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Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Fall Children's Theater in the Bay Area

We wanted to share some fall theater shows to take the kids to. We'll add more as we get them.

What: Peter and the Starcatcher (Berkeley Playhouse)
Where/When: September 22 - October 16
Tickets: here

What: The Jungle Book (Marin Theater Company)
When/Where: October 29-November 6
Tickets: Marin Theater Company

What: Seussical (Bay Area Children's Theater)
Where/When:
October 8 - November 6 - Berkeley (Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse)
November 12-13 - San Ramon (Dougherty Valley Performing Arts Center)
November 19 - December 11 - San Francisco (Children's Creativity Museum Theater)
Tickets: here

What: A Christmas Carol (Bay Area Children's Theater)
Where/When: November 11-20 - San Jose (Montgomery Theater)
Tickets: here

What: Hairspray (Children’s Musical Theater San Jose)
Where/When: December 2-11 - San Jose (Montgomery Theater)
Ticketshere

Friday, September 23, 2016

Review: Demi Hugger for Luggage

Every year I go to a conference in New York, and wheeling my suitcase with a briefcase (holding my computer) on the handle. And every few minutes the briefcase slides off. It drives me nuts, but I've never figured out a solution.

Recently I got an email from Demi Hugger, showing me their product. It seemed like a problem solver. They sent me one to try, and I have to say it worked. I took it on a trip recently where I didn't have my briefcase, but rather my trusty backpack, pictured below.


How it works:
The Demi Hugger is like a big sash with velcro. The velcro strip can attach anywhere on the long neoprene strap. It can be wrapped horizontally or vertically. There's an opening so the Demi Hugger fits over the handle/pull, attaching it securely to the luggage. Actually, there's an opening each way to fit it on the handle. It weighs very little but feels quite strong.

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Customized Invitations and Announcements - Endless Options from BasicInvite.com

This post is brought to you by BasicInvite.com, but all writing and opinions are my own.

When my kids were born, I printed out their baby announcements on special vellum paper, attaching it to card stock with ribbon and then sending them out to friends and family. This was not a good project for a new mom. It was time consuming and required my husband bringing home his office cutting device, standing over the printer feeding in the vellum, and then ordering new ink when I ran out. In decade-plus that’s passed since then, there are so many better options for designing and ordering beautiful announcements online, at a very reasonable cost.

Baby announcements from Basic Invite.

We get our photo holiday cards online. We get customized thank you notes online. We’ve gotten birthday invitations online.

So when it was time to order my son’s bar mitzvah invitations, did I call to an invitation person?

Monday, September 19, 2016

Coming Up: Eat Real Festival

If you like food, you'll want to go to the 8th annual Eat Real Festival in Oakland. This food festival will attract upwards of 150,000 at Jack London Square, with activities, demos and fun educational guides on how to eat well.

What to expect:

Cookbook Cook-off: Friday night live cooking demonstrations featuring food from new cookbooks. Look for local chefs like Anya Fernald (Home Cooked), Russ Moore (Camino), and more.

Drink Real: Sample tasting flights and engage in sommelier demos, 'meet the brewer' panels, alcohol pairings, the return of the Jam Bar for craft cocktails and the popular Beer Shed, with over 20 taps of local craft brews flowing. Those happen all weekend.

Urban County Fair: The place the kids will love. Look for DIY in the pavillion, which showcases the how-tos of the sustainable urban home and garden, with especial focus this year on reducing food waste. They'll talk about surplus produce, backyard bees and lowering your carbon footprint.

Eat Real Main Stage: Enjoy live bands, chef demos, an all-female butcher showdown and more, with various pop-up entertainment venues throughout festival grounds.

Bring lots of cash, as not all vendors accept credit cards. They'll have ATM booths there as well.

When: September 23-25
Where: Oakland, Jack London Square
Cost: Free (though you'll pay to eat)