My Second Love: October 2012

Bloggity Blah, Trick or Treat

You may have noticed a lack of blogging here. Want excuses? I'm spending a lot of time in the car. Two schools, two different start times, two different end times = lots and lots of driving. Did I mention that I hate driving? I hate driving.

Can one blog from an I-Pad? Anyone have an old I-Pad they don't want anymore? Maybe I could blog while driving. Or while waiting in a school parking lot for one of my little darlings. Seems like people with I-Pads have their shit together. Please send I-Pad stat to initiate more blogging.

I'm sure you are dying to know what M and m are for Halloween right?

Months ago Meazi told us she wanted to be Aphrodite. There is some disagreement about who suggested that Melese should be Eros/Cupid. I thought it was Meazi's idea, she said I suggested it. Maybe Melese decided himself, but Meazi hated the idea of being Cupid's mother on Halloween so she quickly chose a new Goddess:

Artemis the Hunter.

Melese remains Cupid.

Sounds pretty highbrow eh? I bet your thinking, "See how bright and creative kids who aren't allowed to watch tv are?"

The truth is Meazi's very first costume choice, months and months ago, was Strawberry Shortcake.

We told her she had to pick something else.

Lucky for us, her favorite book at the time was this one:

She loves this book so much.

We went to the Getty Villa to get some additional costume details...

I'm just happy no one lost a finger this Halloween. Steven used a jigsaw to carve the pumpkins.

Have a Happy Halloween.

sketchbook drawing : figures

Recipe ~ Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Morning y'all! I'm soo hoping all my friends on the East coast are safe and y'all haven't sustained any damage to your homes or more importantly your person. I blog about interiors and prettiness everyday, but things like this remind me that it can all be wiped away in a heartbeat. So I'm counting my blessings and saying my prayers for the folks affected by Sandy.

Yesterday, Kip displayed symptoms of morning sickness, except it was probably the flu. He never gets sick, except when I get sick, so this time I was able to actually take care of him. After getting him his favorite Strawberry Soda, I decided to make some homemade chicken noodle soup. It ended up being delicious and I thought I'd share the recipe. I made it in the slow cooker, but you could easily make it on the stove as well. My slow cooker just has a bigger pot so I use it more. I would say it's semi-homemade, but that's Sandra Lee's line and it would be really embarrassing to get sued by someone as nice as Miss Lee. So I'll say it's home-madeish instead. Enjoy!

My Bum is on the Swedish

Who remembers Lonely Swedish (The Bum Bum Song)? The one by Tom Green created for The Tom Green Show? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Ok, now I'm embarrassed. That was what was going through my head when I was looking at the pretty Swedish-style home by Carol Glasser Interiors. I pray Miss Glasser never reads this. I have no idea why my brain works the way it does.

Anyway, after singing The Bum Bum Song in my head for a few minutes and laughing at myself, I then started thinking "ooohhh pretty!" The thing I love about this style is how edited it is. It works well in Houston because it's a cooler feel (and Houston's hot). I feel like it would be a little harder to pull off in the Midwest, but I'm referring to it as a study in holding back, which I'm trying to do in the new house.

I love all of the chandeliers and oil paintings, and I particularly love the pink room with all of the chairs (as well as the blue room duh). What do y'all think?

* Btdubs, I know y'all are wondering about Bieber. It was everything I hoped it would be and more! Bieber is legit, but I've said that from day one. He has awesome dance moves. Two things: first, we clearly didn't get the memo on the tutus. Everyone had on tutus and Bieber shirts. They were also 12, but still, it's something we should've know about beforehand. Second, no line at the bar. My friends' husband joked about that before the show, but for realz, we were the only people at the bar during the show. Again, most of the attendees couldn't see over the bar, so that was a win for us. We danced hard and somebody's dad was filming us so there may be YouTube video footage out there of us experiencing the Bieber Fever. Overall, I would do it again in a heartbeat. A Bieber Heart beat :)

sketchbook drawing : orange socks

sketchbook drawing : feet

sketchbook drawing : DLE

32 Bieber Hearts for Y'all!

via

First of all, what if I wore this? Would y'all still be my friend? I kind of love it though. Even though it's a Bieber heart, my college friends will tell you this was my symbol. Whenever I saw my friends canoodling with a guy at a party, I would flash this heart symbol across the room. It made everyone feel awkward, but separated the men from the boys. I don't really know what that means, but it was funny and it was my schtick. I'm just lending it the Biebs.

So on the eve of my 32nd birthday, I am going to the Justin Bieber concert!! I think it's the perfect way to end 31 and start 32 off the right way. It's also a great way to pick up some dance moves for Edward to learn. I'm so excited for the year ahead. One of my main goals this year is to get back in fighting shape. I'm fine with how I look, but I need some more energy to keep up with my little rascal. He wakes up at a level 10 on the toddler energy scale, and I usually wake up at a -3. Other than that, life is pretty good!

Now, enjoy some linkies with your weekend drinkies:

The importance of 32

explained in this post

I made these bacon wrapped chicken bites last night - mmm yum

TWO INGREDIENTS

2 WW Points

Probably doing this to the front door area while I search for affordable blue and white planters

I like this fun, artsy Brooklyn townhouse

I also like wigs on cats

Pretty dark teal rooms (like my front door color)

I'd get fat to feel better

Full disclosure: I know this guy. He's actually a brilliant shoulder surgeon, but don't tell him that.

He is performing with Doctor, Doctor at the Arthritis Foundation Bone Bash in Dallas tomorrow. Wish I could be there!

This is genius

10 Fun Wallpapers

Welp, that's all the links for today. It's taking about 10 minutes to load a page right now. My computer literally just told me to get a new computer because my operating system is out of date and it can't support the newer versions. Is this for real? Good thing Christmas is coming soon!! Oy vey, it's always something y'all.

Have a lovely weekend!

sketchbook drawing : no time to finish

House Happenings & Halloween Decor

Afternoon y'all! I just woke up. HAAAAAAAAA! Just kidding. I did sleep until 8 though, which is amazing when you have a 2 year-old/early-riser. He's been waking up at 5:30 am every morning and this morning I was all, "oh no you di'n't!" and I gave him some milk and a kiss and he went back to bed. It's a small but huge victory for this mama.

Sooo last night I got a very lovely package from Jennifer at The Pink Pagoda. For those who don't know, she has a gorgeous Blue & White Porcelain online store, and in a ridiculous moment of blue and white kismet, I won her ginger jar giveaway! Well, yesterday I received not one, but two ginger jars. I thought it was a mistake, but Jennifer insisted it was a housewarming gift. It was so sweet and beyond generous of her. I can tell you they are truly gorgeous in person. You should all go out and buy a pair right now. I'm not even just saying that to be nice. I'm going to try and do all of my Christmas shopping through bloggers' online stores, you know support my peeps, and I will definitely be spending time in all of The Pink Pagoda shops - she sells porcelain, prints and accessories (like my famous iPhone case, and cute mugs and pillows and stamps, oh my!) Definitely a great resource for gifts and blue and white.

So here are my new ginger jars on the mantle in the family room:

Purdy purdy right!

One more view from the front door. I'm kind of obsessed.

Speaking of front door, it has not been painted. I'm totally confident in my painting skillz, but I'm not confident in Edward's, and since he is hell-bent on "helping" me, I decided to leave it to the pros. Now I just need to call the pros ...

Here's my new little black and white pillow from the Nate Berkus for Target collection.

I'm not like obsessed with Nate or anything, but I happened to walk past this pillow and then I felt it and sniffed it (I worry about smells) and I was like, "oooh soft" and somehow it ended up on my sofa and I like it. It feels like cashmere.

Here's a little display in my entry. I share this because those pink shells miraculously made it through the move. I picked them up at the beach in Costa Rica and carried them on the plane in my pocket with a baby and a diaper bag. They're super delicate so I'm amazed they've lasted.

Things on the table to remind me to do them:

Bag of silver stuff to polish, tobacco leaf plates to hang (I'm in love with the tobacco leaf pattern), and mini-pot pies to make from the November House Beautiful. (It's Sandra Lee so it's easy)

And finally, the moment you've all been waiting for .......

my Halloween Decor!

Er uh hmmm. I just, well, there's a pumpkin? and a jar of candy? The Laura Trevey Rooster is going to be framed someday. Hopefully soon, but ya never know! Anyway, I just can't get in to Halloween this year. Maybe it's because Edward is terrified of every costume I try to put on him. I think we're just going to skip it this year. Except for the candy part.

Okay y'all! I've talked way too long! My posts have gotten way longer lately. I'm a woman of a few thousand words, I've been told. Have a lovely day!

sketchbook drawing : sleepy cat

The Next Wave in House Beautiful: Margaret Kirkland Interiors

Morning y'all! Thanks for all your sweet comments on my guest post at The Enchanted Home yesterday, and a special thank you to Tina for having me and saying all of those super nice things (your $100 is in the mail). Also, Hellooo to my new readers who came over from The Enchanted Home.

Have y'all seen the November issue of House Beautiful? It's real gewd. In fact, it's so good that The Suze pretty much ripped out every page in the issue. This is her way of dealing with her magazine hoarding problem. Rather than keep an entire issue, she tears out the page she likes, stuffs it in her handbag where it will then be placed in a file folder to be placed in a basket that someone other than herself carts up and down the stairs (that basket can get heavy y'all). It works because it keeps her stuff contained to a basket, but it doesn't work when the entire issue is great. Obviously, she didn't realize the entire issue was great until she got to the end and realized she'd torn out every page. Silly Mama!

Anyway, one of these ripped and dog-eared pages looked something like this:

We were like, "ooooohhhh pretty! I want all of those things and that birdcage." I was surprised to see it was done by such a young designer, Margaret Kirkland of Margaret Kirkland Interiors. Actually, I have no idea how old she is, but she looks young so I'm just guessing here. It's no secret that my taste is veering in a more traditional direction. It's more about separating what I like from what I want to live with. I like lots of things I could never live with, if that makes any sense. So it's fun to see someone who looks to be around my age doing traditional and pretty interiors.

Here's some more pretties from her web site:

I've said previously that I can't live with much red in my house, but those lanterns could come live with me any day. I love the floral nooks with the pistachio painted moulding and the black and gold sconces. It's such a mix of styles but looks so inviting!

Here's a better image of the one from House Beautiful. This garden room is huge, but she did such an amazing job of making it feel cozy. I love all of the seating and that birdcage. I need a birdcage somewhere in my abode.

Love this entry! The wallpaper, the giant botanicals, the bench. It's so bright and pretty.

And, of course, a bedroom (I can't not include a bedroom). I love the white walls and the soft color palette. Something about pleated lamp shades makes me happy. It's a little detail that I always appreciate. Does anyone know where I can get pleated lamp shades that aren't $500?

I like her style a lot. This is one lady I'll be setting up a Google Alert for. Just kidding that's totally creepy. But I will be sure to look for more of her spaces in the glossies!

To see more visit Margaret Kirkland Interiors (you'll be glad ya did)

sketchbook drawing : acorn

Playdate at The Enchanted Home

Morning y'all! Come and play y'all! I'm over at The Enchanted Home being silly and talking about my Perfect Fall Day! Tina was one of my first bloggy friends and is one of the nicest bloggers out there. We started at around the same time, although her readership is way more humongous than mine - for good reason, her blog is fabulous and she should win an award for bestest sweetest comments in the world. I'm so happy to be a part of this series. Fall is definitely my favorite time of the year!

See ya over there at The Enchanted Home!

sketchbook drawing : weeds

A Door Color is Chosen

duh duh duh.

I know, y'all were probably sitting around all weekend wondering what color I might choose. I mean, we have a lot of important decisions to make these days and my front door color is certainly at or near the top of everyone's list. So after a long and contentious internal debate, where the voices in my head suddenly became New Jersey undecideds, who asked me questions like, "Hey Lady, what do ya really want to do?" and "Hey Lady, make up your mind already and fohgetaboutit!!!" Ok that last one was not a question, but somehow I started channeling Joe Guidice in my inner monologue and then I got scared. Anyway, we found the perfect color.

Benjamin Moore Twilight

It's only the most appropriately named front door paint color ever (Team Edward always and forever).

We held a giant swatch up to the front door and Kip and were both like, "Oh yeah, that's it. That's soo it." And then Kip fell to the ground crying from happiness that we don't have to talk about it anymore.

It's so close to Hague Blue that I questioned whether I was completely insane and had just picked the same color in a different brand. It's basically 1/114th of a shade lighter than Hague Blue. Less black in it. The reason it works better is because it contrasts with the dark navy shutters more. The Hague Blue looked a bit like we tried to match the shutters and failed miserably. It's also a more consistent color. One of the things I love about Hague Blue is that it changes with the light, but I didn't want such an extreme change with the front door.

Sooo I'm really hoping to get it painted this week so we can take our freaking Christmas card picture stat. Having a child has really brought out the "crazy Christmas picture panic" in me. I remember The Suze would get it around July and then again in December. Being the awesome teenager that I was, I would roll my eyes and be like, "gah, Mom it's just a Christmas card, stop freaking out about it! It's so lame." (I know, I was really fun to be around between the ages of 13 and 20). Anyway, getting the perfect Christmas card becomes an obsession this time of year. I don't mean perfect in that we have to look perfect, but it has to be what I envisioned or I feel like I've failed.

Ok, I've veered majorly off-topic. Here are some libraries painted in a 50/50 mix of Twilight and Gentleman's Gray, both by Benjamin Moore. They're real pretty. I thought I'd share so you get a better idea of the color. Plus I love to see how paint colors look in actual magazines (which are usually nothing like how they look in real life but whatevs)

Ashley Whittaker

The "Prussian Blue" library from Ashley Whittaker is part of a Manhattan apartment makeover featured in House Beautiful probably a while back. It's totally worth revisiting though. Go here to see the rest.

via Design*Sponge

Doesn't that look nice and cozy? The color is so rich and yummy. This lovely bookcase reminds me that I need to work on the bookcase in the master sitting room today. Kip keeps threatening to do it himself. So if I actually get that done today, I'll take some pics for y'all.

Okay, can't wait to get this door painted!

Have a lovely day!

sketchbook drawing : sick

sketchbook drawing : for dessert

sketchbook drawing : stare

sketchbook drawing : chairs

Have a Lovely Weekend!

Y'all are THE BEST READERS EVEEEERRRRRR! (said in Oprah's voice) Seriously, I loved all the feedback and paint color names. The overwhelming majority of y'all loved the Hague Blue and one reader suggested I do what I love, which is that blue door with the blue and white pots. That makes so much sense it just might work.

I guess my concern with the Hague Blue is that it will look too dark. It really just depends on how the light is hitting the house. I'm going to play around with some of your color suggestions this weekend and if I don't find anything better, I'm going with the Hague Blue. As another reader said, it's only paint! Thank y'all so much for all of your feedback and nice comments.

Okay y'all, check out Lonny October 2012 here. It's one of my favorite issues yet, and features Charlotte Moss's Manhattan Office (the two images shown above and more!) Also here's a bit of trivia, Lonny cover girl, artist Mary Nelson Sinclair, could probably trace her first glimpses of fantastic taste and artistic ability back to her preschool days, where she was taught by THE SUZE. That's right. The Suze is no doubt responsible for producing many a young tastemaker from her preschool classroom.

Ok, so check out Lonny, but first, check out some linkies.

Another gorgeous door in a fab color

If I could have anything from the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, it would be THIS.

Ahh it would be a dream come true.

I'm not a huge inspirational quotes pinner, but I found this one to be so true

I had this wine the other night with some girlfriends and we all agreed it was delicious

and the perfect wine to give a mother at her two year-old's birthday party

Jenny reviewed a can opener and it's legit. I need a new can opener real bad.

I would give anything to be this neat and organized. It's just not in my nature.

For Tartan Lovers

Another fabulous Philip Shutze house

And this horse stable turned cottage is pretty fabulous as well

This stew will likely be on the stove this weekend