A Bedtime Story

Once upon a time there was a little boy.

This little boy was sweet but had a stubborn streak.

He refused to wear a hat when he was out in the sun.

One day, the little boy went to the beach with his parents and some friends.

His mom tried again to get him to wear a hat but he refused and threw it on the ground.

The mom was worried he'd get a sunburn so she took a deep breath and then...

poured a large amount of suncreen directly onto his head.

She rubbed it into his hair -- it was a giant mess.

The little boy looked a little like Nick Nolte's mugshot (here).

But once it was over, the mom felt much better.

That is, until the little boy lost his balance and fell into the sand.

Later that night, the mom had to shampoo the little boy's head twice to remove the sand.

All of the scrubbing made the little boy's head red.

The end.

Click photo to enlarge -- trust me, ya gotta see this

Photo courtesy of The Harrisons

Carrie Bradshaw Would Eat Here

Our office went out to lunch yesterday to celebrate a coworker's birthday.  I normally can't spare the time away from my desk but because 1-2 cool restaurants open every week Downtown and I was feeling a little out of the office-commeraderie loop, I really wanted to squeeze this lunch into my tight schedule.  

So at 11:30am the five of us headed down the street and within three blocks we were at Bottega Louie.   This is a really cool restaurant!!  The vibe reminds me of something you'd see in NYC or Paris.  It's been open a couple months now in a large space that used to be a Brooks Brothers clothing store.  The old details remain -- high ceilings, crown moulding, display windows, etc.



The menu is a mix of comfort food and trendy items.  My salad was yummy and I also got to taste Claudia's pizza and Joanne's garlic fries.  Yum!  That may have been the best pizza I've ever had -- fresh ingredients and melt in your mouth crust win out every time.


The take-out portion of the restaurant is very cute and the bread/dessert area will make your mouth water.  Beautiful cupcakes and a rainbow of macaroons are in the very front when you walk in.  


My only complaint is that with all of the marble surfaces, the restaurant is very noisy.  I really had to concentrate to hear what was being said at my table.  That's the only drawback tho'.  I can't wait to go back for dinner or breakfast (served only on the weekends).


Check-out their website: www.boteggalouie.com

Photos by jslander at Flickr

Hoo Hoo

Have you noticed that owls are everywhere?  I'm always intrigued with how a design element becomes a fad.  Remember when there were sunflowers on everything?  And then there was the Pansy phase, which I personally was a part of.

I think this new one with owls everywhere is fun.  They're so cute!  Here's a selection of things I pulled off of Etsy.com

1. Owl Love Charm Necklace for $26 by Peaches4me
2. Max the Owl Pillow Pattern for $6 by ginia18
3. Olive the Owl Mask Kit for $12 by prettylilthings
4. Reversible Infant Bib in Spotted Owl for $6.99 by MyWoobyandMe

50s Friday

A couple of months ago, I bid on a stack of vintage Good Housekeeping Magazines on eBay.  I love looking at old magazines and the pictures in these 5 GHs looked fun.  Our tiny kitchen has a 1950s vibe to it, so I thought I could frame some '50s magazine ads as artwork on the kitchen walls. 

When the box of magazines arrived, I was really happy with their condition -- they were nearly perfect.  BUT they smelled horrible.  You know that old musty paper smell?  Multiple that by 100.  These mags had to have been in somebody's damp basement.  It was so bad that I just stuck them in the back of a cabinet until I figured out what to do.  I consulted ex-con Martha Stewart's website but her advice included purchasing 2 new metal trash cans and charcoal; the instructions were complicated.  I wasn't that invested in these magazines.  So I tore out the pages I liked and tossed the rest of them.  I tore out a lot.  Several were framed (as you saw in this post) but I saved some specifically to share with you.  I'm going to post them every Friday (hence the snazzy title "'50s Friday") so you can laugh, reminisce, razz, whatever.

So here's the first one.  There were SO many ads for Jello molds -- Lee fell in love with them (I don't know why either).  This lovely one is so, um, special.  Would you eat this?

Falling Leaves...Almost

The Berkshires, Mass.  2005

It's officially Fall....although it feels like the middle of July in Southern California.

I love Autumn.

Halloween.

Candy corn.

Pumpkins.

Changing leaves.

Cooler temps.

Sweaters and jackets.

October 1st is just around the corner.

I'm tempted to put out my Halloween decorations on the early side this year.

How early do you decorate for the Fall?

What Makes You Tick

This list has been going around the Blogsphere.  I finally completed mine.  Try it yourself -- and post your answers in a comment :)

Making : chocolate chip and walnut cookies
Cooking : uh, what's cooking??
Drinking : non-fat milk (with the cookies, natch!)
Reading: The Wilderness Warrior (biography of Teddy Rosevelt)

Wanting: a collection of cool belts for the fall/winter
Looking: at the Boden catalog (LOVE it!)
Playing: Phase 10 this weekend (I hope!)
Wasting: time, time, time
Sewing: Nate's Halloween costume
Wishing: I could find a spare 20 mins. to wash my car

Enjoying: Campfire Radio on iTunes
Waiting: for Nate to say Mommy
Liking: my longer hair

Wondering: why I signed up for the Photo Directory Committee at church
Loving: that I've reconnected with a couple old friends
Hoping: our Thanksgiving dinner will be fun and delish

Marvelling: at how many babies were at Target at 8:30pm
Needing: it to stay light outside at 8pm so I can work in the yard

Smelling: coriander & olive kitchen fragrance
Wearing: work clothes
Following: too many blogs

Noticing: poor Lee's coughing -- hello Autumn allergies!

Knowing: if I don't get a flu shot, my mom won't stop badgering me

Thinking: about Patrick Swayze -- glad he's pain-free now
Bookmarking: free purse tutorials

Opening: old photo albums
Giggling: at the sock baby (inside joke)
Feeling: overwhelmed

The Latest

Ta Da!

I was inspired by my friend Jen's line of bags -- check them out here, they're GREAT -- to try my hand at sewing something pretty.

I found the free pattern & tutorial on the blog of Artsy Crafty Babe  (isn't it cool that people post free patterns and stuff?!)  Boy, this bag is going to be great for the upcoming Fall Easter 2010 (only I would sew something that's going to be stuck in my closet for the next 7 months).  Oh well.  It was fun to make.  Maybe I'll make a more, uh, Autumn-ish bag.  I want to make a cute apron next but I have a Halloween costume waiting in the wings and given my history, it's going to take me 2 months to do it.  Anyway, here are some other pictures:

I cut out some flowers and sewed them on the front with vintage buttons.

Gunter -- European male model 

Under the Sea

Up until this weekend, this has been Nate's exposure to fish:

March 2009

On Monday, we took him to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach so he could see the real thing.  Here's Nate and Scuba Steve (Diver Dan??):

This field trip was really more for Lee and I because a 1-year old isn't really excited by fish...Nate was more interested in putting his mouth on the handrail (ew!) and touching signs, concrete, etc.  Most of the kids who were having fun there were about 2-4 years old.  We'll go back when Mr. Nate is a little older. By that time, his parents will have recovered from this field trip.

Polaroids

The blog Lil Blue Boo recently had a post on "Polaroiding" a photo.  I love the look of Polaroids and this was fun.  Once you download the application and have it on your desktop, you can drag and drop any digital image onto the camera icon and it'll change the picture to this:

The best part is, it also has the hum of the camera spitting out the Polaroid and you have to wait for the image to slowly appear.  Classic!  Check it out here:  Poladroid (it's not affiliated w/ Polaroid)

Nate, in a nutshell

A brief update on Nate - age 13 months:

Says the words "book," "box" (short for jukebox), and "light."

Since he started drinking whole milk a month ago, he's gotten fat very chubby.

Not walking on his own yet.  Any day now...

Loves to look at his books by himself in his room.

Really into music.

Wants to eat a leaf REALLY badly.

Almost has 4 teeth.  There may be more but he won't share with us...sniff.

Beware when he kisses you.  He bites down on your lips.  Those tiny teeth are SHARP.

Waved "hi" for a month and has now stopped.

No longer makes the chipmunk laugh...sniff again.

Cream Colored Ponies and Crisp Apple Struedel

THIS WEEK, NIKKI LIKES: strawberry lemonade, Doris Day, chapstick

THIS WEEK, NIKKI DOESN'T LIKE: the stinky subway, when the mail is delivered late, bills

THIS WEEK, LEE LIKES: Drew Brees, Swan Lake, home grown organic tomatoes

THIS WEEK, LEE DOESN'T LIKE: fires, pre-season football, squirrels that eat his home grown organic tomatoes

THIS WEEK, NATE LIKES: Petie the stuffed dog, avocado, books, bathtime in the BIG bathtub

THIS WEEK, NATE DOESN'T LIKE: tomatoes, having his face washed, not being able to go outside and play

What are your favorite things right now?

If Panda Says It, It Must Be True