On a Curve

This is one of those things that simply takes my breath away! A natural and rustic wood flooring concept from Bolefloor. The tagline: Life is not a straight line. And I'm in love. :)

Underpants!!!

The latest development around here has been a miraculous milestone: underpants. Freida has now been dry for a total of 6 days and 5 nights. And we're all smiles.

I'm sure you all remember when I bought her a little potty - in October! Back then I was planning on doing the "naked method", i.e. letting her run around for 2 days without a diaper and learn the sensation through "accidents". Thankfully, I have sisters and sister-in-laws who are far more wise and experienced than I am, and their advice was to wait. I had lots of people tell me it's about the parent being ready (to train them and take them etc.) and not about the child, and I had just as many people tell me it is about the child being physically ready. I decided to take a bit of a medium. I introduced her to the potty, and I have been putting her on it everyday before her bath to "try". Sometimes she made, sometimes she didn't. But aside from putting a sticker on her potty chart, we didn't make a big deal about it.

A few months ago I bought her some underpants, and showed them to her and let her try them on and feel them. I told her she will be able to wear them everyday like Mommy and Daddy once she learned to use the potty. She reacted the way I had hoped, and was very excited about the prospect, but forgot about it shortly thereafter. Around the same time, I bought a potty seat cover for our toilet, to give her another option.

About a month ago I thought I'd switch her to pullups (well, Pampers EasyUps, to be exact) which would make the potty even more accessible to her. We gave the diapers to the babies (like her bottle), and she was very proud to have graduated to something a bit more grown-up. We continued to use the potty about once a day...

Then, on the second day of Shavuot, Freida called out "Mommy! Peepees coming!!" so we headed straight to the potty where she proceeded to pee! I thought it was just a fluke, but when she went another 3 times in the next few hours, I let her put on a pair of undies. She's been in them and dry since then - nighttime included!!!

Freida is currently sporting these Sweet Ivy undies that I picked up at Nordstrom. They came in a sweet little zippered clear plastic pouch, and I just couldn't resist the happy little colorful prints! (The longest part of our day is now Freida trying to pick which color she wants to wear!) :)

Also, for those of who are in middle of training and need a bit more coverage with regards to accidents - I stumbled upon these adorable cotton training pants from Giggle. When I was a little girl, all of us were potty trained using something like this - a pull-up/panty hybrid. They are so genuinely old-school, and many parents seriously swear by them. The point is they feel more like undies so your kid gets more of the sensational feeling when they go, but the extra interior layer holds more pee so it doesn't go running down their legs and all over your carpet!

I'm totally shocked and amazed at the success of the whole child-led training process, and I can't believe she actually just decided to do this on her own (although, this is so like her - remember the self-weaning episode??)! I'm so happy for my little lady I'm just bursting with pride!!

P.S. If anyone has any tips for successfully waking your child at night to pee - please send them this way!! (I'm kinda going nuts from having to sleep alert enough to hear her random middle-of-the-night cries of "peepee cominggg!!") :)

Festive Threads: Yair Emanuel

Happy Monday, Mamas! Thought I'd jump straight into the week through a little window of holiday past, and share some of the most beautiful Judaic silk embroidery that can surprisingly be found at many Judaica stores across the country.

My sister-in-law (thanks Masha!!) brought back some Challah covers from Israel last year, and while I'm not usually the biggest fan of Judaica gifts - I was smitten by the vibrant and colorful ethnic embroideries of Yair Emanuel. It's quite amazing how much life can be brought to the table through one piece of practical art! Plus, setting up the tablescape for a party is much simpler when you can follow a general color lead. And Emanuel's pieces offer just that - a tremendous color scheme.

The cover I got is called "Creation", and features bright various hues of silk thread beautifully stitching out the 7 days of creation onto raw cotton; lending the already-ethnic art that much more raw authentic validity... Feels like a little piece of Jerusalem.

P.S. The paper goods are Caspari - always beautiful!

Chag de Fleur

These sugar flowers have got me in a tizzy! Just imagine a two-tiered cheesecake decked out in sweet and sugary summer florals.... Now breathe. :)

Divine, no? Quite like this holiday itself.

Wishing all you powerful women and mothers an intensely glorifying and peaceful Torah reception.

Chag Sameach everyone!! xx

Weekend Round-up!

Happy June weekend, ladies!! I'm feeling the season all around, and love getting gifts of weekly seasonal fresh flowers (thanks love!!). Gladiolus like these would make for a lovely buffet table arrangement by adding height and color to the food layout, don't you think? I'm sure you are all in a recipe/tablescape buzz right about now, getting ready to ring in the summer holiday via dairy deliciousness! Thought I'd take a minute to link some of my favorite things around the web this week...

- The most adorable kids craft/play idea for Shavuot!

- I need to remember this more often...

- My latest article for the Algemeiner: Born this Way?

- New on the Market: modern House Numbers @ Heath.

- Simple + Charming + Convenient DIY for Father's Day gift.

- HOTmilk Maternity/Nursing Bras ridiculously reduced at Zulily!

Some holiday-relative posts you may have missed:

- Cultivate social conversation at the table via big buds/low florals.

- Idyllic Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Also, for those of you who asked for a white cream sauce recipe when I posted this pasta dish, the most important part of any cream sauce is a good Roux for the Béchamel (white cream sauce). I learned this technique within the first few months of marriage (while watching much-too-much Food Network!), and it has come in so incredibly handy so far, and I've used it countless times since then. Here's the best step-by-step directions! I personally use that starter recipe + a cup of grated parmesan cheese and some crushed garlic cloves. From there you can add to what you'd like it to be (mushroom cream sauce, white wine reduction, salmon, pink sauce, florentine etc.) Enjoy!!