Happy Summer!!

It's official! Summer has landed...

(Although, from the looks of things outside - you'd honestly never know it. Someone please tell them to stop giving the November forecast! )

Hope that bucket-list is ready for a tackle!! I'm most looking forward to spending each and every Sundays on Huntington Beach, fresh & local Farmers Market dinners, and heaps of daily sunshine, homemade fruit pops, water chalk, and giant bubbles on the front lawn with Freida.

So grateful to be living on a coast - there's nothing quite like a summer spent at the Ocean!

Happy Summer, Mamas!

Welcoming June

Wanted to wish you all a (belated) happy June! Hope your first June weekend was fabulous!! (You can see Freida is sure summer-lovin!)

Not quite (officially) summer yet, but not too far off either; the beginning of June always seems the opportune time to kick-start the summer planning. Nobody likes to feel like something went by without feeling accomplished about it (a long weekend, winter break, spring etc.), and summertime is no different. It's great to start thinking about all the things you'd like to do, try, and experience before September sneaks up on you. I'm not talking about sending the kids to camp, traveling etc. (hopefully you've planned that all out way before June 1st!), I mean all the extras! I just started writing my "Summer Bucket List" - a list of all my aspirations for the warm-months-to-come (some for me and my husband, some for me and Freida, and lots for those Sundays all together). It's great to get it all down on one paper now, and it's so nice to strike-out each one as we happily make our way through this marvelous, magical season!

For those of you with older kids, I recently read about a mom who makes a list with the kids and cuts out each one, putting all the strips of paper into a bucket. At the beginning of each week, the kids get to pull out a few randomly and add them to the weekly calendar.

Here's a few ideas (for you and the kids) to jump-start your list of summer-fun:

- strawberry picking

- sunset on the beach

- lemonade stand

- a camping trip (even just one night?)

- outdoor nighttime movie screening

- a real picnic

- yoga in the park

- homemade ice cream bars

Basically, think of all the things you'd like to do (even in theory), and watch and see how many you actually get done if you put yourself up for the challenge! Then you can stop wondering at the end of August  what you did all summer!! : )

Sisters & Slow-Movement

We had a wonderful extended weekend here with my sisters visiting from San Francisco and Scottsdale. My older sister came in from Arizona with her 18 month old fireball-of-a-son (he and Freida were born the same week), and my younger sister drove down the coast with a friend. (Shout out to my husband for handling an all-most-girls-weekend!) We had the most peaceful Shabbos - pouring over magazines, gossiping, eating (a girly, non-traditional, low-carb, low-cal Shabbos menu), chilling, and simply relishing in each others company. The kids played together beautifully- enjoying each others opposite personalities, and experiencing the simple pleasures of a DIY Aero-bed bounce-house. Sometimes it's lovely to take a break from everyday life and appreciate the little things. Having my sisters here (with only the babies) allowed us to focus on ourselves for an extended period of time - trading makeup tips, sharing toning moves, marriage advice, organizational saviors, and of course the latest in baby-issues, gadgets, and activities. : )

(Thanks for making the trek here ladies, sisters are simply the best!!)

Here's some photos of our slow-movement weekend with the kiddos...

Hope your extended weekend was just as lovely!

A Lesson in Daily Affirmations

If only we all took "daily affirmations" as serious as Jessica! : ) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR3rK0kZFkg&feature=player_embedded]

Peonies on the Low-down

I've been browsing through some family photos trying to remember the table arrangement we used for last years Shavuot luncheon. Looking at these I remembered the lovely use of short-florals! I have a serious aversion to flower arrangements that inhibit cross-table conversation, and though I consider myself rather flower-happy, I'm not too keen on sticking a vase of flowers in middle of a dinner party table (no matter how beautiful they may be). Last Shavuot I sent my husband on one last errand - to Trader Joes for Peonies (I stopped going anywhere else for my flower-fix). I scavenged the house for "bud vases" landing happily on a collection of colorful espresso cups, and with just a few easy snips I placed the huge peony buds in the little cups filled with water and scattered them throughout the tables. It added an enormous amount of charm to the decor without overwhelming the setting. Simple and minimalist - I think flower buds are usually your best bet for table-top arrangements.