So, let me tell you something about my kid. She has hair down to her bum. No, we’re not talking Crystal Gayle here, but we’re getting there. So I get it. She was due for a trim. Okay, a cut. Since I’d actually given her a trim. Myself. All weepy and barely noticeable as it was. So I did what any good mom would do. I made no thing of it. It’s only hair, right? We went about our play-date. Went to our baking class. Then off to the salon. For something – anything – that would fix the whole side bang situation. And?

Nothing.

After a 30-minute consultation between myself, the stylist and the manager, two of the three of us were still at a loss as to how to fix it and unwilling to move forward with the shears. (And I was not one of the three. Myself? I was thinking Penelope Cruz, circa “Vanilla Sky.”) So I took control. Barked some orders. Called the shots. Did everything short of grab those scissors and do the deed myself.

And?

Eh…

Let’s just say that my girl did indeed finally get that couple of inches cut off. But the side bangs? Well…

We’re working the accessories angle right now.

I like accessories, as it turns out.

Some favorites: anything named after John Coltrane and made of feathers has got to be good. Right? Right.

Anything from Emerson Made.

And bobby pins – you just can’t go wrong with bobby pins when it comes to holding back errant bangs, right?

And for my girl who’s finally moved on from the world of Disney princesses to Hello Kitty, these adorable ponytail holders. Of course, they don’t actually help with the crazy side bangs, but they make my girl who gave herself her first official haircut smile. And that’s enough for me.

But the weather is an adjustment. Rainy and cold.

At least the girls and I get to put our collection of rain boots to good use. Finally. Because we never get rain here in our neck of the mountains. So on the one day a year when it slightly drizzles, it’s a little overkill for me to break out my reliable English Wellies. But here in Vancouver? No one looks at me cross-eyed. Yay.

And the girls? Pink and horses. Of course. But they wear theirs all of the time at home. They never get a cross-eyed look. Ever. Oh, well. I suppose it helps to come up to a grown-ups knees and have blond curls and giant blue eyes.

I’m taking Pea to see The Nutcracker in SLC in a few weeks with one of her best friends from school, along with her mother. They are moving to Switzerland for two years. We are sad and will miss them very much. But this will be a celebration of sorts, and so we are going to get dressed up. But seeing as we don’t have many opportunities for fancy dress around here, I was not looking forward to dropping a wad on a one-time-only dress and shoes. But Pea has been begging me for a pouffy holiday dress. And so let me just give a big shout out of “thanks!” to good old Target for pulling through with quite the sophisticated selection. And machine washable, to boot! In fact, we scored so well for Pea that we threw in some dressy duds for little Coco, too. No red velvet, no white faux fur trim. Phew.

And if you’re into knitting, I’m completely obsessed with these two patterns: the first is a to-die-for sweater that you will put on and never, ever want to take off. The second is the most fabulously chic sleeveless-tunic-sweater-type thing. Only way cooler. So cool that there just aren’t really words to adequately describe how fantastically gorgeous this particular piece of clothing is. Both patterns were purchased on Etsy. Both were a steal.

And as we start to prepare to head up to Vancouver, B.C. for some time with my husband, who will be relocating there for six weeks to cover the Olympic games this winter, I took it as a golden opportunity to finally get my girls their passports. Which I know that I do not technically have to do. But I figured, why not? Just get it done. Pretend that Canada requires a U.S. passport for entry for a minor child and just get this tediously tortuous process of passporting the girls crossed off of my To Do List. And of course, it’s a great excuse to find them the most adorable passport covers ever, right? Which would be vinyl. Holds up well. And pink. Pea would have nothing less. And from Etsy. Support handmade, and all. Too adorable.

And Pea had her Thanksgiving feast with her fellow pre-K classmates this week, and we were assigned ’soup.’ I went out on a limb and made curried pumpkin-apple soup, and I can honestly say it was a decent hit with the four-to-five-year old contingent. I ladled each kid’s serving into an individual glass jar (risky? I wasn’t sure, but it turned out fine in the end…) that you’d use for canning preserves to make the commute from our home down the mountain to Pea’s school effortless. It involves many speed bumps and was bound to be a disaster, but worked out well and was actually pretty charming as an overall vessel for serving the soup. I opted to go without spoons and let the kids sip it out of their little jars. And the parents went nuts over what was remaining, always a good sign. And you have to love it when the room mother takes home five servings for her family. Flattery will get you everywhere with me. I think we’re going to add the soup to our Thanksgiving Day menu this week. We’ve never done soup before. Why not?

Which brings me to this last bit of information: hurry on down to your local grocery and buy up some canned pumpkin if you plan on making anything using canned pumpkin for the holidays this year. My husband heard a story on NPR last week that whatever canned pumpkin you see on the shelves at your local grocery? That’s all you’re going to see this season. There’s something wonky with the pumpkin crops or something, and what you see is what you get. I ran out and bought several huge cans of the good stuff as soon as I heard. No way I’m risking a Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. It would haunt me for the coming year…

Good luck!

A couple of months ago, we received a letter from American Express that a severed employee of theirs had stolen account information from many account holders. We were among them. But not to worry. Because American Express was going to look out for us. Take care of us. Make sure that nothing happened to us.

Except that something did happen. A couple of weeks ago, some asshole in Dublin somehow got my American Express account information and purchased tickets on Air France round-trip. Totaling well into the multiple thousands of dollars.

Hey, thanks American Express, for catching that fraud. And then doing nothing about it. You are super-awesome. The barely minutes it took you to protect your ass? And Air France’s ass? Impressive. The ten days it took you to protect my ass? The 80 minutes my husband was on hold? The transferred calls? The misinformation? The replacement card that still isn’t here? The phone calls that I had to make to Air France to get to the bottom of this mess? The nights that I lay awake worried this would never be resolved? That we would ultimately be responsible for these charges? The fact that no one on the other end of the 800 number for Customer Service on the back of my American Express card was able to transfer us to your Fraud Department because you’d made major cutbacks in that department during a time when fraud is at it’s highest due to our economy being in the crapper? Not so impressive.

American Express, here’s a thought: the next time that an employee of yours, and I’m not even saying that these two incidents are related, but do the math geniuses, steals the account information of thousands of your customers, and you’ve already taken the cost-cutting measures of cutting back on your Fraud Department, just go ahead and do the wise thing: cancel the old accounts and issue new accounts for the compromised cardholders. You’d have saved everyone a lot of time, money and most of all angst. Seriously. Preventive measures, you know?

My car battery died yesterday afternoon. Right after our water heater sprung an impressive leak.

It could be worse.

Moving on.

Stella McCartney’s new line for kids at The Gap is finally out. It’s very impressive. And way pricy. Looking forward to it making it’s way to the sale bins. It will… But definitely worth checking it out.

A friend mentioned that Trendy Togs is having a Going Out of Business Sale. There are still some incredible deals to be found on the site if you have the patience (and time) to do some digging around.

If you can still find this cardigan at your local Target in your size, stock up. Incredible. At my Target, also marked down to $17.99 – a steal. You will live in this all winter, ideal for layering over tanks and tees, it’s the perfect weight. And the colors are impeccable. Nearly impossible to find, sold out on-line, but worth scouring your neighborhood box store for one or two. You will not be disappointed.

Okay, I need to get back into bed. I’m feeling a tad light-headed. Hope you are faring much better…

My Mama Made It is my newest addiction, and it’s such a new blog that it’s going to take you no time to cruise through her ‘archives.’ Great tutorials for sewing projects, and the projects are easy. Check out the instructions on how to make ruffles, which I can’t stop making! I’ve been sewing them, centered, down the fronts of boy’s tanks from Target. The girls love to wear them, feel all fancy, and they cost nothing to make. (And the ruffles? They can be made by hand, as well. You do not need a sewing machine to do these.)

This lesson in how to shoot self-portraits from a photographer. The author, Monica Shulman, was a guest blogger on another site I recently stumbled onto and have been enjoying, The Blah, Blah, Blahg. I love photography, love taking pictures, but it occurs to me as I go through my collection that there are so few pictures of me! I want some lovely photographs of me!

This absolutely beautiful bridal belt of flowers makes me want to get married again! And wear exactly what the model in this photo is wearing! How stunning, right? Just so perfect. Twigs & Honey, an Etsy shop, has just charmed me with their whimsical designs. Delicious!

Sparkle Power has a recipe for easy-to-make bubbles that cannot be beat! And I’m guessing your home is a lot like our home in the summer, just chock-full of bubble-blowing fun in the backyard. And your kids? Do they eat the bubbles like mine do? I don’t know what else they could possibly be doing with them – we always seem to be running out!

I’ve been reading Creature Comforts for a while now, it’s possible I’ve even written about the site before, but it’s still one of my favorites for design inspiration.

For the DIY-er, check out Cucumbersome. Great tutorials and craft projects. I love the corsage shirt tutorial. And the recycled fabric necklace tutorial. Just what you need to wile away the long summer days…

Centsational Girl… Fabulous for Less. The name says it all, right? I love looking at her before and after shots. Ordinary (and cheap!) things made extra-special. And a lot of it is done with a can of spray paint, my newest obsession for upgrading tired and boring old furniture pieces in my own house.

If you have little girls in your life, you must check out the designs at Whitten Grey. I don’t even have words for how awe-inspiringly gorgeous their dresses are. You can find them on-line at Emma & Avery. I adore this one. This one, too.

And I’m about to tackle some sewing projects for myself, and I’m using the Built by Wendy patterns. So I checked out her site. And I had no clue that you could just order her clothing! Of course, I intend to sew mine up myself, but how cool to peruse her line. I love it. Classic but with a twist – right up my alley! I especially love the dresses for summer, like this one. Perfect for a summer date night, right? Her clothing is the reason I will continue to work on improving my sewing skills.

Marais shoes. So cute, and so reasonably priced. They have the perfect summer sandal, and it’s more than affordable.

The sale page at Tulle. Whoa, is all I can say. Cute clothing, phenomenal prices. I love the button-down shirt dress. And for less than $25? More than a steal! And the belted cardigan sweater? Under $40? Sold. And really, even without the bonus sale prices, this clothing line is priced really well. Do I see a summer wardrobe shopping spree in your future?

These Bensimon Ballerine sneakers. Pea has a pair, and I just love that they are functional tennis shoes, but look more than appropriate with a cute little dress. I can’t get enough of them. And while they are a little pricy, they are also machine washable, so that adds more life to them then we will probably ever need. I just hope she doesn’t wear them into the ground this summer, so that she can pass them down to her little sister when she’s outgrown them.

These cardboard appliances from Pomme in NYC are just plain cool. If you don’t have a play kitchen set-up for your kid yet, I highly recommend one. We spend hours in ours, playing restaurant, mommy & baby whipping up purees, whatever. It’s fun for the whole family! I should add here that we had a cardboard playhouse that lasted for well over 18 months. In fact, it was still going strong when I donated it to the local drop-in childcare center, and that was only because the girls were gifted with a fabric playhouse last Christmas, from their Opa.

Do you have any favorite sites you’d like to share?

Bonus: Memorial Day Weekend Sale. Now, you can pick up a Clementine dress for your own little girl. On sale! Coco has one, and it’s my absolute favorite dress on her. And how about this chic little skirt? With a plain white tank top? Perfect…

Enjoy your holiday weekend!

Into knitting or crocheting? Get on Ravelry! You have to register, and then it takes about two days to receive your log-in account information, but it is so worth the wait… (And if you’re not into knitting or crocheting? This site will make you want to learn…)

Want to be inspired by real people who make beautiful things? Sugar City is my newest obsession (thanks, Dancer!). I’m working on the Village Frock for Pea and just ordered the pattern for the Servant Frock. (Don’t you just love the names? Talk about evoking another era.) The patterns are easy to work with, come with very detailed instruction booklets and many variations on the same pattern that makes these fantastically chic little girl’s dresses a must.

This dress for a little girl. It’s made from a refashioned men’s dress shirt. The tutorial says it’s easy. And I’m dying to try it. And also? Kicking myself for that huge bag of my husband’s discarded button-downs that I recently dropped off at Goodwill. So this project? It’ll have to wait. But it’s on… the list.

Finally! Something to do with that huge Ziploc bag of fabric scraps… Love these fabric remnant necklaces. So cute on a little girl. Such a perfect project for a mama to make with her little girl. Here’s a tutorial. But it’s those necklaces with the flowers on them that really have my imagination on overdrive. How gorgeous are they?

This little book arrived from Japan yesterday. Apparently, the “Nina” doll that it’s all about is quite popular over there. Little did I know that you could make your own Nina doll, and this book? Gives you the pattern and the instructions. Needless to say, it’s in Japanese, but I’ve used Japanese sewing patterns before, and if you have a basic understanding of sewing, you can work with them just fine. And if you are confident in logic? It’ll be a cinch. Anyway, the book also (and more importantly!) includes patterns (and gorgeous color photographs) for Nina’s very own chic little wardrobe. It’s a project that the girls and I will tackle this summer. And it will be an ongoing one, but one that will bring much delight (and satisfaction!) to theirs (and my) faces!

And courtesy of Unruly Things, I have been inspired to make more of an effort. I’ve been slacking lately. Running out the door every morning in the same sweatpants that I’ve been wearing for the past three days. And my favorite sneakers that have been chewed up by sweet little Lola on the left side of the right shoe. And the same tee-shirt that I slept in the night before. My grey roots are showing and really? Would it kill me to put on a little blush? Wake up my tired-looking visage? Anyway, I am human and have fallen into one of those… what do you call them? Slumps. Or ruts. But Unruly Things is going to pull me out of it. I just know it will. And this is the perfect time to try – summer (well, almost). As in summer + dresses = effortless grace. Throw one on, and then even with yesterday’s hair and flip-flops, you look great. And speaking of dresses, this is the one (in ‘Johnnie’s Favorite Print’), found while perusing the past posts on the Unruly site, that caught my eye and imagination. I want this dress! The cut, the print, the fabric… It’s too perfect for words.

This French woman’s blog. I am obsessed. No one can put together such a stunningly simple and chic outfit as a French woman can. I love to scan through the photos of her ensembles. Most of them with hand-made items. Just impeccable. And again, inspiring. In my next life? Please, please, please let me come back as a fantastically modern French woman with style to spare. Please.

Love You Baby. My favorite new children’s store. I haven’t bought anything from them yet, but I cannot stop looking at the clothes! Just so simple, sumptuous and timeless. But with an edge. And you know me, I love that ‘edge.’ How incredible is this little skirt? With a pair of Havaiana flip-flops and a plain white tank-top? Pea would be in heaven.

Superga sneakers. I used to hoard these on trips to Italy. I’d hit every store in town, looking for my size, specific colors, and then lug them back to the States. I adored them. But somewhere along the path of my life, I let them go. And now? They are making them in tiny kid sizes, and my passion has been reignited. So cute, so practical, so many choices.

This Zodiac watch. I love a good and sporty watch. This one is chunky, but not so oversized that I’d look as if I borrowed my husband’s watch. Just perfect for an active lifestyle.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! And Happy Mother’s Day…

I went with the pink and orange swirl invitations, so at least I knew what my color scheme would be. And when her husband saw the invitation and proclaimed “we love orange and pink together!” I knew that I was on the right track.

And since this is a shower for baby #2, I didn’t feel the need to get into the real baby shower extravaganzas that we’re all familiar with when we’re pregnancy with our first. No diaper cakes, pin the diaper on the baby, etc. I opted to keep it low-key. A brunch. But being that I adore a good project, I had to throw something in there that would get our creative juices flowing. I had a few ideas floating around in my head. In the end, it came down to a tie between picture frames and onesies. I let Pea choose. She went with the clothes. But more on that later…

A quick trip to Target garnered quite a bunch of goodies that fit in perfectly with the overall shower’s look. As the centerpiece, I went with a pink storage bin with a chalkboard front on it. Obviously, something the new parents will find handy in the coming days, once it’s life as a centerpiece has come and gone. It can be used as a portable diaper caddy (loaded up with diapers, wipes and cream), or for toys or books. See? The gift that keeps on giving. And then, I loaded it up with 20 Circo onesies. (I went with the all-white 5-packs, one in each size: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months.) Centerpiece / project: I rolled the onesies up, one at a time, and tied a pink bow around them. On the chalkboard, I wrote “Design a Onesie.” And then in two little pails, I threw in some fabric markers and glitter fabric pens. I’ve used this activity at all of the showers I’ve hosted, it’s always been a huge hit. It brings people out of their shells, and it garners the new mom an additional however-many onesies (one per guest) that she’s going to need. Don’t you remember those first months? Ten outfit changes a day? (The Circo onesies are far better than the Gerber ones, which I’ve always found to be too tiny to begin with, and then shrink additionally. Bringing me to my next tip – launder the onesies first, then roll ‘em up.)

The menu is simple. Since it’s brunch, I went with two stratas… One vegetarian and the other Italian-style, with bacon. These are brilliant because you can prep them the night before, leave them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, and then cook them off the morning of the event – they generally take about one hour, and they can feed an army. Then we’re having individual berry cups with Limoncello yogurt dollops (homemade and so easy, but always sure to impress), assorted breads (as in banana, zucchini, store-bought) and then Izze sodas and bottled waters. For the sodas, I went with the Clementine and the Pomegranate flavors, so that I could stay with the overall pink and orange theme. A minor detail, but so charming, I think. Pea and I spent the morning rolling up orange plastic-ware in orange napkins and tying pink bows around them.

I’m giving the mom a pair of adorable pink and orange polka-dotted pajamas and a frame in pink and orange that Pea made, with a photo of her son in it (he and Pea are classmates and destined for marriage, according to her son).

The whole thing, from grocery store to Target and all points in between, and home again, prepped and loaded into the car, took about 6 hours. And I’m so tickled with how it all turned out. I really think that simple is the way to go. I wish I could post some photos, camera is still M.I.A. But I’m sure to get some shots tomorrow, and will pass them along.

Happy weekend!

But now? Nesting. Big-time. No, huge time…

Some things I’m working on…

My second knitting lesson. My first was a smashing success. I learned the basics, and then for the next hour of the ninety minute session, I was officially in a ’stitch ‘n bitch’ with my instructor. My next lesson? Reading patterns. And then I’m on my way. Thus far, I have two scarves under my belt and a pair of socks just calling my husband’s name. You can say I’m hooked. In fact, I’m so hooked that it’s all I think about all day long. So it goes without saying that I’m really into this website right now, Knit & Tonic. And I’m also into the author of the website’s book, “Custom Knits.” My first project will be the Drive-Thru sweater, for one of the girls. Well, my first real project. And my second project? The Somewhat Cowl sweater. The answer to my sweater dreams. Seriously, in this sweater, I’m going to be Miss Sweater Girl. I’m so excited, I can barely sleep at night. Seriously, there is nothing more incredible for the soul than a really satisfying hobby. And this? Knitting? It’s mine. It’s now mine. And I’m not letting it go. (And might I just add here that if I’d known sooner how simple knitting was? I’d have taken this craft up eons ago. Really. It is not difficult. Not by a long-shot.)

I’ve also pulled my sewing machine back out from the depths of the laundry room cabinets. The cabinets above the sink. I was mostly reeled back in by a blog that I stumbled onto on The Purl Beehive, a resting spot for the many incredible crafting websites out there. You don’t need a membership to peruse the many good reads. The one that caught my eye was “Katie Did.” She has a beautiful family and makes beautiful things for her beautiful family, and it was all so terrible inspiring to me that I can’t stop thinking about the beautiful things that I’m going to make for my own beautiful family. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. And did I mention beautiful? So, my husband gave me two books that I’m finding inspiring. One is “Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe,” and the other is “Sew U Home Stretch: The Built by Wendy Guide to Sewing Knit Fabrics.” Both books are for an advanced sewer, but as they say, practice makes perfect.

And then, there’s my stamping craze. I’m obsessed with Lena Corwin’s new book, “Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens.” I’m off to the art supply store tomorrow to stock up on printing supplies. And I have a long list of projects in my head, including hand-stamped onesies to give my friend who’s little girl is due next month – the one for whom I’m hosting the shower. Anyway, the book is gorgeous, and nothing, if not completely inspiring. I’ve been taking it to bed with me every night for a couple of months, dreaming of the projects I’m going to stamp and stencil. And then, this morning, I woke up, and I knew. I just knew. That tomorrow? Tomorrow was going to be the day.

I’m just feeling revitalized right now, at my newfound passion for making things with my own hands. It’s satisfying. Oh, so satisfying. There aren’t even words for me to describe just how very satisfying it is. Now, I’m writing lists for materials that I need. And projects that I’d like to try. Downloading knitting patterns and studying the patterns in my favorite sewing book. Which is in Japanese. But no matter. A pattern is a pattern is a pattern. And I’m going to get to sewing…

Just as soon as I return from the fabric store…