the peacoat papers

farewell, peacoat. you've been good to me.

I have been blogging for about a year and a half here at The Peacoat Papers, but have never been able to stretch my wings the way I wanted.  This blog started as one thing, turned into another, but never felt quite right. 

With a new name, a new look, and ideas I’ve sat on for far too long, I hope you enjoy my latest project.  Please click through to Hollywood Housewife!

(psst...make sure you update your bookmarks, re-subscribe, and change your settings if you link to me from your blog.  Many thanks!) 

 

guest post at vanderbilt wife

I found the darling Vanderbilt Wife through Twitter late in the summer.  That is the biggest benefit to Twitter - meeting new and interesting people. 

I've been following her life in transition as she's currently going through a move, trying to sell her house, and this fall celebrated her daughter's first birthday.

I'm so honored to be guest posting over there today.  Click here to read about how this Christmas is different from every other holiday season in my life.

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If you're here from Vanderbilt Wife - welcome!  Click around and get to know me a bit.  Then check back often - or better yet, subscribe! - because after the first of the year, Peacoat will be migrating to bigger, better things.  It'll be fun, you'll see.   

holiday gift idea - subscriptions!

I am a fan of the gift of the keeps on giving.  I am really a fan of gifts that aren't stuff.

So this one is easy.  Subscriptions!  Those pesky monthly costs do add up, you know.

Amazon has cheap, cheap, cheap magazine subscriptions.  Some are as low as $5.  (I took advantage myself - my favorites are Real Simple, Elle Decor, and O.  *sigh* R.I.P. Domino, the best home magazine ever.)

Basic Flickr is free, but it doesn't give you much storage.  A Flickr Pro account is only $25 for the year, and I store literally thousands of photos there.  Which was awesome, until it wasn't.

Finally - something we all need but not everyone will splurge on - online backup. 

There are several sites that will backup all your pictures, music, and important documents in case of disaster.  The Gorilla and I have both had laptops stolen in the last several years, and it is devastating to lose files that are precious to you.  I don't take the chance anymore.  Carbonite offers complete backup for $55/year and I do nothing.  Mozy starts at $5/month, and this is a good article comparing the different services.

There might be other subscription-style options for your sweetie/friend/co-worker, this is just meant to spark your imagination.  Because I, for one, really love the gifts that don't take up any space. 

holiday gift idea - serving pieces from CB2

(Throughout the year, I constantly see items that I think would make a good gift, but when the holidays roll around, I draw a blank.  Suddenly I can't think of a single thing that anyone would possibly want as a gift.  I finally decided to start keeping a list - using the Notes app on my phone - and will share them here with you.  In case you're out of ideas.  Or, like me, haven't even started yet.)

When I threw my first fancy dinner party this year, I realized fast and quick that I am in serious need of serving pieces.  I have several that go with my china, and a few fun ones (porcelain OU chip-and-dip, anyone?), but nothing appropriate for the occasion. 

As I started looking around - frantically, actually - I realized that the kind of serving pieces I liked weren't exactly cheap.  And I needed multiple pieces.  I finally found just what I was looking for, and at a very reasonable price.

CB2 has a great collection of serving pieces, and I vouch for their quality.  I went with the classic white collection, but the marble cheese trays and dandelion pieces would make a beautiful gift for the friend or family member who likes to entertain.  Or for yourself, during this hostess-y season.  Many are under $20.

I like CB2 for a lot of things, but until they opened a store here in LA, it just wasn't on my radar.  Now it is.

(fine print: I don't do paid endorsements.  These are just things I like.) 

friday links

Like everyone else, I have been knee-deep in the holiday spirit this week.  Decorating the house, toiling over the Christmas cards, online shopping, you know the drill.

We did manage to finish the entire season 1 of HBO's True Blood in just over a week.  I admit that both The Gorilla and I were hooked by the end and can't wait for season 2.  The series is kinda cheesy, and starts off a little slow, and there are some things about it that are a little too close to Twilight, but something about it is addictive.  And it is not the blatant, violent sex scenes.  Those are strange.

I also finished the latest season of Weeds.  It is such a good, smart show even though this season spun off the rails a little.  I have a girl crush on Mary Louise Parker. 

I believe I read this snarky motherhood article at Salon a week or so ago, but it was sparking all kinds of discussion in the twitter world.  Everyone hates mommies?  Huh.  The comments are INSANE.  Truly.  And I don't say that lightly.

For you crafty types, this tutorial on making papercut portraits is pretty incredible.

I went to my ten year high school reunion and had a blast.  And I threw a mini reunion-type party in my hometown last year over the holidays.  So it's not that I feel the way this Onion article describes, but it did make me laugh out loud.  I think everyone gets it.  The Onion can be so genius.

And finally, since I'm wading through Christmas-card-making hell, this little blurb only enforces my holiday card rules.  (While we're on the subject, can I please say that this extends to Facebook profile pictures?  Please use a picture of yourself, no matter how cute your kid is.  I don't recognize them as you and it throws me off.)  

I'm looking forward to a weekend of more holiday planning and a long-awaited book club meeting.

Happy weekend, peacoat readers!

december means holiday cards!

I have undertaken my yearly albatross.  As usual, the whole Christmas card process is taking me weeks.  It's almost as if I enjoy punishing myself with my hand-made insistence.

If you haven't started yet, check out my rules for holiday cards from last year.

Once mine are done and delivered, I'll post this year's doozy.  It's a real treat.

 

33 days of grateful - revisited

(Maybe this is cheating.  But gratitude in any form is worth our time this week.  Every week.)

Last year, in the month leading up to Thanksgiving, I wrote down a little something every day that I was thankful for.  It was such a nice thing to do.  

Click here to read the complete list.

Reading back through the list today, I realize that every one of them still applies.  So I'm posting it again today, to remind myself of all those little things that make my life a good one. 

I would add, above all things, that this year I am most thankful for the healthy baby girl asleep on my chest.  

i asked, sortacrunchy answered

My dear high school friend Megan, the author of SortaCrunchy and Simple Kids, is having Baby Week over at SC and chose to answer a very important question today.   

I am able to deem it very important because I'm the one who asked it.

In a comment I left on one of her blog posts, I wondered where the line is between Trusting Your Instincts and Trusting Conventional Wisdom.

And, like the good friend/mama/writer that she is, she answered me.  Pop over and check it out. 

(psst - there are some great nuggets in the comments, too.  Don't miss 'em.)

friday links

I daresay the newborn phase is waning.  I'm finally able to tackle (just a few) things on my To Do list.  And this feels wonderful.  Really, really Holidays Are Coming wonderful.

Tops on my list was to pick up a few sweaters for the mildly cold California winter.  I am allergic to wool.  Do you know how hard it is to find decent/cute sweaters that aren't wool?  Go ahead and notice next time you're out and about.  ALL of the decent/cute sweaters are wool.  Depressing. 

I was finally able to find okay cotton options at the Gap at the Camarillo Outlet Mall.  If you live in the Los Angeles area then run-don't-walk to Camarillo.  You won't regret it.  They've re-vamped the place and it is great shopping.  Go.

 I get comments all the time on my Maya Brenner Georgia necklace.  I got this as a gift from a very special friend.  (please don't mind the grainy picture of me wearing the necklace.  This shot was taken mere hours before we attended this crazy wedding.) The diamond marks Savannah, where The Gorilla and I got married in 2007.  I wear the necklace almost every day.  I noticed that Maya now does all the states and they're on sale here.  I know these are pricey, but this is an excellent and creative gift.  I really wish I had the Oklahoma one.  I would wear them both on the same chain.

A more reasonable and practical gift idea came to me from my friend Heather.  She posted about her need to organize her stash of recipes that get strewn about, and pointed me towards the Recipe Nest.  Looks great and I like the function.  

The other thing I've been shopping for are the dreaded birth announcements.  I finally decided to include them in with our Christmas cards.  But it's causing me all kinds of stress.  This post over at Warm Chocolate Milk really explains why holiday cards can put us right over the edge.

Next week is Thanksgiving.  Crazy how this particular holiday seems to sneak up on us every year, huh?

Happy weekend, peacoat readers! 

friday links

What day is it again?  I would have no idea.  Days and nights are all blended together.  And since I'm awake roughly twenty hours of each day now, the week has somehow expanded.  

There's not a lot going on in my browser that would make for a good link, unless you're looking for the results from endless google searches regarding infant feeding, pacifier merits, and newborn constipation. 

Still, a few things worth mentioning:

Since paper is my thing, Evite tends to grate on my nerves, even though I understand it's convenience and occasional necessity.  But a few weeks ago, I got an electronic invitation that was so classy and clean that it didn't bug me!  If you need to send out an invitation via the web, check out Paperless Post.  I was impressed.

I read an excerpt from this book in O magazine, and it seems right up my alley.  Mentors, Muses, & Monsters: 30 Writers on the People Who Changed Their Lives is now officially on my To-Read list.

That's all I got.  Friday Links may just be this sparse for a little bit.  All for a good reason.

Happy Weekend, peacoat readers!