Monday Confessional: Get Your Sparkle On!

A few weeks ago, Zoe came home from a trip to Barnes and Noble with Dad clutching a little sparkly book featuring a jeweled castle on the cover. Unbeknownst to Jason, he had just introduced our innocent little girl to the wonderful world of BARBIE and all that she has to offer. Which, these days, is a marketing push that rivals that of a Disney princess.

Now, I was a Barbie girl. I have memories of being 10 and having elaborate Barbie playdates with my friends. I actually still have a few "special Barbies", in boxes, that I will never open. I always loved that pinkalicious plastic doll, and even friended her Facebook persona last year.  

So when Zoe demanded that I read Barbie and the Diamond Castle book 50 times in a row, I was (secretly) a little pleased. But the book just didn't make sense, and there were major plot holes. I know, it's a Barbie book for Christ's sake, but it made me wonder...Later I Googled the title and realized that the book didn't stand alone. That it was just one tiny piece of the Barbie and the Diamond Castle empire, yet I still couldn't really grasp what we just inadvertantly stumbled upon. 

Since the "Diamond Castle" is an older DVD, the dolls and accessories that go hand-in-hand with the movie are harder to come by these days. All we could really find is the movie's single "Connected" on iTunes - a song (also featured in the tween movie Aquamarine) that I have now endured listened to about 5,000 times. But for the newer movies, the aisles at Target are chalk full of dolls, dresses, books, stickers and play areas themed to match, with the newest edition to the collection being Barbie: A Fashion Fairy Tale.

The movie starts off with the simple message that even Barbie has bad days. First she is fired from her movie for questioning the motives of the director and his inclusion of Zombie peas in the classic "Princess and the Pea" story. Then, not moments later, she is heartlessly dumped by long-time beau Ken via a cellphone call. With her good friends there to support her by taking her iPhone from her and telling her she is not allowed to "call, email, text or tweet Ken" they offer to take her to Melrose for an Ice Blended and a mani/pedi to get her mind off her troubles. But Barbie wants to get further away and takes off to Paris with her dog, Sequin, to visit her Aunt Millicent at her Parisian fashion house. 

{Yes. I'm telling the truth. THIS IS HOW THE MOVIE STARTS.}

During her romp in Paris, Barbie tries to save her Aunt's failing business, rescues the "Flaries" (They don't have wings but they fly around spreading flare!), meets fashion designing dogs and of course (SPOILER ALERT!) saves the day while Ken makes a grand romantic gesture to fix the misunderstanding of their break-up. With Barbie dropping words like "redonculous" and the Flaries exclaiming it's time to "Get your sparkle on!" this movie is really a sign of the times that our daughters are growing up in.

Okay, yes. It totally IS mindless blather. But the underlying messages of this movie and the Diamond Castle movie are positive and do promote a sense of "girl power." While there are male characters in each of the movies, they are never there to "save the day" - that's Barbie's job. With themes that talk about working hard to achieve your goals, following your passions and, of course, the power of having great girlfriends, I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the Barbie movies so far. They may be a bit stupid, but let's be honest here, they are straight-to-DVD fare aimed at 3-6 year old girls. And I have to say that the songs are fun, catchy and completely appropriate for 3 year olds to sing without you having to worry that they they, or an older sibling, may have to ask what "Gin and Juice" or Daisy Dukes are. That being said, the song may still make your ears bleed by the 25th time on repeat... 

So there you have it. It's Monday November 8th and my confession: I like Barbie Movies. And I totally downloaded this song... because you know what? There IS magic in cashmere! Oh, oh, oh, oh! Oh, oh, oh, oh!

*Disclosure: Mattel, or the studio who produces the Barbie movies did NOT contact me and ask me to review this movie. This review was of my own accord on a purchased product b/c I felt that I needed to share that Barbie says "redonculous."

Zoe Alyce's Wonderland Tea Party

Last year after 35 kindergartners and the brain cake, I SWORE I would start to pull back on the birthday parties. I get too obsessed! I spend too much! Jason threatens to leave me! And then there is the age old thought of "why bother since the kids would be happy with 3 friends and cake..."But I like this stuff. And while two hours before the party it may not seem like any fun, whatsoever, for anyone involved - I love to throw a good party.

This one was down sized. I only invited 10 of Zoe's little girl friends over for an afternoon tea party. I felt HORRIBLE excluding MY friends with boys, but inviting the world is what gets me in trouble, so I apologized to my moms-of-boys friends and just invited girls (and a couple of older brothers for Lucas' sake). I ordered the invites through one of my favorite invitation designers, TomKat Studio, and then (if you can believe this) kinda put the party out of my mind. Until last week. When I promptly freaked out.

I had planned on using real china all along. I threw my good friends a tea party baby shower a few years ago and was excited to be able to use it all again. I had it in my head that I wanted to get a tiered serving dish, so I stopped by Home Goods and was blown away when I found actual Alice in Wonderland serving plates, cups, trivets, and a 2 tiered serving dish. I called my mom and my friend Maria from inside the store actually squealing over my find. But then my mind started racing... what else could I do to really make the party special?

Desserts.

 

Since I know that at this point most kids have been on a 7-day sugar high, I was going to stay away from doing a dessert/candy table. But I couldn't help myself. Beautiful Cupcake Love cupcakes, gum balls and candy buttons make every party happier. And with the edition of a Princess Cake from Sweet Lady Jane in LA (my mom's idea), the table pretty much set itself. 

While I'm sure the kids liked the dessert table the best (note the tiny holes in the frosting from tiny fingers sneaking a tiny taste) my favorite things are the details. The tables, the mantle, paper lanterns... the items that give it a true Wonderland feel.

Being that this was the first party in the new house, it was hard figuring out what what to put where. Since temperatures were in the 90's this past week, I had planned on an outdoor event. When the wind starting gusting around noon and the temperature dropped 15 degrees, I quickly make the executive decision to move the party inside... confusing us even more. Where do I put the bar for the moms? How do I set-up the tables? Where ARE those tablecloths?!

 

Having had a {crazy} boy first, I'm used to "boy parties." Running around, things getting knocked over, no hope of an organized craft or plan. But little girls are different. They will sit there and delight in drinking tea (Candy Cane non-caffinated from Trader Joe's) or sparkling lemonade out of proper china. They all dressed up in party or princess dresses and sat and drank their tea and ate their cookies with perfect manners. Thanks to Christina for a gift certificate that she couldn't use, we had Martha from Pinky's Big Top do face painting and balloon animals... she was wonderful and the kids LOVED it. 

 

While, yes, one can argue that I do my elaborate parties more for me than for the kid, I don't really see it that way. While Zoe may not remember the "drink me" tags or the little heart shaped topiaries, she will always have a special memory of her Wonderland tea party. And to me, that's what birthday parties are all about; Creating a perfect memory.

Happy 3rd birthday to my little pickle princess!

A simple coat of paint

We've now been in the new house for almost 3 months...a trimester.. a quarter of a year... and people keep asking me how I'm settling in. The truth? It's been a little hard. Jason and I are "beach shack" people. Living together, we have gone from a 700 sq foot duplex in Solana Beach to a 1000 sq ft townhouse in Del Mar to a 1400 sq ft (but on about a 1/2 acre of land) Mid-Century Modern "classic San Diego beach bungalow" in Encinitas, all west of the 5 (which, in San Diego, pretty much means minutes from the beach). All of our houses were old, but they all had tons of character. Now we are in this behemoth of a new house, with granite tiles and nice carpet and more bathrooms than bedrooms...and I'm lost. 

Don't get me wrong, the house is beautiful. I guess the problem is that it's too beautiful and grand for me. I'm the girl who shopped Ikea for ideas on "how to make the most of a small space," not the one desperate for big furniture to fill a room. More than anything it's a different frame of mind, having a nice house opposed to a funky house, and that's one that I'm not used to.

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with my Mom's friend, one of those people with an amazing eye for design and who used to (back in the real estate heyday) flip houses in LA. I told him I was having a hard time settling in and he gave me the best piece of advice...he told me to paint a wall.

Simple enough to do, and according to him, the best way to claim your new house as your own - a marking your territory type thing. He said to pick a wall and paint it a bright color. Even if it doesn't stay forever, pick a color that you love and makes you happy and paint a wall. I thought about that for the next 4 days. Then I went to Home Depot and asked them to whip me up a gallon of "Tiffany Blue" paint. 

And I painted my wall. And I freaking love it.

Picture by Patty at Petula Pea Photography

 And, for the first time in over 3 months, I'm beginning to feel at home. 

Review Week: CACAO Loving! Mayesa Cacao drink

It's almost embarrassing that our kids know the Starbucks menu as well as we do. I'm sure I'm not the only one, and it's more just a sign of the times, but since they were little they also have gotten a little chocolate milk treat at "Green Mermaid" as Daddy and Mommy get a much needed pick-me-up. Of course, kids don't understand "treats" and they want chocolate milk all the time...that's why I jumped at the chance to try the Mayesa drink. A healthier alternative to chocolate milk? My kids will think they've finally broken me down and will allow chocolate with breakfast? SCORE. Also, the women that started this company are local moms - and you know I'm all about supporting my local mamas!

You may have seen Rock On Mommies' Theresa's daughter Ellie's reaction to the drink. I won't lie - that was the SAME reaction I got here from both the kids and my husband. The only issue I had with it was the fight that broke out over who got to drink the last one in the fridge. Theresa mentions that the product is made with hemp, which I know, you immediately start thinking of Cheech and Chong. But don't worry, your little ones will not suddenly be shoving chips in their mouth while staring slack-eyed at the TV. It actually contains a Hemp Protein, which is not a psychoactive and is not a drug. In fact, Hemp protein is a great source of Omega 6 and Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s), and a complete source of Essential Amino Acids (EAA’s). Also, if you are thinking "green", Hemp is a great crop for the environment requiring little water, no pesticides or herbicides and has no GMO contamination. So there we go!

Now to the good part! The nice, ladies at Mayesa are letting me give a 4-pack away!

Since it's Halloween week and we all have chocolate on the brain, leave a comment below (by Friday 10/29 at 5 PM) letting me know what your fave chocolate treat is - and the winner (chosen at random.org) will get to indulge without all the guilt.

Tweet out: "@HipMamaB is giving away @drinkmayesa http://ow.ly/30sWf " for an extra chance to win!

Review Week: Open up and say SPAAAAAAAAAA

A few weeks ago, a group of us were treated to one of those days you can usually only dream about. Girlfriends, mimosas, 90-minute spa treatments and a private cabana at one of San Diego’s top resorts. Can you say HEA-VEN!?

The Rancho Bernardo Inn invited us out to experience what they have to offer. With a new outdoor cabana treatment area and a new spa pool, I see why the property was voted Best Outdoor Spa by San Diego Magazine. The grounds were simply stunning, and I could have easily spent a week lounging at that pool. We were all given goody bags filled with signature products, adorable new spa flip-flops and the treatment of our choice. Now let's be honest: the only thing better than a massage is a free massage, so I'm not going to bore you with the fantastic details of the made from organic product scrub, the warm cocoon body wrap and the delightful Swedish rub down. That it was fabulous and relaxing and SO NEEDED is pretty much a given. 

No, the party girl in me is going to tell you about something that really got me excited - their all inclusive spa party packages. We are of the age where we are "showering" our friends with parties for special occasions left and right. Milestone birthdays, weddings, babies - we all have tons of reasons to celebrate. And, as I learned a few weeks ago, going out clubbing isn't really the way to do things anymore. So why not organize a spa day? Your party can pick out their spa treatments, have some food and drinks and relax together in a private courtyard. While the exact cost depends on your group, I'm sure it's still a lot less than a weekend in Vegas.