If you're as busy as we are, there are many nights during the week when you wished someone would just drop off a home-cooked meal, ready to eat. If you're a Marin resident, you're lucky enough to have Teena Granat of Pomegranate: Home Cooking for Modern Lives to do this for you! A Fairfax resident since the '70s, Chef Teena has long been a caterer in central Marin. She recently launched a family-oriented dinner delivery service, inspired by time spent with her daughter and grandson, and dedicated helping families come together at dinner time, even if they don't have time to put together a fresh home-cooked meal.
Pomegranate currently delivers on Monday and Thursday evenings to Fairfax, San Anselmo, San Rafael, and Ross, and Tuesdays to San Francisco.
Our friends at Studio 4 Art in downtown Novato are offering a 10% discount on drop-in art-making sessions for Marin Mommies readers! Simply mention that you heard about this deal on Marin Mommies to get your discount.
Drop-in hours at Studio 4 Art are from 10 am to 5:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and 10 am to 8 pm on Wednesday. For children ages 4 and up, it's a perfect activity on a rainy day, or any day for that matter. Children can choose from a variety of media to work in, including painting, mosaics, drawing, sewing, clay, or wheel-throwing. Studio 4 Art's friendly and knowledgable instructors are close as hand for questions, advice, and help. Children have fun and, more importantly, leave with a great piece of art and sense of accomplishment.
Find a Valentine's Day bargain at Marin Kids Consignment's Half Off Sale this weekend and Monday, February 12 through 14. Come browse a wide selection gently used items for children (as well as maternity clothes) at fantastic prices. Highlights include books, ranging from board books and story books to The Magic Treehouse and books on pregnancy and nutrition, mini collegiate clothing for kids of all ages, rain coats and boots, toys, and more. And of course, almost everything in the store is half off!
Store hours are 10 am to 5 pm, seven days a week. They accept cash, local checks, and Mastercard and Visa. Marin Kids Consignment is located at 814 Francisco Boulevard West in San Rafael. For more information on their sale and to find out how to consign your stuff, call them at (415) 456-4943 or visit www.marinkidsconsignment.com.
Busy families often could use some help with dailly meal planning, shopping, cooking or baking, and kitchen organization. Sound like something you and your family need? Check out a service like San Rafael's Rustik Chef.
Chef Brittany Rice founded Rustik Chef to provide these private chef services and more. All meals are made to each individual's needs and are created form seasonal organic ingredients.
Rustik Chef also provides health and wellness coaching to help curb childhood obesity, promote family health awareness, and for preventative health and illness recovery. Brittany's services are also available for special food and wine events and cooking classes for up to ten people.
Rustik Chef is part of Rustik Elements, LLC, which also includes Millesime Cellars, an exclusive wine club and wine store offering high quality, handcrafted, wild-fermented, and unfiltered wines made with organically grown grapes.
To learn more about Rustik Chef's services and see sample menus visit www.rustikchef.com
Marin Kids and Maternity Consignment, owned and operated by Marin moms, can help you find the perfect gifts and outfits for your sweet darlings this holiday season! Looking for the perfect "wear-it-once" outfit for your Christmas Eve family gathering? They have new-with-tags and "worn once" outfits for boys and girls ages newborn to 10.
They also have a wonderful selection of next-to-new toys. Your kids (or you!) won't have to spend 20 minutes removing all the plastic wraps and ties! They can get right to play time and you will spend 50 to 70% less:
Nilo train table, blonde wood with removable landscape sheet to switch to a blank play table $80 (sells new for over $175 with the mat!)
The Bus has arrived! Magic Bus Music Studio, Marin's newest early childhood music studio is now open in Novato at 1530 Center Road Suite 12, inside the Nautilus of Marin Building. The “Bus” offers Kindermusik classes, birthday parties, fundraising events and playgroup outings for families with children ages newborn to 4.
The Magic Bus Music Studio is owned by Melissa Ayotte, who has been teaching piano and Kindermusik in Marin for over 11 years. Joining Melissa is her long time friend and colleague Dee Dee Lawtonwho has also been teaching Kindermusik for over 11 years with “maestro programs” (in the top five percent world wide) in San Francisco and Napa. Dee Dee also offers instruction in flute and piano. For more information, call (415) 721-1929 or visit www.magicbusmusic.com.
Here are some of the programs offered this winter at Magic Bus Music Studio:
Birthdays at The Bus
For your 1-, 2-, or 3-year-old
Cost: $125 for up to 12 children
Start your child’s special day with 45 minutes of magical musical fun at the studio, where a licensed Kindermusik educator will delight your guests with live guitar and singing, lots of movement and dancing, playing with balls, hoops and parachute, and, of course, playing instruments! When the music ends, take your group right next door to Round Table for pizza, presents, and playtime! To make a reservation for your child’s 2011 Birthday Party call (415) 721-1929 or email m1@musicwithmelissa.com
Musical Playgroups
For children Newborn to 4 years old
Cost: only $10 per child
Where can you go to hear inspiring talks by fabulous Bay Area women, taste delicious food and wine, and connect with other women like you? The 2010–2011 Speak to Me Series offers all this over five evenings from October 12, 2010 through May 10, 2011 at the Mill Valley Community Center, located at 180 Camino Alto.
Come listen to influential speakers like Jessica Herrin, founder of Stella & Dot; Emmy award-winning TV host Lisa Quinn; and UC Berkeley sociologist Christine Carter, Ph.D. Each evening begins when the doors open at 6:30 pm. Presentations, followed by a question-and-answer session, start at 7 pm, with a food and wine tasting and book signing following at 8 pm.
Single tickets are $75 each, and you can buy a series ticket of three of the five events for $195, or a season ticket for all five evenings for $300. Learn more about the Speak to Me Series and order tickets online, visit www.speaktomeevents.com. You can also call (415) 888-2329 for more information.
Discover some of the finest Italian children's literature available at the third annual Festa del Libro, a children’s Italian book fair extravaganza that takes place Saturday and Sunday, August 29 and 30 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, and September 5 and 6 at Book Passage's second location in San Francisco's Ferry Building. Both events run from 10 am to 6 pm. Festa del Libro is also taking place this year in San Jose, during the Italian American Festa at Little Italy Kids School, noon to 6 pm, August 28 and 29. Story time, in Italian, takes place at the Corte Madera location at 11 am and 4 pm on both August 28 and 29.
Over 400 illustrated children’s books from distinguished publishers will be on hand direct from Italy. With vivid illustrations and trademark Italian creativity. the selection on hand is ideal for children 0–10 and beginning Italian language students of all ages. If your child or anyone else in your family is learning Italian or is interested in Italian culture this is an event not to be missed! This year's event features additional multimedia materials, as well as works from smaller specialty publishers that are difficult to find even in Italy.
Reducing waste and promoting environmental resposibility in their children is a priority with many parents. One way to help with this is to use a product like Fabkins, cool reusable cloth napkins for kids that are perfect for a child's lunchbox and at-home use, too. Fabkins were created and designed by Marin mompreneurs Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers. (We interviewed Joyce and Paige in 2008 about their product and business; you can read that article here.)
Useful as both napkins and placemats, Fabkins encourage good table manners, and help reduce waste by eliminating the need to use paper napkins both with school lunches and meals at home. They are made of 100% certified organic cotton, and embroidered with fun designs in themes ranging from Prima Ballerina and African Safari to Xtreme Sports and Beach Bound. Fabkins retails for $10.95 for a starter set of two organic napkins, or $19.95 for a set of four, and can be purchased at numerous retail locations throughout the Bay Area or online at www.fabkins.com. Marin Mommies readers who order online can take 20% off their Fabkins purchase with the coupon code MM20 through August 31.
Our friends at Studio 4 Art in downtown Novato are offering a 10% discount on drop-in art-making sessions for Marin Mommies readers! Simply mention that you heard about this deal on Marin Mommies to get your discount.
Find a Valentine's Day bargain at Marin Kids Consignment's Half Off Sale this weekend and Monday, February 12 through 14. Come browse a wide selection gently used items for children (as well as maternity clothes) at fantastic prices. Highlights include books, ranging from board books and story books to The Magic Treehouse and books on pregnancy and nutrition, mini collegiate clothing for kids of all ages, rain coats and boots, toys, and more. And of course, almost everything in the store is half off!
Busy families often could use some help with dailly meal planning, shopping, cooking or baking, and kitchen organization. Sound like something you and your family need? Check out a service like San Rafael's Rustik Chef.
Marin Kids and Maternity Consignment, owned and operated by Marin moms, can help you find the perfect gifts and outfits for your sweet darlings this holiday season! Looking for the perfect "wear-it-once" outfit for your Christmas Eve family gathering? They have new-with-tags and "worn once" outfits for boys and girls ages newborn to 10. 
The Bus has arrived! Magic Bus Music Studio, Marin's newest early childhood music studio is now open in Novato at 1530 Center Road Suite 12, inside the Nautilus of Marin Building. The “Bus” offers Kindermusik classes, birthday parties, fundraising events and playgroup outings for families with children ages newborn to 4.
Where can you go to hear inspiring talks by fabulous Bay Area women, taste delicious food and wine, and connect with other women like you? The 2010–2011 
Discover some of the finest Italian children's literature available at the third annual Festa del Libro, a children’s Italian book fair extravaganza that takes place Saturday and Sunday, August 29 and 30 at Book Passage in Corte Madera, and September 5 and 6 at Book Passage's second location in San Francisco's Ferry Building. Both events run from 10 am to 6 pm. Festa del Libro is also taking place this year in San Jose, during the Italian American Festa at Little Italy Kids School, noon to 6 pm, August 28 and 29. Story time, in Italian, takes place at the Corte Madera location at 11 am and 4 pm on both August 28 and 29.
Reducing waste and promoting environmental resposibility in their children is a priority with many parents. One way to help with this is to use a product like Fabkins, cool reusable cloth napkins for kids that are perfect for a child's lunchbox and at-home use, too. Fabkins were created and designed by Marin mompreneurs Joyce Raffo and Paige Rodgers. (We interviewed Joyce and Paige in 2008 about their product and business; 
