happy makers

y'all, this morning was a doozy.

these pictures have helped improve my case of the mondays.

Source: lindseysauter.tumblr.com via Cortney on Pinterest

Source: twitter.com via Cortney on Pinterest

Source: thisphotolife.tumblr.com via Cortney on Pinterest

Source: curiousgraffiti.tumblr.com via Cortney on Pinterest

Source: ffffound.com via Cortney on Pinterest

Source: sondrawr.tumblr.com via Cortney on Pinterest

Source: designmom.com via Cortney on Pinterest

Source: paris2london.tumblr.com via Cortney on Pinterest

consider your monday officially brightened.

this and that

1) the art of sebastien millon is cute and a little off-beat.  right up my alley.

learn more here.

2) i believe i have posted about the photographer Hideaki Hamada and his two sweet sons before.  since then he has published more photos of his beautiful boys.  the photos capture brotherhood perfectly, which is still such a mystery to me yet so familiar at the same time.

see more here.

3) isn't this poster beautiful?

find it here.

4) kelly (from one of my favorite blogs, design crush) started a project called 'little corners'.  it celebrates the little parts of your home that make your heart go pitter-patter.  she encourages you to share your own little corners.  why didn't i think of that?

5) nathan ripperger makes posters about things that he says to his kids.  i swear, he took these words right out of my mouth.

see more here.

6) these philosophy posters by max temkin are my favorite.

via alice.

greatest hits

remember when i told you how crazy busy spring is for us?  well, like a couple of people who have lost their ding dang minds, we put our house on the market.  it has turned into the only thing i can think about all. day. long.  and the stress is making me sleepy.  and grumpy.  and hungry.  nevermind.

soooooo, if you know anyone interested in buying a cute little house in east dallas.  hit me up.  in the meantime we are trying to stay busy OUTSIDE of the house, so that the INSIDE of the house stays nice and clean.

here are this week's greatest hits:

1) the dallas flea: oh, it was good.  i really want to tell you all about everything i bought, but mother's day is coming up and i don't want to ruin any surprises.

 2) ben's first ever experience at chuck e. cheese.  it's a rite of passage.  and how cute is the birthday boy (the one with the mohawk)???

 3) a zip around the block in pawpaw's old fiat.

 4) a date night to a david sedaris reading (my birthday present).  i laughed until i cried.

 5) a 'festival of cultures' at ben's school.  his class studied ireland.  duh.

 6) mornings with this boy and his dog. (pull up your pants, crosby.  geez.)

7) soaking up what time we have left in our beautiful yard.

 8) a reunion with my beloved abita strawberry at a new cajun restaurant in the hood.

looking forward to meeting the newest baby boy of the group, mr. finn mcanally!

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until next time, 

xoxoxo

phenomenal women

three things,

this commercial:

via

this video:

via my girlfriend, jami.

{grab a tissue, because if you are anything like me, you'll need one.  or twenty.}

and this poem:

Phenomenal Woman

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me. 

Maya Angelou

xoxoxo,

cort

greatest hits

well, it's official.  i am 33.  and apparently, 33 is going to be bad-ass according to this study.  we shall see.  but so far, so good.  i have felt especially loved this week.  here's why:

1) first ever deep ellum food truck rally.  since we are old, we got there early, therefore did not have to wait in too long of a line.  the winner of the favorite thing we ate is: sliders from easy slider food truck.  delish.

after some serious head-banging to a local band, ben declared that when he grows up, he wants to be a musician/artist/zookeeper/fisherman.

2) running a personal record of 3.5 miles.  chris surprised me with some hypnotic donuts to celebrate.  yes, that is bacon on a donut.  and yes, apparently i have an eating problem.

(for the record, i only ate one.)

 3) visiting the white rock local market where i bought myself some cute earrings and a small succulent in the sweetest handmade pot. (both were destroyed by my angelic children within 48 hrs. of purchasing them.  whatevs.)

 4) sushi for lunch. crosby appreciated the chopsticks but not the edamame.

 5) a candy-themed birthday party with my big boy.

 6) girls night out.  kelly smuggled pickle-shots in her purse so i could have a birthday shot!  that's my girl.

 jenn had her first big night out since having baby nolan.  we had a lot to celebrate!

 7) the funniest moment of the weekend was when crosby snatched and inhaled a handful of peppered bacon off of grandpa's plate, while he was busy preparing the baby a plate of nutritious, bit-sized fruit.  that kid is a piece of work.

 8) an afternoon spent at the dallas museum of art, where we saw the fantastic exhibit youth and beauty: art of the american twenties.  i did not expect to see any georgia o'keeffe or edward hopper, so that was a sweet little birthday surprise.

               l to r: the shelton with sunspots by georgia o'keeffe and night windows by edward hopper

followed by time spent as a family in the amazing center for creative connections, where crosby and ben were able to play and create.

 9) and since you only turn 33 once, i finished the day with one of those fancy margaritas with a beer in it (ha!) and cake.  perfection.

looking forward to the dallas flea and celebrating (more) birthdays with family.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until next time,

xoxoxo

my soundtrack

* my soundtrack is the new name i am giving my music posts (this way you will know what you are getting into)!  this is where i will post music i am currently obsessing over, music that is new to me, or some old favorites that trigger a memory/solo concert in the car.

here are a couple of bands that i am obsessing over lately.

the alabama shakes

i recently heard a great interview with this band by david dye.  i was intrigued.  i think the alabama shakes may fill the amy winehouse void in my music-loving heart.  the lead singer is only like 23 or something ridiculous like that, and i think i am in love.  check them out.

dale earnhardt jr. jr.

day 3 of the acl music festival last year was hot as hell.  we were blessed with beautiful weather the first two days but were punished by the sun on the last.  since there were no bands we were super-excited about seeing, we decided to head to the festival for just a little bit (to get our money's worth) before we headed back home to dallas.  sweating profusely and hiding from the sun behind our festival maps, we plopped down in the field between two big stages to rest a bit before leaving.  i remember hearing dale earnhardt jr. jr. and thinking to myself that they sounded pretty good.  then a few months later they came highly recommended to us by a friend, and now their music is the only music i want to listen to while running.  it's good, y'all.

happy listening.

kickoff

this is how we are kicking off the birthday weekend.  

{thanks for the reminder, roxie!}

see you there?

greatest hits

if the months of march through may were one of the trains from 'thomas the tank engine', it would be gordon. big, fast, impatient.  here's what i mean, so far we've had: birthday party, birthday, birthday, baby shower, birthday party, baby shower, 5k, birthday party, birthday, easter.  throw in work and a couple of ear infections and you get the picture.  sometimes i wish spring were a bit more like sweet thomas, just chuffing along, minding his own business.  i'm not complaining, but we are busy, y'all!  (ben re recently informed me that he is so over gorillas, and back into thomas the train.  can you tell?)

1) i told ben that he had to like gorillas at least until his gorilla-themed birthday party.  sheesh.

 2) i had to remind chris that the light saber was ben's present.

 3) the easter bunny came to visit this almost-one-year-old for the first time.

 4) the easter bunny was followed up by some headache-inducing cascarones and the best lamb i have ever tasted.

 5) rainbow jungle cupcakes were made and brought to school. (nice theme, cort.)

6) oh yea, i ran this race thing.

 7) we ate outside because the weather is so perfect, we would be total weirdos if we didn't.

8) speaking of weirdos, we took ben to a rangers game.

 they won (which to chris means we have to go back and wear the exact same clothes).

go rangers!

 looking forward to a girls dinner and turning 33 (oh shit).

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until next time,

xoxoxo