Spring Clothes

I want this bag Is there any color more elegant than pale gold? And it goes with everything. And it's huge, for, you know, diapers.

Which brings us to the problem of spring clothes this year. Having a baby in May makes it difficult to predict one's size for June and beyond. I bought a gorgeous silver silk/wool pencil skirt and I have my eye on the Road Ahead Dress from Anthropologie.

Also, everything J.Crew makes is looking really good to me right now, and Butterick has some super polished ladylike dresses in their Spring pattern collection.

Concession to Maternity

I cannot zip my winter coats anymore, so I bought this coat on final sale from Gap Maternity. I have so far made do with 3 pairs of maternity pants as my only concessions to a rapidly expanding waistline, but being pregnant is hard enough without being cold too. Plus, this is less likely to show black dog hair than my white parka. I am knitting a red scarf and a grey cashmere hat to go with it.

Cashmere and Canines

Does anyone else find the glut of articles on "How to Save Money because the Economy is so Terrible and Everyone's Broke" unneccesary and depressing? Unneccesary because everyone knows how to save money: don't spend it. Don't buy plasma tvs, houses you can't afford, new ridiculous gas-guzzling SUVs, or bottled water. Do, however, buy cashmere sweaters, down comforters for every bed, and a dog. They keep the heating bills down and provide you with exercise. A prudent investment is always smart, bad economy or no.

Update - Fortuny Silk Velvet Jacket

I received the velvet fabric over Christmas break and have been plugging away at it a little bit at a time. I did cut out a lining of silk dupioni, but it seemed too stiff to me when I pinned it in. I tried on the jacket without it and liked the drape better, so I am just doing a rolled hem around the whole thing. It's taking a while, since every bit must be sewn by hand, but it's a relaxing project for movie nights.

Let's Talk Gardening

The seed and plant catalogs are coming in this month and we've been enjoying leafing through them and planning our 2009 garden. The Thompson and Morgan catalog has lots of gorgeous sweet peas, including my favorite - the lovely Rosemary Verey. This seed is an exception to the rule that mixes are generally awful - all the colors are gorgeous and you always get a few of each.

Jung Seeds is offering semi-dwarf Honeycrisp apple trees. I am outspoken in my love for the Honeycrisp apple. It is extremely seasonal - October is its month. Apple trees need a pollinator, so we'll put this close to our pink-flowering crabapple. That will be quite a sight in the spring!

We are having a baby in May, so the tomatoes and peppers will go in as plants - I can't grow as many varieties this way, but it does make our lives easier. Generally I plant Brandywine, a nice old-timey heirloom variety that is usually available as plants at the nursery.
I had a mad passion for zucchini, mostly made into zucchini pancakes, last summer, and as I didn't grow any myself, I traded my millions of cucumbers for them. This year, I am planting zukes.

My husband is planning a garden expansion, so we'll have more room for:
basil
lemon basil
dill
tomatoes
zucchini
cucumbers
nasturtiums
marigolds
peas
cranberry beans
swiss chard

In the lower beds for herbs and fruit we have 5 blackberry (or perhaps raspberry, we'll see this summer) bushes, 9 strawberry plants (which need bird netting), tarragon, rosemary, sage, lavender, lemon thyme, thyme, parsley and oregano. The parsley was a volunteer that came in the same pot as the strawberries and grows very happily in their bed, too.

I need a PA

I dream of having a personal assistant. Someone to return books to the library, run to the post office, walk the dog and call for pizza. Someone to buy running shoes, dish towels, paper towels and shampoo. Throw out the junk mail. Pick up prescriptions, shop for strawberries and roses, find butter pecan ice cream and address Christmas cards.

And then all I would have to do is come home from work, play with Jack, eat said strawberries, and put my feet up.

Lean, Mean January Machine

Well, not exactly. The usual progression of Christmas indulgence through January abstemiousness does not apply to the pregnant woman. The craving for pate and cookies has not been replaced by one for Smartwater and cucumber slices. And that's okay. I've had a baby before, and when he was 2, I weighed what I weighed in high school. It can be done.

I do, however, have some New Year's Resolutions, although not of the celery-and-treadmill type.
1. Practice yoga every day.
2. Teach Jack to read and write
3. Save $10,000
4. Finish knitting purple sweater
5. Learn to make macarons
6. Finish painting kitchen
7. Learn to play piano
8. Compost kitchen waste
9. Take out recycling every 2 weeks

Some things on there are for me, some for Jack, some for the environment, some for the household. And I'm almost done with the purple sweater, so I'm well ahead on my resolutions already.