'Twas the Day Before Mommy Came Home

'Twas the day before mommy came home...

When all through the kitchen,
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a chicken.

That's how it goes, right?

Mom and dad had to go to Florida for some family things, so Zelda and I stayed home. When mom is away, things sure are quiet around the house...

At least mommy left us a nice and nutritious lunch. She gave us sandwiches, juice, and tea.


But, of course, I was mostly interested in the cupcakes and scones. I ate those in the living room, but let's not tell mom. I think I can get Turbo to take care of the crumbs for me.


While I filled up on sweets, Zelda insisted that she stay trim and not have any.

Ever since our trip to New York, she wants to be on Project Runway and make it big in the fashion industry. I'd rather make it BIG in the eating department (by getting mom to try lots of Paula Deen recipes)!


Mr. Chicken is sad that mom is so far away. He's been listless the whole time, but she will be home soon...


Until then, mommy and daddy want me to tell everyone that there are many people in their lives that they care about. We all hope they know that they are loved.

Ta-ta for now and lots of hugs from all of us to all of you out there.

Now go hug someone!

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Imagine that every moment is like a cupcake. I'd say that life gives you good cupcakes, bad cupcakes, and ugly cupcakes.

Let's start off with the GOOD cupcakes (like the ones from Gina's Halloween meet)...

The GOOD Cupcakes of Life

Mom and Jessica went to New York last weekend for Gina's Halloween gathering at her studio.

Mom's friend Leslie is a lawyer in Manhattan and lives in the city. She let mom and Jessica stay at her place. What an awesome friend.

Mom met Leslie in college. During their freshman year, they lived down the hall from each other. They hung out a lot. Apparently, mom's had a history of crashing at Leslie's for quite a while now because mom used to sleep on Leslie's futon all the time.

I believe this picture of Leslie's fridge proves how cool she is...


The weekend was filled with all kinds of beautiful things! Mom and Jessica spent lots of time walking in the city. There was so much to see that Zelda and I wish we could have stayed for just one more day.


Mom and Jessica took us to Union Square park right before the meet. They stopped to have breakfast at The Coffee Shop nearby...


The park was pretty and everything was dewy from the rain...







At the park, there was an amazing open-air market selling produce and flowers...






It was at the market that mom and Jessica found some succulents for Leslie as a thank-you gift. We hope she likes them!

Zelda, Maddie, Blanche, and I picked these three out for her. One papa bear size, one mama bear size, and one eenie-weenie baby size...


Then we headed over to Gina's studio. We had so much fun meeting Gina and all the other Blythe collectors that were at the gathering.

Gina was truly amazing. Mom and I were nervous like pancakes at IHOP on Senior Night, but she is so nice that we feel super-silly for having been nervous now.


She has the most amazing doll and toy collection. We've never seen anything so wonderful in our lives! It's like a Blythe paradise!!!

"Take me down to the paradise city, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty..."

- Paradise City, Guns 'n' Roses

We met lots of people while we were there. Here we are with Elena's and Eddo's girls. We didn't catch the name of Goldie's mom. Although, Goldie seemed a little shocked by Momoko's provocative pose. Momoko's my kind of gal!


After all the excitement that day, our moms took us to Times Square for some MORE excitement.




Of course, we had to eat... So we stopped at Pax for a quick bite.


After our bellies were full, Zelda-pants and I got a caricature done of us... The funny thing is that they drew us with people proportions instead of Blythe proportions (yet they draw people with Blythe proportions)! Ha ha.


The BAD Cupcakes of Life

It was inevitable... After all that fun, we had to pack and say good-bye to New York.




The UGLY Cupcakes of Life

And, of course, things just couldn't be perfect because Blanche made us wait for her the morning we left. She's cute as a button, but you never know what she's up to. She's a wild and mysterious one!

The morning that we were leaving, she decided to bring us some breakfast. Between you and me, though, it tasted a little... dusty.



And that was our trip! Hopefully, we'll get to go back someday!

Our New York Minute

Yay! We're back from New York, but there's no time to post all of our pictures yet. Hopefully, this will do for now!

Here we are with the one-and-only, amazing, talented, and beautiful Gina!


At the meet, Blanche and Zelda were embarrassed while Maddie was just bewildered by my Elvis singing voice.


Here are Zelda and I at Times Square!


Here we are at the airport on the way home! Zelda and I are such little tourists. You only live once, though, right?


Zelda and I will post more next weekend. Check back soon!

Blanche and Maddie - If you're reading this, mom promises to send you pictures soon!

Make Like a Tree and Get Out of Here

"Why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?"

- Biff Tannen, Back to the Future

Goody-two-shoes Zelda said that it's supposed to go "make like a tree and leave," but I'm not so sure about that. You can't argue with the wit and wisdom of Back to the Future.


Gramma and Grampa J now have a home in Connestee Falls, North Carolina. We were able to visit them this weekend and spent some quality time together.

On our way to North Carolina, mom tried to fix my hair in the car. She really did quite a terrible job. My bangs make Bozo the Clown look like Farrah Fawcett.

It took us a little over 3 hours to get there from Atlanta on Saturday, so it was a pleasant car ride. We got there and Gramma and Grampa J were there to greet us.

Zelda and I went to check out the bed right away. Yep, it passed the test! It was plenty comfy.


Then we explored a little outside.

Zelda found a pile of logs that Mr. Frank left for Gramma and Grampa J. They're there to keep everyone toasty through the winter.


I found a leaf. OK - so there were lots of leaves... But I found this one especially for mom and dad. It wasn't much to look at, but it had tons of personality.


On Sunday, Grampa J took us to see Connestee Falls. Mom insisted on putting tights on me. I didn't feel like cooperating much.


It was a pretty short trail, but we're lazy little bums and weren't used to all the hiking. We huffed and we puffed our way to the falls. Lucky for us, the trail is well-maintained and there were log stairs in some of the steep and slippery places.

Along the trail, we saw some fun-guys! If that's too cheesy for you, don't blame me. Grampa J taught me that one.

The view was worth the walk. The falls were really pretty. Even though mom and dad have been to some other waterfalls in North Carolina, they never get tired of looking for more. Every one of them is unique.

Nature sure is amazing, isn't it?


I thought I might take a closer look at one of the streams, but I was scared I'd fall in.


After seeing Connestee Falls, mom and dad took a leisurely drive around the area. There was an amazing look-off into a valley.

Zelda and I took a load off while dad worked on a panorama shot.



That night, we watched some TV with Grampa J in our PJs. Zelda says I look like a dork because I like to tuck my shirt into my pants. Hey, I guarantee it's going to be the hot new trend. Just remember that I started the comeback.


The grownups played mahjong after dinner. After all the exploring, though, Zelda and I called it a night.

Zelda: Gramma J says Grampa J doesn't like this comforter... What do you think?

Me: It looks OK, but it probably took hundreds of flowers and 10 leopards to make this thing.

Zelda: No way! This is an animal-friendly comforter!

Me: Zzzz...

We woke up fresh as daisies on Monday morning. We met up with Gramma and Grampa J and Mr. Frank and Ms. Pat in downtown Brevard.

We browsed around the White Squirrel Shoppe and tested out their rocking chair. I'm happy to report that it rocks like Van Halen! And that would be a lot.

Afterwards, the whole gang sipped some on some steamy drinks at nearby Quotations Cafe. Mom had a latte, dad had a chai, Gramma J had a coffee, Grampa J and Ms. Pat had cappuccinos, and Mr. Frank had an espresso. That's a lot of caffeine!

After everyone said their goodbyes, mom made sure that she dragged dad to O.P. Taylor's Toy Store, where she bought some Calico Critters playsets, some Chococat stickers, and a matryoshka doll keychain.

After that, mom and dad stopped in at the thrift store. Mom found some great deals on a Fire King casserole and a hobnail milk glass lamp. Dad found a set of Latin lounge/jazz records at a bargain price!

After a terrific and filling lunch at the Mexican restaurant, we had to head home.

We were sad to leave, but hopefully we'll get to go back again soon.