snow day

staring down the barrel of yet another snow day? not sure you can muster the energy to build your twelfth snowman or snow angel? try this super easy snow painting project on for size.

bug and i had a ball spray painting the 36 inches that feel on our yard a few weeks ago. bug's art (below) had a more abstract, graffiti feel than mine (above), but we both thought our projects turned out well for an afternoon's adventure. and our paintings lasted for days.



our spray bottles are already poised in the garage in anticipation of the next round of snowfall we're expecting tonight!

snow painting

what you'll need: spray bottles (one per color), food coloring, water and snow

1. plan your colors



aside from the four standard food coloring options, you can also create...

pink (small amount of red)
purple (equal parts red and blue)
orange (equal parts red and yellow)
aquamarine (two parts blue to one part green)
chartreuse (equal parts green and yellow)
magenta (two parts red to one part blue)
gold (three parts yellow to one part red)
brown (equal parts green and red)
black (three parts red and three parts blue to two parts green)

2. in spray bottles, combine food coloring and water to desired colors



3. suit up with snow bibs, hats and mittens

4. spray, spray, spray



5. when empty, refill bottles with new colors and paint some more

as a variation, fill bowls instead of spray bottles and use paint brushes to create a masterpiece!

what's your favorite snow day activity?

give a dog a bone

so there was always some minor variation, but when lulu turned one year old the conversation generally went something like this...

BUG: "mom, my baby sister is eating dog food!"
ME: "oh no. again? lulu, no baby" (dramatic sigh while once again dragging lulu away from the pups' bowls)

not my finest mommy moment for sure, but (if we're being honest) not my worst moment either.

the part that just baffles me though is why on this green earth a toddler would be so interested in dog kibble to begin with. i will concede that the shape is darn near perfect for grasping in their chubby little fists. but holding it in one's hand and tasting it are in two totally different ballparks. all i can say is: ew.

with this in mind, here's a recipe that's bound to blur the lines between boy and beast even further. made with four simple ingredients that are probably already stocked in your pantry. at least if lulu decides to try these, i'll know exactly what's going in her mouth.

simple simon's birthday bones
from the three dog bakery cookbook

what you'll need: small bowl, large bowl, mixing spoon, rolling pin, cookie cutter, baking sheets and cooling racks

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup skim milk

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. combine flour and baking powder in large bowl

3. combine milk and peanut butter in small bowl

4. add dry ingredients to large bowl

5. mix well

6. turn out dough onto lightly floured surface

7. knead

8. roll dough to 1/4 inch thick

9. use cookie cutters to cut into shapes

10. place on baking sheet

11. bake for 20 minutes or until lightly brown

12. cool on rack

13. store in an airtight container

14. let the kids duke it out with the four-legged furries for the top prize... survival of the fittest!

makes 30 large bones

want to add the three dog bakery cookbook to your collection? you can find it in our new store: the lulu and bug shop!

what inappropriate snack has your sweet little one attempted to consume? no judgement, i promise.

setting the stage

my computer desktop image is a photo of little lulu exploring the sand and waves on the cape in her pink wool dress, cable knit tights, fur-lined winter boots and preppy argyle skullcap. lucky for us, the weather was unseasonably warm in new england in november. so sweet.

i love clicking on my login icon each day and finding this innocent slice of baby heaven waiting for me each time. every now and then though, i wonder what background my virtual life might hold if i didn't always keep the precious little ones in the forefront of my mind.

would i choose something basic that came with my pc's operating system? nah. too generic for me. i'm not a rolling green hills gal. and i'm definitely not a caribbean beach set with palm trees and hammock kind of person either. the proof? i'm so beach inept that i spelled caribbean wrong when typing this post. maybe i'd be a neverending field of tulips person? but i don't think so. i do love fresh cut flowers, but my favorite color is embarrassingly earthy: brown. certainly not the bold statement made by vivid yellow buds.

so if i could create my own wallpaper, a sort of virtual stage for all of my creative endeavors, what might it look like? i've thought this over quite a bit recently. and i've come to the conclusion that it would be something architectural. with smooth clean lines. a pattern. in muted colors that would set the scene for a morning spent sipping hot tea laced with local honey, scouring etsy for gorgeous handmade goodies, and dawdling over the contents of a few of my favorite blogs. a girl can dream, no?

well, just this morning (while trapped in the house yet again due to major snow accumulations and in need of a serious creative outlet) i spent some time searching for my as-yet-undiscovered stage. and, you know what? after much time wasted visiting sites that offered free wallpaper downloads of every celebrity, animal, car, sport and cartoon imaginable, i finally found what i was honestly convinced just didn't exist. desktop bliss.

it's probably no coincidence that these are the exact same colors found in my photo of beloved little lulu. those soft coffee browns and muted baby blues get me every time.

not digging my part of the rainbow? that's okay. check out these other amazing designs... all simple, clean patterns. some with an understated preppy feel, others sophisticated with a rich, bold edge.

i know, i went a little overboard with the images, but can you blame me? they are gorgeous. and the good news? all of these patterns were created specifically to be desktop backgrounds by travis beckham, the graphics designer behind squidfingers. even better? there are over 150 designs in his collection. and they are all available for free download. visit his website at squidfingers patterns for super quick (no login necessary) one-click downloads.

i'll inevitably revert to my snapshot of lulu in the morning, but it sure was fun to play dress-up with my newfound kid-free design today. here's hoping you're inspired to find a little dream stage of your own!

setting your virtual stage

what you'll need: your personal computer and your creative energy.

1. search. for a photograph, a drawing, a pattern. whatever image sets the mood you want to start your day with. pour over your personal snapshots, try searching google images using keywords, or snatch up one of squidfingers designs like i did.

2. bask. in the joy of finding what you wanted. even if it takes a few hours or a few days.

3. set. right-click on the image and select "set as desktop background"

4. inspect your desktop. did the image turn out as expected? photographs will look best centered, while patterns will need to be tiled.

5. adjust. navigate to your computer's 'control panel' and change the picture position using the drop down list box usually available within the 'appearance' or 'display' menu. the list should include options like fill, stretch, center and tile.

6. bask. again. and sip that second cup of coffee while enjoying the new view.

what's the foundation for your virtual world?

sugar high

i don't think anyone will be surprised to hear the following confession, but i'll put it out there anyway. just so we're all clear: i have a massive sweet tooth.

i am perfectly capable of preparing a well balanced meal for my little family on any given night of the week. but when left to my own devices in the kitchen, i will invariably choose baking over cooking. lucky for me, i've got one heck of a sous pastry chef in the form of bug, who is always game for measuring and mixing in the kitchen. especially with the promise of something sweet at the end of the process.

as much as i love baking though, my cookie cutters and i had a much needed dtr (defining the relationship) talk earlier in the winter. i tried to let them down gently. but, i acknowledged, i simply couldn't continue to try to make it work any longer. we were over.

it started before bug's birthday in august. he had (surprise, surprise) a superhero themed party. and i found a set of wilton batman cookie cutters which i thought would be perfect for making treats to add to the kiddies' goodie bags. i bought my ingredients and dutifully blended them together using wilton's recipe (as included on the side of the cookie cutter box). i floured my surface, pressed the cutters, and gingerly placed them on their baking sheet so as not to distort the joker's face any further. and how did they look when they were done? like amorphous blobs. they were a mess. and i was not happy.

then, in october bug innocently picked up a set of halloween cookie cutters and asked if we could try them out. and we gave that a go too. to no avail. this time the recipe was more of the molasses and gingerbread variety. but, again, the recipe that was included with said cookie cutters totally let me down. we measured, we stirred, we baked, and what did we get for our efforts? not black cats, werewolves and tombstones. simply more amorphous mess.

after two failed attempts, it was over. i had sworn off my unhealthy relationship with my cookie cutters for good.

until december, when an old friend from high school forwarded her holiday baking photos to a few of us. i was amazed. these cookies were perfect. they were sugar. they were cut. and (in the pictures she sent) it was next to impossible to tell which cookies were baked and which were not. they held their shape beyond beautifully.

i immediately got the recipe. and bug and i baked sugar cookies with our christmas cookie cutters the very next day. i wanted to trust in the photos i had seen, but i was still skeptical. did my old friend know something i didn't? was her technique honed over years of practice and effort? thrillingly, the recipe worked perfectly. and the even more amazing part is that the recipe isn't complicated or fussy. it's simple and straightforward, which i love. even better? they taste fantastic. the are thick. they are soft. they have a sweet almond flavor. what more can i tell you? they are amazing.

the little sous chef and i baked valentine's day cookies yesterday. we used our new wilton heart shaped cookie cutters, but i didn't even flip the box over to see if there was a recipe on the back. i'm done looking. the perfect sugar cookie recipe has arrived. we think they turned out pretty fantastic.

thank you for sharing your family's recipe with all of us, stephanie!

soft sugar cookies

what you'll need: mixer, baking sheet, measuring cups and spoons, rolling pin, cookie cutters, icing, and the following ingredients

1 cup butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour

1. cream together butter, cream cheese, and sugar

2. add egg and mix well

3. add baking powder, almond extract and vanilla and mix

4. add flour and mix

5. chill dough until firm

6. roll dough onto well floured surface

7. use cookie cutters to cut. note: it is important to keep the dough chilled. tuck it into the fridge (or freezer) if you find it warming in your hands, or if it stretches out of shape when moved from floured surface to cookie sheet.

8. bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. may require baking for an additional two to four minutes depending on how thick they are rolled

9. cool for one minute on baking sheet

10. move to cooling racks

11. decorate

12. share with your valentine!

what's your favorite cookie decoration?