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Sunday, April 12, 2009
Style Files from Goop!
Check out this week's Goop newsletter for some fashion stylings by Miss Gwyneth...
Thank you!
I just wanted to say thanks to everybody who has come out to support my photographic endeavors this past week! Thanks to everyone who visited the Pen & Brush and my show here locally! (Its not every day that you get to show your stuff in the Big City, or by itself... even if it's just in a local coffee shop!) It really means a lot to me to have your support!!! Yay!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Italia 2009!
So, it's that time of year again. I've been suited up with anti-anxiety meds (aka the equivilent of a horse tranquilizer) and we'll soon be taking flight! This time we'll be in Rome and the Costeria Amalfitana! With side trips to Pompeii, Paestum and the Isle of Capri!
The first few days of our adventure will be spent in Rome where we'll be calling the Inn at the Spanish Steps home. We've already booked our Vatican tickets, so here's to hoping we'll be able to avoid the lines. On Monday (when things in Rome tend to be closed...) We'll be driving down to Amalfi. Originally we had reserved a Mercedes A180 for the trip, but after seeing some bitingly realistic reviews of said car, its luggage capacity and exactly what Avis Italia may consider an "intermediate" sized vehicle we "upgraded" to a Passat wagon. I'm sure we'll end up getting the wagon wedged between a stone wall and a vespa or passenger bus somewhere along the coast drive, but that's what the collision damage waiver is all about!
Once in Amalfi we'll be at the Hotel Santa Caterina. Sadly, it appeared that neither the le Sirenuse or the Il San Pietro would permit children Miss B's age, so we'll have to leave those for another visit (sad as that may be since Town and Country Travel had said it was a fave of Hugh Grant!) While in Amalfi we're planning to visit Pompeii, take a boat to Capri and make the drive to Paestum, past Salerno. I'm hoping that we'll also get to stop in at Vietri (home of Vietri pottery) as nothing says "Italian vacation" like bringing home breakable ceramics in your carry on bags!
Then it will be back to Rome, where we'll have moved to accomodations at the Villa Spalleti Trivelli. Free minibar, people! It will be all the $5.00 jars of nuts and bottled water we can consume! While in Rome, we've booked a private tour of the Collesseum and Roman forum through Context Tours. They've confirmed that our guide will be an actual archeologist... How cool is that? I'll only be happy, however, if I can call him "Dr. Jones" in a German accent!
On our last Saturday we haven't finalized our plans, leaving it open to take the high speed train to Florence, if we're feeling adventurous.
The first few days of our adventure will be spent in Rome where we'll be calling the Inn at the Spanish Steps home. We've already booked our Vatican tickets, so here's to hoping we'll be able to avoid the lines. On Monday (when things in Rome tend to be closed...) We'll be driving down to Amalfi. Originally we had reserved a Mercedes A180 for the trip, but after seeing some bitingly realistic reviews of said car, its luggage capacity and exactly what Avis Italia may consider an "intermediate" sized vehicle we "upgraded" to a Passat wagon. I'm sure we'll end up getting the wagon wedged between a stone wall and a vespa or passenger bus somewhere along the coast drive, but that's what the collision damage waiver is all about!
Once in Amalfi we'll be at the Hotel Santa Caterina. Sadly, it appeared that neither the le Sirenuse or the Il San Pietro would permit children Miss B's age, so we'll have to leave those for another visit (sad as that may be since Town and Country Travel had said it was a fave of Hugh Grant!) While in Amalfi we're planning to visit Pompeii, take a boat to Capri and make the drive to Paestum, past Salerno. I'm hoping that we'll also get to stop in at Vietri (home of Vietri pottery) as nothing says "Italian vacation" like bringing home breakable ceramics in your carry on bags!
Then it will be back to Rome, where we'll have moved to accomodations at the Villa Spalleti Trivelli. Free minibar, people! It will be all the $5.00 jars of nuts and bottled water we can consume! While in Rome, we've booked a private tour of the Collesseum and Roman forum through Context Tours. They've confirmed that our guide will be an actual archeologist... How cool is that? I'll only be happy, however, if I can call him "Dr. Jones" in a German accent!
On our last Saturday we haven't finalized our plans, leaving it open to take the high speed train to Florence, if we're feeling adventurous.
Productive....
So today is one of those rare and exciting days where I feel like I have been productive! I've already managed to:
1) Schedule Miss Kitty's "Spa" appointment (okay, it's just the grooming salon at Petsmart, but we'll try to make her feel special, they do, after all, put a pink bow in her fur when they're finished);
2) Upgraded cable with Verizon. When we first signed up for Verizon Fios we got *all* the channels (with the exception of Cinemax)... then over the past year they started adding new HD channels and we weren't getting any of them. And not exciting "subscription only" channels, but things like Fox News in HD and the Biography channel-- which, by the way, we already get in regular definition... so, I called and got us a new box for our guest room and got us an upgrade, which included Cinemax. We'll see how this all works out.
3) Called LL Bean and replaced Miss B.'s Fitness Fleece pull-over. I just bought one of these the other week and it had become a fast favorite of the whole fam. It's awfully cute, light weight and nice fleece and Miss B. loves her fleece. Well, unfortunately, I washed it and failed to notice that a big sticker from the doctor's office was still on the front of it and lo and behold it melted to the fleece. I'm sure it will come off eventually, but not in time for our trip! I visited the LL Bean website and the item had mysteriously disappeared (as things on that website are wont to do) so the Mom suggested I call them back and ask to reference my old order. It was perfect! They checked my old order, ordered us a new one and it is set to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday!
4) Booked a hotel! We've been invited to a wedding in Newport in the fall and I called up today to get us our hotel room... I even got us an upgrade (at a discount!)
Let's see if we can keep this productivity up! (I'm sure it will be all down hill from here!) :)
1) Schedule Miss Kitty's "Spa" appointment (okay, it's just the grooming salon at Petsmart, but we'll try to make her feel special, they do, after all, put a pink bow in her fur when they're finished);
2) Upgraded cable with Verizon. When we first signed up for Verizon Fios we got *all* the channels (with the exception of Cinemax)... then over the past year they started adding new HD channels and we weren't getting any of them. And not exciting "subscription only" channels, but things like Fox News in HD and the Biography channel-- which, by the way, we already get in regular definition... so, I called and got us a new box for our guest room and got us an upgrade, which included Cinemax. We'll see how this all works out.
3) Called LL Bean and replaced Miss B.'s Fitness Fleece pull-over. I just bought one of these the other week and it had become a fast favorite of the whole fam. It's awfully cute, light weight and nice fleece and Miss B. loves her fleece. Well, unfortunately, I washed it and failed to notice that a big sticker from the doctor's office was still on the front of it and lo and behold it melted to the fleece. I'm sure it will come off eventually, but not in time for our trip! I visited the LL Bean website and the item had mysteriously disappeared (as things on that website are wont to do) so the Mom suggested I call them back and ask to reference my old order. It was perfect! They checked my old order, ordered us a new one and it is set to arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday!
4) Booked a hotel! We've been invited to a wedding in Newport in the fall and I called up today to get us our hotel room... I even got us an upgrade (at a discount!)
Let's see if we can keep this productivity up! (I'm sure it will be all down hill from here!) :)
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Red Box!
So when we visited the city last weekend and saw 410e9th he asked for more Redbox stories! Last night's Redbox selection was "The Day The Earth Stood Still". Okay Hollywood, just by putting Keanu Reeves in a black suit with some sunglasses on does not mean you will have a blockbuster of Matrix proportions. See: Johnny Mnemonic.
In other Redbox news, for some reason, the Husband has a curse with the Redbox. I've been telling him and telling him how easy it is to use. So, the Husband thought he would give it a try. The first time he tried to rent, the machine was broken. The second time he went to use a Redbox, he was returning a video and again, that box was broken (different location). The third time the Husband merely accompanied me while I was going to pick a Redbox and I got stuck behind a woman who looked through all 17 pages of Redbox titles. Then, the other night, I was planning to return a movie (as it was getting close to the witching hour of 9pm) and the Husband offered to drive me, after dinner. Well, as we're ready to go to the car, Husband goes to pick up Miss B. and she throws up. Now she hasn't thrown up since she was a year old (which we refer to as "the sweet potato incident in nighttime"). Clearly it is the Husband Redbox curse. Of course, this may have been triggered by the Husband permitting Miss B. to eat some raw onions (it was Taco Night), but still. We think it's the curse.
In other Redbox news, for some reason, the Husband has a curse with the Redbox. I've been telling him and telling him how easy it is to use. So, the Husband thought he would give it a try. The first time he tried to rent, the machine was broken. The second time he went to use a Redbox, he was returning a video and again, that box was broken (different location). The third time the Husband merely accompanied me while I was going to pick a Redbox and I got stuck behind a woman who looked through all 17 pages of Redbox titles. Then, the other night, I was planning to return a movie (as it was getting close to the witching hour of 9pm) and the Husband offered to drive me, after dinner. Well, as we're ready to go to the car, Husband goes to pick up Miss B. and she throws up. Now she hasn't thrown up since she was a year old (which we refer to as "the sweet potato incident in nighttime"). Clearly it is the Husband Redbox curse. Of course, this may have been triggered by the Husband permitting Miss B. to eat some raw onions (it was Taco Night), but still. We think it's the curse.
Crazy Lunch
Yesterday, after Gymboree, we had lunch with the ladies including Crazy Mom and all three of her children. For the most part things were pretty calm, which was good since Hippie Mom and Normal Mom (who are both pregnant with their second children) were both headache-y/having tired pregnant days and could have used some calm. Then Thing #2 starts talking about her caterpillars. Crazy Mom bought Thing #2 a Butterfly House at Christmas time on sale and apparently, much like sea monkees, when you're ready to have your little menagerie you can mail away to get some caterpillars and eventually, with love and care they will become Butterflies (or at least that's the hope). Thing #2 was very excited about this prospect and very proud that she is now a "Mommy" too. In an odd twist of fate this mirrored that morning's Barney episode where Baby Bop "lost" her pet caterpillar, Monty, but in fact, he had actually just become a butterfly. I don't know how I feel about being able to recount the plot line of an episode of Barney.
Thing #1 was also there and he had brought with him a stuffed bear, which was sitting, rather forlornly, on our dining table. Miss B., once she caught sight of it, starts saying "Bah!, Baahhh!" "Bah!"
This leads Crazy Mom, who was seated next to Miss B. to say: "What do you want, honey?, Bottle? Egg? What are you saying?"
Now, to be fair, Miss B. is kind of like those Masai Bushmen in Africa who speak with the click languages-- the phrase "Ba" can have many meanings, among them: "bagel", "banana", "bug" and for some reason, inexplicably, the driver's seat of the car. It can also mean "bear"!
I'm thinking, come, on, Crazy Mom, you've got three kids! Surely, you know she's not asking for part of your hardboiled egg-- you've got a big stuffed BEAR sitting right in front of you!
Alas, after Bear-gate, our next bit of excitement came when Thing #1 decided it was time to leave lunch and he opened the door from the food court out to the outside letting out Bingo and Hippie Mom's daughter in the process. Nothing says panic like having a 6 year old organize a prison break for some toddlers.
We've got another birthday party this weekend, so we'll see what adventures we have then.
Thing #1 was also there and he had brought with him a stuffed bear, which was sitting, rather forlornly, on our dining table. Miss B., once she caught sight of it, starts saying "Bah!, Baahhh!" "Bah!"
This leads Crazy Mom, who was seated next to Miss B. to say: "What do you want, honey?, Bottle? Egg? What are you saying?"
Now, to be fair, Miss B. is kind of like those Masai Bushmen in Africa who speak with the click languages-- the phrase "Ba" can have many meanings, among them: "bagel", "banana", "bug" and for some reason, inexplicably, the driver's seat of the car. It can also mean "bear"!
I'm thinking, come, on, Crazy Mom, you've got three kids! Surely, you know she's not asking for part of your hardboiled egg-- you've got a big stuffed BEAR sitting right in front of you!
Alas, after Bear-gate, our next bit of excitement came when Thing #1 decided it was time to leave lunch and he opened the door from the food court out to the outside letting out Bingo and Hippie Mom's daughter in the process. Nothing says panic like having a 6 year old organize a prison break for some toddlers.
We've got another birthday party this weekend, so we'll see what adventures we have then.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
My Big Debut!
There I am-- in the corner behind the guy with the red hat! It's me in profile. Not looking my best, but hey, it was an overnight shoot in a subway car in summer. What do you want?
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Give Me Back That Filet-O-Fish, Give Me That Fish!
Check out this article about the talking fish Filet-o-Fish commercial. The Husband and I have already found ourselves singing the song involuntarily. Then, not only did the Husband hear people singing it one day on the train, but three kids were singing it while I was waiting to pay for parking after the circus. Sadly, I think none of this will increase Filet-O-Fish sales, because nothing could actually make a Filet-O-Fish edible, but that tune is awfully catchy!
More Art!!
Today we got to install some of our photos at our solo exhibit!Miss B. was my design helper extraordinaire and all it cost me was a giant chocolate chip cookie. Good deal, no?
Monday, April 06, 2009
How Do You KNow You Have The Cutest Toddler Ever...
She falls asleep in the back of the car with a chicken nugget in her hand. When you get home, she wakes up in the garage, nugget still in hand and takes a bite, like the nap never even happened.
The Unusuals!
Spoiler-Alert!!!
The Unusuals premiers on ABC on Wednesday, April 8th at 10pm. I'm pretty sure that the episode I was an extra in is the premier episode, so do watch and keep an eye out for me!! If I'm there I'll be in the scene in the subway right before the geeky bad guy gets tasered. I'm right there next to Harold Perrineau! I'm sure that if I appear at all my head will be cutoff, but you'll know me by my orange handbag!
Woo-hoo!
The Unusuals premiers on ABC on Wednesday, April 8th at 10pm. I'm pretty sure that the episode I was an extra in is the premier episode, so do watch and keep an eye out for me!! If I'm there I'll be in the scene in the subway right before the geeky bad guy gets tasered. I'm right there next to Harold Perrineau! I'm sure that if I appear at all my head will be cutoff, but you'll know me by my orange handbag!
Woo-hoo!
Art Today!
It is a rainy day here and at the end of today's episode of Barney there were little drawn stick people on paper doing something or another. This lead Miss B. to want to draw! She loves her easel that Grandma bought her and last weekend we did some drawing in the kitchen using our high chair as an improptu art studio. So, Miss B. is telling me "Zraw!!! ZRAAAAW!!" And at first I wasn't quite sure what she meant, so I get her out of the high chair and then she goes into the utility room.
Still saying "ZRAAAAW! Zrawww!" I go in to the utility room and see that Miss Kitty has tossed her breakfast. I say to Miss B, "Oh, you wanted to let me know that the cat threw up, thank you!" Nope, Mom, you're too dense. That's not why I'm in here, she's thinking.... so, again "ZRAAAWW!" But this time Miss B. points animatedly up to our craft tub up on the shelf. Finally, it hits me-- she wants to DRAW! (I'm a little slow this morning, what can I say).
So, we pull out our art bucket and we start with crayons on construction paper. Then we move to decorating the giant foam easter eggs (with crayons, stick on foam shapes, glitter glue and pompoms) and now we've moved on to dark purple Play-Doh! I personally love that written on the play-doh container it clearly says "Fun to play with but not to eat." I'll keep that in mind.
Still saying "ZRAAAAW! Zrawww!" I go in to the utility room and see that Miss Kitty has tossed her breakfast. I say to Miss B, "Oh, you wanted to let me know that the cat threw up, thank you!" Nope, Mom, you're too dense. That's not why I'm in here, she's thinking.... so, again "ZRAAAWW!" But this time Miss B. points animatedly up to our craft tub up on the shelf. Finally, it hits me-- she wants to DRAW! (I'm a little slow this morning, what can I say).
So, we pull out our art bucket and we start with crayons on construction paper. Then we move to decorating the giant foam easter eggs (with crayons, stick on foam shapes, glitter glue and pompoms) and now we've moved on to dark purple Play-Doh! I personally love that written on the play-doh container it clearly says "Fun to play with but not to eat." I'll keep that in mind.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Birthday Parties and Other Such Things...
After our visit to the reception at P&B, we headed straight back to the local nabe for a birthday party at The Little Gym for one of Miss B.'s friends. This party was technically for one of Miss B.'s longest running "friends", having originally met the birthday girl in our "Babies" class at Music Together when the ladies were but wee babies of about 6 months. Ah, much has changed!
Now, hitting the ripe old age of two, we are truly in the ranks of official kid-dom with real birthday parties. If you've never been to a Little Gym, it's an interesting experience. It's more gymnastics focused than Gymboree (even having uneven bars and rings) which for a person like me just screams "mom-unapproved acrobatic activity". Luckily we ended up getting to the party about a half an hour late so we missed much of the acrobatics and instead Miss B. made a bee-line for the giant yellow physioball which she then proceeded to push around the floor even though it was practically as big as she is.
Yup, Miss B. was loving that giant ball, right up until Thing #1 came and ushered her out of the way to start playing with it himself. Yes, that's right, Crazy Mom and her brood were at the party! Not only was her youngest, Bingo there, but so were here other two children: Thing #1 (a six year old boy) and Thing #2 (her four year old daughter). That being the same four year old daughter who climbed on top of one of our armchairs during a play date in an attempt to scale a wall to reach our stuffed deer head. We hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Thing #1 before, we had only heard about him and how he was so excited about getting a trampoline to play with in Crazy Mom's family room.
Not only was Crazy Mom there, but so was her Husband. I wasn't actually properly introduced to Crazy Husband, but in a funny twist of fate I had already heard quite a bit about him. A week ago in our Gymboree Art class some of the other moms were talking about Crazy Mom, her kids and her Husband. (I felt very much like one of the cast members of The Real Housewives as our little coffee klatch was suddenly turning and dishing on one of our own). Turns out I'm not the only one who thinks that Crazy Mom's kids are a bit high strung (specifically, everyone agrees that Thing #2 just can not stop talking. Ever. Not even a little bit. So, I don't know if that means I'm not a bad person because it's not just me who thinks that the kids are crazy, or if we're all bad people... at least we all think alike) and it also turns out that the rest of the group already decided that Crazy Mom's husband is a jerk. Based on how Crazy Husband just basically allowed Thing #1 to steal the Physioball from a two year old and after a few moments of Miss B. chasing after the ball and crying "Mama! Mama!" ever more anxiously, as if to say "that big kid took my toy!" finally, Crazy Husband had a half-hearted, "give her the ball back, she had it first". Gee. Thanks. Your kid is like 4 years older than mine. In fact, he wasn't really invited to this party, he's just here so you didn't have to stay home alone with him.
After that little incident it was time for pizza in the party room. The Little Gym folks made it clear that while it is absolutely verboten to wear shoes in the play area, it is equally verboten to *not* wear shoes in the pizza area. Once everyone had put their foot wear back on it was into the room with little chairs and tables for kid pizza! There were sandwiches and chips for the parents and as the Husband pointed out the kids ate their food in a more civilized fashion than the adults. The parents acted like they were the castaways on Survivor and they hadn't seen real food in a month. We hung out with Miss B. and one of her other friends (and the Crazy family). At one point, because Thing #1 and Thing #2 had pushed their chairs away from the table, Crazy Husband pulled the entire table back towards them, rather than pushing in their individual chairs. This was unique given that now, on the other side of the table, Miss B. and the girl next to her were suddenly no longer anywhere near their plates. Nice.
Also attending the party was another former Music Together student, whose Dad just happens to be a State Trooper. I wouldn't have known this but for the fact that he came to the party straight from work and still had on his State Trooper garb. If you've ever seen a New Jersey Trooper you'll know their outfits are a bit intense. Kind of like something out of the Hitler Youth-- they even have one of those leather bandolier straps across their chest and big riding boots. I have to say, it was a bit intimidating. I mentioned to one of the other moms that it made me a bit nervous because I have to have my car inspected, I also felt like I needed to be worried that he might come up to me and ask to see my license and registration. She countered with not feeling comfortable that he had a loaded gun in a room full of toddlers. I noted that if anybody in the room could disarm him it would be Thing #1.
After pizza, it was a cake explosion! The Little Gym people cut the cake into slabs in sizes equivalent to the kids' noggins. I have to say, while the cake was exceptionally tasty, I don't think any of those children needed pieces that large. I think the size of the cake pieces were directly correlated to the speed with which the party ended right after cake was served. Once you've given that many kids that much sugar, its time to hand them back over to their parents with a balloon and godspeed.
Miss B. did great though, and after the party we headed over to Chick Fil-A for a proper fast-food dinner. Next week we have another birthday party on Saturday. We're hoping the weather will be warm enough that Miss B. can wear her new party dress. We're also trying to come up with excuses around not having to invite Crazy Mom and her brood to Miss B.'s birthday party, but I think it is inevitable.
Now, hitting the ripe old age of two, we are truly in the ranks of official kid-dom with real birthday parties. If you've never been to a Little Gym, it's an interesting experience. It's more gymnastics focused than Gymboree (even having uneven bars and rings) which for a person like me just screams "mom-unapproved acrobatic activity". Luckily we ended up getting to the party about a half an hour late so we missed much of the acrobatics and instead Miss B. made a bee-line for the giant yellow physioball which she then proceeded to push around the floor even though it was practically as big as she is.
Yup, Miss B. was loving that giant ball, right up until Thing #1 came and ushered her out of the way to start playing with it himself. Yes, that's right, Crazy Mom and her brood were at the party! Not only was her youngest, Bingo there, but so were here other two children: Thing #1 (a six year old boy) and Thing #2 (her four year old daughter). That being the same four year old daughter who climbed on top of one of our armchairs during a play date in an attempt to scale a wall to reach our stuffed deer head. We hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Thing #1 before, we had only heard about him and how he was so excited about getting a trampoline to play with in Crazy Mom's family room.
Not only was Crazy Mom there, but so was her Husband. I wasn't actually properly introduced to Crazy Husband, but in a funny twist of fate I had already heard quite a bit about him. A week ago in our Gymboree Art class some of the other moms were talking about Crazy Mom, her kids and her Husband. (I felt very much like one of the cast members of The Real Housewives as our little coffee klatch was suddenly turning and dishing on one of our own). Turns out I'm not the only one who thinks that Crazy Mom's kids are a bit high strung (specifically, everyone agrees that Thing #2 just can not stop talking. Ever. Not even a little bit. So, I don't know if that means I'm not a bad person because it's not just me who thinks that the kids are crazy, or if we're all bad people... at least we all think alike) and it also turns out that the rest of the group already decided that Crazy Mom's husband is a jerk. Based on how Crazy Husband just basically allowed Thing #1 to steal the Physioball from a two year old and after a few moments of Miss B. chasing after the ball and crying "Mama! Mama!" ever more anxiously, as if to say "that big kid took my toy!" finally, Crazy Husband had a half-hearted, "give her the ball back, she had it first". Gee. Thanks. Your kid is like 4 years older than mine. In fact, he wasn't really invited to this party, he's just here so you didn't have to stay home alone with him.
After that little incident it was time for pizza in the party room. The Little Gym folks made it clear that while it is absolutely verboten to wear shoes in the play area, it is equally verboten to *not* wear shoes in the pizza area. Once everyone had put their foot wear back on it was into the room with little chairs and tables for kid pizza! There were sandwiches and chips for the parents and as the Husband pointed out the kids ate their food in a more civilized fashion than the adults. The parents acted like they were the castaways on Survivor and they hadn't seen real food in a month. We hung out with Miss B. and one of her other friends (and the Crazy family). At one point, because Thing #1 and Thing #2 had pushed their chairs away from the table, Crazy Husband pulled the entire table back towards them, rather than pushing in their individual chairs. This was unique given that now, on the other side of the table, Miss B. and the girl next to her were suddenly no longer anywhere near their plates. Nice.
Also attending the party was another former Music Together student, whose Dad just happens to be a State Trooper. I wouldn't have known this but for the fact that he came to the party straight from work and still had on his State Trooper garb. If you've ever seen a New Jersey Trooper you'll know their outfits are a bit intense. Kind of like something out of the Hitler Youth-- they even have one of those leather bandolier straps across their chest and big riding boots. I have to say, it was a bit intimidating. I mentioned to one of the other moms that it made me a bit nervous because I have to have my car inspected, I also felt like I needed to be worried that he might come up to me and ask to see my license and registration. She countered with not feeling comfortable that he had a loaded gun in a room full of toddlers. I noted that if anybody in the room could disarm him it would be Thing #1.
After pizza, it was a cake explosion! The Little Gym people cut the cake into slabs in sizes equivalent to the kids' noggins. I have to say, while the cake was exceptionally tasty, I don't think any of those children needed pieces that large. I think the size of the cake pieces were directly correlated to the speed with which the party ended right after cake was served. Once you've given that many kids that much sugar, its time to hand them back over to their parents with a balloon and godspeed.
Miss B. did great though, and after the party we headed over to Chick Fil-A for a proper fast-food dinner. Next week we have another birthday party on Saturday. We're hoping the weather will be warm enough that Miss B. can wear her new party dress. We're also trying to come up with excuses around not having to invite Crazy Mom and her brood to Miss B.'s birthday party, but I think it is inevitable.
Art Show Today and a Big Shout Out of Thank You!!!
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There's my photo! Hanging on the wall at the Pen and Brush Gallery. The gallery space is really neat-- it is the garden and parlor floors of a brownstone on 10th Street between Fifth Avenue and University Place down in the village.
The reception was lovely and a big giant shout out to 410e9th and MsMcDizzle for coming to the show!
Sadly, we ended up getting there an *hour* late thanks to a half hour delay at the Holland Tunnel and then insane traffic from the Tunnel up to the village (which is saying a lot since it's not that far!) so we missed Miss M. but we say a big THANK YOU! for coming and it was fun to hang with 410, especially in his old 'hood.
There were tons of people at the reception and the good folks at the Pen and Brush even had light refreshments! The other art in the show is really amazing-- there are photographs, sculpture, oil paintings, etchings, even embroidery. The other neat thing about the Pen and Brush is that it is a women's only organization... girl power in the art world... woo-hoo!
Also, Miss B. wore her ribbon hat and got many compliments. Unfortunately, our stay in the big city was shortlived as Miss B. had a prior engagement, namely a birthday party at our local "Little Gym". See post above for more details.
Crafting!
So, I really like making outfits for Miss B. but I always get hung up with the whole "fasteners" concept. I'm too lazy to re-learn how to use the button hole maker on the sewing machine and I've never put a zipper in anything before. This makes it difficult to make more than pants with elastic waistbands. Until today! Miss B. has a couple of dresses which looked like they were made from t-shirts with skirts sewn on... so I figured I'd give it a try myself!
Target has great t-shirts for kids and they're only $5.99. I picked out one in navy blue because it matched some really cool batik-type fabric I had bought as a remnant at JoAnn for $2.59. To add some pizzaz and to make this a potential outfit for the birthday party that Miss B. has plans to attend this weekend, I added a tulle skirt (total cost $2.99). Then I added a ribbon trim to hide the seaming and tied on some coordinating ribbon as contrast. (Note that the ribbon tie at the back is off-center intentionally! It's a design element ;)
The finishing touch? A matching hair accessory! Check that out!
I started the project this afternoon during naptime and finished it off this evening. Next I'm going to try the same thing but the base shirt is going to be a hot pink tank top and the skirt material is a pastel paisley/floral. I'm hoping it will be super cute for spring/summer!
Target has great t-shirts for kids and they're only $5.99. I picked out one in navy blue because it matched some really cool batik-type fabric I had bought as a remnant at JoAnn for $2.59. To add some pizzaz and to make this a potential outfit for the birthday party that Miss B. has plans to attend this weekend, I added a tulle skirt (total cost $2.99). Then I added a ribbon trim to hide the seaming and tied on some coordinating ribbon as contrast. (Note that the ribbon tie at the back is off-center intentionally! It's a design element ;)
The finishing touch? A matching hair accessory! Check that out!
I started the project this afternoon during naptime and finished it off this evening. Next I'm going to try the same thing but the base shirt is going to be a hot pink tank top and the skirt material is a pastel paisley/floral. I'm hoping it will be super cute for spring/summer!
Friday, April 03, 2009
Hmpf.
Today's find? A Paul Frank two piece bathing suit for $14.99. (It's pink and green and has monkeys on it. It's Julius the Monkey and he's wearing sunglasses!) Of course, I did buy it in the children's department at Marshall's. This is not unlike when Ana bought shoes in the children's department at Target. Alas, how long before I'll be sharing clothes with Miss B? She already can wear my hats and headbands. Not to mention, at the rate she's growing she'll be taller than me by next week!
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Recessionista
I saw the New York Magazine and the Times Style Section using this phrase a little bit ago (though I'm sure someone else thought of it first) as a new way to describe the Fashionista during these hard economic times. So, what is a reformed suburban psuedo-fashionista do these days? Why find good deals at the Filene's Basement going out of business sale! Case in point: A Malo 100% cashmere short-sleeved crewneck sweater, the original tag was marked $650. Yes, for a short-sleeved sweater (god only knows what it would have cost if it actually had long sleeves or a turtleneck!) FYI-- For fans of The Real Housewives of New York you'll recall from two episodes ago that it was Malo where the Countess and Crazy Kelly were trying on outfits to wear at NY Fashion Week... so, $650, right? How about trying $14.00 on for size! $14.00. Now, that being said, there was a small problem. In that the neckband was coming away from the sweater in three places. But, upon closer inspection I saw that there were no actual holes, just unraveled knitting. A lot of unravelled knitting. Knitting which would have been done by incredibly tiny Italian elves (or clearly by machine). But this did not look to me like enough "damage" to cause a price drop of approximately $636.00. So, I figured I could take it to the reweaver.
Flash forward a few weeks wherein $14.00 sweater has been sitting in my closet and I've started thinking about how much a reweaver will charge to reattach the neckband. Then I decide to visit Joann Fabrics (where you can buy 19 different items and still end up with a bill of $8.22). Lo and behlod, $1.05 later and I have one spool of Gutterman thread in the exact color to match the sweater.
Next: I'm spending an hour and a half (yes, an hour and a half) reweaving the neckband with one very tiny needle and some thread. I hate handsewing and I'm no pro believe me. You can certainly tell upon close inspection that something terrible befell this sweater, but if you wear it with a cardigan (namely my Prada silk and cashmere cardigan $20 at the Annual Prada Sample Sale circa 2005) and an Hermes Scarf (sorry, no discounts there) you're not noticing it. So, for $15.05 I got my $650 sweater. Even if you factor in the hour and a half of labor it's still a bargain. Let's not even discuss the See by Chloe blouse I also scored at Filene's which required me to sew back on nine buttons.
Flash forward a few weeks wherein $14.00 sweater has been sitting in my closet and I've started thinking about how much a reweaver will charge to reattach the neckband. Then I decide to visit Joann Fabrics (where you can buy 19 different items and still end up with a bill of $8.22). Lo and behlod, $1.05 later and I have one spool of Gutterman thread in the exact color to match the sweater.
Next: I'm spending an hour and a half (yes, an hour and a half) reweaving the neckband with one very tiny needle and some thread. I hate handsewing and I'm no pro believe me. You can certainly tell upon close inspection that something terrible befell this sweater, but if you wear it with a cardigan (namely my Prada silk and cashmere cardigan $20 at the Annual Prada Sample Sale circa 2005) and an Hermes Scarf (sorry, no discounts there) you're not noticing it. So, for $15.05 I got my $650 sweater. Even if you factor in the hour and a half of labor it's still a bargain. Let's not even discuss the See by Chloe blouse I also scored at Filene's which required me to sew back on nine buttons.
The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Has anybody else watched this on HBO yet? Thoughts? I haven't read the book series but it seemed interesting and the pilot episode was very well done (what do you expect from the late Anthony Minghella) though I couldn't always figure out what was being said...
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