admiring: 14 february 2014

REMINDER! Today’s the last day to sign up for one free week of Blue Apron meals. There will be three names drawn (probably by the little one) this evening. Let’s call 7pm CST the deadline, shall we? Good luck!

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Ever since I started the sweet train last week, it’s been downhill ever since. So why don’t we just go for it?

This week I started following Jeni on Instagram. I will tell you that this is dangerous. (See photographic example above.) Proceed at your own risk. Remember that crazy family that drove an hour out of their way on their vacation route to eat at Jeni’s? Twice?

I signed up to receive the weekly emails from Right Brains Society, and I’m enjoying them immensely. Adding another layer to the appreciation I have for Nicole Gulotta’s online presence. Did you see any of The Lunchbox Fund recipes featured on your favorite food blogs? Here’s the link to The Giving Table.

Shop Like a Chef, A Food Lover’s Guide to St. Louis Neighborhoods – I was first introduced to this book last November – one of the authors, Clara Moore, is the sister of a friend. I finally picked up my own copy this week, and can’t wait to dive into it this weekend. This city is full of so many places to shop for food – I can’t wait to push myself outside of the grocery box a little more. Rumor has it, there might be other cities in the works soon. If you are local, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy at Left Bank Books.

Another book that interests me – the graphic novel Relish. I read the first few pages and almost purchased it for E – I’m sure I’ll eventually cave. I laughed out loud in the bookstore. It’s one of those books that I think she will really relate to – and it feeds into this secret experiment that I feel like I’m conducting. By feeding my kids real, good food – will they grow up to appreciate it, or run as far and as fast (food) as possible from it? (Regardless of the outcome, I’m eating well in the process!) 

Enjoyed this interview with Tom Hoerr about his new book Fostering Grit – on getting kids to push themselves beyond easy successes to the real work of learning and exploring (and, oftentimes, failure). I also laughed at the idea of instilling “grit” in kids – mostly because it was fourteen degrees that day with a windchill in the single digits and E was outside doing field work with her class at Litzsinger Road Ecology Center. This week I’m grateful for teachers that instill quite a bit of that “grit” – especially since this mama likes to be warm indoors.

I love a good millionaire next door story.

And a new take on romantic love.

Plus a quick morning add – today’s Google Doodle. (Because I heart Ira Glass.)