A Mom’s Year – Page 114 – Creating a comfortable life one moment at a time

April 17, 2011

It’s been a busy week of subbing and editing. What I’d really like to do right now is put on my yoga pants and curl up with the kids to watch a movie. But instead I have to help out at the school carnival. So I’m going to share these funny cards with you, put on a lei (it’s a Hawaiian theme), and hope for a sudden burst of energy. Have a wonderful weekend!

Visit here to see more.

{spotted on designdump}

April 14, 2011

Conflict Kitchen

{spotted on Stephmodo}

Conflict Kitchen is a take-out restaurant in Pittsburgh that only serves cuisine from countries the United States is in conflict with. Jon Rubin, an assistant professor of art at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the restaurant’s founders said, “We’re using food as an entry point to help people explore cultures that aren’t talked about in the mainstream media.” According to Rubin, their goal is not to stir up political controversy, but to remind us that people are people. And what better way to bring people together than with food?

Every four months the featured country changes. Currently, Afghanistan is being represented as “Bolani Pazi.” Bolanis are savory afghan turnovers filled with either pumpkin, spinach, lentils, or potatoes and leeks. I would happily eat these in the name of world peace, wouldn’t you?

The team at Conflict Kitchen worked with members of the Afghan community to create the menu and the packaging, which is a custom-designed wrapper that includes interviews with Afghans on topics such as dating and marriage, education, and ethnic identity. Next up for consideration are North Korea and Venezuela. I’m really hoping it won’t ever be China.

So if you’re in Pittsburgh and can make it over to Conflict Kitchen, please let us know.

April 13, 2011

Job Description for a Parent

{from tinywhitedaisies via Pinterest}

When life gets a little too crazy, I rely even more than I normally do on quotations like “bird by bird” to get through the day. (I’m a bit of a quotation junkie.) I like how a good quote can take a big, abstract concept like happiness and boil it down into something meaningful. And quotes remind you that at least one other person in the world understands how you feel.

I’m not necessarily a fan of posters that offer a ton of advice all at once. You know the kind I’m talking about? They make my head spin with their tiny print urging you to “dance, sing, create, travel more, fly, soar, clean the carpets, dream, envision,” etc. But I like the “How to Really Love a Child” poster that I saw on Pinterest today. There’s no job description for parents, but if there were I’d want it to look like this. Especially the parts about reading books out loud with joy and keeping the gleam in your eye. I can handle that. (Usually.)

April 12, 2011

Spring Projects and Inspiration

There’s something about warmth and sunshine that gets the creative juices flowing. Here are some of the coolest ideas I’ve come across.

The next time I host a baby shower, I’m using this adorable rain shower theme. More ideas here. {via Oh Happy Day}

Now that the snow has melted, I realized that I still have the “Season’s Greetings” mat on the front doorstep. I think it’s time for a new one. This colorful DIY wooden mat has a nice, whimsical cottage-y feel to it. Or do you prefer the plain wooden one?