happy thanksgiving, pilgrim.

quiet holiday here. we will be staying put - and surrounding ourselves with family and friends. we have much to be thankful for.

i am thinking of renting The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. (where John Wayne routinely refers to Jimmy Stewart as "Pilgrim".) a new Thanksgiving tradition, perhaps?

happy holiday!

::verycheapandchic::

one of my finds at the thrift yesterday.

its a lovely wool. though a wee bit too small. but wearable. and the leather flowers had me at go.

happy friday!

bits and bobs

i have posted a few new items in the shop




some wonderful vintage cansiters i have been holding onto for a year. trying to find a place for them. my reality is that we don't need them. so there they are. there is also a small group of vintage vera scarves that i will never wear. no matter how hard i might want to. i kept one. and that will be enough for me.

i made this 30 minute chili for dinner the other night. and the girls loved it. jonathan safran foer's book is making me think more about the meat we do eat - and while i don't think we are ready to eliminate it, we certainly are working on cutting back.

i am reading another great book. nothing profound or earthshattering, but written by an lausd teacher i turn to when i need to be inspired about public education. and what it can be. all the while the reality of our public school system - and the cuts looming - are scaring me to death.

i started pilates. (thanks mom.) and am becoming a reformer junky. sad but true.

i am trying to convince myself that the girls' wishes for american girl dolls from santa would be satiated with this. but i think i'm likely kidding myself.

what do you think?

::monday smile::

"My dear girl, have you ever noticed that the human race is divided into two distinct and irreconcilable groups: those that walk into rooms and automatically turn television sets on, and those that walk into rooms and automatically turn them off. The trouble is that they end up marrying each other."
-- Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw in The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

::bliss::

d and i celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary yesterday. and are continuing to celebrate today with a dinner at the restaurant that catered our celebration on a rooftop downtown way back then. the girls think 10 years is forever. though pointed out this morning that 103 years is much longer to be married and would be really something to celebrate. which we agreed.

it isn't always easy. but to walk with you is worth it.

here is to 93 more years honey. i love you.

not an app

of course my kids are fascinated by all electronic. my eldest has been asking for a cel phone / ds / wii / laptop of her own / etc. for the last year. and the little one echoes her. (though i think she is still about as tech savvy as her mama. i know that won't last long!) we have not conceded. and have no plans to. at least in the near future. we have an old, small television. which requires an antennae to work. a "sensitive" dell laptop (that needs replacing) and an outdated imac. i often hear, "but mom, i'm the only kid that doesn't have..."

and i have an iphone. they love it. (yes. i do too.) i have downloaded a few things for them. boomerang programs. math games. rainbow words. (we are working on our multiplication tables and sight words. i am not a big fan. but it is part of "the system". ahhh public school. a future post. perhaps.) but their favourite thing so far seems to be the clock. they are fascinated with the idea of time zones. we were recently gifted a globe by a favourite neighbour, and i was tickled to find the girls playing with it the other day.



a game they devised of finding a country on the globe - then seeing what time it is there. i love it. to paraphrase miss hannah montana - perhaps the best of both worlds?

monday monday

something is wrong with the hard-drive on my laptop. it sounds salvageable, but for now it is with my favourite computer doctor. leaving me without an easy way to upload pictures. and i have pictures.

we made it to the artemide sidewalk sale. much to the disappointment of my eldest daughter, we purchased three more of these.

on our return home she wrote me a letter:

Mom, The lamps you bought are horendisly (sic) normal. I hate them. You said we were getting new lights and we already have five lights like that.

needless to say i was very impressed by her passion for design. and told her i loved her. and that i was so proud that she was not interested in the "horendisly" normal.



laptop back! thanks gary! yes yes - i will be better at backing up. and yes, i will start looking for a new machine. promise.

::

it feels like fall. at least a socal fall. it makes me happy.

we had an amazing violin concert in the school garden this morning. i am in one of those states where all the hard work we put into that place seems worth it. must learn how to hold onto that feeling. the look on those 400 faces while watching elizabeth pitcairn play a selection from bizet's carmen is unforgettable. it makes me happy.

killed time at the nursery yesterday. and have a bunch of plants to get in the ground to prove it. that makes me happy too.

happy friday.

a peek inside

a tour of our home over at cafemom! (thanks sheri!)

::Hallowe'en 09::

Inspired by Charley Harper I went for handmade masks this year for David and I. (When I told D I wanted to be a "fox" he had something completely different in mind involving satin shorts and rollerskates. But I think in the end he was happy how these turned out.) They were so much fun to construct. (I miss my sewing machine!)

We had a fabulous Hallowe'en! Biggest neighbourhood parade turn-out to date :: Fantastic Dios de los Muertos neighbourhood party with dear friends :: E's first visit to a "real" haunted house with her Papa, and her bff :: K and I watching Kiki's Delivery Service (I love this movie!) and handing out treats

And can you believe its November?

More Hallowe'en pics here.