snap.

i was listening yesterday to this piece on kids and technology, produced in light of the newest guidelines on media use put forward by the American Academy of Pediatricians. (i am looking forward to more from this series on the digital childhood - running all week.) i was pleased to hear that the aap is taking into consideration that screens are becoming more and more part of the classroom experience, and a differentiation between that and "entertainment media".

it was easy when they were little. tablets and smartphones weren't everywhere (seems crazy considering how young they are!) and we simply didn't turn on the television. our early iphones weren't that interesting to them, but in 2010 (when they were 6 and 9) the iPad entered the house and all of a sudden we were faced with setting guidelines and usage rules. fast-forward three years and our eldest has her own smartphone (received on entering middle school)and her sister an iPod touch. it has becoming increasingly difficult to police usage. (i will add that the eldest is an extremely conscientious kids - and is pretty good a self-monitoring with very little direction from us while the younger goes through phases of great interest to no interest.) i have come to understand with E, that it is a big part of how she communicates with her friends. mainly texting her bff and using carefully monitored snapchat and instagram accounts.

so we have revisited our house rules (media plan). these occasionally slide a bit. we are working now (all of us!) to bring them back in line.

1. no screens at meals. (this is hard and fast and not allowed to slide.)
2. no screen before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m Monday - Friday.
3. no screens in the bedrooms
4. no screens when we have guests (theirs or ours)
5. no screens at other peoples houses
6. friends screens in "the basket" (where our phones live) when they come over (this is the hardest one for me to regulate)

best defense. a good offense. i try not to manage their free-time - but i do try and offer opportunity for non-screen activities. lots of time outside, and access to indoor activities that don't include screens. perennial favourite: reading (real paper books! magazines and the newspaper); cards (snap, war,"oh heck", rummy...). new obsession: cribbage; rainbow loom.







are screens an issue at your house? how do you find the right balance?

tonight.

weekend to do

prep for hallowe'en
easy paper garlands
bat mobile
bake cookies
finish costumes
watch this

around the house
continue office clean-out
repot house plants
prepare for Monday
meal plan

happy weekend!

we walk

in celebration of "walktober" we held another walk-to-school event(we also participated in International Walk to School Day earlier in the month) with some very special guests: Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy & Los Angeles City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield.








photos courtesy LADOT

we are lucky enough to get to walk to school every day. i know it won't last forever, our middle school is not within walking distance, but for now we are enjoying every minute. not only does it start our day with some fresh air and gets the blood flowing, but it is precious time for k and I to talk and connect as we mosey along, picking up friends along the way. it builds connections and community.

i've been fortunate enough to work with the Safe Routes to Schools National Partnership, and encourage any who are interested in starting to walk to school to check them out. walk on ;)

room to grow :: ecg

we have come to the conclusion that it is time for the girls to have separate rooms. k & e are now 9 and 12 respectively, and while they could still easily sleep in the same room, their tastes and interests are starting to diverge and it feels right to offer them each their own space. we are lucky in this little 3 bedroom home to have the extra space in the modern shed out back. it will become the primary home office, as well as my work space, as we are prepping to move e into the old home office.

she has definite ideas about what she wants ("just a normal room!") and d and i veer a little more on the mid-century modern side of things. she's a not quite a girly-girl but loves fashion, her friends, 1D and plans to live in paris someday. i wanted pieces she could keep for a long time - possibly on to her own place (sans considering overseas shipping!). d has done lots of built-ins in the room already, so a dresser doesn't look necessary. here is what we have come up with so far...




one modcloth bonjour pillow cases
two unknown geodesic hanging light (help!)
three strut table in watermelon by bludot
four land of nod jenny lind double bed in black
five inspiration board inspiration from a beautiful mess
six map of paris by bodie and fou (sadly looking like its no longer available) this is the back-up idea.
seven tas-ka duvet cover

(and yes i am all fancy hot-pants photoshop over here. playing around. let's see where it goes. this is the first post back here dealing with house bits that we'd moved over to jumilla productions. it feels a little odd - but as we phase out that page, i hope you'll find our house"work" interesting as well.)

next up kjg's space (and lots more inspiration on pinterest.)

a night at the pumpkin patch

(almost) full moon, roasted corn, funnel cakes & pumpkins.

at halloween harvest festival at pierce college farm

this week and last

well all ambitious plans aside (and there are ambitious plans!) the last two weeks have been consumed by work. most importantly the first commercial show of rbk's work in los angeles since his death.

if you live here - and have a chance, please stop by. it is a lovely show - with some real gems.

the opening, last thursday, was wonderful. seeing these paintings together again is like reconnecting with old friends.


image courtesy l.a. louver

R.B. Kitaj at L.A. Louver :: now through 9 November, 2013.

please excuse the mess

fall is my favorite season. cooler climes suit me well, and i tend to be much more productive. it's the best time to garden in socal. and makes painting much more comfortable.

like with so many things right now, i'm itching for a bit of change. perhaps it's the weather, (rain today!). i'm not sure. we are scheming bedroom re-do's and talking shower pans. and i've begun to play around with things over here. i'm in the process of moving my posts from here and here, over here. it will feel good to have everything all together. and easier for me moving forward as well.

blogging has changed so very much since i started this space almost (gasp) 8. years. ago! (it was fall. of course!) but i still love this spot for the connections it has afforded me, and the documentation it has provided. i look forward to keeping it going.

thanks for sticking around. xo

sfv sk8r

so we recently discovered that a new(ish) neighbor is an amesome roller derby mama (to the sweetest 4 and almost 1 year olds). suffering an injury, she hasn't been skating this summer, but helping out as a "track monkey". and invited us to come out to a bout, and check it out.

how could we resist? the girls were super into it.









the san fernando valley roller derby league was founded by a past-member of the infamous derby dolls. there is also a junior league (the gnarlies) which both girl were instantly interested in! we will be checking out a practice soon. the bouts (we took in saturday night's double-header: the SFV Like OMG's vs. The Bakersfield Diamond Divas and the SFV Wipeouts vs. Ventura County Hellion Wheels) were surprisingly organized and professional. well refereed and with announcers too. (I frankly didn't know what do expect!) and they are proudly family-friendly. (kids 10 and under free - and the littles were excited to meet the mascot "Skully"!)



we got pretty into it. everybody had their favorite "jammer" (Atomic, Fearless Bueller, 1-800-Tokyo-Takout, Tiggz...)





it was pretty awesome. and a fantastic way to spend a saturday night. watching awe-inspiring women battle it out on rollerskates under the stars, in the sfv!

these are a few of my favourite things

these peeps
at this restaurant
to celebrate my birthday








{pedalers fork: local fare. close to home. and all that heath. plus best. bread. pudding. ever. thanks d. xo}

::43::

view from the top of the mountain this a.m.

started my 44th year with a good hike, on a perfect morning, with a great friend. (thank you for the birthday endorphins!)

i must say, 43 feels good. (i have been saying i'm 43 for so long, it feels like i should be turning 44!)

42 taught me a lot about myself. and it looks like 43 may be a year of changes. hard changes perhaps. but exciting changes. i am up for the challenge. and my "team" is the best they've ever been ;)

for now, today anyway!, i'm trying to "live in the moment". as my 12 year old life-coach has instructed me.

along with that...

let go (of more stuff)
finish up those lingering house projects
hike more (block off one morning / week)
figure out a way to get everyone to italy!
pitch that book
shoot more film
less screen / more books (already on my shelf!)
love.


xo

for love

in memory of Sprite. a 28 yr old thoroughbred. and an amazing teacher.

::12::

7 girls
a scavenger hunt at the mall (apparently 12 yr old bliss!)
pizza, karaoke, cake, karaoke
feet in the pool
a best-friend to stay-up too late with
a birthday breakfast
take out from her favorite indian restaurant for dinner

12

this is going to be good.

luxury

i spent the morning being interviewed by a design-group from an automaker interested in learning about the tastes of people on "the edges" of their demographic. it was mainly focused on our home. what we filled it with, how we found the things in it, and what their importance was in our lives. it was an exercise in self-reflection and i found the questions on the concept of "luxury" most interesting. is luxury important to me? what do i think of when i think of luxury?

art.

something to pass down to future generations.

well-made things that will last forever.

and travel. (it doesn't have to be luxurious travel! but travel is a luxury i would like to do more of as a family.)


how does that translate to a car? i'm not really sure.

they mentioned a trend in re-defining luxury. no longer big homes. no longer the "best". it sounds like meaningfulness is finding a place there. so interesting.

12 hikes :: september :: Wildwood Regional Park

the realization was made in May, that the San Fernando Valley is just not conducive to hiking in the summer. the average daily temp May through October is 90 degrees. (and I'd hasten to say that's conservative.) and quite frankly - in these temps - we would much rather hang out at the beach.

so there we are. the 12hikes project took an unexpected hiatus. and yet - on this day (one of the hottest we've had this summer; reading 105 F when we returned home) - we decided to forgo the beach (expecting crowds) for a hike. a nice way to start a new year we thought. and we weren't disappointed.

this spot has been on my list for a long time. in fact i have a note on it taped to the inside of our pantry cupboard. there's just something about water (ocean, rivers, lakes and waterfalls!) that my kids are fascinated by. this spot held three out of the four - and even though I am sure the temperature there was hovering in the high 90s - they didn't complain (ok maybe a tiny bit right at the end) and extolled the greatness of this hike all the way home (slurpees in hand might have aided in this enthusiasm!). it was the majestic oaks and sycamores and native plants (great show of chalk dudleyas) that once again won my heart. and i'll admit it was quite a kick to find a local waterfall! (like the previous hike to the open space preserve, this one deserves another visit in another season. wildflowers? fall foliage?)

we read that the chumash originally settled in this area over 8000 years ago (!) and that parts of Spartacus (and other movies and television shows) were filmed here.

we did the "easy" Moonridge Trail, Paradise Falls, Indian Creek Loop. About 3 miles with a 500 foot elevation change. we will do it again - and explore the other paths soon!



















Wildwood Regional Park
928W. Avenida de los Arboles
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Neighborhood: Thousand Oaks

Proximity: 25 miles
Hike length: about 3 miles
Bonus features: creek, waterfall, lovely picnic spots
Tips: Today... HOT. There are drinking fountains at a couple of spots (Paradise Falls for one) but I was glad we brought lots of H2O. And glad we had a substantial snack with us that we enjoyed at a table by Indian Creek, in an oak grove (lovely!). We were there for almost 3 hours. I wouldn't really suggest September for this spot. I think late fall / winter / early spring would be much more rewarding as far as landscape. Things were very dry and aside from the trees and cacti, dormant.

* * * * *

K: On a scale of 1 to 10... 9 3/4! It was really pretty and had a nice waterfall. But the bad thing was it was really hot. I'd like to go back on a colder day. Not too cold though.

E: i say that on scale of 1-10 it is a 7 because we were not allowed to swim and it was extremely hot.i would go back when it's not so hot.

september

i think my favorite month of the year.

and how better to spend it than at habit