I have dropped out of numerous book clubs because I never seem to read the book and always feel guilty showing up for the discussion unprepared. Who needs one more thing to feel guilty about? However, I do love spending time with girlfriends. So a friend and I decided we would start a movie club. Once a month. Friday matinée. Right now it is a club of two, but membership has its privileges. Seeing a matinée during the week is a decadent treat! This month we saw American Hustle. Oh, my lord. I am sure you have all seen it, but if you haven’t…run don’t walk to your nearest theater. The hair and costumes alone make it PURE entertainment. Amy Adams was fantastic and Jennifer Lawrence plays crazy like no one else!
During the previews, we selected our movie for March. Bad Words. A spelling bee loser, played by Jason Bateman, sets out to exact revenge by finding a loophole and attempting to win as an adult. Watch the trailer. The humor is so offensive you can’t help but laugh out loud. I love Jason Bateman and really can’t wait to see it.
Since it doesn’t come out until March, what shall we see in February? Send me any tips on must-see movies! Have a wonderful weekend.
{Warning: This trailer is not PG. Watch without children in the room}
I was inspired this week by style blogger, Emily Jackson. She rocked a plaid jacket and leopard shoe boots. While I absolutely love the look, the shoes don’t quite fit my lifestyle. With some diligent searching, and Emily’s genius mixing of prints as inspiration, I was able to create a new mom uniform!
Ok. I die for these shoes. The perfect mix of leopard fab and casual cool! Everything else {plaid top, denim, crossbody bag, and a jeweled necklace} already live in my closet! With one purchase this could be my new uniform.
When I was placing the art work in my closet, I had small spaces that needed something. An extra frame made it look too cluttered and I didn’t want that! I was working toward open and inspiring, so it took me awhile to figure out what to do. Then in the middle of the night it came to me! I needed to print some of my Instagram snapshots. I am constantly posting pictures of my shoes and it they would be PERFECT in my closet.
So I printed these Instagram photos using the free Walgreens app. It is so darn easy. Connect to your account, choose the photos you want to print, send them, and pick them up in an hour. I printed the 4×4 size for $0.39 a piece. YES!! Thirty nine cents! {You could also print in 8×8 which would be fun if you wanted to frame it}. For $1.56 {plus tax} I had small, personal pieces of art to add to my closet. I used gold washi tape to hang them.
How easy is that?
Do you follow me on Instagram? Well, why the heck not? Come join the party! Follow me @seattlejune.
Other ways to use your super cool Instagram shots:
Kids everywhere will soon be slipping small little envelopes into decorated boxes. Valentine’s Day. I love it! When Big W was in PreK he decided to get two sets of Valentine cards {one for the girls and one for the boys} and has done the same ever since. His theory: girls don’t like the same thing boys do. Wise beyond his years that one. In the past it was princesses and superheros. What else would it be? Now that they are older, and quite mature, it isn’t so cut and dry. He has out grown of most of the character Valentine cards, so this year we tried something a little different. We found Valentine’s Day Cards for kids, at Pear Tree Greetings, that we could personalize for the card exchange with his classmates. {Little Man jumped on board too!}
The boys each chose two different styles. One set for the girls. One set for the boys. I also ordered a darling photo strip Valentine to slip into the cards we send to our family. They were thrilled when they arrived at the doorstep. Next step? Figuring out what little item, treasure, or piece of candy to hand out with them. Oh, the pressure!
The envelopes are too small to send by US Mail, but you could easily slip the smaller envelope into a larger one and send these awesome greetings to anyone!
Our Valentine’s Day Cards c/o Pear Tree Greetings:
Back in October, I decided to give my closet a major overhaul. It was in desperate need of some TLC. You need to know that my closet is a standard sized bedroom closet with dual sliding doors. A powdered-coated, metal shelving/hanging unit was installed by a previous owner of our home. Sadly, it also has florescent lighting. This was not going to be a remodel. I had to work within the space I was given. When I set out to create a closet to love, I set my priorities for the project.
In the end, I hoped for:
*bright, open and inspiring
*a place for my accessories
*space to hang a few pieces of art
While it is quite embarrassing to show the before pictures, it is important to show its original sad, drab state. Yep, it was that bad. Crowded, cluttered, and certainly uninspiring. The closet wasn’t getting any larger and it wasn’t going to magically become a walk-in overnight. To reach my goal of creating an open space, I was going to have to be fearless in making some tough decisions. I needed to edit my wardrobe! I spent a long afternoon, pulling things from my closet. The result was a very large bag which I took to my favorite consignment shop. The rest went to a charitable thrift shop. There was space to work with!!
The work began in four main areas:
Clothing Storage: I pulled my spring/summer wardrobe off hangars and put it in storage. I certainly don’t need shorts and breezy little tops in the dead of Seattle’s winter. I also put my flip flops, wedges, and sandals in individual plastic shoe boxes.
Painting: The walls need some major help. They were actually dirty {gross that I didn’t notice that when I moved in} and the paint was drab. I chose Benjamin Moore Ribbon Pink. It took over 3 weeks to finally decide on the shade of pink. My ideal color would be a bit paler than Ribbon Pink, but once the clothes were back it wasn’t a huge issue for me. The hardest part of the painting was the shelving/hanging unit. It is barely hanging on, so if I had taken it down there is a pretty good chance it wouldn’t have gone back up. Instead, I taped around it using painter’s tape and my level. It took forever. For a fun effect I taped color blocks! The finished product makes me smile because of the awesome white borders throughout the whole closet.
Accessory Storage: I had to use some creativity for hanging and storing my accessories. A shelf liner gave me a solid surface to build on. I had been dying for a reason to buy this gorgeous gold stag! I finally had it. Using the antlers and a handful of brass nails I had plenty of storage for my necklaces. Along with jewelry trays, vintage tea cups and collected glassware I had a place for almost all of my accessories. An acrylic shelf helped give one more surface for all the treasures. All of my hats, scarves, and belts are now housed in two colorful canvas baskets I found on clearance at Target.
Art: With a little help from all of you {here and here} I chose two pieces of art. The fashion illustration by Anum Tariq is so beautiful. I wish you could see it person. A LOVE print, one of my very favorite photos, and a few Instagram snapshots finished off the space perfectly.
I apologize for such a lengthy post, but I can’t help but be overly excited about this outcome! It makes me so, so HAPPY to open my closet each day. Many of my most treasured items {like my grandmother’s gloves I wore on my wedding day} now have a place in my everyday. While not large or ornate, I now have a closet to love.
{If you see a detail that I didn’t explain or discuss, please leave a comment below. I am happy to answer any questions!}
I love snow days! Call it wishful thinking {because we are in desperate need of snow in our mountains}, but I am ready for another one. We were lucky enough to get a day off due to snow just before our long winter break. Unfortunately, it all melted before lunch time! We are due another one. A massive snow fall, with multiple days off from school, would make me VERY happy. I thought it would be fun to put a Snow Day Survival Kit together just in case. Being prepared always makes for a much more enjoyable day.
After playing in the snow for hours, they eventually come in. Spending uninterrupted time together is a major perk to an unplanned day off. New activities go a long way for entertainment value. My kit includes: cookies-in-a-jar, hot cocoa and marshmallows, a deck of cards, a game to play together, and an old school movie.
Snow Day. Cookies required. The key is making it easy to bake them. Using a large Mason jar, I layered the dry ingredients for Best Ever: Chocolate Chip Cookies {directions and recipe after the jump}. Dump the jar in a bowl, mix with butter, eggs & vanilla, and you have homemade cookies. Since I plan to give a few kits as gifts, I also created colorful direction cards and labels to go on the jar.
Other kit essentials:
HOT COCOA: No snow day is complete without hot cocoa and marshmallows to warm up. Individual packets make it simple to make a quick cup.
DECK OF CARDS: Play go-fish, high/low, or rummy. How about a friendly game of poker using goldfish crackers to wager?
DRAW A SNOWMAN GAME{link after the jump}: It is a great way to add a bit of art and drawing to your day. Kids of all ages can play successfully. Bonus-you will have works of art to hang up!
OLD SCHOOL MOVIE: When you are exhausted and need to cuddle up- just pop in a classic movie you loved to watch as a kid. I picked Goonies because, well, it is just awesome.
Well, now I am set and ready! I know my boys would love a chance to miss school and sled all day instead. We are all hoping a major winter storm hits Western Washington REALLY soon!
Click through for cookie recipe, the Draw A Snowman Game, and resources:
When your 4th grader NEEDS to get the next book in a series TODAY, you know you’ve hit on a winner! Big W received Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith for Christmas. His nose has been in the book for the last week. As soon as he turned the last page this afternoon he was ready to read sequel!
Cryptid Hunters [as described on amazon.com]: After their parents are lost in an accident, thirteen-year old twins Grace and Marty are whisked away to live with their Uncle Wolfe-an uncle that they didn’t even know they had! The intimidating Uncle Wolfe is an anthropologist who has dedicated his life to finding cryptids, mysterious creatures believed to be long extinct.
For now there are three books in the Marty and Grace series: Cryptid Hunters, Tentacles, and Chupacabra.
I picked up a copy of Tentacles while my guy was at basketball practice. When we arrived home, he headed straight to his room to read. Umm, worth every penny!
Shoe porn. There is no other way to describe it! My goodness. How exciting is this launch? The girl who can rock a stiletto like no one else- now has her very own line.
Sarah Jessica Parker’s exclusive line for Nordstrom will be available February 28th. The excitement is palpable. With sneak peeks and tons of press, I am dying to try a pair on! If you live in the Seattle area, you will have to make your way to the Downtown Flagship store. {Peek here for other store locations.} SJP will also be in Seattle to present her line in person on March 5th. How do I get that ticket?!?
All images via Coveteur. Check out all of the fantastic images from their shoot with SJP + O Magazine.
P.S. More Sole Food. A girl can never have too many pairs.
I am always so impressed when my kids receive a thank you note from a friend just days after his party. I always think to myself, “Impressive.” Let’s be honest, we know that the child isn’t begging to write a note to each of his friends! His mother made it a priority and got them in mail. And I know that it is WORK! On the flip side, it is important to me that my boys understand the importance of expressing gratitude-whether it be in person or through the mail.
Little Man had a birthday last month and I was determined to send thank yous! He usually has little-to-no stamina {or interest} when it comes to “extra” work! This was going to be tricky. When I found this thank you card kit for kids there was hope!
Here are my tips for writing thank you notes with kids:
1. Keep it fun.
The awesome card kit came with 10 colored thank you cards and a ton of African-themed stickers. Little Man and I spent time at the kitchen table decorating the cards with monkeys, lions, plants, flowers and speech bubbles. This work was easy, we chatted, and there was little resistance!
2. Decrease frustration.
When children are little, writing multiple cards is very taxing. To decrease the frustration and fatigue, I scanned and printed the inside of one of the colorful cards. Little Man wrote a simple message. Then we scanned and printed enough copies of his message for each of the thank you cards. Next, we cut and pasted the message into the cards. He loved watching the papers come off the printer with his hand writing. {I also had him simply write his name on the envelope as the return address and I took care of the rest.}
3. Do a little at a time.
Writing, cutting, pasting, licking, writing. It takes time and isn’t super exciting. The best thing to do is to break the whole project into pieces. Just do a little at a time. We did the stickers and took a break. He wrote the message and we took a break. It actually took us the better part of an afternoon to complete the cards. There were a few moments of whining, but no tears. I will call that a success.
The cards are in the mail. They didn’t get there days after the party, but they got there just the same.
Big W and I are spending time this morning working on his biography report on Martin Luther King Jr. He was not assigned this great man. He chose to read about him. While researching important quotes for his project, we came across these simple words. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” He didn’t choose to use this quote, but it stayed with me. When it comes right down to it, this says it all. Be good to each other. Simple and beautiful.
