Tiny Iron Fists

In-Flight Entertainment

Midway through our flight, Lulu started an impromptu dance party in her bassinet. Fellow passengers acted amused. I wish we could all break out in dance during cross Atlantic flights. It'd be a great way to stretch, meet your neighbors and make the free booze count! 

Outfit: Old Navy turtleneck dress.

Christmas In Paris (With Kids)!

It's really hard to beat Christmas in Paris. The City of Lights has so many wonderful things to offer during the winter holidays. And it's a real kid-friendly city too. Following are highlights and tips for things to do from our recent trip:

1. Ride the beautiful carousels and ice skate at the Parisian City Hall. Entrance is free for both however, ice skates cost 5 euros to rent. The backdrops for public ice skating in Paris (Eiffel Tower and Hotel de Ville) are hard to beat. If you've had a hankering for merry-go-rounds, ride your heart out!

 

2. If Notre Dame Cathedral wasn't already spectacular enough, check out the Christmas Tree. The giant tree is up from November 27, 2010 to February 2, 2011.

3. For a city famous for its decorative lights, Christmas is the knock-em-sock-em event of the year. Visit obvious spots such as the Eiffel Tower, various Parisian department stores, and the Champs Elysees or get lost in one of the special quarters such as Rue Moufettard where the city is alive with a glow that's part natural, part artificial, and all awesome!

4. Shop the open air markets. I failed to take a photo of one of these outdoor shopping chalets, but here's a photo of Lulu wearing a Peruvian sweater I bought for 20 euros from one of the booths at Place de la Nation.

5. Enjoy the holiday food and beverages! There are so many wonderful things to eat and drink in France but during holiday season they bump it up a notch. Champagne, oysters, foie gras, mini quiche and other amuse bouches, bûche de Noël and galette des rois appear everywhere (at least for a short while).

Because Christmas is strictly a family affair in France, get yourself invited to a Christmas eve dinner and  know you're "in"!

6. Visit museums. Much of the city slows down due to the holiday season so it's a great time to visit museums. There are less tourists in the winter than summer and although there can be long lines everywhere, it's still a less chaotic time to view masterpieces.

It's not common to have snow in Paris however this year, we were hit with a blizzard. The heavy snow made the city sparkle, if not a little inconvenient! That said, I mean it more than ever... I'm happy Silvio's from Paris, France and not Paris, Texas! I highly recommend visiting Paris during the winter holidays. The glowing city is one giant present specially wrapped for you and your family to uncover! Happy travels!

Happy Holidays From Tiny Iron Fists!

Thank you for your friendship and readership. Big ups, big love, and much HAPPINESS to you this holiday season and always!

xoTINY IRON FISTSxo

Cutie and the Croissant

Baby's first croissant. In France. I mean. What? You really didn't think I wasn't going to document this moment did you?!

Outfit: Polarn O. Pyret dress and The Children's Place layering tee.

My Babe's Bibliotheca: Santa Monica's Main Public Library

Radical people! Have you been to Santa Monica's Main Public Library? Look at the house that knowledge built. The 104,000 square foot green building is super fantastic with a LEED gold rating, bookstore, cafe, museum, sustainable landscaping and so much more.  Check out the Teen Lounge! Hello, Eames furniture?! Granted the Eames are local heroes, but seriously?! That's pretty fancy! I love how my local tax dollars are being spent.

Lulu had so much fun on her first visit to the library. She walked up and down the picture book aisle inspecting everything and pulled titles that interested her (almost all of them had an animal on the cover). Then she played an impromptu game of hide and seek with me, which was not as fun as it may sound -- seeing as Lulu's little, I'm little, and the bookshelves are high, I lost track of her often! Finally catching Lulu at the foreign kids' book area, we picked out a few French titles. It was only a matter of time that she took off running again to the Teen Lounge where she climbed the indoor playground furniture. After about an hour of  fairly quiet exploration, Lulu was ready to go. We borrowed 13 awesome books and headed home.

The Santa Monica public libraries are a wonderful place for families to read together, study together, or just  be together! The four locations including the Main Library, Ocean Park branch, Pico branch, and Fairview branch offer a lot of resources to children, parents, and teachers. Check out the calendar, it's full of free kids' programs. We hope to see you around, at one of the toddler reading hours.

Santa Monica Main Library

601 Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310-458-8621

Monday-Thursday, 10 AM-9 PM
Friday - Saturday, 10 AM-5:30 PM
Sunday, 1-5 PM

Outfit: American Apparel infant California fleece zip hoody, American Apparel infant cotton jersey spandex leggings and adidas superstar 2 CMF shoes.

Art For Teacher

One of illustrator and art teacher Rama Hughes' fifth graders drew this really awesome still life of Spiderman. Rama says, "This fifth grade drawing of a little vending machine Spider-Man toy is, of course, one of my favorites. I am especially proud of it though because the artist who drew it SO WELL began our classes with a few timid assertions that he just couldn't "do art." More fantastic drawings by Rama's students can be found on his Flickr stream. 

I hope Lulu will have a teacher as inspiring as Rama someday. Believers like him, make dreams a reality. If you'd like to see Rama's own work, drop by Giant Robot's "Post It Show 6" this Saturday!

Art That Speaks To Lulu

Lulu walks up and down this neighborhood wall of student-made art, looks for the crudely drawn but recognizable animals and meows or barks her way down the sidewalk. Yes, it's ridiculously cute. And yes, I will video this awesomeness and post someday soon!

Outfit: Steven Harrington for Arkitip scarf, The Children's Place sweater, ?? pants and adidas superstar 2 CMF shoes.

Burbank - The Mini Social Holiday Warehouse Sale (12.11.10)

Fun In The Sunset

Outfit: Stussy scarf, The Children's Place sweater, Old Navy tank top and fleece pants and adidas superstar 2 CMF shoes.

LA - The Annual Abbot Kinney Holiday Walk (12.05.10)