Though I found myself a tad depleted at the end of the whirlwind of holiday gatherings and guests we hosted, one thing I love about entertaining is assembling menus and trying out new recipes. (Admittedly -- perhaps not surprisingly given yesterday's tooth fairy post -- I created an Excel based project plan to keep track of the various menus and prep schedules.) And of all the new recipes I tried this holiday season, there were three Martha Stewart recipes that were fantastic and easy. They're my new favorite appetizers and now get real estate in my recipe binders (yes, I have binders) and I wanted to be sure to share them with you.Though I found myself a tad depleted at the end of the whirlwind of holiday gatherings and guests we hosted, one thing I love about entertaining is assembling menus and trying out new recipes. (Admittedly -- perhaps not surprisingly given yesterday's tooth fairy post -- I created an Excel based project plan to keep track of the various menus and prep schedules.) And of all the new recipes I tried this holiday season, there were three Martha Stewart recipes that were fantastic and easy. They're my new favorite appetizers and now get real estate in my recipe binders (yes, I have binders) and I wanted to be sure to share them with you.
I love gifting photo calendars. Yes, it takes a bit of effort to collect the photos (and, if you're like me, neurotically arrange them so that the photos are seasonally in line with the months), but they're always a hit, particularly with Laurel's grandparents, who not only love the photos, but also favor paper date keeping. And last month I was thrilled to discover Minted's pretty photo calendars. Read on to learn more about them, as well as how to be one of three winners to receive a $200 gift certificate to Minted!
I carry reusable totes everywhere; our car is loaded with them and I always have one scrunched up in my bag du jour. But my collection is getting rather tired so I was thrilled to learn about Bag the Habit -- makers of chic, lightweight, and roomy (apparently they'll bear up to 45 lbs) reusable bags made from 100% recycled fabric. I particularly love the luxe tote, which comes in pretty patterns and colors and is cleverly functional. The bag arrives as a compact little zippered pouch; when you're ready to use the tote, simply flip the bag inside out and your tote features a zippered pocket that's perfect for stowing keys, credit cards, or other small essentials. These totes even feature a small reinforced, padded area in the handles to ease the burden on shoulders. Pretty, functional, eco-friendly, and cleverly designed? I clearly need to order more.
I've long been a fan of Stonyfield Farm; theirs was Laurel's very first yogurt (oh how that baby went crazy over the creamy full fat yogurt!) and Laurel and I are big fans of the Oikos caramel yogurt. And through Boston Mamas I've had the pleasure of learning about the evolution of their brand (how cool is it that their multipack cups are made from plants?), interfacing with CE-Yo Gary Hirshberg, and benefiting from their sponsorship. And now I'm thrilled to announce that I have joined Stonyfield's amazing team of contributors to write periodically about green and healthful living. My first post just went live, in which I share tips for eating healthy during the holidays -- important both because I'm pregnant and also since I find it especially important to model good eating habits for kids at this time of year. Enjoy the post, and of course feel free to share any other great tips you employ during this decadent season!
One thing I have procrastinated on for over two years is hanging pictures in our home. But thanks to inspiration from a recent Life.Style episode (re: photo gifts and décor), this post on creating gallery walls, and probably the fact that we're entertaining a lot over the coming weeks, this weekend I got over my fear of hammer and nail. And now? My home is about 3000 times more cozy! I wanted to share the easy how-to for creating staircase gallery walls. Admittedly, I still leave the big hanging projects (as in, you need to find studs in the wall and wield a drill) to Jon, but I did a lot of hanging (here's everything we hung and how the project related to my life list).
I'm not sure whether it's due to our full docket of holiday entertaining over the next couple of weeks or pure maternal nesting mode, but I've been tackling a lot of home projects lately. And last weekend, I became obsessed with the need to repaint a console table that, ironically, I last painted when I was pregnant with Laurel. And given that I'm 27 weeks pregnant and Laurel wanted to help paint, finding an odorless, eco-friendly paint was important for this project. Here's how our project turned out:
Laurel recently has become obsessed with jumping rope, which has proven to be fantastic entertainment and exercise both on the playground at school and at home (often times indoors even, which I am OK with right now since it helps Laurel burn off energy). I bought her a lovely, eco-friendly Green Toys jump rope this past summer while we were in Maine and admittedly was a little disgruntled when she instead wanted a sparkly, pink, plastic jump rope that her friend had, even though the natural coils in the plastic made it harder to jump with.
Last week on Life.Style, as I discussed inspiration points for easy and inexpensive gift wrap, I shared a link with photos of lovely recycled paper garlands. I decided to craft these garlands the other night and it was so easy (3 steps!) and they came out beautifully; I love that you don't have to be too precise with the measurements and they still look so geometric and festive. My friend Christie asked for the how-to since a tutorial isn't available at the original inspiration link. Here's how to make them:
If you didn't have a chance to watch episode 5 of Life.Style live on Thursday, I highly recommend you check it out! It was a fantastic eco and budget friendly episode, in which Marie LeBaron of Make and Takes shared ideas for turning trash into craft treasure as well as nature inspired projects, and Allison Czarnecki of Petit Elefant offered awesome how-to's on home beauty remedies using five ingredients or less. I also shared some terrific video submissions showcasing clever ideas for inexpensive gift wrapping, as well as a few of my own inspiration points. Check out the segment to see additional images, video, and inspiration, but as promised, for easy reference below I link up leads shared by me and my guests. Enjoy!
Though Laurel now eats a lot more variety than she used to, I still experience a major thrill of victory when I cook a "grownup" meal that she actually loves. Such was the case last week when I decided to whip up lasagna for a casual dinner gathering. There are several things I love about this dish. 1. It's easy. 2. It's awesome (actually, wicked awesome). 3. I ended up tossing in tofu to bump up the protein and because we had a half block kicking around the fridge and no one even noticed it was in there. 4. The béchamel sauce makes it classy and deliciously creamy and is a nice alternative to ricotta. 5. It can be prepped the night before for low stress weekday meals. 6. It renders leftovers. Here's the how to:
Hands down, my best investment this year has been my DSLR and 50mm lens; having a great camera has inspired me to learn a new craft and take more photos of my loved ones. (Also, my camera/lens is known amongst my friends as the "hot camera" since everyone looks utterly fantastic photographed through it.) And so it's no wonder that I've been keen on protecting my investment. I adore the beautiful women's DSLR handbags currently on the market, but they do feel a bit permanent for someone who likes to switch bags as frequently as I do. So I recently decided to create a little bag (a camera cozy as it were) to tote my DSLR in bag du jour, and I'm honored that my DSLR camera cozy tutorial is now featured on the lovely Craft website. Enjoy!
Last week I had the pleasure of being in on a joint blogger interview with the talented (and adorable) Nate Berkus. I met Nate in NYC this past summer and he is gracious, down to earth, and truly inspiring in his passions. Nate is doing a series of "Nate's Crate" shows (through which he delivers surprises) that I want to check out, and it was fun to glean some of his wisdom last week -- we covered everything from simple holiday solutions to affordable décor ideas to paying it forward. I'm now super inspired as Jon and I march forward on some interior design plans (both because of the baby and because it's simply taken us a long time to get around to settling since moving into our home over two years ago). Here were some of my favorite tips/takeaways from the interview:
Thanks to Kate's recommendation, it looks like life list item #6 ("learn to sew a piece of clothing, i.e., something that doesn't only involve right angles") is within my grasp:
I never really got on the Martha Stewart bandwagon so I didn't suffer disappointment about the whole tax-evasion/time-in-prison thing. When I decided to take up sewing last year, however, a favorite blog led me to an announcement about Martha's new compendium on fabric arts, so I decided to give her a try. And wow, was I ever impressed.
As someone who practices yoga regularly at home, I am -- unfortunately -- frequently reminded of my negligence in the vacuuming and sweeping department. And realistically, I just don't imagine improving on either of these chores once our baby arrives in March. So that's why I dig Oshi Mat. Currently available in four super cute styles, these recyclable foam mats are cushy, eco-friendly, bacteria resistant, easy to clean, and simple to tote (lightweight tote bag included). Instead of fretting about the fuzzies on one's rug, the inevitable and unidentifiable floor bits at mommy and me classes, and/or the pet hair on the rug at the in-laws, you can simply enjoy rocking tummy time with your baby. And who knows -- maybe these chic mats will even lift your spirits during those frequent diaper changes; I'm certainly going to give it a try.
On Thursday's episode of Life.Style I interviewed Tracey Clark, founder of Shutter Sisters and editor of the amazing book Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sisters' Guide to Shooting from the Heart. The publishers of Expressive Photography sent me a copy of the book to peruse in advance of the show and I cannot recommend it enough, whether as a gift to yourself or a loved one. Whether you're a novice, amateur, or professional photographer, Expressive Photography is replete with inspiring imagery and practical tips and tricks on approach, perspective, composition, lighting, details, and processing for different types of photos (e.g., landscape, portraits, still life, etc.). When I created my life list last month, #5 was "Remember to take photos of my family on the first day of each month." This book is providing immense inspiration to move forward with this project.
Do you -- like me -- enjoy taking pictures but want to take your photography to the next level of awesome? Then tune in to Life.Style with Christine Koh tomorrow at 1pm EST! In addition to sharing some fantastic interview footage with renowned pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene (we chat about teaching kids to love real food), I interview three talented photographers who will share great tips on how to rock your camera, whether it's a point and shoot or a DSLR. You're welcome to call in or tweet questions during the live episode, or e-mail me a question in advance to pose to the experts. And if you have a photo you'd like some advice/constructive criticism on, send it to me today at editor@bostonmamas.com.
Today, Kate offers fine fodder to inspire baking this week. As always, I recommend involving your kids in the process, whether it's dumping, measuring, and/or mixing:
This recipe -- based on Abigail Johnson Dodge's toasted almond cookies in The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress-Free Strategies for Busy People -- arose out of my desire to use up ingredients lingering in my cupboard and has since evolved into one of my favorite treats. Easy and quick to make, fine to freeze, and popular with guests and hosts alike, these cookies provide a great balance of sweet, nutty, and tart.
Today, Jennifer shares a couple of great resources for medical alert tracking and cool ID accessories for grownups and kids:
I love jewelry and accessories...I mean, I really, really love them. So when a recent medical issue resulted in my need for a medic ID bracelet (I have an adult onset seizure disorder controlled by meds -- or as I like to say, I'm just a little bit electric), the diagnosis left me with a serious accessory challenge: where do I get a cute medic alert bracelet? And also, how should I store my emergency medical information?