For anyone who's ever shopped at Tar-jay*

Last week, Joslyn coined the best quote of 2012. I believe her exact words were, "I would rather get a bikini wax than eat at a Chuck E. Cheese." What can I say? The girl speaks the truth.

But, you know...

While I'm proud to say that I've never stepped foot in a Chuck E. Cheese—if I did, I would totally upgrade the experience, like: "Mother and I took the girls to an adorable little eatery today called Charles Cheddar. Have you been?"—I am all for a restaurant that has decent food and will not make you feel like a leper if your children go apeshit at the dinner table. And so, last week, Grandma Nina and I took the littles to:

"A cute little factory up in Connecticut that specializes in CHEESECAKE!"











"Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner?" -Biggie {my girl's quoting him A LOT lately}

★

*Tar-jay {this link is for my aunt Nancy, who is undoubtedly googling "Connecticut-based dessert factories" and amassing a long list of concerns, including the unsanitary conditions of factories, as well as kid-friendly restaurants that specialize in bulgur wheat and organic poultry.}

How to bridge the Mommy/Lifestyle/Design Blogger gap

"Call the crib, same number, same hood. It's all good" -Biggie

Hello! Oh, I bet your brow is furrowed right now, trying to figure out the connection between the title of this post and the striking similarity between my daughter and Notorious B.I.G. Well, here's what. Aside from Blake having a {very obvious} career as a hip-hop artist to look forward to, great photos are the cornerstone of a well-designed blog. So, with that in mind, my discussion on this topic at the Alt Design Summit consisted of me sharing the above image of Blake and her doppelgänger {hip-hoppelganger? doppelgangsta?}, and then BLASTING Biggie thru my laptop speakers while saying "Uh" periodically in that cocky, grunting sort of way.

WHAT.

Since so many of you have asked about my presentation, I thought I would share with you a few more tips on how to bridge the mommy/design/lifestyle blogger gap. What I mean by this is how to have a mommy or lifestyle blog that is aesthetically pleasing, has beautiful images, and is appealing to mommies and more. Disclaimer: I promise this will be the very last Alt-related entry for at least 352 days. Footnote to the disclaimer: if you are finding these blog-building, entrepreneurial-themed posts to be helpful, or if you just want to know what Alt is all about, search the #altsummit hashtag on Twitter, or check out any one of these great posts.

So, here we go!

1. Stay true to yourself.

2. If your blog has evolved into a mommy blog, stay true to your readers, too. {The Lil Bee has always been about my life and loves, so it feels only natural to hang onto the pop culture references, fashion, and occasional design posts that still interest me.}

3. Being a lifestyle blogger is not only OK, it's fantastic! Not everyone needs to fit neatly inside a Design or Fashion or Photography Blogger niche. Declare yourself a Lifestyle Blogger and LOVE. IT!

4. If you are a parent, blog about life, not just dirty diapers and teething tips. Your perspective on parenting is one part of your full and layered life that interests people.

5. Your blog is not Facebook. Your photos should be high quality, move the story forward, and keep the reader's attention.

6. The less posing, the less photo-editing, the better. People want honesty—crow's feet, laughter, light. My favorite photos are ones that make you feel like you walked into a room and spotted something beautiful, without anyone even hearing the camera click.

7. You don't need an expensive camera to take interesting photos. Instagram, as well as apps like Diptic, Photoshop, and Luminex are amazingly fun and easy to use.

8. Take your lead from photography blogs, like my friend Bentley's or Alt speaker Jasmine Star's, which tend to be wider {600px or more} and have clean, white backgrounds, so as not to detract from the images.

9. Everyone is busy. Save yourself some time by editing and uploading your photos once or twice a week, then writing your posts when you have a quiet moment {I like to blog on my phone while commuting or getting a pedi}.

10. Your blog is an extension of YOU, so treat it as you would a favorite outfit, heirloom, or drawing from your child.

♥

And since this blog is always a work in progress, I'd like to point out some of the blogs I turn to for inspiration, such as Rockstar Diaries, Freckle Wonder, NYC Taught Me, and Nat the Fat Rat. Hope you all got something out of this little rundown. Big thanks to Gabby for including me as a speaker. The jitters were totally worth it!

P.S. Did YOU attend Alt? Or do you have any pointers you'd like to share in the comments for fellow bloggers? Maybe you're not a blogger, but a reader with a point of view on what kinds of blogs you find most appealing? Thanks!

I'm back from Alt!

Last week I went to Salt Lake City with 500 talented bloggers, entrepreneurs, artists, and friends I've known for four years but have never actually met. It was my first-ever Altitude Design Summit, and I was beyond honored to actually be a speaker!

The summit included three days of panels and keynote speakers, including Ben Silbermann, the founder of Pinterest, who blew us all away with his determination and spirit. I learned tons of invaluable tips, made some new friends, and spent an exorbitant amount of time eating cheesecake and posing in photo booths with some of my favorite gals {and guy!} People like my roomies, Amy and Natalie, an adorably pregnant Melanie of You Are My Fave, two beautiful Melissas {of Melissa Loves and Reverie Daydream fame}, and the infamous Uncle Beefy, who's wearing a look I like to call Santa Sauce.

P.S. See my white dress up above? I bought it for a DOLLAR! Nobody believes me, but look! It's really true! {Anna Sui from theOutnet.com}

On the morning of my roundtable, I was super nervous. So, like any normal girl, I stood in the mirror and took pictures of myself from every angle to ensure that there were no fatty deposits lurking in my blind spot. The photo on the left says, "I'm looking forward to eating you with a side of fava beans!" while the one on the right is all, "I nursed two babies, but hot damn is my 18-hour bra on fi-ya!"

And since I know there are a few of you who are just dying to know what the décor looked like, here are some obligatory interiors shots of the chandeliers, gold everything, and glitter. Pretty gorge.

Thanks, Alt Summit, for an amazing four days! Hope to see you again in 2013.

On my mind this Monday morning...

• Holocene
• I'm back from Alt. Can't believe it's come and gone.
• An old playlist and a brand new beginning.
• There is so much to tell you. So much to declare.
• But, for now, just a train ride to work.
• Music on, spitting rain, and a Super Bowl on the horizon.
• Go Blue! Go Giants! GO BLUE!
• I met people this weekend that were everything I hoped they'd be, and some even much, much more.
• People who know me in a way that is different than real-life, and more real than this life in ways, too.
• Oh. Just SO. Much to say.
• But, stopping.
• Choking traffic, looking up to the light. Inching forward, daring our train to race.
• Snow drifts, train tracks, fog horns, bass.
• The energy, it's like a campus waking up after a game. Waking up or never fully falling asleep.
• Laughing and dancing, yawning as the dew turns from green-white to silver to gold.
• Maybe life is just St. Elmo's Fire, a blinding burst and it's gone.
• If you want more life, why don't you say so?
• This is vague. And annoying. I said it. So there!
• But, I promise that soon I will share.
• There is comfort in familiarity, but opportunity in change.
• Heartbreak Warfare

Your turn.

photo: Taken yesterday on my flight back home, somewhere outside Chicago

On stage.

I'm going to let you in on a not-so-well-kept secret: I have a HUGE fear of public speaking. Enormous. It's a fear that was compounded exponentially when I was given the incredible honor of interviewing with HGTV two and a half years ago and subsequently PEED my PANTS on CAMERA. {Seriously. Read the post. This is one of those rare examples where the word "literally" actually applies.}

But, you know what the great thing is about wetting yourself on television in front of a group of talented professionals?

- pause for effect -

The great thing about that is that the next time you're asked to speak in front of a group of talented professionals, you know that it can't possibly get any worse! Unless, of course, you are incontinent.

And so, on that note, I'd love to share with you this little video of my sweet girls entertaining each other last week. Big sister Devon is VERY comfortable on stage, so to speak, and little sister Blake makes for a great audience. Here's hoping I'll have some of their confidence, good attitude, and happiness this morning when I present here at Alt Summit. xo!

Update: Just realized you can't view the video on a mobile device. oof! But, you can view it on your laptop!

I'm live blogging from 30,000 feet, y'all!*

Not really. I didn't feel like paying for WiFi on my flight over to Dallas this a.m. But, since I have a spare thirty minutes to kill until my connection to Salt Lake City, I thought I'd hop on my iPhone and give myself carpal tunnel for the sake of a late-day post. Hello!

The reason I'm flying to Salt Lake is to attend the Alt Design Summit, where I'm hosting a little round table on how to bridge the mommy/lifestyle/design blogger gap. This layover would be a great time to review my presentation and practice it {silently} to perfection {in my head}. However, all I can focus on is the giant piece of chicken lodged in my top right molar, and the dental floss lodged defiantly within my carry-on bag. Damn floss. OMG, Blue Ivy just rolled her little newborn eyes at me and was like, "SO not flossin', Flossie," with one hand up. Back OFF, Blue.

I've gotta go. I'm flying first class, and it's important to me that I line up IMMEDIATELY when first-class passengers are invited to board, as these moments are exceedingly rare, and I like to be seated when the steerage trudges by. Like, "Oh, you're just boarding now? You must be that economy class I've heard so much about." #clearlyanupgrade

In honor of my flights of fancy, please enjoy this trip down memory lane and I'll catch up with you soon. mwah!

photo: landing in NYC after our Miami trip

*Update: I really am live blogging from 30,000 feet, y'all! I was rushed onto the plane! I paid $9.95 for GoGo in-flight WiFi so I could finish my post! I feel futuristic! Choke on that, SOPA!

What to feed picky eaters, part 2

Last week my mom forwarded me an article in the Wall Street Journal about how children eat. It was really interesting and focused on the difference between how kids process a plate vs. adults, as well as ways to persuade picky eaters. In short, it's all about presentation. Children prefer six colors and seven different meal components on their plates, are more apt to eat something that resembles a design {such as a smiley face}, and will typically go for the items at the bottom of the plate, whereas adults gravitate towards the center.

With this in mind, I've been heading into the kitchen 15 minutes before mealtime to design Devon's plates. {I just said that out loud, didn't I?} And when Devon sits down in her chair, I present everything to her the way the waiters at our favorite sushi restaurant explain each of the fishes: "Devon, look! We have cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados, broccoli, chicken, raisins, and cheese! Mmmm!"

Other tricks I employ are serving the stuff I know she's not interested in first {"DEVON! Check out this delicious plate of meatloaf!"}, alternating recipes {hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs... chicken cutlets with lemon, chicken soup with wild rice}, adding butter and parmesan to nearly everything {green beans, pasta}, and putting a scoop of whipped cream or raspberry jelly on her yogurt to make it taste more like dessert.

Blake, on the other hand, would gladly eat from a trough filled with anything and everything—carrots, squash, crayons, paper, zucchini, Cheerios—you name it, she'll eat it, just NO t-u-r-k-e-y, not happening, no thank you, bye-bye.

Do you have any picky eaters in your home? My mom is the pickiest eater I know and often stocks the entire top shelf of her fridge with one item only—seltzer, cottage cheese, cranberry juice—it is bizarre. And my friend Lauren puts ketchup on everything, including bagels with cream cheese! I'm not picky AT ALL, though I am most definitely a creature of habit. Below are the foods I'm currently eating en masse: salads with walnuts, cranberries, and grapes... spicy vegetable udon... apples, and avocados. Yum!

P.S. What to feed picky eaters, part 1 {read the comments if you need ideas...they're great!}