Thursday, December 25, 2014: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Hope you have a safe and wondrous Christmas.  Enjoy time spent with family, celebrations with friends, and all the joys that come with the holiday season!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Top: Kenar; Tank: Gap; Necklace: J Crew; Bracelet: Kate Spade; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Monday, December 22, 2014

Very excited to see my youngest cousin tomorrow!  She is in from Japan for a few days for the holidays and Babygirl and I get to see her tomorrow!

On a sad note, my mother is in the hospital.  Because she lives several states away my brother and I are having trouble getting concrete information, but it seems to be an autoimmune disorder affecting her liver and gallbladder, possibly due to complications from Celiac's disease.  She is already much improved from when we got the news on Friday, and we are hoping the surgery to remove her gallbladder tomorrow will improve things further.  Any and all prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated.  We are hoping she will be on the road to recovery shortly.

Sweater: Fiona; Scarf: Rising Tide; Bracelet: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers; Kleenex courtesy of my drippy nose... 

Friday, December 19, 2014

My goodness Effie, how did you get up there???

Sweater: Ann Taylor; Scarf: Rising Tide; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Remember to take time out to enjoy the holiday season: spend time with your family, enjoy the foods that you only make a few times a year, drink some cocoa after coming in from the cold, gaze at the beauty of a decorated Christmas tree, enjoy the sight of your family in their holiday finery, do something you would not normally allow to celebrate the festivities (like chocolate for breakfast!)

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

I think (other than the few items I need to pick up for my MIL and Hubby) I am done with my Christmas shopping!  Nothing is wrapped yet though...  And we have plans to visit Santa tonight with Babygirl's cousins, so there could be an abrupt addition to The List...

Sweater: Geneva; Necklace: Banana Republic; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Ugg

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Sweater: Rafella; Scarf: Oscar de la Renta; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Ugg

Monday, December 15, 2014

Babygirl has her *very first* Christmas concert tonight!  Needless to say we are all super excited!  Her teacher tells me we will be able to hear Babygirl regardless of where we are seated in the church tonight...

Sweater: Banana Republic; Necklace: Ralph Lauren; Bracelets (top to bottom): J Crew, my own; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Friday, December 12, 2014

Sweater: Ann Taylor; Necklace: J Crew; Bracelet: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Happy birthday to my BFF!

I am feeling a little under the weather today.  Babygirl and I have been getting the house cleaned up and ready for the annual perogi making this weekend.  Just hope I shake this illness before then!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Sweater: Autumn Cashmere; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Monday, December 8, 2014

Shirt: Jach's Girlfriend; Sweater: Fiona; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Friday, December 5, 2014

Happy Friday!!

I'm still working on the Christmas decor, but I feel like I'm "over the hump!"  Next step: getting the boxes stored and putting the rest of the house to rights...  (Can't I just procrastinate those??)  Hopefully I should get done with that this weekend.

Sweater: Polo; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Ubiquitous Boots: Ugg

Thursday, Decmber 4, 2014

found on pintrest

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

I forgot to move the elf last night...  That's right.

Of course Babygirl noticed right away when she got up.  "Effie's still by the star!"  (Where she was yesterday...)  And I thought "Oh crap...  How am I going to explain this?"  My still tired brain thought as quickly as it could, "Maybe Effie couldn't get to Santa last night...  Maybe she is going to go today while you are at school..."  A few minutes later I reminded her of how many times she got out of bed last night (it was after 11:30 when she finally settled down) and said that maybe Effie couldn't go because Babygirl hadn't gone to sleep until late, and reminded Babygirl that Effie can't leave until she is asleep...

Sure enough!  Babygirl came home to find Effie curled up with a blanket in a basket that has been sitting on the counter!  She must have been exhausted from her daytime trip!  I think it must take a lot more energy and elf magic to make the trip during the day...  (Whew!)

Sweater: Gap; Necklace: antique; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Ugg

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

I'm starting to feel really overwhelmed by the mess of Christmas decorating.  It seems like there is stuff everywhere, and lots of things that still need to get done.

On the plus side, Babygirl's art got filed in her binder and the mail pile got sorted today as a Christmas decorating avoidance measure...

Monday, December 1, 2014

A busy week last week!  We had a great Thanksgiving!  It was nice not hosting for a change and my brother and his girlfriend did a great job!

Babygirl has been really excited about Christmas!  She was thrilled when we got the decorations down from the attic last Friday!  I do not shop on Black Friday, I don't think it is worth the madness and aggravation, so it has been a tradition that we put up our Christmas decorations that extended weekend.

The tree is up, and Babygirl put up most of the ornaments herself!  She wanted to use the colorful (a.k.a. vintage) ornaments with silver balls.  I let her put up the reproduction ornaments, but I will probably use the actual vintage ornaments elsewhere, as some of them are family heirlooms.  I think I can find a lovely vase to display them in instead!

The finished tree has a cluster of ornaments at the bottom, a blank space, and then another line of ornaments at Babygirl stool height.  Hubby helped Babygirl with the top.  I think I will just put some ribbon garland on and leave it.  Originally I intended to "redistribute" the ornaments, but I like the way it looks.  It will only be so long that I will have the opportunity for such an artful tree.  Isn't it beautiful?

Just don't turn around and look the other direction...  I really need to finish decorating, get this stuff put away, and find a "holiday arrangement" for the front room furniture (like yesterday!)!

Last Friday morning, our scout elf Effie returned from the north pole for her Christmas duties!  Thoughtful as Effie is, she left Babygirl a note and some treats for making hot chocolate!

Since then Effie has been spotted hanging from the mistletoe, playing video games (!), and this morning she was found occupying my sewing machine!  She was also wearing a new sweater this morning!  (Maybe that was what she was sewing??)

When Babygirl got home from school today, she also found that Effie brought a friend along today...  (Or maybe Mommy found out about it last night and bought it at Target today while she was in school and then left it somewhere she would not have noticed it this morning...  Hmmm...)  So we now also have Fetch the reindeer as a visitor!

One of my friends pointed out that it is a bit like a bad relationship...  He uses you for snuggles and then leaves when he has had enough!  We had a good laugh over that, but I must admit that she is sort of right...  Still, Babygirl is super-excited to have a Christmas friend she can snuggle with!

Hope you are enjoying your holidays thus far, and looking forward those that are coming!

Thursday, November 27, 2014: Be Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope you are having a grateful day surrounded by family and friends!

source

Monday, November 24, 2014

It is a beautiful snowy day outside today.  A great day to sit inside with a lovely cup of tea and a book.  Sadly I had to go grocery shopping, so sitting inside was not an option.  Hubby took the week off, so he came with.  Hubby likes grocery shopping, in fact, before I became a stay at home mom it was his job.  (I hate grocery shopping.)

We also have our very first parent-teacher conference tonight!  I'm excited!  I haven't been to one of these in 20+ years!

Tomorrow I likely will get started on Thanksgiving stuff.  Since we are not hosting this year I don't have much to do.  I have two pies to make, my brother's girlfriend has requested spinach artichoke dip, and I need to bring wine (which I forgot at the grocery store).  I also don't think I have anything to eat the dip on, which I should have thought about before going grocery shopping...  Oh, well, my hair appointment tomorrow is right by the grocery store!

Should be a pretty quiet week.

Friday, November 21, 2014: Dinner Disaster

That seafood mix in the frozen section of the grocery store that I always thought probably wasn't a good idea proved it wasn't a good idea tonight.  I thought I would add it to my paella (which Hubby isn't particularly fond of to begin with...) but that along with a rather bland chorizo made for an inedible paella...

Oh well.  I won't be trying that again!

Thursday, November 20, 2014: Thoughts

Found on Pintrest

Now doesn't that sound lovely?  I do try to make things as beautiful as I can because it does make you and others around you feel better.  

Tuesday, November 18, 2014: Ups and Downs

So, last night found me shredding chicken by hand.  Why, would I do this, you ask, since I HATE shredding chicken by hand??  Because I was too lazy to clean the mixer (which can just go in the dishwasher.)  Perhaps I just needed something to complain about...  The chicken wasn't even for me, it was for an enchilada casserole for my lovely Sister-in-law who is recovering from surgery.  I did of course make a few adjustments to the recipe, but since I am not making this for my own family until tomorrow, I don't really know how it turned out!  My SIL randomly picked this off my pintrest boards, and was fully warned that I had not made it--she doesn't really mind being a guinea pig though.  I had lots of fun visiting with her when I dropped it off and Babygirl had lots of fun playing with her youngest cousin.  I really am glad to see SIL looking much better, although I think she still has some recovering to do!

The visiting cheered me up.  Unfortunately, Babygirl and I's next visit was not so happy.  My brother and I will be going this evening to put our dog (really my Mother and I's dog, but she is very attached to her surroundings, so my brother got her when he moved in my parent's house.  Miss Dog has had a very good life with my family over the past 12 years, but the time has come.  She has completely lost use of one of her hind legs, she (who has been *starving* most of her life) is no longer interested in food, and she is in a lot of pain.  The vet believes it is likely bone cancer.  They offered amputation of her leg as a possible help, but given Miss Dog's age it is also likely she may not make it through the surgery.  We feel that the best thing we can do for her at this point is to end her suffering.

Babygirl and I paid a visit this afternoon, so Babygirl could say goodbye.  I will go to the vet with my brother in an hour.  I will hold Miss Dog, just as I held her over 12 years ago when she came into our lives, a small, adorable, opinionated and very smelly little puppy.

Go Miss Dog, we will miss you, but we will see you again.  You will be able to run again, and you can eat as many treats as you like.  Much love little dog.

Sweater: Limited; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Habitual; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Monday, November 17, 2014

Sweater: Ann Taylor; Shirt: J Crew; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Friday, November 14, 2014

Sweater: A. Gianetti; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Habitual; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Something everyone needs more of! 

From Tent Camping in Wisconsin

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Hooray for comet landings!

Also, a very happy birthday to my favorite Moose!  I cannot believe that you are nine Buddy!  (And neither can anyone else who has met your energetic enthusiasm!)  We love you very much, and are very grateful for the joy you have brought to our lives!

My favorite Moose enjoying a lunchtime birthday treat!  Carrots are one of his favorite snacks.  He is the only dog I have ever met that drools for vegetables!

Sweater: Tweeds; Necklace: Megan Goldkamp; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Tuesday, November 11, 2014: Having a day in: Crafts for Babygirl

The weather is cold and wet today, and as Babygirl and I had nothing pressing to do outside of the house we decided to stay in today.  (Besides, that gives me an opportunity to do a few extra loads of laundry.  hooray...)  Babygirl is a champion at self entertainment, but I like to have something "new" for her to do every once in a while.

About a month ago I read Childhood 101's blog about a sewing basket she had made for her daughter.  (I originally found the article from a link on pintrest, of course!)  She also has another post that involves some additions to the sewing basket which sound great as well!  Anyway, I thought it was a great idea and that Babygirl would love to have a little sewing kit!  On the next trip to Michael's i picked up some plastic canvas shapes, and some yarn samples (I thought normal size skeins would be a little overwhelming and just end up getting tangled).  We already owned plastic tapestry needles I use for knitting (more on those later), needle threaders, extra safety scissors, and an extra bin.

Babygirl entertained herself for most of the morning with her toys, cutting shapes (she loves cutting!), stickering the cut shapes, "reading", matching socks (she loves matching socks out of the laundry!), and other "projects" she invented for herself.  After lunch I brought out this "sewing kit" and we went over how to thread the needle, how to tie a knot, and how to "sew" on the plastic canvas.  I immediately wished I had bought plastic canvas needles (and I will look for some next time I am in a craft store) because the tapestry needle I stole from my knitting supplies does not pass through the plastic canvas very easily!  Babygirl can manage with the tapestry needles, but it does make pulling the needle through difficult, and it means we could not use the circle shapes because pulling the tapestry needle through is *very* difficult!  Lesson learned!

Babygirl had lots of fun with this, and it kept her busy from lunch time until naptime!  Win!

She can't wait to add the next color (she has already decided on turquoise) to her project!  And she has learned how to thread a needle all by herself!  (Other than the needle threading this is a pretty "high supervision" project.  I did have to keep reminding her to remember not to wrap her thread around the edges and not to tangle it, and tying knots is the Achilles's heel for the day!)

At the end her project session.  Beautiful!

Monday, November 10, 2014

Not having a good day today...  I'm going to go take a nap and hope that the evening is better.

Sweater: Target; Bracelet: J Crew; Rings (right hand): TJ Maxx; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Friday, November 7, 2014

Going to be a fun night.  My nieces are coming over for make your own pizza and a movie!  Babygirl is super excited!

Sweater: kohl's; Earrings: World Market; Bracelet: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Thursday, November 6, 2014: Hallway Gallery

No plans to go anywhere today.  I'm trying to get all the little things done around the house today (and a huge pile of laundry!)  Instead of sharing my awesome leggings and huge sweater outfit I thought I would share the gallery wall that I put up in my hallway about a month ago.

Two different angles (because this hallway  is not wide enough to take a straight on picture) to allow you to see the different pictures.  My goal was to have an eclectic look.  On the top (left to right) I have an old (1904) map of the town (antique store); floral print (thrift store); painting by my cousin (who is a professional artist); architectural rosette print (thrift store).  On the bottom (left to right): architectural rosette print (thrift store); one of Babygirl's drawings; floral print (thrift store); another Babygirl drawing; floral print (thrift store).  The stool and throw got put in the hall because I was sick of them being in the bedroom.  I kind of like them in the hallway, but they tend to move around a lot, so they probably won't be there long!

I put the pictures up with command strips, so when I decide to add more (already a possibility based on the cute little pictures I picked up at St Vincent de Paul last week!) or rearrange I don't have to fill a bunch of holes in the wall!  All that "press for 30 seconds" business makes for some sore arms though!  My only complaint is that if you look carefully you can see some of the strips behind the pictures from the side.  It is more obvious with the narrower frames.

All of the pictures were things I owned, but a lot of them have just been sitting in the closet.  I have a habit of buying art because I like it even though I have no idea where I am going to put it!  This is a major hazard of buying thrift store/flea market art, because if you try to go back another day it often is no longer there!  I was devastated by this when I passed up a great antique english house print a few weeks ago.  It was badly foxed, and they wanted a lot of money (for thrift store art), so I passed on it.  I went home, and did some research to see if the prints (there was two in one frame) could be restored.  It turns out sunlight might be a big help, and there were a few other techniques I thought I could safely manage at home, otherwise it could be sent for conservation, but at a price I'm not sure I would pay...  Anyway, I decided a week later to go back and even at the price they were asking get the engraving.  It was of course gone.  I'm still sad, but at the same time I am glad that I am not the one dealing with the foxing!

I am quite happy with the result.  It is nice to see all the pretty pictures when I come out of my bedroom or out of the bathroom.  And it is much nicer to have the pictures on the wall where I can enjoy them instead of in the back of the closet!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Sweater: Ralph Lauren; Necklace: my own; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Did you vote today?  Babygirl had a great time "helping" me vote.  She was also very excited about visiting the local fire station (where we vote) and had *lots* of questions: "How do they get the trucks in here?" (The big doors behind you.) "What are the yellow lines on the floor for?" (To help the firemen park the trucks.)  "What are those things hanging from the ceiling?"  (Exhaust collection hoses.)  "When do I get a sticker?" (As soon as we are done voting.)

Shirt: J Crew; Scarf: Rising Tide; Bracelets (top to bottom): my own, J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers

Monday, November 3, 2014

Sweater: Cynthia Rowley; Top: Ann Taylor; Necklaces: my own; Bracelets (top to bottom): wrap bracelet: my own, silver: gift, green: J. Christy's Boutique; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Friday, October 31, 2014: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!  Hope you are all having a safe and fun Halloween this year!

This morning, I woke up to this:

And no, my patio table is not white...  It is *way* too early in the year for this white stuff!  I wouldn't expect snow for another couple weeks...  We still have a lot of outside chores left to do (like putting away the patio furniture!)

I'm making a nod toward Eleanor from the movie Brave with today's outfit.  (Babygirl choose to be Merida for Halloween.)  Eleanor (in her pre-bear state) wears a dark green dress with long trumpet style sleeves and gold trim at the neck.  My sleeves, while slightly drapey, are considerably subdued, but I have the dark green, and the gold necklace represents the gold trim.  We also bought a pair of bear ears for the dog, so he can get in on the family costume.  If Hubby were here maybe I could talk him into wearing a kilt...

Sweater: ?? (I've owned it forever and the tag is missing!); Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Ugg

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Babygirl and I had a wonderful time spending the day yesterday down in Chicago with my brother NSD and my cousin (who lives down there).  We found some great thrift store finds and had a great dim sum lunch in Chinatown.  

Babygirl was entranced with the Chinatown shops.  She wanted one of the caged baby turtles that we adults found incredibly depressing.  Needless to say, our house is still turtle free; we cannot encourage people to treat animals in that manner.  (Cousin and I did briefly toy with the idea of setting the turtles free, but decided that was not the best option either.)  

Today Babygirl had her Halloween celebration at her school.  Turning several three and four year olds loose with a stick is hazardous to the Moms holding the pinata.  I think one of the boys in Babygirl's class thought he was trying out for major league baseball.  The kids all had a great time.  My personal favorite part?  Babygirl helping her classmate's little brother (who isn't in school yet, but their Mom was helping today too) fill his candy bag after she had filled her bag.  I didn't ask or even hint to her.  I love that she voluntarily helps others, it makes me feel like I must be doing something right as a parent.

Top: World Market; Necklace: my own; Bracelet: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Boots: BCBG

Monday, October 27, 2014

Sweater: Kenar; Tank: Gap; Necklace: Ralph Lauren; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: BCBG

Friday, October 24, 2014

Today started out cold and rainy, but turned warm and sunny this afternoon.  By the time Babygirl and I finished our errands I was steaming, but thrilled to see the sun!

A big thank you to the sales lady at the Kate Spade outlet for giving Babygirl her *very own* shopping bag!  She almost always wants to carry the bags, but sometimes they are too heavy and she was thrilled with the bag and the fact that it was bright pink!

Sweater: Autumn Cashmere; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Boots: Kickers