Category Archives: Vacation Kiddo

Sometimes You Gotta Zag. PALM SPRINGS.

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Oh why does it sometimes take me FOREVER to get a post up? So this is a post about Thanksgiving. Wait wait wait! Don’t click away! I promise, no turkeys. It’s about Palm Springs. Typically Thanksgiving is all about hunkering down at home, cooking all day and enjoying a fabulous feast with friends and family. It’s how we’ve always spent it, hanging with our “local family” (flying on Thanksgiving is pretty exhausting/crowded/stressful/expensive so we haven’t done it in quite a while). But this year we wanted to do something different. Sooooo, we hopped in our car and drove down to Palm Springs. It was totally different from anything we have ever done, and many of our friends raised a brow (“Wait what? You’re going where?”) but it was such a relaxing and doable holiday for we Northern Californians. It left us asking, “Why haven’t we done this before??”

Palm Springs is a special place for us, because it’s where Greg and I got married. It’s also stuck in an amazing mid-century time warp that we love. Really fabulous architecture in a desert oasis! It’s kind of a photographers dream….so I hope you won’t mind indulging me in a few posts about our pretty pretty adventure. The weather has been cold and rainy here, so it’s been fun getting a peek at some sunshine.

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We knew we wanted to stay at a fun hotel—with an awesome pool. There are SO many great options, but we ended up at that Pinterest dream, The Saguaro. It was really fantastic. For a color loving gal like myself, I was in heaven!

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We love just driving around and looking at all the cool buildings. The Del Marcos Hotel, for example, is *so* cute!

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We love going out to breakfast…we went to Cheeky’s {@ 622 n. palm canyon dr.} and it was SUPER yum. Some highlights? Greg got the eggs bennie and a grown up slushi {“antioxidant acai, blueberry and kale icee…oh my!} and I got some amazing waffles with lemon curd AND I couldn’t resist trying The Bacon Flight (5 kinds of bacon! Including maple balsamic, rosemary sugar and jalapeno!). The one odd thing on the menu was Wolfie’s breakfast—the buttermilk and corn pancakes. I assumed they were cornmeal, but it was a short stack of buttermilk pancakes with some big ol sweet corn kernals tossed in. Wolfie was horrifed haha.

It gets crowded, so you have to wait a bit but we had a great time!

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We drove by the infamous Alexander House on Ladera Circle….which coincidentally was where Greg and I were married!

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It was so special to share the place where we married with Wolfie.  (You can get a peek inside the house here!)

I have lots more pictures to share…a couple of fun vintage shops, and I wanted to share a bit more of the SAGUARO hotel as well as the glamorous PARKER hotel. It was just the big Modernism Week in Palm Springs and I was checking out all the fun photos my friends Heather and Danielle posted on instagram and it sooo made me long for the sun!

Tie one on for the holidays! Vintage hostess aprons

Are you planning on throwing a holiday party this year? Or even just Christmas dinner?  Well, consider adding a little vintage holiday magic in the form of a hostess apron with a decidedly holiday feel.

There was a reason those little holiday aprons were so popular back in the day.  Yes, these pretty fillies weren’t really workhorse aprons, but they could add a lovely bit of seasonal charm to an ordinarily simpler dress.  Of course this was when people usually only owned one fancy winter dress and it had to work for the whole season.

But the idea still works today. Just think of add this little beauty below to your basic black dress you were planning on wearing to your holiday dinner/party and voila! You are a sassy Mrs. Clause!

Just to help you out, I’ve found some complete charmers of vintage holiday aprons, thanks to our trusty Etsy sellers.

I have such a crush on the chiffon ones, don’t you?

Vintage aprons for kiddos? Yes, please!!

Little greeting cards on an apron? So cute!

Little angels!

I don’t know how I feel about this Santa

This is just a sampling of the hundreds available of course on Etsy and most are usually under $15, so you can splurge on the champagne instead of a new Christmas dress.  And for you craftier folks out there, there is this!

So, make your holidays extra festive with tying on a bit of holly jolly before you take those appetizers out of the oven.  And keep your pretty dress fine while loading the old dishwasher too!

Do you ever wear vintage holiday aprons? Do you own any?

 

MK Getaways :: Cabin Fever with Kate’s Lazy Meadows

I’m soo happy Alix is off having a well deserved vacation with family! Hurrah Alix–I hope you put yer feet up and relax, lady!

I, alas, am not vacationing right now. But if I were to take a jaunty little vacation, I’d pack my bags and head over to Kate’s Lazy Meadows Resort in the Catskills of New York.

Images via: Flickr user Satori and Travel & Leisure

Kate, who is better known as Kate Pierson, the redheaded darling from The B-52s came across a set of cottages in Woodstock, NY and turned them into her tiki mod vacation dream come true. Which happens to be MY dream too!  (Surely Kate and I are destined to become BESTIES, right?)

Also, girlfriend lovingly filled up her little cutie kitschy cabins with all sorts of fun tchotchkes from shopping sprees all around America when she toured. And basically created the second most magical place on earth.

See those to die for ceramic bubbles on the staircase above and these groovy tiles in the bathroom? Those are made by Kate’s artist buddies, Phillip Maberry and Scott Walker, known as the groovy duo whose home was the “Love Shack” set for the B-52’s video.

Image via: TJ2

Personally, I’d like to try the stunning airstream trailer. Which looks so sweet and cozy!

But I think any nook and cranny of Kate’s Lazy Meadows would be a perfect place to experience the beauty of the Catskills in summer. Or oooh… Fall. Oh the changing leaves.

So, let’s book a Modern Kiddo camp next year here–whadaya say, folks?

Modern Kiddo Abroad :: Alice’s Family Trip to Sweden

I think it is well known that I love all things Swedish.  Alas, I have yet to make it there in person. Hearing stories from other people’s trips just gets me more and more excited and I know I’ll get there one of these days!

Today, I’m going to travel there vicariously through one of our readers, the lovely Alice Jonsson. Alice offered to serve as roving reporter and chat with us about her recent trip to Sweden with her darling family—including her adorable boy Jake and her beautiful daughter Lena. Take it away Alice!

Greetings Modern Kiddo readers! My name is Alice. This June we were able to finally bring our kids to the beautiful country of Sweden.  My husband Patrik lived there until he was ten and his family summers were spent on Prast Grundet, a lovely island in the Upper Baltic.  It was used for three hundred years as a fishing outpost by Patrik’s family until the middle of the 20th century. Since then its little red houses have been used  for vacationing and soaking up the precious sunlight that bathes Sweden in the late spring and summer. This was our first trip there with our five-year-old, Jake, and our one-year-old, Lena.

Until recently there was no electricity on Prast Grundet. You use old fashioned pumps to fill buckets of water and schlep them to the cottages. There is also a large number of really darling outhouses. All of these rustic factors become a fun part of the rhythm of life on ‘Grunna’. There is no commerce on the tiny island. It’s mainly solar-powered cottages for about twenty families, an old church, a quaint old bakery with a wood oven that still works, and a sweet little lighthouse.


(Lena’s outfit: red, white, and blue skirt – KappAhl , white ruffle shirt, Old Navy, sneakers, Converse)

It was a big moment for the whole family to finally be together on the island, with the first batch of grandkids. If any of you Modern Kiddo readers have a spouse from another country, I’m sure you understand the challenges of raising a child to understand that they have this deep connection to another place.



(wearing grandma’s hat!)

The kids don’t speak Swedish yet, and we’re still figuring out how to introduce the Swedish language into our home. It’s so important for many reasons—and it does slow communication down. It also doesn’t help that most Swedes speak English terrifically, so really it’s their fault for making it so easy for us to be lazy!!

The kids loved being outside so much. Jake was crazy for the net-fishing expeditions.  And of course eating fish right out of the Baltic makes us all happy.  The kids loved the flavor and didn’t even fuss over the bones! There is a very small rocky little island full of sea birds right next to Grunna.  We cruised over in an old wooden skiff that Jake declared ‘the worst boat on the island’ much to Patrik’s chagrin. We saw baby seagulls hatching right before our eyes. The light on the water is stunning this time of year when the day is a whopping twenty-two hours long!


(Lena’s outfit: fluorescent, flowery onesie, KappAhl, chambre bubble shorts, Gap, Sneakers, Converse)

Lena’s big moment was Midsommer. The islanders all build a maypole and decorate it with myriad flowers that grow all over the island in profuse quantity due to the long days. They sing classic children’s songs and dance around the pole with the kids before a great big feast. It’s truly wonderful!


(Lena’s outfit: light blue dress with tiny flowers, Gap 1969, espadrilles, Oshkosh)

For the last three days of the trip we went to Stockholm.  It was fantastic! I think my dream day is one filled with shopping and eating in a beautiful European city with the people I love. To be able to walk on cobblestone streets among such historic beauty with the family was a dream come true.  I know that sounds a bit corny, but it’s true!

Both children loved the Wasa Museum – a museum built around a colossal 17th century warship.  Mostly they enjoyed the ferry rides.  And the ice cream, of course!


The best part of travelling with kids is staring at them while they stare  wide-eyed at the wonders surrounding them. We are truly blessed.

Thank you so much Alice, for sharing your Swedish travels with us! Tack så mycket!

Real Life: Tiki Oasis Part 2, Kiddo Adventures

Gather round kiddos, it’s time for Part 2 of our glorious Tiki Tour! Yesterday I showed off some fun photos from our jaunt down to Tiki Oasis in San Diego a few weeks ago. The event isn’t a family event per se, but it is extremely family friendly! Lots of people brought their kiddos who all had a fantastic time!

Friday afternoon things kicked off with an Opening Ceremony Parade—the marching band was an excellent touch!

There was lots of swimming and then the evening show began!

One of the highlights was a Vintage Tiki Fashion show held by  Melissa of the amazing shop Retro Diva. My friend Stephanie, of Pineapple Princess, had a featured in the fashion show for her kid’s stuff and she asked me if Wolfie would “model” for her, which was a super thrill. She made matching outfits for him and Sierra, a really awesome little girl. I have to say, they looked adorable:

Wolfie surprised us all and was cuttin’ a rug to the Plastic Bertrand song they played while he was on stage. So awesome! The cutie on the left is Doe’s youngest kiddo, Dashiel (Doe and her hubs Otto von Stroheim are the masterminds behind this whole awesome extravaganza!).

The next day we drove around San Diego (and thanks to our adorable Modern Kiddo friend Vintage Sugar Cube, we got some amazing restaurant tips!) but really it was all about the hotel and lounging out. So after lunch we came back for some more fun:

Yep. Wolfie brought his DS. Hey, he’s a pretty spectacular for a 6 year old, but even ze Wolf Cub needs a little QT with his good pal Mario. It’s a great reminder that little ones can certainly enjoy grown up outtings, but don’t forget that kids are kids and need their own down time too!

Here is Wolfie with one of his best buddies, Miles and Audrey—they belong to Modern Kiddo reader Miz Landry. LOVE Audrey’s sassy silver gladiator sandals:

I was loving all the hip little kiddo fashions I spotted…check out these cuties:

In addition to swimming and exploring the property, Tiki Oasis had a special kid’s room with arts and crafts and other fun activities. Every child got their own teensy Tiki Mug too! (i suspect they were shot glasses, but hell…what the kiddo’s don’t know won’t hurt ’em!)

The highlight by far was th Saturday morning Tiki Tot Tour with King Kukulele. I’ve performed with the King before (with The Devil-Ettes) and he is amazing, hilarious and a totally talented ukulele player (check out this super short vid of him here….you’ll get why the kids LOVED him!).

All the kids met up by the pool and King led them around the facility, where they walked up to all the tiki’s and asked them questions. Honestly I’m not sure how they did this, but someone apparently followed the tour with a wireless mike/speaker and when the kids would ask a question it was as if the Tiki REALLY responded. They all had different voices….it was hysterical and the little ones totally ate it up!

The vendors were all super sweet as they watched the kids parade around the property looking for Tikis. These kind folks brought out a tray of Sno Cones/shave ice for everyone!

Wolfie thought that King Kukulele was THEE coolest. Afterwards he took Greg and I around to all the spots from the tour and pointed out all the things they learned from the Magic Tikis. It was really adorable, he would say things like, “Do you know that the tikis were bathed in the Magic Waters and that’s how they learned to speak?” and then would look bemused and say  “Why aren’t they speaking to us any more??” We also discovered the “invisible Tiki” that King Kukulele showed them:

All in all I would say it was our best mini vacation yet! I think Wolfie would agree…..