Emily, Unwritten

My daughter Emily, who is six, made this decoupage dress form at The ARTbar on saturday.

I was so proud of her. I think it is just beautiful. I am trying to encourage her to explore her creativity and build on her natural interests. I really want her to be artistic and creative.

I am like one of those beauty queen stage moms, but instead of caking on the blue eye shadow and making her teeter around in heels, I am putting a paintbrush in her hand, parading Etsy in front of her and making her listen to Joni Mitchell. I just want her to have a place to go to relax and let her imagination flow.

The ARTbar is an excellent place to take any artistically inclined kid. They welcome them there happily. The girls that work there are very helpful, not to mention adorable and knowledgeable. So if you would like to venture out into the wilds of downtown Santa Ana it is worth the risk.

While there, grab a bite at Gypsy Den arcoss the way from The ARTbar. It is classic bohemia with delicious food. If you like eating your lunch surrounded by old books, velvet and the smell of patouli oil, you will LOVE this place. Come on, be adventurous, I mean how many more Chopped BBQ Chicken Salads from California Pizza Kitchen can we eat? Don’t we want our kids to know there are some restaurants that don’t offer kid’s menus and crayons?

Originally published Sept. 2007