moms weekend

 

mom's weekend is the best kind of weekend. it's when my moms, both biological (shout out to helley!) and not-so-biological-but-still-awesome-ladies, come to philadelphia and play with me. we had quite an itinerary but we managed to squeeze it all in. frankford hall for german beer and jenga and burgers, magpie for a slice of butterscotch bourbon, south street for a festival, federal donut to sample all the flavors, hot diggity for exotic dogs, my b-movie improv show, farmers cabinet for a speakeasy cocktail and swing band, hitting up the bar with my roommates, splitting late night cheesesteaks, and in the morning, grabbing sunday brunch at hawthornes. combine all this + excessive food and drink + way to much walking and you have a recipe for a good night's sleep.

i loved showing these ladies around town though. it always helps to see philly through the eyes of a stranger. things i normally take for granted or think are meh suddenly become wonderful and original and fun and the feeling lingers even after my loved ones have left the city. thanks for a terrific weekend ladies.

mums

 

so you know how i wrote about my grandma? and was doing all kinds of things that reminded me of her last night? well, last night, i was knitting in bed. and watching upstairs, downstairs. and i had just slipped a bunch of stitches to stitch holders. because that's how it goes when you're knitting a sweater. 40 stitches on one; 20 on another; 100 on the last. stitch holders are these giant metal wire things that look like safety pins. the 100 stitch one was a little small so the stiches snaked up around the curve at the bottom, all jammed on. 

then, in true Caitlin fashion, i fell asleep. with my knitting on the pillow next to me. 

this morning, i woke up and noticed something magenta down by my feet. it was the stitch holder. with no stitches on it. so i checked my knitting, which was still sitting up by my head. all 100 stitches were there, sans stitch holder. also: did i mention I look my bedroom door everynight? and this morning it was still locked? 

there are several explanations here: 

1. i'm a crazy sleepwalker with enough patience and skill to slip off 100 stitches from a stitch holder. 

2. mice? 

3. my house used to be a church - ghosts of church ladies? 

4. it was a sign from my grandma, the woman who taught me to knit. just a little prank to say hey. this is the explanation i like the best. i'm going with this one. 

also, back when my grandparents used to live at their old house, they had a big greenhouse. it was connected to the garage and it was beautiful. i was into the smell. and every year, they grew a butt-load of mums. all colors. just tons of the suckers. and then, when fall rolled around, they gave them all away. people from church, coworkers, family, neighbors, my mom's sisters- whoever. they all came over and took the mums. and i love that tradition. i want a green house for that exact thing. to grow flowers to give away. 

i was thinking about this tradition last week and bought myself a mum. then i sprayed painted a plastic cauldron gold and planted it. gotta start somewhere. 

 

i think about my grandma at least once a day. pillows from her old guest room are on my bed as well as the quilt she gave me when i graduated, the same quilt her grandmother gave her. the patches on it came from her old clothes.

the little velvet couch and chair in the corner of my room were from her house as well and i wear her signet ring on a gold chain around my neck every day. i alternate between five pairs of her gold earrings.

i'm knitting a sweater and christmas presents for my family. i'm sewing my own halloween costume. she taught me the skills to do both.

this week a woman at work asked me a few questions about a scarf she's working on. at one point i found myself saying, "if you're not happy with it now, you never will be." a truth passed down by her.

i made her baked apples tonight. i'll make her baked man'n'cheese tomorrow night. i think of her when i put on perfume in the morning. i think of her when i'm choosing my outfits. would grandma janet wear this? she was always so put together.

i think i miss her more and more as i begin to see how deeply she's influenced me. so much of her has become a part of me. i was recently thinking about how much i would have loved to take her thrifting. how much i would have loved to show her around my house and cook her a meal. how happy she would be that i get to craft at work.

thinking of you every day. 

city life

 

i'm pretty future minded. i'm always thinking about what i want to do, where i want to live. i make a lot of lists. i plan trips and parties.

and every now and then i stop and look at my life, and i think to myself - i don't totally remember what i planned on doing at this point, but i'm pretty sure this isn't it. did i plan on living in philadelphia and working a 9-5 job? did i plan on dating a boy who lives two hours away? did i think i would look and dress this way? did i think i would think this way? did i imagine myself doing improv two to four nights a week? where did i see myself?

i don't even remember.

and i'm sure that two years from now, i won't even remember the plans i made for future me in the present. which begs the question, what's the point in planning anything? things aren't going to go as planned and that's not even a bad thing. it's just a thing. 

when i was in kindergarten, i imagined that sixteen year old caitlin would only wear stick-out-belly shirts and date a guy with a ponytail and a red convertible. when i was fourteen, i thought i would live in new york and be on broadway, despite my lack of vocal ability. i've wanted to be a journalist, the president, a teacher, and a doctor. and i'm not those things. and i don't want those things anymore. isn't it strange that we can change so much and still be the same person?

the point of the matter is, if you asked me five years ago where i thought i would be post-graduation, i would have never in a thousand years told you that i would be cramming a weeks worth of groceries into a bike basket and teetering home in the rain. never planned on that one.

camp

 

things i learned at camp this summer: 

 1. my family loves chips. more than anyone else on the planet. they love chips more than the inventor of chips. more than chips' own mother. 

2. my family also love sandwiches. and for damn good reason. sandwiches are king. 

3. paddling a canoe ten miles means rewarding yourself with ten beers. 

4. i am the worst corn hole player. 

5. i am the best corn hole cheerleader. 

6. my aunts are hilarious. though i already knew this one. 

7. everything is funnier when you say it in bane's voice. (bane. you know. from dark knight rises? if you don't know, stop blogging and go educate yourself.)

8. campfire smell doesn't leave your head until three washes later. 

9. that baby, baby nick, is the king of the babies. unstoppable. 

birthday thyme

 

three things that make my aunt karen's birthday special:

1. it's my aunt karen. the wonderful aunt with the beautiful cats who always bought us books for christmas and took us to volunteer at the cat shelter. she had the cats soundtrack and a huge, high bed with brass detailing. she took me to london when i was 15 and we had a jolly good time. she's been all over the world and has exposed brick in her house - i think we all aspire to a life like that.
2. it's also my half birthday. i like this connection.
3. IT'S THE BEST DINNER IN THE WORLD. there is a set dinner for aunt karen's birthday and it is only created once a year, like thanksgiving. it consists of stuffed flank steak, twice baked potatoes, butterhorn rolls, some vegetable, and devil's delight for dessert. it is worth driving four hours in one day to enjoy this dinner. it blows my mind with it's amazingness. and it is absolutely fitting that it only be served on the birthday of an amazing lady.

question for the audience: what's your birthday meal? death row meal? most eaten meal? 

oh what a beautiful morning

 

this is my bed in the morning. i love these pillows so much, i've been motivated to make my bed every morning. they're pillows from my grandparents house and it's such a nice reminder of them and all the memories i have with them. i can think about them right before i go to bed and first thing in the morning. fairly ideal way to start and end a day.

famous dad

 
did i mention my dad's picture is in a book? a book called dads are the original hipsters? because it totally is.

i used to follow the blog dads are the original hipsters and when they called for submissions, i totally jumped on it because my dad is AWESOME and we are lucky enough to have a whole slew of pictures to testify to this awesomeness. i submitted the picture in early 2011 and didn't hear anything back, or see it on the blog, so i thought nothing of it.

fast forward to may of 2012 - i'm in universal studios watching some sinbad show and i get a text from beth cozzolino. it's the above picture asking, "is this your dad?" apparently, the book came out and was being sold at urban outfitters and barnes and nobles all over the place. i immediately bought the book and surprised my dad with it as an early father's day gift. now his amazingness if forever immortalized in print. LOOK AT HOW COOL THIS GUY IS! 

tall guy in a little house

 
this is my giant brother in a cardboard house. those are his real glasses. and that is his real face. all pretty hard to believe, i know.  

baby nick

 

baby nick came to play with us! although, he's looking a little bit more like little man nick and less like baby nick. he's so tall! and cruising around just like a little dude! he's a man of few words still - he totally understands everything you're saying but chooses to respond in points and grunts. he's giggly and smiley though and oh dear god, so cute! having babies around is always the best.