Cowboy music

Anyone need some cowboy music today???
My Rifle, My Pony, and Me/Cindy - Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo

To make you think...

Get closer.

Dear Photograph

Tom Hussey reflections series

Books for Toddlers, Part III

New favorites:

One-Dog Canoe by Mary Casanova - an adorable story about a girl and her dog heading out for a trip in her canoe and all the other animals that want to come along. 

From Head to Toe by Eric Carle - another great Eric Carle book (our other favorites are The Very Clumsy Click Beetle; Slowly, Slowly, Slowly, said the Sloth; The Very Lonely Firefly; and The Very Quiet Cricket)!  This one encourages readers and listeners to get active and act like animals.  It's impossible to get through without giggling fits!

A Good Night Walk by Elisha Cooper - a beautiful, quiet story about the things to see on a walk down the block near bedtime.  This book is gorgeously illustrated by the author, and I often find C looking at the pictures on his own and pointing out the things he recognizes.

My Go to Bed Book by Hildegarde Ford - This book was originally published in 1956, and it shows in a lovely, nostalgic way.  C calls it the "boy book" and there's something peaceful and sweet about it.

Music to get through Tuesday

OK Go - White Knuckles. My son loves all of the OK Go official videos, but I prefer this low key live version of White Knuckles.

DIY Williams Sonoma Air Freshener

You know how some candles smell so artificial that the house doesn't really smell better when burning it, just....different? Here's a solution I pinned and finally got around to trying.  It's a simple concoction of rosemary + lemon + vanilla + water simmered on the stove and brought to you by One More Moore.  As advertised, it makes the house smell lovely and fresh.  My only suggestion would be to use a decent sized pot and keep it at a very low simmer.  It got a little strong after a while, but the fragrance lightened and lasted several hours after I turned it off.

The rosemary came from my front yard and the vanilla wasn't the good stuff, both of which might make a difference. 

Check out these Pinterest follow-throughs, too!

Bower Power

Young House Love

The Great Indoors

Hi Sugarplum!

and a few of my other finished Pinterest projects are here.

Back to the Start

I've fallen in love with this:



Hopeful, isn't it?

Pinterested

Like almost everyone, I have a slight addiction to Pinterest.  In order to justify the stupid amount of time I spend on there, I've compiled a list of pins that I've actually done something with....

1.  Magnet board (link to the inspiration, below is a photo of mine)  Ignore the hook on the left.  Eventually I will use it to hang a bag for the magnets.

2.  Kitchen drawer dividers (link to the inspiration, below is a photo of one of mine)

3.  Tons of recipes, but here are my favorites (all linked to the source):
     - caramelized onion and prosciutto pizza
     - skillet gnocchi with chard and chickpeas
     - baked parmesan tomatoes
     - no-bake peanut butter cookies (I used Rice Crispies instead of Special K)

4.  Airplane tray cover (link to my play-by-play and pictures)

5.  Car seat cooler (link to my play-by-play and pictures)

6.  Framed mirror (link to the inspiration, below is a photo of mine)

7.  "The best things..." hand print picture (I forgot to photograph my version before gifting them, so the link is to my inspiration)

8.  Candle upcycle (link to the inspiration)

Parenting, in words I didn't have

This is the most accurate, insightful essay on parenting I've ever seen....

Don't Carpe Diem by Glennon Melton

Christmas 2011 is in the books

...and it was a fine, lovely, enchanting Christmas it was.  There's something about watching a toddler at Christmas that brings some of the wonder back into the season for adults.  I don't think C really understood that he'd be receiving gifts today.  Everything is wonderful and fascinating and exciting to him these days that the gifts were no more or less exciting than looking at lights or dancing to Christmas songs or helping to bake cookies, and that awesome little boy was so delighted by it all. As for the gifts, he loved the first one - a wooden truck full of boxes of produce - so much that I thought we'd never convince him to look in his stocking or open his other gifts.  He did eventually get around to the others, and was nearly equally pleased with the other things, even a plate, bowl, and cup set that I thought he'd toss aside was exciting to him.  I hope I can always remember his beautiful, honest reaction...especially when he grows into a harder to please teen. 

Happy holidays!

To all of us, everywhere, a merry Christmas!