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The Bubble Joy

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"In folly's cup still laughs the bubble joy." Alexander Pope

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The Bubble Joy

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Iris Knows You Can't Have It All

May 12, 2017 mithra ballesteros

A few years ago, I watched the Albert Mayles documentary on Iris Apfel, the self-described nonagenarian starlet. Have you seen it? She's quite a woman, a darling of the New York fashion industry who worked as an editor at Vogue Magazine, founded her own textile company, decorated homes of the rich and famous, and recently stars in national ad campaigns for Kate Spade and Alexis Bittar.

But only once does she touch upon one reason for her success. The director asks her about children and she says, "You can't have it all. I knew that."

Oh, did those words sting me.

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In Family Tags documentary, Albert Mayles, Iris Apfel, Vogue, motherhood, empty nest, sacrifice
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From the Bottom of Our Wooly Hearts

December 18, 2015 mithra ballesteros

Look at them, an idyllic family, frolicking hand-in-hand-in-hand through the grass on a breezy fall day. I spent an afternoon photographing them for their holiday card and let me brag for just a moment about their stellar qualities. They are very low-maintenance. No one worried about hair or clothes or the cold. They seem to really like each other. Seven people crammed together and not one nasty word was uttered. And talk about patient! 

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In Family Tags finger puppets, minted, holiday card, motherhood, parenting
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What a Snapshot Reveals

May 8, 2015 mithra ballesteros
Maryann and Mithra on Pepsi

Today I planned to hit you over the head with an ambitious do-it-yourself project. It involves taking an old slide or negative and turning it into a sentimental masterpiece worthy of prime wall space in a soulful home. The image I’m using for this project happens to be of a woman and a child sitting on a horse in a desert. The woman is my mother, I am the child, and the desert is in Iran. Which is frankly a lot more fun to write about than pixels and filters. So the Photoshop step-by-step will have to wait for another day. Let’s talk about my mom.

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In Family Tags snapshot, motherhood, Iran
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Caption Help Please!

March 27, 2015 mithra ballesteros

I'm working on captions for my April Fool's photos. These photos will live for twenty-four hours on Finder Not Keeper's home page on April 1. Above is one of the photos I'll be featuring. I'd love help from you clever people to supply a caption. Make fun of the bunnies. Or the flowers. (The whole collage will be available for sale next week.)

There's only one rule. Don't hold back. Leave your suggestion in the comments below. For examples from last year, scroll to the bottom. 

Be aware that swear words don't bother me. Because I am modern. Like my mom. One evening a few years ago, she called me on the phone. 

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In Family Tags April Fools, Finder Not Keeper, "f" word, motherhood
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Santa and His Reindeer Need a Shave

December 18, 2014 mithra ballesteros
The-Bubble-Joy-Reindeer-Collage

This was our holiday card last year -- a reincarnation of the days, sixteen years earlier, when my sons actually did what I asked. By which I mean they donned antlers and Irish knit sweaters and lined up by age. 

We took the original photo the year that we moved to Wisconsin. The boys loved how deer, foxes, even coyotes would meander through our woods and the idea of dressing up as reindeer delighted their innocent little imaginations.  

They don't really do what I tell them anymore. Because at this point, what can I tell them that will be heard? To match their socks? Those days of parenting are over. 

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In Family Tags Christmas, sons, holiday card, motherhood, parenting, vintage
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Our Video! Of Pond Frogs, Pizza, and Passing Years

November 27, 2014 mithra ballesteros

Happy Thanksgiving Friends! I have for your Black Friday enjoyment a little ditty of a video for Finder Not Keeper. If you enjoy it, I hope you "like" it and share it. After watching, scroll down below for a few fun tidbits about the making of "Shelf Life."

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In Family, Vintage Finds Tags stop motion, shelf life, boys, Max Ginkel, Renn Kuhnen, motherhood, parenting
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Mithra B096 copy.jpg

Welcome! I'm Mithra (pronounced Mee-thra). I'm an interior stylist and a writer. I'm also a vintage and antiques lover. I have an online shop, Finder Not Keeper, where I sell my best finds. (That's a white lie. I keep the best finds.) Read more about me and the blog here. 


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Instagram posts

A few days back in the ‘Quon. All of February is the price I’m willing to fork over for one week in September.
A few days back in the ‘Quon. All of February is the price I’m willing to fork over for one week in September.
Latest blog post about our new outdoor shower and the differences of opinion between this guy and his mother (me) on how it should be used. #linkinbio
Latest blog post about our new outdoor shower and the differences of opinion between this guy and his mother (me) on how it should be used. #linkinbio
Brainy, brave, kind, genuine, indefatigable, funny, patriotic, fair, hard working, gentle, strong, iconic.
Brainy, brave, kind, genuine, indefatigable, funny, patriotic, fair, hard working, gentle, strong, iconic.
Those aren’t my hands forming baguettes. But I took the pic. @heat_her_all_a_man has it down  and I’m ready with my salted butter and honey. What do you eat with baguettes?
Those aren’t my hands forming baguettes. But I took the pic. @heat_her_all_a_man has it down and I’m ready with my salted butter and honey. What do you eat with baguettes?
Surveying the herb garden after a good weeding session. Basil took a hit the last couple weeks but everything else is flourishing like summer lasts forever.
Surveying the herb garden after a good weeding session. Basil took a hit the last couple weeks but everything else is flourishing like summer lasts forever.
First restaurant account for @littlelaurentide! Also first time eating out since the snow was flying. Really really fun night. (Not to mention that building’s white with black trim paint color scheme is 💯)
First restaurant account for @littlelaurentide! Also first time eating out since the snow was flying. Really really fun night. (Not to mention that building’s white with black trim paint color scheme is 💯)
Surprise lilies, also known as naked ladies, fit in well here at the farm for reasons we will let you ponder.
Surprise lilies, also known as naked ladies, fit in well here at the farm for reasons we will let you ponder.
This is son #2, the farmer. Walter is working hard to turn this place into a sustainable organic farm. Follow us @littlelaurentide for the latest on how mother and son align, clash, argue, hug.
This is son #2, the farmer. Walter is working hard to turn this place into a sustainable organic farm. Follow us @littlelaurentide for the latest on how mother and son align, clash, argue, hug.
On the blog today, the newest bachelor at Little Laurentide. Will he draw viewers or is he a train wreck along the lines of Juan Pablo Galavis? Read the latest blog post to find out! Link in bio.
On the blog today, the newest bachelor at Little Laurentide. Will he draw viewers or is he a train wreck along the lines of Juan Pablo Galavis? Read the latest blog post to find out! Link in bio.
On the blog today: a tour of the best places on the farm to sit for a spell. And I write a bit about what it’s like to cohabit with a son who used to give me every kind of gray hair. He could teach a polar bear how to be grumpy and I could teac
On the blog today: a tour of the best places on the farm to sit for a spell. And I write a bit about what it’s like to cohabit with a son who used to give me every kind of gray hair. He could teach a polar bear how to be grumpy and I could teach a grizzly bear how to be grumpy. It’s a new world for the two of us, farming together, and can you guess how it’s going??

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