Image Sourcing

Since I spend far more time on Pinterest than on my blog, I thought I'd blog about Pinterest.

(Again.)

I am the most OCD pinner I know.  This is because, like most everything else in my life, I am too nitpicky about the details to just relax, & pin&repin away without editing or overanalyzing.

But please tell me I am not alone.

Please tell me that there is somebody else out there that actually

goes back & edits boards from time to time,

deleting the things that are no longer inspiring for whatever reason,

or deleting that one image that detracts from the overall prettiness of its particular place in the collage.

Please tell me that there is somebody else out there that actually checks the link of an image before repinning it.

& please tell me that there is somebody else out there that will take the time to actually attempt to find an image's *original* source to pin from!

(Because really, there are so many gorgeous food images on Pinterest that in no way link back to any kind of recipe, which just drives me bananas! ;))

So, here are a few of the recent "pretties" that caught my eye, that I just had to roll up my sleeves & go hunting for a more substantial source than just a Tumblr, or a blog post that only credits another Pinboard, etc...

Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

via the Little Teochew

the Vanity Project

via a Lovely Being

Peach&Pearls

via Chic Chef

Anthropologie Tangerine Flicker Dress DIY

via Welcome to the Good Life

Easy, Breezy Summer Outfits

via Jo De La Rosa

Pinteresting Update

So you know how a few weeks ago I was musing about Pinterest & not getting excited about it?

Well...

...I got excited about it!

Follow me on Pinterest!

I've been thinking maybe I could maintain the blog better if I got rid of some other "clutter." I'm thinking about just following all the bloggers I follow on Twitter on their actual blogs...

(duh)

...& then deleting the Twitter account.

(or at least giving notice of its abandonment)

I'm not the greatest at maintaining my (personal, private) Facebook account, but I do it just to keep in touch with those I wouldn't otherwise easily keep in touch with.

So if I could stay relatively current on

blogs,

Facebook,

& Pinterest...

...I'd feel "connected" enough, I think. More so than I have been, anyway! LOL

(& I'm behind on email, as usual...)

So tell me, how do *YOU* maintain your social networking?

(while presumably having a "real life")

& do you keep your blogger identity separate from your personal contacts?

Happy (long!) Weekend!

Pretty Little Bare Feet's Palate: I LOVE Lunch-Packing!

Recently, I posted on Facebook about how much I enjoy lunch-packing. I was delighted to find that several of my friends - & not all of them mamas! - are just as invested in trying to create more exciting, healthy lunches, whether for their children or for themselves.

I am (& pretty much always have been) admittedly a bit on the OCD side when it comes to

alphabetizing,

editing,

list-making,

organizing,

etc.

(See? I just alphabetized that list...I almost ALWAYS do that!)

So it should come as no surprise that one of my most recent projects came about from adding "lunch-packing" for Pretty Little Bare Feet to my already somewhat "over-detailed" meal-planning. I began packing lunches for Pretty Little Bare Feet last summer, when she attended camp sessions that lasted through lunch. Now I get to pack her lunch for nursery school four days a week! =)

I would be embarrassed to actually let anybody besides My Prince see my .docx for lunch-planning!

(That would really give away how neurotic I am, & I do try to limit my *many, many, many* crazy lists to my own crazy eyes. ;))

But since I was so excited to learn that so many others are at least interested in lunch-packing...

(if not also a bit off-the-deep-end detailed about it!)

...I would *LOVE* to share with y'all some of my favorite resources for creative, healthy lunchbox ideas - that are almost always well-eaten!

Pretty Little Bare Feet tends to always eat

a small breakfast,

an average-sized(?) morning snack,

a really big lunch,

a small afternoon snack,

& then a puny supper.

So I take advantage of that by putting as much "good stuff" as I can into her lunch every day (even at home!). I also realize how much she enjoys the "dining environment" of unpacking her own lunch & sharing a table with a friend in her classroom - things that motivate her to dig into whatever I pack for her.

Great Blogs, Facebook Pages, Websites, etc. for Lunchbox Ideas:

$5 Dinners

Another Lunch

Family Fresh Cooking

Food @ Babble

(including their blog, the Family Kitchen)

Food for My Family

Food with Kid Appeal

It's Not Just Lunch

Jamie Oliver

One Hungry Mama

Parent Hacks

Parents for Health

Recipes @ Parenting

Super Healthy Kids

Weelicious

Wendolonia

(Pretty much all of those also have Facebook pages linked from their blogs/websites.)

Cookbooks

Brown Bag Success by Sandra K. Nissenberg

Lunch Boxes & Snacks by Annabel Karmel

Lunch Lessons by Ann Cooper

My Lunch Box by Hilary Karmilowicz

the Top 100 Recipes for a Healthy Lunchbox by Nicole Graimes

I've never really given Pretty Little Bare Feet a lot of choices when it comes to eating.

For the most part,

she eats what she's served,

or she doesn't eat again until the next meal

(or snack).

But I even enjoyed making her baby food homemade, so she's been trying different foods since she was a baby & has a pretty adventurous palate most of the time.

Pretty Little Bare Feet's Montessori nursery school also encourages "good" lunch-packing. They ask that parents pack nutritious lunches, even if there is doubt that the child is going to eat all of it. They also advise that letting children help plan their own lunches provides a good opportunity to talk with them about nutrition. We follow their guidelines of

no chocolate;

no nuts;

(we love SunButter!);

no sweets;

only 100% fruit juice;

etc.

The teachers rewrap any leftover food & put it back in the lunchbox, so I always know what Pretty Little Bare Feet does or does not eat! & her teachers are always happy to microwave lunch items for a few seconds, if requested.

(So helpful!)

I use Easy Lunchboxes bentos inside Pretty Little Bare Feet's lunchbox:

They are awesome, & they fit PERFECTLY in Pretty Little Bare Feet's adorable Stephen Joseph lunchbox:

Here are some of Pretty Little Bare Feet's recent lunches:

banana, quesadilla, tomato salsa

(To make that quesadilla, I folded a single whole wheat flour tortilla in half; added a bit of grated cheddar cheese on the bottom to act as glue against the tortilla, canned black beans [rinsed&drained], finely chopped red peppers, finely chopped purple onion, cilantro, & a bit more grated cheddar cheese on top; cooked in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until the cheese melted; & cut into wedges. I use this recipe for fresh tomato salsa.)

hummus wrap, macaroni salad, strawberries, tangerine

(To make a hummus wrap, I fill a wrap with avocado, hummus, shredded lettuce, & tomato. I use Paula Deen's recipe for macaroni salad. The strawberries are kind of hidden under the tangerine in the photo, but they were there!)

apple, quesadilla, sour cream

(To make this quesadilla, I used two whole wheat flour tortillas, filled sandwich-style with a bit of grated monterey Jack cheese on the bottom, finely chopped tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, cooked chicken, & a bit of monterey Jack cheese on top; added a slick of olive oil to the skillet for a crispy exterior; cooked over medium-high heat until the cheese melted; & cut into wedges.)

carrots, pinto bean dip, potato salad, Stacy's simply naked pita chips

(To make healthy pinto bean dip, I puree 1/2 cup chopped kale & two tablespoons olive oil in a food processor; add a well rinsed can of pinto beans, two tablespoons tahini, zest of one lemon, & a small clove of garlic; pulse a few more times; & add salt, pepper, & two tablespoons lemon juice. I use the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for potato salad.)

broccoli & cheese sauce, fried rice, honey-glazed carrots, smoked salmon

(To make these easy honey-glazed carrots, I brought 1 1/2 quarts of water to a boil in a medium saucepan; added five cups Bolthouse Farms carrot chips; cooked for twenty minutes; drained well; placed carrots in a large bowl with three tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, two tablespoons honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind, & 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; & tossed gently. I use Taste of Home recipes for broccoli with cheese sauce, & instant fried rice.)

corn & butter sauce, hummus, kiwi, Stacy's simply naked pita chips

broccoli & cheese sauce, honey-glazed carrots, SunButter & strawberry jam sandwich on Food for Life sprouted bread

corn niblets, hummus with lemon juice, pineapple, Stacy's simply naked pita chips

ham, lettuce, & tomato sandwich on Food for Life sprouted bread; Parmesan Goldfish crackers; raspberry Buddy Fruits

Campbell's double noodle soup, Parmesan Goldfish crackers, V8 V-Fusion Concord grape raspberry juice

Amy's organic minestrone soup; fruit salad with honeydew melon, pineapple, & watermelon; mayonnaise & red pepper sandwich on Food for Life sprouted bread

Baked Naturals cheese crisps, cheese cubes, inside-out caramel apple, spinach leaves, tuna

(You can find the recipe for the inside-out caramel apple here. Because I am pretty consistent about packing healthy, nutritious lunches, the teachers don't mind if I slip some caramel in with the fruit once every couple months or so. ;) I mean, they have parents sending in icky Gogurt!)

(& by the way, that is what the inside-out caramel apple looked like before I had to cut it up to fit into the bento!)

ham; oranges, pineapple, & strawberries; vegetable&oatmeal bread

(To make the *divine* vegetable&oatmeal bread, I used this Mark Bittman recipe. For this particular batch, I used raw, grated zucchini. Since Pretty Little Bare Feet's classroom is nut-free, I substitute oatmeal browned in a little bit of butter.)

& some other lunchbox "staples" we love:

barley with mushrooms&spinach

(Heat two teaspoons olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add one cup chopped onion, 1/2 teaspoon chopped dried rosemary, & three minced garlic cloves; sauté three minutes; add eight cups sliced mushrooms; cook eight minutes, stirring occasionally; stir in 3/4 cup uncooked quick-cooking barley & a can of fat-free less-sodium beef broth; bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, & simmer fifteen minutes; add eight cups bagged baby spinach leaves, three tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese, & 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; cover & cook two minutes, stirring frequently.)

ice cream cone sandwiches

(recipe here)

mountains&forest sandwiches

(recipe here)

rocketship sandwiches

(recipe here)

(& yes, I do realize that I am a bit more fanatical about lunch-packing/meal-planning than is probably considered normal. ;))

Pink&Green Thursday: It Was a Watermelon Wednesday!

So apparently August 3rd is National Watermelon Day. Who knew? A while back when I ordered a few party goods from Oriental Trading for Pretty Little Bare Feet's 2nd Birthday party, I received a 2011 wall calendar with my order. Now of course it's not as pretty to look at as the Lilly wall calendar, but I enjoy it for a completely different reason - it includes all these random little fun holidays that I'd never know about otherwise!

So even though Wednesday has come&gone, I say continue celebrating the summer fun that is watermelons. I refuse to cave to all of this back-to-school madness...

(though I do love a good tax-free weekend!)

...as it is still way too stinkin' hot&humid to be shopping for jeans&sweaters. Pretty Little Bare Feet has been on her own little watermelon kick all summer long, & I am inspired to join her in her sweet fun!

(via: Sugar&Charm)

watermelon mojito pops

Yesterday I picked up some (more) watermelon & fresh mint, fully intending to mix these delicious goodies up last night for My Prince & me. 'Til I realized they have to chill overnight, so then I figured they'd be a happy hour treat for us today. Only I can't find popsicle molds anywhere! So they may end up being a day late...

...& uh, just watermelon mojitos w/out the pops!

(But there's still plenty of fun in that!)

(via: Just Married & Cooking)

watermelon margs

I also think these look fantastic & worth a try. I've been craving a mango margarita from Chili's since I was in about week 34 of my pregnancy, & I haven't gotten one yet...

...so maybe I'll do some more at-home bartending with this watermelon I have, & see if I can satiate that fruity margarita thirst that's been nagging at me!

Watermelon Stripe Sundress by Hartstrings

I love, love, love pretty much anything Hartstrings, & I am especially grateful for them now that I have a boy - which makes it so much more of a challenge to find cute little clothes! There is still plenty of hot summer weather around these parts, so I've hit the summer sale on the Hartstrings website a couple times already, & will probably be back at it again!

(Especially with cute stuff like this on major sale!)

Watermelon Quilted Backpack by Stephen Joseph

Is Stephen Joseph all the rage in the halls of your kid's nursery school? It definitely is in ours! & in the lobby of the gym where we take her for gymnastics...

...& pretty much anyplace around here where cute little mamas bring their cute little tots!

Pretty Little Bare Feet has the cupcake quilted backpack (monogrammed, natch!) & the owl lunchbox (just a name label sticker on that one). & when she was a little baby, we loved her ladybug bib&burpcloth by Stephen Joseph.

I haven't seen this watermelon backpack in person, but came across it on the website, & now it might be on the list to replace the cupcake backpack once that one is completely worn out.

(& it's well on its way there...toddlers are pretty rough on their bags! LOL)

Laceless Watermelon Sneaker by Keds at Urban Outfitters

Although all the little watermelon-wear out there for kids is so sweet, it's not impossible to cutely incorporate watermelons into our own wardrobes. I think these little sneakers would be so fun to pair up with basic polo&shorts combinations, especially for a hot summer day outdoors!

Hmmm...

...now I see that today is Champagne Day...;)

My First Award of 2011?

So, ages ago...

(seriously, like about two whole months ago, though I can't figure out where these two months have gone)

...Kay, whose fabulous blog is Sweet Preppy in Pink, was sweet enough to award me with the Stylish Blogger Award. Now I don't know if I've done her justice, it not being all that stylish to be so late in acknowledging her kindness ;), but I am so grateful that she thought of me! I've had this post on my "to blog" Stickie on my MacBook all this time, but I swear the number of to-do lists I've been neglecting lately is at an all-time high.

(My pregnant brain is mush, & my pregnant body just gives out on me by 9pm every night. Not great for productivity, since the late-night hours used to be exactly when I found the time to tackle all the things I didn't get done during my day of full-time attention to Pretty Little Bare Feet. & should I even mention that I started this post on Tuesday?!)

Anyway, a big thank you for the award, & y'all please be sure & go check out Sweet Preppy in Pink. =)

Rules:

• Thank, & link back to, the person who gave you this award.
• Share seven things about yourself.
• Award fifteen recently discovered great bloggers.
• Contact these bloggers & tell them about the award.

1. I am addicted to those online flash/sample sale sites.

I think I have a membership (& get the daily emails) for nearly every single one of them, but the ones I frequently buy from (& recommend!) are:

Billion Dollar Babes,

Ideeli,

Rue La La,

& Zulily.

I have had a couple bad experiences (think sites that rhyme with "BoatCook" & "Dotsee")...but overall I enjoy the whole combination of

anticipating a featured designer you love,

logging in to see what's being offered,

& cheering when you find it in your size & get it into your "cart" fast enough...

...or chalking it up to fate that you didn't find it or get it fast enough, since you didn't need to spend that much money anyway!

& of course the savings can be really great - I do usually try to buy enough items at one time to offset the higher shipping costs that most of these sites charge.

(via: Hostess with the Mostess)

2. I love parties.

All kinds of parties.

Baby showers,

birthday parties,

holiday parties...

...I even like lame office Christmas parties.

I love cake (especially wedding cake!). I love decorations&invitations.

It's rare that I won't make an effort to attend pretty much any party I am invited to...& sometimes I attempt to make an average Monday morning playgroup more festive by coming up with a silly themed menu. =p

I also love party blogs. Some of my favorites are:

Birthday Girl,

Hostess with the Mostess,

Kara's Party Ideas,

Sweet Designs by Amy Atlas,

& the TomKat Studio.

3. I get up at 6:15am most mornings.

My Prince usually gets up at about 7am. Pretty Little Bare Feet usually gets up at about 7:35am.

I need my sleep, but those 45 minutes of quiet time first-thing in the morning can be vital to my having a good routine going for the rest of my day. Before I became pregnant again, I would go ahead & get in my first daily Coke Zero (of many) during that period of time.

(Now, unfortunately, just a sip or two of any dark, carbonated beverage makes me nauseated.)

But I like to take a hot bubble bath, rather than a shower, especially if it's a morning that I am not washing my hair. I like to do a quick email check & read an article or two from a magazine.

&...I am also blessed that My sweet Prince often lets me "sleep in" until after 8am on Saturday mornings, while he dozes on the couch & Pretty Little Bare Feet eat cereal & watch Saturday morning cartoons.

(via: Mom's Crafty Space)

4. I love my daughter's Montessori nursery school.

I am a room mom for Pretty Little Bare Feet's classroom, & it actually hasn't entailed as much work as I initially thought I was getting myself into. It's been nice getting to know the other parents, several of whom have become friends of both mine & My Prince's.

I love seeing all the cute little sleepy-morning faces & their cute little nursery school wardrobes.

I also love when I arrive early enough to catch some of the sweet playground action before I go inside to sign Pretty Little Bare Feet out & wait for her to come greet me in the hallway (always with a grin, a run, & a big hug!).

I love the artwork that Pretty Little Bare Feet brings home for us to decorate the kitchen (& My Prince's office) with. I love doing

book orders

& classroom holiday parties

& field trips.

I am so fortunate to be able to be a stay-at-home mama that can really participate fully in my daughter's private nursery school, which encourages so much parental involvement.

(via: Sheek Shindigs)

5. At some point very soon, I am going to have to come up with a suitable "blog alias" for the baby boy that will be joining our family this summer.

I am also going to have to be sure that a new header for this blog includes him!

6. I frequently put myself into "food ruts."

I've done this for as long as I can remember. I can go for months at a time eating the exact same breakfast&lunch, only changing it up at suppertime. I can't explain it, & I don't know what the underlying psychological cause for it is (oh, I'm sure somebody would tell me that there is one).

Examples?

In college, I went pretty much an entire year eating the exact same lunch from our campus dining: half of an omelet with cheddar, ham, & mushrooms.

My senior year, when I lived in an apartment & didn't have a meal plan with campus dining, my lunch was almost always half of a grilled tuna sandwich with a side of broccoli salad. I would eat it at my desk in the office where I interned.

In my second year of law school, during which I had an hour commute (one way), I subsisted almost entirely off of Coke Zero & cookies&creme Pop-Tarts...at least during the daylight hours.

I am also one of those people that always orders my "usual" at restaurants.

But I am actually a pretty adventurous eater. I love to cook & try new recipes. We usually eat supper as a family. & I am often much more clever&creative in fixing different breakfast, lunch, & snack options for Pretty Little Bare Feet.

Still, I personally tend to get "in the mood" for something, & then I'll just sort of keep going back to it by default until I move on to my next meal phase.

7. My "signature" drink is a Sapphire&tonic.

• 1 part Bombay Sapphire gin
• 4 parts tonic

*Pour ingredients over ice in a tall glass.

*Garnish with a lime wedge.

Fifteen stylish bloggers I'm awarding:

• All Things Southern&Preppy
• Biz & the Bungalow
• the Classic Preppy
• Classy from North to South
• the Entertaining House
• Living Well
• Miss Janice
• Natty Michelle
• Painted Preppy
• Pink Cashmere Cardigan
• Pink Champagne
• Pink Preppy Lilly Lover
• Preppy Girl Meets World
• Preppy in Pittsburgh
• Preppy Little Dress

I Get a Little Warm in My Heart When I Think of Winter...

Well, I only blogged a little bit about the miraculously white Christmas we had here in Dixie. & here we are, miraculously snow-covered again!

Can I be honest with y'all, though? The truth is I am a bit of a snow grinch. I went to college in Ohio & saw more snow during those four years than I ever cared to see. One of the reasons I moved back home to Alabama after graduating college was to get back to the climate that I considered "normal," where snow is a rare, fleeting sight. So although I can appreciate its beauty (from inside my warm house), I mostly find it inconvenient&messy.

Also, while I'm being completely honest with y'all, I must shamefully confess that I've become a bit of a snow snob, as well. Although I've spent a total of twenty-four of my almost-twenty-eight years living in Alabama, those four years in the snow belt of Ohio created a seasoned pro who didn't think twice about bundling up to trudge across icy sidewalks to class, or shoveling the car out of a snowbank to drive it through a blizzard to work twenty miles away. So now, if a snow flurry falls a hundred miles north of here, & I arrive at Target only to find that the pharmacy is closed because of the "impending, inclement weather," I find myself parodying the "Really?! with Seth&Amy" segment from Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. You know, "Really?! Does the pharmacist commute all the way down here from some mountaintop in the Smokies? I managed to get here just fine. Y'all call this winter weather? Why, when I lived in Ohio..."

Annoying, right? My Prince thinks so, too.

& yes, I totally get that "we just aren't prepared for it" down here the way regions that routinely receive snowfall are. But there were a lot of days that the college town I lived in in Ohio didn't bother to "re-salt" the roads after a fresh snowfall, & you know what? It's pretty simple...drive slowly, & avoid hitting your accelerator or brakes when going around curves or over bridges. Pump your brakes gently when coming to an intersection or stopping. & yes, sometimes accidents still happen - just like they do on wet roads or in everyday driving conditions.

Don't get me wrong - I hated driving (& walking) in it. But I had no choice. They didn't cancel classes or close businesses because a new batch of dangerous ice&snow had landed on the roads&sidewalks. & the South gets enough of the winter stuff every year that would it really be that much of a drain on our city budgets to stock up on a supply of salt to keep the roads passable in these random instances of ice? Surely it wouldn't be more of a hit to the budget than the costs of closing government offices & schools every time a meteorologist spots a flurry traveling in our general direction?

Anyway, so I suppose that's why I didn't blog much about the white Christmas of 2010 or the little dustings of snow that came in 2009. Yes, I appreciate the beauty & the novelty of snow. But overall, I'm a bit of a snow grinch & a snow snob, so I find it better to just be quiet about it - rather than sounding like the grouchy snot that snow turns me into.

(I don't want to come across as a ranting pessimist, really I don't. I'm embarrassed by my attitude!)

However, I have to admit that the silver lining to my snow cloud comes in the form of an amazed, delighted little toddler. She goes back&forth between the windows of the house, watching the snow fall & exclaiming, "Snow!" She will play in it for as long as we will let her. & unlike my grumpy grownup self, she doesn't mind bundling up in layer after layer, if it means getting to play in the snow. When she falls down in it, she giggles instead of groaning.

Pretty Little Bare Feet doesn't have a to-do list that can't get done if she can't get out on the roads to go anywhere. She has

her mama

& the White Dog

- & bonus! Daddy gets to stay at home from work, too!

She has a steady supply of

apple juice,

Cheerios,

& Greek yogurt.

She has books to read & toys to play with.

So today I shall blog about snow...

We have snow! In Alabama! It's pretty, & we're "snowed in!" We're going to play in it, & we're going to make snow cream.

(I'm even going to share the recipe with y'all...it's delicious.)

I have a Snuggie. ;) I have a MacBook. I have books to read. We have power. & most importantly, I have a sweet family that enjoys&loves the snow, so I will enjoy their happiness & love them for their love of snow.

(Well, except for the White Dog...she hates the snow, too. Mostly because she's so tiny that she gets lost in it easily, & it's cold&wet on her dainty little paws.)

(all photos via assorted Alabama news&weather blogs)

snow cream

(yield: 8 to 10 servings)

• 8 cups snow
• 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Place snow into a large bowl.

*Pour condensed milk over & add vanilla.

*Mix to combine.

*Serve immediately in bowls.