MommyCoddle

Things I've made lately that taste good

I always love hearing what other people are making, baking, cooking, especially when it's yummy. I definitely go through dinner-time slumps where I feel burned out on my rotating list of recipes. I'll call my sister and say, "tell me what you're making for dinner." Or ask my friends on twitter. Or browse my recipe box on pinterest, for ideas. Or dust off one of the cookboks on my kitchen shelf. 

In an attempt to break out of a recent slump I tried a few new recipes, mixed up some of my own ideas and came out of it all with some new inspiration for my dinnertime arsenal. And they're definitely worth sharing. 

From my own kitchen:

Boiled red potatoes with pancetta and spinach

These are SO SO good. One of those, "What's in my kitchen that will taste good together?" moments. I boiled red creamer potatoes until fork tender. While they were boiling, in a medium-sized skillet I browned about 4 ounces of diced pancetta. (Wegmans conveniently makes little ready-to-go packages, thankyouverymuch). After the pancetta has browned, drain off almost all of the fat and then add in several handfuls of fresh spinach. You may need to add a little pat of butter or olive oil to help soften the spinach. Stir these all together until the spinach has wilted. Once the potatoes are done, drain them, add some butter, coarse salt and ground pepper. Then add the spinach and pancetta over and stir it all to mix with the warm, soft potatoes. These potatoes are so good, people.

And bonus--if you have left overs, they are delish warmed up and mashed a bit, browned and crisped in a skillet the next morning with your eggs. 

Other good things I've made lately...

Baked shells with sausage and spinach

Sarah Carey's simle chicken pot pies, but with a phyllo crust.

Baked blueberry granola (but hold the bananas, blueberries and maple syrup, substitute apples and honey. Birdy pounds this stuff.) Lots of good questions and variations in the comments on this one.

So, now it's your turn. What have you been making lately that tastes good? I'd love to hear! 

For you: printable 2012 electoral college map!

I was searching the internet this afternoon for a map of the electoral college that I could print out. I wanted a map of the United States with each state's electoral votes, so the kids could color it in as results start streaming in. 

 I found one that worked but it was no longer available, even a cached copy, and its numbers were out of date for 2012. So I played with it in photoshop and made the changes for 2012. 

I thought I'd share it with all of you in case your kids want to follow along as well. Looking forward to an exciting night! And I take it back, I guess I'll talk about politics more than once. 

In case you're interested, here are the states whose electoral college votes changed in 2012:

WA +1 | NV +1 | AZ +1 | UT +1 | IA -1 | TX +4 | LA -1 | MO -1 | IL -1

MI -1 | OH -2 | GA +1 | SC +1 | FL +2 | PA -1 | NY -2 | MA -1 | NJ -1

 

Five Green Acres :: This Is Wool

MaryJo has been a familiar blog friend and faithful reader for many years. So when she emailed me a few weeks ago about a new adventure she has begun I was so excited for the opportunity to share it with all of you. Not only because she is living out one of my own "some day" dreams, but also because she is doing it with such intention, care and respect for her animals and the process. 

With a flock of five sheep, MaryJo has gone from pasture to skein to create a First Harvest of wool that is handspun and hand-dyed. Her hands have touched every step of the process, as you'll see in her beautiful and inspiring video below. And just this month she has set up shop online.

I asked Mary Jo to share a bit about herself....

I’m Mary Jo – the Momma, Wife, Farmer, Artisan of these Acres. I make things. I pursue beauty. I am utterly fascinated by process and gain immense satisfaction from living each step of this yarn, from pasture to skein. This wool is from my small flock of sheep - only five contributed to this harvest. The plants that lent their pigments to the wool were grown by me or collected within my community. This yarn sings with life that I've given it with my own two hands.

And as someone who is entering the whole new world of breeding sheep, I asked her to share how she learned about the process...

I steeped myself in books(stacks and stacks), classes, and local connections to other sheep people. Even after this First Harvest shearing, I took my time deciding what to do with it and how. There's no rush - wool keeps indefinitely if stored properly. It's all been quite experimental, and will continue to be. Attending classes at my area's annual fiber festival was the best way for me to learn how to spin and card. There are also many local guilds for spinning and knitting. Ravelry has several boards on keeping sheep as well as in processing the fleece, but many folks utilize small mills to do a lot of the processing, which is also a great option. It's a steep learning curve, but I was comforted at the very start by the notion one farmer gave me that sheep are so easy that they're what many farmers switch to when they retire.

I also asked her to share her vision for the future of This Is Wool....

I'm currently working on some pattern designs to complement the beautiful variations in this First Harvest wool and hope to release them in the next month or so. We also just finished shearing the Second Harvest of wool, which I'll be washing and drying outside before the temps dip too low. Because of the drought this year, all of the dyeing will be done with acid dyes. Second Harvest will have a look all its own because of this, but I'm satisfied with the decision to keep the sparse dye plants for the critters that will need them over the winter. And, as much as I love the spinning process, (I really, really do) First Harvest will be the only one to offer handspun skeins, making this vintage of yarn extra special.

Take a look at this beautiful video that walks you through Mary's process from pasture to skein. I promise, you're going to want a flock of sheep of your own after watching this...

This is wool. First Harvest: Backyard from Mary Jo, FiveGreenAcres on Vimeo.

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MaryJo's First Harvest is 2.5 oz/100 yard skeins of 2-ply, handspun, plant-dyed wool in worsted weight. You can find it in a whole range of beautiful colors on her website Five Green Acres. 

I declare

I've declared this week to be the week of good things. Things that are uplifting and happy. Behind the scenes, we're hanging in there. The outpouring of encouragement from all of you has been amazing. Even yesterday, when I posted this little shot on Instagram of all of us, while hanging out in the ER waiting for our next dose of the vaccine, it was flooded with good thoughts and wishes, and "I wish I could come out there and buy you all a milkshake!" But the good news in all this is one more round to go! And to quote Elizabeth, "Then I can finally get back to a normal life!"

In the meantime, a few good things around the webby-web-web:

Probably the only time in my life that my name will appear in the same article with Brooke Shields, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Cruise and Alanis Morrissette....and proof that among mothers, some things know no bounds of language, race, location or income. We all need to ask for help when we need it.

Something about this post hit me in a good spot this week.

This place is always light, fresh, inspiring (and good for my french).

I'm pretty sure warm bread makes everything better, right? This week, probably this one.

I think my girls have earned some of these to stitch on their sleeves.

And tomorrow, another good thing to share with you that gets me all itchy to have the girls back home...

xo, friends. and thank you.

molly

 

 

Bring on the roast and potatoes

I know, I know, I've been gone for days! But this is too good not to share on a Friday afternoon.

Happy 100th to Julia. And bon appetit, my friends. 

Goodbye Olympics, hello end of summer

Olympics are over and I have to admit that we weren't into it as much this year as I thought we would be. We took in our fair share of swimming, gymnastics and soccer. And streamed a lot of equestrian events online, but  overall we weren't glued to the games. No Olympics withdrawl. 

It's hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that it is mid-August. We're in the thick of back-to-school prep. Buying books, cleaning out and rearranging the school room. We'll start the first week of September, though with a cubby full of fresh school supplies the girls are begging to start. That's just the way I like 'em--champing at the bit for the beginning of school.

Fall always has the same fresh feel that January 1 does. Getting organized, falling back into routines, an excuse to buy a new planner. I love it. And of course, through the overwhelming power of Pinterest, I've been pinning tons of organizational ideas I'll never have time to accomplish because I'm so busy pinning them. 

But here are four fave pins of the week that have uber-organized written all over them. 

I think I'm actually going to do this calendar for our school room. I love having a big calendar to display, and this is way more attractive than the oversized desk calendar I've used in the past. I'm all over this idea from maple & magnolia. 

This gets to my inner-geek in only a way Martha Stewart can. The drawers are painted to show what goes where. Not only do I love the organization of this. I love that it helps kids get involved. But, I'm also completely in love with the idea of putting things like plates, cups, bowls in a drawer, where kids can reach them easily. Setting the dinner table is a great kid-chore and this makes it so do-able for them. 

I could get lost on this site for awhile, searching through every kind of printable paper you can imagine. A score sheet for cricket? Yahtzee? Softball? You'll find it here. And of course other kid-friendly things like lined paper, graph paper, manuscript paper, lesson plan sheets...all free, my friends. 

With four girls, tons of hand-me-downs and dresser drawers overflowing with clothes, I LOVE this concept of buying a few pieces that can be mixed and matched into tons of outfits. (more combinations are on her site) It reminds me of when I was younger and one of my mother's friends came over to help me organize my closet and put together outfits. She was great at taking a few pieces and wearing them lots of different ways. And she wrote down outfits on little notecards so I could choose a different one for each day. What I would give to have a personal sylist like that now. My middle school self had no idea how good I had it. Ha! 

Does the beginning of the school year get you excited for getting organized? What projects are you up to? I'd love to hear! 

You can find me on Pinterest @mollybalint

You are so beautiful

I've been wanting to order something fromy my lovely friend, Shanna Murray, for ages. But when I got her spring newsletter several weeks ago and saw her new spring decals, I knew some of her work had to come finally come live at my house.

Her Be Kind decal seemed like the perfect thing for this household of girls and it's shifting relationships and playmates, and testing out of friendships and learning and hurt feelings and...I think you all know what I mean, right?

It felt like the perfect, simple reminder and sits quietly on our kitchen chalkboard (next to that oddly empty grocery list. That never happens!) And I have a feeling Be Brave may need to join it there in the near future, too.

There were a few other little sweet goodies in my envelope, which quickly found a place in our home, as well. 

Welcome, of course, for the front door. 

And this one, now on the door frame above a certain ten-year old's bedroom door. 

I good reminder for us all, I believe.

You are so beautiful.

Things to love and a bonus

1. A pre-bed pile up in the backyard.

2. Embroidered cyanotypes

3. This kitchen scene

Source: thatkindofwoman.tumblr.com via Molly on Pinterest

 

4. This lovely little path.

5. Forgetting. Then remembering, this CD.

6. This playhouse.

Source: blogs.babycenter.com via Molly on Pinterest

 

7. This moment that feels so true to my crazy little family, including the begging. And yes, the duck came, too. And seriously, why do they always talk me into getting the big, unweildy truck cart? Because they NEVER ride in it. Obviously.

8. This gave me a chuckle.

9. This is huge.

10. And this, totally inspired me. (via DesignMom

BONUS: Know what I don't love? Stink bugs. If you have no idea what these are, thank your lucky stars. But, seriously, if I get dive-bombed one more time while reading in my bed, or sitting here working at my desk, I may just cry. I'm sorry, but I can't find any reason to be grateful for stink bugs.

a list: Blogs I'm Reading

I have two email address. One has almost completely morphed into a dark hole for newsletters and sale mail and the other has morphed into the one that's my personal and blogging related emails, messages from family, friends and one or two newsletters that I really want to read each day. 

And it occured to me a few weeks ago that this also means I have two Google Reader accounts. My old GR account is overwhelming and depressing. A list of hundreds of unread blog posts. Just peeking at it overwhelms me, but I don't have the heart to swoop in and hit that "mark all as read" button. 

So I've taken that other blank slate Google Reader account and slowly started to subscribe to a few blogs again. 

To be fair, I probably shouldn't call this list Blogs I'm Reading. I always find it interesting to see how my blog list relates to either what's on my brain and or what's lacking in my life at the moment. The list should probably more accurately be called "Blogs I'm Enjoying for their Visual, Creative, & Photographic Inspiration."

Some blogs inspire me to blog (Design Mom). Some blogs inspire to get off my blog and do something creative (Design Editor). Some blogs inspire me with their ability to unearth new-to-me finds and curate collections that I love (Bloesem Kids, Handmade Charlotte, You Are My Fave, Emma Lamb) 

None of these blogs are new discoveries but they happen to be the blogs that are hitting the spot these days. That have me wanting to write more, get out my camera, jot things down, or put fresh flowers on the kitchen table. 

So right back at you--what blogs are inspiring you visually, creatively, photographically these days? Do tell.

Shopping with the Amish

We all grocery shop.

It’s a mundane and often unstimulating experience. But there is one grocery trip that I make about 4 times a year, with my mother in tow, that is always a bit of an adventure.

We travel north in her pick up truck, about an hour’s drive to a not-so-fancy establishment called BB’s. Home of the “bents, bumps and bunches of bargains!” You never quite know what you will find there, but so far, the treasure trove of bargains has always outweighed the cost of gas and time to travel there.

It is run by the Amish. There isn’t much competition in the parking lot.

The shopping experience leans more towards treasure hunt. Looking for pig brains in milk gravy this week? No problem! On sale for only 50 cents!

And every time, I find something, at least one thing, that makes the whole trip worth it.

Today, Starbucks coffee, a good supply, at only $3. We’ll be sipping pretty here at home.

It is the place to find a lot of organic and unusual food items at really cheap prices. I even heard one lady refer to it as a “boutique grocery”. I’m not really sure of that. There is nothing fancy about it. There is no artistry to produce display.

But today the shelves were stacked high, as well as my cart. Both of them.

And as my mother and I slung our grocery bags into the back of her truck, I marveled at the other modes of getting your groceries home.

Again, a successful trip. Every cupboard in my house is bulging at the seams. And I will probably do it all again in a couple months.

Things I found while putting off other things

*These will be made this weekend.

*I'm dying to sew up one of these for each of the girls. 

*This is an awesome idea.

*This is on my wishlist for Spring knitting organization.

*This is on my needles in a bright sunny yellow.

*If kids live in your house, you should read this. So inspiring.

*Which lead me to re-discover this good reading.

*This melts my heart.

*This is happening too fast.

Happy Weekend, friends!

a busted-up binder

*Thanks to all of you that jumped in on my "guerilla goodness" idea. I just have to buy myself some fresh postage this morning and cards will be going out to all of you. I'm so looking forward to it!*

 

I don't know when it started exactly, college maybe? But I signed up for a subscription from Martha Stewart--but this one was a little different. This subscription was for "Good Things" cards--they came ever few weeks, in different categories from giving to homekeeping to entertaining. I'm suspicious I signed on solely for the linen-wrapped binder that came with your first set. Or for the "good mail", which doesn't come so often when you're in college. But those little bundles of cards kept coming and coming and coming....

 Eventually, I wised up and realized there was no end to Martha's Good Things and that if I wasnt' careful I was going to be bankrupt over this little collecting hobby. But the binder morphed into a place where I collected pages torn out of magazines--recipes, pictures of inspiration for my dream home, crafts, things I wanted to sew...

 

The binder was overflowing at this point. Bursting at the seams. D-rings bent, barely holding anything together. It got tucked away, tied up, boxed and forgotten. A year or so ago, I uncovered it again when my husband threated to throw it out. Shocked by his suggestion, I grabbed it from his hands, clutching it to my chest. 

As I flipped through it contents, I had to smile at my unmarried, no children, living in a college-apartment self. More often than not I asked myself, "What in the WORLD did I like on this torn out page?"

 

 But there still remained a few gems here and there. For some reason, these three got scanned and dumped on my desktop months ago. By no means the best of the bunch, but there are still little things about these images I love. I'm sorry I don't have a source, but you can probably guarantee it's either Martha Stewart or Country Home (a sadly defunct mag now.) 

 

 I have to admit I like my old-fashioned binder. Like holding the pages in my hands. Flipping through. Spreading them out. It was my Pinterest. Pinterest, which has been getting a lot of flack these days. I have to be honest to say that I haven't taken time to really read and understand all that's going on. Privacy. Copyright. Rights. sigh...

Makes me cling to my busted-up binder a little more....

Let's do something good together

**MommyCoddle has been nominated for a Homie for Best Family Blog over at ApartmentTherapy. I hate to ask, but would you take a moment to cast a vote? Only takes a moment. Thanks, friends.**

Around the Christmas holidays this year, the CoolMomTech ladies asked me to review a new app from BoomBoom! The whole thing was new to me, but apparently they were already big fans of the BoomBoom! cards--a deck of cards where on each one was written a challenge to do something good.  They call them acts of "guerilla goodness". Things like picking up the toll for the car behind you, slipping a handwritten note in the mail, or being sure to sayi hi to the person you've been silently passing on your morning walk each day. 

I was really inspired by this idea and as I wrote the post, I knew I wanted to do something with it. I immediately ordered myself a set of cards and tucked them away in a drawer until I figured out what I wanted to do. 

A few weeks ago, I figured it out.

This is what I know:

Kindness is contagious.

My children learn goodness and love and respect for other people by seeing it reflected in me. 

It doesn't take a grand gesture to encourage or uplift a person. Simple things are effective things. 

So here's my idea. 

My deck of "guerilla goodness" includes 26 cards. On each card is a challenge, a way to do something good for someone or something that's part of your every day life. Put money in a parking meter, give five geniune compliments....(I don't want to give them all away....)

Since goodness is contagious, I thought how cool would it be if I gave out the cards to 26 of you! You complete your "act of goodness", write about it and report it back here. I'll post your story--however big or small, a picture, if you have one and hopefully, our collection of goodness and kindness will inspire others. 

So what do you think? Want to join me? Do it by yourself. Do it with your kids. You don't have to have a blog. Or take great pictures. Or be an amazing writer. Just you. Or your family. And real-life good deeds.

If you want to jump in and join me, send me an email and be sure to include your mailing address in the email so I know where to send your card. (US addresses only, please. Sorry.)  I'll send them out next week, and give you two weeks. I will start sharing them here on the week of March 26th. (I'll include all the little details in your envelope.)    YAY! All the cards are spoken for! Thanks for joining in, friends!

I'm writing this post in the fog of sick kids and now sick mama. I'm hoping in my sleep-deprived state I'm able to share just an ounce of the inspiration that I feel about this idea. 

I hope you'll join in. 

xo.

molly

7 lovely things

Good morning and Happy Valentine's my friends. Oh, I missed this place. I'm completely procrastinating on things like laundry and school work and showers and a huge mess in the kitchen from pink chocolate chips pancakes. But, it's been too long. So, hello. How about a list this morning, shall we?

1. I cashed in on my Christmas present this past weekend. A girls weekend away with two of my bestest cousins. We had grand plans of doing important things like historical tours and traditional working-farm visits--but it happily and comfortably turned into lounging and knitting in hotel rooms, long dinners out and antique shopping. It was perfect. And while, you know, I fought that mama-guilt about being away, it was such a good weekend. So so good. I have made it official that my husband can give me the same gift every year.

2. Do you see this aisle of goodness I stumbled upon in the very back of one shop? I may have had trembling hands when I took this picture.

3. First tractor-driving lessons with her great uncle. The report is that she's a pro and only stalled it out once. Learning to drive a tractor is on my to-do list. I think she just beat me to it. When asked if she wanted to trade in her pony for a tractor, we only got a roll of the pre-teen eyeballs.

4.  My new favorite and also perfect Valentine's listening: Us & Our Daughters (with a hat tip to my music soulmate. You know who you are.) On their site they share that last year was a tough year for them and their love. But they took to songwriting as their therapy. It pulled them through and this album is the fruit of that time. It's beautiful. 

5. Some love of the 4-hooved variety.

6. This knitted lovely is going in the queue. 

7. Some love it's good to remember.

xo.

Molly

it's the best excuse...

Pssst....The new year is my favorite excuse to get myself a brand new planner/organizer. This year, I figured, why wait until after Christmas to get started? I'm giving away three of my favorite family planners over on MommyCoddleLikes. Dude. Check it out.