im lovin it: FOREIGN TRAYS & PLATTERS?

If youve ever tried walking around a party or a crowded restaurant with a tray full of stemware, then I dont have to explain to you why this tray is the best idea ever. It makes so much sense that I dont really understand a) why I never thought of it before and b) why everyone doesnt use them all the time. Look how easy it could be! Unfortunately, I cant read a word of the website that features this amazing invention, so I dont know where youd get one... but it cant be that hard to make, right? 

In other serving/presentation news, how cool (and very specific) are these Hungarian Platters of Friendship? The eight models in the collection from Dombon-a-Tanya are designed to coordinate the presentation of celebratory food platters (think flowers and champagne, or melon and prosciutto, for example). Theyre only the Perfect Thing for hostess and housewarming gifts! 

Happy Birthday Felix!

I cant believe my sweet baby boy is one year old today!
Its been a wonderful year and I cant even explain how sweet and funny and serious and adorable he is and I love him so much and want to squeeze him all the time! 

We love you Felix! You da best!

There arent any pictures of his birthday celebrations yet (we went to the zoo and he loved it!),  but looking at Felixs passport photo last week made me nostalgic for when his hair was so so long and shaggy. So, in honor of his birthday, I decided to put together a little retrospective of all the many hairstyles hes had during his first year alive. 

Heres Felix when he was just one week old! I cant tell you how many times, in just one week, we heard the phrase, look at all that hair!! And obviously, we were going to hear it plenty more.

At one month old it was already long enough to style. Here he is right after a bath. So serious. 

 By two months, his hair had grown down over his collar. 

And it just kept growing and growing! Here he is at three months. This is around the time people started calling him rockstar baby, much to chases chagrin.

But by four months, some days it looked so casual and swoopy and perfect;

but more often than not, he was looking pretty sloppy. 

So I cut it! It was one of the hardest things Ive ever done--physically and emotionally. But, we had to! Poor babyboy couldnt see, it was always in his eyes. Take it from me when I say cutting the hair of a four-month-old baby is not so easy...

Which is why, for a time, he was rocking this sweet punk rock under-cut, which accidentally looked a lot like his daddys hair, for a while. 

But I got better! By the time he had his third hair cut, at about six months, Id mastered the technique. But it always grew out too quickly!

The other problem, with having a baby with a lot of hair is that eventually you have to wash it. And they hate that. Or, Felix did anyway. Arent babies in bathtubs the sweetest?

I think eight months old was his best hair phase (post-cut category, obviously). 

Immediately after that he went into bowl-cut territory, which I tolerated for a while, whilst I contemplated letting him grow it out again maybe...

But then I caved, and cut it very short, just before our travels began. His daddy did, too! What a couple of cuties!

Heres Felix after his seventh hair cut, at about ten months. From mowgli to Paul McCartney Rod Stewart and David Cassidy, to school boy to punk baby, to bowl cut, hes had it all. But For his second year alive, weve decided to let him grow it out again! Because hes worth it. 

Pix to come. 

the city & the sea

Just my luck, the summer we decide to come live in England begins with the wettest (and what felt like the coldest) June on record. But I know that in America its so so hot and steamy and sticky and sexxy right now. Obviously, I wouldnt think it was so great if I was there, necessarily... the grass is always greener and blah blah blah. But, Im serioulsy craving some summer heat right now. The kind depicted in my these two series by Philip Barlow, of the two best places to be in the summertime: The City, and The Sea. 

I love his technique, how it looks like an out-of focus photo--especially the light on the water, those little circles. Its just how summer looks in your memory, isnt it? Which I guess is why these paintings resonate with me so strongly right now, since memories are all I have. *sniff*

whitepeopleproblems

I dont know if you know this about me but I have freakishly small ears. Srsly. So small that most earrings that would look small on a normal ear look huge on me. Unfortunately, and because my ears are so very small, the earring look I tend to go for (or would, if I could...) is so so teeny tiny and delicate. So, I dont know why this never occurred to me until now... but, they make earrings for children! Duh! Little tiny babies, even, if youre in to that sort of thing (which I dont really think I am). But, yes. Childrens earrings are exactly the tiny size I need to fit my tiny freak earlobes. For example, check out these cuties from LoveIvy:

 Look how small! So so charming! Plus, bonus: kids sizes are almost always cheaper than adult (though not in this case, unfortunately). I really dont know why I never thought of this before...

birds eye views

Of all the photographs in Menno Adens Room Portrait series, my favorite are the ones of kitchens. Its fascinating to see, in such a real, lived-in way, how other people organize and arrange these spaces. Equally, its interesting to think how all of the kitchens Ive ever had would look from this angle--which, apparently, is specifically calibrated to reduce 3D spaces to a flat, floor-plan like appearance. Plus it makes me super eager for when Chase and I have a kitchen of our own! You have no idea how organized it will be. Omg. 

Another reason I like these more than the portraits of bedrooms, say, is that the lines and shapes of a kitchen seem inherently neater and more visually appealing than just an aerial shot of a rumpled bed. To me, anyway. And while some may argue that seeing someones bedroom is more romantic and intriguing, I think that, since a kitchen is at once functional and very personal, the way someone organizes theirs is perhaps more indicative of their character. For different reasons, I like the basement/garage entries in this series: 

So modern they are: the smudges and smears are organic, but the medium, and the geometry, is man-made; the appearance immediately is that of a painting, but really its a photograph of something intensely mundane. Its an interesting contrast. I like the full spectrum of bruise-colored greys, from greeny yellows, to dust and chalk, to indigo and violet. I wonder what kind of lighting/filters were used to achieve that effect? If only I knew anything about it.  

via mymodernmet

im lovin it: MY SWEET BABY BOY!

Its my baby boys first birthday this wednesday and every time I think about it it makes me cry (I dont know whats come over me)! Hes growing up and doing so many new things and is generally and consistently adorable. Hes been so good for all of his travels: from Memphis, to Columbia, to Ohio, to Chicago, to Wisconsin, to New York City, all the way to England! And who knows where next! (actually, we do know where next but it isnt for sure yet so Im not going to tell you yet!) Im so proud of him! What a sweetheart!!

This is his passport picture, taken at 3 months. What a darling hippie angel baby! Love you Fifi!

amazing crocheted playground

Japanese fiber artist Toshiko Horiuchi-McAdam had to order yarn by the ton to create this, her most recent large-scale installation piece: a fully interactive crocheted playground for children, in the Open-Air Museum in Hakone, Japan. Doesnt it look so amazing? Featuring swings, nets, cushions, and all sorts of little tunnels and pockets to hide in, the playground reminds me of the in and out-door playgrounds at the City Museum in St Louis--only so much cozier. And, presumably, safer, since theres no hard material upon which to fall. Also, maybe all of the fiber would muffle sound, and make it quieter? Probably not... but either way, this has majorly inspired my dreams of a playroom for Felix in the future. Can you even imagine?! I wonder what gauge of wool she used??

via mymodernmet

Sgt Peppers & Stella McCartney

And while were on the subject of resort wear... is it me, or is there a palpable Sgt Peppers-y thing going on at Stella McCartney 2013? Its in the palette of acid brights, the bell-bottom suits, the psychedellic, vaguely wall-papery, clashing patterns, the fringing, the all-around seventies vibe--not to mention the carnival-themed party she threw to launch the collection, which featured a brass band, you guys. I mean....

                    

Right?? I mean, do you sort of see what I mean? The real question, I suppose, is did she do it on purpose?! Does she even know about it?! And would she appreciate the comparison or hate it? Honestly? Ive never met her so I have no idea. 

 album images from here & here; clothing images via style.com