Thursday, March 24, 2011

fresh & easy: the suburban momma review


a new little market opened up a few towns north of us. i met a gal this weekend who described herself as a "food snob" and said she really liked it. so, today, since it was raining cats and dogs for the millionth day in row and a certain momma was going stir crazy... we headed up to above mentioned new store for a little activity.


the store is called fresh and easy (it'll be sweeping the country in no time flat so don't worry your pretty little head). in the words of e, it is a cross between trader joe's and whole paycheck (with a little safeway mixed in... that's wegmans for you east coasters). anywho, it was divine. it is small like both trader and whole but has a good blend of yummy eats. i'll take you on the verbal walk through.


when you walk in you are met by a small floral department. it is small in size but has pretty reasonable prices and lower end (but stunning flowers). i think they had some daffies in a dozen bundle for a buck ninety nine. then you get to produce land- it is very much like the trader (packaged, not loose) but they have a 24 hour farm to store policy. essentially, everything they sell hits the shelves on a rapid time table. the items we purchased from the produce section also came dated (they stand by that 24 hour thing by putting it into print). i am a fan of transparency, so this works for me. they also indicate the city where the produce was grown and have a commitment to local. that means that they get what you need from the closest supplier who follows their farming criteria. we bought some nectarines in a 4 pack. all 4 were bruise free upon arrival home and two of them sat in the fridge for over a week without spoiling.


next was a ready made section. they had all sorts of boxed meals that were marked "no preservatives, no additives, no growth hormones etc. we tried out some soup (broccoli cheddar = delish), kiddo spaghetti and meatballs (two thumbs up from e and d) and some breaded chicken with mashed taters (with hidden peas and corn mixed in)... 1 1/2 thumbs according to my girls. i think they didn't like the breading, but upon interior inspection it looked like quality white meat rather than some of the pressed stuff you find on the interiors of those nasty nuggets.


then you have a meat/cheese/dairy aisle. i found things like flap meat (which was wonderful with a little homemade chimichurri sauce), chicken thighs for under $2 bucks a pound, ribs, all sorts of fresh looking fish etc. as for the cheese/dairy side... i didn't get a great inspection in as there was some kiddo melt-down issues, but it didn't look like a ton of selection but did appear to have some great prices. we opted for some yogurt squeeze tubes (d is obsessed with those) and they were about 60 cents less than safeway. not bad.


you then have a bunch of aisles of dry goods and canned goods. great prices on things like garbanzo beans, pearled barley, rice, olive oil (all sorts of organic selection by country- we went with italian extra virgin but they also had spanish and a variety of press styles). i was a fan. to further my excitement, they also sell the usual suspects that are the most popular from the traditional local grocery in your hood- they have cheerios, kids gummies, rice krispy treats etc. you know, the things that just can't be imitated without loosing the exact thing that makes you want them in the first place. i respect this. if i want cheerios, i want the real thing (or at least p does... she doesn't accept substitutes). this makes shopping easier. you don't have to add in an extra trip for those hard to imitate items.


there is a small bakery selection and then a big frozen section. we tried some shrimp skewer appetizers, two pizzas and some fruit for smoothies. all great prices. all great flavor.


lastly, smack dab in the middle of the store was a large wine section. with the three in tow i didn't feel super comfy spending a ton of time surrounded by glass bottles, but i did do a quick tour and grabbed a bottle of $5.99 pinot noir. i felt like pinot would be a good test of the cheaper stuff. if a $5.99 bottle was any good then it spoke well about their selection (or else i just got lucky). above mentioned bottle was actually just fine- drinkable, some good fruit notes and affordable.


then we got to the checkout. all of the lanes are self-checkout, self-bag. it was a bit irritating with such a large load and so many pint sized helpers, but the staff was right there with assistance to speed this momma up and offer some help. overall, this part was a downer for me. while i like self-checkout a lot, not everybody was designed for its use. i can see this being a problem down the line for this new find, but i think the good in this place far outweighs this little hiccup at the end.


oh, and that picture of those cupcakes? who could resist. i dragged the girls out in a rainstorm, daddy was at a work function, and momma needed a little bribery to get them back home. they were wonderful!


if this post piqued your interest and you're a local, have no fear. a p-town opening is just around the corner! i can't wait.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

a future blogger?

today i was going through some papers and found something e had been working on a few months back. i had tucked it away to analyze later.

well worth the wait.

tristar

far far away i see a tart shaped like a heart.
oh so yummy to eat.
my heart still beats.
who will i see next?
to give the tart to.

i have not changed any spelling or punctuation (except caps 'cause i reject them on this blog... you know, because i'm the mom and i say so... or something like that). anywho. it is her first poem. i have no idea what inspired this little piece of love on a page, but i just thought i'd share.

and now i must go... and squeeze my little girlie and give her some kisses on the head that she will not understand, hug her again and then look at her with disbelief as i wonder how my baby is even old enough to say "mama" let alone write poetry.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

tiger momma

recently i have been hearing a lot of scoop on the homework situation for kids today. the debates can get pretty heated and the opinions range from a preference for zero homework all they way on up to tiger mom style homework (just google it if you are saying, "huh?").

if you want to know where i stand...

well, i'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.



just kidding. calm down. i don't really think wee ones should be doing homework.
but i did walk into the kitchen the other day to find my littlest intellectual tackling a bit on her own. it was too cute not to capture. she didn't even look at me as i snapped away. now that's what i call focus. watch out tiger mom! suburban momma is hot on your tail.
joking, joking, no worries...

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

a delightful detour

i pass by this hill of daffodils at least once a week. each and every time i drive by it, it takes my breath away. i don't know what it is but this carpet of yellow is such a visual treat for me. not wanting to miss capturing this, i took the babies there today to delight in the daffies, camera on my shoulder.

it was a sweet start to our day. another family had a similar idea and brought their newborn and toddler for a birth announcement photo shoot. i wish i could see the finished product as i can only imagine how precious those pictures will be. we had to share our daffodils hill, but that didn't keep us from having a good time.








these two little monkeys are a handful- especially together, but the little bond that i had hoped would form between them is starting to take root. i love the moments when they are loving and thoughtful to one another. it melts this momma's heart.



Sunday, March 6, 2011

buser bed and breakfast now taking reservations

a lot of people from afar have been asking what our new home looks like. for privacy reasons, i won't be posting a picture of the front, but will be posting some pictures of the projects that we have been working on.

when we bought the house, each room was painted cream. i get it. it shows better for everything to look somewhat clean, but it was a little bland for my taste. room by room we are embracing color. currently, we have no baseboards, closet doors, or door frames. while this drives me a little bit nutty, it makes painting a much more snappy job.

here is a little example of what we've been working on:

the office of the former owners


has been transformed into a guest room.




if you look closely, you'll notice that the hardwoods have been sanded and stained. i had always wanted darker floors but our former home had just had refinished floors. it didn't make much sense to re-do what had just been done. so we left it. but this new pad was in desperate need of some sanding. it was a perfect time to switch things up a bit and go for a tad darker stain. momma likey!
and if you are wondering why the first snaps that i am sharing after a two and a half month blogging sabbatical are of the guest room... well, that is simple friends. i wanted to invite anyone and everyone to buser bed and breakfast. we are officially open for business. oh, and the inspiration for this little room... the lemon tree, of course.
please call for a reservation.


when life hands you lemons

or in our case a lemon tree and a mandarin tree, well of course, you must pick the lemons and mandarins.
and make some lemonade...


"it is rather tasty", says my eldest taste tester.



but in her opinion, the oj is a little tart. either way, we are making about a batch of each a week (thinking i might swing for the electronic juicer in the new future). yes, life handing you an abundance of lemons will land you in the garden of lemonade eden...


but as we have learned, it will also lead to some other less predictable things... like the lemon stick sculpture that i spied from my new kitchen window a few weeks back.



or it might lead to a cozy lemon bonfire... and you know a bonfire is always better when snuggled together.


and i have also witnessed that it makes for a great centerpiece at the kiddie play table.