Entertaining

Donut and Coffee Bar Brunch.

This post was created in partnership with Keurig Green Mountain®; opinions are my own.

You may have noticed that I’ve been talking about brunch around here a lot lately. I have a newfound appreciation for this meal since it’s usually the time of day when miss Jane is at her best. Since taking the blog full time I suddenly have lots more time on the weekends – time that used to be dedicated to getting blog projects done — to appreciate brunch too. More than that though, this time of year seems to be chock full of baby showers and bridal luncheons and it’s-finally-spring-let’s-have-people-over brunches. read more

Recipes

Make-Ahead Italian Strata Muffins.

Growing up, a big tray of savory Italian Strata was a brunch staple; my Mom would make a variation of this for just about every holiday. It’s an awesome recipe for two reasons: 1) It’s a great way to use leftover bread that might be a little bit past its prime – crusty bread works great, and 2) you can make this recipe the night before and pop it in the oven in the morning. read more

Recipes

Pizza Salad.

Friday night pizza was always a tradition in my house growing up; a large cheesy New York pizza with the best toppings and usually a few garlic knots or “pizza rolls” made an appearance to close out the week. I wish we had pizza here like we do back home where I grew up in New York, I love living in Massachussetts but pizza, bagels and good delis are all things you just can’t replicate here. Lately, I have been picking up that tradition and making my own pizzas on our pizza stone as a little Friday evening treat. It’s no New York slice, but I experiment a bit each week and have been getting better at making a quality pizza at home. Last week I was scanning the fridge and doing a survey of leftover ingredients to see what I could make for a quick meal, and lots of my pizza toppings were stacked up begging for a little love. read more

Recipes

Loaded Lasagna Rollatini.

The first few weeks after having a baby, we survived on trays of food brought over by our amazing friends and family. Some of my favorite meal ideas to bring new parents are a hearty chicken pot pie, or a tray of breakfast burritos (no one ever brings breakfast, you’ll be a star!). One friend brought us a delicious and healthy jar of trail mix that was amazing to nibble on for quick snacks. Perhaps the most classic of freezer dishes to bring new parents falls into the Italian casserole category. We ate all of them during those first few weeks home with the baby: lasagna, baked ziti, chicken parmesan, and eggplant rollatini. read more

Entertaining

Spring Floral Arranging Tips with Alice’s Table.

It doesn’t always look like spring has arrived when you live in New England (this week alone I’ve gone through three different coats, boots, and ballet flats – make up your mind, weather!) but I still have big armfuls of bright spring flowers on the mind as we head into Easter celebrations this weekend. Over the winter I got a chance to watch Alice, from Alice’s Table, do a demonstration on flower arranging at an entertaining event. In just a few short minutes I picked up lots of great tips from her and thought it would be great to get some of her insight on arranging professional looking arrangements at home. I’m going to be using a few of these tips for adding flowers to upcoming Easter brunch, bridal showers, and sometimes just a pretty bouquet to add a little spring to our grey New England days! read more

Recipes

Krispy Bunny Treats.

If you asked my friends what my signature dish was they would probably reply with “rice krispy treats.” It’s such a simple dessert to make, but after tweaking my own version of recipe for years, they’ve definitely become a go-to item to bring to parties. I noticed the other day that I’ve posted a pumpkin spice version, neapolitan flavors, and even cocoa football treats — but I’ve never actually shared my classic rice krispy treat on here! The secret to mine? A little bit more butter and some sea salt, because butter and salt make everything better. I got the urge to make these and thought I’d put an Easter spin on them by punching them out with a bunny cookie cutter and adding some bunny-faces with a little bit of colored frosting. What’s the word for a pack of bunnies? A herd? Yup, I just ate a herd of these bunny treats while writing this post. read more

Life

Easter Basket Inspiration.

I am getting way too excited for Jane’s first Easter this year, it’s really her first big family holiday. I have her outfit all picked out — the cutest smocked floral easter dress and some little bunny shoes (these things are so darling and a total steal at Old Navy!). I also got a few little treats for an Easter basket even though I know she has no idea what’s going on– a soft book, some critter knee socks, and a cozy pair of bunny jammies (which I’ll pack for when she inevitably gets her Easter dress dirty). Let’s be real, it was a great excuse to buy things that I wanted for her! In my hunt for these Easter treats I found so many other darling Easter basket ideas for babies and toddlers that I thought I’d share them here, I’m earmarking a few of them for her basket next year too!   read more

Travel

48 Hours in Vermont.

This past week we took a little family adventure up to Vermont. Mike had some time off from work, and we both had a few ideas on our travel wish list to visit there. I have been wanting to visit Field Guide Stowe since it opened, and had a trip to the King Arthur Flour campus in mind. Mike is a beer guy and wanted to visit a few breweries in the area to check out their selection. And Miss Jane was ready for her first overnight in a hotel, so we packed up our bags and headed north!  read more

Recipes

Grapefruit Rosemary Mules.

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for brunch and I decided last minute that I wanted to whip up a cocktail to go with our meal. I keep a pretty well stocked bar cart, so my options were wide open to anything that would pair with the citrus I had on hand. A juicy, bright grapefruit was on my counter, and a few limes leftover from a recipe my husband had made. By chance I popped open the freezer and saw I had a bottle of grapefruit vodka that must have been in there since last spring before I was pregnant. With these ingredients in mind, I had my eye on a Moscow mule with a twist! I used the grapefruit vodka and fresh citrus to mix up a tart-version of this classic drink, and finished it off with a few springs of rosemary and some fresh grapefruit wedges for the prettiest looking cocktail. These are going to be on heavy rotation this spring, I’m hooked! read more

Life

Tips for Researching Baby Gear.

Okay guys, I have to say, I was a little bit hesitant about introducing lots of baby and parenting related content to this site. But since I’ve been sharing my experiences I’ve gotten such nice feedback from readers, which makes me so happy! I read and read and read until I reached the end of the parenting internet while pregnant and am finding it so fun to start to add my own perspective into the mix now. Today I’m partnering with my friends at buy buy BABY to take on a topic I found so daunting as a first time mom: researching baby gear. It’s so hard to know where exactly to start when researching everything you need for a newborn as a first time mom. I thought I’d share a few tips and tricks I picked up from my first experience with the hopes it helps other new moms out! read more

 
 
Verified by MonsterInsights