pieces of africa

I am a bit obsessed with Lee Kleinhelter and her Atlanta shop, Pieces. Her work has been featured in numerous design magazines (namely 2 of my favorites that have been shut down due to the economy...Cottage Living and Domino, may you RIP) and she has this amazing knack for breathing new life into old pieces of furniture. I want everything off her website, but of course it is insanely expensive. So imagine my surprise when I came across this piece, priced at....wait for it...$2705!!!

Umm, I can get this at the market here for like N 6,000 ($50). Now all I need is some white spray paint! Or maybe a funky color like saffron (to go with the dahlia chair, naturally). 

rockin' the casbah

Ok, this product has been touted in pretty much every style magazine lately, but I'd like to give it another shout out. It's the only hair product I'm not sorry I bought from the salon. Yep, I'm that girl...once the stylist is done with me I want to know exactly everything she used so I can replicate it at home. But we all know that never works. It's the same thing with beauty counters. Being a graphic designer, I'm drawn to the slick packaging and marketing ploys like a moth to a flame. Somehow I always end up with purple eyeshadow when all I came in for was gloss. 

But this delivers. It smells incredible and takes me back to my 8th grade hippie girl days when I shopped at Picasso Moon and wore velvet mary janes...you remember. It doesn't weigh my hair down either, which is no small feat for my fine, pin-straight hair. Just apply a bit to the ends for a super silky blowout. I also feel that it is single handedly responsible for making my highlights stretch this long (going on 5 months now). So there you have it. Tout tout.

identity crisis

My poor house suffers from design schizophrenia. My living room is cozy Pottery Barn, my kitchen is kitschy Anthropologie and my bedroom is breezy beach cottage. I long to have a cohesive look and a consistent color palette throughout the house. The problem is I can't choose...I love it all! I'm so easily swayed by the latest trends and color combinations. I'm constantly asking myself "What is my style?" to avoid buyers remorse. Throw ugly State Dept furniture into the mix and I've got quite a challenge on my hands. 

So I'm always on the lookout for inspiration and two of my favorite design blogs magically collided in the blogosphere tonight. Young House Love recently featured the most adorable nursery designed by Holly Mathis of Holly Mathis Interiors (LOVE her blog too, by the way) using this funky yet sophisticated print: "Dahlia Aegean" from Calico Corners...really? When did they become cool?

and super fun Nicole Balch of Making it Lovely just featured this awesome hot pink chair from Target (which I would totally buy if I didn't live with two men):

 Well guess what??? This CHAIR comes in that FABRIC!!

And for those who don't like the mid-century modern look...it also comes in a slipper chair!

How cute is that?? AND it's on sale. Hey, I can't paint the walls but I CAN ship furniture!!

So I guess the grand question is...is it me??

cottage update

So the little yellow house was just that...little. REALLY little. My gracious parents made the trek to Chincoteague last month and spent an entire weekend looking at houses for us. 

The house was so small (780 SF) that the realtor had no idea how they got the beds upstairs, which means who knows how long they'd been there...yuck.

So we've been considering other alternatives. This one was actually the first house I found online, but was way too expensive. It has since been slashed $75K but it's still pretty pricey for a house without AC. Ain't she cute though?

The other route is to build a home like this cutie-patootie bungalow. The problem with this plan is that it requires 20% down (as opposed to the standard 10% to buy an existing home). That's a lot of moola. 

So the cottage dream has been put on hold for awhile while we continue to save and gather ideas. One day...

5 months

Dearest CW, 

It's hard to believe another month has gone by. Today is a special day...exactly one year ago today it was confirmed that I was pregnant with you! It was a different kind of "Labor Day" for Mommy!

You are getting more active and curious by the day. Your little personality is starting to come out and you are extremely funny.

You giggle and squeal whenever I do "Cookie Monster" or "Donald Duck." You have also figured out that this makes US laugh so you have started doing it unprompted and you are quite loud...oh boy! Let's hope the neighbors don't mind!

You are a big boy, but you are also very long so I think you're going to be tall (you might be getting that from Daddy's side).  At last weigh-in you were right around 18.5 lbs and you are already wearing 6-9 mos. size.I'm afraid I'm going to have to order the next car seat soon...your infant seat only goes up to 22 lbs!

You have also pretty much outgrown the bouncer and moved on to the Exersaucer. It's hideous but you love it. So much for Mommy's "pretty" wooden toys!

You and Daddy have this fun trick where he balances you in

 the palm of his hand. It makes me a nervous wreck but you absolutely love it! 

You rolled over for the first time 2 days ago! 

You help Mommy hold the bottle. You can hold a 4 oz-er by yourself and almost the 9 oz-er...Mr Independent!

You continue to be an excellent sleeper. You don't even take the paci or cry anymore when we put you to sleep. Somehow after bathtime you just know it's bedtime...yay for Babywise! So far you are not a morning person (like me, I'm afraid)...you like to take a 2-hr nap after being up for only an hour and snuggling with me.

I'm going to get you tested again this week to make sure the salmonella is gone. You are such a fighter and a trooper!

Every Mommy has given me the advice "Enjoy it because it goes by so fast" and I am learning that this is true! I am trying to savor every moment with you because you are already growing into a little boy.

I love you!

Mommy

  

lord of the firefly

There's a new spa in town and today I took a much-need baby-free day to get a pedi...BLISS!

It was actually a very nice spa for Abuja and in typical African fashion, they scrubbed the crap out of my feet until they were buttery smooth. 

The best part of the day though was what I came home to...CW in diapers, sans shirt and slathered in sunscreen (K couldn't find his hat so he thought that putting sunscreen in his hair would be a good idea). Somehow this always happens when he's with Daddy. K says he needs to "air out" and "breathe." I try to explain to him that babies are suppose to have one more layer than us and it's pretty chilly in the house when the AC is on full blast...but alas. I have no idea what goes on between the two of them when I'm gone, but I'm sure it's some sort of secret male bonding possibly involving conch shells and running around naked...they won't tell me.

tootsie roll

It's a big day in our house today...my baby rolled over for the first time!!! 

It's so funny because I was talking to K last night about how I was sort of worried that he wasn't really interested in rolling over. I have been working with him throughout the week, but of course he rolls over for Dad and he gets all the glory...Daddy's boy all the way.

We put him on his tummy in his crib, just to see what he would do, and sure enough he rolled right onto his back. Maybe it had something to do with the shirtless/diaper combo (all Dad's doing...like Father, like Son). 

ps-The video was way too dark so I had to lighten it in iphoto (hence the nightvision effect). Also, please ignore my annoying high-pitched baby voice...ugh.

pancake day!

There are few things I love more than lazing about on a Saturday morning over a pile of pancakes and a big ol' cup of joe with my family. K knows this and most Saturdays he will let me sleep in and puts CW in his bouncy seat while he makes breakfast. So sweet. 

I don't know what came over me last night...maybe it was Target deprivation or my small obsession with kitchen gadgets, but I was up late shopping online at Crate & Barrel and dropped a wad. In all fairness, they are offering up to 60% off certain outlet items and I found some really great deals. I even bought some Christmas decorations (even though we are going home for Christmas this year). I guess my rationale was better to buy now on sale than later at full price. Darn those sail emails...

At any rate, here are some of my finds to feed the pancake love:

batter bowl: no more messy measuring cup! 

(50% off!)

pancake warmer: genius! also great for tortillas! "butter pat" handle...so cute!

(70% off!)

syrup dispenser: diner chic! it's glass so you can put it in the microwave...mmm!

(not on sale)

this is actually called a "pancake spatula": the perfect shade of red to match my kitchen! 

(also not on sale)

the worst birthday present ever

Last year was a great birthday. We had just moved to Africa and my sweet hubby threw me a surprise party with all of our new friends. However, the whole night I was feeling extremely nauseous and couldn't figure out why. Our next door neighbor suggested taking a pregnancy test and sure enough, the next day I found out I was pregnant with CW. 

This year started out great. K invited me to have lunch with him on Friday at work and surprised me with a cake from the Embassy cafeteria (hey, you have to get creative here). Later that night we went to my favorite Indian restaurant, Wakkis, for dinner. Things were looking good...

Saturday (my actual birthday) started out even better. My two men let me sleep in and I woke up to chocolate chip waffles and signs all around the house. But then I got a call from the Embassy nurse (I had taken CW in earlier that week because his diapers were not looking right) saying that he has salmonella. WHAT?!?! 

I have no idea how he got it because we are extremely careful with his bottles, washing hands, etc., but EVERYTHING goes in his mouth these days and Nigerians are not privy to the unspoken "ask before touching" rule. UGH. Through blurry eyes and pangs of guilt I frantically emailed my pediatrician in the States and he assured me that this is completely normal and plenty of kids get it. I believe his exact words were "Really, get used to it because this is what kids do and things like this will be repeated in different ways many times over his lifetime."

Apparently he is ok if he doesn't develop a fever or become overly fussy and I guess something like this was bound to happen living in a place like this without dishwashers and Moms whipping out their antibac every 5 minutes, but still...I feel just awful. 

I have really tried to be chill about this whole Mom thing. I never wanted to be the type of Mom that never let her kids play in the dirt or touch door handles. But 3 bottles of Lysol later, I am feeling a bit different. I know I can't put him in a glass box, but this is my baby. I guess this is only the beginning of the worry bug that all Moms eventually catch...