coffee date, anyone?

i totally want to go here!

the day after breakfast

i don't often throw a party for myself, but this year it just felt right.  i wore a sparkly dress, rounded up some friends, and rented a room for all of us me to sing karaoke.  it was fun. 
the next morning, i was not feeling my best (ahem), so thank goodness that i got to lay around in a fancy hotel room until mid-morning, when it was time to make a plan for breakfast.  we decided on podnah's, a "new-to-me" restaurant, and my brunch there was the best thing that happened all day.
let me preface this by saying that i am hopelessly devoted to screen door.   it is so amazing, but also SO popular, and i was not in the condition to stand around  for an hour waiting for a table.  even though we lived across the street from the former location, i hadn't ever eaten at podnah's before.  i am not a big barbeque fan, so i guess i was just never that interested.
all that being said,  my brunch experience at podnah's was near perfect.  the food was great, with grits to rival screen door's and a biscuit that beats pine state hands down.  i definitely want to go back and try some of their breakfast tacos and house made sausage.
after a big plate of southern food, i was ready to go home, see my babies and hang the sparkly dress up for another year.
it was definitely a complete birthday experience- thanks friends and family for helping to make it happen. love you!
ps- this post was totally link-tastic!

scotch sister

my little sister knows her scotch.  nice work, LV!
read all about it in today's chicago tribune.

all banged up

for my birthday, i got bangs. 

obsessing about MM

i am totally obsessing right now. 

i love her.

and him.

and (obviously) him.

who has cable?  i need to be at your house on 3.25.12!

cocktails at kask

with three kiddos three and under,  it's not hard to imagine that i don't get out much.  but my outlook on the matter is "quality, not quantity!"  when i do make arrangements to have an evening out, it's kinda a big deal.  like, i want to hang with one of my besties and have amazing conversations preferably accompanied by superior food/drink/entertainment.  you get what i'm saying, right?
on one such night, not too long ago, i had the privilege of drinking at kask with my BFF.  we had never been before, and holy shit, was it an impressive first visit.  we sat at the bar, where the super knowledgeable tommy klus (voted best bartender in portland 2011) chatted us up, brought bottles down from the bar for us to scrutinize, did an impromptu mescal tasting just for us, and made the best cocktails i have ever had.  seriously, the drinks were so amazing that i grabbed a menu and started jotting notes- i was really that inspired (and maybe a bit tipsy, too).
you should definitely go if you get the chance...

magna-wall

i have been wanting to create a magnetic wall on the landing between the kids' rooms for some time.  i haven't ever worked with magnetic primer before, and that was a learning experience- the stuff is really not like paint at all! 

 

the wall, before

 

the wall, primed with crazy magnetic paint- it works!

 

all done!  

i think it will be a great place to hang kid art, photos, and play with magnets!

another project completed!  i am on a roll here, people!

unitarded

 rebecca woolf is soooo cool.  and because of her i am really thinking that a unitard would be an awesome addition to my wardrobe. 
love her.  love her blog!

the marriage plot

it seemed like i was reading freedom forever.  i liked it, and thought that it had some brilliant passages and moments, but i really had to work to get through it. 
now i'm on to another story about relationships, and i have high hopes for this one.  i absolutely loved middlesex, and really liked the virgin suicides, too, so i am looking forward  jeffrey eugenides' latest work.

p.s:

first project of '12

before...

 after....

okay, so it's just a laundry room.   but it is my first big DIY project of the year!
i have always wanted to change the egg yolk yellow walls (yes, i just posted about how i love yellow, but it just wasn't workin' for me in this case) and the room needed a major de-junking/cleaning/organizing as well. 
a big improvement, i think!

bright yellow

maybe it's the gray days we've been having lately, but i want more yellow in my life!
thanks, c&b, for the sunny forecast.

thanks, anthropologie!

i already got my first birthday card!  it's from anthropologie.
i love their catalogs, i love their stores, and i love their stuff. 

KS, you've got me all excited!

i love the styling and pieces of kate spade, even though i can't afford most of it!  it has been so inspirational to soak up the colors of their line this past year!  this morning in my inbox, i was informed that the "year of color" is over, and the "year of pattern" is now upon us. 
january is stripes, obvs, but i can't wait to see what the other eleven months will bring!  polka dots, chevrons, animal prints, and...? 

muk luks

my cold winter feet have been dreaming of these for weeks...

my perfect calendar

i got home today after being away for a few days, to find an exciting late-christmas-present from my sister in chicago... this amazing wall calendar!
she and i always give each other calendars for christmas, and i am so happy to now have the 2012 one up.  each month's design is bold and colorful and fun, and the best part is that it came with instructions and templates for making those beautiful pages into entirely new beautiful things when 2013 rolls around.
thanks, lowen!  lovelovelove it!

not your granny's needlepoint

ever since crafty wonderland i have been thinking about needlepoint and embroidery.  i totally want to learn!  i love how people are reclaiming these old-lady crafts and making them modern and edgy.  jonathan adler's needle point everything is amazing! 

purple people

looks like we weren't the only family to go with purple accents for their holiday cards this year...

my future photo wall

 

 i am completely gaga for family photos.  like, sometimes, i think that i have too many in our house,  but i just can't help myself!  so when i spotted this family photo wall in a modern, fabulous, super-$wanky home that was featured on apartment therapy, i took note:  this is how you display your collection of way-too-many snapshots in a chic way.  brilliant!
(love the green-geo print carpet and the lucite handrail, too)

portlandia, a bit late

besides that there aren't enough hours in the day, i am rarely up-to-the-minute on television because
(a) i don't have cable
(b) i would actually prefer to watch an entire season in a few binge sittings
(c) watching commercials makes me want to kill
and
(d) sometimes too much hype and critical acclaim actually makes me avoid a show.  (weird, i know.)

when it came to portlandia, i really wanted to be on-trend.  i live here.  i eat where they eat, i live down the street from the feminist bookstore.  i watched all that there was to see on the IFC website, and even hunted around on youtube to make sure that i wasn't missing any other choice clips.  but it wasn't until this week, when the entire first season was added to the netflix streaming library, that i finally got to know the show.  and then i read the wonderful article about carrie brownstein in this week's new yorker, and i am now a huge fan.  even if i am a bit late.

steak tacos

it seems like everyone is doing a new year's cleanse right now.
me, i'm just not that extreme.
i'm eating tacos, prepared by the house chef.  they were amazing!