Month: January 2013

  • Bacon at 400.

    A few things going on here.

    1. Who thinks the GaRgAnTuOuS microwave hanging on the wall that the lady left with the house we bought 10 YEARS AGO needs to go? {yeah, me too. I hate the thing!}

    2. Who thinks I need new cabinets? {yeah me too…but I’d settle for a paint job}

    3. Who thinks I sound discontent? {yeah me too…I should be thankful I HAVE a kitchen!}
    4. Who has ever tried making bacon in the oven? {I know it may be an old trick}
    My grandpa told us how a long, long time ago. We’ve been doing it forever.
    Bacon on a cookie sheet…oven set at 400 degrees. It turns out perfectly.
    and that’s all I have for today.
    Happy Wednesday.

  • So the plan was to not eat the cookies.

    I didn’t follow that plan. Here I am eating those little cookies from Trader Joe’s.
    The ones in the clear plastic container. The tiny chocolate chip oatmeal ones.
    The ones where you can’t just eat one! Yeah, those.

     Some Instagram shots.

    1. Oranges.
    2. Love that the boys are old enough to paint.
    3. It was freezing outside, but so fun to be with him.
    4. Flowers from the grocery store.
    5. Cousins sleeping over.
    6. Breakfast.
    7. Jeff practicing his photobombing skills.
    8. Ukulele lesson.
    9. One day he’ll get one.
    10. Why do you have to be so expensive Restoration Hardware?
    11. Princess cupcakes baked by 4 little princesses. (one missing in the photo ;)
    12. She read the whole book all by herself! :)

  • Don’t grow up little girl.


    She didn’t seem to mind the cold. Her world was much too exciting to come in off the ice.
    She danced and skated. and I snapped pictures…from my dining room window.

    I love these winter days.

  • Did you know?

    …we made oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips today.
    …..I don’t like math more than my kids claim they don’t like to do it.
    ....we go through apples and pears like water in this house. 

    ….I love my wood burning stove. 
    ….you can have a 53 minute conversation with your cousin on the phone about
    Abraham Lincoln and upcoming birthday parties and new furniture and all sorts of other things.

    ….”the frizzes” is when a turtle’s shell peels.
    it’s natural and normal and gross and it’s going on in our basement right now.
    ……that I am Not an animal lover..at all.at all.at all.

    …that Jeff gave the good eyelashes to my kids. {they come from his mom}

    ….I like green plants in my house. I think they fit perfect in a white room.

    Happy Tuesday to you.

  • His year has been made.

    Don’t you think?

    Saturday night Sam and I went with cousins to see the Bull’s play.
    He is a big fan like his dad and brother, so this was a great, big deal.
    {this was his first game, we are ever so grateful to have been invited}

    I didn’t tell him where he was going.
    He thought he was on his way to Whole Foods. :)

    Sam is now a member of the High Five Club…
    he “high fived” the players with his cousin as they came onto the court. 
    He took his official shirt off only to attend church yesterday morning.

    For two and a half hours he looked pretty much like this….honestly. 

    “Best night of his life” he said.
    and he’s been around for a long time this 10 year old of mine. 

    Good beginning of the week to you.

  • Fashion Tip Friday ~

    Taking a week off from providing you with a life changing fashion tip.
    However, I wouldn’t think of leaving you high and dry without some form of Friday entertainment.

    So here we go…a funny little story for you.
    If you know the book Goodnight Moon..you will find this quite amusing. 
    If you don’t know the book, get a copy, read it, come back to my site…..
    so you too can be quite amused.

    Goodnight Nanny-Cam

    In the great green-certified room
    There was a smartphone 
    And a silver spoon 
    And a picture of—

    A high-contrast, brain-stimulating black-and-white moon

    And there was a musical concert by Baby Mozart

    And high window guards 
    And French flash cards

    And a fireplace safety gate
    And toys without phthalate

    And a sterilizer and bottle brush and bowl full of organic mush

    And a bilingual nanny who was whispering “hush”

    Goodnight room

    Goodnight recycled baby wipes with no perfume

    Goodnight high-contrast black-and-white moon

    Goodnight baby monitor
    And the nanny-cam

    Goodnight French flash cards 
    Bonne nuit petit canard

    Goodnight non-slip socks
    And goodnight sustainable-wood blocks

    Goodnight friends with unique, unusual names
    And goodnight brain-development games

    Goodnight digital archive of baby’s first years

    And goodnight Doctors Karp, Leach, Ferber, and Sears

    Goodnight wipes warmer and yoga mat, HEPA filter and sun hat,
    Sunscreen, sunglasses, sleep sack, outlet cap, sleep coach, G &T coach, star charts, consumer reports,
    Vitamin D, anything with Omega-3, French au pair, filtered air and—

    Goodnight alpha parents everywhere.


    Found this: Here.

    Going on a very late date tonight with a really handsome man.
    Happy Weekend Everyone.

  • How my 36th birthday went down.

    It started in bed. Jeff woke me up and handed me a box of my favorite granola in the whole world.
    You can buy it at Target. You Should! buy it at Target. It’s the best.
    Except they changed the packaging…you used to get more in the other box. 
    The new box looks like this…

     

    I took a shower, washed my hair…decided not to use hair products. Bad idea turned Bad hair day.
    I looked like a man. from maybe the 70′s? all day.

    It was the first day we were feeling {pretty much, almost, sort of all the way} better.
    Our lips had color for the first time in a week. We decided church was a grand idea.

    My friend handed me a gift and said Happy Birthday. I said thank you.
    Thirty minutes later I remembered…IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY TOO!
    What a horrible, horrible friend.
    We’ve been sick. I tried justifying my rudeness in my head. It didn’t matter. ugh.
    I apologized. she laughed. I’m still rude.

    We made homemade pizza in the afternoon. My kids gave me gifts.
    a candle.a new lantern.candy…lots of candy. They used their own money…my heart melted.

    My sister came over and gave me a new pair of shoes I can’t wait to wear.

    My parents, two (other) sisters and three brothers stopped over. 
    I had nothing to serve them. This is very un-Italian like, very un-Savino {my maiden name} like,
    very… just Not us. Again..I was just sick. How many times can I use this? =)
    We did have some overdone brownies…that was my fault. I started talking and forgot to check on them.

    My mom and dad gave me a picture of Big Ben. My kids are obsessed with Big Ben.
    They loved my gift. so did I.

    My mom took a picture of my mullet/man/70′s hair and then instagrammed me.
    The picture is below. 

    My shirt says..”It ain’t sauce, it’s gravy.” Because it’s gravy. It’s not called sauce. 
    Don’t say sauce. Don’t laugh at my hair. 

    i love you  love allison xoxo

    (I left my post sitting on the screen when I went to wash dinner dishes…
    ^^^Allison typed me a note. I couldn’t delete it. ;)

    and a few more just for fun.

    Happy Monday.

  • Fashion Tip Friday ~

    Remember way back when in 2010,
    I wrote about wearing White on your legs?

    Well….

    …yeah, right in a store front window, walking down Michigan Ave. this is what I see.
    I also saw a couple of girls wearing white tights. They were about 16 years old.

    My oh my how everything comes back around. Next it’s going to be big bangs..
    I’m tellin ya, they’re coming! they. are. coming…like white walls and hot pink tshirts. 

    Not sure if I’m quite ready to embrace this one yet, these white tights…it sort of feels too little girl-ish.
    Like tying bows on pigtails in my hair.  

    How about you? Thinking about becoming a white-tight-wearer?

  • Have you colored them a picture?

    Almost everyday we (Jeff and I) are gifted colored pictures from our girls.
    As most children….they are artwork machines! They go at it for hours with paints and markers.

    Quite honestly, we started to take them for granted (the pictures, not the girls ;) because….
    1. We are always getting new ones, we’re spoiled with pictures so to speak.
    2. We have SO many! 

    The sad thing is…it stops. We don’t get pictures from our boys anymore.
    We used to get pictures of swords and camping and cowboys…now we get flowers and butterflies.

    It’s their way of showing love. and thoughtfulness. they’ve put effort into what they’ve created.

    Today Allison delivered to each of us a picture.  
    Jeff and I are still sick. (Yes, Still!!! but I think this is the end..really this time)
    Our boys are running the house for the most part, as we sleep and…..

    …..color. Today with a box of 64 choices between us,
    next to each other in bed we colored like we were 8 years old. 

    It was fun. and seeing the girls light up when we handed over our Crayola masterpieces…priceless.

    They asked if we colored printed pictures or if we really, really drew them ourselves.
    Yeah, we’re masters with crayons Jeff and I. You should have seen his incredible princess castle! ;)

    If you’re a mom or dad..aunt or uncle…big brother or sister,
    I’m sure you’ve gotten a picture at some point from a child.

    Have you ever colored one back?
    If not, you should try it.
    They love it! and you may have more fun than you think coloring. Ha!

    *Leaving little notes is fun too…stick them in journals, books, drawers…etc.
    Have Fun!!!