebecca Horwood I mentioned the other day, August also has this little moose ditty by Nate. One of my favorites though is a print of a painting by the amazing Austin artist Jay Long. I am madly in love with his stuff, and Jay’s silhouette paintings are unbelievable to see in person.

A few years back, I visited a friend in NYC and checked out her newly designed nursery in Brooklyn. As her husband is an architect and she’s a pretty swanky magazine editor, of course everything about it was tasteful and inspiring. The highlight of the visit was a print that seemed vaguely familiar and absolutely intriguing. I immediately researched it and discovered it as a poster called “The Land of Make Believe” — a work created by the artist Jaro Hess for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. Just as its title implies, it maps everything from where Little Red Riding Hood visited grandma to Jack climbing the bean stalk.



Right away, I found a vintage copy on eBay, and wrapped it up for Lost in Texas’ daughter as a birthday gift thinking there would be an abundance of vintage copies available. Sadly, I have yet to find another, and have been too cheap to splurge on the new version. Perhaps you will not be so thrifty once you get an eyeball full of its awesomeness. (Even though Lost in Texas adores her daughter’s “Marimekko frame kit”, she, of course, made room.)

ART — Painting, Coloring and All That Jazz — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

Create an art space for your child that is permanent, varied, and always open. Pick a spot. Mount an easel. And leave all the supplies out. So what if the paint dries up because junior’s been too busy building train tracks all week. If the supplies are open and there, there is no schedule and a kid can create when the mood strikes him without having to wait for mommy or daddy to ready the spill proof cups or debag the crayons.



And speaking of crayons, I am sure these are made out of some toxic chemical that is going to peel back the ozone layer, but what’s up with Crayola’s new Twistable Slick Stix Crayons? The colors are amazing. They are almost like paint, but they are definitely crayons. Everything August draws with these is so vibrant and alive; I wanna mount them on the hood of my car for the world to see.

ART — Art Museums Are For Babies Too! — by Guest Mom Burgin Streetman

As the daughter of a museum director dad and a painter mom, I started going to museums the moment I came out of the womb. Somewhere I read once that you shouldn’t “drag” kids into an art museum until they are older, and I think that sentiment is total baloney. My son was propped up in a stroller the first time he visited the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, and though we stayed only 35 minutes, I’ll never forget the moment he looked at Jackson Pollock’s White Light and screamed “Look at all the pretty colors Mom!” He then went on to tell me Christina in Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth looked like our neighbor Mary Ann. When it came time to pick out something from the gift shop, he selected postcards of both paintings. Awwww. (Museum gift shops are the best places to shop for awesome kids’ stuff, and the MOMA Design Store is worth a trip to NYC all by itself.)

The key to taking kids’ to art museums is to let them take it on their own pace. Don’t go expecting to see everything. Choose one exhibit and stay as long as the child feels comfortable. Ask your child to tell you about what they see. Engage them in the full experience. Talk about the colors. Count the shapes. Most museums encourage kids to come in and have a look see. After all, they are the next generations of patrons (and donors). On a recent trip to Santa Fe, we visited the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, and the admissions provided us with a copy of the children’s book My Name is Georgia and pointed us to a bench to read before taking in the show.

I find that memberships make the experience much more enjoyable. They allow you to stay five minutes or 50 and really feel comfortable letting your kid set the pace. Even going a handful of times over the course of the year can earn your money back, plus you often get invited to member exclusive events that are kid-centered. Your local museum should be a place your child feels comfortable. A place he or she can call his own. It shouldn’t be looked at as a treat to be enjoyed only once a year on a school trip.

I know going to museums seems like a luxury, and those on a tight schedule and budget can feel overwhelmed. However, it’s these little moments with your family can build a lifetime of cool memories and expand your little one’s world view. Plus, maybe you’ll learn something along the way.

Still not convinced to make the trek out? One of my favorite museums as a child — The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC — has a super cool interactive Website for kids where they can mix and match classical paintings, create a work of abstract art, or build a virtual mobile ala Calder.