Green Eggs and Pam

In honor of the birthday of Theodor Geisel -the madman-genius who is Dr. Seuss, (and for Mimi who let me in on that super-random, super-notable fact!), I'll share a kosher-kitchen recipe inspired by his most non-kosher of books. Green Eggs and Pam (well, technically it's not even real "pam", just extra virgin olive oil from a Misto spray bottle) came to me when I was a single workin'-girl, at home in Chicago for 24 hours for a friends wedding, and famished/hungover at about 4am in my mother's cook-tempting kitchen. Out came the eggs, the skillet- the pesto! It's not a recipe so much as a revelation... Whisk eggs with a generous dollop of pesto; scramble, fry, or poach your way to savory-breakfast perfection! Garnish with flecks of goat cheese, feta, or even parmesan.

Plus, once we're on the Seuss subject, I'll leave you with some loony links I love:

1. Best graduation gift ever!

2. Cartoon + Converse Collaberation

3. Vintage Seuss Onesies

4.  A totally rad Purim getup - for 2!

5. Seuss-inspired furniture

6. Ever seen a Hebrew Wocket?

Happy Birthday to the man who encourages our children to "Hop on Pop" - which is especially helpful in the early morning!

Beneath the Mask

My preschool/parenting guru (Chanie Perelmuter over at the Hebrew Academy) told us at last weeks Mommy & Me that 2 year olds are prime candidates for run-from-the-room-screaming Purim terror. All the masks and costumes can really scare their socks off! I can imagine that would be something difficult for a mom to contend with whilst trying to keep her toddler quiet through a lengthy Megilla reading... Her advice was to start teaching the "masked" concept now, at least a few weeks before. Have your kids decorate some form of disguise, or unearth some masks, costumes, wigs etc. from the family Purim box in the storage closet, and have your preschooler try them on in front of the mirror. Throw a mini masquerade and teach them a bit about dress-up for the next few weeks... That should ease the impending costume-phobia. The point is to teach them that a mask/costume is a covering, they should know there is a familiar face underneath. Just thought I'd share the wisdom!

(All the mask talk has got me thinking about this theme.)

Cotton Cuties

The folks over at Estella have done it again! Spring is on the verge, and this nifty little boutique (I mentioned it before, here) has brought us some of the most adorable threads for kids! Cotton is something I could never live without - finding cute cotton essentials and charming extras makes "the fabric of our lives" that much more fun! Here's a little peek at some of the goods featured this spring:

Bobo Choses is totally dope!!

Plus, this little outfit has me longing for an afternoon of boating........

1. 2. 3.

Kids + Casa

I landed upon "Where Children Sleep" by James Mollison, over at Creative Review last week, and I just can't stop thinking about it! The whole project was so intellectually and emotionally provoking! Maybe it's just me, and although this is nothing novel, I still find it so incredibly interesting that a room - the most physical and tangible of things - can say so much about it's dweller! Perhaps it is just the magic of Mollison's lens that manages to provide such deep insight from the life of the child as well as from the room. While most of these stories provide keen insight to the lives of children around the world, some of them are more heartbreaking... I found it fascinatingly educational, and this is definitely something I think all (older) children would benefit from - as an exploration of the many diverse lives of other children the world over.

You can read Where Children Sleep here.

A Western Wonder

Apologies dear readers, for my intense lack of posts! It's been a busy weekend...

When I settled down in Southern California some few years ago, with my sister and her family a mere 397 miles away in Scottsdale AZ, I thought we'd be seeing lots of each other! Turns out, we only managed to get together a few times a year - her family managed to load up the minivan when the kids were off school for an extended weekend once a year, my husband and I made it an annual tradition to drive out and be with them for Rosh Hashanah, and she and I met up at my mom's in Skokie with the kids every summer (bonus points were when my parents flew out west on a holiday and we all got together in one place or another).

We chat non-stop each day, and talk about how lovely it would be if we actually lived near each other; able to spend the days together (Freida and her son, Yudi, were born 7 days apart 2 years ago). I never thought of making the trek out there alone... the whole thing just seemed so daunting!  (Isn't the gas the same price as an airline ticket? Don't they say that desert-stretch is much too long to attempt alone? Is there even highway patrol in Yuma? Other cars on the road? Isn't driving such a waste of a vacation day? etc.) You see, when we do the drive in September we rise at about 4am and hit the road in an attempt to keep Freida asleep for most of the drive, and to make sure we get there long before sundown on the eve of the Jewish New Year. I never thought to try the drive myself - in daylight - until the opportunity presented itself.

After breakfast on Sunday morning I threw some heels and an outfit + a PJ tee, and toothbrush in a gym bag, filled the tank with gas, kissed Freida and the Mr. goodbye and headed out for my wild west road-trip - solo. Turns out, cruise control and the Republic Tigers make for fantastic travel-mates! 5 hours flat from my door to hers - it was a breeze! I made it there early enough to help with setting up for the event she was hosting (the reason for my random rendezvous) within minutes I was piping some cupcakes and bubble-bathing my delicious niece and nephews - some of my all-time favorite pre-marital activities! There was something so magical about being at home sharing breakfast with Freida while talking to Shterni on the phone, and then ringing her doorbell, in Scottsdale, well before the dinner hour...! It was a trip that needed to be done if only for the purpose of experiment.

I woke up at 7am this morning in Arizona, brewed some coffee to-go, pit-stopped for petrol, and was home just in time to reap the advantages of a toddler's two-hour nap (my (very generous) Mother-in-Law agreed to be with Freida today and had just put her down as I walked through the door!). A little tidying-up, a hot shower, some lunch and it was as if I never left. Plus, hearing Freida cry "Mommy! Oh my goodness!" upon seeing me come to get her when she woke was well worth the trip alone! ...Even though I won't deny freaking out just a wee little bit when I cruised past this sign:

Anyways, I'm so super excited with my new discovery! I hope to pack up a few days-worth of clothes every once in a while and travel the west with Freida much more often than we're used to. It's quite literally not much more than a skip, hop, and jump...!!

For now though, I will be getting to bed and catching up on lots of lost shut-eye... I'll be back to proper blogging tomorrow (got some great things to share!!).