I may love makeup and jewelry and manicures, but my everyday style is definitely more tomboy than ladylike. At least, the Madewell version of tomboy style that includes cashmere and dresses.
Basically, I prefer to look effortless and chic while feeling comfortable and casual, which is why… READ MORE!
Before I became a mother, I’d joke about how I’d discipline any future kids. If they misbehaved in public, for example, I’d pull them aside and, while attempting to keep my cool, ask, “Are you fucking kidding me?”
Obviously, this was not a parenting technique I decided to actually employed when Levi was born… READ MORE!
When I was in high school, my friends and I would sometimes take the train into New York City on a Saturday and wander around Greenwich Village. We’d pop into vintage stores looking for the perfect broken-in Levis, try on Dr. Martens at overstocked shoe stores, and smell fancy candles and hand lotions we couldn’t afford to buy.
It was the mid-90s, the era of grunge and overpowering bath products. It was also the era of the supermodel: Naomi, Cindy, Claudia, Linda. And my favorite, Christy.
It just so happens that on one of these Village excursions, our group had a huge celebrity sighting: Christy Turlington. We were walking in the opposite direction, and I immediately turned and trailed her for a block or two. I needed to see if she was just as beautiful in person as she was in my magazines.
The verdict? Absolutely.
While I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a fangirl, I’ve always admired Christy for her beauty and her brains. In the midst of a wildly successful modeling career, she went to NYU to earn her bachelor’s degree. She also made the smart choice of marrying Edward Burns, who, ahem, isn’t too bad looking himself.
And among her many humanitarian activities, Christy is the founder of Every Mother Counts, a non-profit dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother.
Every two minutes a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. That’s 800 women a day.
– Christy Turlington Burns
The more I learn about EMC’s efforts to improve maternal health, the more inspired I am to get involved. And one fun way I found to support EMC is the just-released “Oh Baby” kit, a collaboration between Every Mother Counts and Wool and the Gang.
If you want to learn how to crochet, the “Oh Baby” set is available as a crochet kit with all of the supplies you need to craft your own hat, bib, and booties. Plus, like all of Wool and the Gang’s products, it can be purchased as a ready-made set if handling a crochet hook isn’t your thing.
Either way, Wool and the Gang will donate 25% of the proceeds to Every Mother Counts to support programs addressing education, transportation, and supplies.
Get all the details at Wool and the Gang — and stay tuned for a EMC x WATG giveaway on my Instagram account!
Are you a knitter or a crocheter? If not, would you be interested in learning how to knit or crochet?
(This is not a sponsored post.)
When we left Omaha last September, my parents welcomed us back to my childhood home in New Jersey while we decided where to go next. By the time we moved out nine months later, I was itching to decorate with our furniture and home decor accessories.
The goal was to have our new townhouse put together by the end of the summer. Unfortunately… READ MORE!
You’d think I’d be prepared for Halloween next weekend since I’ve been writing about costumes, crafts, and trick-or-treat bags all month on Cool Mom Picks. But all I’ve got is a supersize bag of assorted candy for the neighborhood kids and a smaller bag of miniature peanut butter cups for my husband and me.
It’ll be another last-minute Halloween for us.
Luckily, Levi has decided that he wants to be a ghost for Halloween — excuse me, a “spooky ghost” — so we may actually get away with the simplest of costumes: a white sheet.
Asa will probably wear whatever his cousin, Max, wore last year. If it fits.
Max is exactly one year and one day older than Asa, but they weigh about the same right now. My hefty 20 month old might have to wear the bug costume that Levi sported last Halloween . . . when he was three.
I’d actually like to get the boys into their costumes this weekend because Jordan and I have a Halloween wedding in Louisville and won’t be able to take them trick-or-treating! Instead, they’ll have to go door-to-door with my parents, although I think Levi might have just as much fun staying home and passing out candy to the kids who ring our doorbell.
What I really want to do is take the boys in costume to the National Zoo’s Boo at the Zoo event, which is happening Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. It’s sponsored by Mars (so you know the candy will be good!) and there’ll be animal demonstrations, decorated trails, magicians, jugglers, a hay maze, and more.
Seriously, how much fun does that sound?
Plus, my mother-in-law will be in town, and I love having events on the calendar that we can attend as a family.
The one thing preventing us from clicking the ORDER NOW button is that the evening would cost us $150 because Boo at the Zoo is a fundraiser for the National Zoo. That just sounds like a lot for a night of trick-or-treating, especially when the zoo is normally free and my kids don’t really need all that candy.
I’d love to hear about your Halloween plans. What are your kids going to be for Halloween? Will you be trick-or-treating or attending a Halloween party? A mom in my playgroup is dressing up her toddler as Donald Trump (they have the same hairstyle), which I think is hilarious and genius.
Have a great weekend!
PS – Check out my Halloween posts on Cool Mom Picks for lots of costume and craft ideas!
(photo from Halloween 2014)
