color of the year!

hello earthy, wine-colored pick! i knew i liked burgundy for fall and winter, but i'm excited about the possibilities to use it all year long. i know the color of the year is a silly thing, but when you're a creative-brained person, it's like getting a present. ;)

i actually really like the potential since i wouldn't generally pick this color in my home. i like blacks and metallics, bright pops and grey neutrals. browns and deep reds don't mesh well with the color scheme i've created for my life and it's good to get a nudge in a different direction every so often! pantone says marsala pairs well with sandstone and classic blue. both of which aren't my go-to choices. it's fun, stretching yourself this way.

wood furniture is the first thing that comes to my mind when i think about using this color in my house. i can imagine a small console table painted marsala with pretty vibrant flowers on it, maybe an oversized gem paperweight on a stack of coffee table books and a lamp with a bright aqua base. of course, if aqua is involved, i could get on board the marsala wagon!

thanksgiving.

thanksgiving is rapidly becoming one of my favorite holidays. it was always kind of a dud holiday growing up. we did a lot, but it was at great uncle's houses and i didn't do any cooking. there was a trip to the movie theater at night but that wasn't insanely out of the ordinary. but now, as a grown-up, it's turning into a pretty BA holiday. i love hosting thanksgiving. not a huge one, but just enough to fill my table and couches up with people. i like being in charge of the menu and researching all the best recipes and tips to get it done. eventually i'd love to get an awesome table setting if we continue to host pretty regularly. and the best part of all, i love that we get to decorate for christmas in the same weekend. 2 of my favorite seasons jam-packed into a long weekend! what's not to love.

this year mom and kara flew up during a freak day of snow. it was such a fun welcome!





emmy was totally mesmerized, saying "is snow! is snow!" and g wanted to build a snowman, of course. we baked pumpkin pie and cookies and deviled eggs and prepped the food for thanksgiving. i love falling into that groove.

thanksgiving was fantastic. we cooked all day in my teeny kitchen, there was snow on the ground and the girls were fascinated with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade for the first time ever. mom and kara and i ended up wearing the same color on accident, as is custom for the women in our family. somebody always ends up wearing identical colors.

  

the food was surprisingly all done at the same time, on time and delicious! i was kind of amazed. i've never cooked that much food at all, let alone in a small kitchen.





every year something happens with the turkey. without fail. last year i pulled the innards out but apparently left a whole head inside. that was the scariest thing i've ever seen before. thing still had its gobbler and everything. this year, i failed to notice that the packaging said turkey breast. so there was no inner cavity to stuff, no thigh for a thermometer, no legs to tie and no wings to tuck under. it was literally just turkey boobs. it wasn't necessarily bad since we don't eat dark meat anyways, but oh my god it was a shock to rip that puppy open on the day. and when it was time to boil the innards for the gravy, i opened the package to find liquid. LIQUID. there were no innards, just a pureed juice in a bag! it was so crazy! the gravy was still good but dang i was definitely feeling stressed after all the surprises.

we followed the pioneer woman's directions for cooking the turkey, but we did the sage/rosemary butter rub variation instead of citrus. and this recipe for southern green beans that were divine! we also had mom's famous bread stuffing, kara's famous deviled eggs, kyle's family's corn casserole, turkey gravy and rolls. i was trying to make ree's no-knead rolls but everything wasn't meshing right so i chucked it (partially of sheer exhaustion) and did pillsbury homestyle biscuits. ha! we totally forgot to make mashed potatoes until about 30 minutes out so we also nixed those and i'll make them later. it's funny, none of it went as planned but it was still very enjoyable and i didn't get overwhelmed or cry or anything. this is a big deal for me!

later we braved the cold for a few family photos. it's always nice to update our photos, especially when it's so hard to get one with all of us these days!







all in all it was a really really great weekend. it was kind of magical. i'll blog the ice skating pictures later. for now it's laundry laundry laundry. ;)

weekend recovery.

be honest. we all need a little pick me up on a monday morning. whether you're digging your face out of your cereal bowl or trying to ignore tiny human boogers that were just wiped on your shirt. here are the happies i've found recently that gave me a merry little boost.

*best enjoyed with COFFEE.

1. have you seen the weird baby doppelgangers?

2. if dwight schrute quotes were motivational posters. so basically, the best thing ever.

3. i'm getting so excited and nervous for thanksgiving! i can't wait to try the Pioneer Woman's turkey roasting bliss this year since last year wasn't that awesome. i'm doing her turkey, her gravy, and her no-knead rolls. i am PSYCHED. also because my family will be here this year and i love having family for the holidays. last year was very lonely without everyone.

i'll probably be MIA until next weekend. preschool feast tuesday, family arrives wednesday, thanksgiving, black friday, christmas decorating, ice skating, cuddling. it's going to be a great week with lots of pictures to come!

this and that.

the girls have discovered the fun of hide-and-seek. genevieve likes hiding in the same one place over and over, or the last hiding place i used. i'm waiting for her to figure out the fun of creating something out of nothing. emmy, on the other hand, is a little cheat. she likes counting with the counter. standing at the wall with you with her eyes shut tight, but she gets bored after getting to 3 so she follows the hider to their spot. then runs back and leads the counter to the hider, shouting, "there-you-are!" CHEA.TER. it's really fun, though. they're so excited about it.

we recently started the tradition of waiting to put up christmas decorations until the day after thanksgiving. a quiet day after such a big one, digging through christmas boxes and running out for black friday shopping if we feel like it. it was really relaxing last year and i'm excited for this year. however, the lure of christmas is intoxicating this year! i was trying to stay away from the seasonal coffees, the christmas music, perusing the christmas sections at target, all of it. buttttttt i can't! i'm NOT decorating. scout's honor. that waits until the day after thanksgiving. but i'm cheating a little bit on the other things. we've been enjoying idina menzel's new holiday wishes album, surprisingly genevieve hasn't figured out that it's elsa's voice, and i had my first peppermint mocha of the season last week. i feel guilty but i'm trying to own the feeling instead. i love christmas! fall gets 3 months, why can't christmas get 1 1/2?? christmas has always been my favorite. it's one of the reasons kyle and i got married 4 days after christmas. probably why he proposed on christmas! the whole season is just magical.

genevieve has been saying really funny things lately. i think 4 is the doorway to the crazy kid imagination years. last week i was putting lotion on her skin, winter + eczema = a sad, itchy kid, and she told me that 2 of her red bumps weren't itchy because they were her boobies. "these are my boobies. they're little but when i'm a grown up they'll get really big. and then i'll have pricklies on my legs and i'll have to shave them. and it'll hurt but i won't cry because i'll be a grownup." ha! she slays me. i'm open about body parts with the girls, and it's interesting to see them register what's the same and what's different.

i booked my plane tickets for my 2nd girls trip to NC since we moved. the first one halfway counts since i came to finish packing my house and had a girls night out in the process, but this one is all about the ladies! i'm so excited! after the horror of our first few months in baltimore, things have leveled out and there's nothing really wrong about it up here, but it's very lonely. i'm very thankful for facebook and my marriage to my best friend, but girls need girl time. i miss girl time! i'm also feeling lucky because i'll be getting a little girl time with new acquaintances this weekend. friends are hard to come by as an adult. and they get harder the older your children get. and it seems i get more introverted the older i get and that's a whole new obstacle i was unfamiliar with.

i've been looking into photography classes locally recently. i hate that as a stay at home mom, my stereotypical answer is that i need something to do, but it is. i can get through the day usually with no problem. but i'm just so bored. i need something to challenge the part of my brain that makes me tick. cleaning house and being mommy gets old really fast. i love my babies and wouldn't go to work all day and leave them, i just need a little something to make me feel like an adult. like a person who is worth more than how often i clean sippy cups. we'll see if i find anything good and affordable.

thanks for hanging out through my random ramblings about life currently. sometimes it feels good to just let all those little thoughts and events out.

this year's christmas cards.

i have a love hate relationship with christmas cards. i want the picture to be just right and the design to be cute enough without being too expensive. it's a process haha.

it seems like all of the usual sites have gone up in price. even shutterfly is trying to charge upwards of $50 for 30 cards. that just seems nuts! that's a christmas present wasted on cards! so i'm trying something new this year. i don't know the quality of vistaprint but at this point i don't really care. i've got a 50% off coupon and it makes the cards less than $1 a piece! that's too good to pass up. so i'm hoping the pictures take the focus off of the paper quality.

i didn't love any of the vistaprint designs because i'm nit-picky. i love birdesign's shop and have used her stuff in the past so i ventured over there for a card template this year. we settled on this one.

we took the girls out a few weeks ago for some fall photos and i just couldn't land on one that fit the christmas card look, so we tried again last weekend!

we got some seriously cute ones.

i'm pretty happy with how they turned out and i'm excited to see the finished product in person. here's what the card will look like after i added our photos and tweaked the color a bit:

sweet, right? just enough happy to make you split a grin when you open the envelope. now i just hope the quality is passable. fingers crossed! ho ho ho!

christmas morning happies for moi.

while i'm prepping to take some more christmas card pictures of the girls, picking a christmas card to order, getting the house thanksgiving ready, planning the thanksgiving food schedule...i've been thinking about what would make me happy on christmas morning. that's not an un-fun job!

in some ways i just want general girly goodness but then there are a few specific things i'd love to have. of course, i just had a fantastic birthday -- minus the hair, but the idea that i was getting pampered was the good part, so i feel a little selfish actually thinking of more things. but here i go anyways!

earrings // camera // curling wand // speaker // popsugar musthave

i think of all of them, the earrings are the most spectacular. i only rate them over the musthave box because i've had the box all year so the earrings are a new spectacular thing to lust over. they come in the multicolored, gold sparkle and silver sparkle. i want all of them! they're way too expensive for mom earrings but just inexpensive enough that i'm tempted so on the wishlist it goes. aren't they pretty?

the fujifilm camera looks so fun! i'd rather print my instagram photos directly, but i'm not a stranger to carrying a camera around with me! it would be so fun with the girls.

i got my sister a curling wand for her birthday and i've been wanting my own ever since. i don't know how to use it, but kara certainly looks good using hers and i want to try!

and a little speaker since i'm always turning on pandora with the kids in the playroom or playing an audiobook for myself while i do the dishes or fold laundry.

in general, i'm loving painting my nails lately. it gives a little pep to my day to glitter a little. and since i'm a solid color shirt kind of girl, bib necklaces are what i've been craving to dress up my outfits these days. and last in the "in general" category are workout clothes, or giftcards for workout clothes. i've been going steadily the last few months(!) and while i don't necessarily see big differences, i'm working towards it and have started the habit successfully. and i've noticed a definite need in gear when i'm running around in the dark in the morning looking for clean workout pants.

and last but certainly not least, the popsugar musthave box. i have absolutely loved getting it each month and am going to be seriously sad when it's over. i wish the holiday box isn't $100 because i'd love to give them to everybody i know! i'm sure it'd be a great special edition box.

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so, that's the scoop on me! some are sweet, simple things i peruse at target while others are more what i window shop for. that's the fun of the christmas list!

weekend recovery.

or "the 2 videos that are so much freaking better than the original."

be honest. we all need a little pick me up on a monday morning. whether you're digging your face out of your cereal bowl or trying to ignore tiny human boogers that were just wiped on your shirt. here are the happies i've found recently that gave me a merry little boost.

*best enjoyed with COFFEE.


so, the world of disgusting overly-sexed television and music reached a new low with Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video recently. fortunately, some very hilarious and talented people put a spin on it to make it amazing.

beautiful alternative #1.




beautiful alternative #2.




that certainly started my monday off with a giggle and a grin. hope it did for you, too!

well that didn't go as planned.

well birthday weekend hair was a grand disaster.

i went in with my dorky, over-researched photo, talked at length about color and picked out strand colors and out i came with BLACK hair and about 6 tiny white strands that are supposed to pass as highlights but just look like grey hair. my cute angled bob is actually the mom-bob. it's longer in the back than the front and very frumpy looking. i didn't need any help there.

and it was $200. i wouldn't normally harp on the price if it was a good deal but that's a lot of money to pay for a disaster. if i bought a phone that was 100% not what i was supposed to get i'd return it asap.

i talked to the manager today about fixing it and she actually tried to get me to agree with a half-laugh that it's much easier to go darker than lighter so this will be near impossible. i had to remind her that i paid $200 for them to destroy my hair so it's not exactly funny. nor do i have the time to come in week by week to fix it in sections.

and the manager talked like she was chewing gum and talked out her nose, much like you'd expect from the manager of a hair salon. it was annoying. mostly it was annoying that i had to talk to her in the first place.

so i had to have a very grown-up confrontational phone call today, something that makes me supremely uncomfortable. and now that i've had another good cry about it, i'm just grumpy.

the herrrr.

mama is getting her groove back! and we'll call that groove Birthday Weekend. i've been gifted clothes, a massage and a very much needed hair cut and color! my first salon color since...middle school? yeah, i'm pretty excited. my hair is box brassy blonde and long like a horse's tail. IT'S TIME.

so as far as i can tell, i want a light brown/neutral color with maybe a few highlights. and a longer bob with nice layers and only just slightly stacked in the back. i'm so FLIPPIN excited. my hair is so heavy now and it's in a ponytail most of the time. i hate that because i really hate what a wet ponytail looks like on my head. hopefully i'll have just enough for a gym ponytail and just little enough for a quick blowdry on gym days when emmy watches elmo while i shower like a time bandit.

i have no idea if that color would look good on me and i'd like to go more chocolate but baby steps. actually going in there and talking to a person about my head is scary enough. i stutter and make sound effects and giggle inappropriately when i'm nervous so i figure i'll come out with a purple mohawk if i talk too much. fingers crossed i look semi-like these photos tomorrow night!

emmy turns 2!!

since we're still settling in with baltimore, we didn't have a big party for either of the girls. luckily we have awesome family so mom, jerry and susan flew up for a little mini party weekend for the big girl.

TWO. she's two!!

turning two, emmy loves ketchup, fruit and chocolate. she hates vegetables, pizza and casseroles that mommy makes. she loves elmo and likes mickey mouse, daniel tiger, tinkerbell and the disney princesses. she's just started getting interested in coloring and painting, she's getting really into blocks and loves carrying around little people and similarly sized character toys. she always takes her shoes off in the car, loves the bath, blows bubbles in her drinks and regularly rubs her food in her hair. she's so fun!



she was so excited when we brought the cake out and started singing! big big smiles all around. and now that we've been singing happy birthday all weekend she's trying to sing it to herself haha.







emmy's party was sweet and simple. and genevieve took so much pride in picking out her present and wrapping it and making the card. i was getting worried about jealous feelings but it was all for nothing. genevieve loved celebrating her sister, and who can complain when there's cake??

we picked up an emmy-sized elmo balloon for her birthday and girlfriend is hanging out with it like it's her boyfriend. she kisses it and carries it around. she even knocks it to the ground and gets on top of it hahaha. so now i know all that she needs for christmas is a balloon friend. ;)



we took emmy to her 2 year checkup the next day and she's growing very much like her sister. slightly above average weight and height and a huge head. the doctor said she was going to ask if this was abnormal for her except that i started laughing about the fact that they're always at 90-100% with their heads. gotta hold those big brains! what got me was that in weight and height she's not too far from genevieve. genevieve was 3 ft at 3 years old and is just barely over that now. and emmy is just barely under 3 ft currently. they're going to be wearing the same sizes sooner than i expected, i think!

the only thing she didn't pass perfectly at the doctors was speech. i'm not worried because our previous doctor said that 2nd kids hold it in and observe for longer and then the speech explodes out of them all at once. that's certainly happening with emmy since she went from 0-75 words in a matter of weeks! she scored poorly on 2 word phrases because i couldn't think of any that she had. but kyle reminded me this week that she does have a few! "ready set go" and "i love you" and she tries to sing whole songs, too. happy birthday, elmo's world and twinkle twinkle little star! so i'm officially NOT WORRIED. the doctor mentioned getting her evaluated in 2-3 months if her speech doesn't pick up but it's no sweat off my back. my kid is talking a ton and i'm sure it'll double and triple in no time.

halloween recap.

we win for fun halloween weekend this year, i think. almost all of our favorite people came in for the weekend. it was halloween AND emmy's birthday weekend. emmy's mini party will be in the next post.

mom arrived first and in time for halloween! genevieve decided to be doc mcstuffins (can we get a WHAT WHAT for not having to ruin her pretty elsa dress on the trek up all the neighbors' stairs?). so we rolled with it and made emmy be lambie. it worked out perfect because emmy just loves sheep right now and "baa-ing." thumbs up! mom wanted in on the party, too, so she was nurse hallie. i LOVE how her costume came out. we made little felt ears for her nurse's cap and she had all the accessories. they were a super fun trio together.



it was such a great night. emmy was a little confused and mesmerized by all the people and the candy. she was silent the whole night. but she did cart her pumpkin bucket to each house and grabbed her candy like she saw big sissy do. she only made it about 45 minutes before she seemed tired and over it. over walking and holding her bucket and going up to houses. so kyle took her home at 7 and mom, genevieve and i kept walking all over the neighborhood.

genevieve was so adorable and so brave. it was the perfect evening with her. she was so happy and funny and told every single person thank you. she was SO proud of herself. it was the most fun to watch. and at 8 we got to the end of a street and she says, "i think i'm ready to go home now." no tears or fighting, no whining when she got tired, she just decided she'd had enough and happily went home. we had some hot chocolate because we were so cold and a little bit of candy and then she went to bed.

of course, she wasn't in bed for 20 minutes before kyle's parents arrived and then it was a new level of excitement. pop pop went up to see her real quick and you could hear her chatting a mile a minute telling him all about her trick or treating adventures.

love those girls. love them all the time, but when you see them in comparison to a million other kids pushing their way to the front and stealing candy from abandoned buckets, i love them so much more. my kids rock. they're gentle and sweet and funny. and so much FUN.

fall sweeties.

we finally made it out to get some photos of the girls before the weather turns too cold and the leaves are all off the trees. the day actually ended up being super beautiful. cool enough for long sleeves but warm enough to run around outside at the end of the day. and we certainly got warm! kyle and i were both a mess after the pictures. i was rolling around on the ground and he was jumping like a maniac to get the girls to laugh and smile. there was definitely ice cream at the end of the night haha.

i hope a few of these work for christmas cards. that'll be what i'm up late doing all week -- trying out photos on every card layout i can find. a time suck i enjoy way too much. after it was over and the sun was gone, i realized we may have too many pumpkin pictures and absolutely no falling leaves pictures. i was very irritated with myself over not getting those.

but the girls are way too cute for their own good no matter what pictures there are. beautiful babies.

weekend recovery.

be honest. we all need a little pick me up on a monday morning. whether you're digging your face out of your cereal bowl or trying to ignore tiny human boogers that were just wiped on your shirt. here are the happies i've found recently that gave me a merry little boost.

*best enjoyed with COFFEE.

1. the history of the hospital baby blanket.

as a mom and a design freak, i love finding things like this! very interesting. and we have tons of photos of the babes in the different hospital blankets, of course, including the one the article talks most about. i still pull them out of the baby box occasionally hoping the newborn smell still lingers.

2. scarf camera straps.

how did i not know about these?? putting my 2 favorite things together? okie dokie! ;) christmas list. stat.

3. crazy ass people.

while the photo story is very umm...can't-look-away-crazy, i don't really understand how this all happened. plus, at the end of the story it talks about how melanie griffith was attacked by a lion she was working with. i mean DUH. it's a LION.

halloween flashback.

i always get mushy on holidays because i like to look back at what the babes looked like on past holidays. it's a really good way to get a nice flow of tears going at 3pm. real nice.

2010: here lies sad sad genevieve on her first halloween. she was colicky and we were still bumping along on our breastfeeding disaster so she was not a happy camper. plus it was 80 degrees out and that outfit was fleece. but it's just so sad funny i can't help but laugh.

2011: sweet genevieve at one. she was a kitty and didn't do any trick or treating, but she did go to a costume playdate with her fellow baby buddies. it was a cute fest overload. i made her little ears and a tail out of felt. easiest costume ever. i don't think i'll ever be that lucky again haha.

2012: another dress up playdate this year. but they did walk down the street to clara's grandparents' house to trick or treat once haha. they were just so excited to be dressed up with their little candy totes! emmy went as a fetus seeing as how she was 2 days from being born. 

2013: emmy's first halloween and genevieve's first year trick or treating. this year was the most fun to date. emmy was good tempered and hung out in the wagon while G trick or treated with friends. genevieve ran up to all the houses to ring doorbells and  by the end wanted to do it by herself. gah so cute.

and now we're gearing up for this year! genevieve and emmy are coordinating outfits -- kill me now it's going to be so cute. and ever since we moved in, all the neighbors talk about is how great halloween is on our street. i'm just about a believer since a lot of houses are already decked out, lit up with orange and purple lights. i can't wait. genevieve has been asking when it's time to go trick or treating again since november 1st of last year. ha!

pumpkin patch.

we took the girls to the pumpkin patch this weekend! we had a surprisingly difficult time finding a place to go. either there was no patch, just a market at a farm, or it would have cost upwards of $30 just to get into the patch before paying for pumpkins or hayrides. we thought we'd found a great one but then realized it was an hour away and we weren't that pumpkin crazy. but we landed on one close to home and just ate the $25 entrance fee, but we're glad we did!

it was a beautiful little spot on the outside of town. the trees were all changing and the weather was gorgeous. we drove through rolling landscapes and horse farms on the way in. it was very picturesque.

the girls were very excited. emmy has been working on saying "pumpkin" and has landed on "punker." it's very cute. there was a sandbox full of dried corn that genevieve kept calling the corn sand, a teepee made of cornstalks, hayrides and little and big mazes. the kids loved it. if it didn't cost money to get in we'd go during the week just for fun.

we picked out a couple small pumpkins for the stoop and a couple baby pumpkins because they were so cute. i'm thinking we should have gotten larger pumpkins because emmy keeps rolling them around and knocking them down the steps. at this rate we'll have splattered pumpkins before halloween!



we finished out the day with a bbq lunch and raking leaves after nap. it was a very nice and fall-y saturday. my favorite kind of saturday!! today it's cold and i'm wishing we had a fireplace. one day, future house. one day.

they're pretty.

we had a nice, boring week around these parts. no huge meltdowns or issues. just school, nap, play, repeat. in preparation for fall pictures this weekend, i brought my camera outside while the girls played during our "wait for daddy to get home" time. at this point in the day we've watched quite enough tv and they're usually a little stir crazy. we're putting our front yard to good use, at least. now we need a rake because you can't even see the grass anymore.

i love how sweet they are with each other.

weekend recovery.

be honest. we all need a little pick me up on a monday morning. whether you're digging your face out of your cereal bowl or trying to ignore tiny human boogers that were just wiped on your shirt. here are the happies i've found recently that gave me a merry little boost.

*best enjoyed with COFFEE.

1. downtonisms!

an app where i can match the dowager countess to her snarky remarks? count me in, baby! i think it's $.99, so that's a dollar WELL SPENT. ;) ps. is it january yet??

2. the walmart beauty box.

jump on the box subscription bandwagon for FIVE FREAKING BUCKS? okie dokie! it's just a box of samples, but i could be brave enough to try a bunch of beauty samples for $5! it comes every season and i guess the fall box sold out super fast, but i ordered the winter box! does that mean it has skin moisturizers and chapstick? because i'll need that.

3. this toddler sized knit poncho!

i was perusing the target kids fall arrivals in search of a cute outfit for fall pictures next weekend. i'm not going with this one, but it was too cute not to share!! this is why we need an unlimited fund just for cute kids clothes haha. i think we're going with some red lumberjack-style plaid shirts accessorized with denim jackets and topknots! woo! it rained out our pumpkin patch time this weekend so i'm itching to do all things FALL next weekend.

4. the maze runner.

i saw this movie on saturday, thinking it would be a dorky sci-fi movie and i'd be the only one in the theater -- nope! it was so packed i was sitting in the first rows, and it's been out a few weeks! it was pretty good. it left a good cliffhanger for a second movie so i hope they make one. i'm tempted to go read the books now. i was feeling a little dizzy when i first got there (new medicine is no bueno) and the first shots were 365 views of the maze -- i thought i was going to have to go home haha. barf.

a sad number of happies, but this weekend was a little rough. hopefully i'll be pouring out pretty pictures and fun posts next weekend. we're set for the pumpkin patch and fall photos of the girls for christmas cards. yay yay!