Moving Forward

even though my mom says to stay away from politics here, i find it impossible to skip over what is currently going on in our country. so a few thoughts first (sorry mom!).

today i choose to be optimistic and believe in the good in people. i think maybe that's easier for me to say because while i (of course) voted, i wasn't attached to either candidate. hillary's concession speech was beautiful. there will be so many sentences from it that we'll quoting for years to come. her efforts are not for naught and her legacy and fighting spirit are enduring. at the same time i do not believe that all of those who voted for trump have hate in their hearts as i've seen them characterized by some. i have hope for the future. and since this is now our reality, i have hope that a trump presidency will bring about positive change but will leave behind the recklessness and mean-spiritedness of his campaign. time will tell!

and so with that i leave you with this most awesome and calming room by agk design studio. we all need a room like this one this week!! ;)

xoxo friends!

NOOOOOO

that's it. put a fork in me, i'm done. my house is officially on the market. if you stand in the street in front of our house you can't see our door. really!! i never want to wish away time and i consciously try to live in the moment but right now there is nothing more i would like than to fast forward a couple of months. we're supposedly getting more snow friday and also sunday - and not like a little snow - they actually threw the word blizzard out there just to terrorize us some more. my kids have had school 1 day this month. oh and to add insult to injury, my parents left on sunday for 3 weeks in hawaii. so yes i'm complaining...and crying and whining and throwing a huge fit!! if only tantrums were acceptable for adults. this has been a rough initiation to being at home full time but on the other hand i'm grateful not to have worry about missing a bunch of work and meetings!

anyway i am trying to transport myself somewhere else mentally and i've been looking at the beach people website. they make the coolest beach blankets. it's an australian company but i believe they ship worldwide.

and also this adorable cart.

australia? sure i'll go there.

Oversized

it's friday and we made it through the first week after the holidays. we should all celebrate - it wasn't easy. ;) getting back into the routine, especially now with kids, is so hard. i've been thinking that i'll start trying to dedicate fridays to clothing/fashion posts. seems right for the weekend!

it's been a little while since i've done one of my j crew rants so it's probably about time for another ;)  (here, here, here) as i always say, i'm one of their biggest fans and have a major love affair with them in general. but sometimes i think they go a little...astray.

first, are you aware that they now carry xxx-small? that's 3 extras. who are they marketing to? but it leads me to gripe #2 - everything is oversize. i'd be willing to bet that 1/2 of their tops including sweaters, tunics, shirts, all of it, have the word "oversize" or "loose fit" in the description. i get it to a point - a flowy top and skinny jeans are practically my uniform but it's getting seriously over the top. (pun intended!)

let me just demonstrate this oversize thing in pictures...

imagine i walked up to you wearing this. you would definitely think, and i hope say out loud, sweet moo-moo. i don't even know how to spell moo-moo. mu-mu? *this is not found in the sleepwear section!

maybe it's the way she's standing? (but i don't think so)

i mean...she just looks pissed off. i would be too. although this sweater is nearly sold out so clearly lots of people are on board with this one.

not sure if this fits in the oversized category or just really weird, but either way...you're welcome.

i almost bought those shorts. (no i didn't)

and i bet they wouldn't need xxx-small if the clothes were sized differently. but hey, that's just me. now off to place an order, just none of these pieces. ;)

Work.

work work work. in early january i was supposed to start a new job at work. one that would afford me more flexibility in my life as i try to juggle that delicate balance of motherhood and having a job - i wouldn't go so far as to call this a career anymore - outside of my home life. early january has come and gone and i'm no closer to starting that new, slower paced job. i'm now hoping for mid-february. 4 out of the last 5 nights i've worked until 11:30 and one night until 12:30 after putting the boys down for bed. i know i'm probably preaching to the choir - i'm certainly not the first, or the last, to work long, late hours - but i'm part time as it is so this feels especially awful!

as i sit here and count the days, i wanted to send a quick apology/heads up that my blogging will likely be light in the next few weeks. it's so frustrating - i have a lot to say!! but i need to put my little thing here on hold while i hunker down and try to get through the next month or so. who knows, maybe i'll surprise myself and it won't be as bad as i'm thinking!

in the meantime, let's look at pretty stuff!

pretty watercolor by kerry steele sold at the pink pagoda.

a lovely kitchen window treatment.

an interesting hallway - i wouldn't choose it but it's fun to look at all the details!

hmm, i'm noticing a theme here - peaceful and serene. wonder why? ;)

Pinch Me

warning! mushy post today. sometimes in the craziness of everyday life i need to stop and look around and realize just how lucky i am...

i met a boy sophomore year of college who i liked. and he even liked me back. later on this boy proposed to me  and we had a beautiful wedding - still the best one i've ever been to by far! after trying pretty hard we we had not one but two baby boys. they are the best two little kids ever and the light of our lives. i get to live with my family is a gorgeous house that is beyond my wildest dreams and make it into a home. and we live in a pretty great place (even if it's too cold for too long for my taste!). on top of that i have pretty spectacular parents and loving in-laws.

this is not to say that there haven't been struggles with the good. plenty of ups and downs. and being a parent is not for the weak - it tests you and your marriage in ways you could never expect. but standing where i do now, i'm a pretty lucky lady and very grateful for it.

told you it was mushy but hopefully this rings true for some of you!

Not Saying Sorry

at work we have this group called career moms that meets about once a month. it's a way to connect with other moms and also talk about all the fun stuff that comes with having kids, working, and trying to balance it all. we read a really funny article that tina fey wrote for the new yorker - an excerpt of it is here: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/14/110214fa_fact_fey

the article brought up lots of topics, one of which was saying sorry. we all agreed that as mothers, wives, and maybe just women in general we say sorry too often or in cases when in fact we shouldn't be sorry. like, sorry for leaving work early to pick up a sick child - is it our fault we have a sick kid? no.
so i'm trying to say sorry less or say it when it's something i'm truly sorry for and not feel bad for things that aren't in my control. what do you think? are you a victim of this?

and totally random pic that i love not at all related to this post...

via pinterest (one of my fav pinners)

Not Again

as i'm sure you've heard, an 8 year old boy was among the first to die in boston yesterday. i'm so sick and tired of children being murdered. i said this after newtown. i think a lot of people did. but i'm so sick and tired. and heartbroken and disgusted and scared.

as i mentioned yesterday, patriots day is a holiday in massachusetts and also the beginning of april school vacation week. it's a family day. we went to our town's parade this morning and had a great time. however i can't imagine going to a mass public event period. a friend of mine who lives outside nyc said that this has taken going to the thanksgiving day parade, etc off the list for her and her family and i completely agree. what are you feeling?

this hits home for me personally too because there is a huge lockdown at brigham and womens hospital right now as they are questioning a possible suspect. the brigham is where i delivered my precious babies 15 months ago and all i can think about is the new mothers and fathers and babies on the maternity ward with all of this going on just 8 or so floors below.

my heart goes out to all of the victims and their families.

A Bit Of This, A Bit Of That

the baby boys are 13 months old today. it is just not possible. they're not walking yet but i decided i am ok if they don't walk for a while. i can't imagine keeping up with walkers!

they love their lily dog. :)

anyway, i read this post at lgn yesterday and i thought it was so good. i fight the same feelings of holding back even though i realize that very few people read this blog (as opposed to lgn). but still, the thought often crosses my mind - who is reading this and will judge me? who will question me or read too much into what i'm saying? it does make you hold back some of the realness and candidness of what you might write.

i also feel the need to have a project close-to-finished before showing photos. hence some of the slowness to post pics of things i talk about! i think it's easy to read different blogs (not mine) and think that person must be perfect. they can do it all - have a beautiful home, balance family life with work life, and look all put together at the same time. but it's not actually true. sometimes things go wrong or at least not the way you planned. and that's ok!

case in point, and something that i normally would not have shared yet, are the prints we hung last weekend on our stairs. i love the posters and i love how they turned out with the raspberry colored mats and gold frames. however, after we hung them (and a few arguments later), i just don't love how they look.

the middle one is too high i think (and that's after a second set of holes in the wall!) but more than that, i think it looks cluttered now. my aspirations of having wallpaper in the entry are on hold after i figured out exactly how much that might cost. yikes. but i still have that vision in my head and i think these prints are in stark contrast to that vision. basically did i take a pretty, sophisticated house and cheapen it by hanging these? i'm going to live with it (although maybe lower the middle one a smidge) and as my loving husband pointed out, they don't have to stay there forever. love him.

Hiatus

i'm finding it hard to blog lately. no time. must be the holidays but as the boys become more active, i have fewer and fewer hours in the day to devote to this blog. so i think i'll be taking a little holiday break and hope to come back with more energy in the new year.

but there is another reason that i haven't been interested in blogging. newtown. this blog seems so ridiculous in light of what happened and right now i can't go on talking about paint colors and play room redos. my head's not in it.

we need to pay our respects to the victims, families, and even first responders of the sandy hook tragedy. tragedy sounds like such an understatement, such a "media" word. horror. that might be better. i guess it has taken becoming a parent but i feel so distraught over what happened and so connected to it at the same time. never before have i felt compelled to do something. to speak out. the other shootings have happened and i felt sick and wondered whether that kind of violence could ever come to my part of the world. but this has made me feel sicker. i think it's because i'm not worrying about myself. i'm worrying about my children. my little 11 month old boys who already spend time at a daycare. who are already out of my control. one of the victims, little noah pozner, was a twin. that hits hard. the what ifs start running through my head.

i also keep coming back to the same questions: why aren't we able to be more nimble in this country - why can't we make a change to gun laws this week?? why haven't we done it before? is it because we needed to feel the impact of 6 and 7 year olds being slaughtered? who needs military-grade semi automatic weapons as a regular citizen? why were they legalized in the first place? and why do we need to watch a political debate unfold on gun control before change happens? is that the price of a democratic nation?

i'm sure i'm over-simplyfing the issues but i'm afraid. i'm afraid for our country. i'm afraid to go outside. there are two pieces of me quickly growing up into little men who will be running around out there in the world. and i will protect them, as any parent would, with my life. thank you to the teachers that day who set the real example of what it is to be a hero. may we never forget.

Not OK

sorry banana republic, but i am so not down with your use of this model on your website:

yes she's pretty but her legs don't even look like they can hold her up and her arm is so skinny it might break off. usually i think BR does a pretty good job of using non-stick-figure models but not so much in this case. it may sound hypocritical to those who know me - i myself am thin, some might say very thin, and i have my dad to thank for my metabolism. i probably weigh the same as this girl but i'm not 6 feet tall! anyway, happy hump day!

Make It Your Own

at work we were talking about decorating your house and a woman said to me, (loosely paraphrased) "well you never get to it all. we did our downstairs but we've never painted our bedroom. and we still have wallpaper from the 80s in our office. you know?"

NO. i don't know. that comment floored me. this person has not touched multiple rooms in the 20 years or so that they have lived in their house. so today i preach, MAKE IT YOUR OWN. don't live with the builder's white paint. or the drapes that were left by the previous owners. or the bad wallpaper. and it doesn't mean spending tons of money. all of of these types of projects are things you can do yourself.

so figure out what you like and go for it. and just remember, if you don't like it the first time, try again. or better yet get samples first :)

ruthie sommers

p.s don't forget about the outside too!

Snooty

so this past weekend mr. r and i ventured into the big city (jk, we're not total bumpkins) to exchange two gifts that we recently received. my in-laws took a trip to paris and italy and my incredibly sweet m-i-l brought us each back a gift.

i received a longchamp bag which i love but the color was similar to a red one that i already own so i decided to switch it for the taupe color.

image via nordstrom

easy, no problem, the saleswoman couldn't have been nicer.

my husband's gift was a very nice hermes tie (but color was the same as one he already has). i mean anything from hermes would be very nice - this is not a store that we frequent exactly. ok so it was our first time setting foot in the door! but dare i saw it may have been our last - at least in the boston store.

the saleswoman was a joke - the total epitome of what you imagine a super high-end luxury store to have. almost out of a movie. (pretty woman anyone?) i started explaining what we needed help with and she abruptly cut me off, treating us like the riff-raff that she clearly thought we were. she asked us when we received the gift because it wasn't a color that she recognized. it's from PARIS and i'm pretty sure if it's good enough for paris it's good enough for boston!  and if i can turn the tables for a second, she was really badly dressed!

booo hermes for employing someone like that and fostering that kind of behavior. in the end he came home with this tie which i think is fantastic and just may be worth the incivility that we put up with!

i think they could take a lesson or two from longchamp - just be nice! have you ever experienced something similar?

Devastated.

this is not something i would normally do but i feel compelled...i have watched the today show for the last 30 years (yes, since almost birth). i go back to jane pawley people. it’s part of my morning routine, the day doesn’t feel the same without catching a little each morning. i have embraced every new anchor, weather man, reporter, etc. the only person i can't get behind is ann curry. she irks me. a lot. then this morning the unthinkable occurred. the announcement that ann is taking over as co-host. i am realizing that my beloved today show may no longer be part of my morning ritual. oh the sadness.

dramatic enough? :)

i know this may sound like a personal assault – it’s not – i’m sure ann is very nice in real life. and she has great taste in shoes. but she tends to bumble and fumble her words and i just can't take her seriously. i think the nbc execs made a big mistake with this one.

does anyone else have this same aversion and reaction? do you completely disagree?

Putting Yourself Out There

writing this blog can be really scary. i'm putting my ideas, thoughts, opinions, and work all out there. it's a vulnerable feeling sometimes. anyone can comment, or not comment, judge it or love it. i found it much scarier at first but my theory now is you either like it or you don't. and if you don't then come back the next day and hope for something you like better. i can absolutely guarantee that no one will like everything 100% of the time. but that's what makes the world go round, right?

so i want to say thanks to everyone who reads this silly little hobby of mine.

via here

p.s. i wish i could make my hair do this. random, i know.

Living In The Moment

lately i have been really thinking about enjoying the moment, living in it, and not letting life pass you by. i feel like we rush rush rush and are always thinking about the next thing. at least i know i do that. i want to slow down and smell the proverbial roses. so when i saw this little quote it really summed it all up:

on another note, but along the lines of expanding the "width" of my life, i've been itching to go on a trip somewhere interesting. and lately with the amount of snow on the ground, somewhere warm. it is ok to look forward to a vacation right?!

images via prettystuff.tumblr.com

does anyone have any interesting vacations planned?? p.s. enjoy your weekend!

What's Really Important

it's not lost on me that this blog (and its author) can sound pretty frivolous at times with a la-ti-da attitude on life. i talk a lot about buying things. really unimportant things. like fabrics and chairs, and clothes and shoes. however i am not blind to the fact that there is a real world out there dealing with real struggles, and in today's economy, tough times. so i know i may not seem entirely grounded in reality at times but i am. i promise. and i too have my fair (or unfair) share of struggles that i deal with on a daily basis. but i write this blog as an escape and i hope it brings a little mindless fun to your day as well.

especially with the holidays coming, i just wanted to say all of that. i am incredibly grateful for the loving, supportive, funny, and fantastic family, friends, and animals in my life. you are what really matters.

image via winston flowers

a beautiful virtual bouquet for you all!

Giving Thanks

this thanksgiving i am grateful for many things in my life, and most of all, this pair:

(yes, my dog wears pajamas in winter. we live in the arctic north. :) and nope, that isn't my couch!) 

i hope this thanksgiving leaves you stuffed, happy, and healthy and surrounded by those you love. gobble gobble.