Do or Don't

There are so many cute things out there right now that I can't wear. I am seeing so many of these short linen wide leg shorts that I just adore. I never had thin legs, and therefore, never wore shorts, even at a much younger age, but now more than ever I hate that I was cursed with horrible, non-muscular, and generally ugly legs. When I'm thin, my calves are ok, save for my gross birth mark that I used to wear a band-aid over (for years) on my right shin. I'm also loving the playful short dresses and short rompers. I will save those for the youthful, and move on to what I can wear...


Bellbottoms? Love the A Cup of Jo blog, and when she posted whether to wear bellbottoms or not, I melted. Finally a post about something I CAN wear! I've ridden the wave on skinnies, but frankly, with my big thighs, they just aren't flattering. I've always carried wider leg bottom pants/jeans way better. I also have short legs (thanks Dad), and therefore, this kind of jean, with a high heel/wedge makes my legs look much longer and thinner than they are. It's all about perception. Since reality is not very pretty, I have to fool the onlooker's eye into thinking I have at least a 32" inseam (I really have about a 29). Now, the girl in this pic is also super cute, pretty, and of course thin, but I can wear this jean. Yes, I said something nice about myself. ha ha.



As it presses into late June, I'm already over summer, and the clothes it brings with it. I do hate summer clothing since it includes things like shorts, skirts with bare legs, open-toed sandals, and strapless/thin-strapped tops. These are all things I'd rather not wear. So, I have been pouring over the new winter collections. I also happened to be at Neiman Marcus last week buying a pair of hotty Louboutin pumps for Rob and Vale's wedding, and they were having a Chanel trunk show. Oh my. The jackets were so, so amazing. All sorts of mixed tweeds with embellishments but in the classic Chanel jacket way. I was in love. I mostly can't see why designers charge so much for stuff, but when I saw these jackets, I about died. They would be worth it. Alas, I held back (yes, it's true). On a much cheaper scale, J. Crew is carrying a sweater called the Eden. I may just have to purchase it for nostalgia's sake.


I'm a big romper fan. I love a one-piece anything. Most are not appropriate for me, but I may be loving this one by J. Crew. This is one of those things that looks great on the model, but you have no idea what it would look like on a real person. I love the criss-cross in front, but this works best for girls with really small or I guess really big boobs. I'm afraid I'd be free-balling a little too much in it. While she looks sexy, I would probably look scandalous. My boobs are just big enough to not be able to wear small boob tops. Not sure how this would look from behind either. High waisted, so it could make my butt look 100 miles long. It's still intriguing. It has a heftier price tag of $495, so I will not be rushing out to experiment with this one.









Lastly, I was reading my fave blog Making It Lovely today, and decided to purchase this gold dress which was in a feature about nursing mothers. A gold dress is something I've always wanted. I'm always attracted to them. It also reminds me of this awesome Chloe dress that I cannot purchase for price tag reasons. This one is much shorter than anything I usually wear, so I'm a bit scared, but I'm going to try it anyway. I love the dark orangey/coral shoes, and (if I could wear it) I would match it with a coral lipstick. I've been searching for a shade I can perhaps wear for summer, but after three attempts, I'm thinking the coral lip rage is better left to the fair skin beauties and the runways.







Other things I've been looking at:


So into online magazines and look books lately.

I'm all about striped wallpaper in small spaces. In fact, I already bought a black and white stripe to put in our first floor powder room at the Summer Hill house (I just love calling it that, it seems like we vacation there doesn't it?) Check here and here.

What to pay to be creative? Yes, it is true. You can actually take a creativity course!

Play Play Play

As we get closer and closer to acquiring a big ass backyard, we have a few things on the list to white trash it up, and one of them is a playground. I told Trent I was very concerned with getting an eco friendly, modernish looking one. They barely exist, and the ones that do are a million dollars. Bah. Trent did find a place called Cedarworks. Apparently, Lyla told Trent that she wanted some princess-themed playset, which I immediately thought would be ugly, but they have some neat looking sets at this site. God knows when you add all the components together how much loot it is, but we sent for the catalog. I'm partial to the smaller sets like the one above left, but the first pic Trent sent me included every piece of everything they make (see right)

I'm also loving their indoor play sets. I love the idea of getting something for Ly and E that allow them to make a fort. A few of these have loungy areas under the slides. We make forts everywhere in the house, so this is actually something I think Ly would use (unlike a swing--ahem). If anyone knows of these guys, or anyone that has their stuff, let me know. Otherwise, enjoy the view.

I found this list on OhDeeDoh, and thought I would share it with you since summer is officially upon us. I'm feeling pretty good about the list and our ability to do many things on it. Heck this morning alone we made a collage, had a cooking show, made a fort, and made a "bulletin" which is what Lyla calls making the baby's food in the food processor for some reason.

1. Color
2. Blow Bubbles
3. Play Hide-and-Seek
4. Peek-a-Boo
5. Play Chase
6. Do Finger-plays
7. Sing a song
8. Collect rocks in a basket
9. Make an obstacle course out of cushions and/or furniture
10. Make a fort out of cushions and sheets
11. Go for a Walk
12. Make a Car out of a Box
13. Read a book
14. Go to the park
15. Finger-paint
16. Play with Play-Dough
17. Toss Bean bags into a Bucket
18. Play the shell and pea game
19. Dance to music
20. Download games for toddlers from the Internet
21. Practice putting things in and taking things out of boxes and bags
22. Make a temporary slide out of a table leaf and your couch
23. Roll a ball back and forth on the floor
24. Scoop dirt or sand into a child's bucket (or use a serving spoon and bowl)
25. Practice climbing by stacking boxes on top of each other (only with adult supervision)
26. Put on a puppet show
27. Go fishing with a yard stick and yarn
28. Make a Horseshoe game
29. Make a Shape Puzzle
30. Play paper basketball
31. Run through a Sprinkler
32. Play with a bucket of water and a sponge (PLEASE WATCH CHILD AT ALL TIMES!)
33. Make a Drum out of an oatmeal box
34. Play with a kazoo
35. Wash windows together
36. Bang on Pots and Pans with a spoon
37. Brush each other's teeth
38. Play dress-up with stuffed animals and your child's clothes
39. Stack canned or boxed food on top of each other
40. Let child stack mixing bowls inside each other
41. Make a playhouse out of a large box
42. Let child play with a sticker sheet (make sure your child doesn't eat them!)
43. Put stickers on fingers for finger puppets
44. Play a musical instrument together- i.e.recorder, piano, etc.
45. Go on a Smelling Hunt
46. Frost Cookies
47. Plant a flower or vegetable plant together
48. Roll a tennis ball into an empty trash can or bucket
49. Draw on a mirror with dry-erase markers
50. Play hide and seek together- trying to find a stuffed animal or other object
51. Have a splash party together in the bathtub
52. Put a leash on a stuffed animal and walk around the house
53. Record each other on a tape recorder (great for scrapbooks or journals!)
54. Make and try on paper hats
55. Give a piggy-back ride
56. Play "Horsey"
57. Talk into an electric fan (it distorts your voice)
58. Play tug-of-war with a blanket
59. Collect flowers (felt, artificial, real...)
60. Make a camera and go on a Safari
61. Play games with frozen juice lids
62. Disconnect your phone and pretend to make phone calls to relatives
63. Leave your phone connected and really make phone calls to relatives- let your child talk too
64. String large beads onto or along a shoelace
65. Squirt each other with squirt bottles
66. Glue shapes onto paper
67. Make sock puppets
68. Make paper puppets
69. Fill an old purse with toys
70. Use a paper towel tube as a megaphone
71. Make binoculars and go "Bird Watching" or "Stuffed Animal Watching"
72. Put snacks in different fun containers (paper sacks, empty canisters, etc.)
73. Act out a story from a book
74. Walk on a balance beam- use a 2x4 placed on the ground
75. Draw with chalk on the sidewalk
76. Sketch an outline of your child on the sidewalk or paper with chalk
77. Paint child's palms with tempura paint and blot on paper. Makes a great card for loved ones!
78. Put lipstick on child and kiss a mirror
79. Make a puddle on cement and splash barefoot in it
80. Let child decorate and eat an open peanut butter sandwich
81. Make a toilet paper barricade for child to go under, over, or through
82. Do the Hokey Pokey
83. Make a super-hero costume out of household items
84. Do Knee-Bouncing Rhymes
85. Play "Red Light, Green Light" saying "Go" and "Stop"
86. Make a shoe-box train for stuffed animals
87. Make a pillow pile to jump on (keep it clear from any hard surfaces, including walls!)
88. Make an easy puzzle with felt and Velcro
89. Make bracelets or collars for stuffed animals out of pipe cleaners and jingle bells
90. Learn numbers from a deck of cards
91. Play the matching game with a deck of cards
92. Make a domino chain
93. Have a picnic in the park, backyard, or living room!
94. Play dress up in Mommy or Daddy's clothes
95. Make a tin cup telephone and talk to each other in it
96. Make a nature collage
97. Mirror each other
98. Make a "Mummy Mommy" with toilet paper
99. Make a tape recording of short music selections and instructions to move in different ways
100. Make and walk along a toilet paper trail
101. TAKE A NAP!

Splash Pad

Dear Trent-

Please make this for our new backyard so we don't have to buy a pool. Thanks.

Love, Jen

Inspiration for New Home

Not sure I have told everyone that we are moving. It's 99% official.













We are awaiting one last inspection on the chimney, then we're in the clear. So, if anyone is interested in purchasing our home, please call or email ASAP.



We are moving to a delightful new neighborhood called Summer Hill in Phoenix, MD. Here is a pic of the outside.






The bones are pretty good, but the interior is totally 80s with dark colored walls, striped wallpaper with borders, and White House drapes. So, this will be an undertaking for sure. Everything is liveable, but you know how fussy I can be about the homestead.





I see a new kitchen in our future as soon as we can afford (which may be never now that our mortgage doubled), new bathroom in the master (it's all crazy jacuzzi tub, and then world's smallest bathfitters-esque shower), and of course paint all around. The kids' rooms are the most offensive colors I've ever seen in a home. The worst room of all is literally fluorescent yellow. Who allows that?

Anyway, I have been saving images like crazy, and while a few of these are certainly a bit harder to attain within a reasonable budget (and not having someone like Diane Bergeron at our disposal), it has given me much inspiration. Where to start, where to start...