Category Archives: Diversions

The stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere.

Diversions

How to give the best present at the baby shower

Rockford’s mother gave us the little white blanket around the time Poppy was born. It bounced from crib to playpen for a few years, but it didn’t meet its true destiny until 2007. That’s when Pete was born, and his big sister bestowed upon him his Very Favorite Thing of All Things. Pete and White Blankie have been fast friends ever since.

As scientifically proven by Linus Van Pelt, there is little more adorable than a little boy and his favorite blankie. So a few years ago when my brother Perry Mason and his wife told us they were expecting, I set out to find their child’s very own Special Blanket. I searched neither far nor wide, though, because I was already familiar with Erin Glaser’s work.

I contacted Erin about making a custom-made piece for my nephew-to-be, and she was happy to help. My brother is a big fan of the Detroit Tigers, so I asked Erin to incorporate that into the baby quilt. The result is sweet, whimsical and tigery.

quilt

Erin has a gift for pulling together colors and patterns in unexpected ways, and I love nearly every quilt in her shop. Looking for something sophisticated? The Modern Baby Quilt, Polka Dot and Woodland Quilt are perfect. Is your baby more Comic-Con than Pottery Barn? Erin’s got you covered from superheroes to Harry Potter to Doctor Who.

I’m saving my pennies for a colorful, modern quilt of my own to snuggle with on my couch.

Check out Out of Character Quilts on etsy! Which one’s your favorite?

(This is not a sponsored post. I just really love her stuff.)

On the Road

A few fun things to do in DC

The kids and I hopped on the Metro and headed in to D.C. yesterday while Rockford worked. Our first and only planned destination: the International Spy Museum.

 

rockford would have loved the spy museum’s Bond Villains exhibit
Poppy loved it, but Pete was less enthusiastic. I think he would’ve been more engaged had we not been evacuated midway through for a fire alarm. The museum tries to be an immersive experience, and the alarm break broke his already wavering interest.

We went back later to check out what we’d missed, and the kids found a few more interactive bits to play around with. Poppy loved memorizing her cover story and being tested on it — I was impressed that she remembered it all even after the fire alarm interruption — and Pete thoroughly enjoyed crawling through the air ducts.

In a town chock-full of amazing free museums, it was pretty tough for me to shell out $54 for the three of us to go to the spy museum. It’s a fun spot, though, and I think it’s worth the cost for older kids. 

poppy & nam june paik’s “electronic superhighway”
 
We spent our brief exile from the spy museum across the street at the American Art Museum. Poppy and Pete did a fun little scavenger hunt, and I got in a really quick visit with some of the guys in the presidential gallery. Some of my favorite works were in the gallery of contemporary figures’ portraits. 

   

 Everett Raymond Kinstler’s portrait of Katherine Hepburn is on display with her four Oscars.

Poppy and I were both fascinated by Robert McCurdy’s portrait of Toni Morrison. It looks just like a photo, and it’s gorgeous.

   

Kehinde Wiley painted his portrait of LL Cool J for the 2005 Vh1 Hip Hop Awards. It’s ginormous and vibrant, and I love it.

We went to the Natural History Museum to visit the dinosaurs for a bit, and then we went back to the hotel for a swim before dinner. Today we’re going to stay around the hotel, because it’s hot out there and there are 200 billion other people also touristing the town this week.

On the Road, Uncategorized

On the road and hanging by a song

2 Comments

Today is the day we find out if I can write a blog post from my phone. I was trying to write it in the browser, and it wasn’t working so well and I thought “hey maybe there’s an app for that,” and it turns out there is and it works pretty well.

 
We just wrapped up our annual summer visit to Michigan. The kids swam a lot, Rockford and my dad golfed a lot, and I read a lot. We went to a baseball game, and we ate a lot of Sizzling Rice Soup.

Today we’re on the road, on the way to Maryland, where Rockford has a few days of meetings. (We have housesitters and nothing to steal but elderly cats so take your business elsewhere, Thieves of the Internet.)

We saw a brand-new Tesla on the back of a Tesla-hauler. We saw the Weinermobile. We saw a man named Dino and his family approach the counter and one by one order every last slice of “cheese and pepperoni” at the travel-plaza Sbarro’s.

We have discussed the duties of the British monarchy, the bland appeal of Nicholas Sparks tales and the merits of the Mallowcup. We are listening to Soul Coughing and James Taylor and Eve feat. Gwen Stefani. We will be on the road for at least three more hours.

We can blog from our phones. What a world.