A few weeks ago I received a review copy of The Picnic: Recipes and Inspiration from Basket to Blanket and was super excited, since picnics are a regular thing around here and we are always looking for new ways to liven them up. The book turned out to be a treasure trove of tips for making outdoor meals more convenient and picturesque and...

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This weekend is Memorial Day weekend, so we are sharing one of our favorite summertime treats today. The Ringo sundae at Doumar's has literally been voted the best in the area and here is why: vanilla ice cream, topped with hot fudge, topped with real whipped cream and cherry and Doumar's famous ice cream cones (they make them in-house) crushed up and sprinkled...

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May is my favorite month of all, so this was a fun day to capture. Head over to No Monsters in My Bed and Not-So-SAHM to see what their days were like! 8:00 AM: Morning play dough and coffee. 8:30 AM: "Take a picture of my outfit, Mom. It's an ENSEMBLE." (Thanks Fancy Nancy.) 9:30 AM: Part of my mother's day present from...

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Take Away the A by Michael Escoffier: Taking the letter out of various words to form new words is a new concept for my just-beginning-to-work-on-reading four-year-old, and this book fascinates her. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney: Maybe the loveliest kids' book ever? A little girl in Victorian times tells her grandfather she is planning on getting a job and seeing the world -- and...

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Seashell crafts! They are the current craze in our house, mostly because we have amassed a giant collection of shells. It's also the easiest candle making process I've ever come across -- all you need is a bag of tea lights (ours were a million for $5 at IKEA) and some beach treasures, and voila. Safety note before we begin! This is definitely...

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One of my biggest pregnancy cravings this time around has been for salads, which is strange because I am definitely not a salad kind of person. But nowadays, I want to make them for dinner almost every night. The only problem is getting everyone else to agree to salad night (In James land, salads are appetizers and in Anouk land a bowl of...

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ARTS: Seeing Matisse at the Chrysler Game of thrones is back! Reading The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos  Reading Before I Go by Coleen Oakley Hearing Cheryl Strayed on the Savage Love podcast Seeing The Sound of Music in the theater for the 50th anniversary  FOOD: Chicken salad sandwiches at the new Slover cafe Potato salad from this recipe PLACES: Anne's first...

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We've been to the Virginia Aquarium approximately a million times, but somehow, we never quite make it over to the Marsh Pavilion. It's not in the same complex as the main building, it doesn't have seals (mine and Anne's favorite) or sharks (James's favorite). But by not visiting, we were making a big mistake. The Marsh Pavilion is pretty cool, and worthy of...

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I got a few comments on Anne's birthday posts here and on Instagram regarding her super-awesome glitter birthday shirt and exactly two requests to share how I did it, and you know I aim to please my readers so... here goes. Anne was afraid that without a sort of outward sign, nobody would know that she was now four instead of three, so...

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