This is just one pair of the hundreds of hands I photographed for a Polaroid project a ways back…

I’m not much for these manufactured “Days of Spending” that are thrust upon us while we’re still recovering from Thanksgiving, but I do stand behind the concept of Giving Tuesday, because I think it is always important to support the folks who are doing good work and trying to make our world a better place. And the more conscious you are about giving back, the further your gifts will go. Building this muscle is crucial if we want to actually keep this planet going.

This year, my family is sitting down together (yep, all 3 of us) to decide where our year end donations will go in 2017. Transparency and agency are both so important in any relationship, and when your kids reach a certain age, it’s important to actively help them understand the role that money plays in this complicated world, as well as to instill in them a sense of generosity. (More on this to come!) Each one of us will come to the table with a list of places we’d like to support, and then we’ll decide how to divide our resources so that our donations can be most effective.

Here are three organizations that I have come across recently that I’ll be adding to my list this year. Check them out, be inspired, donate, make your own lists and lets get this holiday season started with the spirit of giving!

The Alliance for Quality Education

The People’s March for Education back in March 2017 organized by The Alliance for Quality Education. Photo courtesy Garn Press.

The AQE works to mobilize communities across New York State to advocate for a universally high quality public education for every single student in all schools. Advocating for great teachers, strong early childhood education programs, equity of funding, positive school environments, less testing and more engaged learning as well as more parent and family involvement, AQE uses its policy and organizing expertise to uplift strategies leading to student success and, in their words, “to create a powerful public demand for a high quality education.”

I first heard about AQE through their extraordinary Advocacy Director Zakiyah Ansari, while singing with the Resistance Revival Chorus, and she constantly inspires me not only with her singing voice, but with her words. I asked this mother of 8 (!!) why she does what she does and her answer was profound: “Over the last 17 years of educational justice work I’ve learned that it is not enough to show that our children are in need of resources if the people that can make the change don’t think they are worthy of those very resources. We have to organize the parents, community, and young people to demand that our elected officials do right by our children– and that includes equitable funding for a high quality public school education.”

If we are truly a nation that is Of the People, By the People and For the People, we need to Empower the People. And our kids most of all, because they are the key to our future. Check out the great work that the Alliance for Quality Education is doing, spread the word, and donate* to help build a better future for our kids.

Zappos For Good

This year alone, Zappos for Good helped Souls 4 Soles deliver thousands of pairs of shoes to people in need in Haiti. Photo courtesy Zappos.com.

If you’re anything like me, the hardest part about donating clothes is actually getting them to the charity or organization of your choice. Enter Zappos for Good, the philanthropic arm of the massive online retailer. They take their superpower- shipping and distribution- and use it to help make this step as easy as possible.

Here’s how it works:

1) Gather up to 50 lbs of lightly used shoes and clothes and put them into a box.

2) Download a free shipping label from Zappos

3) Tape up the box, put on the label and take the postage pre-paid box to any UPS store.

4) Walk away, happy in the knowledge that Zappos is delivering your stuff to people in need via Soles 4 Souls, a great organization dedicated to getting clothes and shoes to kids and grownups in need. They will also make repairs, so if you’re missing a button or need a new heel, no worries!

5) If you happen to be shopping for clothes in Williamsburg, you can just drop off your shoes in the Zappos For Good box at Bird (203 Grand Street) through the holidays.

6) Oh and Zappos has also partnered with several orgs that give school supplies and books to kids, so if you want to buy notebooks and backpacks for kids instead, they’ll take care of that delivery as well!

The Edible Schoolyard Project

Last but far from least, there is nothing in this world that should be more important to us all than the food we choose to put into our bodies. Learning how to cultivate it, how it links all aspects of our lives via community, politics, science, math… these are the building blocks of an edible education. The Edible Schoolyard Project is dedicated to spreading the gospel of Whole Food and getting edible curricula into every K – 12 school program in this country.

Just watch the video, get really excited about what they’re doing, and then head directly to their website and click on the donate button. Also, if there is an Edible Schoolyard project near you, it is well worth checking out. I have visited the mothership in Berkeley, CA and it blew my mind.

Last year, we painted on hearts we’d cut out of newspaper and then stuck them on envelopes we decorated with watercolor and glitter.

It happens every year. I wake up one morning maybe 6 or 8 days into February, and I realize with a panic that Valentine’s Day is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER and I have done nothing to prepare. We do have a tradition of making peppermint bark, so at least that’s decided. But the packaging changes every year. I think we killed it last year (see above) so the stakes are high.

After I have my moment of despair, I generally roll up my sleeves and dive deep into the internet, looking for inspiration. This year is no different, and I’m going to share the ideas I’ve stumbled upon here– because I’m sure I’m not the only person who has not yet made their heart shaped masterpieces…

These glitter rock valentines are perfect for a party favor or maybe something you wrap in a clear plastic bag tied up with a red ribbon… They say these are for kids, but to be honest, I kind of want one for my desk!

No search for Valentine’s Day craft ideas is complete without a visit to Martha Stewart. She delivers yet again with these fun stenciled gift bags.

Who doesn’t love a card with glitter and polka dots?

One trip to the paint store, a handful of paint chips and lo! the best Valentine’s Day bookmarks ever.

This origami heart can be a card, or a tag, or you can make a whole bunch of them and string them up as a garland… the possibilities are endless!

And, while we’re on the topic of garlands, you could also make these heart garlands and hang them up around your house.

Spotted hanging on the door to the Pink Chicken shop in Amagansett this morning…

So I’m walking to the library after dropping my daughter off at camp, and I see this little piece of adorable-ness hanging outside of Pink Chicken, one of the impossibly cute shops in Amagansett. It’s enough to make me almost want to have a baby (not quite, mind you, but close)…

But what it does remind me is that now is the time to buy all of our kid’s clothes for next summer, because everything is on deep sale right about now. Here’s where I’m going to go just as soon as I finish this post:

I am most certainly buying these leggings from Sweet William. At $14, they are practically free.

I NEVER pass up a chance to get something from Soor Ploom, which makes the best best best clothes for little girls. I promise to keep pestering them abut making boys clothes. So far no luck, but I won’t give up.

Over the Ocean is kind of like a porno site for kids clothes and accessories. We all really need to have this little ballet tutu/dress thingy for our daughters, right? Come on… think of the photos…

And then, of course, J Crew, where one should NEVER pay full price for ANYTHING as it was almost certainly go on sale at some point…

Hopefully that’s enough to get you going. Do please let me know in the comments if you see anything especially good out there…

My daughter, having the time of her life, in the middle of the balloon room at the Martin Creed show uptown at the Park Avenue Armory.

The Back Door, British artist Martin Creed’s show at The Park Avenue Armory is absolutely not to be missed. Which means you have 3 more days to catch it before the building wide installation closes and fades into a memory (and lots of Instagram photos).

There are balloons, a piano that opens and shuts on it’s own, a whole range of videos, a band of musicians that wander through the space making enigmatic songs, huge curtains that move on their own and all sorts of beautiful objects that make you pause and think about all sorts of things. Plus the huge main room has been transformed into a kind of dark internal head space where the “mouth” opens every once in awhile and you can see out through the back door. Hence the title of the exhibit.

Go see the show. Take your kids, who will love the balloons and the curtain and the piano and most of the videos at the very least. And hurry before it’s gone.

To motivate you, here is one of Creed’s videos. Needless to say this was a particular favorite of my daughter’s…

And here are some photos I took of the show…

Martin Creed
The Back Door
At the Park Avenue Armory through Aug 7
643 Park Ave, NYC
tickets are $15, available online or at the door

Scott Kelly’s strange and beautiful photographs of the Earth from space.

Check out Krrb’s screen-free ideas to keep the kids busy on a road trip.

And here are a few screen-time tips for those of us parents who belong to the everything-in-moderation school.

But then again, sometimes, looking at screens can be a transcendent experience… like when you look at astronaut Scott Kelly’s photographs of the Earth from space.

It’s getting hot out there– so maybe it’s time to upgrade an old t-shirt into an airy twist-back top.

Nothing says summer like a triple flavored home made popsicle, if I do say so myself…

Wouldn’t it be cool if we could fill, like, 100 water balloons at the same time? Well it seems our prayers have been answered.

Perhaps a little whipped yogurt cheesecake with roasted rhubarb for desert?

This print was inspired by David Hockney, whose work always makes me think of sunshine and carefree days. Bobo Choses David swimsuit, $59

We will not be getting a cat as a pet any time soon (we’re all allergic) so maybe this cat suit will suffice… Popupshop’s Black Cat swimsuit, $38.

This is the kind of bathing suit a sort of goth badass princess would wear. Wolf & Rita Amelia bikini, $69.

Nothing says summer like seersucker… J Crew Seersucker swimsuit, $52.50

I don’t have a son, but if I did, I’d like to see him running around in these Wolf & Rita swimming trunks.

The perfect compromise between my daughter’s urgent desire for a bikini and my personal preference for one piece suits…
Nununu Star Tankini, from $51.

One last cute one for the boys… because I can’t resist an indigo tie die… Stella Cove boy swimsuit, $45.

We don’t have much time.

If you are still looking for ideas– here are a few I’ve seen while casting about for inspiration. Best of luck to you all!

One surefire way to a person’s heart is via their stomach, so these heart shaped shortbread cookies should be just the thing. I’m thinking these are obligatory if you’re having any kind of Valentine’s Day party…

photo from MarinMommies.com

These tissue paper “sun-catchers” are a great way to add a bit of color to the otherwise dreary midwinter days…

photo courtesy hellowonderful.co

These string heart cards are a great way for your kids to practice handling a needle and yarn, plus the clean graphic appeals to kids and adults alike.

photo courtesy momdot.com

I mean, what kid doesn’t want a multi colored heart shaped crayon?

photo courtesy of youaremyfave.com

These painted newspaper heart cards were the design that really spoke to us this year. We’ve made a few adjustments and are mid-production now. I promise to let you guys all know how they turn out!

photo courtesy carolynshomework.com

Perhaps a nod to Cupid is the right way to go this year? These twig and felt arrows of course make great little toys, but they would really be amazing as a little extra touch on top of a beautifully wrapped gift that you might be thinking of handing over to that special someone…

photo courtesy marthastewart.com

No list of holiday related crafts is complete without something from the grande dame of the handiwork universe. Martha Stewart’s wax paper and crayon hearts look beautiful hanging in the window but would also make lovely stand alone cards.

What kid (or grown up, for that matter) doesn’t secretly want to spend all day blowing paint through straws? I’m thinking these straw blown heart cards may be the way we go next year…

I was just wasting time on Facebook when I came across this amazing video. The caption (from the Studio by Kelly Facebook page) reads:

The Nicholas Brothers were a famous African American team of dancing brothers, Fayard (1914–2006) and Harold (1921–2000). With their highly acrobatic technique (“flash dancing”), high level of artistry and daring innovations, they were considered by many the greatest tap dancers of their day. Growing up surrounded by Vaudeville acts as children, they became stars of the jazz circuit during the heyday of the Harlem Renaissance and went on to have successful careers performing on stage, film, and television well into the 1990s.

Now that I’ve shared it with you guys, my time on Facebook has been well spent.

Phew.

This is basically all you need to make the highest quality pizza dough at home.

When I discovered how easy it is to make pizza at home, I inserted a weekly pizza night into our dinner rotation. Add to that the fact that it is a shared activity with your kids (who doesn’t love making a pie and pouring cheese all over it?) and the fact that the whole cooking process takes… oh… about 10 minutes, and it’s a miracle we don’t have pizza every night.

For about a year, I have been ordering frozen dough from Fresh Direct. It comes in the perfect size and it absolutely eliminates the need for any skill whatsoever. But then I saw this recipe for home made dough by the pizza gurus at Roberta’s and I found myself seized with the urgent desire to Make. My. Own. Dough. From. Scratch.

I put it off for a few weeks, and then it took me a minute to track down 00 flour (a special Italian finely ground variety) but once I had my hands on that I was off to the races. And the thing is… the dough was DELICIOUS. And really easy. Beyond really easy. I’m sure I have loads of room for improvement, but even my most basic beginner version comes in head and shoulders over the frozen stuff we’ve been eating up till now.

Here’s are my first two balls of pizza dough, all mixed up and ready to rise.

I found the recipe on NY Times Cooking, and I got my confidence to go for it after watching the video that goes with it. All you need is time for the dough to rise– either overnight in the fridge or 3 – 4 hours on the counter.

All risen up and ready to go!

And then the rest is just tomato sauce, cheese and maybe some onions…

As usual, I started eating before I remembered that I should photograph the finished product. So here is most of my pizza, which was a delicious small cheese with onions.

Here’s the recipe if you can’t deal with clicking through to the Times…

Roberta’s Pizza Dough

Ingredients

153 grams 00 flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
153 grams all-purpose flour (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons)
8 grams fine sea salt (1 teaspoon)
2 grams active dry yeast (3/4 teaspoon)
4 grams extra-virgin olive oil (1 teaspoon)

Preparation

In a large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together 200 grams (about 1 cup) lukewarm tap water, the yeast and the olive oil, then pour it into flour mixture. Knead with your hands until well combined, approximately 3 minutes, then let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.

Knead rested dough for 3 minutes. Cut into 2 equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Place on a heavily floured surface, cover with dampened cloth, and let rest and rise for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature or for 8 to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (If you refrigerate the dough, remove it 30 to 45 minutes before you begin to shape it for pizza.)

To make pizza, place each dough ball on a heavily floured surface and use your fingers to stretch it, then your hands to shape it into rounds or squares. Top and bake.

Done!

I used the standard measurements (couldn’t deal with grams) and it all worked out fine… Oh and if at all possible, pre heat the cookie sheet or cast iron pan or pizza stone before you slide on the pie. It makes the world of difference.