I tried out my new ceramic curlers set yesterday [an after Christmas gift - yeah giftcards!]. I didn’t brush them out or put any product in my hair and they lasted all day. Ava told me my hair was pretty and I got to steal this kiss.
Can’t get much better … XO
We try to dine out at least once a week. If you have children, you know it is not as relaxing as it used to be when you and your significant other got to go out solo. This is what eating with Ava can look like:
This was our lunch stop at Honky Tonk BBQ in Pilsen We thought she’d behave in the booth. Oh, were we wrong. And yes, one of those pictures is her UNDER the table. I guess she wasn’t in the mood for barbecue. She did however like the live music [the musician even played an old-timey country version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for her] and the old horse they had in the back, that still worked when you put a quarter in!
I was big fan of one of their pieces of art on the wall … made out of old yardsticks.
Despite Ava’s antics, we left with full stomachs and smiles. Next time we’ll remember to bring along the ipad. [wink]
I am so excited for Christmas this year. I cannot wait for Ava to see what Santa brings – she is finally at the age where she knows what presents are and it is going to be AWESOME! Our latest Santa purchase was this Cardboard Castle from Box Creations.
I can already see Ava scribbling all over it and hiding inside with our cat, Pixie. They also make a space shuttle, cottage, and princess carriage with more designs coming soon. Love it … and a bonus – I picked ours up via Zulily for 50% off [while supplies last]. Now, don’t think this takes the place of a plain old cardboard box – we still have fun with those too, but this takes it to the next level, as I am not crafty enough to fashion a castle out of those. :-)
What kid doesn’t love crayons? Sitting down to color with Ava is one of my favorite times of the day … even if she only wants me to draw smiley faces. The other night I came across these naked statue crayons [The COLOURS] made by designer, Heli Heitala and was inspired to find more cool and funky crayon sets.
These recolored alphabet crayons are made from broken crayon pieces by Niklyn Designs. I love the imprints in each of them, not to mention how pretty they are!
Niklyn Designs also makes owls, turkeys, stars, and lots of other cute shapes – these would make excellent party favors!
Soooo adorable – kitty egg crayons from Kitty Baby Love!
After what has seemed like forever, we are finally all moved into our new place. I still have plenty of boxes left to unpack, artwork to hang, and knick-knacks to arrange, but for me that is the fun part of moving. [Pictures coming soon!] Our loft is located in the South Loop, pretty close to Chinatown. Yesterday we took Ava for her first dim sum [think Chinese brunch].
We brought along the training chopsticks Mike bought her [by Combi from ThinkGeek], which she was actually able to pick up food with [but enjoyed just poking holes in it more]. Her favorite part of the meal was the green tea – she loved holding her little tea cup and sipping warm tea. So mature. :-) XO
Yesterday I happened upon Nonchalant Mom while flipping through the latest issue of La Petite [a beyond adorable online mag "to inspire you to create on the canvas of motherhood" ... fashion, design - everything a mini you would want]. Some of the best kids clothing I have seen. Some of it is a little pricey, but sometimes we splurge to look good, so why shouldn’t we treat our kids? Anyway, my favorite look is by Nico Nico. Their stuff looks so cozy – I must find someone that makes an adult version of this outfit … and some great knee high combat-inspired boots [for myself and for Ava!].
I have to give the credit to Michael for finding this. Adele, a mom in Helsinki, waits until her baby is napping and sets up the cutest little scenes and posts them in a blog titled, “Mila’s Daydreams“. So cute that it made me feel a little better [awful summer cold]. Also so cute that I almost want another baby just so I can do this. Almost.
Ava never would have slept through this.
The other day I took Ava to the beach. She loves the water and especially the sand. We splashed around, dug holes in the sand, and smiled – a lot!
On our way back to the Jeep, we stopped at the playground so Ava could run around and swing [and hopefully dry off and ditch some of the sand]. When it was time to go, she didn’t want to leave [big surprise] and started to throw quite the tantrum. She did that thing where she arched her back and let her legs go limp when I tried to pick her up, and I dropped one of the bags I was hauling. When I put her down to pick up the tote, she took off running for the slide. I caught her and started walking to the car. She was sobbing and kept trying to say something, but I couldn’t understand. I thought she was having a worse than normal reaction to leaving, but maybe she was just tired. I still couldn’t figure out what it was she was yelling, and then she took a deep breath, looked at me through her teary eyes and said, “shoe, mommy”. I looked down at her feet and saw one of her shoes was missing. It must have fallen off when she went for the slide. As soon as I acknowledged it and headed back to pick it up, the tears stopped and she was all happy-go-lucky again. Baby loves her shoes.
The Shoes.
This is an AWESOME idea from Vicky of The City Cradle. GENIUS! These DIY Ice Cream Favors are perfect for a child’s birthday party … or I’m thinking maybe even my hot August wedding!
All it takes are a few simple ingredients and a little arm power [to shake it up]. She even provides you with the labels to print out! Read the full tutorial HERE. (photograph by Jackie Wonders)
XO!
I was recently contacted by the Imagination Publishing Group to write a review of Author, Tina Turbin’s new childrens book, Danny The Dragon “Meets Jimmy”. I was excited to receive the materials and looked forward to reading a new story to Ava. The package arrived and was filled with information on Tina, focusing on her work for Celiac Disease and Gluten Free living. I thought that maybe the book was going to be about a boy with food allergies [not a bad idea], but it was not. The story was an introduction to what I can only assume will be a series of Danny The Dragon books and told the tale of a small boy [Jimmy] who finds a talking shell at the beach that is home to Danny and his pal, Skipper. Once home, Danny and his pal emerge from the shell, join the family for dinner, play outside with Jimmy and his friends, and then it’s off to bed. At the end of the book, Jimmy asks Danny to tell him about the adventures life in a shell has taken him on, only to be told he will have to wait … and so will you … until the next book. I must admit I was rather disappointed in this story and felt bad about writing a less than raving review, but everyone has their own opinion and this is mine. It’s not that it’s a bad story – it’s cute, but it didn’t really go anywhere … and just when you think you are getting to the real story [of Danny's adventures], the book ends and leaves you hanging. I’m all for being left hanging [Lost is one of my favorite shows - lol], however this story ended before it even began and I am left not wanting to read the next book, but rather left wanting more than a dragon coming out of a shell. And I would like to think my child does too. I suppose if your child was really into dragons ….
I also received a DVD in my package for review. The proceeds for the DVD go to the Blossom Montessori School for the Deaf [like that!], but unfortunately I wouldn’t spend any money on this video. I’m pretty sure it was put together using iDVD [I made a disc of Ava that has the same titling and even the same song] and is just a slideshow of the book pages with narration and a woman signing on the side. I was just not impressed with the production quality at all. Maybe I’m being too critical since I come from a creative background and my fiance is a Creative Director and we are used to higher quality productions. I know that sounds a bit snarky, but I just expected more. I also received a CD review, and must admit that I have not had the time to listen to it.
I give Tina praise for her charitable work and belief in her causes … maybe the rest of the series will have a little more story and a little more soul.
