Babysitting Poll

Lovely Design Mom Readers,

I'm working on a project and need your fine input. If you have two seconds, would you please answer these two questions? You don't need to comment, just hit the buttons below. The poll will allow each computer to vote once. You can vote through Friday, March 2nd.

3/3 EDIT: The poll is now closed. But you can see the questions and results below.

Yoon Kids Custom Wall Art

The idea behind Yoon Kids is super smart.

On their website, you can pick from dozens of drawings, then indicate how you'd like to customize your pick. Once you're happy, the images are professionally printed in one of two sizes and sent to you ready to hang on your wall.



They offer lots of darling images of kids doing just about anything and everything, but my favorites are their simple animal and nature images where you can customize the patterns, like this sweet bunny:

Ask Design Mom: 40th Birthday Watch

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
It is my husband's 40th birthday soon. I'd like to get him a watch — a really nice "fortieth birthday worthy" one that we can have engraved on the back. Something classy & simple, without all the extra gadgets that some have. (I'm guessing that anyone who actually has to chart an ocean voyage — won't do it with their watch.) Here's what he'd like in a watch, if that helps.
• Steel or titanium band (or black leather, but something more durable is better.)
• Perpetual motion (or a REALLY long life battery)
• It doesn't need to have a date, but if it does it needs to stay accurate (his last one didn't.)
• He has looked at and likes some of the Brietling watches.
Any suggestions? Tania.

Design Mom Answer:
Oh Tania. How great is this question! I love the idea of picking out a really nice watch for my husband, so I'm just going live vicariously through you for a moment. Since luxe watches are kind of a wide field, I'm going to stick with Breitlings. I'm also assuming Brietlings will have the technical qualities you're looking for, so (lucky me) I'm going to focus on how they look.

My favorite Breitling models are (not in any particular order):


Windrider: Chronomat Evolution


Professional: Sky Racer (love the little red arrow!)


Aeromarine: Chrono Avenger
The Aeromarine line has the simplest faces and less "not-likely-to-use-features" of the 4 Breitling lines.


Aeromarine: Avenger Seawolf
This is the simplest Breitling face. Very classic. But alas — I prefer a non-leather band.


Aeromarine: Superocean
I love the typestyle on this model, and I'm way digging the blue — a little funky and cool, but still conservative — plus, I like the name. Yeah. This is one is my favorite.


Aeromarine: Superocean Steelfish
I think a full prefer numbers to dots, but this is still gorgeous.

Dear Design Mom Readers, if you were picking out the perfect watch for your husband — pretend money isn't a factor for a moment, and just pick the ideal — what would it be?


balloon pic from Getty Images

February Giveaway Winners

At the end of each month, I like to feature the winners of that month's Giveaways. Hopefully this will help the Design Mom community make a few connections. Plus, it's always nice to get a little shout out. (It's all voluntary of course, If you're a winner and would rather remain relatively anonymous, I promise not to post about you.)

Check out these lovely ladies!!:
___________

Winner of the Moda Home Tablecloth:


Sarah Cool
Sarah Cool is a 25 year old blogger, living in lovely Cincinnati, Ohio. She works in clinical research, spending her free time with friends, family, and mentoring with Big Brother Big Sister and being involved with the high school ministry at her church. She is addicted to coffee and the color pink. Her roommate is a small black cat named Flora, who does not pay her fair share of the mortgage.

Play with your food

These soft food toys at Mahar Dry Goods have me charmed. So cute.

And I love the idea that not only do they not require batteries and make no obnoxious noises, they make no noises at all, not even tapping. And I don't think it would hurt very much if a two-year-old was to, say, whack a 9-month old repeatedly on the head with the waffle.

Ask Design Mom: Classic Girls Nightgowns

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Dear Design Mom, I have an almost 8 year old who refuses to sleep in anything other than nightgowns. However, I have a difficult time finding classic nightgowns. I know there has to be some delightfully sweet ones out there... Any ideas? Thanks, Stacey

Design Mom Answer:
What a great question, Stacey. And how much fun for me to find some great sources for traditional nightgowns. Although my own daughters crave snug-fitting cotton pjs, I love seeing them in classic gowns. They make me want to pull out the sponge rollers. Some of these sources you'll likely recognize, and some may be new. I hope this helps!

Possibly my favorite option is the robe and gown set pictured above from CWDKids. So girly and so classic.



If you're still craving something cozy, Vermont Country Store carries a flannel nightgown by Lanz of Salzburg in 2 sweet patterns.


I love this sweet, summery, English, hand-smocked option. Available up to size 14.



At Good Orient there are lots of pretty options. They list them as dresses, but I prefer them as nightgowns.


Garnet Hill Kids and Boden Kids both have similar nightgown options in up-to-date cuts.

How about you, Design Mom Readers? Where do you find classic girls nightgowns?

Sundance Bags

I've been looking for a big bag to haul everything I carry to church on Sunday — something larger than what I would carry for a handbag or diaper bag. I want something good-looking, easy to care for, and that will last for lots of years. It also needs to be a bag without alot of bells and whistles. I'd prefer something with no special compartments, one or no pockets, and no closure.

The bag I'm looking for would also be used for plane trips with the kids where I need to keep lots of stuff in one place.

There are a few options at Sundance that are beautiful.


The first one may not be big enough, but I like the square bottom.
soho slouch bag


leather big tote


malibu bag

Ask Design Mom: Seasonal Clothes Storage

I'm sensing that many Design Mom readers are itching for a little change in their lives. Possibly some spring cleaning/organizing instincts are kicking in. And they're making lists that will inevitably bring them to Ikea and Home Depot.

How do I know this? I received about one million (really good) Ask-Design-Mom questions over the weekend. So I'm going to attempt to answer one each day for the next little while and I'm crossing my fingers that you'll contribute your best ideas as well. Thanks in advance.

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
I'm a first-time mom of a ten-month old, and my daughter, Scout, is the happy inheritor of loads of clothes from older cousins. What I've never been able to figure out is how to gracefully store what needs to be stored and keep out the right size for now in an accessible (organised even?) way. Seems like there should be some smart system that allows moms to have the right sized clothes for the right season available, and not have to rummage through a big silver Sterilite box. There is absolutely no wabi sabi to stacked Sterilite boxes. Ideas? Thanks for the great blog. I check it everyday. Johanna

Design Mom Answer:
Thanks for the question, Johanna. And I feel you on the clothes storage issues. It's sort of an unexpected hassle in the first couple of years having a new baby. Although my dreams are filled with pretty closets like in the picture above, this is how I (very imperfectly) manage it:

First, I am hardcore about only keeping the best stuff. Sometimes, I've stored something of Maude's thinking it was so cute, and when I pulled it out for Olive it was all ratty and faded. Basically, I was storing the memory of a cute outfit instead of an actual cute outfit. So I suggest being pretty brutal when you sort through all those inherited clothes. If you're not going to love putting it on Scout, pass it along or donate it.

Also consider sizes and seasons. Once you have a handle on if your daughter is average size (does she wear 3-6 month clothes when she's 3-6 months old?) or not, get rid of everything that doesn't match up with size and season. What I mean is, if Scout is going to be in 6-12 month clothes during the winter months, and there is a really cute 0-3 month coat, well, too bad for Scout, the coat should not be stored.

Once you've pared the clothes down to just the really good stuff, my best success has come from using smaller containers instead of larger ones, making them less overwhelming to sort through. Because I put them in closets, I don't mind that they're in neat plastic boxes. I use smallish ones, and I use see-through ones. (Something similar to the 6 hanging ones in the picture above from the Container Store.) I designate the boxes like this: 0-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, and then 1 box per year. The first year clothes tend to stay in better shape so I split the year in two parts, but older clothes get pretty thrashed and there's less to store. Once my box is full, well that's that.

When the clothes are divided into smaller boxes, I know I can ignore all the boxes except the size she's currently wearing. I still have to do some sorting, but a lot less. At some point, when she's growing about a size per year, going through her wardrobe will be just like going through your own. You'll do it seasonally and it won't feel like so much management.

That's one way. Another way: I know a friend with lots of boys who doesn't store anything. Clothes just pass down from one brother to another until they're too thrashed and get thrown out. Also, somewhere in my head there is a vague memory of someone mentioning something about using a dresser to sort. . .

What are some more ideas?

Cards from Little Otsu

Look how happy these cards are? I should buy them and write notes full of compliments for my daughters.

Available at Little Otsu.

A Deliberate Home

If I was to come and take a look at your bookshelves, would their contents give me a pretty good sense of the people in your home?

Sadly, mine would give you a a kind-of pathetic portrait of who I was as a sophomore in college. You can read my ramblings on the topic at NY Metro Parents Blog.

photo from Getty Images

Some New-to-Me Blogs I am Loving

Holly's Plate
A thirty-something dishes on her attempt at a well-designed life. She updates about once a day with something cute and hosts "Anthropologie Thursdays".


Plain Jane Mom
I like her "Go Read It Today" posts where she links to interesting things she's seen that day.


My Topography
If you have a very serious artsy friend, she would make a blog like this. Writes about writing and being an artist. Beautiful photography. Isn't the header lovely?


Weekly Dinners
For my foodie friends, this one is pretty new but looks like it has great potential. And I love a blog that gives me menu help.

Spring Dresses for Girls at Target

Walking through Target last Tuesday, spotted these beauties for Maude. Didn't buy them because it's quite impossible to buy summery stuff when I have to scrape ice from the windshield to get to the store.

They'd be cute with a little tee or as a swimsuit cover.

Decor 8 Article

I really appreciated what Holly had to say at Decor 8 about taking some time to decorate your house:

"It seems like so many of us are buying things we see on blogs or that our friends like, that we're forgetting to cherish what we already have and just mix stuff in. Some homes are starting to look like people had no real history in them, like they just gutted and did a fresh slate makeover.

You can look at their pad and pick out everything you see, crediting it to this or that store, or as something you've spotted a hundred times already in blogsville. Unless you are 18, you shouldn't feel like you have to start from scratch. Look at Domino magazine as a perfect example. What makes the homes featured in their pages so envied? They feature real homes that were built over time. It's a good lesson for us, decorating shouldn't be an overnight process."

The post then referred to a house that was a good example of designed-over-time — a house tour on Apartment Therapy of a lovely home in Portland belonging to someone named Alicia. You can see the house tour photos here. Or see them as a slideshow here.

Custom Scents at Urban Botanic

Take a 10-minute personality test at Urban Botanic and they'll let you know what your ideal scent mixture should be. Then you can order your custom scent in a perfume, a lotion, or a bubble bath.

Here's my profile:

Apparently I'm a Woodsy. But just barely. It was almost a 3-way tie among Woodsy, Floral, and Leafy. These words bring the scent of Pine Sol to mind. Eeew.

Has anybody out there actually purchased their custom scent? Was it worthwhile? I'm so curious.

Ask Design Mom: Refridgerator Art

Keep the good ideas flowing, it's an Ask-Design-Mom double dose today.

Question:
Hi Gabrielle, I am a new reader to your blog — I found you through a link on my daughter's blog. Now I am a fan a faithful reader. I have a spare refrigerator in my laundry room that is located at the doorway. I am not able to close the door as the kitty litter is in that room as well. I walk by the doorway frequently and would like to look at the refrigerator and smile. Can you help me out with some refrigerator art ideas. I have no children at home. Thanks, Darla

Design Mom Answer:
Hi Darla, thanks for sending in such a great question. It's interesting for me to look ahead a bit and realize my refridgerator won't always be covered with notes from school and pictures of, or by, my kids.

I'm only going to offer up one idea, but I think it's a good one. Let's cross our fingers that all the lovely Design Mom readers will join in the comments with additional clever solutions.

The idea:
In the last year or so, there are suddenly dozens and dozens of companies that are producing vinyl wall art — both pre-made and custom. There are tons of choices and styles in premade decals/wallpapers and many are gorgeous. I've featured some of the child-like versions here at Design Mom, but there are more sophisticated options as well — think silhouettes of flowers and the like. Try sources like Greener Grass Design and modern seed (the sources of the 4 vinyls pictured) or do a search for "vinyl wall art".




And as far as custom vinyl goes, you can have pretty much anything you like cut in pretty much any color. What's your favorite poem or quote? Have the lettering cut in vinyl — in large letters — and use the words to fill up the entire fridge in a nice fresh green. Not a lettering kind of person? How about silhouettes of your children or grandchildren cut in various colors. For custom vinyl, try Vinyl Attraction or Graffiti Chic.

I hope this answer has you inspired, Darla. Good luck!

Ask Design Mom: Afforable Maternity Clothes

Ask-Design-Mom question:
Dear Design Mom, I am halfway through my third pregnancy and am looking to revamp my maternity wardrobe. Can you recommend some good, but affordable websites with maternity clothes? I liked an H&M shirt my sister sent me in pregnancy number one, but we do not have an H&M in my area. I love being pregnant and would like to look good as well as feel good during it. I'm tired of the tent-like shirts and tie in the back numbers. There have to be cool maternity clothes out there, I just don't know where to look and not spend a fortune. Thanks for your help, Amy

Design Mom answer:
Amy, congratulations on pregnancy number 3! So exciting, and definitely a good reason to get some new maternity clothes. There are so many styling pregnancy clothes these days — the tricky part is finding affordable ones.

Luckily, there are several really great things happening in fashion that are only a good thing for pregnant bodies. Flats are totally hot. Layered tees are totally hot. And wide-neck sweaters and tees — also great for layering — are totally hot. Here are a few guidelines that worked for me:

1) When I'm pregnant I feel best when I keep as close to my normal style as possible through the whole 9 months.

2) Since you like being pregnant, show it off! No more tents. Keeps things fitted instead. It's all about the bump, baby. I'm a fitted fan — forr as long as possible, I wear things from my regular wardrobe, like a basic graphic tee, layered over a solid maternity tee.

3) Which reminds me, while pants generally need to come from maternity lines, don't be afraid to shop for tops in regular clothes sections. Many non-maternity shirts could work through most of a pregnancy, like these:



4) I'm also a big believer in having less clothes, but liking the clothes you have. If you rotated only 5 outfits throughout your pregnancy, but felt really cute in each one, that's better than looking kind of frumpy in 10 outfits. This cute brown dress is only $20 at Old Navy. You could wear it once a week with cute boots while it's cold and pretty beaded or embroidered flats when it's warm. You'd be sick of it, but you'd look great every time you wore it:



5) Start with the reliably inexpensive clothes chains. Check out Old Navy, Target, Motherhood. Not all of their offerings will be great, but you can expect to find several good pieces at each of these sites/stores. The quality won't be great either, but who cares? They only need to last a few months. These are not investment pieces.

No doubt my recommendations are predictable and kind of blah, but hopefully there are some Design Mom readers out there with some secret sources and smart ideas they'll share with us.

pinstripe bermuda short ($20) and grey cardigan ($35) from Motherhood Maternity

Book of the Week: So You Want to be President

In our [very minor] celebration of President's Day last Monday, we made sure to pull out this book: So You Want To Be President, by Judith St. George. Illustrated by David Small.

We love this book like crazy. Even on non-minor-holidays. I totally wanted to be President when I was a kid and I would have lapped this book up. Smart, political-looking illustrations. Great bits of funny information on all the Presidents, but not the usual, boring stuff. Things like: you have a better chance of becoming President if your name is James. Or "You probably weren't born in a log cabin. That's too bad. People are crazy about log-cabin Presidents. They elected eight." The overall theme: anyone can grow up to be President.

If I remember correctly, Ralph started liking this book at age 7 or 8.

Extra bonus: you know how we dig Caldecotts at the Blair house.

widely available

Winner: Moda Home Tablecloth Giveaway

The winner of the Moda Home Tablecloth is:

Sarah Cool who said... "Ooh! Ooh! I love these. ESPECIALLY because they are cotton + machine washable." at 7:20 AM on Tuesday.

Congratulations, Sarah Cool! Please email me from the link on my blog with your shipping address and the name of the tablecloth you'd like.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway. Thanks to Moda Home. And thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed — more Giveaways ahead. Hooray for Giveaways!

What's a Design Mom Random Giveaway? Find out here.

Music Snobs

Recently, I had to answer a few questions about each of my kids for a church project. One of the questions was: What is his/her favorite music group?

Ralph, age 9, answered: U2.
Maude, age 7, answered: the Killers.
Olive, age 5, answered: Sufjan Stevens.

Am I raising the next generation of music snobs? You can read more of my thoughts on the subject at NY Metro Parents Blog

EDIT: For those of you who've asked me how to register and comment at NY Metro Parents, this is the 411:

1) Go here to register:
http://www.nymetroparents.com/nregister.cfm

2) Once registered/logged in, go back to the blog post:
http://www.nymetroparents.com/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=641

You can also access the blog from the NY Metro Home page where is says: "Read other parents' musings in our "blogger" network.

3) Click "post feedback" and leave your comment

Morrissey pic via bex at the new awesome.

Standing Laundry Baskets

Is it possible to fall in love with a laundry basket?

I was going to include these baskets as part of the Moda Home feature yesterday. But they were so darn cool that I thought they deserved their own post.



Speaking of Moda Home, you have until tonight (Tuesday) at midnight EST to enter the Moda Home Tablecloth Giveaway. You get to pick the tablecloth yourself — don't miss out!

The Laundress

Browsing some new-to-me blogs yesterday, I came across the lovely Holly's Plate and her post about the
The Laundress. Things like this are easy for me to love. I get a kick out of people or companies who understand how to make ordinary things seem precious.

And though I'm not likely to buy these luxe laundry products in bulk for my own family's everyday laundry, (I imagine we would go through a few bottles a week) I would definitely try their wool and cashmere shampoo, or their delicate wash.




I think pretty much anything they sell would make an incredibly cool house warming gift. Especially for someone moving into a place with their first washer and dryer. The gift sets are beautiful. But even a simple box of dryer sheets would be lovely to receive. Also perfect for a hostess gift.

Products from The Laundress come in four scents: classic, cedar, baby, lady. Something in the baby scent would make such a happy baby gift for that mom who doesn't need a thing.

One last Valentine Report: Juliane's Cookies

Remember the too-intimidating-to-actually-make cookies on the cover of this month's Martha Stewart Living?

Well. My dear friend Juliane made some. Apparently she's hard to intimidate. And the real life ones were even prettier than the ones on the magazine. And she brought them in a darling little box with a window-top so the cookies could peak through. And I intended to take a picture. But then I ate one. And then I ate the rest. And this was before I set the box down. So the picture is from Martha.

They were so pretty and so delicious. How blessed am I to have such a kind and talented friend?

Random Giveaway: Moda Home Tablecloth

It's a really good giveaway today. Enter now, and then take all the time you want deciding which REPRODUCTION TABLECLOTH FROM MODA HOME you'll choose if you win!

It's just like choose-your-own-adventure, only way better, with way more choices. If I was choosing, I'd narrow it down to these four beauties:




From Moda Home's Sliced Bread line, all tablecloths are 100% cotton and, because we're mothers, fully machine washable. Just the thought of them is enough to make my kitchen brighter already. Lots of Moda Home wares make me happy:

Look closely at these footed glass jars — how cute are they?


All kinds of happy dishtowels, but my favorite is this flour sack set of 4.


Plus, vintage reproduction fabrics. Plenty of good stuff to inspire a nursery.


Based in Dallas, Moda Home has been in the quilting and fabric industry since 1975. They use independent designers as well as an in-house design staff. I am more and more impressed when I see everything Moda Home is putting out there. I'm always happy when I find a company making faithful reporductions of classic textiles.

Moda Home sells exclusively to retailers, but you can find a list of stores that carry Moda Home in your area here. Thank you, Moda Home!!

-------------
Note from Design Mom: Dearest KITTY BALLOU, please email me. You won the last Giveaway! If I don't hear from you by Wednesday, 2/21, I suppose I'll need to give those gorgeous block-print towels to another lucky reader.
-------------

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Wednesday, February 21st 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, please.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Monday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

sk*rt

Way back in January, I posted about tools and sites I use to make the most out of the internet. I mentioned Digg, and said that if there was a Digg that had content for women (instead of for techie men) I would go there first everytime I sat down to go online.

There is so much that's smart about the concept of Digg. To summarize how it works:

The content is created by the visitors and users of the site. Anyone can easily register on the site. And once registered, anyone can post an item they think is interesting. By "post an item" I mean add a link to something on the internet, including a title and (very) short summary. By "item they think is interesting" I mean anything. Really truly anything.

-Someone might link to a really heartwarming essay on getting engaged they read on a wedding blog.
-Another person might link to a sale announcement they saw at bananarepublic.com.
-Or Banana Republic might link to the announcement themselves, and offer an additional discount to encourage people to their site.
-Someone else might link to a picture of their grandmother that is absolutely uninteresting to anyone but their mom.
-A person could link to a terrific time-waster site like Line-Rider.
-Or maybe someone might link to an excellent New York Times article on healthy skin.
-Perhaps someone (maybe you) might link to a smart idea you posted on your blog.
-My sister Jordan would probably link to whatever the new cool thing is from Kate Spade.

Posting an item in this way doesn't take long — maybe a minute — so it's easy for many, many people to post links to pretty much everything and anything they find online and want to share. As you can imagine, that makes for tons of content, and most of it, probably not that awesome.

That's where the fun comes in. In addition to posting links, visitors to the site can also rate any item — sort of thumbs up or thumbs down. All new items posted get put into an "unpublished category" but once they receive enough positive thumbs up, they get moved to the "published" front page. So each time you get to the site, the content on the front page has been filtered through all those users, and (here's the best part) the really excellent links are right there waiting for you.

The front page changes as people continue adding and rating links. In fact, as the number of users grows, the front page will have new and really great links every time you visit. Even if you visit every hour. You'll be able to feel in the know, all the time.

If you're the kind of person who is not likely to add links or rate links, you'll still find the site really useful because even without registering, you can use the front page to see what's cool that day. The internet is just too big for any one person to track down all the great stuff. So this kind of site creates an entire community to do the tracking down. And everyone who visits the site benefits.

And why am I so obsessed with the concept of Digg? Because I've heard through the grapevine, that a designed-for-females version is going to launch — soon.

Keep your eyes peeled for sk*rt.


embellished skirt shown above from anthropologie

Custom Silhouettes

Land of Nod is offering a wonderful service. Send in a picture of your child's profile, and they'll turn it into custom artwork. See the blue here. The pink here. Rad.

via factotum

Happy President's Day

My kids are out of school this week for winter break. Maybe we'll pull out the glue gun and make these cute penny lapel pins to mark President's Day.

Enjoy your day off!

Red Room

A dear and stylish friend gave me a subscription to Mary Englebreit's Home Companion Magazine for Christmas. I confess I was a little surprised — though Mary Englebreit is an acclaimed illustrator, she really doesn't seem like my style. But. I trust this friend's design instincts implicitly. So when I received my first issue, the February/March one, I checked it out. And have barely put it down since. It rocks.

One of my favorite articles featured a room painted red. The red was great, but the really brilliant part was that they hadn't gone white on the woodwork and had just kept everything in one color. I don't think I've ever seen another room that has done this. I found it inspiring. The third picture shows the non-red part of the room.

Another good idea in this room: the wall shown behind the stool was covered in red fabric, with a layer of cotton batting beneath. It functions as a bullitin board of sorts. You would use straight pins on it — like you're pinning fabric — instead of pushpins.

Yet another good idea: the dress on the mannequin is made from children's artwork photocopied onto larger paper. So clever.

I have a new found respect for Ms. Englebreit. Apparently, she's some kind of forward-thinking business genius.

Lace Tape

Remember Rockett St. George? I was just browsing their new wares and fell immediately in love with this lace tape. I have no idea what I would do with it, but I think I want some anyway.

Hostess Blog Giveaway

More Giveaway fun:
Hostess with the Mostess has just started her own surprise giveaways — and her first prize is a hostess package from the always fabulous Darlybird. Hooray for giveaways! Hooray for Darlybird!

Don't miss out. You can enter by commenting thru Tuesday 2/20 on HWTM giveaway post. Good luck!!

A beautiful Baby Journal

Awhile back I posted on an extravagant and beautiful baby book. In the comments of that post, Laura asked if I knew of a good-looking baby book that was more affordable. I'm delighted today to showcase another fantastic baby book — that's priced at a very reasonable $13.

"Nikki McClure's beautifully detailed illustrations divide this lovely baby journal into sections celebrating the first 1,000 days of life, from the story of birth to jumping into her first mud puddle.

Modeled after the journal Nikki herself started when she had her son Finn, the sections focus on recording a child’s interaction with the natural world, including baby’s first tree, moon, and garden."

What an excellent baby gift! Available at Sparkability.

Design A Snowflake

My recommendation for getting through an icy February weekend: design some snowflakes!

Warning: this is very fun — but addictive — for all ages.

Beehive Co-op

I'm so impressed with the concept behind Beehive Co-op. I grabbed this description right from their "about" page:

Beehive Co-op opened in Atlanta in 2004 to rave reviews. Atlanta Magazine reported, "It's a simple concept, brilliantly executed: Gather the cream of Atlanta's artisan crop and rent them booths in a former gallery space for a small fee plus four hours of work in the store per week.

The result. A well-edited collection of affordable, locally produced goods in an atmosphere with the thrill of a bazaar but the tidy merchandising and "cool quotient" of your favorite boutique".

Happily for those of us living outside of Georgia, Beehive Co-op is no longer exclusively Atlanta based. They're now offering the same concept in any community that's interested. If there isn't one in your community you can check out a selection of wares from assorted co-op artists at the Beehive Co-op online store.

Where did the morning go?

My apologies for the lack of posts this morning. My excuse is this: I've been working on a project that has taken me so far out of my comfort zone that it temporarily ursurped my entire life.

But I'm back. And I'll attempt to put up a few posts in the next couple of hours.

Giveaway at Blog con Queso

I've got some good news and some better news.

Good News: Girl con Queso has a Giveaway going on today. You know the drill, just comment to enter.

Better News: The Giveaway involves "super delicious champagne chocolate" from a easy-to-love boutique bakery.

I'll meet you at the Queso.

The Minimalist Family

It's a very cool day. I've got a home tour for you that will delight and amaze. Sara and Travis have kindly agreed to give us glimpse of their ultra modern, ultra sleek home. And. We get to see both the before and after shots.

Travis has been described as having "a near zen like aversion to excess." After seeing the pictures, I think you'll agree that's a pretty accurate description.

As is my custom, I'm going to feature a few of the amazing photos here, but to get the full picture take the photo tour here.




The extra amazing part: Sara and Travis are parents of two wonderful kids (Scout and Calder — love those names!) with number 3 on the way. Where in the world is the clutter?!!

This last picture is from the "before" house, but I love the texture of it. It's right out of an Anthropologie catalog photoshoot.

Apartment Therapy: Nursery

Apartment Therapy fans are in luck. A new AT has been born: Apartment Therapy Nursery.

Sure to be an inspiration to parents everywhere. Check it out.

Book of the Week: The Fantastic Mr. Wani

I first came upon The Fantastic Mr. Wani on an exploratory trip to the bookstore. I was looking for a gift and didn't have a particular book in mind. The cover of Mr. Wani caught my eye so I read it then and there and loved it immediately. It has become one of my favorite books to give.

The basic story: Mr. Wani is running late, trying to get to a party. He has lots of stumbles and lots of help along the way — including having balloons tied to his snout. The story is told in a very exciting way — perfect for 3 & 4 years olds. And adults will be drawn to the color scheme and illustrations. Both are fantastic. Hats off to Kanako Usui.

You can find Mr. Wani here.

Valentine's Day Revisited

My mom posted this rad picture on her blog yesterday. It made me so happy. This is me (circa 1980?) holding my baby sister Jordan. Or. For those of you who are in the blogging know, this is Design Mom holding Oh Happy Day.

This could totally be my daughter Maude holding her baby sister Betty.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I heart Design Mom Readers.

Were I able, my Valentine to you (inspired by the very wintery day here in NY) would be a pair of super-feminine, embellished slippers that you could wear while curled up on the sofa with a cozy blanket and a mug of steamy cocoa. And hopefully the slippers would make you smile and feel Valentinesy every time your feet peeked out from under the blanket.

Where are the kiddies in this scenario? Sleeping soundly of course.

Have a wonderful day!

Vacuum BBs

A darling friend recently brought me a jar of Meyer Lemon Vacuum BBs from Restoration Hardware. You add a handful directly to your vacuum bag. Or, more fun for the kids, you spread a handful of BBs around the carpet and vacuum them up. They turn your vacuum into a "scent-spreading diffuser."

Available in several scents, but it's hard to beat Meyer Lemon.

Valentine's Bookmarks

Ralph and Maude wanted to make (instead of buy) Valentines for their classmates this year. They ended up making bookmarks. We bought a stack of pre-cut bookmarks from the craft store. Punched holes and added ribbon. Then Ralph and Maude went at them with markers and colored pencils and cut paper. The "to" and "from" went on the back.

When Maude was getting distressed about 4 bookmarks in — because she was doing a lot of cut paper details and it was taking a long time for each bookmark — we pulled out the handy dandy Valentine stickers that Grandma sent last year and that have been waiting patiently in the Valentine box the whole time for their turn to shine. The stickers sped things up considerably. Though Maude was careful to set aside any bookmarks with "kiss" stickers to make sure they weren't addressed to any male classmates.

Both Ralph and Maude were delighted with the results. And so was I. As always, I'm a big fan of projects they can handle basically on their own.

Ask Design Mom: Kids' Art Supplies

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
Help Design Mom! We can't figure out how to organize our kids' art supplies! I don't want to use those catch-all plastic bin/drawer things, but we need to come up with something to (A) tame the clutter of reams of paper, notebooks, crayons, markers, stickers, paints, googly eyes, et al, and (B) keep it where the kids can get to it without our help (in other words, store it in such a way that it doesn't stifle creativity). Any and all suggestions (from you and your awesome readers) would be so greatly appreciated. I've only recently reached the end of my rope with our current non-methods. Thanks a million, in advance, Laurie

Design Mom Answer:
What a great question, Laurie. I'll bet 90% of moms have had to deal with art supply organization in one way or another. So I'll start, but I'm positive Design Mom readers will have loads of smart ideas.

At our house we happen to have an old built in pantry cupboard in the dining area that houses all kid's art supplies — Mom's art supplies are in a completely seperate space. The papers, a ream of white and a pad of construction, sit in neat stacks, and next to them are assorted bins for markers, crayons, feathers, glue, etc. Everything is on the lower two shelves providing easy access for all ages. Some of the bins are cute, some are practical. Some have lids, some are open-faced. Because I can hide it all behind the cupboard doors, I haven't had to think hard about my containers.

Aware that most mom's are not going to have access to a handy cupboard, I'd love to tell you about the best looking art supply storage I've come upon thus far:

In one home I saw a row of medium size galvanized buckets (similar to the ones pictured above) sitting happily in a row on a shelf. The buckets were maybe 7 or 8 inches tall, with handles, but no lids. The children of the home had done some quick and dirty decoupaging of the buckets with crepe paper, stickers, tissue papers, etc. Each one was bright and cute and random endearingly done by small hands. In the buckets went the art supplies.

The buckets actually made two rows. One row sitting on the shelf, and one row hanging above the sitting ones. The homeowner attached a wooden dowel to the shelf to make a hanging rod, then just slipped some s-hooks onto the rod and hung additional buckets using their handles.

The hanging buckets ideas is so clever — easily adaptable to a storage situation where cupboards or shelves are not available or feasible. Just hang a cute café curtain rod on a wall within your child's reach and hang the buckets there.

Not into decoupaging? The buckets would also be cute as their unadorned matte silver selves. Or, you could get them predecorated. The picture above is from a company who manufactures fabric covered buckets.



For paper storage, you could install a wall-mount organizer next to the café rod.

That's a start, Laurie. Now for the good stuff: Dear Design Mom Readers, how do you handle your art supplies?

Patisserie Card Company

It's not too late to go out and pick up a sweet something for your sweetheart. Maybe these darling cards from Patisserie Card Company will inspire you to get out the door.

Fresh Baking Cups

One of my first Ask-Design-Mom questions was where to find good-looking paper baking cups. And I'm delighted today to update my source list. Definitely check out Viking Importing Company.

The site photography is not in the stunning category, but put on your imagination caps and you'll be rewarded. Doesn't every pantry need some plaid baking cups? Or those hungry-for-spring tulips ones? Cute and cute and cute.

Valentine's Breakfast

At our house, the main Valentine's Day celebration happens at breakfast. I get up early and set a table the kids will think is elegant (read: I use linen and goblets). I light some tealights and sprinkle heart confetti.

The menu varies and can contain pretty much anything we might normally eat for breakfast, but with a romantic/heart/pink spin. The milk is blended with razzberries and something sweet. The waffles are topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. The toast is heart shaped. The pancakes have a few drops of red food-coloring added to the batter. Oatmeal is served with brown sugar sprinkled to form a heart. And I've yet to try it, but the egg-in-a-cookie-cutter idea would be perfect.

I also leave a small valentine/gift on each child's plate — and I mean small. A tiny box with some new lip balm/gloss for their coat pocket. Or a new beaded bracelet. One year it was a box of band-aids for each child. This breakfast is no stress for me and has turned into a perfect tradition for our family.



Other ideas I am loving:
In a conversation with some fellow mothers a couple of weeks ago, we exchanged Valentine's traditions from the homes we grew up in.

-One family would wake to find a Valentine surprise under their pillows.
-Another family gave a book (in lieu of candy or trinkets) to each child on Valentine's Day.
-In a third family, the father would bring flowers to each of the daughters — Mom would get a big arrangment and the girls might get a single stem. The mother would give something traditional, say chocolate, to the sons.

The flower idea was also something my own father did and I loved it. In junior high and high school, when it seemed like it would be wonderful to have a sweetheart on Valentine's Day, it was reassuring to know there would be flowers waiting for me at home.

egg photo and flower photo from Getty Images

Thank you Liz!!

What a treat it's been to have Liz Fuller as a Guest Mom this past week. She is inspired and inspiring. And what a romantic soul! — the perfect guest to get us all in the mood for Valentine's day. Thank you, Liz, for your thoughtful posts. We're so glad we can keep in touch with you and yours at Backwards Attraction.

For one last bit of Liz Fuller-inspired-eye candy, check out the beautiful jewelry at Superhero Designs. Liz referenced the designer behind the sparkly pieces in her post here. The tiny-disco-ball like necklace pictured above is called Angel.

A Liberal Gerbil

Type in "Gabrielle Blair" here, and you'll get a pretty extensive list of anagrams. But the best one by far, the one that really sums me up is: A Liberal Gerbil.

You know what they say: "All the life's wisdom can be found in anagrams. Anagrams never lie." What do your anagrams say about you?

[ And speaking of gerbils, check out the great shots at Tania's blog. Tania has been hamster-sitting over the weekend. ]

Winner: ArtGoodies Dishtowel Giveaway

The winner of the ArtGoodies Dishtowels is:

kitty ballou who said... "I like them. Yes I like them." at 4:41 AM on Friday.

Congratulations, kitty ballou! Please email me from the link on my blog with your shipping address.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway. Thanks to ArtGoodies. And thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed — more Giveaways ahead. And remember, you're all winners in Design Mom's eyes.

What's a Design Mom Random Giveaway? Find out here.

Inspiration: Live What You Love — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

Reading is the absolute last hobby on this earth I have interest in. Book reports always took me hours to write because I refused to read the book. I would skim pages and piece the story together the way I imagined it would go. Reading and comprehension tests bored me to tears, so I would read all the answers first and skim the paragraphs; looking for key words and never finishing on time.

That means one of two things, when I recommend a book it’s either a) super excellent because I actually finished it or b) you can’t really take my opinion seriously because I don’t have much to compare it to. I did only pick it up off the shelf for the bright orange cover.

Live What You Love by Bob and Mel Blanchard is a book that I read thoroughly and enjoyed. It made me shake my thoughts upside-down and remember that there are things that can happen in my life besides the daily routine. The stories of this family living a happy and unusual life were the most amusing and inspiring thing I had ever heard about.

They walk through a series of decisions they made to chase their dreams. Some didn’t always work out the way they planned and HEY! They are still alive to tell about it! And guess what, many of their adventures have worked out quite successfully. They own their own restaurant on Anguilla Beach and have a home they visit in Vermont, which they built themselves.

The book reassured me that it’s alright to not follow the normal pattern of life everyone else follows. It’s okay to have unique ambitions and interests. It also got me thinking about what dreams I have, once I let go of all the negative barriers that suppress them. What am I good at, what do I want to be good at? What have I always wanted to do, but felt it was not practical, or worried I would fail? We all have these lists that we need to revisit. I know that every person on this earth is blessed with talents and abilities. We don’t always know what they are, so we get to follow our interests and try them out. It’s hard to form that list again, so think like you did when you were young. Long before your mind was molded into a template of life’s traditional patterns.

Some interests may not be a talent. As much as I love to skateboard, I am not talented at it. I am incredibly uncoordinated, so I accept it as a mediocre hobby I visit when I feel like it. I look for something else to spend my free time on that provides more reward and progress.



Learning to play the drums is something I always wanted to do. Among all the items on my list, this was the one that excited me the most and made the most sense to pursue in my life at the moment. I knew a talented drummer that would be willing to give me lessons for a fair price. I knew it didn’t take too great of a commitment, 15 minutes of practice a day and a 1 hour lesson once a week. I knew I could purchase a used drum kit and had space for it in my home. I knew I could make it work.

I also knew I wanted to have more children in the future and the window of time I had before another one came along would be enough time for me to learn the basics of drumming easily. I know that when another child would enter the family scene, there would be less time for me to indulge in drumming. I couldn’t allow this dream to be delayed any longer. After my first lesson I knew this was something I had a knack for and couldn’t wait to play again.

I now play in a three piece band every week. I will continue to develop this skill within the realistic time schedules my life allows, and that I seek to carve out for my soul. I simply love playing the drums more than I ever imagined.

What do you love?

Live it.

Marimekko at Crate & Barrel

I was in Crate and Barrel on Wednesday coveting their new Marimekko line of linens. This particular pattern was first created by Marimekko in 1970, then reissued recently in of-the-moment colors. I want to make my bed in them today, then crawl in and sleep until spring.

I hold an extra-special place for Marimekko in my heart because when I was a child, my mother used the Marimekko car pattern to make quilts for my brothers' room. Because of those quilts, Marimekko was the first textile design name that stuck with me and that I watched for.

A few things. . .

Laugh at this super-funny, super relateable post at Upside Up.


There is beautiful post about her Grandfather up at Oh the Joys! Really, really nice.


Very cool news: Design Mom made the top 5 finalists list in the Best Design category of the Share the Love awards. You can vote for your favorite finalist in each category anytime through February 14th. And thanks to each of you who helped Design Mom make the finals. I'm definitely feeling the love.

Also, just a REMINDER that you can enter the ArtGoodies Dishtowel Giveaway until Saturday (2/10) at midnight EST.

February Date Night Ideas — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

Each year my husband and I alternate making the Valentine’s Day date plans. These are some of our ideas, please add your ideas in the comments section!

Dinner: This should be carefully selected well in advance. Our favorite place we have been together is Paris, so we always fall more in love at French Restaurants. Get a Zagat Guide at any bookstore or scan Time Out Magazine for your local city. These tools rate the quality of the food, type of atmosphere, cost, and information to call should you need reservations. (If you plan to head into NYC and need help, I would love to recommend some of our favs).

Activities: If you want to do something different, check with your local Museums. The Museum of Modern Art in New York has a naked scavenger hunt. The art is naked, not the contestants.

Symphony, theater, or opera.

Once we did a handsome cab ride through Central Park. I imagine most cities with a lively downtown atmosphere would have something similar. I told him to meet me on the corner of a certain intersection and he had no idea we would be whisked away by horse and buggy!

I adore picnics at night, complete with candles in jars and blankets. A beach, scenic overlook, or park could be nice spots. If it’s cold, bring extra blankets and a thermos with hot chocolate. Dessert at a fancy place to warm up afterwards might be a nice end to a romantic evening. Morton’s Steak House has the most delicious options (for dinner or dessert, really).

Weekend get-a-ways! Staying at a bed and breakfast set the mood like nothing else.

[ Design Mom note: Tiny (1/2 inch and 1 inch) needle-felted hearts available at Purple Petunia's Etsy shop. So cute to slip in someone's pocket! ]

Giveaway: Dishtowels by ArtGoodies

Remember the amazing dishtowels I blogged about a couple of weeks ago? Well happy day! They're now up for grabs in today's Giveaway. The winner gets to pick ANY 3 BLOCK PRINT TOWELS BY ARTGOODIES!!! Any 3? How will you ever choose?

These towels are gorgeous. Hand-printed. Lovely. Let's look at some pictures and be happy:







Made by printmaking artist Lisa Price, you can throw these block printed towels right in your washer and dryer — they won't run or bleed. From Lisa's profile: I love the color reduction process and find it very meditative. My images are botanically based. I study a lot of old biology and plant books. I am particularly interested in the cross sections of plants and the body. My kitchen towels are my new project combining my love and need for printmaking, fabric, and home items.

I say Cheers to Printmaking! and Cheers to Lisa! Your towels are beautiful — your aprons too. And because of technical difficulties this morning, entry comments will be allowed on the Giveaway until Saturday, February 10th at Midnight EST.

Thank you, ArtGoodies!!

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

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Saturday, February 10th 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, please.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Monday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Inspiration: You are a Superhero — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

Since I have become a mother, I have done a lot of soul searching about who I am, what talents I possess, and what I have interest in. I had spent so many years enjoying my career and working long hours, I didn’t have time for hobbies or new interests. This made for a bumpy transition into Housewife Culture after I had my baby. While I am grateful for the scrapbook get-togethers I am invited to, it’s just not something I am good at.

For a long time I worried that I didn’t fit the typical mold of skills my peers seemed to have. Why can’t I cook and why do I loathe it? I get in and out of the kitchen as fast as I can. I can’t be crafty to save my life and I really could not see myself in Cookie Lee jewelry. Mary Kay, no thanks. Tupperware? I get my food containers from Ikea and I don’t send thank you cards like I should, so stamp club would be a waste of time for me. So what does a housewife like me do to grow?

Instead of being sad about it, I decided I would love and respect my friends that enjoyed those things. I would ask them for tips on projects or recipes and enjoy the experts on hand that were willing to share their knowledge.

Letting go of the guilt of having different interests and talents, it gave my soul some room to breathe and took the pressure off of trying to be something I am not. I remembered the joy photography classes gave me in college; it’s one of the few creative outlets I don’t completely suck at. Then I found immediate inspiration from Superhero Designs, by Andrea Scher. She designs jewelry, paints, photographs, is a life coach, and inspiring new mommy. Her Creative Business Guide will change your life.


I read something that changed the way I thought about my shy aspirations to be a photographer. I can’t seem to track down her exact quote (!), but it read something to the effect of:

Don’t be afraid you aren’t good enough. You will never get better if you are too afraid to try. You will have mistakes, but you will also learn from them and cannot get better at taking pictures any other way than doing it.

Those were the words I needed to hear that inspired me to dust off my camera and try, learn, fail, succeed, and smile. I called some friends and took their family pictures for free. Word got out that I wanted free practice and my lack of options for a portfolio was no longer an issue. My confidence and creativity grew leaps and bounds. I eventually got some paid clients and took Superhero advice to ‘charge a little more than I am comfortable with’.

Her website, my supportive friends, and my husband really paved the way for me to experience being a freelance photographer, a dream I had since High School.

Faerie Tale Theatre — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

I don’t have an affinity for every Disney movie that ever was. I didn’t really grow up watching Disney movies and perhaps by the time I did see them I was too old and thought they were lame. My son loses interest quickly in some of them, unless Pixar is involved.

As a child I don’t recall being drawn to a specific movie or cartoon character. I do, however, recall classic fairy tales I watched with all my cousins at Grandma’s house.

They were enchanting stories with true, believable actors (Reeve, Sarandon, Minelli, Hines, Broderick, Crystal), amazing costumes, and outdoor sets. It was like a bunch of mini Princess Bride movies. Tim Burton was one of the many talented directors used for this Showtime series of the 80s.

Shelley Duvall produced them and added twists and turns in the storytelling plots. I vividly recall Rumpelstiltskin the best. It had me on the edge of my seat waiting for the dramatic ending of riddle and trickery to come to a close.

Hansel and Gretel was another favorite that had me so engrossed in the story, I wanted to jump into the television screen and rescue the poor little boy from being cooked!

I plan to get the entire collection to have family time together watching them on Sundays and eating popcorn before we all part ways for the busy week. I always imagined as a child that I would have family entertainment such as this for my children to enjoy while dreaming about the stories and growing their creative imaginations. It’s truly magical entertainment I can’t paint enough colors about. Buy it here.

Book of the Week: I Like You

Jordan posted about this book yesterday, but I think it needs an extra little shout out. And I can't think of a better selection for the Book-of-the-Week right before Valentine's Day.

My excellent freshman dorm roommate, Renae, introduced me to this book and it was my favorite gift to give for a year or two. The whole book is only about 6 inches square, so it feels gift like. The writing is smart and sweet. My heart-strings tug reliably when I read it.

From a perfect review on Amazon:
"Written in 1965 by Sandol Stoddard Warburg, it still makes the perfect present for your best friend. Not just any run-of-the-mill best friend, though. This book is for the kind of friend who yells for you when you get lost in Grand Central Station or pretends to save you when you pretend to be drowning. I Like You is simple and quirky, uses words like "snurkle," and is laden with delightful Maurice Sendak-style pen-and-ink illustrations of alligators dancing, lively children, mirth, and general goofiness."

Give a copy to your sweetheart or friend or child on February 14th, or just because everyone should have a copy.

You can find it here.

JT

I'm having a slow start this morning. I slept in after a late night watching JUSTIN BRING SEXY BACK!!!

He is the real deal.

Lee Lou Ann: THE day

I think I'm probably more excited than Roxcy or Jonah will be. This is so awesome.

Big Apple Parent Magazine

So I've been invited to be a contributor at the NY Metro Parent's Magazine group blog. I just sent over my bio and picture over the weekend, and my first post went up today. You can find it here. I'm pretty excited about the whole thing, and delighted to be associated with such excellent fellow bloggers.

I hope you'll read my posts and I hope you'll comment so that I know my words haven't evaporated into the nothingness.

kisses,
Design Mom

Final Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

If your lover isn’t into sweets, perhaps a Cheese of the Month club would be more suitable. IGourmet.com offers 3, 6, and 12 month options to have different cheeses delivered — 3 wedges of different kinds of cheese — at about the same time each month. The beauty of a monthly gift idea is the opportunity it provides to invite friends over. Just have your guests bring different crackers to share.

You can also make your own cheese basket. Trader Joes or Whole Foods always has a great selection of fine cheeses from around the world. Your own selection carefully presented in a basket coupled with a card promising to fill it for a few months, could be a less costly idea. Just don’t forget to follow through on your shopping end of the deal.



Of course roses are the most common flower delivered on February 14th, but perhaps there is a more sentimental flower to select. Think about your honeymoon or special vacations you have had. Is there a flower that will spark romantic memories? As our honeymoon was in Hawaii, I ordered orchids one year to be delivered to my husband’s office. I requested a container that would be on the masculine side of the spectrum.



Another idea for a tropical memory could be a pineapple fruit basket from Cherry Moon Farms. Don’t be shy about talking to the delivery service about customizing the order to include specific fruit you ate on your trip.



I would be remiss if I didn’t include Harry and David, source of the most delicious gift basket I have ever received. Pears and Moose Munch would be a dreamy treat and the last of my post about gifts.

Rachel's Romantic Retreat

Cynthia's home tour, posted last week, was so inspiring that more Design Mom readers have volunteered to share their homes (yeah!). Today, I'm featuring Rachel's house because it's romantic and feminine and charming and the perfect place to live with Valentine's Day around the corner.

When Rachel sent the lovely photos of her house she mentioned, "I wish I could narrate these, because literally everything we have either painted or stained. Nearly ALL soft goods you see, like bedding, window treatments, fabric on furniture, I made. The little loveseat in the light pink room (our morning room, or we call it the sun room) I got FOR FREE from someone on Freecycle. Spent literally $20 on fabric for it and about $5 for the trim. Added a couple pillows and a throw. SWEET!"

We're so happy you shared, Rachel. I'm going to showcase of few of my favorite shots in this post (check out that stunning piano!), but you can find the whole photo tour here.

Valentine’s Day Gift Idea #3 — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

My final attempt at encouraging Design Mom readership to lick the computer screen is Fannie May Candy.

This is a less exclusive brand, but gourmet and special to my heart. It’s a family love going back a few generations of Chicago dwellers, where I was born. The first store was opened there and is still widely loved by those in the Midwest.

Fannie May Pixies are their best seller and a personal favorite.


The Mint Melt-A-Ways are nothing short of amazing and my most favorite chocolate in the entire world. The only thing can come close to this outstanding flavor is the mint fudge at Disneyworld.


Fannie May is even more awesome by letting you create your own assortment box on-line. Or you can trust their packaged assortment; I assure you it will not be a disappointment.


And really, don’t just hope for a box. Simply send an email with these websites to your Valentine with a loving suggestion. Or order something for yourself. You deserve it!

Glug — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

In terms of birth order, I am the younger of two girls. This means that I basically had hand-me-down clothing most of my childhood. I honestly didn’t pay any attention to what other people were wearing in comparison to me until Jr. High. That’s when I knew I needed to take action on my worn-out, dated look.

My sister was in High School and took to shopping at Contempo Casuals and Express, clothing that she dry cleaned and never got passed down into my hands. No big deal. She left for school earlier than I did each morning. This meant I was able to institute a stealthy operation of wardrobe stealing, I mean borrowing! Each day I did a quick switch-a-roo when I got home before her in the afternoon. This then carried on into my High School years while she began college and all was going smoothly. That is, until we both arrived home from our respective dates one evening while I was wearing her clothing. My date must have thought it odd how quickly I ran out of his car and up to the front door while she was giving her date a goodbye kiss. That was a close one!

I decided that when I have my own children, I want them to have their own fresh clothing. Nothing expensive, just a basic collection of cool colors that mix and match well and aren’t old and faded.

For each transition to a new size for my son, I tend to have a fancy (i.e. Christmas) outfit and a really cool outfit I love. The rest is whatever I can pull together from H&M, Old Navy, Target, and the sale rack at Baby Gap.

Then I fell in love with Glug Baby, something that is not necessarily in the price range I prefer for my son’s t-shirts, however, sometimes exceptions need to be made.

Have You Checked out Daysitter?

I heard from the lovely folks responsible for Daysitter, Cookie Magazine's online blog. They let me know they're adding Design Mom to their sites-we-like list.

Thanks for the shout out, daysitter, and thanks for keeping me in the know with your excellent blog!

Sally Jean

I'm charmed by the extensive work of Sally Jean: Collections. Gallery.



I'm loving pretty much everything, but the Princess collection, (I'm only showing 3 of many) designed both back and front, have me smiling this morning.

Valentine's Day Gift Idea #2 — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

Vosges is about as sexy as chocolate can be.


The Exotic Truffle Collection contains perfect little circles of decadence, topped with hints of what awaits your senses inside. The exterior packaging is as though you are opening a sneaky gift of lingerie, complete with satin bow. Every piece is an exciting adventure to be slowly seduced into your mouth.


The Aztec Truffle Collection is filled with cacao and chilies, potent aphrodisiacs. As strange as it sounds to combine these ingredients, I can attest that they are delicious and give a little spark to the evening.


Carmel, although not very exotic, is my favorite partner for chocolate. I would have to say if I did my own gift purchasing this year it would be a box of these lovelies: Wink of the Rabbit Carmel Collection.


I am not a marshmallow lover, but the Vosges catalogs we receive always take my breath away when I turn to this image of the Carmel Marshmallow.

Giveaway Winner: Spongy Feet

So many comments — what a great reponse!

The winner of Spongy Feet Blanket and Burp Set Giveaway is:

Michele_3 who said... Absolutely Gorgeous! Maybe my lucky day?? at 11:18 AM on Friday

Congratulations, Michele_3! Please email me from the link on my blog with your shipping address.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Giveaway. Thanks to Spongy Feet. And thanks for reading. Keep your fingers crossed — more Giveaways ahead. And remember, you're all winners in Design Mom's eyes.

What's a Design Mom Random Giveaway? Find out here.

Silk-screened Table

Seeing the Julian Chichester coffee table made my day. Silkscreened and gilded. Also available as a side table and console table. So yummy.

Valentine’s Day Gift Idea #1 — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

The Sterling Truffle Bar is at the top of my giving list for this month’s sweet celebration of love.

It’s a truffle bar triangular in shape with colorful, hand-painted chocolate design. I love how sophisticated and unique they are with creative flavoring options to suit anyone with a sweet tooth.

James Reid is the creator. He was a professional chef for 25 years and lucky for us, his talent connected perfectly with his love for artistry and experimentation to result in this tasty treat.

I hear they are sold at Barney’s and exclusive chocolate shops across the U.S. in addition to being available to order on-line through their website.

White Chocolate Raspberry and Peppermint is a top pick:


Pineapple Ginger Macadamia Nut is most colorful:


Double Hazelnut Carmel has hearts on it, so appropriate for February:

Last Day to Vote

February 6th (tomorrow/Tuesday) is the last day to vote for Share the Love award nominees. I'm heading over there now. The nominee list has been so fun to go through — looking for and finding excellent blogs.

A big thanks One Woman's World for organizing the event.

VDay — by Guest Mom Liz Fuller

The first thing I want to tell you about myself is that I am generally not a materialistic person, even though this story will make you think differently.

My first Valentine’s Day with this great guy (who ended up becoming my husband) was a learning experience. He made secret plans that kept my heart leaping all week, imagining the most romantic thoughts a girl could muster.

We travel from our respective homes early one morning to a town further north. We are going to stay with his sister, her husband and their new baby. Not quite what I was expecting. I must admit, it was nice to feel I was important enough in his life to have her meet me. I have to also add she’s pretty cool, so it was never awkward and their hospitality was top notch.

The next morning he tells me the plans: FOUR WHEEL DRIVING in his jeep. Oh, how the romance is killing me. Surely, I thought, there has to be more. Well, there is, just not for me. We get back to his sister’s home to see a dozen beautiful roses sitting on the coffee table in a vase. But they aren’t for me, they are the sister’s. I stare at them all weekend with my dusty pants and wind-blown hair.

I know there was dinner, but I don’t remember where or what I ate. I was too focused on the roses that weren’t mine to appreciate his company. I took for granted his efforts of being my Unusual Valentine.

BUT this week isn’t about my lesson learned. After the trip we had a conversation. Yes, the ‘flowers die’ argument was raised, but I fought back with the emotional “they really are a warm gift every girl enjoys getting”. Ever since my Valentine has come through for me and his creative ways inspired the ideas I will share with you this week.

My Brother-in-Law

Remember when your genius brother-in-law spoke at that major conference, Personal Democracy Forum, with Craig of Craig's List and Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post and Thomas Friedman author of The World is Flat and a bunch of other amazing people?

That's what you'll get to say to me when this conference is over. Click here and watch the photos change until it says: Steve will be there. Will you? And then think Steve is cool. And then check out his blog.

Go Steve!!

I love this Week!

This is going to be a really, really good week here at Design Mom. First of all, we've got Guest Mom Liz Fuller from Backward's Attraction.

One of the first bloggers in my neighborhood, Liz's consistent and excellent writing and consistent and excellent photographs have inpsired slews of women to start their own blogs. But inspiring people is just something she does whether she intends to or not — like when she started drum lessons and trying-out-for-bands a year or so after her son was born.

Liz Fuller is living in the East Bay after 8 exciting years in New York. She enjoys her husband and son while battling food aversions with her current pregnancy. She loves to photograph people, play her drums, ask questions, meet new people, speak in public, eat Skor candy bars, and laugh hard.

Liz and her lovely family are sorely missed here in New York, but we are encouraged when we think about how San Francisco benefits by their residence in that lovely town. Welcome, Liz!!!



Second, a winner for the Spongy Feet Giveaway will be announced tomorrow. If you haven't entered already, you have until tonight (Monday 1/5) at midnight EST.

Third, I have a feeling there will be another Giveaway very, very soon.

And fourth, a couple of quick announcements. Now that New Blogger is out of beta, I've switched and can add tags/category labels. I don't know if and when I'll label my previous 450 posts, but at least from this point on finding topics should be easier. Also, starting this week, the Guest Mom's photo and a link to their blog/site (if applicable) will be in the righthand margin. Change is good. Enjoy.

Design Mom Giveaway — Spongy Feet Blanket & Burp Cloth

Happy Friday Design Mom Readers! And Happy Giveaway as well. Enter your comment pronto to win a glorious BABY BLANKET AND BURP CLOTH from Spongy Feet!!




Luxe chenille meets up-to-date-yet-retro-prints equals pretty for mom and super-soft for baby. I am delighted when I consider how far baby products have come in the nine years since I had baby numero uno. These are gorgeous! I'm dreaming of a lap size one to throw on the couch. . .

Check out the full collection here and check out the fabric collection here. Then check out these pictures, they are too yummy:






In addition to blankets in two sizes and burp-cloth sets, Spongy Feet also offers very stylish bibs. If you don't win, be of good cheer — you can find Spongy Feet blankets at these fine retailers.

And for a little bit of extra fun, you've got all weekend to enter this Giveaway, plus Monday as well. So tell your friends, because they'll definitely want in on this one.

One last thing: Sara, the legend behind Spongy Feet — but apparently walking on firm ground herself — is a fellow blogger. When she's not up to her ears in stylish baby blankets you can find her contributing at Tales from the Crib.

Thank you, Spongy Feet!!

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

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight EST on Monday, February 5th 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, please.
-Winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Ask Design Mom: Baby Shower

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
My friend Amanda is 4 1/2 months pregnant and I thought it'd be good to start thinking about her baby shower. She is due in June. I'm wondering what you think about themes and gift themes and games for baby showers. I want her shower to blow the guests away. Thanks! Sincerely, Abigail Rose

Design Mom Answer:
Oooh! Baby Showers are the best. It's an opportunity for a gathering of great friends and can be as elegant as you please — because it's pre-kids. There are a million great ideas out there — many of them based on the handy knowledge that ultrasounds provide. I'll keep the ideas here neutral.


One idea I love is a tea-party. Jordan of Oh Happy Day hosted one recently and it was so pretty. (Look up "shower" on Jordan's blog for lots of pictures and ideas.) Find/beg/borrow some gorgeous china. Make delicate sandwiches and shortbread cookies. Decorate with fresh flowers in small, tight arrangements. Serve rasberry tea to the expectant mother to get her ready for labor. If you can find an antique english baby buggy, decorate with ribbons and put on display to hold the presents. If the invitation list includes enthusiastic sorts of people, ask them to wear dainty gloves and hats. Send guests home with a beautifully packages box of chamomile tea to relax them after a day thinking about babies.



I would love to throw someone this this French Country shower showcased at Martha. "This shower theme was inspired by the French countryside in summer, where the fields are carpeted in lavender and the sky is nursery blue." You can read about it and see more pictures here.


Another great idea is a Baby's Library party. Guests can bring their favorite childhood picture books as gifts and for the activity you can read a few aloud. Decorate with stacks of thick volumes which you've temporarily covered in gorgeous, printed, pastel papers — remember covering your textbooks in high school? Same technique, but much prettier. Guests can recommend additional favorite books on a stack of elegant cards. Invitations can be designed as bookmarks.


I also love the idea of a Nesting theme. Mom will definitely be nesting as her due date approaches and this party will be entirely appropriate. Keep the invitations and decorations bird-themed — easy to do right now with birds available on every conceivable drygood. The favors can be tiny faux nests filled with pale jordan almonds.


If this celebration was for a mom with other children or a mom who has had multiple showers and is well-stocked with supplies, I would recommend a Pampering Shower. Keep the focus on mom. Set her up on a comfy couch or daybed with lots of pillows. Bring her an early gift of luxe pj's and robe so she has something elegant to lounge in. Have small silver platters of fresh fruit and good chocolate around the room. Bring in a stylist to give mom-to-be a mani/pedi while she rests. Place baby name books around the room to prompt conversation. Pass around a luxurious journal for the guests to record a compliment about some aspect of mom-to-be's mothering style — to build her confidence up before the new baby joins the clan. End by taking her other kids for the afternoon so she can have a nap.

Because the baby is due in June, you could consider an Everything is Coming Up Roses party. Deck the house in roses. Send small pots of miniature roses home as favors. On second thought, since your last name is Rose, maybe this party would seem like it's about you. We'll save this idea for later. . .

Well, Abigail, I hope those ideas get you inspired and I hope Design Mom Readers will add their own brilliant ideas in the comments. Best of luck!

Photos from Martha Stewart.

Ess and Jae

I just found my new favorite stationery line: Ess and Jae.

Go browse their collections. Seeing their work will make you happy for the rest of the day. I'm showcasing a few of their more Valentinesy pieces because, well, it's February.

Oh. And I'm super curious about their Paper Society. Seems like the kind of gift a certain Design Mom could really get excited about.





Not love-y, but so cool that I'm in love.

Smith & Hawken Garden Party

So I make it into Smith & Hawken maybe once a year. But I wish I went more, because it's always so darn pleasant there. I just received their Garden Party mailer yesterday and there are 4 things I fell in love with.

I don't actually need any of these, but I would love to know that a lucky someone owns them. So if you decide to pick them up, let me know. It will make me smile to know they're brightening someone's home.





Set of 4 porcelain dessert plates.
Ceramic candelabra with crystals.
Etched glass cake stand.
Pink bloom pots.

Cynthia's Comfortable and Beautiful Cottage

I love the photo tours of homes that I see posted on Apartment Therapy and Decor8. But so far, the tours I've seen are of tiny apartments designed for couples. Gorgeous. But hard for me to take specific ideas from because they're not always family friendly.

It seems like every parent I talk to has the same desires and dilemmas concerning their home. They want the lovely and picturesque or sleek and stylish, but run up against so many challenges — the two biggest being: 1) that it's hard to own nice things with kids in the house, and 2) that a family space generally involves more square footage — and that's more walls, floors and surfaces to design and decorate and make decisions about. More rooms = more overwhelming.

My multi-talented friend Cynthia, a mother of 2, is a master at making a beautiful home for her family. She's done it in a tiny apartment, a big apartment, a big home and a small cottage. She has the wonderful and envious ability to move into a home and have it looking like she's settled in and been there for years after about two weeks. And she doesn't spend like crazy on furniture either. Many of her pieces are found and refurbished by her own hands.

I begged her to give us photo tour of her new home and — lucky us — she graciously agreed. I'll showcase a few highlight photos here, but to see the full effect, you'll definitely want to see the Flickr slideshow of the whole house. Find it here. I hope Cynthia's talents will inspire your own decorating ideas or prompt you to finish that almost-done design project you've set aside. Thank you, Cynthia!!

One more thing: if you have a friend with a photo-tour-worthy home, I'd love to feature it. Just send me an email.

Book of the Week: Napping House

Don and Audrey Wood make a dynamite combo. We have a few of their picture books, but I think Napping House is my favorite. It's one of those books where the text builds, like This-is-the-House-that-Jack-Built, which seems to be a no-fail way to engage children in the story.

The text is charming, but the illustrations are amazing. The details are clever and the light in each illustration changes and brightens as the story progresses. The whole book is sweet and gentle and makes you smile. Really, really well done.

Widely available at any children's book store. Or you can find it here.