THANK YOU D.C. PARENTS!

We are honored to have been chosen by local parents as the Best Kids' Clothing Store in Washington, D.C.! This is our second year straight of receiving this title in the Nickelodeon's Parents' Pick Awards, and it means even more to us to have been selected from this year's very crowded field. THANK YOU!!

The Story Behind Ugly Dolls

The L.A.Times ran a feature on the creators of the Ugly Dolls, David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, today. We are HUGE fans of Ugly Dolls and were thrilled to learn more about the story behind them. You can read the article here: L.A.Times article on Ugly Dolls, but the 30-second summary is that David signed his love letters to his college-sweetheart (Sun-Min) with little caricatures, and one day Sun-Min sewed him a doll-likeness of one his doodles as a surprise. The rest is history.
If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Hilary Duff Helps Kids in Need Go Back to School

Former tween queen Hilary Duff is helping kids in need go back to school both here and abroad. The co-founder of the Blessings in a Backpack program was in Bogota, Columbia earlier this month to distribute 3000 bags of food to children and families in need (see story on www.ecorazzi.com). This is their first site in South America - Blessings in a Backpack currently helps 26,000 kids in the U.S. and Canada.
This is not just a celebrity photo-op either: Blessings in a Backpack is a project conceived of and run by Hilary Duff and Stan Curtis (USA Harvest founder) and started four years ago. The program helps to prevent kids of free school hot-lunch programs going hungry over the weekend: these kids qualify for free lunch at school during the week, but they and their families face hunger when school is not in session. Blessings in a Backpack sends these kids home with food in their backpacks for them and their families to help them through the weekend.
What an amazing cause! You can click here to learn more about how to get your school involved in supporting this program.

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Good Stuff Eatery Adds Mini-Menu!

Our new favorite place to eat, Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery just announced that they are adding "mini moo shakes", "snack fries", and "bitty burgers" to their menu! Yea! Now we can sample more than one of their delish shakes at a time! Woot! Credit for this find goes to DailyCandy Kids DC.
If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Taylor Swift Blogs About Back To School

Breakout musical star Taylor Swift had a recent post to her blog (click here for a link to Taylor's blog on MySpace) on the anxieties of heading back to school. Ms Twixt thought she hit the nail on the head in describing the fears and excitement of this event. Check out her blog and let us know: do you have the same fears as Taylor?
If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

First Tweens Tour Philly

Last week the First Lady and First Tweens took a day trip to Philadelphia. Philly is just short train ride from D.C. and is home to so many historical landmarks, including the Liberty Bell (of course), Betsy Ross' house, Indepedence Hall, and many more. Malia had studied about Betsy Ross when she was a third grader and wanted to learn more about this American icon. The First Tweens toured several sites and one very lucky tween girls from Ambler, PA, Olivia D'Angelo, joined Malia and Sasha on their tour of the Betsy Ross House. Olivia's mom does PR for the City and snagged an invite - you can read more about Olivia's experiences here.
When Ms Twixt and tweens visited the Betsy Ross house, the historical tour guide showed us how to make a five-pointed star with a single snip (just like Betsy Ross did when making the flag). Instructions on how to do this are shown here. We also recommend:
- Running up the Art Museum's steps (from Rocky - a great photo op - be sure to load your iPod with the theme music); note that the Museum is closed Mondays
- Touring Independence Hall (Remember these scenes from the National Treasure movie?)
- Finding a cheesesteak joint for lunch (just ask passers-by for a recommendation - every Philadelphian has a favorite)
- Shopping in the funky stores on South Street
- Sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Rittenhouse Square (Rouge is our favorite - pommes frites for everyone!)
- Having dinner beneath the giant Buddha figure at Buddakan where Ms Twixt and Mr Twixt can unwind with a cocktail and everyone can eat amazing Asian fusion
- Catching an act at Penn's Landing (they have a slew of summertime events)
The First Tweens also stopped for ice cream - this time it was gelato from Capogiro on Sansom and 13th. Malia and Sasha both ordered the Dulce de Leche flavor - yum!
Ms Twixt loves the idea of running away with her girls for a day trip! Where are your favorite places in Philly to go with your tweens?

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here.

Share This Post! Del.icio.us Digg Facebook StumbleUpon Technorati Twitter

First Tweens Go West for National Parks Day

The First Family headed west this weekend to tour Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon and to raise awareness of our National Parks. Just like millions of families, the Obamas gazed at Old Faithful when at Yellowstone and the Colorado River from the ledge of the Grand Canyon. In Montana, the First Tweens proclaimed the erupting geyser as "Cool!" and were regaled by their father while standing on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon about his first trip there when he was 11 years old. And, like all families, the Obamas stopped for ice cream along the trail.
The National Parks are an amazing resource in the U.S. and are enjoying record visitors this summer as more Americans stay closer to home for their summer holidays. Ms Twixt has not stayed over in a National Park as yet, but Cookie Magazine did a nice write-up on where to stay and what to do while in Yellowstone.
Did you visit a National Park this summer? Which one? What was your favorite part?
(In this post, photos are from Reuters, Newsday, Cookie Magazine, and others.)

Happy Birthday Joe!

Mr. Jonas is 20 years old today! We wish him a very happy birthday! You did a great job at the Teen Choice Awards, Joe! What do you think of Joe's new hairdo?
If you like this post, you can subscribe to our blog by clicking here.

Share This Post! Del.icio.us Digg Facebook StumbleUpon Technorati Twitter

70 Years and Counting: It's Time to Put On Those Red Shoes and Go Dancing!

This week marks the 70th Anniversary of the Wizard of Oz! This film, which NEVER won an Oscar (which only goes to show, awards are not everything), had its Hollywood premiere on August 15, 1939 (Here's an LA Times article on the anniversary). Ms Twixt will remember those sparkly red slippers from her childhood forever! This film classic continues to delight audiences of all ages and even sparked the girl-power sequel: Wicked (We love, love, love the message of "defying gravity"!).
Ten fashion designers recently revamped Dorothy's ruby slippers for an exhibit shown during the Spring 2009 shows, and these are now on display in London. Given the anniversary this week, we wanted to share with you the slide show of these fantastic creations - enjoy!
If you liked this post, you can subscribe to our blog by clicking here.

Girls Rock DC Band Showcase Today!

If your tween liked Camp Rock or School of Rock or the latest band movie, BandSlam - starring Vanessa Hudgens (see our review of the movie from the screening last month) - you should bring her by the Girls Rock DC Band Showcase this Saturday, August 15th. Girls Rock DC is a non-profit group that runs a rock-n-roll camp for tween girls - you can learn more about this organization at www.girlsrockdc.org Tomorrow's showcase at the 930 Club is put on by tween girls for tween girls featuring tween girls! You can view of video from this year's camp here:

Girls Rock! DC from Lisa Marie Thalhammer on Vimeo.

Doors are at 10:30am and the Showcase runs from 11am to 1pm. Tickets are only $10, and kids 12 and under are FREE!
The 930 Club is at 815 V Street NW

We hope to see you there!