Kids: Monster Letters

Designer Joey Ellis came up with a clever way to help his son learn the alphabet: Letter Monsters. They are delightful, and made me giggle. Plus, I began thinking of all the designs I could come up with to help my daughter with her ABC's.

Interiors/Kids: Spring Greening Cleaning

I have finally returned to my blog after quite an absence. We had a lovely vacation, but now I am faced with Spring weather (finally!), and a house that truly needs to be scrubbed. With the baby in our lives, and the word 'green' on everyone's lips, I have been researching the best ways to clean in a non-toxic way. Here are a few things I found:

Porcelain & Tile:

Keep your bathrooms and kitchen tile spotless and hygienic without harsh commercial cleaners. Give these natural remedies a try:

Baking Soda and Water (with kosher salt): Dust surfaces with baking soda, then scrub with a moist sponge or cloth. If you have tougher grime, sprinkle on some kosher salt, and work up some elbow grease.

Lemon Juice or Vinegar: Got stains, mildew or grease streaks? Spray or douse with lemon juice or vinegar. Let sit a few minutes, then scrub with a stiff brush.

Disinfectant: Instead of bleach, make your own disinfectant by mixing 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap and 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil. It's easy!

Kitchen:

The room where food is prepared, stored and often enjoyed requires constant vigilance. Splatters, spills and errant crumbs can build up and collect out of sight, possibly encouraging harmful bacteria. Give your kitchen a thorough going over this spring.

Baking Soda and Water: Reclaim counters by sprinkling with baking soda, then scrubbing with a damp cloth or sponge. If you have stains, knead the baking soda and water into a paste and let set for a while before you remove. This method also works great for stainless steel sinks, cutting boards, containers, refrigerators, oven tops and more.

Kosher Salt and Water: If you need a tougher abrasive sprinkle on kosher salt, and scrub with a wet cloth or sponge.

Natural Disinfectant: To knock out germs without strong products, mix 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap and 20 to 30 drops of tea tree oil. Spray or rub on counter tops and other kitchen surfaces.

Windows:

Nobody wants to clean windows when it's cold out, so take advantage of balmy breezes to bring some clarity to your life. Instead of sprays you buy at the store, discover this highly effective, simple solution:

White Vinegar, Water and Newspaper: Mix 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with a gallon of water, and dispense into a used spray bottle. Squirt on, then scrub with newspaper, not paper towels, which cause streaking.

If you're out of vinegar or don't like its smell, you can substitute undiluted lemon juice or club soda.

Carpets:

Keeping carpets clean is less daunting than you might think, even after a season of tracked-in dirt and salt.

Beat Those Rugs: Take any removable rugs outside and beat the dust and hair out with a broom.

Club Soda:You've probably heard the old adage that club soda works well on carpet stains. But you have to attack the mess right away. Lift off any solids, then liberally pour on club soda. Blot with an old rag. The soda's carbonation brings the spill to the surface, and the salts in the soda thwart staining.

Cornmeal: For big spills, dump cornmeal on the mess, wait 5 to 15 minutes, and vacuum up the gunk.

Spot Cleaner: Make your own by mixing: 1/4 cup liquid soap or detergent in a blender, with 1/3 cup water. Mix until foamy. Spray on, then rinse with vinegar.

To Deodorize: Sprinkle baking soda or cornstarch on the carpet or rug, using about 1 cup per medium-sized room. Vacuum after 30 minutes.

Wood Floors:

Hardwood floors are beautiful, hygienic, long lasting and add value to your home. They are easy to vacuum, but don't do well with wet mopping. So how do you restore their natural glow without roughing them up?

Vinegar: Whip up a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 30 ounces of warm water. Put in a recycled spray bottle, then spray on a cotton rag or towel until lightly damp. Then mop your floors, scrubbing away any grime.

Oven:

Conventional oven cleaning chemicals are loaded with toxic ingredients, including ethers, ethylene glycol, lye (sodium and potassium hydroxide), methylene chloride and petroleum distillates. The products are harmful to skin and eyes, and the fumes are unhealthy. Instead, go natural!

Baking Soda and Water: Coat the inside of your dirty appliance with a paste made from water and baking soda. Let stand overnight. Then, don gloves and scour off that grime. Make spotless with a moist cloth.

Clogged Drains:

A stopped up sink or tub is a real hassle, but pouring toxic chemicals like Drano on them isn't so wise. Not only will that pollute our waterways, but the products can cause chemical burns and are highly dangerous if ingested. Do you really want that in your home?

Baking Soda and Boiling Water (vinegar if needed): Feeling plugged up? Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the problem drain, followed by 2 cups of boiling water. If that isn't doing it for you, chase the baking soda with a 1/2 cup of vinegar and cover tightly, allowing the vigorous fizzing of the chemical reaction to break up the gunk. Then flush that with one gallon of boiling water.

Antique Linens

Whether you have fine family heirloom pieces or something with character you picked up at an estate sale for a song, you're eventually going to have to wash your antique linens. Even with advanced settings on today's washing machines, you still may want to address fragile fabrics by hand.

Sunlight: What could be easier than sanitizing and removing stains...with sunlight! (Just don't do it too often with fragile pieces, because they can start to breakdown). Simply lay your old lace, curtains and other fine linens on the grass in the sun for a few hours. Dirtier pieces can be dampened first.

Boiling: If that doesn't do the trick, fill a pot with water and bring to a boil on your stove top. Drop in linens and let steep until stains lift.

Detergent and Borax: Mix dishwasher detergent and borax together until you get a thick rubbing paste. Rub into soiled linens, then rinse clean.
Peroxide: If you have stubborn stains, try spraying them with peroxide, then rinsing with water.




Metals:
Toothpaste: If you can't immerse your items or are otherwise inclined to polish by hand, rub tarnished silver with toothpaste and a soft cloth. Rinse with warm water and dry. Instead of toothpaste you can substitute a concoction made of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water.
Commercial silver polish contains toxins, and manufacturers recommend you don't leave on skin too long. Do you really want something like that spread over your flatware?

Silver

Aluminum Foil, Boiling Water, Baking Soda and Salt: Keep your sterling shined with this seemingly magic method. Line your sink or a bucket with aluminum foil, and drop in tarnished silver. Pour in boiling water, a cup of baking soda and a dash of salt. Let sit for a few minutes. The tarnish will transfer from the silver to the foil.

Toothpaste: If you can't immerse your items or are otherwise inclined to polish by hand, rub tarnished silver with toothpaste and a soft cloth. Rinse with warm water and dry. Instead of toothpaste you can substitute a concoction made of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water.
Copper

Ketchup: To keep your copper pots, pans and accents looking bright and shiny, try rubbing with ketchup.





The Daily Green

Interiors: Loggia a Go Go

The first day I ever talked with my man, we discussed the topic of our ideal homes, our dream homes, and discovered that we shared a near-identical fantasy of the house we would one day build. It was one of many, many things that made us sure we were the others 'one'. "And," he said, "It would have a covered outdoor living space right off the house." "Oh! Yes! It would have a loggia!" I exclaimed. "Um, yeah, one of those," he replied. Secretly, I was proud that I knew the name of this divine architectural invention when it was a design best loved in Italy, his own family's ancestral domain.
As the weather begins to warm, and afternoon thunderstorms roll in with false bravado, I have a desperate need for our fantasy loggia. So in the effort to keep our dreams fresh and in the forefront of our sometime over-burdened minds, I rounded up some delightful loggias:

I could live here with very little complaint:

The classic Tuscan fantasy (for us, at least):

This is decorated a bit too Southern Living for my taste, but still makes my heart twitter:

Big rustic dinner parties with lots of good wine? We need them here:

This is right out of a novel:

This one calls for morning mimosas:

I want to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book in front of this hearth during a good thunderstorm:

perfection:

Clearly, I need to make a lot of money...

Interiors: Blogger Design Gauntlet Has Been Flung!!!

Dear Christy over at In The Cottage has tagged me in a personal style challenge. The idea is to find one (1!) room represented online that sums up your personal style. This is no easy task. I love, love, LOVE interiors, and almost every design layout has something I love in it. It was also hard to separate out the rooms I fantasize about having in my dream home (or, one of many dream homes), and rooms I would actually create out of my current head space.
From Sproost:
I love using antiques (and I mean using them), and I have many rescued items out of alleys. I love using color and I am fearless with a paintbrush. I also like this room because it looks both modern and decayed, like there should both be a Lichtenstein print on the wall and autumn leaves in some of the corners. It's ladylike but also irreverent (like me), a little formal, a little quirky. I'll probably find an more accurate room right after I post, but this room spoke to me: "I am meant to be yours..."

I dare my favorite interior girlie Ashley over at Decorology to do this wonderful challenge next!

Fashion: You're Beautiful. Yes, you.

Next time you get down about your appearance after flipping through Vogue, remember this:

Food: Birthday Deliciousness

For my first birthday as a mommy, my man graciously decided to take on all the party planning and cooking himself. He started with a lot of local ingredients, and we ended up with an elaborate antipasto platter of Volpi salamis, mixed olives, artichoke hearts, marinated peppers and cauliflower, and three different Italian cheeses, plus fresh bread, and a huge Salade Caprese.
I was so busy juggling a stranger-anxiety ridden baby, and trying to socialize that I utterly forgot to take pictures...

He then served us all a delicious linguine dish with fresh asparagus, a lemony sauce and pan-fried bread crumbs. Everyone loved it. Next was a soft polenta dish with salcissa, ham and pancetta, flavored with a bit of rosemary. I was quite flattered he went to the effort to throw such an elaborate first dinner party in my honor.
The recipes for the main dishes came from Loukie Werle's 'Italian Country Cooking - The Secrets of Cucina Povera'.
I have to say, it's an inspiring cookbook; beautiful photos, easy and extremely delicious recipes. Check it out.

Kids/Food: So Cute Caterpillar!

From the fabulous ladies of Coco Cake, a super cute idea for a kiddie birthday cake ala Eric Carle:

Fashion: New Kicks For Today's Economy

I was pleasantly surprised to discover cute shoes at Payless, that's right, Payless, for cheap cheap cheap! Each pair below is less than $39. You can fulfill your new shoe yen!

Kids: Keeping Up With Baby

Our baby is very alert and active, and has been so since the early days. There are times I feel like she's bored with me, so I started searching for other things to do together.

http://www.gameswithbaby.com/ Has a good variety of activities based on age ranges.

Painting with Emerson:

Below is some advice from iVillage that will be appropriate for her in several months:

Creativity is natural in children. You can see it as early as the first few months when an infant experiments with the sounds she can make and squeals with delight at what she hears.

Or watch a toddler at work with blocks, and see how many ways he tries to stack a pile before coming up with a topple-proof design. As verbal skills and physical dexterity increase, preschoolers express their natural inventiveness in many ways -- indulging in word play, submerging into imaginary worlds and transforming simple objects into favorite toys.

Because creativity helps us live joyously and wisely, it may be every bit as significant as reading, writing or manners as children grow up. If you're looking for low-cost, easy and imaginative activities you and your child can do together, try these five: Imaginary Stew, Homemade Toys, Family Band, Neighborhood Walk and Dirtyville.

Imaginary Stew
Get out a big pot and take turns choosing all the silly things you can put in your supper. A sprinkling of pine cone? A dash of talcum powder? A hearty helping of crayons? Fine dining!

Homemade Toys
Go exploring with your child at home; see what you find in your drawers, cabinets and closets; and then play with everything. Turn a shoebox into a make-believe truck. Get out the ruler and measure each other. Build a miniature junk palace. What can you make from the trove of items you discover?

Family Band
Turn on the stereo and get out your kitchen instruments. Coffee beans in a tin can make an ideal maraca. Wooden bowls and spoons are easy drums. Metal whisks and colanders double as timpani and cymbals. Turn up the jazz, classical or rock and roll, and play that funky music.

Neighborhood Walk
See your neighborhood together for the first time by talking about everything you come across. Ask your child questions that invite creative answers: "What do you think that cat ate for breakfast?" Make up games along the way: "How many different kinds of animals can we find?" Or start a collection of pretty rocks, shells or leaves.

Dirtyville
Find a controlled space in your home to dub Dirtyville, at least for a couple of hours. Place a tarp down to collect the chaos. Then get out giant pieces of paper, paint, glue, safety scissors, string, old magazines, colorful feathers, glitter. Roll up your child's sleeves (and yours too!) and create paintings, collages, sculptures -- no masterpiece is too messy!

What do you do to surprise and delight your baby?

Food: Twangy Goodness

It's almost that time of year again... the Friday mornings just warm enough that I feel the need to go to the farmer's market and buy way, way too many fruits and vegetables. I've learned that if I go by myself, baby in tow, I am limited by the weight of what I can carry, but it is so much fun going to our favorite market that I am hard-pressed to leave the man at home. One thing we always end up with too many of are perfect, sweet little clementines. This year (not being pregnant, and excited to invent some fantastic summer adult beverages for entertaining), I've decided to pay homage to my man's ethnicity and our neighborhood (though stretching the rules just a bit...): Behold, the Clemencello.
Of course based on limoncello, I thought this would be a fun way to upcycle all those peels we're going to generate in the not too distant future.

Ingredients

10 clementines (or try a combination of tangerines,clementines,mandarins and Valencia oranges), washed and dried
1 bottle of vodka (750 milliliters, 80 to 100 proof)
2 cups sugar
2 cups water

Steps

1. With a Microplane, zest the surface of the tangerines and oranges, being careful to only take off the top layer; if you scrape too hard, you’ll end up with the pith (the white membrane under the peel), which results in a too-bitter brew. Add the zest to a large clean jar.
2. Pour the vodka over the zest and seal the container. Let sit undisturbed in a cool, dark place for 3 to 4 weeks.
3. Place 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar has dissolved, then remove the pan from the heat. Let the sugar syrup cool to room temperature.
4. Add half of the cooled syrup to the orange peel-vodka mixture, stir, and taste. If it’s not sweet enough, continue adding more syrup until you like the taste of it.
5. Pour the clemencello through a funnel lined with a coffee filter or cheesecloth into a large spouted pitcher. Divide the clemencello among gift bottles and seal.
6. Store clemencello in the freezer. To serve, pour into small glasses and offer it for dessert with a plate of biscotti and/or chocolate truffles.

This content is from the Culinate Kitchen collection.

Kids: Baby Needs A New Pair of Shoes

Our little one has been acting like she's going to skip on the crawling, and move right on to cruising. I've been dreaming of cute shoes for her, and I've rounded a few up on Etsy (and one major label):

1. BittyChouChou, 2. & 3. PediPed, 4. TwentySecondStreet,
5. BitzyBoots, 6. & 7. GraciousMay (my favorites!),
8. PreciousPatterns - Lots of great, inexpensive patterns for those of you who are crafty

Food/Kids: How Freaking Cute!

Here's an adorable tea party idea from
Chocolate on My Cranium:

Petite Watermelons

2 limes

1 small box of red Jello

mini chocolate chips

Cut both limes in half lengthwise. Scoop out all the fruit with a spoon. Place the limes in a muffin tin to keep them from tipping over. Make the box of Jello according to the Jiggler directions. Carefully spoon Jello into the limes halves. Chill until almost firm. Using a skewer push the mini chocolate chips into the Jello for "watermelon seeds." Chill until until firm, then cut into slices.

Thanks Ms. Cocoa!!!

Gardening/Food: Purslane is Green!

I often tire of the strange food trends that seem to grasp the country for months or years at a time, and then vanish, leaving the poor ingredient, who never did anything wrong, relegated to the shelf of 'dated ingredients'; where things like Jello-O molds, sun-dried tomatoes and canapes have been known to hang out. One trend I will be happy to see go the way of the feta (whose passing I still mourn) is arugula. I don't like the stuff, and it has gotten in the way of perfectly good salads, sandwiches and pastas in the past years. Maybe it's just an uncultured palate on my part (which I doubt, and will be happy to provide you with proof, if challenged), but the tough and decidedly un-tasty arugula is not my friend.

Recently, I have discovered an exceptional replacement: Purslane.

It's eaten more in the Middle East, and here, in America, it is considered an invasive weed. Which means, I thought, the likelihood of being able to snip it out of my own yard is relatively good. I could have culinary adventures, and rid the countryside (or, rather, city-side, but you get the gist) of this hated interloper. How Green! How Delicious!

AND it is ridiculously healthy -- a veritable Super Food! I have included a bit of the Wikipedia entry for purslane below, as its health benefits are so numerous I would just be exhausted after typing them all -- too exhausted to go out and forage.

You can also buy purslane at many nurseries, but I encourage you to plant it in a big pot on your patio as it is, as I stated above, highly invasive.

"Although purslane is considered a weed in the United States, it can be eaten as a leaf vegetable. It has a slightly sour and salty taste and is eaten throughout much of Europe, Asia and Mexico.^[3][1] The stems, leaves and flower buds are all good to eat. Purslane can be used fresh as a salad, stir-fried, or cooked like spinach, and because of its mucilaginous quality it is also suitable for soups and stews. Australian Aborigines used to use the seeds to make seedcakes.

Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular^[4]) than any other leafy vegetable plant. Simopoulos states that Purslane has .01 mg/g of EPA. This is an extraordinary amount of EPA for land based vegetable sources. EPA is an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found mostly in fish, some algae and flax seeds. ^[5] It also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin A, vitamin C, and some vitamin B and carotenoids), as well as dietary minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. Also present are two types of betalain alkaloid pigments, the reddish betacyanins (visible in the coloration of the stems) and the yellow betaxanthins (noticeable in the flowers and in the slight yellowish cast of the leaves). Both of these pigment types are potent antioxidants and have been found to have antimutagenic properties in laboratory studies.^[6]

100 grams of fresh purslane leaves (about 1 cup) contain 300 to 400 mg of alpha-linolenic acid. One cup of cooked leaves contains 90 mg of calcium, 561 mg of potassium, and more than 2,000 IUs of vitamin A."

Purslane, Meyer Lemon and Pear Salad with Kaffir Lime Vinnaigrette
From Gourmet 2003

For vinaigrette

• 1 lemon
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, 1 or 2 tough outer leaves discarded and root end trimmed
• 3/4 cup chicken stock or broth
• 1 small (1 1/2- to 2-inch) dried chile (preferably Thai)
• 6 (2- by 1 1/4-inch) fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh chervil
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

For salad

• 1 Meyer lemon
• 6 firm-ripe small Seckel pears (3/4 pound total)
• 6 radishes, trimmed
• 3/4 pound purslane, coarse stems discarded
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Fleur de sel to taste

• Accompaniment: jasmine rice crackers
• Special equipment: a Japanese Benriner or other adjustable-blade slicer

Preparation

Make vinaigrette:
Cut peel, including white pith, from lemon with a small sharp knife. Working over a bowl to catch juices, cut lemon segments free from membranes, letting segments drop into bowl.

Crush lemongrass stalk with side of a heavy knife (to release oils), then thinly slice. Bring stock, lemongrass, and chile to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan. Cover pan and remove from heat, then let stand 20 minutes.

Return to a boil and add lemon segments with juice and lime leaves. Cover pan and remove from heat, then let stand 20 minutes more.

Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl, discarding solids, then return to saucepan and whisk in oil. Bring vinaigrette to a boil and whisk in cornstarch mixture, then simmer, whisking occasionally, 2 minutes. Cool completely. Whisk in herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Make salad:
Using slicer, cut Meyer lemon (with skin) crosswise, pears lengthwise (discarding cores), and radishes lengthwise into very thin slices (about 1/16 inch thick) and transfer to a large bowl. Add purslane, oil, lemon juice, and fleur de sel and pepper to taste and toss gently.

Divide salad among 6 plates and spoon vinaigrette over and around each. Serve salads with jasmine crackers on the side.

Cooks' note: ·Vinaigrette (without herbs) can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature, then whisk in herbs just before serving.