We All Need Comfort: Unicorn Gift Ideas

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my delightful and precious unicorn in her sweet pajamas

Growing up is tough business. You couldn’t pay me to go back to my middle or high school years. Navigating the social circles, fighting for my freedom, starting to find my voice, trying to shape who I am and where I fit in the world, meeting and losing friends, experiencing first love…and that’s before I’ve even started to tackle the accelerating homework and school pressure because college is just a few years away. Nope, I’m very happy to have survived that… The only thing that makes it worse is when there are bullies, “mean girls,” and tormentors amplifying the noise that already exists in an adolescents’ head. I had my fair share of experiences as a kid with these types of people–and it was agony–and I know from FB that most people have experienced it too.

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Weekend Recreation: Ready, Set, Swap…

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(A close-up of my haul from the swap)

Ok, so I’ll admit it, I’d never done it before so I was nervous. They say the first time is always the hardest and you just have to jump in head first. Switching it up and gaining exposure to something different is important, right?!? Well after about a month of planning, today was the day. It was going to happen…

I’m speaking, of course, of a Fashion Swap.

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Passing The Baton

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shutterstock_148204991When I was growing up, my father taught me to play Scrabble. Not by coaching me through a game, side-by-side as players on the same team, but by being a worthy counterpart in a back and forth exchange on the board. Through this methodology I too became a worthy opponent, a skill I am very proud to have today because it connects me to him, his strengths, his values and is a reminder of fond memories.

Throughout my life, some of the most meaningful and transformative moments I can recall were the conversations I had with my Dad. Some may call them “heart-to-hearts” but that would be underestimating the range and scope of what we would talk about. Similar to our Scrabble matches, he never “dumbed down” an intellectual conversation–not in his interpretations or his expectations of how I was to participate–which challenged me to meet him, or at least make a valiant effort to get there.

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I Heart Psychics

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20130904-220331.jpgI believe in psychics and mediums. Feel free to judge, roll your eyes, laugh or anything else you feel may be necessary. I’ve encountered all that and worse. A while back I was taught not to hide or be ashamed of the things I truly believe in, and this is one of those things. I also understand that it is not for everyone, and I have no judgement or scorn for those who feel differently.

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Unique Gift Ideas: What I’m Dying To Give Now

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Image courtesy of shuttershock (c) Kristijan Zontar

Image courtesy of shuttershock (c) Kristijan Zontar

I’m usually prompted to source new gift ideas because I am shopping for an event or occasion. Recently fantastical ideas have just surfaced unsolicited by way of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (gotta love social media) and old-fashioned word-of-mouth in a lovely happenstance kind of fashion.  So these are some AH-MAY-ZING looking tokens that I am dying to find the right occasion for–and I already have a few in mind–so I just had to share, and pay that good-gifting-kharma forward. Enjoy!

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Solving A Back To School Equation

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Simpler times: first day of school 2007 (3rd grade and Kindergarden, respectively)

I’m stressing out. It’s almost back to school and this year is a big one for our family. See, my daughter is entering 8th grade and my son is going into the 5th and in New York City, that means we are beginning the high school and middle school application process for each respective aforementioned offspring. “What’s the big deal?” some of you many be asking–particularly if you live away from this insane place where middle and high school placement isn’t treated like college admissions.

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The Gift of Time

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Me, age 22, by the pool at our family weekend house, August 1997 (yes, I’ve always had short hair)

Last weekend we went to stay with some friends at their weekend house in Upstate New York‘s Hudson Valley. It was a lovely break from a city weekend which can become a bit tedious come late August…and their home was amazing. I say amazing for a few reasons: the company, the hospitality and food were all incredible. But upon further reflection, the weekend reminded me of my own childhood getaways to the Hudson Valley–particularly watching another family enact their own lovely and loving everyday ballet–and I caught myself saying: “I remember…” more than once (sometimes aloud and sometimes to myself).

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Summer 2013: Highlights, Gifts and Surprises

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The kids in the ocean at Coney Island: Summer 2013

The summer is almost over. It’s hard to believe Labor Day weekend is just two days off in the distance and all I my blog has to show for it is a handful of posts. I had grand plans…

The summer is a meaningful time for me: family birthdays and annual celebrations, my anniversary and, of course, excursions and getaways. Yet every time I meant to sit down and capture it for my blog, I was distracted or something else came up and it no longer seemed timely. But now, dear reader, as summer’s precious moments are coming to a close, it seems all the more necessary to remember the highlights, gifts and surprises of Summer 2013.

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How To Get Away Without Going Away: Aka My 6th Anniversary

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Some highlights from this weekend: read on for the details

My wedding anniversary was coming up and I wanted to surprise my darling husband… Now, let me just say it’s impossible to surprise my husband. Ok, not impossible. I did it once. For his 39th birthday because I knew his 40th would be too obvious. I had a surprise dinner for him with a bunch of friends. But that was a few years ago. Never before or since.

Because its so hard to surprise him, trying to plan a gift involving travel is doubly challenging. So I hatched a plan…

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Advice and Inspirational Quotes: Gifts That Keep Giving

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20130806-125912.jpgRecently I was given amazing advice from someone I respect and trust that was succinct, honest, informed and personal. Sage advice is a priceless gift that just keeps on giving. Getting some words at the right time can aid in powering through a rough patch and can even sub-consciously linger; ready and able to re-emerge when triggered by doubt, despair or detractors. The good news, advice is free… the bad news, my Dad used to say, the only advice you pay for is the advice you don’t take.

That said, I’ve found it’s important to be discerning in who I trust and who I get (and give, for that matter) advice from, and every now and then I need some inspiration but am not in close proximity to my network. In those moments, I keep these inspirational quotes handy, offering sound guidance that’s also when quick uplift is necessary. Like them? I often Instagram stuff like this, so come check me out there too…

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