Beck, Max, and I took a trip to Boulder, CO to visit the family. One last summer hurrah! We had a fabulous time in Grammy Em's garden, at the Silly Six birthday party for Beck, Max and Maya, and on the girls' trampoline at Tia Jessica's house. One afternoon we rocked Estes Park with mini-golf and a ginormous slide.
I came across the most awesome blog yesterday...it's essentially a riff on the famed contemporary artist Damien Hirst. Hirst, known for pushing limits on the age-old question "what is art" is portrayed here in the most fabulous tongue in cheek way.
All "works" are titled with a (faux?) Hirst quote. This one was particularly rich...
"49 peanut M&M's of green, orange, blue, brown, yellow and red color which are sold in a mostly yellow bag on which it also writes that "To avoid suffocation, keep bags away from babies, young children and pets." that I bought at a gas station on my way to the train station where my mother was waiting for me on a white plastic windowsill" on a photograph.
I'm intrigued and sickened by Damien Hirst, and that is why this fake Damien Hirst blog is so amusing to me. Cheers, and yes -- "you got to love art!"
Oh D'Nealian, my first cursive love. I recently read an article in Time Magazine, Mourning the Death of Handwriting, by Claire Suddath. It was a bit disheartening, because I did not get the impression that she was truly mourning the death of handwriting...more like, pondering the death of handwriting. The Gen Y author admits to being a sloppy scriber. Passively accepting that we've traded "artistry for efficiency," Suddath shrugs her shoulders...like, whatever. Gen Why?
Yes, Cursif IS pretty. And so are the other fonts here on Noble Rabbit.She chronicles the changes our society has made in the past 100+ years, delivering us to a moment in time where script is deemed "pretty & cosmetic." But isn't it okay to be pretty? Isn't that what we value intrinsically? Here, it seems a more fitting a description of a Bonne Belle lip gloss. I'd like to see the letters transcend "pretty", become beautiful in their original glory with the curves and swoops that inspire words themselves to hold weight and carry meaning. With proper penmanship even a simple grocery list becomes a heartfelt momento. XOXO scratched in red is tiny love note. Even the words that come out a bit wonky (is that an e or an l?) exude a bit of mystery and spontaneity.
A handwritten note--with a scratch or scribble where you made your mistake--means so much more than a cryptic text or a casual email. Besides, isn't it good exercise for your digits? I challenge you this week to hand write a note, make a list, craft a memo. To anyone...your bestie, your mum, your hon or your sib. To you! Use the whole page. Use ink.
I'm a very fortunate gal to have visited "the ranch" last year. Rancho la Puerta is the most amazing camp for grown ups. Of course, it's better known as a fitness spa, but let's face it...your typical spa does not offer morning hikes to an organic farm, craft workshops, drumming, Feldenkrais, and bingo night. From their own PR materials,
"We make healthy people healthier! You’ll return home stronger, with the healthful glow and spring in your step that comes from a vacation devoted to relaxation, good eating, learning, and exercise."
This is true, true, true. I've never been so genuinely blissed out and upon return, my skin actually DID glow! Erased quickly in a whirlwind of work-kids-reality. Sigh. Another time? You bet. After we sell our first born...
Okay, let's break it down. It's all about creating a healthful balance in our lives. Exercise, Healthful/Mindful Eating, Meditation/Spirituality/Reflection. La la la la la. Good. Now, one thing I love to implement is healthful eating! Cheers to any and all of the great recipes that come from that fabulous kitchen. This is a new staple in our house, and I hope you enjoy it too.
P.S. I have to get judgy here for a minute. A woman posted this on her blog, and KILLED the recipe by ADDING a bunch of sugar (both white and brown!) "because it wasn't sweet enough". Trust me, it doesn't need it!
CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD
Time: 1 1/2 hours, plus at least 1 hour to cool.
From Sunset Magazine:
This dense, moist bread, served to morning hikers at La Cocina Que Canta, tastes so chocolaty that you'd never guess it's made with prune purée instead of butter. It's adapted from Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta by Deborah Szekely and Deborah M. Schneider.
Makes 1 loaf (20 slices)
1. In a small saucepan, bring prunes and 2 cups water to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until prunes are very soft, about 20 minutes. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Lightly butter a 5- by 9-in. loaf pan and line bottom with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit.
3. In a food processor, whirl prunes and bananas until very smooth. Add eggs and whirl to combine.
4. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir in banana mixture until evenly moistened. Stir in nuts, banana chips, and chocolate chips. Scrape the thick batter into pan and spread level.
5. Bake bread until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out a little chocolaty but not gooey, 45 to 50 minutes. Loosen bread from pan with a knife and invert onto a rack. Remove parchment. Turn bread right side up and let cool at least 1 hour before slicing.
Shortcut: Substitute 12 oz. (1 1/2 cups) unsweetened prune baby food for the pitted prunes, and omit water and cooking in step 1.
Nutritional Information
I knew that starting my own business was not going to be easy. I just thought it would be easier to stay fired up about it! But being a perfectionist can really screw you up...for one, I refused to draft a news release about Truly Fine because I thought that I needed to accomplish key milestones before I was viewed as legitimate. And I couldn't sent a release having accomplished nothing! What a silly idea. Launching a business is, in itself, an accomplishment. I can't expect having my product in stores, without making people aware of the product to begin with. So counterintuitive! Second, as great as my marketing skills are, I fell into the age-old trap of undervaluing myself and my product, making it a real challenge to feel confident in "selling" the brand. Finally, I experienced rotten business karma when my flagship retailer, Gizmo Garage, closed shop at the New Children's Museum and ran off without payment or goods return. Grrrr.
I recently received a great shot in the arm from a new found friend, starting her own matchmaking business (more to come on this one!). She loves my designs and offered to help represent the lines. We've decided to trade---I'm designing her logo and she's pimping my goods. To get a feel for where I'm at, she asked me pointed questions that made me really acknowldege my strengths, weaknesses and big picture goals. A simple exercise, but wholly worthwhile.
I'm working hard to overcome the challenges that exist naturally and the ones I've created for myself, to enhance and utilize my strengths, to turn my dreams into reality. Wish me luck...
One of the ways we might pass our time at an extraordinarily casual dinner at home, is for Jarrod to show us all skateboarding or bike videos (on the laptop, at the table...GASP!). These 3-5 min. movies showcase serious stunts by average dudes.
Tonight, I got a special showing of Jarrod's latest find. In a word, sweet. I'm crushing on this Erik Elstran, who is a nouveau Napoleon Dynamite with sweet skills and rad music. Not your typical testosterone trickster, Elstran really rocks his bike in style and uses a bit of humor to keep you wanting more.
Check it out:
Erik Elstran - April 2009 from North of Ten on Vimeo.
Blackberry...Apricot...Strawberry...Rose Tree...Christmas in July! Today I received a big box of homemade jam. My mom rocks the homemade jam. Someday I will take the time to learn the Art of the Jam. In the meantime I will treasure and hoard these jewel like jars of sweet goodness.
Oh! And to make it a true twenty-first century care package she included a starter library of relationship books. Five, to be exact. The jam really sweetened the deal.
I'm a relatively new subscriber to Lisa Belkin's Blog at The New York Times. It's called Motherlode, Adventures in Parenting. I dig this blog because Lisa just seems to nail the issues that I'm already thinking about, or want to be thinking about. Tonight I saw her recent post regarding the boy with cancer from Minnesota, the strip search of a 13 year old girl in Arizona, and Jon and Kate Plus 8, which I do not watch but have fair knowledge of (who doesn't these days?). I enjoyed this so I clicked through her links to an earlier post...and landed here: "What's Harder, Marriage or Parenting?".
Hmmmm. Lisa addressed this topic in the context of other "momversations" that were happening online (January 2009). SHOCKINGLY not all moms were experiencing the same challenges. Many moms are overwhelmed by today's parenting pressures. Others are struggling to manage their marriage. I know where I fall on this issue, as I said out loud tonight (with my watermelon margarita) "It can't get any harder than this." OY. Where are you?
Take a deep breath. One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish. Smell the marine layer, listen to Michael Jackson and eat a homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich.
I think some of the best gifts for kids include art supplies and books. The boys were recently invited to a birthday party for which I created an Art Kit as the bday prize. Kids have the most fun and allow their imaginations to wander when they are given access to random materials. So I included the following items:
Interested? E-mail me. The combinations and price points are infinite!
I love to cook. I especially love to BAKE. So, when the Mister determines he is a bit (okay A LOT) gluten-irritated (irritated because he's not ready to own "intolerant"...) I decide to explore the alternatives. I had a heap of blueberries on hand this week so I made a formal foray into the GF blog world. Gluten Free Girl offered this recipe...it includes lemon zest, which is fantastic because we have plenty of lemons right now. I only modified it slightly because I had soy flour, blue corn meal and an Arrowhead Mills GF baking mix. I used some of each. The Mister approves!
My first adventure in flourless baking was inspired by a bowl of (aging) cherries. One of my favorite flavor combinations is cherry almond so I proceeded to modify a traditional recipe. I used organic soy flour instead of traditional flour, and I used a cup of almonds, at least half of which I ground up into a fine almond meal. Since the cherries were fresh, I did attempt to dry them out a bit with paper towels and a pop in the oven prior to mixing. Of course, at the end I spinkled raw sugar on top...yum.
I'm not sure how I stumbled upon Good Bones Great Pieces, but I'm continually drawn to the work of former Martha Stewart staff. In this case it's a mother-daughter design team blogging and etsying their way through decor and fashion. One of their most recent posts features Irena Sophia, a New York based illustrator they discovered at the Renegade Craft Fair in Salem, New York.
Luckily Renegade Craft Fairs are happening all over the place. The nearest location for me is Los Angeles, and is coming up soon...July 11-12. Don't you love the illustration? Renegade Handmade, based in the uber-cool Wicker Park area of Chicago, is an extension of the fair phenomenon.
This one via honey.huckabee at flickr
This is a beautiful illustration I found at Something to See on flickr.
Ooooooh. The drama! This starlet was on magda.indigo's photosream.
Uggh. It finally happenend. Beck's love of the color pink finally fell in disfavor when his summer school mates teased him about his girly pink lunchbox. Right now Max and Beck are among the youngest in the group and I believe most of the boys are quite comfortable conforming to traditional gender roles. Poor little thug. He is quite sensitive now, though he is strong and has a fierce temper. I could have prevented this hardship by censoring his selections, but that can only last so long. If we teach our children (boys or girls) to stand up for their own decisions and embrace the things they love then they will be self assured independent thinkers, right?
It's painful, and trust me I know from experience, but I think I'm better for it. I learned by my own accord, and went through many years of generic conformity to avoid ridicule. I made myself invisible by blending in and making choices that went along with the crowd. So boring. Still, they were my choices. I hope Beck stays strong--loving all colors of the rainbow, asking to wear my Goody stretch headbands, and buying "girl" books like Pinkalicious at the book fair. He may be a twin, but to me, he's one of a kind.
I love this kind of discovery...in reading the May 2009 issue of Oprah (not How or Readymade or Print), OPRAH, I learned of an ink-saving font, ecofont. When printed in a point size 12 or less, this brilliant design saves 20% in ink. Of course a Dutch company called SPRANQ came up with the tiny circles which are naked to the eye and easy on your pricey cartridges. I'm down with this, and will even use it at work on the multitude of internal docs I print daily. On spranq's website you can find the link to download the font for FREE, and also play a game called "moneymaker." This game intrigued me, but without a key to the Dutch language I was lost.
One of my favorite activities in the world is thrifting. Mainly resale shops like AmVets or Salvation Army, because I am not organized or flexible with my time enough to do garage sales. But I love the thrill of hunting for and finding special treasures. I've found still life paintings, funky ceramics, mercury glass, kid's clothes, linens, notions, dishes, clocks, you name it. I love finding quality ribbon and bias tape for a steal. I've also taken to finding dorky old coffee mugs like Camp Tookalusa 1971 or a subverted FedEx logo reading "FedUp".
I always keep my eyes open for old office supplies. That's why I was so jazzed to find some airmail envelopes on last weekend's hunt. I also found this fabulous vintage map chalkboard. LOVE it! Just finding the right spot for it now...There are a few friends I have had that love this, just like me. Right now, none of my pals would tolerate the dirt and grunge and weirdness of the process. My mom and my sister get it, but they are miles away. What do YOU hunt for?
So...I thought I had it all down pat when I marked the calendar for the Kindergarten/PEPP choir concert. Thursday, May 21, 8:30 AM. I gave the light blue xeroxed flier to Jarrod, to hang on the fridge in the garage. Just a couple of days later I noticed the following "Uniform: White tops and blue jeans" written on this invitation. Hmmm. White tops. Do the boys have white shirts? Then onto...Packing lunches, making breakfasts, dinner, whatever. In. and then Out.
Cue Thursday morning at home: AHHHHHHH. The boys do not have white shirts. Of any kind or variety. What kind of sane mother puts her 5 year old boys in white tees? That is never worth the laundry headache. The mister offered to go to the store, and I admit, I did call Rite Aid. The lady at the store says yes indeed they carry boys white tees. According to the Mister, no they do not carry BOYS white tees. Grrrr. Cue to the boys getting dressed. No white tee??!!! Well, then I want to wear a "cool" shirt, said Max. Beck had his choice of the party clothes too.
I assured myself, really it won't be a big deal. How many other working parents or just plain busy moms are there? It will probably be about 60/40 for white shirt representation, right?
Not even close.
After swimming through the parental paparazzi, I found myself in the back row--me with my iPhone (forgot my other fabulous devices), and every other amateur film maker using tripods and video cameras to capture the glory. There they all marched in, white shirt after white shirt after white shirt. Front row arrives, the last of the students. Beck, then a few later, Max. Try....112 kids in white shirts. 2 in Hawaiian*. Rock on mom, rock on.
*I might have seen a striped white shirt, and one with some funky designs, but nothing, not even close to the Beck & Max show...
These cookies ROCK! I actually followed the recipe and restrained from making them "healthier" with applesauce and flax meal substitutions. Maybe next time...
Alaskan Airlines Pilot Oatmeal Cookies
via "Baking And Boys!" Blog
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger and cloves (my tweak, called for nutmeg)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, crushed finely
1 cup walnuts, toasted, barely chopped
1 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix together. Add oats, raisins, nuts and any other mix-ins and stir to combine. {They may seem a bit crumbly, but I used a tight little scooper to keep them together. Don't worry, they finish up rich and tender.} Bake on parchment lined baking sheets for 11 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on size.
My very good friend, Kate McKay, is studying law in London. She overheard this in the library today: "The problem with my codpiece is that I can't find enough socks to stuff it."
Kate, I miss you!!!!!
Yea! I think I've been able to cut my nagging by at least half since creating these chore charts. Mornings are easier since I began setting their alarm clock, and now the boys have stopped asking me what to do next in the getting-ready-for-school-drill. After school they need to empty and put away their lunch and snack bags, empty their school folders and wash hands. At some point before bed they need to hang up their hat, shower, brush chops, and get jammies on.
I've put the pages into protective sleeves, and posted them in the foyer. They use dry erase markers to check off the boxes as they go. While there are a host of different charts on the market, most are geared to older kids who can read. Using pictures and words allows them to take ownership of the list and manage it without our help. If they ever get stuck..."uuugh what do I do next?"..."Check your chart." "Oh, right."
I do need to add a box for book reading (homework) and possibly add a section for bigger chores like taking out the trash and watering the plants. If anyone wants a more generic version (no names or shower pics!) I can provide a PDF with a few fill in the blanks.
I've discovered the most wonderful vintage treasures on Etsy. Tipple & Snack feature vintage country finds that have just enough charm and quirk for great value.
Love, love, love.
