Frecklewonder

my guy

matty and i celebrate 9 years of marriage today.

it's a cold, grey, rainy wednesday and we don't have extraordinary plans to dress up and wine & dine at a fancy restaurant. instead, we will have a regular evening in our house. we will juggle homework and violin practice. i will cook and we'll chat about our day. a chat that will likely be interrupted more than a handful of times. and we will smile at each other as we turn our attention to whatever burning question or crisis is causing the interruption. we will have dinner as a family and afterward, one of us will clean up and fix a bowl of ice cream for the big kid, and the other will head back to give the baby a bath. we'll kiss and cuddle those two little people, and lovingly tuck them into their beds. and when it's all said and done, we will be thankful for a sliver of adult time, but truth be told, we'll both feel pretty tired and all we'll really want to do is snuggle up in bed and watch a movie. we might fight the urge just a little bit and celebrate that sliver of adult time with a glass of wine and a slice of cake. maybe.

but one thing for sure: we'll be thankful for each other and for everything we have and for the life we have together.

and we won't be the least bit bummed about not going out to a fancy restaurant. because really, this is what it's all about. this life and this family. and neither of us would want it any other way.

keepers

 

i have a new Big Love for tapestry lately. and paisley. i've been really loving the vintage paisley prints i've been seeing. and vintage coats from the 50s and 60s with big fur collars. the other day i tried on one in royal blue, and it had a giant fur collar which was so swoony. i didn't get it, but if it haunts me enough, and it's there next time i go back to this particular antique mall, i just may treat myself. i think my fall look will be colorful tights paired with my cute new swedish hasbeens with pretty wool dresses and fur collared coats and tapestry totes. and crochet gloves! i want a pair of crochet gloves.

so naturally, when i found these two totes, i set 'em aside for myself. but i promise that i have some other pretty handbags in the pipeline for the shop, never fear! in fact, i have been very busy working on another huge fall update- i actually have another 100 items to add, can you handle it?! i will start off by adding a dozen or so things today/this evening... but will get the rest added hopefully by the start of next week. sound good?

happy wednesday!

crushing just a little bit

 

 

 

 

jenny lewis, girl. you got good hair.

hiya there!

i turned 17 months the other day. how about them apples.

i am so busy! busy bein' sweet, mostly. i love to say hello to any ol' person. i just wave and wave and wave, and people just smile and squeal back! when i hear a dog in the distance, i can't help myself, i just hafta woof! woof! right then and there. my most favorite thing ever is prolly my dee dee. that would be my big brother mister henry. i just adore that guy. he's kinda hoping that i don't call him "dee dee" forever, but he's being patient with me as i learn to make my words come out a little better. actually, between you and me, i know that he thinks the name i came up for him is pretty cute.

lately, i've been skypin' on the computer with my dad cause he's been traveling a bunch for work. skype is pretty fun! i can't quite figure out that i can't just reach out and grab my dad, but i sure do try. i get as close to that computer screen as i possibly can. then i can't see my dad anymore and mama says i need to back up a bit, and that works. i love to send kisses through skype too. and i get kisses back!

i also really love to dance. mama just bought me the new they might be giants cd and dvd and it's so, so great. songs about the elements, and speed + velocity and computer assisted design. i love 'em all. really, if you wanna know the truth, i can't resist any ol' beat. i hear a beat and i start movin! anytime we are getting into the car to go somewhere, i ask for music right away.

also, mama told me a secret. she said she wants to get daddy a puppy for christmas. i sure hope that comes true, cause i really love puppies. at least, i think i do! the ones mama's been showing me look so cute, they make me squeal at the highest pitch possible!

well, that's it for now! as you can prolly tell, life is pretty good for me. i'm just into so much stuff right now, it's hard to sit still!!! mama says i could dismantle the house in no time, but i have no idea what she's talking about when she says that. i'm just busy learning about any ol' thing i can get my little hands on.

ta ta for now,
dotty

dear dotty

thank you for bringing so much happiness to our family. it's a privilege just to be near you. at nearly 16 months, you are such a little person already, full of humor, sweetness, silliness and curiosity. and you just might be the world's most easy going baby. you love music and you love to sing and dance. you seem to love any music that you can rock back and forth to- in particular, you adore the amelie soundtrack, the curious george soundtrack and this funny little french cd that i picked up on a whim a few months back. you love to wear dresses, which of course, makes me really happy, as i have made it my business to fill your closet with a really nice collection of vintage beauties. you are a great eater, i think it might be one of your favorite things to do. some of your favorites include hummus + pretzels, grapes, banana milk, banana bread, steamed broccoli with lemon, graham crackers with creme cheese and a favorite treat is probably vanilla ice cream. you recognize so many words and phrases, probably more than we even realize. you are very observant, and like to point out things like rain, birds on the feeders, the cats coming and going, and you still have a big, big love for flowers. whenever you hear cars drive down the street, you stop what you are doing to say bye-bye and wave. you are unbelievably sweet, and love to hug anything- the other day you picked up a wooden bear puzzle piece and hugged it. you do that kind of stuff all the time, you love anything cute, it seems. you are turning into a little snuggle bug, and lately, you like to pull the pillows off the sofa in the living room and lay on them on the floor. and when i come into your room to get you after you've woken up, you flop back down onto your pillow and show me how you do your cuddles. you have the sweetest smile, the softest skin, the most darling little curls and you put up with me kissing you a thousand times a day.

and for that and so much more, i love you, little bird.

giant white clouds

 

otherwise known as cumulus clouds.

they're my favorite kind. and the sky has been full of them lately.

darn, i love this kid

this boy is a third grader today.

things were so quiet around the house, i didn't know what to do with myself. dotty was her usual amazing self, and took a huge nap, which left me a big chunk of time to check the clock and wonder about how mister henry's day was going. and then i found myself looking through a bunch of photos and wondering where all the time has gone. thought i'd share a few of my all-time favorites with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

any minute now, he's gonna hop off that school bus to find a very excited sister and mama waiting for him.

i can't wait to hear all about his day.

happy friday

well, happy friday to ya! i posted these videos earlier and then had to run like heck outta the house to get mister henry to his violin lesson on time. i wanted to get back over to say thanks so much for everything this week! all the love + support, the kind words, and the new blog love- it's just great to be back. i really missed you guys!!!

so cheers to a great weekend!

see you back here on monday. xoxo, jenny

flower girl

this baby girl loves flowers. in fact, her first real word (aside from mama and dada) was flower. i'm not kidding! she says, "bwahh bwahh" every time she spots one. recently, she's picked up on the idea of smelling them, which is accompanied by the cutest little sniffy face i ever did see.

one day last week, i was wearing a vintage dress with a 60s enamel flower brooch, and i went in to pick her up from her bed after a nap- and her eyes went right to my brooch. suddenly she was pointing and excitedly saying "bwahh bwahh! bwahh bwahh!!" and when i picked her up, she leaned her head down to my shoulder and began to sniff. if that doesn't make you melt, i don't know what will. nevermind that an enamel brooch has no scent, or the flowers in a book don't smell at all either, flowers seem to be the first thing she notices these days.

over the weekend, i took her out into the back yard, which is bursting with color right now, and as we were walking over to the garden, i said, "dotty! get your sniffers ready!" and hoo boy, did she ever! she was just sniff sniffin' with every step.

i just love this age. for me, this is when the fun really begins.

:::

a new flickr set, to document this love of flowers can be found here and i am sure i will be adding many more pictures of dotty and her flowers.

stop and smell

the baby head. forget the roses, this is where it's at.

a big fat happy friday to you. i for one, and SUPER happy that it's (almost) the weekend.

here's hoping you have a great one, however you choose to spend it.

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the shop will close briefly at some point today, so that i can prepare for the upcoming collection, simply titled April Showers. it will make it's debut somewhere around the first of the month. vintage raincoats, umbrellas, dots, birds, flowers + gingham. i'm all about the gingham right now.

lots of love!
jenny