Sorry I’ve been a little MIA. Three kids is no joke.  A fun no joke.

I have a quick post of an idea my husband had because my 2 and 4 year old ALWAYS leak popsicles all over themselves and their clothes AND they become a sticky mess.  Here’s his genius idea:

He took a cupcake wrapper and put it on the stick to help with the leaking everywhere!

Yeah, he’s kind of smart.

I love cooking, it’s therapeutic for me. When I worked in a fine dining restaurant I was always looking at what the chefs were doing and asking questions, trying to figure out what they did and what tools they were using. I love trying out fancy recipes. I have grand visions of being the next Tim Love, and opening my own line of restaurants…but then I remember how much I like nights, weekends, and holidays. Now, I may not be able to cook exactly like the pros, but I can get pretty darn close, and I have a few favorite tools that help me get there.

A Microplane Zester/Grater – There is nothing like fresh citrus zest to add a little something extra to a meal. I also love this for grated nutmeg and ginger, and for hard cheeses, it’s perfect. There’s lots of different styles and they’re cheap enough that everyone should have one.

Mandoline – I take this out every chance I get. It makes precision cuts that improve presentation. My particular model has a few different blades that make fries, chips, and juliennes vegetables so easy. The only downside is that you will cut yourself, and it is SHARP. Just be sure not to cut off your entire finger. Again, there are lots of styles and come with varying price tags.

An Immersion Blender – I use this for so much: emulsifying vinaigrettes, sauces, purees, soups, pesto, smoothies. Everything is easily made smoother quickly without having to resort to large blender. Whipped cream is my favorite to make with this. I hate my clunky handheld blender. Immersion blenders are also really easy to clean and many models are dishwasher safe. You can get a nice model for under $40, or splurge and get the deluxe version with all the bells and whistles for $100.

A Pressure Cooker – Now you may be thinking to yourself, “Wait, didn’t Grandma have one of those that exploded?” Maybe, but nowadays pressure cookers are quite safe. And there’s nothing else that can cut down on cooking time as much as this. You can make your own stock with the best flavor imaginable in only 15 minutes. Braising likewise takes far less time. Get a quality, good sized, electronic pressure cooker and it will be worth it’s weight in gold.

Sous-Vide Immersion Circulator – This last one, you may not have heard of. It was developed for labs but brought into kitchens when chefs realized it’s cooking implications. This machine, when placed in water, will circulate the water and keep it at a constant temperature to one tenth of a degree. Foods (mostly meats) are placed in an airtight plastic bag and put in the water where it cooks in it’s own juice creating the most tender and moist food you will ever have. Steaks will be the perfect temperature from edge to edge, and not just in the middle. And because the temperature is constant, you can begin cooking and leave to do whatever else you need with no danger of overcooking. These machines used to be exclusively for restaurants, but home versions like this one have recently been produced and can be purchased for around $200. Granted, a food vacuum sealer (which I recommend with this) will drive up the price, but you can brag to your friends that you were the first to have this.

Note: Huge fan of Tim Love’s Flavor Essentials at Love Bodega.

My kids are getting older, and so far I can’t figure out how or why. But I am working on a way to stop and even reverse the process. No luck yet, but I am hopeful. In the meantime, I have to face the awful reality that my kids will soon be facing some pretty big challenges like driving. And with driving comes the freedom to travel and hang out with friends at parties. Which at some point may have alcohol involved. At this point some of you are putting your fingers in your ears and yelling to drown out the noise. Well stop. First off, you’re reading this, so it’s not doing any good. Second, these are the facts. Trying to stop your child from attending any function that may expose them to drugs or alcohol just won’t work. They’ll find their way there, either by accident, or by design. The only thing we as parents can do, is educate our kids, set some rules, and try to instill good judgment. I’m a parent who believes in giving my kids as many facts as I can so they can figure out for themselves which is the best path to take. So in light of that, I’ve gathered some information on drinking and driving, specifically for those who are under 21.

Drinking alcohol when under 21 is illegal anyway, but when paired with driving, the penalties can be severe. One of the biggest problems with underage drinking is that those who do it often binge drink. On average, those under 21 who are involved in drunk driving accidents have a BAC 5 times the legal limit for adults. This leads to massive lapses in judgment and can cause severe accidents.

Every state has a Zero Tolerance Law. Which means that you will get a DUI if your BAC is above 0%-0.02%, depending on the state. Just a sip can land you in serious trouble. The fines for those under 21 are also inflated. Again, this varies from state to state and ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars and jail time from 24 hours to a year. There’s also a probationary period of 3-5 years and community service and alcohol education classes may need to be taken care of. Many states even have “Use or Lose” laws under which a person under 21 using drugs or alcohol will have their license suspended whether they were driving or not.

The effects of an under 21 DUI are much longer lasting than jail time. Insurance rates will skyrocket. Job applications can be severely impacted. Also, much to my surprise, college applications and financial aid can be denied due to an underage DUI.

The negative impact this can have on a child’s life are staggering. Make sure your child has all the facts, and more importantly, all the household rules against drinking. Tell them early, and tell them often.

The negative impact this can have on a child’s life are staggering, and there are many preventative optins you could take. You can make sure you have a DUI attorney on retainer for any incidents that may occur, or you could make sure your child has all the facts, and more importantly, all the household rules against drinking. Tell them early, and tell them often.

Human exploitation, conflict diamonds and environmental damage are all major issues facing the jewelry industry today. Many, if not most, jewelers do not deal with these and turn a blind eye. Introducing Ingle & Rhode, a jeweler that not only recognizes these issues, but has created a solution.

Ingle & Rhode have extensively investigated and pioneered a supply chain that allows them to trace the origin of all materials (gold, diamonds, etc.) used in their jewelry.  This chain gives their customers peace of mind, with proof that their jewelry does not come from businesses that exploits their workers or from countries and organizations that fund wars.

It doesn’t stop there. Locating and mining for these materials traditionally has had a negative impact on the environment. It does not have to be that way and Ingle & Rhode only trades with businesses that minimize their environmental impact. This includes using recycled platinum in their jewelry.

Continuing their pioneering ways, Ingle & Rhode is one of a handful of jewelers that have been licensed to sell certified Fairtrade & Fairmined gold jewelry. This creates a fair playing field for communities to compete with global trade.

Now that you know what they stand for, let’s talk about their jewelry. Ingle & Rhode designs and creates custom jewelry to fit many different budgets and personal styles. Meet and work with one of their experts to create a unique piece that can be luxurious or as budget-conscience as you would like.

If you are worried that the exceptional quality and pioneering safeguards will increase the price, think again. Ingle & Rhode’s custom-made jewelry is priced competitively.  But there is no upper-limit, so if you have something more expensive in mind, brief their experts and let them exceed your expectations. Jewelry is usually completed within six weeks.

Ingle & Rhode delivers exceptional custom jewelry while giving their clients the peace of mind that the environment, local communities and workers are treated with respect.  Reviews of Ingle & Rhode are extremely positive.  They have an abundance of satisfied clients, and Ingle & Rhode reviews across the internet are very positive.

Ingle and Rhode Reviews Video

If you didn’t already know this, I’ve spent the last 10 months living outside my own home. You probably remember my posts about moving to Florida, and maybe you saw me mention how much I love summer all year round (78 degreees in January?! Yes Please). Our original plan was to find a house quickly to buy and move in to it in September, but as we started our look for a home for our family we decided that the best option for us was to build one that had the floor plan and lot size that we liked best.

While they’re making progress on our home, it has taken a bit longer than we originally expected. My sister has been kind enough to let us stay with her while we build the house. We do like to give them their space every now and then and to do so we’ll go to a hotel for a weekend with the boys. We’ve been staying at a bunch of hotels, all seem to be pretty nice, but there was one thing I wasn’t doing when we checked in that I will be doing in the future… Checking the room for Bed Bugs!

I got the idea from the infographic below. I hate bugs, and the idea of bringing home bed bugs from a hotel is just gross! To make sure my sister’s home and our future home is bed bug free, I’ll be following the steps below:

Graphic by Moxie Pest Control of Raleigh, NC