Well, we had hardly made it to Friday, and the Advent calendar I made my husband had already fallen off the mantle 3 times. It is heavily laden down with CHOCOLATE. I spent last week cracking up every time I heard it falling from the other room.
I had sort of given up and thought I would jut let him pick up the chocolates off the floor. (Is that bad?) I know he wouldn’t mind. Turns out, he had a better idea, and hung it from the bookcase where it appears to be staying put. The people at the grocery store gave me that look when I brought home a frozen pizza and about three pounds of chocolate.
I have seen so many beautiful advent calendars out there, but this is a simple one I put together when we were first married. I bought 24 different miniature stockings (on sale) and tied on numbered tags I cut out with a circle punch. The first year I tried to be really creative about what to put inside, but realized all he really wanted was candy. Now, I am smarter and put in enough so I get a piece of chocolate too. Otherwise, by day 13 I’m a little bitter about the whole thing.
[Image above: the Advent calendar hanging in our old apartment from the ballet barre I had installed in the living room, circa 2006]
Last week, my husband was gone on a business trip for a few days. Does that mean I get to eat Day 1 and 2 for him? I’d hate for him to feel behind. Nothing’s worse than that holiday pressure of needing to catch up. I’m available to help where needed, you know.
Filed under Friends & Family, Holidays, I Made This.
Tagged with advent calendar, Christmas, holiday decorating.
By Kelly
December 5, 2011
This week, I went to the Design*Sponge book signing, and it was such a treat to meet Grace Bonney. (Thank you to Kalani and Christy for going with me!) I have been reading Design*Sponge since its very early, more casual days — before interns and book deals and all that, so it is inspiring to see her achieving such great success. Grace absolutely lives up to her name and seemed totally at ease, happily chatting with everyone who stopped by.
The turn out was really great. We also had the chance to meet Joy from Oh Joy! who is as sweet and funny as you would hope she would be. I’m sure there were lots of other high profile people in the room, but I was really concentrating on not knocking anything over or otherwise making a fool out of myself.
This might be odd to say but I have decided that the best places to meet new friends in West L.A. seem to be: church, sewing classes, or Anthropologie. That store just seems to attract lots of interesting, fun people and makes for a really nice place to hang out.
And what about the book? Well, I think it’s beautifully done. I was so happy to see a little spread on one of my favorite designers, Genevieve Gorder. It might be worth the price for those few pages alone. As always, I wish the home tours were more detailed, but I think that’s more of a personal issue. I’m never content until I’ve seen inside very corner and junk drawer. However, I think there’s lots to be inspired by and look forward to curling up for a more detailed read this weekend.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend and find something that inspires you, too.
Filed under Friends & Family, Travels Near & Far.
Tagged with book, decorating, design sponge.
By Kelly
September 30, 2011
Yesterday, I was having one of those days. Total creative melt down. The kind that spirals into those questions of “why am I doing this anyway?” and “I should probably get a job as a truck driver now.”
I’m pretty sure you’ve been there too. It’s not a problem that a hot meal and a good night’s sleep can’t fix. Everything looks better in the morning.
Except my husband called and wouldn’t be making it home for dinner after all. I went downstairs to get my last minute pizza and found this. A little bright spot in my mailbox.
Do you ever have that moment where something shows up at just the right time? For me, it was this beautiful bookmark that my friend Joanna made. (I hope I’m not embarrassing her, but I know a bunch of people who are going to want to make these now. And don’t ask me how she made it. I have no idea! It’s gorgeous and does not look homemade at all!)
Anyway, it was like a little reassuring squeeze. Yes. Keep going.
And yes, everything does look better in the morning. Especially if it’s sitting next to my bookmark.
Filed under Friends & Family.
Tagged with gifts, instant mood lift, mail.
By Kelly
September 9, 2011
This weekend my niece and nephew (3 and 6) will be over and while I’m told they are bringing their own games and activities to keep them busy, there is a big part of me that wants to use this as an excuse to refill the toy box. Because good Aunts and Uncles are supposed to keep a toy box, right?
We have a big box of hats and dress up play and a pretty impressive DVD collection of Japanese cartoons featuring hamsters, but what I really want is this: the Super Set Dream Garden.
(It even has a functioning waterfall.) What do you think? I’m guessing I should go for something a little more gender neutral — but it has a unicorn! And a swan! And a peacock! Who am I kidding? I don’t know if I really want to share this with anyone else.
Oh – and before I sign off – just a quick reminder that today is the last day to enter the postcard give away. I will announce the 2 winners tomorrow and each person wins a set of 100 postcards from Uprinting.com. Perfect for Christmas cards or invites or promotions for your small business.
Filed under Friends & Family.
Tagged with fun and games, toys.
[Photos taken at the Wynn Hotel - see note below.]
We got home from Vegas over the weekend and took an extra day just to let ourselves readjust to regular life. Returning the rental car, trips to Costco and Ikea, and all that.
Ever since we arrived home, I’ve been surveying the place — reveling in the clean sheets, the clear spots on the counter where all the mail and stuff from our pockets tends to pile up. I left myself plenty of post-it notes on my desk so that I wouldn’t lose my place as I get back to business this morning. I am grateful that my head feels clearer than it has in a long time.
I wish that same clarity for everyone this summer — even if it only comes in small doses. I’m so thankful that the 4th of July is just around the corner. It is good to have things to look forward to — I am convinced this is is a major secret to happiness.
We didn’t take a single photo on our trip (further evidence of just how relaxed we were!), so I leave you with a few photos from the Wynn hotel. We didn’t stay there, but we had fun snapping a few photos of their parasol-decorated ceiling on a previous trip. Several of you asked about the parasol photo from the previous post, so here’s another view (above) of the same ceiling. I love their colorful tile floors and twinkle light trees, too.
Filed under Friends & Family, Travels Near & Far.
Tagged with parasols, vacation.