Toby's almost two

Toby is just a few months away from turning two, and he's gearing up like a champ. He's been nailing the whining, fussing and general malaise that comes with being two years old. The word "no" is his motto, and, through his eyes, everything is either the worst or the absolute worst. Here, Toby gets carried to the playground (since naturally he didn't want to ride in his stroller), but was distraught because he wanted Mommy to carry him, not Daddy!!!!!!

Alex says he wants to write a biography of Toby's year called "A Portrait of Courage." It's so hard to be a baby! Keeps making me laugh out loud.

10 creative business cards

Business cards don't seem that necessary these days, when people can track down your email address or Facebook page in seconds. So, they seem to have taken on a new function: clever pieces of art to set your business apart. First up, above is an edible card for a survival training business...
A jewelry brand...
Personal trainer...

Seven more below...
Read more »

The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches You'll Ever Have

Who doesn't love an old-fashioned grilled cheese? Perfect for midnight snacks or curing hangovers, these rich sandwiches always hit the spot. Well, today, Kate from Wit & Delight shares how to make the best two versions, one savory, one sweet...
Read more »

I never wanted you...

Busy as hell these days...so while I'm working; please check out this beautiful and dreamy cover by Mint Julep of Headphones' I Never Wanted You...

Mint Julep - I Never Wanted You (Headphones Cover) by Anorak London

a little hello!

Labor Day Weekend

Henry and I have been spending some time in Phoenix this week before I head to San Francisco on Thursday, and I've had so much fun the past few days being able to see my Phoenix friends, hang out with family, and act like I'm 16-years old again. What? You don't revert to your teenage self whenever you spend an extended amount of time at "home?" It's seriously funny to me because last night I found myself on my parents' couch, eating some chips out of a paper towel (typical "Hawthorne" snacking style), yelling "Mommmmmmm! Can you get me a glass of water???" to my mother in the kitchen, while watching The Bachelor in my pajamas. The only difference between my 16-year old self and my current 29-year old self is that there was a baby monitor next to me.  I don't know what it is, but being here makes me feel like I'm right back in high school again.

Anyway, Henry and I ventured out to the mall today so I could try and find an outfit to wear this weekend. We had no luck, of course. Why is it that when you are looking for something specific it's impossible to find anything, but when you have no agenda it seems as though there are cute things everywhere you look?  Henry actually did get a few new fun things at H&M, so it wasn't a total flop. He is finally kind of okay with hats (kind of meaning he doesn't rip them off as if I've placed a burning piece of cloth on his head) so I'm hoping the clearance-priced beanie I bought for him will work. A couple random thoughts from today:

1. The elevator system at Scottsdale Fashion Square is pretty much the worst thing ever. PCLL? 1st Floor? 1st Floor Barney's? I'm so confused. Once the elevator made it's way down to us I ended up just pressing all the buttons and hoping for the best. I can't even believe I used to work there, or more so, how I ever made it to work on time!

2. I wish I could take naps. I have never been one of those people who can take a nice little 30-minute nap in the middle of the day and wake up refreshed. I occasionally find myself trying to be a nap person, but I either end up sleeping for Henry's entire 2-3 hour nap and cause myself to stay up hours later that night, or I stick to the 30 minutes, wake up groggy, and still can't sleep that night. It's a lose-lose for me. But on days like today where I feel exhausted out of my mind come 3pm, a nap would be so nice!

3. I have really, really loved reading all of the 11 Things posts around the internet! Some of the girls I've tagged have completed it, so check them out if you get a moment - Jen, Jess, Katie, Kaelah, and Mandy.

4. And finally, today was my Dad's 66th birthday! He's really the best guy I know (tied with Hank of course) and I feel so lucky to have such a good relationship with him. It's been amazing seeing him as a Grandpa and to watch him and Henry grow so close. It's really the best. Happy birthday, Dad!

Flats love

Madewell's sidewalk skimmers are all adorable, but the polka dots have stolen my heart. How adorable are they? Would love to wear them to the playground and brunches in the West Village this spring.

Bike bag

The Seil Bag is a genius backpack for bikers. A wireless controller on your handlebars lets you clearly signal to cars when you're turning right, left or stopping, without taking your hands off the handlebars. I'd love to use this while riding around New York. It's just a prototype right now, but here's hoping this rad backpack is made and sold sometime soon.

(Via Go to Public School)

Ryan Shares Two Tattoos by "Brooklyn P"

I often wonder how may Tattoosday encounters would have been lost had my apartment come with its own laundry facilities. I raise this point because, yet again, I met someone cool with tattoos at my local laundromat and he was generous enough to share his ink with us here on Tattoosday.

In fact, Ryan, who is this particular contributor, and I share a common bond, which is that we have both been tattooed by the same artist, Peter Caruso a.k.a. "Brooklyn P," who originally shared his work with us here on the site way back in 2008 here.

Ryan currently has a back piece in progress, but he shared two tattoos from his legs. First, on his right leg, is this work:


This pin-up girl is classic old school Brooklyn ink, based on flash by the legendary artist Tony Polito. Brooklyn P is an admirer of Polito, and even shared a piece that Tony did on him here.

Ryan also has this tattoo of butterflies on his left leg, which is based on a original design by Brooklyn P:


Ryan estimates he has about fifteen tattoos in all.

My tattoo from Brooklyn P is documented here.

Thanks to Ryan for sharing his tattoos with us here on Tattoosday! And thanks again to Brooklyn P, who continues to work hard at keeping that old school style of Brooklyn tattooing alive!


This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tattoo Tuesday V.111



Name and blog name: Kem // Chronicles of a Sweet Tooth
Age: 29
Occupation: Practice Manager of Dental Department
Age of first tattoo: 20
Favorite tattoo: My Tooth Crest
Featured tattoo/location: 3/4 "sea" sleeve
Artist/shop/location of feature tattoo: Left arm // Scott Shickman // The Mercy Seat Kansas City MO // Scott has done all of my tattoos



1) Tell us about your featured tattoo- is there a background story about why you chose it, or maybe a special meaning? 

For as long as I have lived, I have wanted to be a mermaid. Watching Disney's the Little Mermaid, is probably where the obsession began. That, and my sweet cousin had a swimming pool. We would pretend that we were mermaids, without a care in the world. As I grew up, I knew that I couldn't be a mermaid, so I thought I could commemorate that in an art form, to be that constant reminder to dream. One of my favorite quotes is "The cure for anything is salt water: Sweat, Tears, or the Sea." PS my artist told me I would make it into a full sleeve within a couple of years, and he was totally right! I already know what I am going to fill the last 1/4 of my left arm with :)

2) Do you have any other tattoos? If so, what do you have and where? 

I have quite a collection. That is what I tell people, I collect art in the form of tattoos.

1. Bows on my ankles. I am a girly, girl through and through. These were a spur of the moment tattoos. Scott, my artist, was working on drawing up the sleeve for my right arm, and he wasn't quite finished, so instead of wasting a session, we just did these bows. I love them, and probably get the most compliments on them.
2. Society's Finest Thigh Tattoos. These have dual meanings. First, it is the name of my husband and friends car club. Secondly, I think it is the most clever words to describe someone with tattoos. So many people, these days, are turned off by tattoos, and think that I probably don't have a job, that I am uneducated, and basically the scum of the earth. Well, little do they know, I am Society's Finest! I am college educated, hold a very prestigious job, and am way better than scum!
3.Cherries on my Calves. These have no meaning at all. I love cherries and wanted calf tattoos :)
4. Left arm 3/4 sleeve. The meaning was a long one, but I loved how it turned out. Especially the compass rose. I always have to be reminded to focus back to "True North" or my "True Self", to not get caught up in what others think/say/do
5. Beginning of Right arm sleeve. So far, on my right arm, I have my Tooth Crest. I have a CRAZY sweet tooth. I mean CRAZY! Ha, I even named my blog after my sweet tooth. Since I work in the dental field, thank goodness right(?), I thought I would dedicate an arm to my love of sweets! The tooth crest says "Brush the teeth you wanna keep", which is totally the truth. The top part of my arm is a whimsical tea party featuring well dressed animals and will be filled in with cupcakes, cookies, candy, and tea! I have a great deal of English Heritage, so to pay homage to that, Scott and I incorporated this idea of an over-the-top tea party juxtaposed against this tooth with a toothbrush. I love how it is coming together. It is my work in progress!

6. Chest piece. I wanted my chest piece to be beautiful and feminine. (This is actually a cover up!) I had cherries on my chest, that we just couldn't get to work into a good layout, so we just covered them. This was the first big piece I did, and wanted a little dedication to my parents. We choose swallows to carry a banner for them. My parents and I have had ups and downs, but without them, I wouldn't be here, so that is my little reminder to carry them with me.



7. Lip Tattoo. I played roller derby with Kansas City Roller Warriors for 5 years. Some of my team mates decided we should get the inside of our lips tattooed with our skate names, you know, to commemorate our 'time served'. It has no started a trend in most of KCRW skaters to get it done. I love it!


3) Do you plan on getting more? 

Until I run out of skin :) Although, I will never get my neck or face tattooed, that is just personal preference. I would love to get my knuckles tattooed, but right now, my life (read: Job) won't allow that.

4) How do your family and friends feel about your tattoo(s)? Have you run into any adversity or negativity because of them? Do you have a significant other? Does he/she have tattoos?

Most of my friends are tattooed/heavily tattooed. Really it is just part of the culture I surround myself with. As everyone that has been interviewed here before, I do run into the adversity, or the down side of being tattooed. Surprisingly it has come with pin-up modeling. There are some hardcore fans out there that HATE tattoos, and make sure that they comment on my photos that they hate my tattoos. I have had people say things like "Pretty girl, but horrible tattoos." or "Beautiful, but why did she ruin the photo with tattoos?" Ha, ha, right, cause I can't take off my tattoos people! Why even say that? It's not like commenting on an outfits, that I could change, it is commenting on something, that I have chosen to do, that can't/won't be reversed. It makes me laugh.

My husband has tattoos, and I love them. His first piece was his chest piece. Go big, or go home was his motto. All of his tattoos are by Scott Shickman too. We are kind of loyal to him :)





5) What's the most interesting experience you've ever had in regards to your tattoos? 

I think I just covered that regarding comments made by pinup fans. Some people love them, some people hate them. I just like to remind the people making these comments, that I appreciate their feedback, and thanks so much for liking my photos, but my tattoos are mine, and I have no plans of changing them ;)


6) Any advice for those interested in getting tattooed but haven't gotten one yet? 

My only advice is "Cheap work ain't good, and good work ain't cheap." ~ Sailor Jerry

Henry's first trip to the Zoo!

Today was so much fun. And I'm pretty sure Henry had fun too, although it's kind of hard to tell when you take a 15-month old to the zoo since he can't really say "hey this is SO fun!" But I'm guessing all of his pointing, laughing, and "what's that?" meant he loved it too.  It was a beautiful day (let's ignore the insane wind and focus on the sun!) and we met a handful of my friends and their kiddos for the afternoon. Our group spent a few hours walking around, playing, and snacking. We'd never been to the Phoenix Zoo and after going I think we will probably get an annual pass next fall. There weren't too many animals out today, but we did meet a huge rainbow-bummed baboon and some silly monkeys. We also saw tigers, giraffes, and an elephant, and pet some goats in the petting zoo. All in all, tons of fun. Here are some photos from our day:

Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
Phoenix Zoo, 2/27/12
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Motherhood Mondays: Baby Names & Faces Book

Pinhole Press has a brilliant new baby photo product: Big Book of Names & Faces. You make one with photos of your child's favorite people. My mom made us one as a gift, and it has become Toby's favorite bedtime story. Since our relatives live around the country, this book helps Toby remember them between visits (and happily recognize them when he sees them again), and I love that the book helps him learn words and names, and show him that he's part of a family that cares about him. Bravo, Pinhole Press!

(Thanks to my friend Laura Ratliff for taking these photos. You might recognize Sharon Beesley's kids in a photo. Pinhole Press is my friends' company and one of my beloved sponsors. )