I’m just going to come right out and say it: I love Oakland. Whenever I visit SF’s unique (and somewhat cooler) older brother, it inspires me to use more color in my everyday life. To be more loud with what I’m passionate about. And, above all else, to make a statement where a statement is necessary (because around Oakland, it’s always necessary). Living in the suburbs, it can be really tough to give up the culture and vibrancy of the bigger city when you go back home—but there are still things you can do in your own place to make Lafayette feel a little less like a suburb.

I’ll never forget rushing to the Park Theater in LaFayette to see “Cinema Paradiso” on its last weekend performance. The Streamline Moderne mainstay of downtown LaFayette was one of my favorite single-screen theaters in the state. Watching it lie vacant for more than a decade while investors fought over its future use—only to have all plans scrapped in the end—has been heartbreaking. And I don’t even live in the city.

I often hear it repeated by parents that children produce a huge amount of laundry. It feels like you’re never finished – as soon as you’ve washed everything, another pile of dirty t-shirts mysteriously appears.

Kids can create quite a mess any time of year, but many parents in Lafayette find that the summer months are the worst. All the sports league and summer camp options mean kids spend a lot more time playing outside, with plenty of opportunities for stained clothing.