Fun Food-ish Finds

I stress out every Tuesday | Thursday because of lunch. Caeden doesn't eat sandwiches, and well, what else is there to take to school for lunch? Usually, I cheerfully announce, "It's breakfast for lunch today!" and show him his yogurt, cereal bar, and fruit combo waiting in his lunchbox. He looks up at me, knowing I struggle with this, and says something along the lines of, "I will eat it all, Mom."

Now that fall is here, I can pack soups and stuff in thermos' - but tonight I just stumbled upon this site: Design Mom (I think the guest blogger lives in Denver) and found some great ideas for dressing things up a bit. Mind you, food prep holds very little appeal to me. I like to bake. I like to cook. I like to eat. But taking the time to make things pretty is not my thing. I would rather do that with a camera, with a computer, with fun paper and glue than with food.

But a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. I can't wait for Caeden to open his lunch box tomorrow.

P.S. For those of you in the Denver area, do you know about this place? Sticky Fingers Cooking
A super cute cooking school geared for ages 2-10. They do classes, birthday parties, etc. Their website is packed full of information and fun things to look at. I love the mini-chef tool kits.

Now, look at this clever idea: Cooper's Tea Party. It's a tea party set with velco food on the table cloth. I can see Claire and I spending hours over something like this ... I mean, she'd crawl on top of it, and try to eat the items, and I would pull them out of her mouth and think I should have waited a year or two to do something like this ... anyway, I wish I could sew. Because then I could make pillows like this:

(Photo: Apartment Therapy via Etsy)
*edited to add: Here is the link to the tutorial Lindsay refers to in the comment section.

And in closing: My favorite TV Chef is Ina Garten. I have all her cookbooks lined up on my counter top where they get used and used and used. House Beautiful featured her kitchen and some of her favorite kitchen tips here: Tour. Here are some of my favorite images:

I love the desk by the big french doors. When I think about how I want my office to be, this is what I envision. Bright, simple, and inspiring. The fresh flowers are a must.


The flax color on the walls is color I am painting the basement. The beadboard will be a fresh, creamy white ... and sofas are the color of the drapes. A mellow, warm yellow.

I love the structure of this basket. I love the function of it even more! This would be a great idea for cookbooks, too.

All photos found here.