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Yesterday, a wise last minute decision moved soccer practice from the school field to the banks of the river. Shin guards and cleats were cast aside in favor of bathing suits and goggles. After each barefoot and sandy drill the girls would run and plunge into the water to cool off. It's been close to 100 degrees here the last few days, thank goodness for coaches who think on their toes.
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... is my latest treasure! It's bulky waste week in town which means the curbside throughout my neighborhood is overflowing with unwanted goods. Granted, most of it is totally trashed and, um... a little gross... but with a careful eye it's possible to find a gem within the rubble. Like this sweet little blue table. The cut out detail in the front is especially pretty, sorry it's hard to see in this photo. I've been wanting some more painted furniture in our home (I'm totally in love with the green cabinet in this post at Farmama... as well as those curtains!!), but could never bring myself to paint any of my own wooden furniture* (see family rules below), so finding a few new pieces feels in order. This was the first of hopefully many (but not too many). There are also two more pieces that made their way home with me this week, I need to give them a little fresh paint first and then I'll show you. Sometimes I think my entire house has been furnished for about two hundred bucks!
* Growing up we had rules like any family. There were the usual "be polite, say please and thank you... set the table, clear the table... dust on Tuesday... bedtime is 8:00... etc." But we also had certain rules that occasionally were spoken, but mostly just understood. My sister will read this and nod her head. She knows them too.
The Family Rules
So there you have it. And I'm pretty sure we were not alone in our quirks. Care to share some of your unique family rules growing up? What about your family today?
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Isn't that a great question? So much better than "how are you?".
It's a question that is tossed around a lot at Integrative Nutrition. We are in week four by the way... beyond amazing is all I can say. Thirty (maybe it's a few more) weeks to go of year one. We are told to treat this year as if we are in medical school, it's pretty rigorous and there is a tremendous amount to process, memorize and absorb. But I am having the time of my life and it is so ME!
You can never go wrong when you stay true to yourself.
So what's new and good? For me it's this fun new design I've been working on and wearing out and about. I don't tell people I made it... but they do notice it's large, colorful presence around my neck and have paid wonderful compliments! It's a pretty magical feeling to secretly walk around with my own art adorning my neck and receive feedback from friends and perfect strangers alike.
I think I might make a few more.
Tell me, what is new and good with you? My life is overflowing with tasks and details at the moment and I would love to get lost in your good vibes.
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The oldest continually lived on street in the United States.
... but Philadelphia sure had me rethinking my country ways. Our little group had an amazing time visiting last week. Emily and I cannot wait to return with Adam as a family. Wonderful food, beautiful architecture, simple to navigate public transportation, a decent amount of green space, and crowds that felt manageable. We were all pretty happy tourists.
This week held a few unexpected twists that kept me busy and away from visiting my blog and yours very much. Hopefully next week will look a little different. Until then, enjoy the weekend!
PS ~ I think I'm convinced trains are the only way to travel. Thirty seven years on the planet and I've never done this...? I definitely see more train travel in my future.
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This is something you can really get your kids into. You know how children always want to come into the kitchen when it's time to frost the cupcakes? (It's fun!) Trust me, they will also love to "build" a platter of spring rolls.
With summer right around the corner, I know many of you (and me) are looking for healthy, no-cook ideas to feed the littlest and the biggest members of your household. Might I suggest making spring rolls? Kids love to be involved with this process, and by simply searching through the refrigerator you will likely find no need to turn the stove on at all.
The wrappers used in spring rolls are made from rice, so they are gluten free for those interested in that. They can be found in the Thai or Macrobiotic section of any health food store and some grocery stores. A package of about 50 wrappers is just a couple of dollars. As you can see in a picture above, to "soften" them, Emily dips them in a bit of warm water. A pie plate works nicely for this. Most package instructions say to dip them in the water for 30 seconds but I find this to be way too long and the wrappers become too tender and fall apart easily. We just sort of dip and go... moving the wrapper to our cutting board where we build the spring roll. There is plenty of moisture remaining to soften the wrapper.
What goes inside is entirely up to you! On this particular day we had on hand: carrots, avocado, baked tofu, gomassio, cilantro, and parsley. You really only need about two heaping tablespoons of filling per roll. We first placed the long strips of tofu and avocado, then the shredded carrot, herbs, and a hefty sprinkling of gomassio. I've made spring rolls as a dessert before too. The filling was a coconut jasmine rice pudding with mango and I served them with a dipping sauce that was made of coconut milk, jasmine tea (a concentrated infusion), honey and lime zest. Oh my, typing that list of flavors makes me feel a little desperate to get in the kitchen and make a batch. So good.
Remember, there is no real recipe. The most important ingredient is the kids. Bring them into the kitchen and include them! My daughter does not have the same predisposition for cooking that I seemed to have at her age, but this? This is fun! I would say even three year olds could give it a go with a little support... pretty fabulous fine motor development indeed! Teach them how to roll one (put the filling sort-of in the center, gently fold the two sides in, then roll lengthwise, not too tight), and they will be off and running. As for a dipping sauce we love Coconut Peanut Sauce from Feeding the Whole Family (this sauce is good on many, many things and keeps for a couple weeks in the fridge). As for the man of the house? He thinks a heaping platter of these with a great dipping sauce would be great game food. A huge success all around!
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