An Urban Girl

No Where To Sit : Standing at a Counter Corner at Peet's Coffee There is something magical in the combination of chilly weather, spicy coffee, twinkle lights, warm clothes, good books, jazzy jingles, shop windows decorated in snow flakes and red and gold, and your loved ones close by... run any permutation of these factors and you'll instantly end up in Happy Land.  I try to exploit the holiday feeling as long as I can, without breaking any laws of course.   The Steve Jobs memoir that I started reading a week or so ago still has me fully hooked.  It makes me laugh and cringe and exhale at times in sadness and at times in amazement. I drag it with us everywhere we go (to the surprised look of my Mr. Urban), on the off chance I can pull that giant, crayon and chocolate stained hardcover out of my Marry Poppins' style bag the second I see an opportunity... like when Mr. Urban and the UrbanToddler stand in line together to pick up lunch at Mayfield or outside my daughte

I had a lovely grandmother.  She was sweet and elegant, had infinite amount of patience, and a kind voice for when her patience finally ran out. She was a talented cook. The whole of her life was about caring for her family.  Prepared three amazing and inviting meals each and every day.  And kept a house so meticulous and cozy that at the end of most days it was the gathering spot for most of our family and close friends. The other day, my girl and I made one of her recipes, Kotlet, and we had a lot of fun with it.  The UrbanToddler loved all the mixing and rolling and especially the taste of the Kotlets.  Perhaps you like to try it with your toddler or just make it for someone you love. Aziz's Kotlet 1 pound ground turkey or beef 1/2 pound potatoes 2 eggs a pinch of saffron or turmeric whole wheat bread crumbs salt and pepper olive or vegetable oil Boil the potatoes, let them cool and then grate them. Mix the grated potatoes with eggs, meat, saffron or turmer

I love high heals.  All through my twenties I wore the highest heals I could find.  And even as a bean counter, sitting for obscene hours behind a desk in a cubicle or at the client's office working on financial audits or figuring tax consequences of reverse take overs, my only claim to glamour were my cute heals.   Sadly, I peaked too early.  Over the past few years I have only found one or two pairs of heals that I can wear comfortably for a couple of hours at a time (Thank you Ms. Tory Burch!)... But the other day I made a purchase that makes me want to shout from all the roof tops in Los Altos in joy.  Paul Green Kantrells.  If you too are a toddler mommy or for some reason can't find comfy heals to run around in, give these lovelies a try.  Be aware, to get a half size smaller than your normal size. Do you have a shoe tip to pay forward?

November has arrived with all her charm and promises.  We started the day with a box full of goodies awaiting us on our door step.  I find the promise of a good book or a good CD awaiting me at some point in the day, either in the living room, on a park bench, or in the car in between activities, one of the most alluring forces in the universe.  My girl, gets just as enamoured.  So last week I decided that she deserves her very own coffee table book, suitable to her questions du jour.  The New Children's Encyclopedia was our answer, and it was so exciting when it finally arrived today.   When I was 5, my dad brought me back a Children's Encyclopedia, one with a good yellow linen hard cover from England (to Iran where we lived).  And I loved that thing to death.  I was so sad to have to leave it behind when we left Iran for Canada during the Iran-Iraq war.  After our busy morning of a quick visit to the gym, errands, lunch and ballet lessons, it was lovely to finally s

Before we knew it, October has come and gone... We picked and carved pumpkins and decorated our door steps We wore our costumes every chance we got We caught colds and got over them In time to go out trick or treating in perfect warm sunny weather, sit on a pumpkin and meditate on the many virtues of the lollipop HAPPY HALLOWEEN!