Take a look... It's in a book

Just after J and I were married, we lived in a little apartment.  We had an array of mismatched furniture passed down from various family members.  We attempted to harmonize these possessions with a couch slip cover that didn't fit.  Consequently J straightened it ALL THE TIME.  It drove him sooo batty, I'm amazed we hung onto it for so long.   The rickety entertainment center leaned to which ever side the wind was blowing.  It housed a precariously inserted TV.  Ontop of the TV was a pair of rabbit ears.  As a result the TV was fickle.  Certain channels would come in and out.  Channel 5 was garbage.  But PBS came on without a hitch.  I'd love to say I'm a PBS nerd, and watch it routinely, (because it seems really intelligent people are into it) but I'm not.  This was the only time of my life I was devoted to it.  We do watch it regularly... but it's for the kids programing (it's electric, electric company... HEEEY YOOOUU GGGUUUYYYS!...).  One day after much fiddling with the tinfoil wrapped around one antennae I finally gave up on channel 5, yet again, and I turned it to a PBS station, a little bit came on about an artist named Robert Subuda.  Talk about some crazy talent! He created the most charming and fascinating pop up books.  I was floored.  The next christmas I purchased my first Robert Sabuda book.   And then as my collection grew, so did Rob's (I call him Rob 'cause were tight like that) talent.  He went from using only white, to adding color and drawings to his work.  AMAZING!  Here's a peek at one of my favorite things...

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

 WIZARD OF OZ

This one comes with green spectacles for the kids to wear.

CINDERELLA

(This book is actually by Matthew Reinhart, a similar artist who has collaborated on several projects with Mr. Subuda).

PETER PAN

This is a current favorite.

The kids get a new pop up book every valentines day.   Infinitely more meaningful than a pink teddy bear, and a great excuse for me to purchase these little gems.  (Imagine after years of valentines days the treasured collection each of them will have to share with their own bambinos). These books are rather fragile. My munchkins know that they only read them with mom.  This works to my advantage because it is sheer magic to sit down with my kiddos and watch them light up as each page turns.  I also appreciate being able to read the stories as they were meant to be heard... instead of the hollywood interpretation.

My darling aunt, CarolLynn gave me a wonderful assortment of childrens books when I was expecting Scooter.  She hand printed (with her PERFECT handwriting) this quote inside one of them.  What a brilliant baby shower gift!

Seussville Birthday

Many moons ago, before I was married, I started collecting children's books.  I'm so glad I did.  By the time the kiddo's came along, I had grown a beautiful assortment.  To be honest, I prefer the children's niche at Barnes and Noble over any other region there.  Books filled with visual mastery and charming fables that make kids giggle, and mother's teary eyed...sigh.

When I started my accumulation, I began with the beloved Dr. Seuss. I've always been a fan.

Today is his birthday.

"If you'd never been born, well what would you be?


You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree!


You might be a door knob! Or three baked potatoes!

You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes!


Or worse than all that... why, you might be a


WASN'T!


A Wasn't has no fun at all. No, he doesn't.


A Wasn't just isn't. He just isn't present.


But you... you ARE YOU! And now, isn't that pleasant!"


-- Dr. Seuss, from Happy Birthday To You!

And speaking of birthdays...here are pictures of Momo's first birthday.  Almost a year ago.  It was a Dr. Seuss affair.

The cupcakes are from Costco.  Then I added the chocolate hat (yes... those little Dr. Seuss hats are edible).  I talked about how to make chocolate cupcake toppers here...Down the Rabbit Hole  

I also made more cupcakes and the fun chocolate candle cupcake toppers. 

The mums are made from old t-shirts.  I cut up about 3 old Jazz t-shirts and a random red one.

Natalie Chanin an amazing designer posted the instructions here...

jersey flower bouquet
 I'm sooo delighted by them.  I need to make more.  These doubled nicely as decorations for the 4th of July.  I'm also drooling over the muted tones she used.  What do you think... mums for mums day?  What a clever way to repurpose old t-shirts.  

"So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. 

And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act.

And will you succeed? 

Yes! You will, indeed! 

(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) 

Kid, you'll move mountains."

-- Dr. Seuss, from Oh The Places You'll Go

Happy Birthday Theodor Seuss Geisel
Thank you for coating my imagination with color, humor and a silly cat in a hat.

Crushing on Ruffles

A couple weeks back while waiting for Ride to come skipping out of preschool, I shuffled through my subscription of Country Living. While perusing it my eyes fell upon this...

It made me grin.

To explain... 

Sometime ago I discovered these shower curtains... 

and fell deeeeply in love.  

But our courtship wouldn't last... the price tag was not budget friendly, $96.00-$165.00...gulp...yowzers!   After some contemplation I resolved to construct it.  And here is the result of my infatuation...

It cost me less than $25.00  

After I completed this project an idea materialized... what if I made a
fabulous ruffled tablecloth?!  

And this is why the Country Living photo made me smile.

It was exactly as I imagined.

Now I must create it.

Now... I'd love to give in-depth instructions, but I wasn't blogging when I made this little gem.  So I didn't save what I had jotted down on paper.   If you really want to tackle this and you feel like you need a little direction, email me, leave a comment, or give me a ring.  We'll chat.  If enough people want instructions, I'll write some up.  
Wouldn't they be scrumptious as regular curtains too?  

When I make the tablecloth, I'll take care to make directions as I go. 

Oh... and I found these at Target just after I finished the curtain.  

I did a happy little jig in the aisle.

Fall Bliss

Here is a few favorite FALL things....

LAYERS

How I EL OHH VEE EE…

LOVE to dress in layers. Sweaters, jackets, scarves, mittens... pile it on! Speaking of wonderful layers… JCREW is killing me this fall. To be totally truthful I haven’t liked their stuff in quite a while. It was boring and tired. Really... tiny pineapples stitched all over pepto pink shorts? That's when they lost me.

But now...WOW...would you just look at these outfits…

And the jewelery…

I’m drooling.

Now to figure out how anyone actually affords this stuff.

DECORATIONS

From October until January my house looks glittery shiny and festive! I’ll be posting some pics of my Halloween decorations soon. They make my home smile. In fact, I think my house morns a little every January when it all comes down. I know I do.

SOUP

Yep, it’s soup season. This is when I start making our favorites in large batches and freezing them for later consumption. A hot bowl of soup with fresh rolls on a chilly fall night… dreamy.

Here is a family favorite recipe. It’s a split pea soup with a twist. Yummers!

Split pea soup with sausage balls

1pound green split peas (2 1/4 cups)

3 quarts water

1 Tbs salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp marjoram (the spice…not butter substitute)

1 pd. Pork sausage

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrots

2 cups diced potatoes

Wash split peas, in large pot combine water and seasoning and bring to a boil. Add peas gradually so that the water does not stop boiling. Shape sausage into small balls (about 40) and roll into flour, drop into soup (no need to fry).Cover and simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until everything is tender. Add veggies cook until tender and serve.

GATHERINGS

It’s beginning of the holiday party season. Family, friends and food… what more do you need?

Well, I guess an outfit from JCREW wouldn’t hurt.

And finally…

HEAT

I love when I can finally turn the heat on in the house. I love the smell of warmth. And I adore curling up on top of a heater vent with a blanket and a book. HEAVEN!

Wonderful, wonderful fall!