Baby Plans in the Making

I came across these photos of a nursery designed for a Cookie Magazine Exhibit. I do love the room, but I am obsessed with the hanging bassinet. It is vintage, of course, which means that I will have to figure out a way to recreate it. If all goes according to plan, I guess I have about a year and a half to work on that. However, having Jordan and Rebekah around, flaunting their adorable, expanding bellies, is truly testing my patience. I loved being pregnant. From the "good news" to the final push, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I am certain that there were some uncomfortable and unpleasant moments during those 40 weeks, but I can't really remember them. What I do recall are the instantaneous sense of responsibility and pride, and the nervous excitement of the upcoming, life-altering event, the subtle movements of the precious being forming within, and the sweet anticipation of meeting the newest love of my life. I look forward to going through it all over again, but with less fear of the unknown and more confidence in my motherly abilities. For now, I am living vicariously through my friends, Jordan, Rebekah, Sondra, Amy, Kelly, and Heidi, who are all currently with bun!

Mommy and Me (Guest Post by Willa B. with a little help from Daddy)

Me, Mommy & my Puppies

That's us at the beach. Aren't we cute?


Mommy sure is pretty.

Mommies are special. I was taught not to brag, but I think my Mommy is the best one. Just by looking at her blog, you already know that she is creative and talented but you don't know the half of it. Our days are filled with so much fun and excitement I do not know what's going to happen next. From the moment I wake up at 7:30 to when I finally hit the sack at 8:00, she is always there. She feeds me; takes me on walks; we play all the time; she even lets me take naps (but for some reason I don't think she thinks I sleep long enough.) Of course Daddy tries to help sometimes, but he is nowhere near as good as Mommy. She juggles her time running two businesses, our household, and still has time to take care of me (and Daddy of course.) I do not know where she gets the energy, but I sure do admire her. I want to be just like her when I grow up. I sure love Mommy.

One of the main reasons she started this blog was for me to have a recorded memory of my childhood. If you didn't already know, everything she writes/posts can be made into a book made especially for me. If you read my Mommy's blog, please, please, respond to the posts. That way I will have a personalized, "frozen in time" memento I will cherish forever.

Next time you see my Mommy, let her know how good a job she is doing raising me and tell her I love her (and Daddy too.) I gotta go, my puppies just walked in and they want me to pull on their ears. I'll see you guys later.

Willa-Wednesdays

There's this fabulous thing we do around here, called "Willa-Wednesdays." It's the one afternoon a week that Sandy, my mother-in-law, babysits. The benefits of Willa-Wednesdays are two-fold. First, Sandy gets plenty of quality one-on-one bonding time with her grandchild. She loves her to pieces, and it shows. Second, I get a regular and much needed solo (that means productive) afternoon for running errands, shopping for groceries, and tending to any necessary business at Root. It started, I believe, as a generous effort to provide me, the frazzled new mom, with some relief and assistance, as well as to delay our commitment to hired child care. But it has become so much more than that. Each week, Sandy comes straight over after work, and has lunch while we catch up on Willa's most recent developments and any family business (or gossip) that has occurred in the previous week. On many a Willa-Wednesday, I probe Sandy with baby-related questions, having complete confidence that she has experienced it herself, at least once between her 14 children and grandchildren. And in her pleasantly nonchalant way, she delivers the most reassuring advice. I so appreciate her easygoing way and like to think it is starting to rub off on me. Anyway, back to the advice...Sometimes, Sandy even offers a story to go along with it, which is always entertaining and helpful. I usually linger a while and watch the two of them interact. Sandy certainly has a way with her. And if anybody has ever had a doubt, she loves this grandbaby every bit as much as she does her previous 8. That's a lot of love. Impressive. Eventually, she encourages me (drags me kicking and screaming) out of the house and assures me that all is well on the Willa-front. And it always is. But I still have a hard time leaving the baby for even a few measly hours. There's just this insuppressible (and quite ridiculous) fear that I might miss something - a first step, a word, a great milestone. In fact, last Willa-Wednesday, I was so gloomy, in my Willa-less state, that the girls at the shop tried to send me back home. Eventually (gulp) I do plan to enroll her in some type of regular, non-family care which will boost her social development and independence, as well as ease our transition into (gulp) Kindergarten. But for now, I am content with our arrangement, and ever so grateful for our Willa-Wednesdays. And for Sandy, of course.

A Deck of My Dreams

Here is another one of my Polyvore compilations. These are objects of inspiration for my nearly-complete back deck. The fabric swatches represent some of the cushions I am having made for my outdoor furniture. (By the way, Reprodepot fabrics are looking great these days, and they still have really reasonable prices.) I LOVE this table from CB2, but these times call for fiscal responsibility, so I am going to have somebody copy it. (Actually, my dad offered to weld the base for me, so I'll just need to have a teak top made. Oh, and a couple of matching benches. You still in, Dad?) I may eventually splurge on the orange Air Chairs. I have wanted these for several years. Really, years. I remember the first time I set my eyes on them, I was browsing the Internet in my old office in the original store. Of course, now they come with arms, which proves that good things come to those who wait. Sean mentioned that he would like a smaller grill, and this one's a classic. The pretty decanter and glasses are another thing I think I could recreate with some thrift-store glassware, a ball of jute, a hot glue gun, and Sandy's crafting expertise. The deer is actually called a Bambisitter and it is intended to be a seat for a youngster. I know it's impractical and assume it's very uncomfortable, but it looks good with the rest of my picks. So if Sean wanted to try out his new workshop, he could certainly whittle it. Well, this was fun, and it is always helpful to have a plan before starting to decorate. And if ever I am tempted to settle for mediocre outdoor decor, I have this image to remind me of the things I am holding out for.

My Favorite Age

I have heard so many mothers say that every age is their favorite age. I finally get it. Willa has gotten so playful and interactive in the last couple of weeks. She's getting around and exploring, learning things and retaining them, making new sounds and showing all sorts of different emotions. I have a feeling I will be repeating this phrase over and over again throughout the course of raising Willa... but THIS is my favorite age.

The Teaser...Before the Big Reveal

I am loving our new addition and fresh paint job. After all those years of lackluster white on white, our home's exterior has finally gotten a personality boost. When we bought the house in 2002, we did a complete renovation. But by the time we got around to spiffing up the outside, my creativity had just about run out. I couldn't decide on a color scheme and was tired of buying sample quart after sample quart of the wrong ones. When the painters put up a coat of white primer, I decided that (safe) white would be "good enough." It might not have been right, but white can never really be wrong. However, after living with my drab selection and zero curb appeal for the past 5+ years, it was time to make a change, a color choice, one that would make a statement. The colors we chose do just that. They are inviting and cheerful, subtly modern, and (my favorite part) they perfectly teeter on the edge of Historic Review Board denial. The project is not quite complete, but I will post photos of its entirety soon. In the meantime, I have been sprucing up everywhere I can, endlessly cleaning and organizing, rearranging artwork, changing out pillowcases, donating, simplifying, purging clutter...In this new phase of infant domination, LESS (of everything else) is definitely MORE.

Where Money is No Object

Dressing Willa has proven to be endless fun. But it's almost better to play dress-up, and not have to spend a dime. Polyvore.com is quite possibly the best online invention ever - at least where fashion is concerned. It enables even the most technically-challenged shoppers (or lookers) like me, to pull individual items from all over the web and group them together for viewing. Here is a collection of some of my favorite pieces for the season. They are so Willa, don't you think? Stay tuned for more of my Polyvore creations.