Margaret, the early years...

My good friend, Margaret Heidenry wrote this fascinating article for the Sunday New York Times Magazine. On newsstands and online now- 
My Parents Were Educational (Home-Schooling) Anarchists 

The Heidenry family in Mexico 1975 (Margaret on railing at 4 years old)

"Tired of the constraints of the 40-hour workweek, my father, in 1972, quit his job in publishing. My parents were in their early 30s, and they had four children under 7. “But we still wanted to explore the world,” my father recalled recently. They bought six one-way tickets to Europe, leaving only a laughable $3,000 to subsist on. Young and idealistic, they thought they could easily educate us along the way. “Life itself would become a portable classroom.” Read more ...

One of  my favorite pictures of Margaret with her dad, Jack walking her down the aisle.

It's a great read, whether you are for or against (any amount of)  home-schooling. I've enjoyed reading comments after the piece online,  some of the conversation gets quite heated! I had to add my two cents about one of my favorite families-

I've been a friend of Margaret's for over 20 years and know her family fairly well, too. Over the years I've heard bits and pieces about their unorthodox upbringing, but this was eye opening. The transition from home school to public school sounds rough, but the early years of travel and a curriculum that included yoga, tea time & Spanish sounds great. Maybe that combination of experiences with a formal education paid off, because Pat and Jack raised four unusually charming, intelligent and well rounded people! They're an enviably close knit family which must have contributed a great deal to their success as adults. It's inspiring to read about people willing to break from the norm and also recognize when it's time to try something else.

It was a thrill to see this in print this morning. I love looking at the old photos with Mary, James and John as kids & of course the anarchists themselves, Pat & Jack Heidenry ;) 

Nice job Margaret! No wonder you're such an interesting fun lady.

If you don't have a copy of this Sunday's New York Times, you can read it online here. 

Have a great Sunday! 

xo, A

Happy Easter

I painted the door for If I Were A Toy just in time for Easter Sunday! *Important tip- if you need to scrape paint off glass, much faster to spray with Windex 1st. I learned the hard way ;)

I planned to keep it simple this week, so I made this little card for my readers :)

Then the pleasures of Spring sprang to mind! I've been going through photos, usually of trips I've taken with my mom in the Spring. My hope was to find the most fabulous shots to enter in Frommer's Photo Contest (deadline tonight). Feels like playing Lotto. I uploaded about 25 and now cross my fingers that I will be the lucky winner for a cover and $5,000 bucks ;D

Regent's Canal in London, above is a very charming area. Visit Waterscape for more info :)

I bought these Ranunculus, which I'd never heard of before, from a local bodega/deli. I don't have a green thumb, so I am keeping a close eye on these! Lots of light & water-- should be able handle these pretty little flowers.

I started with my album full of photos from a May trip to Rome a few years ago. The Roseto Comunale or Rose Garden on the Aventine Hill is simply gorgeous! A must see if you visit during the flowering season :)



It is very hard for me to edit down to just a few, but I'm trying. I have many photos from Italy. Love this kid below. He wasn't prompted to make this face, he just went for it!




My mom made a brilliant decision and booked our stay in Venice at the Westin Excelsior on Lido. It's a 15 minute boat ride from Venice proper (hotel has private boats going out every hour or so). It's magnificent and the town of Lido is a beauty, too! I took endless pictures of people's homes. Above, I've shared the most simple of pleasures; towards the end of each day we had Prosecco, Pellegrino and snacks on the water :D





If you haven't been to Venice, make it a goal! It is truly extraordinary!! Above is the Basilica di Sant Marco The piazza seems to stay over populated for obvious reasons ;) You can escape the crowds if you're not afraid to get a little lost or turned around on the walkways. Venetians are very friendly, too.


I adore Burano for all of it's wonderful bright colors! It's a dream :)


Above, a house statue of Jesus. It was the nicest one I saw and thought it would be appropriate for my Easter post, of course.

I've used this picture on a past post. It's one of my favorites and honestly, I think it has a shot as a book cover!


You may know by now how much I like Spain, so I used restraint when choosing photos :) Below in Barcelona, the walk from one masterpiece to another, Gaudi's Sagrada Familia to Montaner's Sant Pau Hospital.




Many years ago I visited Claude Monet's gardens in Giverny, France. It was absolutely gorgeous! Again, I have so many photographs, even so they can't do it justice.




The MOMA has Monet's Water Lilies on display through April 12th, including his late paintings in the collection.


Cuteness :o)


Regal...


Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain is most spectacular! Below, the unusual Dr. Seuss-like trees intrigued me. I will include more from Madrid on a future piece.



Hello there!






Hope you have enjoyed this little ode to Spring!
Happy Easter :) xo, Allyn