Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Father’s Day to two of the very best.
I hope all of the daddies out there have a super duper day. (And Happy Birthday to D! It’s a doubly special day over here!)
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Shhhh…Don’t Tell Wito!
While strolling through Downtown Disney last week after tackling Space Mountain, Wito noticed a huge Cars 2 banner hanging from the local theater. As the world’s biggest Cars 2 fan, the child was beside himself. Disneyland Excitement Level: 2. Random Cars 2 Banner Excitement Level: 150. (I’ll never get it.) He just stood there, transfixed, while I impatiently tapped my foot because I desperately wanted to get home after a full day at Disney.
Like many children, Wito is not a fan of getting his photo taken. He squirms or looks down or makes a crazy Jack-Nicholson-in-The-Shining-face or basically anything he can to ruin a photo opp. So excuse my bewilderment when he looked at me earnestly and asked if I would take his photo in front of the banner. Sure, kid.
Wito and the random Cars 2 banner.
We’re exactly one week out from the premiere of the movie, and Wito’s mental status has moved from Total Excitement to Absolute Loss of Daily Focus.
You guys. Little does he know, but earlier this week, he was invited to an advanced screening of the movie. A screening that is happening TOMORROW. TOMORROW WITO WILL SEE CARS 2. He is going to completely lose his mind when he finds out, which I’ve decided will be on the way to the theater. (Squeeeeeeeeee!)
Do you know what it’s been like keeping this secret for the past few days? It’s killing me! I feel like I’ve got some Cars 2 Tourette Syndrome ready to manifest itself at any moment. “Wito, would you like some more OHMYGODMEYOUCARS2MOVIETHISWEEKEND milk?” It’s just very exciting around here right now. In my head, at least. (Thank you, Disney, for the opportunity!)
My (BEST) friends at Disney are also offering a giveaway for your little Cars 2 fans!
A CARS 2 t-shirt (in youth sizes of S, M, L, XL), a CARS 2 set of 3 bumper stickers, a CARS 2 temporary tattoo sheet (2 per winner), and a CARS 2 puzzle. Just leave a comment on this post before June 23rd at 6pm PST and you’ll be entered to win!
I’ll be back to report on the big surprise next week. (Of course, little miss Wita just came down with a 102 fever, so I’m praying Wito stays healthy for the big day.) Have a great weekend, everyone!
Cars 2 Mania
Wito is captivated by Cars. Sure, most kids go through phases of adoring certain toys or movies, but this Cars phase has now lasted over two years. 700+ days, not that I’m counting or anything.
Cars consumes this boy, and as you can guess, we have amassed an enormous amount of little diecast cars from the movie. It’s truly the best money I’ve ever spent, though, because he has played with the cars on a daily basis since he turned three. I even possess the photographic evidence to prove it.
Just shy of three years old. (Look at those precious cheeks!)
A few new cars for Christmas 2009.
Still loving them in 2010, banged-up paint jobs and all.
Meeting Lightning McQueen for the first time.
He played with the cars during our short stint in the mold box,
But was super happy when he found their true home at our current house.
Hanging out with his buddies again at the ripe old age of four.
Even branching out into Cars pajamas and stickers.
And still happy as a clam this week, a few months shy of five years old.
THE BOY LOVES HIS CARS. No doubt about it. Now, I’m not sure if you’ve heard but Cars 2 is being released on June 24th. If you were a friend of Wito, you would most definitely know this information since it has been spewing out of his mouth at 2-hour intervals since the date was announced late last year. (And I adore how he says, “The Cars 2 movie is coming out on June 24!” Not June twenty-fourth, June twenty-four.)
We are very excited over here. Checking the Cars 2 website for new characters and games is one of our favorite things to do right now, and I swear, the boy is about to implode since he knows we are less than a month out.
A few weeks ago, the Cars 2 diecast cars were released in stores, and this mom was on a mission.
Target. Sunday, 8:10 am.
I think I was the only customer in the store. (Which was mighty fine with this mild enochlophobe.)
Okay, are you ready? I am giving you full permission to mock me endlessly. This is what I had in my hand.
It’s a Cars 2 Buying Matrix Checklist. I WAS CONSULTING A CARS 2 BUYING MATRIX CHECKLIST. BWAHAHAAAAAAAA, WHAT HAS BECOME OF MY LIFE? Wait, don’t answer that. (Obviously, this was BEFORE I decided to work on being a laid back, B+ mom. Ahem.)
The things we will do for our kids. However, I must admit, it’s kind of nice knowing that his August birthday and Christmas gifts have been taken care of by May. Now I just need a place to hide all of this stuff.
I guess this is just a very long-winded way of telling you that we can’t wait to see the Cars 2 movie. CAN’T WAIT. I can’t wait to watch his eyes light up when the movie starts, can’t wait to hear his expert analysis afterwards, can’t wait for it all.
Wito seems to think that if we make the short drive up to the LA premiere on June 18th, they’ll let us in because Lightning McQueen is “one of his good friends.” So if you hear about a mother and son attempting to sneak into the Cars 2 premiere, well, my son made me do it. The things we do for our kids, right?
2011 Legends of La Cienega: Celebrate Art
I don’t write much about Dustin’s design firm, but I wanted to share some work he just completed for the 2011 Legends of La Cienega.
What is Legends of La Cienega? In their own words:
Legends of La Cienega is an annual celebration of design that brings together VIPs and tastemakers from the worlds of interior design, décor, art, fashion, and architecture for two days of receptions, keynote panel discussions, cocktail parties, book-signings, personal appearances, trunk shows, and special exhibitions.
In its third year, the 2011 Legends event is presented by the LCDQ’s 50 member businesses which include the city’s most prestigious design showrooms, antiques dealers and home furnishings retailers located along La Cienega Boulevard (from Santa Monica to Beverly Boulevards), Melrose Avenue and Melrose Place. This year’s calendar of events is produced in association with the nation’s most prestigious shelter publications including ELLE DECOR, House Beautiful, Traditional Home and VERANDA.
In MY words, it’s a chance to see the work of very talented designers showcased in a perfectly succinct window display in LA’s leading design district.
Dustin and John chose Robert Rauschenberg as the inspiration for their display. Dustin visited a Rauschenberg exhibit at the Guggenheim while in college, and has been a huge fan ever since. Here’s a peek at their style sheet.
(Dustin’s handwriting has to be some of the best out there, no?)
Let me just tell you – this window installation took the main stage in regards to our family time for the past couple of weeks. While the windows were tall and visually striking, the depth of the display was only 42 inches. Not much to work with while placing furniture and such, and it presented some challenges. CHALLENGES I HEARD ABOUT ON MANY, MANY OCCASIONS. Like during dinner, the kids’ bath time, weekends at the park, while drifting off to sleep…you catch my drift.
I wasn’t sure if I would get the chance to see the finished product for myself, so I was over the moon when Dustin informed me that he was going to whisk me up to LA for the Opening Night Gala hosted by Michael Boodro, Editor-in-Chief of Elle Decor at Thierian. (Wheeeeeeeee!)
Let’s stop for a second and bring it back to what matters most here. MY PARTY OUTFIT. (Oh, I kid, I kid.) (Not really.) The minute I found out about this party, my highly predictable shit-it’s-a-cocktail-party-I-have-nothing-to-weeeeaaaarrrr spiel started immediately. In fact, on the day of the event, I was still shopping 2 hours before we needed to leave. People, why do I do this to myself EVERY time? Whhhyyyyy? As my wise mother reminds me on a weekly basis, I’ve always thrived under pressure, so I guess shopping is included. Did I need a new outfit? Probably not. However, you would be proud to know that I only bought one item of clothing for this party, and it was an Anthropologie skirt marked 50% off.
Sweater- Madewell, Skirt- Anthropologie, Clutch – Banana Republic from like, 1994, Bracelet- vintage, Ring- Juxtaposition, Heels- Jessica Simpson (I know!)
Onto the party! It was very lovely, although it was hard for me to mentally move past the delicious French 75 cocktail and yellow fin carpacchio I had at Fig & Olive beforehand. (Good lord, so very delicious.) After a few glasses of bubbly and some highly entertaining conversations, we set out to see the pièce de résistance!
The display looked simply marvelous. I’m so proud of Dustin for being included in such a talented group of designers. Bravo!
Reunited (With Blogs) And It Feels So Gooood
I lost that loving feeling for blogs about a year or so ago. Man, I’ve been PINING for the good ol’ days (pre-Twitter/Facebook/13 email accounts/Instagram/Google Reader/Pinterest/iPhone apps/etc.), but let’s face it, the good ol’ days are gone. Nearly six years ago, when I wanted to write about something, I wrote it on this blog. When I wanted to read something, I read it on your blog. Most likely, we left comments and became friendternets. That was fun, wasn’t it? Simpler times, oh friendternets. Now, it’s random observations jammed into 140 characters and/or a sentence or two underneath an iPhone photo and/or Twitter parties and/or gahhhhhhh, I’m totally turning into a crabby old hag.
At first, I thought that Google Reader would help to simplify my time spent online by creating a one-stop shop blog reading platform. And it did for awhile, but over time, I would amass 300-600 unread blog posts, become totally overwhelmed, and click the lame ‘Mark All As Read’ button. When I DID have time to read posts, I couldn’t even remember what blog I was reading due to the generic, clinical-looking feed reader template. Whose blog is this? How did I find this blogger? Why am I reading this? What was the connection that drew me to this person in the first place?
I think Kristen put it best when she wrote:
See, reading blogs in Google Reader is efficient, but it’s a little cold. You miss the full experience of seeing the post where it was meant to be. It’s kind of like eating take-out instead of eating in the restaurant. You miss the ambiance. It also makes it harder to comment.
Right on. Considering the overwhelming majority of blogs that I read are lifestyle/design blogs, I was doing myself such a disservice by reading posts without actually visiting the blog where it was meant to be read. Plus, what were the chances that I would click through to leave a comment? Slim to none. On the other hand, I don’t have enough time in the day to visit all the blogs I love, in hopes that a new post may or may not be up.
Okay, I’m going somewhere with this, I promise! Thanks to Kristen, she wrote a post entitled, “if you read blogs, you should read this,” and it included a tip about the Google Reader Next Button. (She also wrote a great post on awesome smoothie recipes for kids who despise veggies, aka WITO, and she’s the reason I bought a rice cooker. Kind of stalking her right now.)
GOOGLE READER NEXT BUTTON, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
Now, I can click a little button in my browser toolbar and it will take me directly to the next chronological blog post in my reader queue. At the actual website, where it was meant to be read. Wahoo!
Here’s an example (click photo to enlarge):
Here’s one of my favorite newish blogs, Triple Max Tons. Instead of reading Kirsten’s post on a generic feed reader page like before, I experience it on her darling website where I get to see her face, as well as all the links and info that she has provided to readers. (Like the fact that she has a Pinterest account. I wouldn’t have known that without visiting her blog.) After I’ve read her post, I click the Next button in my toolbar, and I’m off to the next chronological post in my queue. Shazam!
However, the best part is when I have read everything in my queue and see this page.
THE END OF THE INTERNET. Heh.
People, it’s like old school blog-hopping with with a side of modern convenience. I’m enjoying blogs again, I’m commenting again, and all’s well in the blogosphere. (Except for the fact that I just used the term “blogosphere.”)
Check out the Next Button. Set up a Google Reader account if you don’t have one. Then go here, and click on the Goodies tab. It’s under “Put Reader in a Bookmark.” I think you might like it. Now I’m off to dream up a new whoorl design, as this one is gathering cobwebs.
My Diaper Bag (+ Clava Giveaway!)
Let’s take a look at my unconventional diaper bag by Clava today, shall we?
Except that, yeah, I don’t carry it that way since I’m juggling a super squirmy 9-month-old. I usually wear it like this:
(Top: Lands End, Trouser Jeans: Gap, Charm Necklace: John Wind, City Flats: Gap, Sunglasses, Ray-Ban.)
However, unlike the above photo, there is a 78% chance that 1) my hair is in a ponytail, 2) my stretched-out sunglasses are falling off my face as I bend over to pick up some random teething toy that Wita has pelted at a stranger, and 3) I’m yelling at Wito to SLOW DOWN as he flails wildly into pedestrian traffic. Otherwise, yep, that’s me. Me and my diaper bag. Calm, cool and collected.
Here’s my thing about diaper bags. I really don’t like them. There just a little too diaper-y for me – in looks and in function. I’ve found that the ones I’ve owned in the past have had really large openings and been very roomy on the inside, which is great for most (I guess?), but I just found myself constantly digging around in my bag while the contents get all jumbled.
When Clava contacted me about trying out a bag from their Carina Collection, I immediately knew that I wanted the Carina Zipper Tote. When I told them that I wanted to use it as a diaper bag, I’m pretty sure they considered me a FOOL, as I noticed they quickly emailed links to other bags from the line that might be more suitable for that particular function. I mean, the Zipper Tote was designed for circling the globe in style! A perfectly chic laptop/work bag!
However, my mind was made up. I was going to rock that Zipper Tote as a diaper bag, dammit. Just watch me, world!
And guess what? I love my Carina Zipper Tote as a diaper bag. Check it.
(click photo for larger image)
It fits everything I need without it looking all sausage-stuffed from the outside AND the large inside pockets keep everything from getting jumbled AND the coated cotton canvas outer material can be wiped down easily AND the interior material is waterproof (sippy cup disasters averted!) AND when I no longer need to carry a diaper bag, this puppy will still be used for years and years as an awesome tote AND the best part? It doesn’t look like a diaper bag! HOLLA.
I think you should have a Carina Tote too. (Don’t worry, I won’t force you at gunpoint to use it as a diaper bag, I promise.)
Leave a comment on this post telling me which bag from the Carina Collection is your favorite, and you will be entered to win a Carina Zipper Tote of your color choice. Get crackin’, folks! Contest ends Friday, April 1st at 6pm PST. Good luck!
