Sunday 20 March 2016

Sunshine On Her Shoulders...


...makes model/actress Shelley Hack happy in her vibrant floral jacket.  I also love the rays of sun that illuminate her hair and pretty face in this picture, which I recently found in one of my vintage Seventeen magazines.  

Trotting out bright floral-fresh new clothes was always a rite of spring passage.  It began with the Easter outfit which included black patent Marjane's, white lace-trimmed socks, a smocked dress, pastel spring coat, white gloves, and a beribboned straw hat with a too-tight under-the-chin elastic strap. But Easter sometimes came with frigid temperatures and it was back to ski jackets and knit hats the next day. 

April is a changeable month in the Northeast.  A co-worker once vowed that on May 1st, no matter what the forecast, she would begin wearing her spring clothes (turnip!).  I know that longing and since I've never been good at transitional dressing, selecting things to wear in early spring is always a challenge.  I wish dressing now were as easy as pulling on a tropic-colored summer dress over my head.

My daughter and I went shopping yesterday and she couldn't decide if a tangerine sweater was "too bright".  I explained that once the sun shows itself again in earnest, the tangerine will feel just right. She bought the sweater.  I bought nude pumps to lighten up my work pants and sweaters.  

As I yearn for lovely sunshine on my own shoulders, I look back at some of my most memorable and favorite spring clothes:

mint-green "baseball jacket" with rainbow cuffs my grandmother made me

red, white and green striped dirndl skirt my mother bought me when I was in Jr. High School

white piqu dress trimmed with daisy rick-rack for 6th grade dance

shiny vinyl egg yolk-yellow raincoat with "fireman" hardware closures worn over bell bottoms on rainy school days

double-knit rose-colored date dress with short sleeves, Peter Pan collar, and three matching pearl buttons 

red dotted-swiss dress with white lace trim and back tie worn under graduation gown

(Graduation Day)

Friday 4 March 2016

luka & oliver: month one

IMG_4176IMG_4089

Time has wings! I can't believe our little dudes are a month old. Even weeks after their birth, it still boggles my mind that Scotty & I made these perfect little humans. 

What I've been loving lately:
  • their squishy faces & bodies' 
  • their tiny squawks, squeaks & snorts 
  • their big little sneezes 
  • their alert soon-to-be blue eyes following my voice 
  • the way they snuggle into my chest
  • the way Oliver purses his lips, sticks out his tongue and makes funny faces after a feed 
  • how Luka's smile & sweet disposition turn everyone around him into a mushy mess 
  • can't. stop. smiling or covering their perfectly wrinkly foreheads in a million kisses
  • seeing how much our family and friends love and care for them
Every day I look at their sweet faces and think to myself, "Wow, these are *our* babies! They were so worth the wait and all the pain we endured over the years because I can't imagine my life without them in it." I'm beyond grateful IVF worked for us and helped make a seemingly impossible dream a reality. 

Becoming Oliver & Luka's mom is the best thing that's ever happened to me and seeing Scotty in his new role as a dad makes my heart feel things I never knew possible. I couldn't have asked for a lovelier life. ?? 

p.s. Aren't the boys' quilts beautiful? They were lovingly made by their Aunties Cathy and Caroline. I'm going to attempt a monthly picture of Ollie and Luka on the quilts for the next year. Attempt is the key word here. (;
IMG_3407IMG_3408IMG_3254