ZimWex Family Blog

Lunch Spot:: Kuku Canteen

I have recently been eating at a cute Korean lunch plate called Kuku Canteen. Its clean, affordable, fast, and has a good vibe (And lots and lots of spicy stuff).

My favorite is the shitake mushroom salad which has some crazy addictive dressing I like to put a little Sriracha sauce on the side.  Also, in this photo, note the Kimchi on the side..

T usually orders the bulgogi, but everything is really good...

Check it out next time you're in the neighborhood!
AZ 

Sometimes you just have to force the issue.

Last weekend, we spent the weekend at our good friends' house in the Berkshires. It has been that strange winter without snow up here, so more than ever, everyone sort of cocoons inside in the winter, with their books, iPads, board games, chocolate...whatever.

On the second full day we were there, no one was feeling any particular pull towards the outdoors...though it was a gorgeous sunny day outside. But, being the forced march up the mountain type Mama mother who encourages fresh air and outdoor activity, by 2 PM I politely suggested that we all take a walk around the lake. *

This is what we found:

A beautiful frozen lake.

We all needed to run, especially the dogs.

Sometimes, just sometimes, Jerry and Ella actually enjoy walking and talking together.

Things look cool frozen in ice. (this is just one of the many frozen things the kids found that they demanded I take photos of!)

More cool frozenness.

A group portrait.

And one that includes faces...including our wonderful hosts Dylan and Ella!

Though we all arrived back at the house complaining about how cold we were, We had a few pretty magical moments.  Best of all was our impromptu curling competition, which was more like skipping stones on a frozen pond. This Mama will keep forcing them outside as much longer as she can!

AZ

*With no other alternative suggestions.

Violet en Vogue:: 4

Coming to you from the 60s...

AZ

This Moment.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

AZ

New Restaurant:: Tortaria

The other day a friend and I met up for lunch at a new Mexican restaurant called Tortaria.  I had no expectations going, so was totally charmed to walk in and find this!

The place was completely great looking.  Luckily, the food was delicious, fast and cheap!  I got the fish tacos, and tried a bite of my friend's Pulled Pork torta, which was also good. They have good salsas, homemade guacamole, and seemed that the rest of the menu was good, too.  We ate for about $10.  I highly recommend a trip to Tortaria the next time that you are near Union Square.  

AZ

Why I Love These Sweatpants.

So...

my son Jerry is not exactly a fashion plate.*  Jerry's fashion choices, since the age of 3, have chiefly revolved around minimizing the numbers of buttons, snaps, or zippers involved.  Ideally, his outfit would have none.  So a typical day for Jerry is a teeshirt or long sleeve tee shirt and sweat pants or athletic pants.  Pity the fool who trys to get him to wear a polo shirt or jeans.  Don't get me started on suits or even button down shirts.**

This has been infuriating occasionally frustrating as a parent, but I have long since given up trying to make him dress differently.***  

However, a conversation I had with Jerry the other day completely altered my perception on how I felt about these clothes, in particular the sweatpants.

We were having a talk about drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure, because believe it or not, these are things that 7th graders need to be equipped to talk about and deal with.  Oy. I had heard of some kids his age who had recently found themselves in a stressful situation where they felt pressured into going along with something they didn't want to and figured the time was right to talk to Jerry about it.  So, after we discussed some nuts and bolts of drug and alcohol abuse, we began to talk about peer pressure, and how I could help him if he needed ways to say "no". The rest of our conversation I will write as dialogue.

Jerry: "Mom, I don't really care what people think of me. I'm not really a follower."

Mom: (thinking he's sweet, but not completely convinced):  "I know, but its still good to talk through these situations".

Jerry:(Persisting): "Mom, look at these sweatpants."

Mom: (Surprised): "What?"

Jerry: "Do you think if I cared what people thought of me I would wear pants like these every day?"

Mom: (beginning to get it, stifles a laugh)

Jerry: "People are always telling me not to wear sweatpants, and to put something nicer on.  But I'm still wearing these.  I really don't care what they say."

Mom: (thinks to herself, "Bless you child" and "Where can I get you more of those sweatpants?")" I guess you have a pretty good point there."

As far as I'm concerned, he can wear the sweatpants to his wedding.

AZ

 

*See Violet en Vogue for a study in contrast.

**Yes, there have been tears....(on both of our parts)...when he is asked to don a shirt with more than one button.

***If we consider long the past few months.

Book #9: Caleb's Crossing

I just finished reading Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks.  I have been mixed on her past novels...really loved People of the Book, but was only so-so on March, which was the one that won her the Pulitzer Prize.

Caleb's Crossing wasn't my favorite book ever, but it did grow on me.  Brooks takes as her subject the first Native American to graduate from Harvard University in the 1660s.  She bases her story on the few historical documents that surround this event, but then richly imagines the world of early Colonial America.  Caleb, who was the Native American Scholar, grew up on Martha's Vineyard, and that is where most of the action takes place.  It is told from the perspective of a young English girl, Bethia, whose father is the minister on Martha's Vineyard, and who befriends Caleb as a young girl.  Both Caleb and Bethia are uncommonly smart, and therefore out of the social norm.  Bethia is one of very few girls who has learned how to read, and also has picked up Wampanoag (the Native language) from living on the island.  Caleb has learned English.  Together they become secret best friends and teach each other about their cultures, religions, and languages.

Ultimately, her family takes in Caleb (not knowing about their friendship), educates him, and sends him, along with their own son to Cambridge for prep school and then college. 

I won't reveal any more of the plot, in case you read it.  But the book is primarily concerned with how these two cultures interact, intersect, and make sense of each other's religious beliefs (or not).  Bethia's father considers it his job to convert as many Native Americans as possible, and he is almost completely successful in this quest.  The book's other main theme is looking at outsiders who are pushing at the edges of what is allowed for them, given the station, gender, and ethnicity that they are born.

The most interesting part of the book, to me, was her richly imagined historical detail.  The early Martha's Vineyard she paints is beautiful, savage, and very interesting.  To them, Boston was a dangerously long boat ride away, and most of the English there were there because they found the Puritans to be slightly too strict.  In all my times visiting Martha's Vineyard, I had never considered this period, or the early Native Americans there (though with names like Chappaquidick, I really should have...)

Solidly recommend, especially if you enjoy historical fiction, or Geraldine Brook's work.

AZ

Violet en Vogue:: 3

Everything looks better with a tutu.*

AZ

*Also, is it me or are those shoes on the wrong feet?

This Moment.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

AZ

Book #8: How to Be A Woman

I read this book thanks to Tanya Wexler, who discovered it in England and is loving it.  How To Be a Woman is a book by a British woman named Caitlin Moran, who is a journalist in England and f&*$ing hysterical.

Reading How To Be a Woman is like reading a combination of Tina Fey, Bridget Jones, and Germaine Greer.  Caitlin is an avowed feminist, but a feminist for a new generation.  She is wildly funny, self-deprecating, and hugely perceptive.  She takes on everything from waxing to botox to bras to sexism, as she writes her own story.

On the lighter side, check out this excerpt from the chapter, "I Get Into Fashion".

    Here is what I have learned about clothes...

    1. Leopardskin is a neutral.

    2. You can get away with nearly anything if you wear the thing with black opaque tights and boots.

    3. Contrary to popular opinion, a belt is often not a good friend to a lady.  Indeed in many circumstances, it acts merely as a visual aid to help the onlooker settle the question:  'Which half is fatter--the bottom or the top?'

    4.  Bright red is a neutral.

    5. Sellotaper is NOT strong enough to mend a hole in the crotch of a pair of tights.

    6. You should NOT buy an outfit if you have to strike a sexy pose in the changing room mirror to make it look good.  On the other hand, if you immediately start dancing the minute you put it on, buy it, however much is costs;  unless it's lots, in which case you can't , so don't.  Fashion magazines will NEVER say 'Actually, don't buy it if you can't afford it.' Neither will your friends.  I am probably the only person who will EVER say it to you. You're welcome.

    7. You should never describe your look as being a mixture of High street and Vintage.  Remember how angry it makes you when Fearne Cotton says it.  Don't let the abused become the abuser.

    8. You are very, very unlikely to look bad in an above-the-knee, fitted 1950s-style dress with sleeves and a cardigan.  Have you seen what Christina Hendricks--the stacked, hot Joan Holloway in Mad Men, the woman Vanity Fair  recently christened 'The Body'--looks like in modern combat trousers and a top? Awful,  there's a lesson for us all there.

  ...

It goes on. 

I recommend this book highly for anyone who wants a good laugh and also to think about things a little differently. She has a great take on many "women's issues".  Unfortunately, its not available in the US yet, but you can order it from amazon.co.uk.  Also, Caitlin tweets, if anyone wants to follow her, her handle is @caitlinmoran.

Back to you next week with more!
AZ