Hats off

Another beautiful day in Chicago! My son and I were up and out for a walk at 6:30 this morning- I took him over to the bike path and then took a path that brought us to those big cement steps right at the lake. It was beautiful and so peaceful. I even let him out of the stroller to play and crawl around in the grass. We have a little patch of grass in front of our apartment and the first time we put him on the scurried back to the pavement- I think it scared him- pitiful! But I guess that is city living. And he was having fun this morning- it is a softer landing, especially as he is trying to walk.

I had him in his PJs and this adorable pale blue and white checked hat my mom bought him. I love it and he has a matching swim suit- both which fit him so perfectly I worry they won't fit by August. But, sadly, I do not have to worry about that anymore because after we continued on our walk I eventually arrived at the new Trader Joe's in our neighborhood to pick up some milk and discovered that his hat was GONE!! He clearly took it off, which he does all the time, and threw it out of the stroller and I didn't see it happen. I literally retraced my steps- twice- all the way back to the lake and then all the way back to the store but no hat. It is gone. It was very windy so I wonder if it actually blew it in the lake. Who knows? Here is the style of said hat from one of my favorite children's clothing lines, Bella Bliss.

and the pattern:

I actually have a credit so am just going to buy the same hat again in one size up. I bought this hat in white but returned it when I found this hat from a company called A. Tierney- which is so darn cute and old school I can hardly stand it and makes my son look like both of his grandfathers. When I washed it though it shrank a bit so I may need to buy a size up of this too- that what you get with 90% head circumference!

Okay, nap time so my time to get to work. Enjoy the day!

Xoxo,

Jenny Brown

Rainbow Bright

Hello again. After a brief hiatus I am back. Blog ideas are constantly swirling through my my mind though I think it will take a bit of discipline to keep this thing going. This spring- if you could even call it that- has been dark and wet and gloomy and cold. So many plans have been cancelled or ruined because of the weather I am just starting to expect it. The sun is finally shining though today and I think- hope- that spring, okay, summer, is finally here. One of the things that inspires me most is color. I am a very visual person and am always drawn to color- in nature, clothing, food, anywhere. No surprise then that I am just nuts for all of the rainbow-inspired ideas out there. They are just happy- and what could be more cheerful on a dark and gloomy day. Below are a few of my favorites...

Xoxo,

Jenny Brown

I was so taken by my sons little toy on this alphabet mat

How cute is this cake for a child's birthday from Whisk Kid

And I thought my streamers were festive- can you believe this? Most impressive is that she made those dotted streamers. Check out how she did it at Ockickadee.blogspot

And talk about creative storage. As if I didn't love colored pencils enough- and I probably have about this many...

Image by Chota

And lastly, say what you will, but bookshelves organized by color just look great. We did this in our office before it was turned into a nursery and I always try to arrange my son's bookshelf (our only remaining bookshelf in the house *sob*) by color though his favorite activity is taking all of the books off the shelf so I do not always have time to arrange them as I like...

Welcome

Hello! Well, after many months of contemplating a blog I think it is time. Today is the one year anniversary of my last day of work before my baby boy was born unexpectedly 6 1/2 weeks early. This last year has been one of, if not the, best year of my life- full of many challenges, of course, but a wonderful and welcome change from the last 9 years of working in the design business, 10-14 hours a day during the week, always stressing about an upcoming installation, disgruntled client, equally stressed boss and the moments crisis. I loved it, I really did, so much so in fact that I decided to start my own little design company in October. I love my playgroups and music and swim classes but wanted a creative outlet. And this was all part of my master plan anyway, right? Right.

But the real reason I have chosen to take this leap today- no- tonight- is because of the absolute creative bliss I achieved in the last 24 hours. My son's birthday is next week, Tuesday, and we are hosting a number of our friends from our various moms groups and playgroups in our apartment. I want it to be nice- and look nice. Of course from a decor standpoint but we are planning to put it on the market soon so all of my usual decorative things and books are put away. I want it to be special- I feel very reverent about this date- without questions the biggest, most emotional, terrifying and amazing day of my life and am so humbly grateful that it all turned out okay.

But I digress- I am talking party- I want balloons, streamers, festive, cheerful, 1st birthday- happy! One of the things I got hung up on was finding a cute banner that read Happy Birthday. The ones I found on line and at party stores were not what I had in mind- covered in cartoon characters or metallic shimmery glitter. No-no- we are talking classy, old school banner. Simple, one would think. So when I found myself in the felt aisle at Michael's and then at the iron-on letter section opting for two packs of the larger white flocked letters I couldn't resist. My husband had class last night and I sat watching movies On Demand while cutting the pendants from the felt, arranging the color order and ironing on the letters and glueing the twill tape holding them all together. The results- charming! I am so happy with it and it was so much fun! And then with the scraps I cut smaller triangles to make a mini banner that is so cute! And then- THEN- with the scraps of that I realized when I put them together I could make a pinwheel that I can hang from our ceiling fan- so cheerful- so happy!

So, here I am! I will try to stick to design but suspect my new found childhood love of crafting will play a big role as well as anything child, food, drink or travel related I feel compelled to share.

Xoxo,

Jenny Brown