Last night, Nivek went over to a friends house for a few hours. By 8:30 p.m. I hadn’t heard from him, so I texted him to see if he was planning on staying the night or coming home; I am a firm believer that summer kills brain cells.
Apple Hill – Camino, CA
This morning we headed up to Goyette’s North Canyon Ranch (Apple hill) to pick some apples and enjoy a little bit of quiet family time together before Matt headed off to work. Truthfully, we chose this farm because it seemed to be away from a lot of the other more glitzy farms, and we couldn’t have been happier with that decision.
After picking a box of apples we headed over to Rainbow Orchards for some hot apple cider donuts and apple cider (ammmmazing!). Aside from the fact the air was a bit smoky from the nearby fires, it was exactly what we needed.
Tank top and Shorts | Misha Lulu
Blackberry Festival – Mt Shasta, CA
A few weeks ago my mom asked if I wanted to come spend Labor Day weekend with her in Mount Shasta and possibly go to the Blackberry festival. I did a quick Google of “blackberry festival” and was sold after reading “Labor day weekend, “”sack races” and “blackberry pie.” We left Matt behind and headed up the hill Saturday morning. The drive was fairly unremarkable: three hours of a long, straight road, large over-filled tomato trucks that drop over-ripe tomatoes around every turn, and Elmo echoing loudly from the tablet strapped to the back of my headrest. Once we got to my Mom’s house, the rest of our evening consisted of numerous cups of coffee, a failed attempt at a nap, and a nice quiet dinner, and the realization that I am a Google failure. You see, in my haste, the Blackberry festival that I read about the week before was not, in fact, happening anywhere near Mt. Shasta. There was, however, a Blackberry festival…
“There will be no admission fee thanks to Scott Valley Bank, which is again sponsoring the festival as part of its “Summer Concerts in the Parks” series. Families are encouraged to spend the afternoon in the park. A variety of games and races will take place for children throughout the day. A barbecue lunch, beer and other beverages, and special event t-shirts will be sold by the Rotary Club. A favorite desert are the blackberry pies, baked exclusively for the festival the day before by Rotarian volunteers. Pie can be purchased whole or by the slice, with or without ice cream.”
While it wasn’t a 3-day ordeal, this still sounded… promising. Right?
WRONG! Let’s re-write this paragraph, shall we?
There will be no admission fee thanks to Scott Valley Bank, which is too cheap to bring a portable ATM to this cash-only event. Families are encouraged to forgo all hygienic activities for one month prior to the festival and are welcome to sleep in various stages of inebriated on the grass for as long as they’d like. There will be old sweaty men dancing to bad rock cover bands with crappy special event t-shirts tucked in their butt cracks to catch the drippings. A favorite, and the only desert are the blackberry pies and vanilla ice cream; you will need to stop at the grocery store on the way home if you want any blackberry Marionberry pie.
Seriously! How does a Blackberry festival run out of pie? And yes, we did stop on the way home.
Romper | Duchess & Lion
Hi-tops | Vans
Sunday Farmer’s Market Flowers
Aside from the fact that I (practically) live spitting distance from the Sacramento Central Farmer’s Market (8th & W), more often than sometimes, Kennedy and I will venture over to the farmer’s market on Sunday mornings with the sole purpose of buying flowers and coming home to arrange them. Because this farmer’s market is pretty busy, and you can expect to get bumped abruptly pretty much around every turn, it definitely does not have the nice, calm, coffee-sipping feel of the smaller markets. While I do really like the broad variety of seasonal produce this farmer’s market offers, we tend to do more swearing than strolling, and just quickly head to the same few booths each time. Luckily, the best flower stand and our favorite fruit stand are on the same far end, so getting in and out quickly has become an art form.
Once we pick out our favorite bunch of flowers (15 dollars fills 2 large or 3 medium vases in our house), we head back home where it is Kennedy’s job to sort them into the vases.
Disclaimer:
This might be the truth. Kinda of. Maybe. Ish. I sort the bundle of flowers into stacks based on type, and hand her the flowers one by one while persuasively suggesting which vase each flower should go in (think: crazy micro-manager boss with the voice of your 90-year-old grandmother). Once she has all of the flowers in the vases, I might use the good ole “Look! Is that a pink elephant?! LOOOOOOOK!” so that I can perform a quick switcheroo, before helping carry them inside.
She is SUCH a great helper.
Shirt | Wren and James
Shorts | Vintage Wranglers
Monster Slippers | Carter’s
Texting with the Big Kid
Nivek went over to Cal Middle School to pick up his 8th grade class schedule. This is the conversation we had while I was at work:
A Day with the Friedman’s – Chico, CA
Last weekend, Kennedy and I abandoned ship and headed back down to Chico for a night away. Mcrae’s daughter Lydia is only a few weeks younger than Kennedy and it is interesting to see the personality differences between the girls, even at such a young age. While Lydia is extroverted, cuddly, sturdy, and adventurous, Kennedy tends to pick her people cautiously, look before she leaps, and is overall much more fragile. We throughly enjoyed putting make-up on Lydia, Jeremiah’s awesome Raphael costume, eating burritos from Gordo Burrito, good company, and drinking a few Moscow Mules under the stars once the kids were off to sleep.
Toddler Blanket | Sueno Shop
Drink of the moment: The Moscow Mule
Anyone who has hung out with me lately know that the Moscow Mule has become my go-to drink of the summer. Last year I was all about anything cucumber, like a White Linen or a Hendrick’s Gin and Soda, but this year I think that the Mule has taken the victory. If you like a drink that is lightly-sweet and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, this is definitely the drink for you. Not to mention, once you have the basics, you can make about 100 variations of this drink and each is a little better than the last.
Serves One
INGREDIENTS:
Ketel One Vodka
Bundaberg Ginger Beer
Lime
Mint (garnish)
Ice
DIRECTIONS:
In a mug (or glass) with ice, add two ounces of Vodka, 1/4 of a squeezed lime, and top off the rest with ginger beer. We really like Bundaberg, which is a non-alcoholic ginger beer (the red-headed step-child of root beer), but you can also use an alcoholic ginger beer like Crabbies if you’re feeling exceptionally randy. Lastly, toss in a sprig of mint, and you’re on your way to a delicious afternoon. For those who prefer bourbon, if you substitute the vodka for bourbon it’s called a “Kentucky Mule.” Similarly, you can substitute the vodka for rum and then it’s called a “dark & stormy.” Options. Options.
Enjoy!
artBEAST Studio
Yesterday, we finally had the opportunity to take Kennedy to discover artBEAST. ArtBEAST is a drop-in kids exploration studio which allows children (and parents) the opportunity to explore an open studio and various thematic rooms throughout the building. The open studio is on the second floor and has many tables for the kids to explore, without the constrained formality of a class setting. Birdseed for dumping , play-doh for shaping, moon sand for digging, clay for sculpting, a wall of glass for painting, tables for crafting, and numerous easels for painting allow kids to discover each room freely, with out being confined to the one-task class sessions. In addition to the second floor art studio, the basement level provides opportunities for the exploration of music, drama, and make-believe, while the third level has a space for infants, a room for building, and an area for birthdays etc… The backyard space features a great water table, two large sandboxes, and a bakeshop.
The best part, Kennedy absolutely loves it and all proceeds go back into artBEAST or into the Tubman House, a free, 18-month transitional living program for Sacramento’s homeless, parenting youth.
Zampano Tank | Misha Lulu Shorts | Zara
Six Awesome (But Not Thrifty) Kids Clothing Stores
Below are six awesome kids clothing designers that I stalk for Kennedy’s clothes.
| James Vincent Design | Wren and James | Duchess and Lion |
P.S. There are MANY of gently-used Instagram shops that resell these brands; they are not hard to find. Believe me, once you find them, they will start finding you too…
Around the house
My daughter’s best friend is a tomato, but coming in at a close second, is the Pink Lady. My daughter suffers from a compulsive apple addiction. Each time I think that I have moved the fruit bowl far enough from her grasp, she manages to find one more. Of course, she never finishes one and then moves on to the next in some sort of common sense, sequential order. Most often she will take a few bites from one, set it down, and go find another, only to eventually have both in her hands, alternating each mouthful. If somehow I am able to keep her apple to mouth ratio stable at 1:1, she will eat that apple until what remains resembles a small grape, and then throw it away and pick up another on her way back.
Romper | James Vincent Design
