We rely on our grill at our house about 9 months out of the year. If it’s not snowing, we’re out on the porch grilling. I love the charred, crispy flavor you get from the heat and smoke of the grill, and I really love how fun it is to have friends over barbeque. When we host friends and family, I always like to make sure I have food options for everyone, including vegetarians! I got to brainstorming the other day about some tastier vegetarian options to add to my barbeque repertoire and this stuffed mushroom “burger” idea came to mind.
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It’s been a few weeks since I shared a Friday Download post here, and thought I’d get one out a little bit early this week before we sign-off for Labor Day weekend! Remember how we just blinked and summer zoomed on by us? I can’t believe we’re celebrating the long weekend already and kids are going back to school and just this week the temperature dropped low enough for me to pull out some jeans and a cozy pullover. I can’t complain though, we’ve had an amazing fun-filled summer. Plus, fall is my absolute favorite in New England. Here’s what’s been going on around the blog the last few weeks, and a few links I’m loving:
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Life with a baby can be hectic at best, but lunch with a baby may be one of the most hectic parts of the day! I realized recently that during our busy schedule, juggling work and naptimes and errands, I’ve been skipping lunches lately (or worse, choosing terribly unhealthy options on-the-go). My friends at Peapod asked me to come with some easy lunch recipes that both mom and baby can enjoy, and it felt like the perfect time to try something new for our lunch routine!
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Can I confess something? Meal planning and prep is one of my guilty pleasures, which I think stems from love of both organization and talking about food. My husband and I started the habit casually a few a years ago, talking about new recipes we might want to try for the week. Recently, we’ve got a bit more serious about it, and sit down to make a plan for the week – usually on Sunday mornings – before we purchase our groceries for the week.
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This post was created in partnership with Keurig Green Mountain®; all opinions, images, and content are my own.
Alright, folks. I’m going to say something controversial: I’m really excited for fall this year. I know, I know, we still have a few weeks of warm summer weather to enjoy and I shouldn’t wish it away. But as soon as I walk into a big box store and see those aisles of fresh school supplies and plaid scarves and cozy sweaters I get so thrilled. Not to mention those fall flavors that are popping up on shelves too, tis the season for pumpkin spice after all!
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This post was created in partnership with buybuy BABY. All opinions are my own.
We have been on the road for what seems like the whole summer. Jane has been buckled in her car seat and hitting spots all over New England since she was born. We took our first trip with her to Vermont when she was just two months old. Last month we spent several days at my parent’s house in New York, and she was on the road again this weekend for some slumber partying at my in-laws house as we headed to a wedding in New Hampshire. We still haven’t tested her travel-experience on an airplane, but she’s been putting some miles on that car seat!
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There are two things that have made us ripe targets for a friendly “pop-by” this summer: 1) Living close to the beach, and 2) Having a cute baby that family wants to visit! I actually love a surprise pop-in from friends and family, it was one of the things that I’ll always cherish about my own childhood. We grew up with a well-known open door policy that meant people would stop by for dinner or drinks on any given day of the week, and my mom always graciously popped a bottle of wine and added an extra place setting to the table.
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This week I fluffed the pillows, rolled out a new rug, and tucked a few fresh flowers and some newly framed artwork into our new master bedroom. This was a huge project for us, and one of the best makeovers we’ve completed in our house. I had to go back to my email account to figure out when exactly we started the project and I laughed when I realized we’ve been working on this room since mid-April. Projects used to go a whole lot faster pre-baby, but after nearly 4 months of chipping away at the renovations, we’re “finished” with the bedroom!
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A few weeks back I had a little night-out on the town with some of my blogger buddies at Boston Magazine’s Best Fest. It was a much-needed evening of adult interaction! That evening it happened to be pouring rain, and about 95 degrees outside — I can’t fully explain how hot and humid the air felt, other than that the one saving grace of the weather was a popsicle cart serving Patron Tequila-infused frozen treats. They were amazing. I tried a few different flavors — the paloma popsicle was my favorite — and vowed to find a way to recreate them at home. Luckily the folks at Patron were kind enough to share some of their recipes with me, and I tweaked one of the, to make own batch this week!
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One of the perks of living not to far from the beach is that we get lots of friends and family visiting over the summer, and we take our hosting duties seriously and try to make it like a little weekend vacation for them when they visit. In general, I’ve tried to avoid too much beach-themed decor in our house, but when it comes to party supplies and entertaining I’m all about the nautical touches. We have a few more weekends ahead of us that call for festive, nautical summer details — including planning for a big lobster bake feast before summer ends (and using our new personalized lobster cups!). I’ve been eyeing a few additions to my party supply arsenal, like an anchor-adorned wine cooler, some colorful lawn games and beach games, and I’m always adding drink stirrers and cocktail picks to my collection. I’ve rounded up a few more of my favorite nautical party supplies below so you can say Ahoy to seaside summer gatherings! 
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