letting go

This is a picture of my son many years ago when he was 3. He was on his way to his first day of pre-school. I still remember how I felt all these years later. He was my baby, how could he be ready for this. Surely he would cry and be miserable and not want to be away from his mommy. He did cry a little in the beginning but before to long he adjusted and couldn't wait to go and play with his new little friends. I remembered this moment and many others with my children when I read Michael Gerson's touching article in the Washington Post today. It was about sending his kids to summer camp and how difficult it is as parents to let go. Below is my favorite part of his article but you should go and read the whole column here.

The yearly departure for camp measures the progress of parental irrelevance. Four years ago, the first time my wife and I left our youngest son at sleep-away camp, there was no pretense of bravery on his part. There were only piteous tears, which returned, according to a camp counselor, every night for two weeks. I wanted nothing more than to run to him, to end the trauma we had inflicted and rescue him from independence. But I didn't. Each summer this departure grows easier for him and my older son -- and more difficult for me, until my bravery finally fails and all the tears are mine.

So this is the independence we seek for our children -- to turn our closest relationships into acquaintances. Of course, I knew this getting into parenthood. But the reality remains shocking. For a time, small hands take your own -- children look upward, and you fill their entire universe. They remain, to you, the most important things in the world. To them, over time, you become one important thing among many. And then an occasional visit or phone call. And then a memory, fond or otherwise.

The memory of my own father, gone these 17 years, is fond and blurry. He shrank in my mental universe from sun to star, bright and distant. With every season of camp, I dim to my sons as well. It is the appropriate humility of the generations. It is also harder than I thought. And I don't know how to let go.

Michael Gerson

umbrella baby shower

I spotted the cutest umbrella baby shower on ohbrooke. My favorite part was the wording on the invitations. So adorable! I love seeing parties like this done on a small budget. Such an inspiration. You can check out the photos and how they put it all together here.

paris

My oldest daughter Danielle called tonight with exciting news that her work is sending her to London in September and she is going to have time to visit Paris. How fun! She's loves to travel and has been to a lot of places but never Paris. To help her start her planning a few things Paris. Grenelle Market, Macaroons at Gerard Mulot and the Top Ten Paris Bargains via Eye Prefer Paris.
images 1&2: Eye Prefer Paris
image 3: flickr

catskills cottage

This young couple bought a fixer upper and remodeled it doing most of the work themselves. Impressive, since they did it all on a very small budget. You can read their interesting story here via the New York Times.

"laundry theme" wedding shoot

I can't get over how amazing this wedding shoot is via Style Me Pretty. What gorgeous photographs by Justin & Mary Marantz. Laundry is really an out of the box theme for a wedding photo shoot but they explain on their blog how it came about. How cute is the lavender bridesmaid dress from The White Dress By The Shore. One of my favorites ever! You will want to see the rest of the photos and how they put it all together here.

how much do you make

I was going through my reader a few days ago and somehow wound up at an old post of Decorno's. In it she asked her readers to post anonymously what they did for a living and how much they made. As she noted Parade magazine puts one out every year but I liked reading hers as it was made up of just regular people not celebrities. It seemed that the average person made about 50,000. Here in California that doesn't get you that far. I really feel for young people now days as it is getting more and more difficult to get a job and a lot of people are losing theirs. She had huge amount of people that posted about what they made and it is interesting to look at, to see what is going on in the workplace. You can read about it here.
image: mxmcreation

before and after bathroom

Darby from fly through my window (isn't that the cutest blog title ever) took this scary bathroom above
and turned it into this beautiful bathroom. This has got to be one of the most inspiring remodels I have seen. The even more impressive part is that she did it on such a cheap budget. She kept the orange countertops, which most people would think you had to get rid of and used those for her color inspiration. Love this orange decor. You can see all the rest of the details and how she did it here. While you are there check out her entire blog, her family, stories and photos are amazing!
via: elements of style

lace baskets

I love, love, love this lace green basket from Huset! It is exactly what I have been looking for to put on my bike. It also has handles like the ones below which would be great to use for a trip to the farmer's market.
These two similar lace baskets with handles you can find at the Container Store.

101 simple salads

Summer is a great time for salads, especially when you enjoy them as much as I do. I was happy to see Mark Bittman's latest article for the New York Times was 101 Simple Salads for the Season. I have several of Mark Bittman's cookbooks and usually have good luck with his recipes. It will be fun to pick out my favorite salad ideas from this article and give them a try.
image: New York Times

wedding crushes

This gorgeous dress via Style Me Pretty
Striped tie for the groom via Style Me Pretty
Just married bikes via Cup of Joe
wedding invitation from Studio On Fire

a summer place

A beautiful summer house via Chicago home and garden. The unique chandelier is made out of vintage silverware.

red wedding

What a gorgeous wedding! Love the deep red color. Such cute little details like the boys red tennis shoes. The beautiful design is by event planner Rochelle Marie's Events By Design. See the rest of the stunning photos via kiss the groom.

my city girl

We had some exciting news today! My oldest daughter Danielle called to tell me there was a picture of her in the Washington Post on June 10. It was in a feature called Going out Guides. Here is the link to the article and photo. She lives and works in DC and was attending a party on the rooftop of the BLT Steak. They snapped a photo of her sitting on a ledge with the skyline and the Washington Monument in the background. So cool!

zac sunderland

How exciting today when Zac Sunderland sailed into Marina Del Ray! He became the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone by yacht. He left when he was 16 and it took him 13 months to go 28,000 miles. I watched him speak at the news conference when he returned and he was so inspirational. He talked about people he met on his journey and how so many of them live with hardly anything and what an impression it made on him. Zach has a blog too and you can read all about his adventures there. I love this story because when I was 12 years old another 16 year old sailed around the world. His name was Robin Lee Graham and there was a book and a movie about him called Dove. It was romance along with his extraordinary story of sailing the world. He met a girl, fell in love and she traveled from port to port to see him. They got married during the trip and are still together today. I must have read the book and watched the movie at least a dozen times. As for Zac it looks like we will be seeing more of him in the future. He's hoping to set off on his next adventure soon to Mount Everest or down to the Arctic Circle. What an amazing life he has lived in just a few short years!
images: Los Angeles Times

reading corner

What a perfect little reading corner for kids. I love the letters THINK on the wall. One of the most important lessons to teach our kids is to think before they act. The mistakes I have made in my life all resulted from me not thinking things out thoroughly. Having the word on their wall to remind them of this daily is such a clever idea! I love the books hanging from the ceiling too. So cute!
seen on: Tangled & true from the cookie's nesting blog

my little sparkler

My sweet little grandson Noah Kane celebrating 4th of July 2009. He melts my heart!

wedding shrug

This is so stunning! What a beautiful shrug for a wedding dress found on Seven-Eight. Unfortunately there is no buying information. I would love to know where this came from.
photo: Stephanie Williams

summer porch

I love this summer porch makeover shown on the The Inspired Room. What fun to have such an inviting place to sit and have a delicious glass of iced tea on a hot summer day!

silhouette book bag

I love this little silhouette book bag found on Dandee she made for her daughter. You can find the directions here.

strawberry plaid

I'm so in love with this inspiration board. The bike, cupcake holders, punch, the plaid details, the color, all of it. Just gorgeous!
image: Snippet & Ink

mr. man party

What a cute 2nd Birthday Party idea this is at the blog Full House! The mom has triplet little boys and decided her theme for their 2nd Birthday would be a Mr. Man Party. She hung ties on a clothesline with pictures of her boys for decoration and made the cutest tie cookies. She also made little t-shirts with ties on them for all the boys to take home. I love the way she celebrated their boyhood with this party. You can see all the rest of the details here.