Mother Inadequacy

Just when I'm humming along, thinking I've mostly got it together as a mother, I stumble upon something on the interwebs that exposes me for the mom-hack that I am. For the past two days, this article has been making the rounds, showing up mothers everywhere. It's about a mother, Angie, that has been making paper dresses with her daughter Mayhem and the whole series is so cute and inspiring.

The project started as an effort to keep Mayhem from "borrowing" her mother's clothes for dress up. The dresses have evolved from ripped paper creations to full-on homages to celebrity dresses and designers. And while the fashion admirer in me loves the runway and red carpet interpretations, (how can you not love a mini Jennifer Lawrence?) I adore the ones that look like the main designing was done by Mayhem. 

They're so sweet and playful and full of her personality. And they make me feel like maybe I could attempt something like this with my daughters. Without all of us ending up in tears.

Happy Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

Fitbit!

Listen, if you know, me you know that I'm not one for healthful eating or exercise, but I can't lie, I am amped for the Fitbit!

Everyone at my work is slowly getting one and we're all taking on the challenge of getting more than 10,000 steps in one day. My Fitbit was mailed out today! I'll keep you posted on this little pedometer, sleep tracker, and dietian, all in one.

Happy Thursday!

Grace

Done: Window Shelves

We did it! All of my window shelving dreams have come true!

I don't think it warrants sharing detailed DIY instructions---we just went to Home Depot, picked out the right size tracks and corresponding shelves, brackets, and screw kit, then installed everything with a power drill---but I'm pretty proud of how they turned out. 

I convinced Micky that the window shelves could be our Valentine's Day gift to each other, but I'm the one who really wanted them. And he very kindly let me loose in the plant department to pick out some greenery. Including this bad boy: a Venus Flytrap!!! I have ALWAYS wanted one of these! 

Now to just keep them all alive. 

- Cathleen 

Vietnam War - Photos by a soldier

My father, Robert W. Searby, served with the 101st Airborne Division during Vietnam and was stationed right on the border of North and South Vietnam for about a year.  He and his unit were in the thick of it, holding defensive positions and keeping the North Vietnamese from crossing down into US defended territory.

In retrospect, I think most people now recognize the unfair treatment of soldiers by the media at that time. Vietnam was portrayed as a hell hole and a place where Americans were murdering innocents.  It was war, awful and unfortunate things happen during war, but there was a side to our troops, the Vietnamese people and the landscape that was all but ignored.  This series of images are a selection from my father's photographs that he took the time to shoot during the war. They aren't images of death and despair, but rather the beauty of the South Vietnamese people and the country they were dying to save...and eventually lost.

A working Steam Engine in 1970

Tracers from an M60

Dad in a grotto

-Brian

Artwork of the Week: Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum by Egon Schiele, 1910

With the warm and cold days stepping over each other here, I thought I'd share this striking Egon Schiele work that I'd never seen before. It somehow manages to feel warm and chilly at the same time, combining big twisted, gestural marks with that look of beautiful, raw decay that the artist is known for. 


- Cathleen


[Image via The Everyday Artist]