Places to Go - A Weekend in Richmond & Sally Mann at the VMFA

Welcome to Day 5 of GROWN UP WEEK on the blog (the last day), as next week I'll return to kid-stuff. For the final day, I thought I'd recommend a romantic night away in Richmond, VA (the curse of the accidental rhyme returns). Richmond is about 100 miles from the DC area, making it the perfect destination for a kidmoon. A night in the Jefferson Hotel looks amazing (we've never been, but hopefully will go one day). And recently, the Washington Post highlighted Richmond's gastronomical offerings (click here for article), many of which sound lovely for a date night.

Of course, I'm partial to Richmond because my in-laws live there, so we've spend some time exploring the city. In fact, over the holidays my husband and in-laws watched the children for a morning so I could check out Sally Mann's exhibit at the VMFA ("Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"). In the photography world, Sally Mann is a pretty big deal (to put it lightly) and in the world of children's photography Sally Mann is pretty much the pinnacle. Her most famous body of work is a collection of black and white photos of her children, entitled "Immediate Family". The book's photos of often naked children, combined with Mann's exploration of adult-type themes, have made Mann a subject of controversy since the book's release in the early 1990s (along with several accusations of child pornography). I own the book (I've photographed some excerpts above) and while it is fair to say that some of the images are disturbing, I also have to say that Mann's photos are the most incredible I've ever seen. Ever.

Regarding Mann's newer work, her exhibit at the VMFA was very different than I expected. Mann's recent work utilizes old photography techniques, so that the images, blown up to large sizes, look aged and abstract, much more ambiguous than Mann's earlier detailed photos of her children. Several of the recent images still have disturbing undertones (such as the photos of dead decaying bodies), but the portraiture aspect is almost completely missing. While I prefer her earlier work, the exhibit provided a nice opportunity to see the journey of an artist and reflect on the changes in Mann's style.

At the end of the exhibit, the museum plays a documentary entitled "What Remains" in which Mann discusses her art and her process, which I found fascinating to watch. Especially the family's comments on the photos of her now-grown children. If you can't make it to the museum, Netflix carries the film. The exhibit runs through January 23rd and costs $10 (general admission to the museum is free). For more information, click here.

Besides Sally Mann, the VMFA's permanent collection includes several works by big-name artists - Cy Twombly, Alex Katz (my hero), Edward Hopper, Thomas Struth, etc. Definitely worth a visit (see some pics below). And while taking children to an art museum can be fun (click here to read about our experience), it's also nice to have an afternoon sans kids once in awhile. So if you can swing it, a weekend in Richmond sounds like the perfect adult getaway. Treat yourself.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE! See you on Monday!

Things To Read - Book Lists ("The Best of 2010")

(I know parking garages have little in common with booklists, but lately I keep taking pics of parking garages so I thought I'd post some here.)

I love the New Year, with its promise of a new and better you. I always start out so ambitious. On New Years Day I went to my first ever guided meditation at a nearby yoga studio. I spent thirty minutes trying to concentrate on the word "serene" (my personal buzzword of 2011) and I felt like a better person for it. Then I went to a party and ate so much handmade deepdish pizza that I felt sick (in my defense it really was the best pizza I've ever eaten). So in less than 24 hours New Me managed to find and exploit the vices of Old Me.

Anyways beside my continual quest for improvement, I really love the New Year because it produces YEAR END LISTS - the best movies, the best TV, the best music and (MY FAVORITE) the best books. I read a lot, so I use the book lists both as a source of inspiration and aggression (as in "how could they ever have picked that?"). I especially like to see how much agreement exists between the different lists. For example, a few years ago every reviewer listed Robert Bolano's 2666: A Novel as their top book of the year. So, of course, I had to read it and I'm so glad I did. Very odd. I'm not sure I "got" it, but the writing was wonderful, with lots of mysterious layers. The novel actually consists of five different sections -(1) The Part about the Critics,(2) The Part About Amalfitano, (3) The Part About Fate, (4) The Part About the Crimes, and (5) The Part About Archimboldi - all linked in some way with the unsolved murders of hundreds of uneducated Mexican women in the fictional town of Santa Teresa (based on the real life town of Juarez Mexico). 2666 is a challenging book, but still one of the best works of fiction I've read in the last few years. And I never would have discovered it without critics' best-of lists.

This year Jonathan Frazen's Freedom: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club) continually appears as a top-runner. Has anyone read it? What did you think? Other top reviewer-picked books of this year include Jane Smiley's Private Life (which I read and WAS NOT impressed by) and William Boyd's Ordinary Thunderstorms: A Novel. William Boyd's Any Human Heart is one of my favorite books ever written (I even named one of my children after one of the novel's characters) but, sadly, I found Ordinary Thunderstorms rather blah. An easy read, but not great, or even memorable, in any way. Further, Nicole Krauss's Great House: A Novel keeps making top lists. I haven't read it, but I loved her earlier novel The History of Love: A Novel (I discuss it here).

Regarding the lists themselves, I'm always partial to Time magazine's list, as I often like what they recommend. For a great compilation of all the lists, I discovered a FANTASTIC website that has all the best of the best - Pulitzer, National Book Award, Booker Prize, NY Times, LA Times, PEN/Faulkner, etc. If you're interested click here (definitely worth a bookmark). What about everyone else? Read any great books last year and/or plan to read any this year? What's on your list?

Happy 2011!!

Places to Go - The Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD)

Welcome to Day 3 of GROWN UP WEEK on the blog. We're only two days in and I'm already cheating a little bit. First of all, let me say that I think Brookside Gardens would make a wonderful date night; think about it - breathtakingly beautiful lights, a night sky, a cup of cocoa, holding hands (albeit gloved hands) - how romantic is that? Sort of like a night by the fire, but with electric lights instead. But, we didn't go to Brookside on a romantic date, rather we went on New Years' Eve as a family and that was pretty cool as well. Brookside hosts the most beautiful and extensive light display that I've ever seen (way better than zoolights), unlike most displays where you usually walk, see some lights, walk some more, THEN see some more lights, Brookside's displays are all encompassing (i.e. you don't have to seek them out), I especially loved the lighted flowers lining several walkways and the rainbow with electric rain (and thunderstorm sound effects). Due to the displays' vastness no bottlenecking occurs, hence you really do stroll through the gardens (rather than push your way through). Vendors offer hot drinks and snacks. Plus, the observatory hosts a train garden (I missed this part as I was standing in the bathroom line with F). The display ends on Sunday, so if you want to catch it, hurry up and go soon; luckily temperatures in the forties are predicted through Thursday evening making this the perfect time to visit. Admission is $25 per car on weekends, $20 on weekdays. The gates open at 5:30. For more info, click here.

If you're looking for another family-friendly night out, THE ARLINGTON PLANETARIUM has shows on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30 (not recommended for children under 4). A few weeks ago, I took the girls and they loved it. Click here for info on the shows. Further on the first Monday of every month, the planetarium hosts a nightly sky viewing platform through its "Stars Tonight" program, which looks awesome. Click here for more info.

And if you want to ditch the kids entirely, SECOND CITY is performing their production of "A Girl's Guide to Washington Politics" at Wooly Mammoth Theatre through January 9th. (We're going tonight - I'm so excited!!).

Have a great Wednesday everyone!!

Things to Make - Homemade Pumpkin Yogurt Facemask

Welcome to Day 2 of GROWN UP WEEK on the blog. Today I'm going to make something myself for myself. How fun. In winter my skin tends to get a little "blah" looking, sort of grayish if you know what I mean. In order to solve this problem, I usually treat myself to microdermabrasion at Elizabeth Arden (or buy a Groupon for it somewhere else). But this year I'm working on frugality, which requires a new skin-improvement plan as microderm is a little on the pricey side. A year or so ago, I read about a homemade face mask recipe on DesignSponge and a few weeks ago I finally decided to give it a try, all I needed was 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree (available at every grocery store) and 2 tbsp whole-milk yogurt (harder to find, but available at farmer's markets and Trader Joe's and some grocery stores). When I mixed them together I had the best face mask ever. If you want to try it, leave the mask on for about 15 minutes and then rinse with water. You will glow. Trust me.

For more homemade bodycare recipes, check out this post. I haven't tried any others yet, but they look wonderful.

Places to Go - Spa World (Centreville, VA)

(Don't let the cheesy sign fool you. It is the inside that matters.)

I love my kids. Hopefully you all know that by now. But I'm a little sick of talking about them. We did Xmas, we did New Years, we spent a lot of time together as a family. And I could use some adult-time for awhile. So this week is GROWN UP WEEK ON THE BLOG! Same categories (place to go, things to do, things to make, etc.) but NO KIDS ATTACHED! So tune in all week, book a babysitter and follow along - I've got some fun stuff planned.

First on the list - SPA WORLD!! In the last six months, Spaworld has become one of my favorite places on the planet. First of all, Spaworld is cheap - $35 for 24 hours (eat your heart out Elizabeth Arden). Second of all, Spaworld is probably the most relaxing place I've ever been. Stress literally disappears when you walk in the door. On the downside, a first visit to Spaworld can be somewhat confusing, so I'll take this opportunity to walk you through the facility.

Upon arrival, you pay your money and they give you a key. This key opens a small shoe-locker in the lobby (shoes cannot be worn in the land of bliss). They also give you an "interesting" pair of orange shorts and shirt (yes, Spaworld requires a uniform, just deal, it's not that bad). Take your key/wrist-band and proceed into the sex-specific locker rooms. In the locker rooms, you'll encounter a BEAUTIFUL single-sex spa-area - complete with 2 hot tubs (heated to different temperatures), an ice bath, sauna, steamroom, shower area, and a bade pool (i.e. "water massage therapy"). Oh the bade pool, wonderful in so many ways. Basically a bade pool is a not-too-hot hot tub, divided into sections, each of which includes a different set of massage jets. You sort of wander/float around the pool trying the different jets, some for lower back, some for upper back, etc. The total effect is that of a full-body massage. A pretty good one. The spa-area also offers body scrubs for an additional price (yes, the women who administer the scrubs wear black lingerie, sort of odd, but really who the hell cares). The one caveat regarding the spa-area is bathing suits are not allowed, so you're full monty. If this makes you nervous, remember everyone else is naked too, so nobody really cares that you're naked (trust me on this one -NOBODY CARES). Oh, if you want to bring your children, they also have a small kids' pool. Kids seem to like it, but I've never tried it with my own children, as I go to Spaworld to get away from them. For more info on the spa area, click here.

Beyond the spa/pool section, Spaworld houses several "poultice rooms." These are co-ed, hence the orange uniforms everyone must wear. The rooms are all heated or cooled to different temperatures and all of the rooms have different healing properties. For example, the oakwood charcoal room improves blood circulation and muscle fatigue. Whereas the salt room warms the bones and prevents female diseases. My favorite poultice room is the red clay ball room, where you literally lay in thousands of small heated red clay balls, sort of like being a kid again, but with an adult twist. For more on the different poultice rooms, click here.

Outside the poultice rooms a "resting area" contains several mats and rugs for lounging and reading (I suggest bringing a book, water bottle and ipod). A juice bar and restaurant reside next to the mats, both of which primarily serve Asian food (your key/wristband operates like a credit card so you don't have to carry cash). The facilities also include an arcade and fitness center, neither of which I've ever visited. Upstairs is the paid spa-area, where you can book a foot massage (only $45 for 30 minutes and worth every dime), full-body massage, facial, or other spa service. They usually take walk-ins, so no need to plan in advance. If you want to spend all of your paid 24 hours at the spa, separate sex sleeping areas are also available.

Seriously, if you need to relax, Spa world is the place to go. and go. and go again. Have a great Monday everyone!!

IF YOU WANT TO READ MORE ABOUT SPA WORLD, PLEASE CHECK OUT THIS SPA WORLD REVIEW WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND, ALISON.

And for more information on Spa World's restaurant, click here for the Washington Post review.

LINKS:
*If you're looking for some New Year's inspiration, Poppytalk has a great round-up of inspirational posts from 2010, which includes some photos of Douglas Coupland's home (I'd forgotten in the last ten years. Reading his name made me remember reading Generation X years ago and not quite getting it).

*I found the third picture in this series an appropriate start to a new year.