Valentine, You're a Catch!

This year Ava's class at school was not allowed to give out sweets for Valentine's Day.

I had planned for Ava to give out marshmallows just like Lola but seeing as they contain "just a little" sugar(!) we had to go with another idea. Ava was still keen to give out something to eat so we decided to go with good old Goldfish crackers.

Ava couldn't just give out a bag of Goldfish though. There needed to be a card with a cheesy saying to go with it. I'm all about the cheese when it comes to Valentine's Day!

So Ava posed for photos pretending to hold a bag of fish, I added a cheesy saying in photoshop, printed out the cards, added an actual bag of fish (well, Goldfish crackers) and, voila.. Valentines done.

Here's a look...

Squishy Marshmallow Hugs for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year I had hoped to share the valentines that the girls gave out at school a little earlier as inspiration, but that didn't happen! Inspiration for next year, perhaps. I have a couple of Valentine's Day posts coming today but to start off with, here's a look at what Lola gave out to her preschool friends...

Lola was keen to give out something sweet. She was also keen to be my little helper in the kitchen. I had originally planned to make heart shaped gummies but only after I'd purchased all of the ingredients did I realize that they needed to be kept refrigerated. Not the best idea for school perhaps! With a huge box of gelatin on hand I looked into other ideas and came across recipes for marshmallows. Soft, squishy, sweet - perfect for Valentine's Day!

 

Marshmallows are surprisingly easy to make and contain only a few ingredients. Lola and I made up a couple of batches, I designed a simple bag topper, she wrote out the names and I bagged the goodies. All done within one afternoon. Easy peasy.

Below is the recipe that we used as well as a printable for the bag topper...

52 Weeks: Week 6

Week 6: Silhouettes

Last Sunday the girls had portraits made by silhouette artist Karl Johnson of Cut Arts.

Ava and Lola had silhouette portraits made by Karl almost three years ago and when I learned that he was going to be in town again I jumped at the chance to get updated portraits. Plus one for Mathilde who wasn't around back then! You can see our original portraits here.

A Birthday Party at Fenton's

This Sunday just past Ava celebrated her birthday with a small group of friends at Fenton's Creamery in Oakland. We hadn't been to Fenton's before but it's such a nice place that it kind of suited saving it for a special occasion. And what could be more special than a birthday party? 

As part of Ava's birthday party we went on the behind the scenes Arctic Tour. The kids, all wearing their "soda jerk" hats learned all about the history of Fenton's, watched how the whipped cream for sundaes is made, watched how the ice cream is made, felt the freezing cold conditions in the ice cream freezer, and, most importantly, tasted freshly made cookies and cream ice cream.

Here's a look at the tour...

Another Ice Cream Party

This week Ava turned eight years old. I still can't believe how fast my kids are growing up - and I don't even want to think about how fast this means I'm getting old!

To celebrate Ava's birthday we'll be having a party with some of her school friends at Fenton's Creamery in Oakland this Sunday. Fenton's is an absolute East Bay institution but we're yet to make it there. Sometimes not owning a car has its downsides!

As Ava's party will be at an ice cream parlor it seemed only fitting to go with an ice cream theme for the invitations. Lola celebrated her fourth birthday with an ice cream party only three and a half months ago so it did feel a little odd rehashing the same theme but I made sure to keep things very different. Lola's party invitations featured popsicles (you can see them here) so for Ava's I drew ice cream in a cone topped with chocolate sauce and a cherry. It goes perfectly with the make your own sundae bar the kids will be treated to at the party.

52 Weeks: Week 5

Week 5: Happy Birthday Ava!

This week Ava turned eight! I can't believe I have an eight year old.

We always let the girls choose where they'd like to go for dinner on their birthday. Usually Ava chooses the sushi restaurant across the road from our apartment which makes things really easy. This year she was desperate to go to Bubba Gump at Pier 39. As her birthday fell on a school day going to Bubba Gump for dinner was going to be a little tricky. It would've been really late by the time we finished dinner, caught the street car back to Embarcadero Station and then caught BART back to Berkeley. So instead we celebrated Ava's birthday a little early with a birthday lunch at Bubba Gump on Sunday. Much easier!

After lunch the girls were treated to a ride on the carousel before checking out the sea lions. We stayed until the sun set before heading home.

Here's a look at our afternoon out for Ava's birthday...

Keith Haring: The Political Line

It's been pretty colorful here on Little Hiccups lately and today's post is no exception.

A few weekends back I visited the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park to see The Political Line, an exhibition of Keith Haring's work.

Keith Haring (1958 - 1990) rose to fame in 1980s New York with his bold urban street culture and graffiti style artwork. Haring's work was often political in nature, touching on issues that concerned the artist including nuclear proliferation, racial inequality, the excesses of capitalism, environmental degradation, and AIDS awareness. 

During his brief but intense career Haring's work was displayed in more than 100 group and solo exhibitions. He also devoted much of his time to creating public artworks in dozens of cities worldwide, many of which were created for charities, hospitals, day care centers and orphanages. Haring's life was cut short when he succumbed to an AIDS related illness at the young age of thirty one in 1990. Despite such a relatively short career, Haring's work has left a lasting impression on a generation of artists and the public.

The Political Line showcases more than one hundred and thirty artworks including large scale paintings on canvases and tarpaulins, sculptures and subway drawings. Several pieces have not been published or on public view since Haring's death in 1990.

Let's take a look at some of the exhibition...