Kid Toys I Want... For Me

Preparing for a little one means I've started checking out a lot of the popular toys out there these days (even though we won't need them for quite a while). There are so many awesome, adorable options -remember my wheely bug? And then I come across toys that make me go, "WOW... I wish I'd had that!!! In fact... I still want it!" These are some of those toys...

This is Rody. He bounces, and he's awesome.

This Romanesque Building Block Set from The Wooden Wagon is so cool.

This is a musical marble run. I didn't even know what marble runs were until a few months ago- but this one can be constructed so that sending a marble through makes melodies. Awesome. Not surprisingly, it's $300 and currently sold out.

The Torpedo.

Vintage Pedal Plane... a ride-on toy I want to see in my house.

...And of course, I've always loved ferm living's Molecule Building Set. So very 'Eames.'

Summer Concerts

Jesse plays trombone in the Hopewell Community Big Band, and every summer they play in little town concerts outside Pittsburgh. They played both Monday and Tuesday this week, and the weather was so lovely! Perfect for lounging and listening to some jazz classics...

They always end with God Bless the USA, and there's something so wholesome and charming about it- especially being so close to the 4th of July and in these sweet, picturesque little towns. Makes me want to throw on a cute 50's dress, eat hot dogs, light sparklers, and go to a drive-in movie...

Who knew diapers could be so cute?

(Forgive the quality... I shot with the cellphone since I was too excited to go get the real camera.)

DIY Hedge Maze Rug

Now this is an impressive DIY with a lot of potential. Basically, they took electric hair clippers to a cheap, deep pile carpet. I'm sure it took some planning, measuring, and a steady hand, but I love projects like this that really add 'depth' to an otherwise thrifty object (lol). My only concern would be making sure the carpet wasn't too cheap- it'd still wear out just as fast or lint and shed all over everything. The idea could easily be applied to any style/color/price range I imagine, and I could see this being really fun for a kid to help design and use in their room...

from MakeProjects via BoingBoing

Crème Brûlée

We had a cookout tonight with our neighbors, and I finally got around to breaking in the culinary torch! The crème brûlée was delicious- a lot easier than I expected; I'll definitely be making it more often. Yum! (...and yes, caramelizing the sugar was pretty fun!) Jesse's mom is in town for a long weekend, and tomorrow we're heading off to Buffalo to visit family. Hope you all have a relaxing, delightful weekend!

Sweet Little Print

My mother totally would have bought this when we were little girls...

and promptly put one of those hat/bonnets on us too.

I've posted my love of the tiny canvas prints by Tush Tush before, and I'm still adoring them! Isn't this one so sweet? Her work is so well suited to mini-canvases. Check out the shop to see some new additions if you haven't been in a while. I'm thinking 2 or 3 of these would look quite at home nestled amid my picture wall in the living room...

We just want to play...

No matter how busy I am or how much work I have to do, I'm always faced with this.

Littlephant Hot Dog Poster (...and a sick day)

Jesse's workspace got a huge improvement with the addition of Littlephant's Hot Dog Poster. My mom surprised me with the print, and I love how it looks in the basement! Plus, even Jesse admitted... he liked it. That's right. Jesse said he liked the wiener dog print. The rest of his area is still 'in progress' as you can see, but I couldn't wait to share the print!

Unfortunately, he's home sick today after a weekend of sneezing, coughing, keeping me up at night, and having to cancel dinner plans with friends (boo!). After sleeping in half the day though, he's trying to get some work done in between naps with the dogs and shots of Buckley's.

White Rabbit Curtain

I'm loving this white rabbit curtain over at Urban Outfitters. I could totally see my little sister Nell going gaga for it (she loves Alice in Wonderland, and who doesn't love bunnies?). It's so dreamy...

Baby Clothes

I think I might be able to clothe multiple children through age 3 or 4. True story.

Because it's Tuesday...

Try to watch this and not smile... I dare you!

Windowboxes... Third time's a charm?

I'm not sure how, but in the week and a half I was gone, our yard turned into a jungle. Weeds were starting to run amok, and plants were growing wildly out of control trying to attack other plants (and succeeding). Another of the mini-boxwoods in the window boxes bit the dust, and with that, I decided it was time to re-do them... again.

Pay no attention to the creepers in the window. Or the slightly tilted spikey thing- it's been straightened.

This is stop #3 in my quest for a more practical window box (ie: not having to re-do them every... single.... season.). Perennial grasses, perennial flowers, and a couple low-maintenance annual spikey things (plus some ivy and petunias that survived the winter or came back on their own). All drought-tolerant; all currently thriving elsewhere in my yard. Here's hoping third time's a charm...

At least with a couple days of hard work, I'm quite pleased with how the yard is looking...

This is not nearly as fun as it looks.

Best Looking Baby Bouncer

As you can guess, our house is slowly starting to fill up with baby gear, toys, etc... And as you also might have guessed, I'm not thrilled with the necessity of incorporating some of those items into our regular decor. Enter: the Baby Björn Babysitter Balance Organic in Walnut/Khaki...

Yes, it's pretty much just a swell looking bouncer, and no, it doesn't vibrate/play music/light up/fly to the moon, and yes, I paid 3x the cost of other bouncers solely for the great design. But you know what? I love it. I love how light & portable it is, I love that it can be used past the infant stage, and I love that I actually like how it looks in our living room. Also, Pepper totally approves...

I'm back!

Well, sorry about that...

I fully intended to keep posting from Houston, but I was kept pretty busy & really enjoyed spending time with family and friends. The unplanned mini-computer break was really nice, but now I'm getting back in the swing of things! My list of to-do's includes:

• Finish basement facelift (almost done!)
• Purge/organize furnace room & laundry room
• Unpack/organize all the shower gifts
• Nursery closet design
• Frame & hang new prints
• Weed & trim down the jungle that used to be my yard

In the meantime, here's some shots from the amazingly lovely shower my mom threw me in Houston. I feel so blessed to have such loving, generous friends and family!