WE ARE TWIN SISTERS who are IDENTICAL in some areas and SO DIFFERENT in others. we enjoy blogging about being mommies and about the things we love: music, books, art, design, crafts...
so here's the productive part of the weekend. (sorry i didn't get it posted yesterday; internet problems. actually it'll be a miracle if this post works!) after looking unsuccessfully all over our relatively small town for a sofa, we decided to look in a larger metropolis to see if we could find what we were looking for (all right, i'll admit it. i'm extremely picky when it comes to interior design, especially couches.) we finally ended up at ikea, where we weren't expecting to find a couch but had a few other items to attend to: bookshelves, curtains, side table. we had looked for a couch at ikea before and had been less than enthusiastic about their options. but this time they had a new design that we ended up getting! it's not exactly what i had wanted, but it has the basics: good lines, sturdy frame, removable cushion covers that can be dry cleaned, a modern and clean look. sweet m. saw me taking pictures and wanted to model. isn't she cute? anyway, now there is only painting, picture-hanging, reorganizing furniture, and a few other minor details to attend to. i'm excited that our front room is FINALLY coming together!
our easter weekend was delightful and highly productive. we decided to head down to my parents' house because sweet m. had monday off of school and we hadn't seen my mom and pops for a good bit of time while they were down under helping nene with her babe. so off we went! on saturday we had a lovely dinner with lots of family about, complete with lots of chatting afterwards. (my oldest brother is a huge lost fan like myself and we had a great time analyzing the show.) sunday was more quiet, with just the kiddies and the grandparents; the kids got their baskets before church and we had an indoor easter egg hunt after. (the ground was kind of muddy and not conducive to little children in their easter best running amuck.) my parents have the most lovely magnolia tree in their front yard. i got a little camera happy with it. my older brother is a sweetie with kids. little c. loves playing with him! little c. had just woken up when we had the easter egg hunt. when we told him to go find his eggs he started crying! but luckily when he found the candy inside he perked right up. sweet m. loved her hello kitty easter basket from last year so much that she played with it all year long and wanted to use it again this easter! i was happy to oblige!
have you heard about mysavings.com? i can't remember where i heard about this gem of a website, but it's amazing! they collect links to free samples all over the web so you can just go on their site and find out about samples and coupons for all sorts of things!
even easier, you can sign up for the daily email and almost everyday you'll find in your inbox a list of great free samples. for instance, today i signed up to receive a free sample of a mr. clean magic eraser, a special kind of paint that you can paint on any surface to turn it into a white board (like chalkboard paint!), and a free year's subscription to metropolitan home magazine!
it almost sounds too good to be true, but i've been doing it for a while now, and so far i've received most of the things i've signed up for. (i don't keep track of the samples i sign up for so i'm not exactly sure about missing any.) but my favorite is the magazines! so far i've received multiple copies of: body + soul, martha stewart living, woman's day, parents, popular photography, prevention, and i think a couple of others that i'm forgetting.
try it out if you like!
(p.s., sometimes they ask you to fill out a short survey and/or enter a friend's email address. as far as i know, they've never contacted the friends i've referred, and the surveys are really simple.)
today is a grey, windy day. i woke up sad. do you ever have a day like that? sad for no reason kind of days? it definitely makes me feel like listening to the weepies. especially this song, "can't go back now" from their album hideaway. it's a little sappy, but for some reason it really works for me. especially today. anyway, i l like the song better than the video, but the video is extremely cute: enjoy!
so i guess the point of this post is to encourage you to enter giveaways on blogs. even if you're the kind of person who feels like you never win anything (like me.) because i just won one! recently artist jennifer judd-mcgee of the lovely blog swallowfield had a giveaway to celebrate the second anniversary of her etsy shop. i left a comment, and ba-da-boom, ba-da-bing, i WON two of her gorgeous prints! my choice! i chose the simply beautiful ledger diptych
and the bright and cheery six little birds. this one's destined for sweet m.'s room!
do you like design mom? i love this blog. it's full of great design tips, cool sites for kids' clothes, party and craft ideas, and tons of other helpful information. the blog's creator, gabby, is one talented mommy, and i love her ideas and her style. this week she's hosting "ask design mom" week where she shares readers' questions about all kinds of things and gives her tips plus asks readers for more. plus, if you link to her post here you will be entered in a great giveaway! check it out!
this link for a bunch of indie samplers with free downloads at amazon! there's tracks from bon iver, flight of the conchords, fleet foxes, vetiver, neko case, and tons more goodies! my only problem is that i have most of the goodies already, darn it!
found this clip via swissmiss, another amazing blog. i saw it a while ago and i keep watching it; i wasn't going to share it here but i just think it's so true. just so you know, his language isn't always the best.
so i know i have been very remiss in introducing blogland to nene's latest great achievement. as you may know we don't say our kiddies names here, so for now we will be calling this sweetie "baby s." i know, not very unique, but we'll see what we come up with later. i can tell you that i have the honor of her being named after me! (middle name.) isn't that sweet? i feel so honored and so undeserving. anyway, she's now almost a month old! can't believe it! isn't she beautiful in pink, with her gorgeous dark hair?
here is a short playlist of songs for baby s. some are lullabies, some are cute little ditties, and heck, some just have "baby" in the title.
sea of love -cat power leo & luna -mark kozelek firefly -don peris slumber my darling -alison krauss, edgar meyer, mark o'connor & yo-yo ma asleep on a sunbeam -belle & sebastian birds and ships -billy bragg and wilco little eyes -yo la tengo if i needed you -townes van zandt sweet child o' mine -taken by trees gentle moon -sun kil moon eyes of green, green, green -gorky's zygotic mynci little flowers -denison witmer baby i'm yours -arctic monkeys ** click on the song title to hear the track** p.s. if any of the links don't work please let me know!
found this website via design for mankind, one of my favorite blogs. it's called more new math. some are hilarious, some are thought-provoking, all are witty. enjoy.
are you a fan of flight of the conchords? one of my favorite things about their show is looking for the new zealand tourism poster that's hanging in murray's office every week during the band meeting. they usually have some pretty funny sayings on them. i know i'm a nerd but i write them all down. here are some of my favorites:
i've always been interested in transformations: makeover shows, movies about people who drastically change their lives, etc.
if you ever get a chance, watch this movie with bette davis
she plays a woman who is sad, who feels locked in by her life, who still lives with her controlling mother and has some kind of nervous condition. a friendly psychiatrist treats her kindly and helps her to change her life. when he's getting ready to send her off on her own and she's nervous, he reads some lines from a walt whitman poem to her. "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."
those are lines that i keep coming back to in my own life. they run through my head now and then. i feel lost and stuck sometimes, and i have to remind myself that i'm the only one who can get myself unstuck, and that now is the time to do it. now, voyager.
listening to: vetiver's latest album: tight knit. listen to clips here. favorite track so far: maureen. watching: yo gabba gabba! CONFESSION: i would watch yo gabba gabba even if i didn't have children. it's just that cool, and i'm that much of a dork. plus, JACK BLACK is going to be on the new episode on april 3!. cool. reading: the satanic verses by salman rushdie.
here is little c., and here is his binky, his pasha, his dummy, whatever you want to call it. the two of them go everywhere together; and just try and separate them, oh-ho, just try. you will soon feel the wrath of the two-year-old. i need to hunker down and get more consistent about taking it away from him, but it is proving difficult. with sweet m. it was a pretty natural progression, we started leaving it at home when we went places, then we'd leave it in the crib and she could only have it for naps and bed, then only bed, then not at all. but little c. is a more stubborn child. do any of you have tips for getting binkies out of the picture?
hi everyone. sorry for the long absence. another computer crash and some never-say-die stomach bugs are to blame. it went around the whole family, more than once.
northern exposure was my very favorite tv show when i was in high school. i don't think i ever even saw it in its prime time slot, just in reruns. but there was something about it that just stirred my soul, y'know? i wanted to marry chris when i grew up, and listening to his philosophizing made me want to read more and get smarter. i don't know if i would like the show as much now. i've been out of high school for eleven years now and i'm a lot more cynical and a lot more demanding in what i'm willing to call good t.v. but here is a moment from northern exposure that i still think is really wonderful, and reminds me why i loved this show in the first place. yes it's cheesy, and yes there is an enya song playing (double cheese!) but it's lovely.
what t.v. shows have been influential in your life?
p.s. nene had her baby on monday, march 2. but i'll let her tell you all about it! i can tell you mom and baby girl s. are both doing well, and our parents are down under for a month to help her adjust.
i get really excited about new good music. (i have an itunes account that can attest to it.) so if you're feeling down in the winter doldrums and you need something to look forward to, check out pitchfork's list of upcoming album releases...
(my mouth waters and my itunes account braces itself for action just scanning it.)
here are some of the highlights of the list: (at least they're highlights to me!)
january 20 Andrew Bird: Noble Beast [Fat Possum] Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion [Domino] [CD release] Antony and the Johnsons: The Crying Light [Secretly Canadian] Bon Iver: Blood Bank EP [Jagjaguwar] The Modern Skirts: All of Us in Our Night [Modern Skirts Recordings]
january 27 Loney Dear: Dear John [Polyvinyl] Of Montreal : An Eluardian Instance EP [Polyvinyl] Of Montreal : Jon Brion Remix EP [Polyvinyl]
february 3 Ben Kweller: Changing Horses [ATO]
february 17 The Appleseed Cast: Sagarmatha [The Militia Group] Architecture in Helsinki: "That Beep" single [Polyvinyl] Beirut/Realpeople: March of the Zapotec/Holland [Pompeii/ Ba Da Bing] [U.S. release] M. Ward: Hold Time [Merge] Morrissey: Years of Refusal [Attack/Lost Highway] [U.S. release] Vetiver: Tight Knit [Sub Pop]
march 3 The Boy Least Likely To: The Law of the Playground [Too Young to Die/+1 Records] Neko Case: Middle Cyclone [Anti-]
on a more personal note, sharing my depressionissues with all of you was really cathartic and a huge step for me in facing how depression has changed me and my life. and i can say that this is the year that i felt most like myself again; more capable, more functioning, more happy, fewer bad days, and even in the really low points, a sense that things can only get better.
are you optimistic about the new year? have you made any resolutions yet? are you going to?
last year i didn't make any at all because i was discouraged and i felt like, why make resolutions that are going to make me feel bad when inevitably fail to keep them? (i know, great attitude, huh?)
but this year i'm more enthused. i'm excited for 2009. i'm 29 years old and it's 2009. this is the year i'll finally get to visit nyc. this is the year i'll hopefully be living in the same country as twin sis again. i'm sensing great things in the air for 2009.
how do you get ready for the new year? this year, in the spirit of the chinese, i'm trying to give my house a thorough cleaning and organization. (i'm also trying to not beat myself up that the blinds and baseboards aren't going to be done.) i want to start the new year off fresh and clean and organized. not for bad luck reasons, but because i really want this new year to seem like a fresh start.
christmas with my folks is a tradition i don't know how (nor do i want) to break. i love it. i love how excited my kids are to see them, and i love how much fun my parents have watching the kiddies open their presents. it's a thing of beauty. so thanks parental units! you're the best! this one is for nene. here's the white christmas that you'll hopefully be enjoying with us next year! the tree before the kids tore into everything.
(a week and a half ago.) sorry we're so late getting these up. for those of you who could come and celebrate: thank you so much. for those of you who couldn't, we missed you! the only decorations we put up: (cut by my fabulous mama and glittered by sweet m. and myself) we took the easy way out and made cupcakes with these cute letter candles. the days right before christmas are stressful enough for me without trying to plan an amazing bash. i always get great ideas but i have zero follow-through. this year i decided that's ok; it's just fun to hang with fam and friends, y'know? i can't believe he's already TWO YEARS OLD. that first christmas with him doesn't seem very long ago... i remember how precious christmas seemed that year with a tiny newborn babe in my arms. Christ's birth was much closer to my heart that year, and i've thought about it both years since...
here are my fav albums of 2008, and some are going down in the history books, baby. all-time greats.
5. sun kil moon- april. mark kozelek, to me, can do no wrong. i love his calming voice. i adore his album of modest mouse covers. i listened to it pretty much non-stop last winter. this isn't even his best album in my opinion.
here's my favorite song of his; it's not from april, it's from ghosts of the great highway:
4. okkervil river- the stand ins. i guess it's kind of a follow-up to the stage names, which i liked even better. that's saying a lot because this album is amazing! okkervil river has thought-provoking lyrics coupled with upbeat, well-arranged beats.
she & him- volume one. everyone loved zooey deschanel singing in ELF, (her voice is straight out of the 50's) but who knew she'd make one of the best albums of '08? of course this had a lot to do with m. ward, the "him" part of the equation, who is one of my favorite musicians. suggested track: sentimental heart. you can listen on their myspace page, linked above.
bonnie "prince" billy- lie down in the light. will oldham, "billy" is pure folk genius. he just is. listen to "lay and love" from the album the letting go. like i said, pure genius.
2. vampire weekend- vampire weekend. beautiful, fun, and happy are words that come to mind when i think of vampire weekend. their music has a great west-african pop sound to it, and i could listen to it all day long.
check out the video for a-punk, it's pretty fun:
tied for first place:
bon iver- for emma, forever ago. what can i say about this album? it's gorgeous, it's haunting, it makes the other music in my itunes jealous. listen to most popular song "skinny love" on his myspace page, but my favorite is "flume"
and i hear he has a new ep coming out in january!
and finally:
fleet foxes- fleet foxes. words fail me when i attempt to describe how much i love this band. you might be tempted to categorize them as just another "good" grungy band from seattle, but oh how wrong you would be. they have the harmonies of the beach boys, and great pop tunes, but it's more than just that, y'know? they have that certain something, they've got "it." i think i've already blogged about them twice but i don't care. their greatness must be shared.
so many good tunes to choose from. i love "mykonos, "winter white hymnal," but here's my current fav, "tiger mountain peasant song" the live version:
while you're on youtube check out the band first aid kit's cover of this song. it also is brilliant.
so, those are my picks for best album of the year! what are you listening to? do you have any recommendations to share?
sorry about the lack of posts lately. do you know what happened? my computer crashed.
it was pretty horrible. when the computer-fix-it-man told us that our hard drive was kaput and he wouldn't be able to retrieve any files, i was devastated. literally the day before the crash, i was reading a blog (can't remember which one, sorry) where the lady was saying how happy she was to have her computer, to have all those memories of her family saved, and that if there was a fire, the only thing she'd grab would be her picture albums and her computer. and i thought,
"me too." how stupid was i not to back up the files?
i was able to get most of our music back from our ipod, and we do have some pics saved on flickr...
i love the boy least likely to, so i was so happy to hear a new song from them! the song is pretty, but the video is the best part...so beautiful! if this is what scotland looks like, i gotta get me there! and it actually made me crave snow (which is kind of crazy considering that in the winter here i feel like i live in narnia at the beginning of the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe.)
one thing i'm very grateful for: that our christmas lights are already taken care of and that hubby has a great work ethic and is completely comfortable on rooftops (just like santa!) the kids had a lot of fun, too: this one is supposed to be blurry, i like the way it makes the lights look:
and here's one that's simple enough for even me! i'm definitely going to do this one with my kids and all the extended family on thanksgiving morning:
crafty ways to show thanks i'm going to have all the leaves cut out and ready to go, and then everyone will just jot something down on their leaves on thanksgiving morning. then string them up and everyone can enjoy them all day!
sometimes i start thinking about all the improvements i need to make, all the things i don't get done, how much tv i let my kids watch, and on and on and on, and it can get a little much. i can really get pushed down by it, y'know? so i think it's important for slowly-improving people like me to celebrate the small things. as in, some days i get the dishes all done. as in, some days i get a load of laundry done, clean a bathroom, and play a lot with the kids. as in, some days i get to take pictures. today i took pictures.
