First cold of the season. Claire to Aerin, and Aerin to me. Fun stuff. While my family continues to recover, here’s some more fluff to fill my poor, neglected blog… First and foremost, DID YA HEAR? DID YA HEAR?!??? Benedict Cumberbatch announced his engagement to director-actress-singer Sophie Hunter via a traditional newspaper ad yesterday. I’ve […]
Happy Birthday, Aerin!
Dearest Aerin, Three years ago today, a nice lady placed a red-faced, screaming baby in my arms for the very first time. I looked down to see your face and whispered, “Hi baby, I’m your mommy. You were in my belly for almost ten months. I’m so happy to meet you…” Even at such a young age, you’re already […]
Boo!
Look at me! Did that scare you? 😉 Because it’s pretty freaky, if I may say so myself. As much as I would like to take credit for this zombie effect, I didn’t have to do any work to achieve the ghoulish look (unless you call clicking on some buttons “work”). So no, there will be […]
Doll Play
I never played with dolls as a kid. I have memories of painstakingly cutting out elaborate paper dolls and their clothes and accessories….only to discard them once I finished. I also recall constructing Barbie houses out of cardboard boxes, books, and other items we found around the house, but lost interest once the domiciles were completed. […]
Homework: A Family Effort?
Claire should technically still be in preschool. However, because she missed her school’s cutoff age by only a couple of months — and because she’s a bit advanced for her age — her teachers recommended she start pre-kindergarten early. (As such, she will always be one of the youngest kids in her grade.) And one of the […]
Happy 4th Birthday, Claire!
At this time 4 years ago, I was admitted to the labor & delivery ward of Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ. 11 and a half hours later, our Claire Emmanuelle entered this world. I love her for her confidence and sass. I love her for her for her curiosity, intelligence, and hilariously sharp […]
My Korean Skincare Routine: An Update
It’s been almost 3 months since I ventured into the wonderful world of Korean skincare products. (Not sure what I’m talking about? See here and here.) And because I have tried a few new products since my last post on the subject, I wanted to give you guys an update. 🙂 First things first: how […]
Chalazion
A couple of months ago, we noticed a small lump under Aerin’s left lower eyelid. (You can kinda see it in the first picture from this post about summer camp.) It wasn’t painful and it didn’t seem to bother her, so we took the “wait and see” approach. But over the weeks, the lump grew larger […]
Amazing 200-Year-Old Desk with Insane Hidden Drawers and Compartments
Isn’t it funny how the littlest things can bring back long-forgotten stories from memories past? Because the first thing that crossed my mind upon seeing this secretary cabinet was not “Holy crap, that’s SO COOL!” (that was my second thought), but a recollection of a beloved, long out-of-print book from my childhood: Midnight in the […]
In All Seriousness…
I dislike talking politics. I also tend to avoid hot-button issues of the international nature, because there are just so many damn perspectives to consider, and someone always gets screwed somehow. (Trust me, I know. I majored in International Studies at one of the top programs in the country.) But ISIS. Sigh. It’s an issue that […]