Best thank you note to date.

luv this guy.

I think I can, I think I can.

How is it possible that I still don't have a good grip on time management and planning ahead? I mean, theoretically, humans are supposed to have been developing the ability to track time and days since birth, with the concepts of clocks and calendars to have sunk in by age 10 (according to this one site). And yet, I am constantly overloading my to-do list, constantly overbooking, constantly taking on more than I know I can handle. Are you all stuck in this same pattern or is am I alone in this?

I had grand intentions of gifting handmade items over the holidays; sending out loads of glorious packages across the nation to genuinely show how much I love you all. I had ideas flagged, materials purchased, and even mapped out a general schedule to enable a timely delivery. 

and.then.it.all.went.to.crap.

grrrrr.

At the very least, I was able to complete two items and although they arrived well after the holidays, I'm hoping they'll be well-enjoyed by a couple of lovely ladies in my life. As for the rest of you? Eh...maybe by 2045, I'll get my sh#t together.

for the 50s mom living in modern times.

loves cream, loves chickens, loves dots:

year-round kitchen chic.

chicken feet are so cute in pictures.

real life chicken feet creep me out.

one crisp pleat down the middle.

I used this FREE online tutorial that I had flagged last fall. 100s of people submitted their products to a contest, but I didn't get these done in time. See: opening paragraph of this post.

I actually had a delightful time with these two aprons! The tutorial is easy to follow, the cutie-patootie fabric showcases nicely, and although I was initially paralyzed by the choice of trim and bow, it became fun to play around with the combinations. Definitely add it to your loong list of things to do (bwaahahaha, I'm evil).

for the urban, loft-dwelling mom.

doesn't give two rats if you catch her wearing a Christmas apron in July:

and who appreciates an apron gift even if she has never been spotted in one.

elephant with earmuffs? adorbs.

gotta love the giraffe with scarf. 

it must be tough to have a long neck in the winter.

Material from the genius, Purl Soho.

Ribbon and rick-rack from another of my favorite spots in New York: MJ Trimmings.

Flag on.

There are some things that come across my inbox and they just make me happy, inspired, and wanting to just lock myself in a craftroom with ribbon and fabric and paint and awesome people. 

"gran's recipe flag"

available for purchase here.

Good things come in packages.

Mmmmm....cookies.

mmmm....beautiful fabric.

Trish sent me a delicious and saliva-inducing package a few months ago and I just came across these photos this morning. Immediately, I could re-taste the buttery crispy cookies and am kicking myself for chowing down on them so quickly upon arrival. The added touch of wrapping each item from hand-cut squares of soft cotton material made me grin. We have a shared love of Amy Butler and have spent many an hour over the years oohing at her creative prints. When I saw that Trish had sacrificed some swatches for me, it sent my brain into over-drive...what to do, what to make?

So many fun things in here.

It was so overwhelming, I couldn't decide which direction to go with the fabric swatches. or the cookie cutters. So, I just sat on the floor and chomped on my cWinkler cookies. Mmmm.

Thanks, trishy!

I had a vision of love.

So, you know how we got a giraffe sock monkey from Jo in that amazing package? We were shocked to see that not only did we get one homemade gift, but there was something else in there! Another completely personalized just-for-the-kantaharas token of love:

 how amazing is this?

I keep setting it up in various places around our place and it makes Jamie constantly do this:

camera one.

camera two.

I even took it outside for a sunny afternoon.

Good thing I brought it back in right away as that green plant behind it got swept right off our porch in by the gusty winds a couple of hours later. I would've been beside myself had our personalized eye chart were harmed in any way! Thanks again, Jo-fabulous!!

Fancy Finds Friday.

I found this silvery wristlet purse and immediately thought of a working mom's going out needs.

It's soft and worn, but has a strong tinge of glam because of the silver sheen.

As a mom of a 2 year old, she'll need room to hold a cell phone and snacks and/and/and.

This clutch is super lightweight and LARGE!

(i placed my phone there for size reference)

And check it out.

The flower is something I found and just attached for fun.
Every mom needs a big thang of fun for their hair, right?

See?
Super cool.

I'm a big fan of a multi-functional gift.

V.fun, right?

Do not attempt while operating heavy machinery.

Just before my date with Holly and Tyflo, I was spending some time with my friend, Carrie, on the other side of San Francisco.  She's a dear friend of mine who has an incredible energy and always talks to me about earthy-like feelings in a language I understand while I'm with her, but can never emulate once I walk away from her presence.  I feel very in tune with life and the world when I'm with her and although we only see each other a few times a year, I wanted to give her a little holiday somethin' to let her know how much I appreciate what she brings to my life.

Carrie and her partner are moving across the country, v.far away from their network of friends in San Francisco.  While Lauren will be pursuing her PhD and professor-ing career, Carrie will be holding down a job while completing her Masters Degree in Library and Information Sciences through online course work at San Jose State University (in Cali)...yup, she wants to be a librarian.  I was so interested in the subject matter and had the chance to ask a billion questions about her future career; seems like it's an industry of great complexity and potential.  Who knew.

Ok, back to the gifting.

While I swerved through mad traffic across town for our get-together (yes, I was running super late), I busied myself with preparing my last minute gatherings for Carrie.

I started by tying simple, but sparkly ribbon around...

A sturdy desktop address book.

Get it? For the librarian? The one with friends she'll want to write to?

I know, I know, how DO I get so creative (sarcasm).

Plus...

A luxurious bar of chocolate from a company that supports small farmers in far away countries.

She's super earthy and into super into sustainability.

Plus, who doesn't like a good piece of chocolate?

I'd like to take second to express how ridiculously unsafe it is to do this all while driving.

I wish you guys could've watched me.  It would have made your eyes widen in fear.

Especially when I busted out my camera to record the endeavor.

At least it wasn't raining.

 I wrote as heartfelt of a note as I could while maneuvering around a trolley bus.

Barely missed a wayward pack of unobservant tourists.

Nearly took out an unsuspecting cabbie who was drifting across Van Ness Avenue in what seemed to be a drunken haze.

Then it started to drizzle.

 

But I threw it all together at an extra long stoplight and ended up at her door right on time!

Phew.

While I certainly cannot recommend such vehicular recklessness, can you imagine how my conversation would have gone with the arresting officer?  What the heck do you want, officer? Can't you see that I'm busy wrapping a gorgeous chocolate bar for my friend? What?? Why would I need to observe driving laws? I just told you, I'm a leeetle busy here. Ok, thanks.

On an unrelated note, Carrie is a terrific thai massage therapist.

Like a kid in a toy store.

Although Holidays'09 went by in what seemed to be an unusually rapid pace, I felt like it was supremely enjoyable to go gift shopping.  Probably because I actually got to break into shopping for kids this year and I had a complete blast!  Seriously, who wants to go to the mall when you can hit up local toy shoppes and dance stores?  My parents went over to Barcelona to see my sister over the holidays so I was completely off the hook for them (Jan holiday shopping = less stress) and everything else went relatively smoothly.  I'll let you in on some other stuff we gave this year later this week.

But for now, a few kids' gifts.....

For Baby Bella (18months):

Jamie's first niece!

She was born in Costa Rica and just moved back to the States in November.  Although she's unable to verbalize it, I'm sure she's just FREAKING out about it being so dramatically colder than her upbringing. The poor baby only knows a place so hot and humid she never had to wear anything more than a diaper...year-round!  Luckily, they had a couple of weeks in southern california to more gently acclimate, but even then, the whole family was shivering all over the place.  And then it was off to the desert and the dry, cold winters of Tucson, AZ.  Needless to say, Jamie wanted to get her a warm coat for Hanukkah.

And I couldn't help adding a little something frilly:

Omg, wouldn't you do just about anything for an adult-size version of this tutu?

We also sent Jamie's mom and Jerry (in Tucson) a boxful of things to keep at their house to become even COOLER grandparents now that the Costa Rican kids are living in the same town.  My ultimate goal is to make their adult home look like the Ronald McDonald's backyard.  I'll try to find a picture of that to post at a later time (of the gifts and not of Ronald McDonald's backyard).

My buddy, Jackson Green (almost 2):

Taken in April '09.

He no longer looks like a baby.  At all.

But I never posted this picture and I just like it.

I think the greatest gift I can give to Jack is my time and laughter (Kasser! Funny!), but hey, everyone loves a tangible present, right?  Luckily, I learned from my friend, Ben Schatzel, is that the number one thing on an almost any 2 year old's wish list is a ..... T.R.U.C.K.

Uh, the coolest truck ever, right!  

Ok, so maybe it doesn't make all the cool sounds and lights that more popular toys make, but it's made out of 100% recycled plastic and has little compartments for your glass, plastic, and paper recyclable items.  Never too early to teach that lesson, right?  :)

For Cool Cole (3yrs old):

Jamie's first nephew and a total ham.

Again, the poor child must be freezing.  He was lucky enough to spend a year in the States before the two down in Costa Rica, but I'm not sure what impact those measly 12 months had on his development of weather acclimation. Jamie was insistent on getting him something to layer over the tank tops the kid was accustomed to wearing so we went with a thick, fleece-lined surfer sweatshirt like his dad would wear.  And that'd be Cole's dad, not Jamie's dad.  Jamie's dad sticks with 1970s ski jackets that still totally rock (think almost member's only style).

And then I took liberty with the more "fun" stuff.

Pile o' stuff.

They're STRETCHABLE body parts!!! 

ew.

And now for the fun part.

SQUISHABLE MICE.

Hi, I'm a totally normal looking mouse, 

climbing out of this piece of cheese.

Things are getting a leeetle bit tight in here.

What are those HUGE fingers doing?

FLURGH!!  EEERGGH!  MURRRPPP!

Ahhh....good times.  You don't think he'll notice that the mice are slightly played with, do you?

A note from the dog.

Hi guys,

Hudson here; here to give you a glimpse into my FAVORITE moment of the holidays this year.  Now, I want you to understand when I first tried to think of my favorite moment in the last couple of weeks, I had intense internal battle between the day I got a TON of leftover brisket (thanks, tyflo) and when I got to crash Christmas day over at Pepper and Bailey's.

But I just looked over at the edge of my bed and got chills thinking of my fave moment. And that's right. I'm a dog that uses words like "fave". What are you going to do about it?  Ok, back to that moment:

 

I was casually lounging in the glorious sunshine....

When, what's this?

I got a package??

From Chicago?

From my fave aunt Christine??

Does that tag say CHEWISH TREAT?

 

 No, guys, seriously.  What is that?

 

Oh my goodness, it looks like a bagel.

And it looks DELICIOUS!

 Does it have a squeaker?

OH MY GOD. GIVE IT TO ME!!!!

Rawrdsfafph. Oh, sorry.  My mouth is full.

 

so. much. excitement.

thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you.

thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you.

Visiting a friend in the hospital.

what would be your favorite comfort movie?

All the King's Horses...

jen mailed us these AWESOME tchochkees (sp?),
but they did not survive the US Postal Service.
so.sad.
it's ok though, folks.
Gorilla Glue to the rescue.
back to original form...
well, pretty darn close.
it's a shoutout to my people.
holla back at the samurai guy and geisha girl.
aren't they a great engagement gift?? luv.
the soon-to-be mr&mrs benihana mugs will live on this shelf.
they're happy here.
*quick shout-out to annie for helping us put these together!
oh, ps...
we put up shelves and moved plates and stuff here.
feeling much better about this wall.