One Fine Day

Last year, just before A and B moved south, I took A on a date.



He was five years old.



He was that perfect age where he was a wonderful companion, silly conversationalist, and not embarrassed to hold my hand everywhere we went and to look up at me with eyes that said I had just hung the moon.


We went to the movie theater and saw "Hotel for Dogs" and then we went to a 1950s era ice cream parlor and shared a milkshake. You know the cliche-one glass, two straws, true love.


Gosh I love that kid.


We also put dimes in the old fashioned jukebox. I selected a particular song and waited for it to play. We sat and spooned heapfuls of chocolate ice cream out of a tall frosty glass and waited for the song to play. Every song that started, Adam would ask, "is this our song, Aunt E?" I don't know how many dimes went into that jukebox before our dime dropped but there certainly must have been a lot. We waited and waited and chatted and giggled and eventually gave up and left the ice cream parlor, on to other adventures. Our song never did play that day.


It has been at least a year and this afternoon I finally heard that song for the first time since we tried to play it so many months ago.


I was instantly taken back to that ice cream parlor. Chocolate gooey-ness, mini-sized white napkins out of a silver dispenser: it was a fine day.


So today, I had to write and tell him:


"Sweet Adam,

They are playing our song!"

(It is playing for all of you on the sidebar)

What is cuter . . .

What is cuter than a homemade wool diaper cover for baby?

Not much, friends.

Not much.

{this} House {is} Beautiful

Feast your eyes on photographer Amy Neunsinger's L.A. home, as featured in House Beautiful. It is a stunning combination of industrial meets girly chic with a large dose of natural sunlight!

There was something about this house and all of its natural light that brightened up my January afternoon.

More images and interview with the Ms. Neunsinger can be found here.

Baby Shower: A Few Quick Photos

My dear friend Lori threw me the most beautiful baby shower last weekend.

It was positively lovely-right down to the little details like Pelligrino with orange slices in champagne flutes. :) As the hostess, my friend took the majority of the photos, which I haven't seen yet, but, here a few pictures I was able to take with my own camera before all the guests arrived.

How adorable was this cake? LOVED IT! Ate a ton of it!!!

Birds nests and eggs for the nesting mama.

And here I am, 8 months and counting, with my sweet friend Mandy. I am so excited and READY to meet this little boy!

First and Third

Time is passing with graceful speed. I believe there was a gust of cold snowy air and then January was nearly behind me, tapping on my shoulder to bid farewell before fading away to memory.

Very soon a little boy will come to live in our house again.

A little boy. I think God knew what my heart was aching for: baby boy eyelashes on flushed soft skin and matchbox cars and shades of blue. There has been a hole in this house for nearly one year. A hole shaped like two precious little boys whose laughter is no longer heard here. I think this house wonders where they went. I think this house has been mourning.

Or was that me?


Life is like that I suppose, unpredictable and at the mercy of change. Love is strong and sticky like maple syrup on stuffed animals worn by love, but circumstances can be stronger than bunny kisses or a heart’s desire or even a wet willy or two.


Life happens.

Seven years ago my sister and I married best friends. We lived in houses down the street from one another and I was the second mommy to her two boys, A and B. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Life was so much fun. Even now, after the pain of suddenly being separated by 1,000 miles after rarely spending a day without them and the ache so strong that I felt it like shattered glass in the bottoms of my feet, I wouldn’t have given up one single moment.


The question that I am asked most often as I walk in public, now obviously pregnant: “is this your first?” I always nod and say that it is and wait patiently for the next question which always comes, “is it a boy or a girl?” In my case I smile and answer “boy” and then listen as well-wishing strangers tell me how special little boys are and how much I am going to love my little boy. And gracious heaven, do I know. I know that love because it is burned into my heart and every cell in my body. My lips don’t even begin to part to explain how very much I know because, really, there are no words. Only silent prayers to heaven and I know He understands. He can decipher the emotion from every breath this life exhales.

Thankfully I don’t need words to explain how I know the love that feels soft and gentle when a little boy crawls into bed with you before daybreak and snuggles his footed pajamas across your legs. I know the love that feels scary and desperate when the fever spikes high and the cut won’t stop bleeding. I know the love that is only strengthened by projectile vomit and rectal thermometers and the calls “I need help” coming from the bathroom.



I know this love.

And these special boys were not my children. They were never mine but my heart did not know the difference. I am glad that it did not. Even today.


I have a matchbox car in the console of my car that is covered in dust but I can't bring myself to move it. I open my silverware drawer and A’s baby spoons are still in their rightful place. I never put them away. There is a room in my house that was built just for them. Because this was their home too. I was their Aunt E, in a manner that redefined the word "aunt." And they are my boys-always will be.




But now another little boy is coming. My heart yearns for his arrival as I try to memorize the feel of every kick and squirm and hiccup inside me.

Oh baby mine, mommy is waiting.


And to answer the question, "is this your first?"


Yes.


First. And Third.

Crib Bedding for Baby Charley!

Meet baby Charley!

Remember my friend, Abby? Charley is her too-cute-for-words baby girl, born in October!



And here is baby Charley's perfectly-unique crib bedding set, designed and sewn by her Aunt E (that's me!)


Her mommy did not want crib bedding that screamed "pink!" so we started with a base of soft white, spring green, and barely blue, and I added small pops of pink by way of trim on the crib bumper and ties.

The material for the crib bumper came from a Rachel Ashwell sheet set-purchased new from Target, and re-purposed for Charley. Crib ties are remnants from Rachel Ashwell's fabric by the yard collection which I used some years ago to make a quilt.

The tailored crib skirt is linen, lined with white chenille for yummy texture and baby-softness. I used remnants of the fabric from the crib bumper to accent the skirt.

I did not use a pattern when creating this bedding because I wanted to design my own "pattern" and have it be my own.

I have learned that ironing and capturing a good quality picture is the hardest part of crib bedding design and construction!!!!!! I am hoping that a better quality camera is in my near future as I continue designing crib bedding!

But for now, this set is a wrap and en route to Baby Charley and mommy Abby!

I think it is the perfect combination of color and vintage baby style and I am so thrilled to be able to share it with you friends!

Stay tuned for big things to come with the Rare & Beautiful Treasures line of baby and crib linens!

Love and Appreciation,

Fireplace Reveal!

If you missed the first three chapters of our fireplace mantel story, you can catch up here:



Chapter One: A Blank Wall

Chapter Two: Purchasing an Antique Surround

Chapter Three: Fireplace Mantel Update



The short story is that we started with a blank wall with a gas fireplace box. We shopped architectural salvage to find a full fireplace surround that fit our dimensions, style and budget.



We purchased this ugly duckling: solid oak fireplace with at least four layers of paint from as many generations if not more.

A lot of time, elbow grease, and a few dozen prayers later, our ugly duckling became this beautiful swan. We love her!

The details: We used a chemical stripper to get off as much paint as we possibly could. This took a very long time, as each stripped coat of paint revealed another coat of paint, in a new color, underneath. I couldn't be around the chemical stripper or the endless layers of lead paint due to the pregnancy, so my marvelous husband did most of the hard work. As a result, we decided against stripping down to the bare wood and staining and we removed the bulk of the paint and put a fresh coat of white paint on her and called it a project well-enough done.

We also had a mirror cut to size, which we installed.

I picked out this glass mosaic tile at Home Depot-it was only $4 for a square foot and we were able to do all of the tiling for less than $50.

Close up of tile detail:

All of the items on the fireplace mantel are from Joann Fabrics and many of them were on clearance and probably still available to you as I just shopped for them last weekend. I need to pick up some sand to go in my tall glass vases.

The wall color in the living room is Silver Sea by Valspar.

I am about to grow old. Let's eat cake!

photo courtesy of Tartelette

I have three days left as a twenty-something. I believe I am supposed to be appreciating this upcoming birthday as an important milestone. Truth be told, I haven't given it much thought at all. I am so focused on this baby and his special life and upcoming birthday in March that anything associated with "me" has sort of faded into the background. I like that. Slipping blindly by the mark between young and (?)middle-aged(?) with my eye on a bigger prize? I'll toast to that. With a glass of Pelligrino of course-and perhaps some fresh raspberries at the bottom of the glass? A rare treasure in the middle of snowy January for certain.

I do think I might bake a cake. For myself. And the little one too-he tends to rock and roll whenever I eat sugar, so I am fairly certain he has inherited his mother's sweet tooth. Are you familiar with one of my favorite food blogs-Tartelette? The photography alone (see below) is a feast and my plan is to attempt this Meyer Lemon Sorbet Baked Alaska.
Meyer Lemon Sorbet Baked Alaska

(click for recipe from Tartellette)

When I was a little girl, my mom always let me pick whatever I wanted for the family dinner on my birthday and also whatever kind of cake I wanted. I almost always requested bbq chicken or spaghetti and boston cream pie or baked alaska. Chances are good that I rang in my 10th and 20th birthdays with a piece of baked alaska, so as a nod to my youth, I think I will ring in my 30th the same way.

The rest of these photos are from the Tartelette site. They serve no purpose in this post other than to make me happy. :) .

I am afterall, the birthday girl.

(You can visit Tartelette's Etsy site here.)

Normal Day

"Normal day,

let me be aware of the treasure you are.

"Let me learn from you,

love you,

bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you while I may,

for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world,

your return."

-Mary Jean Iron

All images via It's Mary Ruffle Tumblr