I’m always looking for cards that are whimsical without stepping too far into the overly-childish. My newest favorites are these flat cards which are completely customizable, from Sarah + Abraham, an adorable Etsy shop. I ordered an individual set for each of my girls, with a single silhouette and their respective name, although I also think it would have been charming to order them just as they are shown in the link, with both girls names and a silhouette of two little girls on it. Particularly because my girls are so close in age and do everything together.

And then, of course, I had to do the customizable return address labels because, well, why not?

There are also fantastic gift options in the shop, like these bookplates. An incredible teacher gift, I think…

Of course, it took me an entire week to get around to looking them up on Google, and when I did…

No. No no no no no. A big fat no.

$16 a pair.

I don’t even pay that much money for my own panties. And I like nice bottoms!

Next…

The idea is a good one. And yes, I’ve sent her to camp in a dress with shorts underneath, but she was miserable, and her complaints of feeling “bulky” sent me back to my own childhood. It was also spent in dresses with shorts underneath. Hanging upside-down from the monkey-bars. And feeling nothing short of… well… bulky. And so I’m not going to put her through that. Again.

And bicycle shorts? Eh. They conjure up unpleasant thoughts of women stuffed into them – like sausages in too-small casings – women who should not be wearing them – do you know what I mean? And do I sound mean? Oh, well. Sorry. But I speak the truth. Not pretty. Doesn’t look comfortable. Besides, do they even make them for a 4-year old? I don’t even want to know…

And so, it’s back to the drawing board…

My Mama Made It is my newest addiction, and it’s such a new blog that it’s going to take you no time to cruise through her ‘archives.’ Great tutorials for sewing projects, and the projects are easy. Check out the instructions on how to make ruffles, which I can’t stop making! I’ve been sewing them, centered, down the fronts of boy’s tanks from Target. The girls love to wear them, feel all fancy, and they cost nothing to make. (And the ruffles? They can be made by hand, as well. You do not need a sewing machine to do these.)

This lesson in how to shoot self-portraits from a photographer. The author, Monica Shulman, was a guest blogger on another site I recently stumbled onto and have been enjoying, The Blah, Blah, Blahg. I love photography, love taking pictures, but it occurs to me as I go through my collection that there are so few pictures of me! I want some lovely photographs of me!

This absolutely beautiful bridal belt of flowers makes me want to get married again! And wear exactly what the model in this photo is wearing! How stunning, right? Just so perfect. Twigs & Honey, an Etsy shop, has just charmed me with their whimsical designs. Delicious!

Sparkle Power has a recipe for easy-to-make bubbles that cannot be beat! And I’m guessing your home is a lot like our home in the summer, just chock-full of bubble-blowing fun in the backyard. And your kids? Do they eat the bubbles like mine do? I don’t know what else they could possibly be doing with them – we always seem to be running out!

I’ve been reading Creature Comforts for a while now, it’s possible I’ve even written about the site before, but it’s still one of my favorites for design inspiration.

For the DIY-er, check out Cucumbersome. Great tutorials and craft projects. I love the corsage shirt tutorial. And the recycled fabric necklace tutorial. Just what you need to wile away the long summer days…

Centsational Girl… Fabulous for Less. The name says it all, right? I love looking at her before and after shots. Ordinary (and cheap!) things made extra-special. And a lot of it is done with a can of spray paint, my newest obsession for upgrading tired and boring old furniture pieces in my own house.

If you have little girls in your life, you must check out the designs at Whitten Grey. I don’t even have words for how awe-inspiringly gorgeous their dresses are. You can find them on-line at Emma & Avery. I adore this one. This one, too.

And I’m about to tackle some sewing projects for myself, and I’m using the Built by Wendy patterns. So I checked out her site. And I had no clue that you could just order her clothing! Of course, I intend to sew mine up myself, but how cool to peruse her line. I love it. Classic but with a twist – right up my alley! I especially love the dresses for summer, like this one. Perfect for a summer date night, right? Her clothing is the reason I will continue to work on improving my sewing skills.

Marais shoes. So cute, and so reasonably priced. They have the perfect summer sandal, and it’s more than affordable.

The sale page at Tulle. Whoa, is all I can say. Cute clothing, phenomenal prices. I love the button-down shirt dress. And for less than $25? More than a steal! And the belted cardigan sweater? Under $40? Sold. And really, even without the bonus sale prices, this clothing line is priced really well. Do I see a summer wardrobe shopping spree in your future?

These Bensimon Ballerine sneakers. Pea has a pair, and I just love that they are functional tennis shoes, but look more than appropriate with a cute little dress. I can’t get enough of them. And while they are a little pricy, they are also machine washable, so that adds more life to them then we will probably ever need. I just hope she doesn’t wear them into the ground this summer, so that she can pass them down to her little sister when she’s outgrown them.

These cardboard appliances from Pomme in NYC are just plain cool. If you don’t have a play kitchen set-up for your kid yet, I highly recommend one. We spend hours in ours, playing restaurant, mommy & baby whipping up purees, whatever. It’s fun for the whole family! I should add here that we had a cardboard playhouse that lasted for well over 18 months. In fact, it was still going strong when I donated it to the local drop-in childcare center, and that was only because the girls were gifted with a fabric playhouse last Christmas, from their Opa.

Do you have any favorite sites you’d like to share?

Girls: Mommy, can we go downstairs and play?

Mommy: Yup. Just make sure to play with one toy at a time, when you’re done with it, put it away and take out another. It’s more fun that way.

Girls: Okay.

(cue the sounds of toys, dolls and art supplies being thrown all around the room; oops, there goes the dollhouse… crash!)

Mommy: Oh. My. God. What the? Who the heck is going to clean THIS up?

Girls: YOU are!

Mommy: Oh no, you are sooooooooo mistaken, my little mess-makers. YOU are both going to clean up this mess. Or else…

Girls: Or else? Or else what? We’re going outside!

Mommy: Stupid toys. Barbie shoes – why so tiny? Pfft. Who the heck needs this many books? And Legos? Why so many pieces? Ouch! I just stepped on one! Jeez, I freaking hate this. What? I have nothing better to do than to clean up after these people? Really? Come on, guys! Team players! I’m not your maid! Or your servant! Stupid toys. That’s it. I’m done. And another thing? Husband? While we’re at it? Put your stupid belt away and stop peeling off your socks and leaving them on the floor! Just grow up! This is not my life’s work! To clean up after you, either! What, I have three kids now?

(This last part? Is spoken to myself, with the muffled sounds of my girls running around outside, in the backyard. Not helping me clean up their junk. My husband? Is making monster sounds, chasing them. I, in all of my OCD-ness, am inside, organizing toys, finding missing pieces, taping up ripped pages in books, etc.

So, I do what any mother would do, or at least what I’m told any mother would do: the next time the mess is made, I threaten to take the toys away if they are not put back in their place at the end of the day, and put them in the Sunday Bag. Which means you will not see them again until Sunday. Got it? Sunday. And then, I do, again, what any mother would do. And I follow through. I stomp around the house, pick up the ignored and discarded toys, place them in a sac and throw them in a clever hiding place, much to the girls’ pleading of, “no! Not that one! It’s my favorite!”

And then? Well, you can guess how this ends, right? NO ONE REMEMBERS THOSE TOYS IN THE SUNDAY BAG EVER EVEN EXISTED.

Stupid Sunday Bag.

So, I have since gone through all of the toys in the house, found all of their parts and pieces and taken a careful inventory. Kid not old enough for it? Stored for later use. Kid not interested? Donated to a worthy organization. Kid outgrown it? Passed down to a friend with a younger child. And on and on. Now? Streamlined. Toys, games and books that I have deemed fit for our home, our needs, our tastes.

This story is ending up a lot longer than I’d planned, but here is Chapter 2:

Meaghan (love the spelling!) sent me an email earlier in the week, suggesting that I check out a book on Amazon that she just received called “Cool Spaces for Kids.” She thought I’d like it. And she was right. UPS dropped off my copy this afternoon, and I cannot put it down. In fact, Pea and I just spent the last hour pouring over the pictures, talking about which projects we should tackle, and when.

The premise of the book is basically the same rule that we are trying to live by these days: less is more. Imagination is good. And children should have special places – just for them – in and around the house. A place all their own.

Interesting timing, since:

my husband and I have discussed the empty flower bed in the side yard, and how we’d like to teach the girls about food by having them grow their own vegetables. We’re starting with lettuce and cucumbers (this is covered in the book);

I have been dreaming of clever (and attractive!) ways to incorporate a window seat into the stairwell on the girls’ bedroom level, just under a window that overlooks the mountain across the street (also covered in the book);

pup tents… I have had plans for erecting a couple for the girls, out in the backyard, this summer (yup, it’s in the book);

and lastly, a conversation with my husband, as we drove him to the airport this morning, about a project I’d love for him to take on: a toy storage box with a chalkboard top, for the great room. That’s where we spend most of our time entertaining, and although currently there’s nothing in there for the girls, save two cabinets full of books, the room always ends up scattered with toys at the end of the day, so why not an attractive way to house them? I showed him a picture of one, from a shop that I like. He said no problem. Upon returning home from the airport? The new book I spoke of above was at the front door, and in it is a project for this very table. And with casters! (Which I had also requested on the one my husband build for us, I think they’re not on the one for sale above. Not that it matters. Because my husband is making us one! With casters! Lucky us! And, see? It’s in the book!)

So, in a nutshell: cool book, great ideas, all easily (I think) doable. And reasonably priced to complete, as well. Fits right in with my – our – new philosophy on home style and lifestyle…

Simple. Elegant. Sophisticated. Kid (and dog!) friendly. DIY (on occasion). Not going to break the bank (always good).

I think we’re going to be busy this summer…

Enjoy your weekend. We’ll be writing up hardware store lists, ourselves…

Oh, I almost forgot… Thanks, Meaghan!

I went with the pink and orange swirl invitations, so at least I knew what my color scheme would be. And when her husband saw the invitation and proclaimed “we love orange and pink together!” I knew that I was on the right track.

And since this is a shower for baby #2, I didn’t feel the need to get into the real baby shower extravaganzas that we’re all familiar with when we’re pregnancy with our first. No diaper cakes, pin the diaper on the baby, etc. I opted to keep it low-key. A brunch. But being that I adore a good project, I had to throw something in there that would get our creative juices flowing. I had a few ideas floating around in my head. In the end, it came down to a tie between picture frames and onesies. I let Pea choose. She went with the clothes. But more on that later…

A quick trip to Target garnered quite a bunch of goodies that fit in perfectly with the overall shower’s look. As the centerpiece, I went with a pink storage bin with a chalkboard front on it. Obviously, something the new parents will find handy in the coming days, once it’s life as a centerpiece has come and gone. It can be used as a portable diaper caddy (loaded up with diapers, wipes and cream), or for toys or books. See? The gift that keeps on giving. And then, I loaded it up with 20 Circo onesies. (I went with the all-white 5-packs, one in each size: 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months and 9-12 months.) Centerpiece / project: I rolled the onesies up, one at a time, and tied a pink bow around them. On the chalkboard, I wrote “Design a Onesie.” And then in two little pails, I threw in some fabric markers and glitter fabric pens. I’ve used this activity at all of the showers I’ve hosted, it’s always been a huge hit. It brings people out of their shells, and it garners the new mom an additional however-many onesies (one per guest) that she’s going to need. Don’t you remember those first months? Ten outfit changes a day? (The Circo onesies are far better than the Gerber ones, which I’ve always found to be too tiny to begin with, and then shrink additionally. Bringing me to my next tip – launder the onesies first, then roll ‘em up.)

The menu is simple. Since it’s brunch, I went with two stratas… One vegetarian and the other Italian-style, with bacon. These are brilliant because you can prep them the night before, leave them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, and then cook them off the morning of the event – they generally take about one hour, and they can feed an army. Then we’re having individual berry cups with Limoncello yogurt dollops (homemade and so easy, but always sure to impress), assorted breads (as in banana, zucchini, store-bought) and then Izze sodas and bottled waters. For the sodas, I went with the Clementine and the Pomegranate flavors, so that I could stay with the overall pink and orange theme. A minor detail, but so charming, I think. Pea and I spent the morning rolling up orange plastic-ware in orange napkins and tying pink bows around them.

I’m giving the mom a pair of adorable pink and orange polka-dotted pajamas and a frame in pink and orange that Pea made, with a photo of her son in it (he and Pea are classmates and destined for marriage, according to her son).

The whole thing, from grocery store to Target and all points in between, and home again, prepped and loaded into the car, took about 6 hours. And I’m so tickled with how it all turned out. I really think that simple is the way to go. I wish I could post some photos, camera is still M.I.A. But I’m sure to get some shots tomorrow, and will pass them along.

Happy weekend!

So one of her birthday gifts was a little collector’s case with a dozen butterflies in it. And for a week, she dragged that box of butterflies with her everywhere she went. And then, the box fell apart. It was bound to happen.

And since I knew she wasn’t going to stop toting those butterflies of hers around, I knew we needed something sturdier.

And I hit the jackpot.

I’ve seen this little tin pail around before. I’ve had my eye on it for a while. I love clever and interesting storage solutions, especially when it comes to kid’s stuff. We had to have it.

I cannot emphasize enough how awesome this little pail is. It’s sturdy, it’s practical, and it’s just about the most adorable thing I’ve laid eyes on in a very long time. And I’ve seen it in other places for more than twice what I paid for it from domestikate, a little Etsy shop, which is, coincidentally, run by one of the nicest sellers I’ve come across since my love affair with Etsy began. I’m telling you, this pail is not easy to come by, and when – and if – you are lucky enough to stumble across one, you’re not going to get it for as good a price as you are here.

This has only intensified since having children. And even more so since Pea became a little girl. Because now her stuff has stuff. Two hours in her room on Saturday cleaning up nearly did me in. I can’t even tell you the crap I found in there that left me scratching my head in wonderment. Where did she find all of these tiny little wooden birds? And popsicle sticks? And single Polly Pocket shoes were in abundance. There was a bottle of sparkly pink nail polish that had hardened after who knows how long without a cap on it. Socks were missing their mates, a random shoelace from a tap-shoe was tucked away – lovingly – in a wooden doll bed. Along with a hand-carved jade turtle that I brought back from China in 2001. I’d long since forgotten about that little guy!

We need storage. Small-item storage. It has to be transportable, which means it has to have a lid. Otherwise we end up with a Hansel & Gretl-like bread-crumb trail of tiny little pieces scattered across the house. And this storage has to be easily opened by her little fingers. And of course, it has to look good. And it cannot cost a small fortune. We’re talking reasonable here. Beyond reasonable. I want inexpensive, attractive and purposeful storage. Is that too much to ask?

Found it.

I’m smitten.

Nesting suitcases. Or cardboard suitcases. Paper suitcases. French nesting children’s valises. Paper valises. I’m telling you, I spent hours upon hours yesterday, googling so many different terms until I found what I wanted. Colorful but elegant mini ‘suitcases’ that stacked upon themselves, one size smaller than the next, to hold Pea’s goodies. Cheaply.

HIghway robbery, what a handful of shops wanted for them. And others were so wildly patterned they gave me motion sickness. And the really simple ones that I liked were $50 for a set of three, and that was not happening. So I kept on googling away. And then, finally. I found them. A set of three. Beautiful solid colors to choose from. For under $20. And at a shop that I like, that I know, that I trust for their lovely children’s things that are made with very high quality.

Pack Your Bags. From The Land of Nod.

I love these little nesting storage boxes. So adorable stacked up on a shelf in a kid’s room, or a playroom. Easily carried from room to room, opened and their inner contents revealed. And then all little bits and pieces put back in their home, snapped shut and carried back to their place. Tucked away. Neatly.

Ahh…

So, take that, little Playmobil Cinderella, et al…

You know have a lovely little pink home.

And Coco? Your doll clothes that now outnumber your own clothes? Their own lovely little purple home.

Again, ahh…

And so, the greatest conundrum of parenthood, for me? Where do the toys go? What do I do with them at the end of the day? So that they are not visible? Not in ‘tripping and stubbing the toe’ territory?

Here are some excellent options. Ranging from cheap to full-on luxury…

Hable Construction is my newest obsession. We’re using the ‘storage boxes‘ in Coco’s bedroom, two of them, to help corral her books. I’ve been eyeing the adorably simple prints for months now, and I’m just having the toughest time committing to one. But I think, in the end, we’ll go with the ‘Sweet Pea.’ We’re working on her room now, and it’s green. (And if you go to Cookie magazine’s website and set up an account with them, you can get promo codes for many sites and products, among those for the month of September is Hable Construction, 25% off. But the code expires on September 30th, so if you’re interested, best get on it…)

And Three Potato Four is the shop where I finally located those rather tough to find vintage wooden crates. Perfect for storing books, toys, my husband’s collection of plugs and cords that he can’t seem to part with.

And then, head on over to The Container Store. The ‘Calypso Trolley?’ Good-looking. Portable. Reasonably priced… For me, it’s the white one. Four of them. Lined up in the playroom, along the wall.

Or, you could opt to go really retro, and outfit a little girl’s bedroom with several of these vintage wallpaper boxes to catch the odds and ends that just float around: hair bands, lip goo, random goodies. Fantastically chic. Although I do admit that they’d look even better on my bedside table, to house my nighttime lotions and potions, the book I’m reading, my eyeglasses.

And then there is the Land of Nod. While I usually find their goods to be overpriced for what you’re getting, the strapping baskets here? Spot on. Really. You’ll find these same exact storage baskets elsewhere for upwards of three times the price you’re going to get them here.

So, now that the toys have been put away, the question becomes what to do with all of the nighttime books? The art projects that cannot be taped to a wall? Because I hate clutter. I despise stuff. I detest detritus. And life with kids? Is full of all of the above. Listen, it’s in my nature to want everything to have a home, remember? I like organization. I enjoy structure. I love… neatness. And so, while I may just fly by the seat of my pants and go to sleep on a Wednesday night without having swept, vacuumed and mopped the floor underneath the dining room table, I will not retire for the evening without making sure that all books, games, toys and art supplies are in their place.

In the girls’ rooms? No toys. I believe that bedrooms are for slumbering. No televisions, no telephones, no toys. Just beds and books. But the books? Are threatening to run us out of house and home. Particularly in Pea’s room. And so I knew that we needed something substantial. A little nightstand, a simple bedside table? Not going to cut it. We need shelves, storage space. And so, our solution, from Wisteria. The French Industrial Console Table. It will sit next to Pea’s bed. And house baskets to organize her loose photographs and greeting cards, letters, general correspondence. This child? She saves everything. Must be genetic, her Dad is the same way. Oh, and of course, it will also store books and art projects: her collection of homemade pinch pots, her paper mache bowls, the collection of little wood jewelry boxes she’s become addicted to decorating. And the console, a little unconventional, no? Well, that’s us. Just a little bit off. Unexpected.

Everything must grow with us, with our family. I’m not into ‘throw away.’ Disposable? No, not here. I am fairly sentimental, appreciate longevity and love to put my own personal ‘spin’ on the classics. And so, this console table for Pea’s room? It needs a reading lamp. Years ago, I found a lamp at an antique market in Fort Worth. Made of resin, I think. A vintage-looking piece; a Frenchman holding a market basket filled with produce, a little boy at his side. Painted white. I got it for $40. A true bargain. But over the years? I’ve had at least half a dozen lampshades on it. And none of them worked. To the point that I was beginning to regret ever having bought the lamp in the first place. And then? I found the shade. For the lamp. A very retro wallpaper lampshade, out of Florence. As in Italy. It’s from the same Etsy shop that has those fantastic wallpaper boxes I mentioned above. The shade? It’s in pink and yellow and green and white. Pea’s colors. Floral. Modern, and yet borne of the 70s. My 70s. The decade of bell-bottoms, “Free to Be You & Me,” The Ramones, disco, “Sonny & Cher,” Billie Jean King, Nixon, Patty Hearst, pet rocks and mood rings.

I could go on and on, reminiscing. But I won’t. Although, one last thing? While we’re at it? This nightlight, with a butterfly? It’s perfect for my little mariposa, Pea…

But back to lunch-boxes. As much as I love food? I do not love packing take-to-school meals. Perhaps because I’ve not yet found a way to translate my love of fabulous food to a tiny little box that will sit on a shelf – at room temperature – for several hours before being eaten. That, for me, means no hot food and no cold food. What else, really, is there? Beyond snack-type meals?

I’m thinking that I need to retrofit her cute little monogrammed lunch bag with some sort of freezer pack, so that I can get a little gutsier with her meals. (And I’ve actually read that you can freeze a juice box at night, pull it out in the morning and toss it in the lunchbox, and it will work as a de facto freezer pack, thawing out for drinking at lunchtime, and this idea? Will probably work very well for Pea, since her lunch is not refrigerated.) I had actually considered a new bag, perhaps a Bento box or one of those Laptop Lunch deals, but in the end? The purchase just wasn’t going to work with my new ‘simplifying’ plan for our household. You know, why buy something new when you already have a very-slightly-less-than-new item that does the same thing? Now, if I could only get those wasted hours back, spent hunched over the computer keyboard, giving myself a migraine while staring at pictures of lunch boxes on the screen.

However, this photo spread from Biggie (thanks for the link, Tray), from Lunch in A Box? Has completely convinced me that the next time one of my girls is in need of some sort of conveyance for meals? I’m totally going with the Bento.

But I digress…

Food. The actual food. As in recipes. My goodness, the options? Are endless. If you look in the right place. Which? Apparently? I’d not been doing. But… I did find my way to some sites of interest:

Meals Matter. Cool site. Just click on “Nutrition & Healthy Living,” and then click on “Back to School.” I actually, much to my own snooty dismay, found some really solid information here. No joke! I tend to turn my nose up to such ‘basic’ information, and yet, among the best information that I found? Was on this site. Go figure… Anyway, “Feeding Kids” really got me thinking about alternatives to what I’ve been doing, and that’s saying a lot, considering that we’ve always considered ourselves pretty ‘alternative’ when it came to kids and food. Huh.

Moving on… The Visual Guide. Sure, there may be a lot of information on this site that is for sale, but, not all of it comes at a cost. Asian Confetti Rice? Pasta Primavera? Mmm… Definitely on an upcoming menu plan for school.

Fresh for Kids? There’s a printable meal plan, some healthy alternatives to the usual lunchbox fare that I am planning on using.

And Chickpea, Tomato & Feta salad? Well, I know I’ve written about this one before. And I’m not sure where your kid stands on food, but in our home? Chickpeas are just about as good as gold (think hummus and pasta), and they are a terrific alternative to meat, as in protein. I’m not really ready to send meat to school, since I’ve mentioned the storage on the classroom shelf, of all the lunch-boxes. But protein? Brain food. Alternatives? Legumes. My favorite food. Sits well, no matter what form it’s in. Delicious, and endless possibilities. And in the same vein? This pasta, possibly the tastiest, most simple, and most-requested I’ve ever made… Chickpea Pasta with Almonds & Parmesan. This dish is so simple, that if you are used to a lot of ‘fuss and muss,’ I promise you will not enjoy it. But if you love to taste your food, the ingredients, then this dish? It is for you. And if it’s for you? I’m going to take a leap of faith, and assume that it’s also for your kids. This is simple. And pretty healthy. And, I think, it will pack well in a kid’s lunch. (Parmesan in a small dish or baggie on the side, to be added at mealtime; the almonds? Not going to fly at our nut-free school, so they can simply be omitted from the finished dish.)

Just about anything is considered delicious if it’s ensconced in a pita pocket. While you’re at it? Make that pita pocket a whole wheat pita pocket. And pesto? Very popular in our home. In fact, I just whipped up a huge batch from a Barefoot Contessa recipe a couple of weeks ago, and froze the remaining sauce in single servings. Great in a pinch, to thaw out and toss with pasta and a little freshly grated Parmesan. And this pasta dish, also from the Barefoot Contessa, is a crowd pleaser, always. Even the kids love it. Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes. The recipe makes a ton, and the left-overs (if they last that long) would be a great ‘entree’ in a kid’s lunchbox. I tend to substitute whole grain pasta in recipes that are based around noodles, just for a little extra health kick. This recipe from chef Todd English for Pesto Pasta Salad sounds delicious, and my girls love peas. I found a recipe for homemade gorp (“good old raisins and peanuts”) in “Cookie” magazine, and although it substitutes pistachios for the peanuts, it’s outstanding. You can tweak it, too, for your kid’s tastes. Pea? Not so into the coconut, it’s a texture thing (she gets that from her mama). I love gorp because it’s healthy but still a treat. Once you have a basic recipe down that everyone likes, you can tweak it until the cows come home. This recipe will make four cups:

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2-cup shelled pistachios

1 cup granola

1 cup dried cherries

1/2-cup dark chocolate chunks

And I’d love to get salad into Pea’s mealtime repertoire. Thus far, it’s the one thing that I just can’t get her to touch. What she will do is steal out of mine or my husband’s salad plate the pine nuts or the Gorgonzola, but lettuce? Nope. But this recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad? I’m fairly confident that I can get her to eat it. When broken down into it’s components, it’s full of everything she loves: mandarin orange slices, chow mein noodles and rotisserie chicken. I’m putting it on her meal plan for the coming week. I will, however, be substituting Olde Cape Cod Toasted Sesame, Soy & Ginger salad dressing for the homemade version in the recipe, since it calls for peanut butter, and that’s a no-no. This dressing is under $3, I get it at my local grocery store, and when it’s in stock? I buy it all. Every last bottle. In fact, I’ve been accused of hoarding it for my own selfish needs. It is true. I am hoarding it. It is the best dressing / marinade / condiment I’ve ever had. And believe me, when you taste it, you will do a double-take with the bottle, just to make sure that yes, it’s true… it is completely and totally fat-free. It is that good.

So while I don’t necessarily think that I’ve been in a rut with planning and packing Pea’s lunches, I do know that I need to step it up a notch. So the last thing that I did was order a book by kid’s culinary genius Annabel Karmel, dedicated to packing school lunchbox meals. I can’t wait to read it. And I’ll be sure to post about it after I’ve sufficiently put it to the test. But her recipes have always been a hit with both of my girls. Fingers crossed…

Messy. So messy. And so much fun.

Pea was able to break in one of her new bamboo kid-sized cooking spoons.

I found the spoon as part of a set of 5 at an online store that I discovered recently, called Branch. It bills itself as “sustainable design for living.” It’s a great website, beautiful things. I’ve been on a search for a couple of smallish serving trays for most of the summer. And I’m not entirely sure what my problem was, why I couldn’t just commit to a tray. What’s the big deal, right? Well, I really want to stick to my new philosophy of consumerism – that I only buy what I need, what I love, what will stand the test of time. So any ordinary serving tray wasn’t going to cut it. But Branch? They had what I needed. I ordered two. In kiwi. Gorgeous. Modern, simple and sustainable. Perfect.

But back to the pizzas.

Pea’s pie:

Coco’s pie: