December 17 – 18: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

{photo via Peony / Melbourne}

Merry Almost-Christmas!

Holy crap, it’s almost here.

On my mind:

Good news — someone ELSE is cleaning my house this morning! And if you live in New York City, they can be cleaning yours, too. And you can pay with a credit card, no need to make sure you have cash on hand. And you can book online and they won’t cancel on you at the last minute. Call MyClean.

I don’t think I can make it through the holiday without some beautiful, perfect macarons from Laduree, now in NYC — must try to make it there this week, despite the fact that a friend went and had to wait in line an hour…. I’m thinking this can be avoided if I get there when they open — 9am Monday through Saturday, 10am on Sunday.

Speaking of cookies, I want to make these SmitKit gingersnaps.

And speaking of NYC, did you hear Gwyneth + Goop launched the first of their city guides this week, and of course it was NYC? Buy it as the app store.

Have fun buying, wrapping, baking, and eating!

It’ll be time for the fat man to come to town before you know it.

{photo: Peony / Melbourne}

December 10 – 11: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Vintage Shiny Brite Christmas ornaments, pinned on Pinterest via Megduerksen.typepad

Countdown to Christmas, peeps — I could do with a little or a lot of the following:

* The FREE Curious Jane art-book-making event for girls at 61 Local in Carroll Gardens this weekend, Sunday from 11am – 1pm. You can totally drop your daughter and then go Christmas shopping — !!!.

* Pretty delicates from Journelle. (Can someone say “gift for mom?”)

* The Pioneer Woman’s Christmas Rum Cake. Chrissy made this last year and, dang, it’s good. Hello, spiked holiday cake! Yes, it involves a cake mix and instant pudding. Trust me — you won’t care.

* Joe’s Jeans in Fifty-Five Colors. I’ll start with the deep lavender, but I’ll take all 55. Thanks!

(Photo, a Pinterest pin from: Megduerksen.typepad)

Register Now! Awesome Winter Weekends with Curious Jane!

Come have fun with the CJ community!

Hey, Brooklyn mamas of daughters!

Looking for fun ways to keep your adventurous girl busy in the city this winter? Of course you are!

Well, Magnolia attended an amazing summer camp this year I was so happy with that I contacted the woman who founded it about doing some freelance work for her — and the Curious Jane Winter Field Trip Series is the collaborative end result. Great trips around the city, all girls, all fun, all winter!

Come sign up! From flying on a trapeze to cooking to building something cool, here’s a brief description of what we’ve got lined up (go to Curious Jane for complete deets):

* Curious Jane Takes on The Sketchbook Project in Carroll Gardens — Have an art book published!
Sunday, December 11

* Learn to Fly at Trapeze School New York in Manhattan
Sunday, January 22

* Build Something Cool at Makeville Woodworking Studios in Gowanus
Sunday, February 12

* Whip Up Something Tasty at The Brooklyn Kitchen in Williamsburg
Sunday, March 11

* Travel to See Your Finished Sketchbook + Sample Sweet Treats from Momofuku Milk Bar Brooklyn in Williamsburg
Sunday, April 22

For full details, and to learn about Curious Jane Weekend Workshops, too, (at the CJ work space, and very fun!), hop on over to the CJ site.

For more on the camp and its founder, Samantha Razook Murphy, read my interview with her….

Hope to see your girls (with a friend or sibling) there this winter!

 

 

November 19 – 20: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Nan Goldin's Scopophilia at Matthew Marks

Nan Goldin's Scopophilia at Matthew Marks

Yesterday, I went to see the new Nan Goldin exhibition at the Matthew Marks Gallery in West Chelsea. Goldin, who lives in Paris now, was invited to photograph works of art at will in the Louvre, with total museum access on Tuesdays, when the institution is closed to the public, over a period of eight months. With the help of a French friend and a ladder for height, she took thousands of photographs — and then paired them with images from the span of her career.

Can you imagine? Free access to the Louvre?!

The result is sensual, absorbing, stirring — some photographs are even (for Goldin) oddly sweet. And, as is often the case with her exhibited work, there’s a satisfying slideshow as well. When you have a day in the city without the kids, head on over to see the wonderfulness before it closes, on December 23rd.

Here’s what The New York Times had to say about Scopophilia (translation: the “love of looking.”)

And for the kids this weekend? Oh, right — the damn kids. Two ideas, both via Mommy Poppins, so click through for the deets:

* The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Gardens — it opens this weekend; beat the crowds and get your brood in there early.

* Junior Detective Day (Saturday) at the New York City Police Museum. Sounds way cool.

And now, more for mom — because, really, can there be enough to keep a mama happy?

My Friday pick-me-ups:

OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark, voted one of the best dark nail polishes of 2011 by In Style, on my nails. Get outta muh way, people.

Dark purple-y fun for your nails.

A chocolate cherry cupcake from Billy’s Bakery. Gulp, all gone. Sssweet.

Gwyneth Paltrow is on Facebook and Twitter now. And I feel better knowing that. I hope you do, too. (She’s in Beijing, right now, in case you were wondering.) That, and I am totally grooving on Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto (say what you will — in a rare turn, I side with the masses on this one.) See a video for one of the tracks, Paradise, on their site or on YouTube.

Last: This fall picture I took in the city yesterday.

Color me blue. And purple. Lots of purple.

Hope there are many, many little treats, pick-me-ups, and pockets of happiness in your weekend.

See you back here next week!

Metropolis: A New York City Timelapse

New York City, day and night, night and day. By Will Boisture, via MUGuide.

Your kids will love. So will you.

October 15 – 16: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Dior's Tuxedo, Dior.com, $22

When in doubt — and, boy, have I been in doubt — don’t think deep. Think nail color. In case you haven’t noticed, trends for fall point to blues like the one above, as well as varying hues of gray and green. All colors that would make Magnolia say: Uh, why are your nails that color? (Those shades will never trump red, pink, or purple in her world view.)

What else?

Cute handmade Halloween costumes you don’t have to make yourself.

The newly-renovated Hester Street Playground and Chinatown fun.

Kids’ Fall Fest in Madison Square Park, with Eataly nearby.

Keep the thoughts light. Keep pie close at hand. Keep sneaking in extra hugs and cuddles with your kids.

Happy weekend!

 

October 1 – 2: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Bring to Light: Nuit Blanche

Saturday

Education, art, and poetry combine with The Hive Learning Network NYC at Bring to Light: Nuit Blanche New York 2011 in Greenpoint. Young NYC-based poets will be doing fun and funky things with light and digital projection in the waterside ‘hood. Impress the kids with the art, pick up a pizza on the way home, and still get everyone to bed at a decent hour. This event sounds like the kind of thing we live in New York City FOR. ie: Freakin’ cool.

Earlier in the day, drop by the Children’s Museum of the Arts Block Party — they’re finally in their new space!

Sunday

Time for pumpkin picking!

Happy weekend!

September 24 – 25: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Barely a second to blog today, so I’m keeping it short, sweet, and all about DUMBO.

First, have you been to Vinegar Hill House, on the lovely, quiet, cobble-stone Hudson Avenue? Book a date night and GO.

Second, it’s all about the DUMBO Arts Festival this weekend and, thankfully, there are some indoor activities perfect for families.

While you’re there, don’t forget Jane’s Carousel, Bubby’s Pie Social, and the Calexico Taco Cart at Brooklyn Bridge Park — or grab a juicy burger and fries from the fabulous Frites ‘N’ Meats guys. I have it on good authority that they’ll be on hand for the fun, too!

Happy weekend — stay dry!

Labor Day, September 3 – 5: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Takeaway breakfast tacos, I think I love you.

I keep a mental shortlist of New York City restaurants, bakeries, and food-centric destinations I want to visit — this week, I ticked off Smith Canteen and La Esquina (both worth the wait and do-able with kids.) Smith Canteen is an easy and delicious takeout lunch — don’t forget a chocolate chip fleur de sel cookie to go — and La Esquina is awesome for streetside tacos and people-watching (yes, they have breakfast tacos, too. Get psyched.)

Still on my list:

Seersucker (from the same peeps as Canteen)

Hester Street Fair (they’re doing a Kid’s Day with special kid-friendly foods this weekend if you’re in town)

And, not open until December, but I am sooo excited about 606 R&D, from City Bakery’s Ilene Rosen. Finally, a bit of City Bakery comes to Brooklyn. Hooray!

And on and on….

It’s the moms’ Big Birthday Weekend around here — we’ll be celebrating at new fave Vinegar Hill House.

What’s on your gotta-get-there food list?

May your Labor Day Weekend be filled with end-of-summer fun, good food, and lots of laughs with the kids!

See you back here next week, when it’ll be time (already!) for back-to-school madness. Whoa.

Adios!

Currently Obsessed with…. Dining at Buvette

Despite the fact that I’ve eaten French cheese and duck rillettes, have been wearing Petit Bateau and Bensimons, am buying a baguette daily, and have salted French butter (!) in my fridge, I find myself…. still very much back in Brooklyn and no longer in France. Sigh.

So when I read about downtown French eatery Buvette in the Cheap Eats 2011 issue of New York magazine, I was ready to get my American butt there ASAP. Luckily, I had two willing dining companions on two different days last week to accompany me. Yay! (Bisous, Christina and Chrissy!)

Buvette is where the duck rillettes were consumed, and, oh my, but they were delicious. As were the rest of the charcuterie (terrine de campagne, blue cheese), and other things we sampled — salade d’epinards, ham and melon, and more.

And the space (former longtime home of The Pink Teacup) is adorable! Every detail: The long marble bar, the pretty pastries, the snug tables, the small, sweet water glasses, the blackboard map showing the wine list by region, the bicyclette out front. The combined effect is almost transporting.

Almost.

They serve all day long during the week, 8am through late supper. Weekend brunch is coming soon. I haven’t tried any of the egg dishes yet, but I can’t wait to! They sound fab.

A word to the wise mom and dad, though: Leave les enfants at home for Buvette, unless you’re just stopping in to pick up a pain au chocolat and coffee. This is one for the adults.

And a note on pricing: Buvette serves tempting, well-priced small plates, but the small plates, plus wine, etc., add up. Although it was in the Cheap Eats ish, I wouldn’t really call it “cheap.”

Definitely worthwhile, though.

For more pretty pictures of Buvette — and to see some other NYC restaurants and food you may not have encountered before — hop on over to Eric Isaac’s photography blog, Snap Food.

And get yourself and your honey to Buvette. Have being in France fantasies. Enjoy. And tell me what you thought.

Buvette is located at 42 Grove Steet (between Bleecker and Bedford).

photo: Snap Food / Eric Isaac

Other obsessions:

Porch Crawler Cocktail from Frankies Spuntino

Vintage Kids’ Books My Kid Loves

Bloch Ballet Flats