Kiki+ Coco in Paris

Seriously, this video is making me awfully sad that I've neither a daughter nor prospects for a family trip to Europe anytime soon.  Despite that sadness, it still makes me happy.

Doll made by Jess Brown

Festival of....

If you happen to be in Utah, and happen to need something to do, then I'm going to share everything I've found lately.  I'm nice that way.

Sept 2-4 Go Cart Races in Layton
Sept 3-4  Midway Swiss Days
Sept 3-6 Payson Onion Days
Sept 4 - West Point's 75th Anniversary
Sept 4-6 Camp Floyd Days
Sept 9 - Hawaiian Civic Club Party
Sept 9-11 SLC Greekfest
Sept 9 - 19 Utah State Fair
Sept 10-11 Brigham City Peach Days
Sept 11 - Avenues Street Fair
Sept 15 - College Night @ Springville Museum of Art
Sept 18 - India Fest 
Sept 18 - Sandy City Heritage Festival
Sept 18-19 Utah Valley Wood Sculpture Show
Sept 25-26 Crossroads of the West Gun Show

October 10-11 Oktoberfest @ Snowbird
October 23-24 - Kirkin'O'the Tartan - Scottish ceremony 
October 29-30 - Annual Bison Roundup - Antelope Island

December 1-4 Festival of Trees
December 2&7 - Governor's Mansion Tours
December 3-4 Rocky Mountain Christmas Fest


+ the 3rd Friday of each month is the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll
Red Butte Gardens Calendar
Thanksgiving Point Calendar
Hogle Zoo Calendar
Discovery Gateway Calendar
Treehouse Museum Calendar
Clark Planetarium Calendar
Capitol Theatre
Utah Symphony
Pioneer Theatre Company
BYU International Cinema
KSL's Hike of the Week
Draper Mountain Park and Amphitheater
Desert Star Theatre
Pleasant Grove Promenade
Utah Farmers Markets

So, you tell me.  What have I missed?

Thinking Halloween thoughts.... already

I'm really turned off by 80% of all things Halloween.
 However, I do think it'd be cool to decorate a la Miss Havisham and go victorian with the whole thing.

In fact, what I'd really love to do is set a Halloween dinner table with tarnished silver, black amethyst glass, black lace and dark carnival glass......... (maybe a few fake cobwebs?)

(I should mention that my husband neither understands nor supports my pressed glass obsession)

As hostess, I'd have to find something stiff, lacey, and very dark to wear:

Set the table with something that feels awfully old:

Places set with some tarnished silver platters:

tarnished silverware:

Topped with Black Amethyst plates:

and goblets:

Lots of tarnished silver and black candlesticks:

filled with black candles:

And dark vases filled with wilted or dried white roses.

A few pressed glass hands, just for creepiness (draped with pearls?):

Also for creepiness, either taxidermy, silhouettes, or raven prints:

And lots of ornate serving dishes:

All done by candlelight. 

(You'd probably need a few more touches of white on the table in candlelight, for contrast)

Serve either an uber-formal english dinner, or just something seasonal and yum.

Spend the evening listening to some phillip glass, or something equally disconcerting.

End the evening with some ravenous chocolate or red velvet cake atop this beauty:

(No really, someday I shall own a black amethyst hobnail cake stand..... despite the fact they are so rare I can't even locate a decent photo of one)

 It's a Halloween party I could really get excited about.  And that's saying something.

(And I shall probably not think about Halloween again until I am frantically digging costumes out of our storage unit on the 30th.)

An etsy roundup amidst my derth

One of my greatest finds as I've tried to furnish our borrowed space has been these solid brass bookends.

I love them so much I suddenly want to surround myself with all things brass.
Maybe someday, when I have a home of my own, I'll find a spot for some of these touches.

for flowers:

for my dresser or bathroom counter: 

for an unexpected spot of whimsy:

For a perfectly regal powder room:

Dining table:

I wish this were larger, it'd be the perfect maildrop:

Boy's room:

These would be lovely flanking a mantelpiece, with or without flowers:

Yellow Cottage Boutique

Since I am busy gestating another non-girl child, could somebody else please take advantage of the insanity that is Pom Pom at the Yellow Cottage Boutique?  Another spot where I wish everything came in my size.

little art by little artists

Ok, so actually I have to share one thing amidst my non-posting.  I think this is a brilliant and space-effective way to share/keep/remember kids art.  I have a child who can churn out 30 pictures in an hour, so that's important to me!

hiatus

So sorry folks
there has not been much in the way of spare moments around these parts.
and if there had been, I would have happily spent them like this:

image via flickr

Between growing another small person, and keeping the two existing small persons alive.... and packing for a move across the country.... and supporting my husband through crazy-intense board exams and graduation requirements..... there's just not much left.

Don'tcha worry, this too shall pass.  in the meantime, my tumblr page is still getting the occasional tear-sheet-esque upload.  It's about all I can offer for visual stimulation.

favorite sellers

I love etsy's "save favorite seller" feature, because once you start saving sellers as favorites, etsy creates an rss feed of all items listed by your favorite sellers, and you can save it on the feed-reader of your choice. Here's what popped up in my bloglines lately (I appear to be on a neutrals kick):

crochet collar at EmmaDear

milkglass tree plates at JWhite2


Milkglass compotes (I have that bottom one and love it!) at JWhite2

Pride and Prejudice ornaments by Brookish

Milkglass bowl by JWhite2

Stunning candlesticks by JWhite2

Vintage Typewriter - JWhite2

Pride and Prejudice mug by Bookish


Floral Trim by EmmaDear

So, I guess the moral of the story is that if you are me, sellers like JWhite2 could easily take all my money, if I had any. Hopefully I can use that inspiration on the rare occasions when I get to go thrifting instead.

Perpetual Learning

Dandee pointed me toward BYU's FREE independent study courses.



On my list:

Helping Children love your Family History
Building a Functional Family
Developing Self Reliant People
Planning and Preparing your Garden
Citizen's Guide to American Politics
Organ Performance
Student Finance
Self Discipline (!!!!)
Temples Past and Present
Purposes of General Conference
The Writings of John: epistles and revelations


Oh, and LOTS more. I'd better be realistic and tackle one at a time. I expect I need to start with self-discipline!

Parasols

I am crushing on this baby jumper. It's even on sale. Too bad boutique sales do not resemble the price point on the Target clearance rack.......

Sewing for boys

This is something I've never managed to catch the vision of. Something about the way boys wear their clothes just makes me not want to expend my effort. To a boy, clothing is a tool and to a girl, clothing is adornment. This is a gross generalization, but usually accurate. Luckily, there are people who manage to sew for boys, in case I ever decide to dig my heels in. Check out this celebrate the boy series on MADE.

Little Travelers

I've become a bit enamored of the Little Traveler's series. Their available dvd's have jumped to the top of my netflix queue, and I may or may not have spent a morning pouring over their kids blog and mom blog. (Especially loving the 52 meals from 52 countries challenge)


I just can't decide if traveling with kids sounds like a dream or a nightmare.