June 09, 2014
As the summer rolls in it is time to spend more time outside and less time plugged in. While my children would probably love it if the television reached the backyard, we make a big effort that we spend hours outside this time of year. After our harsh New England winter we all need it!
We have a swing set and a sandbox - parenting staples. We also have soccer balls, a playhouse and a roller coaster. Yes, a roller coaster that we picked up at a yard sale when Lillyana was just one. She showed no interest in it until we tried to sell it at our yard sale and she cried when another kid was "testing it out". It quickly went back into the yard and even though she is entirely too big for it she still rides it all the time.
While all these things are all well and good the best investment we have ever made for our yard was the $9.99 bubble machine from Target. I would have paid $999.99 for it - that is how much joy it brings my children. I no longer have to sit there, dip a wand in and hopes that I can actaully get a bubble to form. Maybe I'm a little lazy, but when you have experienced the joy of hundreds of bubbles flying at you every second you would understand what I mean. The kids go crazy for it...crazy I tell you! The bubbles just go and go. We chase them. We pop them. Pure joy.
Sure, it takes about 300 AA batteries but it is totally worth it. I sometimes wonder if my children love anything more than bubbles. But then they come in the house at the end of the day smelling like a mixtures of sunblock, bug spray, sand and bubbles and then I realize they love all of it. Not just the bubbles but just being outside. Summer has finally arrived - no extension cord needed.
- Vanessa
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October 22, 2020
I just read an article that sounded – to me at least – like “a canary in a coal mine” or an early warning of danger. This piece, written by Joe Pompeo, appeared in the May 2020 issue of Vanity Fair magazine with the title “The British Tabloid Invasion” and a subtitle that read, “How the Daily Mail is conquering American gossip.”
The paparazzi horde, La Dolce Vita, 1960 – photo courtesy of Vanity Fair
October 14, 2020
Apparently the good old U.S. is a nation of “not great” sleepers. Really? And I thought I was the only one! According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention it was revealed that one out of three Americans are chronically sleep-deprived. Yikes!
October 06, 2020
I think we’re all taken by the incredible mystique of the famous French fashion house, Hermès that has been with us for two centuries and is still owned and operated by the same family. From its beginnings in fine equestrian leather goods, they are – in the tumultuous year 2020 – best known for their handbags and many other items.
My image of Hermès has always been rarified products at equally rarified prices so imagine my surprise when I recently received a very stylish publication of theirs in the mail.