hatch + maven

Redesigned Jon's logo for www.hatchmaven.com

summer sale june 1-2

THIS IS THE BIGGEST SALE EVER. YOU WILL BE SORRY IF YOU MISS IT.

hello summer!

bento box

I am crazy for bentos (at restaurants and for lunches)! If you brown-bag it for your kids' lunches or you're a zip-loc addict, you will get hooked on what you are saving in your pocket and saving the earth from choking on plastic. I love all the different designs they come in, but I especially loved this Kung Fu Panda one with a headband as the lock! I am sure that if I ever make it Japan, I will fill up one whole suitcase with bento boxes.

wood you

wear this wooden watch? It is 100% natural wood and hypo-allergenic. I wood.

mini countryman

If any of you are Mini fans, you would share your excitement with me over the new Mini Countryman. It's a crossover version of the Cooper and Clubman and most importantly, it's a four door! And yes, I would get it even though we have kids. It's all the more convenient with the 4 doors for accessing car seats. This is exactly how I want to build it.

for the tea lover

This is a perfect gift for someone who loves white tea. I love white tea (hint. hint.). Teaposy handcrafts this amazing flower that is embedded with tea. When you pour hot water over it in their clear teapots, it blooms into this gorgeous flower! Get it for someone this Christmas.

cookie swap 2010

Getting my bake on for our Cookie Swap...

thankful for bacon jam

Every Thanksgiving, I am always thankful for my family, friends and happiness. It's a wonderful American tradition for families to observe this. This year, Jonathan and I had a great time preparing for our feast together and there was no pressure since we didn't have formally invited guests. We just did an open house. We split up the sides and we did the turkey together. I do want to point out that the theme of our meal was bacon. It flavored everything so much, we thought it was our most delicious Thanksgiving to date! I got so into it, I made some bacon jam. What an incredible invention! I don't know if I made it right, but it sure tastes good...on EVERYTHING! It's spreadable bacon which punches everything up from toast with bleu cheese, sundried tomatoes, blt, grilled cheese to burgers! If you don't eat bacon, you are truly missing out.

ipad case

i haven't given into the iPad yet since they don't do flash :( and just tell me why didn't they put a camera in it like they did for the iTouch?? well, this case almost makes me want to get one.

velorbis

I got a beach cruiser last year and I didn't opt for a high end one. The last pricey bike I had got stolen so right now it's not an investment that takes priority - especially since Las Vegas is not a beach town, I am not Danish, nor do we live in a culture where biking is a main mode of transportation. I love to ride and since I love bikes, a Velorbis is my dream bike. It makes you want to move to the beach just so you can ride it everyday. Until then, I will admire it from Las Vegas. Sigh!

palm springs: a perfect getaway from las vegas

We spent the long weekend at Palm Springs, CA. We stayed at ACE Hotel which ended up being awesome and so kid-friendly! Their restaurant, King's Road, was excellent - I could eat there everyday. They also offer free use of their bikes so we went on a bike ride on a perfect day through various neighborhoods while touring the fabulous architecture. Fallon had a blast riding a long distance on flat roads. It was also perfect swimming weather! We ate delicious Mexican food, relaxed and had good old family fun. We went to Viceroy to take pictures of the girls and went to The Parker for lunch. I can't wait to go back and this time stay at The Parker.

join the tap water movement

Even in Las Vegas. Those of you who know me, I am religious about recycling, reducing, re-using. It is rare that I show up to eat without my trusty bobble or filtered water from home. We have an excellent home filtering system at home via Subzero which rates higher than any bottled water you can buy. And even if it passes only through our refrigerator, it's great water. If you've been to my house, you know we give good tap. I try my best not to buy bottled waters or use take out boxes (I have been known to take along my own plastic boxes!). Bottled water is such a scam :( When I do drink bottled, I have a weakness for Fiji and Smart water.

10 reasons why you should quit the bottle and do tap water - yes, even in Las Vegas:

1. 98% of Las Vegas water comes from Lake Mead which originates from the Colorado River which is very clean water to begin with? The 2% is from underground wells. Those of you who live in Henderson have the best water coming in and those of us in Summerlin (West) get 15% of our water from wells.

2. Tap water is regulated by the EPA not the FDA. City tap water can have no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).

3. Bottled water is NOT regulated by the EPA. You are better off filtering your water at home than getting filtered bottle water at a restaurant (unless it's Fiji or smart water). The FDA only requires the bottled water to be as good as tap- not better, i.e., City tap water, from surface water, must be filtered and disinfected. In contrast, there are no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water.

4. It takes 3 bottles of water to make a plastic water bottle!

5. As much as 40% of all bottled water comes from a city water system, just like tap water.

6. You never know how long that water has been in that plastic bottle and how much plastic has been leached into the water. If you have been concerned about buying BPA-free plastic, you would agree :)

7. 60% to 70% of all bottled water sold in the U.S. is exempt from the FDA's bottled water standards.

8. Most cities using surface water have had to test for Cryptosporidium or Giardia, two common water pathogens that can cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems, yet bottled water companies do not have to do this.

9. City tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals, such as phthalate (a chemical that can leach from plastic, including plastic bottles).

10. 38 billion water bottles are discarded into landfills every year, wasting $1 billion worth of plastic made with 1.5 million barrels of oil. You can get about 450 gallons of tap water for the price of 1 bottle of water.

Don't knock Tap. Filtering your own water could save you hundreds or thousands and save you from dumping plastic into the ground. Let's be fantastic, not plastic :)

topshop uk for usa

When I lived in London (90s), I truly honed in on my shopaholic skills. One of the drawbacks of living in Vegas is that the style here is slutty, am I right? Definitely not my style, but I am a Londoner at heart! This jacket reminds me of my days in the UK. My main places to shop were: H&M and TOPSHOP. Kate Moss has a line with them which has been pretty good. Glad they are sharing their genius to us Yanks. Cheers!

fall=football

Jon got me, Melissa and Fran OSU tickets for the Purdue game in Columbus for homecoming. It was the first time to be away from the kids for this long - 6 days! I missed them, but it was so fun to be able to romp around with Melis on campus and relive some college days! So much has changed. We won the game of course and we did a little bar hopping, went to The North Market and my old loft across the street, Jeni's ice cream, Short North, visited Easton Town Center to see some old H.S. friends and did some shopping. I also included a trip to Steub/Pittsburgh to see my parents. How I miss fall at home!

i heart crewcuts

Many of you have asked where I got Fallon's birthday dress last year (hot pink ruffles all over). It was from crewcuts,the kids shop at J.Crew. They do not have a store here - only 2 stores in the U.S. They have amazing kids clothes and I don't fret too much about spending a little more for a special dress. Their catalogs are oozing of, "I want this and I want that!" It all starts from the expert styling of Jenny Cooper, the head of design.

i'm baaaaack!

Yes, my blog has been dormant for a while. For 2 and half years. Here's a list of my excuses: I got into Facebook, Aspen sucked up my time, Plain Zane needed more attention and I just got plain lazy. Well, now I decided to resume since I get so many emails from people asking how the kids are, what the best diapers are, what's the best refillable ink cartridges, how do we recycle electronics, what apps am I using, preschool questions, best gifts for xmas, what to wear for a September wedding, organic choices, etc. Whew! Anyway, it's good to be back!

plain zane onesies & boy blankets

These popular Plain Zane onesies are American Apparel. $20.

plain zane neutrals

If you want a unisex blanket, these are the way to go. All blankets except for the special editions are $45. Buy with the burpie and it's $55.

christmas boutique @ faith lutheran high school

Plain Zane is doing a fundraiser at Faith high school in Las Vegas. It's free admission, so come on over and get a jump on the Holiday shopping!

fallon's rock star birthday party

Fallon's 5th birthday party will be a slumber party at Bellagio. She requested a "Rock Star" theme and invited her girlfriends for a day of rockin' out and jumping on the bed! It is the same room Jon and I had when we got married! It has a centered view of the fountains :)

aspen's 2nd birthday invitation

We decided to have separate birthday parties for the girls. Aspen's birthday party is this Saturday at our house.

aspen is out of diapers before her 2nd birthday!

Jon decided to try Aspen out in her potty about a month ago. She took a liking to sitting on it and after a few tries and watching big sis go, she learned that it looked fun. The past 2 weeks she has fully grasped the idea and had success everyday with only a few accidents. She is now wearing Fallon's underwear. Hooray! No diapers!

fallon starts kindergarten

It was Fallon's first day at St. Elizabeth today. I did not cry, but actually did in the car upon hearing another mom crying. I was so nervous for her as she was, but she braved through and I am sure she will get used to it more each day. My little baby has reached a new milestone and we could not be prouder.

plain zane show @ sunday in the valley

...at the Palms Resort and Casino. It will be on June 7th, 2009 from 3-7 pm. This is a shopping and charity event not to miss!

the killers concert and then some

I love The Killers. They are the combination of bands I loved in the 80s: New Order, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran, The Cure and Erasure. I had never seen them in concert since I was either pregnant or nursing everytime they came to town. Jon surprised me and got tickets to The Killers concert who opened The new Joint at Hard Rock hotel. It was one of the best concerts I had been to in a while. Definitely in my top 10. Since I am on the subject, I think back and some of my favorite concerts have been when I was single. It was different going then since I was a club kid and really enjoyed dancing. Music ruled my life (pre-kids). Many of the best concerts are from my youth. Some venues were large, but the small ones were the best. And of course, the friends I went with were bonus. The Killers evokes these times. I have so many memorable ones, but here are my top 16 - where it was and who I went with:
1. DeeLite, Sound Factory, NYC (w/ Jason, Doug)
2. Portishead/Massive Attack, The Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA (w/ Sam)
3. Bjork, Royalty Theater, London (w/ Adele, Lane)
4. No Doubt, Wilson Theater, Fresno, California (w/ Sam, Leigh)
5. Blink 182, Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA (w/ Jenk, Phil, Sara, Tish & Moni)
6. Everything But the Girl, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC (w/ Jenk, Phil, Sara, Tish & Moni)
7. Pet Shop Boys, Astoria, London, England (w/ Adele, Lane, Felicia)
8. Lauryn Hill, 9:30 Club, Washington DC (w/ Phil, Sara, Tish & Moni)
9. Jane's Addiction, Newport, Columbus, OH (w/ Patrick & co.)
10. The Killers, The Joint, Las Vegas, NV (w/ Jon)
11. Madonna, Wembley Stadium, England (w/ Kiersten)
12. U2, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio (w/ Melissa)
13. Depeche Mode, Wembley Stadium, England (w/ Andy, Carol & Will)
14. New Order, etc. Reading Festival, England (w/ Adele, Felicia, Lane)
15. Duran Duran/Erasure, Toronto, Canada (w/ Melissa & ???)
16. Sneaker Pimps and others, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA (w/ Leigh, Lilyana, Trey)

happy 25th birthday mac!

I got my first Apple, a Mac II in 1988. It was almost $3000! Crazy, but I tell you what - they had me at hello. I have bought a new one every 4 years and I am still a very happy Apple addict. Currently on my 6th Mac, 4 ipods, 2 iPhones later and a click away from apple tv, I am probably going to get the kids their first Mac. Due to this addiction, I am drowning in Apple apps, iTunes, iDVD, design programs, internet time, blogging, etc. (I have not yet given into the iPad - still waiting for next gen when they put the CAMERA in it and approve Flash). My mom asks me why I don't have time to cook dinner EVERY night. It's the Apple's fault. Happy Birthday Apple and still going strong!

Red Sale Last Day

Last Day to get it.

Plain Zane Red Sale Early Bird

Sale starts tomorrow...

the red sale

I decided to have one big Plain Zane sale instead of multiple shows. In the ad are Fallon and my handsome nephew, Mateo. They had a blast during this shoot. If you can come, I'd love to see you. At least come for the chocolate.

another birthday today

Happy Birthday Jon! I had a brunch at our house this morning for Jon. Yesterday was actually his birthday and today is our 6th anniversary! We pack it in, right? We have had so many cookouts at our house this year, it was a nice change to do a brunch. Tony came over with 2 jugs of Bloody Marys in hand! Yummy. Stephanie made her baked strata and waffles. Ashley made those tasty pumpkin spice muffins :)) We made pulled pork, mango salsa and an egg casserole. It was a perfectly enjoyable morning with good friends.

aspen is ONE!

It is crazy to think that Aspen was born 1 year ago!! No, she is not walking yet, but we definitely don't mind since she is a maniac with crawling. I definitely think she is ready, but she seems a bit nervous about the concrete floors. I would be too! We let her tear into some pancakes at home and she opened a few gifts since the party is next week. We then went out to dinner at Olives Restaurant so the girls could enjoy the fountains at Bellagio. They loved the water and Aspen loved her pizza! Our little baby is one!

fallon's 4th birthday

We had a "Star Wars" themed party at school today. Yes, she LOVES Star Wars. We got her classmates a cookie cake for her school party. Fallon loves books and loves reading the same things over and over. So I decided to try her out for memorizing poems. We started with one of my favorites, Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." After only 7 days of nightly readings, she did it! I told her if she memorizes it and recites it to her class, then she gets a surprise (bribery always does it). The real party is on the 20th, but we gathered a few of her school friends to go to Las Vegas Grand Prix for some games and car races.

fallon & aspen's birthday invitation

I finished the girls' invitation. There were m&ms inside and had to hand them out locally because it was too hot (I had a few casualties!). If you received them in the mail, you got Good & Plenty candy! Because Fallon & Aspen's birthdays are back-to-back (Sept. 8/9), we decided to throw them a joint birthday party at the house. We will have horses outside and Princess Ariel for the indoor entertainment! Wish all our friends from afar could come :(

my birthday

Jon checked me into Wynn hotel yesterday for a spa day and a kid-free evening. Christina was my decoy and was in charge of taking me to Okada - my favorite Japanese restaurant. I was surprised to find our wonderful friends for a lovely evening in view of the waterfall. The sushi was amazing as usual. We later were paid a visit by Elvis who arrived with a guitar and played my favorite Elvis songs. He was a great Elvis (way better than the one at our wedding and Christina was hitting on him!). When he finished, he presented me with the guitar he was playing and said it was my birthday present from Jon! (I need to be careful of my whims because now I 'have' to take guitar lessons). Later, Ash, Jon, Steve and I hung out at Tryst for a bit and called it a Wednesday night!

aspen's personality

It's been a while. This is for now. I'll have to update later. I've been enjoying my new camera. Aspen is almost 11 months and she is full of antics and facial expressions.

outdoor stuff

Waiting for that big sale at DWR. Love this outdoor set. I also love this light pendant, but I have run out of ceilings for fixtures. I love how it arrives flat-packed and received The Green Leaf Award.

sex and the city

I joined Christina and a bunch of friends to catch SATC on opening night. We got our tickets at Fandango to avoid lines. We gathered for martinis at her friend's place and then headed to the theater which was nearly packed. Christina and I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope to catch it again. We teared up a few times - because she has a "Big" in her life and I could relate to all the girls' relationships. I also love seeing shots of the city. Ahhh...NYC! Charlotte ended up being my favorite in the movie - love her! There were only a few cheesy scenes, but overall, I was so entertained with the whole movie!! P.S. Happy Birthday Dad! Can't wait to see you when you get back from the Phil.

elvis costello / the police concert

Stephanie and I needed a night out and hit Brand on opening night and headed to see Elvis Costello/The Police at MGM last night. We had such a nice time at dinner, that we ate through Elvis Costello and made it in time for Sting. I really wanted to see Elvis and The Police ended up being...boring. Sorry, Sting. It was a nice night out anyway, having a bite with Steph and hanging out a little bit. I was a little worried that I left Aspen in cry mode with the sitter. She experienced a little separation anxiety :(

aspen clapping, crawling, feeding

Aspen started clapping today. It's so fun to watch her do it. She gets so excited when you say, "Clap your hands!" She has also begun to crawl. Aspen was determined to get those rubber mat pieces in her mouth asap. She started out going backwards, but finally figured out how to go forward :) What an amazing milestone. Fallon was never interested in crawling much, but Aspen is all about getting places to reach for things that must go into her mouth. She is so strong, too. Did I mention that she pulled a chair out from under me?? And poor dogs, they are getting their hair pulled out everytime they walk by Aspen. She manages to take a healthy clump out each time.

brand steakhouse events

Jonathan had a few promotional events for Brand Steakhouse this month: Epicurean and Bon Apetit. Brand's food was impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed all restaurants at the Bon Apetit event until I had a slight peanut allergic reaction :( It sort of rained on my tasting parade. I wished I had brought Fallon. Our little gourmand would have been in heaven.

what's your vice?

With summer here, many of us love a trip to the ice cream shop for blizzards or iced coffees. I grew up with Baskin Robbins and take Fallon there every once in a while for a scoop. If any of you are fans of the Baskin Robbins shakes or drinks, check out their nutritional content before getting one. Some of the fat grams are off the charts -- 85 grams of fat for 1 drink - yikes! It's tough for me to avoid sugary treats since I am a baker. My favorite treat is a Starbucks iced soy mochas (no whip). It has no saturated fat, but triple the calories than a regular iced coffee! If you love your mochas, cut the 12 grams of fat off and refuse the whip cream :( Also beware of the artificial sweeteners (Equal, Nutrasweet, Splenda) - they are worse than straight sugar! I found this scary list of highly unhealthy drinks in America (Baskin Robbins made the list several times!). Maybe your drink of choice is listed here. Or just check out this great website on Men's Health.

simon lebon made mother's day

We had brunch at The Four Season's with the Manni's for Mother's Day. During half time we took a family photo outside by the pool. On the way out, I thought I saw a familiar face on the lounge chair. A second glance at this person and I said to Stephanie, "I think that's Simon Le Bon." I knew it had to be because Duran Duran played in town last night and he was the only guy at the pool pushing 50 with spikey frosted hair. After our family photo, Fallon and Michaela started dancing for the onlookers - including Mr. Le Bon, who seemed to be enjoying the show. He was waving to the girls and smiling at them. It was refreshing to see that he was not trying to be incognito. We didn't really want to bother him, so we walked back inside to finish round 2 of eating. I was flipping out because I was a die-hard Duran Duran fan! If you only knew what this sighting would have done for me as a teen. I've seen them in concert about 5 times... gee, I'm old! We see famous people a lot in Vegas, but he stands out as most friendly. After finishing our amazing brunch, we went back out to take the Manni family photo and he was still there. The girls had run out to the pool's edge so we had to chase after them and Mr. Le Bon was packing up. He turned around and said, "Hi again." I asked him how his show was. He was extremely nice and started talking about it, but all I could hear was "Wonk, wonk, wonk, wonk, wonk" while I was freaking out inside (would it be inappropriate to throw my bra at him?). He continued to talk about the show, his bandmates and then went up to Jonathan to admire his watch. He was so chatty! Being on tour must get lonely at times and he probably needed some normal interaction. After a few friendly exchanges, we parted. We used the restroom, but when we came out, we saw him picking 2 flowers off the Jasmine vines outside. Then he came inside, looked around and gave the 2 flowers to Fallon and Michaela! Fallon said, "I love Jasmine! It's like the princess!" He told them that Jasmine is his favorite flower (because his gorgeous, supermodel wife's name is Yasmin - of course). The girls thanked him and Steph and I thought, what an awesome Mother's Day! It's so handy having kids.

After brunch, Jason and Brian invited us to join them at the poolside at Wynn Hotel. It seems like Four Seasons and Wynn is a becoming a Mother's Day tradition. Ashley also joined and the girls got to go swimming. It was Aspen's first time in the pool! It was a great day.

organic baby lotion

I am tired of using Weleda's organic baby products. The Calendula scent is too strong for me and I don't know how Aspen can take it. I love this organic lotion by erba. I hope they come out with a sunscreen.