High Society


In all my pondering, wishy washy back and forthing, I've decided to upload old favorite prints to Society6. I mean I miss them, so there's that. This way I don't do all the printing, and Society6 even offers larger sizes than I can! I'm actually tempted to order a few ID posters in the XL size just so I can see how they look!


I don't have everything up yet, but I do have a few, and will add more as I find time (which is infrequent...) Right now, through October 23, Society6 is offering free shipping for my wares.  Keep an eye out. I might even break out the really old stuff!

The making of a marmot




What started out as balloons from the dollar store, a tweet asking what sort of pinata I should make for M's birthday, and an answer from my sister. "A marmot," she responded, though I think maybe she was kidding. As it turned out, her suggestion was perfect for our loosely squirrel themed party. Did you know marmots are a type of squirrel?? Thus, making a giant ground squirrel became a week-long pinata challenge.



With 2 kids, finding time to make something is hard enough, but finding time to make something with glue, colorful tissue paper, and a curious nearly-4-year-old was an exercise in patience and letting go of perfectionism.

We used the craft as an excuse to look at cute marmot pictures online and learn a little about them in the process. 


M did a fantastic job trimming the fringe, applying the glue and making suggestions for the form. She regularly told me, "It looks great!" But really she was complementing herself as much as me; she really did quite a bit of work.


So we worked together through the week and the weekend, me and that darling little girl, and finished the marmot.


I have to say, I'm pretty proud of the critter. I never knew I had marmot-making in me. I am, though, reconsidering it being a traditional pinata and maybe turning it into a pull string one. I mean who could, in good conscience, smash this cute little mug with a stick?


Simply delicious


The nip is in the air and it's time to replace the tomato plants with cold hardy greens. I haven't had the heart to rip them out yet, there are still a few tomatoes on each plant, slowly turning red. They deserve to become ripe, I deserve to relish them. They need to be honored.



Cheese tortellini topped with roasted tomatoes with a bit of basil and olive oil. Yep, that'll do the trick.


Pinterest-y Me


Once again it's time for M's birthday!

A few weeks ago I found these adorable mask/party hat invites at Target. They're from Mara Mi and perfectly set the tone for a playful birthday celebration. (Though this image doesn't accurately show the GIANT "Made in China" printed on the back. For that very reason I almost took them back, but Mabel found them and there was no talking her out of them at that point.)

Once the invites were passed out, full party planning mode kicked in: homemade party picks for the food, paper chains and a homemade "Happy Birthday" garland...I think I've been browsing the internet too much lately. 



Plus, I don't get out much.

That's the best explanation I can come up with for how excited I get to decorate M's birthday party every year. I don't much money to budget, I don't really even have the eye for it, but I enjoy the planning and I think about decorations. A LOT.


Some ideas we're working on include homemade pinatas and t-shirts for the kids to color in lieu of goody bags. I'm going to use kraft paper for tablecloths and have a few buckets of crayons on each table.

We still have a couple weeks before the party, so who knows what else might happen. In the meantime, I'm feeling a little too much like a Pinterest-y mom for my own good.