Flirt with Your Husband Friday: Back to School Date

When I was a child, my mother always looked forward to the first day of school.  No, she didn’t attend school --- it was her first day without children after the long summer.  One year (after an especially trying summer), she even kissed the front of the schoolbus.  I never knew quite what my parents did with the day (dad always seemed to manage to have that day off), but it was their day --- without the kids. 

Now, things are a little bit different.  For one, I TEACH at a school, which makes the first day of school one of the craziest days of the year.  For another, I’m now the grown-up – cherishing the ritual of the first day of school.  (I also have a much easier time imagining what my mom and dad might have done with their first day of freedom.)

So --- have a back to school date.  Go out to dinner on the first night of school if you’re a teacher (you won’t be up for cooking anyway – so plan ahead for it).  Or go out to lunch after the kiddos are all safely at school --- just the two of you.  It won’t matter if its McDonalds or some chic French bistro – its time alone together and a ritual that will repeat itself for years to come.  That’s what making family memories is all about --- repetition and rituals.  Maybe some day your children will be writing about how mom and dad always had a date on the first day of school.  

Summer's Swan Song

Summer is coming to a sure close.  I’m sad to see it end.  This weekend we’ll be having a family picnic at the Jazz Festival.  This is one concert that everyone in the family seems to be able to enjoy --- and we have widely diverse tastes in music! 

Since this is likely the last picnic of the season, I really want to make it a little extra special.  We’ll set up the table, with a tablecloth and cloth napkins.  It always amazes me how much that simple detail makes a picnic feel more special.  Even if I’m serving take-out or pizza (which, I confess, I’ve done once or twice) it makes the entire meal feel a little bit more elegant.  It only takes a few minutes to drop the used linens in the washing machine and later, the dryer.  Well worth the effort. 

Food will be a bit more challenging.  We’ll have the young children (who only eat white foods --- chicken, french-fries, rice, cheese, pasta etc), the vegetarians, the die-hard meat men, and one fairly fussy eater.  Mix all of that in with a little bit of food snobbery – and you begin to sense the menu dilemna. 

Whenever this kind of menu stress kicks in, I turn to my skewers.  Anything skewered seems a little bit fancier.  I can skewer the chicken nuggets for the kiddos, skewer a wide host of veggies for the vegetarians (and for me) and even skewer some fresh fruit for dessert later.  Mix in a salad, maybe a noodle salad as well, and we’ll have a lovely menu. 

Add some wine, some sparkling juice for the young ones and it will be the makings of an elegant picnic.  Care to join us???

Organizing the Car

I’m heading back to school/work so commuting is back on the table as an issue in my life.  I hate the car when its cluttery, messy, and yucky.  And I hate paying for car washes that never seem to last the day. 

So, I’m getting serious about this --- I’m attempting to organize the car.  I spend way too much time in the car to feel awful about that space.  I need to love my car and love being in it.  So, I’m determined --- the car will be an organized, pleasant, user-friendly space. 

First up --- a pretty trash bin.  Since I’ve gotten the new sewing maching and I’m trying all sorts of cute projects --- a new trash bin is on my list.  I can line it with old grocery store bags to make removing trash easier, but the bin itself WILL BE  pretty. 

Next:  a better phone charger.  I hate the one I have – sometimes it charges, sometimes it doesn’t and I never know which it will be until its too late.  All done with that problem.  New charger – that works.

File system:  I found this black (okay, not so cute) little file box that can sit in the front seat and keep papers, files, magazines, (the mail) and other stuff organized for me.  It has slots for scissors (I’m always hunting for scissors), pens and the like. 

Hanging organizer:  I’ve been looking at these but they’ve always seemed too “soccer mom-ish” for me.  They’re always shown in the pictures with kids books, games, and snacks in them. Not what I need.  But I’m re-thinking them.  I think that they could hold a lot of the cluttery stuff that accumulates in the car.  The maps that don’t fit in the glove compartment (yes, I still use maps), the dog bones, a travel pack of wipes (essential!), Kleenex (equally essential), an extra pair of gloves – could all go in the organizer hanging on the back of the passenger seat so that I can reach them. 

Last thing:  I need to come up with some sort of organizing bin for the cell phone and other gadgets.  They need to be right by the charger (naturally) but not falling into my way or in danger of having drinks spilled on them.  Any ideas?

Pencil Pouch for a Notebook

I just got a new sewing machine, so I'm trying all sorts of little bitty projects to practice using all of the funky new things this machine will do.  (I'm still in a little bit of awe at the machine -- I moved up from a 50 year old Singer Featherweight

-- to a brand spanking new Janome ---

 Its a little like stepping into Star Trek)  Anyway ---- I fell in love (don't I always?) with this little pencil pouch
(how chic and rich is it to have your own customized pencil pouch at work or school instead of the silly Walmart or Target ones??)
Check out the beautiful tutorial here

Chores Charts for Kiddos

I love cute, clever ways of helping kids learn responsibility.  This cute --- super-cute--- set of chore charts really got my attention

You can find links here.  This lady has a ton of pdf files with printables to construct gorgeous charts like these.
Another one that I loved:

Go ahead --- go check it out.

Corn, Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Corn, Bean and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

·      Whole wheat tortilla (2 per quesadilla)

·      4-6 oz of goat cheese, crumbled

·      ¼ cup of corn kernels

·      1-2 strips of roasted red peppers cut into small pieces

·      ¼ cup of black beans

·      2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro

·      fresh salsa and sour cream

Coat a large skillet with a very thin layer of olive oil and heat over medium heat. 

Place on tortilla in the pan.  Top with a layer of the crumbled goat cheese.  Layer corn, beans, red peppers and cilantro on top of the goat cheese.  Top with a second tortilla.  Cook about 2-3 minutes on medium low heat (be careful not to get the pan too hot- or you’ll fry the tortilla without melting the yummy goat cheese)

Serve with salsa and sour cream (and maybe some sangria!!)

New York Designer Fabric Outlet

I’m in love!! I found the most amazing fabric shop (and its not too, too far away.--- I might be in trouble here).  I’ve been missing the Schumacher outlet something terrible (its only been 5 years – I’m still grieving, you know).  I might have found its replacement!

New York Designer Fabric Outlet in Valatie NY is one amazing place.  Let me begin by saying that the name of the shop does not even begin to do it justice.  I probably passed it a dozen or more times and never even thought to stop.  It just didn’t interest me --- I had visions of something very – I don’t know --- New York.   This little outlet carries fabrics from around the world – the remnants of famous projects – from the White House to Paris – gorgeous fabric that graces some of the most elegant settings in the world. 

The best part?? The fabric sells for somewhere around 15-20% of the original cost.  Fabrics that originally sold for $350 a yard (gulp) can be found for $50, $35 and even $10 a yard. Those are my kind of prices.  And the fabric is beautiful … I can’t even describe them. They’re really amazing.

Find them right on Route 9 just above the Hannaford Plaza.  You won’t be sorry.  Really.  

Summer Gear: Organizing My Entryway

We’re half-way through the summer (okay, you don’t have to point it out – we’re MORE than half-way – but I don’t want to think about that yet).  The mess by the back door is beginning to get on my nerves.  We have a large collection of dog leashes, pooper bags, beach stuff, cooler stuff, sunglasses and more that seems to have accumulated there.  The organizing that I did to corral the winter gear is still in place --- but that’s the problem!  The winter gear is occupying all of the important real estate –  There’s no room for all of the summer gear.  Time to fix this before I lose my mind. 

I LOVE my antique ice-box by the back door – the inside of the ice-box holds (and hides!) all sorts of gear.  But right now the top is messy and stuff is piled on the counter, the table and the floor alongside it. 

Here’s what I’m thinking:

Ø  Magnetic hooks on the side of the ice box to increase the hanging space for leashes, keys, etc. 

Ø  A new wall rack/hook alongside it.  The old one only has 3 hooks – and although they’re large – they’re not cutting it.  It also has a shelf that we don’t’ really use – except to catch cluttery stuff that never seems to leave the shelf once it takes up residence there. 

Ø  A couple of small pretty baskets for the top of the ice box to corral the sunglasses etc…. similar to what I did for gloves etc in the winter –

Ø  A small bookshelf on the far side of the ice box – this could hold shoes, dog toys, cooler gear and the like without being obtrusive about it.  When the wetter weather comes, the shoe tray could sit right in front of the shelf. 

Ø  A tray (maybe a sorter?) for the top of the bookshelf for mail etc --- We have a bad habit of leaving it on the counter (what a mess!)   My previous plan had this on the top of the ice-box , but I’m really wanting that to look clean and tidy --- NO clutter --- not even the mail.  

Breakfast Cereal Tarts

So – with all of those guests coming, I thought I’d try out a few new breakfast recipes.  I’m loving this one – I do all of the work ahead of time and the presentation looks fantastic!!

Cereal Tarts

5 cups of corn flakes (or something similar – Wheaties, whatever)

1 cup of nuts (something breakfasty – almonds, pecans etc)

4 TBS melted butter

6TBS maple syrup (use the real thing, please)

16 oz carton of plain yogurt

16 oz carton of vanilla yogurt

2-3 cups of fresh fruit (berries, peaches, plums, whatever)

Preheat the oven to 350. 

Start by making tart shells:

Place the cornflakes and nuts in the bowl of your food processor and process until combined (just a few short pulses)

Pour the cereal and nut mix into a mixing bowl and drizzle with the melted butter.  Mix to form a mix like for a graham cracker crust.   Stir in the maple syrup

Press into tart pan (I loved this in mini tart pans so that everyone had an individual tart)

Bake for 10-20 minutes (depending on which size tart pans you use)

Cool

Now make the filling:

Remove the shells from the tart pans

Mix the yogurts together

Top the tart shell with the yogurt mixture and top with the fruit

Summer House Guests

We’re having house guests  a lot this summer (one of the “benefits” of living in a tourist town).    So I’m trying to get things organized so that I can move between house guests easily (we have a couple of weekends where someone leaves and someone comes on the same day!)

I’m getting a spare house key cut.  I don’t want to be tethered to a guest’s schedule.  It will be easier for everyone if folks can come and go as they like.

I’m getting one more set of sheets for the guest bed.  One of mine are getting threadbare, and I really want to have 2 sets.  One for the bed, and one for the wash.  That way no scrambling to get the bedding washed and back on the bed quickly.   I also need to pick up a second set for the air mattress.  Several of our guests are coming with children who will be sleeping on our famous air mattress – I don’t want to have a scramble with those sheets either. 

I need to sort out the linen closet on the towel shelf too.  We have two sets of towels that are a different color that were originally set up as guest towels.  Somehow they’ve gotten mixed in with our towel sets and rotated into daily use.  I want to make sure that we have enough towels (nothing missing or damaged) for guests to be comfortable.

And last of all, I need to clear out the top two drawers of the dresser in the guest room.  We try to keep them empty for guests to use, but you know how it is --- junk happens.  And then we tuck it into empty drawers to hide the clutter. 

Lavender Cookies

The lavender is still blooming strong.  So I thought I’d make some lavender cookeies. These turned out extra good and they traveled well (picnics, you know)

Lavender Cookies

1 stick butter softened

1 ½ tsp lavender leaves chopped finely

½ cup sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

¼ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350

Cream together the butter, sugar and lavender – Add the egg yolk and vanilla

Combine the flour and salt in a separate small bowl.  Add it to the creamed butter mixture

Beat together until the dough forms

Roll the dough to make a log (Use a lightly floured surface, so it won’t stick)

Chill for an hour or more (I forgot about mine for the afternoon)

Slice the log into rounds and bake 10-12 minutes (they’ll brown a little bit around the edges when they’re done)

Lavender Bread

We are completely in love with our lavender bed.  I purchased a large number of plants at a flea market.  We planted – and we learned. 

Where we live, the winters are cold and harsh.  Lavender does not like cold.  It does not like harsh.  It dies in cold harsh winters. 

Two varieties of lavender are a little less prissy than the rest of the bunch.  Munstead and Hidcote are varieties that have a fighting chance against the cold and snow.  (We’ve had far better luck with Munstead, but we have friends up the road who swear by Hidcote --- go figure)  I still lose young, small-ish plants every winter, but I have 5 strong healthy (getting larger) plants that keep coming back year after year.

Our lavender bed is right beside the driveway – its not the optimal location in terms of babying the plants through the winter (they get snow piled on them every time we shovel) – but when your pant leg or your skirt brushes the lavender as you get out of the car ---- aaahhhhh…..

So – one of the rites of summer is lavender bread --- we make it every summer.  We’ve become “famous” for it among family and friends (people ask for it!)  Its lovely toasted with berry jam in the morning for breakfast.  It also makes the very best BLT for lunch. 

Lavender Bread

½ cup water

1 cup buttermilk

¼ cup olive oil

4 cups bread flour

3 TBS lavender leaves finely chopped

1 ½ tsp lavender flowers finely chopped

1 TBS gluten

2 tsp salt

2 ¾ tsp yeast

Mix all of the ingredients in your bread machine pan.  Bake according to the bread machine directions --- yum.