Music Monday: The Lumineers

I hope you had a wonderful weekend, one of the highlights of mine was attending the lovely Kinfolk Dinner/Brunch in San Francisco that I hope to share more of later today. To kick of Monday with a little music I wanted to share a band I recently came across called the Lumineers, with their song called Ho Hey which is a sweet little ditty about being someone's sweetheart. I am enjoying their overall sound, it's pretty nice. Enjoy.

Week no. 17

1. Goodness gracious, the continual stream of beautiful photographs from Peggy Wong constantly blows my mind, these are of the Met.

2. Yummy recipe to try from Martha.

3. I bought a lemon tree to keep inside, but now need to learn good care tips.
4. Came across the work of Natasha Mead - a gorgeous DIY Fashion App called Milk will be coming to the iPad soon. (via Design Milk)

Have a fantastic last week of April weekend. See you Monday.

12 great children's movies

Both our girls were under the weather this week and when that happens, it just breaks my heart. They are on the mends now and I'm so grateful. Between the runny nose sniffles, coughing, and cuddling, we slowly looked at books, and thumbed through magazines (India especially digs the mini size of Everyday Food) and watched a few of our favorite kid movies.

Here are 12 of our favorite children's movies which some may admittedly be slanted a little to the girly side, maybe not ... you tell me. We have also experimented in our family and work on keeping things 'G' rated around here so there isn't an increase in monster nightmares or sassy talk.

The Black Stallion - The cinematography is breathtaking. This part is my favorite.
Mary Poppins - Classic. You've seen this remix, right??
Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory I'm partial to the first version, I still get giddy when they open the doors to the colorful candy factory.
The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking I hope to get my hands on these next, the original versions look even better. This mashup is fun.
A Little Princess - Endearing and so well done, I may shed a tear or two with this one ... maybe.
Ratatouille - Paris, great food, a rat. oui.
Pollyanna - Playing the 'glad game' is a great lesson to pick up from this one.
Alice In Wonderland - Imagination practice.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Toot sweets and a magical flying, floating car, yes.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks - V's favorite part is the battle - she laughs her head off.
Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron - V (our horse lover) has watched this repeatedly more than any other.
Charlotte's Web - Touching tale about sacrifice and friendship. We also adore this version.

Okay, now it is your turn! What are your favorite children's movies? Shout them out.

Speaking Digitally: Paper by FiftyThree

If you have an iPad, you've got to check out the Paper by Fifty Three App. Basically you can use your finger or stylus to jot notes in your own handwriting, draw, paint and more. My husband ordered a stylus pen that came in the mail the other day and we have been having a lot of fun playing around with it. It is super intuitive and I am impressed with what you can do with it, and it feels more natural than any other drawing app we've tried. It is a perfect app for a quick sketch or to convey an idea to someone. It is crazy to envision the future like say in ten years as the gap between real paper vs. digital paper shrinks. Around ten years ago I think that was about when I got my first digital camera -- yikes how far we have come and so fast. The app itself is free and then you pay for the tools you want to use, pretty smart.

Don't get me wrong, I will always be a paper book lover and a pen and real paper type of girl, and I believe there will always be a place for it, but this technology is incredible and just wanted to share it with you. See their video for an idea of how it works. Have you tried it out? What apps are blowing your mind lately?

Also three cheers for Instagram being on Android.

Travel log : Oregon Coast

Growing up I had fond memories of visiting Cannon Beach in Oregon, but after our recent visit a few weeks ago, I am still in complete awe of its beauty. (I guess I didn't fully appreciate it as a child and teen.) It also happened to be the first time ever I have ever visited the gorgeous beach on a clear day. It is definitely one of my favorite Pacific Northwest beaches.

1. We rarely get a family photo opt, so my sister-in-law snapped up a few for us with the beach in the background, thanks Holly.

2. We visited the beautiful Astoria column which shares the history of the area and has incredible panoramic views. (Although V and I had only had a brief look due to the incredibly windy heights.)

3. V practiced jump shots on the beach, do you ever do that? She loved it.

4. Little India was in heaven running on the beach wherever she wanted and also trickling the wet sand through her fingers and toes.

5. A partial view of the river from the Astoria column park.

We definitely jam-packed the day with fun. We also enjoyed watching the girls picking up shells with their cousin, flew a kite, and stopped for yummy clam chowder at my sister-in-law's local favorite place. Then it was off to the Tillamook factory for ice cream and to see how cheese is made. It was a wonderful day with lots of curvy pretty tree lined driving too. Thanks Holly for a fabulous time.

Music Monday : Scissor Sisters

Our five year old daughter has been seriously obsessed with horses for a few years. The other day she expressed again how excited she is to grow up so she can live on a farm with horses and be a real cowgirl. This "Only the Horses" by Scissor Sisters suits her well, I am excited to share it with her and I hope you will enjoy it too. Here's to a little upbeat Music Monday happiness.

Week no. 16

I have missed doing my weekly wrap-ups, they make me happy, so I am going to start doing them again. Here is to week number 16, I hope that it was a good one for you and that will have a most wonderful weekend!

1: Miss Moss is the queen of mashups. Love this one!
2: Jennifer is editing her space -- how gorgeous is this.
3: Loved this book serpent, wow.
4: Vienna has been having fun running the green hills on our walks.

Paris In Color

If you are not already dreaming of moving to a magical place such as Paris, Nichole Robertson's book, Paris in Color will entice you even further. Her beautiful photographs that she has been taking, sharing, and even selling on her blog of the city of lights for the past few years come even more alive when you see them compiled together in this lovely book. Her extremely well-written introduction gave me the chills in a good way and had me instantly want to drop everything and hop on a plane with our family and move to one of my favorite destinations. Although that isn't possible for us now, I am inspired by her words to cultivate even more flâneur wherever I am. If you love Paris, photography, and things organized in color like me you will love this book. Bravo Nichole, your book is a sheer delight!

Travel log : Portland, Oregon

We had a really nice time for Spring Break in the Pacific Northwest. Here are a few tidbits from our trip of my favorite places and moments along the way.

1. I used to think traveling with kids was a breeze. Our oldest is and always has been an excellent traveller, we don't know if it is because we took her lots of places when she was tiny or what, but we really lucked out on her wanderlust nature.

2. Ahem... enter child #2 (India) she is not a happy traveller AT ALL and has been that way ever since she was born. Sometimes I don't think she likes to be moving unless it is with her own two feet. In fact, it is quite insane and comical how unruly she is on a plane and in the airport. Tantrums to the hilt, the whole nine yards and boy it is a little embarrassing. We even resorted to the backup 'code red' emergency lolli. (I rarely give her sugar - so it is an extra treat) which only lasted for a few quiet minutes. Do you have a child that travels one way or the other?

3 Shortly after we arrived we stopped by the lovely shop Canoe in Portland. It is such an amazing shop and has to be added to my list of my all time favorites. It is impeccable curated and my husband really enjoyed it as well. We took turns waiting with the kiddos in the car as we each ran in and out, do you ever travel that way? We picked up a few treasures, some great gifts for the future, and we both added items to our wish list.

4. Across the street and close by to Canoe is another wonderfully curated gem called Alder & Co. It quickly became another top notch favorite and I was equally charmed by the items, layout and shop owner who I chatted with for a bit. I picked up some Fog Linen Trays and Common Good Dish Soap and pretty much wanted to add almost the entire store to my wish list, no joke. It is really fabulous. Next time I hope to pop into Gruner next door for a bite to eat, it also looked really great.

5. Circling back to Portland at the end of our trip, I heard about the buzz for Pok Pok and just the two girls and I went and it couldn't have been a better experience. The covered and heated outdoor patio was perfect and cozy for us, the staff was beyond kind and the food was sensational. Next time I'm in Portland I can't wait to take Mac and my sister-in-law and family here to try it again.

Thanks for all of your Portland tips, we hope to hit up this city again real soon. What shouldn't be missed next time around?

(// photos by Black Eiffel, except for 2 product photos from Alder & Co.)

Music Monday : Bahamas

This acoustic version of the song 'Lost in the Light' by Bahamas is helping my Monday morning get going in a soothing way. I just bought the album Barchords and can't wait to listen to it all the way through. Toronto-based Afie Jurvanen has such an amazing sound, I can't wait to hear more. Hope you had a nice weekend, and you are off to a great start!

Looking down from Space...

Hello. I hope you had a nice weekend and are having a great week. I'm still getting back into the groove after a long break and all that comes with that. Aerial photography is some of my favorite, and from space, could it get any better? These unbelievable photos by André Kuipers (ESA/NASA) are jaw-dropping, I'm in awe. Mac and I were just talking about Astronauts and how surreal it would be to look down at earth and see such amazing things like this!

// all photos by ESA/NASA - see more on André Kuipers' flickr.

Seattle...

We are still hanging out in the Pacific Northwest for spring break and having a great time. The girls were pretty giddy about their first Ferry ride today, they couldn't have loved it more.

Music Monday : A great cover...

I dig good cover songs done by artists who put their own flavor on them in a amazing way. Here is a really great one by Bon Iver, that I recently came across...

Shout out your favorites covers!