remake project

I am completely charmed and amazed by the submissions to Booooooom.com's Remake/Photo Project, which asked entrants to remake famous works of art, using photography. Have you seen them?

Here are some of my favorites, but please be sure to visit the official site to see many many more of your favorite works of art re-imagined in new and entertaining ways. So fun, right?

bump news, week 31

A bump update is long overdue!

Baby continues to grow, while treating me to stronger and more emphatic kicks and wiggles. He/She seems to have more or less settled into a head down position (yay!) and is noticeably hiccuping all the time, which always makes me smile.

I feel pretty great, considering my rapidly increasing girth, and have enjoyed treating myself to some wardrobe additions in order to get through the 3rd-trimester in some semblance of comfort and style ;)

A favorite new piece is this Anthropologie sweater I got the day after Christmas on clearance. So soft and cozy, and completely belly-friendly. I've worn for the last three days in a row.

Perhaps you remember this Dinna Soliman dress from my last pregnancy? I wore it here and here.

Boots are from Zara, several seasons ago...belt from H&M.

And of course my favorite red lippy, Ruby Woo, by MAC.

Now that things are settling down from the move/holidays I'll be back with another update soon!

XOXO, Leigh

PS: FYI, see how we've grown...week 23, and week 21

sponsor marvelous kiddo in 2012!

Would you like to join the exciting group of Sponsors advertising on Marvelous Kiddo?

There's still some space available in January,

so email me if you're interested.

My rates are extremely affordable, and my audience continues to grow

(there have been over 97,000 page views so far this month!)

If you want to share your amazing product, shop, blog, or service with my lovely readers, please let me know. I look forward to working with you!

Thanks,

Leigh

3 great gifts

My mom totally made my Christmas by gifting me stacks and stacks of her old back issues of Mothering Magazine, Growing Without Schooling (including the very first issue!), and The Birth Gazette. I can't wait to pour through every one of them and share what goodies I find :)

fouquet on breastfeeding

Madonna Surrounded by Seraphim and Cherubim,

by Jean Fouquet (1420–1480)

Circa 1452, oil on oak

Height: 94.5 cm Width: 85.5 cm Depth: 1.2 cm

Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp

happy christmas eve

Sending wishes for tons of love and joy this holiday!

XOXO,

Leigh

PJ's courtesy of Polarn O. Pyret

van der weyden on breastfeeding

Virgin and Child Enthroned, Rogier van der Weyden

Circa 1433

Oil on panel. 15.8 x 11.4 cm

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Read more here.

boltraffio on breastfeeding

The Virgin and Child, Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio

Probably circa about 1493-9

The National Gallery, London

Read more about this piece, here.

flemish school circa 1600 on breastfeeding

Virgo Lactans, Flemish school. Circa 1600.

Oil on copper. Ebony frame with cherubs and silver.

29.5 x 22.5 cm.

tree trimming

I've fallen off the December Photo Project wagon in a big way, having let nine whole days pass without uploading any pics! We've just been so busy decorating and baking and shopping and readying the house for holiday festivities (lots of family will be arriving from out of town in the next couple of days to stay with us through early January) that I haven't given any attention to things internet-y. I wasn't planning the blog break, but I have to admit, it was kind of nice ;)

Over the weekend, we had a bunch of friends drop by, some of whom even stayed over for the night, and so I took advantage of the extra hands and house full of cheer, and enlisted those who were willing in the task of trimming the tree. We had so much fun sitting around the dining room table stringing popcorn garlands, painting glitter on sugar cookie ornaments, and otherwise bedazzling things. Laurel took charge of making beautiful translucent orbs (or as she called them, "little glowy fruit gems") for the tree by dehydrating slices of orange in a low-temp oven, and I was thrilled with the result. After all our work, I thought you would enjoy seeing the finished product. Thus, a tour of our tree:

coveting

These gorgeous stacking blocks from Fort Standard.

More for me than the kids.

amazing birth photographs

These are just a few of the breathtaking birth photos currently viewable in the National Geographic Photo Contest 2011.

To read more about the photos shown above, click the links:

"Pure Utter Joy" by Jane McCrae

"Between Two Worlds" by Tara Garner

"I Love You Baby" by Lynsey Stone

Some more of my favorite entries are here, here, and here.

Via Jodi @ Che and Fidel and my sis-in-law, Maddie. Thanks ladies!

Van Den Hengel on Breastfeeding

Moeder in Kind (1997), Laura Van Den Hengel

decorating ideas

Last night we got our first-ever actual (non-Charlie-brown-sized!) Christmas tree. At over 7 feet tall, we have a lot of decorating to do! The kids are finally getting old enough to enjoy doing crafty things, so I popped around to some of my favorite sites this morning to get some inspiration for making our own ornaments. Here are some of the goodies I love the best:

Salt dough ornaments via Filth Wizardry.

Pompom Snowman and Pipe Cleaner Snowflakes via Martha Stewart

Super-Simple Paper Stars via Annekata

Felt Ball Garland via Oh Happy Day

Origami Hanging Decorations via Mini-Eco

What is your favorite holiday DIY?

Leave a comment with a link if you know of a great tutorial!

monday giveaway

I have a really special and fun giveaway to present today, courtesy of The Style Mentors!

The Style Mentors provide a unique online stylist service, equipped to mentor you and your whole family to attain the style you desire. The stylists are a group of lifestyle fashion bloggers - all with impeccable and unique personal style. These ladies have first-hand experience with dressing themselves and their families in many different life stages. Meet The Mentors, to learn more about their individual style.

The Style Mentors are similar to that friend you go to for style advice when your frustrated with your clothes, stuck in a style rut or just need someone else to do the work of putting your outfit together. They mentor everyday women and their families out of the frustrating style rut.

The winner of this giveaway will be able to choose between the One Outfit package and the Style My Closet package. Read all the details here, and leave a comment on this post saying which one you would choose!

Comments will be open until Friday, December 16th at 11:59 pm. A winner will be chosen at random over the weekend and announced next week. Good luck!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Muddling Along Mummy, the winner of this giveaway!

backyard bill on families

I love this new series of family portraits by one of my favorite street-style photographers, Backyard Bill.

yesterday's photo

I was swooning over the decorations on this tree at the AMNH when we visited yesterday...an origami menagerie! I think my favorite touch was the veritable galaxy of paper stars encircling the tree, suspended from wire mobiles. Magical.

Here's an official video from the museum, telling more about the tree: