happy new years eve

I know the calendar says otherwise, but the first day of school always feels like the start of the new year to me. A fresh start. It is always an exciting time of year. And since tomorrow Amelia starts 1st grade (which she told me meant she was no longer the baby of the school) that means today is New Years Eve!

So we will celebrate.

Get a few last hours of pool time in

and soak up every last minute of this beautiful summer. It has been a great one and we are all sad for it to end.

I also want to say that although this isn't a place where I usually discuss politics or social issues it is hard for me not to say something about what has been going on in this town that I love. It has been a hard week for everyone in St. Louis and if you pray, meditate or whatever has meaning to you, I ask that you send positive energy and reconciliation to my neck of the woods. This isn't a regional problem but a national issue and I'm hopeful that something positive will come from what seems so incomprehensible.

May the New Year bring new beginnings.

back to life

Back to reality. We are back from our wonderful annual trip to Florida and this year has been more of a challenge to get back into the swing of things than ever before. This year was our best year yet. Eve is old enough now that we don't have to break our day with an afternoon nap and the girls play so well together (most days) that they can entertain each other while I can occasionally sit still for a whole five minutes. Everyone is swimming like a fish and this year we got to celebrate my birthday, and America's, on the beach - where all birthdays should be celebrated.

But most importantly I unplugged and it was wonderful. Aside from the random Instagram here and there, I was offline. Blissfully offline. As much as I love this community I'm so lucky to be apart of and the work I get to do every day with my wonderful clients, it is important to let your mind breathe once in a while. I even passed up my yearly trip to Scott's this year on our way home as I was just too relaxed. Crazy.

We did tons of diving and digging and our annual sea shell collection will have lots of dollars in the pot.

Exploring is always on the schedule

as well as several daily walks on the beach.

Hmm. I can't imagine why I miss it already. So excuse the cobwebs while I try to get back on schedule. Luckily we have many birthday parties, reading projects and school shopping to snap us back to reality.

How do you get back to normal after vacation?

mommies behind the blog

It is going to be in the 60's today and you would think I just won the lottery. I am ready to tackle this day and I just might even roll around on the snow-less ground to celebrate. Can I get a whoop whoop?

While I breathe in that warm(ish) air, head over to A Dose of Pretty where I'm talking with Sara about the many hats us moms wear.

happy rainbow birthday presidents day

Today is a holiday on top of a holiday. Not only do the girls have school off for President's Day, but it is also this girls third birthday. (you can take a look at her first birthday party here)

We had the family party last night but we've got more out of control 3-year-old fun planned for today. So I'm off to put make-up on Barbie and play with race cars. Check back tomorrow when I'll have a report on some grown-up fun from this weekend. (Hint - it rhymes with mestate sale)

Until then, may your day be as bright and sunny as our centerpiece was. (three guesses what the theme of the day was)

2014: let's do this

Remember that first day back to school after Christmas break? When you would spend the day saying "how was your break?" over and over again? Good times. So...how was your break?

I had an absolutely wonderful vacation. We ate, we wrapped, we partied, we unwrapped, we drank, we shoveled and we cuddled. General merriment all around. And best of all, I didn't open up my laptop once. Truth. Full disclosure, I did occasionally checked Instagram, but I was 'off the clock'. And it felt great.

Like any great love story, I think sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder and I missed you all and my little corner of the virtual world. So I'm excited to be back and in action. Can I get an amen?

CieraDesign

And the good thing about a little time away, is that my brain has been going wild with ideas, projects and things to share. So let's hit the ground running my friends, we've got a new year in front of us!

month of thankfulness at meet me in philadelphia

Today I'm over at my friend's 'house', Meet Me in Philadelphia, sharing what I am most thankful for this year. Go over and check it out!

And Ashley, thank you for not only being a great friend, but also for teaching me how to spell Philadelphia. xo

try not to labor too much

The only thing better than heading into a weekend is knowing it is a three-day weekend. Summer is slipping through our fingers so soak up every last minute of it.

For those in the US - happy labor day! And for all of my other friends, happy weekend!

vacation hangover

She returns!

Is there any day worse than the first day after a glorious two week vacation? I think not. But I did miss y'all terribly and it does feel good to see a computer again (sort of).

We didn't get home last night until about 10 pm thanks to a three hour delay around Chattanooga, so I feel behind already. A dead stop on the highway in the mountains with two antsy girls (three if you count me) is not a prime Sunday drive, let me tell you.

So as I dig everything out of the car and start the mountain of laundry, imagine I'm spending my day working at this lovely spot.

Ahh, memories.

But have no fear, I had many projects going before I left, so I'll have plenty to share with you in the coming days!

So tell me, what did I miss while I was gone? Anything good? I need details people!

vacation, all i ever wanted

Do I look really tan? It could be because I'm on vacation (wahoo)!

I was so excited to get down here I totally forgot to let y'all in on my plans. So this is me saying, I'm off to enjoy some sand and sea air. Ahhh, I feel better already.

Be sure to follow the fun on Instagram, as I've got some big thrifting plans while I'm down here!

Cheers!

potty time - the aftermath

Happy Monday (she says with a forced smile that comes after a long holiday weekend)! Thanks everyone for the kind words about the CNN feature and my birthday. 'Merica and I had one great birthday celebration. Here is hoping your weekend was filled with summer fun.

I'm going to diverge from design today to give y'all an update on the potty training front and share some successes and some rather stinky failures. If you don't want to hear about the bodily movements of a toddler, I totally understand and I'll talk with you on Wednesday. For the rest of you, let's chat.

As I said before, I changed up my tactics a bit this time around to accommodate for my independent Eve. I read blogs, books, articles, and talked to anyone and everyone to find out what worked for them. And from all of that research the only thing I learned is that there is no magic potion. For every person who said, "Blank worked really well for my child", I had someone else who said, "Don't do blank, it didn't work for my child". Only you know your child - their temperaments and sticking points - so don't follow one theory or method, but instead follow your gut and go with the flow (I couldn't not have a pun).

So with that in mind, I'm not going to give a tutorial or the 10 best tips etc, because I don't think this is something that can be wrapped up that easily. I'm simply sharing what we did. Take it as advice or just a funny antidote. Whichever you choose.

I want to be just like you.
Eve has no interest in following my directions, however she is more than happy to do anything her big sister does. So for several weeks before we officially started training I left the door open while Amelia went to the bathroom (I know, eww). Eve would hang out in there, sometimes watching and sometimes just playing in the sink. But she noticed.

Take your pants off.
We took the standard trip to Target where Eve got to pick out any underwear she wanted (Dora) and any candy she wanted (Peanut Butter M&M's). But for the first few days she had no underwear on at all and she's worn only dresses. This saves valuable seconds between the 'I have to go' and the actual...going. It may not seem like much but that could be the difference in those first days between celebrating success and just almost making it.

Cold turkey.
This goes right along with the whole pants thing - No pull ups. We go all the way in this house. It makes for a messy few days but I think its worth it in the long run. How confusing to put on things that look and feel just like diapers but be told they aren't diapers. We do however do wear the night time pull ups but that's mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to change sheets in the middle of the night. One battle at a time I think.

Clear the decks.
I have a hard time hiding my frustration when my favorite pillow/chair/rug is hurt in any way (mean mommy) and if there is one time when a child's ego is especially delicate it is when they are trying to master a new task. So to decrease the chance of injuring any of mommy's favorites and keeping spirits high, I covered furniture with towels and rolled up any rugs I was concerned about. We also tried to hang out in the yard whenever possible as nature doesn't care about her floors as much as I do.

House arrest.
This goes right with the no pull ups and no underwear thing. Eve and I hunkered down and didn't leave the house until we had a full successful day, (Well, that isn't entirely true but I'll get to that in a minute) which turned out to be about four days. Amelia was at camp every day so Eve and I had the house to ourselves and it was all about her. I didn't let her out of my sight until we had a few successes as I didn't want her failure to be because I wasn't there to help her get on in time. That potty was two carted around everywhere.

Don't ask me again.
The first day I did the 'let's sit down every 10 minutes and see if anything happens' theory but I quickly found that it created more anxiety than necessary. It is a big change to all of a sudden have to sit on this little throne and Eve was confused as to why she was being made to sit in that chair so often. It was starting to become a frustration for her and I wanted that chair to be something positive. So I changed course and backed off the regimented schedule. Instead I'd ask her after snacks, short walks around the yard, a tv show or anytime I went. This kid is far more 'go with the flow' so by making our training more relaxed she felt more comfortable and willing to give it a try.

Pavlov's Dog.
If there is one thing this girl loves, it is candy. Stickers work better for some kids, little figurines, whatever. The point is it is a prize. However, the prize is not given just for sitting on the potty. M&M's are only handed out once there is a success. I know a lot of people give out the treat anytime the kids says they need to sit down, whether they do anything or not. But (again mean mommy) I think this is silly and confusing. If all I had to do to get something I wanted was just do 20% of the job, hell I'd be asking to sit on the potty every 5 minutes. Nope. You give me something to flush and I'll give you some chocolate and peanut butter goodness.

And the oscar goes to. Hand in hand with the M&M's come the theatrics. Accomplishments need to be celebrated much in the same way a Kardashian throws a wedding - over the top. We cheered, we clapped, we danced, we sang, we called people to tell them. In the words of Kool and the Gang - Celebrate good times, come on.

The P word.
Our downfall. Eve got the hang of peeing on the potty pretty quickly (day 2), but the other P word however was not so easy. The first day she didn't have one at all and the second day we had an accident. No biggie. The third day we had one success and one failure. Moving in the right direction. Then we arrived at the fourth day. Ugh, the fourth day. We had been doing so well up until then that she and I got a little cocky and decided to break one of my cardinal rules - Stay HOME. We picked up Amelia and her friend from camp and I decided to treat the girls to McDonald's. Eve had just gone to the bathroom before we left and I even brought the potty in the car, just in case. We waited in line, got our food and found a seat right next to the play place, all without incident. But then Eve walked over to the slide. The horror. I'll spare the specifics but my tiny 2-1/2-year-old managed to  horrify and disgust two 10 year old. Boys that just a few minutes before were enjoying a very creative burping contest. The janitor had to be called over and gave me the look of death as he put up the yellow cones. I had been shamed out of McDonalds. I didn't think it was possible. And all because I broke the 4th rule of fight potty club - stay home.

So with all of this, I'm happy to report that Eve has gone thru a whole cup of M&M's and is now a successful potty training graduate. (With a master of the other P word about a week and a half after we started.) We have had a successful trip to the zoo and several stores and it feels good to be out of the house like a normal person again and not changing any diapers. Now we can enjoy the rest of the summer, even if we can't step foot in McDonald's again.

party like its 1963 - 50th wedding anniversary

Happy Monday to all! Anything exciting to report? We had rain, with a side of rain and large helping of humidity. Summer in St. Louis y'all.

So I blabbed long enough about this anniversary party I thought I should at least share a few pictures with you. My parents celebrated 50 years of marriage and in my book, 50 years of anything deserves a party. And party we did.

Now a (long) side note - I have had lists upon lists over the past few months to keep things organized for this shindig and we were on schedule. The hubs was on board and the weekend before the party he and I sat down and made a list of what we needed to get done each day that week to be ready for the party on Saturday. Teamwork is our middle name.

Then Monday night the hubs got sick. Tuesday morning I had to take him to the ER and by Tuesday night he had an emergency appendectomy. Which was kind of weird because I didn't remember 'surgery' anywhere on our to-do list.

Que increased stress level.

And to add to the fun, surgery was followed by an infection which kept him in the hospital until late Friday. Coupled with a mystery plumbing leak, a surprise tree removal and a daily increased threat of rain, my stress level runneth over.

I will save all of the gory details for cocktail hour, but needless to say by the time Saturday arrived I was just happy to have showered and brushed my hair. I didn't get as many pictures taken as I would have liked, and some are with my iPhone so they aren't the best quality but you'll get the idea. And we were lucky enough to have the talented Jeremy Keltner there during the party and he got some great shots as well.

Lesson learned. As my great-grandfather always said - don't bother worrying because you will always be worrying about the wrong thing.

So with all of that said, a great time was had by all and the party was a success. We did end up with a downpour shortly after the cake was cut but the fun just moved inside and we didn't skip a beat.

Now enough talk, let's look at some pictures.

Almost ready to go.

The welcome wreath that greeted everyone at the gate as they entered.

Would have been awesome if I had gotten a picture of these things filled out with the drink labels filled in but this will have to do.

I made the menu using the same monogram that appeared on the invitation and the cake.

Each table was decked out in ribbons in my mom's colors, blue, green and yellow, and pictures of the happy couple through the years. The frames were a DIY project I'll share at some point.

They were a pain to hang, but the lanterns were great. All the lanterns were battery operated and worked off of one universal remote which was heaven. Thanks Pier 1.

Inside was a table full of wedding pictures and albums.

And the yummy cake.

Which we cut just in time to move inside before the monsoon hit.

It was a late night but a great time.

Happy Anniversary mom and dad!

Have you thrown any parties lately? Any great outdoor celebrations on your calendar? Wanna come over for a drink? The house is clean.

potty time

We interrupt our regular scheduled design post for a bit of mother-related talk and baby pictures. We've got some big news in this house. The moment all parents look forward to with excitement and dread.

Eve is ready for potty training.

All the signs are there and I'm more than ready to be done with diapers. And while Eve is my sweet and always-happy-to-cuddle daughter, she is also rather...willful. Rules and directions hold no interest for her which, of course, is the exact opposite of Amelia.

With Amelia, I explained what we were going to do, took off the diapers and we hunkered down in the house for three or four days and went cold turkey. No pull ups, just lots of clean ups. But she got it pretty quickly in that classic first child over-achiever kind of way. It was smooth sailing.

Eve, I think, is going to require a different tactic however. So I'm looking for ideas. I've read them all - M&M's, charts, gifts, etc. but I want to know, what worked for you...or your kids rather. How did you potty train your kids?

the fourteen bears in summer and winter

Happy Wednesday all! How is your week moving along? We are on day three of summer vacation and I'm already worn out. We've been spending a lot of time outside and playing many many games of 'library'. Basically I sit on the floor in their room and pick out books and the girls check them out. It is one of those great games that requires minimal brain power from me and keeps the girls occupied for hours. I am a game creating genius.

The hot item at 'the library' these days is my absolute favorite childhood book. The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter. The fourteen bears are kind of like the Duggars of the literary world - 12 sisters and one brother who live with their mom and dad in the forrest. They have great adventures in the summer and winter (duh, as the title implies) but what I would pour over for hours were the pictures.

Each sister had her own tree and each tree was decorated differently. It was like House Beautiful for those under 10. You had traditional, mid century, chippendale, country; you name it they covered it. There is even a feature on how they decorated their front doors. Pure heaven.

My copy is well loved, shall we say, and over 35 years old. So just for fun I did some digging to see if I could get a new copy. And I can, for $641.70.

Excuse me?!

Apparently this book went out of print not long after my sisters and I got it for Christmas and it became quite the collectors item. They started a reprint in 2005 but it went back out of print in 2008 and has been 'a get' ever since. Who knew?

Makes me think twice about playing library with it. But part of what I love about the book is how used it is. One page even has a rug that has been colored in by...someone. I vividly remember doing it oddly enough. I was watching Punky Brewster at the time. Ah, like it was yesterday.

Do you have any items from childhood that were a glimpse into what you wanted to do when you grew up? Any happy memories about an old book? Ever color in a book? Yeah, me neither.

weekend recap

Oy! I hope you all had as much fun this past weekend as I did. It was the perfect mix of shopping, projects, family and good food. Fun was had by all.

Here are some peaks into the last 72 hours.

We took pictures of each other taking pictures of each other.

I got out some ribbon and my glue gun.

Did a bit of shopping/research. Sadly this hot little number didn't come home with me but I'll keep my eye on it. Wouldn't she be saucy in a bathroom holding all types of pretty hand towels and jars of pretty soaps? I miss her already.

But this little tray did come home with me. I'll have to take another shot of the top - think dragons and billowy smoke. Look for that on Instagram.

Finished up one project.

And started another.

All was wrapped up with an attempt at a family selfie. Mouths full of cookies have some sort of power to make the girls look at the camera. Go figure.

Stay tuned for more info on those projects, and make sure to come back on Wednesday for another client before and after!

happy mother's day

In honor of the holiday that should be celebrated every month (in my opinion), I thought I'd take a moment to say a big Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Jan. I owe every inch of my design sensibility to her, she taught me everything I know. I could tell you the difference between Biedermeier and Baroque by the time I was 10 and I was picking out estate jewelry before I could talk. And thanks to her I've toured every old home on the eastern seaboard and been to 46 state capitals. She is a great teacher and friend and there is no one I would rather go shopping with.

Basically what I'm saying is this...

source

And for something only she will understand - this is as close to a card as you will ever get. xoxo


And speaking of moms, don't forget to check out the Simply Baby Spring Blog Party today. My girl Heather, from Vivid Hue Home is hosting this week and I know she's got something special cooked up.
And stay tuned in the weeks to come for great ideas from

• Rhymes with Smile- Katherine
• Forever's Like a Dream- Kelley

How are you going to celebrate Mother's Day?