and so much more.
xo,
LBN

i know what you are thinking, the oscars are so 48 hours ago.  and it’s true.  but i couldn’t let the 2013 awards season come and go without a final weigh in.  first, it was so fun to tweet along with so many of you.  sure, i got sick and tired of EVERYTHING after the first 5 hours of coverage, but having a bunch of you along for the twitter ride made me feel like we were all kicking back together.  even if was bored out of my mind.  and i’m someone who L-O-V-E-S award shoes.  i can’t even imagine how normal people were feeling.

here’s my quick rundown:

the show itself was ENDLESS.  i love a good musical number more than most but even j.hud couldn’t get me back on track – although, she seem to capture EBN’s attention, who tried (and failed) to hold that last note right along with her.  and i know, i was supposed to be SUPER excited about michelle obama but instead i was pulling my hair out, the show was longer than a passover seder.

speaking of passover, it’s officially a month away.  and so my desk now looks like this:

thank goodness awards’ season is over.  seriously, how would i ever get it all done?

this post is brought to you by starbucks, hot tea, and the lumineers.

it’s a rainy saturday afternoon and since EBN has decided to take a late (and hopefully long) nap, i’ve left other BNs at home in hopes of getting a jump-start on the work week.  i’m not stressed (something sort of new for me) but i know the week will be a busy one and so if i can get a bit done before monday that would be a good thing.  as i’m now managing 3 blogs (this space, THIS space and soon to be one more space – we’ll be launching at the end of the month), it means a lot of time spent lurking online, reading and researching, and then writing.  i’m digging it.

i’ve never been a tea drinker but as i’ve taken on this paleo lifestyle (for the most part) and as we’ve had several colder than normal rainy weeks here in the bay area – tea and i seem to have struck up a new and surprising relationship.  don’t get me wrong, i’m planning to give up coffee no time soon (i know, not true paleo) but in the late afternoon, or as a bedtime snack, a hot cup of tea is sorta becoming a thing.  between the crochet and the tea and the hot tubbing and the vintage longer length skirts and dresses, i’m practically ready to retire and move to florida.  if it’s warmer there than it currently is here (types the girl wearing fingerless gloves) you can count me in.

in addition to listening to records – we’ve been listening to the lumineers.  i’m basically the last person to discover music so i take no credit (especially because they also appeared in this week’s people magazine which means i’m super late to the game this time around).  but i’m head over-heels in love and it seems like the only thing better than the lumineers themselves is the pandora station.  so…i like the lumineers, dear internet, what else should i be listening to?

ps.  i have a wart on the bottom of my foot (now aren’t you glad that the photo above is of a cup of tea?).  i know, tmi.  but in truth it is all i can currently think about even as i type other words, analyze volunteer retention, work on my weekly calendar.  it’s nothing new, it’s probably been there for the last 2 years (maybe more).  but i finally went to have it professionally dealt with yesterday (after a month or more of “work at home” yielded no results) and now my wart which had for years been easily ignored is now more painful than childbirth (especially childbirth that included drugs).  it’s on the ball of my foot so walking sucks but even if my foot is just pointing down it’s super uncomfortable because all the blood is rushing in that direction.  when ever i think about taking off my sock to check out my “ouchie” EBN screams bloody murder (she caught sight of it just once) and says no mommy, no, sock back on!  this too shall pass.  but i thought you should know…

i have strong preferences:

cold room, warm bed.

strong coffee.

high thread-count sheets.

earthy red wine.

ocean air.

kiddo clothes that aren’t too matchy-matchy.

thick oatmeal.

a bit of facial hair on my guy.

turns out – i also prefer (STRONGLY) to have a bit of christmas in my life:

a friend hosted a christmas-caroling-light-viewing-hot-cocca-sipping-polar-express-reading get together for all the families in our playgroup.  was it the highlight of my year?  quite possibly.  i got to pull out my xmas sweater and EBN was dressed in head to toe thomas (and then had some pretty excellent hat head).  it was EBN’s first multi-cultural experience…or something

turns out – i really enjoy singing christmas songs.  and, it should be noted that from my time spent at my up-tight-all-girls-dress-in-green-and-red-for-the-week-leading-up-to-christmas-prep-school, i know all the words to frosty the snowman.

what can i say, we’re jews, and we love to celebrate!

when we received an invitation to my uncle’s wedding we decided to make the trip to LA as easy as possible and while the very last thing i wanted to do was let go of EBN, let alone leave her overnight, it was the way to go.  we chose to forgo chanukah presents in favor of a night at a swanky hotel (#1 on the list of things that make me happy is high thread count sheets) and so we hopped a flight down first thing sunday morning and were back in pacifica before the sunset on monday.

for the love of a terrycloth bathrobe (please note this photo was taking exactly 3 minutes after i entered the hotel room – i waste no time)//nothing better than watching I LOVE LUCY while primping//still crazy [for each other] after all these years//i clean up pretty good!  (too bad they don’t let me out more often…)

and because i know what you’re really after…

Source: amazon.com via LBN on Pinterest

Source: amazon.com via LBN on Pinterest

while we go all out on the food and the decorations and the celebration – we keep the gift portion of chanukah pretty light.  especially this year.  ABN and i decided early on that rather than exchange gifts we’d treat ourselves to a night in a hotel (rather than couch surfing) when in LA for 24 hours this upcoming weekend.  and EBN has way more than any little girl needs and between her recent birthday and visit to the east coast – she’s really rolling in it.  still, chanukah wouldn’t be complete with just a couple of gifts to unwrap and enjoy.  there’s been a little something for everyone – and we know each other so well.

new bedtime book for ABN and EBN and  a splatter guard to limit my morning mess when making EBN her daily “hot” (read: oatmeal).  dinner has never been so fun: “eat abc!  eat abc!”.  and it’s as if the real nani was resurrected – she’d be thrilled with these mama/kiddo lanz nightgowns that nani and p’pa sent our way.  ABN can’t stop shaking his head (wait til i order him matching pjs!) and if i were to ever sleep in this, i’m pretty sure i’d melt away to nothing.  but you better believe we’ll be spending many a morning cuddling on the couch in our matching nightgowns – especially once we get our fireplace working.