3.30.2018

Museum with kids: ICA BOSTON PLAY DATE


As I’ve written about in previous posts, I love to take my girls on adventures and museum trips have been a favorite lately. We recently visited the ICA in January and had a blast! I’ve shared some of our favorite exhibits and activities below.

Nicholas Nixon Exhibit

This was one exhibit I was eager to see. Nixon is a Boston-based photographer who photographed four sisters every year (one of them his wife) from 1975-2007. This is his ongoing project titled The Brown Sisters. The concept was intriguing and my girls even enjoyed seeing the changes of these women over time and hearing the story behind it. Definitely worth checking out!


Family Art Making: Animating Characters

Museums always come up with the best activities for children to participate in. This time around my girls made animated characters and used their creativity to come up with them on their own. It’s fun to watch them create their own imaginary animated characters.


Family Film Program

I never thought of introducing kids to movies of different backgrounds or documentaries but after seeing a few short films from the New York International Children’s Film Festival, we were hooked! Riceballs from Australia and Welcome To My Life from the USA were two favorites. The others movies we watched were in Italian and Hungarian and it was mostly animation and less dialogue so my 6-year-old could follow by reading the subtitles, and I helped my 5-year-old when she needed it.

We also watched both Revolting Rhymes movies based on the rhymes written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake.

Needless to say, watching these movies was our favorite activity from this visit. I have been trying to get a hold of more independent kids movies to offer the girls variety and to expose them to different cultures. Unfortunately, I haven’t figured out a way to access more films from the New York International Children’s Film Festival. I did, however, find https://facets.org/kids/ - a platform that gives kids access to global independent movies to promote creativity, engagement, and curiosity. It is subscription-based and the girls and I have been enjoying it lately. We have really enjoyed a few movies, and a few not so much but the best part is these are really short films and touch a variety of interesting topics. It’s been an enjoyable experience and a great alternative when we don’t have the time to watch an entire commercial movie, but still want to sit and watch something together. I’ll share more about our experiences with Facets in a separate blog post.


Now back to the ICA. We stayed at the museum for about 3 hours before we got hungry, and since there is no longer a cafe, we headed elsewhere for food. The rest of our time at the museum was filled games of I SPY and even some outdoor time because the weather was surprisingly nice for January. We’re excited to go back again soon! In fact, if you are in the Boston area and looking for something fun to do this Saturday, check out ICA Play Date, a fun, family-centered day at the museum.

3.27.2018

girls fashion blog: bathing suits we love

Can you believe it's almost time to start shopping for bathing suits? Although this inconsistent New England weather has us doubting if summer will arrive on time this year! Whether you're headed on a sunny vacation or eager to spruce up your little one's summer wardrobes, we have you covered. These one-piece suits include a range of colors, shapes, and patterns! 

Which one of these is your favorite?


1. Blue ruffle girls swimsuit
2. Sparrow printed swimsuit
3. Light pink panther swimsuit
4. Long sleeved girls swimsuit
5. Paint design swimsuit
6. Text printed girls swimsuit

3.26.2018

Beautiful Boston - Beacon Hill and Back Bay in Snow





In the past 3-4 years, I have mostly only picked up my ‘real’ camera for client shoots and not for myself (for some fun recreational photography). I decided to change that in 2018. I had to remind myself how I first got started back in 2008-2009 just casually taking pictures of beautiful Boston, and how much I enjoyed it and missed it. It’s truly a treat to find some time to walk around and create photos with no specific agenda and no desired outcome. So while Boston was hit by multiple nor’easters in the past two weeks, I decided to take my camera out for a winter spin.


Sharing some pictures of Beacon Hill and Back Bay neighborhoods of Boston.
















3.22.2018

A Solo adventure in palm springs


I visited Palm Springs last month in February for Alt Summit and it has been on my mind ever since. Due to a couple of flight cancellations, I got bonus 24 hours in Palm Springs and, let’s just say, that one extra day was just enough to fall madly in love with that place.  Palm Springs has its own vibe, and one simply has to get it! It’s like being transported back in time, in the mid century era, and living that lifestyle. As a midcentury modern lover, I was in paradise.

I experienced the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and went on a short wilderness walk, enjoyed the midcentury architecture (including some celebrity homes from the Rat Pack era)  and the spanish cottages, and spent some time in downtown Palm Springs visiting some art galleries. I, of course, had my camera with me and I could have just got lost with it for hours. It was an ideal ‘my kind of day’ and I’m so glad I got a chance to go on a solo trip -- it was nerve-racking at times but so worth it!


Wilderness Walk


View from the observation deck


Windmills


Midcentury modern architecture



Movie Colony



Spanish-Style Homes





La Plaza, Palm Springs

There’s a lot more I wanted to do -- visit Joshua Tree, take a more leisurely tour of the architecture, and experience more of its desert lifestyle. I would love to travel again with my family one day, perhaps for the Modernism Week.


Have you been to Palm Springs? Is it on your bucket list?

3.13.2018

girls fashion blog: graphic and contemporary summer t-shirts


Look at these t-shirts! Contemporary graphics and simple designs are an easy way to keep your kids looking stylish during those busier summer days. Your little ones will feel comfortable and be ready to play! We especially love the banana print which just so happens to match this adult t-shirt in our fruit-inspired summer style post and #1, #3 and #5 are some of our favorites. You must have already seen a couple of these on the blog in the past few weeks. What can we do, we just can't seem to get enough of these fun tees! 

Which ones would you choose for your kids? Find them in the links below.

3.12.2018

Family Lifestyle Blog: Traveling with Kids


Traveling is such a fun, valuable, and cultural learning experience for kids - and adults, too! The girls had the best time as we traveled to Germany, Italy, and Austria last June. I already shared our Berlin adventures but here are some from Italy and Austria! Better late than never, right?

I didn't carry my camera everywhere all the time (a lot of pictures on my phone still) so just sharing some of the trip highlights via these pictures.




Sleepyheads on their first morning in Rome

It was almost two weeks of ZERO screen time, giving the girls a chance to fully immerse themselves in our daily adventures. We figured out old school and meaningful ways to entertain the girls. My 6-year-old kept a travel journal she filled every 2-3 days, read her favorite books, colored, and it was pretend play galore for the girls. My 4-year-old also scribbled in her own travel journal or wrote legit words when one of us helped her, and was happy coloring and playing with her sister. They got plenty of outdoor time and we took them to playgrounds when we could. And of course, a gelato a day, kept the boredom away! ; )


It was truly special to watch them soak in all of these new sights and hear their little comments along the way. Some of my favorites included, "I'm going to squeeze the whole city of Rome," "Mama, you just have to check it out!" and of course, "Mama, these shoes are a dream come true!"


Finished her first chapter book while walking the streets of Rome!


Vatican Views


Vatican Museums Spiral Staircase


Colosseum on a hot day


Can never get enough of fiori


Roaming in Rome


Venice


A rare one of me and the girls


Local markets. Trying to buy cherries.


Venice alleyways & beautiful building facades

When you see one little girl do a middle split in the middle of a piazza in Venice and you make six more (including two of your own) join in, and everyone thinks it's some type of show!


I could walk these Venice alleyways for hours, getting lost with my camera. One of the days I'm glad I had my camera in tow.


A day trip to a beautiful little town of Desenzano


Lake Garda


A dip was a must! Thank goodness I had a change of clothing!


Up next, Vienna! It was love at first sight with Vienna. Its diversity, classical music, theatre, opera, cafes, graffiti...there is so much to do and explore. I would love to visit again once the girls are a little older to soak in more of what this wonderful city has to offer. 


Overtired kids by the time we got to Vienna!


Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna



Chic boutiques


Beautiful Cafes


Graffiti



Streets


Mid morning snack before a day trip to Salzburg


Remember Mirabell Gardens from The Sound of Music?


Old Town, Salzburg


Apple doesn't fall far from the tree ; )


After a day trip to Salzburg, we headed back to Vienna and then to Boston the next day! 

It was a truly memorable trip and as the girls get older, I hope their appreciation for travel will grow even more. It will be a treat to watch them discover new places all over again. What are your favorite family travel destinations?

Checkout pictures from our recent India trip with kids. Or planning on flying with kids? Here are our top 10 in-flight essentials for a long domestic/international flight.