Hot For School Marm

Here is a Coedith outfit post.  

I share this one with you because it is Papa's favorite.  I find it interesting, of all my clothing this is always his favorite look-  school marm.

Button up, cardigan, wool and oxfords.  Easy enough.

I have been pinning my hair up a lot lately.  I have noticed the longer my hair is the more likely I am to have it pulled up/back.  This was inspired from a gibson tuck tutorial seen here. 

Speaking of Gibson girl hair...I came across this truly wonderful and authentic tutorial here.

It makes me hesitant to call what I did to my hair anything close to a gibson!

I am in love with it!  I need to figure out something to do with my bangs to make it work.

My Week In Pins

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Did I mention I Love Food?

You have seen me taking food to parties....

And here I give you me arriving home from parties...

I just can't say "no" when asked if I want to take this or that home. 

That particular day I scored a chocolate cheesecake, salmon dip and a goat cheese, marscapone and lemon curd plate of yumminess.

Yeah, it's kinda a problem.

Things We Do After Naps

Inspiration for "Things We Do After Naps" from Sew Liberated.  This is one of my absolute favorite blogs and Meg is the mother I long to be.  If you have never visited Sew Liberated, do it!

In true Pink House style, once again we are in the kitchen!

I have four daughters and only one, Dotty, is nap age.  (she turned two last month)  Dot almost always wakes up hungry.  The first place we go is the kitchen table where a snack is waiting.  A lot of times she needs to sit on my lap as she transitions back to the land of wakefulness.  An activity set out on the table also helps.  After a few snuggles she is ready to go!

   

Our homemade Halloween play dough made an appearance twice this week.

Nap time is also when I can get some cooking done.  I try to have one thing the older girls can prepare.  If they are still working when Dot gets up she will skip her snack in order to get right in on the action. 

This day we made pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

We changed things up one afternoon and instead of a snack in the kitchen, we had a tea party outdoors.

Two Products I Discovered Today

   I am always happy with my hair because I have had the same hairdresser for nearly twenty years.  She was my stylist in California and then, she too, moved up here.  How lucky am I?!  She is also a close friend.  We are pictured below in 1994. 

(I have to tear myself away from longing thoughts of that couch we left behind....) 

And back to my point, this morning she introduced me to Color Bug by Kevin Murphy.  I had heard of "makeup for your hair" and had mentally written it off.  It just sounded cheesey.  But I trust Kari and since she recommended it we gave it a whirl.  I love it!  It went on bright pink even over my dark hair. My girls and I have a lot of fun ahead of us with this stuff.

The next product I have a crush on today is this bad little kitty.

A self defense key chain with a new spin on brass knuckles.  It is made of airplane steel and I am quite certain it can pack a punch if needed.

Just thought I'd share!

Paper Dolls, Barbie, and the Pin Up

An oldie but a goodie!.....

Did you know I own a tattoo shop?  I do.  Deluxe Tattoo Parlor.  Truth is I have very little to do with it, my husband, Mav, is the one who runs it.  When I was in high school I wanted to become a tattooer.  The problem is I don't like touching people, or having a job.  So instead I married one.

Our girls do not think of tattoos as anything odd or different.  They spend a fair amount of time at the shop and they always pick out a tattoo.  They choose from the flash, find the tracing, make a stencil and put it on.  Often times they go over it with a tattoo machine-sans needle.  Sometimes one of the guys at the shop "tattoo" them in this way.  Cartoon characters are the top choice followed closely by mermaids.

 A lot of people ask if we are going to let our children get tattooed.  No,  I will not let my children be tattooed,  not as "children." Once they are grown of course they can make their own decisions.  I have the hope they will rebel against us-the establishment, and not get tattooed.

 This has given the girls a unique perspective in imagery.  Lots of dragons, swallows, skulls, pinups, daggers, koi fish etc... and I often wonder how it will play out in their lives.   I have a hint of what it might look like with my niece.  She also had a lot of exposure to tattoo arts beginning at a very young age..  Here she is photographed by my daughter Ruth.  See a correlation?

Are pinups my children's version of Barbie dolls?  I think maybe.  We do try to counter this and create healthy body image.  Raising young girls I can tell you it isn't easy.  I also know if we looked at Mav's art since having his first little girl we would notice a more modest approach to pinups.

Acorn Hats

This time of year we find a lot of acorns on our walks.  We collected more than we needed for our nature table and found this craft to take care of the rest.  

You need: acorn tops, pom poms, feathers and glue.

My Week In Texts

Continues.....

Do Se Do Bike Ride

Today the weather was just perfect for a bike ride.  These days are coming to an end as the longest season of the year here in the Pacific Northwest is about to begin; rain season.

As you know, dresses are my favorite thing to wear-but can be tricky on a bike.  (though when I was younger and trimmer I never gave it a thought)  My favorite solution is pettipants.   Today I wore a square dancing pair along with a square dance dress I picked up at a garage sale for .25 cents.

The  tattoo peeking out is a pin up- you can just see her legs, which mine mimic today with the cowboy boots.  Cute coincidence! 

Cradle Crap Remover

I wanted to share a product I love, Mustela Foam Shampoo For Newborns.  I think it should simply be 'Foam Shampoo' considering I just bought it for my 2 year old.  She had a bad case of cradle cap. (is it still called that at her age? or simply dandruff?) 

  I remembered using Mustela with my other girls so we ran out to Nordstrom and bought some.  Target carries some Mustela but I haven't seen this product.   It costs about $10 and lasts a long time.

  Within 4 washes her cradle cap was almost completely gone.  Love it!

My Week In Instagram

I would like a pair of these shoes.

We locked ourselves out of the house.

Trader Joes

Walking the dog

Leaf art

Our local bakery

How I like my kitchen best

Wonderful time at the pumpkin patch

Flashback Friday

This is Mav and I in 1994, I am 22 and he is 27.  I love that it has the feel of a an old photo-(well I guess it actually is, but I mean much older)  Because his eyes are closed and my lips are pursed it screams film.  Remember when you didn't know if you got a good shot or not?  I miss these candid imperfections with digital.

My Week In School Lunches

Spinach wrap with carrots, cucumber, provolone, and veggie "turkey", granola bar, grapes and- what I believe to be the perfect invention applesauce to go.

Spinach wrap, number 2 cookie from Dot's birthday party, and veggie stix.

Bagel with cream cheese, capers and lox, tangerine and banana.

Pita sandwich with hummus, cucumbers, provolone cheese and carrots, yogurt raisins, grapes and milk.  I really like these ziploc reusable sectioned containers.  The food stays in it's rightful place without mixing flavors.  I had heard great reviews of the Goodbyn lunch containers.  I purchased one and was greatly disappointed.  Too expensive, too large (HUGE) and too hard for young children to open/close.

Spinach veggie wrap, granny smith apple, veggie stix, and organic toaster pastry (aka poptart)

I am trying to use reusable packaging.  I like the 'Wrap and Mat' and 'Keeper Sacks'.

This lunch didn't get packed at all.  PB and honey on raisin bread, boiled eggs and kiwi.