August, 2015 | This is authentic

August 2015

My kind of princess

kids

The story of Pocahontas, daughter of the great Powhattan, retold by the inimitable Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire.

The d’Aulaire family has given us hands down the best kids’ versions of the Greek and Norse myths in print. So it stands to reason that their Pocahontas would be equally compelling.

And it is.

I have always been particularly drawn to the story of Pocahontas… Maybe my own Native American heritage has something to do with it. Or the fact that my grandparents lived on Powhattan Avenue, which made the kid version of me feel somehow directly related to her illustrious family.

I first discovered Ingri and Edgar d’Aulaire’s Pocahontas at a yard sale and have since spent many hours reading it with my daughter, talking about how it must have felt to have strangers move in on the land you considered your sacred home, what it’s like to fall in love with a person of a different race, how it must have felt to be a princess and a leader, what it was like to meet the Queen of England… and just enjoying the illustrations and the story. We must have gotten the book when my kid was 4 and we’re still captivated by it years later.

If being obsessed with princesses is an inevitable phase in a girl’s life, Pocahontas is a great way to go.

Monday, Monday– or links to interesting things other people have been blogging about recently since I’ve been a bit sluggish of late

links

Just another one of the multitude of mesmerizing diagrams on cutaway-world.tumblr.com

A Cup of Jo’s Joanna Goddard gives up tips for how to pack for the beach.

A curiously compelling tumblr of cutaway diagrams:

Molly Yeh (of My Name is Yeh) has a recipe for an amazing looking grilled pineapple + prosciutto salsa.

Mother/activist/producer/performance artist Sarah Sophie Flicker wrote a really thoughtful piece for Refinery29 about careers, motherhood and the importance of women finding a successful place in the world on our own terms.

Gather Journal’s blog has a cool and delicious looking take on a cocktail made from Cynar (Italian artichoke liqueur) which I am now feeling compelled to try.

The brilliant people over at Krrb have put together a list of their favorite boutique hotels, for your last minute summer travel plans…

Here’s what DJ & Kundalini Yoga teacher Yeva Don thinks we should be listening to. (Plus a whole bunch of other playlists from musical visionaries and friends of HereWeGoNow.)

Who doesn’t want their aura to glow?

health/beauty

Granted, this seaside location is probably enough to get anybody’s aura glowing, but this sumptuous rose oil doesn’t hurt…

Yesterday, I visited my friend Nancy (of the berry pie and the white balsamic vinegar) and found myself in need of some moisturizer after going for a swim with our kids.

Leave it to Nancy to take dry skin care to a whole new level… instead of some normal after-sun style lotion, she handed me this Aura Glow Rose Oil by Heritage Store. I was immediately captivated by the idea of emerging from the bathroom with a glowing aura, and when I read the label (which simply states that “Edgar Cayce says this formula is nourishing for the skin”) I was hooked. Even before I knew who the hell Edgar Cayce was.

Turns out he was a bit of a psychic who, after lying on the couch and falling into a “sleep” state, answered all sorts of questions about topics ranging from skin care to diet to religion to astrophysics. Many of his “readings” were concerned with diet, exercise and the importance of the patients’ own role in health care. Because of these writings, he is often referred to as the father of holistic medicine.

Which you can read more about and decide for yourself how you feel about Cayce specifically and psychic readings in general. All I know is that this Rose Oil smells fantastic and my skin was all glow-y and happy for hours after I put some on.

Which is good enough for me.

You never know where you might discover a new favorite clothing line for your kids…

kids - links

Who can resist seeing their daughter in this over+over dress? Photo courtesy of overandoverkids.com

A couple of weeks ago, we went upstate to visit friends and enjoy a full on summertime multi-generational throw down, complete with tie-dyeing, slippy slides, a trampoline and an above ground pool. Not to mention delicious food, wine and (of course) badminton. Kids were running around everywhere, and all of us parents were enjoying the combination of being slightly less encumbered by our little ones and watching them revel in the freedom that a huge yard and multiple (apparently unsupervised) activities affords.

One of our fellow revelers was none other than Corey Pak, the design genius behind the children’s clothing line over + over. And when I found out that she actually made and sold the essentially perfect clothes that her kids were wearing, i headed straight for the website and put in an order for my daughter. Because she loves herself a dress. And a simple, classic, well constructed, beautifully designed dress is oddly hard to find. Especially once your offspring becomes a kid as opposed to a baby or toddler.

For some reason, the powers that be seem to feel that all little girls want sparkles, logos, and Brittany Spears type styling. And all boys want to wear football jerseys. Luckily for us, there are labels like over + over that are fighting the good fight. And at reasonable prices.

Maybe they’ll start making clothes for grown-ups too!

Monday, Monday– or more links to videos to watch because it’s mid-August and our brains are all slightly melted by the heat so who wants to be productive, anyway?

links

Just sit back, relax and enjoy the first time Eddie Murphy appeared on the Tonight Show. Waaaay back in 1982. When he was really really funny.

Then maybe relive the 90′s via these music videos which were kindly assembled by the folks at Apartment Therapy. For what purpose, I’m not sure, but I, for one, am happy they went to the trouble.

I would tell you that learning how to properly chop an onion changed my life if I wasn’t worried about sounding crazy. (But it did.)

Ok this video/historical survey of aliens on film is random, but I watched it and was entranced. And now I am passing it along to you.

Oh America has our Presidential race really come to this? Because the frightening thing is that Jimmy Fallon’s impersonation of Donald Trump is pretty much a mirror image of reality. Which doesn’t give me a lot of confidence in our ability to choose viable candidates…

And last but not least, here’s another crazily impressive radial engine somebody built out of Lego’s.

Yesterday, at some point…

photography

Excitedly waiting for the baseball game to start… The Sag Harbor Whalers vs the Southampton Breakers. (Game ended after 12 innings tied 4 – 4, FYI)

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Yesterday, at some point is a series of photographs that describe a moment I experienced during the previous day (or thereabouts– in this case it was last month, but whatever). The posts are meant to be stand alone images, though at times I can’t control myself, and I end up expanding the caption into a more lengthy bit of text. Hopefully the extra information is useful, or at least interesting. If not, feel free to ignore it.

Yesterday, at some point…

photography

Last night I was lucky enough to see this sunset. I was also surrounded by friends and family, eating delicious food (It’s corn season again, my favorite time of year!) drinking lovely wine, listening to music that I am a little embarrassed to admit I love but hey, I didn’t make this playlist so maybe it’s ok to be able to sing along to Creedence Clearwater Revival…

Sometimes the world is just simply a beautiful place to be. Savor those moments, when they happen. Because these are the times that make all the other stuff worth it.

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Yesterday, at some point is a series of photographs that describe a moment I experienced during the previous day. The posts are meant to be stand alone images, though at times I can’t control myself, and I end up expanding the caption into a more lengthy bit of text. Hopefully the extra information is useful, or at least interesting. If not, feel free to ignore it.

Another thing I really don’t need but totally want regardless

style

I am hoping that if I get this dress I will suddenly find myself dancing through the overheated NY summer looking as cool as the woman in this photo. Which comes to you courtesy of the Electric Feathers website.

It has been so hot in New York (city, upstate and Long Island) that I have been dreaming of ice baths and endless pitchers of hibiscus iced tea, as well as some kind of air conditioned suit that will keep me at a reasonable temperature and allow me to avoid the inevitable mood swings (from frustration and anger to sheer exhaustion) that tend to ride in on the crest of heat waves.

As there aren’t any good looking suits of that type on the market right now, (though they are working on this in Japan) I am forced to seek alternate solutions. And one of them might very well be this dress from Electric Feathers, which is a company that I have loved from afar for years but never quite pulled the trigger to buy anything for myself. But I saw a woman strolling (nay, gliding) down the street in one of their dresses yesterday, and now I find myself on their website, contemplating the summer sale and about to join the club at last.

I’m thinking this dress is the one, though there are a few other ones that are catching my eye as well…

This is authentic - "

August 2015