baby you can drive my car

A couple weeks ago--when it was 70 degrees on a Sunday afternoon--I took the kids across the street to terrorize my neighbors for the afternoon. I'm kidding, of course. My neighbors are awesome and invited us over so Catcher could play with their dogs. The dogs were great, but even better was the Jeep that Catcher discovered parked in their driveway:

It made for a good photo opp, but for all of you out there saying "I guess we know what Catcher is getting for his 16th birthday," the answer is: um...NO.

me time

Novogratz bathroom

Yes. It is a cliche, but at the end of a hectic day who doesn't wish for a Calgon moment? I often joke that I am a single mom--at least when Alex travels 25 days a month, like the month of March--and that my real job doesn't start until I get home at around 6:30. From 6:30 - 7:30 I am in a full-body sprint as I prepare--I use that term loosely--dinner for two kids (now that Scout eats "real" food) then move onto bath number one [Scout], story time number one [Scout], bath number two [Catcher] and story time number two [Catcher]. Mix in the washing/preparing of bottles for the following day, clean up from dinner (which involves lots of windex and several paper towels to rid our ghost chairs of Catcher's sticky prints), and gathering of supplies (someone always needs more diapers or wipes at daycare)...and I'm spent for the night. No wonder I consider a baguette and a hunk of brie (and a glass of wine, of course) dinner. 

Wait. What's all this babbling about? Oh yeah...the Calgon moment. Maybe it's cheesy and very Soap Opera of me, but wouldn't a bath--in a stylish clawfoot tub, of course--be a great way to wind down? I'll take it.

Veranda

Country Living

Apartment Therapy

Elle Decor

coco and moppy

Catcher has two imaginary friends: Moppy and Coco. Pictured above is how I imagine Moppy in my mind. Here's what I know for sure: Moppy is not a good driver, Moppy likes to drink beer in the crib, Moppy is a boy and Moppy likes to clean.

Coco is also a boy (although I have my doubts based on "his" behavior alone): Coco goes to the store to get Scout's medicine when she's sick, Coco cooks dinner and Coco goes pee pee in the potty. Coco doesn't seem to be around as much as Moppy but probably because Coco is busy being responsible. Although Catcher says Coco is a boy, here is how I picture Coco:

I am constantly amazed by the mind of a two year-old. Where did Moppy and Coco come from, and why can't Moppy drive but he can drink beer? Maybe he can't drive because he drank one too many beers in the crib...maybe we should invite these guys to our next party.

bouncy chair

This vintage Eames chair, swathed in colorful rubberbands gives new meaning to the word bouncy chair. Last night I opened my copy of Lucky Kids magazine, which came as a supplement to my Lucky magazine that replaced my Cookie magazine subscription that replaced my Domino when it folded--and I stumbled upon the coolest DIY project ever. The idea is courtesy of clothing designer Lela Rose, and I'm totally copying her if/when I ever find a new house where Scout will have her own bedroom (shared or otherwise). In fact, I'm on eBay right now to see what my odds are of finding an Eames chair in decent--but not perfect--condition for this future project. Does anyone know where I can get a giant rubberband ball?

is it summer yet?

The thing with having a kid every-other July (as has been the case with me since 2008) is that you miss your summer vacation. You may get 6-8 weeks off of work for maternity leave, but that really shouldn't count as any sort of vacation. Unless you're used to waking up every 2 1/2 hours and walking around in a constant state of sleep deprivation during vacation (well, maybe the sleep deprivation part applies, but it's still not the same). So this year I feel like I owe myself a vacation--especially because last year I went through childbirth without an epidural (what's the statute of limitations for how long I can milk that one?). I want to go somewhere far, far away where there's no laundry to do and no bathrooms to clean and no meals to cook...not that I cook anyway.

To me one of the best parts about vacation is actually planning the vacation. Or just thinking about planning a vacation, which is what I'm doing right now. Although I may be sitting on my sofa--in my house that hasn't sold--this July, it's nice to dream that I might be lounging poolside at one of these fabulous locales...

The Gansevoort Turks and Caicos. Do you think children are allowed? Because the one Alex and I stayed at in Miami was definitely not G-rated. Maybe we'll save this one for an adults-only trip.

La Lancha in Guatemala seems like a cute little family-friendly hacienda-style kind of place.

It's entirely possible that the 13 rooms at the Palace at Playa Grande in the Dominican Republic are all larger than our house. In fact, I'd wager to say that they are. We could add a cot for Catcher and pack-n-play for Scout and still have more room than the 847 square feet our home in Charlotte provides. At $120 a night?! It looks like my next stop on this vacation-planning train is US Air. If you're looking for me in July, I'll be sipping a fancy drink waiting for the executive chef to prepare a meal specifically suited to my taste for the evening.

Images from JETSETTER and Mr & Mrs Smith.

j crew home

Despite the title of this post, J. Crew is not coming out with a home decor line--unless you know something I don't--but I kind of wish they would. From inspiring a generation of late 80's rugby-wearers to being the force that made Patrick Dempsey go from totally geek to (like) totally chic in the 90's, J. Crew is habitually chic in a waspy sort of way. But you have to love it anyway. The spring catalog just arrived at my house today, and that's when I started thinking that J. Crew should have a home division centered around American classics. The danger here, of course, would be leaning too far into the Pottery Barn end of the spectrum, but that's for the creative director to figure out. Whatever the plans for the company, when they do come out with a home collection remember that you saw it here first.

mr. clean

It wasn't on our list, but after painting the ceilings white on Saturday and realizing it didn't do much to bring more light into the living and dining rooms (okay, maybe in the dining room), on Sunday Alex and I resorted to the old-fashioned cleaning of the windows. Funny...it makes the rooms brighter. 

Thank goodness for the 80-degree February day and the car (and water hose) to keep Catcher occupied while we worked and the Baby Bjorn to contain Scout. This could turn out to be our best return on investment yet.