Mass MoCA

 I'm starting to feel very cultured this vacation, as I have now ventured to three different art museums this week alone. I will say this much for the Massachusetts/New England area you will not want for a lack of art or artistic expression.  Yesterday, I went to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in the small town of North Adams about a 30 minute drive from our resort.

The museum itself is located in an old 19th century Mill building lending to its overall character, size and scale. I do have to say that because of this the museum was a bit of a maze and I found I was frequently asking for directions. The featured/special exhibition was titled "Oh, Canada" and displayed the works of several different Canadian artists. I'm not going to lie, some of it I loved, some of it I hated, and the common complaint most of us have about modern and contemporary art, a lot of it went over my head. I loved artists who did more fiber art and stayed away from the ones that did visual/videos. To the left is another one of my favorites. It is this cool looking spaceship made out of old children's toys and trinkets. I cannot even begin to describe all the little intricate things in and around this piece.

Within the museum's permanent collection is the work Sol LeWitt, who I am assuming is from this area or once lived here because I saw another one of his installations today at the Williams College Museum of Art. LeWitt's work is composed of several large "wall" drawings and paintings which quite literally take up the entire wall. The museum breaks up his career by floor going from early work to later as you travel up the staircases. In my humble and not so critical opinion, his early work was the most impressive. In several of the installations on this floor, LeWitt left the work unfinished so you could read and see his artitstic process when executing a design. It is unbelievable of formulaic and intricate some of his designs are when the finish product looks quite simple. Some of his instructions seemed more like problems a geometry teacher would assign for homework rather than a large scale art installation.




Also, as a side note for if or when you visit. I was brave and tried lunch at the cafe located within the museum. It was surprisingly phenomenal. One of the better meals I have tried while we have been in the area. It was a simple black bean burrito with corn chips but all together delicious and full of flavor. Def. grab something to eat while your there enjoying the museum.

I Love Pinterest, Snack Edition

Sunflower Fruit

Ok, I'm not going to lie. I drank the kool-aide and am totally addicted to Pinterest, it has quickly become part of my weekly Internet routine. Well, you can find all kinds of great craft/DIY projects, recipes, tutorials, etc. and organize it all. I love it because there is so much stuff I find on the Internet and forget about but with this you can keep track of all the stuff you love and find some goodies you never would have know about.

Here are a few fun snack ideas that I think would be great for the summer, play dates, family get togethers, you name it!!

1. Frozen Yogurt Dots, what a great idea for the summertime!Also, another way to "make" yummy frozen yogurt, is to just stick gogurts in the freezer and pull them out whenever you want a yummy, healthy treat. I love these dots because it looks so easy to just pop them in your mouth and go...athough, I do wonder if they melt quickly. Might be a great idea for a birthday party.

2. Smoothie Freezer Packs, fun quick and easy. Put a couple in the freezer and you have a treat ready to go when your in a pinch. Looks like you make just about any flavor combination to make your favorites.

3. Crescent Pizza Rolls. How fun are these? I mean really, I think it would be so much fun to have the kids make these with you one afternoon. They are so quick and easy. What a great idea!


4. Owl Cupcakes how adorable! I already have an owl addiction but these just take it to another level. They are so cute and would make great treats for a party! Love, love, love.

These are just a few of my favorites and there are a ton more out there. Go, join, explore and share! Look for another post in a little bit about some of my favorite crafts I have seen up there.


xxxo.

Curls Gone Wild

 Hello lovelies as my friends and family know I have big,crazy curly hair that I used to fondly refer to as the "wild beast" but today I want to share a few of my secrets with all of the other curly girls out there. I might also in the future keep recommending products that I find and like. I am always trying and testing new conditioners, gels, treatments to find what works best with my hair.

If curls could talk they would tell you a few things:

1. All curls are different and all curls like different things so be willing to spend a little money on finding what products do and don't work for you.

2. Curls are don't like to be touched, so please keep your hands of otherwise you'll have a head full of frizz.

3. Curls are thirsty, so keep them nice and conditioned. I usually do a deep conditioning treatment once a week in the shower.

4. Don't shampoo your curls everyday. Shampoo strips your curls of your heads natural oils which coat the hair shaft and minimize frizz.

5. Your curls will always look good, just wear them with confidence. Whether they are big and messy and frizzy, they can't look bad... and, everyone is always jealous of them. :P

Recently, I have started using Macadamia Natural Oil products that I have found work great in my hair. I know they are kind of pricy but totally worth it. Not to mention, they are on sale buy one get one free at Target right now. I use the nourishing leave-in cream, the healing oil, and the curl refreshing cream after I jump out of the shower. Sometimes I add a little Brocato gel to my hair if I want a little extra hold (like on humid days.) This stuff is great, I honestly don't feel like I have anything in my hair and can usually get some form of second-day hair out of it. Spend the money, try it out, I don't think you will be disappointed.

The Garden Patch

So about six months ago C joined the girl scouts and one the first patches she was earning was her gardening badge. We started out with a small seed kit to grow herbs from Wal-Mart that quickly sprouted with plenty of sunlight. I was actually so impressed that I went back to store and bought my own starter kit to have at home and now we are overflowing with basil. After awhile, C's herbs were to the point where they needed to be repotted so once again, I picked up some really cute pots for her at Wal-Mart. To make a long story a little bit shorter, it inspired a mini-garden in the backyard that has finally sprouted! I am so proud of C and her little green thumb her garden looks great and she is learning a valuable lesson in where food comes from and the hard work required to produce it.  I think gardening is a great way to get not only get kids outside but they also learn a variety of lessons from it. Not only are they learning about what different plants look like and how they grow, they also learn valuable lessons in hard work and patience.

Here's a pic of C's garden, it looks marvelous! She most definitely earned her badge on this one :)

Happy National Vegetarian Week!

Good afternoon lovelies! Happy National Vegetarian Week to all of you. In celebration of all the vegetarian and vegans out there, I stopped by Farmer's Market this morning and picked out this weeks vegetables. Once again, I love spring time and all of its bounties. This week my best find was my far a lovely bunch of green beans that were the freshest, best looking I have seen in a long time and around $1.50 a pound.

I will try and post some of the boy's and I favorite vegetarian meals throughout the week in celebration of all the vegetables out there.

The spinach I picked up this afternoon, that I promptly wash in my handy dandy salad spinner. 

Smithfeild aquatics center

Really short post today about the Smithfield Aquatics Center located about 45 minutes outside of Raleigh and maybe 15 minutes from where my kiddies live. The aquatics center is a great option for rainy days or to just mix things up from the routine. They have a big pool and a great splash park, as well as several fitness facilities. I usually take D to the splash park which is open Monday/Wednesday/Fridays from 10 am to noon. Its a lot of fun for the kids to play in and I would say no more than two feet deep at its center. The facilities them self are clean and when we've been never too crowded. They offer a great variety of classes.

The Park: Clayton Community Park

Goodmorning lovlies. Just a quick little snippet today about the Clayton Community Park located right next to the Clayton Community Center. Since my family lives outside of Raleigh this park is great for anyone living in the Clayton/Garner area. It's right behind the Little Gym in Clayton.

I love this park to take the kids to and have a little picnic and playtime. It has two playgrounds which is nice because one is a little bit bigger and geared towards the older kiddos and the other is a short walk away but slightly smaller for the slightly smaller ones. There's some great climbing structures for them to play on, slides, a large sandbox, swings and a pretty large shaded picnic area. Along with the playgrounds there is also two sand volleyball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, and a half mile paved path that goes around the park and a large pond. 

The park isn't very shaded expect for around the pond so don't forget to pack and put on your sunscreen. Overall though, the park is great and a great way to spend a couple of hours with the kids. Sometimes I'll pack up their bikes to ride around the path while I trail behind :)

North Carolina Fiber Festival

I was so excited when I found out about the NC Fiber Festival this weekend! As an avid knitter its hard to pass up booth after booth of homemade, handspun, hand dyed yarns. It's like going to heaven. Overall, I really liked the festival. I never knew there were so many fiber artists in North Carolina!

Also, I really liked all the spinning wheels that were on display throughout the arena and occasionally at the odd booth or two you could watch someone spinning the fiber into yarn.

I loved it... if only I had more money to spend while we were there! I picked up a pattern and two balls of yarn to knit the boy a hat with (it's the least I could do after dragging him to yarn pallooza,) as well as, four sets of needles all for around $50. I would have loved to spent more on the delicious looking balls of yarn, but don't we all?

Since it was part of the larger "Got to Be NC" festival there was a lot of other fun stuff going around. It was almost like a miniature version of the State Fair, there were rides, food vendors, exhibits, etc. And on top of all this, since it was the weekend, the Flea Market was taking place too! There was so much to see while we walked around, I really can't complain about how I spent my Sunday afternoon.

Artsplosure

 

Ok, so I was driving home from the kiddies Friday afternoon and I heard about Artsplosure, which is taking place this weekend in downtown Raleigh. It sounded fun and interesting so I talked to the boy Saturday morning and we checked it out.

Maybe I just didn't know what to expect or maybe my expectations were too high but I wasn't really impressed by the festival. Perhaps, I was looking for more art taking place, things being displayed, performance art, and all that. The festival was meant as an "explosion" of "exposure" to the city of Raleigh to all types of art.  All in all, it seemed like the craft section you see at the State Fair or any seasonal local festival. All around Moore's Square, it was lined with small booth's that local artist could sell their goods and promote their name as an artist. Spotted in and out of the booths were some food stands that offered the usual fried fair food. There were two cool areas in Moore's Square where you could play chess and see a sandcastle being built. That was the most interactive art we saw though. To me what they had planned was geared more towards families. They had at least three stands for face painting and several areas where kids could go and do crafts.

What really caught my attention on the radio was the news reporter talking about the Impressionist Sculpture Garden that sounded like the feature exhibit of the festival. Impressionist paintings are one of my favorite forms of art so this sounded like an interesting and different take on art. First, let me say that this exhibit had to potential to be amazing but it feel short. The sculptures themselves were beautiful and the portraits in the original paintings were brought to life, in life size form. However, the landscapes in the paintings were not translated very well in the "garden." Two or three of the gardens were done fairly well with plants all around them bringing out the feel of their original paintings but the rest just had one or two around them.  This was opportunity for local landscapers to show off... and well, they didn't. However, a nice touch was that they had easles set up around the area that you could try your hand at painting your own piece or art.
 

This was my favorite one, mainly because of the yarn :P

 

David's Dumpling and Noodle Bar

Yum, yummy, yum. I love David's. It's delicious south Asian style food prepared by a real chef. David even walks around the restaurant and talks to every table. Sometimes he even sends out little samples of soup.

For the prices you pay and the quality of food you receive, David's is a great bargain. It has quickly become one of the boy and mine favorite restaurants to go out to eat. Since we are both veggies our favorite dish is the sesame tofu. Light, crispy. Perfect.

Between the atmosphere of the restaurant, the great food, and David himself, you are sure to have a great night out. Actually, I might go there tonight :p

Farmer's market finds of the week

If there is one thing I love about living in North Carolina is the State Farmer's Market, located off Lake Wheeler Road. It is great in the spring in summer time for finding some great, fresh, local produce at really affordable prices. This week when J and I went to the Farmer's Market, I saw for the first time orange and purple cauliflower... and well, aside from my curiosity as to how it tastes different than it's boring cousin white cauliflower, I just couldn't resist that beautiful color. (Sorry we ate the orange cauliflower before I had a chance to get a pic of it, but it was just as yummy too!)

Also, as a random side note, I think finding colorful veggies like this is great to try on the little ones. It's so different and bright from what we tend to think of as cauliflower. Maybe, making it as whipped cauliflower will be a fun and healthy substitute to mashed potatoes. I don't know, something about bright purple veggies just seems more fun than the everyday.

Along with our colorful finds we also scored on some delicious red tomatoes, green tomatoes, spinach, spring onions, regular onions, broccoli, and carrots. And believe it or not, we only paid like $15 for all that amazing produce!!! That would cost at least twice as much in the supermarket and isn't nearly as fresh. I really do love this time of year because of the Farmer's Market and the ability to each such fresh delicious foods. I cannot wait for sweet peppers to start appearing at the market soon!

Since last night was Wednesday it was date night. Instead of going out to eat we decided to cook our delicious, fresh food at home. Now, I don't know about you guys but I love to eat any form of Asian cooking, whether that be Chinese, Japanese, Thai, etc. One of my all time favorites is, Tempura. So when I stumbled upon a box of Tempura Mix at the Harris Teeter, I just had to try it.

It was really easy, I just followed the recipe on the back and read a few people's tips on the internet. And let me tell you, my purple tempura cauliflower was so flavorful and delicious and the light, crunchy tempura batter around it was amazing. Please, if you like tempura try making it at home. It was really easy, just took a little bit of time more than anything. Along with the cauliflower we fried up some carrots, mushrooms, and green peppers. We paired our veggies with some steamed rice and a fresh spinach salad and it was one of the best meals we've made at home in a long time. Out to eat, this all probably would have cost at least $30.

 

It was all together a delicious meal that I will definitely repeat again!

Marble's Kids Museum

Hello lovlies, today I am going to talk to you guys about the children's museum here in Raleigh known as, Marbles. Marbles is a great place to spend the day with your kids or take a friend along for a play date. The aim of the museum is to teach kids through interactive play. It is absolutely great and the entire building might as well be one giant playground. There is literally something for every kid at any age or interest.

The bottom floor of the museum is definitely geared towards a younger audience. There is a large play area where kids can pretend to be a fireman, policeman, EMS worker, Veterinarian you name it. In addition to this there is a small stage set up where kids can put on costumes and give the adults a mini performance. Right next to here is an expansive train table that is big enough for at least 15 kids to play on at the same time.

Also on the first floor is a submarine where you can play pretend science experiments and a pirate ship to take you looting and plundering. Arrrrgh! There is more fun on the bottom floor but I can't give it all away, your going to have to go to find out for yourself.

Upstairs there is the "Money Palooza" room which aims to teach kids financial responsibility through play. Watch out for the hanging piggy bank because he will occasionally break open dropping down small plastic balls on anyone underneath. Next door to this room you can build your own car and race it down a track, build a house out of giant legos and even try your hand a little bit of woodworking. There is a great sports room (with a hockey rink) and mini basketball court, and soccer too.

The staff at Marbles is great too! They are in general really nice and are always willing to play with the kids. My favorite times to go are after lunch because usually most school groups have left by then.

Oh and don't forget to check out what movies are playing at the IMAX attached to the side of the museum. D and I have seen some really neat documentaries there.

All in all, Marbles is a great way to spend the day and for $5 a person you really can't argue for the value. Kids will play and play and play all day. C and D frequently ask me when they get to go back. It's a great reward for good behavior and good choices too.

Clemmons State Educational Forest

I love Clemmons State Educational Forest!

 It is a great place to pass a couple of hours with D and enjoy the outdoors. A former CCC camp, Clemmons has four trails that loops around the forest and one takes you by a small lake located in the park.

D's favorite trail is the "Talking Tree" trail which is about a mile long. There are posts with buttons that when pushed talk to you about a tree that has marker on it. It's great, you learn a little more every time you go!

There is also a "Talking Rock" trail which is part of the larger geology trail and then there is the exhibition trail. I believe both the rock and geology trail are around a mile and the exhibition trail is the longest, a little over three miles.

All in all Clemmons is great! It's pretty much a shaded walk the entire time so we've never got too hot. It would also be a great place for an afternoon run. The park rangers are amazingly nice. The second time I took D there I lost my eyeglasses and no lie they called me and told me they found them almost a month later!!!

Please take your little ones here, have fun and learn a little bit about the outdoors while your at it!

The Mary Poppins bag

Don't you ever wish you had Mary Poppins magical carpet bag? Imagine the possibility of being able to find and pull out whatever you need at that moment. I mean seriously, you could rule the world with that bag.

While I might not have a magical bag, I do have a backpack that I try and keep all the essentials and a few extra little things so I'm alway prepared when I take C and D out for fun.

I love this backpack! I'm pretty sure we got it at the Pottery Barn. It's small and packs a mighty punch. I can fit so much in it. While we are out I usually throw my wallet it, clip my keys to the front and go! I take it everywhere. To the park, museums, play dates, you name it.



It might be small but it can hold a lot! My Mary Poppins bag includes:

- Tide to-go pen
- Lysol to-go spray
- hand sanitizer
- Spray sunscreen and a stick for the face (I usually only pack this in the summer months)
- Baby wipes
- Mini first aide kit
- Mini Kleenex pouch
- Stickers and Dum dums for rewards for good choices


And that's just the two front pouches! Since I can fit all the essentials in the small compartments in the front of my pack it leaves the whole main compartment to be filled with snacks, lunch, whatever toys C or D have to bring along, and the list goes on and on. I used to keep a spare change of clothes in this part of the backpack for when D was still potty training but we've out grown that.


Hope this helps all of you out there! Have fun out on your adventures and don't forget your own Mary Poppins bag and a little bit of your own magic.

Xxxo

Ms. Oomi