As I mentioned in March, ever since experiencing BlogHer Boston, I’ve been super excited to attend the big BlogHer meeting in Chicago this summer. And I’m enormously grateful to have not one (Boston-based firm 360 Public Relations, which I announced in March), but two companies sponsoring my trip. Thank you, Stonyfield Farm, for acting as my secondary sponsor for BlogHer Chicago! Please read on to learn about Stonyfield's impressive environmental initiatives, and a yummy but lesser known organic product they offer.As I mentioned in March, ever since experiencing BlogHer Boston, I’ve been super excited to attend the big BlogHer meeting in Chicago this summer. And I’m enormously grateful to have not one (Boston-based firm 360 Public Relations, which I announced in March), but two companies sponsoring my trip. Thank you, Stonyfield Farm, for acting as my secondary sponsor for BlogHer Chicago! Please read on to learn about Stonyfield's impressive environmental initiatives, and a yummy but lesser known organic product they offer.
I’m thrilled to introduce new contributor Paige, a home décor guru among many other things. Today, Paige shares a ridiculously clever idea for custom window treatments:
“I believe that window treatments are like mascara for rooms – you don’t have to have them, but when you do, the room looks finished. I’ve had a long, sordid history with window treatments – not really loving most inexpensive pre-made ones and having limited ability to make more unique ones because of sub-par sewing skills and (cue the standard motherhood excuse) lack of time.
One of my favorite time and energy savers these days is store-bought rotisserie chicken. I don’t need to remember to prep and bake it (perfect, since there’s no way I’m turning the oven on today…), my kitchen is saved from pan dripping smoke, and the chicken is ridiculously versatile. Today, I’m sharing our latest favorite usage of rotisserie chicken: fast and fantastically yummy chicken pesto salad.
Here’s a handy household tip from Heather; walnuts apparently are good for the body and the home:
“I went to my mom’s newly renovated beach house to be there for furniture delivery. Her only instruction was to make sure the delivery guys didn’t scratch her newly refinished hardwood floors. I subsequently was horrified when I realized that I had scratched the floor when pushing a table that I thought had furniture pads.
Last night my willpower was put to the test when I gathered with some lovely mama pals for an evening of wine and desserts. As I described in yesterday’s post about negotiating sugar battles, in addition to trying to decrease Laurel's obsession with dessert, I’ve also been working to curb my own sugar intake. So, I decided that last night I would enjoy a small treat (read: not sample everything like I normally would) as my one indulgence of the week; the one cookie I tried was worth it! Many thanks to Karen for sharing her Rosemary-Lemon Sandwich Cookie recipe, and to Paige for the use of her camera!
Today, Jules offers a new favorite recipe:
I am so excited about this dish. After watching a food show where the host traveled to Mexico City and ate the most appetizing street food I’ve ever seen (I actually was salivating), I raided my refrigerator to see what I could make that might resemble these dishes. This dish looks complex but actually is really fast once you’ve got all the ingredients lined up. It packs a lot of flavor and nutrients; the bite of the cilantro vinegar works really well with the sweet pork.
Today, Carole Arsenault of Newborn Nurses offers tips for choosing baby toys:
Babies learn by using their five senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. It’s not always necessary to purchase expensive toys for your baby; some of the very best toys are everyday objects we have in our homes (e.g., measuring cups or spoons, empty plastic containers). However, when you are ready to purchase a toy for your baby here are some basic guidelines to consider.
My friend Nicola claims not to be terribly crafty, but she seems to have a knack for assembling super cute birthday parties. I’ve been meaning to post for some time about this teddy bear tea party she hosted when her daughter turned 4 years old. In a similar spirit to my nature fairy party and marvelous messy party posts, here’s the how-to:
Last night we had a dear friend in town for dinner and were thrilled to fire up the grill for some Korean BBQ. The marinade (originally inspired by a Bon Appétit feature) is lightning quick; an even speedier alternative to my bulgogi recipe (which I still love and use). Below is my modified recipe, which we used for both chicken and beef. We served the grilled goodies with brown rice, seasoned nori, scallion pancakes, pan seared tofu, kimchee, and cucumber salad.
Today, April offers a cool idea to inspire kids to try new foods:
My daughter has interesting tastes in food. She is my child in so many ways, but in the food adventure sort of way, not so much. I was dying to try everything as a child...just because. I wanted to try it all, and I often did. My daughter? Well, she has her favorites and she'd like to stick to them, thankyouverymuch. Luckily for us, her favorite foods are black beans, broccoli, and pasta. Not a bad triad of vitamins, protein and fiber. But try to get an apple in the girl? A grape? A suspect vegetable? It all produces a gag reflex that upsets the stomach of everyone around. Even the promise of a treat for sampling everything on her plate cannot tempt her. She'll decide to go without.
I’m constantly looking for ways to streamline or repurpose around the house; here’s a lovely way to give old plant pots new life. This project was inspired by: a) plant clippings we already had rooted (plus more overgrown plants that needed grooming); b) yet another snow day where we were looking for something to do; and c) a tired collection of empty plant pots. Laurel and I decided to paint one of our old pots to make a creative, earth-friendly gift for a loved one. Here's the how-to:
This weekend we met friends for lunch in Wellesley, at what possibly is one of the most family friendly restaurants I’ve been to in some time – The Cottage - followed by some fantastic gelato at The Gelato Café. I’m already scheming to get back to Linden Street soon; here are some notes on both spots.
Today, Kate recommends a humble yet essential household gadget:
“Our world is filled with the seductive calls of shiny, splashy, colorful things, all vying for our attention, time, and money. I like to shop because I enjoy pretty, clever, and well-packaged products; however, I have a number of items that are simple, un-fancy, and humble, and that make me inordinately happy because they do what they are designed to do so well, so effortlessly, and with so little razzmatazz, and by doing so genuinely improve the quality of life in my household. One such product is the Black and Decker DustBuster.
Monday night I met up with some mama friends for a lovely evening of catching up, crafts (bring a long abandoned project to work on…), and desserts. My fabulous friend Sarah brought a plate of divine meringue cookies studded with chocolate. Sarah kindly has shared her recipe for Two-Chocolate Forgotten Cookies (pictured, the last cookie standing):
Let go of mom guilt with Heather’s tip about baby documentation:
"Capturing every 'first' was easy to do with our firstborn. I was given a beautiful baby book as a shower gift and religiously kept it up to date until Emma was about two years old. I had every intention of doing the same for our triplets. I was determined to treat them all equally; what I did for one I wanted to do for the rest. I even purchased 3 separate baby books.
Perfectly timed for yet another snow day, today, Tracy shares her favorite winter boredom busters:
Despite having been raised in Northwestern Ontario, where winter hangs around for about 8 months of the year, I dislike late winter intensely. So do my kids. I mean, really, after you’ve built your 10th snowman, gone sledding for the umpteenth time, and spent countless hours playing board games (I swear my 7-year-old thinks these are “bored” games), you need to shake it up a bit. Here are some of my favorite winter boredom busters:
Welcome to Boston Mamas Rock! – where we’re giving a voice to fabulous local mamas from all walks of life. Read on for today’s interview with Melissa Roiter, mother of triplets and owner of Yummy Mummy Brownies, a locally based but nationally serving brownie and apparel business. Then nominate yourself or a friend!