Ballet Worthy ... Option 2

Red is my little one's most favorite color of all ... always has been. She would go bananas for this ensemble. All from Gymboree.

Ballet Worthy

As previously mentioned, we are taking our little one to see her first ballet in a couple of months. She and I are already on the lookout for a " fancy dress " ... here is one of the frontrunners :

From Mini Boden

Yes or no

image via  A Lifetime of Eating

Let's have a little coffee klatch here ... tell me what you think of the new blog design. I'm still undecided ... It's definitely not as dramatic as before ... usually with me, less dramatic = less good, but this is growing on me. Keep it or no ?

Dishing on kitchens

I have a deep and sincere love for Fiestaware. It's just so darn cheerfull. It makes me happy.

Our main dishes are turquoise, and we have accent pieces in many other colors.

I was kitchen shopping over at the Cottage Living archives , and found two kitchens I'd be more than happy to bring home with me ... I wouldn't even need to get new dishes ... they'd fit right in ... see Honey, I'm saving you money already ! 

images via Cottage Living Magazine

Things people say to me

My husband and I were sitting at Cafe Adobe one day, waiting for a table ... this is what transpired ... oh, and I was pregnant at the time.

Me : I keep noticing a busboy staring at me ... as in, he literally will not take his eyes off of me   ... it's making me really uncomfortable. After about 10 minutes, he approaches our table.

Busboy : ( With a HUGE smile on his face ) " Uh ... did you used to work at Hooters ? "

Me : " Uh ... noooooooo. "

Busboy : NEVER taking his eyes off of me " Uh ... are you sure ? "

Me : " Yeah, I'm pretty sure about that. "

Busboy : Still staring at me, I can tell he wants to ask me if I'm really sure ... busboy then notices my 6 ' 5 " husband , who is not happy that his pregnant wife is being asked if she used to work at Hooters - Busboy wisely walks away

Gone fishing ... back in a few

Well - Daddy's on vacation as of about an hour from now ... and yes, we call each other Mommy & Daddy, and yes, I know it's sick and repellant to everyone but us, so there ... just know that I know ... OK . We will be staying in town ... a stay-cation if you will ( rolling my own eyes at that one ). I need to get back on track - get caught up at home - get out to see some new things - relax my brain and my soul a little. So, I'm taking a few days off, and can't wait to see you back here soon !

image found at design mom

I spy ...

... with my little eye, a swallowtail butterfly ... do ya see it ? That black blur in the middle ... yes, I finally got a picture of one of my butterfly children . Sorry for the BAD photo - but this was the best of the bunch. Those kids NEVER cooperate with me ! Kinda like my human kid ... and cat kids ... and dog kid ... Of course, this morning 2 butterflies were literally a foot away from my little one and I - but alas, no camera.

The best thing about having no power for 12 days

The last few days of being without power were brutally hot. We broke down and bought a little window unit A/C to run with our generator. We put it in the front living room (the biggest room in the house), and moved our big mattress up there. Well, it took about 1.5 seconds for the little one to start hurling herself off of the couch, and onto the mattress. Better than TV any day !

Happiness

The power is back on, and this is how I'm feeling :

Ike update

Sorry for not posting more often . We're still without power ( 11 days ) - I can't wait to have the time to think about something else ! I can't wait to have the time to get inspired by something ! Some in our neighborhood are slowly getting their power restored - so perhaps we will get ours back before October ... fingers crossed .

It's almost here ...

Did you know that next Tuesday is the first day of Fall ? I did, because it's been marked on my calendar since May. Martha's busy getting ready for it ... and I would be too, if that darned Ike hadn't eaten up all the disposable income in this household ! 

all images via Martha Stewart

Just in case you were wondering ...

Still no power ... day 8 ... not complaining, just saying ... Oh, I had my first hot shower in 9 days this morning, and it felt goooooooooooood.

What's Playing ...

1. Words Fell - Lucinda Williams

2. Pony - Kasey Chambers

3. Big Nick - John Coltrane

4. Charm Attack - Leona Naess

5. Autumn Falling - Jaymay

6. Save Me - Aimee Mann

7. Hypnotize - White Stripes

8. Take Five - Dave Brubeck

9. Crosseyed Cat - Muddy Waters

10. Come Dancing - The Kinks

Pony - Kasey Chambers

Save Me - Aimee Mann

Take Five - Dave Brubeck

Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters

Things are looking up

You know it's going to be a good day when ... you drive by Cafe Adobe ... and they have power ... and are OPEN ... and then ... you get one of these ... mmmmargarita's make everything better.

My cat is really bored

Mr. American Idle himself - Bilbo St. John - joined us for a tea party today. This means he made the effort to WALK from the back bedroom, allllllll the way to the other bedroom, JUMP UP onto the bed, and WALK across the bed to the designated " cat pillow " - that's about a week's worth of activity in one morning - I'm worried about him.

PS : He weighs just shy of 30 pounds ... which is more than our DOG, and until recently, more than our 3 year old child

Day 5 and counting ...

Well - day 5 with no power, and this could have something to do with it :

There is an enormous tree with a downed power line attached to it - that is completely blocking one end of our street . Oh joy . Our zip code still has 76% of homes without power ... Even so, we are counting our blessings. There are incredible numbers of people in this city whose homes are just broken  - they have nowhere to go, and no way to fix anything ... Every new image I see from the coast just breaks my heart. We are so lucky. 

We're still here

Well, we made it through Ike. We are still without power 3 days later - but as they keep telling us - it realistically could be weeks before it comes back. Found a generator today, which solves a whole host of problems. Our little old house came through the storm with nary a scratch on her. I love her. I'm loving my hubby too, because we have plenty of food and ice to see us though. I'm hoping the city comes back quickly. I'm worried about those who were harder hit than us. I've not seen any other parts of the city - just heard about how bad it is from the radio. So thankful that it wasn't worse.

Before

After

Bilbo was terrified

Shadow ... not so much

My little one was sick 

and tired

Trying to get back to normal

Almost there...

Waiting for Ike ...

top photo via Scientific American

Oh...My...God

Red Currant Sorbet and Faiselle Ice Cream with Fried Strawberries

This looks so deliciously beautiful, and beautifully delicious, that it's hurting my feelings ... In this house, if something isn't easy enough to cook with one hand, and one eye ( while the other is holding or watching my sneaky 3 year old ) ... well, it's not likely to get made. I found this on Tartelette, where the food and photos are so pretty, it just might break your heart. 

They swear that this recipe is simple and uncomplicated ... Well ... J'accuse Tartelette blog, j'accuse ... because I do not believe you! Sorry, I have Tim Gunn on the brain ... and if you don't watch Project Runway ... just ignore my j'accuses.

Plums = heaven , especially in a cute red bowl with white polka dots .

Word of the day

Pettifogger

pet•ti•fog•ger 
Pronunciation: \PET-ee-fog-ur\
Function: noun:
Etymology: Pettifogger is probably from petty + obsolete fogger, "pettifogger."

1. A petty, unscrupulous lawyer; a shyster.
2. A person who quibbles over trivia.

"The nitpickers, the whiners, the pettifoggers are everywhere."

— Bill Kraus, "Without Health Care Reform, Forget It", Capital Times, December 15, 1993

Thanks to Constant Comment for today's WOTD entry

Found via another new favorite blog - Shakes Quill ... Definition #2 hits a little too close to home. I'd sure rather be called a pettifogger than an annoying has-to -be-right-all-the-timer ... not that I've ever been called that ... out loud.

Shakes Quill

PS: if you say pettifogger really fast, it sounds like a bad word

What's Playing ...

I love Ray Davies ... The Kinks - Lola

BTW, his web site is pretty neat too

Obsession du Jour

I'm not sure why, but lately I'm loving predominately white rooms. I've always been an anti-white-walls kind of girl ... but the times, they are a changing ... All of these images are from a blog I found yesterday called, The Lucky Nest . I love it so much, I should change the name of my blog to  -  This is What I Like  - and just link it to hers.

PS : Me and anything white = a bad idea, since I have a way of spilling / dripping / splashing anything on everything. It's just one of those universal truths about me ... I can not be trusted with spillable substances. This is a fact that I was relaying to my husband on our first date ... and literally, as the words were coming out of my mouth, some burrito grease squirted onto my shoulder. How apropos.

PS #2 : My husband took me to Ruchi's Taqueria for our first date ... if you know what Ruchi's is like, and you know me ... you are HOWLING with laughter right now.