afternoon remix

It has been raining all day. I can't--in good conscience--possibly complain about the weather when we're in the middle of a severe drought, but it did make for an interesting afternoon pent up in the apartment. Halfway through Scout's nap, and a quarter way to crazy, it was time for a little furniture remix. My mother-in-law came to visit earlier this week and delivered this chair that had been in her basement, so there was no better time to give it a home.

First I placed it in the corner of our bedroom, which was my Plan A. My thought was that it would make a nice little seat for middle-of-the-night feedings when the new baby gets here.

The chair looked okay, but I wasn't wild about its placement. Having the legs half-on/half-off the rug made it look lopsided and brought out my OCD side, so I decided to try it out elsewhere. Next stop: the living room to replace the lucite chair from the reading corner.

It didn't work. The problem here was the scale--the wing chair dwarfed the corner and looked like an afterthought. After strike two I was running out of ideas. For a millisecond I toyed with plopping it in the middle of the living room (see below), and this is when Catcher got in on the action and started moving furniture around, too. The coffee table, cow and rocking chair placements are courtesy of his vision.

Of course the chair looked ridiculous and out of place with our furniture. Another drawback was the lovely sketch on the back--courtesy of a young Alex--that was clearly visible from this vantage point. So after staring at the room...and then the chair...and then the room...and then the chair again, this is where it ended up:

Sometimes you should just go with your first instinct.

christmas countdown

Happy December 1st! Let the official Christmas countdown begin. I started the month in a festive way this morning when Alex brought me a delicious Peppermint Vanilla Latte from The Coffee Bean. My first order of business was to get new stockings for the family. Then I remembered that I look for stockings every year but can never commit. And this year is definitely not the year to commit since there will be another family member next year who's budding personality will have to be taken into account when deciding which color and/or pattern suits whom. Of course this dialogue in my head didn't stop me from perusing the internet in search of the perfect Wheat family stockings. I didn't find anything I can't live without, but I did discover a few cute options.

Images from etsy.

Good Wishes Quilts

Hung By The Chimney

Studio Tree

too good to eat

One of the projects I've vowed to attempt--and complete--this holiday season is a gingerbread house. Although Catcher and I will probably devour all the gumdrops and candy canes before the frosting is dry, I can't wait to spend an afternoon crafting our own little masterpiece. While dreaming of the perfect candy dream house, I convinced myself that a modern spin on the classic cottage is the way to go. The only problem, I discovered, is that this would require me to bake my own gingerbread and cut the pieces into precise shapes following a modern gingerbread house "plan." With my patience plus the attention span of a three year-old, I think I'll pick up a kit at the Target this year and save my architectural adventures for another time. Maybe next year I'll be up to speed with these guys.

Images from Grassroots Modern.

wrapped up

My sister-in-law snapped this picture of us on the farm this weekend. I wanted to share it as proof of the cold:

one thanksgiving, three ways

For the past six years we have celebrated Thanksgiving with my family at my brother's house in Maryland. The whole thing started because my brother got the cooking gene in the family--although I'm not sure where it originated--and he and his wife love to entertain. Every year the stakes were raised, the turkeys multiplied and the side dishes became more avant-garde. Another thing that happened every year was either a new addition to the family was present or someone was announcing her pregnancy (or temporarily keeping it a secret as I did drinking cranberry--sans vodka--martinis two years ago). But this we year broke with tradition when we decided to stay put on our new home turf. I missed the Thanksgiving night Christmas movie and our Black Friday shopping excursion with a million kids in tow, but we got to celebrate in a different way.

Thursday morning started bright and early in downtown Austin with Operation Turkey. We lined up with 1,000 other volunteers to help prepare boxed meals to feed the less fortunate. Alex and I weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be fun for us and the kids, and it was a great way to start our holiday celebration.

Following our little adventure, it was time to come home and get ready for our own Thanksgiving celebration. Scout conveniently fell asleep in the car on the way home--all the excitement of hanging out at a bar for a couple hours knocked her out--so we had a good excuse to freshen up...and catch the first half of the Packer game on TV before joining up with Alex's family for Thanksgiving Part II.

On Sunday our Thanksgiving adventures took us to another Wheat family gathering on a farm in Luling, Texas. On the drive out there, I felt a true sense of the Texas spirit as we drove past longhorns and cattle ranches, and I'm pretty sure I saw Jett Rink's estate along the way. After spending the afternoon on a wide open Texas farm, I can tell you that 1) Texas is like you've pictured it, and 2) it does get cold here. And windy. Very windy.

Cheers to new adventures!

holiday hair

Before kicking into the high holiday season, we had to get Catcher ready with a holiday haircut. On Wednesday morning we ventured down South Congress to Birds Barbershop for the kidcut, $17. This place is so cool--I might start going there for the ladybird just for the free Shiner Bock--that I was tempted to have our tatted stylist give Catcher the kid's mohawk. It's only hair, right? Relax. I didn't. Here's one last look at goldilocks before:

And here is he after (below). Catcher had become somewhat attached to his longer hair, so I had to promise him a trip to Big Top Candy Shop to get him out the door. The haircut went well; the hard part of the morning was spending 45 minutes hanging out on Congress waiting for the candy shop to open.

Someone was a little upset and thought that 11:00 would never get there, but once it did $1.27 in mixed gummies made the trip all worth it.

top chef

Stop me if you've heard this one before: I can't get my kids to eat their vegetables. If they're hidden in a chicken pot pie or presented in the form of sweet potato tater tots, I can usually get away with it, but put a pile of good old-fashioned vegetables on a plate and the coup begins. Last week Scout threw such a fit that she made herself throw-up after I "hid" peas in her macaroni and cheese. I tried the Jessica Seinfeld thing of pureeing vegetables and mixing them into a baked pasta dish, and it works 3 out of 5 times, but today I resorted to the age-old art of bribing with Catcher: "You can't have a cookie unless you eat your veggies for lunch."

He obliged and raised the stakes when he presented his own creation--grilled peanut butter and jelly with veggies on the inside. If you don't believe me, here's proof:

What's more surprising is that he actually ate the entire sandwich (crust included!) and said it was yummy in his tummy! Anything for a cookie, I guess...