Thinking Spring

I'm done.  I no longer think it's pretty when I look out the window and see snow.  I no longer cross my fingers and hope for a snow day (thank you very much, Blizzard Bags!), and I'm sick of shoveling and trekking down to the bus stop in over-the-ankle-deep snow.  I'm ready to see those first shoots poking out of the ground.  I'm ready to head to the nursery.  But I can't.  My yard still looks like this.

View From My Kitchen Door 

There IS one thing I can do--PLAN!!  Ooooh!  I can even make LISTS!!  So the first thing I'm going to plan is my

Recipe Friday: Cheesy Taquitos

As I've said, I've been trying a lot of recipes from Weelicious.  To be honest, most of them have been flops, but we've found a few keepers.  This one, went over really well with everyone--which is a rare gem indeed!  They were easy to make, can be easily adapted to be vegetarian and reheated well (or so I hear--they were gone by the time I got to the table).  I'm copying the original recipe from Weelicious's website.  It calls for chicken, which I made for the rest of the family, but omitted for Olivia, Ellie and I.  I mixed the seasoning with the cheese and just spread it on.  It was really good--and cheap!

Juice Beauty

This past weekend I had a friend ask me for a more natural make-up.  This has always been an area in which I struggle.  I use EWG's Skin Deep database and research all the make-up and beauty products I buy, but I've found that the ones that get really low scores, 0-2, are generally brands I've never heard of, aren't sold around me, and are way out of my price range.  She was asking about Bare Minerals, a brand I've had good luck with, but their foundation scored a 7.  She was going to Ulta to check it out and match colors.

Recipe Friday: Soups And Beer Bread

I love soup!  I'm a fan of hot or cold soups, although I never make cold soups because no one else in my family likes them.  I love creamy pureed soups for my little ones (Olivia)  that I can put in a zippy cup and she can drink it on her own, with minimal mess.   With the weather so cold lately, soup has been on my mind.  I wanted to give you a great soup recipe, but all the soup recipes that I REALLY love, I think I've blogged before.  I'm always on the look-out for new, great soups, but I seem to find a lot more blah than fab.  So here's a link to a soup recipe I've posted in the past.   Make a warm loaf of bread (beer bread is SUPER easy and oh so yummy!) and some soothing, soup and gear up for the cold weather ahead.  (Not you, Cecilie.  You just keep enjoying your 61 and sunny--ya, I looked up the weather in LA before I wrote that!)

Getting a cold--naturally

Well, we got it.  The first cold of winter in our house.  The culprit--not one of the kids, actually.  It was Evan.  He got it and gave it to me.  The kids have managed to escape it so far, but I know their time is coming.  So, in preparing for that, I decided to do a post about natural cold remedies.  I know I've posted about this before, but like the snow ice cream, if you haven't thought about it in awhile it's out of your mind.

 Because Olivia's still nursing, I'm limited to the over the counter cold medications I can take.  This makes natural remedies much more important to me.

Recipe Friday: Cinnamon Maple Roast Butternut Squash

I'm borrowing my recipe today from Weelicious--I know, you're sick of hearing about it.  Sorry.  This was one of the recipes from my menu for this past week that I really liked and so did Vince and Olivia. It was pretty easy prep and it's seasonal--which I always like.

Pepsi One

Today's post comes from my husband, who sent me the link via email with the subject line "well that's disturbing…"  Well said, Evan, well said.  (I suggest clicking on the link--the comments are interesting. )

Pepsi One Won't Give You Cancer as Long as You Don't Drink a Whole Can