Category Archives: Real Life : Dottie

Starting New Easter Traditions

Holiday Kiddo, Real Life : Dottie

This was the Peach’s first Easter.  Proper Easter, I should say–where we actually celebrated Easter and tried to make it a special holiday for her.

I love family traditions. They make the holidays so much more special to me.  Of course I have many special traditions that we are just beginning to form with the Peach. Traditions from my own childhood that I am so excited to introduce her to over the next few years—like special cookies and oranges in Christmas stockings. But Easter? Well, I needed a bit of inspiration there.

Of course, we are did the Easter egg hunt—filling those pastel plastic egg with jelly beans and other goodies for her to find.  (When did those become so popular? We didn’t use them when I was growing up!)

And the Peach had a blast dying eggs Saturday. I went old school and used Paas. That vinegar eggy smell brought back so many memories.

But I wanted more. So, I decided to try add few new ones to the mix and see if they stick.

New Easter Tradition #1: Easter Brunch with home-made bagels

I know crazy sounding, right?  But it is not as hard to do as waffles or even pancakes in my book.  Actually a lot easier than I thought and great for kids since they get to roll the dough into balls and make the actual shape.

Most of the work happens while the dough is resting, so it really isn’t too insane.   Start ’em at 8AM and finish ’em by 10AM. And the Peach loves smoked salmon. Go figure!

New Tradition #2: Deviled eggs and peeps s’mores

I remember never liking Peeps as a kid and letting them sit and turn into hardened marshmallow blocks in my Easter basket. And I love watching work associates bring Tupperware bowls of those multi-colored eggs to eat for a quick breakfast every day the week after Easter. Or watch those colored eggs linger in the side of the fridge for at least a week. Sigh!

Well, let’s make quick work of both those issues with the annual adult snack/dessert while child is napping–or heck–share it with ’em! Who doesn’t love deviled eggs?  And just add some chocolate eggs to the peeps over s’mores and voila–instant awesomeness!

New Tradition #3: Watching “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”

I know I’ll get to explaining the religious aspects of Easter to the Peach soon enough, but until then, I just want her to get excited about the Easter Bunny. And what better way than though the magic of  stop motion animation of Rankin Bass and his Easter special, “Here Come’s Peter Cottontail.” Starring the “voices” of Danny Kaye, Casey Kasem and Vincent Price, I had just as much fun watching it as she did! But I must admit, the Peach was a wee bit afraid of old Iron Tail, and cuddled next to me, so we’ll see if she wants to watch it again next year.

What are your Easter holiday traditions? I’m always looking for more!

Real Life:: Traveling Mama!

Real Life : Dottie

March was a busy month for me at work.  As a PR director for major media company, I work with a lot of cool people in the tech and media world.  It is a high-paced job and at times very very stressful. There are a lot of long days and the workload can be grueling, but every now and then I get to do things that are a bit out of the ordinary.

This month had me traveling quite a bit, but for two very different reasons.  Business travel can be brutal. We actually wrote a post last year on tips for traveling. But it can still be exciting and a chance to check out a new place (if you have time…)  First up was a quick trip to L.A. for my brand CHOW.  Lessley Anderson was going to be on the CBS show THE TALK!

Lessley and I did a ton of media prep for the five minute piece on the talk. This is essential for nailing the interview.  Lessley talked about cool ways to make popular dishes more healthy with Aisha Tyler and Julie Chen.  We had to arrive at the studio at 7:30AM to do a run through with the producers and then Lessley had to head over to hair and make up to get ready for her spot.

Needless to say, she totally rocked it! You can see her full interview here. (And get some cool cooking tips—like adding avocado to chocolate mousse–trust me, it’s amazing!)

A couple days later, I was Texas bound for SXSW.

I went last year to SXSW and it was great. This year I was busier because I had more brands on panels. We began working on these panels in May of last year, so it was quite cathartic to see them actually happen. Hundreds of hours of work for an hour panel? Yup! But it was so worth it!

The biggest coup was getting Lisa Kudrow (who was super nice and so. Darn. Funny.) to talk on one of the panels I placed.  Her panel was about Web original shows and Lisa was there to talk about her hilarious online show, Web Therapy, which was picked up by Showtime. Have you seen it? It’s genius! Molly Wood from CNET rocked her panel on Big Data privacy and CHOW had an amazing panel on online video production.  We were so lucky to have such amazingly talented and smart people talk about their businesses and issues that were near and dear to their hearts.

But in between all of the meetings and events, I had enough time to slip out to do some vintage shopping one afternoon!  I pretty much went to only two stores due to my hour time constraint, but man, they were packed to the gills with awesomeness!

The Austin food scene has kinda exploded over the past few years with brilliant artisan restaurants and food trucks.  CHOW created this brilliant little guide to the best of Austin food, so I knew I had to check a few of those places out and report back to the CHOW editors.  Oh, and I did!  Franklin’s BBQ redefines what BBQ brisket is all about. It is a masterpiece of smoke.  And you can do quite a bit of networking in the queue. I met two reporters that way! And I will also dream of the duck pastrami Reuben I had at the Noble Pig. Wonderful stuff.

And of course, there were the parties.  Oh yes, the parties. My CHOW panel was full of some of the funniest people ever (like the managing editor of The Onion’s AV Club).  We decided to celebrate our panel afterwards with dinner and drinks.  Dinner was at this steampunk crazy yummy restaurant where a kick-ass klezmer band was playing right next to us.  Somewhere along the line we picked up another hilarious gent who was a NYT/Slate magazine writer in town to speak on a panel titled, “The Evolution of the Douchebag in Cinema.” After a little trip to TGIF and more booze and many nutty hijinks, we ended up in a karaoke bar under a parking garage singing Pat Benetar.

Now, THAT was a fun night.

But throughout it all, I was missing my Peach.  Eric would send me little pictures throughout my travels of her. Thanks to Facetime on the iPhone we did manage to get a bit of time, but still, these trips are hard on the heart.

Do you travel for business? Have you? What do you love or hate about it?

Kiddo Fieldtrip :: San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

Best of Dottie, Kiddo Fieldtrips, Real Life : Dottie

 

A few weeks ago (actually over President’s Day weekend) Eric and I took the Peach to the Conservatory of Flowers, because they had an amazingly fun exhibit for kids, based on San Francisco’s famous boardwalk, Playland by the Sea.  The popular amusement park, Playland by the Sea, was a mainstay in San Francisco from Victorian Times until 1972 when it closed. Although the amusement park has been dismantled and scattered across San Francisco–like the famous carousel is in Yerba Buena Garden, Playland by the Sea still looms large in San Francisco lore.  and it was the perfect inspiration for the wonderful floral exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers.

This was my first time to the Conservatory of Flowers and it was divine! And the exhibit–well, it took my breath away. And I know the Peach loved it too.

The exhibit also featured a few bits beyond the flowers–like these wonderful fun house mirrors, which the Peach loved.

Just walking into the room and seeing the original Playland sign was pretty impressive. Look at those awesome As!

 

The exhibit also included one of the original bumper cars from the popular ride. I think that was the Peach’s favorite.

The flower exhibit wasn’t just a staid arrangement, but had these buttons that kiddos could easily push to make the trains go or the carousel turn.  Too much fun!

What really made the exhibit particularly wonderful is that all of the structures were made from products that would have ended up in a landfill if it weren’t for the upcycling.

And it was so fun to see San Francisco landmarks that we all know and love.

We spent almost two hours there watching the Peach run around the room having a blast. It reminded me of my childhood trips to the Philadelphia Flower Show with my Dad years ago.  And it made me feel like spring was around the corner.  Perfect for this time of year.

After we left the conservatory, we headed to Cole Valley and  San Francisco’s new Ice Cream Bar. Eric had this insane milk shake and the Peach’s favorite strawberry wasn’t available, so she enjoyed a little cherry ice cream.

The best part was that we were able to make it back for the Peach’s 2:30 nap!  As you can imagine, she was pretty tuckered out from her full day of fun.  I think this may be our new spring tradition. Do you have any spring traditions?

 

 

New School Sesame Street: Or How I Learned to Love Elmo.

Real Life : Dottie

I’ll admit, I never liked Elmo. I thought he was a bad nineties addition to my beloved Sesame Street. And I freaking LOVED Sesame Street. One of my first purchases when I found out I was pregnant was the classic Sesame Street DVDs. I thought Elmo was the most annoying little red headed idiot out there. He didn’t have the humble charm of Grover, the over the top dull witted sugar rush hilarity of the Cookie Monster, the elusive eyelashed wonder of Snuffaluffagus or the insouciant whimsy of Gonzo. No, Elmo was an annoying high pitched whiner who couldn’t even get it together enough to understand the proper use of I. Sheesh.

I mean, can it ever get better than freaking STEVIE WONDER and GROVER?

But then the Peach spied him on some random video on You Tube that popped up after the Ladybug Picnic—no more than five seconds of Elmo and drat it if she wasn’t hooked. And she wanted more. More. MORE.

Well, OK. Maybe. Just on my phone. A little video. Let’s check it out.  And I did check it out.  Clever Sesame Street.  Very clever.  Bring in some amazing musicians and pair them with clever takes on their most songs. How could I not enjoy it? And those bite-size bits of Elmo made me begin to actually kinda like him.

Here are my favorite videos that might even turn the most sour Elmo hater into a possible fan.

I love this Katy Perry video of Elmo. She is so charming and bubbly and such a good foil for the Elmo.

Weirdly enough Georgia likes opera music, so she totally digged this version of Bocelli’s most popular aria. And I adore that it is about not wanting to go to bed. I think this one is my favorite actually. Oh, if I could only sing this to her at night… And hearing him talk to Elmo in his dreaming Italian accent, “You have the bear-ah, and you need-ah to sleep-ah…”

I love Feist and her most popular song was a shoe in for a Sesame Street Elmo piece.

And Elmo gained some serious bonus points from me for this video with Elvis Costello. The glasses look good on you, Elmo…

Oh, but I dare you not to sigh with happiness after hearing india.arie sing the Alphabet song to Elmo.

 

Well, I’m officially won over, Elmo. And I tried to resist you so hard, but then you won me over with my old musical friends!

Are you a fan of Elmo?  What is your relationship with this red furry friend from Sesame Street?

 

Last Week, We Cleaned Up Our Act.

Real Life : Alix, Real Life : Dottie, Sponsored Post

Last week Dottie and I were thrilled to participate in a very special event, thanks to our wonderful friends at method. They are one of my very favorite cleaning products, with a line that is as stylish as it is smart & eco-friendly. When they approached us about working with them, Dottie and I knew it was a perfect fit. Dottie is especially concerned with finding cleaning products that are tough on dirt but are natural and eco-friendly. And I’m a packaging victim who is dazzled by pretty colors. Just kiddin’. Sorta. If you follow us on instagram (@galexina & @missdottie) then you might have seen some of the photos we posted! It was a unique 2 day event for a small group of bloggers from all across the country, and man oh man did we have fun!

Here’s what went down. The kind folks of method flew everyone in on a Thursday. That night we had a lovely “getting to know you” dinner and then went to the groovy Hotel Monaco to call it a night. Yep, even though Dottie and I are local, they booked us each a room so we could relax and be a part of the whole event without having to dash back and forth. It was pretty luxurious staying at a hotel in your own home town!

The next morning we all hopped aboard a little shuttle bus to head on over to method headquarters to meet the team and start our day. As we turned a corner, we suddenly heard gasps coming from the ladies seated at the front of the bus. We craned our necks to look out the window, and saw the entire company lining the streets with balloons—clapping and cheering for us. It was so thoughtful and charming and unexpected, and definitely a sign of  great things to come!

The day was spent immersing ourselves in the method culture. We learned about the company’s history, chatted about the importance of great design, smelled oodles of yummy new fragrances, talked at length about how important sustainability is and how being “green” infuses everything they do. It was an action packed day filled with a real passion and warmth that was completely infectious! I was a fan before, but I really learned SO much that day. The most impressive thing were the people. This wasn’t a hard-sell, schmoozy crowd. These were funny, real, awesome folk who truly believe in what they do. They shared their many success stories but I was impressed that they also shared some of their failures—explaining what they learned from things that didn’t work out the way they planned.

Oh, these are the two cool guys behind the entire method family, Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry:

The other awesome part of our weekend was meeting up with so many other fabulous bloggers. There were lots of familiar faces and many new wonderful friendships made.

(ok, Victoria {sfgirlbybay} isn’t exactly new….but she *is* one of our favorite SF pals!)

above: with bloggin’ cutie Dani Hampton {sometimes sweet} below: and lovely Liz Stanley {say yes to hoboken}

left: the gorgeous girls with glasses brooke & summer and the sparklin’ jordan ferney {OhHappyDay} // right: the supah sassy susan peterson {Freshly-Picked}

We got to experience lotsa product—including their latest fragrances:  lime + sea salt, coconut grove, and daffodil bouquet. Here’s my gal Dottie washin’ her hands and experiencing the different fragrance “notes”….yes friends. Soap has NOTES.

Ahhhh. watch the bloggers come clean:

above: the fab EZ Pudewa {creature comforts}, the stunning Denene Millner {MyBrownBaby}, darlin’ Dani, and the adorable Illana Wiles {Mommy Shorts} // below: Dottie scopin’ out some early product designs right outta the method sketch book.

How cute is this?? mickey smelled like lemonade, minnie smelled like strawberries.

Then we got a little sneaky peek of things to come, thanks to Mekanism—the geniusy agency who created their new campaign. It’s as colorful, quirky and cool as the people of method….we can’t wait to share it with you.

Yes, that wall lit up. And no, it’s not affiliated with any bright lite toys of the 70s (ahem) but it was reeeeally cool.

The vibe was really one of positivity and fun and I think all of us “Method Mavens” (as the team dubbed us) were kind of grinning from ear to ear the whole time. Of course the main focus of this event was to learn more about method, but I have to tell you people…..these guys really spoiled us silly. Apologies if this next part sounds a little braggadocious, but it’s more about wanting to share with you how generous and thoughtful these guys were. In addition to our wonderful opening night meal, we had a fun photoshoot (see above), completed a DIY project with Danny Seo and got to check out the latest method book on a complimentary Kindle Fire. Yeah. We each got one. Wowzers.

As if that weren’t enough, on Friday night we were treated to a “clandestine dining” experience. The Stag Dining group is a collective of chefs that host traveling dinners, in unique locals. Method asked them to base our 5-course meal around some of the method fragrance profiles (water+ citrus, herbaceous, fruity etc). And holy moley, it was a meal unlike any other!!

Did I mention it was held at the William Westerfeld House? It’s an infamous, huge Victorian that used to be the Russian Embassy. The place was four stories of decadent Victorian maddness. With ornate chandeliers and taxidermy for days, I felt like I was in a real life version of the board game Clue.

At the end we went around the loooong dining room table and were asked to sum up the two day’s experience in one word. I think they were hoping for things like “informative” “inspiring” “designy”…..but truly friends, I had to bust out this one:

So what does this all mean? It means that in the coming months we have lots of awesome goodness coming your way. We’ll be sharing more fun stories, talking about the importance of cleaning with products that are better for the environment (AND you & your family), plus test-driving new products. We’ll even be giving you guys the chance to try ’em out for yourself and would love to know what you think. As for us:

A special thanks to dani //sometimes sweet for letting me snag some of her photos for this post.