I love wearing dresses, but clearly, going bare legged isn't the greatest option if getting from point A to B involves going outside in frigid winter weather. So I was thrilled to find -- in advance of heading to Alt Summit -- Sara Blakely's ASSETS maternity tights. Though slimming features weren't my concern, I was drawn to these tights given Blakely's Spanx reputation, and clearly, Blakely knows how to deliver the goods. The tights are affordable, supportive, true to size, and feature a remarkably comfortable pregnancy panel (I also bought a pair of cheapo back up tights and they were nowhere near as well made). At Alt, while I did go bare legged in a dress one evening (when getting from points A to B/C/D were all within the hotel), I wore the ASSETS tights another night out with a purple dress with cool metal accents and gray peep toe booties. I felt fantastic. And fantastically comfortable. Even after indulging in too many finger foods.

Posted by Christine Koh on 31 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fashion; For Mamas & Mamas-to-be; Pregnancy & Postpartum
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Today, Kate shares a nostalgic oldie but goodie:

My father took me to England when I was eight years old. I remember parts of the trip quite vividly, particularly my first taste of lemon squash (sour!) and my discovery of Roger Hargreaves' wonderful series of Mr. Men and Little Miss books.

The series either hadn't yet made it to the U.S. at the time of my visit or else simply hadn't made it to my local library, but I stocked up on the slim, square, identically-sized mini-volumes during that trip and have kept them until this day. My favorites included Mr. Tickle, Mr. Bump, and Mr. Sneeze, but the happy fact is that all of the books are similar in style and narrative arc (limited and child-friendly). I recently introduced the books to my daughter, and found that she enjoys the colorful blocky drawings, dopey puns, and happy outcomes just as much as I did.

The series has continued to grow in the past decades, and has even branched into successful merchandising and a television show in the U.K. The books are silly but offer the wonderfully reassuring message to children that there could be an alternative reality in which things are strange but recognizable and everything works out well in the end. And, being English, all of the characters eat a lot of toast! Dive into the Mr. Men/Little Miss universe for a fun (and nostalgic!) reading experience.

Posted by Christine Koh on 30 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; For Babies & Kids
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I have some friends from the Midwest who joke regularly about the awful (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) casseroles they grew up on, but there is something so wonderfully easy and practical about the concept of one-dish meals that cover the protein, veggie, and starch angles. This week I was on "casserole patrol" duty to help a friend in need and was utterly thrilled with this Shepherd's Pie recipe from Martha Stewart. Easy to knock together (I made it while entertaining Laurel and a friend) and amenable to adjustments, here are a couple of notes about the recipe:

1. This dish needed to serve two adults + two children so I was concerned about including a medley of little frozen vegetable bits the kids might reject. So I swapped in an equivalent amount of frozen corn (I took a gamble since I have yet to meet a kid who isn't OK with corn) and sliced mushrooms (large enough to pick out if necessary).

2. I made a ton of mashed potatoes because Laurel and I love mashed potatoes and my brain wasn't quite up for mentally converting whole potatoes into mashed cup equivalents. For my mashed potatoes, I make them divine with plenty of butter, milk, and magic salt.

3. I doubled the recipe, thinking I would make larger tray for my friend's family and a smaller one for home. Then I was a little concerned when I realized that the recipe is to fit a 2 quart baking dish -- essentially, a glass 9" x 9" baking dish, which seemed a bit small to bring for casserole patrol. But it worked out fine -- perhaps my meat layer was a little shallower, but it definitely seemed enough, the mushrooms added bulk, plus I had extra mashed potatoes to spare to add to the top. I was able to spread the double batch between a 9" x 13" tray for my friend and a 9" x 9" dish for home.

And the a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/shepherds-pie" target="blank">Shepherd's Pie was fantastic -- so simple but so good! My friend's family loved it, as did Jon, who isn't typically a go crazy over casserole sort of guy. We fought for the leftovers the other night; clearly, when I make this again (possibly tonight since it turns out we're having guests...), I need to make a big batch for home!

Image credit: Martha Stewart

Posted by Christine Koh on 29 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (3) | Filed in Home; Recipes
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There's little new I can say about this month's snow shock, with the exception that I'm impressed that our rotating composter is completely submerged (and our second, taller composter isn't far behind). The good news is that this weekend, the vast snowy expanses will create the perfect backdrop for the Brighton Winter Fun Fair, Dunstable Winterfest, Lincoln Winter Carnival, and Westford Winterfest. And let's hope lil' Phil offers a favorable forecast for us at the Groundhog Day Celebration at Ipswich River.

Image credit: Dunstable Winterfest

Posted by Christine Koh on 28 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Outdoors; Local
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Today, Lindsey shares kudos for the kid's cooking classes at Henrietta's Table. Read on for Lindsey's thoughts, as well as to learn how to win a complimentary cooking class for your child at Henrietta's Table next month:

One cold Saturday last February I took my 7-year-old daughter to "cooking school" at Henrietta's Table in Harvard Square. Neither of us knew what to expect. Chairs and a big demonstration table were set up in the light-filled private room off the main Henrietta's dining room. The kids in the room varied in age from 6 to about 10. Parents had a choice of staying to watch or leaving to enjoy lunch at 10% off (or, in my case, to sit and drink a cup of tea and write, thanks to the hotel's wireless!). The classes run from 12:30 to 2:00 and I stayed for the opening introductory minutes, ducked out to write, then poked my head in to watch for the last half hour.

Chef Davis made homemade chicken stock and pasta with the kids. During the last half hour, the kids were just finishing up their soup, which was ladled into bowls for each child to enjoy. The main demonstration table had been broken into individual tables of 5-6 children, and the chef and other helpers from Henrietta's roamed around the room, talking to the kids. As I had been at the outset of the lesson, I was impressed by Chef Davis's warmth and ease with the children, and the way that he made them comfortable with all sorts of ingredients and kinds of cooking. Parsnips alongside the more familiar carrots? Great. A chicken carcass and bones to make stock? Sure thing. Hand rolling pasta? Awesome!

At the end of the class each child left with a container of soup and the recipe, as well as a warm stomach and tangible sense of accomplishment. To this day, Grace insists that she has never had soup so good. The kid's cooking classes at Henrietta's Table are a great way to spend a cold Saturday -- fun and educational at the same time. Lesson are $20 per child and run from February 5 - 26 this year. Definitely check it out; if you're lucky, perhaps the classes will inspire your child to cook (or help prepare) your next family meal!

Now, want to win a complimentary cooking class at Henrietta's Table next month*? Here's how:

Rules:

Now that we've officially switched from count up to count down mode with this pregnancy (7 weeks to go!), many people have asked what we're naming our second daughter. And as with many responses to questions (e.g., Have you figured out child care? Where will the baby sleep? What do you need for baby stuff?) associated with my remarkably laid back approach to this pregnancy, the answer has been, "Hmm...I have no idea." But a few things recently suggested that it's time to get a move on thinking about this name business -- and I'm hoping you can help me out here:

First, Jon and Laurel composed a hilarious song called, "We Need A Girl's Name." Every time they sing it, I crack up. And then remember that we really do need a girl's name.

Second, I recently thought, "Boston Mamas readers always have great ideas when I float out queries...maybe I should ask about baby names." Then at Altitude Summit last week, Tina Roth Eisenberg shared that she did just that when she was expecting. My first thought was, "Oh no, now I can't do that!" But I decided to go for it anyway. So here we are.

Third, while at the Salt Lake City airport, a cashier -- a lovely woman (from Africa, she later shared) -- looked at me and asked very assuredly, "What are you naming your daughter?" It was almost as if she could see through my belly. Which was both cool and a little freaky.

So far, Jon, Laurel, and I have bounced around some ideas and come up empty handed, and this is where I hope you can help us. Here are some thoughts on the type of name we'd like:

1. A name that isn't completely commonplace but isn't totally bizarre.

2. A name that is nature-inspired like Laurel's would be a lovely parallel but isn't essential.

3. A name with a positive meaning.

4. I tend to prefer 2+ syllable names, though this is not essential and I definitely welcome killer one-syllable names.

5. For a while Laurel was bent on her sister having a name that also started with "L" and was six letters. She has eased up on that idea, but bonus points if you can come up with one!

So my lovely community, thoughts? Please comment in below to share!

Image credit: Super cool retro letterpress nametags from Josh Korwin/Three Steps Ahead on Etsy

Posted by Christine Koh on 25 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (66) | Filed in Pregnancy & Postpartum; Web (Admin)
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As regular readers know, Laurel adores crafts. She also adores holidays. In fact, one of the unexpectedly excellent qualities of the potted Christmas tree I pushed for this year (we plan on planting the tree come spring) is that once we took down the Christmas decorations, Laurel realized she had a blank canvas for...you guessed it...making it a Valentine's Day tree. (Actually, she first suggested creating a Martin Luther King Day tree except it took us too long to remove the Christmas decorations.)

And in addition to decorating the tree, not surprisingly, Laurel is excited to work on Valentine's cards. When I was at Altitude Design Summit, I picked up this absurdly cute love stamp kit at La Bonne Vie (a shop replete with beautiful treats of both the edible and non-edible variety). The set includes 16 heart-shaped, lovingly messaged rubber stamps and a two-color (red/pink) ink pad. You get all of the fun associated with crafting without the sugar high. Love.

Laurel already is having a great time stamping away with this set. And if want a more involved Valentine's project, check out these adorable rosebud Valentines Laurel made last year. Also, love.

Posted by Christine Koh on 24 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Art Supplies & Toys; Holidays; Valentine's Day
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Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that this is a short week here at Boston Mamas, between the school holiday and travel to Salt Lake City. I am so thrilled to be heading to Altitude Design Summit tomorrow -- Alt is a design/lifestyle conference that I admittedly was a tad intimidated to attend last year, so this year I decided that I needed to get over that fear and go. And I'm truly honored to be among this incredible lineup of speakers (which includes lovely friends/talented creatives such as Liz Gumbinner, Amy Turn Sharp, Allison Czarnecki, Laura Mayes, and Laurie Smithwick). While at the conference, I'll be soaking up all things creative, and will also speak alongside Chelsea Fuss, Christine Castro Hughes, and Lisa Warninger about taking the leap into full-time creative work.

In the past, I've posted from the road when I've been at conferences, but in my efforts to live more mindfully, I really want to be present and immerse myself while I'm in Salt Lake City. So I'll see you back here next week. Otherwise, I suspect I'll be sharing design/lifestyle inspiration and insights as I go if you want to follow along on Twitter.

Meanwhile, have a wonderful week! And if you're looking for a little Boston Mamas fix during my absence, there are close to 2,150 posts to peruse in the archives...just scroll down to browse by category or month in the left column. Or I recommend checking out one or more of my back episodes of Life.Style -- so much good content there!

Posted by Christine Koh on 18 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Web (Admin)
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Today, Kate shares a compact, frequently used favorite solution for achieving fresh baked bread at home:

Years ago, my mother bought me my first bread machine. We were shopping together and it was an impulse purchase; one that I treasured simply because my mother -- who was suffering from serious health problems at the time -- had given it to me. After a period of using it, however, I made the dispiriting discovery that bread coming out of the machine all tasted kind of the same, all appeared in an unnatural cube shape, and all featured a peculiar hole at the bottom left over from the kneading blade. And so, I left the bread machine behind while packing for one move or another, thus ending my career as a bread machine user.

That is, until last year, when an ad for the Zojirushi Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker in my beloved King Arthur Flour catalog caught my eye, reigniting my interest. Zojirushi is a Japanese company and a top-notch maker of bread machines, rice cookers, and other kitchen electronics. And as promised, the Mini Breadmaker is an ideal size and shape for small kitchens with limited counter space -- like mine -- and easy to use with a large range of features.

Given my first experience with a bread machine, I now never use the machine to actually bake bread, but instead have it do all the labor-intensive work of kneading and rising. The machine is particularly valuable for eliminating the vicissitudes of the rising cycle, a delicate temperature-sensitive operation that can be difficult to manage with exactitude in a New England apartment. When the dough is finished, I bake it in the oven in a regular-shaped pan and the results are fantastic. (No unnatural cube shape and no funny holes in the bottom of the loaf!)

I've also found good friends in two cookbooks, both of which offer a fine selection of recipes designed for small-sized bread machines: Rehberg and Conway's solid More Bread Machine Magic and the encyclopedic The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. I now use my bread machine at least once a week, and am happy each time with the loaves I produce and the many types of bread with which I can experiment.

Posted by Christine Koh on 16 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; For Grownups; Gadgets; Home
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This week on Life.Style, I engaged in the first of a two-part (at this point...the conversation could have continued for hours!) series on work, life, and parenting; definitely check out the episode if you didn't see it live on Thursday. I chatted with Erin Kane and Kristin Brandt of Manic Mommies about everything from the financial implications of opting out, the pros/cons of working in an office vs. working at home, resources for launching your own business, and strategies for finding personal time and getting a handle on home logistics. Check out the episode for full commentary and inspiration, but for easy reference, below are the conversation point links that were shared during the interviews.

Conversation points with Erin Kane & Kristin Brandt

Financial implications of opting out (by Katy Read)
Work/life balance myth (re: Christine Koh's Blissdom panel)
Work/life balance myth (re: Lisa Belkin interview)
Equally Shared Parenting
Working Moms Against Guilt
Top 5 books for women looking to start their own business (and also, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose)

Posted by Christine Koh on 15 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Family Issues; Life.Style with Christine Koh; Mama in the Workplace; Web (Admin)
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Last week, I officially decided to shelve running until after I deliver the baby. And since yoga subsequently has been my main fitness practice, and since many of the sequences I typically enjoy aren't so great while carrying a giant pumpkin belly, I decided to buy a copy of Prenatal Yoga with Bec Conant following the rave recommendations for Bec (a local prenatal yoga teacher, doula, and hypnobirthing teacher) and her classes when I queried about favorite prenatal yoga classes in Boston.

And I totally dig this DVD and recommend it for expecting moms. The DVD is broken into seven sections (e.g., warm up, sun salutations, wall balances, seated poses, etc.) and you can either skip around or run the DVD in entirety (about 1 hour and 15 minutes). Throughout, you can follow Bec's calm voice and the visual lead of two women in early and later stages of pregnancy. Bec's directives are very good, and she's excellent at providing gentle reminders about the individual nature of the body and practice on a given day. Typically, for new yoga students I recommend attending classes so you can receive corrections and learn the poses properly, but I think this DVD would work for new or less experienced yoga students.

From the perspective of someone with a lot of yoga experience, I've been happy to learn some new poses and stretches that feel utterly delicious, and also learn about them in the context of how they impact my baby and upcoming delivery. At the beginning, I followed the DVD to the letter, and now that I'm familiar with the flow, I add in my own variations and favorite extra poses as I go. It's been wonderful to enjoy a fitness practice dedicated to pregnancy, and following Kate's lead, I'm now looking forward to picking up some additional prenatal fitness DVDs at the library.

Posted by Christine Koh on 14 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (2) | Filed in Pregnancy & Postpartum; Sports & Fitness
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Evadne was too polite to share this, but we were the guests at her brunch, and I ate three servings of this bread pudding, it was so good! See my additional comments at the end of the post:

My husband, the true chef in our family, loves this time of year because he enjoys making warm, hearty foods like stews, braises, and pies. And I love this season because I get to eat what he makes! Recently we had some friends over and he made bread pudding, taking the recipe from his favorite go-to cookbook, Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything.

Typically, I've enjoyed bread pudding as a dessert but we served it as part of a brunch menu...and it really worked, reminding me of cozier version of French toast. The pudding was warm, filling, and just a touch sweet -- the perfect start to a sunny weekend day spent with friends.

Bread Pudding
Makes 6 servings

One cool thing about raising a growing reader is that we're now hitting material that: a) I remember loving as a young girl; and b) still captivates after all these years. Before the holidays, Laurel decided that she wanted to read Little House On The Prairie (a hand me down from her cousin) together, and she loved the characters and story so much that she asked for more Little House books for Christmas (there are nine books in the series). We're currently reading On the Banks of Plum Creek and spent -- I kid you not -- almost two hours cuddled up reading yesterday (and Laurel spent much of dinner filling Jon in about Nellie Oleson).

What I find so wonderful about these books is their translation of simpler times, where homes were built from scratch, water was fetched, food was caught or grown, salt and butter represented luxuries, and pleasures were -- in fact -- simple. I could also see Laurel's wheels turning in both books we've read so far when it came to the chapters around Christmas, where a few pieces of candy and a penny represented wonderful, unexpected treats, or where wishing for a gift for the family (e.g., horses for farming over candy for the self) was rewarding, or where so much joy was found in stringing together a button necklace for a sibling.

Jon and I periodically talk about how the amount of excess in modern living is completely unsustainable. And while I do cherish amenities such as running water, electricity, and being able to get groceries where and when I need them, it also feels critically important to introduce Laurel to the concept that these things haven't always been here, and that if we were pressed to live in simpler times, we could do so. And still be really, really happy.

The Little House books are helping me illustrate those concepts to Laurel; I highly recommend you read these books with your kids.

Posted by Christine Koh on 11 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (10) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; Family Issues; For Babies & Kids; For Grownups
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Today, Heather shares a review of Pop & Lolli's fabric wall art. Read on for Heather's review, as well as to learn how to win a Pop & Lolli wall art kit of your own:

If my oldest daughter had her way, she would change her room décor almost as frequently as she changes her clothes...which is a lot! Since she's recently changed from favoring penguins to owls, it's tough to predict what 2011 will bring. Fortunately for her, I have long been a fan of removable, peel and stick wall art. Wall art is a terrific, fun, and easy way to transform a room without a big commitment. We now have removable wall art in the kids' bedrooms, play room, and finished basement. It's also fun that my four kids are able to decorate (almost) all by themselves!

I recently had a chance to check out some fabric wall stickers from Pop & Lolli, a company that produces over-sized wall art that is modern, colorful, and instantly transforms your wall du jour. Pop & Lolli fabric decals are made in the USA using nontoxic materials -- they're PVC- and lead-free and the adhesive is water based. And when you browse the collection, each set is cuter than the next and can easily be mixed and matched.

Also excellent? The stickers are true to the color and cuteness conveyed on the website and they're durable -- the stickers do not easily tear or stretch as some of the vinyl ones we have tried to use do. Pop & Lolli's wall art even stood up to the adhesive test in our house; each decal continued to stick after each of my four children took turns repositioning them.

In short, Pop & Lolli's wall art not only offers a stylish and fun décor solution for parents, but they're perfect for ever changing little minds!

Now, want to be one of win a Pop & Lolli wall art kit of your own? Here's how:

Rules:

One thing that I quickly learned with Laurel is that her level of content is completely different depending on whether I'm doing something not-so-present such as, say, checking my e-mail vs. crafting alongside her. Of course, her favorite kind of time is when we're working on the same project (e.g., we're finishing a really crazy quilt right now -- Laurel has become impressively facile with my sewing machine!), but when she's working on something like latch hook or pot holders, I'm kind of left hanging. So I've been thinking of -- and getting excited about -- revisiting knitting.

Sadly, some of my favorite knitting shops have gone under in the years since I last knit. So I turned to Twitter/Facebook for favorite recommendations from the community. And look at all of these great leads (which include a couple of non-local online resources too)! I plan on taking Laurel shopping as soon as we finish our quilt since I want to make her a sweater and she has rather firm ideas regarding style and material. The hard part? Deciding where to go!

Recommendations via Twitter:

From @kckphotography: black sheep in Needham. :)

From @LilyLonelyRoad: Windsor Button isn't very glamorous but they always have what I need and are very convenient to the T. : )

From @SaltwtrHillKnit: I'm a fan of @Islandyarn (Waltham; website), Elyssa's Creative Warehse (Newton) & @SheepStreet (Canton; website). Love, love knitting.

From @bluelimephoto: loom with a view in Newburyport!

From @splityarn: Windsor Button downtown or A Good Yarn in Brookline. The trek out to WEBS in Northampton is always worth it too.

From @adjunctmom: I only shop for yarn online given location (FL). Fave by a mile: purlsoho.com

From @CantonMass: Snow Goose in Milton and Sheep Street in Canton

From @leapfroglane: I buy online now... Loop yarn is excellent.

Recommendations via Facebook:

From Danielle: Stitch House Dorchester!

From Kate: Windsor Button!

From Carla: A Good Yarn in Brookline or Black Sheep Knitting in Needham are great!

From Hillary: Used to be Woolcott's in Harvard Sq now it is Wild and Woolly in Lexington.

Thanks for the recommendations everyone! Happy knitting!

Image credit: Sheep Street Yarn Shop

Posted by Christine Koh on 9 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (5) | Filed in Arts & Crafts; Home; Local; Retail
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It was so great to get back into the studio this week, and it was wonderful to kick off my 2011 programming talking about reflections and new routines. Definitely check out the episode if you didn't see it live on Thursday! I chatted about the #reverb10 reflection/manifestation project with Gwen Bell, and about starting and sticking to fitness routines with Leah Segedie of Mamavation. Check out the episode for full commentary and inspiration, but for easy reference, below are the resource links that I shared during the interviews.

Conversation points with Gwen Bell

Reflecting from #reverb10
#reverb10 Flickr pool
Christine Koh's central themes
A musical point of inspiration

Resources:
#reverb10 reflection tools
Gretchen Rubin's tips: how to stick to resolutions
Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies For Modern Life
Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness

Resources from Leah Segedie

Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook
Gruve activity tool
Jackie Warner DVDs
ChaLEAN Extreme
Billy Blanks' Tae-Bo Cardio
EA SPORTS Active
Earth Footwear

Posted by Christine Koh on 8 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; Family Issues; For Grownups; Life.Style with Christine Koh; Sports & Fitness; Web (Admin)
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Today, Carole Arsenault of Boston Baby Nurses shares recommendations for getting back into a food and fitness groove postpartum:

After a holiday season full of delicious and plentiful food, the task of working on getting back your pre-pregnancy body may seem daunting. But with the momentum of the new year, now is the best time to get yourself healthy and in shape. Since your metabolism slows down after pregnancy, a combination of some simple exercises (cardiovascular and muscle strengthening) along with smart food and portioning choices will help you can get fit and stay healthy. Below are simple changes you can make, and safe, easy ways to get your body moving.

Before you start any new workouts or meal plans, please keep a few things in mind:

Begin no earlier than six weeks postpartum. If you just had your baby, don't even think or stress about losing weight for at least six weeks. I know you may feel great and ready to "get back" but it's critical that you keep your body rested and well fed so you have the energy you need to care for yourself and your newborn. When in doubt about when you should start, check with your health care provider.

Achieving healthy weight goals is not about dieting. In fact, your postpartum recovery depends on your body getting enough calories. And if you are breastfeeding, you'll need to keep up your calories to support both you and your baby. Instead of cutting calories, think about what you are eating every day (or even write it down). You will see results and be healthier if you eat frequent, nutrient-packed, small meals throughout the day.

Don't place unrealistic expectations on yourself - think long-term health and fitness. You've probably read and heard this a hundred times, but remember, you were pregnant for the better part of a year and it will take just as long for your body to return to its pre-pregnant state. Don't compare yourselves to friends or colleagues who seem like they just "naturally" slimmed down after giving birth. That is not the norm! Instead, think about the changes you want to make in the coming year, whether that involves toning up your body, dropping pounds, becoming more active, or feeling healthier and more energized. All of these things take dedication and time.

Now, let's begin with a few basic diet changes you can make, not only to make your body feel healthier but also to help you shed a few pounds.

Healthy foods to add to your diet:

Though I found myself a tad depleted at the end of the whirlwind of holiday gatherings and guests we hosted, one thing I love about entertaining is assembling menus and trying out new recipes. (Admittedly -- perhaps not surprisingly given yesterday's tooth fairy post -- I created an Excel based project plan to keep track of the various menus and prep schedules.) And of all the new recipes I tried this holiday season, there were three Martha Stewart recipes that were fantastic and easy. They're my new favorite appetizers and now get real estate in my recipe binders (yes, I have binders) and I wanted to be sure to share them with you.

Cheese ball trifecta. These cheese balls rock. They're easy to make -- you start with a base recipe and split it into three varieties -- and they were all delicious and appealed to different tastes, with the cheddar + cranberry being sweet/mild, the Roquefort + walnut being wonderfully "stinky" (as Laurel calls it), and the goat cheese + scallion being creamy and rich. I followed Martha's cheese ball pairings (water crackers, vegetable chips, and cucumber, respectively) and they were the perfect vehicles for the cheese. One note: this recipe yields a lot of cheese ball action. You could halve the recipe, or I ended up making the full batch and using it across two parties.

Artichoke dip. I love artichoke dip but strangely, had never made it myself before. And, well, this yummy recipe encouraged me to eat a lot more raw vegetables than I normally would on a cold winter day! The dip keeps well too and is delicious reheated. It would also serve well to fancy up a sandwich.

Orange spiced cashews. I made this cashew recipe to go with Martha's butternut squash soup (per the soup recipe recommendation). And while I found the soup rather unremarkable, the cashews were fantastic, even without the coriander (I didn't have any) and cayenne (I'm not into hot stuff right now). I put the cashews out in a pretty dish Laurel painted at Clay Dreams and our guests happily munched the cashews down by the handful -- it's a good thing I made a double batch!

Enjoy!

Image credit: Martha Stewart cheese ball recipe

Posted by Christine Koh on 6 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Home; Recipes
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A few years ago, Tracy wrote about her tooth fairy conundrum, but it wasn't until recently -- Laurel is 6 and eagerly awaiting the loss of her first tooth -- that I started suffering my own angst on the topic. Since most of Laurel's friends have already lost teeth, she keeps asking about the tooth fairy's going rate (and, um, she knows that we are the tooth fairy). And quite frankly, she keeps horrifying me, telling me what her friends are getting. So a couple of nights ago I turned to Twitter and Facebook, and decided to map out some hard data for my own, and your, purposes.

THE BACK STORY:

As context, I should say that as a kid, my parents didn't do tooth fairy duty. Usually my older siblings filled in and the gifts were usually a quarter or a used (as in, pieces of it were already cut out) Ranger Rick magazine. And I was happy. It was all so simple.

But this past weekend I heard rates starting at $3 but averaging around $5-10 per tooth. And to respond to some of the queries I received on Twitter, no, it's not because I co-mingle with high society in a wealthy Boston district or suburb. In fact, when I tell people where I (very happily) live, usually their first (rather clueless) question is, "Aren't you worried about the schools?" I love our community of parents here -- they're cool, reasonable people who I don't consider overly materialistic.

Nevertheless, these rates seem out of joint. And I also acknowledge that this issue is tweaking a deeper nerve in that I feel as if Jon and I are raising Laurel to be reasonable in her wants and aware that so many people have so little. So when I hear her complain when I say that the $5-10/tooth rate is absurd, I fear that she is becoming greedy or spoiled, or will become one of those kids who used to taunt me for not owning Guess jeans in middle school. Realistically, I think Laurel's response is probably age appropriate -- she's hearing things on the peer circuit and it feels unfair to not receive the same.

Clearly, I need to see my therapist about my issues; meanwhile, I queried about this topic and collected data. Informal yes, and it's very possible that those paying out $5-10 (or more) per tooth were unwilling to respond due to fear of persecution, but an N of about 70 for a fleeting tweet/status update seemed pretty decent to me in terms of data collection. (If only it had been so easy when I was collecting data during my Ph.D./postdoctoral fellowship!)

NOW, ON TO THE DATA:

So here's what I found. Because I'm an über dork, I even made graphs (though I apologize to my fellow statisticians for not including standard error bars -- click on the graphs to see the enlarged versions):

I love gifting photo calendars. Yes, it takes a bit of effort to collect the photos (and, if you're like me, neurotically arrange them so that the photos are seasonally in line with the months), but they're always a hit, particularly with Laurel's grandparents, who not only love the photos, but also favor paper date keeping. And last month I was thrilled to discover Minted's pretty photo calendars. Read on to learn more about them, as well as how to be one of three winners to receive a $200 gift certificate to Minted!

So, I've actually known about Minted for a while. They're a hub for indie designers and I have participated in a few of their design challenges (and am honored to have some of my designs represented in their collections). That said, given that I'm a designer who creates my own stationery, invitations, and so forth, I had never actually shopped Minted.

However, last month Minted contacted me about their photo calendars and I was definitely interested in checking them out given my aforementioned love of calendar gifting. In the past, I have used larger photo sites for calendars, but not surprisingly, I'm all in favor of supporting indie design, plus I was curious to see how Minted's output compared to the big box competitors.

So here's the skinny: Minted offers two calendar sizes -- standard (8 x 11.5 inch; $45) and grand (11.5 x 14 inch; $55) -- in close to 40 styles that span modern, vintage, floral, and other styles. I ordered a standard calendar for my father-in-law ("Wish You Were Here") and a grand calendar ("Fling") for my mom. Though both are lovely, between the two sizes, I'd definitely recommend the grand, simply because there's more room to write in the calendar boxes.

The photo uploading and calendar creation process is straightforward. I didn't look at all of the calendars, but it seems that you can choose between 3 or so background options per calendar and include 1-3 photos per month. Being a usability freak (and thinking about Minted's competition), what I would love to see them improve on is the ability to: 1) pick your start month (i.e., not simply defaulting to January, particularly since I like gifting photo calendars on birthdays and thus want them to start on the birth month); 2) allow you to edit the cover text completely (for example, when I was first browsing calendars, some of my initial style choices had words -- e.g., "with love" and "the" -- that I couldn't edit); and 3) have more control over photo cropping. Regarding point #3, it seemed photos worked best if they were originally in vertical orientation; otherwise I had to crop horizontal photos so their tops and bottoms wouldn't get cut off -- this required a little trial and error.

Now, these details aside, I will say that these calendars are in a league of their own quality wise. The photos translate beautifully, the designs clearly speak indie and awesome, and the textured paper stock was what surprised me most -- no flimsy, chintzy paper here. It's the kind of textured stock that looks beautiful and that one would actually feel inspired to put a good pen to. Added bonus? Both calendars included "recycle me" type ideas on the reverse of some of the calendar pages to encourage repurposing.

And of course most important of all, my father-in-law and mom (as well as the other family members who were present when the gifts were opened) freaked out when they opened the calendars. Several people actually asked if I had produced the calendars in my studio (thanks for the compliment guys!) given that the product was so much more artful than run of the mill photo calendars. And of course everyone loved flipping through the photos.

So if you're looking for a lovely gift for a friend, family member, or yourself, gather your photos and order one of these calendars. They're so pretty that they'll make you look forward to all dates forthcoming.

Now, want to be one of three winners to receive a $200 gift certificate to Minted? Here's how:

Rules:

Hello everyone and Happy New Year! I hope you had a lovely and restful winter break. I missed you all, though the break was really lovely (and also logistically necessary since we had a steady stream of friends and family in and out of our house for 10 days straight). That said, I did remain connected online minimally, primarily in order to complete my participation in a writing initiative called #reverb10, where I reflected daily through December on the closing and coming years. As I went through the posts on the last day of the initiative, I clearly could see simple yet powerful common threads -- and that they translated to 11 New Year's wishes I have for all of you.

Here are my 11 wishes for you all, including links to the back story -- or stories -- on each.

1. Treasure your relationships and communities.

2. Find joy and gratitude in the everyday.

3. Let go of emotional and material baggage.

4. Accept yourself.

5. Take action and seek adventure.

6. Experience the fun and creativity in making stuff.

7. Trust your instincts.

8. Give your body the food it deserves.

9. Trust in your abilities and in the universe.

10. Embrace imperfection.

11. Be present in the moment.

I'm sending you all lots of warm wishes for a wonderful 2011. Thank you for being part of this community!

Posted by Christine Koh on 3 Jan 2011 | Permalink | Comments (3) | Filed in Web (Admin)
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