We started our weekend off right with a fresh batch of homemade waffles this morning. While Chris and Mack were upstairs slowly waking up, Evelyn and I worked on breakfast together. I measured the ingredients and she was in charge of pouring everything into the bowl. While she made a big flour mess as she […]

Little Evelyn is a total chocoholic. Just like her grandma, she needs at least a little bite of it every day in order to maintain sanity. So, when my friend Sarah over at PersonalFaves.com blogged about chocolate cookies she recently baked I knew I had to try out the recipe. Evie refused to nap this […]

This afternoon while Mack snoozed Evelyn worked on her first thank you notes. My parents recently treated her to a new winter coat and my husband’s parents bought her some new outfits. So, this was the perfect opportunity to teach her about gratitude and how to show it. Although I had to write the actual […]

We just returned from a long weekend away from the city. We took a three hour drive to Galena, a small town near the Mississippi River where Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin meet. Rolling farmland, lush bluffs, and wide open skies greeted us as we left behind the everyday stresses that tend to weigh us down. […]

Today at the farmer’s market Lane’s End Farm was selling baskets of “ugly” organic tomatoes for $1.50 per ound. While most people would look at the misshapen, bumpy, and uneven colored tomatoes with suspicion, I knew I found a little gold mine! My favorite was this two-for-one tomato that looked like a portly and friendly […]

As I’ve written about countless times before, I really hate plastic. And I especially hate storing food in plastic. All those questionable chemicals leeching into lovely leftovers? No thanks! I have a nice collection of glass storage containers – my favorite are Frigoverre ones that come in plenty of shapes and sizes. I also hang […]

Fellow blogger and mompreneur Lynne recently asked me to try out her homemade lotion. While I am a big fan of using just plain extra virgin olive oil to cure dry skin, I agreed to test out her product. Lynne is devoted to creating beauty products that are safe for her three beautiful daughters, so […]

My family and I recently gathered to celebrate my dad’s 51st birthday. It was a perfect summer day spent in the sunshine. I only recently realized that a lot of my homemade approach to life comes from the example my dad set while I was growing up. He spent summers tending to a very large […]

How often do you consider a product’s packaging before you purchase it? For me, its every time. I am determined to reduce the amount of waste my family generates, so by questioning a product’s wrapping before I buy it I am trying to be a conscious consumer. Instead of just looking at the food in […]

I love summer! After a morning spent at the park, I took Evelyn and Mack to the local farmer’s market. Chicago has a farmer’s market every day from May-October, so I know I can always find fresh produce and meet the people who grow it all. Today’s market was near the Museum of Contemporary Art, […]