When I was growing up my mom always prepared healthy and hearty homemade dinner.  All seven of us would gather together in the dining room to discuss our days and enjoy the meal.  It was a normal part of our daily routine. My mom never shied away from turning a regular weeknight dinner into a […]

Even though its the dead of winter and snow covers the ground, we enjoyed a flavorful homemade tomato soup for dinner tonight.  There’s no way fresh tomatoes found at the grocery store this time of the year could carry a meal like this, so I’m grateful for the many pints of organic heirloom tomatoes I […]

I recently saw an advertisement for a premium vanilla extract in the Sunday newspaper. The ad pointed out that many popular brands of “pure” vanilla extract actually contain high fructose corn syrup, a highly processed food additive that I don’t let in my house or in my body.  Certain that the brand of vanilla extract […]

My dear friend Adrienne stopped by for tea this morning.  She is due very soon with her first baby, so we had a lot of fun talking about all the excitement and love in her life.  Such a special time for her! To make her visit more of an occasion I baked a fresh batch […]

The super cute knitting baby shower my mom, sisters and grandma hosted for me last year was recently mentioned on Babycenter.com as a green alternative to the usual baby shower.  Instead of giving me more stuff, my relatives and friends knit squares of a warm and cozy baby blanket.  Such a sweet way to welcome […]

I was recently interviewed for an article about green-themed New Year’s resolutions.  At first it took me a while to come up with one – I make an effort every day to green my life.  It quickly dawned on me that the best way for me to continue the green lifestyle is to share it […]

One of the saddest parts about this gray time of the year is the lack of fresh local produce. We visit our neighborhood farmer’s market every week during the summer, so adjusting to imported vegetables can be a subtle shock to the palate. However, my entire family finds great delight in the adorable little clementine […]

Such a nice Christmas!  Our families and Santa were very generous to my two little ones – Evelyn finally got her baby bed! –  so we spent much of the day playing with new toys.  And, for the first time in 13 years we enjoyed a white Christmas. We started the day with a very […]

Christmas Eve is here! Perhaps one of the best parts about celebrating holidays as a married couple is merging family traditions and creating new ones in the process. When my husband was growing up his mom always made a cookie bar called a Chinese Chew. The recipe originated in a fundraising cookbook for her high […]

Christmas fun continues! I don’t want to believe that Christmas is the day after tomorrow. The kids really enjoy all the festive decorations and music, and I think we’ll all be a little sad when it comes time to pack everything away. My favorite part of today was when Mack danced for the first time! […]