Joe’s Jeans in 55 Colors: What’s Your Color?

Joe's Jeans Pop-Up Shop in Soho.

Celebs sporting colored jeans.

 

‘Tis the season to shop for others. But, you know, sometimes while you’re out there searching for the just-right something or browsing online for the best deal you can find, it just happens — through no fault of your own — that you stumble on something that YOU want or need.

Like Joe’s Jeans in 55 Colors. You probably need at least one pair, right? (Judging by how many of you clicked on my link to their site in a post last week, I’m guessing a few of you are thinking: YES.)

I’m eyeing cerise and purple passion. What about you?

I’ll totally tell Santa!

(Find Joe’s Jeans in all of their rainbow fabulous-ness at their pop-up shop at 77 Mercer Street bet Broome and Spring in Soho, at Bloomie’s, or online.)

 

 

December 3 – 4: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

We have a long list, big guy. Hope you're up for it this year.

Hey, I never said I was working on world peace here, people.

So….

On my humble to-do list:

* Santaland at Macy’s with the kids. Believe it. We’re there. (Via Mommy Poppins, here are more places in NYC to see Santa.)

* I got a good look at my Visa bill this week. Yeah, that sh*t was pretty scary. Better skip Anthro for a while and set my sights on more modest acquisitions, like this:

Paradisa bloom party dress from Ruche, a mere $40. $40!

* Next color up on the fall nail polish brigade:

Chanel nail colour in Paradoxal. Bring it, baby.

* Ready to stockpile the salted caramel squares at Bklyn Larder. They freaking rule.

One more, please.

Happy weekend!

 

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 22 – 23: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

Cowgirl costume by Cookies and Costumes on Etsy, $55.

I spend a ton of time coming up with activities and outings to entertain my kids — sometimes, I just want somebody else to do all the work. So, bring it on.

* Best Halloween Apps for Kids

* Last-minute handmade Halloween costumes for kids from scary-good Etsy

* Free Halloween events for NYC kids

* And totally tune into the kids’ Halloween mixes on Pandora Radio. They will LOVE dancing to the theme from “Ghostbusters.” And you won’t mind it, either.

BOO!

***

Cookies and Costumes on Etsy.

Back-to-School Thoughts and Goals for Fall

It’s official: We no longer have a pre-schooler. Magnolia sealed the deal on that one when she finished Pre-K back in June. Now we are the proud (and astonished — how did we get here so fast?) parents of a Second-Grader and a Kindergartener. WOW.

I’m looking forward to school starting for the obvious reason — take them, please, NYC DOE! — but a few other things are on my mind, too. Like:

* First grade was big — Jasper learned to read! Wonder what new frontiers second grade will have in store for us?

* Kindergarten is a big transition from Pre-K — much more focus on learning and meeting specific goals, and less on creative play. I hope Magnolia, who’s more than a little fond of managing her own time, can make the change easily. Gulp.

* In keeping with the new frontiers motif, M. has her first loose tooth. Already?! She *just* turned 5! According to the dentist, it’s typical for girls to start losing teeth earlier than boys. Apparently, another thing girls do first. Who knew?

* The kids are going back to school and I’m ready for…. Something else. I don’t know what. At least I’ve identified the need. Now I have to fill in the blank. Easier said than done, but I’m moving in that direction.

Also on my post-birthday To-Do list:

* Exercise more. I’ve actually (sort of) already started this, so hopefully increase it a bit and maintain.

* Cook more. We cook a lot, yes, but I really enjoy it. And I want to do more of it. Also, the moms being adventurous in the kitchen encourages the kids to try new foods. All good.

* Read more.

* Work on knowing when the right thing to say is nothing at all.

* Make more time for myself, and carve out more quality couple time for Chrissy and me.

* Surprise myself.

Well, that should keep me busy for a while!

Fall.

Ready or not, here it comes.

What’s on your Fall To-Do list? Tell me I’m not alone in having one!

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!

August 27 – 28: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

High Line / photo by: join the dots

We walked the new section of the High Line this week — dying to go back, do it again, and have lunch at the food trucks parked under the 30th Street entrance. There’s shade and picnic tables — easily manageable with the kids.

But it’s an outdoor activity — wonder what Irene will have to say about that? An earthquake, a hurricane — things are wild around here this week, and I’ve got a twitchy, unpredictable mood to match. Still feeling out of sorts post-sabbatical. Will it ever pass?

Anyway, weekend linkage:

* more on the High Line food trucks. Just say “taco.”

* inspiration: a vintage farmhouse dining room transformation.

* Design Mom’s Work Life Balance Project (love her tips.)

* OpenHouse NY 2011 Preview List.

* culinary fun for the kids at Taste of Brooklyn.

Happy weekend! Hope Irene treats you right!

(photo: join the dots)

 

August 20 – 21: Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas

This is M. on her way to summer camp at Curious Jane (she’s loved it, by the way, highly recommend for next summer.) Chrissy‘s been taking Jasper to the bus for pick-up in the morning to Park Explorers, which has also been great, as he’s thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day. Everyone happy and tired = good times for the moms.

Anyway, I do pick-up for both kids in the afternoon, and our route home takes us past 8th Avenue and 8th Street in Park Slope, site of the first apartment I ever stayed in in New York City when I came here to look for a job in book publishing in 1991. I pointed it out to the kids, who’ve been fascinated by the idea that I could be staying in a strange apartment without them or Chrissy, and instead with two guys named Keith and Doug.

I’ve realized this week that means I came to New York twenty years ago exactly — it was August, 1991. In fact, I think there’s a good chance it was even 20 years ago this very week. That brings a few things to mind.

I could go on.

I won’t.

After our glorious month away in July, we’re back. Really back. And while I don’t know that I’m quite ready to get out there and take on the city with the kids, I’m starting to think in that direction.

Via Mommy Poppins, here’s what looks good to me this weekend:

* The Muppets Take Manhattan and Jim Henson’s Fantastic World at the Museum of the Moving Image

* Word for Word Kids: Night of the Butterfly at Bryant Park

* Winnie-the-Pooh’s 90th Birthday Bash at the Children’s Center at the New York Public Library

And what’s more on my mind?

Getting to know An Expat Mom Living in Paris.

Deciding whether or not I need this striped Lazy Maze Tunic by Bordeaux from Anthropologie.

Sampling for myself Gwynnie’s recipe for Grilled Chicken with Peach BBQ sauce; I made the sauce yesterday and the kids gobbled it up with the chicken last night; tonight we’re throwing it on the grill for the moms.

Twenty years. OK.

Happy weekend!

 

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