Are You Ready????

The shopping's done, the wrapping's done. I think I'm ready! Although the hubby pointed out a very depressing thought-- by this time next week it will be long over. Seems like such a to-do for such a finite period of time, doesn't it?

The girls have been, well, a bit rowdy. I thought Elf on a Shelf would help with the impishness, but not so much. I keep telling V there is still hope IF she can curb the obnoxiousness. This is what she has asked Santa for (with a bit of coaching from Mom):


Post Edit: the above is the Strawberry Villa by Le Toy Van from Amazon (I hope Santa knows V would love it-- hopefully his elves can recreate it) :). I wonder if she will get it. I think Santa may take pity on her.

I just got done finishing up some French macarons we bought last weekend. How have I gone so long without eating these??? My friend told me about a local bakery called Cup.cake that sells them, and I bought 1/2 doz chocolate peppermint last weekend. So delish.



If you haven't tried them, they are like a cross between a brownie and cookie sandwiching a light cream filling. Cup.cake's Facebook page tells you what kind they have every day. If you are a regular blog reader, you most likely have seen various posts about macarons especially from Miss Emily Martin (aka The Black Apple). I think I avoided them for so long because I thought they tasted like meringues. Can't wait to order some for a birthday party! They will be so pretty and tasty.

And speaking of The Black Apple, look! An early Christmas present for me!


It was on sale at Urban Outfitters for 50% off, and I snatched it up for $9.90. Score! It was the last one. My non-crafting, non-blogging friend looked at me like I was nuts when I found the sole copy. She thought I was buying it for the girls. Looked at me even nuttier when I said they would not be touching it, and it would be kept safe and sound in my craft room.

I've been collecting all my home decorating ideas for the new house on Pinterest. Have you all heard of Pinterest? I'm slightly obsessed. Psssst...you can follow me if you wish! I have been finding myself liking the mixture between vintage and modern. But someone PLEASE talk me off the wallpaper ledge! I love it so, and I know it's "in", but I have a feeling I will hate myself later for it. But just LOOK at this wallpaper!


Le sigh.

Anyway, have a wonderful short week leading up to the holidays. :) I'll be back soon. xo

Catching Up...

This one's for my friend, Danielle, who said, "If I click on your blog one more time and see 'Happy Lemonade Day'..." :)

HELLO!!!!!!! HOW ARE YOU!!!! I'VE MISSED YOU ALL SO!!! As you all may have been able to tell, I am easily distracted and overwhelmed. This fall has been CRAZY. Lots of newness-- a new boss at work (with him, lots of new work), kindergarten, a 2.5 year old who FINALLY (after almost a year of speech therapy) has started talking a mile a minute (whoa and yay at the same time), and designing a NEW HOUSE.

So in the words of Glee, here's what you missed...

The first day of school:


Halloween (my girlfriend, Karen, made the pirate and Bo Peep costumes!):


My creepy Facebook profile pic (I love Picnik!):


A birthday (5!):


And yes, we are slightly nutty in that in this completely horrible awful economy, we are building a new house. It's actually right around the corner from our house now which is great because we are walking distance from downtown, we love most of our neighbors, and we love Q's school.

I never thought I would want to do this because "new house" in my mind means cookie cutter, no character, thin walls, brass fixtures, bleh houses. Then a house was built a street up from us. It's beautiful. Then I found out the builder was building on 8 vacant lots near our house. THEN I found out that the architect he works with regularly lives in my most favorite house of all of Royal Oak. It was kismet.

More later, but here are the exterior shots we gave our architect for inspiration. Straight outta the 1923 Sears & Roebuck kit home catalog. He loved it. A connection was made. :)



And I'm a DEXTER FANATIC!!!! I am seriously loving this season and Julia Stiles, and if I wasn't already done having kids, I'd name my next-born daughter Lumen. :)

Hope you all had a wonderful fall!!! Are you gearing up for Xmas? Let me know! Say hello! I'm sorry I'm such a stinky friend. I think of you all often. xoxoxoxo

Happy Lemonade Day!!!

That's right, today is National Lemonade Day. So hope you had a moment to sit in the sun and sip a tall glass. Here are a few lemon-inspired Etsy picks:

row one (L-R):
Lemon Cookies by Tickle My Tummy
Refrigerator Magnet by Defiant Damsel
Lemon Felt Favor Bag by woobiNwawa

row two (L-R):
Lemon Drop Cafe Half Apron by Sunday Afternoon
Shabby Lemonade Cards by The Paper Place
Fresh Squeezed Lemonade Bath Bombs by Bath Bomb Confections

row three (L-R):
Pink Lemonade Bunny Maryjanes by Em & Sprout
Lemonade Stand Print by Urban Pink Photography
Vintage Lemon Yellow Frosted Pitcher and Glass by Slo Fabulous

I prefer my lemonade with a splash of raspberry vodka and some mint leaves thrown in. Know what else I like with my lemonade? Chocolate chip cookies. I think it's because I have fond memories of swimming at a neighbor's pool then coming home to lay in the grass and eat chocolate chip cookies with lemonade. If you haven't tried it, I'd recommend it. The sour and almost-too-sweet tastes are heavenly together.

If you'd like to make a pitcher (there's still time to celebrate!), here are some lemonade recipes from Martha Stewart. I've always wanted to try the lavender lemonade. Maybe I will this weekend!

Happy weekending all! xo

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

You all may remember how much I Luhuvvvvvv my birthday. This year I seemed to skip over it entirely in the Blogoverse! What the what??!!

I spent the day with my parents and Ryan and the girls at the Michigan State Children's Garden. I love it there. We walked around then we plunked a big blanket down in the grass by the gardens. The girls played bubbles while I opened up my gifts then we went to Dusty's Cellar for lunch. Absolutely perfect day.





I have to share with you some of the loot I received because it was all too perfect and Girl Land-esque.

From my hubby from my new favorite store in Royal Oak (that I've still never visited), Scout:
A lovely new Pare umbrella from mes parents:

A super duper cute book illustrated by my fave, Marc Boutavant (yes, I love receiving children's books as gifts and have a stash that is OFF LIMITS to the girls-- but this one I share):

More Scout loveliness. This time Shinzi Katoh!!! Sigh. I love how the translations area always a bit off:

I'd never read this book before. If you knew my Q, you would know why my mama chose it for me. I love this book so much!!!

Look how creepy cute!!!! GACK!!!!

Wrapping paper from hubby courtesy of Scout. How perfect is this? Wait, the perfection gets even better...


THE CARD.
...and it was.

There's a Thin Line...

...between narcissism and sentimentality. I always wanted a clone!!!! :)

(that's me on the left circa 1975 & V last weekend)

Cheap & Cute Dresses

When Q was a tiny girl, I used to shop at Janie & Jack for her clothing. Especially dresses. But now discount stores have some of the cutest dresses out there that it's hard to lay down the dough at the higher priced clothing shops.

Case in point (V's yellow polka dot dress):



Target $9.35

#2 (Q's purple striped shirt dress w/ tulle edging at the skirt & reversible belt!)


Target $14.99

#3 (V's blue gingham dress):

KMart $6.99

#4 (my FAVE-- V's pink & green floral dress reminiscent of vintage bed linens)

Ready for this? WALMART $5.00

Although even with these bargains, I don't know as if I can pass up Janie & Jack's Strawberry Sweet line...when it goes on sale, that is. You know me-- I'm a sucker for strawberries.


Anyone else have any favorite cheap stores for clothing??

Happy weekending, all!! xo

Family Photos

We had our first family photos taken courtesy of Emily of Tutus & Tinkertoys. I love love LOVE the coloring she uses. I was pretty excited about how these turned out. You can see more images of our shoot on her blog.

As an aside If you are in the metro Detroit area (she's in Clarkston), and you make an appointment with her, E-MAIL ME. I can get you a print credit.

Look, Ma! I'm in an Etsy Treasury

Don't you love these colors? I do! There are my birthday tiaras. :)

Settling Into Summer

Hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day. I foisted power tools onto my poor husband. He doesn't have many, so I think it was ok. I think he enjoyed the rest of his day. I didn't nag him too much plus he got some pretty cool handmade gifts from the girls and some relaxation time too which is worth its weight in gold around this house.

Yesterday, we went down to the Detroit Riverfront for their River Days Festival. You may remember my post from last year. It's beautiful down there. We rode rides, played in the fountains & ate hot dogs and sno-cones. It was a perfect day. Here are some pics:









Tomorrow marks the beginning of week 3 for Q and V at a brand new daycare. Both had been to their previous in-home daycare since they were 3 months old. They are now at a center mainly because of a ton of little reasons, nothing major. At the last daycare, Q was the oldest kid by like 1.5 years, every Monday was a struggle, and towards the end, she was starting to act like a miserable teenager. Now she is in her element. I'm so happy for her.

V on the other hand-- the first two weeks were pretty rough. However, the turning point may have been Thursday when I received this note in her box (written by one of the daycare ladies, of course): "I made a new friend today. Michael held my hand at nap time until I fell asleep". Picture a little guy with light cocoa skin, huge brown eyes, and chestnut brown curls with a green plaid overall romper on with his cot pushed up to V's and holding her hand. That's Michael. I think he's a little younger than V. I don't know if he made the difference, but all I know is that on Friday, she wasn't so sad anymore.

♥

Have a good week, all!!! xo

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all those fathers out there especially my own:

And this guy too...
You two are two of the best dads I know, and I'm so lucky to have you both. :) xo
P.S. The graphic above is a vintage card available from Kitsch Cupcake Gal's Etsy shop.