Jean Louise Finch & CONTEST

I have three favorite movies, two of which go together-- one of which does not: 28 Days Later (zombies), To Kill a Mockingbird & Patch of Blue. My favorite books are To Kill a Mockingbird, Geek Love (circus freaks) and The Help. I see a pattern here.

Mary Badham, who played Scout in the 1962 film, appeared last weekend at an old theater in Detroit-- the Redford Theatre. I was SO EXCITED to be able to meet her and get my book signed! Then Ryan and I watched the movie on the big screen which was incredible.


I tried to not get too emotional. I admit I had to choke back some tears when I talked to her. The book has been a favorite of mine, my mother's and my grandmother's for as long as I can remember. I remember watching the movie with my mom as a kid. I received my book copy when I was 15 years old. I cannot watch the movie without crying-- no matter how many times I see it. Needless to say, it will be an experience I will always remember.

A nice lead-in to MLK Day, I must say. I had to laugh when Q brought this home last week.

Isn't it awesome? And who thinks up this stuff? "Let's do a connect the dot that creates Martin Luther King's head!" She did a great job though. Although she said someone had the red crayon, so she had to color his lips purple.

Last but not least, I am cleaning, decluttering, and trashing a TON of stuff in my house getting ready for it to go on the market February 1. Did any of you put a comment in to win Grosgrain's Little Red Riding Hood jacket back in '08? Well, it's up for grabs again! Q wore it once or twice, I think. I think it's about a 3T-4T. I don't know if V will ever wear it, so I will choose a number at random on Friday night.

{photo courtesy of Grosgrain}

So cute, right?? Here's how to win (each method gives you one chance):

• Leave a comment here saying who will wear the jacket.
• Blog about it and leave another comment with a link to the post
• Tweet a link to this post; comment here and give me a link to your Twitter
  
• Become a public follower; comment here and tell me you did

Please only comment if you are within the Continental U.S. Be sure that you either leave an email or that any profile I can link on has your email in it so I can contact you if you win. Happy commenting! :)

Woodland Animals + Target Dollar Spot = LOVE

Ok, I may or may not have...(snack cups!)


...gone a little nutso (2-pack of melamine plates!)...


...over the new Dollar Spot items (cups)...


...at Target (2-pack of melamine bowls)...


...but what do you think (cafeteria trays!)???!!


HOW CUTE ARE THESE??

Happy 2011!

Last night, I imbibed several "pointsettias" (aka cheap champagne and cranberry juice). We had a wonderful dinner of lobster tail and finger foods-- brie and pear phyllo purses, cheese, salami, bruschetta, crab cakes, potato skins and cocktail weenies. Mmm! We had movie night in (we rented Cyrus and Cache...) and will be living in our PJs for the next 24 to 48 hours. Bring on the laziness!

So I only did something mildly crafty this season. Got my inspiration from the awesome Ez of Creature Comforts and made up a gift wrapping package for my sister in law. I also included a roll of Snow & Graham wrapping paper and a few sheets of individual paper from Shine. Everything (besides the rolls, of course) were packed up in cello or glassine bags with Hobby Lobby scrapbook paper and tags. I thought up the color scheme from cute dollar bin stuff at Michaels-- aqua, yellow, red, black and orange!


Here's what I included:

1. Green mushroom refrigerator notepad (to jot down gift ideas or upcoming birthdays) from Target.
2. Glassine bag filled with round envelope seals. I made these with my Xyron sticker maker, Hobby Lobby scrapbook paper and two different sizes of round craft punches.
3. Paris gift tags I had in my stash. I pulled out the appropriate colors.
4. Some downloadable gift tags from Camilla Engman via Creature Comforts.
5. Post It Notes from Joanns.
6. Bakers twine in mint green/white and brown/white from The Cupcake Social's Etsy shop.
7. Binder clips from Michaels.
8. Decorative tape from Michaels.
9. Gray/yellow handled scissors (not pictured) from Target.
10. Scotch pop up tape dispenser, Target (not pictured).
11. Decorative paperboard suitcase, Land of Nod (and I have two more for myself!).
12. Five rolls of ribbon, Michaels.



Hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Day! Off to gets me some mimosa!

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.