first haircut!

This morning while Jeff was shaving and I was finishing getting dressed, Graham got busy unloading all of his bath toys into the tub (then climbing in) saying, "ba? ba? ba?" How do you say no to such a sweet and not-so-subtle hint? So while I began filling up the tub, Jeff fetched the camera. I'd been waiting for a good opportunity to give G a little trim--sometime when Jeff could be home to snap a few pics to commemorate the momentous occasion. The bath seemed like a smart place to corral/distract the boy.

Sad to say, his hair was beginning to get a bit too long. And mangy. And horizontal with very vertical potential.
Meanwhile my heart is breaking. I thought for sure I'd wait until he was at least 2 to cut those precious blond curls, grown from the entirety of his babyhood. What is it about first haircuts that strip kids of their sweet baby-ness? What if the curls never come back? I loved how they'd twirl into the perfect baby boy 'do all humid summer long. Lately it's been more matted down with samples of his meals and buggers and other sorts of messes. Just a bit too unruly. It is time.

I only kinda sorta knew what I was in for, chasing a squirmy fish of a toddler around the tub with a scissors. I tried to keep this a straightforward, conservative trim. Just a little off the ears, a little off the mullet neck, then even out his bangs. Next time we'll consult the professionals...

It's funny, because one of my biggest parenting pet peeves is when moms cut their kids' bangs too ridiculously short, straight across the top of the forehead, in effort to keep them out of their eyes. I'm afraid I may have done that very thing to our son.

I am regretting this:

Somehow I think I'm more upset over this than he.

Now off to dry my tears and bury the remains in the depths of his baby book.

(i heart) dottie angel

Everything about Seattle's Tif Fussell aka Dottie Angel's home+craft makes my heart flutter. Her style is so utterly inspiring that I've simply concluded that she is everything I want to be when I grow up. Her decorating appears so effortless, yet it is carefully and creatively planned with the most perfect blend of clean modern and charming vintage objects. Sigh. I could flip through her photos and ramblings all day. The life of Dottie Angel is but a dream. {image source}

latest treasures:

Ahh, I love the crisp, sunny, fall feeling day outside.
As promised, am finally sharing a few of my latest + greatest vintage treasures from last weekend's Junk Bonanza.
I brought home some goodies for the whole fam:
1. A vintage ring for me. How fun is this? I don't buy jewelry often enough! Definitely need more where this came from.2. A reel of super 8 film for Jeffrey.
3. And a horse for the boy (the ride made complete with the mama's cell phone).

junk bonanza

Just got home from Junk Bonanza, the biggest+best flea market in Minnesota. {For the locals: the show is open Fri 9/17 & Sat 9/18 too, so there's still time for you to check it out!}

What a spread! The place is filled with so much vintage loveliness, it's hard to take it all in. For extra pairs of eyes, I brought my mom & sis-in-law for the first time...Graham and I went last year, and knew what a challenge it would be to navigate the booths and crowd with a stroller. Somehow I think we came out ahead. Here are a few photos I brought home (among other treasures...more on that soon!)
G crashed in his stroller. Oh how I love a good shopping companion!

Note: Please comment if you know the names of any of these vendors. Sorry I have no credits!

cooking salsa / spinning tunes

yesterday i stopped at the farmers' market and bought as many tomatoes, onions, and peppers as i could carry. heaps & heaps.

today it is drizzly and dreary outside. the perfect day to hang inside, where i am attempting to cook up my very first batch of homemade salsa.

i've never canned anything before in my life...so today is the day to try something new. and if we're lucky, we'll have a giant stack of jars to pass around come christmastime. or maybe we'll just have a year's supply of salsa in our pantry. either way, i'm hoping it's worthwhile. wish me luck!

oh, and i never spend quality time in the kitchen without a good set of tunes. here are a few old & new favs that are keeping me jamming today:

1. brielle - sky sailing
2. merry happy - kate nash
3. to save me - m. ward
4. vie en rose - pomplamoose
5. glow - donavan frankenwitter
6. lovefool - cardigans
7. breathe in - frou frou
8. teardrop - massive attack
9. finally woken - jem
10. starting now - ingrid michaelson
11. chocolate - snow patrol
12. one i love - david gray

what's cooking / spinning in your kitchen today?

mara-mi

One of my big to-dos over the summer was to spend an afternoon in Stillwater--a darling old-fashioned town along the Mississippi River. Its downtown is lined with antiques and cute shops where all the vintage goodies and small-town charm are enough to paint a smile on your face and put a spring in your step...but adding Mara-Mi's new store into the mix makes this place heaven on earth. The folks at Mara-Mi combined their beautiful stationery line, racks of letterpress, ribbon hanging from the ceiling, along with home decor, a counter of vintage jewelry and an adorable little bakery in the corner. If that's not enough, they have an entire smorgasbord of ice cream to top it all off. All the things that make my heart go pitter-pat under one roof.

summer sliders

We pretty much had a perfect weekend.
We had lots of company--Jeff's dad & brother were in town until yesterday morning.
Then had a few friends (+ 2 of G's girlfriends) over for an impromptu bbq last night.
It was such a kick to watch our kiddos toddle all over the backyard.
Finally had a chance to try our favorite bombay curry sliders on the grill. Just how I imagined we would once we finally had a backyard to call our own. It's really amazing to look back over our year so far and see how faithful + generous God has been to us.
The house is spic, span, and as unpacked as it's ever been. A semi-huge accomplishment.
We have a new dining room table! It seats eight. Definitely dinner party-worthy. Thanks again, craigslist.
Our garden has been planted + weeded, or at least to the extent that we'd hoped to work on it this year.

On this week's to do list:
*make salsa
*can salsa?
*a little craft project
*hang curtains upstairs (finally. really.)
*Junk Bonanza!

Happy Monday, friends.

baby sign language flash cards

I'm really excited to share this little project I've been working on over the last few weeks. We've been trying to teach G a little baby sign language all along, but plateaued after standard words like milk, more, all done, and sleep at around 9 months. No excuses, we just didn't take the time to learn/remember all of the new signs ourselves to keep up with his ever-expanding mind. Now at 17 months, G is still only verbalizing a handful of words and communication has been getting more and more frustrating (one can only point and squawk so much), so we've been hitting the signs a little harder as we wait for him to spit out more words. To help all of us learn, I made flash cards of some commonly used objects:I started off with a little photo scavenger hunt around the house, capturing some of his favorite foods, routines, and objects (the potty card is in hopes of getting a jump on next year's major milestone...if you know what I mean).I then scanned/printed pages out of our baby sign language book and glued the corresponding words to the backs of the photos.

To polish them off, I borrowed my mom's laminator. I made just 12 cards as a test batch, but I'm really happy with how they turned out and I'm glad I took the extra 5 minutes to laminate them. (I've already been wiping play doh and cheese off of them, tmi!) Also, a word of warning: laminating is highly addictive. I have plans to make dozens more flash cards, just so I can laminate them. Perhaps I should've been an elementary school teacher, because I just can't get enough of it!

diy play kitchen inspiration

The most serendipitous thing just happened--our next door neighbors were getting rid of a little metal play kitchen and gave it to us! They bought it at a garage sale a few years ago, which makes us at least the 3rd owners and it's in desperate need of a makeover. I've been wanting something like this for Graham for awhile and had been eying some of the cute little diy kitchens out there, but feared we were not handy enough to transform a nightstand or even build one from scratch. However, a little paint and glue...no prob. Will definitely post before & after pics once the project is complete, but for now I've been rounding up all the play kitchen inspiration I can find:{source}

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These are impossible to top, but I'm excited to get my hands dirty this weekend nevertheless. In the mean time, I'd love to know where everyone finds such great faucet fixtures?

how i welcomed september:

:sinking way too much time into arranging our living room book shelf. i want to set out a well-edited collection of our favorite albums + books (oh and hardcovers with a great spine automatically make the cut!) somehow i just can't get it right. do i need more vintage books? more chotchkies? Or maybe just a dictionary to learn the correct spelling of chotchkies? seriously, lend me your thoughts!
:ordering a new ruffled henley to kick start my fall wardrobe
:adding a few too many drops of green food coloring to my first batch of homemade play dough (a very earthy green...g had hours of fun!)
:reminiscing about my back-to-school days and thinking about what it means to be a life-long learner (without student loans!). between now and january, it is my goal to sign up for a class and learn something new.
:speaking of back-to-school, am wishing i had experienced this cutest elementary school inspired wedding in real life. you have to see it to believe it. seriously, i can't get enough of those paper crowns and lollipop boutonnieres!
:chocolate chip cookies
:unpacking the 5 remaining boxes in jeff's office!
:begging your pardon for my lack of posting lately. i needed a little recharging this week.
:watching this and reading this. getting really convicted about a deeper relationship with Jesus and thereby growing my relationships with others. i want to start small by inviting our neighbors over for dinner and getting involved with a volunteer project in our community. hold me accountable.