I love how diverse the baking experience can be. And while I'm often drawn towards lunatic baking challenges (I made a three-tiered wedding cake for my babe’s first birthday party…), sometimes nothing beats a spectacular, quick recipe.
Last year I came across just such a recipe for cupcakes. From the famous Magnolia’s in NYC, these cupcakes are a breeze to make and have served as impressive centerpieces at baby showers and birthday parties. The moist cake is coupled with rich, decadent icing that renders these treats far from ordinary. This recipe is simple enough to make for a fun baking project with kids; or it’s even possible to measure and mix while toting a curious toddler on your hip.
I love how diverse the baking experience can be. And while I'm often drawn towards lunatic baking challenges (I made a three-tiered wedding cake for my babe’s first birthday party…), sometimes nothing beats a spectacular, quick recipe.
Last year I came across just such a recipe for cupcakes. From the famous Magnolia’s in NYC, these cupcakes are a breeze to make and have served as impressive centerpieces at baby showers and birthday parties. The moist cake is coupled with rich, decadent icing that renders these treats far from ordinary. This recipe is simple enough to make for a fun baking project with kids; or it’s even possible to measure and mix while toting a curious toddler on your hip.
Cotton diapers have obvious benefits: they save trees, lessen landfills, and cut taxpayers’ costs. But it’s tough to face the rigorous routine required to launder cloth diapers at home. It’s one thing to deal with a big baby blowout in the moment, it’s another thing to deal with it again at the laundry machine.
Enter Changing Habits diaper service operated out of Deerfield, MA. The owner, Donna Grybko, is a bit of a kooky koala bear but boy, is she committed to cloth diapers. She even arrived on our doorstep with the first delivery to give us a cloth diaper demo. We loved the service and it was reliable and efficient on all counts.
Changing Habits travels many miles to serve towns in Western Massachusetts and Middlesex County. Check the website for town listings then call to confirm that they can service your address.
One of my fabulous mama friends recently passed along the dish on Let’s Dish, a super fun, stress-free way to get dinner on the table. In just two hours, create a fleet of freezer-ready meals, or order meals online for pickup. Choose between 8- or 12- dish packages (each dish serves 6 people) at an in-store session, or split a package with a friend. Confirm current pricing with Let's Dish, but at the time of this writing, the 8-dish in-store package was $160 ($3.33 per serving); the 12-dish package $200 ($2.78 per serving).
Looking for a novel mama's night out or baby shower idea? You also can host a private party fee-free. Each guest (including the host) select and pays for her/his own dishes; if more than 12 guests attend, each guest receives an extra party dish free.
You can find Let’s Dish in Burlington (82 Mall Road, behind the mall, next to Starbucks) and Newton/Needham (238 Highland Avenue, on Newton side of the 128 intersection). An Arlington location (1398 Mass. Ave, next to Panera Bread in Arlington Heights) is forthcoming.