my dear ramona,
fun is with you. fun is on the floor making animal noises and reading book after book and pretending the sheep puppet is talking to you. fun is the laugh you give when papa swings you around and when mama tickles your belly. fun is you dancing to the record player and us trying to sneak a video of it. fun is morning snuggles and trying on mama’s jewelry and putting ponytails in your hair. fun is the noise you make when you see the box of cheerios when we walk through the kitchen. fun is petting violet and lacy and your fearlessness w animals. fun is letting you roam free around the yard, watching you learn how to climb rocks and pick flowers and splash in water.
fun is you with our friends. fun is your charisma and inclusiveness. fun is the smile you get when you see nona or diri or lashley or kimmy or miss tara or uncle ko or aunt beth. fun is your love for and excitement for others. fun is knowing you are so loved by them.
fun is celebrating. fun is knowing how to party. fun is throwing parties for no reason. fun is certainly throwing parties for birthdays. fun is good food, homemade desserts (ok, ok: your cake was from a box), bright red lips, unnecessary decorations, lots of different people, tasty drinks (drinking responsibly of course), and a mixture of silly and thoughtful conversation.
girl, has it been fun.
i love you. love, mama.
read other letters to ramona from the sling diaries series: love, style, exploration, communication, and history.
this post is done in collaboration with sakura bloom. the sling i am wearing is the simple linen in twilight. the beautiful photos are by the unschooled (that’s for you, leigh 😉 ), teenage photographer phenom, luca venter. they were taken in our backyard during ramona’s first birthday party. special thanks to hey! party collective for making it all look so snazzy.
this week was a nice and full one. amanda and i were invited to GroundFloor Media’s Foodie Smartphone Academy sponsored by Qdoba at the Justice League of Street Food (thanks, GFM!). then from there we kept ramona up way past her bedtime for Novo’s 10th anniversary party. the rest of the week involved hangs with the goats, popsicle treats at the park, and a very messy house.
elsewhere there’s some stuff going on!
- not sure where all the dirty, loveable hipsters come from, but i love that they start each tuesday night at crema for their loops ride.
- have you seen the sneak peek of jp’s new place, the populist? we’re getting very excited!
- on sunday, you can find jp, ramona, and i at the denver county fair
- i was very inspired by the “problem” this wealthy man has.
that’s all. like i said, it was a pretty mellow week! have a good weekend.
this was a busy week for the powerdriver clan. here’s what we were up to…
- we spent last weekend in breckenridge at the gondola house. we went on a bike ride, drank tasty beer, got caught in the rain, and lounged about watching the olympics. wow. did we need this mini-vacation.
- met melanie and baby beck at the denver zoo. there were spurts of great conversation in between wrangling three babies.
- ran into a long lost (she was at my kindergarten bday party, for crying out loud) friend from my hometown at linger. got to know, rachel, the mastermind behind glotalot.
- surprise tickets (fifth freaking row!) to counting crows at red rocks. i danced my ass off like a crazy lady.
Elsewhere
- hey! party collective has their website up and running. check them out!
- i pretty much love you too, denver.
- i may be late on this train but cookie monster always cracks me up
- look at this cute gal pal weekend. this puts palm springs even higher on my places-to-visit list.
- i’m going to remember this list for when my half a dozen pregnant friends give birth in the upcoming months.
- that some people still fight against equal rights boggles my mind. this letter here pretty much sums up the ridiculousness of it all.
to see more of our week, follow me on instagram: eopower.
denver stuffs:
- shame on you for not entering the mountain vs plains giveaway yet. don’t worry. there’s still time! check out this post to enter.
- jp, bean, max, and i were invited to eat lunch at the soft opening of ace in denver. it’s asian street food meets ping pong bar. slated to open early august. check it out and order the golden child, a most delicious and simple cocktail.
- my new favorite pinterest pinner (and a denver local!): cate anderson of the KIN collective.
- have i not told you yet that i am a treasure hunter? buy unique baby clothes at my etsy shop, ollie’s vintage, or unique items for your home on my blog! updated weekly.
other stuffs:
- ina may gaskin and her article about our country’s disproportionate obsession with home births.
- this dance video gave me goosebumps. i may have even teared up a little bit.
- a three-year-old teaches us how to pick up a chicken.
- i plan to utilize some ideas from this blog for playing with ramona and max.
- and finally, the lookbook for the new PS collection at ikea. due out august 2012. swoon.
saturday morning, for the first time since before ramona was born, i went estate sale shopping with my friend amanda, from the petrichor.
oh my. i used to do this every weekend but it’s rather hard to do when loading and unloading a baby at every stop. also, try lugging a baby around while searching for treasures in a house filled with other scavengers. impossible. so ramona spent the morning with jp’s parents and amanda and i followed the route we had mapped out the day before.
my loot was good. i was pleased. it felt good to get back out but, still, i was a bit rusty. my plan is to make this an at-least-once-a-month event. which means i may be revamping my etsy shop. again. or starting another one. bc, for me, it’s the hunt that is so much fun. my little house does not have enough room or wall space for all the treasures i bring back. so take a look around. let me know if there’s something you have your eye on. make me a deal. buy my stuff! (email me if you have more questions about any specific item).
the loot. twas a successful thrifting saturday morning.
clockwise from left: nude drawing $40, mexican print $20, oil on canvas $30
mexican rag dolls, $10 each ($5 for the little one); dhurri/kilim rug, $40
clockwise starting at top: woven purse, $30; woven bag, $15; woven basket, $8
here are some estate sale-ing tips:
- use websites like estatesales.net to find out about local estate sales going on. craigslist can be good too, esp for estate sales not run by third parties.
- map out a route beforehand. maximize your time and miles by sticking to one or two neighborhoods. if it’s yard sale season, sometimes you can squeeze these in between stops. just look for neon signs on the corner.
- don’t be afraid to do the slow drive-by for yard sales. don’t waste your time getting out if the yard sale is really just a bunch of junk that should’ve been donated or junked years ago.
- always carry cash. in many denominations.
- when you enter the house, quickly familiarize yourself with the organizers’ rules. do they take only cash? can you bargain? it helps to know how they like to run the show.
- do a quick walk through when you get inside the house. stop only for the goods that immediately catch your attention.
- then after this, go through more meticulously only if the house seems to hold promise for what you are looking for.
- always check the basement for hidden goodies. and the garage. some of my favorite finds come from these places usually overrun by weird men looking for tools.
- don’t be afraid to bargain. most people are down for knocking some bucks off, esp if you’ve got a lot of goodies. besides, the worse they can say is no.
- know what price you are willing to pay for something and walk away if you can’t get it. if you don’t follow this rule, you will end up with a lot of junk and spend too much money.
welcome
