Modern Child is pure unadulterated parenting porn. I have no recollection of how I came upon the website, in the way I imagine men trolling the web for a cheap thrill via some vague search term happen upon something titillating beyond their wildest imagination. Okay, the thrill of this high design-minded boutique isn’t cheap but it does peddle in a pared-down family aesthetic that’s a fantasy for me. For instance, a Modern Child would be raised in a huge open loft where there would be no need for physical boundaries. A Modern Child implicitly understands a parent’s need for privacy and for quiet. A Modern Child is very, very quiet. A Modern Child wears light-colored linen.

Aside from that small disconnect for me, there are some stunning things I could see welcoming into my home. Like these minimalist fairy tale prints by Christian Jackson and/or a pair of Roberta Settels sandals in my size.

The item that I’m most smitten with, however, is the Pelikano Junior fountain pen. Imagine a world where penmanship wasn’t being phased out of schools and where kids learned how to handwrite their own names before knowing how to text it? That’s a fantasy I can get on board with.

clockwise, l-r: MATTEO HOBO LINEN COVERALLS, $125.00, Modern Child;  ROBERTA SETTELS WOMENS ROMAN SANDALS, $375.00, Modern Child; PELIKANO JUNIOR FOUNTAIN PEN, $12.95, Modern Child; GOLDILOCKS & THE THREE BEARS PRINT BY CHRISTIAN JACKSON, $32.00 (medium print), Modern Child.

As if I needed something else to covet at Heath, the modern-rustic ceramics Mecca is now carrying table linens by Echo Park artist Rachel Craven. The stylist-turned-textile artist block prints Native American motifs like arrowheads and circular symbols by hand onto Italian linen: It’s a really nice juxtaposition of earthy and elegant. I love the pretty palette of soft pinks and greens. They remind me of what a Joshua Tree sky around sunset might look like (never been) and would look super with our everyday sage and brown plates. But, realistically, the dark blue tablecloth will hide spaghetti stains better. Sigh. If you happen to be in L.A. on Saturday, February 4th, go meet Rachel, have a glass of vino, and ogle her goods at the store from 5-7 p.m. (Heath Ceramics, 7525 Beverly Boulevard; 323-965-0800.)

We booked our wedding venue over the weekend, and are so super stoked to get married at the L.A. Arboretum next year amongst free-roaming peacocks. I’ve already started thinking of all the rentals we’ll be needing and stumbled upon Yeah! Rentals, who have the coolest furniture for weddings I’ve ever seen: Herman Miller, along with fun accessories that would make any reception warm and inviting. I’m taking the inspiration home and am buying this metallic ottoman to perch my feet on, asap.

Upper right ottoman: LEATHER METALLIC GOLD POUF OTTOMAN, $218.34, available at Overstock.com. All other images via Yeah! Rentals.

I’m still aspiring to be a beach bum even though I’ve lived less than a mile from the ocean for close to a decade. Every year, I vow to start surfing or to at least dip my toes in the water once a week but nothing sticks. My last best hope is Henry. Even if he turns out to be a concrete jungle rat, he can look the surfer dude part (while I’m still in charge of dressing him) in Boy + Girl by designer Christine Chang.

I had the extremely good fortune of meeting Christine at the spring debut of her kids line at Tenoversix, while doubling back to check out these shoes over the holidays. My attention was instantly diverted to a rack of pint-sized duds that conjure the laid-back Cali vibe to a tee: sun in your hair, sand in your shoes, a Beach Boys melody like a faint hum in the back of your mind. I bought a pair of blue fleece chinos and this awesome raw hem cut-off sweatshirt, which are both holding up really well against Henry’s daily clothing brutalities. This Baja surf poncho is next on my list, as is this wide leg jumper for my imaginary daughter. Good vibrations.

clockwise, l-r: BLUE FLEECE CHINOS, $56.00, Boy + Girl; CREW CUT-OFF SWEATSHIRT, $42.00, Boy + Girl; WIDE LEG JUMPER, $72.00, Boy + Girl; BAJA SURF PONCHO, $89.00, Boy + Girl.

I love coffee a lot. In fact, I probably drink around four cups a day. One of the easiest ways to make me not want to hang out with you is if you tell me that you gave up coffee and then go on a long spiel about loose-leaf teas. I have no way of relating to you, sorry. And that’s not to say that I’m a coffee snob.  I’ll drink any kind of coffee—the way an alcoholic will try to get their hands on any type of alcohol. Did you ever see that the episode of Intervention with the lady who drank Listerine to give up booze? Tragic (also, I’m two coffee beans away from being that lady). But coffee makes me feel good. Like I’m walking on a rainbow of jittery magic. Which brings me to these coffee makers. I wanted to pay tribute to my two loves: Color & coffee. Thank you for both brightening my day. And if that sounds crazy, well, it probably is. It’s around 3am and I’m on my tenth cup.

l-r: BODUM ICED COFFEE FRENCH FRESS, $65.00, Macy’s; DE’LONGHI KMIX 5 CUP COFFEE MAKER, $129,99, Bloomingdale’s.

I got some really awesome pear and apple shaped salt and pepper bowls for Christmas and now I’m on the hunt for more little bowls to use as mini catch-alls for earrings or paper clips or bobby pins or little makeup samples. Have you guys seen any good contenders? What items have you changed the purpose of at home? Cups for vases? Stools for chairs? Endless, right?

salt and pepper bowls, clockwise l-r: ROOST APPLE AND PEAR PINCH BOWLS, $29.75, available at Velocity Art and Design; BAMBU SMALL CONDIMENT CUPS, $5.00, available at Branch, MARBLE SALT AND PEPPER CELLARS, $108.00, available at Jayson Home & Garden; BE HOME DECOR TEAK SALT & PEPPER SET, $22.00, available at lekker.

Top chef is a full blown obsession in my apartment. This past week’s episode was a competition to make the best down-home, Texas barbecue and after watching the cook-off, I had to get my hands on some brisket and ribs. Only in L.A. can the nearest smokehouse be in the heart of Chinatown, but it is. In any case,  I ended up on Olvera St, whilst walking off the carnage (again, only in L.A. can a historic Mexican plaza be in Chinatown). It’s a street lined with tiny shops bursting at the rafters with trinkets, and a place where you can get the best taquitos, ever. Papel picado line the shops and I found inspiration for our wedding at every turn. We’ve already decided to buy crates of confetti eggs (they sell them for super cheap) and gift these cool bracelets to just about everyone (they’re a dollar!).

wedding inspiration, olvera st: MEXICAN FLAGS (PAPEL PICADO), $17.50 at Luna Bazaar; OLVERA ST. BRACELETS, $1.00, available at Olvera St.

On New Year’s Eve, my husband’s best friend, his wife, and their two girls came over for lunch, bearing a spread of Italian delicacies from Sorrento’s in Culver City.  As if their feast of prosciutto, salami, provolone, olives, marinated artichokes, and adorable marzipan pigs weren’t enough, they upped the ante by gifting Henry with a handmade, waxed cotton jacket. This was the first joint production between Yasmine and Alexis (collectively known as Ross & Ross) and I hope it won’t be their last. She did most of the sewing, starting with a very simple ’60s pattern and Alexis added ingenious details like a secret pocket to stash a mini hair comb. My favorite feature, though, is Henry’s name embroidered in script along the bottom seam of the coat. It’s an instant family heirloom and I almost wish Henry would never grow up so he could wear it forever.

If befriending a husband-and-wife duo with the creative chops for producing such a garment isn’t in your near future, you might consider investing in a classic kid-size Beaufort jacket from Barbour. I had contemplated buying one for Henry so he could be Dad’s twin (I’ll save the adventure of Mike’s e-bay purchased Barbour for another day) but it didn’t seem like a wise purchase since he’s going through a biting-one’s-clothing-to-shreds phase. Fingers crossed he doesn’t put any love bites in his Ross & Ross.

KIDS BARBOUR BEAUFORT JACKET, $279.00, J.Crew.

I have a huge family, which includes lots of little nieces and nephews all under 10 years old (some pictured below, worn out from the festivities). When we gather for Christmas, we do a massive gift haul for the kiddies along the lines of NERF guns and Barbie Dolls. This year, Aunt Juliet opted to go off the beaten path (for our family, anyway) to J.Crew, and let me tell you, I was super envious of my pint size family members.

I totally wish J.Crew made their kids line in my size, too. I mean, a neon quilted jacket and striped leggings? I’d be all over that…and I admit, I did hold up one of my nieces sequined shirts JUST to see if I could squeeze my body into it. It was a no-go.

totally jealous of my nieces and nephews, clockwise l-r: BOYS’ LAMBSWOOL SKI-SCHOOL SWEATER, $39.99; GIRLS’ RIBBED LEGGINGS, $48.00; BOYS’ QUILTED REVERSIBLE JACKET, $88.00; GIRLS’ MILANO GLADIATOR SANDAL, $59.99, all available at J. Crew.

My parents have a curious, but arguably pretty genius tradition. Every year, they weigh each other in, and have to hit a point on the scale that they agreed to, 35 years ago. My dad is a doctor, and my mom is a nurse, and when they got married they made the determination that the slow creep of weight—a pound or two a year until suddenly it’s an extra 30, or 40—was at the root of many of the illnesses that darkened the door of my dad’s practice. At first, there was a financial reward—a yearly allowance to spend with impunity, which helped them figure out how to handle their finances when they were newlyweds—but these days, they just do it for their health. Their weight might vacillate by a few pounds over the course of the year, but they always pull it together before it’s time to weigh in, which means that they’re still the same size as they were when they got married.

Rob and I drove to Monterey this weekend to see our friends Nick and Olga (buy her awesome album!) and to go see the rad jellyfish at the aquarium (and the Hearst Zebras in San Simeon, and the colonies of Elephant Seals along the coast in Cambria, and all the delicious cookies at the Big Sur Bakery). Nick is a fanatical tracker of the minutiae of life and inarguably one of the the most famous infographic designers out there: After all, his Feltron Annual Reports—a year of his life in stats and graphs and maps and charts—were just in MoMA, and somehow Facebook enticed him to move to Palo Alto and design Timeline. ANYWAY, when it comes to organizing data, nobody does it quite like Nick: He’s the one who turned me onto the Fitbit years ago (and took me to a park in NYC to precisely measure my tread), and got me to track my embroidery and shoe cost-per-wear on the site he put together with Ryan Case, Daytum. (I’ve been really bad about updating it lately.) Anyway, the latest tool in his repertoire is the Withings Scale, a digital extravaganza that tracks weight, BMI, and lean body mass—and then uploads it to a pretty, Feltron-worthy site. Rob and I ordered it on the spot, at the hotel bar (maybe not the most appropriate place to start New Year’s Resolution diet plans).

It can be hard to find that line between being obsessive and in-touch with your body. My mom weighs herself erratically, while my dad gets on the scale every morning so he can check himself before the pounds really mount (he may be small, but the guy really likes to eat). I think the Withings—as crazy intense as it might look—could actually be the right solution for me and Rob, since you can see your standing graphed out, over weeks and months. It puts those subtle shifts all in a bit more perspective (and highlights if you’re heading in a skinny fat direction, which is pretty much what I was all about until SoulCycle got me back on a spin bike). I’m pretty curious to get to know my lean body mass numbers. Do you guys have any solutions that work for you?

clockwise, l-r: THE 2010 FELTRON ANNUAL REPORT; OLGA BELL DIAMONITE, $8.00, Bellinspace; WITHINGS WI-FI DIGITAL BODY SCALE, $159.99, Best Buy.