newly local

Went to the mall yesterday and discovered that Nordstrom is now carrying boys' and girls' clothing from Peek, Aren't You Curious. You can get Peek's clothes online here and via Nordstrom's website as well. But it sure was fun to check out in person. Prices are a teeny bit high, but the quality and style are worth it, at least for a piece or two. The boys' collection is especially good. Though Charlie won't go near shirts with buttons or plaid shorts, he did agree that this T-shirt was cool:

Image from nordstrom.com

I got him this one, too—and just might be wearing it myself since he said it was "weird."

Image from nordstrom.com

back garden

Isn't that the British phrase? Well, we are hardly British, but we do have a garden in back of our house. It's not exactly my baby: The previous owners put it there; my husband is way more of a gardener than I am; and the layout is kind of goofy (bare patches, a huge Japanese maple right in the middle of everything). Plus my son likes to dig big holes. But I love eating dinner at outdoor table on warm (enough) nights, and having furniture out there makes it feel like our house has another room.

Tiny flowers (weeds?) growing against the house

I think these are called grape muscari

Daffodils need no introduction

Of course, the best part is the weeping cherry.

Tessa likes it too.

wedge issue

"Don't you have some just like that already?" —Tessa, on seeing my new shoes

My name is Nadya S., and I have a problem with wedges. Cork, espadrille, wood: I love them all. Wedges give you (relatively stable) height, they make your strides longer, they can make blah clothes edgier. They anchor you. The wood ones even give you a nice clip-cloppy sound effect. I've worn wedges for years, and it seems I find a new variation each season. I'd just gotten a perfect new pair with black straps, silver linings, and a really high cork heel. I wore them happily one early-spring day.

Then I lined my wedges up and realized how many pairs I have—of shoes that are almost exactly the same. Nobody needs eight of the same shoes. I'll try to stop. Really.

momfilter

Image from momfilter.com

The world doesn't need another cool-mom blog. But momfilter.com is worth a look. Hosted by former Cookie editors, Momfilter calls itself a "lifestyle playbook." But it's really just a series of recommendations—both casual and considered, about everything from parenting styles to family vacations to weeknight recipes to cute snow boots that aren't Uggs—from women who are way, way cooler than the rest of us. And I know I can always use a little more coolness.

another sign

Pretty morning light in the living room, branches from the weeping cherry tree in the side yard

small sign of spring

I noticed these planters in Anthropologie yesterday—not for sale, just part of the store's merchandising. They're so simple and cute I might have to steal their idea and get some myself. I snuck a peek at the labels underneath: Ikea. Done.

on the walls

A  wildflower canvas in Tessa's room, plus a Paper Source banner

Sometimes friends who come over are surprised by the art on our walls—mainly, I think, by the fact that we have some. We try not to be snobs. We're not too proud to frame posters. A Wayne Thiebaud cake print has hung in every kitchen we've had since we lived in California after college:

Two cake slices on the poster; forgive my bad photography

Most of our art, though, we've bought online. And we haven't paid much for it. One great source, for housewares and and jewelry as well as art, is supermarkethq.com—a sort of edited etsy (as on that huge site, you deal directly with artists) for people with a clean, modern aesthetic, like Sean Finocchio's altered photos of taco trucks and seedy motels in Southern California:

The British firm boldandnoble.com sells beautiful, simple, graphic posters (and has great styling in its shots). 

Image from boldandnoble.com

Robin Rosenthal, a former Martha Stewart design guru, now puts out graceful, super-chic kids' posters of letters and numbers at robinrosenthal.bigcartel.com— and she's so sweet that she sent me a personal thank-you email when I bought her blue print for Charlie a few years ago. (She also created this adorable app: papertownfriends.com.) 

Tara Hogan, who runs inkandwit.com out of a barn in upstate New York, makes letterpress prints with sweet but not precious animal imagery. Her "Pommebirds" looks perfect over Tessa's bed:

Sharon Montrose's gorgeous animal photography, available at theanimalprintshop.com, has made the round of style blogs (and now graces our front hall and dining room). 

Image from theanimalprintshop.com

Yes, I do have a weakness for animal art: I'm thinking the next thing I get will be one of the lovely (and really, really reasonable) watercolors from an Italian artist named Dimdi on etsy.com. This ibis, maybe?

Image from dimdi