Vacation photos: Austin

We got back from Austin last night, and we loved the trip. Austin is such a rad town, full of swimming, tattoos and rib-sticking BBQ. Here are a few photos, if you'd like to see...
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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. )

Looking back: A year ago

Tonight we're flying to California to visit Alex's family, and my dad and brother are coming, too. Looking back at last year's vacation photos (above), I cannot believe how teeny Toby looks. He was such a baby! This year he's officially a toddler. And who knows, next year maybe he will even be a little boy.

He's always had a tendency to grow up too quickly.

I remember feeling so nervous last year about traveling with a baby. We still felt like brand new parents, and we didn't know which end was up. (Remember our walking nap?:) Thankfully over the past year, we've gotten much more confident, and now it feels like we're just taking a regular trip with a mini sidekick.

xoxoxo A weekend post coming right up, and kisses to all of you.

Motherhood Mondays: What's your role in your family?

This week is going to be all about holiday entertaining, so to kick things off, I'd love to ask you: When you go home for the holidays, what's your role in your family?

Even though I'm only two minutes older than my twin sister, my parents always put me in charge when we were growing up. I was the "oldest sibling," after all! So I became known as the the responsible (aka bossy) one in my family.

What's your role in your family? Are you the helpful one? The goofy one? The good listener? The rebel? The baby? Every seems to have a role, even if it's subtle. I'd love to know yours! xoxo
(Photos by Charles Gullung)

Shared room

How adorable is this idea for sibling's shared room? The duo wallpaper is definitely chicer than drawing a chalk line down the middle of the room. :)

(From IKEA)

Family holiday cards

Do you guys send out holiday cards? We never have, but I've always wanted to send a family photo card with a heartfelt note to friends. This year, I realized that photo cards are actually less expensive than buying boxed cards at the grocery store, so the decision was made! Now we just need to choose one. I've narrowed it down to four favorites...
1.Joy Accordion card. Bonus: You get to include 8 photos.
2. Greetings card, classic and beautiful.
3. Colorblock card feels cute and festive.
4. Happy New Year card looks old-fashioned and nostalgic.

Are you going to send holiday cards this year? Which would you choose? I think I'm leaning toward the top two.

Bonus: Pinhole Press, my friends' company and one of my beloved sponsors, is offering 10% off everything in their shop until December 31st. Just enter the code CUPOFJO. xoxo

(Top photo via New York Times)

New Zealand in the 1960s

My grandparents lived in England almost all their lives, but in 1955 they moved around the world to New Zealand for six years. At the time, they had three little kids--my dad, the oldest, was just four years old. "We wanted to get out of post-war Europe," my dad remembers. "New Zealand was full of sunshine and light."
My aunt found some old family photographs (on slides) recently, and they're amazing for us to look through. "It was fantastic, just fabulous," remembers my dad. "Sailing, surfing, beaches, mountains, the most glorious place for outside living."
My grandfather got a job at the University of Christchurch, and the family lived in a little bungalow. We looked up their address on Google maps!  9 Champion St, Christchurch, New Zealand. So cool to see the actual street.
I asked my dad when he remembered about their time there, and he said, "We ate a lot of lamb. We'd buy half a sheep a week, which cost one pound. We'd get a shoulder, a leg, lamb chops, kidneys. The next Saturday, we'd get another half sheep! A half sheep would do it."
"We also had a pet lamb in the backyard," he said, "A family friend of ours was named Angus Lamb (a real person), so when we got an actual lamb, of course we called him Angus!"
During their six years in New Zealand, my grandmother had a fourth baby there--my aunt Lulu.
My dad, who was five in these christening photos, is wearing his red school uniform. "One thing (that still happens in old-fashioned families) is that English boys wear their school uniform when they want to look 'smart,' " said my aunt.
Here, they were on vacation at The Hermitage Hotel, which had just been built. "It was state of the art," said my dad, "Glorious big windows, modern, exciting. We usually camped, so this was quite a treat." My aunt Jackie, who is the little girl in this photo, remembers: "I remember swearing and my dad made me apologize to the manager. We skated on the wood floors in our socks, and saw snow for the first time. I was not allowed up the glacier, which really riled me; I was too small."
I think my dad looks just like Toby here!
New Zealand looks incredible! What an adventure! xoxo

Pinhole Press vacation book

My darlings, we love taking vacation photos (who doesn't?) but then we never really look at them again. They're just stuck on our computers. So! We decided to make a Pinhole Press photo book with our England vacation snapshots, and I love love love the way it turned out. The paper is really soft, the photos look gorgeous, and it's amazing to have a little book of our vacation. Alex and I have read through it like fifty times. :) Here are a few of the pages...
Anyway, it was easy to make and it's so wonderful to have; now I'm dying to make litte photo books for all our vacations and events, including every Christmas break and our wedding and honeymoon. Thought I'd share! xoxo
P.S. Inspired, I also made some thank-you notes to have on hand at home, using a photo Amy Merrick emailed me of her flowers. :)

Was your dad hip?

The tumblr Dads Are the Original Hipsters made me laugh out loud. It features old photos of dads looking awesome back in the day, along with hilarious captions. (The photo above: "Your dad wore cycling caps before you did...")
"Your dad drank obscure sodas before you did."
"Your dad wore a knit cap before you did."
"Your dad ate local fair-trade produce before you did."
"Your dad had big headphones before you did."
"You dad was into shooting shit before you were."
"Your dad lived in Portland before you did."
"Your dad didn't give a f*#k before you did."

Was your dad hip? :)