On my 30th birthday I woke up and cried. Not because I was turning 30, but because I was entering a decade that my father would have no part of. He died when I was 22 and so he had seen a small part of my twenties. Entering my thirties meant starting a chapter that would be devoid of any semblance of his imprint.
I have another birthday coming this week.
As I was searching my basement this weekend for suitcases, I found myself in a nostalgia detour. My inner procrastinator happily combed through boxes and Ziploc baggies brimming with the past, and as each vessel surfaced with archives of long-lost treasures (treasures maybe a strong word for old pictures, “Welcome Home Baby” cards, baby teeth and hair, positive pregnancy tests from my first and second born–yes, I kept them–and umbilical cord stumps, but one person’s treasure is another’s trash) another hour was almost surely lost. But then I came across something else quite unexpected.
My beautiful Nanny, 1999
I didn’t do a July 4th post… I tried, I couldn’t do it. I kept putting stuff together and bursting into tears, nothing felt right and I just couldn’t get into the spirit. July 4th we always celebrated my grandmothers birthday–her birthday was July 3rd. She started the tradition years ago with a lobster bake and my aunt has continued the tradition–a promise she made my grandmother before she passed away in 2008.
So this last Wednesday would have been my grandmothers birthday, and I can’t call her that… I never called her that. I called her Nanny. She was the best Nanny in the world. She was beautiful, she was effusive and she lived adventurously. She was proud of her family and she made you feel loved yet she also could give a kick in the ass when it was needed.
Yesterday was Pride and it was in no way ordinary. Just days ago on June 26, 2013, The Supreme Court found DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) unconstitutional; and as we say in our house, love is love. My family and I have been privileged to witness many loving relationships of all types and make-ups–cultures, genders, nationalities–all of them perfect in their imperfections, beautiful in their real-ness as they perform an everyday ballet…
How strange it is that I never felt grandiose enough to make a judgement as to whether those couples had the human right to be together or not. Doesn’t that just sound absurd?
I’m going to a few summer parties and I can’t wait. It’s alway such a blast to party in the warm weather and enjoy some fun in the sun, especially since now my kids don’t need constant supervision. I always like to bring something for my hosts that contribute to the meal, but what about hosts that tell you: “just bring yourselves.” That never seems right, right? Right.
IMHO it’s always important to express thanks with gratitude for an invitation with a gesture. I also want to make sure that what I share with my recipients aren’t run-of-the-mill. These ideas are gift pairings that are fine alone, but are truly better together
To me, summer style is all about breezy-chic and no-fuss cool (I don’t mean “funky-fresh” cool, I mean temperature cool). What says that better than delicate jewelry that doesn’t weigh a ton, but looks sweet and maybe even sparkles. I’ve been keeping a list of items I want to snatch-up–either for me or for the summer birthdays I have to buy for, and truth be told those might be a “one for you, one for me” situation.
Coffee, muffins and Scrabble for iPad in Marcus Garvey Park, Harlem, NYC
I’m a big believer in dating. The excitement, the energy, the getting dressed up and primping for the other person… And then of course the actual experience of having time together, knowing smiles and flirting across the table, brushing hands and fumbling fingers. In particular, I don’t think married people date enough.
Last summer at Coney Island
I’m trying to plan a summer getaway for my family. I’ve been incredibly indecisive this year, not from a lack of ideas…quite the opposite. I have too many ideas, and each one conjures up images in my head of idyllic moments that will eventually become life-long memories for all of us, and that turns into a form of vacation-analysis-paralysis. So I’ve booked nothing but researched pretty much everything the Northeast has to offer. I’ve got it down to either Hershey, PA or Washington DC and I want two things: family-friendly and a property with an outdoor pool (I gave up on the beach a while ago, obviously).
I’m very excited to talk about this new way of sharing my gift ideas with you! It’s called Glossi and so far I have a few issues already published with a few more on the way.
Glossi lets me turn my content into digital magazines, like this one on Summer Party Hostess Gift Ideas (featured above), and they really take a totally different shape and tone. I LOVE making them…I’m seriously addicted. What’s more, there are some really cool content creators making their own digital magazines on all sorts of topics and being ridiculously creative–check out Nina Garcia, Olivia Palermo, Lucky Magazine and categories like food, kids and family and lots more so do check them out online and on the App Store.
Related Links:
Offerings: A New Category
What’s This All About
First Time Gifts: Buying For A New Boyfriend or Girlfriend
6 Really Cool Stationery Ideas
My man with our kids at 16 Handles on the UWS
Father’s Day is a tough one for me. I’m torn. I can’t help but think of my Dad who is no longer here, but I’m also so blessed with a man in my life who is a loving husband and father to me and our children. But it’s more than that. My husband met us when I was newly divorced and my two children were three and five years, respectively. We were adjusting to a new life together and, personally, I was trying to find my way as a single mom, convinced that was what I needed to do…for myself and for my kids not wanting to make another mistake or “fail” again.
The Gifting Whisperer 