Coffee by Kate Brightbill

Coffee

Seeing as its Monday, it seems appropriate to talk about coffee.

I had my first sips of coffee at 3 years old, if my mom's memory is to be believed. I think it doubtful she waited that long to share her cups with us. Half of my family is Scandinavian, which all my life I heard is the clear reason that so many of my cousins and I were pouring steaming hot coffee into styrofoam cups regularly by the time we were in junior high {before we recognized styrofoam as the demise of our ecosystem, of course. I feel like talking about styrofoam as a cup choice in childhood will soon date me clearly as an 80's child}. 

"It's hereditary," they told us of the coffee addiction. 

Though we know underneath it all that it is not truly hereditary, coffee is a thing around here. My husband didn't believe in coffee without a minimum of 35 grams of sugar when he married me; these days he'll drink the largest cup he can get in his hands, morning and night, with or without sugar {generally with}. At 2-years old, Sophie poured real black coffee into a friend's toy teacup during a playdate and was sipping like it was no big deal.

So. 

Cheers to coffee today. Cheers to waking on the right side of the bed on an early Monday morning during which I tortured myself with my second Pilates class of 2014. 

{And by "right side of the bed" I'm referring to the moment my alarm went off and I said "you have got to be kidding me," and got out of my fluffy covers indignantly only because I didn't want to be charged for missing my class- which I found out was actually scheduled for 6:30 PM, which I only found out after I exercised for an hour. Good morning to me! One of these days I swear I won't be a scatterbrain anymore!} 

Let's make it a good week.

xoxo.

 

Photo above by Pictilio for StyleSmaller. 

Mommy Take Our Picture! by Kate Brightbill

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This never, ever happens. I could not take enough pictures of this pair yesterday. They kept asking for more. Generally I use my phone and sneak pictures while talking to them... it's an art, I tell you. Yesterday, they were posing and begging me to take pictures in front of every doorway, wall, and plant we passed on our adventure. 

Well, if you insist...

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Full disclosure: Maggie wasn't into the walk uphill in the last picture. She said she needed a break because I wouldn't hold her up another hill. No one ever accused a 2-year-old of not speaking their mind. ;)

Ramblings Post by Kate Brightbill

Hey, what kind of blog IS this? Skipping days left and right, never writing anymore... 

Blame it on the sunshine getting us out of the house, on my husband being out-of-town last weekend, or on me spending my minutes adjusting the "look" of my blog to make it easier to navigate... it's all given me very few extra minutes to sit at the computer to just write. My therapeutic ramblings have taken second-fiddle to survival. My real-life ramblings are still thoroughly intact though- just ask my husband. I have a large quota of words to say daily, so if they're not landing on the Internet, you can bet Brian and my friends I see in person have been in for plenty of chatter.

Somehow, I've been cleaning my house more regularly lately, which is something right? The other day, my parents came over for a bit, and I enlisted my dad's help to hang a gallery wall in my dining rom {because I'm sure that's exactly what he wanted to do on his day off} and I think it's what's motivating me to keep the dining room and living room cleaner. It's like, well the walls just won't look as good without a clean table, so I better do that, ooh, I need to sweep too... etc etc. The slippery slope of cleaning, I call it... So the gallery wall is finally hung after about five years about thinking about hanging one. Gallery walls are so daunting to create, but now that I've gotten my act together to get it done, it's incredibly rewarding to have a pretty wall {almost} exactly how I envisioned it. I'll post pictures when it's totally done. I still have one frame to fill and then it'll be all ready. Satisfying. 

I mentioned before that I'm also about to start Pilates again. Pilates are like the gallery wall- thoroughly daunting to think about- but eventually rewarding. I'm really only signing myself up for the pain because I don't plan on quitting my bread and fancy cheese habit anytime soon, so it's a sensible management strategy to justify my vice. I don't love exercise. I used to love running, but now that I have children and am on the run all the time, running has lost its appeal. Time to get some of these good disciplines back in my life.

We're in for some rainy days coming later this week. I'm thrilled. Everyone around here has gotten a bit panicky about the lacking water lately, justifiably so. "Everyone" being particularly those who were around in 1990 for the water ration era. We've seriously had only about one real rain in 2014, and it's our rainy season. Yikes. We're all looking forward to the big storm that is scheduled to take our normal weekend sunshine into rainy day games and hot chocolate. It sounds fun, especially because it's such a deviation from the norm.

Today is a good day. We have coughs and sniffles, but happy kids, and that's {more than} half the battle, right?

xo.

Monday Giveaway by Kate Brightbill

Technically today's giveaway is one to "beat the winter blues," but seeing as San Francisco is avoiding wintery temps entirely this year, I'll just say it's a package of beautiful products to make anyone smile- wherever you live! 

My contribution to the giveaway is the scarf that my girls alternate wearing almost every day. Just because San Francisco doesn't have the legit winter we're used to getting doesn't mean the beautiful fog doesn't roll in and out daily. We wear scarves year-round and this one is the prettiest I've seen for kids. I also threw in some bracelets because accessories are always a good idea. ;)

My friends from The Chirping Moms are the coordinators of this lovely giveaway. Here's the lowdown of who provided what pretty piece... all are great bloggers, so if you're in the market to read more blogs and good things around the Internet, be sure to visit these:

Julie from The Chirping Moms: provided the pajama and to-go mug from PJ Savage. Cozies and daytime tea have been the norm for them this snowy winter, so she wants to share the coziness with our winner. ;) Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram

Lisa from Mom a La Mode: is giving the Play Doh Sweet Shoppe to pretend play, a Weelicious cookbook {something I've been wanting!!}, Stonyfield Yogurt, and Funny Face cranberries for some "feel good food" to bake for real during the days inside. Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram

Ashley from I Love You More than Carrotsis providing a Starbucks gift card {well that would be easy to use!}, and her favorite everyday makeup The Naked Palette 3, both pick-me-ups for her day-to-day. Follow on: Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram

Courtney from The Chirping Moms: provided the custom wooden growth chart from Carone Creations. It looks gorgeous and it's the perfect way to track your children's growth! Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram

Rebecca from A Beautiful Ruckus: Burts Bees Tips & Toes set and a custom initial necklace by Victoriaglen and perfect ways to beautify and spruce up a long day. Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram

...And I provided the scarf & bracelets from Peppercorn kids! {ps. that's Maggie wearing the scarf on the Peppercorn Kids site. Fun right?} Follow on Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Instagram.

Enter below on the simple Rafflecopter! xoxo.

Loving & Linking by Kate Brightbill

Photo via Creature Comforts

Loving this cake topper!! It would make any little birthday kid smile. 

A kickstarter for gratitude... such a beautiful concept.

LOVING this wall color, especially with that crisp white... brainstorming how I can make it happen in our rental without actually painting the walls. ;)

Speaking of home-loving, this fresh home tour was a good one for me. I particularly like that rug in their living room, which is what I've been searching for under our dining table. 

The sweetest little spring dress. May need to be Maggie's Easter dress. :)

Nothing like a good classic tee.

These are fun cards... party or not, it would be a good little project for Sophie & me {I'm always on the lookout for pre-school projects to do with S while M sleeps}.

Well now I want to make another trip to Amsterdam! This time for longer than a day. ;)

Do you watch the Oscars? If so, be sure to print some ballots before you do.

French beignets that look divine. Baking isn't my strong suit, but I may need to make exception.

Definitely making this in a couple weeks when I'm back on the Pilates wagon {ack! pilates-seriously? yes, seriously} and eating healthier.

Annnd last few hours to vote for StyleSmaller on Apartment Therapy! Voting ends at midnight...

Juggling by Kate Brightbill

Sometimes I don't say what I'm thinking because I don't want to be a predictable mom / blogger... buuuut today it must be said. 

I'm overbooking. Juggling too much. I'm going to bed too late, waking too early {ehhh, okay, I'll give that one to you. 7am is a solid gig}, never saying no, rarely chilling, never reading books for fun- unless they're kid books and I'm reading aloud, of course, never napping, etc etc.

This isn't a complaint. Everything I've been doing has been fun, exciting, social, good. I don't have any areas of life that I'm saying "oh I could REALLY do away with that." I'm truly enjoying things, which I believe is the gasoline that is keeping me trucking. It's just that I am now that person who somehow cannot hit the snooze button in the morning. As soon as I awaken, thoughts are racing... how will I accomplish everything today? Hmm, I need to coordinate the buses going from here to there, then get a babysitter for that day, where are those ballet shoes! and oh! That's right! I need to feed my family! Glad they're cool with some waffles-for-dinner and every type of soup imaginable when I'm off my A-game. 

The proportions of coffee to water intake are skewed again, and I'm reluctant to change my habits... but my body is begging me for more rest and more brussel sprouts. 

I saw the quote above the other day, and keep going back to it in my mind. Today I changed my desktop background to the downloaded version {they're computer reminders! So convenient right?}... 

I can do anything, but not everything. Indeed.

Time to put those balls down, take a break from the juggle, and read a good book in a quiet room.

xoxo.