CityMama™

Second grade is when you learn just how big your heart is, and Bunny, yours is SO BIG

Bunny has had a rough transition to second grade. The first month of school was brutal in the worst ways that transitions can be, but now that we're two months in, things are finally starting to settle.

It started with Bunny being upset that I picked up Wallie from kindergarten at noon, right when Bunny's class gets out for lunch recess. She'd see me walking away with her sister and felt like she was being left behind. I had to reassure her that we weren't partying it up without her while she was at school.  I explained over and over again that we went home for lunch, maybe ran some errands, then came right back to school to pick her up.

She'd cry and cling to me and I kept trying to make the transition as quick as possible so that she could get back to the play ground and her friends, but it was a mess. Parents would stop me and say, "Bunny is over at the playground fence. I think she wants to say 'hi'."  And I'd grit my teeth and sigh, "I know. I see her." We'd walk over and Bunny would melt and whine that she wanted to go home. I would give her a kiss and hug and tell her that I'd see her soon and walk away trying not to look behind me.

Hipster owls that arrive in the mail

When I first started blogging about how "hipster owls" are this year's sparrows/robins/diving swallows, it was kind of a joke.

I started picking them up at thrift stores and antique fairs and posting about them, and then next thing I know people are sending them to me in the mail. People like the fabulous Amelia Sprout who also sent along a jar of her homemade tomato-ginger jam which is totally boss on double-cream brie spread on a cracker.

Check out these cuties:

And when I saw these note cards on Tiny Prints, I knew they had to come home to me. Thankfully I had a gift certificate* to burn.  Seriously, people. I mean, seriously:

 

Now, who wants a letter?

*Tiny Prints is a Clever Girls Collective client.

Blogalicious '09: Wish I could just bottle up this feeling and take it with me everywhere

I've been busy for the past couple of weeks getting ready to attend the Blogalicious Conference in Atlanta. My company, Clever Girls Collective, was an official sponsor and hosted one of the parties which was such a blast! (More on that in another post!)

Swag bags in the Clever Girls Suite--We match the swank decor!

When I first heard about Blogalicious, I knew I wanted to attend, but to be able to be there as a partner--to help to support the efforts of Justices Jones, Fergie and Ny--was a distinct honor. Their vision became a reality last weekend and every aspect of the conference, down to the very last detail, was a reflection of their grace, wisdom, community-building skills, and, most importantly, welcoming and generous spirit.

Panel session on social media basics

I made new friends that I can't wait to see again.

My soul was filled by seeing old friends and being able to just bask in their presence without feeling hurried or rushed or interrupted.

I saw incredible beauty. Everywhere.

I shared smiles that I will remember for a long, long time.

I had inspiring conversations with so many women that my brain hasn't stopped spinning long enough yet for me to process (and act upon) everything I heard.

I delivered opening remarks about where we've come since 2007 when a marketer famously told me regarding reaching out to women of color, "We just don't know what to do with you" to an audience empowered to foment change. (The take-away after this weekend: Look out, marketers.)

I witnessed the generosity and camaraderie that make small women's conferences so great and can't stop thinking that niche conferences are the way to go.

For a weekend, I was immersed in a world that felt right and real and like home and I can't wait for next year.

Women bloggers of color: How are we doing?

Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will leave for the Blogalicious conference in Atlanta. It's a conference for women bloggers of color (though certainly not exclusive to that demo), and I say, "It's about time."

Thinking, writing, and speaking about being a blogger of color is something I've done a lot of over the years (posts are collected here).  It began back in 2006 at BlogHer Chicago, continued the following year when I participated in a panel discussion about marketing to bloggers of color at BlogHer Business and this year at BlogHer I was on a "room of your own" panel discussion about marketing to bloggers of color, and I heard from lots of you that you liked that panel very much.

In just a couple of days, I will be delivering the opening remarks at the Blogalicious conference and I want to know, "Where are we?" and "How are we doing?"

I've heard a lot of opinions over the years about how to reach women of color (or how not to when, in 2006, one marketer infamously told me, "We just don't know what to do with you."), but I want to know how you feel about it.

Do you want to be pitched to differently--and by differently I mean marketers taking the time to notice your cultural perspective when contacting you?

Would you like your like blog title--if it references a particular cultural or potentially racially identifiable term (like Kimchi, for example)--to not scare marketers away?

How do you handle the pitches that are way-of-base? (the smart and gorgeous Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks famously tells the story of being pitched for hair clips...she has a beautiful head of hair that, well, just isn't right for those clips.)

Do you think about any of this or are you too busy sharing your stories?

I ask these questions sensitively and with the understanding that it's not about receiving yet another pitch or another sample. That isn't the point (or, if you are a review blogger of color, perhaps it is). The point is diversity and inclusion. We all know that big agencies have an African-American or Hispanic or Asian department. And then there are the agencies that specialize in marketing to one particular demographic. Have you heard from them?

The point I'm trying to make here is do marketers value diversity, and if so, in your opinion, are they doing an effective job of seeking it out?  And, most importantly, if they value and want to seek it out but don't know how--are they asking for help?

I'm on the side of wanting to provide that help.  If you feel the same--and, hey, especially if you feel differently--I'd love to hear from you.

So I ask you, my sister bloggers of color: How we doin' out there?

PS If you will be at Blogalicious, please let me know! I'd love to meet you.

Easy Pasta with Shrimp

My girls have a new-found love for shell-shaped pasta and why not? They're cute, they hold sauce well, and they are the perfect size for kids to bite. It wasn't a shape I normally bought, but one trip to an Italian restaurant changed all that, and it's now a staple in our house. 

I like to serve the shells with shrimp to continue the "ocean" theme, and this dish literally comes together as the pasta itself is cooking.  It couldn't be easier or tastier. It's a perfect weeknight dinner when you need to get dinner on the table quickly.  Just make sure you leave the shrimp to thaw in the fridge the night before.

EASY PASTA WITH SHRIMP

• 1/2 bag of Trader Joe's cooked, peeled shrimp, thawed
• olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 cup of halved organic cherry tomatoes
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• juice of half a lemon or orange
• a handful of chopped, fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 box of Barilla shell pasta

Put pasta water on to boil (be sure to salt the water).  In the meantime, put 3-4 glugs of olive oil in a saute pan and heat over medium heat.  When garlic starts to turn golden, dump in cherry tomatoes and shrimp and warm through. This should only take a minute or two. Do not "cook" the shrimp, just warm them, or they will get tough. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Cook pasta about a minute less than package directions indicate (my trick for perfect al dente pasta every time). Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.  Dump pasta into a bowl along with the tomato-shrimp sauce and enough of the pasta cooking water to loosen. You may not need all the water.  Squeeze lemon or orange over, add parsley, toss and serve.  Cheese isn't served with this pasta.

Link Love: Business 101 classes for aspiring Bay Area entrepreneurs

Just letting my local readers know that I've been asked to participate in an awesome "Business 101" program put together by Outside the Cube. If you are thinking about starting a business (and live in or near Silicon Valley) please join us. 

The classes are small and you will get lots of personalized attention.  You can sign up for the whole series or pick and choose and make your own series.  I'd love to see you at my Social Media session on Wednesday Oct 14th! Childcare is provided.

Sign up (and detailed info) here.

Special discount code for CityMama readers: OSTBC

Please help us to spread the word. If you know anyone who might be interested, please forward this post on to them and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below email me at citymama @ gmail dot com.  This post seems to have all the right key words to bring out the spammers.

More information:

New and aspiring entrepreneurs take time to look at how to get your business off the ground today!  Sign up for one specialty area or all 4 and save $$$!  Answer questions such as:

• Which structure of business should I select (corporation, LLC, etc.)
• How do I figure out my break even?
• Where do I spend my LIMITED budget for marketing?
• How do I use Twitter and still have time to actually work?
  

WALK AWAY WITH A PLAN!

In conversation with Wallie

Wallie's Friend: Do you like sleeping on the bottom or top of your bunkbed?

Wallie: I like sleeping on the bottom because I like to be first into my mom's bed.

Wallie's Friend: Oh.

Wallie: We akshully fight over who gets to snuggle next to Mamma because we like to smell her. (Wallie makes sniffing noises.) She smells really good.

Let's Meal Plan Together for 9/28/09

Okay friends, let's do this thing! 

I'll share my weekly meal plan, but consider the comments below a place to share yours. We'll draw inspiration from each other while we share menus and support each other to find more healthful, economical, delicious, and non-time-consuming (wherever your interest lies) ways to feed our families.

Here's what I'm planning to cook this week and as always, the [*] indicates locally-sourced products.

• Monday: BBQ chicken quarters* (on the grill), potato* salad, green salad*
• Tuesday: Chili Chicken Dogs, snap peas, carrot* and celery* sticks + veggie dip
• Wednesday: Some kind of vegetable* stew as I have some sweet potatoes* to use. any ideas? Mara's sweet potato soup and beer bread, suggested in comments below. See? Inspiration!
• Thursday: Pasta with red pepper*-anchovy sauce, green salad
• Friday Family Night: Walk downtown and have dinner
• Saturday/Farmer's Market Day: (not sure yet)
• Sunday: This is our night to grill.  We'll see what looks good at the Farmer's Market.

Please share your meals for the week in the comments below!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

This recipe is inspired by my weekend at BlogHer Food where the best sponsor of the whole event (in my opinion) was The Mushroom Channel.  I was delighted to see a fresh produce sponsor there and the fact they went above and beyond and served a really great afternoon snack—quinoa-stuffed portabellos and mushroom cappuccinos with bacon cream—speaks volumes about how much they understood their "clients" (the attendees) and their purpose there.

I learned so much about mushrooms that I didn't know, like they are an excellent source of Vitamin D and may help the immune system.

This soup is not fancy. In fact, it's the opposite of fancy, but it tastes really fancy.  Bunny has never been a huge fan of mushrooms but after smelling the soup cooking, she tasted it and declared that now, she "loves cream of mushroom soup, just not mushrooms."

CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

I used the Campbell's soup because it was given to me at BlogHer. It actually added a nice, complementary, beefy flavor to the already-meaty-tasting mushrooms. Beef stock is fine to use as is chicken stock or even water if you want to go the veggie route.

• 3 tbsps of unsalted butter
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2-10 ounce bags of sliced mushrooms, I used Monterey Mushrooms brand of sliced whites and sliced baby bellas (given to me at the BlogHer Food Mushroom Channel party)
• 2 cups of beef broth (I used a can of Campbell's French Onion Soup with Beef Stock that was in the swag bag mixed with water to equal 2 cups)
• 1 cup of half-and-half
• salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley to garnish

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat, and when foamy, add chopped garlic. Saute for about a minute watching carefully so butter doesn't burn, then add mushrooms. 

Stir mushrooms until well-coated in butter and saute, stirring often.  They will release their liquid which is what you want them to do, so keep stirring and sauteeing until all the liquid has evaporated and the bottom of the pan starts to develop brown bits (fond). Then add in beef broth, stirring to deglaze the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and blend with a stick blender (I use a dual-speed Breville stick blender which I love) until well-pureed. Add in half-and-half and warm through. Adjust seasonings and serve topping each bowl with a little chopped parsley.  Yummy!

Mushrooms from Far West Fungi on the Mushroom Channel table.

BlogHer Food: CityMama's San Francisco Food Guide--Noshing Your Way Around Town

For the third installment in my San Francisco Food Guide, I'm going to share my favorite places to stop for snacks.  One of the things I enjoyed most about living in San Francisco was going on weekend city hikes and stopping for nibbles and libations along the way.  San Francisco is a town where there is something yummy to eat on practically every block so instead of making plans to have big lunches and dinners, why not plan an outing where you try a little of everything that makes San Francisco such a great noshing town.

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite places.  Will update as more pop into my brain, and if you'd like to share a favorite place for a quick bite or drink, please leave it in the comments below.

At the Ferry Building:

Delica Rf-1. Kobe beef sushi and mind-blowing wasabi potato salad with accents of crisp romaine and creamy edamame. Heaven!

Boccalone: Salumi heaven. Buy some lardo and some fresh peaches or pears and combine for a taste that's out of this world.

Tsar Nicoulai. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, it's right to blow $40 on a California osetra caviar blini and a glass of champagne.

Elsewhere:

Rosamunde Sausage Grill. They make dozens of different sausages (lamb, boar, duck...). Perfect for a pick-me-up as you walk through the Haight.