Big Giant Reveal: (timmie.)

Tommy and Beth are back from their whirlwind trip around the world. Saw them yesterday, and had dinner tonight- the culture shock is apparent, but dissipating... They brought Henry a stuffed camel. When you squeeze it, a lonnnggg call to prayer begins bellowing from its guts. SO. The Big Giant Reveal is this: Timmie did not accompany T&B on their little trip. He has been here, in Norfolk, this whole time, living in my microwave. Every once in awhile I shuffle him down to the oven for a break. A very toasty break. hahahhahahahahahhahaahhahahahahahahhaha. After all, they were going around the world. They really didn't have THAT much extra room in their suitcases.

some flowers...

Here are some shots of the flowers my Mom and I put together for a wedding last weekend. I am usually not a big fan of cascade-style bouquets. I favor more modern styles; usually a nice round hand-tied for a bride. However I was quite pleased with how our bride's cascade turned out. White lillies punctuated by bursts of stunning gloriosa lillies (fuschia petals edged in a vivid golden yellow), with delicate dendrobium and oncidium orchids trailing down. It was a very lush looking arrangement. The bride chose all white flowers with touches of yellow and fuschia, which was a nice match to her bridesmaids' turqoise gowns. Our little business is growing! Yay for Posy Floral Design Studio!

ma vie en rose...

(that wierd woman in the black keeps following us around, trying to take pictures of Henry. call the police.)

Ken and Colleen graciously hosted a cookout out at Sandbridge today- it was Henry's first time at the beach. Funny, how we are surrounded by beaches, bays, and the ocean (and that ocean is in my blood), and yet today was his first foray near that blissful, beautiful sea. It was a day to be remembered forever.

kitschy kitsch.

Okay, alright, I am addicted to trying to rescue anything vintage that crosses my path. It is getting a bit out of hand- the way that I feel when I find that fabled "mother load"- it is pure bliss. I had one of those days today- yes, that's two weeks now in a row. When I told Mike about my major score he was sort of all "awww, great, just what we need, more stuff." How can one resist all of that kitschy goodness though? I sure can't. I really do feel like I am saving good design of the past from the oblivion of the present. or future. or something like that (maybe I need to iron out the details of my little mission statement there). Anyhow, when we used to live in our apartment we had quite a display of, um, ephemera. When we bought our house, a lot of stuff ended up in the closet (well, a lot of his stuff ended up in his closet) to make way for our more "civilized" crap. Tonight when I unveiled my new collection, he ran to the closet to unearth some of those treasures of the past. We had a kitsch battle. I won. Thank you thrift store usa! Pictured above: A glorious tin, one of my new favorite things in the world; a vintage children's lamp- you can wind it up and it plays a lullaby; another set of cloth napkins that will match my last batch perfectly; a vintage lucite owl napkin holder; a vintage children's room switchplate; a vintage ceramic squirrel guarding his giant nut; and the piece de resistance- my little elfin lady hanging from Mike's re-claimed conquistador. I apologize for the quality of the shots- Henry has decided he doesn't need to take naps anymore, so my time here is relegated to night time when the lighting is bad.
I hope all of you are happy out there in blog-land, my bloggy friends. I have a big wedding I'm doing flowers for this weekend, so I'll be back next week when things settle down a bit.

bounty.

Last summer my dear husband planted, grew, and tended an impressive vegetable garden that fed us for months and months. Being busy with the baby and all, we decided to nix the veg. garden this summer; and I have really missed seeing all of those delicious, plump tomatoes lining my windowsill. Alas, Mike's mom has a dear customer who frequents her restaurant, and has been keeping us stocked the past couple of weeks with the most perfect zucchini, squash, tomatoes... but the standout of that bounty is the most amazing garlic- huge bundles of savory cloves. It is the best garlic I have ever tasted. We have been adding it to every single dish we cook- even grinding it up in our morning coffee. not really. but hmmm.... might be interesting. Next summer we'll get that garden going again. It will be time to put Henry to work! The dried-up roots in the picture above remind me of a little nest.

little green friend.

I found a little green friend amongst my hibiscus plants. Summer is unraveling so quickly. Lately I find myself yearning for autumn, for that feeling of crispness in the air... I am fantasizing about picking pumpkins with Mike and Henry, of coming home afterwards to bake chocolate chip cookies and carve lanterns for the porch... But I am vowing to enjoy these last several weeks of summer... I am. I really am.

10 months.

(for a laugh, click on the above picture to see full size. it cracks me up how you can see his mouth and little nose through the bottom of the bowl.)




Unbelievable to think that Henry has been around outside of my tummy longer than he was in there... Today he is ten months old, and I marvel and delight at how much he has grown and developed; I relish the sweet little guy he has become. I take him to the library every Thursday for a baby playgroup, and it amazes me to watch him play with the other kids. He is warm and inquisitive, not afraid to crawl right into the mix of other babies and toys. Yesterday I sat in the sidelines and let him do his own thing. He played for a bit in the center of the room, and then sauntered over to the magnetic board with the alphabet letters. I watched as he slowly turned his head in my direction; and there he was, beaming at me from across the room, as if to say "hey mom! look at me!" proud of his newly found independence. My heart swiftly melted into a thousand bits.
Here are some pictures of what happens when you let a ten month old feed himself (using not just one spoon, but two). This is not recommended if your floors and walls are unwashable, or if you do not possess a large plastic tarp or full-size rain coat.

greetings from abroad....

the latest news from my brother...
"this is just a quick note to say hi - it's 11:30 pm here right now and we need to be at the airport by 4:30 am to fly to Egypt. And now the most adventuresome portion of the trip begins!

this evening was quite adventurous as well - Paul and Michele arranged for the 4 of us to be picked up and taken out of the city for a desert safari in a nature reserve (though mostly it was just natural sand)... was very fun - we were first treated to some serious offroad driving in the 4 wheel drive SUV, riding fast over dunes and down into steep valleys - i was sure the driver was going to roll the thing a few times, just kidding (not really. & I'm glad my stomach was feeling better). We also spotted some gazelles, and i think i got them on video. Then we proceeded to a small oasis farm and hung out with some camels, goats, and a few random chickens. Then we drove a bit further to a more pronounced dunescape and watched the sunset over the red/gold desert, which was quite beautiful. After that we went a short distance to an encampment where we had dinner with the other safari-folk (about 30 cars-full total I'd say), had drinks, watched a bellydancer shake it and swing swords and incense around and such, and then gazed at the stars when they briefly shut the lights off. We were then driven back to the apartment, we got back about an hour or so ago. very much fun.

Dubai is a place of extremes. The temp. has been consistently around 105 degrees F (40 C) & 80% humidity, so during the day we've been staying in air conditioned environs...or in snowy ones! Skiing indoors was a trip - and I did better on the slopes than I thought I would, having not been in 10 years or more. Ski Dubai, as the place is called, is no joke - there was a serious slope with an expert portion, and a slightly less steep freestyle area that I stuck too - and only fell a few times at the beginning. I wish there had been time to get Beth a lesson - she struggled, but gave it a go. It definitely made me want to head somewhere mountainous and wintery sometime in the not-so-distant future.

well, I've got to try to get a nap in before the taxi arrives. I'm not sure what the internet situation will be in Cairo - so it might not be until the 17th or the 18th before we can write again. I love you all and miss you."

"Professor, what's another word for pirate treasure?

well I think it's... Thrift Store USA!! Today I found some great stuff. Henry did not protest as I circled the store numerous times searching for things to catch my eye. I picked up a beautiful wooden carved vessel-type bowl; some awesome fabric napkins that remind me of Jonathen Adler (and would be perfect sewn into pillows); a vintage toy for Henry; some interesting glass candy dishes; and a vintage book entitled "The Illustrated Almanac for Homemakers." I couldn't resist the book- those kitschy illustrations get me every time. There was more booty to be had, but I didn't want to be greedy (p.s. Miss A.Bel of every little thing- there was some bizarre ribbon that you'd probably enjoy over where they keep the patterns stashed- I tried to bury it a bit behind the cheesy wallpaper border rolls). So there you have it. I really need a roomier vehicle so I can start picking up furniture, too. But... of course then I'd need a roomier house...

ma mere.

it is a done deal. henry finally said "mommmmmma". i have decided to keep him after all.

mail from the big apple.

Today Henry received a package from NYC- I love it, my kid gets cool packages from cool places, addressed expressly to him. Today it was a sweet hat from his auntie T. She is a film stylist (fashion), and apparently has access to cool swag (ahem, send more if you'd like). This past christmas Tami gave him an adorable knit zebra finger puppet, complete with a little red hat. Since she can't be around more, we were told to interact with him as if this finger puppet was representative of her. So whenever we scold him, we are sure to do it via the finger puppet (i.e. auntie T. said it is BAD to lick the light socket!! Bad Henry!!). Next time she visits we'll be sure to make her wear a zebra costume and a red hat. (I kid, I kid... you know, about the whole zebra costume thing...)

you've got mail!

trying to get him ready for bed...

henry shmooshing auntie T. against the door...as if she hasn't already had a bad enough week...

But we really love you!!! Thanks, Tami!

flora.

Yestarday's plant sale was super. We picked up some great stuff, all 70% off. Amazing! It felt like we had won the lottery, as we loaded up our car full of gorgeous flowering perennial shrubs (it even took two car trips)- all after only having spent about forty bucks. I think my window boxes, beds, and pots are set for the summer. Now if I can just keep it all watered...

blah, blah.

I apologize for my recent lack of posts. I have just been feeling a bit blah lately, and it has hampered my writing a bit. One can only write about so many cookouts... To perk myself up tonight I'm kicking back with a frosty beverage and indulging in a little "what not to wear," one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Tomorrow we are going to rearrange some furniture (ALWAYS lifts my mood) and shop at a greenhouse sale being put on by an awesome local nursery (plants are also an effective remedy).
Did I mention that for weeks now, Henry has been pulling-up, standing while barely holding on, and cruising around the furniture like a little monkey? I still cannot get over how fast he is growing- he just seems so tall and long these days. Here are some shots of him hanging out this evening. It is so hard these days to get a good shot of him, because he always seems to be moving.

who me? jealous?

My brother and sister in law have begun the first leg of a trip that will pretty much take them around the world. Right now they are enjoying Hong Kong, and then will go on to Singapore. I received this email today. The subject line read "HK is better than Norfolk." hmph.



"hey hey hey!

We made it here ok and have been having fun. Hong Kong is even better than we thought it was going to be (but still not as awesome as Portsmouth). We are drinking coffee in the lower lobby of our considerably swanky hotel and are about to head to the top of the Hong Kong Peak to look over the city and harbor. fun fun fun.

We head to Singapore tomorrow to see Mr. Schmollinger (aka Weird Duck). things are flying by, as i thought they would. Especially while on an airplane. We'll write again in Singapore.

Love ya,
thom"

saturday night at the fish fry.

From the looks of this blog, you'd think that all I do is either host or attend cookouts and parties. Lately that seems to be the case, as there seems to be some sort of event every weekend. On Saturday my inlaws hosted a giant fish fry. And the term "giant" is no exaggeration- at least 75 people attended, and they even rented a port-a-potty. The food was delicious and plentiful. I helped the women of the family prepare for it all day Friday, and this included making 45lbs of potato salad- that is a lot of damn potatoes! In my dreams all weekend I've been repetitively peeling and dicing potatoes... (sorry for the blurry photo above- I was so busy attending to hors d'oeuvres, etc., that my photos ended up too rushed... we'll have to do it again so I can get better shots!)