Anyway, I am a subscriber to Lucky magazine and that is how I came across the blog Cupcakes and Cashmere.  Emily, the creator, is obviously way cooler than I am and I am in awe.  She gets items and trips gifted to her so that she will review them.  She created a bag for Coach.  I mean, seriously people.  Her style is sometimes way too out there for me.  In my ripe old age of 29 I’ve realized I’m mostly preppy and not that edgy.  It’s sometimes a bit disappointing but why not stick with what works right??  Her style is ecclectic and there are many looks she rocks that I could never hope to pull off.  For example: http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/studies-in-sequins/  I would just look ridiculous if I tried to wear that to the elementary school I worked in.  She makes it look effortless and cool.  Sigh. 

Other than taking really cool photos of her really cool outfits she also posts recipes, (where I came across the chocolate chocolate chip cookies) and she gives hair and make up tips.  My favorite of all-time is the smoky eye how-to.   I was clueless how to achieve a not-trying-too-hard smoky eye until I found her easy to follow instructions.  I’ve definitely worked that a time or two when going out on the town.  It’s just an awesome site and gives me a little inspiration to maybe throw on an extra accessory or something when normally I’d skip it.  Or put a little braid in my hair rather than just a plain pony-tail.  Come on, it’s rough sometimes being a working mom!  I bet she’d cut me a little slack.    Hope you enjoy cruising the site as much as I do.

Back to Jamie Oliver and his 20 minute meals.  It’s an app that I can’t live without on my trusty iPhone.  I don’t know how many times I’ve said, “How did I ever survive without my iPhone?”  Not only does it tell me where I’m going, what restaurants are by me, etc. etc…. with Jamie Oliver 20 minute meals it also helps me serve up a delicious home-cooked dinner for my family.
I first heard about Jamie Oliver’s show Food Revolution and then decided to sign his petition.  I am a school social worker and I definitely agree with him that we would have a healthier nation if we start serving our kids freshly prepared foods at school.  Anyway, so I found out he had this iPhone app and I raced to download it.  At the time I think I paid $4.99 but I think the price has since gone up.  Regardless, it was worth it to me.  Plus I normally spend $15 or more on cookbooks so to me this was a bargain.  The app is so ridiculously user friendly.  You get to search through recipes which come with step by step photos.  You can easily click “shopping list” on each recipe you like and it will add the ingredients to your list.  Then, as you go through the supermarket you just click on the item once you have it in your basket and it removes it from your list– counting down for you so that you don’t forget anything.  Believe it or not I forget stuff that I have written on my list all the time.
I have been telling all my friends about this app and at a recent wedding shower had to restrain myself from pulling out my phone and demonstrating right then and there.  The food I’ve made I have loved and it really is quick.  I don’t think I’ve ever accomplished one of the meals in 20 minutes like he claims but, to be fair, Jamie Oliver probably doesn’t have a toddler swiping his pots and pans and pushing on his leg every five minutes.  It probably takes me 30ish minutes at least but I still think it’s speedy.  Here is the Rigatoni arrabiatta I made:

I’ve also made lemon and herb chicken with mash (mash was a neat combo of new potatoes and corn,) asparagus and pesto risotto,  and sausage and zucchini carbonara.  I’m no expert chef by any means and even I could follow these no-brainer instructions and we were all happy with the results.  If you don’t have an iPhone or iPad at least check out his website:  http://www.jamieoliver.com  He has daily recipes on there as well.

Anyway, David and I had the pleasure of going over to Maureen (author of website I love!) and Chris’s house for dinner one night.  I immediately got the sense that this was no ordinary woman when she served a beautiful three course meal, complete with delicious dessert, and made it look easy all while caring for their one year old daughter.  We are talking DELICIOUS meal.  I feel like most of the time I can barely blow dry my hair let alone prepare a gourmet meal for guests.  I was so impressed.  After becoming friends on facebook I noticed that Maureen had a website and I am hooked.

http://www.homemademothering.com/

I admire what Maureen does so much!  The old Princess Sarah would have wanted to be served dessert while sitting on the couch but now I actually want to be able to  make it myself (and then enjoy it while lounging on the couch.)  Maureen’s site shares great recipes, tips on how to be eco-friendly at home, advice on living frugally and simply, etc.  In today’s hectic world and rough economy… who doesn’t need advice on how to simplify life?  And she takes lovely pictures of many of her cooking creations like this:

Brown-Eyed Susan Flower Dessert (from her July 8 post)

um... yum!

This site is a total Personal Fave and I’m sure it will be for all of you too.

Like I’ve said before, I give credit where credit is due.  My friend Emily introduced me to this website when I first told her I needed HELP trying to figure out childcare.  We live in a huge city and don’t know a ton of parents so I just felt at a total loss of where to begin when I knew I had to return to work and find something  for Graham.  Emily to the rescue!  You pay a $40 annual fee to be part of this network [NPN = Neighborhood Parents Network] and then there are so many resources available for Chicagoland parents.  Sorry people, it’s only Chicagoland.  But maybe you have one for your city and don’t even know it!

I found a family to nannyshare with through this website.   I joined a group for parents of the “Near West/ Near South Side” and have gone to some events for parents and kids in my neighborhood.  I also joined a group called Working Moms.  When you “join” these groups that only means that you get email updates of activities… no pressure to go.  So when I got my first email from the working moms group I found out that one of my wonderful friends from high school and college, Katie Romero, was the co-chairperson of that group!  Everyone seemed to know about NPN but me.  Thank God Emily told me!  Now I’m using the site to find and interview nannies.

It also helps with more than just childcare.  You can set up or find playgroups, sell stuff, or just join in on some discussions about being a mommy or daddy in the city.  It’s been more than a personal fave the last few months… it is helping me find a caregiver for my first born child!!!  That’s big.  If you live in the Chicagoland area you have to check it out.

You can search from THOUSANDS of shoes and narrow it down by color, size, and a million different types.  I was even able to search for “birdcage” sandals the other day.  You know, the cagey style that is really in right now.

The beauty of Zappos is this: free shipping both ways.  If it doesn’t fit: no biggie, just send it back.  Free.  It’s like your living room is the dressing room of a store.  I’ve found out that one of my favorite pastimes, shopping, has been made so much more difficult with the little guy around!  I love him but who really wants to breastfeed, change diapers, and hope the baby sleeps in the stroller while trying to shop?  Any online store that has free shipping both ways is totally a personal fave.

The other seriously great thing about Zappos is they just go out of their way to please the customer.  The last two times I’ve ordered shoes from there I chose the free standard shipping which is like 3-5 business days or whatever.  Then, magically, I got an email saying that they upgraded my shipping to overnight… just because.  Seriously, how great is that?  Who does that kind of stuff anymore?  I just saw these sandals in Lucky magazine today and got them at Zappos.  They’re being shipped as we speak!  Gotta love Zappos.  Not good for the wallet.  Good for the closet.

found these in Lucky magazine and then bought them from Zappos!

www.zappos.com

p.s. since I wrote this post a couple weeks ago I found out I didn’t love the sandals as much as I thought  and guess what… sent them back for FREE!!  Still love zappos.  

What do you get when you rate 20-30 of them with ‘like’ or ‘dislike?’  You get a playlist so scary close to what you would actually put on your own playlist that it will make your nose-hairs tingle.

I looked at Pandora a while ago, but never really got into it.  As I was perusing through iPhone apps, I was reminded of it and then saw it again at a friend’s house and so I started using it again at home and at work.  5 ‘stations’ later, Pandora.com is a daily fixture in my life, and has become an ongoing contributor toward helping me stay on the good side of the sanity line.

So this is how it works: you create stations based on the bands you like.  You can add/remove bands to further tweak the station and, as mentioned, rate specific songs that you like or dislike.  They create a really amazing setlist for you and it’s a fantastic way to learn about new, related bands.  I literally can’t tell you how awesome this service is.

Some other features:

• opt for the site not to play the song again for a month
• volume control
• see the album, band history, song lyrics, song info, and more
• see other pandora fans of this song/band and see what songs they like
• use it on your desktop, iphone, windows mobile phone and others

Do yourself a favor and try this out today.

Here’s some of the music I’m listening to:

Hot Chip

MGMT

The Shins

Muse

The Helio Sequence

Postal Service – The District Sleeps Alone Tonight