By Gabrielle. Usually, I try to remove all time stamps from these home tours. That means cropping out Halloween decorations when possible and trying not to post summer tours in the middle of December. But Candice is good at decorating for the holidays. Like, really good. (Do you remember her Winter Wishes craft? She’s also the brilliant photographer who helped us with our Central Park family photos.) And so I threw out all the rules and begged her to share her holiday home. Her inspired Christmas decor reinforces the idea that simple is stunning, especially in excess. (Candice calls this the Anthro rule, which made me laugh. But it’s so true, isn’t it?) I hope this installment of Living With Kids offers a little inspiration, and maybe even an afternoon of cutting a billion glittery stars. Enjoy the tour, Friends! Q: Please tell us all about this festive family. A: Hi! Our family consists of Mark, Candice, Grant, Nicholas, Sebastian and a prideful little scotty dog named Dickens. I met Mark when I moved across the country the day before my senior year of high school started. I wish I could say it was love at first sight but really due to a rather large miscommunication when we first met it was more of a Pride and Prejudice situation. To say we barely tolerated each other is an understatement. It wasn’t until the end of the year when we were cast as husband and wife in the high school play that we stopped trying to avoid each other completely. He moved away after high school and it wasn’t until he came back when I was a junior in college getting my BFA in photography that we knew we were in love. We were married just a few months later. We have been married for almost 15 years now and I’ve loved him every minute of it. (There is a lot more to the story including the time I set him up with my best friend…but we will just leave it at this!) Mark is currently a Theatre Professor at a University here in San Antonio, and I teach photography online. Grant is a new teenager and is everything Mark and I are not: brilliant at math and science with a deep love of rules and organization. I’m very grateful that there is someone in this house who loves that stuff. Nicholas, formerly known as Cole, has decided that at the age of ten his nickname is too young for him. He also changes his name from Cole to Nicholas every Christmas season. He is charming, funny, and can make friends with anyone. Sebastian is two. That means that you can see that there is an eight year gap between his brother and him. We waited for him to join our family for a long time and it was well worth it. He’s super smart and full of life. He pretty much rules the rest of us with his adorable demands. …

Living With Kids: Candice StringhamRead More »

By Darcy Miller. Find her on Instagram and Twitter. Note from Design Mom: This project is by Darcy Miller — you may know her as the long time Editor of Martha Stewart Weddings, and one of the most talented people on the planet. I met Darcy a couple of years ago and have loved exchanging emails with her and following her adventures on Instagram. When she reached out with photos of these charming pillows, I knew right away I wanted to share them here! Without further ado, here’s Darcy: With Thanksgiving coming very late and Channukah coming very early, I was a little last minute on this year’s holiday gifts. But you’d never know it from what we gave my husband — it’s a personalized, handmade present that just happens to be easy enough to make quickly. When it comes to gifts for my husband, my daughters and I are always big on making things. My middle daughter Ella, who is eight, loves to sew and takes lessons at a wonderful little sewing shop named Pins & Needles. Over Thanksgiving weekend we decided to make Daddy throw pillows for his office, inspired by pillows that Rachel (the owner of Pins & Needles) whipped up for her nieces. First, we went to B & J fabrics and picked put materials that would go with his couch — a rich black velvet and gray flannel and linen.  Then we spent a few hours sewing together at Pins & Needles (truth be told, Ella did most of the work — and even squeezed in making jeggings for her sisters!). The pillows were a huge success, and seriously easy to do. Now we want to make more for our grandmother’s couch — one for each grandkid — but that’s 8 more pillows(!), so we might be waiting for Christmas break when Ella has more free time to sew. Along with being the perfect thing to give to grandparents, these profile pillows would be a great gift for a engaged couple or for newlyweds; how cute would it be to have the 2 silhouettes facing each other on the pillows? …

The Perfect Gift: Personalized Profile PillowsRead More »

By Gabrielle. Nightlight available on Etsy. Ben Blair is in France this week, and I have the hardest time falling asleep without him. I basically just end up staying awake until my body forcibly shuts my brain down. But I started sleeping on his side of the bed a couple of nights ago and it seems to be helping. His pillow carries his scent, and I think it’s comforting me. It got me thinking about my side of the bed, and wondering when my side became my side. I definitely have memories of sleeping on Ben’s current side of bed in some of the houses we lived in. In fact, I think the layout of our house, and our bed’s relation to the nursery, is what ended up determining where we slept. If I remember right, it started with Baby Ralph, 16 years ago. Ben chose the side closest to the baby, then when tiny Ralph woke in the night, Ben would get up and bring the baby to me for nursing, letting me stay in the cozy bed — his sweet way of making the night nursings easier for me. (I know we just discussed how much I love my sleep.) But somewhere along the line — I’m guessing it was in New York, which is the place we lived the longest as a married couple — we settled into particular sides of the bed. I’m on the left. He’s on the right (the right if you’re laying in bed). At home. At hotels. At friend’s houses. It’s practically become an instinct. I know it’s a silly question, but how about you? Do you and your partner have particular sides of the bed? Or do you switch around? And for those of you sleeping solo at the moment, do you straddle the middle or do you keep to one side? P.S. — Do you make your bed?

By Lindsey Johnson of Café Johnsonia for Design Mom. Menu #20 of our Lunch Box Series is all about the leftovers. I’m a big fan of sending them to school for lunch with my kids. Chicken enchiladas is a favorite. Here I’ve added some tortillas chips and salsa and cinnamon applesauce. It’s a very filling hot lunch that I know will always be eaten and enjoyed. And I love the bonus that my leftovers are getting used up! LUNCH MENU #20 – chicken enchiladas – tortilla chips and salsa – cinnamon apple sauce – water …

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By Gabrielle. Image by Justin Hackworth For a blog called Design Mom, sometimes I’m surprised how little I get into the nuts and bolts of parenting. I suppose it might be because the longer I’m a parent, the easier it is to see that I really have no idea how to do this job most of the time. And that almost nobody does. There’s a lot of winging it going on! But I was having a conversation with a friend, and her kindergartener is having trouble staying dry at night, and I replied, “Oh! I totally I wet the bed till I was in middle school. I even had to see a doctor about it. My parents handled it really well. And here’s how I learned to stay dry…” Thinking about the conversation later, I realized I’d never talked about bed-wetting on Design Mom before. But I know a tiny bit about it, and who knows, my experience might help someone out there. So if you’re in the mood for a little only-parents-would-want-to-talk-about-this discussion, read on. …

Bed WettingRead More »

By Gabrielle. This tour takes us on a sweet journey through a home that lovingly embraces two cultures. From traditions and tiny travel souvenirs to a giant world map in a little girl’s bedroom, Myla and her family’s home is a subtle study in world geography. The most important lesson? That it’s a small, small place. The Lopez family lives in the perfect spot – just a 40 minute commute outside of New York City – which was one of my family’s favorite homes on our growing list of hometowns. To further illustrate my point (and Walt Disney’s!) of how tiny this world of ours truly is, Myla’s family and mine are neighbors. Sort of. She has a cottage in Normandy, too! It’s the most fun when paths overlap, isn’t it? For those of you with culturally blended families, or even those of you with your passports at the ready, I really hope you enjoy this tour! Q: Please tell us all about you and yours. A: I’ll try to simplify our story! There’s me, my husband, Richard, and my daughters, Chiara and Ines. I spent my childhood in the Manila, Philippines while my husband spent his in Brittany, France. We now live in northern New Jersey and spend summers in our little cottage in Normandy, France. We met in our late teens and dated long-distance prior to the days of email and Internet. The great thing is that we still have actual hard copies of our correspondence that we can show our daughters, and hopefully our grandkids one day. I can’t believe it but we actually have been married for 17 years! …

Living With Kids: Myla LopezRead More »

By Gabrielle. It’s going to be a bit of a crazy week at our house. Ben Blair flew to France yesterday and won’t be back till Sunday, and starting Wednesday, the wood floors are being refinished. Which means we need to live upstairs until they’re done. Which means we won’t have access to the kitchen. Which will be tricky. But I’ve got a plan! And take out menus! And we’ll make it work. In honor of Ben’s trip, I thought today would be a fun day to share one of the newest Olive Us episodes, called How to Travel. I’m sure many of you have travel plans for the holidays (or are just returning from Thanksgiving trips), so hopefully this cute little video will resonate. And if you have your own travel tricks and tips you’d like to add, I hope you’ll share them in the comments. The aim of Ben’s trip is to have the roof and chimney of The Cottage repaired. I tell you, I get a case of the butterflies when I think about progress being made on our pretty little bit of France! P.S. — Would you like to know more about Olive Us? Here you go: – Find the official Olive Us website here, and subscribe to the Olive Us Newsletter here. – Find all the posts I’ve written about Olive Us here. – We’ve collaborated with ulive for 20 episodes, you can find the Olive Us page on ulive here.

By Lindsey Johnson of Café Johnsonia for Design Mom. Menu #19 in our Lunch Box Series is another favorite snack-y lunch. There are lots of little finger foods that are perfect for sharing with a friend, but tasty enough I know they’ll eat them. LUNCH MENU #19 – whole grain pretzels with chocolate nut butter dip – grapes – baby carrots – dried mango pieces – cottage cheese – hardboiled egg …

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By Lindsey Johnson of Café Johnsonia for Design Mom. For menu #18 of our Lunch Box Series I planned another pasta dish. A warm meal like this is so simple but satisfying — especially on a cold day. My kids are all smiles whenever they see me prepping the thermos for pasta! LUNCH MENU #18 – linguine with marinara sauce -cheese and garlic bread stick – string cheese -carrots with homemade dip – squeezable fruit puree* -water …

Lunch Menu #18Read More »

Birch snowflake ornaments! This is the 3rd (and last) project in our mini-series of cool things you can make with a wood burning/etching tool. Project 1 is here. Project 2 is here. Birch trees are just lovely for the holidays. Paired with a slip of ribbon or twine, an evergreen bough or two, and these little ornaments will instantly give your home a rustic, woodsy, holiday feel, and have you ready to greet the first snowfall with a big grin. The interior of the birch branch was soft so etching was very easy and the process was very quick. And these couldn’t be more affordable to make! You could cover your tree with them. Or hang them on doorknobs around the house. You could give a set to your niece who’s just settling into her first apartment. Use them as gift toppers, or give them as holiday party favors! Don’t worry if drawing snowflakes isn’t your thing — feel free to copy mine! The designs I made are totally easy and simple to mimic. Flex those fingers and let’s do this. …

The Perfect Gift: Etched Snowflake Ornaments in BirchRead More »

By Lindsey Johnson of Café Johnsonia for Design Mom. Menu #17 of our Lunch Box Series is one of my oldest daughter’s favorite lunches — chicken tortilla soup, or as we call it at home “Corn Chip Soup.” (I’ve included the recipe below!) We always eat this soup with salsa, sour cream, and corn chips, hence the name. Sometimes we add shredded cheese and a squeeze of lime, but I left that out this time. The fruit makes a great dessert. LUNCH MENU #17 – chicken tortilla soup – chips and salsa – sour cream – cubed fruit: watermelon and pineapple …

Lunch Menu #17Read More »

By Gabrielle. Photos by Alex Wolf. Jay Wolf first contacted me to share a link showing his family’s incredible journey back from a devastating circumstance, and I was floored for a few days. And soon enough, my awe was pushed aside by a little wonder. When your life is turned upside down, how do you right it again? When all your definitions change – of motherhood and wife and husband and home – how do you write a new and improved dictionary? Oh, I wanted to see more of the Wolf family’s life, and I wanted to show you, too. Because all through this tour and their story, there’s hope. And there’s nothing better on a Tuesday morning than a little hope, right? Please sit a while with this home and this special, special family, Friends. I know it will improve your day. Welcome, Wolf family! (Is this the first time a dad has written the interview? I think it is! Welcome, Jay!) Q: Please introduce us to your family! A: Hi, we’re the Wolfs: Jay, Katherine, and James. We’re originally from the deep South, but after marrying at 22, we moved to Los Angeles to pursue our dreams in the entertainment industry and law school (for me, Jay) at Pepperdine. Little did we know that decision would not only change the course of our lives, but it would also save Katherine’s life just over three years later. Those early years were idyllic, living in a Malibu married housing apartment with a view of the ocean, loving our church community and the creative energy that is electric in the City of Angels. Our son James came along quite unexpectedly, but we relished our new calling as young parents. …

Living With Kids: The Wolf FamilyRead More »

Text and images by Amy Christie for Design Mom. Tree illustrations by Eloise Renouf. As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve created a 3 part series of cool gifts you can make with a wood-burning or etching tool. Today’s project: cutting boards! (Find the first project here.) When the holiday season rolls around, I often wish I had a whole new collection of platters to set my table with, so I knew these etched cutting boards would make great gifts! Just think, with a few strokes of a heat tool, wooden cutting boards can go from lacking to lovely. As you whip up a couple of these as gifts for friends and family, be sure to buy extras for yourself! Serving ware with an etched cutting board never looked this good.

ETCHED CUTTING BOARD TUTORIAL: THE PROCESS

The technique is the same as it was for the spoons I shared yesterday, however the density of these cutting boards was different, more solid. The etching process changed for each board, but, as you can see, the result is the same. Adding a simple design really personalizes something store-bought. Ready for round two? Let’s go! …

The Perfect Gift: Etched Cutting BoardRead More »

Text and images by Amy Christie for Design Mom. It’s getting to be that time of year again: handmade gift-making season! This year, we thought it would be fun to try a new creative tool, a dremel (or you could call it a wood burner), a heated tool used for etching and drawing on wooden surfaces. For the next three days, I’ll be sharing cool and easy projects using this one tool (find the second project here).

ETCHED WOODEN SPOONS TUTORIAL

First up, mixing spoons! Inspired by this project, I thought it would be interesting to see what super simple designs — dots, plaids and hatched arrows — looked like on etched wooden spoons. And they turned out so great, I thought they’d make a gorgeous gift! Since I had never tried one before, I found it fascinating to work with the etcher — it’s a whole different way to alter an object. And you guys are lucky, because after my experience with these projects I can offer some advice. As a warning, it does get crazy hot and can 1) burn skin, 2) burn a whole through clothing and 3) make burn marks on anything it comes into contact with. Only two of these items are inspired by personal experience and I’m embarrassed enough not to tell you which two. : ) So please be careful! That said, don’t be intimidated. It was actually really easy to work with. Just be careful, and when you aren’t actively using it, rest it on a surface that won’t burn. And of course, make sure to unplug it when you have finished your etched wooden spoons. Also, there is a good chance that when you finish, you will smell like what I imagine Smoky the Bear smells like — burned wood. So crack a window, turn on a fan and pretend you’re enjoying a bonfire. The result is well worth it. Plug in the Dremel and let’s get going! …

The Perfect Gift: Etched Wooden SpoonsRead More »

Image and text by Lindsey Johnson for Design Mom. According to my Kindergartener, Menu #16 of our Lunch Box Series, this sunflower and banana sandwich, is the BEST sandwich ever and she wants to eat it every day. Now if that isn’t a compliment! The sunflower butter is super tasty. We’ve decided we like the kind from Trader Joe’s the best, which I am sure is because it has cane juice in it. : ) A great thing I’ve just discovered are these awesome reusable pouches. They can even be washed in the dishwasher. The other side has space to write what is in the bag that day. The one in the picture has Greek yogurt in it. Kind of a nice budget-friendly way to send yogurt in my kids’ lunches. We’ll be trying out homemade applesauce next. Now let’s talk about root beer cookies because they always garner a mixed reaction. I know they sound strange, but they have been a family favorite since I was in elementary school. I’ve started using whole wheat flour and my kids never notice the difference! They are super soft and remind me of childhood. So what do you think? Would you try them? LUNCH MENU #16 – sunflower butter and banana sandwich – clementine – grapes – yogurt (in EZ squeezees pouch) – root beer cookie sandwich – crunchy pea snacks – water …

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By Lindsey Johnson of Café Johnsonia for Design Mom. Here’s Menu #15 in our Lunch Box Series — pasta, sauce, and salad! A sure to please combo that my kids adore. And with the right equipment (click through for sources), the pasta really does stay warm till lunch. LUNCH MENU #15 – Tortellini with marinara sauce – Olives, halved grape tomatoes, mini mozzarella balls – Small salad with homemade ranch – All natural fruit snacks …

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By Gabrielle. I devour Tina’s blog. (Truth be told, her husband’s site is gorgeous, too.) Tina is an information sharer, through and through. From Vitamin D deficiency to posts detailing how it truly feels like to move abroad to talking about sugar, almost every post feeds questions I didn’t even know I had. I love that. And I adore how her writing style is as calm as her home’s decor. Would you like to see the Fussell home? Let’s do it, then! Friends, please enjoy the tour. Q: Please tell us who lives in this dreamy home! A: We are Jack and Tina Fussell and we are Americans living in Copenhagen, Denmark with our three kids, Hailey (12), Parker (8), and Landon (5). Many people know our Traveling Tribe through our blog, Flying House by Traveling Mama where we write about our living abroad with kids, our favorite places to stay, eat, and shop when we travel and also what it is like to create a new home in a new country! We have lived in Copenhagen for three years, but we also lived in Morocco for three years and Spain for two prior to our move here. Q: How did this house turn into your home? A: It’s funny because we didn’t even know we were going to move until a month before we moved into our current home with a camera crew from House Hunters International along for the ride to document our 20th move! Our landlord suddenly contacted us asking for his apartment back so we immediately started looking for a new place to live. Even before walking into our town home I knew it was the perfect place for us. Situated in a beautiful neighborhood not far from the city center, with white walls and floors, and loads of light… I was sold! The fact that it had a small terrace and a quiet street for the kids to play on was just icing on the cake. …

Living With Kids: Tina FussellRead More »

This post is sponsored by IKEA. Use our ideas to organize your hallway, and avoid having your entryway be an obstacle course. Do you have a mudroom? And by mudroom I mean a place to put jackets and bags and school work and backpacks and cellphones and on and on as you come into the house? We don’t have a mudroom at the moment — in fact, I don’t think we’ve ever had one. So in every house we’ve lived in we have to figure out an alternative solution. In The Treehouse, our entry is very simple — no coat closet or any storage at all — and it opens immediately to the living room. It was filling up with backpacks and jackets and deliveries every day after school and we couldn’t quite figure out how to best use the space — until I spent some time considering the hallway. The hallway in question is just off the entry, and you don’t see it when you first come in, so it’s not part of the first impression of the home — making it a potentially good option for stashing that mess that was piling up each day. As I’m sure you know, hallways have a reputation for being a sort of waste of space — square footage that you can’t really live in. But the more I looked at it, the more I wondered if we could make the hallway more functional, if we could transform it into our “mudroom”. IKEA really shines when you need to problem solve a solution like this in your home, so I was delighted as can be to partner with them on this project. They have so many options that work in a tight space! At first, I was mostly thinking hooks. Hooks everywhere! As many as we could fit. But then I started really thinking about how we would use the space, and hooks didn’t quite cover it. We needed a place to gather papers and mail as they came into the house. We needed a place to corral keys, cell phones, ipods, etc. We needed a place to tuck away heavy teenage backpacks (the sort that are too heavy for wall hooks). So I went to IKEA, measuring tape in hand, and walked through every space in the store making notes about products that might work, snapping reference photos, and jotting down ideas — I particularly kept my eyes open for narrow pieces that would leave plenty of pass-through space in the hallway. Though it might look more generous in these photos, the hallway measures a typical 45″ wide (see the “before” pic at bottom for reference). Then I sat down at home and sketched out some options. …

The Treehouse: Hallway Turned Mudroom — Make it Happen for Under $300!Read More »

By Lindsey Johnson of Café Johnsonia for Design Mom. One thing we rely on is leftovers for lunch. For Menu #14 of our Lunch Box Series, I’ve included our family favorite, Chicken Gyros and Tzatziki. It’s just as good cold as it is hot. For a little crunch and some green, there’s a container of sprouts (these are actually micro-greens) to go inside. I’ve also got some hummus to eat with the carrots and grape tomatoes. LUNCH MENU #14 – chicken on pita – tzatziki – baby carrots and grape tomatoes – grapes – hummus …

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By Gabrielle. Image by Lindsey Johnson for Design Mom. I’ve got a question for you today. It’s pretty light-hearted, but I’m genuinely curious. Have you ever deliberately tried to change a harmless dislike into a like? I’ve mentioned before I’m not a fan of cilantro. Not a big deal, I know. The same is true of a measurable section of the population — cilantro tastes like soap to some people. But I read an article about a foodie who conquered all his food dislikes (I swear I’ve linked to it before, but now I can’t find it!), and it really stuck with me. Then I read a status update from my friend, Laurie Smithwick. She’s also a cilantro hater, but decided she wasn’t going to be anymore. I was really impressed by that, and thought it would be smart to follow her example. So I’ve been doing my best to not avoid cilantro for the past many months. In France, we rarely if ever encountered cilantro, but here in Oakland, it’s practically impossible to stay away from it — at least if you’re a fan of Mexican food (which I am!). The results of my non-avoidance? So far, I still can’t say I’m a cilantro lover, but I am a cilantro tolerator, and I hope I’m on the road to being a cilantro embracer. But. I’ve tried the same thing with purple, and have had less luck. In 4th and 5th grade, purple was my absolute favorite color — every shade, but particularly pastel. Purple clothes, purple pencil box, purple barrettes! But somewhere between age 10 and now, I lost my love for that regal color and even began to really dislike it. If it’s greyed out and sort of a dove shade, I’m fine. But true purples are not my thing. A few weeks ago, I was thinking about how arbitrary my lack of love for purple was, and that I was no doubt missing out on some true beauty in the world by automatically dismissing anything purple, so I’ve been attempting to be more open-minded about it. When a purple option is presented to me, I’ll spend more time with it, and run a little dialogue in my head about how purple is a perfectly good color and that it’s worth liking. I’ll be honest, I’ve seen a little movement on my purple-loving scale, but nothing impressive. It’s made me wonder about your own experiences with changing your tastes and preferences. If you’ve tried, were you able to succeed? And was it worth it? Any stories about color preferences? Or flip-flopping on a particular flavor? Chime in! P.S. — Another harmless dislike: least favorite flowers.