hollywood housewife

blissdom bonding, part II

Part I was here, but on Friday I was still in the thick of it and unable to tell how the conference would shape up for me.  This is my Blissdom 2012 recap.

Blissdom 2012 was my fourth blog conference, and the first that I could call a success (for me). Part of this was because I am more comfortable with myself, and with HH, in the blogosphere, and part of it was because of Blissdom itself.

three tips for flying with a baby

My trip to Nashville last week was the first time I've flown alone with 4-month-old Pirate.  It reminded me of 2010, when Pigtail and I lived on the airplane. While I settle in from our time in Tennessee, and prepare for another trip right away, please enjoy this repost from November 2010.  

Since Pigtail was born, I have flown with her twenty-three times.  23.  In 13 months.  This staggers me.  And yet, we've survived.  With very few bad experiences.  That's a testament to Pigtail's demeanor more than it is to my mothering skills, but you don't take two flights a month without a "system."

Here's a refresher of my current hard and fast rules for traveling with a baby or toddler:

1.)  If at all possible, Purchase a seat for the baby.  I know this isn't in the budget for everyone, but use miles or save up.  This decision will make a difference to your entire trip, if your flight is more than a couple of hours.  Trust me.  It is mentally and physically exhausting to wrestle with a baby on your lap for hours.

2.)  One carry-on bag only.  Seriously.  The less you have to juggle, the less frazzled you'll be.  It can be a big bag.  Preferably a hands free bag.  A large backpack is ideal, and I am the first to admit that backpacks are not cute.  But they are oh-so-functional for travel, so slap on some extra lipgloss if you're feeling un-cute wearing it. 

My process involves packing my backpack the same way every time, so I know exactly where everything is when I need it.  My chargers go in a certain pocket, the diapers & wipes go in a certain way, etc.  I make a big effort to pre-board the plane, and I arrange everything that I will need for the whole flight, putting the bottle in the seat pocket, and the diapers within easy reach.  Being organized every step of the way keeps me and my seatmate stranger happy.

There is nothing that you need that won't fit into one bag.  I promise that you need WAY less than you think you do, both for yourself and for the baby.  (I write more in-depth about this here.)

3.)  Wear cargo pants.  There is a line in Jonathan Franzen's Freedom that says, "...Joey struck up a conversation with the mother, Ellen, who was pretty without being attractive and was wearing the stretch cargo pants that a certain kind of mom favored nowadays."  Consider myself that kind of mom.  When traveling alone with the baby, having my phone, ID, and $20 in pockets within immediate reach make the day that much easier. 

There's lots of ways to do the baby-travel thing.  Whatever your way, these three things apply to you.  Do you have a travel tip to add?  Share in the comments!

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This is a summation of my past posts on traveling with an infant.  Read the originals here and here.

Mondays are the day I've set aside to talk about all things mommy.  Click here for past Mommy Mondays.

my favorite looks from the 2012 oscars

I've been watching every minute of the Academy Awards since I was a little girl, and this year's broadcast was the worst one I can remember.  Boring, dated, and predictable. 

And that included the fashion.  I wasn't blown away by anything all night, but here are the ones I didn't hate:

And in a weird twist, one of my favorite dresses of the night was not on an actress, but on the host of the E! Red Carpet show.

My oscar watching experience was further tainted by getting thrown in twitter jail.  I guess when you tweet too much within a short amount of time, twitter thinks that you're spam and locks you out.  Crazy!  I'm don't even tweet that much in general, but between the Blissdom blog conference and the Academy Awards, my fingers were flying. 

I plan on being pretty quiet this week to give my sweet followers a break from my voice.

Did you watch?  Who were your favorite looks?

blissdom bonding

No Friday links today as I'm in Nashville at the Blissdom blog conference.  I got here on Wednesday and the official conference kicks off on Friday.  In the meantime, I've been bonding with old friends and new and getting lost at Opryland.

So much has happened already and it has only been a few hours.  There is really something so exhilerating about being in a hotel full of women who share your same passions.

Happy weekend, HH readers!

the marriage plot and prep

Will you think less of me if I admit that half the reason I was drawn to The Marriage Plot was because I really liked the cover?  I mean, it was Jeffrey Eugenides, I assumed it was going to be at least okay.  But it was the cover that sealed the deal.

I read Eugenides' Middlesex years ago.  And it was weird.  But I don't mind weird.  It was well written.  The Marriage Plot isn't much like Middlesex, except that it's well written.

I thought it was an interesting take on a frustrated, literary, college girl and the two boys who love her.  I thought it was an interesting take on mental illness, in the years before you fully understand that it's a disease and not something to be romanticized.

On goodreads and amazon, I saw how many people were talking about all the classic literary allusions and how that made the novel so special.  But I only caught a few of the more obvious ones.  I'm sure I would appreciate it more if someone pointed out all the rest of them.  I see no shame in having perspectives of art spelled out for you.

I really liked Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife, even though I wasn't supposed to because it was loosely based on the life of Laura Bush, and not in a flattering way.  But I love Laura Bush and I really liked American Wife and I could separate the two just fine.

I received Prep through BookMooch after someone told me that it was one of their favorites.  And judging by the comments I received when I mentioned on the HH FB page that I was reading it, it lands on quite a few "favorites" lists. 

I'm not sure how old she is now, but I think Sittenfeld is one of those writers who truly, deeply, remembers what it's like to be very young, lost past when most of us have blocked the memory from our heart.  I found the emotions in Prep to take me back to a time when I was equal parts confident and insecure, and when my actions could be wholly mistaken for the opposite of what I meant.  The same could all be said of me now, but the formula is totally different.

Prep was uncomfortable and affirming, which all coming-of-age novels should be.  I was less concerned with the main character's romantic involvements (or lack thereof) than I was with her relationship with her parents.

I guess that officially makes me an old fogie?

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Are you reading anything interesting?  You can read all of my book reviews, you can connect with me on goodreads, or you browse my all-time favorite reads.

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mother musings

Mondays are my designated day to talk about all things (mundane and complicated) motherhood.

I used to look at moms with style - moms still in their stilettos and size 2 dresses on a daily basis - and think, “That’s how I want to be.”

Now I look at the mom who has, by most standards, “let herself go” and there is no judgment.  I know where the series of decisions came from that led her to choose sweats over skinny jeans for her afternoon errands. 

I am no longer impressed by the mom who can look flawless.  Maybe her cookies taste like dirt. 

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It doesn’t matter how long you stare up at the ceiling in bed, pouring your mind over images from the day, reminding yourself how fleeting this time is, how beautiful your children are, how it won’t always be like this.

There will still come a time when you look back nostalgically, and then you’ll think about how fleeting time is, how beautiful your children are, and how it won’t always be like this.

There is no answer to the time war.  You just have to enjoy it as it happens and not beat yourself up about “staying in the moment.”

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I’ve been having these dreams lately where stuff gets stolen from our house, where I discover that someone has taken things from us but done no other real harm.  They go hand in hand with the other anxiety dreams I have, where I can’t get the correct phone number dialed or where I’m driving too fast down a hill.

I don’t need a psychologist to tell me what the dreams mean.  I know what they signify. 

I’ll probably keep having them.

blissdom bound

I'm headed to the Blissdom blog conference in Nashville this week, and I couldn't be more excited about it.  In general, blog conferences exhaust me, but after two straight Bloghers, I'm craving the more intimate and less frenetic vibe of Blissdom. 

I'm a community leader for Blissdom newcomers and for the Fashion/Style niche.  Unlike other blog conferences, where the sessions consist of simply panels and lectures, Blissdom is trying something new with their take-away content.  Each session with have a hands-on time with community leaders and small group roundtables.  Since it's really difficult to cover any sort of topic with a room full of bloggers at all different levels, I'm really curious to see how this new format plays out. 

If you plan on attending Blissdom, please make sure and find me and introduce yourself!  I'll be tweeting from the conference, so follow me here if you're interested, and of course I'll do a wrap up post next week about my experience. 

friday links - subscriber {giveaway} edition!

**This giveaway is closed and the winner is announced at the bottom**

I do giveaways about twice a month, and I'm really picky about what I pass along to my readers.  A couple of weeks ago, I did my first facebook-only giveaway (a beautiful pair of jade Stella + Dot earrings), to recognize the HH facebook page members.

photoshop kitchen decisions

We knew when we bought our house in summer 2010 that we wanted to do a few cosmetic things to the kitchen down the road.  After a complete demo and remodel to the kitchen in our former house, we are totally spoiled and want to be just as in love with this kitchen.  It is where we spend the most time as a family.

It's a great space.  It has beautiful light throughout the day and we don't mind the layout.  It just needs some updating.  Here is what it looked like when we closed on the house:

vegas valentines

In 2009 and 2011, we were surprised by the biggest news of our lives - babies!  In 2012, very, very sure that there would be no such surprise this year, we spent the weekend before Valentines Day in Vegas.

Now, let me preface by saying that Vegas is not my favorite place on earth.  And yet, I keep finding myself there.  But this weekend was different than any of my other Vegas trips.  It was actually mellow. 

If a Motley Crue concert can be mellow.