Ringing Endorsements, Volume III

singing bowl mamasteAnother week behind us, and I feel a tide is turning. Em has entered that “easy” stage, where she still can’t move anywhere of her own volition, but she can amuse herself for short stretches of time. I no longer have to have my boob out 24/7 and, slowly but surely, work is picking up. I’m loving the whole mom thing, but it’s not all I am. Once again, I’ve found a precarious sort of balance.

So what was I enjoying this week, aside from a rising level of overall sanity?

Teething jewelry. Or rather, the existence of teething jewelry. I suspect Em is approaching the teething stage, as she’s been blowing lots of bubbles and smacking herself in the face in a self-soothing sort of way (babies are weird). But she’s not quite there yet. Still, I was excited to see these chic teething necklaces in my Twitter feed, and my good friend Nicole actually bought me this teething necklace, which is my favorite color and also sort of reminds me of mala beads. It’s nice to be able to wear “jewelry” again, because I’ve always enjoyed wearing necklaces but don’t want Em getting all grabby with my good ones. And all of these are super cute.

Clever coffee mugs. I have a problem. A mug problem. At one point, we had to full shelves worth of coffee mugs in our kitchen. I had to force myself to consolidate, and I managed to get us down to one (crowded) shelf. Still, it’s hard for me to resist cute mugs when I see them, and Emily McDowell has some flippin’ cute mugs. I was going to link to my favorite, but then I realized I would be linking to almost all of them.

The Fine Grind. I managed to get out for lunch this week, Em in tow. I met up with an old friend at the Fine Grind, a coffee bar in Little Falls, NJ I used to go to quite regularly, with my laptop instead of a baby. They have free, unlimited WiFi and an extensive drinks menu and ham and brie wraps (I love brie) and we should all hang out there sometime. For reals.

French Women Don’t Get Fat. It’s that time of year when I’m not allowed to buy new books for myself because Christmas is approaching. Coincidentally, it’s also that time of year when I also run out of new books to read. And so I end up reading some old favorites. Right now, one of those old favorites is Mireille Guiliano’s French Women Don’t Get FatBecause even though I don’t believe in dieting, I do believe in healthy lifestyle changes. And Giuliano is all about healthy lifestyle changes that leave room for bread, chocolate, and Champagne. Plus the way in which she imparts her wisdom is quite engaging.

The Art of the Interview. I can’t remember when I first read this one, but it seems like the perfect time for a re-read. Because even though I prefer writing personal essays that don’t require me to interact with other human beings, my main gig at this point in time requires lots of interviewing. So it’s nice to review the basics. You should read Lawrence Grobel’s The Art of the Interviewtoo if you’re in a similar line of work.

mom.me. I’m pretty sure most of you are aware of this by now but, just as a reminder, I’m now blogging about motherhood for mom.me. The site has a great community of moms (and dads!)  behind it, and it’s been a whole lot of fun getting back into that writing groove with Em as my muse. In case you missed it, my latest post is about my social anxiety, and how I’m worried it will affect Em. You can keep track of all mom.me posts at their brand new Facebook page, Mom’s the Word.

Ciao for now!

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