Natural History

There are some wonderful exhibits going on right now at the Natural History Museum of LA, and I thought I'd share the details in case you've got the kids on your hands in between school and camp for a few more days (is Freida the only one who starts school after Labor Day?). Truth is, Freida has been weirdly and wildly obsessed with dinosaurs for a while now, and we really trekked out to NHM (which we usually reserve for a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion) for the Dinosaur Encounters (since she had become interested on her own, I had been searching for local exhibits and such to cultivate her curiosity and work with her natural excitement). But once we were there I was thrilled to see they had a exhibit of animal horns - perfect trip for Elul!

They had a completely interactive hands-on display of all sorts of horns and antlers! I was even educational for me - I never realized quite how many different shapes and forms horns can be! And it was interesting to me that horns and antlers are made up of two completely different things - I always thought they were kind of the same thing and that we only use certain kosher animals horns for a Shofar, but it turns out antlers are made of solid bone and can not be hollowed as opposed to horns which are actually made of the same thing as nails. #JudaicWeirdness. :)

Aside from the horn exhibit, we had a crazy-cool time at the Dino Encounters!! It was fantastic! Check it out here.

And, of course, the Butterfly Pavilion is always a favorite! It's only around for another week or two, so if you got the kids on your hands go check it out!!!

Think Good

Ladies, I'm sorry I've been MIA but I've been so ridiculously busy! Freida suddenly decided last week that she didn't like camp and I had to pick her up crying a few hours into the morning two days in a row. Turns out (as the genius young counselor had suggested) that she was getting sick. So - I've had her home with fever, cough, cold for a few days... Which, naturally, gave Hudi some fever, cough, and cold - plus, another tooth bud to complain about! And so, as life would have it, instead of having one more week with Freida in camp and a list of chores and errands to knock out last, I was stuck at home nursing and nurturing my two little babes. Which was wonderful and depressing. :)

On Monday I took over for the director of the camp here and I'm running with it until the end of the week. It's only 5 days, but oh my was it exhausting! I felt like I walked through the twilight zone yesterday as I made an attempt to run "lineup" - who has the stamina for that kind of screaming anymore?? I was pretty humored by the fact that it took so much out of me to sing a few songs at the top of my lungs, and I'm actually kind of looking forward to getting back into it.

Anyways! I've been meaning to write a bit about how positive thinking has recently impacted my life, and about this poster that my brother gifted me with when I moved into our new apartment. He had been working on a few lines of art highlighting some chassidic sayings, and being a serious typography lover, this Think Good poster was my favorite.

I remember connecting to this mantra since the very first time I heard of it in middle school. Whether it worked magically or not didn't really make any difference to me, what I loved about it was how obviously positive a person who'd think like this would become. It just made sense to "think good" either way. I was always a more upbeat and positive person, but when things would start to go wrong I definitely had/have a tendency to start the downhill negative thought process. Which is why this poster helps me so much; it quite literally serves as a constant reminder to keep my thoughts positive. When things are going great, great; and when they're not going so great, keep thinking great things. That's basically the gist of it. :)

And you know what? It totally works!

Plus, I love that we hung it in the dining room facing the hallway. I see it all the way down the hall, even lying in my bed!

You can get one of these positive posters here. And, if this isn't quite your thing, check out the rest of his art for sale!

P.S. I've been really into the whole typography thing - especially random words of inspiration. You can have a look at some of my other favorites on my "words" pinterest board.

Weekend Round-up!!

Happy weekend, girlies! We here in this house are overjoyed by the fact that it's Sunday - been a filled week, and we are relishing in some family downtime! We're half-way through Summer, and while it's been a lovely low-key, slow-movement month, I definitely feel like there are some trips, home-projects, and activities I'd like to fit in before Summer's end... So! While I (finally) take off my PJs and get dressed for the day, here are some things I've been checking out:

- This windshield rainbow would bring instant "coolest mom" status to first week of carpool.

- I made this hilariously easy ice cream cake for a friend this weekend, it came out a little boring but the concept is a great dessert canvas! Add in some chopped candy bars, flavored coffee, cookie crumbs etc. for more of a gourmet effect.

- I'm suddenly feeling like I need an instant adult-only vacation!! Dreaming of lolling here.....

- This + sparkling spritzers makes a great date-night dinner for the 9 days!

- Swooning over this little swing.

- I love Dwell Studio, and I'm going nuts over their new kid pattern wallpaper!!

- These army men alternatives made me laugh out loud!

- Herringbone nails?

Searching

I've been waiting and waiting to grab a copy of Matisyahu's new Spark Seeker album ever since my brother started working on the cover art(!), and I'm so excited for the release date next week! Here's a little peek at the epicness that is about to hit the charts!!

I've had this on repeat all day, and Freida has been two-steppin to it non-stop! :)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otA8i4lvKmM]

You can snag a free download of this track (for only a few more hours!) here.

Boys Go Back to School

Gosh! If I had a little boy, I'd love to send him back-to-school like this!!