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On Those Extra-Busy Mornings

If you take a look inside this month’s InStyle, you’ll see a handful of my favorite tips for extra-busy mornings (which is all of them, lately). I cut corners in lots of ways: I lay out a pair of leggings and a big sweater for myself to put on first thing when I wake up so that I don’t have to go digging around for something to wear while I walk the dogs; I get my son dressed right away so that I don’t have to tote him up and down the stairs over and over and over again; I make the bed and brush my teeth while the shower heats up (which can take awhile in a house that was built over a century ago).

One thing that I do not cut corners on is breakfast. My son literally starts asking for something to eat the second that his eyes open (my daily alarm clock consists of the words “MAMA! ORANGE JUICE!”)…and I think this might be an inherited trait, because if I do not eat semi-immediately and fairly well, I turn into a hyena. (I actually disagree with this statement – I think I am lovely and sunny in the mornings whether I’ve eaten breakfast or not, but Kendrick insists that it’s accurate, so there you go.)

A few months ago, Kendrick came home from the supermarket with Pepperidge Farm Swirl bread, and: delicious. From the moment of his discovery it’s been eaten pretty much daily by everyone in my family - I stockpile it in the freezer and just defrost a loaf whenever we run low, because I am that disinterested in ever running out. It’s just a tiiiiny bit sweet, and easily lends itself to a whole bunch of different protein-inclusive toppings that make everyone in the family happy as breakfast-eating clams.

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Twenty Minutes Well-Spent

I am a true expert at concealing my mess.

Witness: my dresser drawers. (I know, and yes, it's extremely difficult to locate anything at all in there.)

Visible clutter makes me nuts - I keep all the surfaces in our house relatively bare and do things like straighten remote controls, fold throw blankets, and position pillows just-so before heading to sleep at night - but something about things being behind doors or in drawers makes me feel like I can pretend that they just don't exist. In they go, stuff stuff stuff, I'll deal with it later (I won't).

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Must-Have Glassware That You Might Not Have Thought Of

There are some glasses you "need": sturdy water glasses, wine glasses, at least two champagne glasses just in case.

But there are also a handful of glasses that are just really nice to have...and that you may find you end up using more than your "regular" stuff.

First, everyone needs a really, really great mug that's just their own (this is mine; Kendrick's not allowed to use it because he has his own Best Dad mug). The mug doesn't have to be expensive (mine was $4.99) and should probably be weird (or animal-covered; I also love my monkey mug) if at all possible; the only important thing is that you feel like it's yours.

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How-To: Grow Plants From Cuttings

When my mom came over to my house after visiting our friends Eddie and Sharyn down in Florida and handed me a Saran-Wrapped package, declaring "I brought you cuttings," I was a little confused. I mean, they look like...branches. I didn't really understand why they were something that my mom might want to carry through airports. But after a little Googling I realized that they're the loveliest gift ever: they're basically a way to create little plant "children".

Aww.

I love this idea, mostly because I remember where each and every plant in our garden came from, and it's so cool to imagine that in a few years I'll be able to look at these and know that their "parents" are growing in my faraway friends' home (theoretically, I mean; we're talking Remedial Gardener over here, and these plants will need a bit more than a wish and a prayer to make it through alive).

Not all plants will grow from cuttings, but Sharyn assured me that this particular plant - a Mexican petunia - grows "like wildfire" (and can apparently even grow in rainless, concrete parking lots), so I suppose that's a good start.

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Strawberry-Basil Fizz

When Kendrick and I got home from our Saturday adventures, it was that moment right before the sun sets when all you (or at least I) want to do is collapse into a hammock with an US Weekly. So that's what I did, and I was all relaxed and cozy...and then I turned the page and spotted a recipe for something called a Strawberry-Basil Rickey.

You know what makes those just-before-sunset-in-a-hammock moments even better?

A cocktail.

This particular recipe required things like fresh herbs and mortar and pestles and Cointreau, though, so as delicious as it looked, it wasn't going to happen. Not right then, anyway.


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