Friday, September 27, 2013

Have a Beautiful Fall Weekend!







* A Glamorous Yet Understated Brooklyn Brownstone via {this is glamorous}



Morning Y'all!  No word on whether my friend Theresa will be coming to live with me, but I, at least, planted the seed.  She would definitely be an investment piece, but I really love her so we'll see.  The gorgeous image above is definitely feeding my Fall fancy for chocolate and white (chocolate is really a much more decadent and sophisticated word for brown don't ya think?). 



I will be traveling with two little ones on a plane this weekend so wish me luck!



Enjoy these links!








This month's issue of Rue Magazine is really good 





Loving this little outdoor moment









According to this article, I am a drunk astronaut









Antelope for Less - Yes!





















This post on a fabulous Dallas Architect made me homesick 




















Thursday, September 26, 2013

Antiquing


Y'all, I'm out at my favorite antique shop and every time I'm here I see this girl and want to bring her home with me.  I think it's the way she looks like she's judging you, even though she takes care of sheep for a living. She owns it. I really want to bring her home with me. Maybe she can be my homegirl in a house full of boys. Like don't mess with Theresa (I just named her that), she'll cut you. 

Have I totally lost my mind? Do you like her? Do I need to get more sleep? 

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Antidepressants, Side Effects, and Some Lip Waxing



















I don't normally respond to the  negative emails. They're pretty few and far between these days. But one I received this week bothered me, mostly because I hope it isn't true. She said that I presented an unrealistic portrait of antidepressants, that I didn't do a good job of sharing their side effects.





I'd like to go on record as saying that I always respond as truthfully and in detail to anyone who emails me with questions about antidepressants (or as my friend K.D. Reep calls them her "anti-hitting people pills"). Yes. There are side effects. Yes. When you begin taking them you won't feel so hot for a while. And yes. If you decide to stop taking them, you have to wean very, very slowly to avoid more side effects.





But here's the thing. In this life we subject our bodies to many uncomfortable things, things that bring reward in the end. Let's take a look at my short list.





1. Tweazing our eyebrows. Or waxing our eyebrows. Or anything eyebrow related. But we do it. We maintain those suckers. Why? Because no matter how cool she was, not one of us wants to look like Frida Khalo's less creative relative. Not even if we get one of those cool flower wreaths for our hair. Not even then.





2. And while we're on the topic of hair, why stop at the eyebrows?  Why not just address hair removal as a whole. Legs. Arms. Faces. Other locals I shall not mention. We tweeze, pluck, pull, thread, wax and it all hurts. It hurts like the dickens. And what a waste of time! It's all time we could have been using to watch the latest episode of Breaking Bad, or leaning on the kitchen counter eating ice cream. But we like the reward. We like not looking like a pioneer woman with a 5 o'clock shadow.





3. Shopping for jeans. This doesn't necessarily cause physical discomfort, but it feels like a branding iron on the old ego. Shopping for jeans for those of us who have had children and don't run marathons or skirt the edges of an eating disorder is like trying to find the most flattering brand of cling wrap. But we do it. Why? Not because it's fun, but because we don't want to be arrested for public nudity because we didn't have a pair of jeans. And also because our great aunt will write about it in her Christmas news letter.





4. Working out. The sweat. The muscle craps. The chaffing. The horrendous moment when you're running and you think, "Eh. I should not have eaten that plate full of broccoli for lunch." Let's face it. 99% of us would much rather be taking a nap, eating a bowl full of sugary cereal, or reading a book. But we still work out. Why? Lots of reasons. Blood pressure. Longevity. The above mentioned jean shopping. We don't like it, but we like the reward, so we do it. 





5. Childbearing. This is the queen mother. This is the thing we do to ourselves voluntarily that is unthinkable. We vomit. We lay in bed with exhaustion. We gain weight. Our ankles get huge. Our hormones take over to the point that *we* watch National Velvet and end up screaming at the screen, "RUN YOU LAZY B#ST*RD, RUN! And of course by we, I mean me. Then, when we've reached the size of a beached whale, and our hip bones actually expand wider, we give birth. I could resurrect the old "watermelon through a hole the size of a lemon" simile but you've heard it. But we do it. We do it because it brings new life, it brings family, it brings love so big it makes our hearts feel like they might explode.





In summation, yes, perhaps my cart ran away with the horses a bit in this blog post. I blame National Velvet. But I'm trying to make a very important point. Yes, side effects are real. But when compared to the things we voluntarily do to ourselves on a daily basis... it's not that big of a deal. And more importantly, when you compare those side effects with DAILY MENTAL HEALTH AND PEACE... it's not much of an excuse. 





Antidepressants saved my life. I'll go way out on a limb here and say that they may have saved my marriage (or at least made it a heck of a lot more happy than it was before). They make me a better mother. They keep my anxiety disorder in check. 





Like waxing my lip, or working out, or having Jane... it's worth it.













Brown & White (omg)

I always make these bold proclamations like: "I'm just not a brown person" or "I hate orange and black (ahem Halloween)."  Then I inevitably see something that I love that completely contradicts what I just declared.



Exhibit A.



This pillow from Pottery Barn.







It's brown and white.  The Suze and I popped into Pottery Barn yesterday, and for some reason, this pillow caught my eye. I kinda want to go back and get it.  It's really pretty in person.  I've spent the better part of my four years of marriage eradicating the color brown from our decor, so you can imagine Kip's shock (and subsequent high-five) when I told him I wanted to do brown and white in the new library we are building.  I know, "quelle horreur!" But it's my vision.   



So ya, the library.  We are in the early stages, but we're planning to
make the formal living room into a cozy wood-paneled library so Kip can
realize his manly dream of having walls of wood and a leather chair. 
And really, I want him to have it.  He deserves it.  I also happen to love the look of
lots of white linen with brown brought in by natural elements like wood
and leather.



I'm thinking a pretty white linen slip-covered English roll-arm sofa like this:













And a big cozy, over-sized leather chair, like this:









I know it's starting to look like a Pottery Barn catalog, but, y'all, I really like their stuff right now.  It's all very classic, which is sort of what I'm craving at the moment.  Classic pieces that I can zhuszh up at my own fancy.  It might have something to do with the plethora (love that word, see below) of presents Edward received for his birthday.  They bring a lot of, well, color to the house, if you will.



So that's where my head is right now.  Fall.  Brown.  White.  Clean.  Crisp.



P.S. This conversation happened at Pottery Barn yesterday...



Me: I love all of the white they have for Fall.

The Suze:  I know! They've come to the ... er ... dark ... er ... dark side? No, that doesn't work.  Oh well, whatever.











Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Happy Birthday Edward!







Today my sweet Edward turns 3! I can hardly believe it.  He's like a little person now! He can have semi-grownup conversations, albeit peppered with the occasional dragon-spotting or dinosaur roar.  It is a fascinating age - hilarious and fun. 



I have to give a shout-out to my very talented neighbor Samantha Gleaton of Samantha Gleaton Photography who beautifully captured the look that melts my heart every day.  This picture is so amazing to me.  Now everyone can see what I hold in my heart.



Have a lovely day! 



* If you are in Kansas City and have a child you want photographed, call her stat. 

A+ September






















































































It does not get better than this past weekend. Beautiful weather. Dinners with friends. New haircut, color and manicure. Fun at the park. My continued war on the brown walls upstairs. That last part may not sound like fun to other people, but with each stroke of the paintbrush I felt victorious. I felt like yelling, " BE GONE, PUTRID FLESH COLORED 1991 BROWN PAINT!" In fact, I may have done just that a couple of times before Matt asked if I'd taken my medication.



All joking aside, the entire 2nd floor of our house looks nothing like the ground floor. Shaggy carpet, banged up trim, dingy doors, cloudy windows, mildewed bathrooms. The upstairs is a bit "fixer" in style. But that's alright. I'm just taking my time, tackling things as they come.



 I'm  also planning Jane's "big girl room" and it's so fun. I'm excited for her to move out of her small nursery and into a big room with lots of space to play and run. White walls, lace curtains, twinkle lights, vintage bed frame... truthfully I'll probably be a little jealous once it's all said and done.



So that's us. We're just painting and park playing and thoroughly enjoying this A+ September.



I can't imagine a happier beginning to the fall season.




Monday, September 23, 2013

Moodboard Monday: Family Room TV Chairs




Not Your Grandmas TV Trays

Morning y'all!  I came across these fabulous lucite TV trays on Mecox Gardens' Instagram and the wheels started turning in my head.  I'm thinking they would be perfect when I get two new cozy chairs to replace our current loveseat.  I don't know when that will happen, but I'm already dreaming up our family room redo. 



It's no secret that I've threatened to sell all of my family room furniture on Craigslist.  It worked great in the old house, but it doesn't work as well in our new house.  Kip is hesitant because of the whole messy children thing, but I just think it's silly to put off having the home you want because your children might mess it up. I may be a bigger mess than my kids anyway. 



So here's part of the family room redo I'm envisioning.  Imagine this with these ghost trays in front of the chairs.









Speaking of TV chairs, how excited are y'all about Fall TV?? What are your favorite shows? Any new shows that you're excited about? Do tell.