tallsarah's Profile

Display Name: tallsarah
Member Since: 3/30/09

Latest Comments...

What a great face he has! Seriously great photo.

I love when we take our kids to places without traditional kids' menus. They are way more willing to try different foods & have a more fun dining experience. How else would salmon (in any form, raw, roe, poached, grilled) become my 7 year old's favorite food? My kids are learning to figure out what's in a dish- they single out specific flavors & say what they like or don't about them. Or if more salt is needed :)


How a Change of Scenery Expands My Kids' Palates
6/14/13 11:47 AM

I would love to see more photos of your home. It's stunning.


Front Door Suggestions for 1920's Home? Good Questions
6/14/13 10:42 AM

We spend a week in North Myrtle Beach, SC almost every summer. The grocery stores there are TERRIBLE. Scary meats, limp veggies, etc. The fish markets/ docks are pretty good thankfully.

2 years ago, I finally discovered their farmers' market. It is fabulous & was filled with great farmers & excellent produce, organic meats, a delightful dairy & wonderful bakers.


On Vacation in the Kitchen: Making Do with What I Have
6/12/13 1:56 PM

I just got my new issue of Southern Living & will be testing out the Steak & Fingerling Potato Kabobs, with a Bearnaise vinaigrette. I made the vinaigrette today & will grill the steak tomorrow. In New England it's chilly & rainy, so not time for outdoor picnics, but we'll grill anyway. I was thinking soup, too, but didn't get inspired by anything. Wish I'd read Rachaelc1986 earlier! Sounds yummy.

Happy weekend everyone.


What's Cooking This Weekend? Weekend of May 25-27, 2013
5/24/13 10:48 PM

Right there with you. In fact, just today, I finally returned the ski rentals. Which meant a 2+ hour drive each way to NH from Boston.

The bins with our snow/ sledding gear is still in the basement, awaiting washing. Sweaters have been washed & put in their drawers, but winter coats are still in the downstairs closet. It feels like a Herculean effort to get them all washed & put in the attic storage. Guess I could go wash one bin's worth now, but the garden awaits!


The Seasonal Clothing Shuffle: What's Your Strategy?
5/23/13 2:56 PM

My husband just built us 3, 3'x6' raised beds. It took him about 2 hours (I helped, but just barely). He used spruce 2"x12" boards & the lumber cost about $125. We would have loved to use cedar, but that would have cost over $300/ bed (we live outside Boston).

The day after, we had 4 yards of compost delivered & used about half to fill the beds up. That cost $150. Then $15 on bone meal & $17 on seaweed kelp liquid concentrate.

Then I spend $80 on seedlings & seeds.

So, nearly $400 later, we hope to have a bountiful harvest, later this year. The spruce beds should last 5-10 years & we will amend the soil each year with our own compost & more bone meal & kelp mixture. Not a cheap undertaking, but we love to garden & grow what we can.


Build Your Own Raised Garden Beds In Less Time Than You Think Chris Loves Julia
5/22/13 6:06 PM

I've only ever made it by hand & it's super easy. I use Lidia Bastianich's recipe for poor man's egg pasta: 2 cups AP flour, sifted; 2 eggs, 3 T water, 4 T olive oil. Mix together, knead about 20 times, wrap tightly, rest 30 minutes. Roll it out. Easy & easy cleanup, too. I can make homemade pasta & have dinner on the table in under an hour. I use my hand crank machine for rolling & cutting the pasta & it's super fast.


How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn
5/21/13 6:33 PM

Yet another Lindsey Adelman sculpture/ light I love!


Branch chandelier by Lindsey Adelman for The Future Perfect ICFF 2013
5/21/13 6:28 PM

Have you thought about papering over the darth vader fridge? I've seen contact or wall paper used & it looks pretty good & would brighten up that area. Paint stores always have random rolls on clearance.

I also agree about adding under cab lighting. Ikea makes plug in LED strips for about $20 each & that would help out tremendously. You can add a hanging pendant over your kitchen table easily- no electrician is needed for a plug in kind. Sure, you'll see the cord, but you'll gain some much needed light. If there's anyway you could hang a small fixture over your sink, too, that will help out while doing dishes.

Also, clear off your counters as much as you can. It appears you have lots & lots of appliances, crocs of utensils, etc. Figure out what you use every day & put the rest away in cabinets. All that clutter is blocking your bright clean counters.


Kitchen Color that Works with Terrible Lighting? Good Questions
5/13/13 11:52 AM

That thing in her pocket looks like a mousetrap.


It's Friday. Time to Bring on the Crazy.
The Ziploc Bag Jacket

5/10/13 10:36 AM

We are teaching table manners to our children slowly. Sometimes if the kids are arguing at the table, we'll play the game "what would we do if the President & his family were dining with us here?" It's pretty fun. We talk about what we would make for dinner, where we would all sit (hilarious to think about in our tiny dining room), if we would feed the Secret Service the same meal, and how would we behave. We are planning on hosting a formal dinner & invite another family (probably serve 6 courses i/o 10-14). The kids are super excited about it & we practice how to behave & how to set the table, etc. And before we go to someone else's house for dinner (friends or grandparents), we talk about what's expected of them- napkin on lap, take small bites, chew with mouth closed, thank the cook, try everything, no complaining, wait til everyone's done before asking to be excused. Just the fact that they try to do most is great with us.

Growing up, I always thought about my grandmothers while dining. Well, maybe not always :) One was a vocal stickler for manners. The other was quieter about it & always modeled great behavior. Even now, I think about their emphasis on good manners, and despite different approaches, both had a big influence on my behavior. Sometimes different situations call for different levels of formality. It's hard to learn the nuances as a child, so I am working with my kids on reading the situations. They will learn. And it's fun to teach them!


Teaching Manners at the Table: Following in My Mother's Footsteps
5/6/13 1:32 PM

We used to be part of a dinner club & the kids were always invited. We would collaborate on the menu & make sure there was something for everyone to eat & I always made sure my kids would at least try a taste of everything.

We also go out to eat with our kids (now 7 & 9). They know how to behave in restaurants as we have taught them. We don't take them to super fancy spots yet as we just don't have the cash to pay for it yet. We take them to plenty of restaurants that don't have a kids menu though. And we model the idea of ordering something that is new to us just to try it. So far, we've had great luck.

It's a treat for us to go out to eat & they love it. My 7 year old son loves to order fish from the regular menu, often to the surprise of the server. And he eats EVERY bite.


Enjoying a Farm to Table Dinner (And Other Food Occasions) with Our Kids
5/3/13 3:58 PM

I had a boss that color coded her files. It was supposed to make things easier to find, but it was a real pain. I mean, how long does it take to just read what's on that tiny tab, anyway?

I prefer to spend more time making the visible spaces pretty. The stuff that gets put away in drawers can look like plain manilla folders for me. For those that love to make everything look pretty, go for it. I don't mean to sound snarky, I promise!


3 Ways to Dress Up File Folders
5/3/13 3:51 PM

@Saval- thank you for that hilarious link. My kids were wondering why I was laughing so hard!


The Red SOLO Cup Goes Fancy
5/1/13 7:42 PM

@Pi- hilarious!


Hot Sofas in Cool Colors from Muuto I Saloni 2013
4/11/13 9:11 AM

Aqua wall. I love Ben Moore's Fresh Mint (it's much more aqua than mint). It looks fabulous with red.


How To Use Bold Colors with Dark Brown (Almost Black) Couch? Good Questions
4/10/13 12:17 PM

Can you request a fridge from the hotel? That seriously is limiting. If they won't provide one, can you bring your own really good cooler? Colman makes a super strong one that works very well with ice blocks, so you can keep drinks & cheese, etc nice & cold for several days at a time.

Grain salads, roasted veggies. If you make these on the weekends, then you can bring them for the 1st couple of days on the road, provided you have a cooler. If there's a coffee maker in the room, you can make instant oatmeal.

Sorry I don't have more options. I'm sure many others will chime in!


Ideas for Real Meals I Can Make in a Hotel Room? Good Questions
4/10/13 9:12 AM

Great idea! Lovely pattern, btw.

I inherited sterling and a few pieces are missing, so last Christmas, I received a couple of pieces as gifts. There are still a few of us that do make a to-do about silver, china, crystal & linens every now and again :)


My eBay Savings Secret: Can't Find Your Pattern? Look for Monogrammed Silver
4/8/13 12:15 PM

In early living together/ married life, we didn't have in house laundry. So every other week (or every 3 if we were really stretching it), we would cart the huge bag to the laundromat. We used to take turns, but then realized it only took about 2 hours on a weekend to do the laundry together. We'd fold there using those big tall tables & then cart it all home. Once or twice a year, we'd pay the laundromat to wash & fold for us.

Now that we have 2 kids (ages 9 & 7), I do probably 10 loads of laundry a week. It's utterly ridiculous, I'm aware. The kids are very active & play outside lots, so their clothes get pretty dirty. I do all the sheets once/ week & towels get done twice per week. We use cloth napkins, so those need washing often. I air dry 1/3 of the items (to prevent shrinkage) and iron just our bedsheets (a wonderful free luxury) and my husbands work shirts. I hang those immediately out of the dryer so they need just a quick touch up. I wash all of our sweaters & air dry them (even wool & cashmere- the dry cleaners doesn't get them clean, only chemically). Now that winter is ending, I have huge piles of sweaters & winter gear in the basement waiting for me.

There are some days (like today) where I will do 4 loads of laundry. It will feel great to have it all done & put away. Then tomorrow I'll be staring at more! At least I will be able to wait til Friday for the rest :)


Tell Us: The Laundry Nitty Gritty
4/8/13 12:04 PM

Beautiful!!! I wanted marble counters for our kitchen, but since we needed 14 linear feet, it wasn't in our budget. We got butcher block instead (for a total of $350, I think). When we re-did the half bath though, we went with marble & I.LOVE.IT. It's even etched a bit in there, but seriously looks so beautiful I don't care a bit.

I'd love a section of marble for pastry rolling & am saving up my money. The pastry boards sold in kitchen stores aren't large enough as I'm looking for at least 24" square.


Faith's Kitchen Renovation: How We Finally Got Our Carrara Marble Countertops Renovation Diary: Faith's Budget Luxe Kitchen
4/4/13 4:12 PM