Ornament Tradition

Clever Kaila posted about a wonderful holiday tradition at her house: each year they add an ornament that signifies something about the past year. In her case, she just purchased a "new house" ornament to commemorate her recent move.

What a great idea. How fun to pull out ornaments like you're unpacking memories.

Just one question: what can this bird ornament symbolize? Because I want it.

Darlybird Kids — Giveaway-A-Day 11/30

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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You know by now that I'm a Darlybird fan to the tenth power. And I feel I've done a pretty good job of letting you know about the latest and greatest at that fine establishment. Except I'm wrong — I've been totally slacking because I have barely told you anything about their amazing children's selection! So today's winner is so lucky to receive A RETRO COOL RINGS DINING SET FOR KIDS!!!!


Let me tell you right now that I get a total kick out of children's dining sets. So adorable. And in my experience my kids totally buy in as soon as they see something like this. They see it. They get that it's kid designed. They get that it's special and they prefer it to all other dining options immediately. What a super-easy way to make their day.

This particular set includes an 8" plate, cup, spoon, fork and 5.5" bowl. Dishwasher safe. Loving those colors.

You're also going to want to check out some of the other child-like niceties at Darlybird:


You know your inquisitive child would be all over this do-it-yourself clock kit.


Keep don't-cross-the-line arguments to a minimum with this funky travel bingo game.


Shouldn't your child own this so-precious Elephant and Nemo diary?


Wish they made this Light Bright Blankie in queen size.


And. Um. Look at this barrette.

Once again, kudos to the buyer, Rachel Shutz, who puts together the Darlybird collection. And extra kudos because I don't think I will every tire of seeing that fantabulous logo!

Thank you, Darlybird!
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Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced tomorrow morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
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The winner of the 11/29 Avenue Sweets Giveaway is:
Juliane who commented: "Chocolate just makes me happy! " (at 9:06pm EST).
Congratulations Juliane! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Book of the Week — Best Christmas Pageant Ever

It's hard for me to imagine that there is anyone that doesn't know and love this book. But just in case. . .

Reading this book aloud to my kids is one of my very favorite parts of December. Belly laughs from all listeners/readers in every chapter. And as sure as Charlotte's Web, you'll find me crying in the end.

Love, love the Herdman's names: Ralph, Ollie, Claude — they could (and one does) belong to my own kids.

You can find it in hardcover here.

Out of the Ordinary Children's Clothing

Lovely Denise sent me a link to The Beloved Child — an excellent collection of some really terrific, hard-to-find children's clothing lines. I'm loving these pieces from Urban Baba.

Avenue Sweets — Giveaway-A-Day 11/29

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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I'm drooling. Totally drooling. Because I am a full-on sugar addict — not chocolate mind you — sugar. And today's winner will receive A 3 1/2 LB. GIFT TOWER OF CANDY FROM AVENUE SWEETS!!!



That's right. Not one pound. Not two pounds. But 3 1/2 pounds of mouth-watering, lip-smacking deliciousness. A combination of: signature almond nougat, tasty hazelnut nougat, golden caramels and rich chocolate caramels. You know you're thinking you'd share it if you won, but you'd really eat the whole sweet sugary goodness while you wait for Lost to return in February.

Agnes Jones, the talented sweet tooth behind Avenue Sweets is all about the nougat. Nougat is a word that can knit your brow, until you read the description from their website:

Nougat is a traditional European confection that dates back many centuries. The basis of AvenueSweets nougat is called a mazetta, which is a sugar and egg white mixture. Then nuts are added to the mix. In our traditional nougat, we use a generous helping of fresh, whole almonds. For a marvelous variation, we add hazelnuts. The end result is soft and chewy nougat with a subtle, sweet taste that is irresistible.

In addition to nougat luciousness, Avenue Sweets is also a purveyor of handmade golden caramels — which I confess is the main cause of my drooling. I so love anything caramel. Feel your tummy rumble as you take a look at some of Avenue Sweet's offerings:



Yummy caramels in golden and chocolate options, pretty in boxes or jars.



Boxed nougats — the small ones are perfect for hostess or teacher gifts.


Gift towers in lots of sizes.

I am just dying to get a box of these sweets in front of me. Although I'm sure they are delicious year round, these candies put me in the holiday mood. Love the elegant packaging. Yummy. Yummy. Yummy.

Thank you, Avenue Sweets!
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Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced tomorrow morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
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The winner of the 11/28 Blonde Designs Giveaway is:
Spyderette who commented: "What beautiful notecards! And such a personal touch in this electronic world!" (at 8:46am EST).
Congratulations Spyderette! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Ask Design Mom: Urban Family Photos

Dearest Readers, I am off helping with the Boutique today and am begging your help.

Allison Anderson writes: Dear Designmom, My family and I are getting our annual family photos taken for our Christmas cards. This year we want to do something fresh, artistic and different. Perhaps urban, to reflect our current life. We hired a photographer, now we just need some ideas. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Because of the boutique, I have not been able to give this excellent question the attention it deserves. Please help me answer by offering your clever ideas as usual. I'll start.

1) For an urban-looking photo, I like the idea of showing your family on a busy sidewalk doing a little window-shopping. Maybe one of the kids could even have their face pressed up against the window to get a better look at the goods.

2) I also think a photo of the family emerging from a car or taxi, bags on shoulders, scarfs and hats in place, could be cute to show an urban family on the go.

3) Another idea is to put the family around or near a park bench in a city park. City parks look different than suburban parks. If you can get some pigeons in the shot, even better.

Illustration from Getty Images.

Blonde Designs — Giveaway-A-Day 11/28

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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Up for grabs today is a custom and high-style and super-special prize. The winner of today's Giveaway will receive A SET OF 25 CUSTOM NOTECARDS — WINNERS CHOICE — FROM BLONDE DESIGNS!!!





These notecards are terrific. Fab design after fab design — and each with colorful coordinating envelopes. Angie Gubler and Kristin Rees, both former art directors at Martha Stewart Magazines, teamed up in 2002 and made a little stationery magic in Brooklyn when they founded Blonde Designs. Featuring the beautiful typography, clean design and soothing colors you'd expect from Martha-kind-of-gals, the designs are totally now and chic.

Blonde Designs offers custom, custom, custom. In quantities as little as 25 you can have totally custom stationery at your fingertips. Can I stress how lovely it is to have a box of stationery featuring your very own name? Or maybe your child's name — for notes to Grandpa? So much cooler than the box of generic thank you cards you picked up at the grocery store.

In addition to chic notecards, take a look at some of my other Blonde favorites:



Super-cute bookplates that coordinate with their other stationery offerings.




Too sweet for words baby announcements.


Clever and friendly party invitations.


Clean and subtle and designy holiday cards.

I have seen a set of their fab custom notecards in person and they are absolutely smile-bringing. You want these, so comment already!

Thank you, Blonde Designs!
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Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced tomorrow morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
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The winner of the 11/27 KoBo Candle Giveaway is:
MissEm who commented: "I'm entering this one for sure!" (at 1:35pm EST).
Congratulations MissEm! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Loft Sweater

Received a mailer from Ann Taylor Loft today. Crushing on this velvet tie cardigan. I especially love the length of the sleeves — very feminine and perfect for hiding the fact that I haven't offically worked out my arms for at least a year.

Heartwarming Holiday Stories

I just read my sister's reports on her visit to New York. Read more about our Martha excursion here. And absolutely don't miss her Thanksgiving Miracle here.

Holiday Cookie Party

In the mood for a holiday get together? Here's an excellent and low-stress idea:

A smart friend of mine invites friends for a Cookie Exchange. Each guest brings about 2 dozen of one type of cookie — say, gingersnaps — and an empty container. After a light lunch and happy visiting, each guest gets to fill their empty container with a few of every kind of cookie. This makes for a pretty terrific party favor.

My family is especially good spirited about me getting away for a couple of hours when they know I'll return with yummy yummy baked goods.

Gingersnap recipe here.

Thank you, Rebecca!

What a wonderful Guest Mom Rebecca has been! Great pictures. Great ideas. No wonder New York misses her so.

Come back anytime. . .

Linda Clay Kobo Candle — Giveaway-A-Day 11/27

Find the winner for Friday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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I couldn't be more delighted to feature my friend Linda's fab boutique today. In harsh reality, only New York Area Locals can take advantage of the boutique, but readers far and wide can score something lovely, because Linda will send the winner of today's Giveaway a COVETABLE AND TO DIE FOR KOBO CANDLE!!!





Linda and I came upon KOBO candles at the Gift Show a few months ago and we couldn't pass them by. Linda was in love because she is a huge candle aficiando and these are top of the line. I was in love because I'm a sucker for fabulous packaging and Kobo wows. I recommend purchasing one just for the box. Amazing.

Each KOBO candle, complete with lid and matches, is hand-poured with 100% domestically grown pure soy wax and lead free, enviro-safe cotton wicks, to create the cleanest burning and most planet-friendly candle. 70 hour burn time. The scents get universally rave reviews.

What do candles have to do with Linda? Linda is a multi-talented lady who makes her living working with interiors, gifts and especially planters (read: she'll do up your patio pots, window boxes and holiday mantles fabulously). She traditionally works by appointment out of the studio in her beautiful home, but happily, she is holding a Gift Boutique open to the public for 4 days this week. If you live in the tri-state area, you won't want to miss this. Bring your girlfriends, come enjoy some wassail, and find perfect gifts for friends, teachers, mother-in-laws, sisters and neighbors.




In addition to the super-lovely Kobo candles, here are some sneak peeks of some of the treasures you'll find:


Funktion aprons


poultry salt and pepper shakers, by sadek


Seda France candles


mugs and coasters by Jane Jenni


shower caps by Taylor Linens

Personally, I can't wait to be there. I love this kind of thing. Happy women, with friends, shopping for beautiful things in a beautiful home. No crowds. No rush. If only all shopping could be so pleasant.

Thank you, Linda!
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Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced tomorrow morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
____________

The winner of the 11/24 Blabla Kids Giveaway is:
Karen Rani who commented: "Awww how cute is he?" (at 2:15pm EST).
Congratulations Karen! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Taking Great Pictures: From an Amateur — by Guest Mom Rebecca Rather

[ Note from Design Mom: Because I took Thanksgiving off, I am posting Rebecca's fifth post today. I knew you wouldn't want to miss it. ]

Design Mom requested a few photo tips — maybe in anticipation of a great Christmas card photo. I absolutely love to take pictures, especially of kids. Many of you are probably better photographers than I am (Liz, are you reading?). I have never taken a professional class, but I have experimented a lot and read a few photography books. I love the look of photos from film, but the pictures I am showing today have all been taken on a basic digital camera — no bells and whistles (digital vs. film is a whole other issue). I have never had a super nice camera, but have gotten a lot of great shots (my point and shoot film camera cost $100 8 years ago and I still love it). The reason I show these pictures is to show that ANYONE can take a good picture. There are three rules of thumb that I always try to implement.

Rule #1:
Turn off the flash. The best pictures I have taken have been flash-less. Even when the camera prompts me to use a flash, I almost always turn it off, unless it is pretty dark. Experimenting with your camera will help you get to know what kind of light it needs to take a good picture. When using film, I would typically prefer to use 400 speed film and turn off the flash rather than 200 and have to use the flash. Flashes wash out the face — natural light is so much more flattering. If you are taking a staged picture, try to take it outside in the morning or evening when the light is more subtle. An overcast day is ideal for outside pictures. I also love taking inside pictures next to a window with lots of light. It’s best to have the person with one side of his face next to the window and getting the picture without any direct light from the window.


This one was taken at the beach with friends on a perfectly overcast day.


This one was taken in our dining room on my son’s first birthday. There was a nice bright window close-by, so I didn’t use the flash. I like the softness of the picture.

Rule #2:
Get closer. I love close-ups. Digital is great because you can crop easily to get a close-up, after the fact. Unless you are taking pictures for the surroundings, try to get as close as possible without the person getting blurry. This also takes some experimentation with your camera.


I love that you can see my son’s long eyelashes in this one. I took this one inside, next to a large window with good light.

Rule #3:
Think out of the box. It’s nice to take a picture from a different perspective. This makes it more of an art form — you can get some great frameableshots.


This one I took while sitting inside my house, watching my boys play in the snow.

What other hints do you have for Design Mom?

Lucky Me, Jordan Came to Visit

Jordan, my super-cool sister/an event planner in San Fran/keeper of a blog so amazing it inspired me to start my own, came to New York for Thanksgiving with her talented husband Paul.

We had a great time. Saw a taping of Martha that airs today. Set a beautiful table for Thanksgiving. Stuffed ourselves with a delicious meal. And talked blogging.

Bonus for me, she brought a wonderful hostess gift:
Williams-Sonoma Mulling Spices
plus
Williams-Sonoma Five Apple Cider Concentrate
plus
The spice ball dealio that you put the spices in while they mull.

A really thoughtful gift and so appreciated. But oddly, I couldn't find a single one of these items on their website, so I'm showing you this charming set of ornaments — perfect for a foodie — that WS sells here.

Thank you Jordan and Paul!

Blabla Kids — Giveaway-A-Day 11/24

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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To give you a little relief on this shoppingest of shopping days, the creative geniuses at BlabLa Kids have the perfect gift to help you cross something off your list: AN IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO LOVE LEONARDO THE LION DOLL!



The dolls from Blabla are incredible. Knit, soft, so adorable. I've been spotting them everywhere — everywhere that's super-cool, that it. In cribs with the hottest bedding. In the arms of superstar offspring. In the best edited catalogs. And Leonardo is especially cute.

It is always wonderful to find a company making smart and beautiful and cool wares. What a treat to discover Blabla. So many great products — they fit perfectly the ideal in my head of what childhood should look like. Scroll through their lifestyle album and see what I mean.


Love, love their silhouette sweaters.


Want a pile of their pillow chums on the bed.


Charmed by their backpacks.



Still loving the veggie rattles and birdie bank that I featured in my other BlaBla post.



And I can't say enough good things about their many, many, many dolls.

Blabla's collection is designed by Florence Wetterwald and knitted by Peruvian artisans. Everything is made of natural fibers grown in Peru, making for super-soft, super-cuddly wares. Ms. Wetterwald's designs are so modern and up-to-date, plus so friendly and approachable — I'm completely at a loss to pick a favorite. I love the company description of what Blabla means — Blabla is a small word for a big idea: happiness fits in the palm of your hand. A company you can feel good about in every way.

Forget about the mall, just cozy up with a mug of hot cocoa and do some shopping here.

Thank you, Blabla Kids!
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Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced MONDAY morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
____________

The winner of the Aster+Sage 11/22 Giveaway is:
Heather who commented: "Well, it just turns out that blue is my favorite color, so that will work out great for me. Thanks!" (at 10:50am EST).
Congratulations Heather! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Adorning Doors — by Guest Mom Rebecca Rather

[ I’m basically prohibited from talking about Christmas in my household until Thanksgiving is over. So — bring it on!!! ]

One thing I love about the holidays is driving down the street and seeing how people adorn their front doors. I love that most people hang wreaths and I think they are a great way to express your style outdoors.

I seem to always have grand intentions to make a wreath with fresh greenery and berries, but have never been really successful. One year, I even harvested some red berries from a bush in my yard in the summer and dried them, anticipating an awesome Christmas wreath; but, alas, it was a failure because every time we opened the door a few berries would fall off. This year, I’ve done a little wreath research and here are my findings.


I think my all time favorite wreath is this one from Sundance Catalog.


A NY neighbor puts up a fresh wreath decorated with fresh fruit during the holidays. It is totally “them.” I’m sure it was a lot more inexpensive to make than this one available for $150 here. Although this fruit is freeze-dried and would last multiple years.


I think this idea is really pretty and simple — you simply string fresh cranberries (I would have never thought of that!) and wrap them around greenery. I would love to try this. Instructions here.


I especially love this hip wreath idea from the magazine Cottage Living. The instructions are so simple — you use a square frame for the form! and I love the green berries. I also think using nontraditional holiday colors is a great way to keep things interesting. Cottage Living also has some great ideas for filling window boxes and planters with fresh greenery here.


This is a unique wreath using fresh greenery and simple ball ornaments. It would be fun to see this on someone’s door.


Using faux leaves and berries can also be exquisite — and usable year after year with little or no maintenance. I am amazed at how real some of them look! My friend Megan has had a wreath like this on her front door in the past. The red made a great statement on her black door. Instructions to make this one found here.




And there are a million options for purchase out there. These amazing ones are from Restoration Hardware. There are similar ones available for $25 at Target.

How will you adorn your door this year?

Top wreath available from Smith and Hawken.

Potholder as Floor Covering

I can't believe how much this potholder rug by Crispina appeals to me. So simple and so smart. How did someone not think of this before? Sort of like a classic rag rug, but way and a half cooler. And at a full one-inch thick, way and a half more plush. I am dying to see and feel one of these in person.

Crispina makes them in loads of colors and sizes (even custom colors and sizes), but I am especially digging the bright colors in the one they make for Romp — perfect for a playroom.

Maude will be delighted to see these as well.

Aster+Sage Handbag — Giveaway-A-Day 11/22

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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You know how you're about to do a whole bunch of shopping and crazy errands over the next month? And you know how sad your handbag is looking? How about a new one?! The Felt Goddess at Aster+Sage is sending the winner of today's Giveaway A FAB, FAB, FAB BLUE NINA HANDBAG!!!!




This bag is perfect. Just enough room for the mom-on-the-go. Just the right shape. Just the right design. Everything at Aster+Sage is eye-catching and graphic and bright and fun and I'm in love. I first saw their super-cool handiwork at the Gift Show last August and have day-dreamed about it a dozen times since. Home stuff. Handbags. More accessory bags than you can shake a stick at. Warning: your screen may not be able to handle the awesomeness.

Love their pillows.


Love their handbags.



Love their jewelry envelopes.


Love their organizers.


Love their phone/Ipod cases.


Linda Yesline, a Rhode Island School of Design grad, is the girl behind Aster+Sage. Turns out all that construction paper cutting & pasting she did in kindergarten translates really well into textile design. Quality materials. Quality construction. Crisp, clean forms. Three cheers for Linda!

Aster+Sage handbags and accessories are available in shops in the United States and Canada. But Design Mom readers can order online by emailing Aster+Sage.

Hot stuff. Order now before Target/Garnet Hill figures out they should be carrying this stuff. You'll be like, "Aster+Sage? I was already a customer back in 2006."

Thank you, Aster+Sage!
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Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced FRIDAY morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
____________

The winner of the Lucky Piggies 11/21 Giveaway is:
Sandy who commented: "Those are so cute I could just eat them up! Actually, I have two little pairs of piggies that would be very cozy in those!" (at 10:14pm EST).
Congratulations Sandy! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!! See you on Friday!!!

Perfect Floor Plan — by Guest Mom Rebecca Rather

Before we moved from NY to KS, in anticipation of buying a house, Design Mom and I had frequent conversations about the perfect floor plan. After living in numerous apts/houses (I think most of us have), I have learned what I like and dislike in a house. The problem is that I am drawn to older homes which often don’t have some of the easy-living amenities that I would love. So the question is, do I get a house with a lot of character and only a few amenities, or find a brand-spanking new house with not much character but lots of modern conveniences?

One of the things I feel I must have is a good mudroom.




It would be so great to have a good big space where we all enter the house (whether it be through the front door or the garage) to drop off all of our piles of stuff — especially after school. I have never lived in a place that has sufficient storage in a convenient place for shoes, backpacks, hats, gloves, umbrellas, etc. In my ideal mudroom, each person would have their own spot at their own height to unload their belongings and each item would have its own place. I’m getting giddy just thinking about it! I like some of these good-looking storage options.


I love the idea of lockers. These are from Sundance Catalog and look fabulous.


There are a variety of lockers found on ebay, as well. You can find these red ones here.


These cubbies, also from Sundance, would provide some good storage possibilities for extra hats and gloves, or even sports equipment.


I think these metal storage baskets from Land of Nod are really fantastic.

I would also love to have a computer/calendar station in the kitchen and a laundry room right next to the bedrooms. The funny thing is, we’ve just found a house that we may decide to buy and it has neither of
these. But it does have a good mudroom possibility, hardwood floors (which is a must — carpet spells
disaster in our household), and a lot of character.

What would you include in your perfect floor plan? (I would sure love the ideas!)

Child-Like Coat Hangers

Love these coat hangers for children by Pakhuis Oost. Especially the yellow. Pretty fantastic.

Available at Rose and Radish.

Lucky Piggies Baby Shoes — Giveaway-A-Day 11/21

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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Today you woke up lucky and didn't even know it. Because Lucky Piggies, a company making the finest and sweetest and super-stylinest baby shoes around, has put TWO PAIRS OF BABY SHOES OF YOUR CHOICE up for grabs in today's Giveaway!!! (How much do we love the whole one-for-me-one-for-somebody thing and the whole I-get-to-pick-my-favorite thing we've got going.)




Take a look at these:


The Red Frenchies.


The Murphys.


The Cupcake Blues.


The Birthday Piggies.


The Me Hearties.

Handmade by artist Melanie Zamora, in her own studio, these shoes are finely stitched, one pair at a time, with attention to detail absolutely lavished on each one. The prices are reasonable as snot — less than similar soft-soled shoes. And, umm. Way cuter. What is it about rickrack and ribbon that make my heart skip a beat? Go see all the choices here.

Lucky Piggies is all about earth-friendly comfort for babies, and the artist pledges to use 90% recycled and reclaimed materials on every pair. Just think: you could have little pieces of art for your baby's little piggies and decrease your carbon footprint at the same time. How now can you be?

Triple Bonus:
Shipping is absolutely free!
And.
Gift packaging is absolutely free!
And.
Design Mom readers get 10% off their entire order!!!
Just enter this code at checkout: dm1120.

Looks like everybody is lucky today. Now head here and pick out your favorite pairs!

Thank you, Lucky Piggies!
____________

Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced tomorrow morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
____________

The winner of the Pronk 11/20 Giveaway:
MissScientistSF who commented: "So very cute! How adorable." (at 9:30am EST).
Congratulations MissScientistSF! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Gift for Grandma — by Guest Mom Rebecca Rather

For the first few Christmases when I had kids, I agonized over what gift they should give their grandparents and great-grandparents. I wanted it to be homemade by the kids and thoughtful, but not totally useless. Then a few years ago, I came across the perfect solution — and now, every Christmas our Grandparents get a stack of homemade glycerin soap.

The boys can help with every step, and the process from beginning to end (excluding letting it set) takes less than 30 minutes. It really could take 10 minutes, but with four extra sets of hands helping (helping?).... It’s seriously the easiest project ever.



Glycerin soap and scented oils are available online or at crafts stores like Michaels. I have been happy with the soap, oil, and molds (I like very simple shapes– squares, rectangles, and rounds) that I have purchased here.

All you do is melt the soap in the microwave, add the scented oil, and pour into the molds. We’ve never tried any additional ingredients, but it would be fun to add something like oatmeal or exfoliating beads. You can find all sorts of recipes and instructions on the internet. I recently found some simple instructions on Martha Stewart’s website here. She recommends even using the bottom of a milk carton or an ice cube tray for the mold.

They turn out really great when you wrap them individually in pretty paper, clear cellophane, or even parchment. A stack of wrapped soaps can be tied together with a nice ribbon or string.



I may even wrap in little gift boxes this year found at Papermart. (FYI: Papermart.com is actually a fabulous resource for all your wrapping accessories.) Martha put a collection of smaller soaps in a glass container — very nice.



The best thing is that it doesn’t clutter Grandma’s desk and it’s completely useful and practical. And it’s the kind of gift that you could really give anyone — teachers, neighbors, hostesses, etc.

Any other solutions for the grandparent gift dilemma?

For a list of helpful soap-making websites, see here.

Ask Design Mom: Pretty Little Gifts for My Pretty Little Wife

One of my reader's (very thoughtful) husbands sent me an email that I'll post anonymously:
"Can you suggest a couple of sites that I can check out for fun, inexpensive stocking stuffers/ornaments that I can buy for my wife? I've gotten some great stuff at Anthropologie in the past, and I think I might get some stuff from Darlybird this year, but any other suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance."

A wonderful question. Let me start with the easy answer. You're on the right track. Anthropologie is perfect. So is Darlybird. And so is Target. In fact, I was in Target picking up some Thanksgiving whatnots and took 2 seconds (all 5 kids were in tow) to breeze through their ornament display. Dependably, there were lots of good choices and everything seemed to be $5 or less. I was especially loving a turquoise sphere with lots of shiny bangles on it. Very cute.

But in addition to the reliable sources already mentioned, here are a couple of places you can score awesome stocking stuffers/ornaments:

1) Take some time search Etsy. Look at Holidays:Christmas. You can filter by price or popularity. Lots of interesting things. I like this handmade little bird ornament.


Do another search for accessories or jewelry and find something funky like this:


2) Handmade not her thing? Explore Bigelow Apothecary, and find this yummy lemon body scrub.


Or this Marvis toothpaste. Or dozens of other products to make her smile.



3) Go to Forever 21 or H&M (if you have one) and get a few different warm accessories to get her through the winter. I like this pom pom hat.


And this houndstooth hat is darling.


And these cozy knit leg warmers would be hot.


That's a start. Now, help a good husband out, Design Mom Readers. Where else should he hunt for won't-break-the-bank stocking stuffers?

Pronk-Wake Up Happy Skirt — Giveaway-A-Day 11/20

Find the winner for Friday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
____________

Goodness gracious, comment already. You'll cry if you miss your chance to win this amazing and too beautiful for words WAKE UP HAPPY SKIRT by the indie fashion label PRONK.




This skirt is so pretty. So flattering. And the winner gets to pick size and color. Will you go reds? Will you go blues? How will you ever decide? Did you wake up happy? Pronk assures us, if you have this skirt to set out the night before, you will.

Inspired by Marken women from a small island in The Netherlands, the team at Pronk believes that clothing, though a daily necessity, can enrich our lives. Pronk is a Dutch word describing the display of one's best and display their best, Pronk does. Their pieces are made of Liberty of London cotton with imported laces and glass button — extremely fine detailing.

Maybe the most charming thing about Pronk is that with each order, they include thread and simple instructions for hand-stitching so you can "experience the secret magic of even the smallest embellishment." How very cool is that.

The Pronk site is beautiful. Don't miss Design Mom's faves:


the Lush Trousers


the Bloom Shirtdress


the Beautiful Blouse

Just the kind of pieces you love to have in the closet. The kind that make you feel smart and pretty and interesting. And isn't it just so awesome to have a piece of clothing that no one else in town has? That you didn't buy at a chain store? I want one of each.

Thank you, Pronk!
____________

Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced tomorrow morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
____________

Amanda who commented: "Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Impeccable taste, as always." (at 11:35am EST).
Congratulations Amanda! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Spitting Image — by Guest Mom Rebecca Rather

Little Boy Style 2:

Lately, I’ve been especially drawn to the retro look. A few months ago we had to track down a picture of my husband for my kindergartner’s classroom, and found the awesome shot featured above (Yes. This is John!!!):

Funny thing is, I realize that I can see my boys in just about everything John’s wearing in the picture.

This is a track jacket that my 7-year-old has loved wearing this fall.


And these sneakers have been a hit with my 6-year-old.


I also love these Converse shoes.Samuel has similar ones of a different brand that he loves.


Last thoughts on Little Boy Style:
I admit cute kid clothes are mostly for the moms to enjoy. My boys, like many, are fond of rolling around in the mud and getting grass stains while trying to make great soccer saves. So from a practical view, some of the best boy clothes can be found at H&M. Bummer for me: there isn't one in Wichita, which adds to my NYC withdrawals.

H&M’s clothing is hip and affordable. Their jeans and cords are awesome and their plain long-sleeve t-shirts are unsurpassable in their great color options and fit — fitted, but not too tight. They look great even on my super (super) skinny 4-year-old. (Sorry no pictures, darn it, H&M doesn’t do online shopping yet.)

These are some of my favorites. What do your boys like to wear, or I should say, what do you like your boys to wear?

Steeped in Style — by Guest Mom Rebecca Rather

Little Boy Style 1:
I'm the mother of four (soon to be five) boys. You may have the same reaction as many: “Time to stop trying for that girl!” But the truth is, I love boys. In fact, if I were given the choice, I’d likely choose to have all boys. Some people tell me boys are easier. I’ll probably never know.

I’ve had many mothers say they feel bad for me because I don’t get to dress a girl. I think girl clothes are fabulous and I get a kick out of buying them for relatives and friends. But truth be told, I love boy clothes. I’m secretly happy that my 7-year-old can’t be bothered to pick out his outfits because that means I get to! From shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops in the summer to sweaters and jeans and sneakers in the winter — it’s all good.

A few weeks ago, I discovered a little children's clothing boutique here in Wichita and spent far too much on an outfit for one of my boys from a line called Tea — Little Citizens of the World. Their stuff is awesome. I was smitten by this orange Nepali sweater for my 21-month-old. I found a soft teal oxford to go underneath and some dark khaki trousers for the bottoms.


I love these grays for winter.


And I could definitely see myself bringing my new one home from the hospital in this one.


Check out their other great stuff (including girl stuff) here. Most of it’s pricey, but still fun to drool over.

Ask Design Mom: Hostess Gifts

Super-cute-just-had-a-baby Laura writes: With Holiday Parties right around the corner, I need some ideas for great Hostess gifts. Any thoughts?

This question is on my mind as well, Laura. And before I launch out with another Design Mom list, I should mention there may be something that inspires you on the other gift discussion posts and accompanying comments: teachers gifts, party favors, & neighbor gifts.

But let's talk hostess gifts in particular. Here are a few ideas I like — largely based on hostess gifts I've received over the years:


1) Bring a really good container of spice. Something you can't get at the basic grocery store. Choose one of the holiday spices: cinnamon or ginger or nutmeg or cloves. Try Dean and Deluca or Whole Spice.

2) Similar to above, but I love a good container of mulling spices. As I was growing up, my mom kept a pot of these going on the stove through the holidays and it makes the whole house smell wonderful. I've continued the tradition. In reality, you don't need mulling spices to pull this off, you can use whatever holiday spices are in the cupboard. But it's nice to have a pretty container on the counter and save the real spices for baking.

3) A succulent. Jordan posted about them here. On trend. Unusual. Easy. Trader Joes currently has a great selection — complete with ceramic pots — and they only run about $4.


4) Holiday Books. Bring a holiday recipe book. Or a holiday craft book. Or Olive, the Other Reindeer.

5) I never sneeze at sugar. Peppermint bark, caramels, chocolates, boxes of Apple Jacks. Whatever.


6) A cute set of holiday-ish dishtowels that she can use past Christmas.

7) A holiday CD. Find some great suggestions in the comments here.

8) Be your own Harry & David. Bring a tray of perfectly ripened pears. Or some huge Fuji apples from Costco repackaged in a pretty basket and tied up with some ribbon would do the trick.


9) Winter's coming. Your hostess will need some good handcream in her handbag. Lots of choices here.

There are a few ideas to get you started. I'm sure my trusty readers will lengthen the list, (please).

Welcome Rebecca!

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome to Rebecca Rather, this week's Guest Mom.

Rebecca is a recent transplant to Wichita, Kansas after living pretty much her entire post-college life in New York. So she is right in that heavy place of having to find a house, make new friends, get to know her new town, comfort her kids in the midst of change, encourage her husband in his new job, etc. But no doubt she is doing all this remarkably well, because Rebecca is one of the most talented and friendly women I know. She has four bright and beautiful boys and is due with male number 5(!) in February.

A registered nurse by training, she is also a go-to-girl for assorted health and medical questions from every mother that knows her.

Rebecca has an excellent eye and is rarely without a camera — hopefully we'll hear some pointers from her on how to be the best Mommy photographers we can be. And her stylin' taste covers not only photography, but her whole house. Rebecca puts together a beautiful (a kind of modern traditional) home and is a consummate hostess. I've been dying for her to get settled enough to take on a week of guest blogging and I so look forward to seeing her posts.

Rockett St. George — Giveaway-A-Day 11/17

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.
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For today's Giveaway, the oh so fabulous shop featuring British-based design — Rockett St. George — is sending the lucky winner A 2007 LOTUS DIARY AND A TRAVELLERS JOURNAL!!!





That's right. The beautiful Lotus 2007 Diary with fabulous sparkly and textured cover AND the perfectly touchable take anywhere leather Travellers Journal could be yours. Should you share? Probably. But I won't tell if you can't stand to part with either. Read more details about the lovely Lotus Diary here, and the Travellers Journal here.

Not that long ago, I explored the wares of Rockett St George and was so impressed I posted about them here. The collection is outstanding — put together with a really good eye. The company is run by two mothers and the photography is fantastic. Everything looks so luxe.

Here are some of my very faves at Rockett St George:

Love the patterns and colors of the Sophia Afxentiou accessory bags. Change purses, cosmetic bags, lots of shapes and sizes.


Pearl Glass Storage Jars in four colors. So pretty — even empty.


Cream Ballet wrap for your princess looks so, so cozy.


Story Deli 10-year old balsamic vinegar. Totally aware that I'm not a gourmet and do not deserve to cook with anything this good — but I should own this just for the packaging.


More luxe than my full-of-kids-house can handle right now, but I'm daydreaming about the Large Pale Aubergine Silk Velvet Devore Cushion.

I show more faves on my earlier post.

You know you're drooling, go check out their wares. Wouldn't your sister/mom/friend/coworker/hubbie love opening something from Rockett St George this Christmas? Yes. And they'll be extra impressed when you tell them it was imported.

Happily for those of us spending in dollars and not pounds, they even have a handy currency converter (just click the American flag in the top right corner). And take advantage of beautiful design at excellent prices: Don't miss the under $40 section.

Thank you, Rockett St. George!
____________

Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Monday morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.
____________

John Segal's Carrot Soup, 11/16 Winner is:
Laura, who commented: "I love children's literature! Good giveaway!." (at 9:02am EST).
Congratulations Laura! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Eye Candy in the Kitchen

Amazing, amazing dishtowels by Atelier Lzc. These are what I want for Christmas.

via mod*mom

Special Invitation to Design Mom Readers from John Segal

John Segal was delighted to see the response to his books in yesterday's promotion, and has offered a special bonus for Design Mom Readers.

Turns out Mr. Segal is not much of a sign-books-in-public kind of person, so instead he develops beautiful bookplates for his fans/members of his mailing list. The bookplates are printed on Strathmore label stock, and then hand-colored with colored pencil — like the one pictured.

Email your name and mailing info here and Mr. Segal will send you off a bookplate.

Very cool. It will look so great in your copy of Carrot Soup.

John Segal's Carrot Soup — Giveaway-A-Day 11/16

Find the winner for yesterday's Giveaway at the bottom of this post.

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I am so delighted to announce that for today's Giveaway, award-winning, super-cool, yellow-bike-riding, illustrator John Segal will send the winner an AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF HIS CHILDREN'S BOOK: CARROT SOUP!!!



Written and illustrated by the talented Mr. Segal. Take one rabbit, patiently growing carrots. Add his friends — Mole, Dog, Cat, Duck, and Pig. Mix all ingredients together for a superdelicious surprise! The Society of Illustrators has selected Carrot Soup as one of it's outstanding illustrated books of the year.

John Segal has an excellent website where you can see more of his really terrific work, read reviews of his books and see how his talents also include design and editorial illustrations.


from Musicians of Bremen


from The Reluctant Dragon
Earlier, for one of my Book of the Week posts, I featured this lovely tale. It's one of my — and my children's — favorite books. You can read my post here.


from The Lonely Moose — coming Fall 2007

Carrot Soup would be a total boost to any child's library and it would be perfect under your tree this year. If you're not the lucky winner, you can find a copy of Carrot Soup here.

Thank you, John Segal!

Want to know more about this talented illustrator? Here's a little blurb from his site: John Segal is an author and designer living in New York City. He has two children and lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, near Central Park, where he often can be found riding a yellow bicycle. You can also read a lovely article about him here.

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Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced in the morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.

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Handsome Devil Press, 11/15 Winner is:
Alexis, who commented: "Love the one with the dog run." (at 8:01pm EST).
Congratulations Alexis! Please email me your shipping address by using the email link on my blog.

Plain & Thimble

A couple days ago, my good and lovely friend, Juliane, gave me this beautiful soap and lotion by Plain and Thimble. Just because she's so thoughtful. She said the packaging reminded her of me.

Can I just say I love presents. And can I also say that I love to hear that pretty packaging brings me to mind?

Thank you, Juliane.

Find your own Plain and Thimble lovelies here.

Ask Design Mom: Christmas Music

Kendra writes: Hello Design Mom! I know Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, but there are some Christmas
things that you must prepare early. One of those things is music. Do you have any suggestions for good holiday tunes? I'd like to have some new music to put me in the holiday spirit this season. Thanks!

Oh goody! Christmas Music. Thanks for the question. And let me start with a warning:
I tend toward the proven in the Christmas music category. Not because I don't like new music. It's just that if it's a totally new song or new version of a song, then I won't be able to associate it with holidays past. It takes me a few Christmases of hearing a song before I can conjure up warm and cozy feelings when I hear it.

To answer the question, I went straight to our Holiday Storage Boxes. Since our first year of marriage, Ben and I have made a point to add a Christmas CD to our collection every year and I confess some of our picks have been total bombs. But here are some of the favorites:

1) Ave Maria Christmas Favorites — with Placido Domingo, Mario Lanza, Robert Shaw Chorale
2) Messiah — Sir David Willcocks conducts the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
3) Big Band Christmas — featuring the Pete Jacobs Orchestra
4) Cambridge Chorale Christmas CD
5) And our most played CD is a custom mix which contains:

Christmas Means More — the Grinch
Happy Christmas — Neil Diamond
Wonderful Christmas Time — Paul McCartney
Silent Night — Jewel, Sarah Mclachlan & Indigo Girls
Blue Christmas — Elvis Presley
Give Love on Christmas Day — Jackson 5
Run Rudolph Run — Chuck Berry
Happy Hanukkah — Adam Sandler
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas — John Denver & the Muppets
Little Drummer Boy — Joan Jett
Do They Know It's Christmas — Band-Aid
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer — The Temptations
Little Saint Nick — The Beach Boys
Jingle Bells — Singing Dogs
Rockin Around the Christmas Tree — Artist Unknown
Trim Up the Tree — The Who's from Whoville

Full disclosure (and you may have already gathered): I am no music guru. I take ALL my music cues from friends and family. My brothers Josh and Jared have been lifelong music influencers, plus, my sister-in-law Erin, and friends (like the Wrights and Cynthia) are also people I look to for music advice.

So I'm putting the query out to my friends, family and readers: What's the best holiday music out there that we're not listening to?

Christmas CD images from Amazon.

Handsome Devil Press — Giveaway-A-Day 11/15

After Girl con Queso's lovely guest post, I have Holiday Cards on the brain — I'm sure you do as well.

So to start off our month of Giveaways, how about TWO BOXES OF SUPER-FAB HOLIDAY CARDS!!!



That's right. The winner of today's giveaway will receive 2 boxes of holiday cards from Handsome Devil Press. So many cool choices, it's hard to pick a favorite. But you better pick one anyway, because the winner gets to choose their preferred design.

And they're not just pretty to look at, they're totally yummy, high-end cards that you will love to send out to all your totally yummy, high-end friends. Be sure to explore the site — there are far more designs than I can feature here.

And here's some added love: Jason and JR at Handsome Devil Press want to offer ALL Design Mom Readers 10% off your entire order placed by December 1st. Just enter this coupon code on checkout: snowball2006

Extra Bonus: shipping is FREE in the U.S.



I guess it's no surprise that a company named from Morrissey lyrics would be this cool.

Thank you, Handsome Devil Press!

----------
Giveaway Reminders:
-You have until midnight EST today to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment on this post to enter — any comment.
-One entry per person.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced in the morning.
-What's Giveaway-A-Day? Read here.

Jackson Pollock

Impress the Grandparents. Have your kids click here and move the mouse.

Suddenly, everyone is an artist.

via Untitled Paintings

Christmas PJs

Remember when I said Gymboree had gotten all aggressive with their price cuts? Well, the trend continues.

They have a great selection of Christmas/winter pajamas for $14.95. Which means I outfitted all five kids for just under $75. Not bad.

Frankly, I don't like to pay more than $15 for Christmas pajamas, because I don't get as much wear out of them. I feel funny putting snowman appliquéd anything on my kids in March or April.



My girls will be wearing the pink christmas tree jammies. The polkadot bottoms are very, very cute. My boys will be wearing the navy snowman jammies. I kind of surprised myself this year by going with non-traditional colors. Who would've guessed I would break tradition like that?

Find boy pjs here and girl pjs here.

Beautiful Toys

Speaking of all the really beautiful things out there. . .

Check out these lovely choices:


Bullseye YoYo set.
Set of 3 for $38
More than I want to spend for yo-yos. Even for 3 yo-yos. But if I consider them "art" then maybe I can justify them. So pretty. I want all three to sit in a bowl somewhere in my house.


Ugly Dolls (their name, not mine)
$20 each
Toys only a mother could love. And I'm a mother. I'm so charmed by these. Oscar doesn't love his stuffed rabbit, but I can imagine him attaching himself to one of these.


Magnetic Color Cubes
$28 for the set
My "builder" Ralph would really like these. If he could ever get them away from his mother.


Glockenspiel Man
$68
No words.

Everything part of Garnet Hill's 2006 Gift Collection.

Hooray for Major Paul!

Read about my awesome sister's beautiful preparations to welcome her husband home — after spending a year as a soldier in Iraq — at my other awesome sister's blog.

Welcome home Paul!!

Christmas Gift Theories

Anyone who has seen my multiple(!) posts on finding bedding for my girls room, knows I'm indecisive. There are so many beautiful choices out there and I love to find them all and give each one due consideration. This shopping indecisiveness is generally irritating, but especially so at Christmas when I have a gift list to attend to. In my quest to find the just right gifts for my kids, I tend to overbuy.

And let's be honest, my kids don't need a dang thing for Christmas. But sadly, we're not yet at the stage where Ben and I can say, "Hey Kids, no Christmas presents this year — we're going to Park City/Hawaii/Paris!!!"

Which leaves me with a Christmas list for my kids. A list that can get easily out of hand.

My sister-in-law Traci has a really smart Christmas gift rule that we've tried to adopt: each child gets something to read, something to wear and something to play with. This is supposed to prevent me from going overboard and it mostly works. But I manage to make a lot of exceptions.

-For example, Christmas PJs don't count as the something to wear.
-For example, everything in their stockings is also exempted from the rule.
-For example, if the thing to-play-with isn't BIG (read: doesn't make a big Christmas Morning Statement under the tree — like a bike or a dollhouse or huge Lego set), then I tend to compensate with a few medium size gifts.
-For example, the siblings also exchange gifts which means 4 more presents each, which I mostly shop for because my kids are pretty young.
-For example, Grandmas and Grandpas still send gifts, or money to buy gifts. And so do aunts and uncles.

This is all lovely, but my kids end up with way too much under the tree. Not that they complain. And frankly, I love to see their faces when they open something they love. Plus, as I mentioned before, there are so many pretty things out there, and I get such a kick out of finding them. . .

So my question is: what are your best solutions for keeping the holiday excess in check?

pic from Jordan's fab post

Romp Wallpaper

Laurie sent a link to this amazing wallpaper. Pretty freaking awesome. It has me tempted to redesign the boy's room just to work one or two of these silhouettes in.

And can I just say, I'm so glad wallpaper is no longer passé. I'm ready. Bring it on.

Find the wallpaper — and more animal silhouettes than I have space to feature — here.

Super-Cool! Month Long Giveaway-A-Day

The First Design Mom Giveaway was such a hit that we're expanding. And why not? Moms loves free stuff. Nay, they deserve free stuff. Especially if it's pretty and covetable and fabulous free stuff.

So while we're in the holiday-shopping-accumulating mode anyway, how about a Giveaway-a-Day for a month — where you can score free loot without having to sit on Santa's lap. Plus, you'll get some amazing gift ideas along the way.

Here's the dealio:
-Giveaway-a-Day will go from November 15th (this Wednesday!) to December 15th
-Monday thru Friday, except Thanksgiving Day
-Each day, there will be a new Giveaway
-You'll have until Midnight EST to enter the Giveaway for that day
-To enter, just make a comment — any comment — on the daily Giveaway Post
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced the next morning — along with the new Giveaway

The vendors I've lined up are fantastic. Awesome stuff. But they're top-secret. You won't know what's coming. So check every day. I promise, it'll be worth it. And spread the love. Your friends are going to want in on this.

SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY!

11/15 EDIT: THE CONTEST IS IN FULL SWING. CLICK HERE.

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FYI: I've left a few featured vendor slots open, so if you have a vendor recommendation for the Giveaway, please let me know. Just email me from the link at the top of my blog.

We've Got a Winner!!!

Congratulations to:

PETIE whose comment read, "I love Design Mom! Thanks for the great book ideas too, by the way."

The exquisite necklace and stunning bobby are yours! (Petie, please email me with your shipping info from the link on my blog.)

Crushed that you didn't win? Don't despair, the month long Design Mom Giveaway-a-Day starts Wednesday.

Thanks again to Darlybird for sponsoring the first Giveaway here at Design Mom.

And just in case you haven't had a chance to scope out Darlybird, here are Design Mom's Fave picks in the $5 to $20 range. (Think fab gifts for friends and sisters):


$10.00
Mobile Photo Clip


$6.00
Luxe Banho Port Pear Soap


$14.00
Vintage Bouquet Coral Ring


$20.00
Happy Flowers Wallet


$5.00
Gift Tag Set


Thanks again, Darlybird!

Line Rider

I just spent a half an hour playing on this site. It is mesmerizing. Draw a line and the Line Rider will slide along it — with his adorable red scarf waving.

Not necessarily based on a thorough line of reasoning, but I much prefer my kids to mess around online with things like this than play video games.

Thanks for the link, Josh.

Gracias Girl con Queso

A hearty thanks to the incredible Girl con Queso! Really amazing posts. Love the coasters, love the party favors, love it all.

In fact, the influence of your posts continued over the weekend — a friend made your Pumpkin Pie Recipe yesterday and I got a taste. Mmmmm. . . . Come back anytime, Girl con Queso. You have an open invitation.

In the meantime, I'll keep up with you at Blog con Queso.

Kaas Glassworks

Chloe's Mom gave me a head's up about the truly amazing work of Carol Kaas, when she happened upon a feature about Ms. Kaas here. After I saw the feature, I went straight to Ms. Kaas' site and could have stayed there all night.

Really beautiful decoupaged glass serving pieces. Stunning historical images. So much texture I was tempted to touch the screen. Serving trays, paperweights, coasters. Lots of shapes, lots of sizes.

Best of all, Ms. Kaas has what looks like a picturesque shop in the West Village, so you can go see this stuff in person. Can't get to New York? Luckily, you can order online.

Pick out something really beautiful for your Mom, for your sister, for someone that needs something beautiful.

Last Chance to Enter

You have until midnight (EST) to enter the first Design Mom Giveaway. Don't miss out.

The lucky winner the the amazing Darlybird accessories will be posted Monday morning.

I can't wait. . .

Happy Friday — by Guest Mom Girl con Queso

Fridays at my place mean appreciating the beauties, blessings and better things we've seen cross our paths lately. Here are a few happys that I think are quite fantastic.

Treats
I've always said that eating sushi is like eating chocolate. Now it really is. Yeah, that's right. This sushi IS chocolate. And you can find it here. Because candy that looks like sushi equals love.





Tea
Last Valentines Day, the HcQ gave me this lovely teapot set from Teavana. It so sturdy, and it makes amazing tea. We like to use it as often as we can.




Wooden Toys
Especially wooden blocks. They're old school. The Hurricane loves them. And he hasn't yet figured out that he can throw them through a window. So I still love them too.



Shoes
Seriously. Doesn't everyone love shoes? After all, they keep our feet warm. I actually like buying them for the Hurricane even more than for myself. And that's a lot.




MDA
The Muscular Dystrophy Association. This is a happy combined with a sad. But even more than a happy, it's a labor of love. If you need another reason to love them, read this.

Music
I love an incredibly wide range of genres, artists, and styles. Specifically tonight, Leigh Nash.



Forgiveness
Yesterday I promised that I'd post our last year's Christmas card photo. However. We. Can't. Find. It. That's right. Urgh. I need to take a cue from Bek and keep each year's card in a photo album. I'm sure we'll find it in the next day or so, but alas, I can not post it today. Please forgive me.

Good Ideas
Yes, Google itself was a good idea. A gagillion dollar idea for Larry Page and Sergey Brin. But a friend of mine gave me a good idea too. Get the Hurricane a Gmail account. So we did. Now it's so easy for me to send him a quick email to let him know what's going on with us and to tell him how much we love him. It's great for long distance family and friends to give him a quick shout out as well. We'll introduce him to this special email of his in a few years.



Blogs
I'd think they're just great. After all, without them, I wouldn't have met you. So I'd really like to thank Design Mom for having me over this week. I've really enjoyed my visit. It was nice spending time with you guys, and I wish you and yours a wonderful Holiday season.


So. That's me. What are some happys in your life this week?

What a Card!— by Guest Mom Girl con Queso

I feel I should begin with an apology. Because I'm going to go ahead and talk about something a bit controversial. No, not politics. Or the CMA awards. I'm going to talk about the most wonderful time of the year before it officially begins. Please just know, I am usually in no way an advocate for celebrating the Holidays out of order. Meaning, around here, we have a pretty strict policy that we don't even mention things holly or jolly until after Thanksgiving.

But since I realized yesterday that Thanksgiving is only 15, now 14, days away, that means Christmas is only 45 days away. Which means Holiday cards can start going out in about 18 days or so. And I have no idea what we're sending.

I think I just sounded very frantic. And I really didn't mean to.

Because I love Holiday cards. And in my world, Holiday is Christmas, so I'm just going to call them Christmas cards for the rest of this post. Because I'll mean to say Holiday, but then I'll forget anyway and mess up, and really, I love Christmas cards.

I wish I could send out 12 different kinds. Each day. One for every day of Christmas. And this is my problem. It's hard to decide. On a card. With so many good ones out there.

Now I'm usually somewhat of a non-traditionalist in the Christmas card arena. But don't get me wrong. I love all of them. All the traditional, red, green, holly and ivy Crane's engraved cards.



All the photo cards, pet cards, calendar cards, satire cards, cartoon cards, drug store cards, homemade cards. (Especially the homemade cards.) All of them. But for me and my house, I like a bit different.

So here are a few I've found this year that are in the running.









Now I'm the type of gal who would just send a card. Old school. But my husband really likes cards with photos.



So we've compromised. We send a regular card out but put a photo inside. Last year's photo was pretty funny. And sadly, I can't seem to locate it right this second. But come back tomorrow, and I'll post it as an extra bonus. You won't be disappointed.

-----
Okay, please pause with me for a minute here. I just showed the HcQ a few of these options. And, not sold on any of them, he's decided that he's going to design ours himself this year. Um. Yeah. We'll see how that goes. I think I may need to have some back ups just in case.
-----

So what do you do about Christmas and/or Holiday cards? Do you buy yours? Do you make your own? Are you a photo sender? A newsletter updater? Do you send five? Or five hundred? And do you know what you're sending out this year? Or do you refuse to think about it until after the turkey is carved? If so, again, my apologies to you and yours.


The cards featured here can be found at:
Fabulous Stationery
Crane
Handsome Devil Press
Rock Scissor Paper
Prentiss Douthit
Hello Lucky

11/16 Edit: the source on the photo card is Tiny Prints. Lots of beautiful stuff at Tiny Prints!

Book of the Week/Ask Design Mom: Books for the Expectant Mother

Another query for Design Mom:

"I have an anonymous question: can you recommend any books for new or soon-to-be mom’s? I’ve looked online at everything from the What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Dr. Sear’s… and it stretches from pregnancy know-how to cookbooks to pregnancy planners. It’s crazy!

Anyway, from a mother of five, I’d love to know what you recommend (or not recommend). And can you keep this post anonymous? I’m only four weeks pregnant and literally no one knows."

First of all, BIG CONGRATULATIONS! There's nothing like that first pregnancy. It's all you can think about. When people are talking to you, you nod and mumble agreement, but the whole conversation you're thinking, "Wow, I'm pregnant. I feel funny. I wonder if that's the baby or indigestion? I'm so hungry. I'm pregnant. There's an actual baby growing inside me. I wonder if I'm showing. . ."

And you're right that there are a million books out there. I can't even pretend to keep up. But I have a few I'd recommend. Although I hesitate. Every book about pregnancy and childbirth and raising children I own has at least a few pages that make me cringe with disagreement. There's a lot of crazy stuff out there surrounding this whole process. So what I'm going to recommend are books that I hope will help you take part in the whole pregnancy/childbirth conversation — not necessarily books I endorse or agree with.

1) What to Expect When You're Expecting
This is the pregnancy bible for a reason. Lots of answers. Very reassuring. Major portions of the book are about special circumstances, so if you're having a run-of-the-mill normal pregnancy, you'll skip lots. I also own What to Expect the First Year. I haven't looked at it in a long time, but I remember I found it helpful.

2) Husband Coached Childbirth, the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth
Whether you go natural or not (I've done it all), you'll be glad you know the lingo. Try to ignore the part where Dr. Bradley refers to breasts as sweater decorations. There are other books on natural childbirth, but this method seems to be the most widely read among my friends.

3) The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, the La Leche League
Not a leaguer myself, but again, throughout your pregnancy, you'll hear lots of references from this book and about the La Leche League and you'll be glad you're familiar with the contents. Irritating title, but some people love, love this book.



4) Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana
This is an excellent baby naming reference and is pretty darn fun to read. It's in it's bazillionth edition. When Ralph was born it was only called, Beyond Jennifer and Jason.

5) Magazines:
Fit Pregnancy, because it might inspire you to excercise and that's always a plus, but mostly because it always features an excellent selection of maternity clothes. Cookie, because it gets you excited for the baby gear and makes you feel hip. I posted about Cookie earlier here.

6) Baby Wise and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
BabyWise is something you should read before the baby is born in case you want to use this sleep training method, because the method begins when the baby is like a week old. Healthy Sleep Habits method begins when the baby is about 4 months. Whether you choose to use either of these methods or not, you'll want to be familiar with what's inside.

7) Lastly, I use this website to track the size and development of my baby week-by-week.

That makes a pretty good pregnancy reading starter kit. And again, I don't necessarily endorse anything in these books. But, they should help you feel like you're in the know.

Design Mom readers, help us out. Without advocating any particular type of childbirth or method of feeding (there are plenty of sites better suited for such conversation), please recommend your favorite pregnancy reads.

Baby Betty Grows

Betty is 6 months old today. Hooray for Betty! And doesn't she look adorable in this embellished onsie and matching felt shoes? A very talented lady, named Sarah Smith, made the onsie and the shoes and I am so delighted that Betty's big enough to wear them now.

I'm including a close-up of the onsie in case you're the DIY type. Sarah embroidered a piece of red felt with brown and yellow and orange, then machine stitched the felt to the onsie with red thread that basically disappears against the red background.

The shoes are a perfect match and are incredibly sweet — but I have no idea how she makes them, so no instructions on these.



Thank you, Sarah. What a fabulous baby gift.

The Perfect Platter

Today I'm thinking about what Erin's sure-to-be-fabulous Turkey should be served on. My current platter selection (a whopping 2 choices) is not going to cut it, and I'm hunting. I want something that feels really fall and harvesty and earthy. Possibly pewter, but I'm kind of leaning toward ceramic or earthenware.




So many beautiful options out there. I love this Provence Platter, this Emilia Platter, this Pearl Embossed Platter (in taupe), this amazing Green-Ceramic-set-in-Pewter Platter by Match.



Especially loving the Rustic Red Platter from Crate & Barrel. The price is right and the shade of red is the perfect one to go from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Not too orange, not too maroon.

Design Mom Giveaway Update

Could I be more excited about the tremendous response to the first Design Mom Giveaway?

Could I be less patient? Monday seems like a long way away. . .

And I'm so looking forward to finding out who the winner of the gorgeous Darlybird necklace and bobby will be.

It's not too late to submit your comment/entry.

Easy As... — by Guest Mom Girl con Queso

It's Pie Month at Blog con Queso. Because every month we celebrate recipes featuring and/or pertaining to something especially delicious. And this month, it's pie. 'Tis the season after all. Because with Thanksgiving right around the corner, now's the time of year to brush off your great grandmother's recipes and make a few. Pies. Because they're yummy. And they're easy.

And I've found that one of the best pie making motivators is a great pie dish.



I have a few Emile Henry pie dishes. And they're great.

But what I really want is something that looks like this.



I found this photo a while back at a pottery exhibit. But this dish was already gone. Urgh. So now, whenever I'm in a pottery shop, which frankly isn't that often at all, I always look for something like this. Something substantial. Something that looks like something my great grandmother would have used to make pies. But, to quote Bono, I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

I guess finding the right pie plate is about as challenging of a quest as finding the perfect pie recipe.

Have you found either?

When it comes to pumpkin pie, I think I have.

--------------

Below is my husband's favorite pumpkin pie recipe…and believe me, the man appreciates a good pumpkin pie.

I have a friend who made this recipe with a homemade graham cracker pie crust, and she liked that quite a lot. However, I usually don't make my own pie crusts, because, well, that's just better for everyone. I usually do use the Pillsbury refrigerated crusts that you unroll and set. I then cut small leaf shapes out of an extra pie crust to use for decoration on the top of the pie. I coat each cut leaf with an egg whites/water mixture and pop them in the oven for a few minutes until they're baked golden brown. After the pie is baked, I arrange those on top.

What's most interesting about this recipe is that you use softened vanilla ice cream instead of condensed milk. It's good. I'm telling you. But be prepared, it always quickly disappears.

James' Favorite Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 pints vanilla ice cream, softened
* 3 eggs
* 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie shells

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place ice cream near the warm oven to soften. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Stir in the pumpkin puree, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Mix in soft ice cream until smooth. Pour filling into two 9 inch pie shells. Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes, or until filling is set.

Note
To use fresh pumpkin, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Wash, and halve pie pumpkin(s). Scoop out seeds. Place pumpkin halves cut side down in baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until pumpkins are soft to the touch. Remove from oven, and let cool. Scrape out pumpkin meat, and puree in food processor or blender. (This can be done several weeks in advance and the puree stored in the freezer.)

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"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." Dr. Carl Sagan

Gorgeous Origami

Stumbled upon Cecilia Cotton's origami work recently. Apparently, she approaches origami as some kind of mathematical adventure. And while I'm certain I can't appreciate these mathematically, I also can't believe how beautiful they are.

I want someone to make me one so I can put it on my shelf and admire it.

Ms. Cotton includes links for instructions and mathematical descriptions of her work here.

Ask Design Mom: Holiday Neighbor Gifts

Love all the gift ideas happening on the post below. I'd been preparing an answer to an Ask-Design-Mom-Question that runs along the same theme. So I'll post it today and we can have a gift idea fest.

Lynn writes: Dear Design Mom, Love your blog! I am looking for holiday gift ideas for neighbors. Something inexpensive, non-denominational and maybe handmade/assembled with a toddler. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for your brilliance! —Lynn

Gosh, Lynn. Love the question. This one is on my mind as well. I can't guarantee brilliance, but I do have a few ideas:




1) Magnets
My sister, the mastermind at Oh Happy Day, first turned me on to these and they are out-of-control awesome as a make-it-yourself gift.

The best instructions I found are at NotMartha and that's where I got these 4 wonderful pics above as well. Read the full instructions, because she included helpful source updates at the end. In this project, toddlers could get involved with the sorting of the magnets and stones. Toddler artwork could even be showcased in the magnets — scribbles can be very post-modern.

2) Pineapple with Burlap and Ribbon
As Jenni so kindly mentioned in the comments of the previous post, one Christmas we gave out fresh pineapples as a party favor/neighbor gift. (My mom had given out pineapples one year when I was young and I always remembered and loved the idea.) Ben and I bought crates and crates of pineapples at Costco — they were about $4 each. Then we took 3 inch strips of burlap and wrapped the centers of the pineapples, then wrapped the burlap with red twine a dozen or so times — which made a really good-looking, random, criss-crossing pattern. Pineapples tend to look a little mean, and the burlap was more inviting to touch.

I don't know what it is about fresh pineapple, it's not hard to find, but it stills makes an exotic gift.

Bonus: crates of fresh pineapple make the house smell really yummy.




3) Sculpey Pins/Paperclips
I'm thinking about these as a neighbor gift this year. I posted on them earlier here. You can find directions here. This seems like a good toddler project, but in reality, there aren't too many steps where a toddler can get involved. Although, a toddler could sit next to you at the table and play with playdough while you worked and think they were absolutely involved.

4) Holiday Stories
Instead of Christmas Music Mix this year, record yourself/your spouse reading a children's book/holiday story and burn cd's of that instead. Try Gift of the Magi or The Grinch, or Olive, the Other Reindeer. Let your toddler pick the story or scan in your toddler's artwork for the cd cover.



5) Purchase some good-quality but unmarked soap, like this. Stack a few bars and wrap with a pretty paper. If you're so inclined, print out a custom sticker for the top and tie with some pretty ribbon or twine. In fact, it doesn't even have to be a sticker. You could just make a little card and twine could keep it in place on top.

You could use holiday paper and pick holiday scented soap — like pine or nutmeg. Or you could use a non-holiday paper paired with more traditional soap scents. Your goal is to have the package look something like the beautiful (but expensive) soap pictured above.

Toddlers could stack the soap, put on stickers. Don't want to put it together yourself? Jordan gives a source on the pretty soap above here.

6) Painted Spoons
Last year, I bought sets of wooden kitchen spoons at Target. They were $1 for three assorted sizes. They came in clear plastic packaging. I took each set and hand-painted the handles. Each one was different. I might do two inches of solid brown and then add a grass green polka-dot pattern to the brown. On some, I painted bands of 5 or 6 colors covering about 3 inches of the handle. They were time-consuming, but I loved the way they turned out. One recipient of the spoons dipped the painted portion into some clear polyurethane to increase their life expectancy, and I would probably make that part of the plan if I were to give painted spoons in the future.

When they were dried, I put them in their original packaging that had been trimmed so the painted ends could stick out. Then I ribboned and tagged. Geez. I wish I'd thought to take some pictures. . .

And I'm certain the fabulous readers of this blog will have lots of ideas to add.

Do Me A Favor — by Guest Mom Girl con Queso

If you ever meet me, it will probably take you about a minute and a half to figure out that I'm a complete sucker for a good party.

I'll also go ahead and let it be known here and now that one of my all-time favorite things about a really good party is an excellent party favor.

Can you imagine leaving an event with one of the fantastic pyramid favor boxes (above) from Dauphine Press? Just think what treasures could lie inside!

My friend Adrienne (who is the brilliant designer behind these birthday invites) often creates custom party favors for people. And I often watch her for inspiration. I've seen her make yummy cookies, like these from Martha Stewart (packaged in fantastic jars like these Gabrielle featured here); beautifully decorated pretzel rods; diva kits with custom bath soaps and fizzies; hand-painted onesies; custom stationery; and the long list goes on. The woman is amazing.


So I asked her for some help last week when I was charged with making party favors for a couples baby shower.

Now I generally find the couples shower to be a tricky beast—frilly pink baby gifts in one room, soccer playoffs in the other—but favors for a couples baby shower, a definite challenge. So I figured I'd give the varied guests a choice. Options. Selection. Memory books. Or chocolate.

Lucky for me, I found these extremely nice memory books and/or photo albums at,…wait for it,…the dollar store!!! With a little packaging and a custom label a la Adrienne, perfect.

And for those not on a low-carb diet…custom pink M&Ms!




Overall, I'll say the options were a crowd pleaser.

So hey, do you have a party favor favorite? Sometime you've received as you headed out the door?

(Probably my favorite of all time…a goldfish I received at a birthday party when I was about seven. It lived for almost two years. I think that's a record in goldfishland.)



Or what do you wish you'd received? And what would you put in that pyramid box up there?

(I'd suggest not a goldfish.)

Election Day

Vote today.

Then, make sure your kids know you voted today.

Let them wear red-white & blue so they can feel like they're taking part. Get a "My mom voted today" sticker they can wear.

I love election day.

Extra love to my Sister and Brother-in-Law (the original blogging Politician) who are both on the ballot today!

image via pictorial archive at gettyimages.com

BIG NEWS! Design Mom Giveaway!

Big day today. Guest Mom GcQ is in the house. And. So is the first Design Mom Giveaway! To thank all you lovely readers who have been spreading the word about Design Mom, I'm starting a series of Giveaways. Curious? Read on for your chance to win lovely loot.




Darlybird is giving the two very special pieces pictured above to the winner of the first Design Mom Giveaway. Wouldn't you just love to own this amazing Pink Retrolite Necklace? So sweet and sexy, it hits your collarbone in the perfect spot. The 1.25" x 1" pendant hangs from a 16 1/2" adjustable sterling-plated chain. And what about this stunning bobby pin? It's called the Sarah Dahlia Bobby and it's vintage from West Germany. A Darlybird exclusive and in my opinion, the perfect compliment to your Thanksgiving ensemble.

Luckily, they can both be yours.

Here's the low-down:
-To enter the contest, you just need to make a comment on this post. Any comment.
-You have from this moment until this Friday, November 10th, at Midnight (EST) to comment.
-The winner will be randomly picked from the comments and announced on Monday the 13th.

Contest FYI:
-You don't need to have a blog to comment, but any Anonymous comments will be ignored.
-One entry per person, please.
-New Design Mom readers are welcome to enter, so tell your friends and family.

If you must own the necklace and bobby this minute and can't wait until Monday, go ahead and buy them here and here, or check out the other amazing finds at Darlybird while you try to develop your patience.

Good Luck and Happy Commenting!


Design Mom Giveaway sponsored by Darlybird.

Coasting — by Guest Mom Girl con Queso

First of all, I'd like to thank Gabrielle for inviting me to the party. I'm really excited to be here. Really. Although, I must admit, I am feeling real pressure to represent all that is good, cool and designilicious. I mean, this is THE Design Mom's site. And a designer I am not. (Although I do work with many fabulously talented ones) All that said, I'm feeling a little like the clueless kid who brazenly snuck into the soiree. So. Thanks for offering me some punch.

And speaking of punch and its accessories, I'm sure most of you are fully aware that coasters are not just for beverages anymore. I discovered this a few years ago at Snow & Graham. And now, it seems they're completely the new black.

You can use them for any and everything.

Note cards.

Invitations.

Gift cards.

And the list goes on.





Almost three Christmases ago, I purchased approximately 100 impressively cool paper coasters for about $5 at Target's after Holiday sale. Think pub coasters with a mod design imprinted on the front. Red letterpress-style (although for that price, definitely not letterpress) with "Comfort and Joy", "Ho Ho Ho" and "Deck the Halls" written in white.

Then last Christmas, we decided to have a casual/come-and-go Christmas cocktail party, and I realized they'd be the perfect invitations. I pulled them out, scratched out some clever invite on the back, stuck each in a clear velum envelope, and we were in business. I used the excess as coasters at the party. Perfect. I still have a few left over, so I'm thinking this year the rest will be used as gift cards. Or something.

What different uses have you found for pulp board or heavy cardboard coasters?

What other interesting items have you ever used for invitations, notepads, gift cards, grocery lists, etc.?

I know you guys have some good tips, tricks, and brilliant tidbits to share. So, by all means, teach this party crasher something. Do tell!

Find the coasters pictured at: Snow & Graham, Plum Party, Paper Cup Design, & Sesame Letterpress.

Welcome Girl con Queso!

Can I just say I am so delighted to have Girl con Queso/Laura Mayes as a Guest Mom this week. I discovered Laura's blog from a clever comment she'd made on this blog and I immediately bookmarked her because I was laughing so hard. She's so smart and so funny and makes really cute birthday invitations. I asked Laura for some biographical tidbits and because she's an excellent writer, I'll just copy and paste:

"I'm a working mom of one...Harry The Hurricane...named because he was born in the middle of Hurricane Rita hitting us [here in Texas], and well, because he's very much all boy. He's definitely a one-year-old Hurricane who is into everything!

When I'm not hanging with the Hurricane and his wonderful father, who happens to be my fantastically brilliant husband, I'm a vice president at an advertising and public relations company. I'm madly in love with: music (especially brit pop), reading, cooking, traveling, and all things pretty. I have no design talent or expertise. At all. But I work with some fantastically creative designers, and I know good design when I see it. I'm constantly surprised by how little sleep I can function on, how much my son eats, and how many really good blogs there are out there."

In addition to her blogging talent, the other reason I'm so excited is because Laura is the first Guest Mom who I know exclusively through blogging. We've never met. Never talked on the phone. We've barely even emailed. It's a purely blogging/commenting relationship. I get such a kick out of how blogging expands and enriches my world — and I hope your world as well.

I'm positive you'll want to keep up with Girl con Queso when her visit here is through, so you can bookmark her here and get more details on her here.

For Carving the Turkey

Laurie at Upside Up sent me a link to these amazing knives by MKS Design. Everything on their site is sleek and severe. Very cool/industrial.

I understand the brochure for knives is almost as awesome as the knives themselves.

Rockett St George

I received an email this week from Jane of Rockett St George, an amazing site showcasing British Based Design. The online store is full of really beautiful and useful items — and some really amazing photography.

Jane Rockett and Lucy St George are two working mums with 5 children between them and know all about what works for mothers. Check out the funky slipper boots for kids. And their collection of gifts under 20 pounds (as in British dollars. How do I make the pound sign?), and their children's dinnerware collection.

So much good stuff. Those silver bowls have seeped into my soul, and I'm smitten with the kimono as well. Take some time to explore.

Don't Miss These Toys

Can't get these wonderful soft toys out of my head.

I know. I know. Enough love for Anthropologie. But just in case you missed them, because they were kind of hidden at the back of the catalog. . .

The Dysfunctional Fireplace

So Josh and Erin have a beautiful fireplace in their apartment, complete with marble panels and a carved wood mantle. Really, really pretty. But it's dysfunctional. The flue (sp?) doesn't work, has never worked, and has no plans for working in the future. We can't ignore it because it's the first thing you see when you come into their house. So to make it feel warm and cozy this winter, this is my solution:

We're going to stack some really beautiful aspen logs in the fireplace. Then we'll mark the tops of the logs in about 12 places and use a neighbor's drill press to make 1.25" wide x 1" deep holes at the marks. We'll put an inexpensive but nice-looking candle in each hole and the whole thing should give a pretty good glow without needing a functional flue — or requiring the sometimes difficult task of building a fire.

I like this solution because it's good-looking and feels like a fire without being cheesy. I like that it's inexpensive and easy to replace if it gets too worn. And I like the candles I found. I like the shape and I like that they're kind of industrial. I especially like that you can get them in bulk. Because for this to really work, Erin and Josh need to feel like they can light this up as often as they want and they're not going to run out of candles.

The goal is to have their house ready by Thanksgiving. Wish me luck. And if anyone finds similar candles at a better price, please let me know.

Ten Points for Anthropologie

Just flipped through the Anthropologie gift catalog (the one with the fishes on the front) for the dozenth time and am still a little stunned. Every page is dynamite. I've said this before, but this particular collection is so dang wearable. Sometimes Anthro catalogs are styled with a little too much ultra-hipster-fabulousness and leave me thinking, "Wow, beautiful stuff, but if I wear that to the grocery store/elementary school it's not gonna fly."

But not this collection. Every page is very doable and very gorgeous. I'm so impressed. Now I just need to check on the progress of the money tree the kids planted in the back yard. . .

Book of the Week: Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothes

This book was recently introduced to me by Laura, and it is a full-on hit. An instant favorite. Love, love it. Laura read it at singing time and the kids (ages 18 mos to 3 yrs) were in fits of giggles at the whole idea of these animals wearing clothes and how ridiculous that would be. "Animals should definitely not wear clothing...because it would be disastrous for a porcupine, because a camel might wear it in the wrong places, because a snake might get lost in it...."

Originally published in 1970, written by Judi Barrett and illustrated by Ron Barrett — neither of which I'm familiar with. The text is smart, the illustrations are perfect. I look forward to exploring more of their work.

Hard to find in hardcover, but worth the effort, because I'm predicting this will be a laugh-out-loud favorite at your house. Paperback available here.

The Awesomeness of Oscar

My 3 older kids all liked pacifiers for their first few months of life. Then, they discovered their thumbs and abandoned the pacifiers. But Oscar broke the mold. He didn't like pacifiers and he didn't suck his thumb.

Until Betty arrived.

A few weeks ago, he started taking her pacifier right from her mouth as a kind of joke. Then he experimented with chewing it for a few days. Then he figured out what it was good for. And now he's completely addicted and I have to track down 2 pacis all day long. Oscar will be 2 in January — just the age where you want to introduce a highly addictive comfort object.

Awesome.

Rusted Out Chic

I want one of everything at Quality Time Clocks. Great stuff and lots of choices. I always love good examples of vintage typography. From a company based out of New Orleans.

Thanks, Kathryn C!

Thanksgiving Tableware

We are seating 12 adults and 8 kids at our Thanksgiving Dinner this year. The kids table I've got mostly figured out, but the adults table is proving to be a challenge.

I posted earlier about taking stock of dinnerware in preparation for Thanksgiving, and I did take stock with limited success. I have 12 place settings of silverware, plus serving pieces, delivered and ready to go. But both my china and pewter need lots of pieces to complete 12 place settings and neither one are still being produced. I have found some of my china at replacements.com, but my pewter seems to be almost impossible to track down. So I'm looking at alternatives.

One idea I'm considering is using my pewter dinner plates, with my china salad plates, and buying 12 complementary bowls. I'm thinking the rooster bowls pictured might work. I know they're not turkeys, but the colors and textures and poultry theme still feel Thanksgivingy to me. Maybe I'll just go see what's in stock at TJMaxx. . .

Welcome November

I love Halloween for lots of reasons. It's such a great kid holiday. In fact, last night as we finished trick-or-treating we asked the kids which holiday they love more, Christmas or Halloween, and they had to think hard about it. There's something about planning and wearing a costume (and eating buckets of candy) that's pretty compelling for my kids. I also like that it is super fun for the kids, while requiring far less effort on the adults part than Christmas. But the thing I love most about Halloween is that it is the gateway holiday to the real holidays.

I can't believe how fast I had Halloween packed up and put away this morning. I am so ready to think about Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I don't have an orange and black storage box, but I could use one. Find it here.