Baby Shower Blvd!

I have a wonderful friend in my neighborhood who makes the most fantastic shower gifts! She also happens to be a very accomplished cook and baker. She recently started her own business called Baby Shower Blvd that specializes in beautiful custom diaper cakes and party favors. Wouldn't these be a perfect centerpiece to any beloved new mom's celebration or child's birthday party?

Photos by Sharma Podila

9-09-09!

Next Wednesday, 9-09-09, join in the fun and a help a great cause at Baby Buzz downtown in Willow Glen. A couple months ago I attended one of these events thrown by Karen and Sarah, and it was so fun! Help A Mother Out is a non-profit organization that provides diapers to families in need. Do a little shopping while you check out the cool digs, and partake in some food and prizes. Enjoy a little discount from the store when you contribute some diapers, and show your kids what it means to help other moms and kids out in a fresh, fun way! The event is located at 1314 Lincoln Ave, San Jose, 95126 and is from 3-6PM.

Help A Mother Out at Baby Buzz

Yesterday was a very long day, but one of the highlights was a diaper drive hosted by Baby Buzz in Willow Glen through the organization Help a Mother Out. Help a Mother Out is a non-profit that collects and distributes diapers to families in need. I found out about it via Twitter and fellow tweep, Sarah. Karen, the owner of Baby Buzz, was also on hand to host the festivities.

I grabbed the rest of Alexi's diaper stash and we headed out for a day on the town. By the time we got to Baby Buzz I was burnt out from a long day. But Sarah and Karen were two laid back friendly ladies! They offloaded the diapers, gave the boys a snack, and poured me a nice glass of wine. Hello? Can we say new best friends to moms everywhere?


I thoroughly enjoyed my little rest, and explored the glorious store. I picked up a beautiful shower gift, and a really cool water bottle for Math. Before we left we got to witness an amazing surprise! The goal of the evening had been to hit 1,000 diapers. The Willow Glen branch from Valley Credit Union apparently got wind of this over Twitter and walked in with over 1,000 diapers! Totally unexpected, and a very ecstatic Sarah was overjoyed. It was a great night!


Just goes to show the power of cool people, and a little Twitter action, goes a long way for a great cause :0)

First Birthday Gift Arrived...

Alexi is going to be so excited when he wakes up from his nap to find this amazing push cart from his Aunt Kiki!

Birthday Gifting...

Want a unique and cool, but inexpensive birthday gift? Make a shirt! I bought a simple outfit from Target's Circo line ($8 for the set), and ironed on a vintage cut-out I picked up at a boutique in LA. The cut out is made from a few vintage fabrics that have been quilted together and cut into a bird shape. Iron it on, and then sew in a zig-zag to ensure it won't come off in the wash. Voila! Totally hip, one-of-a-kind baby gift that's straight from the heart :0)

Paxton Gate Curiosities for Kids

If you've ever been to Paxton Gate you know it's like a David Sedaris Wonderland Emporium. Seriously, they have some really weird stuff in there! But fascinating...

Anyway, Paxton Gate has a kid's store! I was in the Mission with a friend over the weekend and we took a peek inside. This whimsical store was chock full of unique art, vintage and handmade treasures, and other beautiful gift ideas for kids of all ages. Unfortunately all I had was my iPhone with me, but here's a glimpse of some of the amazingly cool, quirky things I came across. My favorite was a shaddow puppet stage.

They also offer kid yoga classes in the back room Mondays 2-4. You need to enroll ahead of time with the instructor.

Biking Mama

So it's official, I'm now the proud owner of and Electra bike :0) I love it so very much! It's perfect for cruising around my little neighborhood or to the grocery store or to the park. After much thought I decided not to get the coveted Bobike Mini. I realized I was a tad too klutzy to put the extra weight on my bike, and I picked up a trailer from a friend instead. This turned out to be a good decision since I can haul the kids in the trailer and my stuff in the front tray.

I was told I can now be the neighborhood bread girl since in Europe it's a very common style of bike for bakers to deliver bread ;0)

This morning we all did a family bike trip to Hobees for breakfast. So loving this new found mode of transportation :0)

I also picked up a Wordlock bike lock since I'm notorious for forgetting my combination. This is so much simpler since it's just a 4 letter word...much easier to remember!


And lastly, I've asked The Hubster to get me a Yakkay bike helmet as an anniversary gift, lol. Sure it doesn't sparkle, but it's way cute as far as bike helmets go. Safty first!

Electra bikes can be purchased from The Off Ramp in Santa Clara and Mountain View. Wordlocks can be found at all Targets. Yakkay helmets are only available internationally, but are sold on-line through a UK retailer called 50cycles.

Tie Ts

Look what I just picked up for Alexi! Designer Tie T-shirts are all the rage right now, but the designer price made me want to faint. Check out this swank Etsy shop that sells a huge variety of Tie T's for a great price!

I wonder if my kids would eat these...

It's ice cream, but it looks like fruits and veggies! I want to try it...Yum!

For the mom in your life

I love my mom. In many ways she's a lot like me which is probably why we are able to piss each other off so completely at times, but she's the one who made me who I am for better and for worse. Being adopted I appreciate so much more the power to love another person despite birth or circumstance. I understand unconditional love without prejudice or discretion. Being a mother, I appreciate the visceral possession of a child who will forever be irrecoverably yours no matter how old they get. And being a daughter, I understand that no rules apply when it comes to what your mom can and can't say to you!

With Mother's Day it seems almost unfathomable that a gift could represent or convey the aforementioned feelings. But since it is fast approaching I suppose it's time to think about what to bestow Mom. Can a gift even begin to scratch the surface of your appreciation for her? Heck no! But you gotta get something for the woman who mothered you (and a nice card, too!).

Here's some options:

I love this tea set from Teavana! It's got just a touch of Euro-chic and comes with a removable infuser insert.

For the mom who loves a nice soak why not these amazing smelling bath cubes by Fresh (lychee is my favorite)?

All moms love reminicing about memories past. How about a wonderful photo book? If you have a Mac it's easy...or you can use Snapfish, too!

And lastly, for the mom who loves to give back how about a donation in her name? Charity Choice offers over a hundred different reputable organizations to choose from!

Flipping Indiana Jones!

My son's kindof (okay, really really really) obsessed with Indiana Jones. He can be regularly found sporting a fedora, brown corduroy jacket, and spouting off Harrison Ford one-liners. When his birthday came around it was no surprise he wanted an Indiana Jones themed party.

Besides scrounging e-bay for archeological themed favors and decorations I ran across a post on Craigslist. His name was Dustin, and this was his ad "Indiana Jones! At your Store or event !!!!" I mean, come on...what are the chances, right? Indiana Jones lives in my backyard? And he's for hire? I contacted Dustin right away, and he got back to me promptly. He was very professional and easy going (even when it rained on the day of our event and everything got moved to our hideously disorganized garage!). He arrived with his partner, and the two of them put on a FANTASTIC adventure complete with life-size props and stunts! The kids went wild over the show. After the skit, Indiana and Elizabeth Sweet stayed in character and took the kids on a treasure hunt around the house (it was raining else we'd have done it at the park), and played some games. It was a day my son will never forget :0) He still asks if Indiana Jones will come back looking for his idol.

Dustin has a company called DeadmanFX up in Marin County. He's a stuntman who spent time down in LA working in movie industry. He now runs a company that specializes in cast molds and special effect artistry here. He also does a very convincing Indiana Jones, complete with whip demonstrations. The kids went gaga...so did quite a few of the moms ;0)

Per Matthew's request, his birthday gift was a Flip MinoHD. He said he wanted to make movies of himself on tv (we have hours of him bouncing around with a light saber finding treasures meant for museums, and lengthy clips of his Lego creations). In a lot of ways though, this was a gift for myself (shhh, he still thinks it's all his!). I've enjoyed shooting video of the kids, and documenting their cute sayings and new accomplishments. I also appreciate how EASY it is to use! So here's a little movie of the birthday using his (my) new Flip. I editied using iMovie.

Flipping Indiana Jones from Bay Area Baby Blog on Vimeo.

Mancala Love

I remember playing Mancala in middle school. We made a board out of egg cartons, and I fell in love. It was simple, yet addictive. Then after burning out on it, I totally forgot about it. While recently shopping for last minute Easter gifts, you guessed it...I saw it! You can buy Mancala boards made from all sorts of materials, but I bought a simple one from the Toys R Us' exclusive line that was made from bamboo (a sustainable resource). It's actually pretty nice, and entertaining me once again.

Hubs and I come from a long line of board game lovers so it was no surprise that Math was quite taken with the game. He and I were playing today (for the millionth time). He's getting good...so good he beat the pants off me twice! Maybe we should move on to chess soon?

I'm Wasted on Boys

It's been no secret my desire for a daughter someday. So much in fact that we are hoping to adopt from Korea sometime in the next few years. I'm adopted from the country myself so I think it's predestined to be this way...a sort of closing the circle if you will. Recently, I think this desire has reached all new heights. We've been invited to an astonishing number of girl birthday parties this past month, and I've gotta say I LOVE girl birthday parties! It gives me an excuse to get in touch with my fru-fru side. This has been compounded even further by my newly contracted crafting condition. So what does a craft-sick mom with a fru-fru side make the girls in her sons lives? Well, tutus of course!

I found some simple "how-to" instructions on RookieMoms here. I took it a step further by doubling up the amount of tulle (to make them fluffier) and adding some ribbons of varriying widths and colors as well. Paired with a cute, inexpensive top these make the most fabulous, one-of-a-kind gifts! They can be worn over jeans, leotards, sweats...Hell, I've half a mind to make one for myself!

Poor Alexander - he was my test manequin. I had to make sure it was going to fit, right??? ;0)

Calling All Moms....

I've been on the hut for some really cute mom calling cards. If you've never heard of mom cards before they are basically business cards with your kid's names and your contact info. This card thing brings back memories of reading Little Town on the Prairie and the name cards Laura used to exchange with her friends. Her mom gave her some money to purchase them and she was so tickled about it. I am, too!

Anyway, in these modern times, I am often at the park, or at a playdate, or at a class and invariably I run into a cool new mom and we hit it off. Then one of us says, "We should totally get together! What's your number?" And I never have a pen, and I've usually forgotten my phone (which is a crime according to my husband). So I think I have a real need for these ;0) Stash a few in the diaper bag, you know? I bet these would make a really sweet baby shower or new mom gift, too!

It's down to these two options. They're both awesome for different reasons. Which do you think?

I really like these cards because you can add photos! And the prints are really fresh and modern.

And then I saw these on Etsy, and they are really cute in a sorta Victorian vintage sortof way.

Tough decision!

In-law Interludes

The in-laws dropped in for a surprise visit today and yesterday. A visit from the in-laws, I'm happy to report, is actually a good thing in my book! We had the whole day together so we decided to spend it up in The City. Being rather limited on time, we did one touristy thing and then one "off-the-beaten-path" thing. Our family is comprised of serious foodies. The in-laws have spent the better part of their lives in the food-business (owning both a coffee/patisserie house and a restaurant) so it's no surprise this day was full of feasting. We made our way to the Ferry Building Marketplace and comprised ourselves a fabulous make-shift lunch fit for any foodie, and then headed our way to Caffe Trieste, a funky little coffee house with excellent java.

The Ferry Building is a veritable cornucopia of high end foodstuffs. From caviar to wine this place has got you covered!

Caffee Trieste is located right around the corner from the Ferry Building in North Beach (aka Little Italy). There are cute outdoor bistros and romantic cafes lined all along the streets. Crowds seemed to be mostly locals milling about enjoying their afternoon riposo...perfecto!

Check it:

These would make such cute baby shower favors!

At this stand all I could think about was mushroom lasagna.

Cheese, glorious cheese!

Olive oil much?

Our lunch: Acme Bread Co. selection, Mt. Tam brie, St George cheddar, 3 peppercorn salame, Sicilian cracked olives, and extra virgin olive-oil for dipping.

Mocha and a cappuccino.

The Play Store

Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with an associate at The Play Store on University Ave in Palo Alto. She was very gracious about letting me take pictures, and answered all sorts of questions about their stock and play philosophy.

The Play Store is a small independent toy store for children of all ages. It is unique in that it almost exclusively sells natural, wooden, and/or organic toys and accessories. I was also told they don't buy from any one particular region (though European toys seemed to have a heavy influence). Instead they specifically chose items based on child-centered functionality, and quality. The Play Store has a Waldorf inspired methodology regarding their beliefs about play and learning, and also believe that toys should be made to grow with a child (not ceasing to be useful after a certain age).

The associate also emphasized that safety was very important to them, and they did not purchase from countries known to have toxins in their paints. In fact, they try to veer away from paints all together, and mostly stock items that have been naturally dyed. And on top of all these great perks, they store has a conscience, too! They only purchase from companies and sources that treat workers fairly, and are environmentally friendly.

The store itself is very child-friendly, too. They have a wooden train table set up with a simple assortment of Plan City and wooden train pieces. Alexander spent much of his time playing there while I took some photos of the rest of the space...

Busy playing

Front of the shop

For the budding culinary virtuoso

Adorable wooden foods

Beautiful and naturally dyed wooden vehicles

Organic baby section. The Play store also partners with a local woman who makes unique knitwear, too!

Baby Gifting...

For some reason everyone I know is pregnant right now! There must be something in the water :0)

Anyway, here's a list of some great items to bestow any new mom...

Serena & Lily 'Market' Baby Sling sold at Nordstrom. Beautiful sling!

This German wooden activity gym is eco-friendly and cute! Can be found at The Play Store.

Glass, BPA/phthalate-free, silicon sheathed wee•go baby bottles. Found at your nearest BabyGap.

Baby Bunch apparel starter set, all wrapped up to look like a beautiful nosegay! Saw these at Right Start awhile ago. Don't if they still have them.

Mustela baby bath and skin products. Smells great, and it's French! Line at Pure Beauty, Sephora, Nordstrom, and Babies R Us.

"The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance." My MIL got this book for my husband before our son was born, and he used it all the time!

Maggie's Functional Organic Panda Set! Sooo cute! Found at Whole Foods.

Check out this pudgy panda!