Category Archives: Real Life : Alix

Summer Time at the Lake House.

Real Life : Alix, ,

You might be having a little bit of deja vu friends! I know you guys all just chatted up about your love of lakes a few days ago. Well the irony is that I’m actually here at the lake house on our summer vacation, dipping my toes in the fresh clear water. I can tell you for a fact….it’s marvelous!!

Every August we leave the sunny west coast and head on up and over to the thick warm summer air of Michigan. It’s so pretty and relaxing—and honest-to-goodness SUMMER! We love it. Being a lakehouse girl is something of a recent thing for me—and really, I have Wolfie to thank,

I grew up in Michigan, but spent every summer in Santa Cruz, California so we never went “up north” or hung out at the lake, like most Michiganders. Around the time that Wolfie was born, my parents decided rather than buy a new house in our home town (they still live in the house I grew up in), they would look for a pretty little piece of lake front property. My mom said she had this dream of Wolfie growing up with the lake as one of his summer memories—going out on the boat, swimming and running around in the warm grass. My Uncle Max had a small boat back in the day, and my whole family has really fond memories of swimming at the lake. No one in our family actually ever owned a house on the lake, though, so this was amazing news. We were all so excited that first summer, when we saw the place. It was perfect!

My favorite part of the house is the huge deck, overlooking the water. Sitting on the porch-swing with a good book, listening to the leaves rustling in the breeze….birds chirping….watching the water gently rippling….sippin’ a lovely drinkie, it’s a little slice of heaven, I tell ya. It’s my favorite spot to lounge. As for Greg….well he’s more of a hammock kinda guy.

I think the location here is incredible. Most of the lakeside communities in this part of Michigan aren’t little woodsie cabins, they’re more houses in little neighborhoods. My parents have a place on a small lake (it’s almost like a cul de sac) and you can cruise down a little canal-like area into the larger “sporting” lake. A sporting lake is a lake where you can have Jet Skis and speedboats and all that jazz. Technically the sporting lakes are the primo real estate, but I love our gentle, quiet little lake so much better. Of course we head to the big lake when we want to swim.

Michigan is called the Great Lakes State for a reason. We have over 11,000 named lakes (sorry Minnesota! I know you are the state of 10,000 lakes) and four of the five Great Lakes border the state. That would be: Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie. Pretty amazing huh!

So, the heart of any good lakehouse experience, is THE BOAT! You need to get out on that lake and explore! We have a little pontoon boat, which is perfect for puttering around in. Let’s take a ride….

OK, we’re on the “big lake” now. Let’s pick up a little speed and  find a place to swim! Hold on fellas….don’t go TOO fast!

Lakes rule. I can’t tell you that lakes are better than the ocean though, it’s like comparing apples to oranges. If I’m being honest, being by the beach is pretty phenomenal—walking along the sandy shores, breathing in the sea air and just observing the power and majesty of the waves crashing down, well, it’s pretty spectacular! But lakes absolutely hold their own kind of magic. Swimming in freshwater and taking in the serenity of a smooth-as-glass body of water is every bit as wonderful. I’m so thrilled that the lakehouse is now part of Wolfie’s childhood memories. He loves swimming and going out on the boat so very much. It’s a pretty special gift.

We only have a few more days here and then back to the “real world”. I’m going to be so sad to leave…what have you guys been up to this summer? Do you have any traditions or special trips you take? When I was growing up, we had an annual summer road trip from Michigan to California. No lakes in site, but an AMAZING time and probably some of my top childhood memories!

Kiddo Fieldtrip // Renegade Crafts fair with Wolfie

Kiddo Fieldtrips, Real Life : Alix

Soooooo….the Hootenanny. I’m so sorry I haven’t done one in the last 2 weeks but I’ll tell ya why. I just haven’t been online much. Which means I haven’t been stockpiling cute things for you. Which is highly unusual for me….but life has been busy aaaaand so it goes! But here’s something fun. Last weekend Wolfie and I hit the Renegade Craft Fair!

If you’ve been to Renegade before, then you know how much fun it can be! If you haven’t been…well, imagine tons of hipster crafty arty goodness all crammed under one roof. To be honest, it probably wasn’t Wolfie’s idea of a dream day. He’s such a sweet little fella, but shopping for crafts and jewelry isn’t really a Top 10 choice for little 8 year old boys. He’d rather be playing kick ball or checking out the Lego store. But I always think its good to expose kids to things they might not choose themselves—I’m  always encouraging Wolfie to try and find the unexpected fun in situations. And hey, some things just might surprise you and be better than you thought! OK…I admit, I also told him I’d let him pick out something fun to buy. Hey, a little bribery never hurt anyone, right??

SF Renegade is always at Fort Mason, and it’s SUCH a pretty water-front location. The weather was just glorious! {Oh you might notice Wolfie in two diff shirts in this post….the Cali shirt was under the stripey one…..it got a bit hot, so he took the striped one off!}

We loved these super cute pencils (like these Classic Hip Hop ones!) from One Up Designs.

Wolfie picked out this cool artwork from artist Annie Galvin, from 3 Fish Studios as his item. We love animals. We love bears. We love California. And we love color. Yup. This one was a no brainer!

Heh. This little hipster teddy bear had me cracking up—and swiping a swig from his little felt PBR. He even has a little mini mole skiene notebook. From LetsBeFriends.

It’s fun to run into pals, and we loved chatting with Robert Mahar (Mahar Crafts) and Cathy Callahan (vintage crafter extraordinaire cathy of california)! They’re both so talented and super sweet. Robert is making new party popper kits that are really cool and Cathy has some really fun new necklaces.

We also ran into cute Lisa, from Zelma Rose—I love her constellation pendants.

I was really into these book safes, made from old, recycled books. There was a version that hid a flask too. hee. From pomme frites charming home decor. I forgot to go back and get one. Gotta remember them. It’d be a fun gifty!

Wolfie especially loved this Super Mario “Power Up” mushroom poster from Row Boat Press.

There are always tons of fun graphic tees at Renegade. Because we were having so much fun, I told Wolfie he could also pick out a tee shirt and this “Make Me a Taco” one was a big hit! From the kooky guys over at Seibei.

We also poked around the Gnome Enterprises booth. They have great stuff for big folks, and the little ones too!

I spied lots of fun Midwestern goodness from The Social Department. Go Michigan!

The guys at Seibei gave Wolfie a free tote to carry his goodies in….which was SUPER nice.

Wolfie really threw himself into the day and was so cute and charming and polite, I was SO proud of him. We also cracked up the entire day. We kept giggling because there was a sauerkraut vendor (which was a BIG mistake, friends!) and the whole area near the food smelled like one big fart. It’s true. And folks, nothing is funnier than a toot. OK, back to the goods. I always love looking at jewelry. I didn’t snap many photos but I loved this felt stuff from Homoko. So pretty!

Oh, and these plush guys from Mimi Kirchner were SUPER fun. The tattooed man was very clever, but I loved the Fantastic Mr. Foxy.

Sooooo even my special little awesome shopping buddy reached his limit….and despite all the laughing and fun we had, he finally said, “That’s enough! No more quirky hipster goodies, ironic moustaches and wooden ties mama!!!! I’m over it!” OK fine, maybe what he really said was closer to “My feet hurt!! I’m not walking any more. Let’s call daddy!!” I asked him to pose for one last photo and this was what I got:

Hahahaha. He’s a ham, my boy. And really we had the best time together….have you guys been to Renegade? How’s your weekend going?

 

Of Tikis and Whales // The Kiddo Girls Have Some Vintage Fun

Real Life : Alix, Real Life : Dottie


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Last week Dottie and I had a super busy retro-filled week! Between Dottie’s new consulting job and my new freelance gig, I didn’t think we’d made it to both events, but in the end I’m so glad we did. First up, the Tiki Oasis Fashion Show at Trader Vics!

For the last three years, Greg and Wolfie and I have made it a tradition to go down to Tiki Oasis. It’s kind of a birthday celebration for me—but mostly we go because it’s just a BLAST! This year Dottie and her fam are coming down too and I can’t wait to get our tropical tiki pool ON! As a little teaser pre-party, our friend Doe (who throws Tiki Oasis every year with her hubby Otto) organized a really cool vintage fashion show at Trader Vic’s, a tiki bar & restaurant in Emeryville. All the models held paddles with numbers on them, old school style. If you wanted to buy an ensemble, you simply made note of the number.

There were some “special guests” modeling! Hee! Wolfie was part of a faux family with matching tiki wear.

Wolfie did SUCH a cute job “modeling”….he actually did a little dancin’ down the run way and was all smiles. I was totally amazed! That’s one of his best buds up there, Miles. The girls, Scarlett and Audrey, were toooo cute!


images: Dame Rusty/laughing squid

Little miss Peach is still a wee one, so she has a rather early bed time. When you’re on vacation, you end up bending the rules a little (which I think is totally appropriate!) so Dottie wisely wanted to give her little cutie a test run, and see how she did hanging with the big kids. The verdict? A smashing success! Peachie was sooo cute and sweet and I really think she had a BLAST! She’s gonna be a pro at the real Tiki Oasis!!

We didn’t stay the whole evening, since we had our small folk with us, but it was a fun filled night for the whole family!

You’d think that would be enough retro hijinx for the week, but oh ho noooo! We actually had ANOTHER fun outting the next night! This time it was no kids allowed as we hit the annual fundraiser at Fairyland!

Fairyland is an adorable storybook themed park built in the 1950s for little kiddos. The story goes it was one of Walt Disney’s inspirations for Disneyland…this past Friday they hosted an after hours event that was too fun. Our little supper club group The Dames decided to have a little get together there. The wine was flowing and lots of yummy food courtesy of several of Oakland’s hippest food trucks. Of course, the whole thing was just a “gab and take photos” fest, and we really had such a fun night!

WHEW!! The weekend hadn’t even arrived and we were exhausted!!!! But we had too much fun. And I think we’ll definitely be going again next year!

{extra pix from Dame Rusty!}

Kiddo Fieldtrip // The Moving Rainbow Explosion of Fun

Best of Alix, Best of Modern Kiddo, Kiddo Fieldtrips, Real Life : Alix,

This weekend Wolfie, Greg and I participated in one of the coolest things ever: The Color Run!

The Color Run is a unique 5 kilometres event unlike any other. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience that is less about speed and more about enjoying a crazy colorful day with your friends and family. All levels of experience are welcome, all that matters is that you participate—and that you wear white clothing! Why? Because at every 5 kilometer marker, runners get blasted with colored powder, turning the procession into a moving rainbow. And friends, it’s AMAZING!!

Soooooo, the run fills up really quickly and spots in the San Francisco run were all full. But that didn’t stop us! We decided we’d show up anyway to support the runners and check it all out. We weren’t sure if we could bring Sammy  (technically, I think dogs weren’t supposed to be there) BUT he’s such a big love, everyone just lit up when they saw him and ran over to pet him. With his big smile and wagging tail, he sort of became the unofficial “Happiness Mascot” of the SF Color Run!

We started hanging out at the pinkie red kilometer color marker and as you can see, Sammy really got into the spirit of things!

We decided to check out the blue team, and those guys were all was jealous that Sammy was all pink, so they got in on the action too—giving Sam a pretty baby blue bath. The powder, by the way, is an all natural non-toxic mix. It’s corn starch and color—and it’s safe to eat, although the warn you it’s highly caloric. Don’t taste the rainbow…

The race starts out slow….you see a handful of runners coming through, with a lil splash of color. And then suddenly you see a SEA of people and the color cloud gets bigger and bigger!


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We didn’t make it over to the yellow station but it was SO great because we could see it in the distance and all you saw was this POOF of yellow. Even if you don’t run, you will still get lots (LOTS) of color splashes.

The finish line is one big colorful dance party…they toss out extra packs of color (and you can buy larger packs like that one up there) and people are just throwing color all over the place. Everyone is bouncing around and grinning. SO. MUCH. FUN! The whole scene looks like a futuristic, candy colored, post apocalyptic water color painting! Hmm, never thought I’d type THAT phrase!!

They gave away free Slurpees and Coconut Water too… Whoo hoo!

I can’t recommend this enough. And it’s a great thing to do with kids (whether they run or simply enjoy the color mania). They have Color Runs all across the country, through out the year. Even if you can’t run, you should head on down and check it out—in some ways its even more fun just volunteering and observing. There was so much happy energy in the place! Everyone was smiling {Special howdy do to our sweet pal Nuala from tea collection, who we ran into there!} Wolfie thought it was the coolest thing ever and wants to start training to run for next year!

PS

We were soooooo filthy when we got home, and it took a while for us all to get cleaned up. So we decided to wait to bathe Sammy til the next day. Um…mistake. The blue dye is reeeeally tricky to get out! He’s nearly white, but still has little blue paws and tail.

PPS

This is the video that Wolfie and I watched back in January, and it was what sold us on the event! I hope you watch it with your kiddos too!

Link Hootenanny:: I took Friday off….

Real Life : Alix

Last Friday I was all set to get the Friday Hootenanny together….I really was planning on sharing some tasty links. But then there was this:

and of course this:

And whaddya know, it was suddenly Sunday. That’s what summer is all about, though, right? Spontaneous pool parties….eating red Otter Pops…seeing gorillas on bicycles, cuddling with the dog….and having your 8 year old look at the flower in your hair and say, “Mama, we’re not going to a wedding you know!”

I hope your summer is going fabulously as we gear up for the Fourth of July! And for those of you caught up in all the storm shenanigans of the east coast and midwest, BE SAFE!!! I’m stunned by all the fallen tree images and black outs on instagram. We’re thinking of you!