I'm Not Invited!

Just a funny little story for you in the Kids Do The Darndest Things Category.

I hosted a holiday party last night for a bunch of girlfriends. It was an After Hours Shopping Party at Anthropologie, my most fave shopping destination. (Full disclosure: I also work there on occasion for inspiration and good discounts!) After the store closed, a group of 20 of us got to sip champagne, chat, ogle Anthro's fab holiday decor, listen to great music and shop. It was a fun night.

Prior to the event, I had sent out an Evite to friends. I included Miss P on the list, because she loves to get email and she had helped me when I was designing it. Of course, she wasn't really invited. With Hubby out of town for work, she and her brother had a babysitter.

But, I had to Laugh Out Loud when I went to check the Evite responses and there was hers (in all caps) in the "NO" section. Here's what it said:

priyacwhite (12/04)
SORRY CANT COME U SAID ITS NOT 4 KIDS WHY DID U SEND ME AN EVITE?

Check me out on Cozi.com...again!

Check out my third installment of guest-blogging on Cozi.com. I write about using their family journal to document family vacations. Plus, you get see what the Varma-Whites did while in Portland last weekend! woo-hoo!

Waiting for Holiday Cards (Are They Coming?)

I am SO behind on my holiday cards.. haven't even taken a pic of the kids yet as I keep waiting for a sunny day...arghhh. (This is the photo for cards sent last year.)

That said, I am curious how this season will be. Will people try to save money and just send e-cards? They're not going to post them on Facebook and call it a day, are they? Here's my rant about needing holiday photo cards , which was on the Lifestyle Insights blog recently. PS: Read some more recent posts there for great tips on Cookbook gifts, simplified holiday decorating and easy, homemade holiday gifts.

So THAT'S How You Get To Attend A State Dinner

I am a bit late to weigh in on this -- due to sick child and THIRD visit to pediatrician in a month -- but...

Oh how I would have loved to attend the Obama's recent State Dinner for Indian PM Manmohan Singh!

From the pics and descriptions, sounds like the First Lady (and staff) once again hit it out of the Beltway with great taste and elegance in everything from the place setting to the mostly Veg menu of lentil soup, eggplant salad and potato dumplings, to Mrs. O's fab dress by Naeem Khan.




Prominent Indians on the list came from Hollywood (Deepak Chopra, M. Night Shyamalan) the business world (Pepsi Co chief Indra Nooyi) and elsewhere (author Jhumpa Lahiri).

Of course there were other usual suspects: politicians, Hollywood directors, TV anchors. Michaele and Tareq Salahi...

Wait, who??? Apparently this couple from Northern Virginia crashed the party! Read how they got through White House security.

The best part of the story: they posted pics on their Facebook page.

Guest Blogger on Cozi, Part II

I was a guest blogger on Cozi's Live Simply site again today. Cozi has over 2 million registered users, mostly families that use it to simplify and get organized, so of course I was excited to take on the challenge! Today's post is about Planning a Busy Holiday Week Using List After List After List, so be sure to visit me there to read all about it.

Thanks, Kavita

Most Dangerous Toys of '09

Just in time for next Friday's Black Friday shopping rush, W.A.T.C.H -- World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. --
has released its list of 10 most dangerous toys. These are toys with the potential to cause childhood injuries, or even death, says W.A.T.C.H.



A lot of the toys seem harmless by their looks. What could, for example, be wrong with the set of musical instruments shown here? With the Just Kidz Junior Musical Instruments, it's the drumstick that's problematic. According to W.A.T.C.H:

Babies as young as eighteen months old are encouraged to use the “drumstick” to play music on the xylophone. The slender, 4 1/4” drumstick is connected to the xylophone only by a knotted cord. Once separated, the drumstick could be mouthed and occlude a child’s airway.

Guest Blogging on Cozi.com

Hey Bellevue Blogette Fans!

I was recently invited by Cozi.com to guest-blog on their Live Simply site. Cozi has over 2 million registered users, mostly families that use it to simplify and get organized, so of course I was excited to take on the challenge! Today's post is about Bridging The Organizational Divide With Your Spouse so be sure to visit me there to read all about it.

Thanks, Kavita