Finger Foods: It's fun to rub your veggies on the refrigerator.

Cooked veggies are a great finger food for your baby. Despite appearances, Seb actually does eat them. I've recently been struck by the challenge of finding healthy finger foods for him.

Because of this challenge, I hope to start sharing some ideas for feeding your growing baby. It seems like he's eating an awful lot of cheerios and Gerber Puffs, so this will also help keep me accountable. If you have any tips, feel free to send them my way!

Slow-cooker Veggies
- Dice veggies of choice (I specifically like carrots and red peppers) into bite-sized pieces.
- Place in a slow-cooker overnight on low with a little bit of water. They will be tender in the morning and ready for use!

This is a great idea if you're beginning the transition from exclusively pureed to finger food. You can still puree some and then set the rest aside for self-feeding. Are your veggies not sweet enough? Add some unrefined coconut oil for flavor.

Friday Fashion—Style Inspiration Jean Seberg

I can't help but love Jean Seberg's style. From all the pictures I could find of her, it appears she wore mostly stripes and classic solid pieces like a black turtleneck, simple tee, or chambray button down. I would definitely put her in the Audrey Hepburn category of style. Audrey had a bit more variety, but they both pull off simple in a "wow" way. Plus, the hair.  I don't think I could go quite that short, but she looks beautiful.

Friday Food—No-bake Cookies

So maybe this one is a little lacking in creativity, but don't judge. I needed something quick, easy, and of course, the ever present criteria for my food choices: something for which I had the ingredients. And so...

No-bake cookies.

I followed my mom's recipe. She thinks it's lacking, but I thought it turned out fantastic! I used Coconut milk instead of regular and it turned out great. I also didn't have any wax paper, so I used a buttered cookie sheet and my ever-trusty Silpat to dry the cookies.

No-bake Cookies

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. milk
1 stick butter
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c. peanut butter
3 c. quick oats
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Bring sugar, milk, butter and cocoa to a boil . Boil for 1 1/2 minutes.
Remove from heat.

Quickly add peanut butter, oats and vanilla.

Tips: I found it helpful to have everything measured out beforehand as it is a pretty quick process. The cocoa mixture needs to be stirred to keep it from sticking. After scooping my cookie mixture onto the prepared surfaces I  flattened them a bit to make them dry more round.

Enjoy, and thanks Mom!

I could use a little of this and a little of that

I've been exhausted the last few days.  Seb is reminding me what the "newborn days" were like. Now that he is crawling around and pulling himself up on anything and everything, I feel like I'm chasing him around constantly. Make-up doesn't happen until about 3 p.m. and tees and sweats have been my wardrobe. Oh and I should just forget about brushing my teeth! He is so adorable and perfect, though. It's all worth it to watch him learn new things. Plus, he's stinking hilarious.

But that's not all. I've been... apartment hunting! Yes. We have decided where Cody is going to school, but we are waiting a few more days to make the big reveal, so stay tuned! If you're dying to know, give me a call, because I'm dying to tell! So anyway, apartment hunting is exhausting. I've been staying up way too late and today, my vision was blurry. Blah.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to complain. Life is just crazy sometimes, you know? But today husband took me to get my Michelle Williams haircut, my sister watched Sebastian, who is now sleeping, and I'm about to step into a steaming hot shower. Life is crazy, but life is good. Now if I had this and that above? I'd probably faint.

The Lodge

Our weekend away was completely wonderful. We spent a whole lot of time just lounging in our room while we read, ate, and watched Ugly Betty and Horatio Hornblower (Can't wait to start the books!). It was absolutely fantastic. So that we wouldn't feel too lazy, and because Cody said his legs hurt from doing nothing, we went on a long walk around the frozen lake and down snowy trails. The trees were gorgeous and I just couldn't resist collecting some moss and a little birch bark. I hope to get a little terrarium set up for my collection of moss!

Although it was wonderful to have some "us time" I missed our dear little guy so much more than I could ever have imagined! The whole weekend I just wanted to hug and squeeze him and give him kisses on his fat little cheeks. He was, however, a perfect angel while we were gone and showed me some new skills today! He has been trying to stand up to the couch for the longest time and today he had success. He was so proud. I guess I'll have to start "hiding" our slippers elsewhere...

Friday Fashion—Simplify

 
Simple fridays by mstrecker featuring dolman sleeve tops

Simple. It's classic, it's what most of us wear when we are with the people we love, and when we go on coffee dates or are shopping with friends.

I hope your Friday is simple—and comfy!

Friday Food—Pitas

And we're back. Smitten Kitchen, I love you.

I've made this pita recipe once before, but didn't get them to puff. They were extremely tasty, though, so don't let the possibility of not puffing scare you. After this batch, Cody actually said he was going to miss the thick, chewy ones. Ha!

The only other thing I have to say about these pitas is that the first time I made them, I took the stove top route. This time I used my black iron pan in the oven, and found that they baked perfectly this way. Oh, and I substituted 1 cup of all-purpose flour for whole wheat, and it didn't create any problems. Let me know how yours turn out!

Isn't my "timer team" cute?