Bananasauras Rex

How pretty and smart is this dryer-sheet alternative? These are 4" x 4" sachets filled with pure blue/grey French lavender. Throw them in the dryer to lightly scent your linens or lingerie or levis. Each sachet lasts for 10-15 loads and they're sold in packets of three for $6 — that's as little as .13¢ a load. Not bad. Even better, they're made from vintage tablecloths in pretty patterns.



From the same etsy shop, I also love the MamaGoToMarket bag. It has an accordion-fold base that allows it to sit flat for loading and unloading. I like what the product description says: It holds a little less than paper, way more than plastic. This bag is built for endurance but it’s so cute that it won’t embarrass you at the library, the beach or the gym. MamaGoToMarket Bags are strong and flexible — able to carry a heavy load and look great doing it. Not unlike Mama herself.

Nicole Hill Photography

Good news for New Yorkers! One of my favorite photographers — and the artistic mind behind the excellent blog A Little Sussy — will be in New York for a few days and is available for photo shoots. The collage above is a tiny sampling of Nicole's work. Pretty, right? And you also have to check out the photo shoot here.

If New York doesn't work for you, you're still in luck. Nicole says, "If there are about 5 families (or children of families) who will book sessions over a weekend, I will travel anywhere. So grab your friends and fly me out!"

Little Black Book of Style

From time to time I've mentioned my adoration of the Project Runway series — far and away my favorite of the reality shows. I've also mentioned my respect/crush for Tim Gunn and his new show Guide to Style. But frankly, in all my love for Project Runway, I haven't given Nina Garcia, one the judges, much thought.

So when I heard about her new book, The Little Black Book of Style, I thought it was time to give Nina some dedicated attention. That. And the fact that, like I mentioned, I'm really trying to step it up in my daily dressing and I thought this book might help.

And it does help! Things I like about the book: It's beautifully printed. There are fantastic illustrations by Ruben Toledo throughout, making it a pleasure to read. Her description of growing up in Columbia with fashion-forward parents. Her discourse about the difference between fashion and style. Her chapter on inspiration — a list of classic movies to watch and what to watch for. Lots of helpful advice and it's pretty enough to leave on the coffee table.

Mostly, I love getting a better idea of how someone who loves fashion and has studied fashion, thinks about fashion. Something about becoming a mother makes many women want to improve their wardrobe, this book offers some great advice to do just that.

Update: Want even more info on Nina's book? I just noticed that the super-smart Girl con Queso wrote about the same book last week.

Least Likely 2 Breed

Do you have any friends that kind of surprised you when they decided to become mothers? The kind of friends that are a little irreverent? A little rebellious? The kind of friends that make excellent — if a-typical — mothers, even though they would never admit it?

Well. I have friends like that. And now I have the perfect product line to give them as gifts. Three all natural body balms made by Least Likely 2 Breed. There's the Bad Ass Booty Balm for your baby's little sensitive behind. There's the Tough Titties Nipple Rub, because no matter what the well-meaning lactation consultant tells you, even if you're doing it correctly, nursing can be curl-your-toes painful for weeks and weeks. And there's a third balm with such an edgy name that I can't even mention it here on my oh-so-G-rated blog.

In addition to the bad-girl attitude, you'll love this company for what they choose to put in their products and even more for what they leave out. Check out the ingredient lists and feel confident that these products are good for your baby and good for you.

Book of the Week: Freight Train

My friend Rebecca is really, really good at acknowledging birthdays. Knowing I collect Caldecott books, this year she sent me Freight Train, by Donald Crews. It arrived in an Amazon box and when I opened it, I could tell just from the cover it was my new favorite book. Why? Because the freight train's cars are red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple. That's why.

I also love that's it's simultaneously in Spanish and English. I also love that the pictures are simple and clean and styled. There is one picture in the middle of the book of the train in motion that should be framed and hung in every busy child's home.

Freight Train has proved a hit with my 2 year old and the pictures are interesting enough that my older kids have been curious to read it as well. A beautiful book both to read and to display.

Available here.

Dejarnette

Katherine, the artist behind the Dejarnette line of jewelry wrote to me about her Mon Amour necklace, knowing it's something a mother would love. But a mother is a woman first. And frankly, most women would love any of Katherine's creations. Her jewelry is stunning.




For example, this Highest Number necklace.



And this Blowing Bubbles necklace.



And yes, the Mon Amour necklace she originally wrote to me about. You send in a photo. You pick from one of 5 backgrounds. And Katherine makes the necklace just for you. And if you really, really want one, I've got good news. Enter monamour at checkout and you'll get 20% off this lovely necklace.

Moolka

Beachy recently sent me a link to Moolka, an online store that carries the best of the European toys. It's a lovely site and a lovely sight. Question: Why does everything Euro seem so cool? Some of my favorite picks:


This perfectly proportioned Sheep Music Box from Lana Organics.


These Garden Stamps by Djeco.


This HedgeHog Pulltoy by Scratch. And the Children's Aprons by Furnis, pictured above.

Porch Makeover

After reading this article from Blueprint in the spring, I was inspired. A porch makeover is just the thing to make our funny little rental a happier place. Here's what we did to freshen things up:


1) The door:
- Removed the screen door
- Painted the door handle and knocker silver
- Painted the door the perfect shade of green

2) The landscaping:
- Removed all the overgrown shrubs.
- Transplanted better looking plants from crowded parts of the sideyard to the front. I especially love the holly to the left of the porch.




3) The details:
- We replaced our ancient, spiderwebby, light fixture with one from Ikea. It's beautiful. Plus it hangs lower and adds more welcoming light as you approach the house. Ben did the wiring himself.
- We replaced our mailbox with a shiny, red, Swedish one.
- We installed a new doorbell.
- We installed a new house number.



- We added terra cotta pots with combinations of red flowers. Here it is mid-September and the begonias are still trying to hang on. But Betty is doing her best to kill them off. We'll replace the summer flowers with fall mums this weekend.

This was a great project. I love how the green and red details look against the dark grey of the paneling. The green door adds about a thousand gallons of personality. And now we get to say, "It's the house with the green door," when we're giving directions.

You can see even more photos here.

Also. Here is the "before" shot on the day the shrubs were taken out:

PB Teen Finds

Two things caught my eye in the most recent PB Teen catalog:

1) Wirework Letters, $15 each. Displaying one on a shelf or in an office could be cool. More than one looks like overkill to me.

2) Curtains with Pleated bottoms. Umm. School-girl preppy for window wear? Love it.

Jiinkinkids

The artist behind Jiinkinkids created a line of "adoption art" in honor of the little girl she is adopting from China. Sweet, soft images. Printed on stretched matte canvas.

And in case you're curious, Jiinkin is a Mongolian word that means “real, true, actual, authentic & genuine.”

Thanks to Debbie Wickham for the link.

Tom's Shoes

I've got a great new reason to go shoe shopping: Tom's Shoes. Tom, is the tall, bearded fellow in the group photo and he created a line of good-looking, really comfortable (so I hear) shoes. And best of all. Everyone single time someone buys a pair of shoes, Tom donates another pair to a child in need. Buy one. Give one. You can read about it here.





Shoes for babies, men and women. And like I said, they're good-looking too.

Thanks Joslyn!

Giveaway Winner — Backpack & $100 Giftcard from Land's End

Four Hundred and Ninety Eight. That's a lot of entries. Clearly, everyone is the mood to do some shopping. Thank you to all 498 of you for entering the Giveaway. The winner — the lucky one who will be shopping with a Land's End giftcard — is:

Tania who said, "I've been a devotee of Land's End since 1989 - LOVE their stuff, especially for my kids. I'd be thrilled to win this one!"

Congratulations Tania!! Please email me from the link on my blog with your shipping address and I'll send your info to Land's End right away.

Thank you to everyone who participated. Thank you to Land's End. Hooray for Giveaways!

Goodbye Zanne!

I'm so sad to see Zanne go. What an excellent Guest Mom she has been. Every post full of beautiful pictures and great ideas. I loved getting a glimpse of the artistic life she is creating for herself — a barn converted into a studio, more than one website, a sewing group — the stuff of a thinking, happy mind.

Zanne, I'll be keeping tabs on you at your awesome blog. Thank you for your hard work. Please come back anytime!

Seriously. Don't touch my belly.

I saw this knowing shirt by Molly Anna and want to buy one for every pregnant woman I know. From the product description:

"Maternity Wardrobe $2,408
Nursery Furniture $1,317
Touching my Belly $5
Some things money can't buy.
For everything else, you need cold hard cash."

I mean how sick are you of random strangers touching your belly?

via GoodyBlog

Afternoon Tea Jackets

Oh my goodness. How I love these tea jackets by Robin's Egg Pink! They remind of something that stylish Nie Nie would buy for her lovely daughters if it was ever chilly in Arizona.

Keep in Touch — by Guest Mom Zanne Blair

Ciao Bellas!!!!

I have to admit, I'm not so good at keeping in touch. It's one of the reasons I started blogging. I couldn't keep up with the letters, phone calls and emails. I feel so bad about it. I am lucky enough to have friends and family who, after not seeing or talking to for months or years, we are able to visit like it was yesterday when we last saw each other. So I try to give peeks into my life for my family and friends through my blog.

My best friend called me one day (she lives 3000 miles away) and suggested we start a blog together. So we did. It's starting slowly (busy lives...), but it is gathering momentum and allows us to "see" each other on a more regular basis.

Even though I'm not so good at it anymore, I still love old fashioned letters in the mail or a postcard. I still do write the occasional note, so I gather up pieces and kits of stationary here and there, and sometimes I make my own. Enjoy these print, stationary and letter links and think about your friend you haven't talked to in a while and give them a call, write them a note, or send them an email.

{freshly}blended - Nicole's overview of the Stationary Show in May contains wonderful images of notes, cards and paper.

I love these from skinny happy labels from Every Jot and Tittle


Annacote

{Paper Relics}

at Orange Button

Linda & Harriet


Pearl & Marmalade


Posh Peacock


Studio Olivine

pepperinapress

I've really enjoyed blogging with you this week, and I hope you will keep in touch and visit me (please say hi!) at my blog: ZanneStars, and if you live in the Western MA area, come take a class at LuckyStitches! and make something.

Random Giveaway: Land's End Backpack & $100 Giftcard

Goodness gracious! I feel great today. The red mailbox for our front porch arrived. The weather is fantastic. My mom is in town taking care of brand-new Petrea. My friend Linda gave me two vintage stools for me new office. Life is good.

And life is good for you too! Because I've got a great giveaway for this weekend. Leave a comment on this post to enter your name for a Cordura Zip Top Backpack and $100 Giftcard — both from Land's End!!



This backpack is fantastic. Super-well-made. With at least a dozen features, like padded shoulder straps, side pockets for water bottles or school supplies, and an MP3/CD player pouch with a cord port. It was designed to fit ages 7 and up and Land's End proclaims it as their "toughest pack". It retails for $39.50 and of course, it comes with the famous Land's End promise: Guaranteed. Period.

The one up for grabs in this Giveaway is magenta, but with the aforementioned guarantee, I'm sure you can exchange it for whatever color you love most of the five available.



The backpack would make a really nice prize on its own. But because I like to host extra-fabulous giveaways, Land's End is throwing in a $100 Giftcard to sweeten the deal. $100 to spend however you like on the fine Land's End merchandise of your choice.

If it were my $100 giftcard, I would be most tempted by:


This kid's Down Vest — only $25! — in ten colors. I could choose five different ones for each of my kids, and only have to pay for one.


Or these Wellington Boots available in seven colors.


Or this insulated Canvas Field Jacket. Perfect for apple picking.


Or this furry hat and gloves.

Am I craving cool weather or what? Now that school is in full swing and you've had a chance to evaluate your household's wardrobes and school gear, I'm sure you've got a list of items you need to pick up. So enter this Giveaway and if you win, it will be so lovely to let Land's End pick up the tab. Happy weekend, everybody.

Thank you Land's End!

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

Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight PST on Monday, September 24th 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.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

Sarah Jane

I have a new illustrator crush. Her name is Sarah Jane. She blogs here and you can see her work here. From what I understand, she's about to open an etsy shop next month where she'll sell cards and prints of her artwork. I can't wait! I can't imagine a nursery or playroom that wouldn't be improved by adding one of her pictures. Those elephants. That little girl reading. Exquisite.

Bugaboo Video

Did everyone already see the Bugaboo Bee movie? (The Bee is the latest stroller by Bugaboo.) The movie is interesting and pretty to watch — I appreciate when a company takes the time to make their promotions beautiful. Plus the message makes it across: from the movie it's easy to see the Bee is lightweight, easy to use, and very maneuver-able. I like the color options.

Trivia bit: I hear the dance was choreographed by the same guy who does the Scrubs dances. Nice work Scrubs dance guy.

Holiday Cards — by Guest Mom Zanne Blair

Bonjour! Bonjour!

Are you thinking about them yet? I've been thinking about them since June. Well probably earlier. I know, I know, it's not even Halloween, but if I don't think about it now, we'll be making these the week before New Years, when I'd really like to mail them early in December, this year, for once...

I used to make my own holiday cards. It started in college, when I was but a poor college student, yet I had plenty of art supplies, paper and fabric scraps, glitter and metallic paint around. I've made them just about every year, until I became pregnant. Now, with my 2.5 year old babe, I really want us to make cards again, with her. I used to make ornaments that would go in the cards (sorry...can you believe NO pictures, what was I thinking?), but with 100+ people on my list, I've had to re-think the card thing while being a mom, starting a business and just trying to keep the laundry done and well..you know.

It's on my wish list this year, that our family sit down and make cards together. Izzy is at the point where the glue or paint or glitter won't end up in her mouth (ok, maybe her hair, but we can do punk for a few days, that's ok). Plus, with the nights getting cooler, we'll be inside after dinner, and art is a fun family thing for us. I've started going through our art supply stash (we've been trying to use what we have, not buy more of things we don't really need), it's huge with an artist/painter/printmaker/sculptor Dad and me with paper, fabric, buttons, yarn etc. and wondering what are we going to do?

So...I've been snooping around on the world wide web (one of my favorite past times, I love information....) and thought I'd share some link love:


Pop-Up Card tutorial

Plant Prints
Painting with Leaves
Printing with Leaves
This could be fun with glitter or metallic paint or great color combos. Evergreen trees, poinsettia leaves, pinecones, small branches.


We've been painting beads, but this could probably translate to wooden shapes that could be glued or strung to the card and perfect for mailing.


we could make our own envelopes out of our art


We will add in a family photo (one's like these always prompt a call from a few family members :-). We like to keep in touch, and maybe this year we'll write a letter to our family and friends.

Don't want to make your own, or just don't have the time to make 100s of cards? Some of these seemed pretty cool:


Did you know that you could order cards through the United States Postal System? I had no idea.


And I've always been inspired by the MOMA Holiday Cards


Next to handmade cards, I love receiving photo cards. These from tinyprints.com are tasty.

And maybe we'll make this in January when it's time to put the cards away...

Ask Design Mom: Where to Find Ric Rac

Ask-Design-Mom Question:
I am redoing my daughters room so she can share with her new baby brother. l wanted to sew rick rack trim onto a white crib bumper (like they used to carry at PB Kids). I need some specific colors to match the new quilt I'm making for my daughter's bed and can hardly find any ric-rac anywhere and no color selection. Any ideas? -CW

Design Mom Answer:
Hi CW. Congratulations on the new baby! I'm so glad you've got a project involving rick rack. In fact, what project isn't improved by rick rack? One online source for trimmings that was highly recommended to me is Farber Trimming Corp. But their website is not the easiest to use. You can find the basic ric rac link here. Then you have to download their rick rack color card to see the colors and varieties available. I can't tell if there are minimum yardage requirements.

Their vast selection is featured in the photo at top. The left shows all the different thicknesses. Apparently, each width is available in the colors in the right two columns. That's a lot of choices. And when it come to ric rac, choice is good.

Just looking for a little bit of rick rack? JKM sells prepackaged ric rac and quite a few colors here.

Letterpress Posters by Nurseryworks

More great posters to inspire your nursery.

These were designed for the Nurseryworks poster collection by Onethread. They are produced letterpress, printed in limited editions of 250. Each one is numbered. The posters come in a clean, contemporary, white-laquered frames. 16 x 20 inches.

The caterpillar one is my favorite.

Arrgh!

Arrgh! Me Hearties.

As Zanne, this week's delightful Guest Mom, mentioned in her last post, it's International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Outside of Halloween and Christmas, you couldn't come up with a holiday that my children would like more than this. If your house has the same strong feelings about pirates, and talking like a pirate just isn't enough, be sure to visit 826 Valencia, where you can find everything you need to feel really authentically pirate-ish.

Like designer glass eyes and message bottles and eye patches. While you're there, you should probably also get to know Captain Rick.

Lunch — by Guest Mom Zanne Blair

Bonjour! Bonjour!

Meals are a big deal at our house. We have every breakfast and dinner together as a family, then lunch where ever we may be (work, school, out and about). Now that we live in a remote "hood", lunches must be packed. Running to the deli for a sandwich could consume at least 45 minutes of the day (that's just the commute, not allowing time to relax and enjoy), and well, that's just no fun.

I usually make a sandwich for Rob, an eggplant or roasted tomato spread with yummy cheese, lettuce and any veggies in season, and put them on a piece of lavash bread, then roll them up and place them in a reusable container. I'll make a little salad (or have some left from the night before), and pop that into another container. Crackers or pretzels go in another container, and then 2 pieces of fruit. With winter coming, I'll start making big batches of soups to freeze in single servings for lunches. The soup will go in a handy, super dandy thermos to stay warm.

For Izzy's lunch at school, I usually make her an avocado or garbanzo bean pita (small pitas with either item mashed inside - it's a HUGE hit!), and I have a bunch of these AWESOME containers from The Container Store:


in which will go beans and avocado or cheese and crackers, applesauce, yogurt, fresh raw veggies and fresh fruit. Sometimes an extra snack goes in for the trip home, she is so busy during her day, she doesn't know she's hungry until she gets in the car. (and that's no fun — driving with a hungry child...) She also has a thermos, for her warm soups and other lunches (tortellinis, wild rice and veggies, couscous and roasted tomatoes...yummmm)

Do you know about the Bento Lunchbox Craze (It's not crazy....)?

It appeals to me for a couple of reasons:
1. The containers call out my inner collector. I WANT THEM ALL. Ok not quite all of them...
2. The serving size is appropriate! Not massive, but wonderful bites of healthy food (if that's what you put in them:-)
3. They are small to carry! The don't take up a lot of room in your bag, back pack.
4. You can be super creative:

This one is to celebrate today, September 19th, Talk Like A Pirate Day (how come this wasn't on my calendar?)


Here's another Pirate themed lunch.





The boxes can be fun, like these from JBOX.com:





Bento Links:
Kitchen Cow
Were Rabbits
Adventures in Bento Making
Bento Yum

Then there is Laptop Lunches.
If eating PB&J is your thing and not cute rice and seaweed, here's another option for Bento boxes. The program is pretty cool. They have sets you can buy, or just the components, and a book to get you started. I love organized things like this.

Ok, last, but not least. The lunch box.


available at HapaCulture.com


available at LunchBoxes.com


available at LunchBoxes.com


available at LunchBoxes.com where they also have a horses, farm and dinosaur versions!

Have a great lunch! I am now so inspired and hungry, we are making a trip to the grocery store for some lunch goodies. Enjoy!

Silicone Accessories

I keep visiting modern-twist to admire their silicone placemats and coasters.

Creative Spaces — by Guest Mom Zanne Blair

Bonjour! Bonjour!


I've just finished making this wonderful chicken soup. I roasted up a bunch of heirloom tomatoes and garlic (after looking at this article on Instructables.com), covered them with rosemary, put them into some chicken broth with onions and even more garlic. The head cold is much better. ahhh Now I can think clearly (at least I think so).

We are in the process of putting a new roof on our house. While doing this we uncovered (of course!!!!) more work, and we're losing this, but adding that. This means we are losing Izzy's playroom. It's ok, the improvements are wonderful, but what to do with all those TOYS?


Here's a shot without toys, during the early stages of demo. It was a really great space, shelves lined the walls, room for everything!


Here's a hole in the ceiling/roof, looking out to my husbands studio (barn).

We decided to move her playroom into a room that we weren't using very well. It's a bigger space than her first playroom, with better light, and will be warmer in the winter (have to think about those things in New England...). There is still a ton of work that needs to be done to make it even closer to "her" space, like pack up some books and move some shelves.


She does have a corner now with a big yellow chair (it was her great grandma's), a reading light (from Pearl River), and a bookshelf of books, puzzles and toys.


A dress up bucket with a mirror (that has yet to be hung...but it will be!!!).

She loves the room, she says it is "Beautiful Mom, I LOVE it" and has corrected me when I call it her playroom, "No Mom, it's my studio". OF COURSE IT IS!!!

Rob has his studio in the barn, I have my studio upstairs, why wouldn't Izzy have her studio too. Funny though, when she called it that, I really started thinking about it differently. I thought about my studio, where everything has it's place determined by it's use (ok - it wouldn't seem like that if you were to walk in this very minute....but really things do have their place...promise.) I now think about how I can arrange her toys, musical instruments, art supplies, books, costumes, blocks and more, so she can use them, put them back