I love these ruffled pillows from Pier One. We bought the pink one not that long ago for Pea’s room, but ended up returning it after a particularly harrowing drive home from the store, in which I was referred to as “stupid mommy” several times. And I’m okay that they’ve since sold out of the pink one since it was not quite the right shade of pink for Miss Thing’s bedroom, and I wasn’t all that crazy about the shape. I like my pillows to be a perfect square.

But…

Look. In cream. So dreamy on a bed. And this one, bursting with roses? There’s just something about it that I can’t stop looking at it! And of course, this one in my absolute favorite color. I just think these would jazz up any bed in the most lush way imaginable…

I really wish I’d remembered to make these cake pops for my daughter’s Valentine’s Day party at her school. I think I would’ve been very popular…

Oh, well. At least I get a second shot: Easter. I’m totally making these…

I’m currently working overtime trying to teach my oldest the value of a dollar. Or at the very least how to respect property: hers and that belonging to others. She’s having some major issues taking care of her possessions: putting toys away at the end of the day, turning the pages of her books without aggressively shredding up the corners, not destroying any and every item of her little sister’s. It is so far beyond annoying at this point and I am running out of ideas as to how to handle this. She’s not quite five, I’m unsure of what she’s capable of grasping in terms of dollars and cents, but at this point, I’m willing to try anything to make my lessons heard.

So: money. It has value. We save, we spend and we give. I think the concept of Moonjar is pretty awesome. I’ve been waiting, literally, years to put this thing into effect with Pea, and I cannot believe that the day is finally here!

And going beyond the whole save / spend / give system, I still dig piggy banks. And always have. The girls have several each. These are some cuties out there now that I just adore, like this sweet little pink owl from Target. And I love elephants. And when Pea was born, my husband’s grandmother’s best friend (follow that one?) gave her a piggy bank that she’d painted herself (she’s a designer and talented artist in her own right), but the real treat of it all was how it was presented to Pea: it was in a gift bag with layers and layers of tissue paper, and taped to the tissue paper were tons and tons of coins. It was so delightful! And the Buddha Bank for Wisdom, because we all want to be smart with our money, right? Never to early to begin that journey! And my personal favorite, one of which I had as a kid, and love to give to children when they are having their first communion (or otherwise important rite of passage) with assorted rolls of coins, is the Uncle Sam Register Bank. I hate to call it ‘retro,’ because that just makes me feel old. But, it is retro, so let’s just call it what it is, and say that I am so happy to see this good old (ouch!) stand-by back in circulation. Does it bring back memories for you, too?

So, when did you start teaching your kids the value of a dollar? And how? And more importantly, are they getting it?

I love pretty little dishes scattered about, to catch things. You know, the ’stuff’ that gets emptied out of pockets, cleaned out of purses. Whatever, just stuff…

I have several of these on my bedside table. They are gorgeous, make me so very happy at the end of the day, when I drop my hair clips in one, or my lip balm in another. They just add a hint of glamour and a lot of practicality to my whole bedside set-up…

We’re taking the girls back to Texas this month to visit family. We haven’t been back since we fled the heat and twang of Texas for the snow of Utah. I don’t miss much about Texas. Perhaps Uncle Julio’s, drive-thru Starbuck’s. And the family, on occasion. But there is something that northern Texas does better than most other places I’ve been: children’s stores. This is not an overstatement. Some of the best shopping I ever did for my girls was in Dallas and the surrounding areas. So imagine my delight when I learned that my newest obsession, Little Bean, is located right in the heart of it all…

I’m totally loading up on the Karen Playsuit and the Pink Chicken Rosie dress, in all it’s 60’s Love Child glory…

I stumbled onto made by joel via the givers log, which is another site worth checking out, too, for some pretty incredible ideas on upping the amazing! factor on your giving. (Did you know that you can slap a mailing address label on a Frisbee and send it, just like this, through the mail? Neither did I! But that opens up a whole new world of opportunities for summertime entertaining!) If you do just one thing today, make it be checking out the sidebar of inspiration goodies along the sidebar of this site. I promise, you will not be disappointed. At all.

Now, back to made by joel. Wow. First of all, print off his printables for your kids to color. Such a charming departure from coloring books. And then spend the time that it takes, which is not all that long since it’s looking to be a fairly new site, to peruse the site from start to finish. It takes family fun time project to a whole new level. Seriously, this Dad is nothing if not inspiring! Finger puppets! The hippest dollhouse I’ve ever seen! I’m drooling over how he documents the projects he’s tackled for his children. Who, I might add, are some very lucky little people…

Yes, they might look ‘cheap’ because in France they are cheap. Sort of like the Parisian woman’s Keds shoe. Or Jack Purcell. Or Converse Chuck. Or Superga. All of which have been my staple all-white kick, at one time or another. And all of which have currently been replaced with my awesome new pair of grey Bensimons. I’m so glad I finally took the plunge. They’re not all that easy to find here, they’re not all that cheap they’re definitely not white, but I’m going to wear these things until they walk away from me.

The girls love these sandboxes: princess castle for Pea and mermaids for Coco. They can be entertained with them for hours. I, of course, love that. What I do not love is the ensuing clean-up when they are done.

C’est la vie…

I am obsessed with “Vogue Living Houses Gardens People,” a gift from my mother, an interior designer. I could thumb through this book for hours. And anything with Marina Rust in it, she of patrician all-American beauty? I love peeking into her lovely life. Can’t get enough of that…

The girls and I are back in Vancouver. Yay. And since the last time we were here, my oldest was limping around in her too-small rain boots, we found her a new pair in her size (I can never seem to keep up with kids and their ever-growing feet).

She will never, I repeat never ever ever, take these boots off…

Part most-chic-little-girl-in-the-world and part space alien, I can’t decide which one these boots point toward most, it doesn’t matter. She puts them on and proudly stomps through the tiniest of rain puddles that she can find…

I don’t remember doing that as a kid. I avoided anything messy. I’m glad my girls aren’t like me in that regard. Life is too short. Now if you’ll excuse me, we have some rain puddles to stomp through…

Redken All Soft Shampoo and All Soft Conditioner have been my go-to hair care staple for years. The two work wonders on my coarse and naturally wavy hair. But now and then I like to mix it up with something different, and I love to try new things. And I’ve been using Aveeno’s new shampoo and conditioner and whoa. My coarse and dry hair is feeling like spun silk. Seriously. This stuff is amazing.

I love the idea of these hand-knit ottoman seats in a great room or a family room. But really, I can’t manage to finish my super-chic hand-knit hat, so taking that into consideration, I would love to settle on a couple of reasonable alternatives. And I say reasonable because they are ultimately going to be used as seating for the girls, and we all know what that means: sticky and gooey and… need to be replaceable. But still look good. A challenge I am always up for.

These soft-sided ottomans are just perfect. A couple of these on one side of our square coffee table, just waiting for our girls to perch themselves atop to become part of the conversation? I can see it now. And could they be priced any better? I have seen them in the store several times now. I keep pulling them down, sitting on them, and then putting them back on going on my merry way. And thinking about them the whole time. Why? Why don’t I just buy a pair already? I sincerely hope this doesn’t turn into the whole antique store lesson: if you find it, love it, buy it because it won’t be there when you go back for it…

I do not like overhead lighting. No track lighting; no canned or recessed or pot or whatever you want to call it lighting for me. I like lamps. Floor lamps. Table lamps. Desk and task lamps. An occasional sconce scattered about.

I am completely obsessed with the Zak table lamp from Crate and Barrel right now. This is a massive table lamp. And in our massive master bedroom, a pair of these on our non-matching bedside tables are perfect to unify the sleep set-up.

I love swings. When I take the girls to the park, I can’t myself resist a good pump on the swings. And over the summer, something possessed me to have my husband install one of those white wicker swings from IKEA downstairs in our playroom. And beyond what it’s doing to one wall in particular (taking chunks out of the drywall every time it hits), it’s possibly the most popular spot in the house. Although it’s not being used quite as I’d envisioned it: lazily twisting about as a girl, curled up on it amidst pillows and sheepskins, reads a good book on a snowy day. It’s used more as a stand-in for the aggressive pump and kick sessions we’re missing at the park now that everything is covered in ten feet of snow.

But…

I read this article recently on Apartment Therapy’s kid’s site, and oh my gosh. Yes, swings inside your home! Very cool. Love it. I’m all for it. But let’s take it up a notch. Elevate it from a cute spot for the kids to a grown-up spot for reflection (yes, occasionally shared with the wee ones)…

The Autumn Leaf Swing. It is a functional work of art; a sculptural piece of ‘furniture.’ It is a thing of beauty, and I would love nothing more than to install this stunning swing right smack in front of my spread of great room windows, and lazily swing on it, while staring out into the mountains in front of us. I get goosebumps thinking about it. To say I am obsessed is an understatement.

I’ve bitten my nails most of my life. Disgusting habit, but I am a tightly wound ball of stress with not that many outlets. Periodically, I stopped cold turkey. Such as three months before my wedding. Most women start going to the gym when staring down their impending nuptials, right? I stopped biting my nails. And then promptly started up only days after getting hitched. Then stopped and started. Stopped. Started. Seeing a pattern here?

But I’ve stopped once again. This time, I’m hoping for good. Why? How? ‘Madness’ by Chanel. I saw it on the counter at a department store and that was that. I knew that some how, some way, I would wear this incredible color on my digits. But now, I’m coming to the end of my bottle. I have no idea how this happened, I haven’t had it that long. And I can’t find a replacement bottle anywhere! What’s up with that, Chanel?

A suitable replacement: Chinatown by Nars. (I love Nars. Genius. Everything he touches.)

Done.