Posted in Beautiful Things, Food Adventures, Parenting, Travel, tagged Alice, central park, children, cool off, fountain, girls, grass, green, iphone, Manhattan, new york city, s Tea Cup, summer, Sunday outting, tea party, Time Warmer building, travel with kids, water, what to do with kids on June 19, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
While we still haven’t had a sit-down tea party here (yet), we did get to stop in on Alice’s Tea Cup on the upper west side. It was too hot outside to enjoy hot tea but Zoe loved the sweet flower shaped sugar cookies (and all the princess dresses)! Later she stole my phone in Central Park to take pictures of her feet, and then met a friend in the fountain at the Time Warner building.
Posted in Cooking, Holidays, Parenting, Beautiful Things, Queens Life, Food Adventures, tagged Queens, Astoria, NY, Greek culture, Greek food, Greek Easter, red easter eggs, Greek Easter cookies, food in NYC, food in Queens, where to go with kids NYC on May 9, 2013 | 1 Comment »
This past Sunday we had a craving for grilled calamari and tzatziki – but found that our favorite Greek restaurants were closed! I guess Astoria practically shut down for Greek Easter but I’m glad we found one restaurant open – because Zoe loved the pink hard boiled eggs and Greek Easter cookies.
Posted in Cooking, Food Adventures, Fun in NYC, Parenting, tagged baking, birthday cake, bloom, blueberry and cream, buds, cakes, central park, children, chocolate, cookies, Jewish family, Jewish life, kids and food, kids and travel, Manhattan, Momofuku Milk Bar, Museum of Natural History NY, NYC, parenting, pastry, peanut butter, pies, spring, upper west side on April 23, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
It’s beginning to feel a bit like spring here, finally. We tooled around with our scooters and had one of those glorious days watching the trees grow fuzzy – like they do when buds on branches start to bloom. The kids love seeing flowers on the trees outside of the Museum of Natural History, and got to frolic in a sandbox in Central Park. We made a short trek to Momofuku Milk Bar for ‘blueberry and cream cookies’ – and check out their ‘candy bar pie’ topped off with a pretzel! At dusk, the sea of yellow taxis against a dusky sky made me reminisce about summers when I use to live in Manhattan (and my nights would start where they now end – around 9 pm!)
(birthday cake and candy bar pie photos from milkbarstore.com)
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 Food Adventures, Fun in NYC, Parenting, Travel, tagged active kids, bazooka, candy, candy cigarettes, gum, history, Jewish businesses in NYC, Jewish kids, kids, lollipops, lower east side, Manhattan, NYC, old fashioned candy, passover, pez, sweets, travel, treats on March 20, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Economy Candy at 108 Rivington Street is another thriving business in the Lower East Side that has a.) been standing since 1937 and b.) been run by the same Jewish family for all these years. Their mission is to sell good candy at a good price – and now the place is somewhat of a museum of candies from the past as well as candy of the present. Remember candy cigarettes and Pez? See more oldies here on their website and check out the store jam packed with yummy cavity inducing stuff in the photos below (it reminded me a bit of our last candy store run here).
Posted in Cooking, Food Adventures, Fun in NYC, Home Shuling, Jewish Life, Parenting, tagged active kids, bagels, city kids, food, hamentashen, history, immigrant, Jewish cuisine, Jewish History, Jewish kids, Jewish life, LES, lower east side, lox, Russ and Daughters on March 19, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Of course while in the Lower East Side of Manhattan one cannot help but stop in to Russ and Daughters – another fixture in the neighborhood since the early 1900s. I have memories of walking a few blocks with friends to get to some lox and schmear on weekends when I lived nearby in the LES – but I had no idea that even Martha Stewart had by now become such a big fan. You gotta love their website page of Lower East Side history and Yiddishisms (see it here.)
Ezra looks longingly at the lox
More hamentaschen, yum!
Posted in Cooking, Food Adventures, Fun in NYC, Home Shuling, Jewish Life, Parenting, tagged cooking, history, Jewish History, Jewish kids, Jewish life, kids, lower east side, matzo, NYC, passover, Pesach, Streit's on March 18, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
An advantage to living in NYC is being near its rich Jewish culture and neighborhoods full of Jewish history. A place like Streit’s Matzo Factory has been around for so long (since 1925) they seem happy to accommodate constant requests to see the inside of the same 4 adjoining buildings on Rivington Street that has been their factory for decades. Now they even throw a Passover Palooza for kids that ends with tours of the famous matzo making facilities. Mama Doni was performing live in the area that is normally filled with boxes of outgoing matzo shipments. We got a free CD, a dance party, warm matzo ‘hot off the presses’ and at the end we went to the Streit’s store to stock up on matzo (for next week) of course!
Posted in Food Adventures, Parenting, Queens Life, tagged Astoria, children, eats, Hinomaru Ramen, Japanese food, japanese soda, kids, marble soda, miso, motherhood, parenting, Queens, ramen, restaurants, soup, sushi on March 15, 2013 | 1 Comment »
It’s always fun to find new great eats in our own Borough. Hinomaru Ramen is a favorite of friends of ours – who live in Astoria and constantly crave the Niku Man buns (pulled pork on sweet buns). We had vegetarian options and the kids loved the Japanese sodas with a glass marble in the bottle to keep the soda from pouring too fast. Now that it’s getting colder (again) I could go for some warm ramen! Enjoy your weekend.
this photo from HinoMaru Ramen website:
Posted in Food Adventures, Fun in NYC, Parenting, tagged animals, children, diet, environment, food, food adventures, kids, lifestyle, Manhattan, Metropolitan Pavilion, NY Vegetarian Festival, NYC, parenting, vegan, vegetarian on March 12, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
While I’m not 100 percent ‘off’ of meat, I do live with a vegetarian and – truth be told – I do like the idea of saving the environment and some animals by eating less of it. We got a nice warm welcome to the NY Vegetarian Festival at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan however. The folks at the door loved the idea of kids coming around to test the nibbles. There were puppets being made of recycled materials, crafts and coloring, and of course some veg meat options (Ezra loved the faux jerky) to try. My kids love beans and Indian food so they sampled this the most!
Posted in Decorating, Cooking, Travel, Parenting, Beautiful Things, Jewish Life, Food Adventures, tagged parenting, children, fashion, Vacation, photography, gluten free, colors, food coloring, gowns, blue onion china, chocolate ganache, spring fashion, steven and william ladd, ladd brothers, ant pin, dog model, playroom, chicago, Mark Molloy, red lipstick, crafts for kids, staying indoors on March 8, 2013 | 3 Comments »
Can you believe this delicious thing is made from avocados? Photo from Gluten Free Gus.
Well we woke to a blanket of snow this a.m. and it’s still going. I imagine this weekend will be filled with hours of sledding or some indoor activities. Stay warm and dry and enjoy!
– I plan on giving this recipe a test drive this weekend. If it’s a success it will be my go-to dessert for Passover.
– More fun things to do with food coloring! I love the ice marble idea.
– These incredible gowns remind me of blue onion china, with a twist.
– Two talented brothers make beautiful art together. I love their ant pin.
– What a foxy dog.
– Mark Molloy’s photos put me in the mood for a summer retreat (and eating.)
– Look at this amazing play space in Chicago! We will be spending a lot of time in ours this weekend.
– Summer fun colors. I’m ready for it.
– And don’t forget the red lipstick.
