peer a collaborative coloring book..

check out peer, a coloring book compiled by renee of wolfie and the sneak blog. it's a brilliant collaboration of 25 artists; lisa congdon, will bryant, julia rothman, shannon rankin, kate bingaman-burt, justin richel, kelly lynn jones, camilla engman and wow the list goes on! it's a limited 150 edition, so get on it. you can purchase it here. it's a great piece to add to your coffee table and let your guests find their inner child and get cracking. how fun! p.s. check out the flickr stream here to see the book.

simon peplow..

i love the work of simon peplow and it's not just because he writes 'toodlepip' at the end of his emails. or because his bio on his blog says he:

lives within a delicately constructed vortex. he spends the majority ofhis days downloading information from a tiny cabin situated inside the corpus callosum region of his noggin. characters are a fundamental partof his work, described by some as whimsical, cute and sinister in equalmeasures. he just wishes they were his friends.

however that's just part of it, his bold, colorful drawings of men w/ beards, birds in shoes, and overall groovy pictures make me very happy. w/ sayings like 'let's levitate", "happiness runs in a circular motion" and "increase the peace" are things a girl needs to hear when typhoons, earthquakes and wars are wreaking havoc on this world of ours. looking at simon's work induces delightful feelings. his images are like vitamin d from the sun's rays whilst sitting in the park w/ all your bff's around and it's saturday and you feel like you never have to work again. ahhhh, TGIF my friends! add some sunshine to your home and purchase one of simon's prints from his shop stufferings.

Sometimes..

This drawing by Julia Sonmi Heglund absolutely speaks to me right now as I find myslef in the dead of February in Boston. See more of her rad illustrations here.

GIVEAWAY Ned Oldham's Let's Go Out Tonight..

Kevin Earl Taylor just finished the art work for Ned Oldham's (Palace, Anomoanon, Oldham Brothers, etc…) 7" Let's Go Out Tonight from Gold Robot Records. The artwork is gorgoeus and the blue vinyl looks good enough to eat. This would make any vinyl enthusiast pretty happy. The record itself has been getting some good reviews....and I personally love it. Kevin has been sweet enough to offer a reader one of his copies to share. Don't want to gamble? You can buy your's right here. Kevin also tells me, that "all you digital purists, it comes with a download code so you can stick it on your machines."

Leave a comment and we'll choose a winner at random Monday morning. Not bad for a humpday.

Intermountain Moms Contest CLOSED

Having a young child with a medical issue sure puts your life into a tail spin sometimes.

When looking for a new {larger} house, our #1 priority was the proximity to a hospital.
Probably not the first thing you think of, right?

With Miles’s severe food allergies, there was a time that we were in the ER once a month. When seconds count we need to be as close as possible. We even turned down some houses because they were just so far away.

Our new house? Is perfect. Literally right around the corner from one of the newest Intermountain hospitals. Thankfully, in the year we’ve lived in our new home we have only visited their ER  4 times. Every time is better than the last and I am blown away with their service and kind staff.

Intermountain Health Care is constantly growing and evolving. I was so excited when they announced their new Intermountain Moms facebook page. And even MORE excited when I learn there is a REAL LIFE Nurse that is available to answer health related questions. It’s such a fantastic place to connect with other moms and other parents, and I’ve already learned SO much from their page.

Some quick facts about the Intermountain Moms page:

-  All mothers can ask a real nurse (Nurse Dani) questions about their pregnancy or children. She often answers with a video.

- The page has a lot of information and videos that act as support for new mothers. Most videos are OBCYN’s and Pediatricians answering FAQ’s.

- The page has a community of mothers that share stories and experiences. The fans are very active, engaged, and quick to help each other.

Are you ready for the best part????

They are graciously hosting an AMAZING giveaway for a $300 gift certificate to Babinski’s Baby just for checking them out.

Babinski’s Baby a charming children’s boutique in Salt Lake City.

 $300 to spend on whatever you need for your children, or to give as a gift to someone expecting their very own bundle of joy!!!

****THIS GIVEAAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ENTERED AND FOR INTERMOUNTAIN MOMS FOR SPONSORING***

To enter:

-Simply “like” Intermountain Mom’s on facebook and leave a comment to tell me you did.

Because I’m feeling EXTRA nice (and excited about this giveaway) you can earn one extra entry by tweeting : “I want to win a $300 gift certificate to @babinskis thanks to Intermountain Moms and @ryles http://bit.ly/rZwa3r” (or something similar.. Be creative!!!) (no extra points for creativity…Just makes me smile!)

Come back and leave a comment that you tweeted

And one extra entry by posting on your FB wall about the giveaway and coming

 back to leave another comment.

You now have 3 ways to win this AMAZING prize!!!

Contest will be closed on November 21st. Winner will be announced the 22nd!!!!!!
GOOOD LUCK!!!

***The spoils for this giveaway were provided by Intermountain Mom’s. As always that thought and opinions are completely MINE! ***

Reader LOVE Lizzy Janssen..

Lizzy Janssen's email arrived in my inbox with her colorful water colored collages and adorable products. Everybody needs a gem t-shirt! Check out her etsy shop, that was just newly updated. Horses, colors and crystals galore. My favorite!

 

cupcakes, as promised

I think this will be the last post of the goings ons of our Oregon trip. I think. It was the perfect trip in a lot of ways: the right length, the right people, the right balance between relaxing and doing things. O and OBaby flew like a freakin’ champ. That may explain why more than a week after getting home, I’m still going on about it.Unfortunately, there are no cupcakes and baby pictures, as promised. My adorable, lovable, snuggley, perfect little one decided to sleep, nay, not at night, but through the cupcake extravaganza instead.So you will have to settle for just cupcakes.OBaby’s sincerest apologies.The bakery is called The Sweetest Thing Cupcakes in Newberg, Oregon (no, they’re not paying me to say anything about them. They don’t even know I exist, but my love for them continues anyway, unrequited). Their place is down right adorable. It’s the ground floor of a craftsman style house with all of the original trim and woodwork including a huge, gorgeous buffet with leaded glass cabinet doors. Hi, am I sounding like a 1930′s house owner much? Let’s just say I had wood trim lust (because someone went and painted all of ours a long time ago).Speaking of lust, hello eggnog and gingerbread cupcakes. You’re looking good today. ::wink wink::There was a fun, whimsical feel to the seating area, themed in black and white scroll patterns with this bright, energetic robin’s egg blue sprinkled in. (See the leaded glass doors and dark wood built-ins in the background? :drool:)Speaking of drool… ok, no, I’m sorry, enough of those lame transitions.My favorite part about cupcakes is when the mass of the cake is equal to or less than the mass of it’s frosting. That’swhatI’mtalkingabout.It probably goes without saying, but the cupcakes were delicious. I think I’m starting to understand this cupcake thing. I mean, I ate cake! There was frosting! But at the end of it, I felt just fine. Nothing sitting heavy in my tummy. I did not feel like I had just eaten, say, three pieces of flour-less chocolate cake in 24 hours. Not that I would be familiar with what that feels like.Nor would the plate with the two cupcakes be mine. (I told myself that it was ok because one of them was mini. And I’m a nursing mom. 3 to 5 hundred extra calories a day! Gotta keep up!)