Tag: Calvin

Push the Little Daisies
I was doing a television appearance once, and there was a stylist on set for wardrobe. She had some great options for everyone, but then she zeroed in on a giant beaded daisy necklace for me. “This looks like you!” she chirped, and I politely declined, all the while thinking of Drew Barrymore in the 90s. I may have tried to emulate her skinny brows at the time, but I’ve never been much for daisies.

I’ve written before about my sentimental jewelry pieces. I always wear my wedding ring, but when I travel, I also wear a little elephant necklace that reminds me of Eleanor, and a heart ring for August. I had been looking for something that would remind me of Calvin too, but nothing I’d come across had been quite right.

I associate him with flowers. I was working on a post about my entryway a few days before my due date, and I’d almost finished my setup. I went out to the florist and came back to arrange everything, but I couldn’t take photos because the sun had set. I joked with Brandon that the baby was going to arrive before I could get my shots in the morning, and sure enough, I went into labor in the middle of the night. I had Calvin, and the first thing I saw when we came back home the next day were those flowers.

I just got back from Salt Lake City because I was there to speak at Alt Summit again. I’m lucky to have so many opportunities to travel because of the blog, but it’s the times when I’m away from my family that I love having those sentimental pieces with me the most. I’m not a superstitious person, so it’s not about them being my ‘good luck charms’ or anything of that sort, but I have for years worn my wedding ring, my elephant necklace, and my heart ring when I fly. I like the tangible reminders of home.

I don’t like to wear too many types of jewelry at once. My wedding ring, a necklace, another ring, and something else is a lot, so I’d been looking for another gold ring that I could stack. I wanted something delicate with flowers or leaves for Calvin because of the association and I’d come across a few nice ones (along with plenty of not so nice ones), but I would know it when I found it, and I finally found it.

I wasn’t familiar with Alex Monroe before, but his floral designs are exactly what I’d been looking for: delicate, modern, and pretty, and not giving me flashbacks to nineties Drew. Some of my favorites are below and his other designs are fantastic too (mouse and tea cup ring, anyone?), but I chose that second ring. So glad I finally found my little Calvin reminder.
June 11, 2015
Wink!

Some people buy one set of bedding and only replace it when it starts to fall apart. Strip the sheets, throw ’em in the wash, put ’em back on. I’ve never been a ‘one set of sheets’ kind of gal.

It’s not even that I have a million sets (I have three), it’s just that I like to have some options. I’m not going to repaint every season, and as much as *ahem* I like a good rug, I don’t change those out as frequently as my recent shenanigans would suggest. Bedding though? Instant mini-makeover!

I spotted a pair of the best pillows ever in an Instagram shot from Wit & Delight a few weeks ago, and I began searching for them. Five variations of “wink/winking pillow” down the search engine internet rabbit hole, and a pair of my own were on their way. About a week later, I was running errands with Eleanor when I spotted a cute set of pink and coral sheets that of course had to come home with us.

I made up the bed, fulling intending to photograph it for the blog the next day, but the wee ones were not cooperating. First, just a few hours after putting the new sheets on, Calvin uncharacteristically threw up all over them. Strip the sheets, throw ’em in the wash, put ’em back on. The next day was rainy, and the light wasn’t just right. The day after that, two little monkeys, jumping on the bed. Today, rumpled sheets that can wait because look at that smile.

I feel like I may have had this problem before. Same quilt and everything.

May 12, 2015
Six Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photo)

Six months old! Starting to sit by himself. Two teeth, on the bottom. Ready to try some baby food. Doing the inchworm scoot. Still the happiest baby ever.

(I’ll be taking a photo of Calvin sitting in the Eames rocker and wearing his pin each month until he’s two years old. I also took monthly photos of his sister, Eleanor, and his brother, August.)

Previous Photos
• One Month Old • Two Months Old • Three Months Old • Four Months Old • Five Months Old • View All

April 3, 2015
The Future of the Monthly/Yearly Photo Project

If you’ve been reading for a while, you’re probably familiar with my monthly photo project. I started when Eleanor was a baby. I bought the same pink bodysuit in different sizes, made a felt pin with a number in the center that could be switched out, and photographed her in the same chair and in the same setting each month to document her first year. As those first twelve months came to a close, I decided to continue taking the monthly photos until she turned two, and then yearly after that. I did the same thing for her little brother, August, and I’m doing it now for Calvin.

I love having the photos to look back on. It’s fun to see how each child has grown, and also to look at their photos side-by-side from the same ages. And I love that it has inspired so many others to take on the project, too!

Babies are sort of universal. Assuming normal development, they grow at roughly the same rate, reach the same milestones, sit up, learn to talk, learn to walk, and so on. Of course they have different temperaments and each baby is unique, but documenting their growth through a series of photos isn’t violating any burgeoning personhood. They’re babies. They grow quickly, and it’s fun to see that in pictures.

As the kids grow older though, I hesitate to share as much. Their experiences are less universal and more specific to them as individuals. As they begin to choose their haircuts, their clothes, and the way that they want to present themselves, they should be able to explore their identities without strangers watching or commenting.

Eleanor will turn six next month. I’m planning to continue taking her yearly photo, but I won’t be publishing it. Five years old feels like a good place to end the series publicly, and I’ll do the same for August and Calvin. This isn’t to say that you will never see my kids’ photos as they get older (though I have dialed that back). There is a difference though between a picture that happens to have them in it, and a series specifically shot to show how they have physically changed as they’ve aged.

May my children never choose something as awful as the perm I got when I was ten (a body wave — so sophisticated!), but if they do, they can do it in relative anonymity, away from their mom’s blog.

March 19, 2015
Five Months Old (Calvin’s Monthly Photo)

(I’ll be taking a photo of Calvin sitting in the Eames rocker and wearing his pin each month until he’s two years old. I also took monthly photos of his sister, Eleanor, and his brother, August.)

Previous Photos
• One Month Old • Two Months Old • Three Months Old • Four Months Old • View All

March 5, 2015
Calvin’s Nursery

The nursery is ready! Let’s take a look, shall we?

The white walls are perfect. They keep the room from feeling weighed down by all of the wood, but there’s still plenty of color in the art, rug, bedding, and toys.

The nursery was once a kitchen, from when our house had been split up into apartments. We restored the hallway to its original layout, added walls, and both moved and removed doorways.

When we first started converting the space back into a bedroom, I was a little worried that the cabinetry would still feel kitchen-like, but now I’m so glad we kept them! I haven’t chosen shades yet for the windows, and I may make or buy a garland to hang over them, but even without those elements the built-ins add a lot of charm to the room.

The changing pad is at counter-height (hello, former kitchen), and there’s plenty of room for everything I need within reach. The drawers below function as the dresser, a diaper pail and laundry basket are off to the right, and we have tons of storage. Board books, cute toys, and a few decorative pieces are displayed in the glass-front cabinet (which has a light inside, at the top).

I wanted to be sure to include the the felt flowers that Eleanor made for Calvin, and my motto during pregnancy is in the nursery too. They’re to the left of the changing pad, by the lamp.

As much as I like the built-ins now though, they do take up full wall. The room is 10’x12′ but the floor space is only 10’x10′ because of them. A rectangular rug would have been OK in the room, but I was really hoping for something square and I found the 8’x8′ sky blue Eskimo rug at Lulu & Georgia, which they kindly provided for us. It isn’t super plush because it’s a flat weave, but it isn’t scratchy like some flat wool rugs can be, so it’s a nice surface to play on.

The glider and ottoman are tucked into the little nook between the doorway and the built-ins. I thought about moving the diaper pail for the photos, but it’s a necessary part of the room and that’s where it is, so it stayed. It’s close to where I sit with the baby, but there’s no odor other than when you open it briefly to throw something in.

I had wanted to use the rectangular wooden play table that we’d had in Eleanor’s room at the old house, but it was too large so I grabbed the round one from the playroom upstairs. I know that it looks dangerously close to the radiator, but it’s fine. For whatever reason, that one doesn’t get as hot to the touch as the rest do (though the room stays comfortably warm). I had a bunch of art to choose from for that wall, and I thought about shelving too, but in the end I decided to hang that round mirror. It used to be in my office, in the old house, and I hadn’t found a good spot for it in this house until I tried it in the nursery. Also, I found the zebra on clearance and bought it as a nod to what the nursery could have looked like, had I gone with my original plan! (Which I still think would make for a very cute nursery.)

There are baskets to the left of and beneath the crib are for toys. The room is definitely not wanting for more storage, but I think it’s nice to have some toys out and within easy reach rather than hiding all of them behind closed doors. Calvin is just starting to play with them (mostly bringing everything he can get his hands on to his mouth), but he’ll be interested in everything soon enough. Eleanor and August have been coming in to check everything out too.

The crib is the same one that Eleanor and August both slept in, and I made that crib skirt when August was a baby. I bought the set of screenprints by Ryan Kapp five years ago at Renegade Craft Fair, and am glad I finally found just the right spot for them and had them framed.

So nice to have a sweet room of Calvin’s own, out of what was once a weird pass-through former kitchen. Yay!

A Discount from Lulu & Georgia

They would like to offer my readers 20% off their order, from now until February 18, with the code makingitlovely20. Thanks, Lulu & Georgia!

February 11, 2015