Goodbye, November

Whoops, I totally fell off the blogging wagon over the Thanksgiving break. I had a great break and am refreshed with some blogworthy ideas for December. I didn't meet my goal of posting every day in November, but I did have close to 40 posts, so I am letting it slide. I read somewhere that comments are like crack to bloggers, and I am so thankful that I am getting comments with more frequency. Please keep 'em coming!

What did I think of my break?

• Niece's dance-off party: awesome. (And yes, I was too self-conscious to participate.) The best moment for me was a toss-up between my seventeen month old nephew constantly jumping in trying to replicate his uncle's somersault and my pregnant sis-in-law spinning on her back break-dance style.
  
• Thanksgiving: yummy. (Missing dessert? Sad - darn you, cramps!; Missing helping to clean up? Mildly guilt-inducing) I forgot to do a post in advance of the holiday of things I am thankful for this year, so if you don't mind reading another one after the fact, I will post it later this week. I have so much to be thankful for.
  
• Shopping: guilt-inducing. The only items I purchased this weekend were for me, and I will probably return them. (I think I can find better versions of the short-sleeved sweater dress and the ruffled cardigan.)
  
• Friends' engagement party: fun. (Almost) makes me wish I could do it all over again. No worrying so much about the budget and people-pleasing this time!
  
• Meeting up with The Hubs's high school friends: always great. He went to a small, all-male school, and I love how close they are. And how they always hug hello and goodbye.
  
• Putting up the Christmas tree: Victory is mine! We didn't get around to putting it up last year (shocking!), so I was determined to do so this year.
  
• Relaxing and Napping with The Hubs: fabulous! He worked several days of 14-hour overnights at the hospital before the break, and we were both having a hard time of it. (I actually cried at work over some frustration coupled with the comments of an insensitive coworker. Googling "med school spouse" helped.) He had off Thursday-Sunday, and it was so, so nice to get to be our "normal" selves.

How was your Thanksgiving break? Did you score anything on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? I'm wishing there was a Cyber Week, because I couldn't even tell you how many emails flooded by inbox today with ONE! DAY! ONLY! DEALS! I didn't look at any of it.

Pretty Tea Towels

So many cute tea towels out there, so few that "go" with my current kitchen. (Grey countertops, cream, grey and terra cotta tile backsplash...can't really deviate from that without clashing.)

My dream kitchen right now is all white with fun punches of color. These cute ones from Martha would work great in said future kitchen!

Macy's, $10 for 3

I've Got Moves You've Never Seen

The theme for my 9 -year-old niece's family birthday party this week is a dance off. How fun is that? (Although being the shy one that I am, I'm a little terrified of actually participating.)

Thank goodness for YouTube to remind me how to do The Pizza and the Q-Tip:

Of course, I could try to memorize the Evolution of Dance:

Or maybe Lisa P's Adventureland dance:

Got any tried and true moves to share?

On a side note, I just love hanging out with my nieces. When I asked them after Halloween why they didn't save me any Starbursts, they left this for me at my in-laws' house. How sweet is that?

That Face!

Do you ever look at little kids and think of what beautiful adults they will someday be? I am smitten by this little girl.

I wish I knew how to knit. I started learning once but only produced an uneven half-scarf.

Available here. (The cowl/poncho, not the cute munchkin.)

Sub Tub

This weekend, I'd like to live a life of ease and take a bubble bath in this porthole tub.

So we sailed on to the sun,
Till we found the sea green,
And we lived beneath the waves,
In our yellow blue-grey submarine

via here

Are You Still a Teenage Girl Too?

Hopefully I'll be able to catch New Moon when I get back Sunday night if a friend is willing to see it for a second time. (Chances are good, since we're essentially teenage girls.)

It's been a while since I read the books, and I remember rolling my eyes quite a few times during the first Twilight movie. Luckily, I can refresh my memory with this CliffsNotes version, which begins like this:

PALE GIRL: Hi, I’m new here.

PALE BOY: I hate you. I love you. I want to eat you.

PALE GIRL: Let us go yearn for one another in the woods.

PALE GIRL: Did you just stop that van with your bare hands?

PALE BOY: No.

PALE GIRL: Yes you did.

PALE BOY: No I didn’t.

PALE GIRL: I saw you.

PALE BOY: You are clearly a crazy person.

PALE GIRL: I’m not.

PALE BOY: Look at me over here in the sunlight.

PALE GIRL: Ooooooh, sparkly.

And how great is this shirt posted on All Things G&D? (I suppose this is a spoiler alert if you haven't read all of the books.)

Are you a Twilight fan?

Yay Friday!

This weekend we are headed down to San Antone for our friends' wedding*. We are staying right near the Riverwalk (over half off with my awesome hotel-finding skills!), and I am hoping all of the holiday twinkly lights are up. What are you up to?

A few things I enjoyed this week:

The Youngsters are having their own little youngster!

These sassy grandmas via The English Muse (also see the cute videos she posted on What is Twitter? and What is Flickr?)

How to make DIY chevron artwork like this from Makeunder My Life


Posters for your optimistic and pessimistic sides via {Black. White. Yellow.}



* As I write this post Thursday night, I should be packing** but cannot access my closet because Sleeping Beauty / Husband goes to sleep by 9 so he can get up at an ungodly hour to leave for work*** by 5. The hours suck on his OB-GYN rotation, but he got to deliver his first baby today! (He's moving up in the world, before this it was just placentas and other fun stuff.)

** Usually I like to try on the outfits I pack for a trip, and I just realized I haven't even tried on the dress I'm wearing for the wedding since I last wore it almost two years ago, when I definitely weighed a lot less. I'm crossing my fingers that it looks okay, because I don't have a backup planned.

*** Insert some other word. Work would imply he gets paid.

Good Choices, People

The 2009 People Sexiest Men Alive list is out. While there are several choices I don't get, here is where People and I are in agreement (The Hubs notwithstanding, of course):

Finn or Mr. Schuester? Tough call

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my dear mom's birthday. We have been through a lot in the last few years, and I have learned so much from her about strength, love, and forgiveness in times of pain and upheaval.

I love you so much, Mom.

Color of the Day

is yellow. I need more of yellow in my home.

I love everything about this house featured in Country Living

Conscious Consumption

Did you know these kate spade goods were hand-knit by women in Bosnia and Herzegovina? I just finished reading this article in Elle about how kate spade new york, through a partnership with Women for Women International, employs about 300 women in this region to make these pieces.



Woman for Women International aims to help women was sruvivors rebuild their lives. While the women earn only $7-$15 per piece, the article states that this double the wages of comparable work. Participant Rabija Mujalo says "I earned nearly as much money knitting at home in my spare time as my son who works full time in a factory."


I definitely applaud companies that make an effort to be socially conscious. The author writes about how she's often felt conflicted working in fashion, "celebrating an industry of frivolity and creating enthusiasm for things that women don’t absolutely need." This is true; the best thing would be directly making a donation to a cause you're passionate about. However, when we do choose to indulge our desires - and we are lucky to be able to - consciously choosing products that help others is the next best thing.

Oh My Goodness

Today's the last day for our health insurance open enrollment. I'm freaking out a little bit about my choice. I picked the option that's $1500 cheaper (which is a big deal because this "cheaper" option is already about $1500 more than I paid last year), doesn't have a deductible, and pays 100% in-network. But it doesn't cover out-of-network unless it's an emergency, and there's no out-of-pocket max. I kept going back and forth, and although I'm thinking about a surgery, the cheap-o option *should* actually be better, provided I can ensure that all providers are in-network, since I won't have a deductible and co-insurance like I would with the other option.

Blech, this is giving me a headache. I always wondered at what point I will feel like an adult. I've decided that feeling like one may never come, but actually being one happened once I started having to deal with figuring out health insurance and the tax code.

This puppy is helping me freak out a little less. I was thinking about putting a photo of our pup in a winter scarf on our Christmas card (yes, I am now one of those crazy dog people), but maybe I should give her some cute bling instead!

via Oh Joy!

Dear Google Reader

Thank you for adding the Preview functionality that lets me view posts just as they appear in the blog. This is especially helpful for sites like Apartment Therapy that want me to click "after the jump" to read the full post. I hate this, and you have made it go away, GR!

Big thanks again, and keep the features coming. Maybe you could spiff up what you're offering in the iPhone browser, because you are really lacking in features there, and it makes it harder for me to catch up on my reading when I'm on the go.

xoxo,
Laura

UPDATE:
Scratch that, Google Reader, you're not providing this lovely functionality. That would be my Firefox add-on. Get with it, G. Reader.

I Love Hue

Whoops, I forgot to schedule some posts for over the weekend, so I missed Saturday. I'm not going to count it against my November blog goal since I'm already well on my way to 30 posts total, my loophole.

I had a few more ideas to finish out Baby Week, but I'll save those for later if you're interested. (Documenting pregnancy, finding out and revealing the gender, and names)

Here's my latest poster like. I love anything with a color wheel:

I Love Hue, Made by Girl, $30

DIY ABC Art

When I came across this ABC print from The Love Shop,I was reminded of this cute baby shower with its own DIY version that graced the welcome table. Pretty cute, no?

Art for the Literate Little One

I adore these refreshing, colorful takes on the classic alphabet poster.

ABC Love, $45 (I've been coveting this for a while now!)


Customizable ABC Kids, $50 and $65
Made by Girl


Alphabetic & Numeric Odes to Helvetica
ModernPop's etsy shop (say that three times fast), $25 each


happythought's etsy shop, $47 each

Modern Motive's etsy shop, $12.50


Laurie Coyle Designs' etsy shop, $12


Petit Collage's etsy shop, $30 each

Alpha Monsters, $25

And if you can swing it (hopefully baby's name is not too long), these "__ is for __" are the cutest I've seen:
__ is for __, $20
Paperfinger's etsy shop (shout out, Dallas, TX)

Also, check out this guest post on Design*Sponge for some more great alphabet posters.

Cards for Every Baby Occasion!

When you care enough to send the very best...

It's Baby Making Time!, earmark

Totally Screwed., thebeautifulproject


Finally, jeanfrancisbean

Happy Pregnancy, goatcards

I Love You So Much, upup


Hey Ma, TweeCards


Congrats on Your Baby, maybeyoushoulddie

You Had a Baby, goatcards