Happy Thanksgiving 2012!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Not going to be a long post because I am too busy enjoying Thanksgiving festivities with the family but here are some photos from the day! Hope you all have an awesome holiday! -Craig

Getting started on the home made vegan stuffing!

Washing potatoes together.

Sierra is helping! Wash wash wash.

Mimosa Break!

Cutting fresh green beans for the casserole!

Mmmmmmmmmm.

Quinoa-Cranberry Salad in progress... YUM.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole!

No clothes. Don't Care.
 

Ta-Da!!!! Stuffing, Green Bean Caserole, Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Sweet Potatoes,
Rolls and Pecan Cranberry Quinoa!

 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Apple Pie Spice & a little maple syrup.

Bottoms up!

Lauren did an awesome job! We are lucky!

Pecan Cranberry Quinoa Salad!

Dig in!

Digesting by watching some Netflix.

Tuesday Tunes!

Remember our old feature 'Thursday Tunes' well it's now on Tuesday because well Tuesday Tunes sounds way cooler right? Anyway here's my song for this week!

If you don't already know one of my other projects is a little record label here in Boston. We specialize in tapes and one of my favorite releases we've ever done was by this band American Opera. It's a folk singer from Saginaw, MI who writes some of the most beautiful stuff you've never heard. Listen here + Enjoy:


SHAMELESS PLUG: Buy the tape here.

-Craig

New Dad on the Block

If you are a frequent reader of The Hipster Dad you may have noticed a pretty drastic change to the look and feel of the blog. You may also be reading these words envisioning Craig or Michael behind the wheel, but just like the wizard of OZ, I pop from behind the curtain. Allow me to re-introduce myself, my name is Don, the designer of the new look, and a new addition to The Hipster Dad Blog. I have been writing my own personal dad experience over at Adeline's Daddy, but due to a move out to the Boston area (THD land) among other things I haven't had much time to write, although there has definitely been much Dadding going on...

I'm honored to join a group of great Dads bringing a different angle to parenthood. We are in search of an open, creative, inclusive, loving, positive atmosphere for our children along with the search for balance in keeping our own identities as creative guys. These things can go hand in hand figuratively and literally.



Check back soon for a ton of new features that we are working on and... another addition to the crew.

Thanks for reading.
- Don

WATCH THIS: Princess is NOT a Career!

Don and Craig's Election Night Adventure

So I avoided talking about politics on the blog this entire election season because it’s a touchy subject with a lot of people - but I can't resist telling you guys a story about last night:

Don and I decided to have a "Daddy Date Night" and go out child / lady free to watch the election night festivities. We left my apartment around 9 and thought that riding our bikes would be fun and a good way to avoid having to find parking. So we hop on our bikes and it felt like it was going to be an awesome night. Five minutes later our hands turned to icicles and we had no gloves so we stopped at a grocery store about a mile from my place and shell out 10 bucks a piece for some really ugly grocery store gloves. Now that our hands are warm we jump back on our bikes and we didn't even make it out of the parking lot before Don's bike had a flat tire. Luckily he had his handy air pump with him… which refused to work what so ever.

So we agree that he should just ride on his rim one block to the gas station to pump up his tire with one a compressed air machine so we can be on our way and not miss anything. A few minutes later we get to the gas station and see a big hand written sign reading: "OUT OF ORDER”.

At this point we're just laughing at how poorly the night is starting and say "FUCK IT!”, lock the bikes up and hop in a cab back to my place to grab his car. We pay the cabbie, grab the car and are finally on our way to the Thirsty Scholar in Cambridge we go to meet up with some friends! The night is saved!!

We pull up and get a spot right out front (Score!) and then Don says “This night is about to get really shitty…” to which is say “Now what?”. He can’t find his wallet. This time we aren’t laughing. We tear the car apart but it's not there. We get back in the car and figure we'll go back to my apartment and look outside in case it fell out when we exited the cab. The whole way back I'm calling cab companies and basically being laughed at. The wallet was nowhere to be found outside of my house so at this point we're starving, still haven’t watched one second of the election and again we say "FUCK IT!" and I tell him dinner and drinks are on me and we head back out into the night.

We go BACK to the Thirsty Scholar, meet up with our pals and have a few drinks and are just in time and get to watch the election get called for an Obama win. All’s well that ends well right?

After they call it we wait forever for the concession speech from Romney but it was almost 1AM so we leave and head to a 24 hour spot in Boston called the South Street Diner, eat some greasy diner food and get to watch Obama give his victory speech and even after the bike and wallet debacle it all felt worth it watching American history be made over a big bowl of greasy diner french fries with a good friend.

We finally leave around 2AM. We took one wrong turn and a 10-minute drive turned into a 45 minute one which included paying tolls. We FINALLY get back to my place and Don decided to crash on the couch after the night he had and my head didn't hit my pillow until 3AM. It was still worth it though!

Until this morning when I woke up bleary eyed AND sick. Sheesh' can I guy get a break around here?! -Craig

 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! This year Sierra is "Olivia" the pig, specifically Olivia from the "Olivia Saves the Circus!" book. The costume was hand-made by the talented Aidan Vitti! She's made Sierra's costumes for four Halloweens in a row. Thank you Aunty Aidan!!

Hoping everyone has a safe, fun and dry Halloween tonight! -Craig

Have you guys heard about Amanda Todd yet?

Have you guys heard about Amanda Todd yet? She was a Canadian teenager who committed suicide attributed to cyber-bullying through Facebook and text messages as well as at her school. On September 7th, Todd posted a video on YouTube in which she used a series of flash cards to tell of her experience of being blackmailed, bullied, and physically assaulted.

Reading about things like this break my heart. It's a very sad story, and whats even sadder is that this happens every day. According to 2012 Statistics from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, someone dies by suicide every 13.7 minutes in the United States. That is a horrifying statistic. Please use the story of Amanda Todd, and countless others, as a reminder and a reason to stop bullying if you are. Your actions have real and devastating consequences.

 BE KIND TO ONE ANOTHER. -Craig



Read about the story here:

Wikipedia: Suicide of Amanda Todd

TIME: The Tragic Case of Amanda Todd

Watch the video she posted here:

 

Helpful Links:

1. "What Can We Do to Stop Bullying" via/ SHAPE
2. Steps to Take to Prevent Cyber bullying via/ Chicago Now
3. StopBullying.gov via/ U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
4. Dealing With Bullying via/ Teen Health
5. To Write Love on Her Arms

Daddy Does Chicago (2012 Edition)

This past weekend a client of mine offered to fly me out to Chicago to help his company finish up some work for an event they are running. Being away from Sierra is tough on both of us but we combat the toughness by FaceTiming, calls and plenty of reassurance that I'm not leaving forever and will be back very soon. I also gave her a little note that told her I'd miss her and that I love her and was told she carried it around in her little pocket all weekend. I missed her terribly but I think learning that sometimes parents need to be away is a healthy and important lesson to learn.

So Friday morning I dropped Sierra off at daycare, said my goodbyes and off I went to the airport to hop on a plane and head to Chicago for the weekend. (ps. I went to Chicago last year around the same time and blogged about it here.)

Friday / Day 1: I'm a very light traveler. One backpack with a laptop, a book, a sketch pad and a few different shirts / cardigans. Here is the first (of many) obligatory plane window pictures from on the way there.

Here is the awesome sunset I got to watch from my pal Huff's roof in the Old Town part of Chicago once I arrived. Huff is BALLIN by the way, check out his rooftop pool. Man I really love this city...

For dinner that evening I went out to a little slice of vegan heaven called "Native Foods", which have a few locations around the country (sadly not in Boston!) and a bunch in Chicago. If you're in the area of any of them I  recommend getting out there and trying it ASAP. Organic/Vegan foods and beers galore! Here is some of cool chalkboard murals they have on the walls:

Saturday / Day 2:

On Saturday Huff headed out to see his little cousin play a football game and I ventured out into the (rainy) city by myself in search of good food, cool stores and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

I ate at "Delicious Cafe" (which was delicious!) and checked out a few cool / small galleries and shops. Check out the store "Transistor" if you get a chance!

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is AMAZING. If you live in Chicago or within driving distance you need to get there immediately. They have some really great pieces on view right now and it's well worth the trip.

PS the picture right above this is a still from my favorite piece I saw at the museum period. Here is a one minute clip from it: http://new.daazo.com/film/1dec36cc-3c43-11e0-8e6f-0050fc84de33 -- The fulI film is about 11 minutes long.

Eventually I had to do what I had come there for and settled into Huff's balcony to get some work done. After finally finishing work (around midnight). Huff and I jumped in his BMW (BALLIN!) and went to the famous jazz club "Green Mill" and it was well worth the $5 cover. Unlike bars in Boston which close at 2AM, Chicago parties until 5! Huff and I having just worked for 6 hours straight and been all over the city all day were exhausted and only stayed until around 3 or 3:30 though. We saw an amazing jazz quartet and really enjoyed ourselves. You NEED to go here if you can:

Sunday / Day 3:

My flight was at 1:25 the next day so I pretty much only had time to pack up, eat some breakfast and get to the airport. I was sad to see Chicago go because I had such a great time and love that city but was so excited to get home to my family and get some much needed hugs and kisses from a certain 3 year old.

Once I was home we ate dinner, I gave Sierra a bath with her new color bath fizzes that I bought her at the Museum shop and then celebrated being back home in Boston with a New England pumpkin adult beverage.

Overall it was a lovely weekend and I was glad for the opportunity to be able to see Chicago again. Thanks for the free trip Huff and can't wait to come back again! -Craig

AMAZING stories... AKA Listen right now.

Recently I've become obsessed with story telling podcasts such as The Moth, Strangers and Risk. In case you're unfamiliar someone gets on stage or in the studio and tells a story. Each episode has a theme  and people tell very personal stories about their lives ranging from 5 minutes to an hour or more sometimes. The stories are beautifully told and are so moving and interesting.

Two have truly stuck out to me as a father and I just wanted to share them with you. One is about a Dad who is a stand-up comedian by night and an amazingly strong father who takes care of his young daughter with cancer by day. The story is about 10 minutes long and as a disclaimer grab a box (or two) of tissues before hitting play. So moving.

The second story is from RISK! and is by Susan Kent of http://www.SouthernDiscomforts.com and is about getting pregnant at a very young age and having to hide it from her mother. This one is a bit longer clocking in at around 30 minutes but is told so vividly and with such emotion it is WELL worth the listen.

You should REALLY subscribe and listen to all three podcasts ASAP!! -Craig

The Moth: Subscribe Here

Strangers: Subscribe Here

RISK!: Subscribe Here

Disney Rebrands Their Princesses To Encourage Girls To Achieve Their Goals...

Disney has "rebranded" the word 'princess' with their new video titled "I Am a Princess" promoting the values of kindness, bravery, trust, compassion, strength and generosity among young girls. Wonder what Peggy Orenstein thinks...

The ‘I Am a Princess’ video shows what the company believes it means to be a Princess today. Check it out / Let us know what you think in the comments section. -C