Gidget Goes Home » fun

Around Town…

gidget — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:22:09 +0000

While I’ve been away from this space, I’ve been elsewhere a bit…

I recorded a podcast with Tsh from Simple Mom which was really fun. You can get the details and listen over on Home Fries. This was a bit surreal when I thought about how three years ago when I started blogging I never would have guessed that Tsh, who was one of the first bloggers I read, would be my friend and boss. I’m so blessed to be a part of SLM!

I’ve been posting away at Simple Organic, and this week I posted a fun video tutorial on making a fabric yo-yo, one of my favorite little things to make.

I finally posted the magazine clipping from when I was mentioned in Coastal Living Magazine on the Surf Mamas blog. That was another surreal little treat.

I wish I had more time for Pinterest! I seriously love it and when I find myself there for a few minutes at a time I always find inspring things. I’ve already tried a couple of recipes I found there and I have a project for our home to make this week hopefully.

Hallee and I went down to San Diego to meet up with Megan from SortaCrunchy for dinner (pictured above) while she was here for BlogHer. What a treat. Megan is someone I could chat with for hours. I loved getting to meet her in person!

My days are challenging at times but I’m so thankful for my three treasures.

Around Town… is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

The Ice Cream Party

gidget — Sat, 21 May 2011 03:36:57 +0000

We had so much fun celebrating Gigi’s fourth birthday.

Here are a few more photos from her fun backyard celebration.

Ice cream bowls were also snack bowls and party favors along with the felt ice cream cones {ie, no paperware or cheesy goody bags}.

Drinks for the mamas, snacks, and flowers from our yard.

Yaya and Brody.

Coloring sheets with a sweet message.

Bubbles! {Dress-up clothes were optional}.

The ice cream lineup {Gigi’s choice}: mint chip, homemade vanilla bean, homemade strawberry buttermilk.

The birthday girl!

The Ice Cream Party is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

too relaxed.

gidget — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:32:45 +0000

It started so simple.

An afternoon bath to pass the time before Daddy got home.

Two cute kiddos, who almost always bathe together.

With Daddy.

I preface this story, but saying that I rarely bathe the kids. Bathtime and bedtime are essentially Daddy Time around here, as I clean up a bit or get some work or a project done. I love that they have this sweet routine with their Dad {sweet, until the brush and detangler come out– I often have to intervene and help out with that– but that’s another story}.

So back to today. A relaxing afternoon bath… that quickly turned… maybe a bit too relaxing it turns out.

Everything was going fine until a little guy starts doing a bit of grunting. Using my speedy ninja skills, I whipped out the Dora potty seat and picked up that wet baby, transferring him to the potty as fast as I could.

But alas, the tub FULL of toys, and a sister, was already polluted, along with a few spots on the bathroom floor.

What ensued, was nothing short of chaos, wet kids, a slippery floor, scooping out of unmentionable elements, collecting of toys, catching a wet, naked, crawling-away baby, a quick soap up and rinse off in the sink, a thorough cleaning of the tub, a subsequent re-bathing of the poor, innocent daughter, and finally, hair drying of said daughter while son cried in his play corral.

{deep breath}

I think I’ll let Daddy keep his evening bath time rituals. Although I’m not sure when my tub was last this clean, so there’s that!

***
Bonus!!

While documenting my clean tub, I thought I’d show you a few of the pretty things in my kids’ bathroom, to make up for the poop story, of course.

First, there are a couple of water color paintings, by one of my favorite artists, Sharon Quick.

And finally, the beautiful quilted beach scene, designed and made by my mom. She was inspired by a cute paper napkin and then designed this wall hanging. So fun.

too relaxed. is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

A wild hair…

gidget — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:10:40 +0000

I had planned to write a post today that was documenting an exciting cooking class I was privy to take last month, including some mouth-watering photos of the food we prepared, and devoured… but that’s going to have to wait a bit longer, because suddenly, today, I had a very pressing question come to mind (besides, this blog has been needing some (essentially) meaningless and random drivel, if you ask me, so read on, please, if you don’t mind)…

To cut my hair off or not?

My hair has gotten quite long and thick (it’s been entirely too long since I had a trim), and it has come to my realization today that maybe it’s time for a chop. I basically always have it in a bun or ponytail, so while I do like the idea of long hair, my version of long hair is not always living up to its potential.

Let’s look at some photographic evidence.

Occasionally it is looking cute like this:

{halloween}

or like this:

{my dad’s retirement party, I used my triple-barrel waving iron here, fancy!}

I would probably never cut my hair if I had the time and skills to make it look like this pretty lady every day:

{my lovely sister-in-law and her groom. this doesn’t quite do it justice, but trust me when I say she has the best long-hair-styling skills I know!}

but let’s be honest, this is a more accurate picture of the day-to-day ‘do:

{feeding the bro-man, rocking the low bun.}

I like to grow my hair out with the goal of donating to Locks of Love. I did this after Gigi was born:

{the big chop!}

{cute and short}

Here’s what I would not miss about losing my long locks:

a heavy, wet mop that requires being blown-dry in the winter after a shower (I really hate blow-drying!)
tiny fingers: grab, pull, repeat. aagh!!
the boring everyday bun
tangles. lots of long tangles.
random long, lost hairs. everywhere.

Here’s what I would miss about my long hair:

braids
the comfort of the everyday bun
the blondish color (leftover from summer) that’s only on the bottom of my hair
that beachy, surfer girl look

Extra bonus points: it’s for a good cause.

It sounds to me like I’m trying to convince myself here. Oh, and I should probably mention all this to my husband. I told ya, this post/though was very spontaneous!

I have already gotten some loud “Do it!” encouragements on facebook, so I guess the real question is, can anyone offer any good inspiration? The required 10-inch chop would leave me with something above the shoulder.

I do like this one. Don’t even know who this cute girl is, but I like her hair. My bloggy friend Brooke likes Scarlett’s ‘do, and I do too, but I’m not sure it would ever look that perfectly tousled on me.

Any other ideas?

A wild hair… is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

{this moment}

gidget — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:55:41 +0000

SouleMama‘s {this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see

{this moment} is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

Instant Replay: Who is Gidget, Anyway?

gidget — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:15:43 +0000

This post was originally published on July 30, 2009. It was one of my first posts here at Gidget Goes Home. I thought I’d replay it for those of you who haven’t been with me that long.

The first time I associated myself with the character “Gidget” was in junior high art class where I made a bookmark that said “Gidget” on one side and “Moondoggie” on the other– I was a romantic at an early age. I had recently seen, and fallen in love with the 1959 movie Gidget (and with it, its companions Gidget Goes Hawaiian, and Gidget Goes to Rome). In girlie games of passing notes in class, “Gidget” was often my nickname of choice.

A few years later, I started surfing, probably in part so I could truly be like my “namesake.” Almost immediately, I was hooked on the sport, and despite my minimal talent I loved, and still love, being in the ocean, a place where I feel truly connected to our Creator. By then “Gidget” was the nickname I used for notes, email, IM, you name it.

Yep, I still have it!

Then, in college, I discovered that Gidget was indeed, a real person! The movies were based on a book, also called Gidget*, by Frederick Kohner, who wrote it based on the experiences of his daughter, Kathy, as she learned to surf among all the guys in Malibu. I read it and of course, loved it.

My copy of "Gidget;" it reads "the next wave is for you!"

The summer after I graduated from grad school, CSULB had a special event through the campus extension, a visit from Kathy Kohner Zuckerman, aka Gidget. I was probably the youngest one there in a small classroom with maybe 50 attendees. It was amazing– she shared pictures, history and excerpts from her diaries.

me and the real Gidget

Gidget is an icon in surfing; many say the Gidget movies are what catapulted surfing from a small brotherhood of guys to a mainstream phenomenon. Although I love surfing, I, on the other hand, am a casual surfer, hitting the waves mostly from June to September. So, in a way, I’m not really anything like Gidget. But I think there’s a part of me that still identifies with her immortal character.

Legacy is important to me. I don’t want my life to be meaningless. She didn’t mean to, but the real Gidget really changed a small corner of the world. I guess I hope I can have a lasting impact on my little corner, my home and the people who enter it.

{On a surfing note, I did start an online community for moms who surf. If that describes you, or you live near a beach and want to learn, you can join for free and meet some new friends who would love to teach you. Surf Mamas was designed to connect local moms to swap surfing for beach babysitting.}

Do you identify with any celebrities or historical figures?

*affiliate link, if you shop on amazon after using this link, you’ll support GGH! thanks!

Instant Replay: Who is Gidget, Anyway? is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

Encylopedia of Me: D is for…

gidget — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:16:57 +0000

Dodgers

I already told you about my family’s love for baseball and how I married into a love of the Dodgers, but I felt they deserved a post of their own, especially now that Brody just went to his first Dodgers game! My parents have a partial season ticket package for the Padres, and they generously gave us their tickets to a Padres/Dodgers game a couple of weeks ago.

We had a great time and for the first time, Gigi sat in her own seat and really seemed to watch the game.

She’s been to probably close to thirty baseball games, but I think this year is the first year is she is really starting to get it. This week she asked her daddy when a commercial came on during a game if it was “the end of the inning.” I think David may have let out a romantic little {sigh} of happiness at that.

If you ask her what color something blue is, chances are her answer will be Dodger Blue. She’s already such a daddy’s girl and I love it.

Being a Dodger fan is fun because they have such a long history, and the Bennett family has a long history with them, too. After all, David’s dad has been a fan since they moved to L.A. in 1958. We love going to Dodger Stadium, although we may not make it up there this year as it is quite a trek. One of the most fun things to do as a fan is going to Spring Training which happens the month before the season starts. We visited the Dodgers in Florida their last year there, and now have seen them in Arizona the last two years.

My romantic hubby even got me some Dodgers earrings for Mother’s Day.

Encylopedia of Me: D is for… is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

365 Project: January’s Calendar

gidget — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:30:32 +0000

I’ve been having so much fun with the 365 Project. Every couple of days I go back to my phone and camera and choose a photo to represent each day (because let’s be honest, I’m not organized enough to do this every day like you’re supposed to).

Some days I can’t choose just one, so I whip up a collage to showcase a few. Some days I don’t take even one photo so I cheat a little, and choose one from another recent day. The rules are flexible.

All I know is that come December 31, 2010, I’m going to have an awesome photographic diary of our year.

A few family members and friends are playing along too and I love following the photographs of their days, too.

Click the photo above to see my January calendar and all my photos, or you can visit my profile to see my most recent snapshots. You can join in any time, your 365 days don’t have to start on January 1st.

Such a fun and simple way to capture the memories of every day.

Because sometimes I wonder if I am ever going to get back to scrapbooking (and staying up-to-date) like I used to.

How do you keep track of your memories?

This post was written in under 30 minutes for Steady Mom’s 30-Minute Blog Challenge!

365 Project: January’s Calendar is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

Seven in Shades of Red

gidget — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:10:16 +0000

I was tagged by my friend Linda for this fun post. The instructions were to showcase 7 photos showing red around the home. {Side note: you can be pray for Linda’s family, too, as they wait to adopt as well!}
These photos can be enlarged by clicking.

1. our Netflix “streaming disc” that lets us watch instant movies/t.v. shows through our PS3. We love this (when our crappy internet allows it to work).
2. these are actually salt ‘n’ pepper shakers that were our wedding cake toppers!
3. my apron.
4. our spacey, dorm-like microwave that our landlords let us use. It’s very small and not very powerful, but cool and red. Oh, and my favorite tea right now, TJ’s “Ruby Red Chai.”
5. just a glimpse of our bobble-head collection (most of the collection is more the color of Dodger Blue)- guess we should take them out of the box- and David’s international Mt. Dew collection.
6. a kitty that my grandma made (she sits on my headboard, that my grandpa made).
7. my collection/stash of reddish fabrics.

My turn to tag 7- but if anyone else would like to play, please come back and leave a comment with your link to your red showcase!
How about mom, bro/sis, sis, erika, emma, beth/david and rena?
Any takers?

p.s. speaking of red, my mom and I are taking part in this project for the Orphan Foundation… it’s not too late to join in!

Seven in Shades of Red is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!

Announcing The Gracious Basket {Giveaway}

gidget — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:05:22 +0000

I’m so excited… one of my dearest college friends (pictured above with me in ’06) recently contacted me to tell me about a new business her family started called The Gracious Basket. Today I’m going to tell you a little about it and offer you a chance to win a gift certificate!

Have you ever been involved in planning a school or church fundraiser? They can be a lot of work and sometimes you might even wonder if it’s worth the hassle. That’s what my friend Christ Scott, a school teacher, thought, and what inspired the Scott family to start their new website, a company that prides itself on being simple to use as well as socially responsible.

Basically, The Gracious Basket is a website where you can order beautiful gift baskets. The twist is that every order allows the giver the opportunity to choose a charity/non-profit organization that 25% of the proceeds will go to.

That’s it! That’s the fundraiser- it’s that easy! Instead of handling order forms, counting orders and worrying about delivery, The Gracious Basket ships your gift to its recipient and then sends a check to the charity/non-profit of your choice. All you have to do is register your organization if you want to organize a school (etc) fundraiser.

In the words of the Scott family, “Helping others is the goal of The Gracious Basket, not only providing beautiful gift baskets but by donating 25% of the retail price to the organization of the customer’s choice.”

There are tons of gift baskets, for a variety of occasions and recipients. I’m personally excited about the “green” options coming around next Earth Day- I’ll be sure to let you know when they arrive to the website. For now, check out a few of the beautiful options (click the photos for order info).

gourmet baskets, like this Italian one…

plenty of festive Christmas options like this one…

even a unique gardening basket (I love this one!)

My friends have been so gracious to our family suggest that their site provide another opportunity for us to raise money for our adoption as well. Anyone who would like to purchase a gift basket and designate the charity proceeds to our family can just enter “Bennett Family Adoption” upon checkout. Thanks, Chris & Annie!

For Christmas delivery, you’ll need to make your order by Monday morning, December 21st and choose air shipping, but don’t worry there are basket options for all sorts of occasions, including birthdays or even a thank you.

And now for the giveaway… {Giveaway is now closed!}

One lucky reader will receive a $30 gift certificate towards the gift basket of your choice!

Here’s how to win:

1. {mandatory} Visit The Gracious Basket and send me an email telling me what is one thing that makes The Gracious Basket a “Socially Responsible Business.” Please email me your answer; if you leave a comment for this entry it will be deleted.

2. {optional} Blog or tweet about this and leave a comment here for an extra entry!

3. {optional} Purchase a basket and leave a comment here!

Contest ends Sunday, December 20th, at 3:00 PST.

Announcing The Gracious Basket {Giveaway} is a post from: Gidget Goes Home
Please visit my other blog, Simple Organic.
Gidget Recommends {a few of my favorite eBooks}:

One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler
Healthy Snacks to Go: 20 Real Food Recipes
Simple Blogging: Grow your blog with less time on the computer.
Thanks for reading!