It's The Bangs, Right

Arden is fascinated with technology.  He knows how to slide open both the iPad and my iPhone.  He can then go to YouTube, our PBS app or the video app and watch his favorite things.  I'm pretty sure that there are some adults that I know that couldn't do this... ahem, Dad.  He loves it when I let him have a photo shoot and by that I mean that he clicks the picture button a hundred times before I say, alright that's enough.

The other day, he wasn't feeling well and so I scooped him onto my lap and he started snapping away.  Three or four days later, when I went to delete most of the pictures, I stumbled on this one; don't we look like twins?  I'm pretty sure that it's the bangs and the hair color, but it's cool, I'm still going to claim it.  I don't think that either of my children look like me.  Obviously, Cullen looks just like Jim and I think Arden looks like my Dad, who he calls Pa- just like Little House on the Prairie.  I've said before that our third child will be the tie breaker and then Jim and I will be able to claim victory in the genes department.

So, I guess if I'm going to get more pictures where I look like my kids that it's worth letting them take hundreds of shots while my picture count soars into the thousands.

 

Olympics Party

This Friday, friends and family gathered to watch the opening ceremonies of the XXX Olympic games and it was awesome.  There were lots of Pinterest inspired delights and an Olympic ring installation that came out almost better than I expected.  Please enjoy some pictures of the day.  I will be posting some how to's in the days to come.

This Is Colossal

In light of the fact that I pined about my affection of photography yesterday and longed, via twitter (of course) to be able to draw well- or be an artist of any kinda, which I'm definitely not confusing with being a "crafter," I'd like to share one of my favorite websites ever, Colossal.

Colossal is an art blog that shares stunningly beautiful artwork from around the globe and from across the internet.  Entries feature art of all mediums and artists of all caliber- both professional and amateur.  Here are a few of the recent artworks that I've found incredibly beautiful.  I hope that you have the opportunity to explore the site and marvel at the other featured works, I promise that you will not be disappointed.

I found this portrait, done by Kumi Yamashita using a single sewing thread and wrapping it around hundreds of little nails to be breathtaking. 

And the carvings that Guy Laramee composed using books were stunning.  Utterly stunning.

And not to be outdone, here's something from a little artist of my own:

Hey, for being 1, this piece by Arden ain't half bad.

So... I Have A Blog

Every once in a while, I inadvertently mention that I have a blog to someone that wasn't aware and it's a really weird feeling: kinda like panic, filled with pride with a dash of "it's fierce, you should read it" type confidence.

Last night, I heard Aaron Sorkin discussing his latest endevaor, HBO's The Newsroom, and it reminded me that OnDemand had a free preview of the first ep, which I watched and thought was really good.  In that ep, there was an exchange between the main character, Will McAvoy- a fictional News Reporter on a cable station, and a newsroom employee, Neal:

Neal: Take the grand canyon, make it 3 times deeper, fill it with water and then poke a hole in the bottom. You  can't just yank the pin out of the planet and that's what's happened.
Will: How do you know all of this, you're the IT guy.
Neal: I'm not the IT guy, I write your blog.
Will: Are you kidding?
Neal: I think we're in the first hours of a serious story.
Will: No- I have a blog!

That exchange literally made me  laugh out loud, because I understand how Will's character feels.  Blogs are these forums in which anyone can "publish" anything they'd like, factual or not, funny or not- and trust me, I read a lot of not so funny ones (why?!).  So, last night on my way home from work, when I heard Aaron Sorkin on NPR's Fresh Air discussing his writing style, it brought me back to that laugh-out-loud moment I had a week or two ago: blogs are so anonymous that almost anyone can have one, yet they create this feeling of intimacy that is, in my opinion, unrivaled; and that's why I read them.  Mr. Sorkin basically said that he is not his character and that he writes in order to create a beautiful sound- something I think he does very well.


That got me to thinking: I write not because I consider myself a writer, but because it allows me to do somethings that I genuinely enjoy, like:

1. Post photographs of my kids.

2. Make funny comments about the photographs of my kids.

3. Share my experience- it's clearly not perfect, but I believe that I have a good life and that's not something that I don't recognize.
4. Get to live out my dream of being a party planner by going into the nitty gritty deets of the "homemade" parties we throw.


So, just so everyone's aware, I don't consider myself a writer, but I do consider myself a lifestyle blogger.  Writers attempt to make something beautiful and I attempt to make something tolerable- and that's the biggest distinction.  However, there are some legit writers that also are bloggers, like my friend Jaime, from whom I "stole" the picture below.  She meant it and I do too, thanks for liking me in spite of my crazy, mixed up, chaotic and marginally optionally grammatically correct written blog, I'm incredibly lucky and very grateful that people continue to read and that some of those readers still consider me a friend!

via: someecards

Olympic Thoughts

I have watched the Olympics forever.  One of my favorite events in gymnastics; hello, Kerri Strugg doing the vault in the 96' Olympics anyone?  So, I have always legitimately been puzzled as to why all and I literally mean all gymnasts across the world wear these hair clips.  Does anyone know?

We Did Old Timey Stuff

By 10:00 am yesterday, I realized that if we didn't get out of the house for a long time, we were all headed for Meltdown Town.  Not knowing exactly what to do, I decided that we should step outside of our comfort zone (literally) and instructed Jim to take us to the closest old-timey farm-ey thing-ey I knew of.  According to the info posted at the entrance, this farm has been in existence since around 1770 and continues to be a working farm by way of volunteers and reasonable entrance fees for children over 4; which brings me to the first highlight of the day:

No entrance fees for the boys, which meant that we spent a total of $16 bucks... 

and that ain't bad.

Here's how it works, you and your entourage (did they have entourages in old timey days? probably not...) navigate the well-worn pebble path that's nestled among the animal stables, pig slopping area and overgrown brush in order to make your way to the "homestead."  As luck would have it, a goat was chowing down as we made our way through and the boys went nuts.  They were all "a ggggggggoooooooooaaaaaaatttttttttttt!" (said in the manner in which any sportscaster commentating on a professional soccer match would announce a goal) and were amazed by the fact that the goat did not give a single ounce of care that we were there and just kept right on chowing down as we rumbled our umbrella strollers past.

The more we walked, the hotter it got, so it was nice when we finally got to the "homestead" part of the farm,  where the second highlight of the day occurred:

As we rounded the bend, 2 gentlemen got up from their logs and started approaching us.  

Cullen paused and whispered, "Santa," and stood frozen, not knowing what to do.  

It was such a sweet moment and it reminded me of an innocence that every-once-in-a-while, 

I'm fortunate enough to be a part of.

After Cullen's initial shock wore off, we were able to strike up a conversation with them, despite my unwillingness to "play by the rules."  (Meaning that I recognized and acted like they were actually the original settlers.) The 2 men tried to stay in character and would passive aggressively correct me while we spoke, so it went a little something like this:

Me: So, it sure is hot right now, what did they do to cool off?

Old Timey Man #1: Oh, well sometimes we will dunk our straw hats into the stream in order to cool off, but as soon as the heat gets oppressive, we call it a day and go fishing.

I just couldn't do it though.  Eventually, they gave up too, but I mean, come on, get a load of what this old timey guy was drinking and he's wantin' me to play along?  I don't think so; fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Since we were the earliest "guests" of the day, we pretty much had free reign on the homestead and they entertained my questions with only a few persnickety moments, which brings me to my third and final highlight of the day:

Old timey reenacters are very particular about their craft 

and if they have to stray too far off of script or out of character, it can get a little cray. 

Old Timey Man #2:  Welcome to the blacksmith shop, I'm the blacksmith.

Me: That's great, what are you going to be making?

Old Timey Man #2: Well, it's 'simple.'

Me: puzzled look

Old Timey Man #2: I can't really make anything, so I'm just going to heat up this piece of iron and then I'm going to hit it.

Me: Sounds great!

And that's just what he did.  He heated up that piece of iron, then banged on it with a hammer and made it into a hook.  It was a little crooked and didn't look like it could hold much weight, but the show he put on while doing it was fantastic.

Eventually, he invited Cullen to stoke the fire, which would cause it to dance up in front of the blacksmith's face.  At first, Cullen was reluctant, but after we reassured him that it was all good, he spun the little handle with all his might and was as proud of his results.

As we blasted the air conditioning on our ride home, Jim, Cullen and I decided two things: 1. Having air conditioning is amazing and 2. That we were definitely coming back, but just not on a 90 degree day.

An Explanation

So, you may have noticed that there have been a lot of pictures on my blog have disappeared, let me explain.  A few days ago, I had to delete my gmail account and as a result all of the pictures that were posted while I had that email account now appear like this:

Add caption

So, for now, it will remain this way.  I'm thinking that I may go back to the start of the year and repost the pictures that have been affected all of my pictures, but I'm just not sure that I have the time.

What's a girl to do?  This is very frustrating, mostly based on my egoistical notion that people actually want to see my pictures, so it also serves to humble me as well.  But being humbled like this, blows!

Random Equals Awesome

I have only done one or two truly random posts, where I just list random things that are going on, but every time I do, I enjoy them to a ridiculously guilty extent.  So, without further ado, here's some totally random things that I've been wanting to put on this blog, but I don't have enough to talk about to make them full posts:

1. I must admit, I never listened to talk radio; in fact, I used to throw up when I was little and my dad would put on talk radio, there was something about the cadence of the speaking and the car moving that made me nauseous.  But one day, I decided that I needed to listen to NPR and ever since I've been hooked.  Sometime next week, I'm going to do a post about in interview I heard with musician Santigold that really struck a chord with how my blogging "process" seems to go.  Stay tuned.

2. One time, I was watching an interview on Oprah with the Dali Lama where he said that he never kills bugs.  She responded back with a question about how that was possible to do when he was walking and inadvertently stepped on a bug and I can't remember his answer, but the message was clear, no creature's life should end at my hand.  Yesterday, when I killed a worm with my car, I made it a point to save two worms later in the day that would have been chopped in half when the garage door came down.  I felt better about having killed the worm earlier.

3. I lost my debit/credit card about 3 weeks ago and finally got my new one in the mail on Monday.  Hallelujah!  I never realized how incredibly cumbersome it can be to have to live life "cash on hand."  Lesson learned, I will be more thoughtful now when I care for my debit/credit card.

4.  Yesterday, I had to go to a Bridesmaids dress fitting and the bride in the next dressing room was  laying someone out.  Apparently. the person on the other end had some choice thoughts about her flowers, photographer, videographer, etc., etc., etc.  I loved it and thought she was fierce.  If I worked in a bridal salon, I'd be in my glory with the brides that are telling people off!

5. Rain boots are awesome.  It's been raining here all week and Cullen was adamant that he was going to wear his "froggy rain boots" (thanks, Miss Rachey) and that turned out to be a good idea because the parking lot was filled with puddles and he stepped in every. single. one.

6.  Uhm, Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven is the saddest song ever.  I guess I've never thought about it before, but it is.

7. I posted a while ago about Picnik.com no longer be available to edit photos, I was real torn' up about it.  Well, April 19th came and went and I realized that I really didn't care, I'd just find another website to use.  In the interest of sharing, anyone who wants to edit photos for free should check out pixlr.com and picmonkey.com.

8.  Speaking of finding alternatives when something no longer works, ahem, I'm talking about you Pandora.com.  When Pandora.com doesn't give me what I want to listen to and I've exceeded my number of "dislikes" and "skips" in an hour, I just open up Iheartradio.com and wait the hour out.  Thanks but no thanks, Pandora; I've got this.

9.  I'm sure everyone's just dying to know why some pictures on this blog are black boxes with exclamation points in them.  I will post immediately after this one and explain.

10. I've decided that I'm going to get a spray tan for the wedding that I'm in (see #4) and I'm nervous.  When you're as fair skinned as I am, there can be some major consequences when it comes to tanning, as Cullen would say, I may come out looking like a "do-ree-ree."  (Yes, my kid quotes Tom Haverford and that is awesome.)  I'm probably going to do it over Memorial Day weekend, this way if it makes me look terrible, the only people that I have to see are my family.... oh wait, that's probably worse.  What's an extremely pale girl to do?

11. I wanted to get a photo book made with the pictures from our vacation so I uploaded them to Shutterfly.com and went with the standard photo book thing-- the one where the pictures are filled into a prepopulated layout.  Well, after it sat in some post office delivery station for like 3 weeks (I pretty much gave up that it was ever coming) it finally arrived and it had a little something extra.  The last 2 pages were pictures of people that we don't know.  They seem like nice women, who had a lovely time at the beach, but just not at the same beach we were at.  I'm keeping the album a) because I think it's funny and b) because I'm lazy, but I think it's some sort of epidemic at Shutterfly.com, because the same thing happened to someone else I know.

These 10 Things- Baby Boy Edition

Today's post is being brought to you by the number 10.

I want these 10 things- Baby Boy Edition.

This has a bee, so of course I want this. 

Cost: $4.99

via: Ikea

The description even says, "trendy kids."  If ever I've met a trendy child, it's one of mine.

Cost: $28.50

via: My Retro Baby

This one's for my Dad.  Passing along a love of Frank Sinatra will be very important to me.

Cost: $20.00

via: Sandbox Threads

True story/technicality: Cullen has these pants- they're awesome!  But a list of awesome boy things wouldn't be complete without them.
Cost: $20.00

via: Target

Anytime that I can get my kids into a single outfit with 7 different colors, I'm a happy mom.
Cost: $27.50

via: Saks Fifth Avenue

Chevrons and boy things= winning combination.
Cost: $14.00 for 8x10

via: PaperLlamas

Honestly, what mother wouldn't want this crib?  It's so chic and posh, it's practically blogging about itself!

Cost: $1500

via: Petit Tresor

No joke, I looked at this bedding when I was pregnant with Cullen and it's still around- discounted, but still around.  Is this the universe's way of having it come back to me?  Maybe not, but randomly searching stuff on the interweb and stumbling across this again seems a little like fate to me... just sayin'.

Cost: $108.15

via: Overstock

Uhm, I know I sound too much like Rachel Zoe, but literally, I'm dying over this outfit.  With a pair of clunky, clumpus looking shoes, this outfit would be amaze.  I know this list is about things that I want, but seriously, I'm feeling so attached to this that I just may need to order it.

Cost: $35

via: Baby Gardener

Hello?!  This had me at suspenders.

Cost: $14.99

via: H&M

This One Little Thing

Today's post is being brought to you by the number 114.

Remember in 7th grade when everyone was experimenting with hair dye, they were all, "I'm gonna go red!" and then the next day they'd come in a nice shade of orange?  I do.  I was never allowed to dye my hair, nor did I want to, so that rule sorta worked out for all parties involved, but I did feel left out.  I wanted to be a part of the "red dye didn't really work out, but it'll look good in a day or two (sob!)" club, I wanted to sun-in my hair like crazy; I wanted to have a head of hair that people noticed and that they liked.  In fact, I had none of these.

I was a blonde curly-headed mess.  I didn't understand how to take care of curly hair and I didn't really want to either, because I wanted straight hair.  I wanted stick straight hair, with hot curling iron curled-to-the-max bangs.  I wanted to have the hair of the girl who sat in front of me in 7th grade biology, who would come in with her tiny Bath and Bodyworks brush and lotion and comb her hair and bangs and dab on a little juniper berry and she was done.  I, on the other hand, would take a shower the night before, comb my hair and then go to sleep, waking up to a knot-ball mess.  And yes, I know what you're thinking, there were scissors involved some mornings...

Well, one of my 30 before 30's was to get a new do'.  Mission accomplished in January.  However, shortly after I got my look, people started asking me what I was going to do next and I was sort of curious too.  All of a sudden, I went from the girl who'd never dyed her hair until she was 29 to the girl who wanted to change it up again.  I think it's like the feeling that some people get after they get their first tattoo, they can't stop and count down the days until their next one.  I. can't. stop.  That 7th grader is finally getting to have her chance to dye all the hair she wants and it's pretty glorious.

This weekend when I went back to the salon, I decided that I was really going to change it up.  In like the biggest of big ways.  I wanted to go dark... and I wanted bangs.  Not side swept or can be tucked behind an ear if they get in the way, I wanted blunt bangs.  The hairdresser cautioned me that he didn't think I should do it.  He said that it's a really drastic change and that I should go for an interim bang style.  I declined his offer and told him to chop it off, blunt bangs or bust!

So he did it.  In theory, I wished that when he turned the chair around, I instantly fell in love- which is exactly what happened when I got my hair dyed for the first time, I loved it.  But this time, not so much.  It's an acquired taste I guess, because today I like it a little better.  I think it has to do with the fact that I styled it and it's not so helmet head looking, but I gotta admit, I'm probably not keeping it.

Reactions have been mixed and poor Arden was petrified.  He literally went mute for a few hours and I saw him tense up as I approached, his little hands clutched to his chest; he literally wanted nothing to do with this strange new mom.  I think that was the hardest reaction and I realized that I can't be this drastic ever again- or at least until the kids are older.

Because I didn't ask the hairdresser what color he was using- I have a history of doing impulsive things without using the questioning approach common sense, like the time I bought a car without taking it for a test drive, I don't know what color my hair is, so I googled Clariol hair color and determined that the color looks most like #114- Natural Light Ash.  Not sure that I like this color either.  It's nice and all, but somethings missing and I'm not sure if I want to go lighter or darker.

Overall, it's been a weird 48 hours.  I sometimes love it, sometimes not.  I sometimes think I will keep the bangs for more than a hot second, but then I start thinking about it and I think, probably not.  At any rate, Easter proved to be a good time to be able to take nice pictures so take a look at the new look.  It's a little crazy, but so am I.

He loves me again!

p.s. I don't know where to fit this in up above, but I think the reason that I go back and forth is because I really like pictures 1, 2 and 4, but in picture 3, it reminds me of baby doll hair/70's mom hair.  I'm just still so undecided.

Update- my cousin pointed out that the 3 pictures I like are the ones where my hair appears to be darker... So, I'm thinking I might go darker, but that could change 20 minutes from now, because that's just how undecided I am.

Advanced Style

Today's post is being brought to you by the number 90.  

If I ever have half the style and grace as Ilona Smithkin- who is actually 90 years old, I will consider myself very, very lucky.  Besides that, her message is fierce, surround yourself with positive, colorful people- preach it, Ilona, preach it!  (Also, I'm unclear as to where she actually is- it looks like a studio of some sort, but when I'm 90, I hope I have a room filled with treasures just like this one seems to be.)





Please take a moment to also look at the entire Advanced Style blog as it serves as a reminder that beauty is timeless and looking chic should always be a girls main prerogative, no matter her age.

These 5 Things

Today's post is presented by the number 5.  Here are 5 things that I totally want.  That's right, I don't need them, but I really, really want them.  

Uhm, a lamb planter is just what I need.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I had one of these as a kid; if my mother knew that she could sell this for $28.00 on Etsy, it'd be game over for little lamby.

via: Rhett Didnt Give A Damn

Most people all people are not grasping my need to totally over due it for Arden's golden birthday- and I get that, it is an odd tradition.  For those of you who are not familiar, please, let me explain.  One's golden birthday occurs when a person turns the same age as the day of they were born.  For example, someone born 10/7/12 would have a golden birthday when they turn 7.  I have decided to make it pirate themed since all good pirates are in search of gold, alah a golden birthday in the truest sense.  This is something that I'm going to need to buy  in order to make Arden's special day extra special.

via: Target

If you don't know who Super Mario is and why this is incredibly amazeballs, it's a real shame and you probably need to educate yourself- right. now. Seriously, go do it.

via: ink affliction

Because what girls' moto isn't: I Don't Drink Cheap Wine- except for in college, when all girls drink cheap wine and mostly from a box.  (Woah, true story- just learned that it's packaged in a box to leave less of a carbon footprint.  And here, I thought it was because binge drinkers were less likely to shatter cardboard boxes than they are glass wine bottles.  Who knew?!)

via: CVS

I want an iPhone.  4, 4s, 5, it doesn't f'ing matter.  I'll take what I can get- that is, when my current phone upgrade is available.  Boo!

via: Digital Trends

**Actually, I liked this post and concept so much that I'm creating a new series of posts called "These (however many) Things," which will be filled with delightful finds from the interweb and I why I love them so much.**

GOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!!!

One of my 30 before 30's is to watch a professional soccer game.  In the meantime though, I'm front and center watching my niece and the 5 other five and six year olds on her team, the Stars, man up against other teams.  Go Stars!

Most games go a little something like this:

Neon Rainbow Trees

Brace yourself, 'cause this is ah-may-zing!  Have I said before that I spend waste more time on Pinterest than practically anywhere else on earth?  (And I do realize that Pinterest is not an actual place, but I spend so much time there, it should be.)  Yes?  Well let me say it again, I waste lots and lots of time there, but sometimes it's totally worth it.

While perusing, I stumbled upon another out-of-the-park find from Pinterest: Rainbows Eucalyptus trees or as I like to call them Neon Rainbow Trees.  At first, I thought it had been photoshopped (I got taken a few months back by the infamous Pinterest photoshopped lemon fiasco.  Yeah, you know why those lemons look so great after you shoot food coloring into the skin?  Because they've been photoshopped, that's why.), but after I did some highly scientific research Wikipedia-ed "rainbow eucalyptus" and saw that they were real, I was impressed.

And there's more where that came from.

Look at all of that neon goodness.  I mean come on, these trees are a fanny pack away from 1987, making them the most fierce trees in all the land.

Now, I'm 100% sure that there's a-far-too-advanced-for-me reason that the neon streaks occur, but let's Billy Madison that right now, "Chlorophyll, more like borophyl!". 'Cause this is the kinda Mother-Nature-can-trump-whatever-you-got kinda thing.  I show up to our throwdown with with my grow herbs in a plastic pot on my back porch challenge, and she smiles politely, shrugs her shoulders and goes, "Uhm... Rainbow Eucalyptus trees.  Just sayin'."

Old Blues Eyes is my Cousin?

Before Cullen was born, I assumed (erroneously) that everyone was born with blue eyes.  Cut to Cullen, who was born with the darkest eyes I have ever seen and my theory went bust.  All babies are in fact not born with blue eyes and they also don't generally lighten as they get older.  I know this, because for weeks on end, I studied Cullen's eyes for a hint of yellow or even a light brown to gradually rise up, but nope... not a single color variation has yet to appear.

When I got pregnant with Arden, I naturally assumed that my genes would be smashed again and he would come out looking just like Cullen.  Wrong.  Really wrong.  Really, really wrong.  Assuming got me nowhere (again) and he was born with blue eyes.  After we brought him home, I did some research (which really means that I stared blankly at all of the dominant and recessive eye color charts) on the statistical probability of having a parent with brown eyes (Jim) and a parent with blue eyes (me) having a child with blue eyes; I still don't know what the odds are because the charts are so damn confusing.

However, I did learn this interesting tidbit: everyone with blue eyes has one common ancestor; which means, everyone with blue eyes is related.  Ergo, I am related to Frank Sinatra, which explains a lot seeing as I have such natural talent and old-school-swanky-charisma. 


Check out these other famous people I'm realted to:
Paul Newman
Marlon Brando
Camron Diaz
Jennifer Anniston
Taylor Swift

Yeah, I'm Going to Need One of These

If this

plus this

even remotely equals this commercial, I cannot stress how quickly I want to make this into a reality.  Minus the Blackberry, of course.