my baby has a mullet and bubble goatee

film: Kodak Portra 160NC

no pictures in this post

for the sake of not being too graphic, all i'm going to say is:

kate had a big day ...

she made good use of her potty chair!
i couldn't be more proud, or excited :)

i'm a reader

that's right - i've embraced the reader inside. in the past month or 2, i have read these:

persuasion : jane austen

i am actually going to admit it, although it feels like saying i don't like dogs (chandler) but so far (and i know, it's only one book) i'm not all that smitten with ms. austen. hopefully, at the suggestion of my well-read sister, i can pick this book up again in several months and feel very differently at that point. it wasn't even the writing style, although that did take some getting used to, but i just didn't fall in love with her ... yet. what does it say that i didn't like reading her work but i loved watching a movie about her works (the jane austen book club - i would watch it again and again). i'm not opposed to reading more austen, but i do think i'll give it awhile.

alice's tulips : sandra dallas

this was a sweet novel written from one sister to another, through letters. it followed the stories of alice, a new bride whose husband left to fight in the civil war. she spends the next few years writing letters to her sister, lizzie, telling her all the funny, sad, and bittersweet experiences she has living with her mother in law who's not all that fond of her. cute story and cute point of view.

the knitting circle : ann hood

i loved this book. i read it in one, count it - ONE - day. that's huge for me. oh i just loved this story: woman loses child to meningitis. woman is depressed and wants nothing to do with anyone or anything. woman learns to knit at the urging of her unavailable mother. woman learns to knit and joins knitting circle full of women with all kinds of stories of love and loss. woman realizes she can share her own grief, grief is a common thread, and she can find family with these women. definitely want to read this one again soon.

the time traveler's wife : audrey niffeneger

i have been so excited to see this movie and read the book in preparation. i was visiting my parents over the weekend and my mom had actually borrowed the book from my sister. i was under a time crunch, but i read it and l-o-v-e-d it. i'll be honest, it was a little confusing for the first 100 pages or so ... you know, because of all the time traveling, but it was such a great story. such a wonderful story of real unconditional love. i mean, the woman lives a life with half a partner. the guy is leaving all the time and has no clue when or where it will happen. their love is amazing; they love and get each other through all the downs just as much as through the ups. i can't wait to read this one again! :)

oh and it doesn't hurt that i am seeing the movie in 53 minutes!

they're finished!

so this is basically where it all started: a drive home from colorado last year at golden hour (this picture [from this summer's trip] is the closest i could find to the right area and right time of day). i fell in love with all the grays, blues, and oatmeals in this color palette. i decided that one day i would re-do the living room and reupholster the couches.
i don't have a before, so here are all the afters:

loveseat and couch with coordinating cushions

kate in the frame

i even recovered new accent pillows to go with the new palette ... glad they're finished too.

kate's dancing is the outer expression of just how glad i feel inside that i'm finished!

what comes next? window treatments and carpet cleaning!!!

Daddy's Little Girl

I think I have way too much fun dressing Kate. Erin added the headband (that she just made) and the ribbon belt (it's untied in the top photo), so I can't claim the accessories.

me and my brother ... or our kids

so i may be the only one thinking this, but if that's the case... i'm okay with it. i couldn't help but see the similarities between

these 2 kiddos

me and alex: circa 1981

and these 2 kiddos

kate and alex jr: circa 2009

obviously the age differences are different, but you get the idea. i especially love the pictures of me and kate under our baseball hats... oh and that we both rocked the same baby mullet.

we're not dead

we're just enjoying the first cottle family reunion.

see you early next week!