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Together, Anyway

December 25, 2015
Reading The Night Before Christmas to kids on Christmas Eve

{ Christmas Eve, 8:00 AM }

Last night, Kendrick asked me, "So what are you and the kids going to do tomorrow?" I didn't really have a Christmas Eve plan; I figured we'd run by Whole Foods for some last-minute Christmas dinner stuff I forgot to pick up, make potato pancakes to freeze for our New Year's dinner (more on that later), watch Tom & Jerry's Christmas for the 10,351st and 10,352nd time. That kind of thing. And then, once Kendrick got home from work, we'd all relax around the house, maybe go over to see our friends in Los Gatos for a bit, eat the stupid-expensive steaks I bought as an alternative to my traditional Engagement Chicken because we're leaving for Ohio on Saturday and I don't want to have tons of leftovers.

I slept a little late this morning; I didn't hear Kendrick getting up with Indy, but when I finally stirred it was 7:30 and I could hear them talking about waffles out in the living room, so I picked up my phone and scrolled through my email for a second. I heard the door open; heard the sound of the garbage cans being dragged out to the curb. And then I heard the door close, and Kendrick say: "Jordan, I just broke my foot."

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Lifestyle

Holiday Book Club

December 24, 2015
What I'm planning to read in 2016

When my parents visited over the weekend we drove over to one of my favorite local spots, a little used bookstore in Campbell with a great kids' section. I got all excited about a bunch of books and started to buy a whole stack of them "to read over the holidays," and then remembered that I have two children and put back all but one (the Stephen King, obvs). There's always the chance that Goldie will fall asleep on the flight to Ohio and let me get through a few chapters (ha hahahahahahah).

But MAN am I excited about the books that are out right now. So I thought I'd put up a list of some recent favorites and a few I'm looking forward to reading...someday. And if you have any suggestions, I'd love love love to hear them!

Recent Favorites:

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My Looks

Gold Rush

December 23, 2015
Style blogger Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam in a gold holiday dress by Modcloth

{ ModCloth Dress }

I once had this dress.

It was red, and cut practically down to my bellybutton, and skin-tight, and was basically everything that I typically do not look for in clothing. But every single time I put it on (prior to, ohhhh, let's say October 21, 2011, the date after which anything cut down to my bellybutton was most definitely not going on my body), I felt AMAZING. I felt like I glowed; like when I walked into a room everyone noticed (which they probably did, because, like I said: skin-tight and red).

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Eat

Kids In The Kitchen

December 22, 2015
the new york times perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe

On the menu for today: we're making cookies for Santa. And when I say "we," I don't mean "I'm making them while the kids watch Bubble Guppies and I yell from the kitchen 'COME HELP YOUR MOTHER'"; I really do mean that we're making them together.

Indy is really into cooking - he has announced that his plans for when he grows up are "to cook and to work at eBay" - which is ridiculously exciting for me. I remember a couple of years ago I posted a photo to Instagram of him standing next to the stove, helping me stir some pasta sauce, and got a bunch of blowback for it (THERE IS FIRE NEAR YOUR CHILD AND KNIVES ALSO, both of which were true). And while I do of course believe in making sure that children are safe when they're in or near a kitchen, my feeling has always been that the safest thing I can do for them is to let them participate in something that they're obviously going to be interested in, if only because it's so clearly a big part of their mother's life. To me, it's always seemed like telling them to stay out of the kitchen ("DON'T TOUCH THAT!") would be equivalent to transforming the room in our house where I spend the most time into an exciting mystery house of stuff they're not allowed to touch but desperately want to. It seems more reasonable to me to open the doors and not just "tell" them, but actually show them how a kitchen can be both safe and fun, so long as you're careful.

But the biggest reason why I encouraged my son to get into cooking from a (to some) bizarrely young age: it's our special time together, standing there side by side and talking about flavors and the difference between penne and rigatoni and what, exactly, happens when water comes to a boil. Indy knows how to measure, how to mix, how to put walnuts into a ziploc bag and whack them with a rolling pin to break them into smaller pieces. We taste sauces together and decide if they need more seasoning; he's responsible for doing virtually all of the pouring. I love that when he's older he'll have so many memories of sitting on the countertop in a warm kitchen, dipping measuring spoons into flour and breaking eggs while his mom chatters away about stuff he doesn't quite understand, but will one day.

It makes me something way beyond "happy."

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Lifestyle

On Christmas Day In The Morning…

December 21, 2015
J crew pajamas for Christmas morning and a pair of black Beatz headphones

There are three things that I require. All are completely non-optional.

{ Something To Wear }

The first is a new pair of pajamas. I ask for new pjs ever year - oversized and cozy and old man-ish and zero sexy, please and thanks - and every year I try to manipulate the present-opening process so that I can get my hands on the box that I suspect holds said pajamas first. And then I change into them, and wander around in my brand-new pajamas all day long. It is wonderful.

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Lifestyle

In The New Year…

December 18, 2015
Jordan Reid, husband Kendrick Strauch, and daughter

This little bug hasn't gotten in a lot of air travel yet - we thought we'd hold off until she reached the iPad-as-sedative age - but all that's about to change! In the coming year, we have lots and lots of plans for family travel, including a trip to New York for my dad's 70th birthday, a trip to Ohio to see Kendrick's family, and hopefully a trip to somewhere involving a lobster roll and a lounge chair and silence.

I've partnered up with Alamo for the second year in a row, so I'm going to be blogging about all our family travel experiences - along with ideas for how to make the whole experience not just "doable," but awesome (really) - over here. If there’s anything in particular relating to family travel that you especially want to see – any questions, suggestions, or just stuff you enjoy and want more of – let me know??

P.S. If you missed my Alamo posts last year, some snippets:

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My Looks

All Things Sparkly And Bright

December 17, 2015
Jordan Reid and husband Kendrick Strauch

Getting dressed for a holiday party, chez us, is quite the undertaking. First, the TV goes on because life is easier when the TV goes on. If I can get Indy poured into clothing accompanied by the strains of Bubble Guppies the whole process moves far, far more quickly, and when you have four people to get out of the house anything that happens quickly is basically a miracle.

Next up is Goldie, who is generally the most laid-back, sweet-natured child on the planet, but who, when confronted with clothing that she likes, dials up the volume as high as it can possibly go. She does not want to wear those shoes, she wants to wear THESE shoes. And THAT DRESS. <shrieking if dress does not go on body in .5 seconds.> AND I NEED TO WEAR THAT SWEATER AND IF YOU TRY TO DELAY THE PROCESS OF PUTTING IT ON ME, MAMA, I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN. (As a refresher, she is 16 months old.)

So it’s a process. But a fun one, because man are they ever cute in their holiday gear.

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Decor

Interior Inspiration: Six Nurseries You Need To See

December 17, 2015
white nursery with a white wrought-iron crib

Here is Goldie's room. It's almost identical to the nursery we put together for her back in Westchester (minus the leopard carpet, TEAR) - we even painted it the exact same shade of pale green that we chose during the office-to-nursery redo. I kept it super simple because it also functions as a guest room when people come to stay with us (that couch folds down into a queen-size bed), and also because I figure we have plenty of years of pink sparkle explosions ahead of us without getting started now. (It needs a rug. I'll get on that sometime in the next decade.)

But!

Were I starting from scratch with a nursery concept...ooooooh are the ones pictured here ever good. (They're good for kids' rooms, too, so I'm bookmarking 'em for a future redo.)

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