Thursday Links 3.6.14

6 Mar

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  • If that brat-tastic New Jersey teen suing her parents for college tuition had grown up in my parents’ house, the only thing she’d be “entitled” to is garden weeding duty for life. Back me up here, Mom… (CNN)
  • I’ve been applying Sriracha to my Pho improperly this whole time; don’t care. (bon appétit)
  • Guess I better turn down the white noise volume in the nursery so my kids can ruin their hearing on their own terms by playing music too loud and going to concerts. (The New York Times)
  • As if my girl-crush on Amy Poehler could get any bigger, now she’s come up with a smart, sassy antidote to teen publications that only cover fashion, weight loss and boys. Her motto? “Change the world by being yourself.” I mean… (Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls)
  • Dear Nerds: You’re actually going to have to talk to girls at San Francisco bars now. (SF Gate)
  • Another submission in my never-ending quest for the perfect make-ahead brunch recipe: Breakfast Polenta Squares with Spinach & Bacon. (The Kitchn)
  • The new arrivals at Roberta Roller Rabbit are so pretty and effortless I could spend all summer lolling about in them. (Roberta Roller Rabbit)
  • Well this is flipping amazing: early drug therapy cleared HIV in a second baby. This is why you do your math and science homework, kids. (The New York Times)
  • I’m learning all sorts of cool stuff from “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” like Annette Bening sucks at flip cup, Idina Menzel sounds WAY better with The Roots on classroom instruments than The Academy Awards Orchestra, and Paul Rudd is just as adorable lip syncing as he is doing everything else. (NBC)

Being Alone Sometimes Makes Me a Better Mom. So There. I Said It.

5 Mar

I work from home. My husband works from home. Our children are too young to attend school for longer than three hours a couple of times a week, hence they are also generally home. Everybody is home A LOT.

Don’t get me wrong: I am so grateful that my husband and I have careers where we can co-parent and be incredibly present in our children’s lives. But it’s an intense kind of togetherness, and I occasionally envision my temporary escape. Not that I’ve considered it too much (she lies), but the my perfect day right now would be 24 hours in a hotel room, ALONE, where I would read a book that has nothing to do with anyone being the happiest anything on the block; order champagne and a burrito from room service; watch the entire BBC “Pride & Prejudice” miniseries sans grumbling from my husband; not answer calls, texts or emails; and oh yeah, SLEEP. Delicious, glorious sleep in a bed I don’t have to share with hot sleepers, wakeful infants or pointy-elbowed toddlers. I would awaken to birds chirping and sunlight streaming through my window, not crying (aka Satan’s Alarm Clock).

This is where the mom guilt should kick in, right? Because somewhere in the universe, “Mommy, somebody needs you.” You know what? My family “needs” for me not to be miserable and exhausted. (As previously established, I’m a real meanie when I’m sleep deprived .) Being a parent and spouse means leaving selfishness behind and prioritizing someone else’s happiness, but taking time to care for yourself isn’t selfishness; it’s survival.

So what would you do if you had 24 hours alone? Priss & Vinegar would love to hear your most awesome “me” time ideas, if for no other reason than so I can use them myself. A girl can dream…

5 Reasons To Stop Being a Snob About Mass Market Retail

4 Mar

…or maybe you’re not a snob about mass market retail and it’s just me. In any event, I’ve always felt that, when it comes retail, you get what you pay for. I prefer to have a small, timeless wardrobe and an uncluttered, elegant home than a life packed to the gills with trendy, disposable crap.

But having children has given me somewhat of an attitude adjustment. Other than for special occasions, small children SHOULDN’T be attired in expensive classics because they are invariably going to outgrow, destroy, or refuse to wear them. (Same goes for the people who care for them. I don’t want to put myself or my children in a position to destroy anything I really treasure.) Children also shouldn’t live in a home that is too precious to play in comfortably. (I’d rather give them life-changing vacations than a $20,000 sofa to sit on.)

Embracing less costly alternatives isn’t so much a surrender as it is giving yourself (and your kids) the permission to live with ease. Here are some of Priss & Vinegar’s latest mass market finds:

mass market collage

1. My absolute favorite source for casual children’s clothing? Mini Boden. Their pieces are cheerful, comfortable, and sold at a price point where I won’t have an aneurism if they get trashed at preschool. Boden also does a bang-up job of making children’s clothing fun without plastering Dora the Explorer graphics and glitter all over it. Priss & Vinegar’s favorite pieces include the bateau marinere-inspired tops, jersey skorts (perfect for active girly-girls like my daughter) and five-packs of bright, supersoft onesies for babes.

2. Hi, my name is Heather, and I recently shopped at Ann Taylor without being embarrassed. There, I said it. I decided to give Ann another try after noticing that some of my favorite fashion bloggers had (gulp) sourced some dynamite pieces there. On a recent visit I found nude patent d’orsay flats and a perforated faux leather top that are very on-trend and sold at an utterly commitment-free price point.

3. I have a major problem with very cheap furniture that I might never get over (PTSD from post-collegiate IKEA living, perhaps?) but the decor from Target‘s “Threshold” line is pretty rad. I’ve sourced some fantastic frames there in the past, and just recently picked up a classic rope doorstop (that would have been three times the price at Ballard Designs) and a striking copper fruit bowl.

4. It’s easy to discount stores like Pier One when West Elm is killing it so hard right now. But if your style is more traditional, then you’ll dig on the preserved boxwood topiary (at a fraction of what they cost elsewhere), octagonal framed mirror, and knotted jute rug I recently spotted at Pier One. Think Pottery Barn on the cheap.

5. I’d always thought of Madewell as J.Crew’s thrifty hipster cousin: cute, but not really my style. But on a recent visit I found some sweet, summery pieces like this effortless paisley print tunic and a surprisingly preppy gingham blouse. It’s a refreshing, minimalist foil to the layered, luxurious excess of J.Crew.

Manicures & Dim Sum: A Weekend of Firsts

3 Mar
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Her color of choice? Essie “DJ Play That Song.”

Yesterday as I carried my daughter home from her very first manicure, she shared with me that she’s “all growns’ed up.” I suggested she take her time with this growing up business, seeing as how being a child is ever so much fun, and uh, she’s two. (I may have also mentioned that she can’t be all that grown up when her mother still carries her on the regular.)

But she’s certainly right that lately she’s been experiencing the world in new and more sophisticated ways. Trips to our favorite local bookstore used to mean chasing her around the stacks as she ripped books from the shelves. (It was a real treat). But on a visit this past weekend, she didn’t trash the Fancy Nancy section per usual: she sat quietly with a book by herself.

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Proof that my daughter sat quietly that one time.

Granted, she can’t actually read yet and I was a little horrified by her selection (a very pink volume of Barbie: Wedding Party!), but my very active child sitting quietly by herself is MAJOR progress.

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Pork buns dipped in sweet & sour sauce for the win.

So, too, is seeing her nibble on dim sum, which was another first this past weekend. A few months ago, I would NEVER have dared take a hungry toddler to dine on unfamiliar food without a diaper bag full of snacks. Recipe.For.Disaster. But now? I offered her a bite of everything on the table (including peking duck, shrimp dumplings, and hot tea) and let her figure it out. At no point did I ever feel the need to spring an emergency bag of grapes from my purse. If she was hungry, she’d eat. (And she did.)

All in all, two and a half is turning out to be a pretty terrific age. She’s reasonably potty trained, plays independently with delight, and is legitimately helpful with her baby brother. She adorably suggests activities for us — just this morning she asked me to “do yoga” and have a tea party with her — and her unprompted observations about the world are actually pretty interesting. Our weekly mother-daughter lunch dates now include actual conversations, not just me interrogating her about whatever happened at preschool that day. With everything I’ve heard about three year-olds (SCARY), I’m relishing this time with her. She’s more companion than sidekick, and for now, that’s a kind of “growns’ed up” I can get on board with.

Thursday Links 2.27.14

27 Feb
May I present three excellent burgers omitted from The Bold Italic's list: Red's Java House, Zuni Cafe, and Belcampo Meat Company. (Yes, I took every one of these photographs, which is a testament to how many burgers I eat and the fact I'm still a loser who photographs her food.)

May I present three excellent San Francisco burgers omitted from The Bold Italic‘s list: Red’s Java House, Zuni Cafe, and Belcampo Meat Company. (And YES, I took every one of these photos myself, which is a testament to how many burgers I eat *and* that I need to stop photographing my food.)

  • The clowns at The Bold Italic wrote a list of the best burgers in San Francisco; excluded Red’s Java House, Zuni Cafe, and Belcampo Meat Company; are idiots. Thanks for sharing, Matt! (The Bold Italic.)
  • Dear Michael Sheen: Going from Ryan Gosling’s sloppy seconds to Jimmy Kimmel’s is what I like to call a “downgrade.” (Popsugar)
  • I was already a little creeped out by Trader Joe’s mysteriously low prices, and their lack of transparency regarding GMOs is just another nail in the coffin. Cookie Butter, you’re dead to me. (Food Babe)
  • The backlash against “Lean In” reminds me a lot of the public outcry against Amy Chua’s “The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” Forget whether you agree with their theses; it should bother you that our society continues to bitch-shame aggressive women. You’re the best, Erika! (Foreign Policy)
  • I had several thoughtful friends send me this story about a mother-daughter design team that builds tiny evening gowns out of construction paper. They are undeniably cool, but there’s no way a four year-old who goes by the nickname “Mayhem” is chill enough to actually make these by herself. (Huffington Post)
  • The continuing celebrity war against the “pedorazzi” photographing their children is complete baloney. You can’t trot your kids out while campaigning for an Oscar and then feign outrage when they’re photographed the other 10 months of the year. (Lainey Gossip)
  • The preschool admissions process in major metropolitan cities is insane, part 7,251. (Motherlode)
  • The Waffle Taco: further proof that Taco Bell’s product development team is really just a bunch of stoned college students. (First We Feast)
  • My toddler DIGS the lentil-and-rice dish at our favorite local felafel spot, so I’ll definitely be trying this cozy smitten kitchen stuck-pot rice with lentils at home. (smitten kitchen)
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