Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Sun Days

Preppy

This was yesterday morning, just about to walk downtown for storytime at the public library.

Like so many of my outfits, I have Milla to thank for this one. She thrifted the vintage cotton jersey dress with her mom back in Finland, and if I recall correctly, I actually have her mom to thank for suggesting she get this one for me. It's a polo shirt-style dress though between my hair covering the button up little white collar and my cardi covering the white trimmed sleeves you wouldn’t know it from the picture.

I love its stripes and carefree preppy vibe and the fact that it's super soft like a worn tee. I've gotta say, I’m also really lovin’ this no tights business.

The little black quilted mary janes I found last week at Goodwill for $4 and the tote, which I carry all the time and must get a good picture of one of these times, was a gift from Milla as well.

Behind me is one of two redbud trees in our front yard which burst into bloom over the weekend, such pretty trees they are, and to my right was this…

Of course I rushed to grab my camera off the tripod and get a shot of the little nasturtium fairy just before she tromped away. Those fairies are quick you know!



Speaking of grabbing my camera, earlier in the morning I noticed how pretty the light was coming in through our east facing windows. It lit up our little windowsill collection of dusty old bottles and solar pendulums and made the coolest shadows on the wall above Clover's new-to-us (and free!) vintage Holly Hobbie kitchen set.

What’s a solar pendulum, you say? Well, you wouldn’t be the first to ask!
I made a little video to show them in action:


Lucas came across them years ago while looking at solar panels on eBay. Someone was selling a lot of 20 and he was the only bidder and got them all for something like 5 bucks I think. They each have a coil and magnets and a little tiny solar panel that powers them.

As soon as the sun hits, they start swinging and keep on goin’ till the sun goes down. They are the coolest little gadgets and I love the tick-tock sound they make like old-fashioned clocks. People who come into our home are always completely fascinated by them.

We have no idea what their original purpose was, that is if there was one, other than just being super awesome little sun-loving creatures of course. We haven’t yet met anyone else who knows either. Any ideas?

They really are like little creatures though. If they get close enough to one other (the swinging does cause them to move around a bit) the magnets of their swingy parts can stick together in a way that sort of resembles mating insects.

We even had one that kept trying to commit suicide back when we lived at our old house. They were lined up along the windowsill above our sink, which got really intense sun in the afternoons, and this one would get going so fast that it would gradually “walk” itself to the edge of the windowsill and “jump” into the sink. Poor thing, it did eventually bust a wire and stop swinging. Perhaps it caught its true love mating with another one of the pendulums… who knows?

Eggshells and Confetti

On Sunday, we went to an early Easter egg hunt put on by our friend Laura Jane. It involved about 20 dozen actual eggs which had been opened by just removing the top (I don’t know how she does this) then the hollowed out eggs were dyed, filled with confetti and a piece of candy or money or a prize ticket and then the hole on top was sealed over with rice paper and glue.

The kids went inside while the adults hid all the eggs. Then they were let loose to collect eggs and smash them open in an explosion of confetti often over someone’s head or wherever was fun or convenient to see what was inside. The whole yard was covered in confetti and eggshells by the end of it all.

It was a blast and Clover, who got lucky and found one of only two eggs with a five dollar bill in it, had a really great time. Thanks Laura Jane! Also, I was having a lazy picture taking day so thanks to our friend Nour who took a couple pictures of us on her phone and emailed them to me :)

24 comments:

Word said...

Your solar pendulums are rad.
Also the outfit at the top of the entry is beautiful.

What we four say said...

wow, those little pendulums are sure neat! I love your outfit and Clover also looks darling. Thats such a great photo of her in the flowers with the pretty umbrella and outfit. I love this weather, it's so exciting!!

Eyeliah said...

oh wow, what a cool feature to have on the sill. I wouldn't have neccessarily thought to pick out that dress for you, I really like it!

Teeny said...

That dress IS great on you. And your little one is so adorable. Love the glass menagerie. I have a small green glass one. I am now wearing tights as Autumn winter beset us.

anne said...

love the dress. milla finds the most amazing clothes :D
the solar pendulums are so cool! i love the noise they make. i'm a sucker for any repetitive sound- oscillating fans, lawn mowers, etc...

Anonymous said...

i am holding a big egg hunt next weekend and NEED to know more about this egg technique..i was dreading buying those awful plastic ones...wonder where she got this idea... thanks for sharing:)you all look adorable as usual!

Anonymous said...

oh yeah, and those pendlums just blew my mind.

Nicky said...

Those solar pendulums are so neat- and the shadows they cast were beautiful! Lucky Clover to get a new "free" toy (those are the best!

Cute family shot too :) My neighbor makes those confetti eggs too, I think she starts saving them in the beginning of the year and they have a confetti extravaganza!!!

I'm going to show my mom your skirt- she'll get a kick out of it!

Milla said...

Holly Hobbie kitchen set!?!??!? Wheeeee! And something about dresses and eggs and solar pendulums...but seriously about this Holly Hobbie kitchen set.

Manja said...

Man, I love the solar pendulums! The dress Milla thrifted for you is so very pretty and it looks so airy and comfy, too!

Andrea said...

That solar pendulum is so amazing! I've never seen anything quite like it. And yes Holly Hobbie kitchen set indeed - I remember having something with her on it when I was young.

SuzieM said...

you look so nice!!

Anonymous said...

That is a very pretty dress. And I love those shoes. And you have such a nice figure. I wish you would bring back some of the pretty ankle socks you wore in some old posts.

Heidi Ann said...

I absolutely LOVE that picture of Clover with the nasturtiums!
My sister Tina collects nasturtium things. She probably has the most extensive collection of nasturtium stuff in the world. Mostly vintage - all beautiful. We have all loved nasturtiums for many, many years. They don't grow well in the foothills, but at least we have her lovely collections to enjoy!
Your daughter's photo is one of my all-time favorites.

MOUSEVOX VINTAGE said...

Great dress! Looks so comfy and very cute on you. xo.

Lisa said...

That picture of Clover and the parasol is beyond cute. I love your knit stripy dress too. I wore a knit stripy dress yesterday and am definitely enjoying the warmer weather outfits. So glad you got the package and liked all the stuff!

Teresa said...

That dress is very pretty! Such an awesome thrift find! I love it! :)

muchlove said...

Your dress is adorable! I love the shadows of bottles you captured too. The variety of shapes and sizes look really nice next to one another.

P.S. I thrifted a David Hamilton book, and it reminded me of the blog post you did about his work ages ago! I love it!

Caroline said...

I am loving the idea of smashing eggs over people's heads. Is that weird?

Anonymous said...

oh such lovely pictures! Your windowsill display is beautiful, and the lighting..wow
Your little girl is such a darling!

Violet Folklore said...

The dress is a dream, seems so easy and perfect for warm days. Especially for a busy mama.

LOVE Clover's kitchen! That thing is amazing!

Okay and the solar pendulums are such a touch of magic. Yay.

On a totally unrelated note, I am thinking of taking Mycie to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in SF this summer. Maybe we can meet up?
http://www.baykidsmuseum.org/

Peldyn said...

Love the dress! And as always your little "fairy" is a doll :)

Diana said...

Your little one is so adorable. It seemed like the perfect moment for a photo with her umbrella.

AMIT said...

Very pretty looking and the little baby is cute.

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