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I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but everything summer is on sale or sold out. Everything. I was in Target yesterday and what was left of the Fourth of July decor was on clearance, and signs of fall filled the store. I saw scarves along with the swimsuits, school supplies near the pool supplies. And […]

This post originally ran in December 2010, and it was so popular I decided to run it again. Post-Christmas sales are the best time to stock up on beautiful heirloom pieces like the Nativity sets shown here!   Christmas Decorating: Nativity Scenes This morning I was chatting with my friend Dee at a playgroup, and […]

We owe a lot of holiday cheer, or at least the heavenly scents that are linked to them, to the brilliant bakers in our lives. Show your appreciation with one of these thoughtful gifts for bakers. 1. Holiday Deluxe Pantry Gift, $79.95, King Arthur Flour Co.: This beautifully presented box holds a supply of top-notch […]

I know that this month, and the next, and the next, are busy, busy, busy, but trust me, these three sites are worth taking time away from pumpkin-pie-baking and costume-making, if that is your thing. (I buy pumpkin pies and costumes, but I do make pumpkin soup, pumpkin butter, pumpkin seed cookies, and pumpkin pancake […]

One of the things that I have learned in my quest to make quick, healthy meals for my family is that, for most of us, a total overhaul is intimidating and impossible. But we can make a healthier lifestyle more manageable by making smart, simple choices, and most of these start at the store. So, […]

An inevitable part of any pantry overhaul is deciding what to keep and what to toss. Gone are stale, half-eaten package of crackers you forgot to seal up, or the sticky jumble of lollipops on the bottom of the candy bin. Lately, though, I’ve developed some criteria that go beyond the typical: tossing what is […]

I spent Monday morning avoiding other, more pressing duties by organizing my pantry. Not that it didn’t need it. Like my desk area, the back door, the closet with all of the holiday decorations, and other clutter-prone areas in our house, the pantry seems to be in perpetual need of an overhaul. But I am […]

I am still reeling from the two afternoons of my life, two afternoons that could have been spent reading or napping or cuddling with my girls, but were instead spent sorting through piles and piles of toys in a probably futile attempt to clean the playroom, once and for all. I was struck by how […]

Melissa & Doug pizza Melissa & Doug money Squinkies Polly pockets

Fall fun and festivities have begun, and this weekend we kicked it off with an Octoberfest at the girls’ school, the first fall carnival of the season, and a rocking 10th anniversary party for one of the hippest couples we know. In between all of the fall fun, I found time to tackle a monster […]