little gi

just in case i forgot....

he is still a little boy....

a little boy that can tackle like lawrence taylor at football practice...

but still....a little boy...

love ya buddyhead :)

happy monday!

xoxo

gi

second thoughts...

tamar had asked us to each take photos of our favorite room for the home decor style studio so i, of course, chose my kitchen.  i love my kitchen.

so i cleaned out the dishes & wiped off the fingerprints, got it all spic & span for the camera.  then i started editing out the not so chic stuff.  making it all pretty.  striving to imitate those photos you see in country living magazine or something.

and it looked great.  

but a little too great.

i noticed it as i was putting it all back together.  the way we really live.  

where the heck would i toast up tater tots?  i removed the crappy toaster oven for the photo.  & if the kids needed a pencil, where would they get it?  what about that prescription i need to get where is it?  i removed the cups & clips from the side of the fridge (our fridge isn't magnetic on the front unfortunately).  ryan needs his water bottle for football practice, where did it go?  i removed the dish drainer where it sits to dry out between washings.  the cutting board is gone where i prepare all of the snacks & meals...the bananas got moved...the tea kettle mike bought me for mother's day was gone...kate's little paper plate daisy wasn't there...

what i had done & taken photos of, it wasn't real.  all that editing & it wasn't "my" kitchen anymore & it wasn't any place our family would love so much.  i had created a catalog type photo...but i don't live in a catalog.

& i started to think about what the heck i was doing.  what am i ashamed of?  who am i trying to impress?  what kind of message am i trying to send?  that i'm all that & a bag of chips?  that the regular everyday stuff & fingerprints & messes don't occur in my house?  

i know when i peek around the web & see those pristine living spaces that are just *perfect*, i immediately turn on myself a bit.  "geez, they seem to have it all together.  she gets all the cleaning done.  her house isn't overwhelmed in kid clutter.  what am i doing wrong?  why isn't my house as color coordinated & neat & fabulous?"  wha...wha...whaaaaaaaa.....

hello inner phycho critic that expects supermom & will accept nothing less...

the truth is we are doing the best we can with what we've got.  we live in a tiny house with crap spilling out all over the place.  not everything coordinates.  i'm too indecisive & overwhelmed to get to it.  i am pretty obsessive about keeping the countertops clean & clear (ask mike...lol), they were our big splurge when we got the kitchen redone almost 2 years ago so i'm a bit wacko about them.  but still...life (& lots of spills & fingerprints) happens here.

& if you stopped by today for a cup of coffee, this is what you would find:

 

and one of the things that makes me smile every single day....

kate & kelly painted these rocks a couple years ago at our school's art expo night.  i use them to keep the napkins from blowing all over the place when the windows are open & we've got one of those nice breezes blowing through.  they do a great job & are pretty darn awesome if you ask me.  :)

 

so there ya go :) 

oh & by the way...anyone have a great tip for removing those fingerprints from the stainless?  we get a lot of them :)

happy monday :)

xoxo

gi

sewing for jane :)

oh lordy this is so fun! 

fyi:  kelly took all of these photos.  she took jane out side for a "photo shoot".  i was floored when she came back in with these images on the camera!  so adorable!!

kelly LOVES jane.  carries here around 24/7....seriously.  right now she is watching cloudy with a chance of meatballs & jane is tucked under her arm.  she takes her everywhere. 

so she definitely needs some more in her wardrobe :)

i got the simplicity blythe pattern a few weeks ago & finally had a sec to sew something up for her.  i started with the headscarves first since they are the easiest.  had to get my feet wet ya know?

they turned out so cute! 

then i made her a little matching skirt.  (LOVE that cosmo cricket fabric.  such a sweet little print)

kelly has now placed orders for a million more outfits...

good thing i have lots of fabric scraps?  hahaha!

my mission today is to finally sew jane a nightgown.  the poor thing has been sleeping in her clothes! 

happy rainy craft sunday!

xoxo

gi

make do & create....

 

i made this layout as an example of a technique i taught in my kim archer - make yourself at home crepe papaer, ribbons & trims class that debuted last month.  it was so fun creating for the class, digging through what i had on hand & creating with it. 

i'm finding the whole "make do" way of life so rewarding these days and so inspiring.  it is also one of my favorite parts about style studio where the whole month long class is centered around creating fun, useful & pretty things out of what you've got lying around the house.  

when i first started scrapbooking it was all about "the stuff".  amassing every color of letter stickers, just in case i "needed" them one day & grabbing the newest & latest that hit the store shelves....so much crap that i never even used & finally either threw away or gave away.

ugh!  it makes me cringe just thinking about how much money i wasted....

these days when i sit down to scrapbook it is fun finding new & quirky color combos b/c, really, it is what i've got on hand.   i don't think i would have been so "bold" to throw purple + green + blue + red + yellow on the same thing before...but now i love it!  

gotta love how necessity leads to creativity :)

happy wednesday!!

xoxo

gi

a peek...

into what is going on in the styling for home class :)

patchwork & applique & painting & art journaling & scrapbooking & canvas creating...lots of fun!!  c'mon join us!!!  there are LOTS more projects to come (& you can join me in catching up on what has already been posted :)!!

hope you are having a great week!

xoxo

gi

a gorgeous giveaway...

tamar is having an amazing giveaway on her blog this week surrounding the gorgeous book apples for jam.

she is going to be sharing her favorite recipes & inspirations from the book all week, i'm really looking forward to it.  this book has been on my "must find out more about" list for quite some time. 

 

i think she may have gone mad, because in addition to the book she is also giving away a paper treasures collection

AND a spot in the august style studio. 

seriously!  you'd better enter before she comes to her senses!!!  :)

have a great start to your week!

xoxo

gi

black eyed susans...

it is black eyed susan heaven over here these days! 

when we first moved in to this house i bought 2 plants & popped them out in a front garden michael made for me.  they've gone crazy since then & now take up about a 8' x 6' patch all to themselves!!  i can't wait to split them next spring & plant them in another garden space we just made (& maybe a 3rd garden, if we can get it done next year :)

i've always loved black eyed susans, they may just be my favorite flower.  i love how they just grow into these masses of yellow & black & dark green with their happy little "faces" turned up at the sun.

i remember driving with my grandfather one time & he showed me this field filled to the brim with black eyed susans.  it was spectacular!  black eyed susans spread far & wide as far as the eye could see.  it was located in this residential area, but then you would turn around a bend & there it was...totally unexpected. amazing!

whenever i was near that field, i would stop & just gawk at the amazingly beautiful mass flowers.  i wonder if the field is still there?  i really hope that it has prevailed against the onslaught of new development & mcmansions. 

i loved my grandfather, but we weren't extremely close.  my mother was the eldest of 9, so there were a lot of grandchildren to keep track of....but my grandfather & i always had architecture and flowers to talk about.  and now whenever i see black eyed susans, i think of him. 

so thanks grandfather for showing me that field.  it was an amazing gift that i treasure. :)

funny how memories work, huh?  just tiny little moments can leave such a big ripple.  it's kinda wonderful & scary at the same time. 

i hope you have a wonderful day full of beautiful moments that leave precious ripples in your memory :)

happy friday!

xoxo

gi

meet jane :)

kelly has been longing for a blythe doll all summer. 

"oooh they are so cute mommy! i really really really REALLY love them!!"

she's seen bella & her adorable blythes.  squealing at the especially adorable cool things bella & her blythes do together.  she has continuously dreamed of having one of her own, every day all summer long.

so i had been looking on ebay.  peeking, really not thinking i would actually buy one.  there are so many things to know, & some of the terminology is really foreign (not to mention they are only sold in japan!) so it all can be a bit overwhelming at first.  but i looked around, learned a lot about blythe & figured what i was comfortable paying & what was a good deal. then a few weeks ago i stumbled across the very one she has been wanting, nicky lad, and for a very good price from a reputable seller.  

so i bought it for her early one morning before she woke up.  it was all i could do not to tell her that it was on it's way, when she came down the steps that morning and as the days went by, it was positively KILLING me not to tell.  the only thing that held me over were the e-mails from mel & tamar with fabulously adorable links of things to make or buy for blythe when she did get here.  & as the days went on i thought i really could actually save it for her birthday...yeah...no problem...

i really could do it.  just put it up in the closet & not think about it until november....riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight :)

but then the doorbell rang this afternoon & i opened it up to find our mail carrier standing there with THE box needing a signature, & i completely freaked out! 

& i totally couldn't keep the secret any longer...the excitement was just all too much!

"kelly!  a special delivery!!!"

ryan, my clever & intuitive little boy, says "oh, what did she get?  a Blythe doll?"

kelly immediately freaked out.  FREAKED OUT!!!!!  running & spinning & jumping all around "no way...NO WAY!!!!!! open it mommy!  OPEN IT!!!!!!!!"

& i opened it up & pulled it out & it was officially "the best day ever!!!!"

she is totally over the moon :)

(kate is crying, meanwhile..."i wanted a blythe doll TOO! why does kelly get the best day ever?"...oy....so while kelly spins around on cloud 9, i had to sit & console kate w/ all the lovely things she has very special.  she settled down & is now up playing with her liv doll, katie, and kelly & jane setting up house. :)

welcome to the kennedys, jane :)

happy wednesday!!!

xoxo

gi

say hello to our little friends...

the new baby lion cubs at the bronx zoo!!!

 

omgosh they are SO adorable!  there are 3 of them, we were able to get photos of 2 of the little guys.  they are so fun to watch, bouncing & sneaking around, trying to play with the big mama & daddy lions.  it kinda took me by surprise how fantastic it was to see these little ones in person.  we've seen cubs a bazillion times on tv, but seeing them in real life is really super special.  we must have spent about 1/2 hour just standing there watching them!

it was one of those ridiculously hot & humid days in new york so the zoo was nice & empty.  the kids were able to go on the carousel 2 times in a row without any wait!  & they had their pick of which bug to ride on...that never happens!

 

 

my favorite exhibit was Madagascar once again.  those animals are insanely cool to watch & they set up the exhibit so you get SO close to them & it is all open so you really get close.  it is really amazing...this one ring tailed lemur walked right by us.....SOOOOO cool!!! 

PLUS it was soooooo nice & air conditioned in there :)

these red furry lemurs were awesome too.  i declared these guys my favorite of the day. :)  so cute & so playful!  they jumped all around & sat on tiny tree limbs eating lettuce.  so cool.

it's another hot one today.....so we are off to the pool!

happy tuesday!

xoxo

gi

pool deck art journaling...

the new tarisota style studio started up yesterday with an art journaling prompt from tamar.  i've so been looking forward to this one, so i was anxious to start :)

the only problem was...it was a beautiful sunday, our family day.  the last thing i wanted was to be inside while everyone was outside having fun. 

so i pulled out a blank art journal that had been sitting around for a while, some water soluable oil pastels, pencils & pens & brushes, a cup of water and tamar's instructions & inspiration sheet and i took it all down to our pool deck!!  perfectamundo!!  

kelly spied me & wanted to join in.  sure!!  she took to it like a fish to water!  omgosh she is so creative it is amazing!  she sat & drew & pondered & water colored totally enjoying herself.  she has such a vibrant imagination & a freedom with art that i envy.  she doesn't have any of that "fear of screwing up or measuring up" that i struggle with sometimes.  she just goes for it!  there are no limits!  she mixes this color w/ that...hmmm...what about this kind of flower drawing?  how would that look?  it is so cool.  i'm learning so much from her :)  

 

i've always told her art is doing...art is active.  it isn't about the end result, it isn't about ending up with something "perfect" (whatever the heck "perfect" is).  art is the act of creating something from your heart.  it is about trying something new, it's about venturing into something different.  guess she's listened to me...maybe I should listen to me :)

i'm so glad we did this!  it was SO fun!!  everyone can't wait to art journal again today & they have already started on tamar's 2nd prompt! 

***haven't joined in on style studio yet?  go here to find all the details.  It is a four week creativity bonanza centered around a theme (this round it is "home decor") and led by 5 tarisota designers.  it's a creative experience filled with detailed instruction, inspiration & ideas.  you'll love it!!

happy monday!

xoxo

gi