By Gabrielle. Photos by Katlyn Myrvold, with a few from Julia, too. There are a few schools of thought about how to live with kids and still maintain your style, from pretending their childish design preferences and love of all things plastic in primary colors don’t exist, to merging yours and theirs seamlessly and in lots of aesthetically pleasing bins and cupboards, to completely succumbing to the mayhem for at least a few years. And then there’s Julia and her family. With their style firmly rooted in Mid-Century Modern and a preference for vintage, the Fain home is a study in clean simplicity. Quite a feat with two small ones running around it! I must admit, her clutter-free home has me kind of yearning for a purge, and will probably inspire some of you to rethink the quantity of toys in your own homes…even the ones hiding away nicely in the afore-mentioned cute cupboards! I’m happy to introduce Julia to you all. Enjoy the sunshiney tour, Friends! Q: Tell us all about the Fain family! A: Hi, I’m Julia! I met my husband Lee ten years ago in Savannah, Georgia at a college ministry event. He was pursuing a masters in Industrial Design at SCAD and I was pursuing an undergrad in Industrial Design at Georgia Tech. We dated long distance, married, and worked together as designers for an appliance company in Louisville, Kentucky. A few years later my husband was offered a design position at 3M in Saint Paul, Minnesota and we trekked further north. I was pregnant with our son and knew very little about midwestern culture, cold, and snow. It was a definite adventure! Six years later we have two kids and own a home in Saint Paul. We live 20 hours from grandparents and travel south as often as we can to visit them! We have two incredible kiddos. Our son Bryce is five. He is creative, silly, and energetic. Kinsey is three. She provides a lot of laughter and loves to craft especially if there’s glue, scissors, or markers around. Together, they are quite a pair. …

Living With Kids: Julia FainRead More »

By Gabrielle. Image is from my high school Sadie Hawkins dance — do you like my scrunchie? A few weeks ago, I read an article in New York Magazine titled “Why You Truly Never Leave High School” by Jennifer Senior. I confess, I was sort of rolling my eyes as I started reading, because somehow I managed to make it through high school fairly unscathed. But as I kept reading — and realized how the topics being discussed were about to affect my own children (two of mine will be in high school when to we return to U.S. schools next fall) — I suddenly wanted to share the fascinating article with every one I know. Some of the ideas that stood out to me: “In adolescence, the brain is also buzzing with more dopamine activity than at any other time in the human life cycle, so everything an adolescent does—everything an adolescent feels—is just a little bit more intense.” This is true for the good feelings, but also for the bad feelings, like fear. I keep reminding myself of this when my teens are upset — their reactions to problems aren’t necessarily proportionate to the actual problem. …

High SchoolRead More »

Text and images by Gabrielle. I find prepping for road trips less stressful than prepping for plane trips. For starters, packing is easier. There are no weight restrictions and no checked vs. carry on bag decisions. You can stuff last minute items into the trunk and deal with them later. You can bring extra coats and boots that would take up too much room in luggage. Plus, you get to skip the airport! I find airports in general to be stressful places, and with a big family, the stress is multiplied. The getting there early, but not so early that you’ve used up all your boredom fighters before boarding. Making it through security with your kids — with all the jackets, boarding passes, shoes, passports, belts, and teddy bears intact. And hoping the kids will behave well on the airplane and be mindful of other passengers. (In the car, if they throw a tantrum, oh well.) Going to the airport sometimes feels like we’re adding extra hours to our trip before it really starts. Ultimately, roadtrips lend themselves to our family’s last-minute tendencies. We decided on Ireland about 2 days before we went. We decided on Switzerland about 2 hours before we left! In contrast, plane trips require more planning for a big family — last-minute plane trips for 8 just aren’t very realistic. And yet. Plane trips cover so much ground so quickly! (And we already have our next family plane trip scheduled for May. Hah!) For Ireland, in theory we could have flown, but because we were putting the trip together last-minute, driving made the most sense. And it turns out it was a good thing. Because our particular trip definitely required a car! …

Road trips vs. Plane trips. Plus Ireland Pics!Read More »

By Gabrielle. A home that holds seven is always something to see. Add in Juli’s love for orderly decor and art-filled spaces, her husband’s penchant for emergency preparedness, and a Southwestern town I actually Googled to learn more about its mysterious history, and this tour becomes something to see and read! Which I happen to love, by the way. Originally, I envisioned these home tours as a bunch of pretty pictures to brighten up our weekly views. Now, it’s the stories that change my view. I hope you find something in each tour that changes yours for the better, too. This week, it’s Juli (no last name or blog this time; her town is that small!), her gorgeous gang, and their lovely story. Welcome, Juli! Q: Please tell us about the family who lives here. A: I am privileged to live with six other wonderful, independent spirits. My husband and best friend is Josh. He works as an Emergency Manager. His skills have been handy too many times already as emergencies are always bound to happen. For example, he had us practice a pretend house evacuation in a 15-minute time frame only to find that we would do it for real just a few weeks later when the largest fire in New Mexico broke out close to our home in Los Alamos. Josh and I met in college in Idaho, we dated in Utah where I finished my schooling, and enjoyed newlywed life in Massachusetts where Josh attended graduate school. We both claim Nevada as our home state and love to sing “Home means Nevada” every Halloween which happens to be Nevada Day. We started our family with two girls in Massachusetts: Sophi, nine, and Anna, who is seven. Sophi is the social butterfly with tons of friends and is often too smart for her own good. Anna has the kindest heart and is artistic and creative. Then there is Stewart, aged five and our witty Texas cowboy, who is so curious; he must ask thousands of questions in a day! The two tail end children are New Mexican: Naomi, who is two, and James, who happened to be the New Year’s Baby of our town for 2013. Naomi is our peacemaker and has a huge personality full of laughter and fun, though she is barely legal to face forward in her car seat. Baby James seems to be everyone’s favorite these days with his sweet nature. And I’m Juli, the stay-at-home mother who oversees this entire operation we call our family. I was a secondary education teacher of history before my career ended with a broken ankle at the eighth month of my first pregnancy. …

Living With Kids: JuliRead More »

Hooray! A new Olive Us episode has arrived. The concept of this episode might be the simplest one we’ve ever conceived: Follow 2-year-old Flora June Blair around for a day and capture it on video. Two year olds have a reputation for being terrible, and as a mother of six, I’m no stranger to flat-on-the-floor-of-the-grocery store meltdowns, or frankly, playground/grandma’s house/preschool/playdate/library/car/sidewalk meltdowns either. Here is a shot of June taken this last weekend during a 20-minute stand off at the hotel pool — she refused to get out: At the same time, I know that 2 years old is also one of the sweetest ages. There is so much discovery. So much growth. Huge jumps in vocabulary and communication. Huge jumps in independence. Lots and lots of opinions. Lots and lots of giggles. Here’s another photo of June on the day we filmed Cider Farm: And here’s another from last August (complete with drool bubbles): And just one more where she’s wearing the same darling dress from the video. You may remember the dress from this post, too — it was made by the talented Katy of No Big Dill: First time parents will see their 2 year old as all grown up. Second-time-around parents will see that their 2 year old is really still a baby. I think both are right. I hope you enjoy the video! It’s a sweet one. (And there’s a happy little bit after the credits, too.) P.S. — More Olive Us videos.

Image and text by Gabrielle. The roadtrip destination has been decided — I’m writing this from a Ferry to Ireland! I know I’ve mentioned this before, but one of the reasons we ended up extending our stay in France from the original plan of one year, to the current plan of 2 1/2 years, is that we wanted to fit in more traveling. We want to A) take advantage of how geographically close everything is here, and B) make the most of the frequent school breaks. (The schedule in French schools is something like 6 weeks on 2 weeks off.) For this particular school break, we had long daydreamed about going to Egypt. It’s the number one destination on our kids’ travel wishlist — and really, on mine too. The pyramids! A camel ride to the Sphinx! And it’s only a 5.5 hour plane ride away! But we weren’t able to make it work. Yes, there is instability in Egypt right now, but we’ve done our research and sought out trusted advice, and really felt like we could safely and confidently take our family there. So that’s not actually what stopped us. Mostly, it’s a budget thing (we’re putting our savings elsewhere at the moment). So last week, we started dreaming up alternate plans and Ireland was the winner! Yesterday, we drove 2 hours to Cherbourg, a port city here in Normandy, then boarded a ferry (the boat is called Oscar Wilde!) last night at 8PM. We drove our van right onto the ferry, so we’ll have our car when we arrive. We booked two side-by-side cabins to fit the 8 of us and slept through the night. The ferry is big — not-cruise-ship-with-swimming-pool big — but big enough that there are restaurants and a couple of shops. So we’ve spent the morning exploring the ship. The ferry lands at 2PM today in the Irish town of Rosslare. From there, we’ll be driving to our hotel in Cork and the first tourist spot on our schedule: The Blarney Stone! I know very little about Ireland, so I’ve been reading as much as I can over the last few days. If you have recommendations or advice, please let us know! We’re planning to use County Cork as a base and explore from there. Ben Blair wants to see the Cliffs of Moher. And we all want to see Dublin. But we’d love more particular advice. P.S. — I posted the image of Ben Blair at top about a year ago, but I had to share it here because I think he looks so Irish! I’m not actually sure if Ben has any Irish heritage — I believe his Blair line of relatives are Scottish and English. But my grandmother Lucille was an Evans and apparently, my whole Evans line hails from Ireland. (Genealogy is cool!)

Text and image by Gabrielle. I’m a bit late posting today, but I have a good reason. Today, we put an offer on this cottage! We’re so excited we can hardly stand it. We’ve been looking at it since last August, but the property needed some certification before we could buy it. It used to be a house, but hasn’t been inhabited for many, many years and was reclassified as a barn. So we’ve had to make sure it can be certified as a house again before we move forward. There is one catch: all these months later, it’s still not officially certified. But. It’s so close to being certified that the notary felt like it was okay to go ahead and make the formal offer and sign all the paperwork. So, there is a chance that it won’t receive the approvals and we won’t be able to buy it — but I can’t help but be excited anyway!!! The house is essentially a stone shell — in fact, will need to restore both electricity and running water on the property. But it’s on a lovely piece of land and has a charming outbuilding too. And it was an amazing bargain! It needs a huge (HUGE!) amount of work, but the prospect of owning it and fixing it up still has us grinning ear to ear. As soon as it’s officially ours, I’ll be sure to share more photos, but for now, hopefully my instagram shot above will whet your whistle. P.S. — For those of you who are curious, we’re still planning to move back to the U.S. in July. Our intention with this cottage is to use it as a vacation home and a base here in Europe. And mostly, we hope it will keep us connected to the friends we’ve made here and to this region which we love so much.

By Gabrielle. First & last images by Justin Hackworth. All other images by Ben Blair for Design Mom. A year ago, at the request of readers, I posted a little guide to what I wore to Alt Summit. Based on the comments, you seemed to enjoy it, and it ended up being a really good thing for me, too. I used those photos as head shots and avatar images all year long! And I like having a record of what my wardrobe was like at that moment in time. So this year, I’m doing the same post with the hope that it will again serve me well — and that hopefully you’ll like it, too. But I have to say, I have had this on the calendar for a week and couldn’t quite get brave enough to hit publish. If you’ve been reading Design Mom for even a short while, you know that I take and share dozens of photos each week, but normally don’t post many photos of myself — and certainly not 20+ images at the same time! Thank you for indulging me. Let’s start with the Ms. Peacock outfit. I wore this for the Clue Party on Thursday night of the conference. I made my hat in the hotel room a few minutes before the party started! Earlier that week, I picked up 2 peacock feather wreaths and a roll of black tulle at Michaels. My intention was to fashion them into some sort of peacock fascinator, but I ended up running out of time! So I simply put the two wreaths back-to-back with the tulle between them and hot glued it all together. (Yes. I did pack my hot glue gun with me across ocean. That should not surprise any of you.) The tulle in the center of the wreaths kept my head from going all the way through, and I also glued in tulle that draped over my eyes to add some drama. But seriously, I don’t think I needed any additional drama. I was already wearing 2 wreaths on my head! My hat was so big that I couldn’t bring it home with me, so I gave it to my sister Sara. (Hopefully it will make it into her legendary costume stash.) Dress from COS — I love the satin detail on the back. I bought it last spring during my Paris shopping trip with Jordan. Peacock tights I’ve had forever. The necklace I found at a shoe store — doesn’t it look peacock-y? And the silver heels are from Naf Naf. …

What to Wear to Alt Summit 2013Read More »

By Gabrielle. This week’s tour is wonderfully wild and quite unlike any home we’ve seen. Situated on the outskirts of Nairobi, Erin‘s family home is made from unique, found materials smartly transformed into walls and doors, windows and tables, and even a chandelier. Daily visitors to her garden include monkeys and warthogs and, last year, lions. Yes, lions. I am officially in awe of the courageous life Erin leads, and the motivation that runs her super chic, community-empowering company, Toto Knits. Inspiring doesn’t seem a bold enough word for this one, Friends. Please enjoy it! Q: You’re a brand new Kenyan citizen! Congratulations! Tell us how your life led you here. A: Thanks! It’s a big thing for me as I’ve been here 11 years now and really feel it’s important that I’m official now. While originally from San Francisco, I was living in New York working in the glitzy world of media. Think The Devil Wears Prada; I worked for Tina Brown. And then September 11th happened. I had an ‘aha’ moment as I was watching the towers fall and the subsequent walk back downtown to my apartment while people were running uptown, covered in ash, that I needed to do something more meaningful with my life. By February 2002, I had found a job in Kenya working as the Director of Finance and Development for a school for children with special needs. It ticked all the boxes: doing a job that helped people, living in a new country, and working with kids. I immediately sold my apartment in the West Village and landed here a month later. I was going to go for a year and when I got back, I could use the old line ‘When I lived in Africa…’ at cocktail parties. Or so I thought. Within ten days here I met my husband, Captain Africa, and as it turned out, Mr Right. We met over a toilet. I was living in a cottage on a giraffe sanctuary and it had no toilet, so they asked him to come quote for putting in a toilet. He over-quoted so that the owners wouldn’t build it, and I would move in with him. It worked! A few years later and we had two ‘totos’ (children)! …

Living With Kids: Erin AllanRead More »

Images and text by Amy Christie for Design Mom Sewn paper garlands have become one of my favorite items to make as of late. And a mini version? Well, the cuteness factor is off the charts! These little ditties aren’t just for hanging either. From wrapping gifts to wrapping around desserts, paper ribbon garlands are the extra wonderful bit you need. Don’t you just love them? If you are able to cut paper (or punch or direct a paper cutting machine) and sew a straight line, you are well on your way to making an endless amount of adorable paper ribbons. Even after my old well-seasoned sewing machine stopped working, I soldiered on with the help of a friend’s machine because I just couldn’t help myself. Best of all, I have an easy tip to share which will make even the tiniest garlands easily doable. So find yourself a fun, punchy color scheme and let’s get making. …

DIY: Paper Ribbon GarlandRead More »

By Gabrielle. Here’s another fun episode from Olive Us! Take a visit to a Normandy Cider Farm with Ralph, Maude, Olive, Oscar, Betty & June. See how the apples are harvested and the juice is bottled, and get a glimpse of the beautiful countryside. Fun fact: Normandy is the only region of France that doesn’t produce wine. Instead, apples and pears are so abundant here that ciders and juices are the local drink (and calvados, for those seeking something a bit harder). Apple tarts are also famous in this region. And they are hands down delicious. We filmed this episode at La Galotiere, the most picturesque little farm you’ve ever seen. We buy their apple juice by the crate! P.S. — Subscribe to Olive Us to be the first to know about new videos. In fact, a behind-the-scenes video about the Cider Farm will be posted later today. And hey, if the Cider Farm episode doesn’t show up for you here, try viewing it on Vimeo. …

Olive Us: Episode 19: Cider FarmRead More »

By Gabrielle. How many of you have bought the perfect home in the perfect location with the perfect bedroom just across the hall from the master just made for that perfect child that will someday arrive…only to be surprised by two perfect children at the same time! Two children who do not sleep well together, in fact. Life rearranges all of our perfect plans, doesn’t it? Sara knows this firsthand, and with another perfect baby on the way she is set to rearrange once again in this house she and her family — and all their firsts! — call home. Welcome, Sara! Q: Please introduce us to you! A: My name is Sara. I share my home with my husband Andy, our twin daughters, Lauren and Avery, and our dog Wrigley. My husband and I are college sweethearts and have been married for almost ten years. Lauren and Avery turn four this weekend! Wrigley is nine; we adopted him when he was a puppy a few months after we got married and bought our first house. Q: Where does your home live, and how did it come to be yours? A: Our home is in the western suburbs of Chicago, about 40 minutes from downtown. The ironic thing about this house is that at the time we were searching for it we were also working on the HGTV show, Designed to Sell, which featured our first home and talked about our desire to move back to Chicago (where we had lived prior to buying that house), but instead we moved further west, away from the city. We loved this home from the moment we walked into it. It was built in the 1950s, but was flipped just prior to our moving into it, so all the finishes have been redone and are definitely a major part of why we fell in love. We also loved that it didn’t have a traditional floor plan, but felt more modern and unique. A lot of people say it feels like a city house, which I love since I was the one who wanted to move back to Chicago before buying this house. Our home has four bedrooms and two bathrooms on two floors. Unfortunately, we do not have a basement, which is rare here. We miss it! …

Living With Kids: Sara KahlenbergRead More »

By Gabrielle. Poster by Wonchan Lee. Question: Hi Design Mom. You mentioned that your older kids watched You’ve Got Mail, and I’d love to know what movies you watch as a whole family. Are there movies that the younger kids and older kids both like? I need a list for our own movie nights. Thanks! — Joanna. Answer: Such a fun question, Joanna! As you know, we love a good movie party at our house. : ) Before I share a list of favorite titles, I feel like I should give some kind of parental guidance warning. We don’t consider ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R) super accurate at our house. School of Rock is PG-13, but we watch it as a whole family. On the other hand, Skyfall is rated PG-13, but we won’t let our kids see it — even the older two who are 13+. And The Kings Speech, which is rated R, would definitely be on my approved list for my teens. So if there’s something on our list that would offend your kids, forget my recommendation and stick to your own instincts. …

Ask Design Mom: Movies For All AgesRead More »

By Gabrielle. February 1st marked 2 years that we’ve lived in France. Two years! It’s flown by so incredibly fast. And I feel emotional every time I think about it. We hoped and suspected it would be a happy and growing experience for our family, but it has been so much more positive and life-changing than we could have imagined. Our plan is to move back to the U.S. in July, after the French schools let out for the summer. Which means we’ve got 6 months left here at La Cressionère. And we want soak up every last minute of it! So don’t be surprised if you see a heavier dose of French-themed posts in the next while. I want to give you the latest report on our children’s experience in French schools. A language learning update, too. I want to share my favorite inexpensive souvenirs. I want to recap what we’ve done, and the places we’ve visited since we arrived. And generally just reflect on what we’ve learned, and what comes next. Speaking of what comes next, I’ve mentioned it before, but we are trying really, really hard to buy a rustic cottage here in Normandy before we move. (Rustic = needs much TLC.) Lots of paperwork involved, but if we are able to make it happen, I’ll definitely report. Please wish us luck! And if there’s anything specific about our experience here in France that you’d like me to write about, let me know in the comments. P.S. — Man oh man I love this house. The image is the hallway at the top of the stairs.

By Gabrielle. I’ve got another Celebrations video to share with you today, and I hope you’ll like it! In this video, Birthday Traditions Part 2, you’ll find 3 more happy ideas to help you establish long-lasting traditions your family will treasure. If you missed it, you can find Part 1 here. As I mentioned before, I’m hoping birthday traditions can become an ongoing theme, and that I’ll make more videos as I come across good ideas. Which reminds me, thank you so much for sharing your favorite family birthday traditions — I love reading your comments! P.S. — Watch for a You Are Special Today Plate DIY coming later this week. Also, you can find my Babble Celebrations column here.

Text and images by Gabrielle. Pharmacies, and specifically pharmacists, play a different role here in France than they do in the U.S. From what I can tell, for non-emergency medical issues or questions, like colds, rashes, or congestion, pharmacists are the first stop. They’re incredibly knowledgable and they come out from behind the counter to discuss the options and recommend products. Plus they keep samples of pretty much everything they stock on hand and offer them up generously so you can find the product that’s going to work for you before you spend your money. Something else you’ll find integrated into every French pharmacy is homeopathic medicine. It seems to be as common as aspirin here! And I should note, not just at pharmacies. It’s also common for any doctor to recommend homeopathie as an option. (Where as in my experience in the U.S., typically only “alternative” practitioners might recommend it.) Essentially, homeopathie is not considered strange, alternative, quack-y or odd at all. It’s simply an additional option. And it’s readily available at even the smallest corner pharmacy. …

HomeopathieRead More »

A new Olive Us episode! And it’s a charmer. Do you have a wood-burning fireplace at your house? This little episode shows how our firewood is delivered and stacked — an event we have found delightful since this is the first house we’ve lived in with a working fireplace. And hey, if you consider yourself part of the Oscar Fan Club, this episode is especially for you! (Be sure to watch till the end of the credits for a little treat.) Have you seen Moonrise Kingdom? We really loved it and thought the matter-of-fact narrator was an especially cool aspect of the story. So we thought it would be fun to make an Olive Us episode with a narrator, too. And Oscar was picked for the job! A bit of trivia: You wouldn’t know it by watching the episode, but it was actually really challenging for Oscar to deliver his lines while looking directly into the camera. So hard! It took lots of practice and many, many (many!) takes. And ultimately, he had to concentrate so hard while doing it, that he is very, very serious throughout the episode. Which happily, turned out to be pretty darn charming (at least, in my opinion). P.S. — More Olive Us episodes. …

Olive Us: Episode 18: Stacking WoodRead More »

By Gabrielle. Question: Hi Design Mom. I am wondering how the time difference from France to the U.S. affects you and your husband’s work days. I work from home, too, and dream of living abroad. Any thoughts? — Rebekah Answer: Great question, Rebekah! Before we moved, I hadn’t actually given the time change much thought, but it turns out it has affected our work — and our life! — in a big way. I have several assorted thoughts on the subject, but they feel a little disjointed in my head, so I’m going to put them in a list and see how that goes: – I love, love, love waking up 6 hours before East Coasters (and 9 hours before Californians!). When I sit down with my laptop and tackle my inbox, I can actually make progress! Because most of the people that email me are fast asleep and my inbox stays quiet while I answer emails. And it just feels like I’m getting a head start! Basically, I get my posts done for the day and scheduled — but they don’t go live until 3:00PM my time (which is 9:00AM in NY). So if we have an outing that day, or guests in town, I know I have until 3:00PM to get things going. It’s a really nice feeling. Ben Blair and I have discussed that it will be one of the things we miss the very most when we move back. …

Ask Design Mom: Working With a Time DifferenceRead More »

By Gabrielle. I’ve got a really beautiful new Olive Us episode to share with you today. It’s sweet and whimsical, and if you’re stuck inside with winter weather, it will be just the trick to get you up and making. The recipe is one my family has been making for decades and it comes with the misspelling of snoball. We’ve chosen to keep the misspelling because we don’t want to jinx the recipe in any way! It’s so simple and yummy — I think these are my very favorite cookie. For those of you ready to try it out, take note of the marble reference — with these cookies, bite-size is key! Find the full written recipe here. Big thanks to Tiger in a Jar for their extra-dose of creativity on this one. And thanks to Tea Collection as well — they sent Betty’s sweet outfit!

By Gabrielle. Hooray! I’ve got another Celebrations Video I made for Babble to share with you today. This one is all about easy, fun birthday traditions you can start with your family! I’m sharing 3 ideas in the Part 1 video today and next week, I’ll share the Part 2 video, with three more ideas (and a DIY!). [UPDATED: here’s the Part 2 link.] I’m hoping this can become an ongoing theme, and that I’ll make more Birthday Traditions videos as I come across good ideas. : ) Please enjoy it! P.S. — Find my Babble Celebrations column here.