If you look hard enough there's an upside to everything. Last night when we returned home from another doctor's appointment we discovered construction was not yet finished - our street and our garage still blocked. The upside? Dinner at the beach. Bon Apetit! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Twice this weekend, cubes and I were asked about Gates' layette. This was not a term that had come up in either our classes or our research. Turns out a layette is "a set of clothing and bedding -- the soft pieces -- your newborn needs for his/her first days and weeks." Depending on which site you visit or who you ask, a layette can contain: 9 - 12 ( parents recommend 6 - 8 ) bodysuits / onesies 6 - 8 footed overalls 4 - 6 pairs of pants 4 - 6 convertible gowns hats 4 - 6 ( parents recommend 4 swaddling ) blankets 6 - 9 bibs ( parents recommend lots of burp rags ) 1 ( parents recommend 2 ) hooded towel 4 - 8 ( parents recommend 4 - 6 ) washcloths Thankfully cubes and I can breath a sigh of relief - Gates' layette is mostly complete after a surprise shower thrown by my coworkers on Friday (more in another post) and a shower thrown by dear friends yesterday (more in another post). The notable exceptions are burp rags and hats - two items we hadn't originally added t...

To prepare for the arrival of Gates, cubes and I are taking a 9-week class over at UCSF, " Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting Program ." One of our homework assignments involved chronicling a pleasant experience each day for a week. What was the experience? Were you aware of the pleasant feeling while the event was happening? How did your body feel, in detail, during this experience? What moods, feelings, and thoughts accompanied this event? What thoughts are in your mind now as you write down this event? One evening I was keyed up and was venting to cubes. cubes listened and asked what comfort food he could get for dinner that would make me feel better. He ran out to fetch dinner and by the time he returned I was in a better mood. Why? Not because the situation I'd initially been reacting to had changed, but because I realized my reaction wasn't productive and I was caught up rehashing rather than being in the moment. The quiet moments cubes and I had that ...

I can't wait until I can start wearing heels (not super crazy high stilettos, but comfortable platform wedges) again. For me, there's never a season where boots aren't appropriate. Right now I'm daydreaming of suede boots paired with a print dress and bold bag. The Finds (left to right) : Citizen, Black Suede, Fergie $125.99 ; Pippa Dress, $478 ; Madison Abigail Shoulder Bag, Brass/Cherry, $398 . Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: Coach , Kate Spade NY , and Zappos . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

With five weeks to go and the reality that Gates could arrive three weeks before our estimated delivery date to up to two weeks after that date, it was time to get an infant car seat. Saturday we bit the bullet and headed into our first baby emporium, CitiKids Baby News here in San Francisco. We obviously looked like deer caught in the headlights as we walked into the store. One mom smiled as we stared helplessly at the array of strollers and car seats. I felt like explaining we're expecting our first but realized mid-thought I'd be stating the obvious and just smiled back. A member of CitiKids' knowledgeable staff quickly materialized and pointed us to the make and model that Baby Bargains recommended. For first-time parents, I highly recommend CitiKids, we weren't pressured to buy anything more than what we came into buy and were actually advised to wait on another purchase until I wasn't pregnant and could more easily try out the item. Saturday's experienc...

I love piles of pillows - whether on top of a bed or couch. They scream to me: "Get a book, curl up for while and forget the world." Whatever your style - modern, country, shabby chic - there's a pillow with type in today's roundup. The Finds (top row, left to right) : 16" And Pillow, $29.95 ; 24" Graffiti Square Pillow, Red , Ivory , $119. (second row, left to right) : 12" x 16" Valentine Boudoir Pillow Cover, $29 ; 16 1/2" Garden Square Pillow, $26.99 ; 16 1/2" French Laundry Square Pillow, $26.99 ; 15" x 22" Lava Lite Beige / Red Wax Pillow, $27.99 . (third row, left to right) : 12" x 16" Special Patch Pillow, $9.99 ; 16 1/2" Tea Square Pillow, $26.99 ; 13" x 20" Beach Pillow, $18 . (front) : 12" x 24" Nest Pillow, $49.50 . What's your stance on throw pillows: Cozy or Clutter? Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: Crate and Barrel , JCPenney , ...

It seems as though the list of basics for a baby or a child is never ending. For example, did you know that safe for the environment, organic products aren't necessarily safe for baby? Today I tackled bathing and cleaning necessities. The Finds (far left clockwise) : Primo EuroBath, white, $32 ; Mustela 2 in 1 Hair & Body Wash, $9.98 ; Mustela Vitamin Barrier Cream, $10.98 ; Mustela Stelactiv Diaper Rash Cream, $11.98 ; Bumkins Organic Cotton Hooded Towel Set, Cream Satin Trim, $17.76 ; American Baby Organic Cotton Terry Hooded Towel Set, Celery and Ecru , $18.98 each; Safety 1st Rubber TempGuard Ducky, $2.74 ; and Baby Buddies Natural Sea Sponge, $9.98 . I also created a second registry -- in case people preferred shopping at a storefront to going online -- at CitiKids Baby News here in the city. (Unlike our wedding registries, there's no duplication across the two registries.) Here are links to both registries: Amazon CitiKids Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images...

When a Chris Brown song comes on over the radio, I change the station. I don't care how good the music is, for me, the singer's actions outside of the studio leave a sour taste in my mouth. I can't separate the two. Apparently, there are some people who can. Worse, there are some women who are comfortable tweeting " Chris Brown can hit me anytime ." "Where have we gone wrong as a society when girls think it's OK to be hit if the guy is hot? ... What message does this send to other boys? ... I don’t have a daughter, but you better believe my son knows it is never OK to hit, shove, push or hurt a woman." --Lisa Cianci, Orlando Sentinel In March 1998, No Safe Place: Violence Against Women a documentary that offered "a thoughtful examination of the origins of violence against women, looking at the biological, sociological, cultural, and historical factors involved" aired. Unfortunately I could not find a copy of this documentary available via...

As long as I can remember I've loved shells. Turns out, when I was 8 months old, my mom used to sit me on her lap and flip through a coffee table book on shells. I don't know if my love affair started here, but in case it did, I'm planning on exposing cooking to Gates in this way, sitting her on my lap and flipping through Modernist Cuisine . Today's font, Kitchen Kapers , available for free from FontSpace , is about a love affair with cooking. The Kitchen Kapers font family, designed by Kitchen Kapers , available for free from West Wind Fonts in 2001, contains two all-capitals typefaces, both are outlines, one has shadowing. In the collage above, Kitchen Kapers II is shown. Kitchen Kapers is meant for headlines or displays. The font family doesn't include numbers or punctuation. Happy Designing! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life. Font Fun is a monthly series showcasing a roundup of free fonts or featuring...

A few weeks ago, a friend recommended I check out the Bold Italic - "launch pad for local exploration." Besides its great backstories, I feel in love with its layout. Intrigued, I ordered the print edition. One of the first things I noticed about the print edition is that it's not meant to be passively read. It's meant to be used as a guide for exploration. The table of contents doubles as a checklist of things to do. Each recommended action is numbered. This makes it easy to find the activity you're interested in. In Issue 1, there were 25 activities: Dress like everyone is watching , Space out often ; Be a Locavore , and more. Another design element I liked was the use of colored underlining and highlighting to identify the main sentiment for each action. These spot colors allowed you to flip through the magazine and quickly find an activity -- if you didn't have time to read the entire magazine from cover to cover, you didn't need to. As I was sampling...

Superbowl Weekend everyone was hot for Jason Wu for Target , including Michelle Obama ! Now I'm not one for crowds, so I participated in the madness via the Internet. I snagged the dress the First Lady wore and by way of my wonderful sister-in-law the Milu Cat Tote. I love the tote because it reminds me of lessons we're learning in our Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting Class - be present; pay attention. The Finds (left to right) : Milu Cat Tote by Jason Wu, $39.99 ; Polka Dot Shirt Dress, Black with White, $148 ; Caelyn Wedge, Red Suede, $325 . No idea who Jason Wu is? Or what the fuss is all about? For those of us who love sophisticated, updated retro looks, Jason Wu is one designer whose fashions we adore. Check out the commercial Target aired to announce his line for them. Did you participate in the Jason Wu madness? Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: Target , White House | Black Market , and Zappos Couture . Collage creat...

For Valentine's, cubes and I dined at Farina in The Mission. (Throughout my pregnancy, I've been craving housemade pasta and indulging in cream and cheese sauces.) Both of us decided to splurge and have dessert. We chose two puff pastries: Suprema con cuore di cioccolato e crema di pistacchio (Puff pastry roll filled with chocolate and pear served with pastry cream) and Millefoglie ai frutti di bosco (Handmade puff pastry with pastry cream and wild berry). I started with the Millefoglie. It was an incredibly light, refreshing dessert, the berries complemented the pastry cream nicely. Where the Millefoglie puff pastry had crunch, the other melted in your mouth. The pear was subtle with chocolate and pistachio flavors dominating. All in all, both were a beautiful finish to a wonderful meal. How did you spend your Valentine's Day? Bon Apetit! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Happy Valentine's Day! In honor of this special day, today's post features jewelry. The Finds (top clockwise) : Earrings, $7.67 , Crafted ; Exclamation Pendant, $33 , Faboolux ; Initial necklace, $19 , My Bella by Liz Lollar ; Oxidized Pendant, $40 , OfLove ; Glass pendant, $8 , Tickled Pink . Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective Etsy sellers: Crafted , Faboolux , My Bella by Liz Lollar , OfLove , and Tickled Pink . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

We haven't gotten much rain in San Francisco this winter. For me, it's meant that I can delay getting more rain-friendly commuter wear. Yesterday as I was walking in the rain in my bright red vintage velvet swing coat, I thought how nice galoshes would be for jumping in puddles. The Finds (top clockwise) : Totes Purple Umbrella, $19.85 ; Stowaway Gore-Tex Raincoat, Bright Berry, $189 ; Scatter Dot Rainboots, Chooka, $59.99 ; Steven Tote, Cotton Candy Patent Yellow, Steve Madden, $48.90 . How do you chase the rainy day blues? Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: L.L.Bean , Nordstrom , The Purple Store , and Zappos.com . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

In Part 1 of my January Menu post, I covered Mission Beach Cafe's appetizers. Later in the month, cubes and I went back to sample the entrees. To my delight, Goat Cheese Ravioli was on the menu. Throughout my pregnancy I've tried to enjoy ravioli. First in New York. Second at Farina in San Francisco (absolutely delicious!). Third in Monterey. Of the times I've ordered ravioli - with the exception of Farina - something went wrong. In New York, a new sous chef oversalted the sauce. In Monterey, a kitchen visibly in the weeds served up two orders of raw ravioli. As I can eat dairy while pregnant and I love ravioli, I've been craving it. So, when I saw Goat Cheese Ravioli on Mission Beach Cafe's menu, I had to have it. (To see full-size photos from this meal, visit Flickr .) The housemade ravioli was perfectly cooked. It was served with braised artichokes, shitake mushrooms, kale sprouts, gremolata, garlic, and Parmesan. The mushrooms gave it a nice meaty flavor - if...

Earlier this week I came across a poster on Etsy that I thought would be great for Gates' nursery which I immediately pinned to My Dream Nursery board. It wasn't until later when I was reflecting on Audrey Penven's recent On Gender, idealism, and endless Twitter Fights post that I realized it could imply limitations. Source: etsy.com via Eden on Pinterest Like Audrey, my parents raised me without saying "Girls can do anything." It wouldn't be until second grade when my teacher, a helpful Catholic sister, would introduce the limitation of gender, specifically telling me my brain would go to waste because I wasn't a boy. I had been the first to correctly complete a math quiz. While I was given the prize for coming in first, I was basically told because I was a girl it would never matter. From that moment on, I set out to prove despite my gender I wouldn't be stuck in second place. The teacher's influence would stick with me for years and would sh...

In January I accepted Trevor Carpenter's 2012 Photo Challenge to chose a color for a month and photograph it. There were no restrictions on subject matter, just that your chosen color must be featured. Most of my photos, taken in the morning before I head to work, feature food. This project has given me a deeper appreciation of the ingredients cubes and I buy and eat. Local, in season, organic fruits and vegetables have the richest colors. To see more of my 2012 Photo Challenge photos, please visit Flickr . Bon Apetit! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Less than 7 weeks until the premier of Mad Men Season 5! Is your bar ready? For my party, I'll be serving up cocktails with crushed ice from a vintage pitcher into coordinated tumblers. The Finds (top clockwise) : Ice Crusher by Waring, $65 , Apple Charlotte ; Pitcher with Glasses, $44.99 , Hazel Home ; June Critchfield Cocktail Napkins, $34 , MisterTrue ; Penguin Ice Bucket by West Bend, $30 , Leatherhead Originals ; Cocktail Glasses with Caddy, $49 , Honeysticks Vintage ; Martini Shaker with Glasses, $50 , Yellow Jacket Vintage . Bon Apetit! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective Etsy sellers: Apple Charlotte , Hazel Home , Honeysticks Vintage , Leatherhead Originals , MisterTrue , and Yellow Jacket Vintage . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Our apartment is cozy which means everything needs a place, and everything needs to be put away in its place. For my husband, this means he can never find anything. To store my washi tape collection, I repurposed a 1950s, copper, kitchen wrap organizer from Lincoln BeautyWare. Later, I'll share how I've used ammunition belts and train cases for organizing office supplies and tools. How do you organize your crafting supplies and tools? Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

I love home offices, big or small. I love having everything neatly categorized and filed away. A well-organized space gives me a sense of peace. These Etsy finds introduce type into the office - some for organization and some for procrastination. The Finds (top clockwise) : Kraft Paper Alphabet Sticker Tabs, $6 , Cactus Scraps ; Emoticon Paperweight, $5.50 , Urban Timber Woodworks ; Procrastination Files, $15 , Sam Bradd Designs ; M Magazine Holder, $36 , Up till now ; Cork Board Pins, $16 , Pickle Dog Design . The procrastination files are my favorite find. In preparation for Gates' arrival, we've been cleaning out the boxes of files in the office. Many of the items I squirreled away could have been more neatly categorized in these folders. How do you organize your office? Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective Etsy sellers: Cactus Scraps , Pickle Dog Design , Sam Bradd Designs , Up till now , and Urban Timber Woodworks . Collage created by Eden He...

Just in time for the crib to arrive, we finally moved all of the boxes out of the closet. As planned, the crib and one section of my Skandia bookcase/entertainment cabinet fit snuggly. Sprite has decided the room fits her perfectly and immediately settled into the crib for a nap. Now that we have cubbies for Gates' clothes and space for storing her quilts and blankets, it's time for spring cleaning. Quilts, blankets, and clothing my sister and I wore as babies has been neatly packed away for over 40 years waiting for the first granddaughter to arrive. Pictured above is an embroidered panel from a quilt my maternal grandmother made for me when I was little and a flower detail from a crocheted throw my paternal grandmother made for me when I was little (my cousin had one in pink, my sister one in purple). Next on the to do list after laundry is hanging the vintage board games on the walls, sewing a purple dust ruffle or two, and stitching together a flower bower . Ciao Bella! E...

I'm a sucker for handwritten fonts. With Spring beginning to appear in San Francisco and recent clear warmish days, spring fever is setting in. Today's font, Vtks Sunny Day, captures that distracted feeling one gets sitting in a class listening to a teacher drone on while staring out the window at the Quad or gazing across a blank screen willing words to flow for a white paper while clouds drift by outside the window. Vtks Sunny Day , designed by Douglas Vitkauskas, is available for free from Fontsy.com. It's glyphs are a mix of upper and lowercase forms. Common special characters such as punctuation, single and double quotes, ampersands, and numbers are available. Which type of fonts do you prefer? Free form, Serif, or Sans Serif? Happy Designing! Eden   Credits: All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

Spring is beginning to appear in San Francisco, so I'm dreaming of oysters on the half shell on the patio at the Park Chalet. Today's pick from Coach is a fun and flirty take on their classic Willis bag. The Finds: Colette by Naya, Camel Leather, $150 ; Bow-back Tank by Robin K, Black with Cream, $39 ; Ruffle-Edge Ribbon Hat, $49 ; Cotton Side Zip Shorts, Rope, $48 ; New Willis Bag, Silver with Magenta with Natural, $258 . Stripes and bows - yes or no? Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: All images taken by their respective sellers: Ann Taylor , Coach , Coolibar , Dillards , and Zappos . Collage created by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.

We've made it to the third trimester. And with that milestone comes insomnia. So, early this morning I decided on a theme for the first round of thank you notes - Sleepy Baby Animals. What do you think? If you'd like to use these note cards, I've shared a Sleepy Animals zip file with JPG images on Google Docs. Ciao Bella! Eden   Credits: Illustrations by Gareth Williams. All images taken by Eden Hensley Silverstein for The Road to the Good Life.