Hey Little Birdie!

Welcome to our weekly feature “Know Your Birdies” where every Friday a question is posed and you get to know us through our answers. This week we’ve asked… and answered: What is your favorite color?

Favorite color is hard for me. I’m not sure why. Maybe because I don’t want to limit myself, or maybe because I am so particular that I must include distinct shades. Either way, today I am committing myself to the color green. There are many reasons, really. It hints of nature. It can morph from a springy garden green to a more wintery dark green. And it compliments nicely with other colors I love, like browns and navys and rich reds. But I think the best way to illustrate my affection is through pictures, so here we go.

My favorite color is really more of a lack of color. Which makes my artist mother hang her head in shame. I would have my entire house void of color if I had my druthers.  That is right, give me black and white. Sometime if I am feeling sassy I mix it up and combine the two to go for gray.  If I am really really feeling audacious I go with red, which is my go to proper color. To me there is nothing better than a black sweater with pearls or a plush bed made with black and white hotel bedding. I feel like they are safe in that they are not going to be trendy, I doubt I will look back blushing at my color choices in 20 years like I might say, a chartreuse phase. More over black and white are serene to me, they are not jolting or exciting, but they can be dramatic or stark. I like the pairing of the two because it creates a crisp delineation that isn’t found in nature or goodness knows, life. They are just simple, timeless, versatile and beautiful. My new favorite decorating book, which was a birthday present (…from myself…) is a  visual embodiment of all that I love about my favorite (non)colors.

I feel it is appropriate to share a snap shot of my daughter’s self styled outfit today. The child is not a fan of black and white it turns out:

I also find it difficult to limit myself to one color. Growing up it was without a doubt pink. I even drew pictures of my future pink house with all pink furniture. I bet Adrian is thankful that dream never became reality! I also gravitate towards bright sunshine yellow, because it makes me instantly happy. My sweet father in law has never forgotten this and has sent me a bouquet of all yellow flowers every birthday since high school. For home design, I agree with Katie above that black and white is tops in my book. However when it comes to all time favorite shade, my choice is bold, kelly green. I love it in clothing and accessories (Hello Kate Spade!) and even in home decor. In fact, the photo below is Ms. Kate Spade’s guest bathroom.

What is your favorite hue?

A collection of things you should know about my me and my life, as of late:

1. I love my neighborhood. It’s full of interesting and quirky people. Case in point: I have a neighbor who cuts his yard with a riding lawnmower yet has no grass. Instead he cuts the weeds and, I guess, plows the dirt. Insert my questioning glance here.

2. I have been doing a “fast” of sorts lately. And because of my ineptitude in the kitchen, I have a sweet friend who has been bringing me bags full of “fast-approved” meals and snacks. I mean, really, everyone should have friends like that. But I’m not telling who it is, because I don’t want you all to steal her. A girl’s got to keep a good thing when she’s got one.

3. I’ve felt kind of kooky-crazy lately. A mess of personally tragic things going on in my life that I promise to share at some undisclosed future date. But I felt so cuckoo the other day, I started to daydream that if anyone ever admitted me to a crazy hospital, I would like my padded room to be made out of fresh mozzerella. Because honestly, I think I could still be happy there. I really love fresh chucks of mozzerella.

4. I think the joke of a “D-bag Jar” as seen on the show New Girl (with Zooey Deschanel) is nothing but pure comic gold. For reals.

5. Last week, I discovered that I could (just about) put my little Lyla’s slowly growing locks in to makeshift pigtails. They are simultaneously the cutest and saddest things I’ve ever seen. But I love them all the same. (See above photos for proper swooning)

6. I just ordered FLOR tiles to use as my new living room rug, and I’m kind of schoolgirl-giddy about them. Like I might just create a shrine to them in my house, while I wait for my UPS driver to grace my front porch. I’m thinking a Teen Beat type poster with lipstick kiss marks, as well as doodling my name with their name in a heart on my tennis shoes.

7. I think the word “shop” should always be spelled with the -pe at the end. You know, shoppe. Just to make it more playful and merry.

That’s it for today. Love you guys.

p.s. I would love it if you would share your random thoughts with me in the comments, so that I know I’m not the only one… I’m not the only one, right?

My sweet little son’s birthday lands a couple of weeks after Christmas. Which means he has gotten cheated in the birthday department. The last few years in addition to not wanting to do anything after the Christmas craziness we have had family emergencies that have prevented his having a proper birthday party. He has been asking about having a “Curious George Birthday Party” for over a year. Every time we would go to another child’s party he would ask me if he could have a birthday party. I will tell you right now if he looked at you with those blue eyes and asked that you would have thrown him a party too.

I am pretty sure he would have been cool with some Curious George plates and a cake, but I had Mommy’s guilt for not doing anything for his birthday for the last two years. So…we did a little bit more than Curious George plates.

We had the door man greeting the guests (painted by my mother.)

And of course I had to do Curious George themed food, which I couldn’t think of so I just gave the food names with various characters from the show. I came up with Renkins’ Farm Fresh Veggies, Chef Pisgetti’s Speciale Macaroni and Cheese, Hundley’s Hotdogs and The Man With the Yellow Hat’s Elixir.

Then we had the dessert table, or as I liked to call it ” Chef Pisghetti Ristorante.” Again with a sign painted by my mom. And what Italian restaurant would be complete with out a red and white awning? There was enough sugar to fuel 25 small children for several hours and coat my house in a thin layer of sticky for a week or so. And those cake pops? Goodnight, NEVER again. Every time someone would eat one I wanted to weep and ask them if they knew how long it took me to make it. Then I decided that wouldn’t be very hospitable of me.

And of course there were centerpieces, with bananas, and pinwheels. That’s normal for a four year old’s party right?

And here was the real star of the show, the bounce house. So much fun. Yeah, I played on it before everyone got there. Wouldn’t you?

I told my son that was the last party I was going throw for him until his rehearsal dinner before his wedding. But, I don’t know, sometimes I just can’t say no to this little face.

A million thank yous to my dear friend Brittany @ DTL Photo for capturing photos of the event while I was running around like a mad woman!

Thank you, Dr. King.

Welcome to our weekly feature “Know Your Birdies” where every Friday a question is posed and you get to know us through our answers. This week we’ve asked… and answered: To where would you love to have a $500 gift certificate?

I feel like I can easily sum up the answer to this question in two words: West Elm. And while I could leave it at that, you know me, I’m nothing if not wordy, so let me tell you why. Theirs is the catalog I most look forward to seeing in my mailbox. Their design esthetic mixes unbelievably well with pieces that are vintage or modern or much of the in between, so it accommodates easily. And finally, and probably most telling, I’m still in a home decor shopping mode rather than a wardrobe update mode. You remember how I facilitate between the two, right? So most likely to start, I would give my sad master bedroom a kick in the right direction with some new bedding. From there, who knows…

I chose the place you knew I was going to choose (which is Kate Spade in case it wasn’t a given.) I could blow through a $500 dollar gift card there in a red hot second. I don’t think I would get any clothing in order to maximize the purchase. I even took this opportunity to go on an imaginary shopping spree. Here is exactly what I would purchase if I had this said gift card. I might have gone over budget by a hair, but doesn’t everyone do that with giftcards? They are kind of like a coupon for me, get me started, but I will still end up paying.

I’m going to shock you all and say Home Depot. I know, right? But there are so many things I want to do that involve them. Like build a upholstered storage bench for my entry way. Or construct a container garden so I can grow my own veggies and herbs. I also have a dozen things that I want to paint and refinish in my home. It might not be glamorous, but Home Depot it is!

Where would you like to spend an extra $500?

Have you ever wondered why Sprite tastes so good when you are sick, but when you are well, you can easily take it or leave it, with an emphasis on leaving it? Well, trust me, it’s true. This week I have been sick ALL week. Sick like my daily count of awake hours could never quite make it to double digits. Sick like my greasy hair could be sculpted and my pile of kleenex was taller than my three year old. I actually count it a feat that I am a upright at all today. But upright I am. And seeing as this is the first time I’ve sat down at my computer, please bear with me. Wit and wisdom may be in short supply.

Enter simple elegance. Being that it is completely the opposite of how I feel right now, I think it may be the perfect thing to perk me up again. This beautiful necklace from Upper Metal Class on Etsy is pretty much lifting me from my utter doldrums. And basically, I thought you all should know… and potentially share in my devotion for it.

What do you think?

One more Jina sick fact, my voice wasn’t even Phoebe Buffat sick cool. It was worse. Like toddlers (or one toddler and her dad) would scoff at me. Oh my wounded soul.

My in laws bought my daughter, Estelle, a doll house for Christmas. I wasn’t thrilled about it at first, now I am completely over the top into it. Because it is about me, you know. Anyhow, Jina reminded me of Emily Henderson’s I am a Giant contest and I started looking up ideas. And all I can say is, whoa. Doll house people have their own crazy and decidedly creepy subculture. I guess that is the path I am going down. I don’t think I am going to let my daughters even touch it when I am through “remodeling” the house. Here are few of my favorite ideas I have tracked down.

I love everything about this exterior. Estelle told me it needs a pink door, I think I will make that concession.

How is this for an interior?  I am really making this house about me, you don’t think Estelle will mind do you?

And if the child insists on some color, I found a few vibrant rooms for inspiration as well:

I will post some pictures as the dollhouse progresses!

I’m sure you can tell from the pink and red rainbow that has vomited all over everything from Target to Pinterest that Valentine’s Day is around the corner. You may roll your eyes at the cheesiness, be exhausted from the December rush, or think it is a corporate, meaningless holiday. And to that I say- why do you want to kill love? (Imagine me with a pout and doing the heart sign with my hands.) But truly, I fully embrace the love fest. Pink, hearts, candy, chocolate, and sweetness around every corner! Valentine’s is the Hallmark Movie of holidays and I will always get sucked right in.

I’ve been tossing around the idea of handmaking some little love tokens to send out or give to close friends. And I want it to be something that Claire could help me with too. I need to be more intentional about including her in these things. She may not be able to participate in the traditional sense, but I want her to know and feel that she is a part of these celebrations. Just as I would do if she were a typically functioning child. So that may mean letting her feel the craft supplies, guiding her hand to stick something on a card, having her smell the ingredients of a treat, and showing/explaining what we are making.

Here are a few options I’m thinking through. Maybe you’ll see something that inspires you to share a little love as well!

Felt Fortune Cookies via Martha Stewart

Gumball Valentine Necklace via One Charming Party

Mini Baked Donuts via My Baking Addiction

Eye Love You cards via Kraze4paper

and lastly this cute Cupid Kit can be purchased from Paper and Twine on Etsy.

Welcome to our weekly feature “Know Your Birdies” where every Friday a question is posed and you get to know us through our answers. This week we’ve asked… and answered: What do you like most about being female? Keep in mind that we know that these answers have a massive potential to generalize and stereotype both sexes. And while that isn’t our goal, we do feel there are basic things present in our lives that we associate with being female. So in an attempt not to offend, please know we are just speaking personally.

I think the main things I love about being female are the roles I get to play. I love being a wife, a mom, a sister, and a daughter. They allow me to express a bevy of traits that are uniquely feminine to me – brushing someone’s hair or having them brush mine, giving in to immoderate tears while watching sappy tv and not worrying about ridicule, excessively (and I mean excessively) cheering for someone when they take something on, nurturing, cuddling, and hugging. Honestly, this is just the beginnings of a list. The longer I thought about my answer to this question, the more I appreciated being female. Oh, and one more thing that I can I forget… not taking out the trash. At least that’s how it goes in our household.

I have so many different things that I love about being female. I would have to rank the ability to nurse toward the top of the list. I know people have mixed emotions and reactions to nursing, but it is for me. I love that God designed mothers so perfectly that we are able to give to or children exactly what they need through breastfeeding. I love the time it gives me with my babies, even if it is at 2:30 in the morning. I love the bond that it builds. I know mothers that become grandmothers that still miss that experience, and I know one day even 50 years from now I will look back on nursing with great affection and powerful emotion and feel a loneliness for that experience.

“Maternity”
by Pablo Picasso

What don’t I love? Okay, except that pesky visitor we all know and loathe…But besides that bother, I love pretty much everything. I am a girly girl through and though. (Except when it comes to football devotion. Then I turn my beast on.) One of my favorite things is that as women, we share an intimate affection for one another in a way that guys usually don’t. We can hold hands, snuggle, and cry together. And that comes naturally in our close relationships. There is nothing like a true girlfriend.

What do you love about being female?

My husband and I were talking the other day about how neither of us have ever really assumed the habit of resolution-making. I’m not sure why that is. Maybe I need to have a conversation with a resolution-enthusiast to really compare their zeal with my nonchalance. Maybe then I will uncover the source of my apathy.

However, I will readily admit that I am much affected by the amount of intentionality that this time of year brings. I’m inspired by the dedication to evaluate where we’ve been and conversely where we are going. I align myself right up next to those who self-analyze in an effort to become better versions of themselves. I love these practices and premeditations. They resonate in my very being.

I want to become a cleaner, more pure version of myself… who I was created to be. I want my day-to-day life to reflect the things and people who are most important to me. I want to embrace opportunities to grow and push myself past my established realm of comfort.

For me, maybe this means cleaning out closets to simplify my life, maybe it’s baking something for a neighbor in an attempt to dig in to the physical location where God has me planted, maybe it’s taking more walks outside to expand Lyla’s space and to lessen my waist line, maybe it is setting my alarm a half hour earlier to ensure I have daily time in prayer, maybe it is dreaming with my husband when he talks about his business, maybe it’s interrupting less and listening more when a friend catches my ear.

So, what about you? Are you a resolution person? Do you want to convert me? Do you think I am a closet resolution-maker based on the ramblings of this post? I kind of think that maybe I am.

p.s. The print above is from Super Swoon Print Shoppe. Check it out.