My Latest Obsessions

Cate and the Oscar Meier Wienermobile

Happy Friday! The above picture cracks me up. Cate and I were spending some mom/daughter time together and running errands and the like last Saturday and low and behold we looked over and saw the iconic Oscar Meier Wienermobile. WE HAD TO STOP AND TAKE A PIC! Come on now, how often does one see the Wienermobile?! Cate was definitely amused by the large "hot dog" on wheels and it got me wondering how long the mobile had been around. How fun, this wienermobile crashed a wedding last year! Too funny. And how do you become an official "hotdogger" driver?! 

Happy Earth Week! I have to confess I'm not the most green person out there. While I do my best to recycle and the like I LOVE me some zip lock bags. We tried out some reusable pouches this week to use in lieu of zip lock bags (for CMC's lunch). While they are reusable and super cute (btw!) I think I'm going to be using zip lock bags for awhile longer (mostly because CMC kept leaving them at school - defeating the whole purpose of REUSING them the next day!). Baby steps! 

We have a casual fundraiser tonight for C + M's school and then tomorrow PFC's sisters/I are taking out his Mom for a GIRLS dinner to celebrate her upcoming bday. 

Some of my latest faves: 

• Some breakfast items - reinvented - by the lovely Gwenyth Paltrow's Dr. Frank Lipman. 
• Lovely resources for some business cards and stationery. Again, while I LOVE all things techilicious, I'm still a huge paper girl at heart. There is something to be said for a beautiful card that is tangible. I'll always be tactile and by nature I'm a visual learner. It took me FOREVER to switch from a paper calendar to an online calendar! 
• LOVE these rolling storage crates. LOVE LOVE LOVE. 
• Mother's Day is around the corner. Speaking of Mother's Day, P&G's "Thank you, Mom" campaign is pretty amazing (and touching). LOVE IT. Really love the soundtrack too! The gals and GMC's 4 grandmothers are getting these really cute and fun brag books by Pinhole Press. We filled them w/ pics from Easter weekend. 
• I have yet to hit up the Dose Market, but if I go I'm going to take some advice from this post on 6 Things you Must Try at Dose Market. Hmmm, the next one is on Mother's Day - maybe I'll put that request on my list of things TO DO that day! 
• What GORGEOUS clothes for your little ones = Odile. Their 1st annual spring flea market sale = April 28 - 29th. What a chic little trench coat! 
• Last Saturday evening PFC/I came home to some YUMMY banana cake balls (made by the sitter and the kiddos). Ummm, they were DELICIOUS (and the sitter said they were SUPER EASY)! They have been a hit with everyone all week long. Yummy! And btw, our dinner that evening at Balena Chicago was FAB. Loved everything. We will be back! Highly recommend it. 
• I totally dig my gold metallic TOMS. How fun is this TOMS shoe makeover?! Very creative and clever.
• Kate Spade + Malia Mills = adorable swim collection.  

Have a FAB weekend! It is supposed to be rainy and chilly here. Maybe I'll catch a moment to start my next book = The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal. Maybe not though. I'm calling these days the "George" factor! He is all over the place! His latest fave word = "YES." It is TOO CUTE. The girls will sit there and ask him a million questions to see what he says YES and NO to = pretty entertaining! 

My Latest Obsessions

Easter Sunday (C + M + GMC)

Happy Friday! It has been awhile since my last post. I feel as though this spring is flying by and before we know it summer will be here - YAHOO! LOVE SUMMER = flip flops on a daily basis!

We were away the week before last for C + M's spring break. This is our 2nd roadtrip as a family. Last summer we visited my Mom and Travis in Montana and had a blast making the roadtrip part of our adventure. The majority of this past trip was spent in Williamsburg, VA visiting my Dad and then we spent two nights in DC. We loved seeing colonial Williamsburg and a highlight for me was to listen and chat with Martha Washington (via historic interpreter Lee Ann Rose) in an intimate setting. We were able to see some good friends and my cousin in the DC area - which was a blast! And we stopped briefly at The Madeira School (in McLean, VA) on our way back home where I worked for 2 years before I moved to Chicago. The gals thought it was so COOL that I worked at a school where you could board your horse! Altogether, it was a fabulous time, even counting all the "are we there yet?" questions from the little ladies in the biddy back!

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter and a nice Passover. Easter was so much fun this year - as all three of the kiddos are at such fun ages and the gals LOVED watching Georgie participate in egg hunting! I made the mistake of telling the gals that I heard that the Easter Bunny this year was trying to be a little healthier and not fill baskets with all things candy related. Ummm, oops, that opened up a huge can of worms. LOTS of questions. "So, who told you this?" and "Where did you read this, and who interviewed the Easter Bunny for the article you are talking about." OOPS! At the end of the day they were THRILLED with their baskets - even though they were filled with things like kid toothpaste w/ a bunny on the front and squeezable applesauce!

On Saturday, PFC/I are having dinner w/ my sister and her husband. SUPER excited to catch up with them. We are checking out the new Balena Chicago (by the guys from Boka Restaurant Group and The Bristol). I'm pumped as The Bristol is one of our FAVES for sure!

Some of my latest faves:

• I LOVE this post on table manners from A Cup of Jo. The illustrations (by Gemma Correll) are ADORABLE. Too funny, as I was showing CMC the "b and d" signs you make with your thumb and forefinger on Easter Sunday (when she was setting the kid table). These Place Setting Placemats have really helped the gals learn the proper way to set a table. Love them and they are FUN for the kids to color. I appreciate that JuJu (my mom) was a huge stickler for table manners. Love you MOMBO!
• I LOVE clutches! They are fun, easy, versatile and can add such a fun punch of color or texture to any outfit. Cute Copperhead clutch. So heart this Nixie Clutch. LOVE this Clare Vivier Foldover clutch (love it in PINK).  Here's a pretty one w/ a bit of edginess. 
• I've discovered my new go to baby gift = Zutano baby booties. My sister SWEARS by them. She was given a pair for her little guy and he wears them in lieu of socks everyday (and they actually stay ON)! FAB.
• So, my last book for book club was The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski. There were mixed feelings about the book in general, yet it prompted quite a great discussion within our group about one's own list of things to do. Each of us was asked to come up with a list of items that we wanted to do within the next year and within our lifetime. I have to say, actually putting items down as such (in written word) really make those items more real (and something to aspire to "check off" per se). I'm happy to report that I'm halfway there to already completing one of the items on my list = go on a vacation with just the 5 of us (where we can get away from it all - visit no one in particular - reconnect as a family unit and spend quality time together - and organically allow the trip to pan out as it may). And ironically enough, a good friend had just passed along this fantastic looking place not too far from here that fits the bill = Kinnikinnick Farm in Caledonia, IL where we'll stay in one of their farm tents. Check out The Haycation article in Country Living Mag on the place. Even Martha gives it a thumbs up! 
• Okay, and the above note leads me to another blog that I stumbled upon that I just LOVE = roam and home. I see that this blogger has been to a place that PFC TOTALLY enjoyed taking my mom to last time she was in town = Textile Discount Warehouse. How about it, JuJu?! Talk about rows and rows of fabric...! Oh, I loved reading through some of the posts in roam and home - she and her husband lead such a glamorous and adventurous life! Love it! 
• What an interesting combo = bag made with walnut and canvas = Buster Bag. And I love giving a little shout out to good ole Cincinnati = about the Brush Factory. 
• Oh, and much to the gals dismay we didn't get to take a peek into Sasha and Malia's bedrooms at the White House. They were hilarious when we stood in front of the gates and stared at The White House. It was as though they were expecting to see the Obama's dog Bo running around on the Lawn! However, now we can check out some rooms in the White House due to the Google Art Project - WAY cool! 
• A lovely friend of mine forwarded me this very neat website = O'verlays website. Check out these amazing before/after pics.  
• Oh, and lastly, I ordered Georgie's cute Easter bowtie from Etsy seller Baby by Stevie Handmade. She was FAB to work w/. Speaking of Etsy, we bought my sister a great Ipad case from the lovely Sidney Ann of Seattle. Highly recommend her site! I instantly developed quite a girl crush on Sidney Ann!

Have an AWESOME weekend! XO