Taking it one step further, you can actually save kitchen scraps like carrot tops, eggs shells, old rice and over ripe strawberries to the markets to add to their compost collection. Don’t cook much? Even your coffee grounds, tea bags and flowers can be composted! Composting can sound intimidating, but the green markets are making it easy for you.

Here’s what you do:

1. Look up the closest Green Market to you which collects compost and mark your calendar. Currently there are 25 markets; most collect weekly.

2. Throughout the week toss your scraps in a plastic bag or old plastic salad container and store in your freezer. Yes, if you can spare the room, the freezer is the best place to store the scraps for more than a couple of days so they do not get too smelly in your kitchen.

3. On collection day, bring your container of food waste to your market and simply dump the contents into one of the collection containers. There is also usually a trash bag or bin nearby in which to toss your empty vessel if you choose.

4. Pat yourself on the back

As easy as that you’ve diverted some waste from landfills and contributed to the creation of nutritious compost that will be used to grow even more crops. I believe the compost stands also sometimes hand out small bags of compost to those who participate – priceless if you are lucky enough to have some space to grow some plants in the city.

If you have children, this is one way to regularly get them thinking about nature and being a responsible consumer. Food does not just come from a package in a grocery store and not everything ends up in the trash. I love when my daughter brings me her almost empty bowl and asks me to compost the few blueberries that were too squishy to eat.

Do not be intimidated. It does not take much more effort to toss your scraps into a bag in the freezer than it does the trash. It will get you to the market regularly where I am sure you will find something fresh and tasty to bring home. Plus, there is no pressure. If you can do this every week, great! Every other week? Great! Every now and then? Great! It all helps.

To find a green market location near you visit: http://www.grownyc.org/compost/locations

To learn more about composting at a green market visit: http://www.grownyc.org/compost/

Breathtaking sunsets

Ok folks, one more article looking back at our time in California. While on the West Coast we were fortunate to discover the paradise that is Maui. Vacationing there is just too fantastic to not write about! An easy 5 hour flight from SFO, we found ourselves there 3 times in a year and a half! I am delighted to share all our favorites with you.

We stayed in Wailea which is very picturesque, calm and has the best weather of the island. It is a great spot to make your home base where you can relax with the beach, pools, hotel amenities, shops and many great places to eat all nearby. From there you can make many fun excursions too. I do suggest getting a rental car as you’ll want to drive around and explore. We were also told that further north tends to be very windy – good for surfing, less great for young families.

Where to stay

• Fairmont Kei Lani – We’ve stayed at the Fairmont Kei Lani twice. We went with the Kei Lani because we could get suites and we wanted our daughter to have a separate sleeping area. You can splurge on their villas which will give you 2 large bedrooms (though they are on different levels which may not be as good if you need to visit your little one in the middle of the night) a kitchen, dining table, living room area, washer dryer, outdoor patio with plunge pool (kids will have to be attended), table/chairs and grill. We did that our first time there when we had my sister join us and we got a good deal. The last time we were there we were in one of the larger suites with a living room with pull out bed, a separate bedroom, one large bathroom, a wetbar and a balcony with seating – and fantastic views. It worked perfectly for us. The hotel is beautiful, clean and service is stellar. You can walk to the beach from the hotel, or take advantage of the pools. There is a large pool with a slide, with a small 1 foot deep kiddie pool nearby. There is also an adult only pool but views are not as nice from there! Lots of options to eat right at the hotel (kids under 5 eat free) or nearby places, including the other excellent hotels. Sign up for their free membership as you get some nice perks right away, like free wi-fi and notices of sales, which are sometimes very good.
• I have heard fantastic things about the other 2 large hotels there as well, the Grand Wailea and Four Seasons. If you are up for it, many people also rent out their condos in the area, which might get you a bit more space and probably a kitchen, but you won’t get hotel amenities.
• For a splurge/larger gathering, look into renting a villa. We celebrated some significant family birthdays a couple years ago and rented an fantastic ocean front house that had 4 bedrooms, and every convince of home you could think of, plus a gorgeous pool. Your own private ocean front home experience is hard to beat. Happy to share details on how we found ours with anyone interested.

Places to eat

Wailea (or nearby)

• Monkeypod – a must!! right up the hill from the The Shops at Wailea Mall. Great locally sourced, sustainable food that’s modern yet island influenced. Our favs: Truffle fries, Poke tacos, Saimin (w/o mint and cilantro), fish and chips, macadamia crusted fish. We never make it to dessert until our last time there when they had a special chocolate salted peanut caramel cream pie – which was amazing. I like their pina colada and my husband loves their Mai Tais..lots of good beers too. Get a table outside to enjoy a great sunset and setting. They have a nice happy hour too.
• Sansei – (Kihei) great Japanese food in Kihei, 15-20 min drive from Wailea. Gets really busy.
• Four Seasons Brunch – one of their brunch days they serve pina colada waffles which are so yummy. I ate way too many. We’ve been twice and once they told us there was a special brunch pricing where you get the buffet and all you can drink mimosas and bloody marys – score.
• Nick’s Fish Market at The Fairmont Kei Lani
• Ko at the Fairmont Kei Lani – the lumpia (pork and shrip) are great, as is the seafood stew (forget what it is called) and lobster tempura.

A little further

• Mama’s Fish House (Paia)– A must!! a long drive (30-40 mins), back near the airport but it is so worth it. AMAZING seafood. Make a reservation. We went for lunch twice on our last visit. My favorite on the menu…whatever fish they have prepared with the “Upcountry style with caramelized Maui onion, avocado and baby bok choy.” – so amazing. If they have the spicy mahimahi soup you should share it – really different and yummy.
• Aloha Mixed Plate –(Lahaina – pretty drive out there) If you want a local plate lunch, this place is fun. A far drive though, in Lahaina. Worth it if you are going to check out Front St (kind of a boardwalk with lots of shops).
• Hali’maile General Store – (Up Country) another far one, but yummy if you are up for the drive.
• Ono Gelato – if you go to either Mama’s Fish House or the General Store you’ll drive by Ono Gelato in Paia, which supposedly is great. There are some shops in Paia, worth a little walk if you end up near there. A good natural grocery store there as well.

Things to do

• Beach – I suggest going in the mornings as winds get stronger midday. Polo beach at the Fairmont is a really nice beach with soft sand and tiny crabs which delight everyone young and old when you catch a glimpse of them.
• Pool – We went in the later afternoon in the evening (happy hour pool side!!)
• Luau – A Luau is fun. They host one at the Grand Wailea on certain nights – book your tickets ahead of time. The show is fun, the food is mediocre and the drinks watered down… but still fun to do at least once. I have heard the one in Lahaina is better but it is a long drive from Wailea and with kids we opted to stay closer and not have a long drive afterwards.
• Ask the hotel for good spots to see sea turtles
• The drive to and view from Haleakala is supposed to be amazing, with waterfalls along the way to see. We didn’t go as I would get too car sick.
• Helicopter tour – Pricey but amazing. Though I did get motion sick toward the end, which was less fun.
• Whale watch – during the season. We must have seen 30 whales when we went! Including one calf who put on a great show breaching over and over again. Amazing. We booked with Trilogy and were really pleased. The boat was fantastic and they do not overcrowd it, the crew great as well serving a few snacks and drinks (alcoholic drinks available for purchase in the cabin, which is also where the restrooms are). The crew shared great information at certain points of the tour but then mostly let us relax and enjoy the views and whales. I was a little worried at first as I get sea sick, but at no point did I feel any discomfort on this boat! In fact, it felt quite luxurious to sit on the deck relaxing with the wind in my hair and the gorgeous views. I suggest brining a sweater though, in case it gets a bit chilly. You can book on their website, just print your tickets out for boarding.
• Snorkeling – My husband loved snorkeling! You can rent gear from the hotels and go straight out from their beaches! Or for better viewing book a boat to go to a snorkeling spot. The company above we used for a whale watch does snorkeling trips.
• You can rent all kinds of water vehicles on the beaches, from kayaks to paddle boards to small group boat rides from the beach at the Fairmont Kei Lani (Polo Beach)
• Aquarium – there is an aquarium, but it never made it to the top of this list as a thing to do.
• Sugar Cane train – I have heard this is fun, especially for kids, but we never made it.
• Surfing Goat Dairy – another one we never made it too, but have heard good things.
• Shopping (see below)

Shopping

• Shops at Wailea – a nice stroll, mostly shops you’d find at home mixed in with a few local ones. I did get a nice pearl ring at a local jeweler and we bought a small sculpture at one of the galleries.
• Front Street – in Lahaina, so it is a drive, but you could hit a restaurant out there for lunch/dinner to make it more worthwhile. Mostly touristy shops with cheap souvenirs. But it is on the water and fun walk down, though it can get very hot in the afternoon. There is also a jewelry shop, I think called the Green Mango, that carries cuff bracelets made with vintage kimono fabric that are super cool. Both my sister and I got one.
• Town of Paia – cute, small downtown with shops and places to eat. You’d be close if you go to either Mama’s Fish house or The General Store.
• Four Seasons Hotel – hosts local artists in their lobby showcasing their creations. We got an amazing wood carving and were very temped by some pottery.
• All of the hotels have a few shops that are fun to poke around in.

Tips

• Rent a car. It is easy to drive to many excursions and it is nice to have the freedom. Take a look at a map to orient yourself. Next to Wailea is Kihei which has more shops and farmer’s markets. Further east/north is Lahaina. Head back North from Wailea and you’re heading back toward the hotel and up toward Paia. It is really straightforward.
• My suggestion for most of your days there:
  • Beach in the morning before it gets too windy and hot. The mornings offer sunshine, calmer waters and perfect temps.
  • Eat lunch away from the hotel and couple it with an excursion
  • Chill in your room for a little while to let everyone recuperate a bit
  • Head to the hotel pool late afternoon so you and the kiddos can get some more water time in. Also, poolside means poolside services, which means happy parents! I sort of OD on Pina Coladas while in Maui.
  • Dinner at the hotel or nearby as everyone will be getting tired (Luckily, there are many great choices!)
• Bring sunblock, especially if you want specific brands.
• Groceries – if you need more than what your hotel can provide, there is a Safeway a short drive away.

Beauty everywhere

Luau at the Grand Wailea

Enjoying Polo Beach

The last few months have been quite a whirlwind! We contemplated another big move, with the choice of 2 amazing destinations – London, UK and New York City. We visited London, even toured schools, and loved it. What a fantastic adventure it would have been. But after much debate and taking everything into consideration New York City won. We moved here 2.5 weeks ago and are delighted!!

Before I start writing about our new adventures and discoveries, I would like to share all of my favorite finds in the Palo Alto/San Francisco area. Below you will find a wide range of recommendations from restaurants, favorite local artisanal foods, where we got our fresh produce, pasture chicken and pork to local services like dry cleaning, dog resources and notes for families! Something for everyone. If you happen to be new to the Palo Alto area, or are planning a move this is for you! Lots of good info for starting out. If you currently live in the area, perhaps you’ll find a new treasure or two on my list! Just visiting? Check out the Foodie section for restaurants!

For Foodies

Restaurants

• Evvia – (Downtown Palo Alto) Make a reservation! Open for lunch only week days. Amazing Mediterranean food.
• Reposado – (Downtown Palo Alto) Higher end Mexican food – everything is really good…even the simple grilled shrimp Caesar salad. While there is a bit of an after work scene at the bar, they accommodate kids well in the dining room.
• Maru Ichi – (Castro St in Mountain View) Super Asian noodle shop. But note they only take cash! And skip any of the sushi…stick with noodles. They have a bin of Kim Chi on the table, of which I add copious amount to my noodles.
• Mayfield Café – (Palo Alto, at Town and Country) Lovely restaurant. They can get really busy for brunch so make a reservation. Good for any meal. Nice place but good for kids too…they have paper on the tables which is fun to draw on.
• Calafia – Palo Alto at Town and Country. Good, well soured food. Lots of vegetarian options.
• Asian Box – (Palo Alto at Town and Country) A takeout place, though they do have some seating. You build your “box” by picking what starch you want (rice, noodles..), protein, sauce and toppings. Really tasty and all the food is well sources and a bit healthier. Drinks are yummy too. My favorite combo: Jasmine Rice, Chicken, Steamed Veggies, All the toppers except jalapeño and egg, Peanut Sauce. The beef pairs well with the tamarind sauce.
• Palo Alto Creamery – (Downtown Palo Alto) Nice diner with pretty good food. Gets very busy on the weekend for brunch.
• Fraiche Yogurt – (Downtown Palo Alto) They make their own yogurt and frozen yogurt. The frozen yogurt is really yummy and much healthier than more standard places, which usually use powder to make froyo. They also have great toppings, though I always get plain frozen yogurt with freshly shaved chocolate on top.
• Coupa Café – (Downtown Palo Alto) Now famous for being in The Social Network movie. They have pretty good food, but what you have to go here for is their Spicy Hot Chocolate – so yummy!! Though I warn you, it may become an addiction.
• Ritz Carlton – (Half Moon Bay) The most decadent brunch ever! Expensive, at $99 per person, though  kids are half and kids under 5 are free. My daughter’s favorites were the olive tapenade and chocolate truffles. I probably ate enough caviar to cover the cost of everyone at our table! I was in heaven. The hotel is right on the water and you have lovely views out the windows for when you do look up from your plate. I suggest skipping the actual breakfast food though, it seemed a bit standard. They excel with everything else. Much better to fill your belly with the fresh sliced meats, risotto, caviar, shrimp, crab, cheeses, charcuterie, sushi, etc. My strawberry mimosa was also delicious.
• Gott’s Roadside – (SF Ferry Building, Napa, St Helena) Great burgers and other offerings where all food is sourced very well.
• Fish – (Sausalito) A bit of a drive, just a few minutes over the Gold Gate, but well worth it. Their crab sandwich may be the best sandwich I have ever had. Everything on their menu is fantastic. They are also right near the Heath Ceramics factory which is fun to shop in and if you can, they do tours! Here’s my blog post about it with more details.
• Ferry Building on Embarcadero in SF. We love the Ferry Building! Lots of shops with great products (cheese, bread, meat, pottery, gardening…) and great restaurants. It does get every crowded on the weekends, so go early or try for a weekday. If you have never been there, it is much like Chelsea Market in NY. If there happens to be a short line at Blue Bottle, get one of their fresh made mini waffles…so good. I also love to get Honk Kong Milk tea from the Out The Door counter.
• Check out my Napa notes below for more great places in Napa!

Bakeries/Baked Goods/Specialty

• Monique’s Chocolates – (Downtown Palo Alto) Delicious and beautiful single source chocolates made on site. Fantastic treat for yourself of gift to someone special. They sometimes also have Smore Bites, which are amazing! A small portion of their own marshmallow with a graham cracker base covered in delicious chocolate. Wish I had one right now! They also use their chocolates to make chocolate drinks, hot or cold! A must try if you love chocolate.
• Mayfield Bakery – (Palo Alto at Town & Country) Yummy breads and other treats. A few sandwich offerings, which are always tasty. My addiction there is their ham and gruyere croissant.
• Black Jet Backing Co – (Ferry Building in SF) the best pumpkin pie I have ever had, from filling to crust. I’d pay good money for the recipe. Hoping there is a cookbook in the works and they share their crust and pie filling recipe. They have many many other super yummy items too.

Local Cheese/Dairy

• Point Reyes Blue – A little on the milder side, super creamy. Our favorite blue cheese now. Available at local Whole Foods and other cheese shops.
• Cowgirl Creamery – Yummy, rich local cheeses. They have a store at the Ferry Building and are sold at other places like Whole Foods, and have a stand at the Sunday California Ave Farmer’s market in Palo Alto.
• Straus Family Creamery – They make the best organic milk, which is non-homogenized…i.e. healthier for you.
• Goat Milk Cheese – There is a stand at the Palo Alto Farmer’s market which sells goat milk products, their cheese is wonderful! Stop by and ask for a sample.

Local Meat

• Fiesta Farms – Pastured Chicken CSA. You sign up for the CSA and get one or more fresh whole chickens every 2 weeks during the season. They are pasture raised and given lot of organic vegetables to supplement. Really nice couple running the farm. The chickens are great, so so much nicer to work with than any other chicken I have seen. I like that you get them fresh (not frozen) so I can break them down into parts to use right away of freeze for later since we don’t often use a whole chicken at once. The chickens are easy to break down and if you vacuum seal them they will stay good in the freezer for a long time. You can also get eggs through them, although we didn’t because we had backyard chickens. If you use them, just note the chickens are so fresh, you want to wait 3 – 5 days before using them to let them rest and become more tender. I honestly have a hard time working with other chicken, even organic chicken I get from Whole Foods, it just doesn’t compare to farm fresh pastured chicken.
• Wind Dancer Ranch – Heritage Pasture raised hogs. The best pork you will ever taste!! The hogs are raised well on pasture and never leave the farm during their life. If you are up for it, this is the best way to secure pork for you, the land and the animals. You do have to buy at least half a hog, but you specify how you want it cut and it is cut, packaged and frozen for you. More details on their site. You could find a friend to split the half with you to give it a try. We did that our first time, and then went all in and got half just for our family. We did get a freezer for our garage to have room to store the pork, but we needed room for the pastured chicken as well. The garage freezer ended up being super helpful to store the meat, as well as to freeze fruit when I could buy in bulk at peak season to use later in baking or smoothies and to store leftovers when we make big batches.
• Fatted Calf – Butcher in SF and Napa Valley. Great selection of well raised meats and nice other items gourmet items.

Seafood

• Cook’s Seafood – (Menlo Park) Fish monger with a great fish selection. In the winter, during crab season, I suggest getting .75 – 1 Dungeness crab per person, melting some ghee/clarified butter, putting paper down on your table and having a crab feast! The crab is to die for. On the side have some bread or fries (you can get bread there and order fries at the attached restaurant), and a veggie…though it will be hard to not eat only crab! So fun and so good.
• Palo Alto Farmer’s Market – (Downtown Palo Alto) There is a seafood stand that always has great seafood…we’ve enjoyed scallops, wild salmon and tiger shrimp from them.
• Sustainably Caught Salmon Buying Club – If you are interested in joining a sustainably caught salmon buying club let me know and I can connect you.

Farms/Veggie and Fruit CSAs

• Full Belly Farm – Fantastic organic produce and nice people! They have a stand at the Palo Alto farmer’s market on Saturdays. They also offer a CSA, where you can pick up your box at the market or other locations. They have the best carrots around! And you can get fresh pomegranate juice from them which is amazing in smoothies or in adult beverages. You can also get farm fresh eggs through them. We signed up for the CSA and loved the produce along with the service.
• Frog Hollow Farm – if you are a fruit loving family they offer up a CSA of their fantastic fruit (peaches, cherries, pears…). We did it for one year, but it was too much fruit for us to get through each week so we did not continue. But their fruit and other products like jams are really great. When we were members we had the chance to go to the farm for a tour, lunch and cherry picking. It was so much fun! Farmer Al took us on a tour, we got to pick cherries and then enjoy a fabulous meal.
• Full Circle – Veggie and Fruit CSA where you can add on products each week like honey, eggs, sometimes pastured meat, etc. Great service and you get to pick which veggies and fruit you want each week online.
• Real Food Bay Area – Another great source for local and/or well sourced food. Not really a CSA, but you join for free and then when you want you place an order for pick up at one of their drop points.
• If you have an edible garden or bee hive or chickens and sometime have extra to share, there is a monthly gathering where folks bring their extras and take home something from the shared bounty. It is really something special. I wrote about our first time at the garden share where you can learn a little more. If you would like to get connected, let me know.

Local Jams/Preserves

• Inna Jam – my favorites are their Flavor King Pluot and Spicy Fresno.
• Happy Girl Kitchen – at the California Ave Farmer’s Market in Palo Alto. If you are into food preservation, they also let you buy in bulk from sources they find of top notch, ready to use products to make jams, pickles, etc. I got apples once and made great apple sauce and cherries which I pitted and froze for smoothies.
• Masa Organics – they make the best almond butter! They also sell organic brown rice and almonds. Another bonus is that their products are peanut free! So our daughter who is allergic to peanuts can still enjoy almonds. You can buy it at Fatted Calf (mentioned above), they also have a stand at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market on Saturdays.

Local Companies

• Heath Ceramics – They make gorgeous ceramic home goods. You can visit their factory and store, or just shop at their locations in SF.
• Abode – (Half Moon Bay) I love this little shop. Every item in the store seems special. On our last trip to the shop we left with a side table made from steel that used to be part of the Golden Gate Bridge! We had to get in, especially since we were leaving the area.
• Peace Industry Felt Rugs – handmade felt rugs made from 100% lamb’s wool and natural dyes. They are hand-made in small batches (in Turkey) insuring that each piece is unique and exceptional in quality. They are earth-friendly, chemical-free, and fair trade. Custom colors and sizes are available. One bonus to their rugs is that they are great for kid’s play areas, they are tough and even stand up to play dough, just let the play dough dry and you can pick it out. What more can you want from a family rug?

Excursions

Napa Valley

Check out my blog post with some info on hotels, activities and places to eat.

Some updates to my earlier post on Napa Valley:

• Farmstead – St Helena. One of my favorite restaurants of all time. Their cheddar biscuits are like crack…and I do not normally order biscuits.
• St Helena Olive Oil Co – St Helena. Great shop to visit. Lot of oils and vinegars, along with spices, sauces, local jams, honeys…etc. And you can taste everything! My daughter loves their olive tapenade. And we always get some garlic salt.
• Model Bakery – St Helena. English muffins are super famous and super good.
• Woodhouse Chocolate – yummy and pretty chocolates, almost next door to Model Bakery.
• A new winery we found, Frank Family makes great wine a little under the radar.

Hawaii/Maui

We’ve been to Maui and I can honestly say, it is Paradise! If you are looking for a great, easy vacation where you can either relax the entire time or mix in fun activities it has hard to beat. An easy 5 hour flight from SFO and there are often airfare deals. I hope to get my Maui article posted soon. In the meantime, if you are planning a trip to Maui drop me a line for suggestions. 

For Families

Kid Classes

• Palo Alto offers lots of classes and camps and they are open to non-residents as well. We did music class and ballet through them.
• Menlo Park has classes too. Their gymnastics program is amazing and inexpensive. I love that they have a viewing area for parents to sit and watch their kids (or catch up on email). Lots of kids also take their swimming classes.
• Tiny Treks – they offer a class where you meet up at a different location each time, go for a walk, exploring along the way, do an activity and have a snack and story. It is a fun easy class that is a nice way to gain exposure to places you might want to visit again.

More Fun

• Palo Alto Junior Museum – a free museum which is small but has some fun activities for kids and an little outdoor zoo.
• Lots of libraries
• Many parks! You’ll find lists and maps on each town website. We lived down the street from Johnson Park which is a really nice park, with lots of green open space for picnics or kicking a ball around.
• Happy Hollow (San Jose) – An amusement park for young kids. My daughter loved it! Little kid rides, a petting zoo where you can feed goats, see sheep… and a small zoo.
• California Academy of Sciences – our favorite CA museum.
• SF Aquarium on the Bay (SF Fisheman’s Wharf) – a nice, small one, good for little kids.  You can also walk down one of the piers there to see the sea lions…always fun.
• Hidden Villa – (Los Altos Hills) A farm with animals that you can visit.
• CuriOdessey – a small museum/zoo. Picnic area out front.
• SF Zoo – word of warning, it can get very cold in the summer! We went once in July or August and had to change plans as it was too cold for us in just shorts.
• Oakland Zoo
• Webb Ranch – for berry picking, fall pumpkin patch, horse riding
• Stanford Red Barn – I heard you can have a picnic on the lawn and watch the horses
• Fitzgerald Marine Reserve – check the tide charts and plan a visit at low tide to explore the tide pools. Once we were lucky enough to also see a large group of seals nearby with pups! Time things right and you can head to lunch right before or after. Sam’s Chowder House is always fun (though best to make a reservation if you’re there on the weekend).

Farmer’s Markets

• I love bringing kids to farmer’s markets! There is usually music to entertain and an easy healthy snack, or not so healthy snack to be found. I always let Sofie pick something out. Sometimes it is raspberries or blueberries, sometimes a cookie. The markets are great for grown-ups too. It’d be great to be within walking distance of one as parking can be tough. The downtown Palo Alto market is my favorite, a great vibe and mix off vendors. There is an all year long market on California Ave on Sundays which is larger.

Preschools

• Bing Nursery School, run by Stanford. This is an amazing school. It is where Sofie went, and we were sad to leave. The classrooms are fantastic, made up of a large indoor classroom with different areas for play and exploration plus an enormous outdoor space with various play areas. While it is a play based program, the teachers are very mindful to set up different and exciting areas/projects for the children to explore and learn while having fun. They know each student very well and kids feel safe and happy. My daughter was sad on the days she didn’t have school! It is hard to get into though with the high demand and the fact that they give alum priority. But it is worth applying, you may get lucky –we did!
• Edgewood House School. A really nice, small school in Palo Alto. I toured and had Sofie spend a few hours there to get a feel for it. I like that it has a homey feel yet dedicated teachers focused on helping kids learn through play and experiences.
• Other schools I have heard good things about: Friends Nursery School, Casa Bambini, Ventura, Discovery Montessori.

Doctors

• Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF). They have a number of locations which each have a bunch of departments like family medicine, pediatrics, Sports med, allergy…etc. And onsite services like blood tests. We like that you can go and if you need tests done, they can be done at the same location. There is also an online site where you can view test results, email your doctor, request refills, etc. You can even sign up to have the same for your child that you can access. It is all so easy! I believe their biggest location is in Palo Alto – which we could walk to.
• I have also heard good things about Welch Pediatrics.

For Dog Owners

• Dog Groomer – We like Bow Wow Meow for grooming in Menlo Park,. We used Ashley and she always did a good job. Seb, our Kerry Blue Terrier, was always happy to go and happy when we picked him up.
• Vet – We like the Animal Doctors. Always nice, pretty easy to get appointments. 

Misc for Residents

• Dry Cleaning – Purple Tie worked really well for us. You set up an account and then can go online to request pick up and drop off. They come and pick your bag up which you can just leave outside, and then drop it off 2 days later (one day later for an extra charge). Easy!
• House Cleaning – we used a service called Simplify Home Solutions which after you pay a membership fee ($75) they can help you arrange services to make your life easier, such as house cleaning. A few nice things is that they ensure anyone you hire through them is legit and paid fairly, they manage all of the billing for all services, they also come to your house to help get quotes when appropriate, etc.
• Town and Country is great to check out. Lots of places to eat and nice shops.
• University Ave in downtown Palo Alto is also great to walk down, has many restaurants and shops. We were happy to live just 3 blocks of off University so we could just walk to go out to eat, walk to the farmer’s market, get haircuts…etc.
• Stanford Mall is also nice to walk around even if you don’t have shopping…open and airy…always lots of dogs and fountains which kids love. Sprinkles Cupcakes is there too, and I have to say, their cupcakes are pretty darn good…just do not eat the decorative “dot” on top, those are terrible.

Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova

Recipe from Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer.

Serves 8 – 10.

Ingredients

For the chocolate meringue base:

6 egg whites

1 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

For the topping:

2 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 very full pint of raspberries

2-3 tablespoons coarsely grated bittersweet chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over the cocoa and vinegar, and the chopped chocolate. Then gently fold everything until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in. Mound onto a baking sheet in a fat circle approximately 9 inches in diameter, smoothing the sides and top. Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and cook for about one to one and a quarter hours. When it’s ready it should look crisp around the edges and on the sides and be dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers. Turn off the oven and open the door slightly, and let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely.

When you’re ready to serve, invert onto a big, flat-bottomed plate. Whisk the cream till think but still soft and pile it on top if the meringue, then scatter over the raspberries. Coarsely grate the chocolate so that you get curls rather than rubble, as you don’t want the raspberries’ luscious color and form to be obscured, and sprinkle haphazardly over the top, letting some fall, as it will, on the plate’s rim.

Notes:

· To help achieve a 9 inch circle, I take the piece of parchment and draw a circle on it. Parchment is so thin that once inverted you will still be able to see the outline of your circle. This little step makes getting the perfect sized circle a snap. If you don’t have compass you can simply take some kitchen twine (or any thin sting), tie one end to a pen (just check to see if the pen will write on parchment first) and measure and mark a 4.5 inch length from the point of the pen. Then hold the mark in the center of the parchment and spin the pen around with the string taught. Go all the way around and you’ll end up with a 9 inch circle.

· As you can see in the photo, other fruit works well too. We happened to have a berry mix already in the house when we made this yesterday so that’s what we topped it with. Still delicious. Though raspberries do work best.e

· Be sure to have a large plate to serve this on. It will expand a bit and end up larger than the 9 inches. The first time we made it I had to put it on a cutting board as we didn’t have a plate big enough. We have since rectified that with the gorgeous Heath Ceramics serving platter you see pictured.

This was Sofie’s first real party (her last one was when she turned one and that was more for us than her) so I wanted it to be special – magical. I wanted the party to absolutely delight her and all of our guests, both kids and adults. Yes, if I do something I like to do it right. Every element needed to enhance the theme.

Let’s start with décor

I was going for magical, so first off, I wanted to make the room feel as much like a forest as I could. As soon as I had landed on the theme I knew I wanted to get forest themed wall decals to stick on our 2 sets of large sliding glass doors. I found exactly what I needed at Designed Designer on Etsy. Actually, he customized an order of trees for me since I only needed 5 and let me pick bunnies, an owl, grass and mushrooms from his other designs to add on. They were perfect! Actually, we left a couple birds on the doors because we love them so much.

I wanted something balloon like but did not want balloons. Etsy to the rescue again, the pom poms from Sevyn Designs were perfect. I customized the colors to be forest like, light blue for rivers, green for the forest and then red and yellow for flowers and brightness. Red also happens to be Sofie’s favorite color so I was sure to work it in wherever I could. We hung them around the party space and they definitely made it feel like a party – a sophisticated yet playful party. I also ordered their smaller flowers in red and yellow to attach to some branches I found in my driveway – they looked divine. So nice that they are still in our dining room. Their pom poms would really make a great addition to any party (birthday, wedding, baby shower…) or even as bedroom décor. How darling would they be hung over your child’s bed?

Sevyn Designs also makes banners, and they made me a “Happy 4^th Birthday Sofie” banner which hung over her cake. It too as perfect. They even made sure to make “Sofie” in its own section so we could hang it in her room or playhouse afterwards.

While looking for supplies for the kid craft I found a shop that makes moss letters and had the shopkeeper, Teresa, make me “Sofie”. We didn’t really need them for the party, but I loved the idea so much I splurged.

Beyond that we added little touches were we could, like the tiny squirrels (place card holders from when we hosted Thanksgiving) adorning our kitchen island where we had all of the food.

The right birthday cake should fit right in…

Sofie had requested chocolate cupcakes for her party. I am pretty good at decorating cakes but am limited when it comes to cupcakes. So I went online to see how I might embellish our homemade cupcakes. I found a shop on Etsy (yes, this was an Etsy party!) that made My Little Pony fondant figures! I emailed to ask if she could do Princess Celestia, my daughter’s favorite pony. It would be the first one the artist, Laura, had ever made but she assured me I would love it – so while not cheap I went ahead. It was going to be very special. I was extra pleased when she said she would make it out of polymer so that my daughter could actually keep it forever after the party! It was suddenly much more worth it. To get the detailed required the sculpture would be too large to sit on a cupcake, so I made an 8 inch cake to be the top of the cupcake tower to place her on. Laura crafted a fondant cloud for Princess Celestia to sit on so she didn’t touch the food. She also crafted an amazing Happy Birthday plaque with rainbow for me and coordinated cupcake toppers with butterflies, ladybugs and flowers. Instead of describing how lovely everything was, let me just show you…

If you are in the market for cake décor, check out Laura’s shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KrazyKoolCakeDesigns

The Welcome

Besides feasting on the party décor as they walked through the door, kids were presented with a choice of fairy wings or elf vests as they arrived. I think a fun touch to help everyone get into the theme, whether they opted to wear anything or not.

They were then guided over to the kid craft, which helped break the ice between guests who didn’t know each other that well or kids who were a little shy to start.

Activity – Craft

Every kid party needs some kind of activity. Since Sofie is the crafting type, I landed on building Fairy & Elf Houses as  the activity. It was a huge hit and resulted in engaged kids (and parents) and delightful little houses that each child could take home. It was worthy of its own write-up, so for more details, please read, Kid Craft – Constructing Fairy and Elf Houses.

Besides the craft the kids were allowed free play with Sofie’s toys, each other and even out had fun out in our small yard where they climbed on walls, drew with chalk, played with the cardboard castle Sofie had gotten for Christmas, and met our backyard chickens.

The ever important food & drinks

Food is always at the heart of any of our gatherings. We like to feed people and feed them well! It makes everyone happy and can add to the warmth of a party. Our menu consisted of tea party food (since fairies love tea parties), fairy sandwiches and anything else we could think of that one might eat living in an chanted forest. We also tried to make everything small, just one or two bites and not require utensils. Fairies eat small food and it was simpler for kid sand adults to just use their fingers.

This was our enchanted menu:

• Currant Scones
• Raspberry Bars
• Bagels & Lox
• Ham and Gruyere Croissants
• Mushroom Flatbread
• Elf Bread (Nutella and Sprinkles Sandwiches)
• Fairy Bread (Cream Cheese, Jam and Sprinkles Sandwiches)
• Fairy Pillows (Mochi. Flavors: Red Bean, Chocolate)
• Berries & Twigs (Blueberries, Strawberries and Pretzel Sticks)
• Forest Mash (Olive Tapenade, served with bread)
• Unicorn Delights (Veggie platter with hummus dip)
• Evergreen Tree Bark (Mini Chicken Fingers)
• Forest Snails (Cheese and Spinach Tortilla Rolls)
• Cheese platter with cornichons and crackers

Each item was labeled with the most adorable woodland place cards made by Deep Blue Sea on Etsy. If you need any type of party table décor or cards, please check out her shop. Her work is stellar and she is super easy to work with.

To drink we served hot tea, coffee, mimosas, juice, lemonade and water. Be sure to make your beverage station as self-serve as possible. You want to mingle not be stuck in the kitchen.

And lastly…favor bags

I had looked around online and found favor bags can be quite expensive. Then I stumbled upon the RubyLane Moments Etsy site and found I could get both muslin bags and mini-notebooks custom stamped with each child’s name on them for the same price as purchasing a cloth bag elsewhere. I was sold. I wanted to go with a reusable bag and was going to have to spend some money to do so…this way I got way more! And Anna was very accommodating and easy to work with.

• Muslin bags customized with child’s name and a unicorn or owl stamp from RubyLane Moments on Etsy
• Custom made mini-notebooks customized with child’s name and unicorn or owl stamp (From RubyLane Moments on Etsy
• A woodland creature finger puppet one of a Barn Owl, Spotted Owl or Hedgehog from Acme Party Box Company (these were pricy but so cute!
• A twig colored pencil from Acme Party Box Company
• A pack of 5 mini-seed bombs, customized with Black Eyed Susan seeds, red ribbon and flower by The Big Rock Paper Company on Etsy
• A woodland themed Thank You tag from Deep Blue Sea Designs on Etsy

We placed them in a basket near the door so everyone was sure to grab theirs on the way out, whether we were there or not. And it worked! Everyone left with their favor.

I hope you’ve been inspired by some of these ideas for your own party! I would love to hear if you do. This was sure was fun to throw and most importantly, Sofie loved it.

They are sold at Amazon, Teavana and Williams Sonoma and seem to be about $250 everywhere right now. You can read my original write-up here.

One thing I do differently from my original post, is that instead of using heaping scoops for strong flavor, I use regular scoops and throw in one extra. I read somewhere that was the thing to do, I tried it and it seems to work well. Another good point to know is that if your tea is in larger pieces, then you want to make your scoops a little bit bigger as they will be less dense.

While I’m sharing, let me add that my current absolute favorite black tea to brew is the Golden Langur Blend from The Steeping Room in Austin, TX. A lovely black tea flavor that is strong yet well blended. It is a perfect every day tea. Funnily, I adore the tea but have actually yet to go to the store! I was treated to this new discovery by my husband who travels to Austin often for work. He may regret giving it to me though as he now has to bring home a pound every time he goes there! But he loves me and he now how much I love my tea. Lucky me.

Go get one and make someone happy (you or a loved one).

Our little flock has made such an impact on our lives I can hardly believe they have only been with us slightly more than a year. It is hard to imagine life without them now! They each have their own unique personality, they follow us around the yard and even seem to try to talk to us. I love it. And, they give us eggs! And absolutely the most gorgeous eggs you have ever seen. Yes – those are indeed the amazing color array of eggs we get from our 5 hens. Isn’t is amazing! Their eggs are wonderful to cook with as well.

We have learned some lessons when it comes to backyard chicken keeping, which I plan to share here soon. In the meantime, here are some photos of the HUF girls. More photos to come once it’s a bit less gloomy here.

Looking for a fun and very creative way to occupy kids (and adults) at a party or gathering? How about making darling elf and fairy houses? Whether you want to believe in the little enchanted creatures or not, these houses are fun to build.

I have to admit the original  idea came from this lovely party store, Acme Party Box Company. I was browsing there one day looking for woodland decorations and party supplies. I don’t recall exactly how the fairy house discussion started but one of the owner’s, Lisa, showed me an example of a fairy house and I was sold! It was so cute. A small cardboard “upside down V” frame glued to a flat cardboard piece covered in sticks, moss, acorns and tiny pebbles making it look like an adorable woodland fairy house. She told me they could get the supplies together for me, including the cardboard structures. Done! We had our party craft! My original plan was to have the kids paint terracotta planters at the beginning of the party and then pick and plant plants before they left. But let’s face it, fairy houses are way more interesting!

Over the next couple weeks I decided to amp up the construction supplies. I knew Acme would provide the very important cardboard structures, sticks, small stones and some moss. I also purchased some pixie mushrooms from them. But I wanted to add even more color and fell in love with some felted toadstools I found online. Then I discovered the amazing moss selection at an Etsy shop, Teresa’s Plants & More, which I had to have, along with her too perfect mini-pumpkins and hemlock cones. While buying little containers of glue at a craft store we also found nature colored pom poms, and what kid doesn’t like pom poms? We also complimented the sticks and bark from Acme with items we found in our own yard like pinecones. The final addition were these small wood ladybug stickers my daughter had gotten on a trip to Vancouver Island last summer – I was glad to finally have a good use for them (normally they are strewn on the floor waiting to be cleaned up or just sitting in a cabinet).

To make it even more fun, I had a custom sign made for the table (as seen in the first photo above)! Check out Deep Blue Sea Designs on Etsy if you’d like one too.

Everyone one, young and old, loved the craft. The kids, boys and girls, were very engaged in their creations with eager parents assisting. And each house turned out just darling! I highly recommend your doing something similar if it works with your next party theme!

A few tips:

• Set everything out on a table so it is like a buffet for the kids, with similar items in multiple spots so everyone has easy access. I used some plastic cups to hold sticks and got some clear food containers from Whole Foods to hold small items like the pom poms and acorns. Make it look nice and it’ll be lovely décor as well.
• Be sure to have a protective layer on your table. I taped large sheets of light green craft paper to our table, which was benches put together.
• If you have young kids, be sure to make or buy the cardboard frames so they have a structure to work with. Older kids can probably just build on flat cardboard.
• Get smaller glue containers for small hands. While the 1.25oz glues cost the same as their larger counterparts, it is worth it. They are much easier for little hands to use. And if your kid loves crafts s much as mine, you’ll have many future group crafting opportunities to use them again. Or pass them along to another family for one of their parties.
• Leave a marker out for parents to write their child’s name on their house.
• If I had had more time I would have painted the frames green to make them a nicer base, but I doubt anyone would ever have that much time.

Our backyard chickens have been very productive the last few weeks with some nice weather and we’ve found ourselves looking for good homes to give our precious eggs too. My husband suggested we see if we can swap some extra eggs for other homegrown things. Brilliant! I posted to a couple local food groups asking if they knew about sites where we could post what we had to swap with other locals. Someone reminded me that the Garden Share hosted at Common Ground Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto is monthly, and it happened to be the upcoming weekend! Perfect!!

Meanwhile another woman replied willing to swap eggs for fresh local honey and honeycomb from a beekeeper friend – um…yes please! And she kindly said she’d be at the garden share on Sunday as well!

This morning we gathered up a dozen eggs in packs of 4 (better portions for swapping) and some bay leaves to contribute to the share.  Our remaining 7 eggs went in another carton as a first installment on our honey swap.

As with most things, we were on the early side but soon enough people started rolling in carrying baskets and bags of amazing produce to share. We were part of something special. People, strangers nonetheless, bringing the fruits of their labors to share with each other. No money, no haggling. Everyone added what they brought to the tables, chatted away with each other catching up with friends and making new ones, and selected some of something from the tables to take home. It was wonderful. It was refreshing.

One of the first women to arrive brought a large container full of lush, green round leaves with delicate flowers in their center. We’d never seen anything like it. She kindly told us about the weed, minor’s lettuce, which grows wild with a short season here and makes a wonderful addition to salads. I gently pulled a leaf out and broke it up to share with my husband and daughter. It was delicious with a lovely texture. We immediately knew we’d have to take some home for dinner later. Sofie enjoyed it so much that she ate 2 more leaves, flowers included, before we left! A little while later another woman showed up with her arms full of mache – another salad green we love! Some of it joined the miner’s lettuce in our bag.

My honey woman arrived and presented us with a large chunk of beautiful, intricate honeycomb and a 3-4 pounds jar of delicious luscious honey!! Yes, my giddiness was getting harder and harder to contain. I take honey in my tea every day and end up going through it rather quickly. This large jar of honey which I knew was just poured out of a hive a mere 3 days ago was like gold to me. And the honeycomb! Gorgeous! We’ve never had honeycomb before and were excited to try…if we could bring ourselves to cut into it – almost too pretty to consume. She had advised me that it is best enjoyed fresh and that was our plan, with our friends sure to benefit.

She also offered us some of her 43 year old mother to use to turn leftover red wine into amazing red wine vinegar. Could this get any better? Never something we thought about trying to make ourselves, but how could we pass up this opportunity! As instructed we brought a small jar with some leftover red wine. She showed us her jar with the mother and gave us some instructions on what to do. We plunked a piece in our container…the beginnings of our very own red wine vinegar!!

We headed out soon after that exchange as it was a little chilly. After a stop for lunch and some errands, we came home and I poured the red wine and mother into a half liter Weck jar, attached a paper towel to the opening with a rubber band and put it in a dark spot to brew. So exciting!! Now I need to look up what to do next, with all of my delight I didn’t quite catch all of the details she conveyed about making the vinegar and caring for the mother. A little internet research will fix that. I am SO looking forward to when we’ll have some vinegar to try!

And the fun doesn’t end there! We have plans to swap a dozen eggs for some homemade strawberry jam this coming Saturday and discussions for further swaps. This is so much fun. Our dear chickens have enriched our lives in yet one more dimension. Thank you girls.

I developed a pretty serious addiction to Etsy while planning my daughter’s 4th birthday party. So many wonderful handmade and vintage items!! My absolute favorite shop right now is Fairyfolk.  She has the most adorable hand felted treasures. Just take a peak – you too will fall in love.

Be sure to check her shop out for Easter. Her little felted chicks are too cute sitting in felted nests. She custom made a black and white one for me to resemble my daughters favorite hen in our backyard flock. I cannot wait to give it to her for Easter. She also has felted rabbits which are super cute and fit into felt eggs. She had wonderful gifts for Valentine’s day too. I love her felted pebbled, I gave my daughter a set of 3 in red with a heart. As suggested on her site, they make great table décor, an alternative to a napkin ring or simple used as a weight to keep paper napkins in place. I also gave my daughter the little round mouse pictured above. How can you not smile at its cuteness?

Planning a wedding or a party? She has lots of unique felt décor. From garland to place cards to favors. I order 2 strands of her garland for my daughter’s birthday party, one in shades of green and the other in shades of red. A little pricy for a 4 year old’s party but with the color scheme I can reuse them at Christmas. If you have a small apartment, the garland would be so sweet on a tabletop Christmas tree.

Such lovely things plus, the shop owner, Donni is a real pleasure to work with. Her love for felting shines through in her communication and her meticulous work.

My next purchase will probably be a bouquet of her felt flowers. They are so pretty and delicate  – plus they will last forever. Below is a photo of the flowers from her shop, along with some other eye candy for you. Be sure to tell her I say hello if you treat yourself (or a loved one) to something from Fairyfolk.