Picnic

Camping with the Lisas

How many friends named Lisa do you have?  Well I have three, and we all happen to have two-year-olds so we get together often.  To kick off the summer, we decided to plan a little camping trip.

Destination:  La Selva Beach, CA

Campground:  KOA.  Kampgrounds of America are the Club Meds of the camping world.  Not usually my thing, but when you have kids, I'm all about what's easy and has the most kid friendly amenities.  This particular campground offers swimming, a bounce house, playground, mini golf, air hockey, arcade, complimentary bikes and a convenience store.  I'm in!

Who: The Lisas, our helpful husbands (well except mine :( who was coming back from a busy work trip in NY), and 8 wild but sweet children.

The gear:  Lisa W. set the tone by purchasing a tent from this lovely website.  I followed suit by rolling up my Ikea rug and packed it along with my REI tent and new Mexican blanket from this post and a potted succulent for the picnic table.  Lisa C. and Nima got all "glampy" with their beautiful cast iron pot with cassoulet for dinner and french press coffee in the morning.

{Wilder and Lucas sharing a sweet moment during their morning hygiene routine}

{Lisa C. having a good laugh}

{Bijou practicing her "tent yoga"}

 

Weekend Style: OMG, I'm wearing shorts!

There is absolutely no mistaking my nordic ancestry on the one day a year I wear shorts.  If my pale skin is not so apparent in these photos it is probably because I "enhanced" the photos in iPhoto before posting.  Let me just say... I need a tan!

Shirt: a simple black, vintage cotton, v-neck from J.Crew

Hat: Fields hat from Goorin Bros

Shorts: Sunkissed shorts from GAP

Shoes: Sandals from GAP

Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren aviators

Bracelets: A mixture of gold and leather from my stash.

Day Trip: Pescadero

A few weeks ago, we headed south to Pescadero to share a Mother's Day lunch at Duarte's Tavern with my mom and sister.  We headed out early so we had time to stop at Lemos Farm off of Highway 92 in Half Moon Bay.  The boys braved their first pony ride, fed the goats and enjoyed snack time on the train.  Bijou found the outing a bit babyish but went along with it like most big sisters do.

We continued driving south another 30 minutes to enjoy lunch at the 100+-year-old restaurant, Duarte's Tavern.  I had the crab sandwich and their famous olallieberry pie, which was delicious.  The kids all behaved themselves, which was a nice surprise in the restaurant setting, and kept themselves entertained by sticking sugar packets into my hair and pouring the creamer into their orange juice.  Fun times!

After lunch we headed around the corner to Harley Farms to see their goats and visit the Farm Store.  Doug and my Mom tried to capture a Mother's Day photo of me and my kids and it went something like this...

Bijou striking a pose, of course.  Eero a bit clueless about what is going on.  Wilder trying to run out of there.  And me, tightly gripping Wilder's hand.

Then we had a little talk where I tried to convince him to take just one more photo.

Then he pouted some more...

Eero overheard the conversation and thought it would be hilarious if he followed suit and parked himself on a bench further away...

And this is the Mother's Day photo I ended up with...

Classic!

A Backyard S'More Party!

We have had an amazing experience at Eero and Wilder's preschool and are getting a bit sad to be leaving at the end of the month.  I'm afraid E + W will be in for a real culture shock moving from a nurturing play-based school here at home and moving to what might be a more rigid format at their country school in France.  The French are known for many wonderful things, but being warm-fuzzy parents is not one of them.  Eek!

We decided to host a party with our preschool family to solidify the friendships we have made before departing for the year.  A s'more party seemed fitting with this warm weather and a backyard fire pit that has seen little use since last summer.  The party was the first time the boys had had a s'more and they were a hit!  More, more pweeze, mama...MORE!!!

To Make:  

supplies- paper straws, construction paper, glue(I used Elmer's), stapler, brown paper lunch bags

Cut triangles out of construction paper.  Cut feathers out of an alternating color of construction paper, making them a bit smaller than the triangles.  Glue the feather on top of the triangle and allow to dry.  Glue the straw on top of the feather leaving a 1/2" of straw hanging over the end.  

Fill the paper bags with chocolate bars, graham crackers, and marshmallows.  Fold over the top of the bag one time and staple closed.  Slide the straw arrow through the opening.

I had a moment of panic when the RSVP's started rolling in and the reality of having 16 2-year-olds set in.  To keep the littles entertained, I booked a musician at the last minute and was fortunate that Tamsen of Orange Sherbet was available.  She is one of my local faves, and played at Bijou's second and third birthdays.

The menu:

Mini Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches

Orecchiette with Prosciutto & Asparagus

Mango-Beet Summer Rolls

I enjoy cooking, so in the past I typically prepare the food for my parties.  To be honest, it usually stresses me out. I become all bitchy and bark orders at Doug so I have now learned that for large parties, it is best for me to arrange for it to be catered.  My favorite is Ann's Catering in Berkeley.

The party flower is a favorite of mine... the peony.  Currently, you can buy a bunch at Trader Joe's for $6.99. Score!

Blackberry-Mint Gin & Tonic

(serves 1)

4 blackberries

5 mint leaves

1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 oz. gin

1 oz. tonic water

Muddle the blackberries, mint leaves and lemon juice in the bottom of a glass.  Top with gin and tonic water.  Stir and top with ice.

Grapefruit Cocktail

(serves 1)

1/2 c. fresh grapefruit juice

1/2 c. club soda

1 oz. lime juice

1 tsp. sugar

2 oz. tequila

Mix the grapefruit juice, lime juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.  Stir in the tequila and top with ice and club soda.

Top Shelf Margaritas

(serves 1)

1 oz. Patron Tequila

1/2 oz. Cointreau

2. oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz. agave nectar

Mix all of the ingredients together and top with a lot of ice.

All and all, it was a great party!  The kids had fun dancing and eating s'mores.  The parent's enjoyed the food and cocktails.  And the best part was spending time with friends.  Something I always cherish.

 

Day Trip: Tomales Bay

Pack a picnic!  Here is a link to a few picnic menu ideas.

Even if the day involves cow pastures and muddy beaches, Bijou insists on wearing her "fancy" coat.

There are so many picturesque landscapes, churches, barns, and shops on the drive from Berkeley to Tomales Bay.  Wilder, my cow crazy kid, demanded we stop to see the "cowses."

The beach outing was nice BEFORE we decided to venture out over the mud flat to the water.  The mud was... well muddy, and we quickly sank to our knees and my little clean freak boys, FREAKED OUT!  Basically, we had about 30 minutes of hysterical crying x2.  I tried to convince them that "dirt don't hurt" but in the moment, they were having none of it.

Tomales Bay State Park is a great place to dig up oysters at low tide.  If you aren't in the mood to hunt for them yourself, I recommend The Marshall Store restaurant up the road.

We made it a day trip but if you can stay the night,  Nick's Cove cottages are a charming place to enjoy Tomales Bay.

Almond Love

We are spending the long weekend in Tahoe with friends, enjoying the mid-60's weather and our first days of the summer season at the lake.

I wanted to keep the relaxing to a maximum over the weekend and prepped a lot of meals before we drove up here.

Almond Cinnamon Frappe

 2 tbsp. almond butter (recipe below)

1 c. almond milk (recipe below)

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

ice

Blend until frothy and serve over ice.

Homemade Almond Butter

Perfectly paired with apple slices for an afternoon snack.

2 cups whole toasted almonds (Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 10 minutes)

1 tsp. coarse salt

Process in a food processor for about 10 minutes, scraping down sides, until creamy.

Homemade Almond Milk

1 cup raw almonds

4 cups water, divided

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Place almonds in a blender with 1 cup of boiling water.  Soak for 30 minutes.  Add 3 cups of water and vanilla.  Blend until frothy.  Pour through a sieve into a bowl or pitcher, discarding solids.  Shake before serving.

I discovered that I was allergic to cow dairy when I was pregnant with my twins.  I had always thought I had seasonal allergies and had no idea my morning latte was causing my itchy throat.  Fortunately, my acupuncturist enlightened me and suggested I switch to almond or rice milk and goat yogurt.  The allergy symptoms have not returned since. 

{ the above recipes are from Martha Stewart Living }

Lavender Salt Scrub

With summer approaching, I pulled my small stack of shorts down from the top shelf in my closet and blew the layer of dust off the top.  My legs need a tan and some moisturizing after being neglected and hidden inside my jeans all winter.  Making your own beauty products is so easy and feels so much more natural.  The recipe below is the perfect exfoliant for summer, smells great and will put some moisture back into those legs, preparing them for shorts-season.

Recipe

yields 4 oz.

4 tbsp. honey

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

6 tbsp. coarse salt or sugar, I prefer raw sugar

A few drops of essential oil, I used lavender

Day Trip: Japanese Tea Garden

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure how this outing would go.  I knew Bijou would enjoy it just as much as she had when she was four.  However, I wasn't sure if the boys would obey the bamboo fencing around the ponds or God forbid, end up taking a dip in the koi pond.  Luckily, it was a success with minimal attempts by Eero (the rebel of the group) to duck under the fence and do exactly that, dip into the koi pond.

The biggest highlight was the tea party with REAL tea, almond cookies, Japanese cracker snack mix and chocolate-covered Pocky sticks.

On the walk from the car to the tea garden, Bijou and Stella stopped to collect some daisies to make a couple daisy chain necklaces, a childhood requisite.

Climbing the drum bridge was another highlight and was probably responsible for rewarding us with a car nap on the ride home ;)

Japanese Tea Garden

Banana Nut Muffins

I seem to accumulate overripe bananas in my fruit bowl every week.  Maybe that's I sign I should stop buying so many bananas.?  Anyway, these bananas are the perfect ripeness for banana flavored baking.

Banana Nut Muffins

Necklaces for the Teachers

We have had the most amazing teachers this year and I wanted to thank them with a handmade gift, my favorite kind, at the end of the school year.

Necklace How-To

Supplies:  vinyl disc beads in an assortment of colors, thin gold chain link (small enough to fit through the holes in the beads), 2 gold jump rings (small enough to fit through the chain link), 1 gold clasp, 2 pairs of needle nose pliers, and 1 pair of wire cutters.

1.  String as many vinyl beads as you want onto the gold chain.  You may choose 8 inches of beads or just two, it's totally up to you.

2.  Standing in front a mirror, decide the length of the chain you'd like.

3.  Cut the chain with the wire cutters.

4.  Open one of the jump rings using the pliers and attach to the end of the chain.  To open the jump ring, twist open, do not pull apart or it may break.

5.  Open the second jump ring and attach to the other end of the chain and include the clasp to that end as well before closing up the ring.

 

For packaging... I decorated some kraft boxes with my kid's paint set.