A Weekend In The Sun.

Happy Monday! We had a lovely weekend with friends and family enjoying the beautiful weather! We started Tiger Cub soccer two weeks ago and let me tell ya, the first day was rough. It was a little chaotic and way too new so the majority of the three year old parents suffered in public as a group. But by the second week things were MUCH smoother. O participated and had fun. He also acted like a three year as you can see in the photo but it was still fun. 

Then we promptly headed out to join friends for our annual camping trip. The husbands were out the night before so we went to meet up for the day. The kids played hard, ate lots of snacks, and explored while the adults laughed and hung out together. It was so fun. We are lucky to have good friends with lots of kids to make group activities fun!

The breeze was cool but the sun was warm and I took full advantage and made sure my camp fire seat was in a full sun spot. O loves the tent and spent a lot of time in there rolling around and being a goof. 

Sunday morning we woke up at home, got a visit from the Easter bunny that resulted in the immediate need to play with his new bath toy for about an hour in the tub! We headed outside to enjoy the sun before Easter brunch and O decided that he was absolutely going to ride his bike all the way to his grandma's house. The walk was really  nice and he actually rode about a mile before he needed Papa to rescue us in the car and drive the rest of the way.

We had a lot of fun on the cute egg treasure hunt that the bunny left for him at grandma's house. And he orchestrated a great play time with all the adults in the front yard. We had a great family time and then spent the rest of the day in our backyard. 

I hope you had a great weekend too!

Holly and Jolly.

I hope that your holidays were happy and healthy. We managed to pull off a really fun couple of days with family and friends and ended feeling grateful and loved. This year in the new house felt flush with so many great things. We hosted most of the family for Christmas day and had a great brunch of oysters Rockefeller, homemade pecan rolls, and mimosas with fresh juice. It was amazing! Then we saw more friends and met the newest member of our clan that was born on the 23rd! Here are some photos I wanted to share.

Dancing lights set to music. This place had their own radio station set up!

Waiting for Santa and his reindeer. O was contemplating just how he'd get in the house and avoid the fire in the fireplace. Once he was in bed JJ assembled this awesome train table that he scored on Craigslist. He had it in the house for over a month and could hardly wait to give it to O!

The morning was filled with surprises including my new yellow bike! Which was a complete surprise and about four years in the making! And now O can officially join the families since he has his own work bench and tools. His Papa and uncle know him well.

I just had to include this one. Every time we are inside our friend's home O finds a way to lay on this cowhide. He loves it. It's such a strange thing to me since it's not exactly snuggly, but he thinks it is great. Not to mention that tired out look on his face, Christmas was good to him.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful day with your families. As you can see, we missed out on a full family photo once again so you'll just have to believe that we looked lovely in our matching green accents. Have a happy weekend!

Last Minute Market.

There is just something special about a handmade gift. And if you don't have the time to make it yourself finish up your shopping this Saturday, December 21st at Last Minute Market in Lakewood! 13000 Athens Ave, Lakewood, 44107. It is a huge show and so much fun every year. This will be my third time participating and I look forward to seeing familiar faces and also getting a few last minute gifts! Check out their website for more details about all the vendors that will be there.

I have lots of great new things for all of the dashing gentlemen in your life, including those of the canine type.

I'll have neckties, bow ties, tie clips, and more! Come by and say hello!

For Wreaths.

Thanks to my Instagram feed I have become aware of so many amazing artists and artisans out there in the world. One of which is a floral designer from California, Moon Canyon. I don't know too much about them other than their amazing and beautiful floral arrangements that they post. I was inspired by a wreath that I saw and I knew I had to make my own version.

Materials:

Grapevine Wreath from Michael's

Trimmings from the bottom of our Christmas Tree

Branches from the tree in the backyard, with berries

Thin gauge wire

Wire cutters

I was out in the falling snow cutting down low hanging branches feeling very merry. I was happy to know that other than the wreath, we had all of the required materials in the house.

I swept the Christmas tree branches along the bottom and secured it with the wire. Then wove the berry branches into the wreath and on top of the greenery. I wanted the branches swept to the side and kind of loose and falling to add to the dramatic look. The lion on our front door was happy to have some company and it only took me about twenty minutes total. Did you make a wreath this year? I'd love to see if you did! 

Happy birthday Dad!!

New Traditions.

We haven't had a real Christmas tree in years but this years. But this year with an eager toddler and a bigger house, we decided that a real one was the way to go. We headed over to the church near our old house last Friday night in the cold, wet snow and picked out a winner. O was so excited "we need a 'tah fa da top!" (translation, star for the top).

When we got home he ran around the house in complete delight (and nudity) to celebrate the arrival of the tree. He helped get it in the house and up in the stand, those photos are excluded due to content…The next day we got a star and had the decorations up by the end of the weekend.

He is mesmerized by it and has to give anyone that comes by a tour of the tree. I'm so excited to start new traditions with our little family. He is so delighted with the littlest things that it really puts a smile on both of our faces. From one happy house to yours, Happy Friday!

The Doberman.

I am the proud aunt of not one but three dogs. And when one of these said pups was in need of something special for the holidays, I went ahead and made it for him. See, Huckleberry Finn's owners are two very fashionable Clevelanders and he needed to hold his own. That's where I came in. 

I have in the past made two dog bow ties for wedding parties but it was done on the sly. I wasn't sure if it was something that I wanted to open myself up to. But once I found the proper gear it turned out to be a pretty fun thing to make! Just look at the handsome face of his! I can't wait to see their holiday card! Way to get in the spirit Huck! If you know I pup in need I have a few extra!

Get Made.

It's that time of year again! Time for holiday shopping and parties! Come out and see me and tons of other fabulous Cleveland artists at the MADE in the 216 Holiday shop! The kick off party is this Friday and here's the scoop from the one and only Jennie Doran, shop owner extraordinaire!

It's MADE's 6th Birthday!!

Join us this holiday season as we celebrate great design and the Cleveland artisans that make it happen at R/S's annual MADE IN THE 216 HOLIDAY SHOPPE!! There is tons to do in our fabulous Ohio City neighborhood, and MADE is right in the thick of it!

We've got THE gifts for everyone on that list, and we are open 7 days a week, 11-6!! Located inside Room Service at 2078 W. 25th St.

(Extended evening hours beginning 12/8)

Do be sure to join us for our OPENING NIGHT PARTY shenanigans on "Black Friday" NOVEMBER 29th at 4pm. 

Our favorite DJ Peter Pleasurecruise is on the tunes, and we'll have very own MADE brew on tap, wine and hot toddy's! Scrumptious treats provided by the fabulous Becca Ritterspach of the newly launched Save Room!!

Afterparty goes down at The DUCK ISLAND CLUB, just a skip from R/S at 2102 Freeman Ave in Tremont. 

Don't miss it friends!!!   Love Local. Shop MADE.

Halloween Adventure.

I'm so late on this post. I've been late on many posts lately and then just don't end up sharing. But this is just too good. Our first real Halloween "trick 'n treatin'." He was way too excited to get over to Scareborough and get the fun started but once it was time to go, it took a little convincing. He didn't quite understand that he 1. had to walk 2. had to walk in the ran without an umbrella. He must have thought we were totally nuts but once he got that first morsel of candy he was off!

The wet streets were packed with families enjoying a warm October night collecting goodies. This neighborhood is serious about their decorations! There was music, haunted houses, giant spider webs, and a guillotine graveyard scene that was pretty brutal.

But it was awesome! We were out for an hour, I was ready to throw in the towel after a small block but JJ was not about to let that happen. O was amazed by the costumes of the other kids and kept stopping to say things like "look at that banana!!!!"

This is him ignoring me that the umbrella was just going to slow him down and a detail of the cute little tail I made for him. 

Eventually the soaking wet clothes and the dark night got the best of him and O said "that's enough candy, let's go." I loved it. I hope your night was great too!

And in case you were wondering what we wore...mama deer and papa wolf were trailing behind. I found the masks here in case you are in need. Have a great Wednesday!

Cleveland Craft

A very big thank you to all that came out to the Cleveland Handmade Market last Saturday. The weather was fair and it was a perfect day to check out the creatives that live right here in the area. There were about twenty or so vendors selling their wares in the beautiful Tower Press Building on Superior.

It was so sweet to meet so many nice people! O and JJ made an appearance and little man was spotted as the Etsy bow tie baby! He has no idea how many people have seen his face. Hopefully he won't be annoyed when he's older! I think the new hoop displays worked out great!

The giant gold balloons were a hit with me and near the end of the show Santa and Mrs. Claus showed up to say hi! Thanks again for coming out! Now I'll be back in my workshop getting things ready for Last Minute Market on the 15th!