Back to the Blog

After a long week filled with trips to the parks, romps in the water and playdates with friends, Cochonet is back. What I can't guarantee however, is the frequency of the posts! Summer is too short and it's too damn hot in my office to report back on my new favorite things or my recent distastes.
Anyways, here's a recap of the last week:

A very very new baby Elsa... in the wise words of Annabelle I think (Elsa) is an Ovary Bomb. (Her) effect on ovulation is supremely dangerous.
Very bad babies and very good babies
Letting go
Dinner boycott
Tête à tête breakfast with B.
Lists, lists and more lists
Dreaming of the dream house
This book
Feeling bad about the back up in email responses
Body odour... still?
SYTYCD
Sad goodbyes
Fried potatoes at Dads' Bagels
Cherries
Lunch at the park
New Crocs for Mateo
A summer vacation in the works
Watching Mateo take a nap with my father

Lovely Kate

Despite the fact that she's dropped off the Hot List, I still love love love Kate Spade. Although her stuff doesn't blow me away, I think it's the brand's aesthetic that appeals to me.

She's got that quirky-chic thing down. Her website is a great canvas for her marketing team.
Indeed, they have all this fun behind-the-scenes stuff that makes me swoon... Like her favorites, or Behind The Scenes ... kind of like on giant inspiration board.
So take 15 minutes and go take a look... I bet you find something that will make you smile!
Report back and let me know what it was.

How cool is this?

So remember that book that I've been talking about... it's really gotten into my head! I can't stop thinking about cool crafty gift ideas.
We'll just see if anything comes of it...!

Don't really remember how I found Blurb, but it's been on my mind recently. Its not revolutionary or anything, but it's online software host which lets you make your own books. One of the neat features is that you can even make a book out of your own BLOG?!!? Too far.
All you need to do is upload the software (which is free), make your book and then send it off! Prices range from $12.95 to $164.95...
So get creating people.

Quickie

Found this via How About Orange...kind of like PostSecret, but not as emotional.

Papa

The boys told me you're a pretty good dad.

Happy father's day.

p.s- I never thought anyone would love me the way you do. You give me life. .

1979

Note- I am not a poetry lover. I know nothing about poetry nor do I know anything about E.E Cummings. I am simply stealing- yes stealing- Annabelle's shtick, but the E.E Cummings quote she posted turned me into a sobbing mess. Is this totally cheap and unoriginal? Perhaps. I hope you don't mind.

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
-E.E Cumming-

You are that someone to me.

Thank you Kate Bush,

Cartoons before breakfast?
Cookies for dinner?
Bedtime past 9pm?
No shoes in the park?

It's official, I'm a slacker mom. You can find me on a Saturday at Walmart, eating donuts, abandoning the babies in the toy section and standing dumbly in some isle, making it IMPOSSIBLE for others to pass. I'm also drinking Coke, and it's before 10am. I'm also wearing a leisure that says 'awesome' on the sleeves.
But all kidding aside, I started reading this book courtesy of this dear friend (you can see pics of my man-clan there) and I'm realizing that I'm sometimes (errr-often) missing the point of this whole parenting thing. I've been opting for the path of least resistance and maybe that's not really the best solution for a two year old. By the end of the day, I'm just too empty to deal with a tantrum properly, you know? So sure, you don't want the egg/spinach tortilla wrap I lovingly made you... sure you can have cookies and juice. You want more cookies? Okay. (Italian tea cookies- really can't be that bad?)
I guess these things happen and the Universe has methods to keep you in check. Thankfully.

Daily Gratitude:
The Internet (hell yeah)
Mateo's cuddles on demand
Circles circles and more circles
So You Think You Can Dance and my lady viewing companions
My sister NEVER giving me crap for not calling
Finally a good haircut
Rambling petunias

Not quite a *tea* pot...

Japanese ceramics @ Canoe

Things my kitchen lacks

For a girl who worked at a kitchen store, I am surprised at how much stuff I'm missing from my kitchen drawers... here's my ever-growing list of stuff I need/want/will feel complete with:

Steak knives
Wine glasses
Everyday drinking glasses
Big wooden rimmed cutting board (like 18"x30")
Cake decorating accessories (and cake stand)
Silpat
Offset spatula
Digital scale
More measuring cups/spoons/scoops... LOVE those
This olive wood laddle (come one, every cook NEEDS one of these!)
Nice salt and pepper mill
Meat tenderizer


What are your missing items?

For Annabelle...

All from EQ3... all under $1000! AND there's one in Montreal and Ottawa.

Sustainable and Gorgeous? Sofas and charis by PURE furniture design, featured at ICFF 2008. Check out the Design*Sponge recap of the very glamorous show.

The Face of an Artist

Illustration by LisaDeJohn. Represenation by Lilla Rogers

I'm very intrigued by the business of artist representation. Whenever I find an illustrator or stylist or any creative type, I try to find out who represents them.
Stumbling onto Lilla Rogers' site was an amazing find. She has about 25 of the most sought after illustrators in the world. They get 3000 applications/ year!! Needless to say, these sites are great finds for bloggers.
I also found Cig Harvey's work through her representation, Marilyn Cadenbach. Most noted for the always amusing Kate Spade campaigns, Cig Harvey is my commercial photography crush.

Kate Spade Fall 2007

SFGirlByBay (another new designy blog of note) featured a celebrity of the interior photography world: Ellen Silverman . You can check out the rest of her portfolio and swoon at her peonies...

I use to draw

Susan Conner over at HeySusie* (my new blog of choice- more on her later this week) had a handmade arts showcase last week. Wow, the stuff she found is amazing... truly inspiring to see what other people make. You MUST check out these crocheted earrings by Tania Nova.
She focused on an illustrator named Lauren Nassef (yesterday's illustration). A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, she works and lives in Chicago where she also publishes A Drawing a Day, a blog where she posts daily works in progress.
These are but a few of the great drawings she has on her blog... note the portrait of the man is called Pocket Portrait of a Pretend Boyfriend. I love pretend boyfriends. AND note the bulldopg clips. That one is for Justine who thinks i'm crazy.

Weekend Recap Revisited

Bus Stop Cheers- Lauren Nassef (more on her later this week!)

Playing and kissing in the middle of a torrential downpour
Sleeping babies and synchro naps
Planting the garden (yes, a bit late...)
Flipping through the new Canadian House and Home with B.- talking about our dream house
Getting about 75% of the NYT crossword puzzle
Wonderful morning at the park with the Saturday Single Mamas gang
Toddler hands digging for croissants in my purse
Em Dash's photos
This album

Looking forward to a fun week filled with park adventures, farewells and birthdays!

For all those ANTM fans...

She's hotter than both Martha AND Oprah put together....

I have come to secretly enjoy the Tyra Show, every Friday I get my laundry ready and fold away to Tyra's daily dose of 'culture'. It's ridiculous, but I love it. And now she graces the cover of the NY Times Magazine... Betcha Naomi is pretty jealous, maybe she'll go beat on a postal worker or something.
"I have before me a beautiful woman, but the judges don't see a model. Who should we send home, the girl with all the potential in the world or the girl who takes the most beautiful picture?". I know, take a size 4/6 girl and get her to gain 20 pounds- then cast her for the show and compliment yourself on making her the first chubster to win.
Oh Tyra...

Dovetail

Here is some lovely ceramic art from Dovetail, a Boulder Colorado studio. All silk screenings and ceramics are done by hand and shipped out from the local post office.





Via Oh Joy!

Etsy Art

Lisa Congdon, artschool darling of the crafty/blog world, released some new pieces on her Etsy site.

Goofus and Gallant

Take Flight

The Vines Large Collage Diptych

You can also check out her portfolio here. She inspires me to get back to my sketchbooks and MAKE STUFF. I need to add that to my 'to do' list: MAKE something- at least once a week.

Vanity Fair

My house has been polluted by crap. It seems like every nook and cranny is filled with a random, useless collection of objects:

• Mini terracotta planter
• Roll of packing tape
• Pencil sharpener
• Set of dummy keys
• Jane Eyre

Maybe one day I'll have a space of my own... free of little wandering toddler hands.
In the meantime, I give you these:

Pics from ... you guessed right:Domino

LOVING...


Thanks Monkey...

Dreaming of Gardens

Love these garden plans...


I'm trying to get inspired to plant something in the old beds behind our place but it feels like I'm never going to get to it!
I'm dreaming of planning and planting a real garden...
Pics from Domino... I have a feeling that this will be the trend for the week to come! That and maybe an Etsy or Flickr find.