The Grass is Always Greener

It's Goop!

I just found Gwyneth Paltrow's website Goop and wanted to pass it along.  On this site, Gwyneth shares great recipes, website links and style tips, plus recommendations on places to go, eat and shop.  While there is advice that doesn't apply to anyone but the rich or famous (what to do in Marrakesh; buy the man in your family a Mulberry Weekend Bag for $1,395), there is plenty of useful information on here for a mama like myself.  I love her advice on healthy eating and useful cookbooks, and the newsletter that broke down her everyday wardrobe (called "My Uniform").  Even though I might not be able to afford the brands that she purchases, I can steal the idea and craft my own.

Check it out!  

Seattle Tilth Harvest Festival - Saturday, Sept. 12th

Ooh, ooh, this is where we'll be with the kids this Saturday, on what looks to be the last day of summer around here (sunny and 85 degrees)!  We already have our own chickens in the backyard, but my husband is constantly talking about adding goats and bees.  (Don't worry, neighbors, it won't happen here.)  We are also all about farmers markets and fresh produce.  I'm also about Mighty O Donuts and Theo Chocolate, and they will be there as well.  The kids will love it - they can bring their own musical instruments and participate in the Harvest Parade at noon, as well as lots of other activities geared for them.  (Just the word "worms" peaks their interest.)  After the money and fried food blowout that was the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, this fair will be a welcome relief!

Click below for more information, and we hope to see you there!
 

Noppakao Thai comes to our 'hood!

My favorite Thai restaurant in the Seattle area has come to our neighborhood!  Noppakao introduced itself to the Eastside a couple of years ago by setting up shop in Juanita Village. It's always been worth the drive, but now we don't have to go more than a few blocks from home to eat their yummy food.  Their new (franchise) restaurant just opened Monday at:

4809 132nd St SE, Ste B101, Everett WA 98208

You can celebrate their grand opening by dining at their restaurant for 15% less by clicking here and printing out a coupon.  

Our favorites:  Spring Rolls, Garlic Delight with Chicken, Crab Fried Rice, Garlic Pork Ribs and Phad See-Ew.

New Place of (Donut) Worship in Mill Creek!

Okay, Seattle, we bow down to your cupcakes - it's true.  Sure, you've got Cupcake Royale and Trophy Cupcakes, and I've worshipped them plenty.  But now we've got a new place of worship over here on the Eastside (Mill Creek to be exact).  The brand new doughnut shop Frost just opened at Mill Creek Town Center, and I'm clamoring to get my worship on as soon as possible.  On today's menu:  Banana Fritters, Banana Creme w/Walnuts, Marcona Almond & Tart Cherry, Smokey Bacon Maple Bar, PB&J 2.0, Wedding Cake, Red Velvet, Aztec Chocolate, Tropical Storm, Bourbon Caramel Pecan, and many, many more!  

Oh Lord, I'm a believer!!!

Note:  I stopped by Frost for the first time on Saturday afternoon, and not surprisingly, it was pretty busy.  They were out of their banana donuts, so I picked up a half dozen of the following:  2 vanilla donuts with sprinkles for the kids, 1 Pink Lady (chocolate cake donut with pink frosting), 1 Red Velvet with cream cheese frosting, 1 Bourbon Caramel Pecan and for the hubby, the Smokey Bacon Maple Bar.  Just as the name implies, it was a maple bar with chunks of cooked bacon sprinkled on top.  The donuts did not disappoint!  My favorite was the Bourbon Caramel Pecan, but I got to taste a few of the other ones as well.  (In fact, the hubby was too freaked out by the maple/bacon combination, so I ended up eating it the next day.  It was a bit strange texture-wise but tasty - think maple syrup over bacon and you get the flavor.  I hope to stop by in the near future and get my hands on some of the banana ones, but apparently its the early bird who gets the banana donuts in Mill Creek.

Free Books! Free Books!

Have I got your attention?  In my many efforts to save my family money these days, I turned to a long-forgotten resource and feel so dumb for not having done so sooner.  I LOVE books (in a big, I "heart" books t-shirt kind of way)!  And I spend far too much money on books.  My biggest vice these days?  Cookbooks.  I cannot enter a bookstore without walking out with at least one cookbook.  My children are now just as interested in books as I am, so lately I've been transferring my love and pocketbook to them.  

As much as I love them, this is just not a habit I can keep.  So what's a newly frugal mama to do?  The answer is simple (duh):  get a library card!  

Remember the library?  I certainly do, but haven't used one in the past ten years!  Signing up couldn't have been easier - I knew where the nearest library to us was, having driven past it many times.  (If you're not sure, consult this website to find your nearest branch.)  So one recent Thursday morning, the kids and I wandered in.  Ah, the musty smell of old books, the peace and quiet, the Dewey Decimal system - I've missed you all so much!  We wandered immediately to the children's book section, and the kids were in heaven!  Within ten minutes we had a huge stack of books and video tapes teetering on the table, and five minutes later had a brand new library card in our hands.  Our library, part of the Sno-Isle library system, also has a summer reading program for kids, with lots of fun little goodies to encourage kids to read (not that mine need any encouraging).  And there are lots of free events for families as well - a whole calendar full of story times, concerts, etc.

Since our first visit, I have returned to the library by myself to browse leisurely, the way I used to at bookstores.  I headed straight for the cookbook aisle (thrilled that the library had any cookbooks), and couldn't believe the selection.  (While it's nothing like Barnes & Noble's selection, I still found many recent titles by cooks like Jaime Oliver and Tyler Florence.) Unlike the bookstore, I was able to leave with a huge stack of (new-to-me) cookbooks at absolutely no cost to me.  While I love adding to my library of books, I love FREE so much more!  My quick and easy solution to "borrowed" cookbooks is to copy the recipes I'm interested in on our color inkjet printer and stick them in plastic sleeves inside a three-ring binder.  (Instant cookbook, and one that I can actually wipe clean!)

I even picked up two cookbooks geared toward picky kids - The Toddler Cafe by Jennifer Carden (links to The Toddler Cafe blog!) and Favorite Family Meals by Annabel Karmel, and will share any gems that work on my children with you soon.  

I'm happy to report that for the past month, whenever I've come across a book that I'm interested in, I've done a search on the Sno-Isle website instead of Amazon (good for the library, bad for Amazon).  I can easily place a hold online, and the library emails me when the book is available to pick up at our local branch.  Sometimes it takes a few weeks, but I'm not complaining.

Grilla Bites: Great eats (psst, it's healthy and organic too!)

I love the relatively new cafe in downtown Snohomish called Grilla Bites (like Gorilla and Grill combined).  Grilla Bites is a small franchise operation with the best of intentions, offering healthy, organic food, and another one of their objectives is to purchase their products from small scale manufacturers and local farmers, thus supporting their local economy and community.

All of that is great, of course, but the main thing is how does the food taste? Fortunately, the answer is that it's delicious!  My personal favorites are the Thai Tuna sandwich and quinoa salad.  The kids like the grilled cheese sandwiches (and I like that they use real cheese).  They have also just started offering smoothies.  We tried the Creamsicle smoothie today - yum!  

The owner of the Snohomish store, Annie, is one of the warmest and nicest people I have ever met and instantly makes you feel like family.  

Speaking of families:  Grilla Bites has teamed up with neighboring toy store, Rowdy Rascals, to offer story time every Tuesday at 9:30 am.

Find them at:  1020 1st Street, Suite 104, Snohomish, Washington 98290 

(A Seattle location will be opening this year at 901 8th Avenue.)

Color Me Happy: Organic snack food at Toys-r-Us

Okay, it wasn't my intent to shop for food at Toys-r-Us.  Heck, it wasn't my intent to shop at Toys-r-Us at all.  But the kids each received a gift card for Easter from Grandpa, so we loaded them up and headed to the Toys-r-Us in Lynnwood.  There, right next to the Legos where William and Hayden headed, was an entire section of packaged foods, mostly organic!  6-8 (short) aisles worth.  In addition to the usual suspects, I found Arrowhead Mills Bake with Me Organic Cupcake Mix (easy, delicious and get this: a  a good source of iron, zinc and six B vitamins, Zero grams of trans fat, 4-6 grams of whole grains per serving!).  I made THE BEST chocolate frosting from scratch, thanks to a recipe in the essential Hello, Cupcake, and I swear, the cupcakes did not taste the least bit 'healthier'.  I also found great raspberry instant oatmeal (which at least I love and eat every morning now), FruitaBu snacks, and Kashi TLC Fruit & Grain bars in 'Raspberry Chocolate' and 'Pumpkin Pie' (my new favorite snack or meal-on-the-go).  Who would have expected such a selection at Toys-r-Us?!  I hope they stay around.

I also recently discovered the coolest "lunchboxes" I've ever seen (see image above) and have to get one for each of the kids (and maybe myself) for school, camps, the beach, etc.  They are bento boxes with designs by Shinzi Katoh.  I'm especially fond of the double-decker ones!  I love how everything's compartmentalized so neatly.  Let's face it - my kids eat a little bit of this and a little bit of that.   You can find Shinzi Katoh bento lunchboxes at Amazon and at Oliebollen.com.