Love The Place You Live: Ferry to San Francisco
This post is brought to you by Uber.
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Do any of you remember the Love the Place You Live column? It was focused on encouraging all of us to appreciate where we live and notice the great things about our area, whether it’s a big city or a small town. I’ve had some really fun explorations of Oakland in the past few weeks, and thought it might be fun to highlight some of them using the same column name. I admit it’s somewhat selfish — I like using the need for blog content to get me out of the house. : )
One of the most fun things we’ve done lately is rediscover the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco. We’ve been on it before — usually when friends are in town, as part of a tourist day — but we didn’t realize until earlier this month that it could make a great date night too. As we studied the ferry schedules, we discovered we could head in to the city around 6:00 PM, enjoy dinner and window shopping at the famed Ferry Building in San Francisco, then grab a ferry back by 7:30. That’s amazing!
For those of you who don’t know the Bay Area, trying to do the same visit by car would add another hour at least of just sitting in traffic, and then another huge chunk of time and money trying to figure out parking. Instead, we get to bypass all of that and take a stunning ferry ride that takes you right under the Bay Bridge!
It’s been quite rainy here, so for our last ferry date night, we grabbed an uberX so that we could get dropped off right at the ferry stop in Jack London Square — it’s one of our Saved Places in the app. (Have you tried the Saved Places feature yet? When you’re on a ride, you can choose to save the destination as a Saved Place, so you never have to look it up again.)
In the mornings, there are many commuters that use the ferry to head into the city for work, and a long line forms. But not in the evenings. In fact, we’ve gone a few times lately and it’s not usual to have just a handful of people on the boat. It feels like you have the whole thing to yourself.
… Adult Acne: What’s New and What Works?
Can we talk about Adult Acne for a minute? I’ve found myself totally caught off guard by it. I feel a little like when a friend who’s going to have a baby soon, asks me for breastfeeding advice, and among other things I tell her that nursing is curl-your-toes painful for a few weeks, and she nods like she’s taking it in. But then she calls me when the baby is 2 weeks old and the nipple scabs are forming and she can’t figure out why no one told her that nursing hurts like the devil.
I know I was warned about acne-for-grownups, but I guess I didn’t believe it? Or thought it was like a one week sort of thing? For most of my 20’s and 30’s I might get a breakout the week before my period, but usually it was no big deal. These days, it’s like a daily thing. Turns out it’s a longer phase than I anticipated. So lately, I’ve turned my attention to actively combatting it.
… #Enough National School Walkout
(Writing this quite late on Tuesday night. By the time you see it, this whole thing may be over. Hah!)
Will your kids be joining the walkout in the morning? If you haven’t heard about it, here are the basics:
– It’s called the #Enough National School Walkout.
– Thousands of students will be walking out of school at 10:00 AM local time.
– The walkouts will last 17 minutes to honor the 17 students killed at the recent school shooting in Florida.
– The aim of the walkout is to raise awareness about issues of school safety and the impact of gun violence.
Lots of parents have been talking about the walkouts on social media today. Some schools are trying to shut down the walkout. Others are hoping to pivot the event from a walkout to an assembly about kindness. No surprise, our Oakland schools are openly supportive of it.
… Random Thoughts
Who’s in the mood for a Random Thoughts post? Here’s what’s been on my mind lately.
– I’m still working on a little Alt Summit report for you, so watch for that in a bit. Something that always surprises me after the conference: I imagine I’m going to get a break afterwards. A few days of calm to recharge and reset. But it has never happened. Life just keeps going, you know? After the event, I arrive home to a big full house, which means laundry and scout campouts and someone has a tick and someone else needs cough drops and don’t forget to pay for the AP tests and all the Design Mom deadlines I missed over the last month are still waiting for me, long overdue. (For those of you who don’t know, I’m the owner/CEO of Altitude Summit — a popular conference for creative entrepreneurs and social media folks.)
This is not a complaint. I love my life. This was the 14th conference in 9 years. I suppose I’m just surprised that I’m still surprised all these years later that life keeps going despite my personal calendar. : )
– My second oldest child, Maude, turned 19 on Sunday. I have a 19 year old and a 20 year old. That is unbelievable to me.
… Living With Kids: Jessica Rushing
Are you an adventurous parent? Do you prefer the comfort and safety of the familiar or would you be willing to pack up your whole family and move overseas if you found the opportunity? I can’t wait for you to meet today’s Living With Kids family, the Rushings, who did just that.
Jessica, her husband Matt, and their four kids moved to a small village in England, are thriving in their new life. She has a lot of great things to say about doing challenging things as a parent. And their home, which is an old vicarage, is full of charm and great places to curl up and read a book. Welcome, Jessica! … Tell Her First.
[ Note from Design Mom: I knew I would be busy at Altitude Summit today (waving from Palm Springs!), so I asked Karey Mackin to share this essay today. It’s so good you will die. ]
An acquaintance who never quite made it to friend level was having a boy baby around the same time marriage equality was legalized. During one casual conversation about names, she clasped her hands together and said, “I’m so happy my son is being born at a time when he can marry anyone he chooses.”
“Ohhhh,” I replied, waving away that idea. “Tell him he doesn’t have to get married. Tell him he doesn’t have to do anything just because society says so…” I scare-quoted my fingers when I said society. “He can do whatever he wants to do. Tell him that. And you should totally name him Oscar. I think it really gives off the vibe Don’t Mess with Me, I’m a Grouch, and also have you seen the original Odd Couple? Genius.” I scare-quoted all that, too, and then ended with a shrug and this: “Then he may not get bullied, you know?”
Her face fell, and I quick tried to fix it all.
… Living With Kids: Jacqueline deMontravel
I don’t know what the weather looks like where you are, but in my neighborhood, this week suddenly turned cold and dreary. I am so glad that today’s Living With Kids post featuring the lovely Jacqueline deMontravel, is the perfect remedy for the winter blues (of the blues in general if it’s not winter where you are.) Jacqueline lives in Darien, CT and her house is full of clean lines and bright, white walls. It’s got tons of East Coast charm as well as some modern touches. And I love a house that is so full of art that the art is simply layered on top of itself. Welcome, Jacqueline! … What Does Protecting Your Family Look Like to You?
I know I’m not the only one, but I find it very difficult to concentrate immediately following a national tragedy (whether it’s natural or man made). Obviously, I have strong feelings about this topic and come to this with my own biases, but here are some of the things I heard and learned yesterday as I argued with friends and strangers about guns:
1) When I mentioned something like stricter gun laws, or gun law reform, or improving gun laws, most of the gun owners responding seemed to hear my words as: I want to take your guns away. Even though I never suggested or hinted at such a thing. So that makes it hard to start a fruitful conversation. I’m still trying to figure out how to solve that glitch. Maybe if I start comments with “I definitely want you to be able to keep your guns, but….”
…What Does Protecting Your Family Look Like to You?Read More »
Living With Kids: Mara Duckens
I’ve got the perfect bright and colorful home today to cure your winter blues. Today’s Living With Kids post welcomes Mara Duckens. Mara and her family live just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconson in a charming Victorian full of sunshine, original art and bright colors. Mara also runs a non-profit organization that helps special needs kids, and she’s got some really lovely things to say about really seeing kids for who they are. Welcome, Mara!
… Do Your Kids Wear Glasses?
I know I’ve mentioned I have horrible eyesight. It’s 20/800, which I was once told is legally blind, but I don’t really know about that. I just know I should never be behind the wheel of a car without my glasses or contacts. Ben Blair also wears glasses, though his eyes aren’t nearly as bad as mine.
So it’s no surprise that half of our kids need glasses too. Ralph and Olive both wears glasses, and recently our youngest, June, has joined them. But it’s so different from my experience. Their prescriptions aren’t very strong, and they function just fine even if they’re not wearing glasses at all. For them, glasses are optional. They keep their glasses in a case in their backpack and use them sometimes, but not always.
… Living With Kids: JoAnn Amicangelo
Getting to know JoAnn, today’s Living With Kids mom, over the last few weeks has been a real pleasure. It’s always fun for me when I get to share stories from readers who have a different perspective on life than I do. Usually, the families we feature are in the midst of raising small kids, but JoAnn is getting ready to send her adult kids out into the world, and she has so many wonderful and wise things to say. .JoAnn also recently and tragically lost her husband, and she is so incredibly vulnerable and honest about grief. It is a true honor to hear words. Welcome, JoAnn.
… That Feeling When You Thought You Knew What a Clitoris Was
Remember the sex ed discussion we had awhile back? The post was titled Advice About Sex for a College-Bound Girl. I really appreciated your comments on that post, and I read something yesterday that made me think we need a discussion round two. A Facebook friend named Twila, shared a link about Cliteracy. It’s a project site that is hosted on the Huffington Post, but is it’s own mini-site within their site. (It will make more sense when you click through.)
Before I visited the Cliteracy project, I assumed I had a pretty decent understanding of the clitoris. But it turns out I knew very little, and what I thought I knew was mostly wrong. Maybe worse than my ignorance, is that when I clicked over to the site and saw what it was about, I definitely felt kind of squeamish — like that no-thanks-I-don’t-really-want-to-know-feeling. Which is definitely not a healthy or smart attitude to take.
If you’re feeling the same way, I hope you’ll stick with me on this post, because understanding the clitoris is not just about orgasms. Our societal lack of knowledge about women’s sexuality and women’s bodies is super harmful. It affects healthcare and medicine, relationships and marriage. It ties into the whole consent discussion, it ties into the female pain discussion, and informs (or dis-informs) our entire view of what healthy sex looks like.
Some of the things I learned:
…That Feeling When You Thought You Knew What a Clitoris WasRead More »
Living With Kids: Lesley Colvin
I think you are really going to love today’s home tour. I can’t wait for you to meet Lesley! Lesley is a photographer and approached me a while ago about possibly featuring the home of one of her clients. We got to chatting and she casually mentioned that she might be interested in being featured as well, and I am so glad she took the plunge. You are going to oooh and aaah when you see her bright, beautiful, and stylish apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Lesley’s style is simple and feels effortless. She almost has me convinced that I need to move to the Big Apple. Welcome, Lesley!
… When Your Depression Meds Don’t Always Work
It’s been awhile since I’ve written about my depression. Are you in the mood for an update?
I like to think of my depression as being under control, but if I’m honest, that’s not the case. Because sometimes, despite consistently taking medication and trying to live a generally healthy life, it shows up again.
And every single time it is maddeningly debilitating.
It keeps me in bed, losing whole days of my life, instead of knocking stuff off my to-do list. It keeps me home, weakening relationships, when I should really get out and be social. Or it requires me to use up all my energy to focus on not dying.
Such a horrible waste.
… Male Pleasure & Female Pain
I was gathering links for my Friday list, and came across this article. It’s written by Lili Loofbourow (who I don’t think I’ve read before), and it’s titled, “The female price of male pleasure.” I highly recommend it as a must read. In fact, I wish it were required reading. As I read it, I was surprised to find myself weeping. The amount of pain we as a culture inflict on women as a matter of course, and with basically zero acknowledgement, is simply stunning. I feel like I want to quote the whole piece, but I’ll just give you a few highlights:
“PubMed has almost five times as many clinical trials on male sexual pleasure as it has on female sexual pain. And why? Because we live in a culture that sees female pain as normal and male pleasure as a right.”
… What Was Your First Car?
My brain is on overload with conference planning. Would you mind taking a break with me to chat about something lighter? Yesterday, I saw this picture of the vintage car we bought in France, it’s a (Renault 4L), and started thinking about all the different cars we’ve owned as a couple, and the ones I owned before I got married too.
My very first car was a Honda Civic Hatchback. I bought it for $500.
… Living With Kids: Mari Melby
I have some dear friends from Minnesota, and when I interact with them, I often think to myself that the Mid-West stereotype is true: they are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. I think the same can be said for Mari, who is today’s Living With Kids hostess. She and her husband live in a darling home in Minneapolis with a lot of vintage charm and a really cool playroom/loft space. And Mari has a lot of cool things to say too — about postpartum depression, intuitive healing and following your instincts to live an amazing life. Welcome, Mari! We’re so glad you’re here.
… Was it a Bad Date? Or Was it Coercion?
I’ve been obnoxiously glued to the Aziz Ansari news story the last couple of days. It’s not a pleasant story, but I can’t seem to get it out of my mind. At this point, I’ve probably read a dozen essays in response, and another 2 dozen lengthy Twitter threads dissecting the situation, and placing blame on him, or on her, or on both.
If you haven’t seen the story, it’s from a woman who is using the name Grace, and it’s about a pretty terrible date she had with Aziz Ansari. You can read the original report here.
… Living With Kids: Elizabeth Ayoub
I remember when I started getting interested in design, it was the Arts and Crafts movement that first caught my attention. I loved all the interesting shapes and patterns and different tones of wood layered on top of each other. That’s why I was so excited today to introduce you to our lovely Living With Kids family, the Ayoubs. Elizabeth and her husband live in a gorgeous arts and crafts home in Michigan with their adorable daughter. The home is full of classic charm, and Elizabeth is as warm and interesting as you would expect her to be. Welcome, Elizabeth!
… Design Mom 2018 Reader Survey Results
The survey! 3472 of you took it. And I’m so grateful for the helpful feedback. I can’t even tell you. I thought it would be fun today to go over a few of the highlights — there were definitely some surprises. At least for me. : )
Come take a look.
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