type-a parent conference

Blog Grade for www.westoftheloop.com
Joy Bauer Food Cures Badge
BlogWithIntegrity.com

Cooking Without A Recipe: Beef Stew

Beef stew made my way

In one of my first posts on this blog, I defined what I like to call “the confident home cook:” someone who, like me, has no professional training, but is nonetheless a good cook and moves about the kitchen with ease and – dare I say it? – joy. One of the defining [...]

So Many Milestones, So Little Guidance

This post originally appeared earlier this week on my new blogging community, The Chicago Moms. I hope that you will swing by and check out some of great voices being featured there.

When your child is a baby, your pediatrician, your mom, your friends and all the books will tell you at what age your baby should sit up, wave, [...]

Taking Minors to the Minor Leagues

This post originally appeared earlier this week on my new blogging community, The Chicago Moms. I hope that you will swing by and check out some of great voices being featured there.

Labor Day 2010. It was unseasonably cool and breezy that morning, making our plan to enjoy one last day at the local pool seem less appealing. What [...]

Dairy-free Recipe: Lemon-Blueberry Coffeecake Muffins

Blueberry muffins with a crunchy, lemony streusel top

Now that Zuzu has been cleared to eat wheat and baked eggs, my assistant pastry chef, J.R., and I have been baking up a storm. The only ingredient that I now have to avoid is dairy — other than nuts and peanuts of course – and it is quite easy [...]

What Magazine Should I Read?

For most of my life, I have been too young for the magazines I was reading. Now I am too old. How’s that for a rude awakening?

Like most girls, I started reading Seventeen when I was twelve. By the time I was actually seventeen, I had graduated to Glamour. Yes, admittedly, the articles about how [...]

A Sweet Carrot Recipe for Rosh Hashanah Dinner and Beyond

Apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah

As many of you know, today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year celebration. It is a joyous holiday, but it makes the beginning of a solemn period of reflection, known as the 10 Days of Repentance. This period culminates in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, during which [...]

A Do-It-Yourself American Girl Doll Party

The AG on the cupcakes stands for "American Girl" — Zuzu's request

Seven year old Zuzu has been American Girl Doll crazy for the past year or so. She and her friends bring their dolls with them on all their playdates, which involve more (doll) wardrobe changes than a Madonna concert. I honestly love it. I [...]

From Left to Write Book Club: Cowboy and Wills

 
 

Cowboy and Wills by Monica Holloway

Today’s post is part of the From Left to Write online book club. The idea of this book club is not to write a book review, per se, but rather to write a post in which the blogger connects that month’s book to an experience from his or her own life. September’s book is the [...]