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I've been making these little Towel Tags for my family for a while now, and finally decided to share them. With two adults showering every day and 3 little ones taking baths every night, we create a LOT of laundry. Even though we have lots of different colors of towels, it seems impossible for us to remember whose is whose.

These tags allow us to keep our towels separate and use them a couple of days in a row. We save ENERGY as in electricity AND as in MY energy doing so much laundry. We save water cutting down on all those loads. Plus we keep our germs to ourselves.

The tags are great now in all of this flu uproar, because we each have our own hand towels, and everyone knows exactly which one is theirs.

They aren't up on the website yet, but I'm working on that this weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

I sit here happily grateful for my lovely little family. How did I get so lucky? I think my feeling are best expressed by my son's Lego representation of our family. My mom should be very proud of her little hottie image and my husband is not quite as gangsta as the outfit implies, but does tend toward baseball caps on the weekends!

MOLD On My Paintbrushes?!

I just pulled out my kids' paintbrushes that we haven't used in quite a while, only to discover the source of the SMELL that has been coming from my paint basket! Our paint brushes had MOLDED. Who knew that was possible? They are mostly painted wood handles with a couple of those disposable sponge "brushes" with wood handles. The sponge ones were definitely the worst. After using them, I wash them, let them dry and put them back in the plastic Ziploc bag, and back in their basket. Obviously, I wasn't letting them dry enough. The mold was a sort of coppery colored powder that looked like tiny cauliflowers bursting all over it. I didn't take any pictures because I just THREW them all away! Even the plastic handled paint brushes had the mold all over the bristles. Very gross. I've been looking all over the internet to see if this has happened to anyone else, and am not finding anything, but still:

Tip of the day: STORE YOUR PAINTBRUSHES UPRIGHT IN A JAR!!

A Little Halloween Inspiration....

Still need an outfit for tonight?? Here is some Mr. H. inspiration.

We have Cleopatra, King Tut, and the most adorable mummy you've ever seen in our house. Watch for photos later.

And The Winner Is.....

GroverFamily!!

Thank you all so much for entering, it was REALLY fun for me (even though I don't get any glasses... JUST kidding. (no i'm not.))

allmodern.com / CSN will send them off to GroverFamily.

Thank you www.allmodern.com!!

(randomized list generated Oct 31 2009 at 9:9:34 by www.psychicscience.org)

iittala Giveaway

W.O.W.!!! Thanks for all of the entries! I have to say I'm more than a little jealous, I love the glasses, too!!

I'll keep the entries open until 12 midnight tonight - Pacific time since we are out west. After we check all of the posts, I'll use the random generator, and contact the winner first thing in the morning!

Remember you can get extra entries for becoming a Facebook fan, blogging about this giveaway, and tweeting!

Thanks again, and good luck!

Iittala "Put Your Feet Up" Giveaway with CSN!!

With all of the craziness leading up to holiday shows and the HOLIDAYS and costume making and school responsibilities, I seriously need a break. Do YOU need a break? How about taking a few minutes for yourself with a glass of wine - or maybe something a little stronger?

While I was studying architecture in Denmark, we took a 'field trip' around Scandinavia - yeah, I know: DREAMY! What I wouldn't give to be able to visit HALF those places NOW. One of my very favorite stops was iittala Glass Works. Or iiiiiiiiitala as our guide called it in a very Transylvanian sounding accent.

Thanks to the nice folks over at csn.com you can take a breather with the most beautiful glass! They are http://www.allmodern.com/ and carry everything modern and everything perfect for your home. They carry everyone from Saarinen to the Eames, to Philippe Starck!! Check out their cooking site, too, with gorgeous cookware including Le Creuset and Rachel Ray Cookware! I would like to simply move in. We'll supply the gorgeous glasses, you fill them with your favorite beverage it will seriously taste better sipping from these.

Choose from two of these gorgeous iittala Essence red wine glasses ,
or, if you like a little something stronger when you take a minute out of your mad day, choose two of these Aarna 2 oz. cocktail glasses.

To enter, just leave a post here and you'll get an entry. Blog or tweet about this giveaway and you'll get another entry. Become a facebook fan at the new Cat in an Apron facebook page, and you'll get ANOTHER entry! We'll choose one at random on Friday, October 30th.

Cheers!

Where The Wild Things Are?

Anyone else conflicted on this one? It looks SO uplifting and SO exciting, and my little adventurer is sure to recognize a kindred spirit, but will those wild things come back when they are alone in their room, in the dark, at night? If you've seen it with your kids, will you tell me what they think?

Too Stinking Cute!

I saw these at ourbestbites yesterday, and have been thinking about them ever since! I must get tiny little jars and make these personal pies! The idea of holding a warm little pie in my cold hands after being outside is lovely! And the savory ones just might get my son eating chicken pot pie. What a great site - they have SO many good recipes. check them out!

World Cuisine Organic Baby Food!

Organic, full of flavors of the world, and made right here in the Northwest! If ONLY baby O. was still eating baby food! This looks so fantastic. Two doctors, husband and wife, created these new flavors inspired by tastes from around the world. No bland strained peas or pureed sweet potatoes!!

This is Borscht! It is about that time of year that I make a giant batch (like the good Ukrainian girl that I am) and stock my freezer - Baby O. will be eating my borscht, but now your baby can too! WithOUT the hours of peeling beets and stained hands.

You can find it here in Portland at Whole Foods, but there are more stores in Washington, and you can order online.

Anthropologie... AGAIN.

I know I go on and on about Anthropologie, but SERIOUSLY? This image (and the shirt she is wearing that is cut off in the image) is STUNNING. Why do her smashed up messy curls looks so fantastically chic?? If I COULD manage a do like this, I would probably knock someone behind me over with the protruding pile without even noticing. and that sweet little bump in the front?? Why, on her, does it not look like Jr. High cheerleading hair??? Oh Anthropologie....

I have loved http://www.reprodepot.com/ since I started sewing! They just always have the best fabric and books and notions. I was SO pleased to hear this morning that the folks over there have put out TWO books filled with gorgeous design prints! Each book even has a CD for you to use in all of your crafty goodness! What a fantastic idea - what a gift to all of us! They are also giving away stationary with every purchase and giving away an entire set to one person. Check it here.
Mmmmm. Another reason to love Repro Depot!

The Frying Scotsman!

Eleven years ago my husband and I were married. We were just babies with almost no responsibilities... For our honeymoon we packed our backpacks and headed to the British Isles! We toured the most interesting and romantic places: London, Avalon, the windy Cornish coast, crumbling Irish castles... It was a beautiful month and we were both smitten with those funny people across the pond.

One of our first stops in London was for REAL fish and chips!! They were even served in newspaper!

Now Portland has true fish and chips by a real Scotsman! It is called The Frying Scotsman, and I can't WAIT to get there, although I'm afraid once I do, I'll not be able to go any where else!! This is a truly family friendly place - you can grab some food and sit outside or take it home to eat. Every kid (even my incredibly picky eater) loves fish and chips!

He is located at 2219 NW Raleigh St. You must go! And so must I!

Jazzy Toes

I'm SO disappointed with Trumpet Socks. They were the cutest socks, but more importantly they stayed on my son's feet! Seven years ago when our Mr. H. was a baby they were all I put on him. When Baby O. was only a couple of days old, we made a special trip to a boutique here in Portland to snap up some new trumpets for him. I was SO sad to see that they are no longer made as beautifully as they used to be! I have a couple of pairs left from Mr. H, and holding them up next to each other, it is clear that the quality and shape have gone way down hill. When I pay that much for a product, I want it to WORK and last.This is why I was so happy to find Jazzy Toes!! They are so stinking cute - socks and sandals! cowboy boots! - and they are made with the right shape to stay on their feet and last. SO GREAT.

Freeze Your Wine.

I was just reading my new Everyday Food magazine/recipe book I got in the mail yesterday and there was the best tip! Freeze your leftover wine in ice cube trays so you can pop them in soups or stews for extra flavor or even to deglaze a pan! I know I've read this before, but I seem to have forgotten it and feel so guilty when I look at that little bit of wine left in the bottle. I can hear you now, "Leftover WINE??!?!" Yes, my husband and I often don't finish a bottle between the two of us. We are always going in so many directions and so fast that when we sit down to enjoy a glass of wine, it somehow makes us realize just how insanely tired we are and we are lucky to make it through ONE glass before peeling our faces off the table and heading to bed.

We are going to miss these days of having sweet little people, but the idea of sleep is nice.

Anyway, FREEZE your wine!