Life, Thoughts, & Good Things

It’s that busy time of the year. I’ve barely had time for blogging.

So much I have been wanting to share too. I’ve got a few post coming, but not enough time to work on them.

The school year is rapidly coming to a close. I think I’ve said it before, but each year seems to fly faster than the last.

This top outfit is what I wore to a symphony I got to attend thanks to my son… Finally mom perks!

I had the dress for ages. It’s a simple sheath and I was excited to give these new sandals a go. I bought them at our local She She shoes, one of my favorite places to shop in town. I like to go to small businesses whenever I can. They are Ivanka Trump and are on sale now everywhere. If you can’t get to a small town shop you can find them at Nordstrom. They are more flattering than I would have thought for a flat shoe and are mixing them in is making my clothes feel a bit more hip.

The first year of junior high went by fast for Griffin. He is into all sorts of things and cello is one thing he loves and I hope will continue. The other is Scouts.

His bald head from the St Baldrick’s Day is finally growing in.

With flowers for his teacher who we was playing violin in the symphony.

Don’t you love the Jacaranda trees in Downtown San Jose here?

The beautifully restored California Theatre where Symphony Silicon Valley plays.

The concert included Jon Nakamatsu, a winner of the Van Cliburn competition. He played Rachmaninoff. It was amazing and one of those experiences I’ll never forget. He was so dramatic and had so much energy and speed, my arms were vibrating after. Weird.

I had to sneak this IPhone photo…

I cannot believe how long it took me to see them. Once you experience a show like this, you want to do it again. Symphony SV (Silicon Valley) is world class.

Speaking of music, Jackson is my guitar playing high schooler.

Somehow he’s going to be a junior next Fall. I don’t quite believe it..

In the keeping it real realm, it’s been a bit dodgey for both my boys this year. It’s almost like some roller-coaster. We are on honor roll, we’re not, we have Ds and Fs, we are on honor roll again and so on. I find papers under bean bags, in underwear drawers (along with uneaten lunch items), under the bed and mainly crushed under clothes!

I really have been meaning to write about this.. Sophomore year began innocently enough and quickly the buzz was all about securing private college tutors and private SAT prep. You know how that works, moms all start talking about it. I began to get extreme stress and panic by Christmas about this. The feeling around the high-achieving area where we live is do everything you can to get your kids in the best school.

Something about it just didn’t feel like the right fit for us though. It just felt a bit forced and too much too soon at least for my son. He takes AP classes, but yet still can’t manage to even use a 3 ring binder! “Next year mom,” he tells me with a smile. He has many talents like tennis, guitar, building motorized bikes for a friend’s business, writing and learning software coding, and also drawing. He’s bright and funny and brilliant at so much.

I started to breathe a bit more about this when so many kids in our area who got 4.0 and above grades still did not get into the University of California school system that is so coveted here.. A ridiculous situation due to our state barely funding higher education anymore.

Junior college is looking like a possible better way into U.C.? I think he may be taking longer to figure this out and all that..

I don’t think that’s the prevailing view where we are though. I feel like I am alone in this view except for a few..

Any thoughts from those who have done this already?

Big height differential now with my guys!

On a more fun note, Max and I got invited to a cool cooking class at our pals Rob and Christina’s home a week or so ago..

You Say Tomato is the brainchild of one British transplant and talented cooking teacher, Gemma Ward. She does classes in your home if you are in the South Bay Area, or you can even drop-in at her own kitchen.

We began with watermelon-basil martinis! Great start right?

Our class that night was Thai cooking and it just happened to be gluten- free as well.

We made spring rolls, lettuce wraps with chicken and green curry. All delicious and easy.

It was fun, but I also learned some great new techniques like the proper way to brown ground chicken, (or turkey), how to make the perfect jasmine rice without a cooker, and even making delicious sauces.

Gemma adds in these little tidbits of wisdom as you watch her prepare your meal in front of you. Some of the steps you can help with. Mainly you watch, learn and enjoy!

The delightful Gemma.

I love her You Say Tomato Blog. It’s chock full of for great recipes and her classes page for schedules and current courses available.

You are sent home with a step-by-step guide and a little treat.

How do you like our treat? The hot peppers and fish sauce needed for great Thai dishes!

The bottle was enough to send my kids screaming!

I hope to drop in or host my own. My cooking is in a serious rut. Spring fever? I tend to check out of cooking about this time of year. Do you get like that?

I’m dreaming of summer already.

One summer treat that I indulged in last weekend was a frosted mocha from Cafe Barone, in Menlo Park.

Going there for lunch on the patio is quite a scene. Lots of techies, students from Stanford plus lots of dogs. It’s good people watching and attracts a cosmopolitan group. It’s not fancy at all, but the food is really fantastic. Breakfast there is especially a treat. Very fresh egg dishes, toasted baguettes, fresh juices and more. For lunch I love their chicken salad sandwich on raisin bread. If I get all the way up here I’ll usually go for the mocha too.

It’s as good as it looks. Beware those are coffee beans..I got heart palpitations last time, but it was worth it. ;D

What makes this a treat is the Kepler’s bookstore which is attached. It’s one of the few independent bookstores left in the Bay Area and I could spend all day there.

So much to love!

Home Made Summer. Gorgeous photos and recipes. I really want this book. I have the Winter version and they are both beautiful. If you cannot get to Kepler’s then you can get it at Target too.

Love the possibilities here for outdoor parties and making alfresco meals.

Check out this fabulous book. Heirloom Modern is a wonderful tome about using those things handed down to you in a fresh way that’s chic not frumpy. I love it’s ideas since I have so many pieces that I from my grandmother and I try to incorporate them into my more California vibe house. Very cool book.

I am always drawn to the paper items of bookstores. I love a good notecard or notebook.

Kepler’s has a nice selection of California themed stationery. There are some wonderful vintage postcards of Stanford, the Golden Gate and more iconic landmarks.

California books as well.

I bought this Paris Street Style book. I may do a post about this later. So many cool interviews with French women on how their style evolved and the hacks they do everyday to keep their style new.

It’s not another about how fab French women are..(Though they are!!) It’s more about their inspirations and refusal to be mainstream. I need this.. Ideas about raiding your kid’s closet, chopping your clothes with your own sheers and more wacky, but innovative thoughts. Green too. They aren’t all about buying the latest item, but making something out of what you own.

I’ll let you know what I come up with!

This week I came across photos from our first trip to France with the family.

Hard to believe this was almost 9 years ago!

We were pretty brave to bring these little monkeys with us, but it was one of the best trips.

(Maybe that is just hind-sight?) They were 3 and 6…And I just 40.

Le sigh… Time is going too fast!!

The highlight of last week …

Last weekend my mom met with a best friend and roommate with whom she had lost touch for 50 years!! Thanks to her friend Karen’s daughter, Suzanne (named after my mom incidentally), who found my mom on Facebook, we had the nicest lunch with the two of them.

It is really hard to believe that much time had passed, they were both giggling right off.

Mom and I are just hoping now we get to spend more time with both of them soon. Karen and mom don’t know how they lost touch. This was the 60s and they were busy raising kids and Karen moved out of state.

Don’t lose touch with those special friends who just get the real you.

As moms and wives, we sometimes get caught up in life and work and friends take a backseat. Making time for friends though, is like making time for you. Good friends just make you feel young and like a kid again. It’s very important to your health if you want to live a long and happy life to make your friends a priority!

Now call a friend and make plans!

x Kim

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