I really love my pals Sarah & Ryan (aka Lab Partners). They are the nicest duo around—AND they are also incredibly talented. That beautiful peacock up there? That was the holiday card they sent me. Yep, a gorgeous print! How generous, no?? I posted it on instagram (@galexina) and many of you asked if it was for sale. Well now it is! In 5 gorgeous colors! And Lab Partners are offering a 15% discount thru January 31, 2013. Just use the discount code: PEACOCK. You can pick one up here. HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Oh man, if there was ever a book that you just want to cuddle, it is this book!

I like to think that if you are here on this blog, you prolly like cute stuff.  Maybe some vintage cuteness as well as new cuteness. And you may even collect some cute vintage things.  Well, my friend this book is for you!

And the author Pamela Klaffe is not only a believer in cuteness, she is a collector of it as well, so she GETS it!

As soon as you open this book, you are welcomed into a seriously kitschy, cozy, fun world of people who collect amazingly cute things.  And oh and the cuteness!  Pamela breaks the cute down into several chapters including:  The New Cute, Big in Japan, I Want Candy and  Cute ‘n’ Creepy.  Doesn’t that make you want to flip the page?

Throughout the book, Pamela features several of her favorite pieces from her own collection.  I love that the photos are done with an analogue camera and expired film, giving them a wonderful warmth that just completes the book’s overall feeling cozy, sweet feel.

One of my favorite parts of the book are these great little bios about collectors of cute. Pamela interviewed each one of these folks, highlighting not only how and why they started their collections but how it has changed their lives for the better!

And, oh hey, these two ladies you might know!

Hee hee!  We both had hour long phone calls with Pam and had the best time gabbing.  It was like meeting with and old friend!  Truly a kindred spirit! And her wonderful spirit is felt throughout the book.

I also love Pamela’s writing style. Very easy and conversational, which makes this book such a great read.  And introduces you to many new cute things that may start you adding more cuteness into you life!

Quote from Susie Says by Gina Garan and Justin Vivian Bond, published by powerHouse Books.

If you are interested in this wonderful book, you can get it from Books Inc. or Powells. 

Are you a collector of cute?

I can’t believe the holidays are nearly over! We had a very cold and rainy (we’re talkin’ RAIN RAIN RAINY) December in the Bay Area. Like, torrential down pour, flooded-basement rain. BUT it also meant things like lots of cozy nights by the fire, fun gatherings with friends, pretty snowflake embroidery on stockings (thanks to Dottie!) and a visit to the archery range to try out our new quiver (thanks to Santa!).

But then it was time to hit the road and Dottie and I both hopped on planes to visit family. We each had very different holidays, but both equally as wonderful!

Dottie and her sweet family found paradise in sunny Florida with her parents. It sure looked like a little piece of heaven. Palm trees, warm waters and bare legs running around in the sun!

And me? I went the other direction to visit my family in Michigan. It was cold but the snow was SO beautiful! Cozy scarves, mittens and chilly but sunshiney days. Wolfie got in lots of snowball making and loved stomping around in his snow boots.

Dottie and I will both be taking a few more days off, but we’ll see you in the New Year! In the mean time, we have to ask:

Did you stay home? Travel afar? We’d love to hear all about it….we miss you!

image: Nashlinks

Note: This was a post I did last year, but I think it’s still pretty cool so I thought I’d re-run it!

On Christmas Eve, way back in 1955, the red hotline phone rang at the Continental Air Defense Command office (CONAD). Colonel Harry Shoup was the commanding officer and he quickly picked up the phone. On the other end of the line he heard a young boy’s voice asking to speak to Santa Claus. Colonel Shoup wasn’t amused and thought one of his fellow officer was playing a prank on him. But then the phone rang again, this time with another child who began reciting his Christmas list. The calls continued throughout the night and Colonel Shoup knew he had to get to the bottom of things. After a little investigating, he discovered that the local Sears & Roebuck had produced a holiday advertisement that listed a special phone number so children could call Santa Claus. Unfortunately they misprinted the phone number and instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids straight through to the Commander-in-Chief’s “hotline” at CONAD!

Colonel Shoup was a kindly man and rather than ignore the barrage of calls flooding his phone, he came up with a clever idea. In a lovely gesture, he told the children that although he wasn’t Santa, he was quite “in the know” on Santa’s whereabouts. In fact, he claimed that he and his staff could see Santa on their radar screens as he headed down from the North Pole. Throughout the evening, every child who called received an update on Santa’s progress. Local media heard of the calls and reported the story….and the next year even more calls came flooding in. Colonel Shoup and his team answered every call.

In 1957, CONAD became the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and they continued the tradition. Soon NORAD was partnering with Armed Forces Radio and broadcasting their Santa updates.  Children all across the country would tune in eagerly every Christmas Eve to hear updates on Santa’s travels.

Of course, in this day and age Santa has gone global and NORAD maintains the tradition with a really great web site that allows you and your kiddos to track Santa Claus as he makes his Yuletide journey around the world! It might sound a little too high tech, but trust me….it’s still utterly charming.

Greg discovered the Norad Tracks Santa site a few years ago and we’ve made it a bit of a family tradition. Wolfie loves it and eagerly reports to us which continent Santa is on and when he’s getting closer to our house.

It wasn’t until recently that I became aware of the sweet history behind NORAD and Santa Clause, but I thought it was terrific. Unfortunately Colonel Shoup passed away two years ago, but his lovely tradition continues to live on, bringing Christmas joy and a sense of wonder to little kiddos everywhere.

images: Norad

Be sure to track Santa with your kiddos this Christmas Eve! You can do so on Norad Tracks Santa. Ho ho ho!

{for our friends over seas or those who haven’t yet heard of the tragedy….there was a devastating shooting at a Connecticut Elementary school with 18 children killed.}

My stomach hurts as I type this. But I hate the thought of someone coming here and seeing jolly information during this horrible tragedy….so I needed to put this up. My heart aches for the families. And during the holidays?? Who shoots a child??? The saddness is shaking me to my core. I’m also so very angry. I hate that guns are so readily available in this country. It’s a huge HUGE problem. The average person doesn’t need a Glock. This is 2012…nearly 2013. Bottom line, we need to find a solution to stop tragedies like this from happening.

I want to hug Wolfie so badly right now.

Love and hug your children, friends.

PBS Kids has some good Tips for Talking About Tragedies & News With Children