Okay, so here I am perusing one of my favorite sites – Etsy.com and came across the super duper uper with sugar on top cute TeePees for kids. Use ‘em for camp outs, forts – inside or out. Use ‘em as a cool room within a room – reading area, stuffed animal enclosure. I’m not kidding when I say I want one, but I’m pretty sure my husband wouldn’t allow me to get rid of the bed;)
Here’s the 411. You can find them at etsy shop, Grace Bean Baby:
Description
Fuel your child’s imagination with a teepee just their size. Perfect for their “camp outs” & “getaways”! It also adds to a wonderful game of Cowboys and Indians! Or use this as shade at the beach. It is a place they can call there own.
Made with your choice of fabrics (choose from swatches provided). Poles are included and are fully enclosed so they do not scratch your floor. Poles can also be removed for cleaning of the fabric (handwashing is recommended, though you could machine wash on a cold gentle cycle). Doors velcro completely closed.
Easy set-up and very compact for storage (will fit easily in the corner of a closet).
Teepees are 44″ square and 4′6″ tall when set-up.
Teepees for sale are made to order and take approximately 2 weeks to finish.
This item ships for free within the United States. Teepee must be shipped without poles if being sent internationally.
We just received an update from our friends at Ventura Limoncello Company about some upcoming benefits where they will be a participating sponsor. Is there any easier way to help others than by drinking and socializing? I think not. And, to make it even sweeter, top it all off with a signature cocktail created by Ventura Limoncello Company (see our signature cocktail section for some recipes).
Here are the benefits where Ventura Limoncello Company will be pouring its libations:
Ciao Limoncello Famiglia,
Manuela and I will be out and about a lot this month so please find us and say “hi”…
March 11 is Food Fare LA 2010 (benefiting Planned Parenthood) at the Santa Monica Civic Center. www.pplafoodfare.com
March 14 is St. Patty’s Fest (benefiting Children’s Tumor Foundation) at the Taglyan Cultural Center in Hollywood. www.stpattysfest.com
March 20 is the NCL Juniors of Ventura County Spanish Nights (benefiting Pediatric Oncology) at Limoneira in Santa Paula. www.ncljuniorsspanishnights.com
Join us on March 21 at Tuscany Ristorante in Westlake Village for a Ventura Limoncello Pairing Dinner. www.tuscany-restaurant.com
Finally, March 25-28 is the Ventura Film Society Festival 2010. We are proud to be sponsoring the screening of Io Sono L’amore, which is set to be released in the US in April. It stars Tilda Swinton and was directed by Luca Guadagnino. The screening will be on Saturday night, March 27. www.venturafilmsociety.com
We continue to remind everyone to “Think Global and Drink Local”. Your local shops & restaurants deserve everyone’s support. Please enjoy a nice meal out, enjoy a Ventura Limoncello cocktail or finish with Ventura Limoncello.
Ask for it by name, Ventura Limoncello: The perfect finish to your Valentine’s meal. Enjoy Ventura Limoncello Responsibly.
James & Manuela
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Heavy card stock paper- Lt. pink, white & cream
Ribbon, Mocha brown- 1″ wide x 12″ long
Ribbon, Mocha brown-1/4″ wide x 8″ long
Scrapbook tape roller or double sided tape
Foam adhesive dots
Decorative & regular scissors
Ruler
Small black easels
HERE’S WHERE TO GET IT
Your local craft and scrapbook store should have everything you need.
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE IT
1. Cut all paper at together, to save time. Cut 2, 3 1/2″ x 2 1/4″ & 2, 21/2″ x 3 1/4″ pieces of white card stock paper using decorative scissors.. After printing table number and menu on cream colored card stock, cut them to, 3 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ using your regular scissors. Use 1 sheet of Lt. Pink heavy card stock paper for each table # . Fold back and forth, like a fan.
2. Tape down larger pieces of white paper to fan folded paper, 2″ from top and bottom, using double sided or roller tape to hold in place.Place foam dots in center of white paper and place smaller white paper on top of dot. This will give card a dimensional look. Tape menu to bottom white card & table number to top white card.
3. Glue or tape 1/4″, ribbon tied in a small bow, to right (top card) and left (bottom card) sides of white paper.
4. Cut and wrap ribbon around fan folded paper, to back side, 1″ from bottom & top of fan paper and secure on back of fan paper, using the double sided tape.
5. Place each table fan card in a small black easel and place on each table.
St. Patrick’s Day can be celebrated with more than just green beer – yes, I know hard to believe but it’s true. Here is our 1st recipe for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration. It’s a twist on a traditional recipe for good measure.
Irish Soda Bread. Provided by Right@home.com
- Total Time : 1 hour 5 minutes
- Prep Time : 15 minutes
- Cook Time : 40 minutes
- Servings : 10
ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup dark raisins
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons low-fat buttermilk
- 1 egg, beaten
directions
chef’s notes
To form the dough into a round, gather it into a ball, place it in the center of the baking sheet, and press down to flatten the top slightly into a thick disk.
Zest is the grated peel of a citrus fruit. The fragrant oil in the zest adds flavor to your recipes. To grate orange zest, remove any stickers from your orange and then wash and dry it. Using a medium-fine kitchen grater, grate just the colored peel of the orange, using a bowl or piece of wax paper to catch the zest. Avoid grating the white pith of the orange because this part tastes bitter.
About the Princess Project
The Princess Project promotes self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them. Its effort is made possible through invaluable volunteer, donor and community support.
How the Princess Project Works
Every year, The Princess Project seeks and receives thousands of beautiful new or nearly new dresses and accessories in EXCELLENT condition from individual donors and corporate partners.
Hundreds of volunteers accept and organize these dresses and accessories to run an exciting giveaway event in the early spring for individual high school girls. Groups of ten or more teens who want to attend can make an appointment for a private boutique.
Each year, hundreds of Bay Area girls attend the dress giveaway to find that new prom dress and those perfect accessories to make their high school prom a reality. And it’s all FREE!
Since 2002, The Princess Project has served over 9,000 girls through the dedication of more than 700 volunteers and the generous start-up support of Coro Northern California. In 2005, The Princess Project became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
2009
Expanding to its 4th location in sunny San Diego, The Princess Project served 3,384 in 2009! Every event had an overwhelming turnout of enthusiastic girls and volunteers…all ready to shop for a prom dress! Our organization was the recipient of Google Grants to help increase our girl outreach.
The Princess Project Dress Drive is on and we need your help to make prom a reality for many underpriviledged high school girls. Please join us at Barbarella Restaurant for a fun filled happy-hour 4 to 6 pm. Wine and appetizers will be served. Please bring a nearly new dress or contribution – all contributions are tax deductible.
The Princess Project promotes self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them. Our effort is made possible through invaluable volunteer, donor and community support.
The San Diego Giveaway dates have been announced! All are by appointment only. Please contact ginese@princessproject.org to make an appointment.
- Friday, March 19 (evening only)
- Saturday, March 20
- Sunday, March 21
- Saturday, March 27
2010 Volunteer Sign-ups are open.
If you’d like to volunteer to help in San Diego, review the instructions and sign up here: http://www.mysignup.com/princessprojectsd2010.
Our friends at Vacationstogo.com are offering some complimentary vacation magazines that are published by its parent company, Vacation Publications. Click the links below and get them while they last:
For a complimentary issue of Vacations, filled with new vacation ideas for travelers of all ages, click here.
For a complimentary issue of Travel 50 & Beyond, tips and best buys for travelers over 50, click here.
And for a complimentary issue of Where to Retire, the only guide you’ll need to find the ideal setting for your retirement, click here.
Ahhh, the funny things kids say…
So, I am one of those ‘modern’ Moms. You know the kind, say Penis not Pee Pee. My child will likely grow up to be like the kid in Kindergarten Cop who announces that girls have a vagina and boys have a penis. I see nothing wrong with our bodies and feel that healthy, open communication is perfectly reasonable and not embarrassing at all.
And then, my child’s body part learning turned on me. Luckily, I was in the privacy of my own home and not in the grocery store. I suppose, if I’m writing about it, I can’t be all that embarrassed and in fact think it’s quite funny. In fact, when I look at it from my 2 year-old son’s eyes, I realize that yes, that could be a nipple.
What is the that of which I speak you ask? Well, here’s the story morning glory. The other morning while getting dressed, my son looked at me, pointed at my boob (er, breast) and announced, “Nipple”! “Yes,” I said, “that is a nipple. You have nipples, Daddy has nipples, we all have nipples.” With that I sat down on the bed and bent forward to put on my shoes which showed my tattoo on my back as well as a raised mole. My son came running over to take a look at the tattoo which he loves because it’s a sun and a moon. He noticed the mole and announced, “Nipple!” “No dear, that’s a mole not a nipple.” He looked at me quizzically, looked at the mole and said, “Mole Nipple”.
Sure, I guess if you’re looking at it from a 2 year old’s perspective, it very well could be a nipple. And that my friends, is what you get when you try to be a modern Mom;)
Why I have not yet gone on a Sandals trip is beyond me. Everyone I’ve ever known who has stayed at a Sandals Luxury Resort has only had wonderful things to say about it – even those who usually prefer their vacations to be a little on the adventurous/backpack side.
Now that we have a 2 year old, we’d probably be more likely to take a Beaches vacation, but again, have only heard wondeful things.
Alas, we are currently focusing on our house – landscaping to be exact. While a vacation would be wonderful, there’s nothing like home sweet home so we want to make it our luxury included life. But, I’m telling you right now, when we’re able, Sandals is soooo our next vacation.
Getting ready for your own holiday or honeymoon? How dreamy does this sound to you?
Come experience the very pinnacle of all-inclusive excellence in the Caribbean. Sandals delights couples in love with supremely luxurious accommodations, gourmet candlelit dining for two, gorgeous tropical settings and some of the world’s most exquisite beaches in Jamaica, St. Lucia, Antigua, and the Bahamas. If you are planning a wedding, Sandals is the leader in Caribbean destination weddings and honeymoon packages.
This past weekend, we had friends over for a fun game night. Along with making the yuuuuuumy Voodoo Tattoo Signature Cocktail (see recipe in our signature cocktail section), I also made a vodka, cranberry, sparkling lemonade thingamacocktail. As we all know, I am not a measurer when cooking. When making a drink for one person, I will often use the little shot glass thingy, but when making a pitcher, I just pour (and sometimes count as I’m pouring), so I’ll just provide you the ingredients and suggest that you make it to your own taste level. After all, isn’t making cocktails most fun when you have to experiment? I made mine so it was a nice pinky color.
Mix all Ingredients in a Large Pitcher:
Vodka
cranberry juice
sparkling lemonade
lemon juice
choice of garnish: raspberries, mint, strawberries, etc.
Our son Kieran has a lot to live up to. After all, he wasn’t even born yet when he performed a miraculous feat – he saved his mother’s life.
At the age of about 13, I started having what the doctors’ could only diagnose as panic attacks. I suppose it makes the most logical sense; how many 13 year olds could possibly have something wrong with their heart? As the years passed, I continuously complained about my ‘heart issue’ only to have it swept under the rug by parents, teachers, doctors and all other all-knowing adults.
At the age of 21, while at my annual visit to my doctor, I finally got lucky enough to have an episode while talking to my doctor. She promptly put me on an EKG and ran a multitude of tests. Over the years, I was shifted from one cardiologist to another as more tests were performed. The diagnosis was: mitral valve regurgitation (when your mitral valve doesn’t completely close and therefore it ‘leaks’), junctional tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) and mitral valve fibrillation (sort of a vibration of your heart). As I got older, it all got worse and I was put on heart drugs. I lived with this for many years, taking new drugs here and there, having to put my head between my legs while smack in the middle of a conversation with someone, etc. As I got older it got a bit worse.
When my husband and I decided we wanted to have a child, we found out that I had an ovarian cyst for which I had to have surgery. While in the operating room, as they were just giving me the anasthetic, my blood pressure jumped to a staggering 200+/186. They quickly stopped the surgery and called in my cardiologist. The surgery was rescheduled with new instructions from my cardiologist. I came through the surgery just fine and…
At the ripe ‘old’ age of 37, I finally got pregnant. Knowing about my heart beforehand, we were already busy talking to my cardiologist about what pregnancy would mean for me, whether I could go off the drugs (yes) and how my body would react. Obviously, I was paired with a high risk obgyn group. At my age, it is a common thing to do, but coupled with the heart, it was necessary. As my pregnancy progressed, my heart became more and more erratic, but because I had been so used to it my whole life, I didn’t think much of it. My co-workers would walk by my desk only to see my lying on the floor trying to get my heart to stop racing. I was required to visit my obgyn every other day for them to monitor the baby’s movements and my blood pressure. As most of my appointments were in the morning, I always came away with flying colors. But then…I had an afternoon appointment. Afternoons were always the hardest for me and it became very common to see me laying on my office cubicle floor. Why this didn’t strike me as concerning is beyond me. This particular afternoon, the monitor caught me at a rapid heartbeat moment and my blood pressure spiked to another staggering number. The doctor on duty wasn’t my usual ob, he was the doctor I liked to refer to as “Dr. Worry Wart”. Dr. Worry Wart promptly admitted me to the hospital. I stayed in the hospital without knowing exactly why for the next three days (very upsetting at the time because I really wanted to go swiming while pregant – we’re not always the most logical in these moments). I was poked, prodded, hooked up to many wires with many needles poking into me and was required to pee into a large plastic container that looked suspiciously like a Minute Maid OJ container. On the 3rd day, Dr. Worry Wart came to see us. He explained that he had a hunch that I may have a very rare condition called a pheochromocytoma, i.e. a tumor on my adrenal gland. This tumor causes all sorts of chaos including, but not limited to rapid heart beat and high blood pressure. The many tests confirmed it. After 25 years of diagnosis and preparing to schedule heart surgery after I had my son, I was officially diagnosed.
I would go on to spend the next 2 weeks in the ICU of the hospital being closely monitored while my son ‘baked’ in the oven a bit longer. At 37 weeks, I was scheduled for a c-section in the hospital OR where, usually, only doctors are allowed. Meaning no husbands like they allow in the Mommy Giving Birth ORs. They made an exception for us, I had a fantastic anasthesiologist and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I was high as a kite, but can remember everything.
Two weeks later, I went in for an adrenalectomy. If not for my son, I would have had a heart surgery that would have been useless and may still be trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with me. And that my friends, is how my unborn son saved and changed my life forever!
Okay, okay, Doctor Worry Wart deserves some credit here I know;) I have since admitted that he doesn’t deserve the name Dr. Worry Wart, but for this post, we’ll keep his identity to ourselves. **unless you’re looking for a great high-risk ob in the San Diego area, then I’ll give you his name if you email me**