the power of girls

 The Girl Effect challenged bloggers to blog about The Girl Effect on October 4th to raise awareness of this important issue. I'm up for the challenge, so today I'm blogging about the power of girls; the power of 12 year old girls, in particular. There are 600 million adolescent girls in the world and we have two choices: let them live in poverty, or educate them. The choice we make has a profound effect. If we allow them to live in poverty, they will likely be married and pregnant by the time they are 15 years old. If they survive childbirth, they will likely have to sell their bodies to feed their babies, and are at a great risk of contracting (and spreading) HIV. They will not only pass along HIV to their babies, yet also the cycle of poverty. However, if we choose to educate these beautiful 12 year old girls, we give them the power to choose their own destiny...which is, need I say, incredibly powerful.

I truly loved the Greg Mortenson books, Three Cups of Tea, and Stones into Schools. Despite whatever "came out in the wash" with regard to any wrongdoing with finances or untrue statements in the books; his message was dead on - to educate girls (it was actually from one of Greg's tweets that I first learned of The Girl Effect). By building schools for girls in impoverished villages in remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, these girls were given the opportunity to not only change their own future - but the future of their entire village.

Won't you please take 3 minutes to watch this video from The Girl Effect illustrating what I've just mentioned?

Visit girleffect.org to make a difference.

etsy pick of the day: rhapsody attic

$200

on the road: 48 hours in dayton

I spent the last 48 hours in Dayton, Ohio visiting Bob's kids. Having never been to Dayton, I did what I normally do and researched prior to the trip. I found places recommended by locals that I hoped we would get to try. We made it to two places that I wanted to pass along in the event you find yourself in Dayton - or know someone else who might. The first was a place in downtown Dayton called Olive, that we visited for brunch. This cute shoebox-of-a-place was a former burger joint called Wympee and is now a self-titled urban dive specializing in American and Mediterranean cuisine. It's only been in business for 11 weeks and is hitting it out of the park. They were supposed to serve lunch and dinner, but business has been double what they expected, so they haven't had time to get dinner going yet - but it's coming. We chatted with the owner who told us everything she had to endure to get the place how she wanted and to keep the Wympee signs. The place will be a nationally registered historic building and she fought hard to keep it intact.

I love SoOH

She decorated in warm colors with a sunflower on each table. She did most of the work herself - even building the tables.

The menu is high quality food from local sources. Bob and I ordered the urban BELT w/ a cuppa tomato bisque - pancetta, egg, mixed local lettuce & micro greens, tomato and soft herbs on sourdough w/ side of aioli.

The kids ordered the signature tuscan grilled cheese w/ balsamic marinated mozzarella, tomatoes, house pesto, and pancetta on herbed focaccia, the bene-stacks and a cuppa berried greek yogurt - english muffin & egg your way w/shred parm all served with a side of maltese hollandaise, and american styled eggs - egg 1/2/3 your way, beef or pork bacon and sweet potato fries w/ aioli. Sounds good, right? Look how they prepared Sam's side of apple with his Tuscan grilled cheese. They were so accomodating to us.

Even better are the desserts - a selection of housemade specialties along with some locally made treats, including Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams and some delicious cake push-up pops that we ordered to go from Cake, Hope, and Love.

Our next stop was Press Coffee Bar where we enjoyed some organic coffee and a spicy chai latte.

Oh, yeah, and this little treat - a choco vinkie - a vegan chocolate twinkie from Bombshell Bakeshop. It pretty much rocked.

In fact, the area we were near in downtown Dayton - the Oregon Historic District - was really cool. If I lived in Dayton, this is the area where I would be. There are lots of great old buildings and warehouses in the Downtown area that are rundown and vacant, that would make amazing urban spaces. I hope to see more of that revitalization on my next visit. The rest of the weekend was filled with football games, basketball tryouts, and cheerleading; though we did manage to visit one more area. Waynesville, Ohio is a neat little town filled with antique shops - a great way to spend an afternoon. If only I had a way to get it all home...

etsy pick of the day: maybe the white dog

I think it's time to get out my knitting needles again...I sure hope it's like riding a bike.

$38

$33

on my radar: the standard nyc

Oh, how I miss my beloved NYC...

I'm desperate to get up there again. I need my fix...and then some. A hotel that has been on my radar is The Standard -an André Balazs brand with locations in Miami and Los Angeles. This hotel is full of interesting details and it's location in the Meatpacking district and proximity to The High Line (which I posted here) make it extra delicious in my book. The design is certainly a nod to the 60s, with compact rooms - but expansive windows and gorgeous amenities (notice the bath tub?).

Here's an exterior view - with The High Line running directly underneath:

oyster.com

Floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Hudson River:

the standard nyc

tablet hotels

The modern 60s style lobby:

tablet hotels

The Standard Grill. Love the look of this place. the standard grill nyc

the standard grill