we moved to amsterdam from san francisco when i was pregnant with my first baby. we stayed there for nearly the first five years of his life and the very beginning of my daughter’s. traveling with babies is not easy… particularly on eleven hour international flights. and then when you arrive there is the horrendous jet lag that kicks in (there’s a NINE hour time difference between california and the netherlands.) so i only brought my children home once a year, but we would stay for at least a month to stabilize and enjoy the visit before heading back. now that we live in colorado we have continued this summer tradition. the kids LOVE their camp in berkeley (kee tov) and i get to spend time with my family and all my growing up friends.
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lawn proud
when we fly home to california my dad is the one who picks us up at the oakland airport. on the drive to berkeley we talk about the traffic (of course), how the weather has been, the many potholes in this one stretch of the highway, the changing graffiti on the brick buildings lining another stretch, the warriors (dub nation!) and when we pull up to my childhood home, my dad typically says, “look at the lawn… doesn’t it look nice?” followed by, “how is your lawn?” my father is very lawn proud. he likes an even expanse of pretty, green grass… maybe it’s his great love of golf or his mid-western upbringing, but maintaining the lawn has always been important to him. over the decades (i think my parents have been in their house for forty-three years) he has had very close relationships with the people who help him with the yard: takahooki, alberto, david, daniel and marty. he brings these people special sandwiches or chocolates or the newest kombucha to enjoy as they discuss what to do with the garden.
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strawberry shortcake
now that we are in the thick of summer, i am reposting my favorite summer dinner… strawberry shortcake! ENJOY!
every summer when i was growing up, there would be one night where we had strawberry shortcake for dinner. no broccoli or pork chops or mac n’ cheese… just a heaping plateful of home-made(ish) strawberry shortcake. (i say “ish” because my mother always made the shortcake recipe right off the bisquick box… which is DELICIOUS, by the way.) there was nothing more exciting for me than having dessert for dinner. it literally felt like christmas in july.
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rest in love, ms. vanderbilt
in sixth grade, my favorite outfit was my bright purple gloria vanderbilt jeans topped with my lavender corduroy blazer (interesting as i NEVER wear purple now.) i thought i was pretty hot stuff in that get up.
in the late 1970’s, gloria vanderbilt was one of the first fashion designers to create jeans especially for women and to establish an aspirational brand accessible to the masses. her signature was stitched across the back pocket of the jeans, along with her iconic swan.
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father's day
from the time my first baby was born, we have always given his father something with his hand touch for father’s day. we started with theo’s tiny hand print on a tee shirt. in subsequent years, we put his hand or foot print on the interior of hats, the front pocket of pajamas or a button down shirt and numerous jackets. when lucy was born, we added her print too. we began strategically placing the prints in locations that only the wearer knew about, when we realized that some of the items were only worn around the house.
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pleni naturals
i like to be clean. i like washing my hair (and i usually “repeat” even though i know that direction on the shampoo bottle was just a genius marketing ploy and is not really necessary), i like scrubbing and sudsing and then putting on nice, clean clothes (or better, pajamas, if i am showering in the evening.) i also like my children to be clean. i like their hair to smell fresh, their skin to feel soft and have a healthy, pink glow, i like their nails to be short and dirt free and of course, i don’t like to see any unmentionables dangling around in their ears or noses.
Read Morepublished on houzz! x0x
i was so delighted that the editors at houzz decided to feature my playroom project… THANK YOU bryan anthony!
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basta
when i was working at calvin klein in the late 90’s in the garment district of new york, there were a lot of rules. there was only one font used (futura light), all post it notes had to be white…no pink, blue or yellow ones, there were no metal paper clips and only white flowers were allowed on your desk. (i once received red roses for valentine’s day and had to hide them under my table until i could sneak them out at the end of the day.) desks were neat and you did not have framed family photos or stuffies or excess decor cluttering up your cubicle. everyone spoke in tones so low that you could always hear the click clack of heels as people walked down the spare white hallway with ebony floors. if you happened to end up in the elevator with calvin, you were not supposed to speak to him. and it was rumored that his assistant had a special brown pantone chip that he used to color match when adding milk to calvin’s coffee (i never saw the pantone chip first hand.) there were also a lot of unspoken rules… everyone wore shades of gray and black with maybe some hits of white. make-up and jewelry were both minimal… a simple cuff or metal hair clip was noted and daring.
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ham and leek yumminess
i love to ask my mama friends (not the super-bouldery, roast their own kale chips and make their own crackers out of soybeans and flax-paste mamas, but the ones who eat approachable things i can identify) what their easy “go-to” dinners are. i mean REALLY easy, like five or so ingredients and twenty minutes preparation for those nights when i am driving the soccer carpool and practice is late or i just feel like doing anything other than spending a lot of time cooking. i think every mama needs some cheats and i get tired of mine. so that is how i came to learn about this ham and leek dish from my girlfriend anna, over ten years ago when we were living in amsterdam and coping with toddlers.
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a mother's fear
i am a natural born worrier. i worry about parking in underground lots where unsavory characters might grab me. i worry about food that’s past the expiration date. i worry about running out of toilet paper or my favorite dish soap. i worry about hurting people’s feelings. i worry about accidentally hitting an unseen child in a busy parking lot with my big car. i worry about someone hitting one of my children in a busy parking lot. i worry about finding my car in a big parking lot when i come out of the store, especially when i was on the phone when i went in and wasn’t paying attention. and most especially, when i am in a hurry and don’t have time to wander around the lot, pushing my heavy cart and clicking my car keys hoping to see some lights flash. i worry a lot about parking lots, i am realizing.
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my beautiful mother
i was ten years old when my mother took me to see judy chicago’s "dinner party” in san francisco. chicago’s traveling art installation was born of the idea that women should be invited to a last supper and celebrated for their great and varied accomplishments at a level on par with how men have been lauded since time immemorial. there were three components of the exhibit: a series of entryway banners, the actual triangular dinner table with a place setting for thirty-nine super impressive women and the triangular tiles that made up the heritage floor, inscribed in gold with the names of nine hundred and ninety-eight additional notable women… there were meant to be nine hundred and ninety-nine, but one man was mistakenly included because an earlier historian had identified him as a female greek sculptor from the 400’s BC.
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playroom update
as much as i have admonished my children against growing up and getting older, they continue to do it anyway. i miss their dimpled hands and big round cheeks and chiclet teeth and pudgy toes and wobbly walks and uninhibited dances. despite my threats, their limbs have elongated, their knuckle dimples have disappeared, their baby teeth have fallen out and they orange justice and hype, instead of hokey pokey. there ARE some benefits… they are potty trained, they can clean their own noses, they dress themselves and they can even fold their laundry and put it away (when threatened)… i HATE dealing with laundry.
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puffin
in fourth grade i had a little bunny named puffin. he had this super soft, fluffy, long hair that i would brush with a special metal comb to get the tangles out. i kept all of the fur that came out in the comb, intending to sew a little pillow and stuff it with puffin’s hair (strange?) he never seemed to mind these grooming sessions… he just sat still in my lap while i styled him, like he was at sally hershberger’s. unlike a lot of bunnies, he wasn’t afraid of people and enjoyed being held and snuggled up. he never “said” as much (he was pretty quiet), but i could FEEL how much he loved me… we were that connected, like eliot and E.T.
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passover moon cake
we were still in amsterdam over passover this year, so we had a belated seder dinner this weekend. seders are a big deal to prepare… there’s all of the components of the seder plate, which depending on where you live, can be difficult to come by. in new york, all of the markets suddenly dedicate at least two aisles to passover related groceries in the week leading up to the holiday. in amsterdam, you would never know passover is happening. i had to roast a drumstick our first year living there because i couldn’t make the butcher understand the lamb shank. also, there is no matzo meal, only matzo crackers. in order to make matzo ball soup, i had to first grind up the crackers myself with a rolling pin. it was like little house on the jewish prairie in my amsterdam apartment. horseradish, also, is not easy to find. for that i would have to go to what we referred to as the "expat black market.” it’s a tiny shop on leidesgracht that caters to homesick american and british expats. the prices are outrageous, but it’s often the only place to get a crucial ingredient… a can of libby’s, libby’s, libby’s pumpkin, for example, is typically about ten euros around thanksgiving! so for a shiksa raising my children jewish (the faith of their father), seders can be a challenge, especially when we were living in the netherlands.
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green smoothies
the summer after my divorce, i went on the requisite hippie retreat at the chopra center. so many people had told me i should be meditating, something i had never tried, and i figured deepak’s team would be well qualified to teach me. the retreat was also going to focus on general health and spiritual well being, which i thought might be helpful as i was quite frayed inside and out. i WAS worried about the vegan food they were meant to serve, but the retreat was located at la costa hotel and i figured i could sneak out and order a club sandwich at the bar, if there was too much kale.
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modern dining
this bright, refreshing dining room is composed of a collection of simple geometrics: the clean, rectangular oak table surrounded by timeless, circular wishbone chairs; the framed senagalese hexagon-motif textile, designed to include both positive and negative stars; the half dome pendant light; the antique oval mirror and the ceramic vessels in a variety of rounded and cylindrical silhouettes. a quiet palette of warm, light woods and crisp whites is punctuated by the graphic black framed textile art. in all, the space is an inviting, eclectic mix of linear and spherical, vintage and modern, dark and light.
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elite
in exercise
i was completely delighted when i went to bar this weekend to be presented with the ELITE lavender socks because i have attended 500+ bar classes. (you cannot buy these socks, you can only earn them!) i LOVE to get prizes and it happens so rarely that i get really excited. i also got to sign my name on a big poster along with the other “elites” … i tried to write really BIG and legibly so my fellow exercisers will know what i have accomplished! i have been going to bar for almost the whole time we’ve lived in boulder (so if i did the math correctly, it’s not that impressive as i seem to only average about 1.3 classes a week.) but considering that i don’t really like to exercise at all and i have been taking bar consistently (if infrequently) for SEVEN years in a row (which is much more than i have done any other physical activity besides chasing after my children… i’ve gone running four times, spin class once - AWFUL! pilates once, orange theory never) it is amazing and a true testament to the lovely, hilarious teachers. boulder’s bar method crew keep it funny and light, while pushing all of us (not just the elites, like me) to obtain the coveted high rise peach bum. it’s true that i think most of the teachers are on to my strategies for making things easier and i seem to be getting more corrections than ever, but i adore them in spite of the extra attention to my cheats. and perhaps it won’t take me quite as long to complete the next 500 classes… THANK YOU ladies of boulder bar.
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chicken pot pie
i love costco. i love the giant shopping carts, the anticipation of wondering what new, unexpected treasures they might offer and the costco hotdog, which i have at the beginning of every costco visit. unlike the ikea hotdog, which is more of a little snack, the costco hotdog is very big and qualifies as a meal. so i time my costco visits to coincide with lunch.
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banana bread
if there is one baked good that epitomized my childhood, it would be banana bread. none of us liked bananas with even the smallest brown dots so my mother made it on the regular, protecting us from the grisly fate of biting into bruised, mushy bananas with long strings of whatever those gross strips are that seem to appear on older bananas. we liked our bananas firm and safely tinged in green. luckily, older bananas make the best bread. we think her original recipe came from sunset magazine, but all the copies i have are in her handwriting, so that has not been confirmed.
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WWJD? and i don't mean jesus, i mean jane...
the fall before last, two new activities coincided for me… i started dating again and i joined a jane austen book club. the first activity was pretty nerve wracking. i had tried to sign up for the bumble app many months before, but you can only use it on your phone and the writing was so small that i couldn’t see it and i closed it down. i had to get reading glasses a couple of years ago and i am still very upset about it. my entire family has worn glasses for decades and i was a bit vain about my unique 20/20 vision. i used to be able to see everything so clearly, even street signs blocks away - that was really helpful with my directional challenges - until i noticed that my texts were fuzzy in the mornings. i thought it was just because i am always tired (SLEEPING is something else i was really good at until the last few years and i am also pretty upset about that!) until i realized that my texts were fuzzy in the middle of the day too. so i finally went to an eye doctor (a place i had NEVER been before) and got checked. sure enough, i needed readers. i bought my first pair at the doctor’s office and they were expensive, which was a bummer. and they did not last long, as i fall asleep reading most evenings and they got mashed one night when i rolled over on them. now i just get them at the walgreens… between hank sneaking them into the backyard to gnaw on and me smashing them in my sleep (i frequently wake up with a dent in my forehead now, which is annoying when i have an early meeting because it typically takes a few hours to go away) they are pretty temporary possessions.
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