Author: stefanie

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Yep, I asked for a shower cap for Christmas

When I was a kid, coming up with a Christmas list was the easiest and most fun thing to do in the world. This doll, that art set, the leather hat that Alisa Reyes wore in the original “All That” intro:

The fact that my mom found me a hat like this made it one of the best Christmases ever!

As an adult, a homeowner, and a mama, that has changed dramatically. Sometimes, stuff can become overwhelming.

A couple of years ago, Zack became big a fan of the KonMari Method and, just as Marie says, I was inspired to get organized without Zack even mentioning it to me. Even just yesterday I donated a huge bag of clothes and shoes and it felt incredible.

So when it came to giving my family Christmas gift ideas, I tried to err on the side of practicality. Things like new black TOMS to replace the ones I’ve worn into the ground, literally.

And, quite possibly one of the most random and practical gifts I’ve ever asked for, a shower cap. But not just any shower cap.

The SHHHOWERCAP.

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Interview: A slice of life with Lenne Klingaman of ‘Waitress’

Sugar, butter, flour.

In a couple of weeks, things are going to get a lot sweeter in East Lansing with the arrival of “Waitress.” The national tour of the popular Broadway musical featuring original music from Sara Bareilles will stop at the Wharton Center January 23-28, 2018.

Inspired by the 2007 Adrienne Shelly film, “Waitress” tells the story of Jenna, a waitress and talented pie maker who is looking to make her dreams come true while living in a small town in an unhappy marriage. Jenna has the support of her friends and fellow waitresses Dawn and Becky as she deals with obstacles and unexpected life changes along the way.

Actress and singer/songwriter Lenne Klingaman currently stars as the lovable Dawn in the national tour of “Waitress.” I spoke with Lenne about her previous acting experiences, the lessons she hopes audiences will take with them from the show, and what kind of pie she would be.

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Okay, I finally get it. Kroger ClickList is amazing.

It would be obvious to say that it’s been absolutely freezing outside the last week, with little sign of relief anytime soon. And while times like these mean bunkering down at home with the girls and slowly going stir crazy, some things still need to get done. Namely, grocery shopping.

In that time between getting married and having kids, grocery shopping could be an enjoyable adventure. I could adult and stock our pantry and refrigerator with whatever our hearts desired, lingering in the aisles, deciding what to make for dinner.

But with our little gals, it’s like Supermarket Sweep. I’ve gotta get in and out of there quickly before a meltdown or begging for fruit snacks. I prefer our nearby Kroger because I have the layout and the location of all of our usual list items committed to memory. Nothing annoys me more in a shopping trip than forgetting to get something back in produce, and doubling back over my counter-clockwise path.

I’ve been able to conquer the grocery store or just about any other shopping experience with the girls at my side or in my arms, because necessity of the mother of mothers getting stuff done because it’s gotta get done.

But this week, after the holidays depleted our grocery resources and a vacation away from home, I needed reinforcements. There was no way I wanted to deal with taking the girls out into the freezing cold, stocking up a cart with groceries, loading and unloading. Mama needed some help.

Enter Kroger ClickList. I’ve heard about this magical service (as well as Meijer Curbside and Shipt) from so many friends, but I hadn’t indulged until earlier this week. The truth is I still do like going to the grocery store. I know that even with my list of items, I end up remembering something else we need, or decide to get ingredients for dinner on the fly.

But because of my mini shopping partners and the cold, I tried ClickList this week. And it was amazing.

My only complaint is that our Kroger five minutes away doesn’t participate, but it was worth the 20 minute drive to pull up and have bags of groceries stored in the back within minutes.

The first three times with Kroger ClickList, the service fee is waived. And heck, for days when the high is in the single digits, I will pay that five bucks when my free ones are up.

The Meijer near our house does offer Curbside, but I’ve noticed that the same-day pickup times are often much later in the day than what Kroger has been offering. Because even with convenience and time saved, I still need to be considering naps and temperaments.

My friend Tessa has been singing the praises about Shipt, which I admit I am interested in checking out sometime in the future. But really, if I didn’t go pick up my ClickList order the other day or have one scheduled for this afternoon, I wouldn’t be leaving the house at all. I do still need that (bitterly cold) fresh air and some drive time to feel a little bit alive on days like today.

If you’re considering checking out ClickList or another similar service, my advice is DO IT. Don’t hesitate like I did. It’s been amazing so far.

 

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Twelve months of Margot

A couple days late, but Happy New Year everyone! After the craziness of the holidays and a trip down to Florida (really, really ready to get back down there soon with this ridiculous cold weather), I’m rested and ready to get back to the blog.

As 2017 wrapped up and 2018 began, I had so many thoughts and emotions. The end of a year and a beginning of a new one is always an introspective time, but that has increased tenfold with having a New Year’s Day baby. It’s crazy how quickly 2017 flew by for me, and there is a lot to process and write about soon when it comes to our last baby turning one. But that’s for another day with a little more time. I’m also wanting to write about how to survive (or barely survive) a flight with a fidgeting one-year-old baby. Oh boy…

For now, here are twelve months of Margot, featuring the adorable Lucy Darling monthly stickers and our Margot blanket from the wonderful Pirates and Peonies Etsy shop. At ten months, I couldn’t get her to stay on her back for a picture. By the time we arrived at Margot’s first birthday, she wasn’t having it with that sticker on her shirt.

I couldn’t get a face-on photo of Margot with her sticker on her birthday, and that probably best illustrates our little headstrong girl.

Happy birthday, sweet Margot! From a little peanut to our pumpkin pie, we love watching you grow.

2018… let’s do this!

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Santa: To wrap or not to wrap, that is the question

One of the magical things about Christmas is that while much of the holiday is steeped in traditions, there are so many different kinds of traditions. As annoying as most found that “Frozen’s Olaf Adventure” special before seeing “Coco,” I did appreciate how it showed that each family has their own special ways of celebrating Christmastime.

When my husband and I were dating, we did our best to celebrate Christmas together while also holding on to the ways that we celebrated Christmas with our own families. But when we got married, a lot of traditions had to combine or evolve. That changed even more after having kids.

Which brings me to the big guy. Kris Kringle. St. Nick. Santa Claus. The man.

When Stella was old enough to understand Santa Claus, Zack and I realized that Santa did things very differently in Farmington Hills and Holt. When Santa visited my house, his presents were left on the coffee table by the fireplace, our stockings filled with goodies sitting next to an empty plate of cookies. Santa didn’t wrap our presents. It made the moment we came downstairs so fun and surprising. Look! He brought me the doll I wanted from the Franklin Mint! (How sweet was that store??)

But when Santa visited Zack in Holt, the presents were wrapped — in a different paper, of course. They sell different kinds of paper in the North Pole. Santa also hid Zack’s stocking for him to find.

So what would he do for Stella? What would our family tradition be?

Ultimately, we agreed to tell Santa that he didn’t have to wrap the presents he brought to Okemos. Save Mrs. Claus and the elves the time. But Santa could absolutely hide Stella’s Christmas stocking somewhere in the house after eating some cookies.

I’ve seen so many posts in mommy Facebook groups asking this very question though: does Santa wrap his gifts or not?

And while I have my own sentimental and practical feelings on the matter for our family, the beautiful thing is that there isn’t one correct answer. Like most things, all that matters is what works for each family to make it the most magical time possible.

Merry Christmas Eve, all!

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If you need me, I’ll be busy making Paper Source’s mermaid crafts

It’s safe to say that one of my favorite things to do with Stella is arts and crafts. As a person who went to summer arts camp through the Farmington Public Schools for six years and asked for crazy-big art sets for Christmas, I love seeing Stella hunker down with stacks of construction paper and washi tape to “make projects,” as she says.

So when my mom came up to visit us and brought some fun holiday crafts to work on with Stella, my eyes lit up at the sight of this fantastic Paper Source kit:

I mean come on, CHRISTMAS MERMAIDS. Together, my mom and Stella made some adorable creations that we put on our tree:

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the Elmer’s glue this week and make more mermaids. The kit comes with various mermaid tails, hairstyles, and accessories that are a lot of fun to mix and match. The card stock is nice and thick, so with a bit of care, I think these sweet mermaids will last over the years. It was also fun to create some mermaid “ornaments” for friends this Christmas.

Upon writing this post, I discovered that Paper Source has all sorts of adorable DIY kits, from a succulent wreath kit to a pizza garland kit that I think my friend Ellen needs to have.

And while the Holiday Mermaids Kit is sold out online, there’s a non-seasonal Mermaid Craft Kit to fill your DIY mermaid-loving heart with glee.

Thank you to my mom and to Paper Source for the gift I didn’t know I wanted or needed: the gift of a Santa merman in a striped tank top.

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Instant Pot ribs (and three other success stories)

Hello, my name is Stefanie and I am a believer in the magic of the Instant Pot. It wasn’t always this way, but I now know there’s a good reason why it’s one of the most popular gifts this holiday season.

I first started reading things about the Instant Pot in mommy groups on Facebook earlier this year. I’m a Crock Pot enthusiast, particularly in the colder months, so I didn’t really understand the need for another large kitchen appliance.

It wasn’t until I spent some time with my friend Tracy a couple of months ago that the Instant Pot got its first ringing endorsement from someone I knew, and I can’t even express how enthusiastic Tracy was about her Instant Pot. She told me about the super-active Facebook group that covers all things Instant Pot (the group is just under 900,000 members). She said the cleanup is a breeze, and dinner can be done in an hour or less.

Thanks to a really great sale at Kohl’s, I was able to score an 8 Qt Duo 7-in-1 Instant Pot for $85 (they are normally $129.99 for that model) back in October. Admittedly, it took me a few weeks to give it a try.

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My favorite original Christmas songs you might not know about

When it comes to setting the mood for any holiday or celebration, to me it is all about the perfect playlist.

Thanks to Apple Music, I’m able to create my own Christmas playlist filled with all of my favorite songs. I’ve also fallen in love with their curated (ugh I really hate that word when it is used for anything other than relating to a museum, but it’s the only one that really applies) playlists. In particular, their Holiday Cocktail Party playlist is a wonderful mix of swingy Christmas classics that are a little more obscure and haven’t been overplayed since November.

I’m getting my classic Christmas song fix from that playlist, but there’s also something so fun about discovering original Christmas songs. After all, there are only so many versions of “Santa Baby” and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” sung by Top 40 artists that this gal can take.

I know a lot of times it can feel like a money grab when an artist does a Christmas album, particularly when it’s filled with tired covers. That to me is what makes the potential for a great original so exciting and welcome.

Here are some of my favorite original Christmas songs that deserve a spot in your holiday music rotation.

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For the young and young at heart: A review of ‘Finding Neverland’

I’ve always known a version of Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t grow up. My first memories of Peter are Disney’s animated version landing on the minute hand of Big Ben, and Mary Martin magically soaring across the Darlings’ nursery. One of my all-time favorite movies, “Hook,” imagines a world where Peter leaves Neverland and — perish the thought! — grows up.

For over a century, generations have met, loved, and believed in the various adaptations of this classic character. The story of Peter Pan is such a part of our collective DNA that it’s hard to believe there was a time he was only a speck of fairy dust in J.M. Barrie’s imagination.

And yet that is where “Finding Neverland” begins, in early 20th century London, with playwright J.M. Barrie struggling to write a hit play under the pressures of time and expectations. The Broadway musical, based on 2004 film, has landed at the Wharton Center and will play to audiences through December 17.

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DIY: Yes way, crochet

I first learned how to crochet as a kid with help from one of our family’s babysitters, Vi. Vi taught me the basics of creating a chain and how to do a double crochet stitch, and even almost 20 years later, I have a deeply rooted muscle memory when it comes to crochet. It’s something I can stop doing for months at a time, and then pick right back up again.

The wintertime is my crochet time. It’s fun to cozy up to a crochet project on the couch when it’s snowy and cold outside, and of course now is the prime time for making Christmas gifts.

My skills haven’t ventured beyond things that are square or rectangular, so the things I’ve made over the years have been different varieties of scarves and blankets. In recent years, I’ve used tutorials online to learn how to connect the ends of a finished scarf to make it a cowl/infinity shape.

This year, I decided to watch some YouTube videos to see if I could learn some new stitches and techniques, and I discovered something. I’ve been crocheting incorrectly the whole time. My first row after the chain? Wrong. The reason why my edges look like little zigzags? I’m starting my first stitch in the wrong spot and ending the row too soon.

My whole crochet world was rocked by these discoveries. I blame my faulty memory and not sweet Vi. I’ve also realized I need to read the label on my yarn more carefully and use the suggested crochet hook size in order to make the project be at its best. For too long, I’ve disregarded this important component of crochet, picking yarns I like and using whatever crochet hook I can find at home.

The thing I love about YouTube and the internet in general is that you can really learn (or relearn) how to do just about anything. So in my venture to become a better crocheter (is that a word?), I searched for some easy-to-follow tutorials.

With the help of Melanie Ham, I not only learned about the half-double crochet stitch, but also how to crochet in the round to make an infinity scarf.

This very simple tutorial has helped me change up my scarf-making repertoire. I’ve still had some challenges, such as accidentally adding a twist to the infinity shape or crocheting an entire row all the way around before realizing I was doing it upside down (okay, I did that about three times and undoing all of that work wasn’t fun any of the times).

But, I’m getting the hang of it, and enjoying the meditative experience of crocheting in the round.

I imagine I could also do some ear warmer headbands with this technique, and those would undoubtedly go pretty quickly in comparison to a long infinity scarf style.

Next, I’m hoping to learn how to make hats, which I’ve never done before. And maybe some granny squares for a blanket after that.

Crochet is definitely that old friend I don’t get to see very often, but when I do, we pick up right where we left off. And I’m always learning something new about it.

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