Back from New York--where do I begin?

I "heart" NY, for real. I could hang out there for weeks, since there are seriously about ten awesome things going on in Manhattan at any given moment. I could hardly decide what I wanted to do with my two free days there! NY Fashion Week, 9/11 memorial, San Genarro Little Italy Festival were all going on while I was there.

Rick couldn't miss school (plus he hates New York--freak!) so Ruby and I flew out on our own. My mom flew up the next morning and I led us all from our hotel near JFK, in Queens, onto the A train to explore Brooklyn's Park Slope. For some reason, my 72 year old arthritic mother and my 5 year old daughter were not prepared to walk for 6 hours straight, as all New Yorkers are accustomed to. So I dragged them through Prospect Park and into Park Slope like it was a death march until finally I gave up and got them to the lucious Italian bistro I found for us to eat dinner. Ruby fell asleep on my lap on the A train home, while my mom slept beside us. It was a like I had two little kids.

The next day we took the subway to Manhattan but I toned it down a bit. First we had an amazing Chinatown brunch (jook, my favorite comfort food) at Big Wong, then we strolled San Genarro eating gelato and we caught the Cannoli Eating Contest (simultaneously fascinating and repulsive). A few more blocks and we were at the Museum of Children and the Arts which was kid heaven. This is how I ditched my two "kids;" frankly, this plan was genius. My mom watched Ruby run around at the kid art place so I could run around SoHo without anyone needing bathroom breaks every ten minutes. I went to the MoMA store, Pylones, Kate's Paperie, Purl Soho and lots more in the two hours of rain before going back to play at the Childrens' Museum. Ruby chose famous soup dumplings in Chinatown for dinner before returning to the hotel to wait for my sister to fly in from Maine. It was so great to see her, and for the next few nights we had four of us girls sharing one hotel room, like a long sleepover according to Ruby.

We had to go to Queens to experience the California "sour yogurt" phenomenon which was just right on the 87degree (HOT) day. Karen said it was a highlight of the day, and she's quite a foodie.

I felt so lucky to have this wonderful family trip and get to share it with my little Ruby girl. I was feeling the separation of her starting kindergarten, but the trip was a bonding experience reminding me she's still always going to be my daughter.

Mamas know how to party

Mama's Night Out, Fri August 1, 7:30-10pm: Oh yeah, the mamas got their groove on Friday night! We had about 70 women come to our party Friday night and it was a beautiful cacophony of love and friendship. David at The Wine Mine helped Mary choose some sparkling wines for sipping with the margarita cupcakes baked by The Cake Ladies. Good music, good food & drink, and great shopping! Some early-arrival fall lines were cleared out that very night, helped by the 20% store-wide event-only discount. We sprung for free massages by our new favorite massage therapist, which were such a hit, we paid Flo for an extra hour. What can I say? We had a blast and you shouldn't miss the next one, November 7th. Stay tuned, i.e. join our email list, for details.

Why I love watching Kimora

Alright, let me break it down. Kimora Lee Simmons is a momma tiger who is also running a successful fashion empire. She is a total diva, I mean ridiculous, but she loves those little girls and does her best to do right by them. She's Asian (Japanese mother, African American father)--how many Asian American women do we get to know on tv? She's not super-bright, but she seems to know it so she thinks on her feet and has staff members that somehow keep managing to come thru. She whips out this sassy attitude but it's smoke and mirrors because she's actually a goofball.

So, in short, she's pretty much just like me (only a multi-multi-millionaire).

4th of July is July 4th. Always.

Another working mom mind-blip. Our dear friends Scott & Evelyn throw their annual 4th of July barbecue where I get to catch up with some of my favorite people every year. In mommy-mode, I say of course we'll go! Meanwhile, in shop-owner mode, I'm asked, are we open on 4th of July? Of course we're open!

Whoops. Did you know that there's only one 4th of July 2008? And I can only be in one place at a time? Luckily my business partner Mary graciously allowed me to abandon her at the shop while I stole a couple of hours with my friends and family. And it turns out the neighborhood was pretty much a ghost town and we closed as soon as I got back. So did I run back to my barbecue? Nope. I stayed at work and enjoyed the quiet of getting to work uninterrupted. Lucious.

Cake Ladies Cupcakes rock

We had a good crowd in the shop yesterday for Cake Ladies cupcake tasting! Celeste Cooper brought her A-game, with nearly 20 different flavors for us to try including vegan, gluten-free, and of course, classic varieties. Vegan Cookies and Cream was the clear crowd favorite, although I love the lemon-lemon-lemon best (lemon cake/lemon curd/ lemon frosting). The orders are rolling in, so contact Celeste right away to get on her schedule (book a week ahead minimum): celeste@cakeladies.com. Check out her Yelp page to see what others are saying about her goodies.

Stay tuned for the next fun Ruby's Garden event in the house!