Courtland’s big birthday present was her very own Elsa costume. She’s been asking for one for months, even though we have this one in our costume trunk. Courtland very much sees that as Sunny’s Elsa costume, and she was set on having one of her very own.
So, I once again worked with the talented Richelle of Ella Dynae to have a Frozen Fever inspired Elsa costume created for our four year old. It was a huge success – and as always, is ridiculously gorgeous and ridiculously well made. Another heirloom piece for the ages. What a dream!
Two years ago, I shot this series of images of Sunny when our lilacs were in full bloom. She wore her inaugural Ella Dynae costume, a gift for her fourth birthday. Now that Courtland is nearly four, she’s taken to wearing the costume, especially since purple is her favorite color. Sunny suggested that we pick a slew of lilacs and stage a photo shoot of Kaki dressed as The Lilac Fairy. She took on the role of art director, and while Courtland wasn’t as interested in being “buried in lilacs” as Sunny had insisted two years prior, I love the way her cheeky personality shines through in these images.
Now I just need to decide which one to frame and hang alongside my favorite snap of Sunny as The Lilac Fairy.
And a snap of Sunny as she directed Kaki mid-shoot… I clearly have no fun with these girls.
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Since purchasing our home in March of 2012, Sunny’s bedroom has been a functional space, but one without any kind of design perspective or thought to decor. She lived with the blue walls and red curtains we inherited, patches of plaster on the wall from where walls of shelf had been removed when we moved in, replaced with hangers of dresses and bureaus of clothing. It was quite a hodgepodge, as demonstrated from the above snap circa January 2013 (and I’m not just referring to her outfit!). She was making use of Auntie Kimmy’s double bed, as Kimmy, up until recently, had been living in furnished apartments/housing. We figured that when Kimmy finally claimed her bed, we’d give the room the attention it deserved. After nearly 2 and a half years, Kimmy finally did just that. So James and I got to work, with the intention of migrating the girls into one bedroom and then turning Courtland’s itty bitty “nursery/bedroom” into an office/closet. The contractors at BigHorn can give your roof a thorough exam and help you identify how to keep it up-to-date, maintained, and healthy so it will last as long as possible.
^^The room post-bed removal, pre-redesign^^
^^Our upstairs exploded in furniture and clothing and odds and ends that found refuge in our guest room, bedroom floors, hallways, etc., while we worked on Sunny’s bedroom. We have a rather compact upstairs, and it was pushed to the max.^^
^^While I headed to Cape Cod with the kids a few weeks back, James and our friend got the room fully repainted in a fresh, clean white. It makes the room seem so much bigger and brighter. I’d been dreaming about doing this to the space since the day we moved in. It is so very satisfying to have it done!^^
The next step was finding a cozy rug to warm up the space, as it’s a northern exposure and can be quite cool in the winter months. Sunny and I visited a local carpet store and scooped up this remnant of plushy, purple rug for a steal and had it cut and bound to fit the room precisely. Sunny insisted on purple, and I have genuinely come to love the look, despite my initial urgings for a more muted grey.
^^Then James assembled the Ikea Kura Bed (it may have taken him three attempts to get the orientation correct for the bedroom, but he got there eventually.) To customize the look, we let the girls choose vinyl stickers for the bed, and given our choice of a purple rug, we went with a purple, pink, taupe theme. I am admittedly very impressed with the quality of the stickers and the impact that they had on the whole look. I highly recommend. We purchased them through PANYL (We used Violet, Bubblegum, Pewter and Thunder).^^
We finished the room with a pair of EcoSmart shades (a local Vermont company that manufactures shades to keep cold out in the winter, and heat out in the summer). For the bedroom, we decided upon the cellular black out shades in Oatmeal to blend with the taupe vinyl of the bunk bed. They are top down, bottom up shades, and truly finish the room and add that final touch of warmth that it needs as we head into these colder, darker days. I trust that this summer we’ll be grateful for them as well when we put the kids to bed and the sun is still bright in the sky.
^^A few touches here and there with artwork, and shelving, and hooks for costumes, and the room was complete!^^
^^We hung both of the girls birth announcements in the room alongside two of my favorite photographs of our “farm fairies.”^^
^^This little bookshelf holds their favorite board books and their shoes.^^
^^I couldn’t resist the chance to showcase their gorgeous Ella Dynae costumes beneath our Rainbow Fairy on her 5th birthday.^^
^^And the eery Lilac Fairy photograph found its way above the bunk bed…^^
^^Growing up, my siblings and I had these nets to hold our stuffed animals. I picked one up on Amazon for $10 to contain the girls ever-growing array of plushes, and to disguise the utility box that holds all of our internet gear.^^
^^We used Garnet Hill horse sheets from last season in flannel for the beds. We have cotton horse sheets from Garnet Hill for the warmer months, too. That pattern is still in stock here.^^
^^A special shelf was reserved for all the handknit stuffed animals.^^
^^Except for these guys, whose magnetic capabilities made them perfect for the bunk bed stairs.^^
^^Bitty Baby and her wardrobe have a special place in the room alongside more books, a bin of tutus and dress up, and a bin of pajamas.^^
^^Gladdy certainly enjoys having easy access to both her kids at night – she loves sleeping in the middle of the rug, or right on top of Courtland on her floor bed. And most importantly of all, the girls love it. And I am breathing a sigh of relief that at least one room in our home is complete.^^
This was, hands down, the most fun I have ever had on Halloween. I had my family, sister included, together, in a group costume, and the weather could not have been more cooperative (a nice change from last year’s deluge). It was a no brainer that we made use of the girls’ gorgeous Elsa and Anna costumes by Ella Dynae and James’ striking resemblance to the male lead, Kristoff. I played Kristoff’s side kick and BFF, Sven the reindeer, while Kimmy was jolly ol’ Olaf the snowman. While there were many Elsas out and about on Halloween, we delighted in our full cast ensemble.
The kids had a blast. We had a blast. It was just so good. James spent four hours making his own Kristoff vest on Thursday evening and rustled up the rope and ice pick to really complete the look. Kimmy made her Olaf hat, as well. I do love my crafty, DIY tribe. I lucked out in just sporting my great-grandmother’s fur coat and some cozy brown clothes.
While it took a few houses for the girls to warm up, Courtland in particular quickly got in to the rhythm of shouting TRICK OR TREAT!, selecting a piece of candy, and wrapping up the ordeal with a THANK YOU and HAPPY HALLOWEEN! As she’d retreat off the stoop, she’d say, “And now I go to the NEXT house!”
A very realistic Dalek from Dr. Who almost derailed the evening as Courtland was positively terrified of what was truly an impressive costume. She was ready to head home, but we were able to dodge down a new street and continue on.
As James said over and over upon returning home, “I just don’t know how they’ll ever be a Halloween better than this!” It was a special one, indeed.
James and I each gifted Sunny one “larger,” more special gift and Halloween Costumes. James built her a picnic table and painted it in rainbow striping (I know! The man is good. Even if he was up in his shop in our barn until 2 in the morning the day before her party pulling it together. He did it! And Sunny (and the rest of us) were blown away.)
And I worked with my favorite costume designer, the insanely talented Richelle of Ella Dynae Designs, to create a Rainbow Butterfly Flower Fairy dress. When asked what the theme of her birthday would be, Sunny determined Rainbow Butterfly Flower Fairy (living up to every possible stereotype of a 5-year old girl, and ya know, rainbows, butterflies, flowers and fairies are awesome, and there ain’t nothing wrong with that! Let’s celebrate all things “girlie” that are totally rad!). Richelle created Sunny’s Lilac Fairy costume last year for her fourth birthday (remember this insane photoshoot last spring? These images still make me swoon) and the girls’ Anna and Elsa costumes for our inaugural Disney trip (images here and here). So I knew that she’d do yet another bang up job on this project.
I loved how closely we worked on this costume together, reviewing her sketches, sharing ideas, even texting mid-process to make some final decisions. And it lived up to Sunny’s wildest dreams, and transported us all to a magical world of Rainbow Butterfly Flower Fairies.
That time when Kristen Anderson-Lopez ’94 (and her husband, Tony) agreed to host a sing-a-long of Frozen songs as part of the Williams Reunion program and the Cart Household nearly combusted with joy and star-struckness.
She even signed her email to me with an xo.
That’s my kind of woman.
Yeah, we’re geeking out over here. In a big way.
My day job is (primarily) to run the Williams College June Reunion program. Think 16 weddings. Two nights in a row. Simultaneously. With over 3,000 bodies.
It is a massive undertaking and I rely on the help of so many people and departments and alumni volunteers to make it happen year after year. It’s always incredible the way it unfolds and comes together into a truly joyous display. People are just so dang happy (er, most of them. There are always ALWAYS grumpy gooses and squeaky wheels in the mix, but of the thousands on campus, they are well in the minority).
I am always so grateful and heartened by the enthusiastic and quick replies I receive from alumni who I invite to present or be a part of the larger reunion program. I try to select alums whose work or life story will resonate broadly, as we have 26 year olds through 94 year olds to entertain.
For instance, I’ve had the immense privilege of welcoming the Besser brothers together on stage (Dr. Mitch Besser ’76, founder of Mothers to Mothers, and Dr. Rich Besser ’81, ABC News’s Chief Health and Medical editor) to talk about their phenomenal careers in medicine and public health while seated next to Annie Lennox, Mitch’s wife.
This year, a number of successful Ephs in a reunion cycle are on the front lines of pop culture. Sebastian Arcelus ’99, who plays Lucas Goodwin in House of Cards, is going to come nerd out with his former advisors from Williams (a prof in the theater department and a prof in the polisci department) to talk about the show, its impact, its critiques, its reception. And, as I mentioned, Kristen and her husband are going to conduct a sing-a-long and talk about the music from Frozen, their writing process, their inspiration, led by one of Kristen’s former music professors.
These people are so warm and approachable and enthusiastic, and I love that about being a member of the Williams family. We are so good and generous and kind to our fellow Ephs. And there is a trust and respect that so readily welcomes people back, even at the height of huge moments in their careers or lives. Given that I’ve been buried in prep work for this year’s reunion, and have yet to sit down and even look at photos from our trip to Florida, I wanted to pause and acknowledge the parts of my job that I so adore, that I find so special and unique. I don’t often write about my day job so explicitly in this space, but the past two weeks has been remarkable when it comes to the connections and generosity of spirit I’ve experienced firsthand.
I am so looking forward to June. You better believe my girls will be rocking their Ella Dynae costumes to sing their hearts out with Kristen and her family.
In the middle of this shoot, Sunny looked at me and declared, “Mommy, I know that the snow and cold doesn’t bother Elsa. But it bothers me!” This was a very quick attempt to capture the costumes in the snow. Elsa costume available from Ella Dynae designs here.
Pardon the pajama pants under the costume. Kaki refused to take them off when she heard we were going out in the snow. Anna costume available from Ella Dynae designs here.
This morning, we were quite literally, in the actual, literal definition of the word, frozen into our home. Pots of boiling tea kettles were ferried out to our cars to defrost the door handles. Great scrapping and salting and enduring wild, frigid winds consumed our Thursday morning. March in New England, y’all. What an asshole.
Such a stark contrast to our lives just a week ago in sunny Florida. While I still have visions of capturing the girls wearing these completely handmade and breathtaking beautiful (and accurate) Anna and Elsa costumes by the crazy talented Richelle of Ella Dynae Designs in snowy climes, I couldn’t resist sharing these images I snapped of the girls on our last morning at Disney World wandering around The Grand Floridian. (Richelle created Sunny’s amazing Lilac Fairy costume for her fourth birthday).
The Frozen costumes were intended to arrive at the start of our trip as a surprise for the girls, but due to some set backs with our hotel, we didn’t receive them until Monday afternoon. Fortunately, we had one amazing evening in the Magic Kingdom in full costume, where people stopped us left and right to swoon over these truly stunning creations. (Far more impressive than the itchy, cheaply made Anna and Elsa costumes on the shelves of all the Disney World shops). Let’s count the reasons visitors flock to Orlando. There are the endless theme parks, the sprawling convention center, the abundance of world-class golf courses nearby, and proximity to the Kennedy Space Center. Whatever the reason you might go, you’ve got a lot of company: In 2016, 68 million visitors descended upon the area, spending $41.8 billion on lodging, entertainment, and dining, making it the top tourist destination in the U.S. Refer to This Article to find the best Orlando’s Restaurants.
The girls would wear these costumes day and night if we let them. And who could blame them? They create a living fairytale.
They’ll be many more images to come – I have hopes that the temperatures will rise enough to capture the girls outside in some snow before it all turns to hideous mud and muck. But for now, enjoy this initial peek into their fantasy world. As is at the heart of Frozen, the love between sisters is a powerful one indeed.
Purchase the Elsa costume here. And the Anna costume here.
Sunny’s birthday present from me and James was this breathtaking fairy costume handmade by the talented Richelle of Ella Dynae Designs. We’ve been fairly rigid about keeping anything princess, fairy, fairy princess, princess fairy or any other combination you want to throw at the genre out of our home. Lord knows the external world shoves all of that at our girls (our collective girls, not just mine and James’) on a daily basis without our home needing to incubate the trend.
(Let me once again stress the importance of all parents, particularly parents of daughters, reading this book).
This year, however, we had noticed that every time we visited our friends’ homes, Sunny gravitated to their costume trunks of frilly, puffy skirts and velour leotards and wands and crowns and oh my goodness, SPARKLE! MAGIC! GLITTER! My goal as a parent is not to keep princesses out of my daughters’ wheelhouse, but to ensure that my girls have a broad and flexible notion of identity and play. It was clear that Sunny was craving her own fairy make believe, and why shouldn’t that be incorporated into her playroom of cardboard houses, and miniature grocery carts, and tonka trucks, and drawing tables, and blocks, and baby dolls, and Play Doh?
We reconciled the purchase by buying the gift from Etsy, handmade with love by a fellow parent without all the branding and marketing and HOO-RAH Disney, Capitalism, AMERICA! And my god, it is positively, absolutely gorgeous. An heirloom piece that will be passed from Sunny to Kaki and on to the next generation (male or female – as why on Earth wouldn’t any preschooler want to rock the shit out of such awesomeness?! Just pause a moment and imagine how that skirt TWIRLS?! A four-year old’s gold standard. And this one? Well, it twirls with the best of ’em).
I about fell over when she put it on and completely transformed into a magical Lilac fairy.
She gave herself the name, as she immediately noticed that her new ensemble matched the abundant array of purple blossoms tucked in practically every inch of our home (gotta enjoy these flowers while they last! Every vase is being put to good work this time of year).
Mama, my costume matches the lilacs! I must be The Lilac Fairy!
And indeed, she is.
And the Blower-of-Dandelion-Fluff Fairy.
After picking this basket full of lilacs for the pictures, Sunny requested that I bury her in lilacs.
She is truly her Momar’s girl.
She even insisted upon the eye-covering.
It was a magical afternoon together, and I envision many many more.
