Do or Don't: Push Present

It seems the tradition of a "push present" hasn't really been around for very long, and is probably more prevalent in some circles than others (read: first world problems).  However, it is none the less intriguing.  I don't remember the first time I heard about a "push present", but I do recall a number of different instances when friends have brought it up.  And I suppose now is the time to educate those of you who have no freaking clue what I'm talking about...according to trusty 'ole Wikipedia, a "push present" is:

a present a father gives to the mother to mark the occasion of her giving birth to their child. In practice the present may be given before or after the birth, or even in the delivery room. The giving of push presents has supposedly grown in the United States in recent years. ^[1] A push gift is any type of present loved ones give to a woman who has recently given birth to a child.^[2] The name push gift although indicative of a vaginal delivery does not exclude those women who have given birth through a C-section."

(link)

Okay, back to the task at hand.  I came across an interesting NY Times article on the subject and I was intrigued to read the differing viewpoints.  I think the title of the article intrinsically states the opinion of the author:  "A Bundle of Joy Isn't Enough?"  Another opinion from a mom in the article:  “It’s a way to honor a mother giving her emotions, body and hormones over to a baby for nine months, culminating in an experience which, when done naturally, redefines the meaning of pain. And when not done naturally, it’s still an act of sacrifice."  And yet another opinion:  “I do not think that because a woman has had a baby she requires a Tiffany & Company item. She requires help, love and emotional support."  How about one more...:  “I wear those rings every day,” Ms. Allen said. “They symbolize my kids. There’s something about them that’s even more weighty than my wedding band.”

Anyway, my Mr. & I have certainly never been one to follow "tradition" and jewels and bling and big shiny objects of material affection have never really had much part in my vocabulary.  But I suppose I can understand wanting to commemorate such a special day with a little memorial charm or trinket, something to remind you always of the birth of your child.  Another consideration:  how different (or the same, for that matter) is this than the idea of an engagement ring or wedding band?

So, I wanna know:  what are your thoughts on "push presents"?  Is there a "right" and a "wrong" way to do it?  Never a good idea?  Sometimes a good idea?  Something that you secretly judge your friends for wanting?  Something you totally understand?

P.S.  I think something like this would be a sweet (and super chic) reminder of the day of a child's birth.  Or any other special occasion--weddings, birthdays, engagements, etc.  

Soft Gold Studio

 

The Return of Inspiration

I'm not going to lie, the last several weeks have been hard.  In the midst of trying to tie up approximately 14 billion loose ends at work and home before baby arrives, my Mr. went and broke his ankle, leaving us one leg down.  So with just the normal craziness that accompanies any self-employed business owner who is trying to make sure things are covered during her absence, I learned the very hard lesson of just how unbelievably valuable my Mr.'s second leg is.

I hear that the last couple months of pregnancy are supposed to be for turning inward, focusing on connecting with the creature who is about to rock your world forever, learning to quiet your mind and your spirit in preparation for the greatest most life-altering experience of all time.  However, I admit I've spent most of mine in the throws of panic and stress, slowing down every once in a while to come back above water and remind myself of just how blessed I am.  But for the sake of honesty, I'd be lying if I said I didn't go back to swimming around in the great "woe is me" for the better part of it all.

Anyway, my point is:  I'M BACK.  I don't know what happened but yesterday I woke up and I was finally excited to see the beauty and inspiration that I have found for so long in this great thing--my dear internet cosmos.  There's no explaining it.  Maybe I just had enough of this whole self-pity crap.  Maybe I realized that I have less than a month before the curtain rises (supposedly) and holy shit, that's a huge of load of reality!  Time to get back into the beauty.

So, how about a round-up of a few things that have helped to remind me of who I really am.  In no particular order of importance:

1.)  Peaches--all day, every day.

Chilled Tomato & Peach Soup

Peach & Raspberry Crumble

The famous Palisade Peaches

2.) Petra Borner drawings--I want to tattoo these all over my body. (found via Jessica Comingore)

3.) Cursing, and trying to figure out how to make that work with virgin ears coming my way.

Miss Phies Boutique

4.)  Dexter--I may or may not have watched all seven seasons and got up to date to the current season 8 in approximately 2.7 weeks.  Don't judge me.

5.) My boys.

*DISCLAIMER: the below photo of my Mr. was taken in more innocent times, times before the reality of rock climbing injuries and the always present probability possibility that one will indeed bust their ass on an outcropping and send said climber straight to the surgeon's table and into the "non-weight bearing" oblivion of 8-12 weeks.*

**DISCLAIMER TWO:  if you were drenched by disdain from my previous disclaimer, please forgive me.  I'm working through it.

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?

Warby Parker Sunglasses

I've had a long running love affair with Warby Parker and have been loyally sporting these frames ever since my big glasses search a couple years ago (remember?).  As much as I love my glasses, I find myself keeping them in the case rather than on my face much more often than I should.  What's my excuse?  I have none.  I'm just lazy and forgetful.

Anyway, I've recently been trying to be better about wearing my glasses more, as my vision is certainly not something that is going to get better without them.  And I'm thinking that it might be time to invest in a pair of prescription sunglasses so I can work on my peepers even while enjoying this lovely sunny state of mine.

Here are my current faves:

Everett

Jasper

Preston

So tell me, my dear internet cosmos, which ones are your favorites?
--MEL

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

 

Mother's Day

Usually Mother's Day is a pretty uneventful holiday for me.  Of course, it usually includes flowers or cards or calls to all of my favorites mothers.  But there's a feeling that accompanies a holiday that you only celebrate from "the outside looking in".  Like when you learn about the holidays celebrated in other cultures and religions and you go to parties and festivals to watch how they celebrate their own.  And sometimes you may eat a latke or run through plumes of chalky colors.  But you're still just observing--standing on the outside looking through the glass at the wonders of the many celebrations that are not your own.

I hadn't really thought much about this Mother's Day and how it relates to me until yesterday I received a card in the mail from a friend that said "Happy Mother's Day".  I had to pause for a minute to wonder if she sent it to the wrong person.  But then, as if she knew exactly what I was thinking, I felt a little squirm in my stomach and remembered that Motherhood is upon me.  Inside me.  Slowly peaking it's little light above the horizon.

So this year I feel slightly different about Mother's Day.  I feel like I've picked a new religion or been reborn in another country.  I feel like this year, I'm celebrating a whole new holiday:  one in which we honor the ones who carry life.  One measly little tiny second of eternity, nowhere near adequate enough, where we stop to say thanks to the person who birthed us, who carried us inside of her, who gave up wine and caffeine and wine and sky diving and wine and yoga inversions and wine for us.  The one who, at one time, had her own heart, and also yours, beating inside of her one body.

This year, as I feel this little one inside of me--another heart, another brain, another set of lungs, another pair of ears and eyes--growing and dancing and exploring, I am so very humbled and so extremely honored to be inducted into this new culture, the culture of mothers.

This Mother's Day, the most I can give to my own Mother and to the many mothers I love and admire, is my promise that I will spend every day of the rest of my life trying to live up to the amazing examples that you have set for me.  And continue to take at least a second of every day to stop and look around and remember what a mystery this all is, and how utterly miraculous that I, and everyone else wandering around here, came to be.

Have a wondrous weekend,
MEL

P.S. That's me today, about 26 weeks into the wild blue yonder.

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