mother's day

I found this old photo tucked in a drawer the other day and have been staring at it all week. I'm not sure exactly what month it was taken, but it shows my mom (looking stylish as usual) with my three older siblings. She may even have been pregnant with me at the time.. I'm her fourth.

I keep looking at this picture and seeing my own little family: my oldest boy, C who turns 8 in a few weeks; then my daughter Bee, who is 6; and our sweet Baby M who is almost 2. And our fourth baby will join us this summer, I'm due at the end of July. (We're hoping this baby won't come as early as Baby M did! Fingers crossed.) Four children! I keep looking at our dining room table and imagining all the chairs filled.

Because it's Mother's Day this Sunday, I've been thinking a lot about my mom and the way she raised us (I should give my dad some credit too, I guess). In many ways I hope I can replicate the family I grew up in.. I had a lovely childhood and my family is still close. My parents are a good team, and I look to them as examples of how to raise a family full of love, with ample teaching moments, a bit of discipline, and a lot of fun.

It's a special week for my family. My older sister (the cute one above with the saddle shoes and the big grin) is getting married this weekend, and we'll all be together for at least 24 hours. All five of my siblings and all their spouses, and all the eighteen children we have between us. I cannot wait! 

Loeffler Randall (a lovely shoe company I first heard about when Purl Soho designed some knit socks to wear with their rain boots) asked me to do a little Mother's Day Q & A. Hop over there to hear how my mom inspires me. Happy Mother's Day!

a collection a day

You may remember my love of collections. I especially like odd collections of things people usually don't collect, like playing cards found on the street, produce stickers, found leaves, etc. When I guest blogged at Black Eiffel last year, I shared some of my little "Collections of Nothing".

So you can imagine my delight when I saw one of my favorite artists Lisa Congdon has started a new blog this year, called A Collection a Day, where she'll be sharing her own collections. So far her collections have included erasers, paintbrushes, and pencil lead cases. It's only the 5th of January and I can't wait for the rest of 2010!

my favorite library books

The lovely ladies over at Small magazine asked me to contribute to the Winter issue, sharing my favorite library finds over the years. I was only too happy to help as I am a big fan of everything they do over there. Check out my favorite library books here.

wrapping things up

I'm wrapping up my week at Design*Sponge with two posts: one on ABC wrapping ideas, and the other a downloadable ABC card you can make yourself. I'll be back to business as usual here on Monday!

design*sponge

I'll be hosting the guest blog over at design*sponge all this week. The theme for the week is one of my favorite things - the ABC's. I hope you'll join me.

nesting

I'm over at Kirei Nest today, answering a few questions about wedding gifts, dishware and house guests. The photo above is from Martha's house in Maine and is the reason I collect only white dishes. She calls it "The Great Wall of China". (And it's even more impressive in person!)

secrets to a happy marriage

Joanna, over at Cup of Jo is off on her honeymoon. While she is away she is posting answers to the question "What's the secret to a happy marriage?" I've loved reading everyone's little ways of staying close. Check out my answer today.

This photo is from a little trip John and I took to Philadelphia 2 years ago, our first trip without the kids. A Man Full of Trouble was a popular tavern during the Revolutionary era. A parrot, a monkey, and a cat? Well that does sound like trouble.

guest blogging

Most designers collect something. Old type specimen catalogs, vintage typewriter ribbon tins, french soap packaging, etc. I recently read Collections of Nothing, by William Davies King, a book about King's own odd collections (cereal boxes, water bottle labels, skeleton keys.. just to name a few). I loved King's book, but it was a memoir about collecting, what we collect and why... and what I really wanted was to spend some time with his actual collections.

This week I'll be guest blogging at Black*Eiffel. I've decided to share several of my own "collections of nothing"..  one or two a day through Saturday. I hope you'll join us.