Home | I didn't know it was Friday

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Yup. I got up this morning and had no idea if it was Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. I guess that's the beauty of a vacation, right? Ha! Well, I'm glad that it is Friday, because that means your weekend is here(!) and maybe you can benefit from this post that is loaded with some inexpensive pampering ideas. My favorites are enjoying a hot drink, reading a book for fun, and enjoying a tv show undisturbed.  Also, I'd like to add burning candles and listening to soft music into the mix. Wishing you a lovely, relaxing Friday evening!

P.S. Baby clothes perfection. My favorite is this one.

Style | I got a haircut

I'm still not sure what I think of it, but I am getting used to it! Husband loves it, though, so I'm pretty happy about that. The crazy thing is how easy it is. I'm still trying to find a hair wax product that I like—any suggestions?

Decor | Home Ideas—from the file

I think I've mentioned before that I keep a folder of ideas for our next home. Here are a few of the latest photos I've collected. I hope you enjoy them!

We don't have a changing table right now, but I love this one. The low pictures and decorative items on the table aren't very practical, but I love the table.

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I love the idea of big windowed doors separating rooms in the house. They're not quite my style, but aren't these antique ones lovely?

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I've always loved kitchen tiling, but these chevron patterned tiles are breathtaking. I'm a huge fan.

Textile | Root Beer Baby Blanket

I love the concept behind this baby blanket. The yarn color is called "Root Beer." How perfectly delicious.

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Books | Anne of Avonlea Wisdom

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Golden nuggets from Anne of Avonlea:

"I'll be eleven. You'd never think it to look at me, would you? Grandma says I'm very small for my age and that it's all because i don't eat enough porridge. I do my very best, but Grandma gives such generous platefuls... there's nothing mean about Grandma, I can tell you. Ever since you and I had that talk about praying going home from Sunday School that day, teacher... when you said we ought to pray about all our difficulties... I've prayed every night that God would give me enough grace to enable me to eat every bit of my porridge in the mornings. But I've never been able to do it yet, and whether it's because I have too little grace or too much porridge I really can't decide. Grandma says father was brought up on porridge, and it certainly did work well in his case, for you ought to see the shoulders he has. But sometimes," concluded Paul with a sigh and a meditative air, "I really think porridge will be the death of me."

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery, Pages 126-127

And a verse I like:

"In the elder days of art

     Builders wrought with greatest care

Each minute and unseen part,

     For the gods see everywhere."

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery, Page137

Food | My tastebuds would die

I was perusing Smitten Kitchen and stumbled upon this. I think you could knock me over with a feather it looks so good.

Dare I attempt it this week?

Home | A little time away

Sebastian and I arrived at my parents house Tuesday afternoon for our almost 2 week stay! We left husband at home to finish grad school apps. We're more than a little sad about this, but when we get back, they will be completed and we'll have a little family celebration.  So far, all I've done is sleep (a lot), pureed some sweet potatoes and apples for Seb, and read Anne of Avonlea (book 2) to my heart's content. It's been glorious.

In the days to come I plan to make a sling to help me tote my little guy around, some baby shoes, read excessively, and build a huge store of baby food to freeze. Lurking in the back of my mind is the hope that I'll be able to write a bit and practice my knitting.

The little man sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's last night.

A few things to check out in your downtime...

The most gorgeous baby textiles. Also, this baby is almost as cute as Seb. Almost.
Darling old man with a green scarf.
I spy the Anthropologie Dancing Blooms Cardi. I stand by cardigans as the best maternity wardrobe staple.
6 Natural Remedies
Ribbed tights on sale!
The best gingerbread cookies. My husband like the cookie better than the dough. Yes, they're that good.
Have you read Anna's blog yet? She always seems to talk about the most lovely and poignant things. (Hence the title of her blog, I suppose). My favorite of her posts here, here and here.

 P.S. For those of you anxious to see my new haircut, I plan to take some pictures tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Fitness | Anti-gravity Yoga

I would die.

What do you like to do to keep fit and healthy? I've been going on workout dates with a couple friends for the past 2 weeks, and it feels positively amazing to get back into a workout routine after... 8 months... embarrassing. When I go to the sports complex I like the elliptical and then I do some weights and crunches. At home I love to pop this DVD in—the ab workout is phenomenal.

It's been especially wonderful to have some time to release a little tension because teething has been making my little babe a total cranky pants. The poor little guy. I think he's getting 2 at the same time. I guess time will tell, and I hope it tells very soon.

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Style | Fashion food for thought

That's the title I give this photo compilation. I love consistency in style, and Audrey Hepburn was a girl who knew what she liked, and what she looked good in.

This morning I rose at 8:10 (and I was happy about it)! But before you go to pat me on the back, know that I did go to bed at 9:30 last night. Ha! Unintentional, but necessary. My little man wasn't feeling well (upset tummy?) and wouldn't fall asleep, so I held him on my torso while I laid down. Three hours later, husband came to bed. Now they are at a men's breakfast at church, and I'm going to do some reading. Have a lovely Saturday!

Style | A few little things

I may have just bought these Emu boots. They were a great price and I'm thinking they will make trips to the grocery a little more bearable. I already have a special grocery hat that makes me feel cozier when I make my late evening trips. The best part is that I bought them from Endless, so if they don't work, I can ship them back for free! These boots (or similar ones) were on my list of my top 3 "want items" right now. The other two are Season II of Road to Avonlea and a Kindle. Why a Kindle? I do love having a physical book to read from, and until about 3 days ago, was extremely critical of Kindle-owners (sorry!). But now I've realized that I love to read while I'm working out, and wedging a book between your water-bottle and handle bars is no good.

Speaking of Lists...
This site is very fun to look at. Nice lists—and pretty, too. My favorites are Snow Day, and It's the Little Things.

A little challenge: Make a card this weekend and send to a dear friend. Have a lovely weekend! My goal is to enjoy the mornings. I truly dread them, and make them more miserable with my attitude. This is my inspiration:

"The world doesn't seem such a howling wilderness as it did last night. 

I'm so glad it's a sunshiny morning. But I like rainy mornings real well, too. 

All sorts of mornings are interesting, don't you think? 

You don't know what's going to happen through the day, 

and there's so much scope for the imagination."

—Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

DIY | If you want to be a Supermom

Isn't this wonderful? We used to have a horse like this when I was little, and though very cool, it was not quite as fancy as these. I can't wait to make one for my wee little cowboy.

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Style | I need a haircut

I dread this time that comes about every 3 months. Like many, I can never get quite the right style. Bangs? No bangs. Layers? Well, how many and what length? Sometimes I want to do this:

But then I remember that I think i would look like a boy, and decide to do this:

 

And probably what I'll actually do is go to my usual stylist and say, freshen up the layers and cut off the dead ends, please. Lately, however, I have been fantasizing about going to this amazing stylist that my sister went to last month. She is apparently a dream at just knowing what style would look best on you. My sister said, "I like to wear my hair naturally curly and in big barrel curls. Do what you think would look best." And what was the result? According to my sister, the best haircut she's ever received. Secretly, I fantasize that I would go and she would say, "Oh my! You should have a pixie cut!

Do you have a hairstylist like that? I often wish I could rock a simple style like this:

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Basically, I have hair schizophrenia.

Seb | Seven and One-Half

Knitting, Holiday Inn, and baby playing with Nanny make for one delightful evening. This kid kills me. He gets more beautiful every day. His latest accomplishment is learning to refuse food. He just gags and coughs when I put something in his mouth that he doesn't like until it falls out.

Home | Winter.

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One can't deny that it's beautiful. As I type, a fresh layer of snow is falling outside, and I can't help but get a little excited about the huge flakes.

This blog gets me excited about living on the East Coast. Out of the options, I hope Connecticut is our final destination. Only time will tell. Cody is hard at work on grad school apps right now, so we should find out in the next few months where we'll be moving.

You know those divinely gorgeous clothbound books from Anthropologie? Well, I made a discovery. (Maybe I'm the last to have made it?) Those same books are called clothbound Penguin classics and can be found here, and you can buy them from Amazon for way cheaper than Anthro. I would like to get this one and this one next.

I finished Treasure Island last night (!), and have to say that I was blown away. I never wanted to read it because I thought it would be dull, but it was anything but that. I actually finished the last two chapters while I was on an elliptical! This inconvenient reading spot got me thinking, maybe a Kindle would be a good future purchase? While I was wedging my book atop my water bottle and behind the stationary handle bars, I was thinking a nice flat book would be just the thing. Do you have a Kindle? What do you think of it?

Now to decide what to read next...

Home | Messy bun, roses & sunshine

Wouldn't it be marvelous if every morning looked like this? The snow is lovely right now, but I'll admit, I was made for summer. Give me 90F degrees and I'm happy (except when preggo—I found out the hard way!)

Speaking of being preggo, my dear friend just delivered a healthy, and by all reports, beautiful baby this afternoon! I am so excited and overjoyed for them. They have quite an adventure ahead of them, and will do a marvelous job caring for and raising their little one. Congrats, my friends!

P.S. Do you have a favorite color of rose? Mine is yellow.

[Photo via: Full post with lovely photos]

Home | Contentment Calvin and Hobbes style

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In the same vein as this.

Home | Contentment

I honestly can't remember when I have read something quite so wonderful and encouraging, timely and convicting, hopeful and ordinary, as this. If you've ever felt that your life was dull, that if only you could reach that next promotion, or that wedding day altar, or take a European vacation every year, then life would be perfect, then you need to read this. Thanks to AH for bringing it to my attention. I feel as though I have renewed vigor for tomorrow.

Home | In love

I can't help it. I'm in love with the Road to Avonlea series. I'm almost done with season 1, and simply don't know what I will do without season 2!

Textile | Navajo

I simply can't tell you how excited I was to see this post. Since studying American Art History in college, I have been in love with American Indian art. I have wanted this blanket in denim for the longest time. I would like to use in my baby's room, which, once he's not sharing a room with us, will—fingers crossed (husband likes dinosaurs)—be decorated in an American West theme. What is your favorite baby room theme?

P.S. I made these cookies for a going away party at our house yesterday and they were delicious. I made 1/2 with the cinnamon icing that she suggested and then left the cinnamon out for the other 1/2. I preferred the ones with the plain white icing. They taste just like the store bought ones.

Food | Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

I'm currently reading Treasure Island for the first time and completely loving it. The language, the characters (Long John Silver above) and the story itself are captivating. So you can imagine my excitement when Ashley and Aron from Hither & Thither posted, just minutes ago, a recipe for hot buttered rum. Now, I'm not sure I even like rum, but if I did, I think this would be delicious.

Food | Oatmeal cookies

So glad giving up sweets was not part of my new year plan. I love that this recipe is one that I have all the ingredients for and looks so delicious!

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Home | Floral

Okay, I guess my blog isn't going to suffer too much. I wear socks like these every day, but don't have any pretty floral ones. This pair would make my toes feel like ten friends on a camping trip.

Spending the evening watching Road to Avonlea with my husband. I loved reading the books when I was little (I got two for Christmas!). Off to make some tea!

Home | January One

Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely Christmas with family and friends, and had a great New Year's Eve. We were with friends enjoying delicious whiskey sours.

Do you have any new year's resolutions? I have a few that I'm really excited about.

1. Cody and I are going to read each day's reading in My Utmost for His Highest, as well as the corresponding chapter in the Bible, and then discuss what we've read. Today's was about conforming our will to His, giving our all for the glory of God and choosing to follow Him daily—My Utmost for His Highest.

2. Spend less time on the computer. I'm really excited about this one, even though it means that this blog will suffer for it. This decision is an outgrowth of the way I spent my Christmas break. It was so liberating, and I actually found time to read! Which leads me to my third resolution:

3. Read more! I have always loved to read, but at the same time, it has become a struggle for me to make time for it. I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone over Christmas break and am working on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island right now (I have the gorgeous Anthropologie version (!!), compliments of my sister). I also bought The Secret Garden and Peter Pan when I went to Anthropologie while at home.

Praying that you and yours are blessed this new year.