Bad Things, Good Things

Well, first cute things...

I'll admit, this hat from Target seems like a copout compared to Hendrix's costume. But really, Elsie was in the stroller under blankets all night, and this is one cute Panda.

 Getting ready to go out with friends and neighbors. (I also made Robin Hood's hat using this tutorial, which was really quick and adorable.) Hendrix kept saying "Frick-r-Freeters!"and now he calls the candy itself trick or treaters as well. By the end of the night he was rifling through people's bowls of candy looking for his favorites. Rotten.




Bad thing: I broke my sewing machine on Friday. Luckily, I still have my old one which works fine, but I probably should have been using that to begin with when I sewed up 200 of these-

My husband Nick has a band called FirstPost and they had a CD release party Sunday night at our favorite local pub. (Well, it's just a bar, but I always call it a pub because that sounds classier... especially when talking to my mom. Hi mom! I'm sure she is loving the cd cover as well.) Any way, it was a very exciting night and the band sounded awesome, and my machine could probably use a good servicing anyway. Have a listen to the album here.

The event was also a costume party so I dressed up as Nick. Yes, this picture is weird. But I kind of nailed it right?

So the CD release was a very good thing, but the bad thing was that I missed the first half of the show because of my children, one of whom might be traumatized for life because of that night. Our best friends came over and put their two kids to bed at our house so that we could all go and share a sitter. We do this often and the kids all sleep fine. When the sitter hadn't showed up 20 minutes after she was supposed to, we called her parents and found out that she was in bed sick. Her dad volunteered to come since they were all asleep anyways, so we thought that was great and we left. It's within walking distance from our house, and about 7 minutes after we arrived, the dad called. Hendrix had come downstairs for some reason to find this strange middle-aged man whom he had never met before and he flipped out. Looking back, it might not have been the best plan of action for the sitter's dad to stand in... anyway, I ran home right away to calm him down, and he did pretty quickly. But Elsie had been awoken in the commotion as well and she did not want to go back to sleep. Not one bit. After I had been there an hour screaming this in my mind, our friend Nathan came home to relieve me so I could go catch the rest of the show. And we love him for it. Hendrix has only mentioned the episode once, so maybe he won't be talking to therapists about it down the road... here's hoping. 

I'll leave you with one pretty thing. My managers at Sewn Studio got to go to Quilt Market last weekend and they were kind enough to bring me some gorgeous not-yet-released fabric samples! On the left is Aneela Hoey's upcoming Walk in the Woods line, and on the right is some Quilt Blocks by Ellen Barker. I feel like such an industry insider getting to play with these! And did you notice what book that is up there? I finally got my copy of Sewing For Boys. I love every single thing in it and can't decide what to make first. But whatever it is will have to wait because I have got to get in some serious quilting time this week. It's been too long!


Oh, one more bad thing: I dropped my iPhone in Dr. Pepper over the weekend. It's ruined, of course. Don't ask how.

Weekend Fun at Findlay Market

We spent yesterday afternoon at Findlay Market, one of our very favorite Cincinnati places. It's one of the oldest markets in Ohio. Every weekend, the place comes alive with farmers, food merchants, local growers, crafters, all sorts. Everything about it reminds me of that really fun time in our marriage, before we had kids and we just spent our time galavanting around downtown, doing whatever we wanted. 

I guess that's partly why when Nick suggested we go, I was all "Why would we take the kids there?"

Then hewasall "Because it's awesome."

and iwasall "But Sunday is our only day to just do nothing."

and hewasall "But if we stay home and do nothing you are going to end up doing lots of things." (cleaning and sewing and laundry)

then iwasall "Yeah, you are right. Let's go." 

... Jessica gets dressed and tries to stop being a poopstick. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I got really excited and was so glad he dragged me there. 

Aren't those bright awnings so much fun? All those shops lining the little walkways are different types of food merchants. You can really find almost anything here. 

Part of the weekend Farmer's Market. The sellers always look like they are having fun in all the busyness.

Lazy Elsie, pooped before the party even starts. 

Moerlein Beers on draft. To me, the OTR ale literally tastes like Over the Rhine and Main Street. (Hendrix is enjoying water from his girly cup. He's secure in his manhood.)

Dojo Gelato is new since I've last been there. We shared sea salt caramel. Wow, was it good.

 There are always local musicians on the weekends, usually nearby all the craft and artisan booths.

Nick decided to try a key lime pie popsicle from this little street vendor. Literally the best popsicle ever- I can say that confidently and objectively.


In the car ride home, I told Nick we should spend lots of Sundays there this summer. He gave me his "why-would-you-ever-doubt-me" look. Then at home, he proceeded to make the best grilled carnitas tacos with homemade salsa ever. I know, where did this guy come from?

A Picnic Day

Last Thursday was absolutely the most perfect weather possible for a lunch at Sawyer Point by the river. One of those days you wish you could pack in a bag for when you need it again.



In an effort to miraculously morph into a mom-of-two who is actually organized enough to make it out the door on such an occasion, I immediately assembled a "picnic bag" to be ready for the rest of the summer. In a big blue Ikea bag in our closet sits our clean Disney blanket, the styrofoam airplane, a couple of bubble accessories, a soccer ball, and a magazine or two for me. This may not sound like much, but I really am the most unorganized person, so I was proud of my little picnic bag idea.

How else do you genius mothers out there manage to leave the house, or even (is it possible?) make it to where you are going on time? This is really probably my biggest worry about having two kids, since in two whole years of having just one, we have never made it anywhere on time. Nick and I had one of our pretend arguments the other day about which of us is more at fault for this. I think we decided that we are just those people. You know, the ones that really annoy the prompt people with our irresponsible tardiness all the time. But I'm not saying we can't change...

So tell me, what are your kid-moving tricks??

Two Years Old

Yesterday my Hendrix Gray had his second birthday. We opened a few little gifts, went on a sunshine-y walk, spent most of the day with great friends, and grilled out for dinner.

Today, we took him to his first Reds game since he was just tiny. He was mesmerized by the players and the big screen and the riverboats... for about an inning and a half. Then he had other matters to attend to.

Like trying hard to look just like Daddy.

...trying even harder to look just like Daddy,

 and taking bites out of a helmet sundae that are way too big in an attempt to find all the green sprinkles.

He was also really good at clapping ferociously when everyone else did, dancing to all the hip-hop songs, and being terrified of Gapper the mascot. I don't think I could love this kid any more... until tomorrow.  

Epic Date Night (Jonsi!!!)

Nick and I are headed to Columbus tonight to see this incredibleness-




I could not be more excited. We have loved Sigur Ros for years and used a lot of their music in our wedding. We saw them at Bonnaroo a couple of years ago, and that was hands down the most amazing live show I've ever seen. I'm gonna go ahead and say it's kind of a magical experience... and I hate when people use that word, but it is appropriate. I'm thinking tonight's stage show will even top that. And besides all that, I'm feeling somewhat like my old self and I am actually wearing real clothes and makeup. Very exciting.


Here's more about the uber-creative stage and video production if you're interested:

Pumpkin Decorating for short attention spans

This past weekend we got into the fall spirit with a little pumpkin painting. We got the gourds at Shaw Farms in Milford the week before. (Which is definitely the place to go for fall fun if you are local.)

We just kept it simple with washable kid paint and some Halloween foam stickers. This is actually my friend Edie's idea, she's been doing it with her kids the past couple of years. And HG's friend Elie from downstairs joined in as well.

It's also fun to paint your legs and feet when you are bored with your pumpkin.

A couple other neighborhood kids came and helped out too, which was a good thing, because Hendrix was on to playing ball after about a minute and half. Impromptu Halloween block party.

And yes, my parents were in town and that is my dad giving my mom a little shoulder rub. That pretty much sums up their Nana-and-Grandpa-adorableness.

Cincy Shopping

Maybe I should say Cincy window shopping, since I have never once bought anything from either of the stores I am telling you about. But I have been to both many times just for a little fun and inspiration. The truth is, I'm not a big shopper and there is no way I would spend the money on any of the really amazing things in these shops. But there are definitely smaller affordable items in both.


You can find Mica 12V on Vine and 12th, of all places. It's a beautiful shop that carries both local artists and world-famous designers. You can lust over Angela Adams rugs while drooling over Cincy's own Three Sheets 2 the Wind's home textiles. Everything is uber-stylish.

But my all-time favorite place for swanky eye candy is called High Street, on Reading Road. The outside of the building is one of the places Shepherd Fairey installed a mural over the summer. This shop is really for high dollar interior designers to find their goods. I could imagine David Bromstad frequenting if he lived here. I think they also have an in-house design team for hire. Anyway, I always feel like I've stepped into London or something walking around in there. And I feel like I must have snuck in, because surely they have style-standards for who they let in a place like this.

Tomorrow, I'll show you my favorite places within walking distance from our house. Hendrix and I go on a lot of walks.

Loving Cincinnati

In honor of my beloved Reds clenching their division win (wooooooohoooooooo!!!!!) last night, I am hereby declaring the rest of this week "I Love Cincinnati Week." I realize most of you don't care one bit about the Reds or baseball, but it's really a pretty big deal around here. They haven't been much good in over 15 years, and now they are going to the playoffs and you can just feel everyone swelling with Queen City pride. I won't pretend I've been waiting that long for a good season, as we've only lived here for four years. But we did start loving going to the Reds games right away, as well as loving the city in general.

The thing is, people like to complain about living in Cincinnati a lot. A couple years ago a megachurch here started distributing bumper stickers that say "I Love Cincinnati." Now there is a knock-off that uses the same look, but says, "Cincinnati's Just OK." I think it's pretty hilarious, and I appreciate the irony. It's not like we live in NYC or anything, not even the NYC of the Midwest. BUT, there are many many good things about this area, and I'm more of a "learn to love your ground" person. I could really be happy living in lots of places, but now I live here, and I like it. So stop your complaining.

So, now that I've rambled about baseball and bumper stickers, today I want to tell you about two new-ish reasons to love the 'Nasti.

A few weeks ago, Nick and I had the chance to go on an afternoon date, so we headed downtown and tried a new restaurant in the Gateway Quarter called Senate. It was amazing.

They serve a lot of fancy Southern style food, but they are becoming known for their gourmet hot dogs. I know that sounds weird, but believe me, they are sooooo good. I'm not a hot dog person at all, but I ordered the Korean dog, which came with braised short ribs and all that other Korean-y stuff on top. Did not disappoint. And the truffle fries are to die for. Nick had goose-fat fries, also sinfully delicious. (Please don't judge my one beer, this was before I knew I was preggers.)


We also walked down to our old neighborhood on Main Street to check out the new record store that the owner of Iris Book Cafe opened right next door. It's really fun for people who like hunting through old things, and it's all from the owner's personal collection, which is amazing.

100 Bonus points for anyone who knows where that awesomely-creepy goat head used to live.

I'm in love with this cover. Maybe I'll be this foxy lady for Halloween.

Yeah, but I didn't have your number. All you wrote on this paper was your band name.

Gangsters of alliteration. 

Hmm, does a Gigolo shake his pants when they are on or off? Is this boarded up building where you do your business, or can one get a hotel room with Tony? Does that other guy have to come? These are the questions I can't answer. 

And Grand Funk wins the grand prize for all-time sexiest album cover. And just in case you didn't realize how sexy it really is, they warn you: "all the girls in the world beware!!!" You know they are serious with 3 exclamation points. 

Tomorrow, some pictures from inspiring shopping spots downtown. 

....GO REDS!