From Melrose to Moms

Here's the situation.  

  This is big. Super big. Colossal.  

I mean, don't you want the best deals in your area?  

Think your favorite shops, the salons that you frequent, the places that you eat, drink and hang out in.  Where do you like to take your family?  Your date?  

Oh forget it, let's just be direct and ask where do you go for laser hair removal?  Facials?  Blowouts?  Mani/Pedis? Maybe your Botox?  

Let's be real, Housewives or otherwise- we all love a deal.  

Yet a deal isn't much of a deal if it's not coming from the right place- the salons you frequent or the retailers you want to buy from, right?  

To me, bunk deals mean DELETE.

That's why there is MOM.COM.

Remember cute Billy Campbell of Melrose Place fame?

Yeah, I know you do, you loved him, we all did, you remember him like it was yesterday...

Well, Andrew Shue, aka Billy, is all grown-up, he's moved out of the complex (it burned down, right?) he's married and has kids of his own and is doing pretty cool things for Moms like us.  In 2006 he started the social networking website, CafeMom.com as a platform for Moms to connect through blogs, discussion boards, and informational articles.  This past Spring CafeMom launched Mom.com- a place for us ladies with kiddos to get great deals in our local markets.  
Different and more highly focused than something like a Groupon or LivingSocial, Mom.com is the stuff you actually want.  
This is for you, this is for me, this is for us.  
Mom.com.

And guess what? 

 I am going to work with them part-time, starting today!!  
I'm thrilled, beyond excited and completely fired up!  And one more thing...guess whose coming to town? 

Billy!!!

He will be at Creative Kidstuff in the Galleria today, Thursday, September 29th (sorry for the late notice, but that's how shit functions in the highly kinetic start-up world) at 10am to kick off the October launch of Mom.com in the Western Suburbs of Minneapolis.
Come on down if you want to learn more, if you are a local retailer who wants to get in on the action, or just simply want to meet Billy. 
 So go to to Mom.com and check it all out for yourself, and while you're there,

don't forget to register-  it will do your body (and your pocketbook, and your well-being, and your wardrobe, and your date night, and possibly your own business a whole hellva lotta good).
You don't want to be left out!
Register at the link HERE.
Or any of the Mom.com hot links above.
And very important- even if you don't live in the Twin Cities Metro, still sign up!
Mom.com is headed your way.  
Soon!
Cheers- this is a super good thing!!

Have a good one- I'm off to work!

The Dreaming Tree

I can't tell you how much I love, love, love this! 

You must check out Dave Matthew's new project Dreaming Tree Wines.  The amazing website will tell you more than I can, but the videos, the artwork (done by Dave himself!), and the outline of the journey that took Dave to Sonoma County to collaborate with winemaker Steve Reeder is honestly one of the best examples of sharing the experience of Wine Country.  If you have never been to Northern Sonoma County (Healdsburg, Alexander Valley, Geyserville and the Russian River Valley) you will feel as if you have just been taken on a magic carpet ride through the county with local experts.

The partnership between Dave and Steve seems to be a match made in heaven- these two clearly share the same creative vision and unbridled passion for wine and music and have truly brought the "wine country" experience to life on this website.  

The entire vibe of this project just sings and I am sure the wines will as well.  

Picture Day

It's the end of September and hopefully all your kids have settled nicely into their school routines.  Around here, it's pre-school picture day and typically it's not a day I care too much about.  I don't put my kids in special outfits and make sure their hair is styled in a particular way, but should I be concerned that my little guy drew all over his face last night with a red Sharpie because he "wanted to look like he was wearing glasses for his picture?"  

Hmmm...

Why don't I care about this?  

Should I even care about this?  

 Is it because secretly I think it's kinda funny?  

Last night Mr. C went slightly (just slightly) ballistic when Cooper appeared after we thought he was in bed only to show up 30 minutes later with a face that was reminiscent of an African warrior.  I tried to ignore it, yet Mr. C acted strangely shocked about the whole situation.  If it had been my oldest child  that pulled this stunt I certainly would have been shocked, probably a little mortified, but now, it's kind of whatever.  I mean, it's gonna wash off.  

In about a week.  Who cares?

I know we are going to look back on this class photo and chuckle about how he crept around the corner while we were watching Parenthood (how appropriate) and revealed his masterpiece- all over his face. This morning his teacher stifled a gafaw when he walked into the classroom all confident with a swagger in his step and his new, red Sharpie glasses.

Have your kids ever done anything like this?

Tell me a story and please make me feel better for not caring about this.

Progressive Dinner

If you like fun people, incredible food, and creative cocktails, you should live in my neighborhood.  

There is little privacy, blurred boundaries, and lots of sharing.  Forget about a quiet night sipping a glass of wine in the backyard with your husband- the neighbors hear you, smell your wine, and typically open the gate and grab a glass from the kitchen.  Okay, not ALL the time, but often enough, and we like it that way.  We spend an unbelievable amount of time with our crew in the 'hood and they have become like our family.  Our kids roam back and forth with a freedom not known to many in this day and age and the parents lean on each other for fun, friendship, support, childcare, and quite often, food.  

Yeah, you read that right.  

Food.  

We all enjoy eating, cooking and creating meals together and our children are often the lucky recipients of neighborhood breakfast bars before school (seriously), afternoon snacks, and many weekends that stretch from lunch to dinner (and quite often into late night nibbles- you know who you are "Mr. Two Dozen Scrambled Eggs in my Kitchen at 2 am because it's a German Tradition" fellow) and we wouldn't have it any other way.   

So, to mix things up a bit we decided to do a progressive dinner with five families and it was seriously impressive.  And it might up your game just a touch when a professional chef is part of the mix.  Anyway, I had to share the results because these peeps knocked it out of the park and it was so delicious, so fun, and I was blown away by the effort that was made.

Here's a peek...

Stop #1

Our House

Truffle Mac 'n Cheese and Martini's

Stop #2

Chef Mark and Elizabeth's House

A crazy shot of Jager and Redbull to start things off

Empanadas (see description below- amazing!!)

St. Innocent Pinot Noir

Stop #3

LME's Crab Louie with Belgian Endive

I mean, look at that!!!  

Two colors of endive?? 

 It was a seriously gorgeous dish.

Stop #4

The Howell's House

The Main Course

Cedar Plank Salmon, Couscous, and Sweet Baby Carrots

And I was so delighted to see one of my favorite wines being served- Talbott Pinot Noir, named after one of my all time favorite families on the planet.  This wine is not only incredibly delicious and pairs beautifully with salmon, but it brings back sweet memories of our dear Miss Sarah Talbott, her family, and the time we spent living in Monterey County, California.

Cheers to you "Miss Sah-wah"!  We miss you!

Now, where exactly are the food pics, you ask?  Right before the meal was served I had to run a bit of kid interference so I sat down a few minutes late and missed the photo opp, but trust me, this plate of food was gorgeous!

The cedar smell, the perfectly cooked salmon, the presentation- all perfecto and I was so bummed I missed the plating, but kid conflict called.

Bravo to The Howell's!

Stop #5

Dessert!

Chocolate cake, Strawberries, Homemade ice cream

 Prosecco

Bonus Bonfire and 80's Dance Party in the Driveway

Don't you wish you lived in my neighborhood?

I do!!

(FYI- no pictures of the dance party will be revealed.)

Does your neighborhood do this type of stuff?  I would love to hear from you!

Woof for Missoni

September 13th

Target

9:05 am

I wanna smack that dog.

I've been looking at him all day.  

Woof??  

That's all you can say?

How about "sucker"?

September 12th- The Day After

Stronger. Yes.
Safer.  I'm not sure.
It somehow felt strange or inappropriate to write on September 11th, like I didn't have the right to do so; it felt selfish to do so.  
So I didn't.  
But I thought about it a lot.  
What I would write.  
I decided I would write the day after.
Just like you, I remember where we were.
So clearly, like it really was yesterday.
How I woke up to my sister's phone call at 6:30 am.  
How we sat in our tiny living room all day with our one month old baby boy glued to our television watching the terrifying scene unfold.  
How I wouldn't let Mr. C cross the Golden Gate Bridge to go into the city for work.  
How we sat on our deck for a brief bit of fresh air and watched the very last plane in the sky fly overhead towards San Francisco.
How Mr. C walked down to the ATM and took out every penny we had in the bank.  
It wasn't much, but we had cash.  
What if the bridge was bombed and we were cut off from the city?
What if there were food rations?
Gas rations?
We had no idea.
What about my co-workers who were all in Manhattan for an annual trade show that I was supposed to be at were it not for my maternity leave?
So many questions.
So many raw, very real, frightening new realities.
I'm glad we didn't have camera phones ten years ago.
I wondered too much about what went on with those poor souls that were trapped in the fire.
I still wonder.
I can't fathom that choosing to jump from one of the world's tallest buildings was a better option.
Actually, I can...
We got on a plane a month later with our baby boy.
And our ID's and strange, new security regulations.
Mr. C placed a roll of duct tape against one leg, and a squeeze bottle of Kiehl's astringent against the other- to squirt a hijacker in the eyes and wrap his hands and feet with the tape if necessary.
This was not a joke.  
We looked at everyone twice on the airplane and I was nervous.
I kept leaving the beach to go up to our room and check the news- to see if anything else horrific had happened.
Soon after we went to war.
Twice.
That day changed the world.
Forever.
It will always be the day after.
The year after.
Ten years after.
Forever after.
We won't forget and I know we are stronger.
And hopefully safer.

Missoni for Target

Is your calendar marked?  
Missoni for Target hits stores on Tuesday, September 13th and I don't know about you, but I plan to be at the door at 8am with my nose pressed against it.  

I have seriously been dreaming about that bike...

and this dress...

and I am digging the pumps.  

They even have the signature orange tag!

And this!!!  

L.O.V.E.

But this...I'm not so sure.

I can't tell if it's a swimsuit or a halter, and are those pajama bottoms?  Seriously, I am cracking up just thinking about one of my friends walking through Lunds in this get-up.  

Overall, I think the enormous 400 piece collection is brilliant.  Some of my uber-fashionista friends think it's a sellout on Missoni's part and actually winced when we were discussing ithe subject over Labor Day weekend.  I was so excited to tell my girls about my plan to be at the store before the doors opened and a couple of them were genuinely concerned.  
Will they not hit the town with me in my Target Missoni next to their real deal?  I have one friend who won't even wear the "M" by Missoni (second tier) line because she thought THAT was selling out! 
 I plan to fool her, as I have many times before with my Target treasures- she didn't even know Target sold clothes, can you believe that business?? 
For me, it's all about the high and the low, making it your own- put it with some great shoes, pretty jewelry, and no one has to know it came from Target, or maybe you want them to.  But whatever you do, rock it with confidence.
Just do me a favor and think twice about that halter top. 

The Gap

My dear friend Rachel gave this to Mr. C in a birthday card over the weekend.  I instantly loved it and pinned it to my bulletin board.

It seems fitting because I just finished my first resume and cover letter in ohhhh....maybe ten years?  And then actually got up the courage to send it out. 

Never mind the extremely large, unaccounted for GAP in my work history.

Never mind technology was a totally different animal when I was in the workforce- can you say dial-up with that horrible, actual "dial-up" noise you had to endure while you patiently waited to be connected to your server?

I remember when they came into our neighborhood (in California, no less) to actually "lay the cables underground".  

Groundbreaking.  No pun intended.

My, some things have certainly changed out there, but drive, creativity and energetic minds remain the same .  Just because I haven't been involved professionally in the work force doesn't mean I have not kept up; that I have not paid attention.  My resume can't possibly convey my experiences over the past eight years, and let me tell you, some of it kicks what happens in the office setting.

I'm just sayin'- don't exclude The Mom's of the world from re-entering the workplace just because they have that dreaded GAP from staying home to raise our kids.  
They, we, ME have been giving birth, breast feeding, potty training, nurturing, making meals, nursing colds, wiping noses, tears and various other body parts, negotiating squabbles, soothing hurt feelings, losing sleep about what happens at school, fretting over every decision right down to "should I buy organic or non-organic milk??"

(The answer in my book is organic.)


But anyway, we've got something to give, to contribute, something valuable to say.

Don't dismiss what happens in The Gap.