Smith Rainey Family

Balls Galore

2012-01-22T16:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday was a big "Ball" day in Oakland.

Ingrid had her Cinderella Ball with the Girl Scouts at the Snow Building at the Oakland Zoo. She took Mad Dog as her date. Sweet!

I had the Edwardian Ball in San Francisco...always a good excuse to pull out the sewing machine and dream up a period costume.

"Being 9 is awesome!"

2012-01-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

Ingrid celebrated her 9th birthday with a rollerskating party and Ski Cake. Can't beat that!

(IMPORTANT: here is the answer to the question that has dogged all Smith children for decades: "why is it called Ski Cake?!?")

Happy Birthday, Ingrid!

2012-01-08T01:30:00.000-08:00

Nine years ago we met you...and we're very glad we did!

Happy birthday, Ingrid Alice!

XOXOX

More 2012 Shenanigans

2012-01-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

We ate crab, we danced a bit of makeshift jitterbug and we put on our best gansta faces...

Happy 2012 from Oakland!

2012-01-01T00:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T22:21:00.001-08:00

Alcatraz Adventures

2011-12-30T21:31:00.001-08:00

Santa put a ticket to Alcatraz in each of our stockings this year so we took the hint and headed over to The Rock today. What a great tour! Fascinating!

And...my friend Ernie's father lived on Alcatraz as a boy in the late 40's because his father was a prison guard and was famously involved in the great prison break. Mr. Lageson was there today signing books...pretty amazing California history.

Golden Gate Park Adventures

2011-12-29T21:04:00.000-08:00

We set off to visit the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park on Wednesday but the line was waaaay too long (everyone is out of school.) We quickly switched gears and headed over to Stow Lake, rented a peddle boat and peddled our way around the lake for an hour.

But before we did that, we had a great lunch at Hotei in the Richmond where Ingrid mastered chopsticks! Woot! Now we can move to Asia!

The Family 2011

2011-12-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

Darrick flew back to LA on Monday morning but not before we snapped some family pictures.

What happens when I keep saying "okay, just one more photo"...

Christmas yum...

2011-12-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Delicious Christmas dinner:

Caesar-crusted Tenderloin
Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese
Kale and Potato Puree
Potato Rolls (homemade!) with Caraway Salt

Yum-di-yum!

Christmas in California

2011-12-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

What a delightful day! Santa came and showered us all with gifts, we ate delicious coffee cake, had a walk around the lake in the sun and hung out all day.

Next stop: delicious Christmas dinner...stop by again to see those pics!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-25T01:05:00.000-08:00

Happy 12th Birthday, Henry!

2011-12-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

One more year to go before official "teen-dom"! Henry celebrated his 12th birthday at home and then at Dave & Buster's with friends, but not before he initiated his Brand New Mobile Phone...yes! Finally. He no longer is the only 12-year old on the planet without a cell phone.

Happy Birthday, H! We love you! xoxox

On this day...

2011-12-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

in 1999, we met Henry Xavier Rainey. What a treat!

Thanksgiving family pics

2011-11-29T20:38:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice Thanksgiving celebration...

Thanskgiving feast and festivities

2011-11-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

Yum! We had a delicious and delightful Thanksgiving in Oakland.

Our menu was classic:
- Creamy cauliflower soup
- Roast turkey with Mom's stuffing
- Kabocha ginger puree
- Smashed potatoes
- Escalloped corn
- Ginger cranberry relish
- Fresh rranberry sauce
- Green beans
- and, of course, pumpkin pie

We served it all with a lovely bottle of Flowers Pinor Noir.

Nap, please!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:51:00.000-08:00

Just because...

2011-11-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here's another photo of Ingrid from her Halloween parade at Kaiser. She and her friend, Cadence, look so lovely I just had to share!

Castle Project 2011

2011-11-07T20:26:00.000-08:00

After weeks of preparation, research and planning, Henry built a scale model of the Hemeji castle, a medieval Japanese fortress built in 1333 in Hyogo prefecture. The castle as five external stories with gabled roofs and two secret interior stories and a reinforced stone wall base.

This is a major 7th grade history project and all the castles created by the class will be on display at the Castle Walk at Bret Harte Middle School next week. The final grade is pending!

Great job, Henry!

Our new family member...

2011-11-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

Is named Fins. He's a goldfish won on Saturday at the school Harvest Fair in the ping-pong toss by Miss Ingrid! Woo hoo! He is, in Ingrid's words, "the best fish ever."

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T16:52:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! It was another fun year of great costumes and lots of trick or treaters on Sylvan Avenue. The difference was that, this year, Henry took off for some independent trick or treating with his friends and Ingrid went to join her friends in another neighborhood. Empty nest syndrome...*sigh*

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:47:00.000-07:00

Tuba Serenade

2011-10-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

It isn't every day you get to start the day being serenading with a version of "When the Saints Go Marching In" on the tuba...but we're lucky in Oakland! Henry was invited to be a member of the interschool Honor Band and he'll be playing the tuba. Play it, H.!

A very happy birthday

2011-10-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely birthday this year -- fancy, schmancy dinner at home with a HUGE chocolate cake and beautiful baubles. And then tickets to see Portishead on Friday night at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley -- it was an amazing show (borrowed video below.)

Thanks family! XOXOX

Birthday Graffiti

2011-10-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Meeting Dylan J

2011-10-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

While we were in Chicago in September, we paid a visit to Michelle and Jerry and got to meet the darling and delightful Miss Dylan J. What a peach! Can't wait to see her again!

HBD DAD!

2011-10-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Darrick! Just remember...you only turn 45 once! :) Have a wonderful day -- wish we could be there to celebrate.

XOXOXO

More pics from the B2B 12K

2011-10-10T17:35:00.001-07:00

Bridge to Bridge 2011

2011-10-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I ran the Bridge to Bridge 12K which starts at the Ferry Building in San Francisco and then runs to the Bay Bridge, snakes all over the Presidio and then ends at the top of a major incline with great views of the Bay. I bumped into a friend, Megan, before the race and we ran together -- nice to have company on the course.

I ran 1:04 at a pace of 8:40 (no bathroom breaks allowed next time -- it totally screws up your time!!) and placed 29 out of 344 in my age group, 473 out of 2242 overall. Meh.

September in Chicago (UPDATED!)

2011-10-01T10:21:00.000-07:00

We all traveled to Chicago in late September for Enid and Andrew's wedding in Evanston. It was a very fun weekend and the weather held out (mostly) for the ceremony.

Musical Icons

2011-09-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

We checked two acts off our list of "must sees" this week: Dr. John and Willie Nelson. Dr. John played at Yoshi's in Oakland and Willie Nelson & Family played at the Mountain Winery last night. As always, a great place to see and show and Willie managed to play non-stop for 2 hours -- not bad for a 77-year old! Here's a pic of us right before the show started...so fun!

Circus Freaks

2011-09-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

The circus came to Oakland this weekend and we all went to see the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus, aka The Greatest Show on Earth. And, to be honest, they put on a pretty darn good show -- tigers, elephants, human fireballs shot from cannons, guys on stilts, clowns, etc. It was a great time!

3rd Annual Colby Smith Memorial Run

2011-09-05T20:47:00.001-07:00

This year's run was a huge success! We had 200 runners in the race which was a 49% increase over 2010!

Here are some of our family photos from that weekend:

Santa Rosa: Snoopy and more

2011-09-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

We took a little road trip to Santa Rosa today to visit the Charles M. Schulz museum. Not only did we escape to really warm, summer-like weather and made a wrong turn to discover a perfectly maintained, huge, gorgeous round barn but we got to view all kinds of Peanuts artwork. Great museum -- highly recommended!

Back to School

2011-08-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

The summer flew by this year and the kids started school today. Henry's a 7th grader at Bret Harte MS and Ingrid started the 3rd grade at Kaiser. Both have new principals and seem excited about their teachers. Good luck, kids!

p.s. I had to run out at lunch today and buy new pants for Henry. He put his on this a.m. and he was ready for a 4" flood. Oops.

The right kind of pet

2011-08-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

We have been hosting two Monarch caterpillars for the past couple of weeks. They're eating parsley like craaaazy and turning into slightly grotesque "faterpillars."

Taming the mane(s)

2011-08-16T20:40:00.000-07:00

It took a Herculean amount of conditioner and some strong will, but we managed to wrangle the wild Rainey hair into ponytails tonight...not sure how long it will last.

Desert Paradise

2011-08-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

We spent a week basking in the heat of the desert again this summer in Palm Springs. Due to the failure of the air conditioning unit at our "usual" house, we were moved to a spectacular oasis in the Movie Colony...oh, darn!

It was fantastic -- warm air, hot days, lots of pooltime and the Milky Way in Joshua Tree at night.

When the kids "borrow" the camera...

2011-08-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

you get a whole bunch of funny candids...

Cowgirl, Part II

2011-07-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Ride 'em, Ingie!

Seattle fun...

2011-07-28T11:18:00.001-07:00

Henry heads home today from his visit to Seattle -- judging by the photos, he's had a fantastic time!

Cowgirl!

2011-07-26T10:25:00.000-07:00

Henry took off for Seattle yesterday to visit his friend, Oscar, who just moved from Oakland to Seattle earlier this summer.

While he's having a great time in the Pacific Northwest, Ingrid has started HORSEBACK RIDING lessons...much to her utter delight. According to her, yesterday was the "best day of her life." :)

LA Kidz

2011-07-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

The kids just spent a week soaking up sun and culture in LA with Dad...we heard they went to the Santa Monica beach and pier, Disneyland, Royal/T cafe, LACMA and more. Here are some pics to prove it:

More Oakland garden wonder...

2011-07-05T21:20:00.001-07:00

(Wendy, per your request!)

These photos were taken on a lovely summer evening -- we were even able to eat outside in July!! -- right before a GIANT raccoon ran through our dinner scene.

the Hive site is live!

2011-06-29T11:51:00.000-07:00

Spread the word! We're always accepting new clients!

This weekend's project...

2011-06-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

A pickax + handsaw + ladder + clippers + pruners + six bags of mulch + a sunburn = garden is back under control until next Spring.

Oh, and MD is waging his own personal war (see the chicken wire contraption below) against the squirrels/birds/whatever that eat our cilantro down to nubs.

Happy Birthday, MD!

2011-06-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Mad Dog had a weekend-long series of events to celebrate his birthday. We went to see "A Night in Treme" at Davies Symphony Hall in SF and were treated to a full evening of New Orleans-style jazz, complete with a full set by the Rebirth Brass Band! Excellent!

And we all had "brunch pizza" at Zero Zero in San Francisco before catching a matinee show of the still wild, crazy and fun Blue Man Group with the kids.

We topped it off with a Meyer Lemon Cake...yum!

Happy Birthday! XOXOXO

Piano Recital

2011-06-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Ingrid had her first live piano recital today. She did great! A bit of stage fright but nothing like the time I forgot my place midway through my "memorized" song and had to start over, like, 10 times.

She played What a Wonderful World, Classic Dance and The Farmer in the Dell...all without sheet music. She definitely earned her post-recital ice cream from Loard's.

Bravo! Have a listen below:

New beginnings...

2011-06-09T16:10:00.001-07:00

Well, I started a new chapter in my life as Partner/Director of Client Services at the Hive Advertising in San Francisco. We're a small(ish), creatively-driven, really smart ad agency.

Have a client? Send them to me! :)

In the meantime, photos of my office:

Chicken pot pie!

2011-06-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Yummmmmmmm....

What I did on my day off...

2011-06-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

New range hood:

New paint:

New cabinet paint & hardware:

New storage:

New curtain:

PHEW!

Parkour Madness

2011-05-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Henry's parkour class held a showcase yesterday in Oakland -- check it out!

Mother's Day...Oakland-style

2011-05-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

What a great day...beginning with coffee in bed (my all time favorite!) and followed by a hike with friend at Sibley Volcanic Park and a pedicure! It was a gorgeous day (although we had to abandon plans to spend the day at the pool because of the cool and windy weather.) I hope your day was just as fun!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

For my Mom, my sisters and all my friends who are mothers...wishing you all a very special day.

Kaiser Annual Walk-a-thon

2011-05-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ingrid was the only Rainey at the walk-a-thon this year -- doing her part to raise much needed funds for the school. Go Ingie!!

Napa Valley Day Trip

2011-05-01T22:42:00.000-07:00

We took a mini road-trip to Napa Valley this weekend to visit my client's winery, Twomey Cellars. They were holding a Pizza and Pinot party to celebrate their new Pinot Noir release. We also used that as an excuse to see what the Calistoga Old Faithful Geyer was up to...still doing its thing every 10-15 minutes!

Spring Break Road Trip: Day 3

2011-04-28T22:34:00.000-07:00

On day 3, our final day of the trip, we traveled to Carmel and stayed in a lovely little hotel. We had a great hike on the Carmel River watershed, explored tidal pools and then, on Easter Sunday, visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium before driving home. We saw jellyfish, otters, seahorses, flamingos and penguins!

Oh! And the kids both made a cool social media video:

Spring Break Road Trip: Day 2

2011-04-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

On Day 2, we continued south to San Luis Obispo where we visited the mission which is one of the 21 missions built by Fr. Junipero Serra in California in the late 1700s and 1800s to convert Native Americans to Christianity. It was an appropriate setting for the Easter weekend.

In more lowly cultural terms, we also visited Bubble Gum Alley: a lengthy stretch of alley covered floor to ceiling in pieces of masticated chewing gum. It's fascinating and totally disgusting...and, yes, we added our own bubble gum to the mix.

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Spring Break Road Trip: Day 1

2011-04-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

I spent the first part of Spring Break week in Los Angeles on production for a brand new STAINMASTER carpet TV spot (yay!) but when I got home, we took off for a nice long road trip.

We headed south to San Simeon on the Central Coast to visit Heart Castle--truly an amazing place with incredible history and yet another tale of why getting your paws on California real estate pays out in the long run. This place has 155 rooms, massive guest houses, is built on the notion of an Italian village. It's incredible -- even if you don't factor in the gold- and lapiz-encrusted indoor pool

We visited the elephant seals north of San Simeon on a beach where they have been gathering to mate and molt for hundreds(?) of years. I could have watched them all day -- they're massive beasts.

We also saw a herd of wild zebra (with babies!) grazing on the hillsides -- these are remnants of Hearst's wild animals he brought to the ranch in the 1930s.

Remembering Colby (1971-2005)

2011-04-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

My family turned to Facebook this year to commemorate Colby on the anniversary of his death and that resulted in a wonderful small collection of photographs of him which I've reposted here:

Galleria 3101

2011-03-20T14:57:00.001-07:00

Ingrid has been busy, as usual, making art. Here is a selection from her latest series. (My personal fave is the Vampire Princesses.)

Carpet-baggers

2011-03-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

The kids were part of the talent pool for a STAINMASTER carpet photo shoot this week...look for them online sometime soon or at a carpet store near you.

GS Retail

2011-02-27T16:03:00.000-08:00

Today we sold Girl Scout cookies on Lakeshore Avenue in front of the Peet's Coffee shop from 10-12 on the un-sunny side of the street. Brrrrrr.

But the girls were charming and had a beautiful display set up and we schooled them on best retail practices...smile, look friendly, suggest customers buy 5 boxes instead of 4 when they hand you a $20. :)

Doing the Henry dance...

2011-02-21T19:29:00.000-08:00

Your World

2011-02-17T22:33:00.000-08:00

Ingrid's class performed at the Martin Luther King Oratorical Festival in Oakland this week. They recited "Your World" by Georgia Douglas Johnson and this was Ingrid's part:

p.s. They took 2nd place!

Love love love

2011-02-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to all you lovers!

Girl Scout Cookie Mania

2011-02-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh, when I signed up to be the Cookie Cupboard (yes, really) for Ingrid's Brownie troop, I didn't think my dining room would look like this:

Mother/Daughter Art Project

2011-02-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

Our mother/daugher group tackled Valentine's Day in this meeting by making homemade Valentines for all of our favorite people. There was a lot of glitter glue and feathers involved!

Silver Oak Release Day

2011-02-06T09:13:00.000-08:00

My agency won the Silver Oak Cellars business in January and we were invited to attend the Silver Oak Release day to taste the new Napa Valley 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon release. It was a GORGEOUS California day: sunny, 75 degrees and beautiful. Aaahhh....and the wine wasn't bad either!

Happy Birthday, Miss Ingrid!

2011-01-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ingrid Alice is, incredibly, 8 years old! We celebrated with cupcake decorating and a trip to the movie theatre to see Tangled.

Happy birthday, beautiful girl!

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

Christmas Joy

2010-12-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was a wonderful low-key holiday that came together at the last minute: tree up on Christmas Eve, cookies baked on Christmas Day. Santa was very good to the kids and the adults had a chance to relax, eat lots of delicious food (beef bourguignon anyone?) and catch up. Plus, we had a canine houseguest to keep things interesting.

And...the kids had to beg us to not be like Grandpa who "had to come in from milking, build a fire, eat breakfast and take a shower" before opening the door to the living room.

Merry Christmas!

And then there was Hector...

2010-12-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

Well, he's not really "ours"...we're just borrowing him for a few days. We're dogsitting for Hector, a mini Australian shepherd who looks suspiciously like a border collie, but who's keeping track? We love him and he loves us...well, I'm not sure Mad Dog "loves" him but the rest of us do. :)

Henry's Blue Note

2010-12-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

Play it again, H.!

Cover models

2010-12-14T18:10:00.000-08:00

Look at who's featured on our friends holiday card this year!

Henry turns 11!

2010-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

Henry's birthday fell on a Wednesday this year which resulted in a three-tiered birthday extravaganza:

- Family celebration on Wednesday
- More family celebration on Friday
- Boys' sleepover on Saturday (with the Sour Cream Chocolate Chip cake from The Unicorn...yum!)

Phew! Check out the photos below for the full progression!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY! XOXOXO

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-11-29T14:01:00.001-08:00

Mom and Dad survived the snowstorm in Yosemite and made it to Oakland in time for Thanksgiving! We had a full house with Grandma, Grandpa and Darrick -- perfect! Good food, good wine, roaring fire and lots of leftover pie...everybody was happy.

Oh, and we were able to catch the OSU game at Ricky's, deep in Raider Nation. We made it out alive.

BusinessWeek loves Tacky Xmas!

2010-11-24T16:26:00.000-08:00

Check it out...Mad Dog is famous (again!)

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/nov2010/bw20101117_719710.htm

El dia de los muertos

2010-11-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

Our annual, ever-changing altar; pretty and poignant:

More Orange...

2010-11-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

In honor of the San Francisco Giants 2010 World Series win...here's a picture of the kids in orange! Woot!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

It's Halloween on Sylvan Avenue again...

Another year older...

2010-10-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

but I have great kids to show for it.

Happy Birthday Anne!

2010-10-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

XOXOXOX

Henry, Ingrid and Mad Dog

Fleet Week Doggies

2010-10-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

This past week marked Fleet Week in San Francisco and the Blue Angels started buzzing the city on Friday at noon.

We ventured out to Treasure Island on Sunday afternoon to catch their air show and were perfectly placed to watch their formations, see them fly *under* the Golden Gate Bridge and have them fly directly over our heads, alone, in pairs and, once, in a deafening formation of six planes together.

After the show we drove around the largely abandoned island and found these giant dogs from Doggie Diner sitting by the side of the road:

Oaktoberfest Jazz Concert

2010-10-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

Henry was invited by his band teacher, Mr. Worm, to join the Jazz Band at Bret Harte. They practice before school every day and typically 6th graders aren't part of that select group.

On Saturday, at the Oaktoberfest Festival in the Dimond District in Oakland, the Jazz Band played a set including tunes from Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Miles Davis.

They were awesome!

Sleepy Saturday Morning Cartoons

2010-10-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

Bret Harte Boys

2010-10-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

Henry and Pearse -- 6th graders par excellance. And already having lunch with the 8th grade girls...well, according to the boys, the girls have lunch with them.

End of Summer Bash

2010-10-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

Henry hosted an end-of-summer BBQ for his group of friends from Kaiser before they all headed off to middle school. In the group, they're going to four different middle schools in Oakland so we think we'll keep up the reunion parties for a while.

My new pretties

2010-09-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

I have recently become the owner of three HUGE paintings, featured below.

They're so large that they wouldn't fit in my storage space or car and certainly wouldn't fit into my Tiny Tim house. So, I dismantled two of them and rolled them up and will make it a project to "convert" them into bite-sized pieces more suitable to my space. The other lovely is hanging in my office.

SF Photo Shoot

2010-09-29T15:20:00.001-07:00

Henry and Ingrid posed as models for a photographer friend of mine in San Francisco. Pretty fun stuff!

Back to School

2010-09-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

School started this year with two big changes: Henry started middle school (aka Junior High) at Bret Harte and Ingrid became the only Rainey kid at Kaiser Elementary as a 2nd grader.

Go team!

What we did in August...

2010-09-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

We've fallen off the blog wagon again. It happens. Somehow August just flew by and moved too quickly and was too busy and we didn't take time to document it. So, here's a slideshow version of our August 2010:

Henry took his first solo flight from Oakland to Chicago to spend a couple of weeks at Grandma and Grandpa's:

And then he ended up looking like a Surfer Dude in HHI after spending a week with his cousins:

Meanwhile, Ingrid took in some artwork and a veritable Mondrian cake at SFMOMA:

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Then we spent several weekends at the "lice store" ridding ourselves of the little buggers:

And then school started. The end.

More Monsterious-ness...

2010-07-27T17:59:00.001-07:00

Monsterious!

2010-07-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

The kids wrapped up two weeks of circus camp yesterday with a production that they created and choreographed called Monsterious.

The plot involved monsters attacking and taking over the world led by a mad scientist named "Mad Scientist." The crew showcased their circus skills from tumbling to trapeze.

They were awesome! Check out the videos below to see Henry and Ingrid on the trapeze!

Garage Sale Sunday

2010-07-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

This weekend's enterprising activity is a garage sale organized by Ingrid and her friends on the block. They decided to clear out the "baby" stuff from their toy and book collections and see what they could sell. Stop by for great deals on plastic high heels and books!

Sylvan Nail Salon

2010-07-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Apparently inspired by the nail salon in Palm Springs, Ingrid set up a nail salon in front of the house offering manicures for $1. Very entrepreneurial! Purple polish with a purple glitter topper was the recommended favorite.

Home again...home again

2010-07-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

Well, we're back in Oakland after a surprisingly easy 8-hour drive today from Palm Springs.

We had enough time before we hit the road this morning for one last torturous walk under the blazing sun and a dunk in the fabulous pool. We left Palm Springs when it was 110 degrees, and arrived in Oakland where it is mid-70s. Talk about a shock to the system! Ingrid is currently wearing Ugg boots with her sundress.

Re-entry to real life is never fun!

Palm Springs Life

2010-07-08T21:19:00.001-07:00

I think we could *easily* adopt this lifestyle! We visited a night market in Indio last night: rows and rows of stuff at a going rate of $1. Super fun! We also had a special visitor today: Pearse! He's in Palm Desert with his dad so he came to hang out with the kids for the day before they drove to LA for the ballgame: Cubs vs. Dodgers.

Palm Springs, Day 2 & 3

2010-07-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

We're settling into our vacation mode in Palm Springs. It's been warm (hot, really) but not unbearable. Lots of pool time...loving it!

Oh! And we had an earthquake! 5.9 magnitude and located about 27 miles from Palm Springs. The house rolled and then shook and then rolled some more. Yee haw!

Aaaah...PS

2010-07-05T17:23:00.001-07:00

We are back in Palm Springs for a wonderful week of pool time, lounging in the heat, discovering the desert. We watched the fireworks from Sunrise Park last night -- beautiful show. Ingie and I made it out today for a girls' nail appointment; I went with classic vampy red and Ingrid chose "Dance Party" glitter blue. Oh yeah!