{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

. . . . . . . .

Via SoulMama.com

Bros Got My Back.

Taylor via Lauren

Read my sisters blog bitches! or i won't talk to you for like a day or until you buy my next drink~ XOXO

How Bourgeois.: Lolo's Wish List

howbourgeois.blogspot.com

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    Lauren Damn! Lol.

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Looking Good! NOT.

OMG. Serious...oh.my.god. Ok, so it needs a little more work. Action has now started on the outside. Awesome! All of that pinky-white on the front of the house, it's cedar board, primed and ready to go! I'm so glad we didn't choose pinky-white as our paint color. Just scrape the rest of the house, slap on a coat of warm yellow, some shutters, porch lights, house numbers, sand and paint the fence, re-do the landscaping, add a new roof, rebuild the chimney, rebuild the front porch and we're ready to go! Lol.

(P.S. WHAT is that stuff covering our windows!? I think it's soap. I should ask. They're painting all of the interior trim, and whatever the heck that is, keeps the paint off the windows.)

A boy and his cat.

Lolo's Wish List

Right now on QVC, they're running a show called Bethlehem Lights Seasonal Lighting. You guys, it's August. They're selling table runners that have tiny, twinkling lights inside. It's Santa's Special Offers time on QVC! WOOT!

You might be relieved to know that, no, I'm not sitting here watching QVC, eyeing myself some kind of new Christmas decor. It's just background noise. The Millionaire Matchmaker re-runs would be much too distracting while I attempt to blog.

A little while ago I came home from Target. Some of my friends joke about how much I frequent that joint. The truth is, I go there a lot, but it's almost always only for the necessities like toothpaste, kitty little, toilet paper and my gold plated dental floss. My Target also carries things like organic milk, and other groceries at very competitive prices! So, yes, you could say I have reasons to go.

Tonight though, I slipped away while Jon hung out with Noah, to find something nice to wear for next week. Next Tuesday I am going to be speaking once again at the lower school new parent orientation at Noah's school! I feel honored, and public speaking gives me a rush. It's SO scary and so much fun at the same time. Jon and I chaired the school's big, fundraising auction last year. It was a quite the event, a silent and live auction, and lovely dinner at the Detroit Athletic Club downtown. Together, we raised over $100,000! Part of my duties was having to speak in front of over 250 people! Yikes! (I secretly loved every minute of it.) ;)

So needing to look presentable and semi-creditable next week, (I'm the volunteer vice president of lower school new families. I have to seem like I know what I'm doing.) I headed to Target. And cruising those aisles it kind of hit me.... Gosh, I wish I didn't feel too guilty to go shoping at clothing stores. I love Target. I love love LOVE Target, and I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to be in the position to buy a new outfit period! But, I kind of longed and imagined walking into Ann Taylor or Banana Republic or an Anthropologie without feeling guilty. Like, I shouldn't "waste" our money. It's my mental block, I know that. It's self-imposed guilt.

I've never been a big spender. It just doesn't interest me. Little is worth big bucks when you can find something nice at a lower price-point or on sale. Jon and I both, we're pretty conservative when it comes to shopping. That's why this house renovation has really be an EYE OPENER to me. All along, all these years, I guess I could have spent a little on things we wanted. I see that now, because we've had to buy stupid porch lights, FOUR of them, and a stove and a dishwasher and three sinks and OMG, so much stuff and....we just went out and purchased them.

And now all of this spending has made me feel even more worried and guilty about buying anything extra. This post isn't really for anyone by myself, kind of like a running list. I thought I would put my wish list out there. Things that I really need or want, but I know won't allow myself to buy this year. A lot of it is stuff I wouldn't let myself buy last year, or the year before that too.

Sometimes, seeing a list, really brings things into focus. It helps you cross things off, strive for others, and allows you to come back and reassess later. So, without further ado, Lolo's Wish list!

1. A sensible, but cute pair of brown leather boots or booties for the fall and winter.
2. Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector. I really need this, I do. My skin went through the ringer from stress this past year. :(
3. A Sodastream system We drink A LOT of sparkling water in our house. It's a good way to get in water, when I'm not the biggest fan of tap water. We usually drink Le Croix or Trader Joe's seltzer water, but after doing the math, the Sodastream would save us a lot of money. Only twenty-five cents a liter! We've been talking about getting one for at least two years. "Talking" being the key word. We should have just gone for it.
4. Some new cold weather clothes. Last year I was always dressing a bit more formal and dressed up because I had auction meetings several time a weeks. This year, I've decided that my Fall/Winter style is going to be "SOFT RELAXED COMFY". I've always loved cotton, it's my favorite fabric more than anything. So first thing is soft, cotton clothes. Next, I think jeans aren't too comfy. You know what is comfy? Soft, thick tights or leggings under dresses. Dresses are so easy, AND you often get more outfit bang for your buck! I want to do plaids for fall and waffle knits, and lots of winter pastels for well, winter! Title Nine dresses look sporty and comfortable. Want to hear something funny? I love the Lands End girl's cotton dresses. The prints are cute! They were on sale so I bought myself one in the largest size. It arrived and fit quite well surprisingly, but, I looked like I was wearing a big nightgown. Lol. Ok, no more girl's clothing.
5. I'd really really love a Shark steam mop for the floors. I know, boring, but I think it would come in very handy, especially in the new place.
6. A weekend away with Jon. I don't care where we go. Heck, let's not go anywhere! Just to have some time together to do something fun and forget about the stresses of life, that would be SO wonderful. We've only gone out on a date night a few times this summer, but two of those times we had to cut the night short because Noah was upset. It's been a long few months, I'd give anything for a Greenfield Village day or a quiet weekend up north. Priceless.
7. A book with recipes, crafts and home remedies from the 1800's, like The American Frugal Housewife!
8. A prairie dress with pinafore and bonnet, so I can wear it around and sweep my front porch in it to freak out people driving by. And, so I can wear it to Greenfield Village!
9. A Singer 151 Adjustable Dressform. (I'd get it off eBay though. Much cheaper!) I've wanted an adjustable dressform for years. It lets you to drape patterns and sew things to your exact shape and size. Think of all the money I could save by making my own clothes. It would be so much fun.
   +

Ok, that's my list for now. SO EXCITING! Lol. Sorry, I know, kind of lame. xoxo

Currently Listening To.....

Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks

Foster The People - Pumped Up Kicks from Foster The People on Vimeo.

Jonsi - Go Do

Jónsi - Go Do from Jónsi on Vimeo.

Phoenix - 1901

Because I'm Busy Watching Flipping Out...

I'm sorry, it's Tuesday night, and because I'm major crushing on Jeffrey Lewis, and I would give anything to be BFF's with Zoila, I can't miss watching Flipping Out.

Sooooo.... this update post will be a lot of pictures, less words.

The house is creeping along. I can't wait to move in. I thought we'd be in by July! I know, ha ha. Thanks. At least there's an end in sight. The interior painting has started, and the floors go in next. Now all we need are some toilets. Speaking of toilets, this is the moment I fell in love with Zoila: http://www.bravotv.com/flipping-out/season-4/videos/touching-monkeys-hole

Bam! Counter tops. Let the fudge making commence! Listen, if you're looking for an alternative to granite, check out some marble.

Goodbye old, rotted out boards, HELLO sexy cedar! Did you know, because this house is historically registered, the city would not let us re-side the house in anything but cedar? That's because cedar was the original material used.

And what was behind the old, rotted out boards you might wonder? Old, rotted out insulation, made from..........ok, ready........BIRCH mixed with mortar. Uh huh.

Check out my Dawg. He's always rolling with me over to check on the new house. I can't wait to spray paint all that wood.

Oh, and I gave myself a strawberry manicure!

With matching polka dot toes. I have to go finish my Judy Blume novel now.

Then one day, when we were having the "pool" serviced, the filter exploded. Hello. EXPLODED! Did you know that many pool filters are full of sand? Sand is da BOMB for filtering. Literally! Speaking of exploding, we need a new A/C. Hell Yeah!

Then, because of all my free time this summer, I decided to make beet borscht soup from scratch today! AND stuffed cabbage, just like Jon's Bubby used to make. Sort of. Not really. But still. I also made cucumber salad with sour cream and dill, and blueberry muffins because when you want to shut out real life, just go into your kitchen and cook for five hours.

Also, they put the fireplace hearth in. They TRIED to install a kick-ass quartzite surround, but it needs some more tooling. Is that the word, tooling?

Then, my kitchen, but I already told you that.

Ok, Ok, so....I was handed down, an old hand-me-down, brass chandelier many years ago. Then, I handed it back to my Mom. Then I stole it from her, and Jon painted it.

ROCK! I think it'll look good in the eating area.

Look at the neato wallpaper that I found for our little den/office/guest room place! It's by Hygee & West and is called Daydream, in cream. I really like it. Here are some pictures of it in somebody else's bathroom.



Now this is the wallpaper that I found for the lower bath. I know, wallpaper might be a bit of an obsession these days, but why not! Anthropologie makes this paper, it's called "The Loft Larks". It was kind of bought on a whim, which is odd, because I've been very methodical with this house. I'm going to see how it looks when the paper arrives, but we thought it would be fun in the little room. Also, our house's former owners were....the Larks!

I love Zoila!

Tiny Worlds. Like, Really Tiny.

I just love these "Tiny Worlds" by Akinobu Izumi.

Think what a steady hand, let alone creativity is required to make Akinobu's awesome treasures.

"First Hatched Sea Turtle"

Of course, the AUTUMN scene "Tiny Red Tree and Family" is my favorite. (Hint! Hint!)

So Close, I can Almost Craft It

Fall. Fall makes me lose my marbles. Fall makes me slap-happy. Fall makes me a better person. Been going ape for autumn since 1985.

I'm not. kidding.

I loved Fall SO much, that for my fifth grade school pictures, I donned a gorgeous matching, candy corn necklace and earring set from Hallmark. Because, I felt in my heart, it was just quintessential me. (I might have told you all of this before. Sorry. I promise to try to get my hands on a copy of the photo. MORE proof that I RULZ.)

How could this be though? It's like the TLC special that I saw about people in love with inanimate objects,only Fall isn't an object, it's a SEASON. (Or , fall is something you do when you let that boyfriend, you know, the "bad influence one", that you really only went out with because he drives a Jeep, tell you that it's non-alcoholic wine in a box. And then you go skateboarding.)

It's not just one thing that I've fallen (Oh haha, pardon the pun!) deeply in love with, it's so many things.

1. Those gorgeous gorgeous warm colored leaves, standing golden in the sun.
2. The GREAT smell in the air, toasty fires burning. Throw on another log for me homies!
3. A cool breeze in the air. From sweating to tha' sweaters. That's how I roll.
4. PLAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. Kids go back to school, so finally I can get my life back. (Wait, did I just admit that one out loud?)
6. Hallow ween ween ween! Even though I've heard that we don't get trick-or-treaters on our new street, I shall buy candy to have ready anyway. I will pretend to be kind and caring about the theoretical possibility of stray treaters. And then, Noah and I will eat it.
7. Dried corn for decorating. Long ago, in the time of the Pilgrims, the Native Americans used fish, buried in the ground to fertilize their corn crops. Since learning that fact in second grade, I always wondered how nasty the cornstalks smelled, once they pulled the crops out at the end of the season. I imagine it every Thanksgiving.
8. Pumpkins. In college, I cruelly made all of my Japanese exchange student friends put their hands inside of a pumpkin. It was almost too much. One of them barfed.
9. Felt pumpkins. Last week, I crafted a mini-pumpkin with wool by needle felting. THEN, I made a tiny-pumpkin by needle felting. THEN, my cats got a hold of them in the night and chewed them, and now they smell just like the long ago Native American's corn crops.
10. This is the Autumn fairy terrarium that I hand crafted. Which, firmly puts me in the category of dork. But you know what? I don't care, because if you have fall, you have everything.

Last fall, Jon might or might not have been annoyed with me for accidentally buying a station wagon full of pumpkins, some water leaking mums, insect infested cornstalks and a bale of HAY!!!!

I might or might have not vacuumed out the aftermath myself..........

But HELLO! ........... this autumn vignette is nothing but HOT!!!!

Amazing, Fantastic, Beautiful and Just Plain Happy!

What incredible talent. This makes me smile ear to ear and want to dance in the grass. :)
(And by the way, ignore the title, this woman is not old! She's wonderful.)


Amazing Guitar Playing Old Lady by simonantares via Tralalere!

Simplicity Parenting- Children's Daily Rhythm Chart Giveaway!

Hi everybody, I know it's been a long time no see! Parenting Noah this summer vacation, renovating the new house and planing our move has taken up quite a bit of time.

In this hectic, busy season, I'm often brought comfort by the thoughts and practices of slower, more simple living. One book and website in particular is a great source, it's called Simplicity Parenting! Take some quite time and read through and learn more if you'd like. They're sponsoring a great giveaway this week of a children's daily rhythm charts from A Kid's Day.

These charts look adorable, but even more so, they help to give children a sense of calm and security, knowing what the day will hold. The charts are also a great conversation starter, and often get kids interested and anticipating the activities to come.

Enjoy, and remember to stop and smell the roses!

xo,

Lauren