And I win the prize for "Most Distressing Overall"

Sometimes, I waste time. Morphthing is a fantastically disturbing new way to do just that.

After my siblings and I spent copious hours making babies (<-- winner of the "Most Distressing Unintended Double Entendre Ever" prize {closely followed by anything ever uttered by Tobias Fünke}), we discovered the website's other great use -- finding new siblings. Below is the facial conglomerate of The Sisters Five. We like to call her

"Six"

Bothered-->Courage Wolf--->Pinterest = :)

I've been feeling a little grumpy. I think I'm just suffering from a combination of cabin fever, the chills, and Downton Abbey withdrawal, but it is RAWTHER irritating. Five sensed something was off and showed me this. It worked. Kind of.


Anyway, you can now follow FIVE on Pinterest! (Which is new to me, but I'm a fan.)
A few pretty pictures from recent pins:

    OOOOooooooooooh! AAAaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

   The End.

Match Set

*Not actually Two's necklace. She's been kind of busy lately and hasn't had a chance to style hers yet...

Many of the readers of this blog will remember that when my sisters and I were small, our mother would dress us in matching outfits on a VERY regular basis. We would parade about sporting stripes, or stars or sunflowers, and it was very easy to tell that we were a set.

As the years rolled on, we each managed to convince Momo that we had grown past the age of synchronized styling, and by the time Four and Five were 11 or 12 our style as a family was definitely more mix than match. But it seems somewhere along the way, a seed was planted, and these days you will often find the 5 of us not only coordinating, but doing so enthusiastically.

These pendants were a subtle attempt to pay homage to our mother's aesthetic, while adding a bit of ourselves to the mix.

How do you feel about matching with friends or family? Would you ever dress your kids in coordinating outfits?

Monikers

The countdown to Baby #3 is ticking away. And even though we haven't definitively decided in which timezone the wee babe shall make her grand entrance to the world (!?*#), we are nonetheless very excited for her arrival. Thus far, preparations include: talking constantly with Princess H and Tiny about their new baby sister; buying a craigslist double stroller for our Denver sojourns; generally stressing out (just a little), and; discussing baby names. 

This last item on the list is so fun. And so hard. While the responsibility of naming a child pales in comparison to many other parental duties, labeling a perfect, innocent, living soul still feels like a seriously weighty task. Mr. One and I have very different ideas about what makes a proper name (which can hardly come as a shock, since we have different ideas about so very many things). And -- surprise, surprise! -- Princess H is full of opinions this time around, as well. We have a short list, but I think it's unlikely we'll settle on anything for sure before the sweet thing shows her exquisite, wrinkled, purply, cone-head in about eight weeks.  

In addition to the favorites, we also have quite a few rejects. And, I feel awfully mean to say that many of them come from the Junior Member of our August Naming Committee. Princess H's ideas are so unique and amusing, though, that even if we're not going to commit her little sister to live with them forever, I definitely want to share them with you.

Princess H's Top 5 (vetoed) Baby Names

1. Oat Blossom

2. Jew-Z

3. Her own name

4. Her Dad's name

5. Home Depot

For any of you interested in killing a few hours -- even if you're not naming a baby right now -- I'd highly recommend taking a peek at nameberry and especially Name Voyager. The former is an eerily accurate source for names that are popular in my demographic of people who think they're giving their kids unusual names; the latter lets you map names by popularity across time and space using the coolest interactive tools. Very, very fun. Am I missing any other great tools? Or do you have a name to suggest? I'm all ears!!

A Little Space

Space awes me.

Pictures like this:

awe me.

But my favorite of all these gorgeous little specks



is this one:

I'll zoom in a little for you

Gee whiz.

Soiree!

On Tuesday, Five and I decided crepes were in order. We whipped these up in the tiny "kitchen" attached to our hotel room. I used this recipe for the crepes and mixed Nutella with banana, lemon curd with raspberries, and marmalade with blueberries for the filling. Combined with Martinelli's, pellegrino, teensy little cat shaped cookies and chocolate covered cherries, it made for the perfect little brunchie. 

Yum. 

Flower Porn

My friend K will send me emails every so often with a very simple subject line. PORN it reads. The first time I received one of these emails I promptly deleted it, and sent her a note alerting her to the fact that her email must have been hacked. She was distraught. Not on account of the hacking, but rather because I had deleted her messages which apparently was filled with pictures that--she assured me--would take my breath away.  

She was right.

The beauties within came in all shapes and colors and sizes. Some were bold and loud and fully saturated, others sweet and soft and delicate. Most were taken outside in broad daylight. Often the images were brazenly captured in public parks, but occasionally they were intimate, taken in private homes and gardens... 

They were, quite simply, the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. And the mistake of deleting that first email was never repeated again.

Today, I have decided to dabble in some flower porn of my own. I will not be so bold as to promise breath-taking beauty, but I do think there is something so stunning and reassuring about flowers in winter. They are such a sweet reminder of beauty and life, amid the grey and gloom.