amazing

Oh how you continue to steal my heart....over and over again.  My sweet and boisterous boy you never cease to amaze me.  You fill me with wonder and awe.   This week you learned to crawl.  You were on the cusp of doing so for several weeks but you now can crawl on your hands and knees and eventually you slide on your belly while pulling with your forearms and pushing with you legs of steel.  You are SO strong.  Did I mention that it sometimes takes both your dad and I to change your diaper?  I am so proud of you, I could almost burst.

ps.  It was one year ago today that it was confirmed you were a boy.  All I can say is boys are wonderful.

artwork here and photo above from our NYC trip

today is a gift

Counting my blessings today.  I have so very much to be thankful for.  Today I will make a conscious effort to not want for anything and to simply be grateful for all of the many and amazing gifts I have.    Sending love to all of my family and friends far and wide. xo

H    A   P   P   Y      T   H   A  N  K  S  G  I  V  I  N  G

photo courtesy of here

do you...doughnut?

photo courtesy of Revolution Doughnuts

Are doughnuts the new cupcake?  I know they have been around( good ol' Krispie Kreme and Dunkin Donuts,  yes, I love their coffee!) , but lately I have had ( and it seems like I'm not the only one) doughnuts on the brain.  It could have something to do with an amazing little doughnut shop, Revolution Doughnuts, that popped up around the corner from me in July.  I may or may not have been there, um, about 10 times.
These new breed of doughnuts are, well, fancy.  Boasting vegan, gluten free, and organic varieties chocked full of fresh seasonal local ingredients these new doughnuts give those complex cupcakes we have all been snacking on for the last few years a run for their money.  Salted Caramel, Bacon Caramel,  Almond, Nutella Creme Puffs, Figgy Sliders, Banana Cream, Pumpkin Ginger, Dark Chocolate, and the list goes on and on.  Just about any flavor you can think up can incredibly be translated into a doughnut.  I don't know about you but I  may just have to treat myself and line up this ( looong) weekend for a my favorite round pieces of dough heaven....( ahem, almond cake style and vanilla bean yeast style).  How about you? Team Doughnut or Team Cupcake??

friday fashion

Gwyneth can do no wrong in my book.  LOVE her style and am especially loving the above looks she so effortlessly pulls off.  Today I am channeling her with freshly trimmed hair, blond highlights,  a grey t-shirt, and my favorite white jeans.  Who says celebrities get to have all the fun, right?

remember these things

Five months.  Time is a tricky thing.  It's cunning and has the ability to seem so fast and so very slow at the same time.  Anderson, I can't believe how much you have grown, how much you have changed and how much you can do!  I honestly have to strain a bit... I have to squint my eyes when I look back at the past to see my life before you.  It's seems like you were always here,  that I have known you for so so long.  And yet at the same token, it seems like just yesterday you were the size of a grain of rice as I tenderly held onto the secret that you were with me...before I told the world.

There are so many things you do that I try to forever preserve in a memory jar I store in the back of my mind.  Inevitably, we do forget things, even though at the present moment it seems impossible.  I wanted to jot a few recent ( *my heart may just burst*) moments down here so I will have them.

1.  I love your breath, it's so sweet and warm.
2.  Your eyes light up when you catch our reflection in the mirror before bath time.
3.  You love the bath, which I enthusiastically refer to as "Bathy Time Bubble Time".
4.  You are great at giving hugs.
5.  And playing peek a boo.
6.  Your idea of a perfect nap is laying forehead to forehead with me, as you firmly hold onto the hair at the nape of my neck. *this is my idea of perfection too
7.   You love hair, and I think you dream of hair! Fistfuls and fistfuls of hair to play with.
8.  A bit of naked time makes you wild! You love to do the naked baby dance before bath time.
9.  Oscar the cat is positively fascinating.
10. You make my day when I get home from work and you nearly bounce out of Daddy's arms to greet me.
11.  You have the most adorable thighs. You even got complimented on them at Barnes and Noble one afternoon.
12.  You smile just like me and Daddy, with a wide open mouth!
13.  You love Elmo.  The first time you saw him was printed on your diaper and you love watching 'The Elmo Song' on mama's phone as a treat.
14.  You can hold your own bottle and proudly hold your paci too.
15.  You are a light sleeper just like your Daddy.
16.  You make many of the silly faces your Daddy makes. Your favorite one right now is sticking out your tongue.
17. Just before you fall asleep in my arms you do this little movement with your head, just a little side to side motion, that melts my heart, it's so sweet.
18.  As I rock you at night you love to reach up and put your hand on my mouth, it is beyond sweet.
19. You are so strong, it's incredible!  And you are so proud of all of the physical achievements you make.  If I had to guess I would say you will be very athletic.
20.  You are so sweet, so pensive and so patient.  All such wonderful qualities.
21. You have the longest eyelashes.
22. I think you might just be left handed like your Pap Pap.

The list could go on and on but these are some of the treasured things I have in the forefront of my mind.  It is true that it seems like you have always been here, I think that's simply because you were meant to be here.  You are so many things Anderson, you are the key to my heart, the love of my life and you make me incredibly happy and proud.  I am one lucky mama.

everything is new

Have you heard of the theory surrounding baby mental development called, " The Wonder Weeks"?  Basically it a theory based the premise that there definitive periods in the first two years where a baby goes through great mental leaps.  There is a method to determining these said "wonder weeks" using your due date ( not the actual day baby was born) and there are 10 leaps that you can expect along the way. This leap in the mental development of your baby means that suddenly there are many changes in his head.   Essentially, it is believed that during these periods of mental leaps a baby's brain suddenly  perceives things it wasn’t capable of perceiving before. This change is so great that his entire world suddenly looks different.   Anderson's world did seem different today.  After a few nights of bedtime fussiness ( I think he was trying to find his cry....and it turns out that he does have a set of lungs after all!) everything suddenly seems new today.  He played a game of kick the blankie off with daddy.  Every time Jamie covered Anderson's legs in his bouncy chair he quickly kicked away the blanket with a proud grin.  He was full of smiles and his gaze seemed stronger then ever also his sense of recognition seemed fine tuned, he stared at me more intensely than ever before.  I strung a colorful paper bird ornament from a piece on yarn to the light above our bed.  Laying under the bird before bed tonight Anderson, while fighting off sleep, stared up at his new friend for nearly an hour, joyfully kicking the entire time.  When I picked him up to rock him and his heavy eyes closed I was certain he had finally succumbed to sleep.....but no, he opened his eyes turned his head just to take one last look at his new bird friend before drifting off. 
Happy 7 week birthday to my sweet boy, so far it has been 7 weeks of wonder for me.

baby bird

At 1:26pm on Saturday April 21st our lives changed forever and our hearts grew, so much so, that we thought they would burst.

Anderson Sutton was finally here!

He is perfectly perfect, calm, pensive, sweet beyond measure and we feel like we are the luckiest parents in the world!  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of our family and friends for welcoming him with such love!

unforgettable

Today I received the most amazing gift in the post.

First let me preface the arrival of this gift.  Jill, my most talented and art savvy sister-in-law, was recently involved in helping to organize a dinner hosted by none other than designer Kelly Wearster to celebrate the opening of an exhibit,  The Painting Factory: Abstraction after Warhol, at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles where she( Jill)  works.  How exciting!!!  I have been a huge fan of Kelly's work for as long as I can remember.  In fact, her first published book, Modern Glamour: The Art of the Unexpected,  is still proudly displayed on a white lacquered tray on my coffee table.  I like to think I channel a bit of her design aesthetic with everything I do.  Her fearlessness in regard to scale and her uninhibited ability to effortlessly combine color and texture inspire me. Like her, I love, (the way ahead of her time)  designer, Dorothy Draper (and secretly dream of one day visiting The Greenbrier to see her bold use of black and white stripes in person).  Kelly's affection for all things gold and gilded speaks to my design soul. For me, it was Kelly who so boldly put Hollywood Regency back on the map.  Honestly, the first time I came across her work I thought, wow, she designs what I am thinking.  What I am too afraid to do in regard to design, she effortlessly does.  She has guts and she is my design hero for that reason alone.  Kelly Wearstler doesn't hold back.

Jill and my brother Reed were in attendance at this dinner ( so lucky they are!) which was not only hosted by Kelly but was held at her LA home (her home was described by my brother as "magical").  The evening, I was told, was brilliant!  Much to my surprise, the night of the party, in the wee hours of the morning, as I struggled to keep my heavy eyelids open as I nursed Anderson ( only days old) I received an email from my brother.   It was a video clip of Kelly Wearstler congratulating me ( yes, little old me) on the birth of my son.  Wow, I thought this is a moment in my life I will always remember.

Today, I as I closed my eyes (yes, I am still so so tired) and cat napped next to my sleeping son
(did I mention that he is simply the best best baby?).  A package arrived.  As I searched the box for the return shipping address I gasped when it registered that it was from....Kelly Wearstler(!).  Jamie, my husband,  said that he could, "hear my heart beating as I opened the box".  Inside I found an absolutely breathtaking copy of Kelly's most recent book, HUE.  The book, in the most luscious shade of fuchsia,  is housed in a gorgeous canvas sleeve.  As if this story can't get any better than this, it does.  The limited edition signed copy also included a note, from Kelly to me.

Can you hear my heart beating now?


I know that some people will say it's silly to get wrapped up in the likes of celebrities,  but Ms. Wearstler, to me is so much more.  She is truly an inspiration, and at the end of the day, she may seem worlds away in LA but I must remind myself that, she too (raised in Myrtle Beach, SC) , started out like me, an east coast bird. :)

xo-
A

east coast {baby} bird's....nest

Where have I been these past 8 months??  Well, here is a glimpse at what I've been up to, getting ready for the newest member of our east coast bird's nest.  baby bird makes his debut in a mere 6 weeks, and well his "nest" is all ready for him!  I can't wait for him to see it!
Here is a list of my resources, I did so much scouting online that I wanted to share in case anyone is curious:

Crib:  Ikea Gulliver Crib
Dresser:  Vintage/ Yard Sale
Table Lamp: Vintage/ Flea Market
Ottoman: Vintage Eero Saarinen Tulip ottoman which I recovered in a slub cotton chevron fabric
Rocking Chair: Ryder Rocking Chair from West Elm ( a gift from Baby Mac's Gran)
Curtains:  West Elm Stripped shower curtain ( X2) cut and hemmed
Curtain hardware: West elm
Giraffe: Melissa and Doug

Changing Pad cover and crib sheet:  Dwell Studio/ Gio Aqua
Ceiling Fixture:  Lights Up!  Faux Bois silk, handmade in Brooklyn
Book shelf:  Ikea expedit
Mobile:  Blabla circus mobile ( gift from Gram-mama and Pap Pap)
Deer Print:  photo by Pap Pap!
Frame:  Ikea
Mini wooden London: Muji