easter in sun valley

wearing winter gear on spring break is not so bad when you're in beautiful sun valley, idaho.

+ an easter egg round up (not so much of a hunt as they were all scattered in plain sight for the wee ones)! with so many kiddos, it was the quickest hunt i've ever seen. off to get a tattoo.

+ meeting the real easter bunny, in the fur.

+ the boys got in on some serious spring skiing. i love watching dan get benji all geared up: helmet, mittens and more. okay, thumbs go in the thumb pockets. admittedly, i am not much help on the slopes. however, i am in charge of packing the apres ski snacks. dried mangoes, sandwiches and trail mix.

+ iconoclast book store and cafe is our favorite place to browse books and sit awhile. oh so charming with its chalkboard-topped tables and an incredible stationery and hipster card selection. the toasted bagel and cream cheese is an excellent lunch for the famished.

+ the latest craze while being patient for a parent who is shopping is to find a little cozy spot to make a quick movie. no, no, no, mom. we start like this: you say, how old are you benji? and then i say, three. and we go from there. he's got the script down. and there is usually a knock knock joke involved. i can't wait to show the home movies to his fiance.

+ enjoying breakfast (and bears) at the kneadery. best breakfast in town. opens at eight.

read more about our trip here.

coming home from vacation. the list.

+ i packed all our darling easter spring clothes for our easter spring vacay. i forecasted sunshine and suntans. unfortunately the short sleeves remained packed. we wore turtlenecks and parkas the whole time. in fact, in a moment of motherly weakness, i let benji hunt for easter eggs in his camouflage sweat pants. (gasp.) he also got a temporary tiger tattoo that day. on his face. it still hasn't come off yet. i'm deeming myself as awesome mom. he was unbelievably happy and it was too chilly to make him wear his charming argyle vest and plaid shirt. and the way he says hello to tiger every morning in the mirror is pretty cute. i'm learning to let things go. and come to think of it, i'm totally fine without that perfect picture of him hunting for eggs in a catalogue-worthy outfit. small steps, people.

+ dan calls him a tiger on the slopes. so, it is a fitting symbol. as all tats should be.

+ one of the highlights was watching the skillful woman in the lobby put together the easter floral arrangement as i cozied up by the roaring fire. the fresh flowers smelled divine. and the assortment was taller and rounder than me (if at all possible). it was a huge assortment of lilies and hydrangeas and all kinds of colorful blooms somehow perfectly placed in symmetry. i also liked watching the delicate flowers balancing in the assistant boy's hand while she took her time creating the huge masterpiece. he was attempting to text someone and hold a garbage bag for the clippings at the same time. my favorite was the florist's professional method, as if she does a hundred of these arrangements in her sleep. she still  loves flowers but is no longer drunk off their scent. at the very end of her tango around the blooming arrangement, she took out her camera and snapped a quick shot (just one) of her incredible creation and turned away as quickly as she arrived. i liked seeing that teeny glimpse of pride in her work.

+ laundry. i dreamt about bountiful towers of folded laundry (and termites!) last night. termites that mutated into giant scary creatures. and something else called 'laundry cake' that supposedly smelled and tasted delicious, with a touch of downy. bizarre. i got the message; my laundry and cake-eating habits need to be attended to.

+ re-reading tina fey's bossy pants on the road. alas, mockingjay was not available at the local library (go figure). i was happy to share our easter vacay with tina. she's hilarious and self-deprecating, in a really likeable way.

+ the cold did not deter the fun of the vacation, of course. the boys skiied. we relaxed. and ate. i read every magazine on the rack at the glorious bookshop that has a mammoth assortment of legos for kids to play with while their moms get in on free relaxing and reading (not unlike a spa treatment). i shopped around town. and balked at a 300 dollar scarf. actually a whole wall of 300 dollar scarves. the lady working there came over to me and kindly handed me a plastic egg with a ten percent off easter coupon inside of it. guess how many scarves i bought. 

+ tiny silver earrings. i finally found some in a sweet gift shop. for under $300. i am happy. and will likely be wearing them for years to come.

+ cable tv and a swimming pool and endless supply of bubble bath. the little lovelies of hotel life.

+ introducing benji to strawberry sprinkle pop-tarts was another highlight of the trip.

+ not being able to fall asleep on the long drive home. rare treat indeed. while b slept the hours away, dan and i had a chance to catch up–just the two of us. plus i didn't miss passing all the gorgeous sunlit fields, tractors, and bugs splattering on the windshield.

pictures to come. / how was your weekend?

nyc / highlights

highlights
tulips + trees among the traffic.
yankees game.
the royal wedding hype.
anthropologie at rockefeller center
cathedrals + shopping on 5th ave.
kate's paperie in soho.

other favorite must-dos, not pictured
fishs eddy dishes shop, dean & deluca, H&M, the NY public library, uniqlo in soho, new york city running tours (the ideal way for an athlete to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city!), tiffany's, F.A.O. Schwartz (where we spotted victoria beckham in heels, her little boys and bodyguards picking out a new gaming system), lincoln center, the LDS temple, abc carpet and home, broadway shows and battery park. the russian matryoshka vendor was my favorite on-the-street find. next time, i definitely want to see the view from top of the rock. i've heard it's better than the empire state building.

p.s. i'd never been shopping in soho before this trip. i absolutely loved it. i fell hard for the j. crewish pieces at uniqlo. i never thought i'd say this, but it bumped H&M from first place in my shopping heart of all hearts. of course there is currently only one uniqlo in the country. but there will be more locations cropping up in nyc soon!

nyc / cycling in central park

biking broadway, new york city 2011 from marta on Vimeo.

one of the best activities in nyc was renting bikes to see the sights in central park on saturday afternoon. an unexpected thrill was the fact that we had to bike up a few blocks–on broadway–to actually get to the park. thank goodness for a sizeable bike lane! there were twelve of us. my in-laws are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year (congratulations!!) and biking with their children is one of their all-time favorite pastimes. thanks to cameraman dan for capturing the moment (and for not dropping my camera)!

watch for...
the dave letterman theater
fresh fruit stand on the sidewalk.
riding the opposite way in said bike lane.
blooming pink trees in central park! 
remembering how to road bike. am glad i survived.
dan and i trying to take a snapshot while camera was still in movie mode.
jogger in central park running faster than me on a bike. 
twelve smiling cyclists.

bike rentals / cycle cafe / 250 W 49th St (between Broadway & 8th Ave)

a few of my favorite bloggers post vacation videos, which i love. they inspired my own vacay video post. this was my first attempt to create / edit a home movie–aside from baby benji clips. i am excited to explore imovie a bit more. i have a lot to learn! perhaps there will be more martamovies in the future.

tune in tomorrow for my final nyc trip highlights post.

nyc / an afternoon at the MoMA

i have happy memories of the museum of modern art. i first went there when i was in high school and it changed my whole course in life. no, actually it confirmed my whole course in life. this was my third visit to the MoMA, but the first to their new location. of course, museums are ever-changing, so i always try to keep my mind open when visiting. i was sad that the fourth floor (with greats like pollock and rauschenberg was closed for renovation), yet still i found myself deeply enchanted again with the exhibits on display. i started feeling all artsy. which is one of my favorite feelings in the world.

thankfully they allow no-flash photography. i made the most of it. of course nothing can capture van gogh's starry night. it was like seeing an old friend (that poster hung over my bed for years). my heart has been a forever fan of vincent's. his work should be seen in person and up real close.

i like modern art and enjoyed seeing the pieces and trying to recall what i learned about the artists long ago in art history class. there is nothing like walking around silently, my mind fluttering with brain storms. i love the mix of classics, installation pieces, and then there's always the random pieces that i have to muse over for awhile. i can hear my professor. what is the artist saying? what were his intentions? what does this say about the artist, and about his culture? what point is he making? the art loosened me up and i was suddenly enamored with watching other people view art. without a conscious effort, it became my assignment for the day. to snap shots of the art in varying perspectives, with and without people. it turned out to be a very cool experiment. i liked tackling a creative task while visiting a creative place. it made all the difference. i hope to do it again someday.


the museum of modern art
11 west 53 street | new york, ny
closed tuesdays.
admission: $20 or $12 for students
free on friday nights 4:00 to 8:00 p.m

return from nyc and the real me.

riding the nyc subway with my cute in-laws; on our way to church on sunday. i love this pic because my ecstatic facial expression shows exactly how i felt the entire weekend. (sarah snapped this phone pic because she loved the woodsy eco subway car interior. super cool.) lots of nyc photos and details to come. hope you won't mind. (get excited.)

today i'm unpacking, playing with benji (we missed him to pieces!), filling mini diary orders (merci!), playing online catch-up, pinning a few, and going grocery shopping (fridge is totally empty!). hope your tuesday is fantastic.

p.s. i'm holding our moop market bag on my lap. (it started as a diaper bag and continues to be my favorite carry-on.) we didn't tote it around the city everyday.. but it was perfect for sunday since i could throw pants and flipflops in it and change after church. i felt like a real new york girl carrying my heels in my bag.

new york city / on the horizon

an excursion to new york city is soon upon us.

you may or may not already know it's my favorite place ever. i always love to hear what other people love about it. there is so much to love. a jam-packed touristy trip isn't on the menu. i'm hoping to discover (and re-discover) our faves and enjoy the best of the best gems while not feeling too frantic. do tell, if you had only a few days in manhattan, what would you be sure to see, eat, or experience? please tell me your not-to-be-missed nyc musts.

new york collage made up of pins.
one / two / three / four / five / six.

arizona / spring break excursion

up up and away / the airplane ride.
the flight was uneventful and super fun (mostly because it was short!). i especially loved seeing the grand canyon from above. we snacked on gummi bears to keep our ears from popping and read books and played with stickers. upon arrival, our jackets were peeled off, never to be seen again. hooray. the weather is gorgeous in arizona. and so is my sister, gabi and her family and her new house. we were welcomed with open arms, an open fridge, lots of togetherness and spring break arizonian fun. i want to set up an RV in their driveway. there is just no one quite like a sister.


gabi and her foursome / pizza night.
i got a glimpse of what life is like with big kids!! the cousins were so sweet with benji; fighting over sitting by him, helping him, playing with him and pushing him on the swings. he was like a mini monarch. speaking of which, my brother-in-law brad took gabi and i to the movies. ever since he married gabi (i was eight!), he has been so good to me. he introduced me to the works: popcorn and jr. mints and tall drinks and previews.

later in the week gabi and i enjoyed makeovers, watching Top Chef (where have i been?!), great podcasts, shrimp burritos, watermelon slushes from Sonic and a lesson in painting walls. she picked a beautiful martha stewart shade at Home Depot. it's called nutshell. we painted and chatted after the kiddos were tucked in. the opportunity to watch another mom mother her children is priceless. especially if she's as good as gold like gabi is. being my oldest sis, she has always been one to teach by example. one thing i hope to copy is the way she reads chapter books (each kid, a different book!) with her kids at night.

i always come home with a new perspective on things. i told her i didn't even feel like blogging while i was experiencing her busy lifestyle. i assured her i wouldn't be reporting any of this on my blog! then i got home, got sucked in and couldn't help myself. if you know my blog at all, you know i am a big fan of posting vacation wrap-ups. without trying, they are always lengthy with gaudy details and photographic evidence oozing with all the fun we're having. (if you are someone other than my mom or my sister, thanks for tuning in!)




the kiddos / fun in the sun.
every day we had an outing with the kids. even dropping them off at piano lessons was enjoyable. it's so refreshing getting out of one routine and jumping into another. the trip zipped by so quick. i lost track of the days and suddenly started to wonder how people with real lives ever find time to blog or read blogs. one day we went to the phoenix zoo which reminded me so much of the san diego zoo from last year. it has great features, including a little people farmland and a few splash pads. i guess spontaneous splashing is a necessity for locals come august.

gabi's backyard isn't quite finished yet, but the kids had a ball driving plasma cars on the patio and burying each other in sand with the worker's shovels. it was pure luxury to wear sunglasses and sandals again. benji kept saying, mom, it's real sunny out here. when he'd start digging in the sand he'd prop his sunglasses up on his head like a big person.



yum / fresh from the farm.
joe's farm grill was a perfect spot for brunch. outdoor seating, delicious food (mini apple fritters!), and farm fields all around. it was a hip little spot to eat. i imagine i'd become a regular if i lived nearby. jake opted for a giant hamburger and orange soda, in true growing-boy fashion. it's crazy to see these kids grow up before my own eyes. jake and i watched Avatar together one night. i (shockingly) really liked it and wished i'd seen it in 3D. it is crazy creative, don't you think!? am planning to make dan watch it soon so we can discuss.



adventures / boys will be boys.
sam and luke play club penguin on gabi's computer. (if only she could dictate her hilarious blog posts to them!) i loved their banter about video gaming, it totally took me back to playing sonic the hedgehog with my brother in the beginning phases of sega. these boys (willingly!) shared all their cool toys with benj. one afternoon we headed to schnepf farms for a hayride and a trainride and vegetable picking. later on, gab and i baked a beet bundt cake with the dozens of beets the kids picked. the cake was moist and delicsh but still tasted a little like earth which is a nice way to say it kind of tasted like dirt in bundt form. gabi kindly wrapped up the leftovers and sent them to her in-laws. if you find yourself deep in beets, you might want to give this recipe a try!

another highlight was taking the twins to tennis. they played hard so i told them we'd head out for a treat to celebrate. they had a brilliant idea to go to the new frozen yogurt shop, cocoamoe's or kokamo's or cocomo's. we never did find it, but they loved taking turns spelling it out into the GPS. it's a wild ride when you have two six year old back seat drivers. benj was happy to watch all the events unfold. so many characters, so many plots to follow.


loving spring break / benji and me at joe's farm.

a big thanks to the arizona cousins.

jake is tall and athletic, energetic and helpful. he recently turned twelve and gabi threw him a party complete with marshmallow guns. he and b were fast friends. he held benji's hand, pushed him on the swings and protected him from all signs of toddler danger. his favorite flavor of soda is orange. jake's adoption was an answer to so many prayers.

emily made a cardboard house just for benj to play in. she read a dozen books to benji and tucked him in at night. if only she could've fit in my suitcase! she likes sports, dancing to the radio and braiding her new lifesize bratz barbie doll head (i'm jealous, i never had one of those). i love the story about the time gabi and brad first laid eyes on her.

sam and luke are twins and completely crack me up. they are so clever and witty! we made cookies together because i have such fond memories of baking cookies with them in 2007. (they were only three and knew all the ingredients by heart!) they are becoming big kids but still on the verge of being little. i took every chance i got to snuggle up with them. benj was impressed with their piano playing and marble tracks. i'm impressed with gabi's juggling act! read her adventures with kindergarten and dealing with double the meltdowns!

thank you, gabi for all the fantastic fun. and yes, this is my small ploy to get you into blogging again!

farewell for now / enter the guest bloggers

this weekend we're having a mini jaunt and a few days after that, my little sidekick and i are jetting into the sunshine for an extended spring break vacation. i am feeling like one lucky lady. while i play, my blog will still be hard at work. i do hope you'll enjoy the upcoming guest posts i have planned. i've asked thirteen different bloggers the same fifteen questions. are you intrigued? starts tomorrow with one of my favorites. to be clear, though, they are all my favorites. bon voyage.

fyi. even though i'm away from my desk, the march dollar downloads are still available. thank you!

jackson hole in january.

since moving to idaho, jackson hole has become a favorite getaway. it's a quick road trip away and is beautiful summer, winter, fall and spring. the tetons are dan's happy place, so we love visiting tetonia as often as possible. the highlight seemed to be the sleigh ride through the scenic elk refuge (the kids liked the real cowboys who drove the sleigh). we found a perfect sledding hill, told spooooky stories, played hide-and-seek, and watched mary poppins. there was even a quiz about celebs and their children's names. i don't even need to tell you that ariane and i won. this trip was low-key and lovely. sunny and sparkling. chilly but not frozen. with tons of cousin adoration for benji. a perfect two-day trip. thank you david and ariane for the invitation (and the homemade gnocchi)!

p.s. thank you padgett hoke for sending along the great jackson hole tips. am so happy to discover new things about a favorite familiar place. thrilled to see a great harvest bread store pop up right in town too.

p.p.s. happy february and happy birthday, dan.

a side note. thank you for the wonderful emails and comments; so heartfelt and awesome. i don't know what it is, but i'm totally feelin' the love lately. thank you. (i have plans to create a dollar download for february soon.) to be completely honest, i thought i'd be all a-flutter with crazy busy plans after coming home from such a heart-pounding / creative-thinking conference, but i'm feeling all the more calm. as though i've accepted the reality of the ever-rippling waters. all my plans will come to pass, in due time. the calm is what i crave. i am feeling less hurried and less frazzled, which is a very much needed change of pace.