it's about the chairs

I'm on a little bit of a mid-century modern kick right now with an Eames molded plywood chair restoration on my radar (more about that later) and I just came across an interior by Joseph Foglia Designs where the chairs made the room:

Another Eames classic, the molded plastic armchairs, in a vibrant vintage blue are the perfect anchor to this neutral space. I want that!

Images from Joseph Foglia Designs.

mall rats

This afternoon--a hazy, drizzly day in Austin--I ventured to the mall with two kids for a little afternoon recreation. At the Gap, Catcher picked out this pair of sunglasses for Scout and turned to me and said, "Look at how cute Scout is" after he put them on her. Our little stylist...

At Nordstrom he put the finishing touches on a couple manequins in the children's department and asked me "Why are all the girls the same?"

The highlight of the afternoon: balloons! Thank you, Nordstrom, for creating a diversion while I did a little speed shopping for the new baby and keeping us entertained at home until dinner time.

Driving to the mall I had questioned my own sanity about taking these two, but the trip turned out to be fun. All the holiday hustle and bustle has died down, so the place was pretty much deserted. Not having an agenda or tight schedule helped keep the anxiety at bay, and I had two packs of fruit snacks in my bag for potential "emergency" situations (which I surprisingly didn't need). The samples from the pretzel place helped a little, too.

Tomorrow's forecast is calling for rain. Where's the next mall?

lucky number seven

NYC, seven years ago:

Today Alex and I celebrate seven years of marriage (on January 7th--I think that makes it golden or something). Of course, Alex is in Oklahoma celebrating and I'm here in Austin eating cake by myself, but we have a date planned when he's home for about 24 hours later in the week. Not to sound cliche, but I can't believe it's been seven years. What have we done with ourselves? If you don't count having two--very close to three--kids, making two major moves (NYC to Charlotte; Charlotte to Austin) and buying our selling our first home, we haven't done much. But I think that's how it goes.

party animals

Since we last visited with Coco and Moppy, there have been some new developments (if you aren't familiar with the duo, they are Catcher's imaginary friends). We hadn't heard from them in a while, but we did receive word that they had moved to Texas. Recently I discovered that they live across the street and drive a red convertible Mini Cooper. Their house has one bedroom with two beds, and they both work (although details on their occupations have been sketchy at best). On top of that, it appears that they are quite the party throwers because for the past two nights--and mornings and afternoons--they have been having parties at their place. Tonight they even brought the party here. The parties involve several "secrets" (which Catcher can't keep) including bounce castles, tree houses, chocolate cake (for me), strawberry cake (for Catcher) and a little cake (for Scout). These guys are crazy! I had to open the door to let them into the apartment while Catcher was taking a bath, and they've been sleeping in his bed for the past two nights. I'm so curious about what they look like. Catcher says Moppy is yellow and Coco is brown--I'm still thinking muppets. I just hope Moppy has dropped the habit of drinking beer in his crib.

two to tango

Love it!

back to life, back to reality

One strange thing about being a stay-at-home mom is that when the holidays are over, and January 2nd strikes on the calendar, everyone else is back at work but you're still at home. Although a small part of me felt like I should be doing something revolutionary today to get 2012 rolling, I'm not one to make resolutions or revelations or restitutions for the new year. I don't have a list of all the things I will do or want to do or should do this year, so instead of planning ahead, I focused on my true task today of getting everyone back on track. With no more cookies to bake or gingerbread houses to decorate or lights to hang or red velvet hot cocoas to drink, I found myself wondering what it is that we do all day. [Note to self: if January 2nd falls on a Monday and is a quasi-holiday for the working world, don't take your kids to the children's museum.]

I eventually remembered how to keep the kids entertained (thank goodness!). Following a day back in the swing of our regular routine, tonight we officially bid adieu to the holidays. Catcher asked when it will be the holidays again as Scout was wrapping Christmas lights around her neck and I put baby Jesus back into his little box. That's a wrap!

peace out, 2011

The last day of 2011 in Austin, TX was 79 degrees and gorgeous. I've officially forgotten the 60+ days of 100 degree heat that we suffered through when we moved here. This is why we moved here. Catcher and Scout enjoyed an afternoon running around the playground, and I enjoyed putting them to bed (exhausted) promptly at 7:00pm. This is a little snapshot of our day, and I think it's a sign of good things to come in 2012. Happy New Year!