KOOK STYLE: shopping with Nana

 This girl can whip out some cheesy smiles.

 Chuuuuunk!

The best of the photos I took of them together... the little man was flopping all over the place. He's on the move these days. No time for mama to take photos of him.

On the little man: blue chinos [H&M] - striped onesie [American Apparel] - cardi [H&M] - beanie [77kids]

On the kook: sweater leggings [H&M] - floral shirt [H&M] - cardi [Anthropologie] - beanie [made by Auntie H]

Happy Halloween! Nothing spoooky to share here. We're a couple of fuddy-duddies. Yes, I'm aware just using that phrase proves the point.

It was cool socks and beanies weather in the house yesterday morning. I haven't broken out the heater yet, but those days aren't too far away... hopefully. We've had some days in the 80s in the last few weeks and it's totally throwing me off. I'll have a day in comfy fall clothes, burning my fall candles, and then the next day will be 80 and I'll be in shorts and wondering what fun summer holds... yeah, it's messing with my brain. I hope fall weather takes off before fall is over! My boots keep sending me longing stares as I pass them by to wear flats. Poor boots. I miss you too.

We went on a little shopping trip with Nana yesterday to get the kook a children's Bible because we are dedicating the kooks at church on Sunday. The gal was in awe of the Veggie Tales section at the store and all things Christmas related. She had to touch everything and shout "Look, guys! Look!" when she made a new discovery. It took 4 times as long to shop with a toddler leading the way, but it was worth it to hear how "beautiful" everything was and see her make a stack of Bibles up to her waist.

I'm thinking of and praying for all of you affected by Sandy! Stay safe and dry!

if i can't, YOU MUST

- Blue ($25). Yellow ($12) -

I'm like 98% sure that the hubby and I are done adding to this kooky clan, but I still melt when I see little baby things that I'd want to decorate our pretend 3rd child's nursery with. The little man is 8 months and well on his way to college so there's no more nursery buying for him. Someone needs to put me out of my misery and get these afghans into their nursery stat! Ugh. Too cute.

I spent my Sunday evening searching through the vintage afghans on Etsy, by the way. I have some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket and some ugly blankets in our house burning a hole in my retinas. I'm still hoping the thrifting gnomes will smile on me and a gorgeous vintage afghan will drop into my lap someday soon.

5 QUIRKY MOVIES you will love or hate

I have a thing for cute and/or clever, quirky movies. I try to indoctrinate friends and family with my love of quirky movies when I can but they aren't for everyone. If you love quirky movies, this list is for you. I hope there are some titles on here that you haven't seen, and will enjoy.

-Son of Rambow (PG-13)-
WHO: Bill Milner and Will Poulter.
WHAT: When this movie was recommended to hubby and I, we were skeptical. I'm not a fan of the Rambo movies and immediately thought it was just another installment. We were very wrong. This movie is about a young boy in England with an overactive imagination who sets out to make his own Rambo film with the class troublemaker and a crew of random kids. We visit each boy's family lives and find that they are both coping with the changes in their lives through their art. It is an incredibly sweet, funny, and unexpected movie.
NITTY GRITTY: very mild language, mild violence

-Hot Fuzz (R)-
WHO: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Directed by the wonderful Edgar Wright.
WHAT: If you like quirky well-timed British humor and don't mind a bit of unrealistic gore then you will maybe, possibly, quite likely love this movie. If you saw and loved Shaun of the Dead, then you are in for a treat. I am a huge fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They are ridiculously hilarious without being over the top corny. Then you add in Edgar Wright as the director, and this movie ended up having amazing cinematography and perfect timing. The pace that Edgar Wright sets may seem unusual and abrupt if you haven't seen any of his films before, but you will soon submit to his brilliance and realize he makes the movie what it is. Then you will start googling him and immediately put all of his other films and show on your Netflix queue. I suppose I should tell you a bit about the movie instead of gushing about Edgar Wright though. I don't know if I want to. I went to see this movie with my husband and brothers-in-law and had no idea what it was about or who was in it. I just showed up and was shocked and my stomach hurt from laughing so much. I walked out of the theater processing and eventually decided it would land on my list of favorite movies. Here's all you need to know- Simon Pegg is a police officer who is relocated to a rural farm town that appears to have no crime. He and his partner, Nick Frost, find out that while the town has no crime, it does have an unusually high number of accidents. That's all I will give away.
NITTY GRITTY: violence, heavy on language, and some sexual content

-Lars and the Real Girl (PG-13)-
WHO: Ryan Gosling (do I really need to mention anyone else?), Emily Mortimer, and Paul Schneider.
WHAT: This movie is a gem. I am pretty sure it is underrated. Ryan Gosling is an extreme introvert with some emotional issues that lead him to imagine that a life-sized doll he got off the internet (for.... you know) is a real woman. While the premise may seem like this movie is vulgar, the only sexual content is seeing the ads for the doll on the internet and knowing what its actual purposes are. Ryan Gosling's character is a gentleman and treats the doll as any Christian man would treat a woman. This movie has a slow, relaxed pace, and isn't chock-full of belly laughs, but there is some nicely timed humor to break it up and the end result is an uplifting, touching movie.
NITTY GRITTY: sexual content referring to the doll, mild language

-Ghost Town (PG-13)-
WHO: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear and Tea Leoni. Cameo by Kristen Wiig.
WHAT: Hubby and I went to see this in a super uncomfortable, cheap theater with a group of guffawing teens behind us... but we still enjoyed it. Here's the scoop- After a routine medical procedure Ricky Gervais's character, an anti-social, negative dentist, is able to see ghosts. One of these ghosts is Greg Kinnear who enlists his help to wrap things up with his widow Tea Leoni. You have to like Ricky Gervais' humor to like this movie. This movie is "don't take a sip at the wrong moment or you will spit it out laughing" funny while being sweet at the same time. I enjoyed the whole thing and loved the ending. And any movie where Kristen Wiig pops up gets major points from me. Unless they use her for a dramatic role rather than the humor and characters she excels at... then they get a big fat frown.
NITTY GRITTY: sexual humor and language

-How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (No Rating)-
WHO: a young Robert Morse (Bertram Cooper in Mad Men)
WHAT: This movie was recommended to me by one of my college film teachers. I have a list of 100+ of his favorite rewatchable movies that he sent me a couple years ago and we have slowly been making our way through. We have found some of them to be barely watchable the first time and some of the others have been a treat. This movie was one of the treats. It's a musical about a young man who makes his way up the corporate ladder.... without really trying. The singing and dancing are hilarious and entertaining and the idea of this man making his way up the company just by reading a simple step-by-step guide book is ironic in and of itself. If you like 1960s musicals, this is definitely one to watch. And if you like The Jonas Brothers, you already missed Nick Jonas' stage performance in this musical this year. Sorry.
NITTY GRITTY: I don't remember anything questionable, but there may be some PG content I don't recall.

KOOK STYLE: headed to a birthday party

I saw the cat wander into the shot and thought "Oh cute!," then it took a few shots for me to see what he was doing. Ummm... yeah. Excuse him. I need glasses.... on top of my glasses.

On the little man: suspender jeans [H&M] - circus onesie [H&M] - beanie [H&M]

On the kook: flats [GAP] - leggings [Old Navy] - poplin blouse [H&M] - hair bow [Forever 21]

Welcome to kook style. One of the perks of being a mom (besides having a hilarious little mini-me and mini-hubby running around) is dressing the kiddos. It's like Barbies but way cuter with a million more options. I rarely actually played Barbies. I styled Barbies. I don't have all the mountains of dollars to drop on crazy expensive outfits, so it's a fun challenge to find things on clearance or find the best deals. I mainly shop for the kids at GAP (as in the 40% off clearance sales), GAP Outlet (sales and clearance), and H&M (a bit of a splurge sometimes), but also get things on sale at Old Navy, Target, 77 Kids, and thrift stores, and am just starting to sew things myself. These kids are such kooks that it's fun to put them in kooky little outfits that fit their personalities. When I found out I was having a boy I thought it would be so boring getting him clothes, but it has proved just as fun dressing him as the gal. Since I have so much fun with their wardrobes, I'd love to share their pint-sized outfits with you from time to time. And if you blog about your kiddo's clothes- handmade or store bought- please let me know! I just love little fashion (and big fashion- who am I kidding).

TRIANGLE LEGGINGS tutorial

I was planning on posting a tutorial for all 3 pairs of leggings I stamped, but then when I wrote out the bow leggings tutorial I realized it was pretty much exactly the same as a tutorial for these triangle leggings would be, so I decided to leave these out. And then today I decided to go ahead and share in case anyone wants to know what method I used and missed the bow leggings tutorial. Did I mention I'm indecisive?

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

-Solid colored leggings
-Fabric paint or acrylic paint plus textile medium

-1 medium-sized potatoe

-A sharp knife

-Cardboard

-A small plate for your paint
-The 3rd installment of your favorite show

For these leggings I used a potato stamp to stamp the triangles and followed the same method as the bow leggings to a T.

The above photo shows an idea of what your potato stamp should look like. This is the only project I used actual fabric paint on rather than acrylic paints plus a textile medium. I used Lumiere fabric paint in Metallic Bronze and LOVED it. I highly recommend it and am definitely going to try other colors in the future. The color came out beautifully and it was more saturated upon first stamping than the other paint combinations I used. I didn't restamp at all because I liked the uneven look of the triangles with the black fabric showing through.

For those wondering why I'd go to the trouble of using acrylic paints plus a textile medium, it was mostly a cost issue for me. I already had a large collection of acrylic paints on hand and wanted to use what I had instead of buying 10 new fabric paint colors at $5 a pop. There is also more variety in acrylic paints colors than the fabric paint aisle at our local craft store. If you have the money to throw down on fabric paint and they carry the colors you like, I say go for it because the Lumiere fabric paint was lovely to work with. 

While I was at my stamping, I also used a 2 inch thick piece of thermal undershirt fabric I cut off of one of my shirts during my repurposing to make a little headband for the kook. It was already the perfect length to tie in a bow, so I just trimmed one of the hems off to tidy it up and used my pencil eraser and the bronze Lumiere fabric paint to stamp dots on the fabric. It was maybe a 5 minute project, if that, and I love the finished look of it. I will definitely be stamping more of my scrap fabric stash to make hair accessories for this gal. Apparently once you stamp, you just can't stop. 

THE KOOK TURNS TWO! (...6 months ago)

Adelaide turned 2! Well, 6 months ago. I asked my friend to take photos of the party because I'm such a frazzled host and after us both forgetting about the CDs any time we saw each other over these last 6 months, she handed them to me at her own daughter's 2nd birthday this past weekend. It was so fun looking at them and seeing how much the kook and our little man have grown and changed in the last 6 months.

After doing way too much for her 1st birthday party in the way of crafting decorations and favors, and baking a bunch of things, I decided I didn't want to bake or cook anything for this party. It was way too stressful last time and I also had a newborn this time around who was just recovering from a month of RSV (memories...). I bought junk food cereal, various milks (for the lactose tolerant and intolerant), tea, good coffee, and then the morning of hubby picked up a few dozen donuts (vegan and non). We had the party at 10 am and it was unusually gorgeous out for a morning in April. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm. It was the perfect day to have a little brunch with friends and family in our backyard. There's not much to tell you in the way of details, but what there is to tell, I'll share below.

INVITATIONS: designed by me
GARLAND: sewn by me- the fastest garland ever
2 POSTER: designed by hubby and printed at his work
PLATTERS: one was a gift from my cousin, a couple were cake platters, and I made the two tall skinny ones out of candlesticks and little plates
ANIMALS & PARTY HATS: the animals were from Michael's and I spent some time one evening making their little party hats
PLATES, TABLECLOTHES, PAPER LANTERNS: Target
FAVORS: mini cereal boxes and animal finger puppets from Target

P.S. Um... and don't mind our ghetto house. Yeah, I was a little embarrassed to put the table and decor in front of that wall that hasn't been painted over, but it was the best spot for everything. Remember how we live in a crooked shmooked house and remodeled the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad inside? Well, the outside is still that crooked shmooked house and hasn't been touched. Let's just say that I would be scared to walk up to our crazy little house. Luckily I live inside the house and rarely pay that much attention to how sad it looks on the outside. Maybe someday we'll do something to the outside? I don't know. We have so many other priorities. But all that to say, the outside of our house is not the beautiful backdrop for backyard parties that I want it to be, but we do live with a beautiful view of the country and friendly farm animals next door so I won't complain.

THIS & THAT

I hope your weekends are going famously! The kook had a temperature a few nights ago and I was worried our weekend plans were going to turn into staying home and watching Curious George 24 hours a day, but her temperature magically disappeared and we were able to go to her little friend's 2nd birthday party this morning and a nice little fall get together with hubby's family this evening.

Here are some things that have been whirling around my mind lately...

I totally get a bad mom award for not noticing the kook had a temperature the whole time we were running errands on Wednesday. It was in the high 80s and every time I took her out of the car she seemed super hot but I thought it was just because it was warm in the car. It wasn't until I dragged her to 4 different places within 4 hours and we got home and she was still hot that I took her temperature and found out she was 102 degrees. I felt terrible. Poor girl. :(

I really need to invest in a big bag of rice and/or beans for the kiddos to play with in the kitchen. I'm reminded every time I see tutorials like these ones: DIY Rice Play Table - Playing with beans and rainbow rice - Bean Box

Now that KCWC is over, I'm back to hand-stitching some hanky/doily curtains for the kitchen. I'm hoping I can crank them out because I'm itching to start this cat quilt from mer mag for the kook's bed. I've never quilted before, but if anything is going to inspire me to, it's a cat quilt!

I have a friend that decorates for Christmas the first day of November and I'm such a Christmas lover that I decided I will do the same this year. That means I start my decorating in 2 weeks... and it's in the 80's this week. I don't know if I can decorate for Christmas before we've even had real fall weather!

Trying to decide what to do with my grown out asymmetrical pixie. I'm thinking I will start with this Katie Holmes cut, then maybe grow it into something like Rose Byrne's cut. I guess it's time to get my bangs back!

My mom just became a Stella & Dot rep. I'm pretty excited about any Christmas or 'just because' Stella & Dot presents to come. (Wink wink, mom!) I am in love with this fox ring.

Someday when life calms down I'd love to start Project Life. Elise's posts are so crazy inspiring. What a great way to keep memories.

I am doing potty-training with the kook next week. Any potty-training advice from veteran moms?

And I leave you with a laugh from SNL. I am loving The Californians skits. Anything that makes fun of Californians makes me laugh. Because I'm a Californian. If we sound anything like this skit, we deserve to be made fun of.

from THE CORNER

Sometimes I like to just sit in the corner of the kiddos' room and watch them play. And mediate. And listen to the kook "read" books and tell stories.

A story by Adelaide.

"Once upon a time there was a little girl and there was a little boy. There was a little girl! There was big girls. There was big ladies. There was a girl writing a story for reading a book. There was a story for someone reading a story for us."

.....and then she got distracted. Too bad. That story had potential. I was wondering what would happen to the big girls and big ladies.