Category Archives: Real Life

Real Life :: California Kiddo’s Fresno 4th of July

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San Francisco has crazy weather. It’ll be hot and sunny three days in a row and then on the fourth the wind is so cold you’re wearing a wool scarf. In July. I’m not kidding. So when the Fourth of July rolls around we high tail it outta here and head down south to visit some of our very best friends, Dan & Lisa, who live in Fresno. Now you may be thinking, “Wow, Fresno….pretty posh Alix!” but lemme tell ya, WE LOVE IT THERE! Besides getting to spend quality time relaxin’ with special friends, they live in a terrific neighborhood on this awesome cul de sac. It reminds me of that famous Bill Owens’ photo from his amazing 70s SUBURBIA book. Where this woman is leading a parade down her block, waving a big American flag. Our Fresno getaway is on a very retro cool block. Our friend’s have a pool and we swim and BBQ and just totally relax. (Lisa and I always manage to sneak away for some fun girlie time…either a pedicure or some high quality movie viewing involving something classy like, you know, vampires) One of my favorite parts is how the whole neighborhood gets involved on the Fourth of July—there is a kid’s parade, bouncey house, and of course fireworks and sparklers at night. Here are some pictures of our crazy fun weekend:

We forgot about the bike parade and had to do some quickie SUPER DOWN AND DIRTY homemade decorations for Wolfie’s bike.

I feel like I should make a joke about my hubbie’s bangin’ booty. Pop pop pop!

Oh my god it was over 100 degrees and I looked like a HOT MESS (literally)  the entire day. This is a testament to how I luv ya—I’m showing you me in all my beet-faced glory. Hewww….of course Wolfie looks rosey cheeked and cute. Damn kids.

Of course there’s always a cakewalk. Greg and Lisa both won on their first try.

The liddle kiddle parade is my fave though….it’s super cute and the kids really get into it. Our friend Flo is down there on the right pushing her lil man Alastair. She made homemade ice cream sammies with home made peach ice cream and they were DEEEEEE-lishus!!

Aw yeah! The pink Malibu Barbie car was back! Whooo hoo! This little girl is there every year. She almost ran me down, but she’s so fab I forgave her.

Our neighborhood doesn’t really have sidewalks, so we’ve been slow on the bike riding dealie with Wolfie. He finally got a little cruiser with training wheels and he was totally into it! The training wheels have that wibble wobble thing where the bike suddenly leans to one side, making Wolfie shriek (in a manly way) and totally reminded me of being a kid….remember how the training wheels would bobble and you thought for SURE you were gonna wipe out?

So that’s part of our weekend! I’ll spare you photos of us looking awesomely sweaty (but then jumping in the pool a zillion times to cool off). We came back to San Francisco and, as predicted, there was a chill in the air. Oh well, it was nice to get a lil taste of summer—even if it was just for a weekend.

What did you guys do? Did you stay close to home or did you go someplace fun?? Hope you all had a fun time too! (PS UPDATE: Greg is leaving for work and WEARING A SWEATER. I’m seriously contemplating tights with my dress. IT’S JULY SAN FRANCISCO!!! *sigh* Always the rebel….)

Real Life: Bicycling with Baby

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Hi hi everyone!

Did you have a grand fourth? Was is filled with red, white and blue cupcakes and fireworks? And maybe even a widge of sleeping in? GOOD FOR YOU!

For my little family it was a chance to go for a bike ride. My first date with my sweetie was supposed to be a bike ride. I’ve even received vintage bicycles from him twice as presents.  Even though the Bay Area is known for hills, our neighborhood is wonderfully pancake flat and perfect for bike riding. It even inspired me to splurge on one last bike.  Well, I did sell my fancy road bike from when I used to race. But I think my Electra Gypsy is much more my speed these days and it is admittedly more reliable than my old vintage ones.

We knew that as soon as the Peach was old enough we were going to incorporate bike trips into our lives.  After some online research on bike seats for babies, we settled on the Co-Pilot brand that attached to the back of the seat. And we found the perfect helmet from Nutcase to protect her little noggin.

And because the Peach likes to hydrate as much as her Mama, we attached her little water bottle and a teething toy to her little  seat.

Doesn’t she look comfy in the bike seat with her helmet on? Just kicking it old school up there, like she was born to ride.  Please note that this was after her first five minute bike ride where we just walked the bike and she cried hysterically from her little bike seat. But the next time, she was very happy to hop on the back of the bike. This proves that you just have to try stuff at least once with a kid. And we are so glad we tried again, because these summer rides with her have been wonderful.

We go on hour rides at least once every weekend. We found a beautiful and almost empty path near our house that wends its way across the island and through this old Naval base.

Around some not necessarily abandoned, but not open buildings that would make amazing lofts—look at those windows…

We get some grand views of the city.

And the Oakland cranes.  Did you know that they were supposedly were the inspiration for the AT-AT walkers in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back? I think you can see the connection, personally.

The naval base has some nice old houses where soldiers lived with their families in the forties and fifties.  This sign I think is original and from that time.  I love the little girl’s bow in her hair.

It’s a perfect way to take advantage of summer weather. What have you been doing this summer with your kiddos?

The Kiddos Hit the Road: EVO Conference 2010!

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Hi friends! Alix and Dottie here….yes it’s really BOTH OF US POSTING AT THE SAME TIME!

If you checked in with last Friday’s Weekly Kiddo, then you might have heard that we took a little bloggy jaunt to Salt Lake City to speak at the EVO ’10 Conference. EVO is an amazing event celebrating the evolution of women in social media and hoo boy what a trip it was! We thought it would be fun to take a wee break from the usual and tell you a little bit about our fun time there. So pull up a chair while we chat together and share a little bit about our fun experience in Utah.

ALIX: What a weekend, lady! Even though we “work” together on our beloved kiddo, we don’t really get to hang together all that much. I was totally excited about our lil getaway. Our flight wasn’t long but I love how we came prepared with Kindles, iPhones and enough trashy mags to last a trans-atlantic flight!!

DOTTIE: I always enjoy a little easy reading on the plane, but because of my job I have to read these charming journals. No New Yorker for me, right now!

ALIX: Don’t let Dottie fool you friends…this mild-mannered crafty minx is a PR Bad Ass by day. I’m not ashamed to admit that US Weekly became our Pop Culture Manifesto as I tried to grill her for info on various celeb appearance rates. (Note to self….Kristin Cavallari… far more affordable than you might think. And if you book Tori Spelling they just might throw in the hubs for free…plotting next birthday bash)

DOTTIE: But back to the trip….


ALIX: OK OK….you’re right. So how gorgeous was Park City, Utah? Like, WAY more beautiful than I ever thought it would be.

DOTTIE: Agreed! It was wedding day perfect weather with not a widge of humidity in the air!

ALIX: Look how sassy you looked Miss Dottie…I was in love those vintage eye glasses. You have THEE best spex in the biz, lady.

DOTTIE: Oh stop! Let’s chat about our fabulous hotel, The Canyons, shall we? The place was just huge—I mean, look at those chandeliers in the lobby! I like the picture of Buffalo Bill about to ski down the mountain in thigh-high boots.

ALIX: Are you sure that’s Buffalo Bill?? I was thinking it was some sassy ranger guy who built the city. His S&M boots are quite the look. Ya know, I have to say I’m not really a rustic gal, but the Cowboy Chic was totally workin’ for me.  I kept wanting that gallery of horse paintings to talk, Harry Potter style though. There were horse portraits EVERYWHERE. A brief homage to my fave….the horse with the flat-ironed hair. SASSY!

HORSE: I’m a cowboy, on a steeeeeel horse I riiiiiiiide…..wait a sec….whooooooaaaa nelly, WHAT’S that sound? It’s like someone’s settin’ off firecrakers up in these here parts!

ALIX:  Hewwwww. OK guys, I have to fess up. I have no idea what happened when I landed in Park City but suddenly I turned into rootin’ tootin’ Alix. Yes, I’m about to go there. I COULD NOT STOP FARTING THAT FIRST NGHT!!!!!  I think it was the altitude…and I swear they weren’t stinky it was ALL AIR. But lawd have mercy, I was a fartin’ machine. I’m SO SORRY Dottie. You were a saint. When you weren’t weeping with laughter while I said things like, “No no….you go ahead. I’m just gonna hang back here and um…..stretch.”

DOTTIE: Darling, I love you even more because you were comfy enough to let it rip around me.

[insert hug between DOTTIE & ALIX]

ALIX: Oh, the other thing that cracked me up was my name tag. They smartly listed everyone’s Twitter ID on them, but since most people use their blog name as their twitter ID it looked like a business card. Like, yours said “Dottie, Modern Kiddo.” Mine, on the other hand, made me look like I was a dang psychic:

ALIX:  So BY FAR the best part of this shindig was meetin’ up with the ladies (and handful of gents). Talk about some quality people. I knew I was going to meet some amazing ladies, but they really just exceeded my expectations. For starters, Jyl and Rachel (the phenomenal masterminds behind this whole shindig) kept us so entertained, well fed and busy round the clock….it was kind of amazing. For those of you who have never been to a conference, it goes way beyond lectures and chit-chatty parties. There is so much listening and learning and really connecting with other groovy chicas.

DOTTIE: I know, right? We bloggers aren’t just these silos standing alone—but we all connect and we all talk and you realize that the blog is just one aspect of how delightful these people are in real life. We met so many new friends too, like the mega talented Alma from Ollibird, the sasstacular Carina from The Jet Set and of course my Kombucha soul sister, NakedJen!

ALIX: NakedJen! We loved that girl. I admit I was totally smitten by the ladies in my Vlogging Workshop (shout out to Lizzie  (LizzieBtv), Kim Orlando (TravelingMom), Meredith Sinclair (Hoo-Dee-Hoo), Kadi Prescott (www.kadiprescott.com), and Danielle Smith (Extraordinary Mommy) WOOT!) and this is hereby a warning to you dear readers—expect to see and HEAR more from me in the future!!! (Just in case you aren’t familiar with the term, “Vlogging” = “Video Blogging” ya’ll. Get ready!!)

DOTTIE: And let’s not forget our favorite girl Allison from Petit Elefant, who we both just adore.

ALIX: Allison is one of those people that just lights up a room—I remember meeting her at the ALT Design Summit earlier this year and thinking, “I need to hang out with this woman more!” Aw look, there she is down there in her sassy purple tunic. Hey, this is a FAB segue into the amazing sessions.

DOTTIE: There were so many good ones…business-focused topics, creative topics and even hands-on workshops. You could take Food (styling and prep), Photography (which included a ride in the gondolas up the mountain) and even a Crafting workshop (where we talked about propping and taking photos for tutorials and what not). It should come as no surprise that I chose Ze Crafting Session!

ALIX: And you didn’t even mind that your third-rate crafting buddy tagged along! (Hey I love getting artsy craftsy, but I’m NOT a sewer/knitter. That’s Dottie’s domain!)

DOTTIE: That is one sweet bag you rocked, Alix. I think YOU are the crafty minx!

ALIX: Hah! Well, I can’t lie….that ribbony, ice creamy style of crafty stuff  really isn’t my bag (hyuck hyuck) but I still had a GREAT time. Of course my favorite part was how I kept touting you as our crafty half …. only to have you execute a splendid CRAFT FAIL on yer cupcake topper. Upside down sign? Aw yeah….this is why I love ya.  *toot!*

DOTTIE: I personally LOVED the Craft Workshop. The panel was made up of these fantastic crafty bloggers and we actually got to craft in the middle of the session! How great was that?? OK, maybe I did put the sign on upside down on my cupcake, but it was still an utterly fab session. And to meet such wonderful online crafters in person—it was like my dream come true! I wish we could have had a quilting bee!

Our lovely panel: Cindy (Skip to my Lou), Marie (Make and Takes), Elizabeth (Dear Lizzy) and Lucrecer (Art Slam)

ALIX: After all that crafting I was exhausted and ready for a lil’ refreshment.

DOTTIE: Thank heavens for the terrific Manis & Martinis party! I swear those weren’t all our glasses. Ahem.

DOTTIE: Hmmm… I sure do look tipsy.  What’s with my red tongue? Do cosmos normally turn a lady’s tongue red?

ALIX: Maybe those really were all your glasses up there. Hee. All I know is that I loved my peach-pineapple martini you procured for me. Mmmm… so tasty. Of course we couldn’t get too tipsy because we were both speaking the next day.

DOTTIE: Oh yes! I was so nervous.  But you were fabulous, Miss Lady!  Alix was on quite the power panel (“The Evolution of Storytelling”) with blogging goddesses—Catherine of Her Bad Mother, Laura Mayles of Blog Con Queso/Kirtsy and Maya from MemeTales. Truly wonderful people and an A+ crew!

ALIX: Seriously, my panel was made up of the smartest, coolest ladies ever. It was *such* an honor. There was a lot of laughing but so many great issues came up as well. It was part of what I loved about EVO. There were some pretty heavy/bittersweet moments as people shared life stories, and yet a whole lot of laughing too. But let’s talk about you my sassy little PR maven.  PR really is an important part of running any business and I was loving all the re-tweeting of your “ABC” quote! [And no, I’m not going to tell you guys what ABC means—you’ll have to check out Dottie’s next panel. Heh.]

DOTTIE: There were so many incredible sessions the whole weekend, it was often hard to choose which one to go to—not to mention the outstanding key notes.

ALIX: And then there was OPRAH. Well, OK. She wasn’t there. But two of her top peeps were: Andrea Wishom, a 17-year veteran Supervising Producer with the Oprah Winfrey Show, and Jon Sinclair, VP of Development and Creative Services for HARPO Studios. They were fabulous. It was a totally fascinating keynote.

DOTTIE: Oprah really is one of the most influential people around—who knew she has been on every TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential people list since its inception more than 20 years ago??  Oh, I’ll miss her when her show ends.

ALIX: But Dottie….at least we’ll always have Nate. (sigh)

………………………….

We can’t tell you how fun and rewarding this experience was. We’re leaving out so much stuff, like even more amazing speakers, the generous sponsors and goodie bags (YAY for Lisa Leonard and her gorgeous jewelry), the zip line, the mountain top gondolas and so much more. If you have the chance to check out a blogger conference, by all means GO!

PS from Alix: GREAT NEWS PEEPS! Dottie has had a Twitter renaissance! I am pleased to report with minimal nagging from yours truly she TOTALLY got into twittering during EVO and has trotted out her old ID. Please add @missdottie to yer feed! Of course I’m still @galexina (mystic to the stars). And can I just say your aura looks marvelous?  xoxo

Real Life: A trip to the MOMA.

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That’s Wolfie up there. Admiring art. OK OK. I can’t lie. There is this little part of me that just wants to post that photo and impress you with my cosmopolitan ways and toss my hair and said, “Yes, this past week we took the young lad to the Museum of Modern Art where he made various astute observations about the exceptional collection of Abstract Expressionism and regaled me with the finer points of Pop Art!” And then tell you how I went home and made an asparagus goat cheese tart that my boy ate with gusto and how, just for a laugh, we ate on the floor because my house is THAT SPOTLESS.

*cough*

But I can’t do that. Don’t worry, it’s still a nice story with a happy ending, we just took a slightly twisty route.

This past weekend was a pretty glorious one. We began our day with an awesome birthday party in Dolores Park—lots of running around and silliness involving a UFO pinata and a bunch of 5-6 year olds racing around. After the party we packed ourselves up and were going to head home when I suddenly thought, “Hey, lets swing by the SF MOMA!” Greg loves art galleries and I love museums. And also,  I was hankerin’ for this:


You see, the SF Museum of Modern Art has a rooftop cafe that is known for it’s spectacular art-inspired sweets. Like the Jeff Koons White Hot Chocolate (served in a dainty porcelain cup topped with golf leaf-coated marshmallows) and Andy Warhol Pop Art Corn (complete with commemorative box!). I have been DYING to get a slice of that Mondrian-inspired cake ever since I posted about it. I know, I know….Wolfie had already had a full day at a birthday party and here I was schleppin’ him to the Art Museum just so I could get cake. What can I say? I want to be the girl with the most cake. Also, Wolfie is a pretty chill little guy and we can pretty much take him anywhere without a fuss. Except, apparently, the MOMA on a Sunday.

We arrived at the museum and I dragged everyone up to the top floor (YAY to Greg for being so accommodating to my sweet tooth whims!). Alas, they were out of the Mondrian cake, but I had this:

with this:

which was inspired by this:

Mmmm. The Wayne Theibaud cake was completely delish. I was delighted and so content, happily sippin’ mah cappuccino. Alas, my little six year old was not as happy as I. “WHEN are we leaving? WHY are we here? I’m TIRED. I want to relax in the CAR!!!” [relax in the car?? ]  I tried joking. Offered him some cake (He was horrified. He hates sweets. Seriously.). “Do they have pretzels?” “Um…no.”  HMPH! And there he sat, pouting and playing his DS.

Once I ate my cake he looked up expectantly, eyes lighting up. “Are we going home??” “No. We’re here at the museum we’re going to go look at some cool stuff!” “Ohhhh man!!!” (head hanging dejectedly and a not particularly adorable scowl on his face.) And he turned into THAT CHILD. Dragging his feet. Whining. Sooooo not into this. And we could have just gone home. But I’m stubborn (where do you think he gets it from??) and refused to give up. As we were walking across the breeze way (oooooh….i don’t think I’ve EVER typed that word before) I looked out the windows and said, “HEY! There’s WALDO!”


On the roof top of the building across the street someone had made a big cut out of Waldo. We all totally laughed—and even my crank-a-puss child giggled. And suddenly I had an idea. “Hey Wolfie, we’re going to play a game.” “A game?” There was a flicker of interest in his eyes. “Yep. OK, so here’s what you have to do. You have to find these FIVE things for me:  1) Something with red in it,  2) Something with an animal in it,  3) Something with a tree in it, 4) The thing that looks the biggest and 5) The thing that looks the smallest, ok??” He seemed mildly amused, but not exactly thrilled with this thought. I should also clarify that I was TOTALLY making this up as I went along and had no clue if this was a cool game or the easiest game in the world and would be over in 5 sad seconds. Luck was on my side because the first room we walked into was filled with paintings….but only one had a red in it. “Hey! mama! I found a something red! Look!” he was triumphant. “Awesome!” The next room yielded nothing, which added to the mystery. Suddenly he was on a mission. While finding a painting with red in it was easy, finding something with an animal was surprisingly hard. We both triumphed when we finally spotted a teensy little horse figurine sitting on a dresser in a collection of Black and White photographs from the 40s. The cool thing about this was that he really LOOKED at everything. And it made me really look too. We chatted about the pieces (“Do you think that this is a really big comb or do you think that it’s just a really small bed?”), we pointed out our favorites and discussed why some painters made everything so dark (“it’s very angry, like a storm.”). And it was SO awesome.



He was totally intrigued by the Andy Warhol and we talked about self-portraits and having blue hair. Of course, the Jeff Koons porcelain Michael Jackson w/ Bubbles got a good look. (I posted the picture on Monday.) Our last sighting was this totally cool Barry McGee piece, which Wolfie proudly informed me was “Both the biggest AND the littlest!”

He was pretty adorable, marching through the rooms looking thoughtfully at everything. Allow me to brag and say he charmed every single guard in the place. Eventually we had to leave and he happily skipped down the stairs. “This was awesome mama.”


So I guess the whole point of this story is….don’t be afraid. And don’t give up. Life’s not always perfect, but a little bit of creativity (and mommy Jedi mind tricks) can go a long way. Dare I say it? I think I must. You can have your cake….and eat it too.