Jill Elliott Photography

My friend Jon's sister, Jill Texera Elliott, is a photographer and she sent me some great pictures of my girls.  I'm sure it wasn't the easiest task, but she managed to capture their personalities by simply hanging out with them for a little while....and promising them gum.  She's clearly a genius.

I love the laid-back style of these photos.  They're timeless images that I know I'll still love years from now.  Check out Jill's site: http://www.jelliottphotos.com/

Larry & Girls

Sophie

Sienna & our friend Jon

Halloween Decorating

Is it possible that anyone loves a holiday more than me?  I saw these Martha Stewart Mouse Silhouettes at Michael's and was initially grossed out by them, but the more I thought about it, the more fun they seemed!  Our front door opens to my "mice stairs" so I hope to surprise trick-or-treaters and gross out their parents on Halloween.

 I also love Martha's window and mirror clings!  See the mice climbing up the mirror?

The ghosts are actually my least favorite of all the clings but are the biggest hit of all our decorations with young children.

My husband conceived a Fall scene complete with homemade scarecrow from the hay bales leftover from the girls birthday party.  "Gus" the scarecrow's getting a little tired from 4-year-olds climbing on him, but  overall I was really impressed with my husband's vision.

Mario Testino at the MFA

Mario Testino's fashion photography and portraits of the British royal family are coming to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston this October.  It's not every day that high style and celebrity meet and can be considered cultural, and this looks like one show I wouldn't want to miss.

There's so much that I don't do because 1) I'm a mom and I forget things or 2) because its not kid-friendly, but this is one show I wouldn't dream of letting pass without seeing.

Mario Testino: In Your Face and Mario Testino: British Royals - October 21. 2012 to February 3, 2013

Cowgirl Birthday Party

I don't know how anyone planned a social event before Pinterest! Cocktail parties, birthday parties, and weddings must have taken true creativity before the time-sucking, highly addictive electronic pin board phenomena was introduced.  Planning a cowgirl 4th birthday party for Sophie & Sienna was a piece of cake thanks to all the terrific ideas I found on the site.  So thank you creative moms and their event planners for sharing all your terrific ideas.

Feeding 30 kids, their parents, and other friends was left to my fabulous husband, who happens to be a superb cook, and coolly informed me that barbecue for nearly 60 wouldn't be a problem.

Cowboy Up!  In lieu of regular goody bags, I tied bandanas to brown craft paper bags,  and stuffed them in a bureau I'd found and has been awaiting refinishing.  The kids all took home a pink or straw cowboy hat and sheriff badge.

The Pan-4- Gold game was a big hit, and entertained some kids for much of the party!  I spray painted small rocks with gold paint, poked holes in aluminum pans and filled a pool with sand and water.

Two 8-ft long tables and hay bales provided low seating for the children,  I saved tin cans, and filled them with flowers.

Abuelito waiting to get the party started.

Cowgirl Sophie

Cowgirl Sienna

After we handed out the craft bags for piñata candy, I let the kids pick a little candy in case they hadn't scavenged enough, I'm sure to the horror of the other parents, but I didn't want anyone to feel left out.

The birthday girls and their best bud Maya (center) having drinks on the bounce house.

My mum made the cake and cleverly used Barbie cowboy boots and hat to decorate!

Cowgirls

Today my little girls turned four-years-old.  I've had people tell me to enjoy these little pumpkins every minute, because although the days seem long, the years are short.  Those people were right.  Time is quickly flying.

Here are some photos I took of them before their cowgirl-themed birthday.  Sophie came up with the idea based on a love of cowgirl boots and hats, and I ran with it.  Enjoy....I did.

House Renovation Part II - Kitchen

The kitchen was the first renovation we took on in our now new-old, house.  Pictures speak louder than words, so I've included some photos from one of our first visits to the house.  We knew we needed to capture the kitchen from every angle so that we could start our planning.

The kitchen was clean, functional, and on the small side, but my husband and I agree that if something doesn't bring you joy, than it should change.  We cook a lot and spend a great deal of time in the kitchen so it's essential that we not dread looking at it.  We weren't prepared to make it bigger but it needed a facelift.

BEFORE

Note the square bump out next to the window...it was an old chimney!

Very shiny factory finished Cherry floors.

AFTER

Martha Stewart Living cabinets with Dunemere door style.

Marais Chair, Design Within Reach; Pedestal Table, Crate & Barrel

We painted the wood beams on the ceiling.

The first thing to go were the cabinets, appliances, and paneling.  After revealing the ancient original walls, my husband and some friends tore out the old chimney, a useless square box on our East-facing wall,  with a diamond blade saw because the mortar was too hard for a chipping gun!

We replaced the cabinets with Martha Stewart Living's very affordable cabinets in Sharkey Gray.  My nephew painted the walls in Martha Stewart's Gull, and my husband later tiled the backsplash with inexpensive white subway tile with dark gray grout called "Platinum."

I love Carrara marble countertop, and we deliberated whether to do it again, but I think the look and feel is incomparable, and a little patina adds charm.  Luckily I'm not OCD and a water mark here and there doesn't bother me.

We chose an oil rubbed bronze light fixture from Restoration Hardware to place over the island.

The last thing we did was sand and paint the cherry floors.  Their factory finish finally drove us crazy!  The floors simply were out of sync with the rest of the house.  We chose Benjamin Moore's Floor and Patio paint in Kendall Charcoal.

About the appliances:
We've put the same stainless steel apron sink in our last three homes that we purchased from an online dealer.  This time we went with a dual-fuel, six burner KitchenAid stove which we're very pleased with.

Overall, the kitchen works for our little family.  It's the opposite of the current trend towards open floor plans, but it stays true to this village colonial's original layout, and the facelift made us happy.  The colors are soothing, and allow the color of serving dishes, flowers, food, and people to take center stage.

Martha Stewart Living Cabinets are available at Home Depot.

Found: Eames Lounge Chair

There's nothing better than free stuff, and I thought we'd made a big score each time my husband spotted one of the two Eames lounge chairs by the side of the road.  They didn't come to us at the same time and lucky for us we found two, because from the two we were able to piece together one very decent looking  chair and ottoman.

Introduced in 1956, the set by Charles and Ray Eames was an instant hit and is considered an icon of modern design.  Knock-offs range anywhere from $500 and Design Within Reach sells them for around $5,000.

A bit of Minwax stain refreshed the scratched wooden back.

The set fits perfectly in the master bedroom.

Our find is a fugazy, and an old one at that (the arms are the giveaway), but there's something very gratifying at salvaging something.  There's a thrill in hunting for stuff that I simply don't get when I just walk into a store or order from a catalog, which is why I'm currently stockpiling two dressers and three tables for rehab.

Falmouth fun

Sophie, riding to Cape Cod and the future looked bright

We recently took a short trip to Cape Cod with plans of leisurely days spent collecting shells, dipping feet in the surf, and building sandcastles.  Sadly, it was all just a dream when we realized that one of our children had a new aversion to the sand and wouldn't tolerate more than five minutes of wet feet  in sand on her little feet.

For some reason this didn't really surprise me, however it was quite a rude awakening to my husband.  Clearly he'd never encountered a youngster's textural issue with sand.

It seemed from the beginning of this trip that nothing about July in Cape Cod was going to please this child.  We did some quick re-planning and found other options besides beach-ing it.  We took the Island Queen ferry to Martha's Vineyard, walked around Oak Bluffs, visited the Carousel, and had a fab lunch dockside with minimal incident.  I say "minimal" because Sophie, was brought to tears from her desperation to be big enough to grab carousel rings.  Sometimes it's hard being small.

We rented bikes and a buggy to tow the girls around Falmouth which was fun for everyone.  Obviously this wasn't my idea, but it worked beautifully.  The twins loved it and their parents got some exercise.  I only almost fell into a ravine once.

We took Grandma shopping to all her favorite spots: Christmas Tree Shop, Ocean State Job Lot, and (ugh) Wal-Mart.  It was an interesting trip only because one of the twins decided to shove a Goldfish cracker in her little nose.  Luckily Metro-West Medical Center had mailed us the most useful little first-aid kit complete with plastic tweezers.  They'd obviously anticipated Goldfish lodged in a nostril, as did I which must be why I amazingly had it in my glove compartment.  I thought it was perfect timing for a lesson on what parts of our bodies NOT to put food or other small objects.

By our final day Sienna (who's identity I'm no longer protecting) was ready for the beach.  An 8 o'clock beach time at an uncrowded, sandy beach, with bathrooms and showers was the key.  Surf Drive Beach was a success!  Often a little (or a lot) of patience goes a long way.

If you're planning a visit to Falmouth and don't already have a favorite beach, or your young children have just made you reconsider your favorite beach, I recommend using this site: www.falmouthcapecod.com/beaches.htm.