burning bush

Could we have misinterpreted Moses' vision?

via: Proximity

ahead of her time

Another of our favorite authors is Virginia Lee Burton. Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Katy and the Big Snow and The Little House. All wonderful stories and full of details only a truck loving toddler would notice. We spend a extended period of time on every page, talking about what all of the people and trucks are doing. I absolutely love that all of the heroes are female. Making them heroines (The House, The Steam Shovel and the Snow Plow).

You can tell from all of her page layouts that Burton was a graphic designer. She taught design and founded a design collective called the Folly Cove Designers. Working off of the belief that art should also be useful, they created beautiful fabrics that sold at various retail shops. Reproductions are still available today.

roger and richard

Since having number two, D and I have read SO many books. It is the best way to give both kids attention ... I feed one while I read to the other. Two of our favorite authors are Roger Hargreaves and Richard Scarry. We are all too familiar with Roger Hargreaves. His characters have been all over t-shirts ... Mr. Happy, Little Miss Sunshine, etc. The books are actually from the 70s. The simplistic illustrations are adorable. And the stories are really funny. D laughs out loud at almost all of them. Little Miss Giggles is his favorite.

Richard Scarry is a classic. Published in the early 60s, Scarry's illustrations are full of many tiny details. D will stare at a page for minutes at a time, usually without me reading at all. Our favorites are What Do People Do All Day and Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. A tiny gold beetle is hidden on every page of the latter. D can find Gold Bug much quicker than I can.

eli, no!

Katie Kirk is an amazing illustrator and graphic designer. She has written and illustrated a book call Eli, no!. It looks like the perfect book for any dog lover, especially those who call their dog their first child.

The book is bold and colorful and funny. And unpublished. Let's hope that some publisher sees it and knows that we will buy it!


via: Oh Happy Day

anything galvanized

There are a few home accessories with which I am obsessed. Bedding and pillows are a couple. And galvanized anything is another. I don't know what it is. When I lived in Durango I was obsessed with the huge tub-like feeders at the feed and seed store (seen as a planter above). I have also seen them used as actual human tubs (Domino Mag). There is something about the rough yet shininess of it ... so shabby chic. They go with any decor. The picture below is from Country Home magazine.


Last summer I bought a bunch of round galvanized buckets (similar to below) and small trashcans, drilled holes in the bottom and used them as planters. Home Depot has a great selection.

hippie feet

I have to admit that I have expensive tastes in shoes. But not the Sex and the City kind of preferences. Nope. I love expensive hippie shoes. Birkenstock, Keen, Frye, Chaco. All of you that know me are fully aware that I live in my silver Birkenstocks all summer. They match everything and are SO comfortable.

Naturally, my obsession trickles down to my kids. D has owned two pairs of Keens and two years ago I found the most adorable Birks on sale. I think they'll fit him this summer.

And while perusing the internet I saw these for M ...

cute kid

Our son walked out the door this morning wearing this jacket (Patagucci) and this car backpack (by Mimi the Sardine at ReusableBags.com from his aunt and uncle). To quote Where the Wild Things Are, "I'll eat you up I love you so!".



ps - there are always amazing deal on Patagonia clothing at Garnet Hill. I found this jacket for more than half off before Christmas ... making the unaffordable slightly affordable!

new favs

There are some of my new favorites to your right ...

alphabet cards

A friend recently sent us Animals A-Z by Bob's Your Uncle (featured on S+C a while ago). They arrived at the perfect time. D knows his alphabet, but cannot tell you which letter is which. So we created a "close-line" of the cards. They totally make the TV/playroom room more colorful and fun.

I also love Eric Carle's cards that I bought at Anthropologie forever ago. D loves to spread them all over the floor. Who knew that a xolo was a Mexican hairless dog?

skuut

D got the Skuut bike for Christmas. I love the concept of kids learning to balance prior to using pedals. His feet can't quite reach the ground, so we have yet to see if he can ride. But it sits in our living room and looks like a fun sculpture. Functional and beautiful.

one fish two fish red fish blue fish

D's room was not planned. I bought his bedspreads on MAJOR sale at IKEA. I painted a large floor mat (drop cloth with rug pad attached underneath) to match and to keep the room warm. And I past down some big old red pillows. Surprisingly the room came together. And while I was reading One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish to D one night before bed I realized that he had a Dr. Seuss room. So very CMYK - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black.

I love the striped rug juxtaposed with the big gas station numbers (from Architectural Artifacts in Chicago). And the cheapo Target globe. The boxes on the wall are Tiffany box tops that D loves to play with if we are sleeping late. The Dispatch poster is a Hatch Show Print.

my favorite things

I have been socked-in lately, enjoying our newly extended family. And I have found quite a bit of inspiration in the world around me. So for the next couple of weeks I am going to feature my favorite things from our life out here in the Rockies. Most will have to do with our home and our kids. And then I hope to have more time to scour the internet for new ideas and cool stuff!