Monday Memo: 5 Things I Wish I Had More Time For

 1. A leisure breakfast. (wouldn't hurt to be in a foreign city eating fresh croissants and thé)

2. Doing my hair.  Having good hair at the start of the day seems to make everything ok. 

3. Yoga. I used to be so diligent about my yoga practice... 

4. A night out and a little silly fun. (on a side note, some serious 80's hair in the background of this shot)

5. Creative Expression. I am currently feeling art deprived - sewing, painting, and crafting are activities I used to have so much time for. I would love some time to start and, here's the clincher, FINISH a project.

What are some things that you wish you had time for lately?

Images from: From bferry.wordpress.com, pinterest, healthyoga.com,top gun and super stock.  

Happy Halloween

 Picking out her pumpkin in the field last week

 Gramma and Grampa's spooky front door

 monkeying around

Last year's skeleton in the pumpkin patch

Happy Halloween! We still have pretty young kids in the house so Halloween is still a bit of a mystery for them but tonight Maya will trick or treat for the first time so that ought to speed up the learning curve. 

Today we carved our pumpkins and roasted the seeds. Here are a couple yummy seed recipes:

Sweet Mix:
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 TB melted butter
1 TB sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice


Wash and pat dry your seeds. Toss the seeds with the butter, sugar and spices. Heat oven to 300 degrees and bake on a baking sheet for 45 - 60 minutes. 
From southerfood.com


Salty Mix:
Pumpkin seeds
Olive oil
Salt
Soy sauce


Douse and toss liberally with olive oil, salt and soy sauce.  Roast in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until they are nicely browned and crispy. 
From Huffinttonpost.com

Sebastien James - A Birth Story

Some folks like reading other people's birth story - I am one of them. I think they are fascinating.  Herein is mine for my second child:

My first born was almost a week early so naturally I expected as much from the second. I was soooo eager not to be pregnant anymore.  Despite the fact that during my first pregnancy we completely gutted our home and embarked on a major remodel whilst living in our westfalia camper and in our friend’s guestroom, this pregnancy felt, well, more tiresome. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t thrive in this pregnancy like I did during the first. I was tired more, my joints ached earlier and it seemed to go on forever. So when the due date came and went, I was beyond impatient. I was doing everything under the sun to get labor started but this kid was in no rush. I wanted to respect that but I just could not – I was too eager to get going, meet my new baby (was it a boy or a girl?!?!) and shelf the yoga pants.

TGIF

This is my morning so far.  Care to join me? No? What? This doesn't look like fun to you?

Oh. Ok.

I guess having your toddler get in to the pantry drawer and spread out some dry red beans, split peas, barley, cous cous and rice on your kitchen floor at 10AM isn't everyone's cup of tea. She was attempting to sweep it all up though. Need to work on those skills a little it seems.

Have a lovely weekend!

Coveting Now

From MonkeysAlwaysLook - I ordered two if these rings, one with each kid's name on it.  I wanted a way to carry them around with me at all times without being too showy, just a subtle reminder and these fit the bill perfectly. She makes them in silver too but I wanted something a little different so I bought mine in copper.  They just arrived today and I am in love.  

Ok. Ok. I admit it. It's Fall and it's COLD.  Time for cozy cowl neck scarves like these. 

The Quinny Zapp.  After trying a variety of double strollers, I concluded that they were all just too heavy, too bulky and too much of a pain in the butt. Since I had already sold my MacLaren single, I ventured off into new territory - the Quinny Zapp.  It is AWESOME. It folds up super small and is easy to handle on sidewalks. My oldest is way into her bike these days so she doesn't seem to mind not riding in the stroller. I bring along the Ergo too just in case.  

Cozy flannel pj's from Jcrew. They, of course, make these look almost sexy where as we all know what they really look like...at 11AM on a Sunday. Not so hot but still soooo comfy.

I bought these boots for my niece who is turning 1 next week. It was incredibly hard to find shoes with a rubber sole in size 2 - but happened across these at my fav kid's consignment store. 

Schooling vs. Unschooling

I have read some very interesting posts and articles about school lately which has fueled some thoughts of my own on the subject.  My 2 1/2 year old daughter goes to a Waldorf preschool (my 6 month old son is still home obviously) and so far, I just adore the program.  I didn't do any research beforehand since this was the only preschool in my neighborhood that accepted 2 1/2 year olds - I toured the space and met the teachers and that was it.  I just fell instantly in love with the vibes and the agenda.  It wasn't until a few weeks into the program that I finally found some time to look up what Waldorf really stood for.  Luckily, I liked their ideas!  (See a recent NY Times article here) Unfortunately, once your child get to elementary and beyond, the costs of a Waldorf education get pretty steep.

Having grown up and succeeded in public schools, (until after HS when I went to a private liberal arts college) it may seem strange that I am thinking of NOT sending my kids to public school. I had the great fortune of going to a public school in a very active community where there were plenty of parents involved and there was money to back up all the arts/sports/etc programs. It was the most "private" public school you could find.  It was sort of expected that you would continue on to college...and preferably to a Stanford, Harvard, Middlebury type.  I played the game so well and enjoyed it really.  I liked school.  I liked engaging with my teachers, discovering new subjects, socializing with friends. I fit the bill to a T and went on to attend a prestigious college back east just like I was supposed to. The funny thing was, my parents never once pushed me this way or that - my mom jokes that I was so hard on myself that there was no room for them to add any pressure. They just let me do my thang.

Testing the Boundaries

My aunt asked all the women in our family to write a little something for her daughter as she embarks on the path to adulthood.  So here is what I wrote to my tween cousin:

My favorite story to tell people about the beauty of childhood stars you as the main character. You were maybe 3 or 4 years old and we were all gathered at the grandparent’s house is West Seattle. Dinner was taking a little longer than expected so you wandered over to the pool’s steps, innocently sitting on the ground with your feet dangling in the pool water. As dinner was called, Jann asked you to please not get in the pool now and to come to the table. You declared that you were simply sitting with your feet in the water; you were not getting in. A few minutes later and again Jann is asking you to come over for dinner and to not get in to the pool. By now, you were sitting in the pool, on the first step, so just your legs submerged in the water. You repeated your declaration that you were in fact not in the pool, just your legs. Another few minutes and you eased yourself one step down so that you were now up to your waist. We were all busy serving out dinner so didn’t think to ask you again to come to the table but Jann was watching you and I could see the wheels in your head spinning. A few moments later, we all heard a gentle splash and a soft giggle. You had indeed hopped into the pool and you immediately looked up at your mom, knowing that you had now clearly acted against her wishes. Instantly, you protested, “I didn’t get in, I fell in!”

Style vs Fashion

 Iris Apfel from PEM

Iris Apfel from nytimes.com

vs. 

 latenight

weardrobe

 When I was in high school, I had some serious style.  Not style that everyone would necessarily want to emulate but style none-the-less.  I wore gypsy/princess dresses made out of these great blues and greens and sequins and glitter thread.  I wore homemade skirts with a belt and boots and a little boy's raincoat.  Like I said, it wasn't popular fashion but it was eye-catching.  I have since slowly but steadily dropped back down to mainstream fashion. Not that being fashionable is bad or boring but it just doesn't take as much imagination or project otherworldliness.  And it's easy. Sorry to say, but it takes about 3 minutes to throw on some skinny jeans, a striped T, boots and maybe a chunky necklace.  It looks good and it feels cool but it is just a tad bit...well, easy.  Where as these outfits from Iris are mind-blowingly imaginative and make you gasp out loud.  They are works of art.  I need some more of that in my life...I just have to be able to nurse an infant and run after a toddler in them.  No big thang right?

and for more on Iris, read this Poudre de Riz bit.

Getting ready for Fall

photos from thesartorialist.com and garancedore.com

I am a sucker for the black tights/jeans with black boots. I love the long lean look it gives. These are all photos from a few years back when this look seemed to pop up everywhere but I think it's still relevant today. I love the jean jacket worn as a shirt in that last shot.  Smart idea to extend the life of the jean jacket into fall/winter.  

Skinny Minny

gwenyth paltrow

 jcrew

in the seams

Ok. So I did it. I BOUGHT a pair of skinny jeans - I didn't inherit them from a friend, they aren't hand me downs from my sister.  I actually went to a store and searched for the best pair I could find. I know, I am like the last person on the face of the earth to get down with this trend.  I am not sure why it took me so long. But I do know that after two kids, I want to feel "cool" again and frankly, this seemed like an easy way to go about doing that. I still like my boot cuts and straight legs and my favorite levis skinny boot cuts (although I will admit I sewed them a little itty bitty skinnier). But there is something about a good pair of stretchy skinny jeans that make both a tshirt and a satiny dressy shirt look equally fantastic.  I'm hooked. 

Harvesting Season

                                                

 Maya last year

 our cider

The last of the harvest...apple picking and cider making are the last harvesting activities of the season. We also hunted for chantrelles in the wooded area above the farm and ran into a bear - that's always fun. Despite being quite chilly in the mornings, the sun came out in full force to warm us up during the day. I am really enjoying the farm life lately - we go out there every other week or so and it is really a welcome retreat from the city's hustle and bustle.  Granted I don't have to run the farm, so I get to enjoy it to its fullest.  My parents are redoing the cottage on the property so that we can have our own space now that we are toting 2 kids around.  I am so excited! So farewell warm weather...hello Fall.  I am officially acknowledging that the cold weather is here to stay.  

headshots

What is it about passport/license photos that make you look so ghastly?  I tried, I really did.  I put on makeup for peet's sake and brushed my hair!  But nooooo, the bags under my eyes are visible, my pale skin from lack of summer sun is visible and my eyes look super small. I should have practiced beforehand.  Oh well.  I just have to look at this passport photo for a decade. No big deal. Just ten years.

La Maison

Some fun photos of our home.  Playing around with the capabilities of my little digital camera.  Trying to capture these last moments of sun before the dreary dark days of winter seep in for good!