what were doing

Here's what's happening at our house these days:

Being inspired


all of us: The Bauhaus show at Moma Two visits and two books later, we're all still talking and thinking about the show.

Reading


Me: The Pushcart War, by Jean Merrill: Remember this book? I'm enjoying re-reading it and catching the vocal inflections of the characters this time around. I keep thinking about the Essex Street Market in our neighborhood, which was apparently started when the pushcarts were moved to a permanent location to get them out of the way on the streets. It's still a great place to shop.


Tsia: Socks, the last of our lengthy Beverly Clearly list. Now that we've reached the end, can anyone suggest other books for us? We prefer non-scary books that a four-year-old can relate to.


Todd: catching up on old issues of The New Yorker, which is also next on my to-read list.

Listening

http://family-travel-magazine.blogspot.com/http://family-travel-magazine.blogspot.com/
Tsia: They Might Be Giants, No! This is a fun CD, in part, because she can play it on our computer and enjoy little games while she listens. I keep singing the little ditties to myself, too.


Todd and me: Radiolab. So interesting and thought-provoking. But we're public-radio geeks, I guess. Musically, Miriam Makeba is currently at the top of my want-to-hear list. Can anyone suggest a favorite album to try?

Watching


Doc Martin on Hulu.com. We want to visit the little fishing town in Cornwall where this British TV series is filmed. Gorgeous. And a very funny show in that wonderful understated British manner. If there were more programs like this, we'd probably get a TV!

Helvetica documentary. I've been meaning to see this for quite a while.
Lots of questions (sewing-related and other) on formspring. Anything you want to know?

valentines

We took our Valentine's Day preparation cues from Brooke this year and wrapped matchboxes with decorative papers. The inside of each box is also lined with a little piece of colored paper onto which Tsia wrote a personal message for each recipient. She really enjoyed this project, and it took use most of a Sunday afternoon but was very easy to do.


We hand selected the Jelly Bellies to fit our color palette, as we are wont to do, from Economy Candy.



Brooke just mentioned that her idea has also been featured at Brides.com including a pdf for the patterned paper she used.

kids clothing

For Tsia: new flannel PJs. Size 5 so they're extra long to account for the way flannel continues to shrink for a few washings and because she just keeps growing. Made with my favorite print from Sandi Henderson's first fabric collection.


An extra pair of PJ pants were made because, well, accidents happen. The ability to make more than one pair of matching PJ pants is certainly another advantage of sewing them yourself, yes?

functioning, barely

I got nailed by the flu last week and am still under the weather six days later, so not much of anything has been done around here recently. However, Tsia and I were making a few final Valentines yesterday afternoon and accidentally discovered how much fun it is to watercolor paint on paper doilies.


I'm not sure what we'll do with these, but for now I'm just enjoying looking at them. Especially since that's about all the energy I have these days.