Ideas & Inspirations
January 27th, 2012 | Posted in
Features
It was a nice way to be welcomed home
I don’t know where the week went. It’s all a hazy blur. I have foggy memories of lunch packing, suitcase unpacking, meetings, signing school papers, searching neighbors’ lawns for errant nerf darts, an attempt to get into Downton Abbey, and an impression of Eddie Vedder.
“Um, you should probably stop that.”
“What? You don’t like my Eddie Vedder impression?”
“That’s what that is?”
See what I mean? A totally hazy blur…
Okay, so let’s get on with the Friday links. Here are a few links that compelled me to comment on this week. Now I’m kind of shy (Eddie Vedder impressions notwithstanding) so I consider this a major breakthrough moment…
Oscar watch is on!
All these people went to Alt and I only met a handful of them (sniff!)
Keeping the mystery
Making junk mail beautiful
Uncrushing a dream. <--If you read nothing else on this list, read this one. It's completely brilliant!
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
January 26th, 2012 | Posted in
Arts & Crafts, Games & Creative Play
What's on our Baltimore treasure map? Why Fifi, food trucks, Fort McHenry, Walters Art Museum, Charm City Cakes, and the harbor of course
A conversation I had last week went something like this…
Heather: “I have this idea for getting a whole gaggle of kids together to make a treasure map, integrating the whole big idea of collaboration. You want in?” 
January 25th, 2012 | Posted in
Features
We’ve all seen kid bedrooms shot for magazines, design blogs and floating around on pinterest. But what about REAL kids’ bedrooms? The super cool Allison from All for the Boys shares a peek inside some of our favorite bloggers kids’ rooms. I think you’ll find it quite affirming. I know I did.
*photos above are from my kids’ room. The much loved Owl is from klt:works & new favorite snuggly, Octopie, is from LemonPie.
January 25th, 2012 | Posted in
Features
When you grow up with a dad who's a photographer, you learn valuable lessons
...like how to bounce light and break down equipment
...and the art of getting your subject to smile.
January 24th, 2012 | Posted in
Parenting
photos Dave K Cooper
Over the weekend, Baltimore got its first bit of snow. I knew this because when I called home from Salt Lake City to check in on the fam, the first thing out of my son’s mouth was, “Guess what?! We got snow! And guess what else?! Daddy’s taking us sledding!”
Do you remember what that felt like as a kid? That pure joy? A time when you’re too young to shovel or deal with the mess of school delays, icy roads and salt stains. No, none of that is your concern. All you’re thinking about is grabbing your sled, finding a hill, and soaking in the beauty of a wide open speedway.
Bundled up tight, you climb aboard, say a prayer and hold on for dear life. As you whoosh down, you alternate between feeling pure delight and pure fear. The base of the hill comes before you know it. Out you tumble—arms and legs akimbo. You find yourself in fits of giggles, and thankful you’re just bruised, nothing’s broken. But you don’t lay there. Instead, you get up, race back up the hill and do it again. Tomorrow you’ll be sore. But the achiness is how you know it was real.
As adults, why do we keep getting back up even though life is hard, and we’re not exactly sure what’ll happen next? I’m not entirely sure. Maybe, it’s a lesson we learned long ago: that in the end, the joy of the ride is far greater than the discomfort and embarrassment of tumbles taken along the way…
Bundled up tight, you climb aboard, say a prayer and hold on for dear life. As you whoosh down, you alternate between feeling pure delight and pure fear. The base of the hill comes before you know it. Out you tumble—arms and legs akimbo. You find yourself in fits of giggles, and thankful you’re just bruised, nothing’s broken. But you don’t lay there. Instead, you get up, race back up the hill and do it again. Tomorrow you’ll be sore. But the achiness is how you know it was real.
January 23rd, 2012 | Posted in
Features
Alone in Pajamas (feeling alone, writing into a vacuum) | Kind of sums up what made Alt so fantastic. They get you. They really get you.
I’m going to be honest here, I don’t know where to begin with this wrap up. All I can say is, it’s kind of mind-boggling what can happen in 72 hours. You walk in thinking, “What am I doing here?” and walk out feeling, “I got this thing.”
I guess what I’m saying is, if you’re creative (which, of course you are!) and you’re a blogger, start saving now for next year.
In the meantime, here are two wrap ups that should give you a sense of what this Alt thing is all about: here’s one and two. Many thanks to Estelle for the Old Sweet Song link.
I have another Alt post planned later this week. In the meantime, throw me your questions about the conference below. I’ll answer ‘em best I can.
January 22nd, 2012 | Posted in
Ideas and Inspiration
Have you ever clicked on the Issues tab up there in the header? No?! Well, you’re in for a special treat. Click on over for some great Sunday reading. You’ll find thoughtful essays, beautiful photos, projects for the kids and more. Happy Sunday!
January 18th, 2012 | Posted in
Features
Packing
In a few hours I’m hopping on a plane and heading west. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. You know what I’m most looking forward to? Sunday morning. When I’ll be back home, eating waffles, telling my daughter all about the parties…
“I want to know everything about the parties!”
showing my son what goodies I brought back…
“Do you think you’ll get anything good? If so, can I have it?”
and telling Dave what I learned…
“You need this. I know you’ll come back full of ideas.”
Which of course I’ll share with you all! I’m not sure how much tweeting I’ll be doing. I’m much more of a writer downer than a typer outer. But I’ll do my best for you guys.
One last thing before I head out… Yesterday, the kids and I tested out the project I have in the newspaper I’m handing out at the conference. In a nutshell: it asks readers to make something out of it—like the paper bag creativity challenge, but more colorful.
My daughter wanted to turn it into a gift bag. We got directions here and I helped a bit. My son wanted to make a truck with no help at all. “Don’t look up how to do it on the computer or anything.”
Have a great week everyone! I’ll see you back here next week.
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