Healthy Comfort Food + Thermometers

If someone is going to offer cooking lessons, I am going to take them. 

The Hillside Supper Club and Braun Thermometers hosted a little event in the city the other day, and I am soooo glad I went. I left with the best thermometer I've ever seen {my children cannot handle the in-the-mouth version we currently have, and this one just taps against their forehead and DONE!}, and a good grasp on making healthy hearty soup and pot pie. My family is thankful in advance, and judging by the cold and flu patterns in 2014, it won't be long before we put the thermometer to great use.  

Sometimes cooking certain dishes is entirely too intimidating. Homemade pasta? What? I could never... but oh, we did. Chicken pot pie? No way... but yes, we also did that. I think the biggest lesson I'm learning this year regarding the kitchen is to "TRY IT. You might like it!" I know that expression is generally regarding the eating aspect of the kitchen, but for me- eating diverse foods has never been the problem. ;) I just don't want to try cooking recipes that just may not taste good... 2014 says TRY. 

SO, here are the things I've learned from my day at The Hillside Supper Club

{*unsponsored, though we got goodies for the kitchen and thermometers to take home}

• Eat at the Hillside Supper Club. I'm craving their homemade pasta so much that I've added a pasta maker to my Christmas wish list. There is nothing like it. 
• Spend a little time at the beginning of your week prepping things. Dicing and seasoning veggies that can be used for soups or pot pies or as sides on your plate make day-of cooking that much more manageable! 
• Doughs are not as intimidating as they seem. They're only a few quick ingredients, and you can have fresh, unprocessed pastas, pie crusts, etc etc. 
• Don't just toss meat bones. Simmer simmer simmer, and you'll have brilliant chicken stocks. My mom has been trying to teach this to me forever, but I'm a repeat offender of just tossing the bones. No longer, my friends, no longer. 
• GET A BRAUN THERMOMETER. I had this "under the tongue" traditional thermometer until last week. As I've said many times, my girls have been sick repeatedly this year. I avoided the thermometer at all cost-- the fits my sick little patients threw when I inserted that stick under their tongues were ridiculous. Now, my medicine cabinet has a thermometer that I merely need to press to my child's forehead {and I can allow them to keep sleeping!! Imagine!}, and their temperature shows directly on the screen. It's colored red, yellow, or green based on their numbers. I'm sold on this forever. PS. No need to worry if you have run out of germ-blocking sleeves.

All in all, a fun, successful day. Cooking classes and fabulous thermometers are my new favorite things. 

xx

Things Left Unsaid 02: Modeling

Photo by Gretchen Easton for Mini Magazine

Today, I'm staying away from the serious, and talking about a fun "thing left unsaid" in our lives. I'm sure you've seen glimpses on my Instagram, but today I'll tell you a bit about my kiddos being models. I've never come out and said it, but there you have it: they are, technically. 

There's a stigma attached to child models, and while I'm sure the nutty stage moms and pushy families exist, it has not been our experience with the San Francisco modeling community at all. Photo shoots have been a big part of our lives in 2014, but I can't guarantee next year {or even next week!} will bring any more bookings. It's fun, but it's a fickle industry too! People ask all the time if I can connect them with brands and agents, and the short answer is, "not really." Each agency has gaps in certain ages or a "look" that they would like to fill... if I refer someone who has a 5-year old to my agency who is really looking only for 3-year olds and 7-year-olds, they may not be signed. Not because the child isn't adorable, but because their sizes are just not what is needed right now. It has so much to do with timing!

So what is it like behind the scenes?

First off, bookings are not well in advance. We sometimes get notice that the girls are "on hold" for a day or a week, but sometimes we get an email or phone call the night before asking someone to be somewhere the next morning at 8:30am. It's also not a predictable industry, that's for sure. Auditions are unpaid and necessary in most situations... but once they book the job, more jobs often come of them. Maggie booked Old Navy and Gymboree every month for a lot of the year this year, and she only had to audition once for each! Two-years old is a BIG age, in our experience. They are in the prime of toddlerhood, and if they love shoots, they'll be successful. Sophie started at 4, and had several calls and shoots her first year, and then had almost no auditions for about 9 months, and now she's back to getting calls and bookings. It's really just about timing, ages, sizes and look! It's nothing we can take personally. It's all cyclical. 

All children have a teacher on every set by law. They are the child's advocate who steps in if they see children getting tired, needing a snack, etc. They also help school-age children with their school work. For the baby and toddler age, there is also often a child-wrangler. The wrangler is the entertainment for your children... the one making them laugh hysterically, entertaining them with balloons, bubbles, songs, and just being high-energy fun. It makes or breaks a shoot to have the best wranglers on duty behind the scenes. Kids absolutely adore these people, and it makes the entire experience fun for everyone. Sophie is no longer at an age where she needs a wrangler on set, but they often provide the child's song choice, and tell jokes while they shoot, and she has a blast hamming it up for the camera. 

This isn't something we're taking too seriously, but for now it's FUN. If your schedule is generally flexible, and you have outgoing children who are fine with standing still, pursue it! If your child is reserved or incredibly strong-willed, it's just not worth it.

Though my kids enjoy it, they're too young to really show whether or not they're truly passionate about it. We'll just ride the wave while we're here, and we can see whether or not it'll be something they continue as they get older. ;)

My favorite part of it is the pictures, so here are some favorites!!

xoxo.

The Juggle Lately

Hello from the least consistent blogger of 2014... I miss this little space! I wish I could say I was off reading books on beaches and taking leisurely strolls to get coffee, but nope! I've just been here, there, and everywhere. I'm not one of those people who enjoys being busy- I'm a total homebody by nature- but I'm also enjoying everything so much, it's been hard to take anything off the plate. 

I started tracking my steps to prove I'm busy {ha!!!}. It worked properly for five days, during which I averaged 3.1 miles of daily walking. It became this competition with myself- like, do I take that second bus, or should I just walk the remainder to get more steps into my walk? I had a 7 mile day where my legs felt like jello by the evening, and it was a strangely satisfying feeling. I don't have to have a gym membership, or subject myself to pilates torture to get a workout! After those five days, my phone's step tracking reset and I stopped paying attention, but I am still mostly making the choice to walk when I can, rather than bus it. I recommend it. Maggie really enjoys her stroller, so we're all happy.

We're in a bit of a groove now that school has been in session for awhile. My time alone with Maggie has been very sweet. We play a lot of candyland, and take a lot of scooter rides. She has extracurricular classes that keep her week varied rather than mundane. I've heard that when kids get home from school, they're wiped out and sleepy... not in our case. Sophie gets home and the two just squeal and play like they haven't seen each other in weeks. It's high-energy fun, and it cracks me up. 

I'd be lying if I said I'm not a bit worn out! I'm worn out but in the happiest way. It's this strange phase where I cannot perhaps sit as much and unwind, but watching my family doing things they love and seeing them thriving is making me so happy. I mean, is treking my child to swim class my favorite part of the week? Not at all... but seeing her successfully swimming {especially when at the beginning of the year the water made her scream} is so thrilling. Is making the perfect lunch every day for my school-kid the most exciting part of my day? Not so much... but seeing her articulate her specific preferences in a mature way as I pack it makes me smile {also! crazy enough, she almost entirely flat-out refuses to buy lunch! I do not get it, but she thinks so much of her lunches in her lunchbox, and I'm a bit flattered about it, haha!}.

There will come a day that I have a consistent blogging schedule and a full blog- {and a full shop, for that matter!} but for now it is taking a bit of a back seat, and that's okay for me. Adjusting focus and schedules is part of life. I will be sneaking posts in as often as I can- if you know me well, you know I always have so much to say and share about. It just cannot be daily as it was before... just for this stage. ;)

xoxo