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!