Oh, the sweet sound of leaf blowers

The leaf blower is already on my list of most hated things. What ever happened to raking? A friend did a test once. She and her son raked all the leaves in their yard while the neighbors "gardener" blew the leaves. Of course my friend finished first and their leaves were in a bag for the trash man to collect. The "gardener" just left them at the curb... to blow back into the yard. I digress. The neighbors are having their weekly mow & blow and if it wakes up my daughter I'm going ballistic! If I close my eyes I can imagine I'm in the forest... amidst a team of loggers... chainsaws chewing through giant tree trunks... while a giant vacuum sucks up the sawdust.

Desperately seeking music

Anyone? Anyone? I'm desperate for some new music that the babe and I can groove to. I'm just about at the end of the rope with our Putamayo Italian and French music. Need ideas.....

Brrrrrr! - chair hunting cont'd

Bye Bye 90 degrees, hello cool and windy. Skipped the park this morning in favor of a little shopping. We are determined to buy the babe a toddler chair. Right now she's sitting in a spare car seat someone gave us. It's the leather Eddie Bauer, so it's roomy. I never found a store with a floor sample of The Cubino. We are toying with the idea of splurging on the Jennifer Delonge Ava Toddler Chair. I finally found a store with a floor sample. Got there at 10am and ooops, they don't open until 11am. Luckily the chair was front and center in the window. It's adorable, though it looks tiny. I want to let my babe sit in it tomorrow for some perspective. It says 1-4 years. We'll see.

The other day I did see the Nursery Works Toddler Chair. It was sampled in the cotton. It was already filthy and that's without it belonging to an actual toddler. That did not bode well for the fabric. At that price it should be stain proof. At that price it should come with a pouch of gold nuggets.

I love when she does that

Yesterday morning my babe fell asleep in the car on the way home. Fast asleep, I took her out of her car seat and she just melted into my shoulder. I love when she does that. I can feel the whole weight of her body on me.. motionless... in that deep, deep sleep. I brought her inside without as much as a rustle from her and straight into the crib.

Sidewalks are going to need a fast lane.

I stopped in my tracks in front of a kids boutique the other day when I caught a glimpse of what looked like a butter yellow scooter in the window. I went back and it was a beautiful Roddler stroller in butter yellow with a cream seat. Totally cool. Totally expensive at almost $3000. Yes, thousand! I imagine anyone who owns one of these probably have their car detailers do the stroller too when they come to the house.

I went online and did a little research. The Roddler from Kid Kustoms is the brainchild of Montreal's Jamie Coblentz, California custom king Joe Iacono, fabrication specialist Jason Albert and their friend Stephen Beallor. This is the ultimate Dad dream stroller. It is available in a range of colors and detailing like flames, of course. It is a hot rod after all. According to some press they offer seat-cover options like faux alligator, ostrich, snakeskin, or sting ray. It has a monocoque chassis and leaf-spring suspension (no idea what that is but it looks like a mini motorcycle detail). There are plenty gadgets a mother won't find sense in like on board climate control (we have ocean breezes for that here, but in Nevada on a hot day some A/C might be nice) I wonder where it gets the power for that?. LCD screen (integrated into the canopy), DVD player, Harman Kardon iPod dock and Bluetooth speakerphone. I think an LCD and DVD in a stroller is a horrible idea, but... The ipod, that's okay. You could play lullabies on cranky days, or Bob Marley as your strolling to the beach. I think you should be talking to your tot while on a stroll but some peeps like their Bluetooth.



Since most parents will find the $2500.00 base price too steep Coblentz has founded Dads Against Wack Strollers, a program that allows guys to win one of the company's creations. I admit I wouldn't mind if my husband won one. But, I'd skip all the tech gadgets. All the entertainment my peanut needs on a walk is the passing world around her.

P'kolino Play Ottoman - Storage

A little too expensive for me at $189.00 but these P'kolino ottomans look great. They are upholstered with a soft (supple they say) vinyl so I imagine they are pretty kid friendly. The top flips over and converts into a seat or table. I'm into orange at the moment. The more I think about it.... I could stuff them with my babes stuffed animals which are overflowing her storage basket at the moment. This looks nice enough to be in the living room. It could be extra seating when we have people over.... Where is that tax rebate check?

Via Boxes

I'm filing these boxes in my someday file. Maybe they'll make a bed. Maybe an arts and crafts station. Maybe toy storage... I love the different shapes and colors. My favorite part is that they can be reconfigured as kids grow. That's a must for us. Plus, they are eco-friendly to boot.

Mikey Stars mini me

Michael Stars has launched a baby line at long last. It's in stores now. My favorite is the Baby Shine Surplice Short Sleeve in Aruba (comes in white and calyspso also). I have a tendancy to accidentally dress myself and daughter in the same color, or in a similar outfit. I guess I just get in moods. Now I want to match on purpose.

Baby Garden Print 2x1 Rib Beater Tank is sweet and soft. He also offers a few simple tees, a dress, romper, bubble onesie, hat and blanket. The line begins with 3-6 months. I imagine if it does well they will add more styles. As always there are a ton of tops and a dress or two I want for me.

It's the little things

It was a hot summer day here. 90 is a little too hot for me. As I huffed and puffed my way in the heat with my babe in her stroller on the way to the market I ran across some lovely people. Both on the way in and out of the coffee shop women held the door for us. The bulky door pulls out so it's usually a real pain to get in. A simple thing. Very appreciated.

Quilt Baby

I stumbled upon this site and had a nice time strolling through. I thought the Mini Minky was a cute idea. I'm trying to think back to when my babe was teeny and whether I would have wanted to attach a toy to a mini blanket. For car rides this could be great. She refused pacifiers, but for babies who are into them, this could be good...



My favorite fabric offering is bird branch/orange burst.

Quilt Baby is an independent baby bedding and accessories company run by Jesseca Bellemare and her husband. She started the company in her quest to work from home in order to be with her two sons, while fulfilling her own creative needs. I can relate. The only thing I wasn't crazy about were their bibs. Love the fabrics, but they tie. I can barely get one with velco around my daughters neck. No tying a bow behind her.

LOVEly pillow

Woodstock Love Pillow. 14"x18" pillow, $85 at Henry Road. Won't buy it. Won't make it. Still totally love it. What an inspirational color palette to base a nursery or little girls room on.



For $12.50 you can purchase a package of remnant fabrics which contain six 7"x 5"x1" pieces of fabric. Love it. I'm going to roll the dice and order one. We'll see which prints arrive... They might be just the thing to start a quilt for baby girls future big girl bed.

The Art of Rocking

This has got to be the most whimsical, adorable, cool, did I say adorable? rocker I've ever laid eyes on. It's $179 bucks which I consider a splurge. My husband has been telling me for a few months now that he's going to make my daughter a cool animal shaped rocker. If he doesn't snap to it soon I am heading to the blood bank and selling every once of blood I can spare, then racing home and ordering this. I can just imagine my girl holding onto those long leather ears and rocking herself into some serious giggles. It is designed by Bjorn Dahlstrom for Playsam in Sweden. It even earned the "Excellent Swedish Design Seal of Approval." Amazing wood creations come from Scandanavia so I'm assuming this is a big deal. I think this would make a nice object d'art in the living room. We'll see.... If anyone wants to grace their nursery with it, you can buy it online at kidsonthirdstreet.

butterflies, butterflies

Now this is a party I want to attend. I snipped this photo from Martha Stewart Living ages ago. I love the butterfly template she has online. Inspired, last year I sewed them to white card stock from the Paper Source to make b-day invitations for a picnic at the park.

Spring is in the air and I'm putting them on everything this week.

First I tried sewing them on to the tank. They are so small it turned out just awful. Then I noticed Martha had already done this project on her website using fusible webing. Once I stopped ironing the webing to the wrong side it was a super quick and easy project.
I've sewn a few on to some folded cards too to use as thank you's.

How else can I use them?

it's all about the green beans

I bought a pound of green beans at the farmer's market on Saturday. I thought we'd never get through them. My daughter is obsessed with them. She insists on having one in hand at all times. She's brought them to the park. It went down the slide a few times before being half eaten and dropped under the swing. I wonder what she likes so much about them? They are tasty....

Nyokki

Leave it to the Japanese to turn the chia pet into something so insanely cute. Handmade in Japan, the egg shaped ceramic critters are filled with a soil medium and rye grass seed. The "hair" grows to full length in two weeks. You can style it, cut it, then watch it grow again. My babe is too young to fully appreciate these. She'd rip their hair out! I've filed them away and plan to get a few when she's a bit older as a fun way to introduce indoor gardening.

I think they'd look cute on a shelf in a nursery. Bring a little bit of the outdoors in.



Characters include Kitty, Monkey, Chickee, Blue Bear, Froggie, Panda, and Piglet as well as some holiday friends. Available online at eggling.


P.S. Nyokki is a Japanese onomatopoeia that mimics the sound of a plant growing! It is pronounced "n-yoo-key".