Retail

Frozen yogurt isn't just a substitute for the ostensively less-healthy ice-cream—it's a food with its own sort of subculture, centered around slathering your bowl of yogurt with numerous toppings and add-ons, from fruit to cereal to chocolate to nuts to candy to… almost anything . We've been to the recently opened Twisters frozen yogurt shop in Novato a few times, and have found that it satisfies the frozen yogurt (and topping) craving.

Twisters opened up this spring in the San Marin Plaza shopping center, at 109 San Marin Drive in Novato. It always seems to be busy, most likely due to a prime location at the confluence of a busy high school, elementary school, and swim/tennis club. At Twisters, it's all about self-serve. You grab a bowl, available in numerous sizes, and fill it with your non-fat yogurt of choice. Then take your bowl over to their huge variety of toppings and pile on the chocolate sauce, gummi bears, Froot Loops, jimmies, peanuts, and what-have-you.

The catch is, you pay by weight. Weigh in your concoction at the cash register and pay 47¢ per ounce for your yogurt and toppings.

This weekend, Target (you know, that place where you buy diapers and bathroom cleaner and toys and the occasional dress or shirt) presents Arts & Wonder, a free family event with free general admission to six of San Francisco's leading museums and free art activities and performances.

This weekend-long marathon of free family fun kicks off Friday, July 16, 2010 from 5–8:45 pm at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, where you can turn Target's canine mascot Bullseye into a work of Andy Warhol-inspired "Pup" art and watch a ballet performance celebrating the work of Impressionist painter Edgar Degas. General admission and activities and performances are free, but if you want to see the Birth of Impressionism exhibition (highly recommended!) you'll have to get a special timed ticket—$15 for adults, $10 for children 6–17, and free for kids 5 and under.

Father's Day is nearly here! We asked Kebby McInroy, Marin mom and owner of Novato's Studio 4 Art, for some ideas for unique handmade gifts for Dad. Studio 4 Art offers drop-in art making sessions, art classes, summer camps, and more. Look for their booth at this weekend's (June 12 and 13) Novato Festival of Art, Wine and Music.

As Father’s Day quickly approaches, it’s time to think about that “something special” to give that special dad. Studio 4 Art has many last minute handmade options available to you. These are all created in the studio with instructors that are there to assist you along the way.
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Parents Magazine just came out with its list of the best family cars for 2010. Right now I’m not in the market for a car, but I always like to see what offerings are on the list. In making their choices, Parents looked for kid-friendly, safe, comfortable, affordable, and of course cool-to-drive cars.

They’ve listed fifteen vehicles that offer a range of sizes, styles, and price points.

Best Crossovers:

• Chevrolet Equinox
• Honda CR-V
• Toyota RAV4

Best Hybrids:

• Ford Fusion Hybrid
• Toyota Prius
• Honda Insight

Best SUVs and Minivans:

• Chevrolet Traverse
• Honda Odyssey
• Ford Flex

Looking to build strength, tone muscle, and improve aerobic fitness in an outdoor setting, all while helping raise money to fight breast cancer? Fitpink is a Marin-based organization that provides “all outdoors” small-group training for women who are looking to get fit and help a great cause.

Fitpink was founded by Novato resident Ian Tonks, who was inspired by his passion for fitness and interest in women’s causes. A native of England, Ian holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Northumbria and an MBA in strategic leadership from Dominican University of California. He has more than 20 years of professional experience as a leader in youth sports programming, development, and fundraising, and has worked with athletes in several professional sports leagues, including Major League Soccer and the NFL.
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Novato has gone through something of a supermarket renaissance in the past couple years, which have seen the opening of the big new Safeway near Hamilton as well as the upscale Paradise Foods in the Pacheco Plaza shopping center just across the freeway. The newest kid on the grocery store block is the long-awaited Whole Foods Market, which opened last Thursday at the Millworks on Grant Avenue in Novato's Old Town. If our recent experience there is any indication, Whole Foods is definitely poised to give its fellow markets a run for their money.

The 40,000-square-foot store is much bigger than its sister stores in Mill Valley and San Rafael, and far more pleasant to shop at, too. We've been there a few times since it opened, and have so far experienced no parking challenges or long lines, which was certainly not the case when the new Safeway opened in the summer of 2008. As one has come to expect from Whole Foods, the store features lots of organic produce, a bakery (try the pretzel bread!), full service meat and seafood counters, a deli, a Straus Creamery frozen yogurt bar, a coffee bar, a burrito counter, a sushi stand, a salad bar, plenty of prepared foods, and more. Many of the foods in stock come from local farmers and producers, and there's a board outside the main entrance that tells you where things come from.

Looking for a place to play indoors in Marin? They're few and far between (and indespensible when it's raining!), but luckily Jump N Bounce! LLC recently opened in San Anselmo. Come and jump, play, and slide on their giant inflatable pirate ship play structure daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Sessions for children ages 2 to 6 are from 10 am to 4 pm and ages 7 to 12 from 4 to 6 pm. The cost is $5 per 20-minute jump session, but if you go there and mention that you heard about them on Marin Mommies, they'll give you $1 off.

Sessions start at five minutes after the hour and half-hour (please arrive ten minutes early to sign in and get the safety talk). Each session is also limited to eight participants, so it won't there'll be a minimum of crowded craziness and a maximum of fun.

Our friends at Camp Galileo are offering a special discount for Marin Mommies readers! Take $15 off your total purchase at Camp Galileo by using the coupon code GALILEOMM by April 30, 2010. Camp Galileo offers a mix of art, science, and outdoor fun, with two Marin locations: Corte Madera and San Rafael.

For more information or to sign up, visit them at www.galileo-learning.com or call (800) 854-3684.