Surprise! If you landed here, then you were likely expecting to see the familiar “face” of KidFriendly DC and read about our vacation in Greece. (And don’t worry, you will read about it!) But I wanted a fun way to introduce you to my new venture… District Mix.
District Mix is going to be, well, a mix of things. Like KFDC, it will be a hub of DC-centric information and inspiration, from recreation to culture to special events to the food scene to what it’s like to live in the dynamic mix of the city. But this will be more “grown-up” and geared toward a general audience, not just parents. It’s also a little area of the Web — a district! — that will offer a mix of ideas for travel, home, style, entertainment, life, and more beyond DC. And I plan to mix in an array of voices to share different perspectives, expert knowledge, and a sense of connection to a larger community.
When I started KidFriendly DC in 2010, I wanted to fill what I felt was a void. At that time, there weren’t really any other blogs covering the kids’ activity scene around the area from an inside-DC point of view. I had been living in the District for 14 years and knew the city well, but was now learning the ins-and-outs of it as a parent. Not only did I want to discover new places (and old ones in new, kid-friendly ways), I wanted to stay in the loop on all of the special events and enriching activities that make DC such a great place for kids to grow up and visit. So, I made it my job, literally, to do that and share it with the masses.
The same sense of a void is partly what inspired District Mix. There are many wonderful online resources covering DC, where I find great nuggets of info, but I haven’t found one that completely speaks to me. I’m a married mom of two teens who just turned 50, and a lot of recommendations I read feel targeted to a younger demographic, likely because they are suggested and written by them. (This is the part where my kids would call me a boomer, and I would correct them that I am GenX and explain why we are the coolest generation.) I also want to go a little old-school and make District Mix more about reading — anchored by thoughtful, engaging content and not reliant on social media that often feels like overload for my brain. (Okay, so maybe I do have some “boomer” tendencies, but I’ll own them.)
So, for those wondering… KidFriendly DC is not going away. At this point, I think it will be fun to see it through at least until my oldest goes to college. After all, teens are kids, too, and I can bring the perspective of a teen parent to the DC kid space that most of my contemporaries in the local blogging arena can’t. Not to mention, I have 17 years’ experience doing this parenting thing in DC, 13 years blogging about it, and from what I can tell by newer blogs, KFDC content holds up. I often see the same ideas I first wrote about years ago…and take pride in being an OG.
All this said, if you’re a regular KFDC reader, some of the content here will look familiar, as I’ve repurposed some KFDC posts for District Mix. There will also be some toggling between the two sites as this new one is growing. But I can assure you, there will be — and already is — content exclusive to District Mix. I hope you’ll find all of it, recycled and new, informative, inspiring, and engaging enough to keep coming back for more. (See the sidebar to subscribe!)
So, let’s get started and see what happens… here’s that post about our vacation in Greece that you actually came here to read. And here’s the homepage if you want to begin from there.
Happy Mixing!
PS: I’d love to know your initial thoughts, so feel free to leave honest feedback and/or what you might like to see here in the comments!
No Comments