today's guest: Julie Fisk of KVIL

Have you heard Julie on her morning show? She's hysterical. I totally lucked out - she is a fellow mom at my kids school and now a friend - it's not easy finding other parents you truly relate too, and REALLY like.  Julie is cool...and did I mention funny? Here is a peek into the life of Julie and her family...

 Living with the Greatest Flute Player EVER & a Tiny Blues Man

My oldest daughter has a confidence problem, but in the opposite direction. She believes that every time she tries something new, she will be the absolute BEST at it EVER. It could be bracelet-making, scooter riding or in this particular case, flute playing but before she has even started she has decided that no one will ever surpass her abilities. I probably don’t help this because I’ve never been good at saying, “Look kid, you’re just not THAT great.” How does one keep a kid’s abilities in perspective without shooting down their dreams? This particular issue raised its ugly head recently when my daughter joined the school band.

She decided that she wanted to play flute and was thrilled to tell me that joining band was not only FREE, but they also just GAVE you the instruments. Not sure why I bought it because joining band, it turns out, is a costly venture. The instruments also cost about as much as a prosthetic limb, so we decided to rent. We had JUST gotten the thing home when she started blowing on it repeatedly but was totally incapable of making a sound. This was a great treat to her little sister, who had listened to her brag about what an excellent flautist she was going to be (yes I know, it’s a terrible word).

The little sister came home with a harmonica that day as well, because it’s hard to say NO when you’re dropping hundreds of dollars on one kid & the other asks for 8 bucks. So, the little one produced her harmonica and proceeded to toot away.  She played every song she could think of, and this is essentially what it sounded like.

“Listen Mommy, it’s Jingle Bells!” (BLEE-BLAH-BLEEE-BLEE-BLAH-BLEEE-BLEE-BLAH-BLEE-BLAH-BLEEEEE.)

“Listen Mommy, it’s The Alphabet Song!” (BLEE-BLAH-BLEE-BLAH-BLEE-BLAH-BLEEEE…you get the point.)

This was maddening to the big sister, who couldn’t produce a single sound, other than one shrill, breathy note on her flute. That’s probably why she snatched her little sister’s harmonica and started her own BLEE-BLAH-BLEE party through the house.  A screaming-girl-fight ensued, but the little one got her harmonica back at some point. I know this because I saw it tucked under a blanket with her American Girl Doll and a stuffed Kitty Cat this morning, like some bizarre slumber party.
The harmonica has proven to be quite educational for us all though. Just yesterday, the oldest girl created a One Man Band by playing the harmonica with one hand and cranking a music box with the other. Their father said it sounded like the world’s most depressing parade. Then, at dinner the 6-year-old told me she could teach me how to play the harmonica.

“See Mommy, I’ll teach you how to play the last note in any song. You just do this. BleeeeEEEEEE! And now you know how to play harmonica!”

Well thanks Lucy! I guess I do. Now if I can just find a band that needs a last-note-harmonica player, we’ll be good to go!


Hang with Julie on her show Zazza & Julie on 103.7 from 5:30am - 10am. She will be our guest here on Mom.Edit. every month.

in the shop: Byrd & Bleeker, Ft. Worth

Along with the stellar museums and restaurants (Amon Carter Museum and Woodshed Smokehouse- my two faves) Byrd & Bleeker gets me out to Ft. Worth pretty often. It reminds me a store tucked away on a quaint NYC street. Every time I go the children's section gets a little bigger - cool books, paper wrappings, craft supplies and a unique selection of cards.  I was loving these monogramed melamine plates...a perfect birthday gift!

Byrd & Bleeker
4725 Camp Bowie Boulevard @ Hulen
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
817.989.1500

let's go: a long kid-free weekend in Palm Springs

 

 all photos from the Ace Hotel

Today is my 10 year wedding anniversary. The hubby and I headed to Palm Springs for a much needed long weekend without the kids. I'm looking forward to conversations fire side while sipping wine, endless hours of reading by the pool and sleeping in. Going away without your children is a double-edged sword. You are so excited to get time alone but you worry about being away from them. We are lucky to have family to watch them but there is a small sense of guilt of not taking them with us. Hopefully by this time tomorrow we will be hiking through Joshua Tree State Park, reflecting on our love and the kids will be far from our minds...but I doubt it.

What are you up to this weekend? Sign up for our Weekend Guide Newsletter to get the low down each week of the best local events.

found: TimeCapsules

“How did it get so late so soon? It's night before it's afternoon. December is here before it's June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”

― Dr. Seuss

I want my 7 year old to stop. Right at this age. She asks the best questions "Do bugs live by the same time as us?".  She doesn't fuss over her hair and still loves to swing and sing to her self in the backyard. This brilliant TimeCapsule is perfect for savoring this moment. The inspiration behind this came from Andy Warhol who always had a brown cardboard box next to his bed to collect bits of his daily life. The kit includes a capsule, manual, notebook, stickers, tape and tags along with a super strong seal. Available Smitten for the Wee Generation in Austin, Texas.

monday inspiration: flying houses by Laurent Chehere

I imagine any child would love to float up by the clouds in this house...read more about French photographer Laurent Chehere here.

a little local love

 girls cotton dress spotted at the new Steven Alan store in Dallas

 

gold chevron clutch by Belle de Benoir

vintage Tunisian wall hanging found at Scout & Lilly

crafty: words as art

Check out this project spotted in the house of über talented Rubyellen of My Cakies feature in the new issue of Family Fun Magazine. I'm sure we all have tons of quotes on our pin boards that inspire us. Rubyellen's husband made her this gift of a quote she admired, simply with poster board and paint. My girls would love this project. Here are some quotes that I wouldn't mind seeing around my house...

from Pure and Noble Blog

 

from Wit & Delight

found via Pinterest

let's go: the beach

Every summer we go to the beach. It's a must. Growing up within an hours drive from the coast and spending every 4th of July there as a kid is ingrained. For the first few years when the girls were too little to endure a long car ride we kept it simple and went to Surfside Beach outside of Galveston. The drive was short and the houses are cheap to rent. Lately I have been daydreaming of being oceanside with a book while the girls frolic in the waves. By this time in September the heat is daunting and we are craving cool weather, but what about squeezing in another beach weekend before the cool weather moves in? We might as well benefit from our long, drawn out summer here in Texas. I'm thinking a quick weekend at the end of September. Check out VRBO for houses to rent in Surfside (it's off season so you'll get a great price!) or the surrounding areas.

it goes on the menu: Butternut Squash and Pancetta Orecchiette

My drive home from work usually consists of me calling the hubby and asking “What do we do for dinner?” Mind you it’s not like our pantry and fridge are bare - believe me, my $150 Central Market bill from Sunday afternoon begs to differ- it’s just plain laziness. I just worked all day and don’t feel like cooking. If I wasn’t such a food snob I could do boxed mashed potatoes with frozen chicken patties and call it a day.  Problem is, it has to be from scratch, restaurant quality and taste amazing. So we settle on some local eatery. The total bill if we only have one glass of wine each will be around $40. That’s cheap right? No, it’s not when you multiply that by four, because it's the fourth night this week we ate out. I have been trying to cook at home. Every night. So far so good this week. Here's a new recipe I tried last night and loved. I always choose something that I can easily simplify for my kids. In this case I put some pasta aside for them and tossed with with the pancetta, butter, pasta water and Pecorino Romano cheese

Butternut Squash and Pancetta Orecchiette

from Spoon Fork Bacon

Serves 3 to 4 (I doubled all the veggies)

Ingredients:

1 lb orecchiette pasta

3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 ounces pancetta, diced

1 shallot, diced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, peeled and diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2/3 cup white wine

1 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced

8 to 10 threads saffron

1 tablespoon minced thyme

2 teaspoons thinly sliced chives

2 egg yolks

1 cup pasta water

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for garnish

                                                              salt and pepper to taste

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water has been brought to a boil, add pasta and stir. Cook pasta until al dente, drain (reserving 3/4 cup pasta water), toss with 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and set aside.

2. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and sauté for 3 minutes. Drain pancetta onto paper towels and set aside.

3. Pour remaining oil to pan and sauté shallots for 1 minute. Add carrots, celery and garlic and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add the squash and continue to sauté for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, stir in the saffron threads and cook until the liquid has almost disappeared or until the squash has softened.

6. Return pancetta to the pan, with the vegetable mixture and stir in the orecchiette until well combined.

7. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently fold in the herbs.

8. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and pasta water. Pour the mixture over the pasta and stir together. Sprinkle cheese over pasta and stir until just combined. Adjust seasonings and serve with extra pecorino sprinkled on top.

crafty: fabric wrapped hangers

  

For our October issue photo shoot we are making fabric wrapped hangers for props. I love using these to display the girls dress ups and vintage finds. We took cotton fabrics strips and wrapped them on Huggable Hangers from The Container Store and then used yarn to wrap the on the top, tying a knot to secure the ends. A super easy craft.