i'm inspired

Have you seen these latest items from Target?

Orla Kiely for Target

I just bought a kitchen mat today that has the green pear pattern on it - the green is a bit brighter/jazzier than the picture shows. I love, love the canisters, too. Isn't it amazing what a little color and cute design does for you?

I really love all this retro look lately - birds, owls, pears, apples.
I found the cutest apple fabric from Robert Kaufman that I purchased to make valances for my kitchen windows.
I'm doing the apples on top and the circles as a small border on the bottom. I really love doing valances as they are so simple to sew and yet make such a difference in a room. Hopefully I will have pictures to post of these soon!

all applicants welcome, no experience required

Recently Lola has been talking a lot about how she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up. However, she gets frustrated at times when she practices her ballet moves, and they don't look exactly like we see in a book or on her Swan Lake dvd. So I tell her that those ballerinas are grown up and have been practicing and going to class for many, many years.

She has asked me before why I don't work, and I have told her that I have chosen to be a mommy for my job. So today she asks me
which school I went to & what classes I took to become a mommy. Ummm...none. What? She really didn't understand that. Yeah, I don't either. Really, I could have used a masters degree to get me through some days.

the sock bandit has been apprehended!

Girls' Socks Recovered
1:00 PM PST on Friday, February 6, 2009

It was a scenario that nightmares are made from - single socks gone missing, dark pink, light pink, purple, striped, polka-dot. Worried mates wondering where they could have all gone...or, gasp!, could they be next?

With a sigh of relief and a cheer from the knee-highs, the sock bandit has finally been apprehended. The hosiery police are proud to announce that all missing items have been returned, unharmed and fully intact, to their rightful owners.

"It was a scary time as sock after sock began to disappear from each load of laundry coming out of the dryer. After seven socks had disappeared, we knew we had to pull out all the stops to keep this from happening again." Chief Ami said.

And pull out all the stops, they did. After interviewing the owner of some of the socks that were missing, the SWAT Team was able to zero in on the bandit's location. After a tense standoff between the Team and layer after layer of sheets, blanket, comforter, and another blanket, the Team was finally able to retrieve all missing socks from Mr. Bed. (Mr. Bed has denied all charges, and has no comment.)

Owner Lola was so ecstatic to receive her socks back. "I'm just so grateful to the hosiery police and SWAT Team for all their superb investigative skills. When I informed Chief Ami I kept waking up with only one sock, she immediately ran off to search for the bandit herself. I am just so happy to have warm feet again."

We can all be thankful for the cheery outcome to this ordeal. A happy ending to a long and worrisome week!


Okay, Bella napped today for 2 1/2 hours - twice as long as usual. And yes, I totally peeked in on her after 1 3/4 hours, just to make sure she was okay...I always worry when things aren't the norm! Lola and I did a craft together for an hour, but then she wanted to play by herself. She was so completely immersed in her make-believe world - I had one whole uninterrupted hour of free time for myself today. With a 2 & and 4 year-old at home, let me tell you that hour is like a whole day. And what did I spend it doing? Blogging (yes, it took me a whole hour for that story) about our missing socks this week. I really should have been cleaning the bathrooms, or vacuuming, or dusting, or paying bills, or....but that can all wait until another day.