Posted in Crafting, Fun in NYC, Parenting, Queens Life, tagged Astoria, blooming, children, city, crafts, kids, Kite Flight, LIC, make a kite, NYC, park, Queens, Socrates Sculpture Garden, spring, wisteria on May 16, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Every year this park (located near the last Queens apartment that we lived in) hosts a Kite Flight – where kids are invited to make a kite, and then fly it. This year the kite instruction was a bit complex and in ernest mostly parents were making kites for kids… but it was great to get to Socrates Sculpture Garden filled with kites and see the lush gardens blooming along the edge of the park.
some cool graphics to glue to our kites
Posted in Crafting, Fun in NYC, Parenting, tagged parenting, green, children, solar power, eco friendly, new ideas, innovations, inventions, water power, makey makey, urban park ideas, New Museum NYC, traveling with kids on May 13, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
After being inside the New Museum for a bit we tumbled out on to the street for a walk around the Ideas City Street Fair. Ezra loved the truck farm (its owners offered us some beans to grow at home) and the Mobile Public Park. The combination of gardening and trucks make his little heart sing. And we learned about new innovations being implemented in our city now — like this cool pool and the possibility of having a LowLine some day. One of our favorite new ideas is the ‘Make Anything Into a Key‘ product by Makey Makey – the kids got to play bananas as piano keys!
the view from inside the museum looking at the fair
lots of solar panels for Ezra to enjoy!
look who’s helping out with the mural!
these bananas really play music!
Posted in Beautiful Things, Crafting, Kid style, Parenting, Queens Life, tagged art in school, boy, children, clay, kids, paint, paper, puppet show, puppets on May 8, 2013 | 2 Comments »
Ezra doesn’t like art much … which has always appalled me. I’ve been drawn to art for as long as I can remember. I could draw and paint and sculpt all my hours and days away if I was allowed to, so to have a kid who feels like he could take it or leave it – well I often wonder if he really did come from my own gene pool.
So when Ezra was telling me that he was making a puppet in school with his artist-in-residence teacher, he told me with great reluctance – insisting that he was making a mess of it, that everyone told him he was taking too long to create it. When I finally went to his art show/puppet show I was SHOCKED to find him holding the most detailed, intricate little face on a paper dress – AND he was the show’s director! He took so easily to talking into a microphone to the audience (of 3 grades of kids, and all their parents) and then proceeded to change his voice when he made his puppet talk. He guided his other puppeteers/students around, and narrated the story. I think he was being very modest when he told me his puppet was a mess, as it was the most beautifully detailed little nose and mustached puppet I’ve ever seen!
the proud puppet maker
Posted in Crafting, Found Things, Parenting, Queens Life, tagged children, earth day, electric cars, green, kids and green, kids marching, marching, parade, parenting, recycle, save the environment, school on May 2, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Ezra and his class had a march around the block one day during school in honor of Earth Day. They spent a few days making hats out of recycled things – then proudly marched around the neighborhood wearing them and holding their eco-conscious ideas on signs. I was so proud when I saw his sign insisting on ‘more electric cars’ to keep the trees happy (and – according to his sign – it will also prevent stick figure people from falling over and bleeding in the streets!)
As the sign says: “Gas cars is killing us!”
Posted in Beautiful Things, Crafting, Decorating, Found Things, Kid style, Parenting, tagged childrening, consignment shop, dad does hair with vacuum, decorating, DIY, flowers, fuel efficient car show, garden, gardening kids, girl, girl's room, hat, Jewish life, kids rooms, kids style, kids travel, nursery, panhandling, parenting, performance art on subway, photography, spring, toddler, Virginia on April 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
photos from ohhappyday.com
Since we’ve had a couple warm days this week I must admit, I wasn’t perusing blogs like I usually do. But these little gems did catch my eye and I had to share. Have a great weekend!
– Zoe is so into watching flowers bloom this season, I’d love to make her this hat.
– A dad does hair with a vacuum. I could’ve used this for Zoe’s dance recital!
– Performance art meets soliciting on the subway. This is hilarious!
– Pretty little girl’s room.
– A very cool consignment shop in Virginia.
– Have your heard of quilling? Amazing!
– Cutest pinterest page ever of kid’s stuff.
– Time to build this in our garden – our kids would love it.
– Can’t wait to take Ezra to this fuel efficient car show. (Thanks Jill!)
Posted in Beautiful Things, Crafting, Decorating, Food Adventures, Holidays, Home Shuling, Jewish Life, Parenting, tagged bunnies, children, easter, eggs, fashion, holiday, Jewish kids, Jewish life, kids, kosher for Passover, NYC, parenting, passover, seder plate, spring, travel on March 22, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Photo from ohthelovelythings.com
I feel like my quest for Beautiful Things has been hampered lately by chasing kids, their schedules, an upcoming ballet recital, a huge homework packet … you know the mamma drill. But I did manage to find some things that evoke spring before frolicking with the kids (both of them, now that Ezra has some time off from school finally).
Enjoy!
– Favorite spring picture books.
– Some beautiful spring colors and eggs (for Passover or Easter or just as a symbol of renewal.)
– More lovely lively colors to take my head out of winter.
– Colorful coats for the end of the season, and don’t forget the red lipstick again!
– It’s fascinating to see children around the world with their favorite things.
– And just cute kids in general, on film, saying some great stuff (love the one about Valentine’s Day!)
– A great lunch option, I’m about to Google whether or not bulgur wheat is kosher for Passover.
– What do to with your cherry tomatoes when they go past their prime.
– Pretty macaroons!
– Do you remember when Banana Republic Merchandise looked like this?
– A kosher-for-Passover treat and favorite at our house.
Posted in Crafting, Fun in NYC, Parenting, tagged Big Red Chair series, children, classic, crafting, Guess How Much I love You book, kids, Mermaid Theater, new york city, New York University, NYU, paper plates, parenting, puppet show, puppets, rabbits, show, theater, travel, weekend, what to do on March 11, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Last week we went back to the NYU Skirball Center to see another great puppet show put on by this troupe. It’s amazing how the puppeteers can be present yet you never notice them (dressed in black so that the recede against the background, and the puppet movements are so amazing.) My little theater goers are looking so grown up these days, and loved the bunny puppets from this classic book and the crafting time before the show.
Posted in Beautiful Things, Cornwall, Crafting, Parenting, Rainy days, tagged art, children, crafts, creative, drawing, fun, indoors, kids, Nancy Bevans, oven, shadow boxes, Shrinky Dink, winter, wooly creatures on March 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
While hanging out with our friend Brad in Connecticut, he allowed us to play with one of his Christmas gifts from his grandma. Do you remember Shrinky Dinks? Not only are they still around, but they come in more variety – including packs of large blank paper where you can create your own drawings and crafts out of them.
Coincidentally Brad’s Aunt Nan came over to the house with her own Shrinky Dink art that she exhibited in a local gallery. Check out her amazing shadow boxes filled with her own created creatures! And after finding this pinterest page of other ideas, I cannot wait to try my hand at making rings.
Drawing some pretty cute things ..
Anxiously watching the oven for the finished products
Ezra’s ‘pepperoni’ and car necklaces
Aunt Nan’s pieces
Shrinky Dink sheep!
Posted in Beautiful Things, Cooking, Crafting, Decorating, Food Adventures, Parenting, tagged Alfred Eisenstadt, baking, birthday, blood orange, blueberry, cake, children, cooking, crafts, depression era, egg carton, England, husband, kids, kissing photos, margaritas, orzo, parenting, photography, re-use, shoes, sushi cupcakes, The Chapel, war photos, war time on March 1, 2013 | 4 Comments »
Today is E and Z’s dad’s birthday. Well really, his birth date is Feb 29 but today will do. Among many of our beautiful things this Friday is the arrival of March, this amazing blueberry cake, and the fact that my husband was born somewhere within the hours between yesterday and today.
We love you birthday boy!
And some other beautiful things:
– Some adorable sushi cupcakes.
– I’ve been dreaming about this ever since seeing the recipe. Yum.
– An array of foot fashion from all the Fashion Weeks.
– And now I want to get some metallic shoes!
– Some beautiful photos from a man who use to live in our apartment building.
– MMmmmm blood orange margaritas!
– For our moms on the ‘other side of the pond’ – a great location for lunch.
– A beautiful way to make menus or invites, and a fun kid project.
– Pretty mini-egg carton vase.
– Beautiful candid photos of kids.
Posted in Beautiful Things, Cooking, Crafting, Decorating, Food Adventures, Fun in NYC, Holidays, Home Shuling, Jewish Life, Parenting, Queens Life, tagged 100th day of school, 60s fashion, children, climbing, costumes, dress, east village, growth, gym, hamentashen, kids, make a teepee, men's fashion, photography, playground, Purim, recycle, upcycle on February 22, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Today is Ezra’s 100th Day of School – a day that is celebrated by kids making a poster of 100 things, and presenting it at school. It was kind of hysterical seeing a sea of small kids practically sailing to school this morning with their large poster boards in hand, the cold wind pushing them along. I wish I had time this a.m. to photograph Ezra’s poster of a brain bursting with 100 star stickers, his ‘one new thing learned each day’. But alas, the a.m. is too frantic and crazy for me to remember to pull out a camera.
Instead I think this photo says it all. Last week Ezra climbed to the top of the ‘spider web’ (as he calls it) in his old school. It use to terrify him to do this. He was so proud. Really – where does the time go? I know it’s such a cliche but they really do grow so fast.
And because it’s Friday and because I’m still obsessed with teepees, making things of cardboard, and having fun indoors while it’s cold – here’s our weekly list of beautiful things:
– Got a big box? Make an indoor slide.
– Turn that old dress into a teepee!
– So much beautiful wood… look at that headboard.
– Paper maps of various cities.
– I love these painted floors
– Amazing hats, and the studio – don’t you just want to live in there?
– Some fun photos of my old neighborhood.
– An amazing discovery – nanny turned photographer who left gorgeous photos behind.
– Stylish rebels: best dressed men ever.
– This weekend is Purim! We are breaking out these costumes again and hope to try this hamentashen recipe – yum!
