Round Up!

Okay my dear internet cosmos, I'm gonna pick up the beat here a little. After the last couple weeks of what can only be described as "trudging", it's time to move on. Here are a few things that have gotten me excited lately:

6 Tools to Help Predict How Long You'll Live. According to the "sit test", I'm not gonna make it to 50. Fantastic.

Mother Nature Network

An Upbeat Emotion That's Surprisingly Good For You. This makes my overly-emotional, completely irrational, over-analytical, snowball-inducing-avalanche-of-love-and-wonder-and-joy heart just go nuts! Things like this make me feel so much more sure about the goodness of life. (Found via Refinery29)

New York Times

These are just too good.

Hello Giggles

"...then something that feels like it's in the diarrhea family, then ones I'll call the hammer and sickle, then the mortar and pestle, and the ones with teeth." Completely hilarious, and totally beautiful.

NY Mag

And if you are able and interested, please consider supporting the 2nd Annual Nationwide Miracle Milk Stroll that will be taking place around the US & Canada on May 2.  Their purpose is "to raise funds, educate, and raise appreciation for the life-saving power of human milk".  Find a location near you and get to strolling!

Best for Babes

Ahh now don't you feel better? Hope you all have a wondrous Easter weekend.

--mel

want | need | wear | read : BABY

Today's WNWR-er is another sweet friend from college, Anna, who makes some of the most precious baby gear for her Etsy shop, Moshi Moshi. (Yeah, I dug into the Rhodes College alumni files for this series.  They should pay me for making it look like everyone who goes to Rhodes is as cool as we are.  That's right.  Humility.)  In addition to making other babies look adorable, she does a pretty good job of keeping her own little baby Lucy looking enviably precious too.  That's why her list of gifts for baby are so spot on.  So without further ado, I'll let her her take it away! 

want:  Lucy already has several things that she loves to ride on, but none are quite big or sturdy enough for future trips to the park.  We live up a steep drive (just steep, not fancy) so the park will be where we learn to bike ride.  I will be keeping an eye out for one of these bad boys at yard sales and consignment stores.  I read somewhere that kiddies outgrow these kind of quickly so a cheaper option is the way to go for me!

 

need:  We are taking a trip to Japan this winter to celebrate my grandmother’s 100^th birthday!  What?!  And her birthday is also New Year’s in Japan!  One of the country’s biggest celebrations.  Double what?!  Japan is a country of people that love and aren't afraid of walking and even though it will be chilly chilly cold, we will probably do a good bit of it.  So Lucy is going to need some good warm boots.  I’ll readily admit that there are probably cuter, more Instagram-worthy boots out there, but I trust Stride Rite and their shoes have been good to Lucy’s feet so far. Practical choices here we come.

wear:  Lucy started snoozing in the infant version of this sleep sack at about six months after another mom recommended it to me.  This particular brand has a hefty price for basically a wearable blanket, but it goes from age 0-2 so it lasts a good while.  Lucy has just about grown too long for hers at 18 months but she’s a tall one.  That’s why this toddler size one (ages 2-4) is on our wear list! The arm holes have a snap to adjust for smaller babes, there is a place to put the car seat buckle (the crotch one..what is that actually called?) so that you can transfer peacefully sleeping kiddos from crib to car and vice versa (Yeah right, snort snort. Oh, your kid can do that? Not mine.)  It’s all season, all weather, and all around awesome.  It is a critical part of our nap and bedtime routine…Lucy sees the sleep sack coming and knows I’m not playing around. It’s time to sleep, baby.

read:  My dad read these books to me when I was younger and I loved them.  Loved reading them to myself even as I got older.  Loved them in college and still love them.  Love the movies as they come out too (but I have a problem with people who love the movies but haven’t read the books –give the books a chance!).  I had a box set growing up (I use the past tense because I might have misplaced one of them freshman year while trying to show how cultured and “CS Lewis in the know” I was –sorry, Dad.) and I would love for Lucy to have her own.  She doesn’t have the attention span to get past a page full of words being read to her, but like most things in babydom I’m learning, change happens quickly.  So I want to be armed and ready with these books for when her book-attention-span develops into something longer than my rap version of 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'.  

Thanks so much, Anna!  Can I just also note that I would pay to have a recorded version of your rap version of 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'?!?  It's pretty much NC's favorite song and I think she would become your biggest fan pretty quickly.

I've got one more WNWR list for you on Monday, compiled by yours truly.  If you have any last minute gifts you still need to get for someone special in your life, all of my picks are procrastinator-friendly.

xoxo-

mel

want | need | wear | read : HIM

This dude really needs no introduction so I'll keep it short:  my Mr. is the jam.  And so is his gift guide.  All of his ideas will translate perfectly to that special dude in your life, whether it's buying him a piece of gear to assist him with his latest hobby or taking advantage of the opportunity to pick out the perfect slim-fit trouser for him to replace his baggy pleated khakis.  So, without further ado...

want:  If you've ever seen A River Runs Through It, you probably understand the allure of fly fishing.  Standing thigh deep in a beautiful and powerful river amongst stunning scenery, the ultimate focus on the current moment, studying the dance of the water over the features below to interpret where the fish are hiding--all reasons I want to learn this art.  For Colorado, this rod will get you everywhere you want to go from delicately presenting a dry fly on a small mountain stream to nymphing a high alpine lake.  Also, you don't have to sell your car to buy it, which is nice.

  need:  As a gentleman of "uncommon proportions" (to put it kindly), dress clothes that don't make me look like I'm playing dress up in daddy's work shirts are hard to come by.  J.Crew has lots of love for the skinny, tall man and the quality is worth the price.

 wear:  I've been on a search for a simple, low-profile shoe that I can wear both casually and to work over the last few years.  TOMS Cordones came close, but disintegrated in a little under two years without much abuse.  I'm hoping these Vans will be the answer.  

read:  With dreams of DIY renovations in our future, we gotta start figuring out what the hell we're doing.

The next WNWR is all about baby!  All the adorable (and seasonally appropriate!) gifts to get for the little humans in your life, curated by the genius behind Moshi Moshi.

Noonday Collection {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

I recently learned about an organization called Noonday Collection and got immediately excited about it.  Their mission is  

"to create economic opportunity for the vulnerable" by partnering with artisans around the world and creating a marketplace for their goods.  Noonday empowers their artisans by offering no interest loans to help get their businesses off the ground, making advance payments on orders, and of course paying fair living wages.  In addition to creating a sustainable marketplace for underprivileged artisans, Noonday donates a portion of sales to help place orphans with forever families.
  

Beadwork from Guatemala 

With the spirit of Thanksgiving still ringing in our ears, I thought now would be the perfect time to encourage you to "purchase with purpose" this gift giving season!  Supporting organizations, like Noonday Collection, that make a greater impact in the global marketplace and in the lives of everyday people in a real tangible way is something I try my best to support whenever I can.  I encourage you to go into this shopping season with a similar goal in mind.

Artillery beads from Ethiopia

To help you get in the gift giving spirit, Noonday is kindly giving away one $50 gift certificate to shop this holiday season!  All you have to do to enter is visit their website, and leave a comment below telling me what you would buy for yourself and one thing you'd gift to someone special (I'm eyeing this bangle, this scarf, and this leather tote.)   I will randomly draw a winner on Friday, December 5.

Embroidery from Peru

If you are in the Denver area and are interested in learning more about Noonday Collection (while eating, drinking, and shopping their winter collection, maybe with your new gift certificate!), I will be hosting a Holiday Trunk Show on Sunday, December 7.  Let me know in your comment below if you are interested in attending and I will send you more details!

If you are not in the area, no worries!  Just visit Noonday's website and fill up your shopping cart, then when you check out choose 'Dawn Post' as your ambassador, and type 'Megan Lombardo' in for the trunk show you are supporting.

Thanks in advance for supporting artisans from developing countries around the world this holiday season!  Now, get to shopping!

-mel

**Congratulations Eirin!**

Tiny Prints + SPECIAL DISCOUNT!

Do you send out holiday cards?  I grew up in a family with the best of intentions that just could never get it together enough to send them out.  However, we always had a fridge full of cards from friends and family around the country who were so much more organized than us.

Anyway, the Mr. & I have been sending them out almost every year since we moved in together and definitely more militantly since welcoming our daughter to the family.  I think we are especially good about it now because it is still somewhat of a novelty this whole "being an adult with a family" thing.  Christmas cards kind of feel like that one last thing you need to make it official:  you're a grown up.

This year we used Tiny Prints to design our holiday cards and the process could not have been simpler.  It was definitely a hard choice (we ended up using this design) because there are a million great options for card designs.  Here are some of my other favorites:

If you haven't ordered your holiday cards yet, now is the time.  Bonus: get 10 FREE CARDS when you order from Tiny Prints!  Hurry, this offer ends December 3.

Tis' the season to buy more magnets for your fridge!  

--mel

(card designs, top to bottom:  1 / 2 / 3 / 4)

Do or Don't: Book Clubs

 

When I first moved to CO, some co-workers of the Mr. had a book club they had been hosting for a little while, and invited me to join in.  Seeing as how I knew practically no one here yet, I was excited to hopefully find others who I could see myself hanging out with "on the regular".  I had never been in a book club before so I figured I'd give it a shot.

When I touched base with all the women involved, they let me know that they were just finishing up Fifty Shades of Grey, but would be starting a new book soon.  Yes, I'll admit it, I definitely got a little scared when I heard that title.  What was I getting myself into?  A group of people who were seriously interested in not just reading, but actually discussing in public soft-core porn "novels"?  Was the next book going to be something from the Twilight series? 

I feel okay saying all of this now because a- in actuality (spoiler alert!) they are all now my good friends, and b- they had picked that book as sort of a joke to see what all the hype was about. Which, by the way, is exactly the sort of thing I would have done myself. In retrospect, I really wish I had been there for that particular book club meeting. I'm sure it was hilarious.

Anyway, the next title they chose was Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. At the time, I had never heard of the book or the author, more infamously known as "The Bloggess". After reading the first few pages of the book and almost peeing my pants more than just a couple times from uncontrollable laughter, I knew I had found a group of women that I could absolutely relate to. 

I felt so confident, in fact, that I agreed to host the next book club gathering.  There were only a couple people in the group that I had actually hung out with socially at that point, but the book title that they chose spoke so loudly for me, I felt absolutely sure that we would all get along just fine.  Sure enough, just as I had hoped and expected, these women became my closest friends here in CO, and I have that initial book club to thank for it.

So, tell me my dear internet cosmos:  Have you ever been involved in a book club?  If not, would you consider it?

(images from here and here) 

The big ONE

So, NC turns 1 in a couple weeks.  

(Dramatic pause.)

That's right.  A whole year.  365 days.  8,765.81 hours.  I could go all "RENT" on you and continue this pattern but it seems in fact that there are 525,949 minutes in a year so really we need to stop supporting the lie.  

Anyway, NC is turning a year old and we're gonna party.  I'm assuming she won't really know what the hell is going on, so we're getting a lot of sweets, a lot of beer, and a lot of yard games for the adults to celebrate.  

Since she's not exactly of age yet and won't really be partying all that hard this year, a whole bunch of presents that she will be able to enjoy for the next year of her life will just have to suffice.  Here are a few things that NC would love this year:

1- Balancing Tree.  This set of balancing blocks would pull double duty since one of my Mr.'s favorite things to do is try and build the most epic stacked up pile of blocks ever, and one of NC's favorite things to do is knock it down.  

2- Shopping Cart.  NC is gonna be walking sooner than we'd all like her to so no use in fighting it.  This would not only help stabilize her in her early wobbling phase, but she would be able to take all of her toys around the house with her, and perhaps even clean up after herself when she's finished (don't crush my dreams here, people).

3- Family Dolls.  NC has a somewhat terrifying habit of chucking all of her stuffed animals over the side of her crib to their untimely deaths, laughing maniacally as they fall to the ground.  One of the millions of sleep books we read said we should encourage the use of a "lovie"--something that she could use to soothe and comfort her when she is in her crib alone.  I know she loves us, so maybe if we had these amazing dolls done up to look just like us, there would be less casualties in her bedroom. 

4- Stacking Toy.  Again, the stacks of things are a big hit in this house.  Plus, NC loves to put things inside of and on top of other things (and then of course, knock them all down).  Maybe this will help to curb her need for destruction.

5- Floral Romper.  Okay, so maybe this is more for me than for NC.  She doesn't give a damn what she wears so far as we can tell, but this would make mama so very happy. 

6- Exclamatory! Shirt.  A shirt with NC's favorite word on it!  Perfect. 

7- Classical Music for Kids.  As you all probably know by now, one of my life's goals is to show the world that classical music is cool and completely relevant.  I use NC as my guinea pig to try out as many different tactics as I can in hopes that she will fall in love with it as I have.  So far, it's working pretty well.  I think this book would be a good addition to my master plan.   

8- Rocking Moose.  Every child needs a rocking horse, and we live in CO.  Enough said.

Talking about all these presents has me in the mood to go start drinking celebrating early!

xoxo-

mel  

Day Drinking

A couple months ago, I went out to brunch with a friend and fellow new mom at one of our favorite haunts.  As I shuffled into the booth, late of course, I breathlessly ordered my normal brunch beverages: "black coffee, ice water, and a mimosa, please".  That's right, my normal brunch beverages.  As in, I order these things pretty much every single time I go out for brunch.

Note: when you have a child, brunch and happy hour are usually the best times to go out and be social with friends.  During happy hour, I suppose the adult beverage is a given.  However, for me, at brunch, it's a given as well.

Anyway, my friend started her beverage order in quite the same way--"coffee, water, and…do you guys have beermosas?"  My eyes lit up like a kid on christmas morning.  Beermosa, you say?  Am I that out of the loop??  Where have I been all this time sipping away at the normal, boring, yet still delicious, mimosas of our grandmother's era, when this glorious concoction known as a beermosa waited for me on menus across the land for me to conquer?!?!?

Fast forward to a few weeks later on my birthday when my family and friends took me out for a delicious brunch and when the waiter came to take our drink orders, I started mine in the same way--"black coffee, ice water, and…"--I caught myself before I finished my own boring sentence.  I asked him about the great beermosa of lore and he said, "Let me see what I can whip up."  He brought back a huge glass of freshly squeezed blood orange juice and a cold can of crisp Belgian white beer.  This, my friends, was the beermosa elevated.  I was in heaven.

All this being said, with the discovery of the beermosa, my eyes had been opened to the possibilities of new and exciting beverages to accompany me on my adventures in day drinking.  No longer was I held captive by the comfort and ease of the good ol' mimosa.  I had gotten a taste of the new world, and I wanted more.

So, here are a few other delicious looking concoctions that might just accompany my "black coffee and ice water" in the near future.

1- Burnt Sage and Blackberry Sangria.

2- Autumn Cider Mimosa.

3- Tequila Watermelon Popsicles.  (a.k.a. the more socially acceptable "jello shot")

Cheers!
--mel

Beer

For someone who really loves beer, Colorado is a great state to live in.  The New Yorker recently published an article in which they literally mapped the rise and abundance of craft breweries in the U.S.  Colorado ranked #3 for total number of craft breweries in the state and for total barrels of beer produced in 2012.  They also came in #5 for having 15 craft breweries for every 500,000 people in the state.  Not too shabby.

And because I know I have such adept and meticulous readers, I'll go ahead and jump ahead of the curve and assess the fact that yes, I am indeed writing a post about beer on a Monday morning while 30  weeks pregnant.  No need to worry, my dear internet cosmos, I am still firmly planted on the wagon.  

On a side note, I may or may not have already asked my Dr. if it's acceptable to crack open a beer right after delivery in the hospital.  And being that we live in CO, she may or may not have responded in support of the matter.

Check out the full interactive map here.  How'd your state do?

HOW TO: Cook & Camp

Hopping in the car and heading off into the woods with my Mr. and the furry children is one of our favorite pastimes.  This is what we lovingly refer to as "car camping"--load up all your stuff, go park the car somewhere, unload all your stuff, set it up, enjoy the outdoors for a couple days, then load it back in the car and head home.  Easy peasy.

When we go car camping, we take advantage of the fact that we're not hiking in with only what we can wear on our backs.  Translation:  we turn our campground in into the freakin' Ritz.  We bring the camp stove and the skillets and the french press and the lanterns and the hammock and the speakers for the iPod.  To steal a slogan from a super ritzy local ski resort, it's "not exactly roughing it".

I think one thing that intimidates a lot of people about camping is what will be on the menu once you're out in the middle of nowhere.  This is where car camping becomes especially perfect.  You can cook up a straight feast in the woods with nothing more than a campfire, a grate that goes over the fire (a regular staple at most campgrounds), and a skillet.  And to kick it up to the next notch, you can buy a relatively inexpensive camp stove (we have this one and it's perfect) and french press and have almost all of your kitchen conveniences right outside your tent.

Some of my favorite camping recipes include:

Campfire Potatoes:

This recipe is intended for the grill at home, but if you par-boil and prep at home, you'll have little foil-wrapped potato packages ready to be thrown directly into the campfire when you arrive at your site.  I've eaten these along side campfire-frilled steaks and veggie-kabobs roasted over an open fire.  Oh, and don't forget your favorite wine and the perfect little stainless steel wine glasses to drink from.  Perfect.  

Campfire Cakes:

Who says s'mores are the only way to go?  What happens when you put boxed cake mix into hollowed out oranges, wrap in foil, and throw into the campfire?  Heaven, I tell you.  Here are two recipes that will get you there.  I recommend using dark fudgy chocolate cake and adding chocolate chips.  The chocolate cake becomes infused with the orange that it's baking in and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

Campfire Pancakes:

I can't remember a time we've gone car camping and not woken up and made pancakes in the morning. Bring a good skillet and whip up a batch of your favorite pancakes (this one looks particularly yummy) in no time over the open fire or on your handy dandy camp stove.  Make sure to bring a kettle or pot to boil water for your freshly brewed french press coffee as well.  

Now get out and enjoy the outdoors!  

--MEL

 

DIY: Birthday

Recently, I've been on a little bit of a DIY kick.  Everything from decorating to parties to birthdays.  I like to say it's because I'm super creative and original.  However, I think the real reason is that the DIY options tend to be cheaper.  Either way, it's been fun, and at the end of the day, that's reason enough for me.

A couple weeks ago, I celebrated my Mr.'s 28th birthday.  This is one of the most holy of holidays in my mind because it is the day my partner was born.  Without getting too sappy, for those of you who know us, it's no secret that we are a team--best friends, lovers, co-conspirators, and soon-to-be parents.  YIKES!

Anyway, it was important to me to be able to do something extra special for his last birthday as a childless man, so I decided to go the DIY route.  

Here's what I did:

I was super inspired by Jordan's number-shaped envelope creation and decided it would be the perfect surprise for my Mr. on his birthday.  I wanted this birthday to be especially centered around the birthday boy, since it's probably the last birthday he'll ever have that won't be overshadowed by the birth of his child.  And since he had to be gone at work all day, I thought it would be wonderful to come home to a special surprise after a long hard day.  Plus, it gave me the time I needed to execute the plan.

A couple weeks before his birthday, I e-mailed all the family and friends I could think of asking for a special note for the birthday boy.  I think this is the first part of what made this project turn out so good:  don't be picky.  I sent requests for messages to all of his FB friends and every e-mail address I had of people who had been a part of his life in some form or fashion.  I didn't discriminate.  And the letters I got where unbelievable.  I got the most heartfelt messages from people who I had no idea had been so touched by my Mr.'s life.  They came out of the woodwork.  It was so unbelievable.

After all the messages came in, the next step was super simple:  print and stuff.  I used an assortment of different shaped envelopes I already had on hand because I'm nasty cheap thrifty.

  
Then came the fun part:  lay it out and tape it up!  I skipped the pre-planning and just went for it on the wall.  I suppose I could have made it a little better shaped if I'd taken the time to lay it out on the floor first, but I was feeling particularly cocky confident that day and just decided to jump in.

After a few finishing touches of a trail of balloons from the front door to the envelope wall and a little extra sparkle from some star garland, I couldn't have been more happy with the way it turned out!

 
The best part of the whole thing was how happy it made the birthday boy.  He was reading letters with a big smile on his face for days.

And at the end of the day, that's really the point of a birthday gift, right?  To let that special someone know just how happy you are that they were put on this earth, just for you to celebrate.

--MEL

P.S. Obviously this couldn't have been done without all the amazing friends and family who contributed.  Our endless thanks for the gift you gave us both.  xoxo

Olive Us

Happy Friday my dear internet cosmos!  Hope you had a fabulous week.  My Mr. just started a new rotation which means he's working part of the weekend (blech) but hopefully we'll find some time to have a little fun.

I've been in love with Ben & Gabrielle Blair's (yes, of Design Mom fame) video project, Olive Us, for quite some time now.  The series follows their six beautiful children through their everyday adventures and captures the magic of childhood to a tee.  The beautiful video production team, Tiger in a Jar, makes every video seem right out of a dream.

Their most recent episode, "Betty in Paris", is probably my favorite yet.  Is there anything more magical than seeing the world's most romantic city through the rose-colored eyes of a child?  I think not.

And make sure to check out the other episodes of Olive Us here.

I hope you all have a wondrous and awe-inspiring weekend,
MEL


Betty In Paris from Olive Us on Vimeo.

Let's talk.

Happy Friday, my dear internet cosmos!

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about this blogging platform. I think there are a lot of circles where if someone where sitting down to talk to the infinite void of internet every day, that person would be committed. But we do it. And we love it. And even if no one talks back, we keep talking. Tell me, is this normal?

See, I just posed another question to the unending ether without thinking twice about it.

I know there are voices out there on the other end of this thing. I've seen you, heard you, held your hand, drank a cold one with you, lived with you. Hell, I've even read your conversations with the same internet that I write to.

My point is, I'd love to hear from you. I want you to talk at me the way I talk at you in this platform. I'd like to create that old fashioned thing they call "conversation".

So, here are some ways you can engage in "active listening" with me:

*Look to your right-hand side of this page. Now look up a little. Yep, right underneath that mysterious picture of me. Enter your e-mail address and instead of having to remember to come check up on me, I'll come straight to you in your inbox.

*Stay over there on the right-hand side and you can subscribe to this blog. That means I'll show up in your reader when I write a new post.

*I have a lot of opinions on a lot of things. Do you? Let me know by leaving me comments at the end of posts.

And even if you're more the "silent listening" type, it's okay. You're beautiful just the way you are. I'm just glad you stopped by to stand quietly in the corner and observe. You're welcome anytime.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! MEL

(image from here)

Paris

My best friend is flying to Paris today for her job.

She will be spending a week exploring the famous flea markets, scouting out beautiful textiles, prints, trends, and colors, discovering French design aesthetics to bring back to the US and produce en masse.

Yes, that's right.  That's her job.

Now would be the time to call her any mean and derogatory names you'd like.  I would, but I've already called them to her face and I can't print them here; it's a family friendly blog, after all.

Anyway, in honor of her gruesome work trip--full of stressful board meetings, stale coffee, and conference rooms with no windows (insert childish put-downs and jealousy-induced name calling here)--I decided to put together a little Parisian inspiration board to help get us all in the mood.

Bonne journée!

1.  A modern-day Versailles
2.  Parisian Icon
3.  Potato Salad a la France
4.  Lauren Moffatt does Parisian stripes
5.  Diane Kruger in Chanel = The Definition of French
6.  Paris street style
7.  The epitome of French food

Big Easy Express

Lately, I've had a bit of wanderlust and I have no idea why.  When this happened in FL it was because I wanted so badly to get out of the choking swampy humidity that was suppressing my joy.  When I was in TX it was simply because I wanted to be anywhere but TX.  But now, I'm exactly where I want to be, and there's not a smidgen of humidity squashing anything, and yet I still have the urge for some wind in my hair.

I think it probably has something to do with the fact that the possibility of escape and exploration is way more tangible here than it's ever been anywhere else that I have lived.  Everyday, I see the great Rocky Mountains looming to my west and calling for me to get off of the freeway and go to them.  And so this wanderlust I feel has nothing to do with unhappiness or feeling stifled.  Instead, I think it's a direct effect of being inspired every single day that I wake up in this new majestic home of mine.  It's a wander that keeps me hopeful and joyous.


Big Easy Express Official Trailer from S2BN Films on Vimeo.Another thing that doesn't help with this urge to get out into the wilderness is watching the above trailer for the new documentary Big Easy Express.  Emmett Malloy's film follows Mumford & Sons, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes as they hop on a train in California and ride across the country toward New Orleans on a musical tour like no other.  Besides being full of amazing music, it looks like it was a tour full of magic and mystery and wonder.  Just the kind of trip that seems so close and so appealing to me.  If the trailer is enough to make me go nuts with the urge to fly, I can't imagine what watching the entire documentary will do to me. Tell me my dear internet cosmos, have any of you seen it? Hope you all have a dreamy Wednesday--MEL   

Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam

How about an art exhibit that you can climb all over?  I could definitely get into that.

Artist Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam had the same idea when she decided to crochet playgrounds for her admirers to not only look at, but climb on.  

I mean come on.  Look at this woman on her hands and knees crocheting!  That is seriously amazing.

Go out and play in your community today!

--MEL

(All images from here.)

Friday Round Up

Happy Friday!  I haven't had a free second to sit down with you, my dear internet cosmos, all week long. It's been a super busy one.  I'm absolutely looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

Here are some fun finds from around the web.  Enjoy!

I love this list of things that we all love about one of the clear classics of our generation, Ten Things I Hate About You.  And anyone who says this movie is anything less than a classic is lying.  (Image from here.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the most beautiful pesto of all time:

classic pesto from tiger in a jar on Vimeo.

Jordan recently posted about having a progressive dinner...in Paris...with all of her beautiful friends and their beautiful apartments and the beautiful glow from beautiful Parisian candlelight.

All I can say is I really really really wish I was friends with these people.  Le sigh.


(Images from here)

Trimming the Fat, Part 2

Continuing with the theme, here are a few more pounds from the inspiration folder:

Big thanks to Joanna for finally introducing the best beauty product ever to her humongous blog audience.  If you haven't tried it yet, do it.  Now.  Seriously, get in the car and speed drive the speed limit to Sephora and purchase it.

Smith's Rosebud Salve

I'm a huge fan of this list of goodies to steal from your boyfriend.  Or to just go out and unabashedly purchase for yourself.  Here are my favorites:

Still Life Light Grey Suede Hat with Navy Trim, from Shrine

Roy Orbison sunglasses, by Rodarte for Opening Ceremony

Grande Seconde Watch, by Mougin & Piquard for J.Crew

I am so out-of-control excited for the second season of Portlandia.  If you haven't seen it, please, for your own good and for the good of humanity, watch it tonight.  Here are some great interviews with co-creators Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen to get you excited:  NPR Fresh Air and Design*Sponge

Fresh Air

Design*Sponge

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
MEL