I would've posted about this sooner but I thought my blog's feelings would be hurt if I didn't give it its own birthday post.  So now I am posting about our weekend which was fun, really fun.  The man and I saw Cirque du Soleil on Friday night.  LOVED IT.  I swear, the Cirque people, whoever they are, find the most talented group of people in alllll the land and invite them to join their company where they can debut their flexible spines, incredible balance, and amazing core strength.  It is mind-boggling.  I love going to Cirque du Soleil.  I've been to a few and every single time I AM WOWED.  This was hub's first time and it was fun watching his reaction.  Every time the lights went down for the next act I would look at him and say, "Isn't this the COOLEST?!"  His answer was always yes.

Then Saturday we took the whole fam to see the Blue Angels at the Boston-Portsmouth Air Show and all sorts of other air show type things.  We saw World War II vehicles, troop transport planes (I'm sure there are more official names for all these things, but I, of course, don't know what they are), F-16s, etc.  One broke the sound barrier right in front of us--good thing we had our handy, dandy yellow ear plugs.

from Shutter Island which is, by the way, mind-boggling... have you seen it?

And we ended the weekend with gelato.  Why not?  I had blood orange flavor and it was sour and tangy and yum.  And next, it's back-to-school which I can't say I'm ready for.  That is all.  Have a good night.

Wowee, this blog is exactly one-year old.  It's been fun.  I had no idea how much fun it would be, actually. Getting to know you fine folks from around the world... getting advice, giving advice, and feeling like we're kind of, sort of, maybe friends even though most of us have never met?  Hear hear!

So, since, you know, the cool thing to do on a blog's birthday is to give something away, I guess I'll follow suit and give you something from my semi-sad Etsy shop?  Cheesy?  Not nearly as cool as a $100 Anthropologie gift card?  Whatever.  Doing it anyway.

How about one of these?  From me to you with love.

And seriously, it's been a fun year.  Looking forward to year two.

Now, you know the drill... leave a comment, follow my blog (on its birthday, no less), link to it on your blog... all of them get you extra entries.

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Hello all and Happy Weekend to you.  I am Rachael from It's Simple Love and I have the lovely honor of guest posting for Bridget today.  Bridget and I share the love of travel.  So for this reason, I decided to share with you some photos of Koblenz, Germany.  Though this isn't the typical side shown.  The photos above are a series of artistic portraits grouped together called Passers-by photographed by the talented Ivo Mayr's.

Ivo Mayr wanted to capture the city's character by photographing individuals, which he approached on the street.  He picked people who drew his attention by their clothes, vibrancy, and posture.  How fascinating is that?  If you were walking in your city and approached by a photographer would you let him take your picture? He used historical places and placed the people like "lost and found items".

I hope this helps you get to know the city of Koblenz, Germany a little more.  What can you infer from these photos about the city?  

As if my pictures weren't good enough...

well... let's be honest.  They're not.
She hired a professional.

Katie and Mike Maternity shoot

For some reason I can't get the actual video to paste here.  

So, if you wanna see... click away!

A day of making and baking.

It's raining here in Massachusetts.  Has been for a straight 24 hours or more.  I'm not complaining too much because this is maybe the second rainfall we've had all summer long.  Our desert is like the Mojave but I am a happy, happy girl because the dryness has kept the mosquitoes at bay long enough for me to walk to the car, fetch with Gracie, or go on a bike ride with the kids.  Hallelujah.

Now, because of the steady rain, making and baking seemed like the thing to do.  I don't do much of either of these (I'm not what you'd call a crafty Mom/lady/human).  I'm more of a "go-make-your-own-fun-kids-and-use-your-imagination-and-put-down-the-friggin-Wii-control-before-I-smash-the-TV-in."  But, alas... the aforementioned rain, so I made and baked (I wish that rhymed the way it does in the present tense).  As I was saying... I maked and I baked.

Seen here & here.  They were good.

(And I look like a total wanna-be-happy-baker-cheeseball-woman.  

Forgive me, I hope you still think I'm cool, though why would you?)

Made for my friend Susan from my Etsy shop.

Have a nice Wednesday.

Do you remember this?  The best.  Well, she's STILL in Uganda and I STILL miss her terribly.  Really.  A lot.  It's been two years since I have laid eyes on her and that's just too long.  If you feel like keeping up with her very interesting, parasite-filled, and truly dodge-the-bullet (truly is no exaggeration) life, you can find more on her here: A-Rod Abroad.  She's pretty funny.

Here's us at her going-away party... what feels like ages ago.  Come home Amanda!

found where else but here?

We sailed.

We went sailing this weekend with a friend of ours.  It began sunny and warm and got a bit chillier as we got further off the coast.  Naturally.  But, with sweatshirts and cardigans and cuddling, we managed to make it work.  I fell asleep on my stomach for awhile and one half of my face burned a bit, the other half, not so much.  Love that.  Not really but I do love falling asleep on boats.  Boating can be like a sedative to me.  We saw some seals on the way back and saw the Isle of Shoals and ate lunch meat sandwiches, TJ's charmingly chewy chocolate chip cookies (say that five times fast) and baby carrots and sodas and water.  And one of the teenagers (I won't say which--one day they'll appreciate the anonymity) needed to shower so I told him if he fell in I would throw him a bar of soap before I'd throw him a life vest.  I may not have been kidding.  And we chatted and appreciated the Atlantic and living near it and just how great huge, huge bodies of water really are.  And that is all.

hello dear readers! :) this is kelly ann from the flowerchild dwelling, and the totally awesome and always fabulous bridget asked me to guest post today. how could i say no to her? never. today i wanted to share one of my VERY favourite music albums of the year with you all!

this is sarah jaffe. she. is. amazing. i heard her song clementine on a random playlist earlier this year and i got so excited! not only because i adore the name clementine (is that weird? probably), but because the song was so. so. so. good. i was stoked and listened to the song four times in a row, immediately went and downloaded her album suburban nature, and did a little happy dance - all in the span of about ten minutes. (i get really giddy about finding new music, if you couldn't tell. it's ridiculous) she definitely has a folk vibe, but with an edge. and isn't it awesome when there isn't one song on an album that you dislike, they're all just so phenomenal? that's this album, for sure. it's without a doubt one of my favourite albums this year. and i'm the worst at picking favourites. but i love this album so dang much. it's great to listen to when you're sad, quiet, content, on a road trip, on a rainy day, while lying in a grassy field, or drinking coffee, or journaling.... i also love listening to this when i'm painting or doing something else creative. i'm totally going to stop now and just let you listen. :)

here's a peek into suburban nature:
(there is one other song on the album, but i couldn't find it on grooveshark)

she also has a previously released EP that is quite fabulous. basically anything she does is great!

sarah's website

sarah's myspace

thanks for having me, bridget! :)
you rock.
supreme.

(photo credit: kirtland records)

sister shared this with me.

i like it a lot.

click play.

Let me tell ya bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees...

Lindsey with her friends Talia and Lydia (our lovely Minnesotan guests!)

Lindsey is asking questions lately.  She's interested in all things woman... including vajayjays... oh, who am I kidding?  Vaginas!  (I determined long ago that I was allowed to say that on my blog).  She's asking about bras and when she'll need one.  Even hair.  Down there.  Some of this went down while at Target yesterday:
"Well, you'll get to puberty and then your breasts will start growing, and you'll get something called your period."
"Oh, I can't wait to wear a bra."
"Yeah, but it's better to have it start later because having your period is a real pain.  Every month blood comes out your....(trail off)....We'll talk about that later."
She wants shirts with peace signs and only peace signs.  She wants "cool" clothes, then it changed to "cute" clothes and now, I think, it's back at "cool" (particularly ones from Justice... have you seen Justice?  Let's just say that she and I don't see eye-to-eye on fashion these days.  She did, however, agreeably choose some other back-to-school items from my normal hotspot, Old Navy).  She likes embellishments on her jeans and sparkly nails and basically, she's becoming a little woman (I wrote "a little whore" thinking that was hilarious and I'll do anything for a cheap laugh but then I thought maybe it would be taken the wrong way and after all, little woman is what I really meant.  But now you know.).  It's an interesting age, a fun one over all, but an interesting one to say the least.  She's full of surprises.  Last night I left the house for a girls' night just before her bed time.  She ran outside quick as can be to say goodnight to me.
"Oh, isn't that sweet?" I thought to myself.
"Mom... are you wearing a bra?"
She just wanted to know, at 7:15 pm on a perfectly fine summer evening, if her Mom was indeed wearing a bra.  She's caring.  She wanted to ensure that her Mom's ta-ta's had the appropriate coverage.  What a girl.

we're a big bunch.
and i loooove them all.

Seriously, I can't get over it.  Swedish design is seriously sweeping--no, it's swept... long ago, who am I kidding?--the globe.  They are the leaders, the experts, the ones to consult and the ones who's approval we should seek.  Oh, what am I saying?  We shan't (shan't!) seek their approval.  We don't need anyone's approval.  But is it okay if I want it anyway?  Anyway, this next apartment is where it's at.  Found it first here.  This apartment is the type that when smooshed in the blender, put on a big spoon, served below a dollop of fresh whipped cream, I'd eat it.  I'd eat it all!  Scroll down and you'll be hungry too.  And maybe a little angry.  Angry that you don't live there but someone else does.

Right?!  RIGHT????