Archives for September 2013

Being Pregnant with Lexy from The Proper Pinwheel

September 10, 2013

Because every woman’s pregnancy is unique, our Being Pregnant series is a way to share a variety of maternity experiences on the blog. Today we’re chatting with Lexy Ward, the creative gal behind the party blog, The Proper Pinwheel. Lexy and I met in person at Alt Summit in January, and she’s one of the funniest and most outgoing bloggers I know. Her tell-it-like-it-is personality and sense of humor even comes through in her writing.

Lexy and I chatted during her second trimester — before a handful of fellow bloggers threw her a virtual baby shower and before she had maternity photos taken by You Look Lovely Photography. In fact, I’ve been sitting on this interview until Lexy received these images back from the photographer. Aren’t they so gorgeous and ethereal?

Read on to learn what Lexy thinks about being pregnant…… READ MORE!

Car seats 101

September 9, 2013

All eyes were on Prince William last month as he expertly secured his newborn son’s car seat in the back of his black SUV. In an interview with CNN, William admitted that it went so smoothly outside of the hospital because it wasn’t his first time putting the car seat in his vehicle—he practiced beforehand.

For every Prince William who has mastered the car seat, there’s a Kanye West who’s still confused by the safety device. The new dad revealed on Kris Jenner’s now-canceled talk show that he still couldn’t work his daughter’s car seat very well.

Luckily, there are plenty of online resources for befuddled dads like Kanye (and moms!) to research, choose, and install car seats. Click here to read my post on car seats 101 over on The Neighborhood!

What rhymes with hug me? (and Friday links)

September 6, 2013

I don’t listen to Top 40 radio very often anymore. For the most part, pop music has just gotten so bad lately, and Omaha radio stations tend to repeat the same ten songs–the majority of which aren’t even current hits.

Still, every once in a while I’ll flip to Q98.5 FM, Omaha’s modern hit music station, when I’m not interested in what’s on Sirius XM’s The Spectrum (think Mumford & Sons, The Avett Brothers, ZZ Ward, and Frank Turner) or On Broadway stations. And if I’m lucky, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” will be playing. Billboard’s Song of the Summer is such a guilty pleasure. The beat brings me back to my post-college days of dancing at bars and clubs in Washington, DC. It kind of reminds me of Justin Timberlake from his early solo days in the 2000’s.

If you know the song, you’re probably familiar with the part that goes:

I feel so lucky

You want to hug me

What rhymes with hug me?

Well, as this laugh-out-loud website proves, a lot of things actually rhyme with hug me. You will need your speakers turned on for this!

And a few more links for your Friday…

If you think warming a can of soup on the stove is too much work, this new Campbell’s product is for you. (Los Angeles Times)

The lessons an illustrator learned by collaborating with her four-year-old daughter–and the amazing drawings that resulted. (The Busy Mockingbird)

A couple of years ago, I went through a homemade hummus phase. Now I’d like to try this recipe for guacamole hummus. (Sacramento Street)

Wouldn’t a custom house portrait make such a sentimental going-away gift? I want one for when we eventually move back East. (Style by Emily Henderson)

These pumpkin breakfast pies remind me of gourmet Pop Tarts! (Frock Files)

Did you know there’s a right way and wrong way to exfoliate your face? I’ve been doing it incorrectly for years! (The Beauty Department)

Don’t forget to enter our BRIKA giveaway to win a Hazel Village stuffed animal of your choice!

Have a happy weekend!

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A Rosh Hashanah message from Levi

September 5, 2013

L’shana tova to my readers celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, today!

Also, thank you so much for your lovely comments, tweets, and Facebook messages regarding yesterday’s big pregnancy announcement! JB and I are so happy to be able to share this exciting time with friends and family.

Don’t wash your chicken

September 5, 2013

When Omaha’s long-awaited Chick-fil-A opened last October, the city went nuts. No longer did chicken sandwich fanatics have to drive an hour and a half away to get their Chick-fil-A fix!

Despite the hoopla, I’ve never been to the Omaha Chick-fil-A. In fact, I’ve only ever had a Chick-fil-A sandwich once a road trip, and while I’m sure it enjoyed it, I don’t remember it being worthy of its own out-of-state excursion. Even the 20 minute drive to our local Chick-fil-A seems a bit excessive for a fast food chicken sandwich.

However, I’m tempted to try The Effortless Chic’s homemade Chick-fil-A sandwich recipe, which calls for brining the chicken in dill pickle juice. Is that Chick-fil-A’s secret ingredient?!

As I was reading Jen’s recipe, the one thing that jumped out at me (besides the dill pick juice) was her instruction to wash each chicken breast before preparing them. Washing raw chicken is something either my mom or my grandmother (or both) taught me to do when I was learning how to cook. Was the point to clean the chicken or to rinse off any slimy coating? I’m not sure, but I can remember following their rules in my college apartment kitchen. I even used a paper towel to pat the wet chicken breast dry because it seemed like the obvious next step.

Sometime between college and the present day I stopped washing raw chicken. Most likely, I was simply too lazy to include the extra step in my dinner preparations. But it turns out that my laziness was actually a good thing: washing raw poultry makes it less safe, not more.

Jennifer Quinlan, a food researcher at Drexel University, has created a public health campaign to get Americans to break their chicken-washing habit. Amazingly, as many as 90% of people rinse their raw chicken before cooking. Rather than cleaning their birds, chicken-rinsers are actually spraying foodborne pathogens like salmonella all over their kitchens.

This animation illustrates how bacteria can travel up to 3 feet away from your sink:

The takeaway: If, like me, you’re planning to make a homemade Chick-fil-A sandwich, don’t wash your chicken. But do get yourself a meat thermometer! Cooking chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165-degrees Fahrenheit will kill unwanted bacteria.

Will you admit to being a chicken-rinser? How about to being a Chick-fil-A fanatic??

Archives for September 2013

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top image via The Effortless Chic