Let’s be real, eating out is the BEST; it’s a meal that I don’t have to cook…woohoo! When the weather gets warmer, I’m always up for finding a way to combine my love of ‘not cooking’ with the outdoors. Wait for it…a picnic! Yay, ok now that you love the idea, take a deep breath and accept that the planning is totally worth it.
Growing up, my mom would throw some PB&J sandwiches, potato chips, and Coca-Cola’s into a backpack with a few towels and call it a picnic and as fondly as I remember those times, I have NOT been to or had a picnic like that in years! As a mindful eater and a mother, making EVERY meal into an opportunity to do right by my family keeps these meals a little more balanced and creative.
The essentials are still the same — something to sit on, something to eat, and something to do! So grab a blanket, (check out these super trendy and beautiful ones by Boho Street), try out some of our favorite bites, and throw in a frisbee, kite, soccer ball, or our personal favorite, Bananagrams and head out!
One of our favorite family recipes is my mom’s semi-homemade ‘3 Bean Salad’. With less than 10 ingredients and in just 5 minutes, you can wow your taste buds on the go! To see more recipes like this, like us on Pinterest and check out our ‘Picnic Basket’ board for more ideas.
The baskets that we use include reusable utensils and dishes and although it may seem like you’re doing more harm than good, the utensils are also eco-friendly so you can enjoy your meal, guilt free. Be sure to pack some wipes to wipe off the dishes before you pack them and keep a couple of disposable grocery bags for garbage.
For larger potluck style picnics which may include kids, an effective tool that we have used is aGoogle Doc for tracking who is bringing what. Here is a peek at what that form looks like and lucky you, it’s already set up as a template!
With the summer vibes kicking don’t forget your bug spray and sunscreen, this Aromaflage perfume has a built in bug repellent that you can’t smell, its wonderful and made from aromatic essential oils made from botanical extracts.
I hope that this inspires you to get out sooner because if you are anything like me, later never comes.
Have fun!
Your Party Chicks,
Rina And Sonia
Chick Picks:
Picadilly BasketBasket for 4 With BlanketWine Stakes for the Beach!
Go to a dermatologist or any beauty expert and you won’t be walking out without them hysterically telling you how important sun protection is. I’m no expert, but I’m not any different either: Use it daily! Apply it EVERYWHERE. No, your make up is not enough.
I used to apply sunscreen (chemical, broad spectrum) on clean skin before applying any other skin/make up products. *I DO NOT DO THIS ANYMORE* Not because it was ineffective by any means, but I now use a physical sunscreen. My face routine is now: serum/face cream, physical sunscreen, and then bb cream. What is physical sunscreen? Well, there’s no real definition for it. It essentially means that the zinc oxide and titanium dioxide physically block the UV rays from getting to the skin. Chemical, on the other hand, uses chemicals to either absorb or scatter the UV rays.
Why the change? After doing a lot of research that came after talking to my intelligent esthetician (who sadly moved to Texas) I have enlisted to prevent any pigmentation. Hence, I now use physical sunscreen on my face/neck/chest every single day! To prevent burning. To stop sun damage. Premature ageing. And halt that mean, pigmentation, in its tracks. Physical sunscreen also allows me to forget about constantly reapplying it (unless I wet my face or sweat profusely) which is the tricky part with chemical sunscreens and make up! I will often use a BB cream or foundation with chemical sunscreens on top of this, that is to say, I am not making a stand against them, but for my primary sun protection on the face and chest? Physical sunscreen.
Let’s get one thing straight though, no matter what you are using or decide to use it is SO important to use that sunscreen on a daily basis – especially since we live in the kind of ridiculous country that insists on having extreme UV. Also because without it we burn, and get skin cancer, and our immune system suffers and our beautiful skin becomes lined and spotted. Yes, we should get about 15 minutes (depending on the time of year/UV strength/your skin) of sun exposure per day for Vitamin D and general happiness, as many miserable Chicagoans will attest to in the winter. The best way to get it and not soil your lovely skin is to expose the arms, in my opinion.
~Your Beauty Chick ~ Neema
Chick Picks:
Great on-the-go sunscreen for your pursue – AND KID FRIENDLY! (This goes directly on my 18 month old daughter when we play out in the sun)Doubles as a moisturizer – Lightweight and lovely.Quite the superstar in the physical sunscreen world, being one of, if not the only spray versions.My all time favorite, go-to sunscreen. Have been using it daily for 6 months now!
Mother’s Day — the day we give praise to all the mother’s around us…our own mother’s, our mom friends, and even those that are like mothers. The flowers, homemade cards, and of course the school crafts all come pouring in. This is also the perfect time to think about the ironies behind how our children view mothers. For instance, do our children really view us as givers? Are we just givers of endless amounts of snacks and ridiculous requests? Let’s not mention the endless hours of sleep we are deprived of, the enormous amounts of guilt we feel, and the thousands of unfinished cups of coffee (sadly waiting on the counter all day waiting to be enjoyed)?
I once asked my children what they thought I did all day…the answers varied. My overly observant daughter replied (in a nice complete sentence), “I believe you clean and cook and make sure everything is perfect by the time we get back from school.” My son, who sees the world much MUCH simpler replied, “I don’t know…what do you do? Do you just wait by the door for us to get back home?”
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You may be wondering why I decided to title this “Mother’s Day” tribute, “The Father, The Hero…” — let me explain. Before I continue, I would like to lay out a disclaimer…this post in NO way is putting down father’s and saying they don’t do squat (even though, let’s be real…).
Spring Break — I was told to take it easy (by my very kind Doctor). My husband had already planned to take a couple days off to hang out and hopefully play some golf. Luck would have it that I’m down and the weather wasn’t golf-appropriate. He stepped up and came to the rescue (I inserted that for those about to go all “at least your husband helps…blah blah blah” on me).
What does a crazy mom do when she hears she’ll be “down” for a few days? Plan. I made sure we were stocked up on groceries (end-less snacks) for him. I made some meals — easy heat-up meals, ready to go in the refrigerator for him. I made sure all the laundry was done and folded (and EVEN put away) for him. I did all this to not only help him take over, but also to ease my own stresses on being “down.”
During my stages of bed-ridden bliss, my darling children would visit me in bed. They would bring me sweet cards, sneak me treats, and even serenade me with a song and nicely demand a TV show. During their visits, they would also go on about how “daddy was doing.”
“Daddy made us lunch mommy — JUST like you!” — so he just heated up the food I prepped and then served it? Nice.
“Daddy gave us ice cream with sprinkles AND chocolate syrup!” — so he simply scooped out ice cream and gave into the kids’ whining for more sugar? Wuss!
“Daddy laid out my pajamas for me!” — so he opened a drawer AND took the nicely folded PJs out? What a man!
Oh and my all-time favorite…
“Daddy READ us a book!” — he can read?? Get out!
Here’s my take on it…kids don’t expect their fathers to perform and execute tasks the way us moms do. They expect the whole “your mommy is better at this than I am so just bear with me” spiel. They naturally expect their mothers to complete tasks effortlessly. I asked a male friend about this and he simply replied, “you ladies are just naturally better than we are.”
And with that — the end.
There’s a reason my children were incredibly happy when I was back — their routines were back in place. They were happy that lunch was prepared for them by ME, they were actually content with MY dessert portions, they appreciated the way I kept their lives in order (including their never-ending laundry), and they really enjoyed MY story-times with them. Even though my husband tried his best, there’s nothing that could replace a mother’s touch. That unique blend of love, care, and sometimes over compulsive behavior! A mother knows how it should be done and even when things blow up, she can effortlessly fix it without a second thought.
Happy Mother’s Day, ladies…you may have a crummy day today or hopefully not. Just know, you’ve got this — you don’t need to try to be the BEST because in your childrens’ eyes, you already are. Simple.
I get asked ALL the time what I buy from Costco because I’m there at a MINIMUM once a week. It’s the food version of Target for me. Everyone is at peace; I stock up on the essentials we need and the kids know the food court is part of the rotation – a win-win. I was a Costco-lover even before we had children because I found great pleasure in having a stockpile of toiletries and paper towels. I still have PTSD from running out of toilet paper in my house when I was growing up. I vowed that would never happen to me as an adult.
Costco also has a pretty strong selection of organic produce, meats and dairy. I’ve found that their produce lasts longer than the local grocers’.
So, without further ado, here are the top 10 items I purchase from Costco: Even if you don’t have a need for these items, it’s helpful to know that Costco carries them, and typically at a much better price than its competitors.
Pesto – delicious imported Italian basil pesto to put on pasta, wraps, chicken and quesadillas! This is the #1 preferred pasta topping in our home. It’s phenomenally quick and far from tastes like a two-ingredient meal. The kids devour and ask for seconds, without fail.
Kodiak Pancake mix – if you like to make pancakes or waffles, this mix is sent from the griddle gods themselves. It’s foolproof with its 1:1 water to mix ratio and it promises to deliver consistently fluffy results every time. And if that weren’t enough, this mix is packed with 14g of protein per serving and only contains the most natural of ingredients! (a gluten-free version is available on amazon). You can get creative with the mix, which if you ask me, is always the best part of making batter. And with this mix, you can get straight to the best part of mixing. I’ve added shredded coconut, sometimes chocolate chips and have even used buttermilk versus water when feeling especially deserving.
Sweet Kale salad – You never knew you liked brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage and broccoli all in the same RAW salad until you’ve tried this prepared sweet kale salad. It comes with pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries and a poppyseed dressing, which I could eat by the spoonful. You can also make your own salad dressing and customize your toppings if you prefer, but for all of the shredding, dicing and chopping that goes into it, it can be an excellent base to your “homemade” salad.
Roti – These were an accidental discovery while trying to find uncooked tortillas. Amazingly fresh tasting, these bake in minutes if making large quantities or puff up in a frying pan (no oil needed). They are incredibly soft and can be used in lieu of tortillas. Try them with burritos, quesadillas, fajitas, wraps – their uses are endless and they taste fresh because they are!
Contigo Water Bottles – Costco carries a rotation of seasonal Contigo water bottles. Whether a 3-pack of BPA-free adult-sized water bottles, a double-pack of stainless steel water bottles, kid-sized bottles or thermal mugs, be sure to check your Costco’s inventory before purchasing online or from another retailer. I’ve found them to be significantly less expensive at Costco.
PT’s (Organic) Coffee – beautiful, robust coffee free of pesticides. Just grind up the beans before you leave (yes, Costco has a coffee grinder for our use) and you have an aromatic bag of caffeinated deliciousness ready for your machine or bullet-proof coffee!
Frozen Mango…. frozen cherries, frozen berries, frozen pineapples….Their frozen fruit selection is beyond amazing and super convenient if you like to make smoothies and yogurt parfaits, bake with fruit, or simply have fruit on hand. Do you want to peel mangos, work around the pit and chop them up into perfectly cubed pieces? One prophetic quote comes to mind: “ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat!”.
Maple Syrup – Costco carries 1L of 100% pure Grade A maple syrup at a cost you can’t beat. If you know how maple syrup is sourced, you’ll have great appreciation for the value offered. We sweeten oatmeal, pancakes, even coffee with this delicious elixir.
La Croix – the Costco I frequent carries a 24ct. variety-pack of LaCroix. They also carry a solely lime flavored case. If you want to increase your water intake in a novel way, or if you’re trying to break your diet coke/coke habit, try La Croix. The can and tab opening mimics the cracking open of a carbonated sugary drink without all of the bad stuff.
Individual Hummus packs – these are amazing on-the-go snack items and a great source of protein for your kids’ school lunches. Pair with fresh vegetables, pretzel snaps or chips (all sold at Costco )
All this and I didn’t even touch on their selection of cheeses, but you have to go in person to be a believer. Whether shredded, sliced, hard, soft, in stick form, wheel form, or wedge form, keep Costco in mind when planning your next cheese board crowd pleaser.
