hair it is

Today is March 31st, so if I'm doing my math correctly, we're about 1/4 of the way into 2011. It's time to check in on my New Year's to-do list. Number one on the list (get a new job) didn't count because I already had a new job when I wrote it. Number nine (new kids) doesn't count because it was a joke and number four (new drink) doesn't count because I decided to stay with my dirty martini. So out of seven things I would like to do this year, I have done one: new hair color. I'm happy with that.

Disclaimer: I did not color my hair myself, but I thought the nice'n easy graphic was a nice touch.

read on

A couple weeks ago Catcher received a book that was once the property of a school library, and as he was peeling away the pocket that once housed an old-fashioned library card--is that even what they're called...you know, the thing they stamp when you check out a book?--I realized it's been a long time since I set foot in a library. I still carry my New York Public Library card in my wallet, but it's more of a relic to show how "literary"  I am (or how literary I was or wanted to be in my Manhattan days). I'm not sure I would even know how to navigate a library today. A bookstore is one thing, but is the Dewey Decimal system still in place?

Always a sucker for quirky, nostalgic things, I came up with this idea to make note cards out of old library cards (seriously, is that what they're called?). But the thing with coming up with a great idea like that is that someone else already has. Here's a look at some crafty etsy people who stole my idea:

library greeting cards

library card bookmark

just because

library card save-the-date

notecards

what about me?

As the second-born child (and girl), I know what it's like to be the second-born (and eventually middle, after the birth of my brother) child. So in an attempt not to make Scout feel like the forgotten second child*, here's a look at what she was doing while Catcher was getting his hair cut on Saturday:

Hi! I'm smiling. Just sitting here. Smiling.

Still smiling.

What? That smile wasn't big enough for you? If I smile this big, can I get out of the car seat? Still smiling.

*I don't have a complex about being the second born and don't think I was neglected in any way because of it. I do, however, think growing up as the middle child has made me somewhat perfect: the negotiator, the creative one, the problem solver, the mediator, the reliable one...I could go on ;)

a brand new man

So it only took me 2 years, 8 months and some change to get Catcher a "real," actual haircut. Here's how it all went down (in Catcher's mind):

Now...what are you going to do with this hair that's been in my face for as long as I can remember?

Ok. I like the taxi, but I'm not so sure about this smock.

Hmmm...not sold on this whole "haircut" thing yet.

Oh. I can see. That's pretty cool. I didn't know my eyes were blue.

Seriously. How many pictures are you going to take? People get their hair cut every day.

It was worth the lollipop.

CLEAR-ly

It started with my obsession for all things clear and led me to an obsession with a new interior design firm. Well...maybe not an obsession, but I like their designs. I saw the Akbar table (pictured above) in my latest issue of Elle Decor and had to check out the genius behind it. 

[Side note: when is too much clear furniture too much? Have I reached my limit yet? If I use this table in a bedroom, where there is no clear furniture of which to speak, is that okay?]

My investigative skills lead me to White Webb, NYC interior design firm of Matthew White and Frank Webb, and here is a look at some of their work that harmoniously tows the line between classicist and modernist:

glitter-ART-ti

Do I love glitter?
Do I love art?
If so, then I must love Camomile Hixon.

From the artist's own website, her work is described as having "...a 70's disco quality to the paintings reminiscent of mirrored car wash signs and gold lame curtain calls." Now you tell me: what's not to love?

Images from Tria Gallery

kitsch with class

As much as I hate tchotckes and collections of any kind--including bells and bobbleheads--I can be a sucker for some kitsch. The trick is to do kitsch tastefully, which is a contradiction unto itself, but it can be done. *Retro kitsch is often easier to work with than present-day--it's less challenging to make a Hawaiian luau dancer look cool than a Brett Favre bobblehead.

These are a few of my favorite [kitschy] things:

vintage dashboard hula girl, etsy

state pillows, Whispering Pines

ta-da: the leg lamp

firmly planted

Bordato illuminated planter, Design Within Reach

All this curb appeal talk has actually peaked my interest. I'm not claiming to be more interested in the outdoors, per se--unless by "outdoors" you mean sitting on the beach with drink in hand--but I am kind of into finding alternatives to your average patio pots (or planters...or whatever). Actually, anything irreverent will do:

Phillipe Starck garden gnome

I love this guy! I always have...even before Amelie made garden gnomes cool.

Vondom planter

I know what you're thinking: Chia Head. But these planters offer more than a bad infomercial. Here's the "pop of color" that realtors love to reference.

retro bullet planter

It's retro and it's pink (yes, I hate pink--but not really--and it's a great compliment to nature's green). When's the last time you saw a pink planter? Let me rephrase that: when is the last time you saw a pink planter that's cool?

will you buy me now?

It's time for the weekly status update. I'm not talking about Facebook; I'm talking about our everlasting to-do list. This weekend my parents came down to Charlotte--thank you for the 80 degrees and sunshine on Saturday--to help appeal the curb of our house. It's no secret that I don't go gaga for greenery, but at least Catcher had fun with the plants.

Scout was (once again) Bjorned (and snoozing!) during all the fun.

I got in on the action by taking all my pent-up frustration (why hasn't this damn house sold?) out on a bush that may or may not have been alive (it's dead now!) in the flowerbed. I even destroyed a pitchfork in the process. In case you're wondering, it's way easier to dig a plant up using a shovel versus a pitchfork--next time just wait for the text from your husband telling you the shovel is across the street at your neighbor's house.

One more look at the empty window box before (above) and after (below). Thanks to Catcher and my mom for their vision and planting skills.

The flowerbed before (above): take note of the naked twiggy thing sticking up by the porch. How's that "pop of color" in the after pic (below)? And do you notice a difference in the number of leaves encroaching on the flowerbed? No?! Remind me why I rake again...

The side porch. I have no before picture, but there wasn't anything there to compare it to anyway. That pot on the stairs is actually the first plant thing I've ever liked. My mom came up with the idea to do this mini herb garden, if you will, and I have to say it's not half bad. The hanging flowers are kind of cute, too, and I actually watered all the plants this evening when I got home from work. Catcher helped.

if the shoe fits

Dries Van Noten, Style.com

How much do I love this shoe? And it's not just a shoe. It's art and it's inspiration. What if you designed a room based on this shoe? I think it would go a little something like this...

The wall color would be dark royal blue by Benjamin Moore,

a throw pillow would look like this one from ABC Carpet & Home,

toss in a glitzy little light fixture like this twist pendant light,

and finish it off with a sleek side table from The Conran Shop. 

Voila: shoe becomes room. The funny thing is, it would probably cost you less to decorate an entire room like this shoe than to buy the actual shoe.