September 11, 2001 is a date that is etched in every American’s mind. Most of us can remember exactly where we were when we heard the news that two planes crashed into the Twin Towers. I know I certainly can. It was a day that brought fear around one of the greatest joys in life…travel. My husband and I were in transit on 9/11. It was our second anniversary, and we were traveling with a group of friends to a…
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As my daughters started school this year, I started thinking about what it was like when I was kid. Things were different. We had a TV where you had to walk to the screen, and turn the knob to change channels. Sometimes the channels were just black and white fuzz. Sitting through commercials was still torture. I remember when we had a Beta and a VHS VCR, that’s a video cassette recorder for you young people. Back in the day…
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I sort of disappeared from Petit Elefant around the beginning of June. Not intentionally. I thought I’d roll into another summer the way I have since 2007, when I started this blog. I’d have a lot of kids underfoot, out for summer vacation, all sand and noise and sweat and activities, but I thought I’d still pull out the laptop when I had a chance to make sure I stayed on top of the blog. Except not so much. A…
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Movie to watch on Netflix this week: To Kill A Mockingbird. It’s that time of the month again, when we talk about what you NEED to be watching on Netflix right this very second. So far in this series we’ve talked about Tina Fey’s most recent T.V. project, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jon Stewart’s directorial debut Rosewater, the BBC’s Luther and now To Kill A Mockingbird. To Kill A Mockingbird just popped up as newly added to Netflix, and…
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My little guy turned 11 today. He’s not so little anymore. It’s hard to know how to feel about this, but I can tell you that the two prevailing emotions are pride and a bittersweet nostalgia. photo by Ashley Thalman Photography This son of mine was so hard to come by and is such an impossibly perfect outcome of a terrible medical situation; sometimes the closeness of it all just takes my breath away. During my a nightmare…
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Boyfriend jeans. We all want them but it’s easy to assume they only look good on super skinny models. Well, as a not super skinny model (or a model at all for that matter) I am here to tell you that they can be worn by us curvier women too! Recently I got a pair of boyfriend jeans in my fashion subscription box and I couldn’t be happier with them. They are the perfect summer jeans, if you ask me, because they…
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We spent last Christmas in Durban, because that’s what you do here in S. Africa. You spend Christmas at the beach. It’s hotter than hot that time of year, and the only respite you can find is in your toes touching that cool water. Durban resides along the Indian Ocean making it more popular in my book than Cape Town which borders the arctic waters of the Atlantic Ocean. There’s loads of touristy things you can do in Zulu nation,…
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Summertime is definitely on my perpetual list of favorite things. I cling to it as long as possible. Deep inside, though, I can feel the gears of Summertime gradually winding down, just little by little, so that the end will sneak up and pass me by without notice. I hate it when that happens. I’ll enjoy the next season when it arrives, to be sure, but I’m just not quite ready to trade my sandals for rain boots or to shove my…
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Summer vacation might be coming to a close but it’s never too late to squeeze in some little weekend vacations. Those are my favorite kinds! Not too much work to prepare and just enough time to get away and enjoy yourself without being gone too long. On those types of vacations, whether you’re flying or driving, it’s nice to keep things simple, am I right? I’m all about minimal makeup, dry shampoo (hello, life saver!) and cute hairstyles. So today…
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