market day is here again /  by jen geigley


In case you haven't heard me mention this enough, Market Day is tomorrow! From 9-5 at 118 SE 4th Street, here in lovely Des Moines, Iowa. (Here's a map if you need one.)

Tomorrow morning is also the Race for the Cure. I'll be there with a fantastic group of women early tomorrow morning, hopefully not freezing our pants off.
Photobucket
Then I'll be running over to the 120 year old Market Building in the East Village for Market Day. Here are some of the hand-knits I'm bringing!

And here are just a few things you can expect to see...

Paintings.

Darby Shannon's awesome desserts.

Otherwise known as Darby Cakes. They're somewhat legendary.

Jeff Bonker's paintings and collage works.

Hand-knits.

Spookshow Pinups, by my pal Anthony.

If you stop by, you'll also see lots of friendly faces.




(All of the awesome photos above are by the talented Dani Ausen.)

So, seriously. Stop out to see us; I promise it's going to be a good time. Hope to see you there!

where the wild things are. /  by jen geigley



So, were you wondering what Lotus was going to be for Halloween this year?
Why, DJ Lance Rock, of course.

She's pretty thrilled with the costume choice and has been wearing this get-up quite a bit at home already. (She even likes to have the hat and glasses on.)

Last weekend, we spent a sunny warm afternoon trick-or-treating where the wild things truly are, Night Eyes at Blank Park Zoo.

It's such a fun chance to get dressed up before Halloween, and see the zoo one more time before winter hits.

They have peacocks wandering around un-caged, and Bo snapped this gorgeous pic.

We got to see (and hear) the tiger up-close and personal.

They have lots of decorations and lights set up throughout the zoo, but these guys are my favorite.

Lo did a great job practicing her 'trick or treat' skills.

And we met Clifford ...

... and Curious George.

It was a super fun afternoon, and we can't deny it ... Lotus makes a super cute DJ Lance. Her costume is just plain ...

it's a mom thing. /  by jen geigley


If you're a mom, you will recognize these two lovely ladies. They're Heather and Whitney – the faces behind Rookie Moms – two geeky girls' guide to the first year of motherhood. (And beyond.) I'm kind of a big fan.

I have turned to this site time and time again since Lo was born for crafty ideas, fun activities, a healthy dose of honesty and a good laugh. They offer a handy age-appropriate guide of great things for moms to do (with their baby or without) during those first few years of motherhood. Even experienced parents are going to find a lot of really cool new ideas.

Crafty tutorials like this one (one of my favorites) that are simple and quick enough for new moms to tackle. I also love the DIY t-shirt toddler pants and newborn hat and this upcycled t-shirt project.

And today, Rookie Moms is featuring my how-to instructions for making Lo's Yo Gabba Gabba Foofa costume from last Halloween. I am so thrilled. I have had several emails asking for the details about this costume, so I hope this is helpful!

If you're looking for more Rookie Mom greatness (or need the perfect baby shower gift,) you really need to pick up The Rookie Mom's Handbook.

Or a Rookie Mom t-shirt. This one is hilarious. (And everyone loves a mom who can admit that she doesn't know it all.)

Also, check out Market Street Media Foundry today – they are featuring Market Day makers each day this week, and my stuff is featured today!

Go take a quick read of my little Q&A – and be sure to stop out and see us at Market Day this weekend. (Saturday from 9 am - 5 pm.)

Alright – now for a quickie weekend re-cap! I made some sweet hand-knit baby shoes and sent them off to a long-distance pal.

And Lo and I headed to Minnesota to celebrate the arrival of a very special little baby girl.

This new mama is one of my childhood friends and her little sweetie is the result of nine years of ups and downs, lots of love and determination.

Yup, this is a very, very special and celebrated baby indeed.

We also got to spend the day with another close friend and her two girls. Jane, Andrea and I were basically the three musketeers throughout school. And now, we all have little girls!

Since we were in Blue Earth (our old stomping grounds,) Jane and I took our bigger girls to see the Green Giant. Something we've kind of grown up with, but haven't really visited since we were little. In December, Mr. Giant wears a red scarf. But we were a little early for that.

We're hoping for an increase in the kids' vegetable intake after this visit.

Later, we just let the girls play while we caught up on girl talk and next thing we knew, we had a princess dress-up party.

It's pretty unbelievable to think back to high school, when Jane and Andrea and I were doing each others' hair, borrowing clothes and shopping for prom dresses. Now we're all moms and we're all in this together. And it's a pretty special milestone. We share advice, worries, success stories and plans for future slumber parties. It's a such a sweet sight to look over and see one of Jane's girls putting a Cinderella dress on Lo and I can't help but flash forward to their prom dresses, bridesmaid dresses and all of the crazy fun times ahead. Girlfriends in progress.

5 cool things. /  by jen geigley


Craft Hope has Project 5 up and I'm really hoping to have enough time to participate.

LSTN #7 is rad. And free. Download it here.

Excited for D.I.Y. nights (brought to you by Urbanestics) to start up again at Mars Cafe.

Today is the last day to apply for What A Load of Craft. (I hope I get in! This is the craft show with the Craft Death Match and DJs who play heavy metal. Um, I'm in heaven.)

And have you seen this? A Wes Anderson theme party, right here in Des Moines. More info here. Or follow their party Tumblr.

music in a barn... /  by jen geigley


Last night, we got to see a bunch of bands in a barn (for free!) on the Barnstormer II tour, which featured six shows across the midwest put on by Daytrotter.

It was a chilly night but we got to hear some fantastic music. (Photos jacked from Des Moines Metromix, credit Dan Hodges.)

The barn is over 100 years old.

Lotus and I had to go home early so she could hit the hay. (Haha. Hit the hay.) See the somewhat unhappy expression on her face (although she did enjoy herself for most of the time we were there.) She was also asking where the chickens were.

But Bo stayed and got to see the rest of the lineup. Which included...

Dawes. (North Hills, CA)

Suckers. (Brooklyn, NY)

Maritime. (Milwaukee, WI)

Snowblink. (Toronto)

Paleo. (Elgin, IL)

And Christopher Denny. (Little Rock, AR) Click links for free downloads of their music at Daytrotter. Illustrations by Johnnie Cluney.

Daytrotter is is one of the most respected indie music sites in the country, and it's run by native Iowan Sean Moeller. The site features features free downloads with original write-ups and art of emerging bands. So if you want to check out some of the rad sounds we experienced last night, head on over to download songs for free. There are tons of them available (it's kind of amazing) and I promise you'll like what you hear.

knitting is cool. /  by jen geigley


Hi there! So, it's fall. But it feels like winter around here. So I've been on a knitting streak. Check out this super stripey hat. (There are more purple and yellow stripes at the top that you can't see here.) I was originally going to sell it but now I'm kind of attached and want to keep it.

After all, it snowed here the other day, which means snowboarding season must be right around the corner. And this hat is super warm.

I've been keeping up with the cowls. These are all up for sale here in my Etsy shop.

(I love the scarlet red.)

I have been trying to knit enough fun stuff to keep my table stocked up for all of the upcoming craft shows.

(We are so lucky to have these opportunities here in lovely Des Moines!)

Market Day is on October 24, then Craft Saturday (the holiday show!) is on November 21. And then I'm seriously considering heading to Iowa City for What a Load of Craft in December. Umm, yeah – the name alone is completely cool and it's exactly my kind of craft show.

They have DJs performing all day and even better, they feature a Craft Death Match with an all-metal soundtrack where you face off with another crafter – there's a time limit and whoever makes the coolest thing wins. I must go. It was meant to be. I'm so excited.

And of course, I've knitted up a nice colorful pile of things for Ephemera in the East Village (including a fancy green cowl like this.) Arin and Karen are moving into their new downtown location soon, so stop out to see them before the big move. The girls have also started a lovely blog that you should totally check out.

Last but not least, I have knitted these two bubble-gum pink pretties. And they're pink for a good reason. 100% of the proceeds of sales for these pink cowls will go to the Susan G. Komen foundation. (For sale here in my Etsy shop.) The first is my 'regular' super thick seed-stitch cowl.

And the second is a somewhat lighter, smaller version. We've put together a pretty rad team of women from our local moms' group and we'll be doing the Race for the Cure in a couple of weeks. So in the meantime, I thought this might be a good way to raise a little bit of money for our team to 'support the girls.' (I'll knit more if I have enough time.) Or if you would just like to make a donation, you can do that here. Thank you so much – it's a great cause.

I've got friends in all the right places ... /  by jen geigley


So, I forgot to show these pics of our date night to see Manchester Orchestra, Silversun Pickups and Cage the Elephant.

Bo and I started off the evening with these awkward after-dinner pics.

And mandatory coffee.

And a delicious dinner at Centro. (And more pictures of each other looking annoyed. We're dorks, we know.) Date nights have been rare for us, so we really enjoyed our time out.

But really, it was an amazing night. We got to see the show in the historic theater at Hoyt Sherman.

Which seems entirely too fancy for a crowd concert goers, but is such an impressive venue. We can't believe they allow alcohol and crowds to walk amongst their art collection and mahogany carvings, but seeing a show there is a treat.

Silversun Pickups posted this pic of the band in one of the sitting rooms on Twitter. :)

Anyway, after some technical difficulties, Cage the Elephant started off the show.

They were extremely energetic and great to watch, not to mention that their music kicks it. They were right up our alley.

And then, the amazing Manchester Orchestra. Wow. If you love their album, you'll love them live even more.

And then after you seen them live, you'll be in love with the album even more. Seeing them on stage was just too good to be true. Hard-driving, killer lyrics, just phenomenal. Totally exceeded my expectations.

Silversun Pickups rounded it out, and I think I'm pretty much in love with Brian Aubert's voice.

This little bio on the band made me love them even more.

We really enjoyed them and loved how personable and cool they were. They did a question and answer mid-set, and just seemed happy to play. Nothing better. Their drummer, Chris Guanlao , goes completely nuts and is so rad to watch. You can see him really well here. He has a crazy style.

Best date night ever? It comes close.

The next day, I met with a few friends (some knitting pals, some not) to celebrate my pal Amy's birthday. I love these girls.

And then this past week, I got to hang with my best pal Erin to finally go see this movie.

Which I love loved loved so much. You know you have a good friend when they'll go see a movie twice so you can see it, too. Well, and it's a good movie. But thanks, Erin. Friends in all the right places? I think so. (By the way, I have to laugh at how much we have to listen to that song now. Lo knows the words and requests it every time we get in the car. Her favorite is singing the "stay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay" part. She also loves this one.)

So now, I'll leave you with some Dareness. A new Dare went up on Friday, all about your hands. What they do, and what they hold. I obviously highlighted the knitting and two-year-old hand-holding, two of my specialties.

And now that it's fall, The Creative Type is back with a bang. Seriously. We've added four new girls to the team and I'm so excited. Big welcome to Vanessa, Cynthia, Danielle and Dani!

Run over and check out the brand new challenge that's up today. It's a great way to use up those old letters you have lying around – masking! Masking is so much fun and it's one of those things that I just don't do often enough (but is really fast and easy.) I just slapped some gesso over these huge vinyl letters that I've had for like, five years, then peeled them back after the gesso dried. Fun and messy but not too messy. Play along and also check out our super fun guest girl, Jennifer Tucker, while you're at it!

where's Nick Jr.? /  by jen geigley


So, my fellow mom friends + anyone who watches cartoons ... have you seen the change in programming on Nickelodeon? Or noticed that your Noggin is now Nick Jr? Or wondered why the little Nick Jr. icon at the bottom of your screen now just says 'Nick?'

I was bummed and confused to find out the news this week. Nick Jr. is now Noggin, and I have discovered that unless we upgrade our already overpriced cable package, we won't be seeing all of our Nick Jr. tv shows. (Our current expensive-as-hell/still-don't-get-everything-we-want package only includes the basic Nickelodeon channel, not its other networks ... Noggin/now Nick Jr., TeenNick, NickToons.) Our favorite 'old' Nick Jr. shows, like Yo Gabba Gabba, Wonder Pets and others are replaced by eight zillion hours of SpongeBob, three hours of Dora and Diego, with a half hour each of Backyardigans and Ni Hao Kai Lan (thank goodness) thrown in. Although I'm all for Dora and Diego teaching us a little Spanish, there is only so much of them that I can take. If you read Dooce, you know that nobody has explained the Dora thing better.

Anyway, I'm not arguing that the switch doesn't make sense, because it does. Nickelodeon is re-branding and making a clearer separation of their networks – I understand that TeenNick would do great on its own without the kiddie shows. And I love that Noggin has always had 24 hours of shows for preschoolers, allowing parents like me to flip on an age-appropriate show at any time of the day or night. (I'm just upset that this network isn't offered as part of our extended cable package and that most of our Nick Jr. shows will be gone.) Noggin lovers are a bit upset over the change as well – a lot of kiddos and parents love the Noggin 'goodbye song' and it just won't be the same after the name change.

I'd like to make it clear that I don't shove my kid in front of the tv all day, although it may seem like I do from what you've read here. We do normal things. We play outside, go to playdates, read books, do crafts, paint and color, and learn from the activities that we do in our day-to-day life. I also think that part of our 'normal' includes age-appropriate, educational tv shows which provides my two-year-old with exposure to numbers, shapes, colors, the alphabet, and different languages. Obviously, everyone has different feelings about how much is too much but I personally think that none at all would have limited some of the things my child has learned. I really do appreciate the high quality level of children's programming that is available to us, and maybe that's why I was passionate enough to take time to write this.

Anyway, I remember being a new mom and wading through the current public television/Nick/Disney shows to weed out our favorites. Here's a run-down of what you'll find if you're a newish mom or grandma, too.

Charlie and Lola is pretty much the most adorable show ever. Our whole family is in love with these imaginative siblings (and their lovely British accents.) The whole show is very artistically done with backgrounds full of fabric and texture. They paint a really accurate picture of how your kids see the world and their relationships with each other. Big thumbs up for Charlie and Lola.

The music is the best part of the Backyardigans – these little guys sing some pretty amazing numbers to accompany their imaginary adventures. For some reason, we tend to get a little bored with the story lines but the Backyardigans may just be a tad bit over my 2.5 year-old's head.

Special Agent Oso is a new favorite. This one is well-written and breaks down everyday challenges with a little song about three special steps. Oso's voice is done by Sean Astin, which makes this one even cuter.

Dora and Diego. Pretty much the same show. An annoying thing about is that while I think he's supposed to be animal/nature focused, a lot of the time the animals are mythical or weird made-up creatures that don't make any sense. Both shows have annoying mischievious villain-types (the Bobos and Swiper) with even more annoying catch-phrases. (Awww, man!) Dora's grumpy old troll has caused poor Lo anxiety over crossing bridges.

Handy Manny is our numero uno choice for Spanish-speaking cartoons, no contest. Wilmer Valderrama provides the voice to this character, which is a bonus, and the bi-lingual storyline is cute without being bossy or mind-numbingly repetitive like Dora or Diego.

Aside from the duck who can't pronounce her R's correctly, Wonderpets has cute and educational do-good plots with music that isn't too annoying. Except for the 'animal in twouble/this is sewious' thing.

You can't go wrong with an old friend. Especially when they replay classic portions of the show, or have guests like Feist or Tilly and the Wall.

This guy is not allowed at our house. (Sorry.)

Ni Hao Kai Lan teaches tons of words in Chinese/Mandarin that our whole family has been able to learn. Lo loves loves loves Kai Lan and the message is always about kindness, helping others and doing the right thing. The newest episode about Kai Lan's trip to China is a definite winner.

And you've heard me rave about Yo Gabba Gabba time and time again. It's hands down our favorite, with guests like Jack Black, The Shins, Shiny Toy Guns, Biz Markie, Elijah Wood, The Ting Tings, Mark Mothersbaugh and Tony Hawk. The music is phenomenal. The lessons taught are some of the most basic things that kids struggle with – taking baths, sharing, trying new foods, saying please and thank you, and going to bed. Perfect for toddlers (and their parents, too.) The new episodes from Season 2 that didn't air last year will finally be on Nick Jr. (formerly Noggin) during the week of October 12th. (This is why we need that cable upgrade!) New guests include Andy Samberg, The Roots, MGMT, skateboarder Ray Barbee, Reeve Oliver, Lady Tigra and Little Ones. YGG is currently shooting its third season right now.

e.t.a. Update! My awesome husband called the cable company and by signing up for their 12 month contract, we now get the 'digital plus' package and it's $40 less that what we were paying before. That is the craziness that only cell phone and cable companies can provide. Anyway, now we're enjoying all the good stuff we were missing out on ... Mtv 2, Fuse, Fuel, VH1 classic, Style, NickToons, Discovery Kids, Disney XD ... but most importantly, new Nick Jr./old Noggin. And somehow it's cheaper that what we were paying before. Hooray!

an art-filled weekend /  by jen geigley


A big thanks to everyone who stopped by Market Day on Saturday. Unfortunately, all of the cowls and neck warmers are gone! (Who would have thought?!)

If you're in Des Moines, now you can find my hand-knits at Ephemera stationery studio in the East Village! I'm so so so excited about this. Arin and Karen are just the most lovely, awesome ladies ever. And they make the most amazing cupcakes. Stop out to see them soon – they carry lots of local handmade goods (from my pals Urban Posture and Handmade Pretties + more) plus gorgeous stationery, letterpress and all kinds of drool-worthy paper products. They've been my go-to for paper lovelies for a couple of years now.

But if you live out of state and want a cowl or neck warmer, no worries! I have listed hand-knits that you can order ahead in my etsy shop and I will add a few more each time I have a few extra on hand. So keep checking there as well.

Aside from the fun of Market Day, we had a 100% art-filled weekend. We started it off by visiting M. Shawn Crahan's art show downtown at the Kirkwood.

M. Shawn Crahan is better known as 'Clown' of Slipknot. In case you're not a metal head. :)

We got to meet him and talk about his art and photography, his book, Dirty Little Rabbits, and an upcoming Halloween Slipknot show in Vegas.

One of our favorite Des Moines artists, Frank Hanson, also showed several paintings.

Lotus was a great sport and was happy to take home a birthday balloon. If we'd planned ahead and lined up a babysitter, Bo and I would have hung out for the crazy lineup of live music that went on until midnight. Mike Pfaff and Jeff Karnowski from Dirty Little Rabbits played while we were there, followed by Sid Wilson (from Slipknot) performing with Sound Proof Coalition and then we heard that Corey Taylor (also from Slipknot) stopped by and did an acoustic set. (Man!)

Next, we went to the opening of the Pappajohn Sculpture Garden in Western Gateway Park.

The park includes world-renowned sculptures by artists Willem de Kooning, Louise Bourgeouis, Richard Serra, Judith Shea, Martin Puryear, Deborah Butterfield, Ellsworth Kelly, Juame Plensa, Mark di Suvero, Joel Shapiro, Tony Smith, William Tucker and more.

We took these pics last year standing inside El Alma del Ebro but it was too packed at the opening this weekend to take a new one.

We'll have to stop out there again soon to do an update. (Though it's fun looking back at these photos of little Lo from last summer.)

Our favorite group of super talented kids, the Isiserettes, performed at the opening.

They're a local drum and drill corp and we always look forward to seeing them at Des Moines events.

We've been lucky enough to have seen the progress of the building of this park over the past year. But it was definitely awe-inspiring to see everything in its place on Saturday.

T8, Mark di Suvero.

Spider, Louise Bourgeois.

Lotus' favorite, Thinker on a Rock, Barry Flanagan.

And this one, which I don't know the title of (there's another little guy that goes with him.)

The art is surrounded by an infrastructure of these curved walls and lots of green grassy areas.

It's just a beautiful space. Our city is so incredibly lucky to have this installment.

This is one of a pair (the other is white) called 'Back of a Snowman' by Gary Hume. They are enamel on bronze and have a reflective surface.

Lo was in love with these. We couldn't tear her away. But eventually we had to.

And unfortunately, our outing ended a little bit like this. But such is life with a two-year-old who isn't ready to say goodbye to the snowmen. :)