Holidays nowadays seem to be little more than an excuse for a shopping spree. And many mall stores now even feature decorations and gifts for Chanukah along side Christmas. (Something that wasn't true when I was a kid.) With this external focus on consumption, it's even more important to balance children's experiences.     When choosing Gates' gifts for Chanukah it was important that some be about the holiday and Jewish culture. Because Gates especially loves Shabbat and is now at the age where she wants to be involved, I also wanted a few Chanukah-related items that were interactive. A 31-piece wooden Chanukah Set by KidKraft ( *affiliate link ) and My First Menorah Book by Salina Yoon ( *affiliate link ) fit these requirements nicely.   An interactive Chanukah set was important as we didn't want Gates touching the lit candles of our family menorah. Before we gave this set to Gates (as we do with all toys and books since the Fisher-Price toy incident ) we open...

To kick off the holidays this year, my mom and my sister joined Gates and I in the kitchen to bake some of our childhood favorites. The most toddler friendly recipe we baked was a chopped apple pear cake.     What's your favorite fall fruit recipe?  

Filling blank wall space cost effectively is always a challenge. Creating art that tells a story and stands the test of time is an even greater challenge. Never one to back away from a challenge, to celebrate cubes' return home from the hospital (and our belated anniversary), I wanted to add some memorable art to our bedroom wall. My solution? Repurpose decorations from our 10/10/10 wedding.     In 2010 my husband and I had two wedding ceremonies, an unofficial ceremony out at Burning Man under Syzygryd and one in San Francisco at the Swedish American Hall. As not everyone who was attending our SF wedding was able to make it out to the desert to be with us, I decided to decorate a hallway between the reception and the happy hour halls with photos from our Burning Man wedding. Our venue didn't allow us to tape decorations to the walls so I got creative; I looped ribbons over the banister of a stairway and secured the end of the ribbon to itself with safety pins.   Becau...

When you think about Thanksgiving meals the same foods come to mind: turkey, stuffing, cranberry, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes. If you're adventurous maybe Brussels Sprouts. Why not try something new on your table? Delicata Squash.     Have you eaten Delicata Squash?  

Often we take it for granted that everyone can make affordable, sustainable fashion choices. For many affordable, sustainable clothing is a struggle. Where I find myself challenged is when it comes to children's clothes as choices become more limited. So far, Gates's wardrobe has been sourced the same as mine: vintage , gently used (clothing swaps), locally designed and/made, or fair trade certified.     First let me say that we're incredibly lucky that my mom kept jumpers and dresses from my sister's and my childhood closets. Gates has numerous 100% cotton, made in the United States, options to chose from. Now, if we had to buy an entire wardrobe for Gates from scratch, I'd have a harder time not raiding Target's clearance aisle, what with shirts and pants ranging from $2.50 to $10. (And if gently used options run out I maybe headed there in the future.)     Second we're also lucky San Francisco has a number of options for children's clothes that ar...

When times are tough, it can be hard to see the good in your life. To help me cope with cubes being in the hospital last month, I needed to remind myself daily to think about someone or something I was thankful for.     My daily "Grateful for" practice, got me thinking about my forgotten 365 Days of Thanksgiving project (at the moment there are only fifteen photos in my 2013 365 Days of Thanksgiving Flickr gallery) and the November 2013 HaveNotWant Challenge. How do you focus on what's important?