Neige.

Or for those of you who never took French, “snow”. These are lovely, lovely, lovely children’s clothes. Take a peek:

Lovely!

My mom rocks.

I took my mom to the eye doctor for about the 10th time this morning, and when we were done, asked her if she’d mind going to the store for “5 minutes”. She said it was fine, so we went to Anthropologie. My only goal was to try on this Jane Austen-esque coat I fell in love with from the catalogue, to see if the online reviews were right, so that I could maybe ask for it for Christmas. Most of the reviewers complained about the boxy fit, and that the skirt was too poofy & short. Well, sad to say, they were right. Except for the “too poofy” part – I didn’t mind the skirt. I love the style so much, and every detail, and the soft-as-velvet fabric, but it just didn’t fit right. So sad! So disappointing.

HOWEVER… I happened to see this other coat I fell in love with, from maybe 2 catalogues ago, and it was on sale! Still way too expensive (down to $179.95 from $288!), but I had to try it on. It fit like a dream! AND it has pockets. My mom was in the dressing room with me, and liked it too, so she asked me if I wanted her to buy it for me. I told her it was too expensive. I was going to put it on hold, though, just in case my husband wanted to get it for me for Christmas. But as I was approaching the front counter, my mom asked if I wanted it as both a Christmas and birthday gift from her. I paused, and asked if she was sure, then agreed & felt awfully grateful. And that’s why my mom rocks.

Love it when people breathe new life into old things!

I love vintage jewelry, and vintage findings. Take a gander! I’d LOVE to win this giveaway.

{Click on photo for link}

A satisfying display

We inherited 2 bookshelves and 2 file cabinets from my husband’s office, which are already coming in handy. I’m not a fan anymore of the “blond” wood color so popular at IKEA, but beggars can’t be choosers. I thought I might be able to use one of the bookshelves in our “toy corner”, which was such a disaster, it wasn’t even funny. There was a small toy box against one wall, a vintage side table against the other, and toys & stuffed animals piled high all around, and more spilling onto the floor. The avalanche was so extreme, it even blocked the way to the TV entertainment center.

I ended up putting both bookshelves in the corner, even though they overlap slightly (maybe 2 inches). I decided to be OK with that, even though things like that tend to bother me. I’m a perfectionist. Not to be confused with “I do everything perfectly”, by any means! So, after placing a few things, neatly, on the shelves, I took a step back and stared at the tops. It was too bare. It needed some visual interest. So I looked around for something cool, or pretty, and decided on the fairy house. I had seen it at Pottery Barn Kids, and fell so much in love, that I kept an eye out for when it went on sale. It’s exactly the kind of thing I look at longingly, thinking, “I could probably make that!”, but of course never do. Then I started putting books on the shelf, picked up a vintage one sent to me by ex-blogger pixiegenné, and wondered how it would look on top, next to the fairy house. It was earthy-toned, and had to do with magic, so I thought it was perfect. Then I had to find something for the other bookshelf, because, well, it had to be balanced. I need things to be symmetrical. I didn’t want anything bright & plastic, so I chose the Radio Flyer wagon. Then I picked up a pile of these vintage schoolbooks that were being given away at my daughters’ school, and wondered if I could put one in or next to the wagon, maybe a blue one for my son (since it was looking like one shelf was for my daughters, the other for my son). It didn’t work out. So I just put the book on the other side of the fairy house. It looks nice! I’m quite satisfied with it.

Oh, and I love the shadow the fairy house casts on the wall in the afternoon. “Oh, What Fun!”, and “A Magic Afternoon”, indeed!

That Grosgrain Kathleen… she’s outdone herself again.

Just look at all this creativity! It boggles the mind.

{Click on photos for link}

My grandma.

I’m not suspicious, I’m not religious, I don’t believe in God. I don’t really believe in psychics. But something happened today. I fell asleep in the early afternoon, in my daughter’s bed. Naps are rare for me. I had crazy dreams… I opened my eyes once or twice, but kept falling back asleep. I kept feeling like I was dying… I would fall down, in slow motion, feel like I couldn’t breathe or move, and think, “I can’t believe no one is realizing I’m dying”. I called out my husband’s name during one of those times, but it was barely audible. And of course he didn’t hear me. No one did. I eventually woke up and got out of bed. I walked to the living room, and still feeling very out of sorts, laid on the couch next to my eldest. It was around 4:25. A few minutes later, the phone rang, and it was my aunt. She told me my grandma had just died. May you finally rest in peace, abuela. Que en paz descanses.

And so it begins…

Little sister started Kindergarten this week. After waiting, not so patiently, for TWO YEARS. She’s been SO ready, so excited. The poor thing hardly ever had any playdates, and we never had neighbors she could play with. I mistakenly told her last year that she’d be able to go to Kindergarten. I was so crushed when I found out she didn’t make the cut off date. Apparently in San Diego, you have to be 5 by December 5th. Her birthday’s on the 17th. Grrrr!!! That really chapped my hide. So now she’s the oldest in her class, I assume, since she turns 6 this December. I feel like I might’ve blogged about this before…

Anyway, as we were walking on campus that first day, she announced to me, “I’m gonna have a crush on my first day!” I’m pretty sure I rolled my eyes. Well, sure enough, she picked someone. Much to my chagrin, he’s a blond. I prefer brunets. Not that it matters! But there are at least 2 really cute brunets in her class… but I digress (and yes, that is how you spell the masculine form of “brunette”). By the 3rd day of school, she had gotten an “I love you” out of him. ??? I’m really uncomfortable with the whole idea. Kindergarten? Honestly? Geez. It must be her big sister’s influence. They are 5 years apart. Ohhh, heaven help me.

My three musketeers:

Checkin’ out the line:

Bittersweet.

First worksheet!

The 5th grader:

Cutest backpack ever!

I love this so much, it’s so innocent & cool, all at the same time. I probably wouldn’t let the kids use it!

{Click on photos for link to Grosgrain giveaway}

Vintage baby buggy vase

I’m pretty sure I bought this at the Rose Bowl Flea Market several years ago, it’s so sweet…

Tastes in art

I am by no means artistically inclined, or an art aficionado. But I do know what I like. I like symmetry. I like classical art. I like Renaissance art. Basically anything painted up through the 1800’s, I’ll like. I don’t like modern art. I don’t know why… most of it just looks messy to me. Or maybe my intellect isn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate it… I don’t know. What I do like, however, that I believe falls under the modern art category, is mixed media. I find it very appealing. Certain types of collage work, too. Maybe I like mixed media because it includes many elements, all representing the many crafts I’m interested in; print, sewing, needlework, photography, papercrafts, etc.

Here’s something I just found that I really like, via Kayte Terry’s blog, this is love forever:

Eleanor Wood’s mixed media collages

I also love Wyanne’s art, this is one of my favorites:

I love all the pretty, whimsical art featuring women that I find on Etsy. I can’t imagine life without Etsy, actually. I hope they’re able to stick around forever.