My latest post on CBS Los Angeles is about my top picks for online moms in Orange County. The list provides a nice variety covering different ages and interests. These gals make being a parent in OC much easier! So head on over to read Follow These Savvy Mom Bloggers for Parenting Advice in OC |
| Jen Levinson of Jen's List and Family |
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| credit: WALTRAUD GRUBITZSCH/AFP/Getty Images |
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I recently had the opportunity to spend the day at Knott’s Soak City and I wrote a post for CBS LA: Cool Off at Knott’s Soak City. My family and I always have a blast at Knott’s and now Knott’s has invited me to giveaway two tickets to one of my readers! I’ll tell you how to enter, but first, let me tell you a few things about Knott’s Berry Farm. The Knott family really had a berry farm on the location of today’s amusement park. During the Great Depression, Mrs. Knott began serving chicken dinners at her small tea room on the farm. Mrs. Knott’s famous chicken dinners are still served at her namesake restaurant right by the front gates of the park. Knott’s Berry Farm really offers something for everyone, there is an Old West section with a ghost town and plenty of shops, restaurants and attractions that give you the old California experience. There is Camp Snoopy with rides and fun for little kids. The whole park is packed with stuff to do as varied as riding on a real horse drawn stagecoach to a thrilling rollercoaster ride on Montezooma’s Revenge.
your pass in installments. Season Pass holders get extra benefits like discounts on park dining, merchandise, bring-a-friend days and invitations to special events. And while some parks have blackout dates, Knott’s Season Passes have NO blackout dates! Make sure you lock in your Season Pass online now because the rates are going up on July 1, 2012.
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| Photo credit: Angry Julie Monday AngryJulieMonday.com |
The past couple of years have given rise, literally, to the fashion marketing concept known as a “pop-up shop”: A temporary retail outlet for a known brand or designer. I had the opportunity to attend a party at the West Coast’s first Havaianas (the famous flip flops from Brazil) pop-up shop located in the uber-conceptually-cool Space 15Twenty in Hollywood. Space 15Twenty is a mix of permanent retailers and restaurants along with spaces that allow for different brands and artists to step in and out of the mix. Havaianas Mercado is located in the Urban Outfitters rotating designer concept boutique with the storefront facing Cahuenga Blvd.
Once inside, it was an amazing and colorful space, like being in a tropical produce shop. Also in attendance were Lucy Marshall of “Pretty Little Liars” and musician Alex Marshall. I was really looking forward to stepping up to the fruit stand where you can “Make Your Own Havaianas”, with customizable soles, straps and embellishments. I picked black soles, silver straps and diamond and blue jewels along with tiny elephants as embellishments. It was really too much fun to choose EXACTLY what you wanted, right down the placement of your bling! For people who don’t live near a Havaianas that has a MYOH (Make Your Own Havaianas) you can make your own online.
Next it was on to the party which was hosted in one of the interior courtyards at Space 15Twenty. Much to everyone’s delight, right next door is an Umami Burger location and that’s who supplied the food and drink. The most amazing burgers, known as “The Fifth Taste” and fries were being served up straight off the outdoor grill. The barmaster mixed the most addicting coconut mojitos…What a perfect tropical evening. Get yourself over to Space 15Twenty, check out all there is, treat yourself to your very own Havaianas and then kick it Hollywood hipster style at Umami Burger. You so can. If you want to feel like you really were there, here is a link to Space 15Twenty’s site with coverage of the event including a video where you can catch a few glimpses of moi . Havaianas Mercado Pop Up, 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd., LA 90028. Store Hours: Open daily from July 1st through July 24th; Monday-Friday, 11 AM-8 PM, and Saturday-Sunday 11 AM-9 PM. PS. Space 15Twenty has a parking lot, the entrance is on Selma between Cahuenga and Ivar.
To see my coverage on CBS Los Angeles click: Flip Flop Pop Up - Havaianas
This is a post I originally wrote for the now closed Los Angeles Moms blog. I feel that rookie moms and dads preparing excitedly for their baby’s first Easter Egg Hunt can only benefit in advance from the hard, cold reality that I am about to share with you. I’m not saying don’t go. Information is power.
Easter as a Competitive Event was originally posted on The Los Angeles Moms Blog on April 10, 2009
I am a member of a very popular message group catering largely to mothers living in Los Angeles. In the days after Easter last year, numerous posts appeared describing the horrors of various Easter Egg Hunts held around the city. One common thread ran through all the posts: parents behaving like lunatics.
One mom wrote: "It was like a stampede with clouds of dust and parents running around picking up eggs for their kids, taking the eggs so the other kids could not get them. My 3 year old got one egg and the 2 year old got nothing." And another: "I am posting this to save anyone who may be considering going to the Easter Egg Hunt at _______ Park next year." And this: "....many parents were SCREAMING at both their kids and other kids to get more, get away from my son, etc." This one: "The parents jumped the fence before the whistle or shoved their kids in before the whistle." How about: "They should not allow parents to participate. It's awful, one woman grabbed an egg right out from under my 2 year old's hand, literally." Also: "They announced no fewer than three times that parents were not allowed inside the egg hunting area, but that didn't stop about a dozen parents from going in there and scooping up loads of eggs for their kids. My daughter got one egg."
What the heck?
These hunts all were held in fairly affluent areas where large numbers of attorneys, Hollywood executives and various and sundry captains of industry reside. All pulling up in their Range Rovers and Volvo SUVs to get cutthroat over some cheap plastic eggs at a city park.
I'm sure I saw many of them the next day at brunch at the Bel Air Country Club. I've thought about what was really going on. Helicopter parenting? Parents who want to help their kids succeed? A loss of perspective? Making sure your kid isn't "cheated"? Parents who forgot to take their meds that morning? Behavior that seems to be as far from Christian as I can imagine on one of the most Holy Days.
Here is my concern: The economy is in worse shape this Easter. People are on edge and losing things like money, portfolio value, jobs and homes. Wouldn't that lead one to presume this weekend's Easter egg hunts will take on the air of an Olympic event? Baskets tightly clenched. Parents squatting down with toddlers discussing game time strategy. "Aidan, you go deep and wide grabbing what you can. I’ll circle by the bounce house with Isabella and then pass the basket off to your mother. Then we'll see what we can fit into our pockets and arms."
I'm all for competition. I first and foremost consider myself a capitalist. Most of all, I do not believe everyone deserves a trophy at the end of the season. However, I draw the line on Easter Egg Hunts for the under-7 crowd. If everyone has a quota, say 20 eggs, then you just go around counting the eggs you pick up CALMLY and you are done. It's a family holiday for crying out loud! I hope that this Easter we can all set some good examples for our kids regardless of the activity or location. But, especially at the Easter Egg Hunt at ________ Park.
An original post for the Los Angeles Moms Blog.
When Elizabeth Peterson is not analyzing the ghosts of holidays past, she can be found over at her personal blog Traded my BMW for a Minivan.
April McCaffery said...
We're skipping Easter altogether this year. Holidays are less fun and more drama every year. I'm over it.
Reply April 10, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Lexi said...
We aren't big on the commercial aspects of holidays. But we just today talked about going to a local Easter egg event that has a time slot for the under age 2 crowd. Now I wonder if I need to be worried? My kids can't even walk yet. Is it worth going?
Reply April 10, 2009 at 06:15 PM
kristen said...
my 4 year old twin boys were in a hunt today, both of whom are quite independent, and one son got one egg, the other got none (though the organizers were nice enough to give my son that didn't get any one). And, one of our friend's daughters who is quite aggressive also did not get any. Needless to say, there were tons of kids with 6-8 eggs in their baskets. But, we followed the rules, and we watched repeatedly as the parents did exactly what you describe. And, there were a lot of kids that were much older older than the 3-4 they were supposed to be.. Before I had coached the boys -- I told them that once they got two eggs, they were to stop. But, once I realized what was happening, I tried to give them a hint about where to go, but oh well.
Reply April 11, 2009 at 06:47 PM
The Stiletto Mom said...
I wish I could tell you I was shocked to read this but I'm not. We have a lot of competitive parents like that in my neighborhood and I also often wonder if they've lost their minds. One of these days, I'm going to be smart and remember to bring my Flip video to some of the events where the seem to go the craziest just for fun...and possibly blog fodder.
Reply April 12, 2009 at 07:59 AM
Lucia Davies said...
Stiletto Mom - I wish you would make a video. If these scheming, entitlement-issued "parents" could only see how obnoxious they are - and how they're teaching their kids to push, shove, step on and otherwise back stab others in their "in it to win it" attitude, maybe they'd chill out and behave like decent people. Sadly, though, I doubt it. I hate to paint with the generalization brush - but part of the reason I left L.A. is because I came across this kind of behavior again and again. There are plenty of great people in L.A., but it seems more and more that the asshats are taking over...
Reply April 12, 2009 at 11:12 AM
cynematic said...
Elizabeth, I totally agree with you on the egg hunt nuttiness. Where's the perspective? Last year we spent Easter in Palm Springs, and lucked into one of those over-the-top gala resort Easters with bunny parachuting from plane (I kid you not), egg hunt (and grabby kids/adults), a little animal pen, etc. We just wanted a getaway and didn't realize some hotel chains set up these extravaganzas. Kid had a blast but it was shocking how **grownups** were grabbing cheap plastic eggs away from other people's children. We decided not to go back this year.
Instead, we did something much more low-key, spending it with grandparents at their place, and kid hasn't even mentioned his Easter basket yet. (He'll get a chocolate bunny, no worries.)
I'm not Christian but even I can see this holiday isn't supposed to be like the tv show "Survivor" to see who's most ruthless and acquisitive.
Reply April 12, 2009 at 05:05 PM
Amber said...
Yikes. I agree with the poster above, a video of this would be hilarious! We tend to avoid the mass egg hunts and stick to small family/friend gatherings so I've never seen this sort of behavior here, though I can certainly imagine.
Reply April 12, 2009 at 08:37 PM
jesscio said...
I couldn't agree more having just experienced a similar egg hunt at a Florida resort. Shocking to me the toddlers with baskets full of eggs while scads of "big" kids found just one or two. I've never understood why people see raising kids as a competitive sport.
