There's a little over a month left to see the Worn to Be Wild exhibit at the Chrysler Museum (click here for an online preview). And it really is a great one, so this is good news if you haven't seen it already. The collection showcases the history of the leather jacket, and its journey from practical aviator and motorcyclist garb to punk rock staple and fashion must-have. Leather jackets everywhere, all kinds and colors and shapes -- painted, studded, pierced, furred, rhinestoned -- even a crystal clear one. It was amazing, how one particular garment can be interpreted in so many ways.

The exhibit isn't specifically for kids but was a good one for our two little toddlers -- there was a lot to see and a big open space in which to run around and see it. We all took our time choosing our favorites, even the little ones (Anouk didn't like the studded jackets -- she thought they looked mean -- but was a big fan of a like $10,000 one worn by Fergie. That's my girl.) Plus, the interactive space at the end (you can sit on a Harley! And try on leather jackets!) was super fun (for all of us).












The Chrysler is really bringing it lately with awesome shows! While you're checking out Worn to Be Wild, don't forget to head upstairs and look at the Smokey the Bear exhibit and the Fractured Lens exhibit, featuring Picasso and Braque, on loan from the National Gallery in DC.

It's been a few months since our last day in the life post. It just keeps sneaking up on me -- the months seem to be whirling by lately. I scheduled a dr.'s appt for six weeks from now and was shocked when the nurse gave me a card for January 2015! With Anne in school, we have finally dropped into something like a routine, which means that we are a lot less adventurous than usual but is also kind of a relief.

Head over to No Monsters in My Bed and Not-So-SAHM to see what our friends were up to on 11/12/14.

 8:45 AM: Running off to school. We really lucked out with Anouk's school this year; she loves it so much that she can't wait to get out the door every morning. "Come on, Mom, we'll be late!" Shouldn't it be the other way around?



8:45 AM: Fall comes a little late to us here in Coastal VA but it seems to finally have arrived. Overnight the crape myrtles on the street have burst into waves of red and gold. From the car, as I was taking this: "Come ON, Mom, we'll be LATE!" (Luckily the school is a less than 5 minute drive).


9:45 AM: I text K. and Molly to meet me at the thrift store down the street. We mean to run in for just a few minutes to check it out but end up staying for over two hours. Here they are trying to convince me I need a poster of an intergalactic unicorn (who doesn't?)

11:00 AM: Still thrifting and trying on a truly voluminous muumuu. It might sound contrary to all common sense but I decide to buy it (new with tags! so comfy!) I am envisioning many happy Hatteras beach days wearing this thing.




1:00 PM: Hitting the park with some friends after school. Anouk is addicted to the swings, and has also graduated to the big kid climbing structure which means I spend a lot of time with my heart in my throat and trying to hide it (don't want to give her a complex).

3:15 PM: Anouk is taking a siesta (our word to make a nap sound less like a nap) and I am recovering  our ottoman. It was harder than I expected but I think it turned out OK. Next time, iron first.





5:00 PM: Cooking dinner (chicken and kale soup) and catching up on the latest episode of Serial (have you listened yet? What do you think? Did he do it?) I am obsessed.



7:00 PM: James and Anouk reading books on the couch before bed.

I'd like to say I did something really exciting after A. was asleep but: clean kitchen, bath, book, bed. The end! Party animal, for real.

When we visited World of Mirth in Richmond a few weeks ago, we left with a book for Anouk that has become one of our new favorites. A "bedtime shadow book," this book is made up of pages that you shine a flashlight through to project the illustrations onto the ceiling. It's been a big help in getting A. excited about going to bed and for that I am very thankful.


The book we got is called Nighttime Fairies, but there was also one on constellations and one about sea creatures that looked fun (but maybe slightly scary for bedtime, for a toddler?) Anyway, the series includes a version of The Night Before Christmas! The perfect thing to add to our Picture Book Advent Calendar when we break it out for a few weeks, right?

What are your kids' bedtime favorites? Please let me know -- anything that would help smoothe that process would be great. :)

PS: You can find the complete list of Bedtime Shadow Books online here, but World of Mirth also takes phone orders if you'd rather support a great independent business!

A few weeks ago, when Anouk had a bad cold, our neighbor brought over a few bath bombs from Lush as a little treat for her. A. ended up liking them so much that she's been bugging me for more ever since. Of course we love Lush around these parts but why buy when you can DIY? Bath fizzes seemed like something that would be really hard to make, but was a surprisingly easy and  kid-friendly project.

DIY Bath Bombs (adapted from this recipe by Martha Stewart)

You'll need:

• 1 3/4 cups baking soda
• 1 cup citric acid  (a powder; we found ours at Wine and Cake hobbies, in their wine-making section but you can also find it online here.)
• 2 cups corn starch
• coconut oil
• essential oil of your choice
• food coloring (optional)
• spray bottle of water

Directions:

Sift the following the baking soda, corn starch, and citric acid into a bowl and mix well.

Transfer one cup of the mixture to a glass bowl. Add the liquefied coconut oil, a little at a time, mixing well with your hands. With your spray bottle, gently mist the mixture and mix with your hands between spritzes, until the mixture is moldable (holds shape when you squeeze it). NOTE: if you want your bombs to be colored, add food coloring to the water in the spray bottle. If you hear the mixture fizzing, you're adding too much water.

Add 5-6 drops of essential oil and mix again. Press firmly into cupcake liners or molds. After 2 hours, the mixture can be unmolded, but we found it was better to leave them overnight.




We made two different kinds of fizzies -- peppermint for the holidays and chamomile, for a relaxing bedtime bath. With the chamomile, I just tore open three or four tea bags and emptied them into the powder mix before adding the oil. The scent is really mild but there. Next time I might try chamomile essential oil to make it a little stronger. For peppermint, I used peppermint extract, from the baking aisle. It's a little less potent than the oil but still smells delish.

Store the leftover mixture (if there is any) in a ziploc bag to make more later. It should keep for a few weeks, as long as it doesn't get wet.

We're thinking of giving these away as Christmas presents to our friends. In the meantime we've been having a lot of fun testing them out.

There are a few requirements for a fall road trip in Virginia: beautiful foliage, mountains, and an interesting destination. This past weekend, we found all of these things at our visit to Montpelier, the home of President James Madison, so hooray!

Montpelier is near Charlottesville, in the Piedmont, just over two and a half hours away from Hampton Roads. It gets overlooked in favor of Monticello and Mount Vernon, but it really shouldn't be. It's not a bad drive, especially this time of year, when everything is so scenic. It was nice to arrive and find everything we needed in one place, with a great visitor's center, restaurant, and coffee shop on the grounds (we were especially glad for the coffee shop).

First, we explored -- the columned temple, the slave quarters, and the archaeological area where we could even help dig for pieces of pottery and tools dating back to the colonial era. Then I took the tour of the house while James and Anouk went down to the children's area to play. It was a small tour, only covering about five rooms in the huge house, but the guide gave us so much information that it seemed much more.






After the tour: more exploring, including the gardens built by the duPont family, who owned Montpelier in the '60s (and painted it pink!), and watching the sun set behind the Blue Ridge mountains. Such a great way to spend a November afternoon.




PS: The visit also gave me a new respect for Dolley Madison. You always read about how her parties were so big and that she basically invented ice cream but I had no idea how beloved she was by pretty much all of Washington society (Congress unanimously loved her, which should tell you something, because when is the last time they agreed on anything?) This is a great article by Smithsonian Magazine about her.

Last weekend, we met up with some DC friends in Richmond to spend the afternoon and found ourselves at one point in World of Mirth toy store in Carytown. If you've never been to/heard of World of Mirth before (I hadn't), prepare to be amazed: this place is like something out of a kids movie. The big store is crammed full of all kinds of treasures for kids and adults alike.

The day we went was Nov. 1, so we were greeted with a Day of the Dead display which kind of set the tone for what we would find deeper in the store. There's an emphasis on the funky, the retro, the crafty and creative over the kind of run of the mill plastic stuff you find in chain stores (although to be fair in the vastness of the store, there's enough of that, too). Especially memorable were the book section (with some amazing coloring books), the carefully curated science toys section (with baskets of toys to test), and the collections of plastic animals and figurines lining shelves at the front of the store (from cows to dinosaurs to Greek mythological figures). World of Mirth has a pretty awesome selection of stuff for adults, too, including this Darth Vader tote bag that I am having serious buyer's remorse over.




We wanted to buy one of everything but ended up going home with some new books (review coming), candy, a stuffed dog, and some geodes to smash open (they were duds but we enjoyed the smashing). All in all, a good haul.

PS: Free hayrides at Bluebird Gap Farm in Hampton this Saturday! Head on over to Fun and Free Hampton Roads for details.