it's friday, I'm in love: TOMS + Jonathan Adler

Somebody pinch me. This can't possibly be true. My favorite Designer and my favorite shoes, together, making unbelievably fabulous shoe-babies together? Dreams really do come true.

Officially launched this week, the new Jonathan Adler collection by TOMS is everything you would hope to see from Adler. Bold colors and patterns, just in time for spring. I just bought 2 pairs of TOMS...and I wish I had known, because I would have waited for these. Here are a few of my favorites. Shop the full collection at TOMS.

All photos courtesy of TOMS.

For a daily dose of fabulous, follow @jonathanadler on Instagram. For a daily dose of Henry & Max and whatever food I'm making, follow @pinkpenguin9.

mmmm...coffee!

 

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine

 

Martha Stewart's camp recently posted on Facebook that novelty coffee mugs were the bane of their existence (or something to that effect). Grown ups should only have a nice set of white mugs. Throw all the other mugs out.

 

Foolishness!

 

While I do have a set of grown up white mugs hanging the wall in my kitchen, I also have a stash of mismatched, happy mugs in my cupboard. And you should too. Pick up one of these beauties and get your caffeine on. Happy brewing.

home ec: getting rid of cat smell

This post is gross, and I hate that this happens to me, and hate if it's happened to you. 

Cat pee is one if the most foul stenches on God's green earth. That ammonia smell permeates everything, stains, but the worst part...it LINGERS. Long after the damage is done, you're left with the odor. It's nasty, and it must be stopped. 

Meet Ally. Better known as "Al Moans" around these parts, because when she wants something, she doesn't stop moaning about it (women. Am I right?)

getting crafty: felt doll (with pattern)

Thanks to the magic of Facebook, I have reunited with my childhood best friend. Jill and I became besties (before that was even a word) at the age of 6. Aren't we adorable? We were basically inseparable through elementary school until I moved away after 5th grade. I only moved 25 or so miles away, but these were the days before cell phone and email, so we lost touch.

Fast forward to a few years ago, Jill and I reconnected when both of us had our first babies within 6 weeks of each other. Olivia was born in February 2011; Henry in April.

This past weekend, Jill invited us over to Olivia's 3rd birthday party. I was super pumped. A special friend deserved a special present. I asked Jill what Olivia wanted (and what Jill didn't want any MORE of), and she suggested a doll. Bingo.

house tour: part 1

Photo by Emily Mulkey Photography

There are exactly 2 ways to give a tour of your home. The Tour of Bragging (oh yes, we commissioned this thing, it's a one-of-a-kind that thing, and this cost an arm and a leg).  Charming.

Then there's the Tour of Apologies. This is my personal favorite. Designers often fall victim to this method because we assume (rightly or not) that everyone expects our houses to look like the cover of Dwell at all times. And maybe some people's do, but mine doesn't. There are 3 reasons for this:

1. Sometimes after a 9 hour shift of designing for everybody else, and then coming home and taking care of the family, I didn't feel super inspired to do it for myself. I was, however, inspired to sit on the couch, watch How I Met Your Mother, and drink whiskey. Or wine. Or both. 
2. Designer's clients (and our tastes) usually have bigger budgets than we do. 
3. And my favorite reason, because we actually live here. And living sometimes means messy. Living also means compromise (like having an ugly baby bouncer seat in your living room when you swore you never would because it buys you 15 minutes of peace in the evenings).