Trains, Dinosaurs and Fish

This weekend was action packed. The week before I had to travel for work and came down with the worst stomach bug ever! I really hope no one gets it because it is awful. After feeling run down for what felt like forever we really made the most of this weekend.

The weather was incredible, eighties all weekend so in order to celebrate that we hit Travel Town at Griffith Park, which is always a winner with Hank. You can explore giant, old steam engines and ride on a little train around the grounds. I imagine his love for this place will only grow as he gets older, but even at 16-months he loves it.

Later that day we headed down town for our second trip to the California Science Center. This place is wonderful for kids, but a bit crowded on the weekends. It took us a bit to figure it out but now we head straight for the lower level to this incredible aquarium that they have. I would say it rivals most big aquariums and Hank adores it! He could chat with the fish for hours if we let him.

To avoid the crowds we quickly headed over to the Natural History Museum which is also a wonderful museum right next door. Who knew? They have a new dinosaur exhibit that was great, although I think Hank mostly just enjoyed running up and down the halls and riding the elevator. We probably could have saved money and just headed to the grocery store for a similar impact but that's alright because this place was really great as well. I can't remember the last time I visited a museum like this. I am so impressed with this whole campus of museums right next to USC in downtown Los Angeles. They are really a great way to spend a day with your kids.

Saturday night I enjoyed a lovely ladies night with good friends at the Korean spa and then to dinner. On Sunday we spent some time at the park where Hank was downright smitten with a good friend's daughter. He let this little girl hug him and kiss him a few times over. They kept crouching down and sitting next to each other and it was overwhelmingly adorable. Hope everyone else had as lovely of a weekend as we did.

Tete-a-Tete

Soaking

One of my favorite things about Los Angeles is the abundance of Korean Spas. For just $15 you can soak for an entire day if you had the time. I don't get to go that often but whenever I do I am always thinking, 'why don't I do this every day?' It's that good.

My two favorite spots are Olympic Spa and Natura Spa. There are not a ton of photos out there of these spots. I don't think they would take kindly to you taking photos since everyone is naked, but the above photo at least gives you a sense of the place (this is Natura FYI). Both spots have several pools - hot, extremely hot, and cold. And you are encouraged to move between all temperatures. Plunging your body into ice cold weather doesn't always feel good while you are doing it but afterwards you feel incredible.

They also have these different rooms to relax in - the oxygen room, the jade room, the clay room, plus your basic steam room and sauna. I've heard women whisper about the benefits of these various rooms. One woman in her fifties told me that the secret to her perfect skin was spending an hour nightly in the oxygen room at Olympic Spa. That is a big time commitment but her skin did look good.

If you go I encourage you to at least once get a scrub. It's unlike any traditional spa experience you've had. These women exfoliate every last bit of dead skin off of you. Perhaps the best part is both spas have heated, relaxation floors where you can lay quietly for hours on end. It's such a good deal. New York has the Russian Baths and in San Francisco they have Japanese baths but I am not sure if they are as good as the Korean spas in Los Angeles. They are truly the best deal to be found around town.

The Best Smelling Soap EVER

Last weekend while at a friend's party I stumbled upon what I believe is the best smelling soap ever. I spied this gorgeous bottle by Barr Co. in her lovely bathroom. My friend and I actually took photos of the gorgeous glass bottle because we loved it so much. Their signature scent is described as a combination of milk, oatmeal, vanilla, and vetiver. Oh my god this stuff smells great. My lovely friend actually got me a bottle from my favorite store in the world. Trust me you will not find a better soap anywhere. 

Viva Las Vegas

Headed to Las Vegas for a whirlwind work trip. I will be lucky if I get more than an hour of down time. I have been here a few times for work but I have never done a whole Vegas weekend thing, even though it's so close to Los Angeles. I probably should have done it before becoming a Mom. I do get excited about the restaurants here because I feel like just about every amazing chef has a restaurant in town. Probably won't have time for that either to be honest but someday my husband and I are going to go and eat at Joel Robuchon just because it sounds like everyone ought to at some point. 

This time I am staying at the Cosmopolitan - a newish, hip casino/hotel. Doubt I will be going here but their bar with this incredible chandelier looks pretty impressive!! Have a great weekend. 

Loss

Last night, at far too late an hour to mention, I was reading "The Tiger's Wife" and I was struck by something I read:

“When men die, they die in fear", he said. "They take everything they need from you, and as a doctor it is your job to give it, to comfort them, to hold their hand. But children die how they have been living - in hope. They don't know what's happening, so they expect nothing, they don't ask you to hold their hand - but you end up needing them to hold yours. With children, you're on your own. Do you understand?” 

I am really enjoying the book, although I tend to read in fits and starts these days. I no longer plow through in one furious bit. This moment is the grandfather character, who is a doctor, speaking to his granddaughter, the narrator of the book, about what she will face when she becomes a doctor. What struck me about this quote was it touched on my greatest fear - my son becoming ill or simply something terrible happening to him that is beyond my control. How do you articulate death and loss to someone so young and innocent? Since having Hank this is a place my mind goes to from time to time. Particularly because we know people who have lost children. Heartbreaking stories that would make you shiver and then flee from them. I won't go into it here. It is the most awful thing one could fathom happening in life and yet it does happen. And what is so terrible is that children are so innocent and full of hope and undeserving of this. I am not sure where I am going with this just that the quote shook me to the core. 

The End of Illness

I had an opportunity via my work to meet the incredible doctor behind this book that will be released later this week. I have already pre-ordered a copy for myself and my family. I only spent a few moments with this charismatic oncologist (who treated Lance Armstrong, Ted Kennedy and Steve Jobs to name a few) who listed off several shocking recommendations that made me question my propensity to shop at Whole Foods and spend lots of time and money on fresh juices. He wrote a piece in the WSJ this weekend which previews some of the concepts in the book. I think this is necessary reading for any of us who are interested in what the future holds in medicine and what simple steps we can take to help us lead a long and disease-free life (they are not what you might think!).

sleeplessness

This photo captures how I feel today. TIRED. There are some days when it feels like I will never really sleep again. If anyone I know is pregnant the one piece of advice I give them is to sleep, sleep, sleep as much as they can. I think they hear me but they don't quite understand the intensity of the sleeplessness. Sometimes I say I never knew it was possible to function on so little sleep. 

Hank has never been the best sleeper but I have struggled throughout these fifteen months to let go and let him cry a bit so that he can learn to sooth himself. Our sleep saga could be it's own blog but basically I am hoping that the end is in sight and that we may finally get some good sleep around here. We have had brief moments and my husband has had great success with it, but then I come in and ruin it again or he gets sick or something else comes along but that is it. Enough is enough. I am still nursing this guy and perhaps that plays into it as well? Whatever it may be there is nothing more wonderful then staring at your child sleeping in your arms. I am overwhelmed with love and contentment. It's the best. It's every other tough moment in the middle of the night that is killing me. .

Weekend

This weekend we had a double date with good friends, went to a four-year-old's birthday party, played outside and watched the football and the Golden Globes.All in all it was a really fun weekend. We just planted vines in our backyard that we hope will grow over our Pergola. This shot of Hank with the Bouganvilla which is such a pretty color is one of my favorite pictures of him ever.

I have always enjoyed award Shows. I like to see what everyone is wearing and generally like to take it all in. This year maybe something has finally changed in me but I found the whole event pretty boring. Maybe it's because I am averaging about one movie a year these days so it's hard to care when the only thing you've seen is "Bridesmaids." I found myself fast-forwarding through most of the Globes.  I did enjoy the dresses though. Here were a couple of my favorites (I may be on my own with these because I did find a lot of these pics on people's worst dressed list, but I loved them):

It's Only a Paper Moon

Paper Moon is definitely one of my all time favorite movies. Tatum O'Neal is just so good in it. The black and white film from the seventies is about a little girl and a man and the cons they pull off to survive during the depression. 

Of course we now know that she and Ryan O'Neal didn't have the healthiest of father/daughter relationships but the film is pure magic. 

Have you seen the outfit she wore when she won an Oscar? How cool is she in her little tuxedo?

There is a scene in the movie where Tatum takes a photo with the Paper Moon which was popular at the time the film is supposed to take place. I found some other amazing vintage paper moon photos on-line. 

Images found Here
The song by the same name is pretty magical as well. Sometimes I sing it to Hank when he is falling asleep. Here is a nice Elle Fitzgerald version I found on youtube if you haven't heard it. And if you haven't seen the movie you really should.

Dreaming of.....Jason Wu for Target

I am not one for waiting in line and all of the frenzy that generally surrounds big designers doing capsule collections for stores like Target, H&M, etc. I didn't buy any of the Missoni stuff at Target or any of the Versace stuff at H&M. To be honest sometimes this stuff up close looks like what it is, cheap. I am sorry if that offends anyone. The two exceptions I have made were the Kate Moss collection for TopShop and the Liberty of London stuff at Target. I actually made my mom buy two Liberty little girl dresses in Chicago because they were sold out here when I was pregnant (of course I ended up having a boy so I gave them to my niece). But have you seen the Jason Wu stuff for Target? It's really lovely, especially the bags. Here are three cute looks.

Get In Shape Girl!

It's that time of year when we all rush to the gym and try our best to get in shape for the new year. I am definitely guilty of getting caught up in the fitness resolution cliche.

Does anyone else remember the products "Get in Shape Girl!" In hindsight maybe girls as young as eight shouldn't have been buying products that were guaranteed to make them obsessed with their bodies even if they did look cute in the sweatbands that came with the package? Or maybe Michelle Obama would praise such products today because they might help curb the growing obesity trend in children? Tough to say really. Regardless it makes me laugh out loud to remember me putting the tape in our cassette player and working out along to the music at eight-years-old. These days I am pretty much a get to the gym when I can kinda girl. I did an amazing Mommy boot camp for two months during my maternity leave that I can't recommend enough if you live in Los Angeles. But since returning to work I am lucky if I workout once a week. It's hard to not want to spend every non-working moment with Hank but I am working on it. Luckily our new house is right be this neighborhood dance studio called Heartbeat House.

I've only taken one class here but nearly every night Hank and I watch a group of women and a few brave men getting down and sweating it out. They make Zumba and Latin Jam look really fun. I am hoping to make it there or return to bootcamp soon.

A Dog and a DJ or the Weekend

This weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday Hank and I visited a work friend who is now my neighbor. We toured their cute house and had a glass of wine (well just me on the wine) but the highlight was definitely Hank getting to meet their bull dog Broccoli. Hank always likes to say hi to the various dogs we pass on our walks around the neighborhood but he has never really been up close and personal with a dog yet. Luckily this dog was adorable and patient and didn't mind being poked and prodded by a fifteen-month-old. He was enormous though so we were a bit worried he might knock Hank over. Hank giggled and smiled the entire time.Unfortunately I only have some grainy phone photos but I had to share.

The rest of the weekend included a delicious dinner at The Hungry Cat. We went to the original restaurant in Hollywood, not the splashier sister location by the beach. This place is so good. We shared oysters, stone crab legs and a crab cake. Everything was so good. 

On Sunday we had brunch and a play visit with good friends.

 Later we discovered that Hank takes after his Dad and might one day be a DJ too? 

Hope you had a great weekend as well. The only sad moment for me was when I realized that I would never in a million years be able to stay up late enough to watch the entire "Downton Abbey," which didn't start until 9:30 pm in Los Angeles for some reason? I am excited to watch it tonight. 

LACMA

I rarely go West of Hollywood these days. Just about everything I need is on the East side so it's hard to get me to get motivated to go West. One of my big resolutions this year was to take advantage of more of what  Los Angeles has to offer and that definitely should include the West side, the beach, and of course LA's many museums (yes we have museums here). The other night I did find myself driving home from some place West of Silver Lake - Beverly Hills, on Wilshire and when I passed LACMA. I was struck by this beautiful light installation and knew I wanted to go back. Last night Hank and I spent an hour exploring the grounds of the massive museum campus over there. It is literally a kid's paradise. There is so much to explore and lots for adults as well.

This was an interesting sculpture that Hank and other kids had fun running through. It took some convincing to get Hank to run through these string things. He mostly just ran around it. 

Here is Hank running through the "Urban Light" a sculpture by Chris Burden that is made up of 202 restored cast iron antique street lamps. It was just beautiful as the sun was setting. It was quite a contrast from the urban landscape that surrounds the museum. Hank had a blast running around it. 

 They also have lots of outdoor seating options and food and even a bar. Who knew? 

 Hank couldn't get enough. He had so much fun running through the lamps. We will definitely be back again soon.

Poufs

I have always been sort of on the fence about poufs. Lots of places sell various versions of them and they seem like a cute addition to any room, but they can also feel kind of played out? Then I spotted these guys on this blog. Pretty cute. West Elm has amazing stuff these days. They just opened a new store here in Los Angeles in West Hollywood and it does not disappoint.

Only Three Days ....

until the second season of "Downton Abbey" premieres on PBS. If you haven't seen this show yet I think you should immediately download the first season and catch up. This lovely photo is from a Vogue spread from this month's issue. Seriously it is so good.

Bookworms

Just in the last few weeks or so Hank has become a real bookworm which warms my heart. Sometimes I will find him in his room just flipping through the pages of a book (yes sometimes it's upside down but it's still reading sort of). Also, he has developed a real opinion about what books we read. Sometimes he'll grab them off the shelves and hand them to me, and sometimes when I try and read one he has always loved he will push it away. It makes story time a bit dull since there are only a few rotating favorites. I am searching for more great books if anyone has any ideas but here are some of the favorites we read again and again.

Speaking of bookworms my friend Hanne, who is the queen of all bookworms, just introduced me to this book club through the Huffington Post. I have tried more then once to start my own book club and for some reason it has always failed so I am thinking of trying this one out. It just so happens that I am already reading the first book. Score.

Today is the first day and there is still time to read it. They have on-line discussions and then there is also a chance to have you own local little group. Maybe this is finally the way for me to fulfill my book club dreams.