ben page

landscape ♥ from a local nashvillian who's been making beautiful homes even more beautiful.

treasure hunt: etsy

my personal, slightly baby-influenced creme de la creme of handmade goods.

knit horse, cake topper, winter photograph, dragon hooded coat, custom golf divot tool, stroller quilt, tote, stuffed alligator, custom pet doll, paper landscape photograph, cashmere knit bunny

flee the coop friday: blackberry farm

to kick off the weekend, i'm just going to dangle this little getaway carrot.  i'm dying to spend a weekend at blackberry farm.  the good news: it's a short drive as it's just outside of knoxville.  being in super-landlocked tennessee, this is not a common occurrence.  fate, perhaps?

just to learn more about their legendary operation, taste their food, see their farm animals, and experience the sheer dedication they have to their multiple crafts would be a dream.  the biggest draw?  they have their own cheese-maker.  enough said.

you don't have to be the head chef at the french laundry to appreciate a beautiful working kitchen and the crowning jewel of many of my favorite industrial-inspired kitchens is the range hood.

michael s. smith's own kitchen inspired by the working kitchen in gosford park

lately, i've been noticing how fantastic a riveted nickel hood looks with your run-of-the-mill working kitchen details like subway tile and bin pulls.  judge for yourself, but i'd take any of these nickel hoods over a fancier, frillier version any day.

kitchen by steven gambrel

nickel hoods by texas lightsmith

peaks my interest: zoku pop maker

i was completely caught off-guard when i fell in love with my beaba babycook machine. while i am a work-in-progress in the kitchen, i became a total pro at making baby food for holden. the reward of knowing he was eating only the purest fruits & veggies to nourish his tiny little body was well worth the effort.

seeing as this spring has been sensationally hot, it has me worried about what kind of summer we are in for. this popsicle (that being a strong understatement to what this contraption doles out) maker looks like it could be really fun on those balmy, miserable days. has anyone ever tried making these and, if so, were they a hit?

found: pomme

just stumbled upon this nyc store called pomme.  it's adorable.  here's my little curated list of favorites.

BBP: big boy pants

having just survived potty training, i've had a few people ask me what i did so i thought i'd share my personal experience with the dreaded undertaking.  i know that at some point holden would show a natural interest in learning to use the potty but i, personally, didn't want to wait another year+ for that.  so, having heard there is a window around 20-26 months that a child can be somewhat easily potty trained, i thought i'd give it a go.

in my minimal research, i found that 90% of children were potty trained by 2 in the 1950's.  my brother and i began training at 18 months old thanks to our day care which was very standard as well.  it seemed to me that waiting for potty training until holden is 3+ is more a generational thing and not as much a physiological issue as it's put out there to be.  so, why wait another year?

needless to say, potty training boot camp started one week before easter (when holden was 23 months).  this was perhaps a bit overzealous as i was hosting easter for our extended family but that's just my typical poor form.  it seems like parenthood is sort of that way.  you have bouts of confidence and a feeling of "i got this" and just as soon as you get that feeling, something changes, and you're thrown once again into the parenthood gauntlet.  poor planning aside, holden's school had spring break and i was going to knock this out if it killed me.

the plan: no more diapers while awake.  pull-ups during his nap and at night.  eagle eye attention trying to gain any sense of warning on my part (that never came).  i had heard that on day 3, the child may get it right half the time.  that was not the case for me.  on day five, holden finally got it and once he did, it was pretty much a slam dunk.

he's still not letting me know he needs to go but he goes like clock work if i set him on the potty and tell him to go.  it's odd to think about being placed on a potty every couple of hours and being told to go.  luckily, holden is totally impressionable and hasn't matured enough to resent me...those days are coming.

my tips:

1. (for boys only...girls wear nothing) buy at least 12-15 basic, thin white underpants because you'll go through all of them each day for the first couple of days.  it's best to just run a load of piping hot laundry at the end of the day and not have to worry about running out of clean, dry pants.

2. buy a very basic, portable potty.  i have the baby bjorn pictured (no sound effects or lights necessary).  it needs to be portrayed to the child that it's necessary and expected of them.  i can also keep this in the back of my suv and, yes, we've used it while out and about.  i think it's important for the child to soon learn that they are also expected to hold it and use the potty outside the home as they do inside.

3. spend a lot of time outdoors so that the stress of your child peeing on rugs and furniture is minimized.  you'll be anxious enough as it is.

4. i hate to admit it, but you may want a really good bride.  i tried m&m's but holden isn't big on sweets so it wasn't really getting him motivated.  turns out, the ipad did.  i stocked up on about 8 good age-appropriate games and he was in love.  one caution: the ipad was too distracting while he was sitting on the potty so it became an "if you...then you get to play the ipad."  they really do need to focus on what it feels like to use those muscles.

5. "try" to go every hour until they begin to get it.  however, do not be discouraged when it seems like no progress has been made after several days.  for me, progress happened like a switch...nothing gradual about it.

6. hang in there.  it'll happen.  and buckle up because it's seriously taxing but so worth it.  holden still reminds me that he is using the potty just to get a big congrats and "i'm proud of you" a few times a day.  (it's pretty darn cute and my crazy excitement for him is not the least bit over-exaggerated.  i'm so proud of him)

7. and last but not least: stock the fridge with your favorite alcoholic beverage because you'll probably need it.

long overdue

i realize it's been an eternity since i posted but with the hoopla of the holidays, the management of an addition to our house and all of the other things that take up the alone, i've just been too busy.  however, i did indulge holden in a bubble machine today and it's not hard to see how much he enjoyed it.

promise i'll be a better blogger.

laundry room

talk about an under-appreciated luxury.  i've been without a laundry room for a little over a month now and i'm literally counting down the days until i can have it back!  however, the temporary loss is not for naught.  the new laundry room will be larger, with more storage, and, best of all, i had carte blanche in designing it as jim new he hadn't earned much say in the design of a room he never enters.

here's the plan.

walls, cabinets, and trim in this: (benjamin moore gray wisp 1570)

counter tops in this: (honed carrara marble)

sheers on the little window in this: (f. schumacher melinda sheer check in aqua)

with a charcoal gray floor laid in a herringbone orientation with an inset border of small carrara marble bricks.

so pretty.  it will certainly make laundry days much more appealing.

playroom

one of the things i'm most looking forward to with this addition is the playroom.  here's what i'm thinking.

i've loved the irregular stripes in this room for so long.  so i'm committing to them.  it just looks like the perfect, playful wall color/pattern.

as for some inexpensive art, i found this artist on etsy and i'm in love with her watercolor animals...i mean, look at that sweet little bunny!  she's in italy (so that makes her automatically cool) and says things with those oh-so-lovely "english-is-my-second-language" grammatical inaccuracies.  so, i've purchased 12 of her mini watercolors ($5 each...can't beat that) and i'm going to have them framed and hung together.  

and, then, for good measure, i bought the watercolor of the bull because i just think he's so handsome and would look fantastic in my office.

i can't wait for holden's toys to have a home other than scattered under foot in the kitchen/family room/really everywhere that i'm running around.

a little update

as usual, it seems like our days are brimming with activities and duties, and yet, nothing much changes.  alas, things are finally changing.  i found out today that my brother and sister-in-law are expecting a baby girl!  it was all i could do to not rush to every baby store in town and leave with armfuls of everything precious, pink, ruffled, and scalloped.  needless to say, i'm so excited for my precious little niece-y.  she is so loved already.

also, tomorrow begins the demolition of our existing garage/laundry room.  it's going to be dicey, for sure.  schlepping laundry is something i've been so blessed and grateful never to have had to do.  but, this will be a good reminder of how luxurious in-house washers and dryers are.

as for holden, he's not lost a bit of his charm in his old age.  he's like a fine wine.  the sounds he makes get crazier, the things he learns get more dangerous, and the defiance (very sadly) only gets greater.  he's the best thing in all the world and..i guess i'll keep him.  i mean...look at that face!

first haircut

well, this is embarrassing.  i can't believe it's been over two months since i last posted but this one may be redemptive...it's that cute.

holden got his first haircut yesterday at a child-centric place.  it had lots of fun activities and colorful tv stands blaring cartoons...everything a young boy could want for his first experience in the barber's chair.  alas, holden wanted nothing to do with it.  maybe he's samson-esque, maybe he was tired (it was 5:30pm), maybe the cartoons on air weren't up to snuff.  i'm not sure but i do know my usually-joyful baby was clawing to get out of that chair.

so, while it wasn't met with unbridled excitement, it was a rite of passage nonetheless.  here is the documentation.

note: due to pitiful pouting, i waited until this morning to take his "after" shot.

nerd alert

about a month ago i finished knitting a baby blanket for holden. he's not a huge fan of blankets but i'm hoping he'll come around. if not, i'll just have to force it on him (which may or may not have already begun...judge for yourself below). maybe if i make it more like a cape, he'll warm up to it. either way, i think it's beautiful and simple. on to the next creative outlet.

excuse the wonky eyebrow in the last picture...looks like mama missed some banana cleanup after breakfast.

lonny highlights

an endless resource for inspiration, lonny magazine is as close to a replacement of the now-defunct domino magazine as i'm going to get.  i just finished pouring over the latest issue while the little man sleeps and found these goodies:

1. ruthie sommers' fantastic brick paver design, her amazing de gournay grisaille wallpaper, and that great faux-croc bathroom (click here if you're interested in either wallpaper):

2. these sharp little black-painted shelves that really make the contents pop in the home of sasha gold of nate berkus associates:

3. all of the simple, sophisticated draperies from the heidelberg suites in germany that have given me a great idea for holden's room (will elaborate on that later):

if you aren't familiar with lonny magazine...familiarize yourself here.  it's free and chock full of fun, creative ideas for the home.