Sunday, January 31, 2010

Little Cooks

Isn't this little girl's apron, available here, the cutest?! It would be perfect for a tiny sous chef making these sugar cookies for valentines day!

A Family is a Family is a Family: A Rosie O'Donnell Celebration

The Three Candles by Marc Chagall (1938-40)
Thank you Farnosh for reminding me that A Family is a Family is a Family: A Rosie O'Donnell Celebration premieres tonight on HBO at seven click here to check out a preview. It just looked super cute/interesting to me. Will you be watching tonight?

Journals

Throughout my life, well since I was five or six, I have had some sort of journal. I think it's great to get kids in the habit of writing things down and it's so much fun to go back and look at old entries. Right now I have a pretty handmade one that Dusty's mom got me in New York, similar to this one. Do you keep a journal now, did you keep one when you were younger?

Birthday Food


It's my sister Carolyn's 12th birthday tomorrow and we're having a little family dinner tonight. I'm going to be making macaroni and cheese and chocolate cake. Definitely not a healthy meal but it will certainly be delicious! What's your favorite thing to eat on your birthday? What's your favorite kind of cake?

Happy Sunday

I hope you are doing something nice this morning, like having brunch or going to the park. I woke up with a sore throat this morning so all I've been doing is drinking hot tea and watching reruns on Bravo. If you're ever looking for a place to brunch and you're in the Orange County area please try The Rialto in downtown Fullerton. My friend Michelle introduced it to me about a year ago and I've loved it ever since. After brunch there you could walk over to the lovely Hillcrest Park and work off your meal.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

If you give a lady a glass of almond milk...

This morning I tried almond milk for the first time and was pleasantly surprised by just how good it is! I had some on a bowl of cereal and then enjoyed it so much that I had some plain! It has a mildly nutty, well almond-y taste that I think would be great with a chocolate covered biscotti, or just a chocolate chip cookie...which got me thinking about one of my favorite kid's books... If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff.

Flowers

Jasmine Flowers
Do you have a favorite kind of flower? I love the look of roses and daisies, but I have to say that my favorite would be jasmine because it smells so wonderful! When it comes to flora are you more charmed by looks or smells?

Walks

The clouds have finally cleared around here and it seems like a perfect day for a walk. I've been feeling cranky and am probably vitamin D deficient from all of this gloomy weather. I try to go on at least one walk around Dusty's or my neighborhood everyday (or night) and I'm happy for the opportunity to do it with the company of the sun today. Do you like walking or do you prefer some other (maybe more labor intensive) form of excercise? I hope the clouds have cleared around you too!

Matching Outfits

The ad on my blog for children's clothing got me thinking about matching outfits. When I was a kid my mom sometimes dressed me in matching clothes--with either herself, my little sister, or all three of us would match. I have to say I think it's ok for kids, but I'm not a fan of the mother-daughter scenario. Also, I do think that kids should have some independence/originality with regards to clothing choice (this coming from an extremely controlling gal who will probably try to pick out her future children's outfits everyday). Anyway, thoughts?

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Childhood Vacations



When I was a kid my parents didn't have a ton of money, so trips were generally made in our car to a campground somewhere. At the time I didn't always appreciate it, but now I'm genuinely happy that I've been so many places all over the U.S. and stayed at so many campgrounds. My favorite place to camp as a kid and as an adult was/is Hendy Woods State Park in Philo, CA-- a couple hours North of San Francisco. It's quite a drive from Southern California but well worth it. When I was young the redwood forest seemed magical, and now there's the added bonus of all the nearby wineries offering free tastings! Dusty and I made a trip up there last summer and had so much fun that we hope to do it again this year. Where are your favorite destinations? Did you go on lots of trips as a kid? Do you like camping or prefer the comfort of a hotel?

Braids

A little girl with french braids
hipster braids (image from www.fashioncoup.com)


So I have to admit that one of my many guilty pleasures is looking through fashion magazines. Lately I've been noticing tons of braids on models. I've always loved the look of braids in long hair. When I was young I liked my hair in two braids or in a french braid, my mom was quite talented at doing plaits of all sorts. What were your favorite hair styles when you were young? Are you glad that braids are making a comeback or do you wish they'd just go away?

What's your dream car?



As someone who drives a less than lovely (but extremely reliable) 2002 Nissan Sentra I frequently fantasize about having at least a slightly nicer car. If I could have ANY car though I think I'd want a cute little 1960s European convertible, like this 1960 Ferrari 250 GT. When I was younger my fantasy vehicle was a silver Porsche Boxster, so I guess I really haven't changed my taste too much. What kind of car do you drive or wish you drove?

Catcher in the Rye



Today author J.D. Salinger, best known for his novel The Catcher in the Rye died. He was 91. I probably never would have read the book had it not been required reading in highschool, but it was one of my favorites. Did you ever have to read the book?

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Chicken Soup for the Stomach


I absoulutely adore the website www.epicurious.com, it's a fabulous compilation of recipes from various high end food magazines as well as random cook books and healthy eating mags. One of my favorite things to cook now is a chicken noodle soup recipe I found on the site, just type in "old fashioned chicken noodle soup" in the search engine. As someone who grew up eating chicken noodle soup out of the can I appreciate the taste of this simple, healthy recipe.
Some tips: If you don't like mushrooms, substitute an equal portion of a veggie you prefer, for an equally delicious result. Also, I usually halve the recipe and it's more than enough!
Did you grow up eating homemade chicken noodle soup?












Ballet


Check out these crazy shoes by Alexander McQueen, he calls them Titanic Ballerina Pumps. I first saw them today on www.rachelzoe.com. They're like art-like futuristic robot ballet shoes (haha)! Did you do ballet or dance when you were a kid? I tried dance when I was 4 or 5 and HATED it, I am definitely NOT the graceful type. However I did like looking at Degas' ballerina paintings and sculptures at the Norton Simon Museum.


Dancers in the Rotunda at the Paris Opera
Edgar Degas, 1895 (image from
www.nortonsimon.org)




Baby Books

The Rose Garden at Huntington Gardens, San Marino, CA

So the other day I was reading through my baby book (quite fun, highly recommend it) and in it there was a section about trips I'd taken and things that I liked to do as a baby. It was really fascinating to see how much stuff I'd loved as a baby that I still love. For instance, trips to the Los Angeles Zoo to watch the monkeys, the tidepools at my great aunt's beach house in Cayucos, all of the beautiful plants at Huntington Gardens, and ice cream! Have you ever read through your baby book?





Heated Eye Lash Curler


So the other day my friend Farnosh and I were at Sephora and she told me that I had to get this new gadget- a heated eyelash curler. At first I was skeptical about it, especially since I'd never used an eyelash curler at all, but I LOVE IT! It really makes my eyelashes look long and helps to separate them out before applying mascara. It's only $12.00 and would make a wonderful little Valentine's day present for a girlfriend or mom.

Blueberries



So according to WebMD and numerous other sources blueberries are considered a "superfood" as they help keep away all sorts of bad stuff like heart disease, cancer, and high cholesterol. Just now Dusty and I made some delicious banana, blueberry, and buttermilk smoothies. I know that buttermilk sounds like a weird ingredient but it's has all the same stuff as milk with fewer calories and a yummy tart flavor. I highly recommend it!
Speaking of blueberries, did you ever read the book Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey (Pictured above)? I have to admit it wasn't my favorite as a kid (I didn't like that the pictures weren't colorful) but now I think it's adorable!




Bedtime




Do you have a bedtime routine? I don't now because I'm always going to bed at different times and under different circumstances, but I wish I did. When I was little I didn't like to go to sleep without being read to and "tucked in", and in highschool I had to have a cup of tea and read a book before sleeping. Some of my favorite bedtime themed children's books are Mickey in the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, and anything illustrated by Michael Hague made for sweet dreams. All three are pictured above in the order mentioned (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol illustrated by Michael Hague is the last shown). What books did you read when you were young? Or if you have kids what books do you like reading to them?























Valentine's Day

I know that it's not even February yet but I'm already excited for Valentine's Day. I know it's sort of a cheesey holiday but I love making Valentine's Day themed cards and crafts with the kids at school and my sister's at home. Wouldn't these be the cutest decorations, available at www.potterybarnkids.com, if you were having a party for little (or even big) ones?
Valentine's Day Garland
Valentine's Day Bamboo Melamine Plates

Do you like Valentine's Day?

Television shows for kids



When I was a young child I wasn't allowed to watch much television but my favorite show was Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I still have fond memories of eating maple and brown sugar oatmeal in my pajamas while watching Mr. Rogers, Trolley, and King Friday XIII . What were some of your favorite shows when you were young? If you have kids what do you let them watch, if anything?




Kitties

So I'm the oldest of five kids, I have one younger brother (two years my junior) and three younger sister's ages almost 12, almost 10, and 7. My three younger sisters love animals and as such LOVE the cable network Animal Planet. In general I'm not the biggest fan of animal shows but the other day there was nothing on and I found myself watching (and enjoying) Cats 101. It's so funny to see people so dedicated to their pets. I really liked one woman, artist Cassie Graus, in particular who had several "exotic breed" cats who were both pets and muses for her art.
Photo of Exotic Kitten Gizmo

Aren't they the cutest???



What do you want to be when you grow up?




Sometimes at work I ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up, it's always a fun question as it brings out a lot of cute answers. I've heard everything from "Hannah Montana" to "A highway patrol officer" (from a sweet little girl no less) to "a singer" or "a train engineer". The first thing I ever told my parent's that I wanted to be when I grew up was a paleontologist because I LOVED dinosaurs when I was young, however pretty quickly after that I decided that I wanted to be a teacher and I've basically stuck to that plan ever since.What did you want to be when you were a kid? Have you stuck to your original plan or changed your mind a zillion times?


Rollercoasters

The other day Dusty and I went to Knott's Berry Farm. I hadn't been in years but I was thrilled because my whole life I've loved riding rollercoasters. I guess I'm getting old though because I was unable to enjoy a single rollercoaster without feeling uncomfortably nauseous and later that night I woke up with the worst migraine. I think from now on I'll stick to the log ride. Do you enjoy rollercoasters?

Image, Source: digital file from intermediary roll film

Galoshes and Beatrix Potter


Lately it's been quite rainy in Southern California. Many of the kids at work have been bringing the most precious galoshes, umbrellas, and raincoats to school.


Aren't these Alligator rainboots, available at www.melissaanddoug.com, adorable? For some reason dreary days also remind me of Beatrix Potter stories. This morning I read the kids The Tale of Peter Rabbit. I was surprised that none of them had read it before but thrilled to be the first to expose them to the story.