Hand made cards, flowers and grilling+chilling at the new picnic peninsula on Pier 5 in Brooklyn. It was a perfect day.
a great view of lower Manhattan from our table!
Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
Mother’s Day
Posted in Cooking, Fun in NYC, Holidays, Parenting, tagged Brooklyn, children, grilling, kids, mother's day, new york city, parenting, picnic, pier 5, pier 6, south street seaport, travel, view of downtown on May 15, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Greek Easter
Posted in Beautiful Things, Cooking, Food Adventures, Holidays, Parenting, Queens Life, tagged Astoria, food in NYC, food in Queens, Greek culture, Greek Easter, Greek Easter cookies, Greek food, NY, Queens, red easter eggs, 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.
Some Beautiful Things before Spring Break
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.
The Purim party
Posted in Holidays, Home Shuling, Jewish Life, Kid style, Parenting, Queens Life, tagged costume, hamantashen, Jewish life, kids, kings, noise makers, party, princess, Purim, Queens, shark costume on February 25, 2013 | 2 Comments »
Kids in costumes and hamantashen … I can’t get enough of either!
Queen Esther and King Mordecai
don’t eat me!
Reaching new heights – and other beautiful things
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!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Posted in Beautiful Things, Cooking, Food Adventures, Holidays, tagged bake, baked bree, color, cook, cookies, heart, love, sprinkles, valentine on February 14, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Martin Luther King Jr
Posted in Fun in NYC, Holidays, Parenting, tagged books, Brooklyn, children, Children's Museum, inauguration, kids, Martin Luther King Jr, NYC, parenting, President Obama, reading, story time, travel on January 22, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Well it was cold this weekend, so we made another trip back to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum where lots of MLK activities for kids were going on. It seemed impossible to NOT do something MLK oriented. What an auspicious day – with the re-election and inauguration of President Obama, coincidentally – but with great symbolism, on the same day – we couldn’t help but feel like we are living in good times. Very good and prolific times indeed.
So much snow!
Posted in Beautiful Things, Cornwall, Holidays, Parenting, Travel, tagged barn, children, Connecticut, Cornwall, country, country house, farm, hat, kids, parenting, paw prints, snow, tracking on January 5, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
I guess being from NYC I don’t get to see a lot of snow. In the last couple years there’s been a day here, a day there – when the snow falls deep enough to warrant suiting up in snow suits and finding a hill to sled on. So forgive me if I post more gratuitous shots of snow again. Snow blanketing everything – little mysterious paw prints in the snow (what animal walked through here last night?!), and using all that snow as an excuse to get Zoe an adorable hat.
The Christmas House in Torrington
Posted in Beautiful Things, Found Things, Holidays, Parenting, Travel, tagged children, Christmas House, Christmas lights, Coke antiques, Connecticut, holiday fun, kids, magic, mechanical dolls, miniatures, moving dolls, santas, Torrington, trains, travel on January 3, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
When we were young, my brothers and I would’ve gone bananas to know there was a brightly lit house that we could tour ON THE INSIDE as well as view the outside. This crazy house in Torrington Connecticut (see their facebook page here) is definitely worth a visit. In fact I’d venture to guess it may become a national treasure some day. Not only is the exterior ablaze with Christmas love, but inside we toured 3 floors stuffed full of mechanical dolls, trains, and other holiday paraphernalia. The sign at the entrance isn’t lying – there are over 500 mechanical dolls in there (and notice that the number on the sign seems to change). We did manage to find at least one (maybe 2) menorahs in the windows. If you go 2 days after Christmas as we did, there won’t be any crowds. At least, not of people – we did still feel very crowded by dolls!
mechanical carolers as far as the eye can see..
a ceiling Santa overlooks a room of trains and snow village
the full moon is barely visible amidst the lights at the exit
Making ice cream in a ball
Posted in Beautiful Things, Food Adventures, Holidays, Parenting, tagged bark, chip, cooking, country, dessert, ice cream, ice cream maker, ice cream making ball, kids, Kirkland, making, mint, playing ball, snow on January 2, 2013 | Leave a Comment »
Brad got an ice cream maker for Christmas and was generous enough to share it with all of us. Since the snow was really coming down for the days following Christmas, we were even able to fill the ball with fresh snow instead of ice cubes! Just load it with cream, crushed mint/chocolate bark (snow and salt in the outside chamber)and then set the kids to kicking it around for 15 minutes. Stir it up a bit and then roll it around for another 15 minutes and voila! We had mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert.
mmmm Crush up Kirkland Peppermint Bark for great flavoring!
