Have the most unbearably sweet weekend you can't even stand it.

The other day, Toby woke up from his nap crying (bad dream, maybe?) so Anton went in and held his hand and they both fell asleep for an hour. I love how the teeny little brother is taking care of the strong big brother. It feels like the true beginning of a beautiful friendship. My heart was bursting times a million. Anyway, hope you have a wonderful weekend, and here are a few fun posts from around the web...

Love this bear tattoo.

Dress like you're in a movie.

A cheese trick.

Peek inside food.

I snuck out for a pedicure this week and discovered the sexiest color: Lacy Not Racy.

Painted business cards.

Dinner parties nowadays.

Woman Takes Short Half-Hour Break From Being Feminist To Enjoy TV Show.

George Clooney played a prank on Matt Damon.

Shoes for warmer weather. (Can't wait.)

For the love of money. Makes you think.

A smart take on the Lena Dunham Vogue photo shoot.

Who else secretly wants to take ballet as a grown-up?

Those crazy pants from the movie Her are actually for sale.

Finally, would anyone like to have bangs? We're doing a tutorial on February 8th and are looking for readers who don't currently have bangs but would like them. If you're interested, please email cupofjobeauty@gmail.com with a snapshot of your haircut. We'd love to hear from you! Thank you so much, and have a great weekend!

Funny Valentine's Day cards

I'm planning to mail Alex a Valentine's Day card to his office. There's something sexy about opening your boring work mail and suddenly finding a card from your significant other, don't you think? (At least I hope so:) Emily McDowell's cards made me laugh...
I would have loved this one in my twenties.
And her other cards are sweet/hilarious for different occasions.

I'm curious: What's your relationship status this year? Single? Engaged? Married? It's complicated? xoxo

P.S. You can buy her cards in these shops, too.

(Thanks, Nina)

The Goldfinch

Have you read any good books recently? My friend Megan just emailed me with a recommendation: "If you're looking for something great, pick up The Goldfinch. Best contemporary novel I've read in about a billion years. Don't be put off by the fact that it's 800 pages. You'll wish it were longer."

The Goldfinch is described as a "beautiful, stay-up-all-night and tell-all-your-friends triumph," and the New Yorker writes, "Like the rest of us, Donna Tartt ages; but her fiction is going the other way. Her new novel, 'The Goldfinch,' is a virtual baby: it clutches and releases the most fantastical toys. Its tone, language, and story belong to children’s literature."
I'm so intrigued! Sometimes I like starting books (and movies) without knowing anything, so I ordered it without looking up the plot synopsis. Have you read it? Thoughts? Any other books you'd recommend? I know you guys are big readers!

P.S. Five favorite novels, and subway reading.

(Cartoon by John O'Brien)

Have a beautiful weekend.

What are you up to this weekend? Last night we saw the incredible movie Her. Have you seen it yet? The color palette was exquisite—everything was dusty pink, orange or red—and the story was so compelling. (As the NYTimes review said, she's just a voice, "but oh what a voice.") We really loved it. Also, thanks for all your fun comments this week—it's so nice to be back! Hope you have a good weekend, and here are a few great posts from around the web...

Kate Middleton is just as awkward as the rest of us.

This twitter account made me laugh.

LOVE the color of these boots.

What it's like to be a contestant on The Bachelor. (Answer: Crazy.)

Are you Type A? I'm busted.

What a gorgeous dress from the Golden Globes.

Seinfeld and George were spotted at Tom's restaurant!

Kids winning at hide and seek.

(And why children cover their eyes when hiding.)

The prettiest pink lips.

My mom gave me this book for Christmas and I'm excited to dive in.

If you want to keep your New Year's Resolutions, rephrase them as a question.

What it's like to be a parent, according to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Directors reveal: The toughest scene I wrote.

A few people asked about how to handle winter blues. Here are seven ideas, and apparently taking Vitamin D really helps too!

(Images from the movie Her, via Diana)

What kind of accent do you have?

What kind of accent do you have? While growing up in Michigan, my brother, sister and I picked up slight Michigan accents. We'd say things like "maahm" instead of "mom," and "caehr" instead of "car," and "Bab" instead of "Bob." After living in New York for twelve years, I've basically lost it, but sometimes when I drink too much wine, it can randomly bust out again. Yes, Michigan!

George Mason University collects speech samples from around the world, and everyone has to read this paragraph: "Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station."

Have you taken the fascinating dialect quiz that has spread like wildfire online? What answer did you get? (It pinpointed that I was from Michigan.) And in the video above, actress Amy Walker does 24 different accents (some are better than others). The California one made me laugh out loud.

What kind of accent do you have?

P.S. What British people say versus what they really mean, and Toby in conversation.

(Speech archive found by the brilliant Kottke)

Beautiful locket

How gorgeous is this engraved locket? I don't wear much jewelry, but Alex gave me a locket for Christmas, and I really love it. He put family photos inside, and it feels surprisingly heartwarming to wear it all day. Have you ever worn a locket?

15 Genius Tips for Living in Small Spaces

Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves and Gardenista and her husband live together in seriously small quarters—a 240-square-foot studio, to be exact. She agreed to share her surprising tips about how to make it work (and not drive each other crazy)...Read More >

How big is your vocabulary?

My sister sent this vocabulary test over the holidays, and our family went nuts for it. Since I know a bunch of you are word nerds, too, I wanted to share it...

Take the quiz here, and leave your score below!

P.S. Can you read emotions?

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! Can you believe 2014 is right around the corner?! Hope you're having a wonderful week!

Honestly, this year has has some ups and downs—long-time readers know that I'm not great with pregnancy hormones!—so I'm more grateful and touched than ever to have such incredible people returning to Cup of Jo. I love your funny, heartfelt and insightful comments and emails every day. I learn so much and can't express how happy I am to have you here. It's such a gift to have this warm and dynamic community of likeminded women.

Here's a quick look back over the past year, if you'd like...
Motherhood posts, such as co-sleeping with your children, six words to say to your child, five genius motherhood tips, naked babies at the beach, toddlers in the kitchen, a lullaby that really works...and the most moving post of my entire blogging career about a stillborn baby boy.
We also did a motherhood around the world series, where we interviewed mothers living in India, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Norway, Congo, Japan and Abu Dhabi. I was completely riveted by their answers and was inspired by parenting norms in different cultures. We'd love to do another series in 2014 with more countries.
Posts about toddler Toby, such as conversations with a two-year-old and three-year-old, playing his violin, his donut birthday cake, going on a babymoon trip for your older child, bringing his favorite book to life and preparing him for a sibling (thank you so much for the enlightening tips!)
Post about our new arrival, Anton, such as announcing our pregnancy, seeing his sweet profile, choosing a name, fast labors in cabs, introducing our two boys for the first time and decorating our very first Christmas tree.
Beauty posts, such as hair tutorials and nail polish trends, which are my secret favorite. We also did four reader makeovers (here are the afters!).
Fashion posts, such as a five-second trick for feeling pretty, my fall uniform, and the most flattering jeans.
TV posts such as the 101 best written TV series of all time, celebrity look-a-likes, casting auditions for The Office, SNL's spoof on Girls and a fantastic ballet documentary.
Design posts, such as natural home scents, how to arrange supermarket flowers, lost loves, the rain room and how to do...anything.
Home posts, such as a 500-square-foot San Francisco apartment, a vacation rental website for families and our own apartment makeover.
Career posts, such as a Q&A with the Girls costume designer and a Q&A with an animal photographer.
Food posts, such as crunchy roast potatoes, the beauty of eating dinner alone, 11 Nutella recipes, how beer's taste alone gets you a little high and three flavored waters.
Friendship posts, such as what to say when there's an awkward silence, how to say goodbye at parties, a spot-on personality test, the power of empathy, three things you're grateful for, wise words for when you're freaking out and the wobbly path to success.
Travel and NYC posts, such as 9 crazy things about living in NYC, what British people say vs. what they really mean, 11 untranslatable words from other countries, Swedish slides, a Positano travel fantasy and how to piss off every New Yorker in 36 seconds.
Relationship posts, such as making out in public, saying I love you, having sex on your wedding night, what marriage means, how to give a reflexology foot rub, having friends officiate your wedding, what you'd do differently if you got married again, celebrity crushes and a brilliant speech about the word "gay".
And, as always, random posts, such as a When Harry Met Sally prank, goats yelling like people, how a key actually works and how to walk on ice.

I hope you enjoyed this year on Cup of Jo, and thank you again for reading. Very much looking forward to new series and exciting adventures in 2014, and sending a big kiss to you. Happy holidays!!! xoxo

P.S. I'll resume posting on January 6th, if you're in a blog-reading mood:)

Have a wonderful weekend.

Happy holidays! Are you heading anywhere this week? We're leaving tomorrow for our annual trip to Palm Springs and Los Angeles. We debated whether we should go or not, since a cross-country trip with two little dudes sounded intimidating, but in the end, we figured we'd give it a go! I'm so excited to see our family. This year, Anton's basically the same age as Toby when he had his first Christmas. And last year Anton was just a bump:)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend, and here are a few fun posts from around the web...

Beautiful nature photos.

Hibernation sweatshirt. Right on.

This snowy week, we watched almost all of Homeland season two—so addictive! This tumblr made me laugh.

Parents see their youngest children as smaller than they actually are.

Note to Santa: This is at the top of my wishlist.

A ballerina dancing at 39 weeks pregnant.

Santa school.

The Queen of England likes wearing blue.

Cute way to hang a wreath.

My friend Susan gave us this book and it's awesome.

The movie Her has been getting amazing reviews. Are you going to see it?

Why you should bring olive oil to a dinner party.

Cool Brooklyn pennant. (You can get any city you'd like.)

Great stocking stuffer.

Wish us luck on the flight tomorrow with those two little stinks! And if you need them: 10 tips for traveling with a baby, and 10 ways to entertain a toddler on a plane.

Lots of love and safe travels! xoxo

Total Makeover!

See the new layout?! Well, I just made it! I also just made my Pinterest account, don't forget to follow me! My blog is really startting to grow, so I'm opening adversting on my blog! After I'm done with all the details, you can send me an e-mail, and get an adversting spot here! I'm so excited!

What do you think about the new layout?

Also don't forget to check out the tutorials! I've linked them all, but there's gonna be just this untill I update some new and old hair tutorials. You can't blame me, there's just too much of them! But, if you really want to see some more, just type in the search bar, hair. They're all tagged with it.  

DIY: Custom Makeup Brushes

It's been a long time since the last DIY project post. So I'm very excited for you to see the new project! I've always loved the little things. Especially something that I make by myself. And I also like to paint design on everything! So, I'm sure that this cute patterned brushes will make you happy every morning when you are getting ready.

Originally found on X

Originally found on X

Supplies: wooden makeup brushes, craft paint ( in this case - Martha Stewart ), paint brushes and a sanding block. Start by sanding down your brush handles. Unless the wood was already unfinished, this will help the paint to cling to the surface. Then paint the base coat. If you need to, add a second coat. After that paint a pretty design. They chose polka dots and stripes with a messy handmade look! Just have fun!

Originally found on X