"How's the campaign going?"
It's the question I get most often. It's also the question I'm never quite sure how to answer.
Good? ... Great! ... Your guess is as good as mine. ... We'll see May 17th!
The truth - I suppose - all depends on what you're measuring.
This weekend we hosted a Winter ONE-derland party in honor of Felix's first birthday. Considering this child was born during a snow, it seemed like an appropriate theme. Well, the weather had other plans and it was 70 and sunny! I could have hosted the dang party outside!
For my 30th birthday, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do. One was to write a historical fiction short story. This is the story and as Ruby keeps calling to me here lately. I thought I'd share it here.
One of Nicholas's New Year's resolutions was to try freezer meals. He'd prepped meals for the week on and off through 2015 and wanted to see how it would work to prepare an entire month's worth. Then, we could just pull a meal from the deep freeze, throw it in the crockpot, and on a busy day dinner would be waiting for us.
I don’t remember when being pale wasn’t a problem.
When I was younger, the threat of sunburn was forever hanging over my head. My mother was always coaxing me out of the pool for more sunscreen or - even worse - making me wear a t-shirt over my bathing suit.
As I grew up, it wasn’t only that being pale was a problem but NOT being tan was a curse.
I was recently tagged in a Facebook post to share the 10 books that have stuck with me. I'm supposed to "not take more than a few minutes" and "not think too hard."
So, here it goes.
What about you? What books have stuck with you?
From left, Christina Hendricks in Marchesa; Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting in Monique Lhuillier; January Jones in Prabal Gurung; and Claire Danes in Givenchy couture.
From left: Jordan Strauss/Invision, via Associate dPress; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Jason Merritt/Getty Images; Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images
So. Much. Red. It got to be a little overwhelming by the end.
At least it was exciting. Sometimes everyone plays it so safe watching the red carpet can be a little boring but you can't say last night's fashion at the Emmy Awards wasn't interesting.
(Say a word about Lena Dunham and I'll cut you. She can do no wrong.)
I found myself drawn to the more understated pieces however. I loved Lucy Lui's beautiful draping and Michelle Dockery was flawless as ever. She did however sport the dominant middle part that I found wildly unflattering on most of the stars. (I'm looking at you Christina Hendricks).
Lucy Lui in Zac Posen. Image via Just Jared.
Michelle Dockery in Rosie Assoulin. Image via Tom + Lorenzo.
I also really loved Anna Gunn in Jenny Packham.
Now, who got it wrong? A couple who also went for understated and fell flat. I did NOT like Kate Mara's dress which looked like a Project Runway experiment in draping gone wrong. I also thought Katherine Heigl (who unlike most of America I do not hate) looked WAY too mature in her satin dressing coat.
Katherine Heigl. Image via GossipReporter.com
Kate Mara. Image via Daily Herald..
What did y'all think? Who was your best and worst dressed?
Recently, I came upon an article in Fast Company that left me pondering an issue I've already thought a lot about.
What do I want to happen to my body when I die?
“With her Urban Death Project, designer Katrina Spade has been working on a greener alternative for the last three years. Along with the environmental issues, the design also considers the problem of space—cemeteries in the U.S. take up about a million acres of land, and as populations grow, even more space is needed. Spade wanted to find an answer that would allow people to be buried in cities.
The design uses composting to turn bodies into soil-building material for nearby farms and community gardens, so people literally become part of the city they once lived in. A four-story building, which Spade envisions being built in neighborhoods across a city, would serve both as composter and a place for ritual, where family members could see the deceased person for the last time. The composting process would take about thirty days.”
I have always been bothered by the idea of my body being pumped full of toxic chemicals then placed in the ground in big metal box. However, I also think it's important for my family to have a place to go and feel my presence if they chose to.
I have to admit this idea appeals to me.
What do you think? What do you want to happen to your body when you die?
We need to talk about Ferguson. I know there is a lot to talk about - the investigation, charges against the officer, the police response.
I want to talk about one thing in particular.
Yesterday, the Pew Research Center released the results of a nationwide survey on the events in Ferguson. The major finding:
80% of black Americans think this case raises important issues about race.
37% of white Americans feel the same.
What that says to me is that many MANY white people believe we have a fundamentally better understanding of what it is like to be black in America then black Americans.
As you recall, I feel pretty strongly on issues of race it is important to call things as I see them so let me be clear.
That is racist. That comes from a position of privilege. That is a problem.
I received a 40V-X EXPAND-IT STRING TRIMMER and Edger Attachment from Ryobi and a trip to Ryobi headquarters in exchange for writing a review.
We tackled our backyard with the help of a generous family friends but - as you can see from above - our front yard was still a hot mess. Sure, there were no concrete planters but there wasn't much else either. We had two giant yews and two small but extremely sharp holly bushes planted directly in front of the water spigot and electric outlets (convenient!)
Ahhhh remember baby Amos's nursery? I loved that room. It was my favorite room in the house. Alas, the problem with falling in love with a nursery is babies grow up and need big kid rooms. In this case, last year we decided to move both boys into the same room so it needed to be a big kid room for TWO.
