Stay Warm Little Bear

This winter is just way too cold. But, there are luxurious ways to keep your home, and baby toasty and beautiful.  Enter the sheep skin. This fluffy, bit of heaven is versatile, natural, and adds texture and beauty wherever you throw it. It comes in a variety of colors, which will also add a punch to a neutral pallet.  I'm in love . . . 

DESIGNER STYLE 

 nursery 

You’ve completed trimester 1, and stopped feeling as if you’ve just gotten off of the tilt a whirl, and now you’re fully into semester 2. Nesting is in all its glory. Time to get started on the nursery. You’re a very style savvy gal, who likes great sheets, fantastic resorts, and fine dining. You’ve taken a lot of time putting your home together, and you’re wondering how you can carry that same sophistication into the baby’s room. Well, Bratt Décor can help. Bratt was founded when hipster parents, Mary and Stephen Bauer, were in exactly the same place. Design, sophistication and timelessness define their style. Their collections give you everything you need to effortlessly create the nursery of your dreams. “The first step in creating your space is to pick a feeling or energy you want the room to convey”, says Bratt Prez, Mary Bauer. Some moms opt for serenity in the nursery, and others want stimulation. While defining terms like “modern” and “traditional, can give you some guidelines on how to decorate, more and more moms are letting go of the restrictive labels seen in décor, and they are breaking all the rules. We’re seeing wildly elegant furnishings in stark modern settings, and rooms that boast both sleek and glamorous touches. “ Rooms like people are never one dimensional and all should be original,” says Bauer. Putting a great room together is like throwing a great party. It’s all about the choices you make. The right choices create harmony, and excitement. While you may love Bobby, Sue and Sally, they might not all be compatible at the party. When making choices for your nursery, furniture, bedding, lighting, artwork, etc, make sure they play nice together. And, that’s not to say they all have to be exactly the same. That gets boring. Definitely, add something completely unexpected. That will give your room (and party) some spice and unpredictability. Now, go create something magnifique!

WINTER WHITE

White is a perfect choice for nursery decor, and works beautifully no matter what your style. To achieve a great white room, start with white walls and a white floor. By surrounding the space in white, your room is wrapped in the purity of the color and half the work is done. Next, choose white furnishings that bring the style you want to the room. By adding a few neutral touches, you give your white pallet some depth, and add overall interest to the room.

Nesting 101

At some point in your pregnancy, that primal urge called nesting wakes up and takes over your entire being. You fantasize about fabric and crave cribs. It's o.k. It's normal, and I'm here to help you create the nursery of your dreams, on time, on budget and just the way you want it. In fact, being the professional that I am, I'm going to break it down for you in 3 easy steps. Ready?

Step 1: Consider your space, choose your furnishings
Step 2: Form meets function
Step 3: Bring in the love

1. O.K., so let's look at the room. Consider the size, features, light, and style of the space. Often the nurseries are the smallest room in the house, so you're going to want to maximize the look and feel of that space. Choose light colored walls, and make the most of any light coming in from the windows. This will make the room seem bigger. Next choose your furnishings. So often people with small rooms make the fatal mistake of choosing small scaled furniture. This just makes your room feel even more diminutive, like a doll house. Rather, choose regular size pieces, but ones that can do double duty so you end up using less furnishings. Choose a changer that can doubles as a dresser, for example. If your room is really large, you will want to make sure you have great floor coverings to cut down on noise, and feel free to use rich, warm or dark wall colors which will help create a more cozy atmosphere. Every room has its own personality, so find out what's unique about your s and highlight that. Maybe you have beautiful old molding, if so, maximize its affect by painting it a contrasting color. Maybe you have a great arch, or window seat, or fabulous wide planked floors. Whatever it is, if its beautiful, show it off.

2. Once you've chosen your color scheme and furnishings, you're off to a great start. By now, the room should begin to take shape and reflect your style. But, this isn't just a beautiful room, its a room that has work to do. It has to provide for a safe sleeping environment, a place to change baby, and, ideally, offer a place to feed and rock your little rock star. So, now we've got to get practical. I know you've chosen a brand new beautiful crib (hopefully one from Bratt Decor) that meets all of the latest safety requirements, and you've decked it out with a great mattress and bedding. So, that area is all taken care of. And, I'm sure you heeded all of your manufacturers warnings about crib placement, etc. If you don't know what I'm talking about, check at the CPSC website for all that very important info. Next, you need to set up a changing station. Believe me you'll be spending way more time than you ever imagined doing this one little task. Make sure you have everything at your fingertips that you need, so you never are tempted to leave baby. Stock it with wipes, diapers, a change of clothes, ointments and powders, everything you could possibly need, and don't forget the diaper genie. Next, do yourself a favor and get a fabulously comfy chair, and make sure your hubby likes it too. You will be in this chair a lot. There are so many great options, one for every style. So, you've covered SEP functions. What's SEP, you ask, oh, that's Sleep, Eat and Poop.

3. Finally, the love. Honestly, if this room isn't absolutely oozing with the love, you've missed the whole point. Remember, this first room is for you. After the SEP is covered, it really is all about you. This is where you will while away the hours, as night turns into day. This is the room you will remember, as you bring that brand new baby home and place him in his gorgeous crib that you so lovingly prepared for him. So, as you love on the baby this room needs to love on you. Put things that you love all around the room. I love things from your personal history, your childhood. Do you have a favorite stuffy, or a silver rattle, or maybe your own christening gown that you can frame and put on the wall. Whatever objects you choose, make sure they are personal and that they melt your heart whenever you look at them. You will be soothed and peaceful and that most definitely will transfer to baby.

So there you have it, as easy as 123. I want you to have so much fun putting this room together, and I want you to love the end result. Be kind to yourself. Include your husband in the process. Give yourself enough time to do all the things you want to do. Create a budget and make it work. Be flexible if things don't go exactly the way you planned, it's really not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of the miracle that you're experiencing. Laugh, a lot. It's a fantastic time and one that should be savored.

Have fun little birdies.

The Meaning of Life According to My Acupuncturist

Once upon a time I had a very nasty red, bumpy rash on my thighs and it itched like crazy. Normally I'm the type to generally suck it up when it comes to life's little illnesses or physical inconveniences, but this was not to be ignored. So, after a week of oatmeal baths and aloe vera rubs, I went to see a dermatologist. The doctor looked me over and promptly announced I was experiencing a reaction to antibiotics. When I informed said doctor that I hadn't been on antibiotics in at least ten years, he told me I must be mistaken because that rash was definitely the result of a reaction to antibiotics. Don't you just a love a good doctor who listens? He prescribed some pills and some creams and sent me on my way. I used all the stupid medicine and had no relief whatsoever. Finally, I went to see an acupuncturist who spent a lot of time asking me all kinds of questions about my life. To my surprise she pulled out a pamphlet that pictured a rash that looked exactly like mine. She then went on to educate me on the cycles we go through in life, and they are broken into four seasons: spring, summer, winter and fall. Now, our personal seasons don't necessarily coincide with the actual seasons, but rather reflect important points within our life. Spring is a time in your life when you are full of new ideas and new directions. It can be when you are buying a new house, or starting a business, or having a child. It can be as simple as beginning a new work out regime. It represents beginnings, newness. We all have many, many springs within our lifetime. Summer is the fullness of the new idea. It's when we bare the fruit of our new endeavor. Fall is a slowing down of the growth. It represents the coming of the end. Now, I know that sounds bad, but it's really not. It can mean we've reached our goals, it's time to for a well deserved rest. And then winter is a time for rest. It's a peaceful time when we are designed to restore and renew our energy. We need the quiet to settle and generate new directions. All of these seasons are essential and ongoing within ones lifetime. And, there are wonderful and difficult things that can happen in all the stages. The wonderful scripture: for all things there is a season, speaks of this exact concept. If we don't move through the stages as they natural begin and end, there can be physical repercussions. As it turns out, my rash was the result of my refusing to move through my Fall. At that time, I didn't even know I was in a Fall, but I had been dealing with some really hard things. I thought I was handling everything quite swimmingly, however, my rash was proof to the contrary. My sister had died about 6 weeks earlier, way too young of cancer. Also, at that time, it became very apparent that I had to close my store, which I had only just opened. It seems wrong somehow to even mention my store in the same sentence as my sister, because one represents a priceless human life and the other is just a business. But, for me it was more than that. It represented what I saw as a pinnacle of years of hard work and sacrifice, an arrival, my greatest work so far. And, it didn't just fail, it fail spectacularly. I lost all the money I had managed to save in 10 years of business. I lost my vision, and I lost my confidence. It was a devastating loss. And, well, loosing my sister, I guess I don't need to explain how heartbreaking that was. I moved through my Fall. I let go. I mourned. I rested. And I waited for something new.

I didn't want either of those things to be true, but they were true none the less. We all know deep within ourselves, all truth, but sometimes we just don't have the courage to look at it, really look at it. So, we play a game with mind, attempt to convince ourselves that we're just fine, handling everything. And then comes the rash, or the heart attack, or the failed marriage, or the break down.

So, take my wise tail of the angry red rash, and learn from it. If you're stuck, I'm here to stand with you. I will hold your hand as you face the truths of this life that you just don't want to face, and I promise you, Spring will come again.

I don't know why I wanted to tell you this story. Maybe because I'm sensing a long awaited Springtime. Maybe you're stuck and don't know it. Maybe you're in the thralls of Springtime or the fullness of summer and I want you to stand still and enjoy it. Wherever you are, embrace all that this time has to offer. For me, I feel change and possibility swirling all around me. Spring is in the air.

Keeping your Sanity Nov thru January

As I write this, my stomach is chock full of mini reese's cups leftover from the picked through Halloween candy, and I'm trying to remember if my last year's Thanksgiving table cloth is stained beyond all hope. I think it is. Well, now, let's add picking up a 96"long white linen table cloth to my list of things to do. Honestly, when I look at all that goes into any random week of my life, my head literally spins around on it's own axis. So, I really just try to break it down day by day, keeping the remaining 6 on my blurred radar.

While, I really do get the whole slow down and smell the roses concept, less is more, blah blah blah, every other time of the year, when it comes to holiday time, I just seem to loose all wisdom. It's like a 7 year old wetting the bed suddenly. It's humiliating, but I just can't seem to help myself. It starts now, planning for the perfect Thanksgiving for my family, neighbors and friends. Now, if you've grown to know me, you will probably guess, I don't just have a simple sit down dinner with my family. No, no, no. I have a small army to my cabin in WV every Thanksgiving. And, it's always so wonderful (more wonderful in retrospect then in the moment, and that's what gets me again and again). You can imagine the amount of work that requires. Last year, I had a sit down dinner for 22 people, with a cocktail party prior, and ten spent the weekend. Also add to that list: a dog, a guinnea pig, a bunny and a cat. This year is shaping up to be just slightly bigger. Here's how I imagine things will go. I'll arrive 2 days prior to begin the decorating, and preparations, and I'll stay back a day to put everything back in order, and then it will be a mad rush to get back into the office and do all the work I negated by having such a grand "holiday". I'll rush back to the office to do next year's forecasting, end of year financials, holiday specials, next year's catalogue finals, and to prepare for two trade shows in January, one in Dallas and one in Shanghi. I've never been there, but they tell me it sucks. Then, it's Christmas shopping, (yes I said Christmas shopping, not holiday shopping, because for me it's about the birth of Christ), getting a tree, decorating, trying to inflate that hideous giant snow globe that snows on a family of jolly penguins in scarfs (we do this for my son, Sebastian, who at 15 still adores "Mr. Pengins), cookie baking, card sending, and the time honored traditions the kids love like seeing the lights of 34th Street, strolling through some lighted up zoo or park, watching It's a Wonderful Life, going to church and preparing a box of love, and putting up our snow village. All of which are absolutely wonderful. Yes, it's busy, but I mean, really, what could I not do? If I failed to do any of these things, the children's childhood memories would be ruined, and now that they are getting older I have this sense of life as I know ending. I means Sebastian is in 10th grade, and soon will be in college, and then married to some girl with a life of his own, and well, there are really only 2 Christmas's left when he's still my little boy and Raiff isn't far behind. So, I work overtime to ensure we have our wonderful Christmas morning in our charming log cabin in the woods. Papa in his kerchief and I in my cap. Kids waking up, laughter, hearts overflowing, warm cocoa, all so beautiful. O.K., we've enjoyed that, now clean up, get ready, we have a Christmas open house at 1. Wear that new sweater, I don't care if it itches. Bing Crosby singing on the Ipod, happy faces stopping by, ahhh, so nice, so wholesome. Then, a great Christmas dinner. Maybe duck, or maybe a standing pork roast. Then, major clean up, and fall into bed, absolutely exhausted. Well, the next day is slower, everyone enjoying their presents, for the first couple of hours, but then you realize you have two restless teenagers, stuck in the middle of the woods in winter. A plan needs to be hatched. So, I plan snow tubing, and skiing for the days in between. And, then, we get our wonderful guests for New Years. Yes, I said it. We have our two favorite families to our place for New Year's each year. They arrive on the 30th, leave on the 1st or 2nd and it's a blast but so busy. Then, it's quickly put the house back together, and back to work as fast as you can. I feel so fat because I ate my body weight every single day, and I am so exhausted. But, I'm sure everyone had a great time, and I managed to pull of another memorable Christmas season complete with photographic evidence. See, everyone is smiling.

HOWEVER, I'm exhausted, bloated, overspent, and a little bit bitter. So, I'm vowing to make things a little different this year. I'm putting the boys in charge of the Christmas cards, while I look on with a glass of wine in one hand, and holding hands with Stephen with the other. I'm forgetting the "open house" idea for friends, and opting instead to spend the day doing whatever the kids want. I have a feeling we'll play poker and watch Jaws. I am having everyone over for Thanksgiving, but it's going to be a bit of a pot luck, and there will be jobs assigned, and I won't be on clean up. I'm shopping online a lot and buying a whole lot less. I'll get Stephen to bake with the boys for a change. And, I will not eat my body weight each day. Hey, it's a start. I'm wishing you all the best of the season, and reminding you, great memories are best had when you're laughing.

Canning Tomatoes

This week, I stopped at a small roadside vegetable stand along route 522 in West Virginia. The lady manning the stand was so genuinely happy to see me. The offerings were wholesome; country butter made from a local Amish farm, vegetables, peaches, honey with a comb inside. I decided to buy two big boxes of tomatoes, each for a whopping $8. On the way to my cabin, I stopped at our little corner gas station, market, post office, hardware store and picked up some Mason jars. After a long day of sterilizing, skinning, packing and boiling I had 28 beautiful jars, 20 with tomatoes and 8 jars of homemade tomato basil spaghetti sauce, (basil courtesy of my neighbor who has the garden of Eden in her backyard.) I cannot explain to you how this simple act filled me with such satisfaction. I remember my mother canning in the late summers of my childhood. She was a daughter of the depression, and was constantly concerned with having enough provisions for her 5 kids. In this world where everything is moving at the speed of light, going back to the old ways is deeply rewarding. Spend a day. Put up a can or two and slow down.