Happy Mother’s Day: a Saint Cupcake Treat!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the amazing moms out there! We just received a fun Mother’s Day delivery a few minutes ago. My husband nominated me for Saint Cupcake’s Top Mom…and they chose his entry! You can read my hubby’s sweet words on the Saint Cupcake blog. I snagged a good guy, eh? Check [...]

Signs of Summer on a Sunny Saturday in Portland

Summer is coming to Portland. Today’s sunshine nudged Portlanders outside to embrace the warmth and promise of a sunny Saturday. Our garden is starting to bloom. We have strawberries, carrots, beans, garlic, tomatoes, mesclun, parsley, rosemary, chives. Do you have a summer garden? What do you typically plant for summer crops? Our kids played in [...]

{giveaway} Cirque du Soleil OVO

One of the greatest gifts of being a mother, in my personal experience, is watching your child in the process of discovery, to watch them embark on new experiences for the first time. Earlier this week, I had the good fortune of being invited to a media event for Cirque du Soleil’s OVO show. I [...]

Sunny Saturday in Portland

Sunny Saturday in Portland: worked this morning… went to a nearby farm where we got seeds & herbs for spring planting, the kids got to play with the chickens and goats (and barn cat), hubby & I enjoyed a tasting of Provincial Vineyards wine and took home a bottle of their lovely 2010 Single Vineyard [...]

{style} Princess Birthday Party

Several months ago, my then-4-year-old daughter declared she’d like a Princess Party. We were only inviting girls, and the colors were to be bright pink, orange, and blue. Easy peasy, right? Then right before I was about to send out her invitations, she decided she wanted to invite the boys in her class (or, rather, [...]

{style + stories} Butterflies & Birthdays

My daughter’s 4th birthday theme — butterflies — last year was quite fitting for the year ahead. In the past year, she has truly blossomed into this little person, transforming from my baby girl into this kid with big kid vocabulary, incredible reading skills, legs too long for jeans in her usual size, spot-on sarcasm, [...]

{stories} Self-Forgiveness: The Mother of All Tough Lessons Moms Need to Learn

We moms are often the last to forgive ourselves, aren’t we? We are laden with guilt, heavy with “if only I had done this” and “I shouldn’t have said that.” We live in the no-win zone daily, and we reserve the harshest judgment for ourselves. But if our kids forgive us so easily, so too [...]

{craft} Superhero Slips for a Kind & Caring World

My kids are amazing kids (everyone’s kids are “amazing,” aren’t they?). But they’re also kids, ages 4 and 7, who are still learning, observing, and testing. So I created this fun little Superhero Slips + Kind & Caring List craft at midnight last night, on a whim. It can be whipped together in less than [...]

Love Notes

I like to write little love notes to my kids at random times. It’s a cheesy MOM thing that I like to do. Once in a while, when I am working late, I will walk into the living room to find a little love note of sorts addressed to me from my kids, placed strategically [...]

Weekends Where We Live

I love weekends. I especially love weekends where we live. We don’t have to go far to enjoy a wealth of family-friendly fun. Today started out with our usual hanging out in the kitchen. Coffee. Breakfast. Workouts. Food Network. (I work out while watching Food Network. It’s the only way, people. The only way.). Then [...]