the truck book

today ollie fell off the couch while on my watch. we were letting gabe sleep in and the two of us had just finished breakfast. we were sitting on the couch reading the truck book and he had a stream of snot dripping down his face. i turned to grab a tissue and he fell. i watched him slide off of the couch and hit his little head on the floor. he cried, i cried; my heart broke. he was over it long before i was.

can i tell you about the truck book for a minute? this is it:

he hands it to me to read him all the time. today i think i read it to him at least 10 times, no shit.

i've been buying other truck books, hoping to mix it up but this is the book. sometimes we might glance at the other truck books, but rarely do we read them cover to cover. over and over again, we look at fire trucks, tractors, excavators, and on and on and on in the truck book.

when we get to this page he makes a siren noise. i love it. it makes reading the truck book worth it every time.

alphabet soup

fan of/group II

i had to add to this post from the other night.

someone i went to grammar school with (kindergarten through 8th grade!) joined this group on facebook today and i think it might be my favorite group:

I hate it when you stab a curtain and accidentally kill a family friend.

(i'm sure it's an inside joke that i don't get but i still love it.)

paper dolls

david bowie paper doll

edie beale paper doll

available here.

happy little clouds

growing up i had a friend named megan. we met on our first day of preschool. her house was magical. (one day i have to tell you about it.) the theme of her room was rainbows. she had rainbows and clouds painted on her walls and ceiling. these make me think of megan's room.

from here.

kindle covers

check these out:

vintage hardback kindle covers, from tide and rain.

it's raining right now. and i like it.

i also like these:

from here.

fancy food show

last monday i spent the day at the fancy food show.

here is a list of some of the items i found exciting/intriguing/delicious:

• i've talked about fentimans before. their botanically brewed sodas are almost always on hand at our house. on monday i tried their rose lemonade. it's so good and refreshing. rose flavor can be sort of tricky and they get it just right.
• seahive, which is rubbed with wildflower honey and salt from beehive cheese was lovely.
• poco dolce has been a favorite of mine for a couple years. apparently they introduced the popcorn toffee squares for the holidays but they were such a big hit, they're keeping it. it's their sea salt toffee with air popped popcorn covered in chocolate. need i say more?
• a super cool company, who makes wonderful artisan salumi is la quercia. i only tried their proscuitto and their speck and both were delicious.
• i also tried a few cheeses from belgium that were amazing. wavreumont, a washed rind, raw milk cheese was my favorite.
• finally, i have to mention happy goat caramels. they're yummy! and, if you didn't already, guess, they're made with goat milk.

bean to bar

before scharffen berger was bought by hershey, i went on a tour of their factory.

john scharffenberger walked the group i was with through the factory and explained each step of the chocolate making process.

there aren't many companies that are bean-to-bar in the united states -- most are chocolate melters. someone told me at one point a few years ago the number was under 15. i just looked on here, where there's a chart that lists 18. they're missing tcho and mast brothers though, so who knows if they're missing others. on the chocolate life, they list 15.

if you have any interest in how chocolate is made, check out the selby's photos of the mast brothers factory. there are photos of the entire chocolate-making process, starting with the cacao bean and ending with the final product. i love their packaging. and of course, their chocolate is delicious.

in addition to the mast brothers, another company i love is amano. their jembrana milk is my favorite milk chocolate; it's got amazing caramel flavor.

fan of/group

so glad this week is over!

here are some facebook groups that make me chuckle, for various reasons.

i think the p-touch one might be my favorite.

You better think twice before sending a drunken Textmessage!

The Toilet Paper Goes OVER not under

If God owned a restaurant, then it would be Taco Bravo

Women Who Think Their Husbands Are Dreamy

I Love Pepper!

Missing your best freinds because we go to different schools

Sorry, I'm allergic to bullshiit.

I HEART MY P-TOUCH LABELER

People Who Always Have To Spell Their Names For Other People

big

the little guy is big. he's changing so much every day.

he's talking up a storm: truck, yo (as in yo gabba gabba), agua, a-b-c, two (or possibly to...or too), dadda, wow, all done, and i'm sure there are more but i'm forgetting them now.

he walks up to us all the time and gives us hugs around our legs.

he brings us bowls from the cart in the kitchen. we say thanks and he walks away, delighted. then does it again. and again.

he babbles and then suddenly stops and throws his head back and laughs.

he loves buttons, remote controls, the stereo, cell phones, alarm clocks, microwaves...

and of course, trucks. books about trucks, truck toys, truck youtube videos, the garbage man, and firetrucks. in the car he spends most of his time looking for trucks.

truck! truck! truck! he says.

and g's proudest moment: tonight he passed gas in the tub and then giggled.

all photos are iphone pictures enhanced with the shake it photo app

ugly!!! but soooo good

ollie loves trucks. he loves to look at pictures of them. he loves to look for them out the window. he loves to say the word truck. over and over and over again. and again. we've not pushed this on him either. it's just in his dna.

i got home from work earlier than usual on wednesday.* i decided to take him on a walk to look for trucks.**

that was a big build up for this little photo that i took on our walk.



* i have never been so excited for daylight savings. ever. ollie and i can start going to the park again after work. i hate that it's dark when i get home.

**i walked all the way to wishbone. when i got there i forgot why i had decided to go there in the first place and left empty handed.

fashion blog: kansas couture

kansas couture is a new(ish) add to my feed. katy is darling.

lately i've felt like i've been in quite the fashion rut. i feel like i have no style at all. and, when it comes to work, i'm even more discouraged.

kansas couture has some good inspiration -- for work, too.

i forgot to mention this

you can donate your time and creative talents to jewels for schools.

here's how (from the j4s site):

I have put together boxes of various objects, string, wire, beads and chain to make a beautiful necklace or fun bracelet and earring set. I would love to send this box to you, in hopes that you are an amazing person and will send it back to me all assembled into a lovely jewel.

email for more info.

jewels for schools

a special project by a special lady.

Jewels for schools is a project of contributing the proceeds of the "jewels" sold on our Etsy account to the benefit of the New York Fund for Public Schools and the San Francisco Education fund.

you can buy maegan's amazing jewelry here.

this one is my favorite

need supply co

a couple of things i really like
audrey coat



vidallia necklace

love these

from here

links

loving this mighty closet on mighty girl.

love, love, love her leaf ring. it's so delicate and pretty. want.

and

banned words of 2010.

Word "czars" at Lake Superior State University "unfriended" 15 words and phrases and declared them "shovel-ready" for inclusion on the university's 35th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.

via neatorama.

and

i might be the last to see these, but why? yuck:

i'm so glad tomorrow's thursday already. i'm currently stuck on the couch.

g' night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tutorial

elsie from a beautiful mess shares instructions on how to crochet/knit a super cute hat on her site today.

check it out here.

this is the first time i've been inspired to knit anything in almost two years.

loving

had to share this amazing project, just me and my dad.

daughter takes one and dad takes one.

about them:

getting to know our cameras & each other better
::
a weekly theme
a weekly photo
a closer us

go have a look.

silver moon

i don't like coffee flavored ice cream. i don't like desserts with liqueurs.

g asked me to bring dessert home the store. i brought silver moon coffee with brownie bits thinking i wouldn't eat it.

it's so good and creamy. SHIT!

2010

just looked back on my post from last year at this time. i didn't do so well... the closets were cleaned, the blog was maintained and i cook almost daily but other than that -- fail!

so, what do i want to do in 2010?

• take more pictures -- i take pictures of ollie every. single. day. i won't stop doing this, however, i want to get back into taking more pictures of things other than my little guy.
• shoot with film -- i've not used anything other than a digi cam for over two years
• exercise (try the bikram studio down the street?)
• open etsy store
• draw daily
• read more
• stay off my computer 1 day a week
• entertain more
• try not to hibernate as much as i do
• spend more time with my husband -- meaning get a sitter more often
• send a holiday card
• not be so obsessive about keeping the house clean