It’s unfortunate (or fortunate, really) that my J.Crew obsession began just weeks before my one-year shopping hiatus. Well, I’m still happily flipping through their September catalog as if my next purchase was just a click away (not a chance! So no need to stage an intervention).

Anyway, I cut out four of my favorite looks from their catalog and glued them to a boring manila file folder for a bit of inspiration and pizzazz.

And then my three year-old added his own pizzazz.

Now my personal papers are being well looked-after.

To take a closer look at these catalog pages, click: page 6, page 32, page 50, page 82.

Oooh! This old dresser was smartly painted with red chalkboard paint by Janell Beals. Great for a kids’ room! Keeping it in my ideas file.

We just reached a very significant milestone. Yesterday, my three year-old boy started preschool.

Significant, yes, but it didn’t really feel all that exciting. I stayed with him the entire time. As usual, he stuck next to me and wouldn’t dare venture anywhere alone, not even five feet away. The slightest mention of leaving him there alone gave him such a panic that I decided to stay, and since I was bored out of my mind after two hours, we left at that point, together.

Today I went in with a different attitude. No matter what, I was going to leave him there alone, scary as it would be for both of us. I would just make sure that his teacher understood some of his needs—that he probably wouldn’t reach out to her (or anyone), so it would be important for her to check on him regularly in case he wanted to engage in a different activity or even use the bathroom. He would be too shy to approach her, so she should approach him. She understood and told me not to worry. Even if she was rolling her eyes at me on the inside, she was very gracious about it.

So I helped him engage in something—he chose painting—before I walked away. But as I stepped away, I realized he was already talking to his teacher (first time!) and didn’t even notice my exit. Slowly shutting the door behind me, and watching as they talked, I actually began to cry. CRY! Me! After all these years of not understanding why any mother would cry on her child’s first day of school, I actually did it myself! Huh!

The scene is so vivid in my mind. There was my tiny boy, sitting in a chair, his back to me, his teacher standing over him with blank paper and paintbrushes, the two of them talking about something I couldn’t overhear, my one-year old boy on my left hip, and as I closed the door slowly with my right hand, thinking about how it was all happening too fast, the tears started flowing like nobody’s business.

Talk about a milestone.

As is often the case, my husband and the kids are sleeping soundly in their beds while I’m tapping away at the keyboard. And, as usual, I’m insanely sleepy but pushing through it to get things done.

Although tonight I’d like to make it to bed before midnight. We’ll see.

Hopefully this is the last button I’ll press before going to bed. Publish!

Much to my good friend’s chagrin, her daughter wants a unicorn-themed bedroom. “Do I have to give in?” she asked me. “Can’t I just put up fuzzy pink drapes and call it a day?” So I offered to come up some ideas that would satisfy her ten year-old and her own worldly tastes.

My starting point was this unicorn print by Etsy seller serpentmandalas, which is more colorful-tapestry-storybook than pink-glitter-rainbow (1 point: Mojan). I then built a room around that style with pieces that are equally colorful and appropriate for a ten year-old girl—and acceptable for a world-traveled mom.

In three short months, I’ll be sending my three year-old to preschool. On one hand I can’t wait, since being home with him all day has been challenging as of late. On the other hand I’d keep him home with me forever if I could, because I know there will come a day when I’ll miss out on most things in his life—so right now, I want to be there for everything.

Oh… was that off-topic?

Lynette and Greg* wanted to introduce their baby boy with an announcement that was elegant, inspired by nature, and had green as the dominant color. My first draft was a little too green—hubby Greg said, “Hey, wait a second! That’s my wife’s favorite color, not mine. Can we tone it down a bit?” So we scratched “green” as a requirement and replaced it with “springy,” since baby was due at the start of spring.

The final announcement does feel a lot like spring; I can almost feel dewdrops on the grass and hear the buzzing of bees:

*Names will always be changed.

Nadia turned six yesterday, and she rang in the celebration with a “lost in space” themed birthday party. Adorable, right?

When her mom asked me to design the invitations, she said she wanted something fun and girly. So “Nadia’s outer space” is made up of pink stars and pretty swirls, cute spacecraft, and pink and teal accents (her favorite colors).

Getting the concept right was actually quite funny. The first draft had Nadia sitting in the spaceship, but that basically made her the alien. So the second draft had Nadia sitting next to an alien, but the imagery still seemed peculiar. I finally got it right with the third try: the alien in the spaceship and Nadia as the space explorer. This pulls everything together—now the spaceship “spotlight” makes sense, the rocket has purpose, the swirls echo the astronaut’s “rope,” and the poem is relevant.

Oh, and this morning I received a little surprise: a photo of the birthday cake, inspired by the invitation! I love it.

Whee! I just bought my first Petunia Pickle Bottom bag! Normally $170, I just scored it at their annual spring outlet sale for just $67. I already have a pretty great backpack, but this one is bigger, prettier, and more suitable for travel (which I hope to be doing a lot of this year). Thanks to my friend, Theresa, for getting me hooked on this company’s design sensibilities.

Now, I know that their slogan is “baby chic,” but don’t let that fool you. Their accessories easily go beyond mama wear and would be totally appropriate for any woman. The outlet sale is happening now!

Zina and James* just wanted a simple birth announcement for close friends and family. They were really open to ideas, so I suggested something feminine, floral, and purple. Since the announcement was only going to be sent by e-mail, we could do whatever we wanted—use full-color all the way to the edges, use pretty photo filters—and not worry about cost or quality.

I used a William Morris floral pattern in the background, layering it to add dimension, and recoloring it to make it new.

Looking at it now, I’m not sure I like how the image floats in space. It needs to be anchored. Perhaps I should have cropped off the bottom so that the image falls off the edge or added another colored bar to the bottom half of the announcement.

*Names will always be changed.