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Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

To-Do: Holiday Hurry with Ice, Trains and Christmas Cards

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To-Do Thursdays:


The countdown is on! A week from today we’ve got Thankgiving and then the most crazy of Holiday events, Black Friday.

7 days to THANKSGIVING
40 days to CHRISTMAS
47 days to NEW YEAR’S DAY
Now that the initial shock of holiday has passed, I’m ready to take on Christmas shopping like a champ and begin to get the family in the mood. The Christmas decorations are at least out of the closet; I just need to find time to put them up (but I get an star for my efforts!) However, now that I’m hearing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” in my head (and the grocery store), I’ve got holiday fun on my brain, too. So here’s what’s on the holiday schedule so far:


“O Christmas Card, O Christmas Cards”…The Cool Way to Do Christmas Cards – Part 2 {GIVEAWAY ALERT} (I’m making it so easy this year with a special giveaway only until 11/18!)


However, next week is where the calendar is packed full of holiday cheer:



And there’s lots more where that came from! Just wait until next week and I provide an insider’s look at the Gaylord Texan’s ICE!


Until then, Happy Decorating!

Light Up Your Legos with LiteBrix

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Wow Mom Wednesday:

The turkey hasn’t even been bought but the Christmas presents are already beginning to build (waiting for someone to wrap them.) While my son has alerted me he wants only one thing from Santa this year (a Thomas the Tank Engine Trackmaster set that is almost impossible to find), I know that he’ll still expect a few other things under the tree. However, since he’s got a LOAD of Thomas already and has also created quite a Lego inventory, where does a mama look for ideas. 

What to get, What to get, What to get.

Designed to shine a light on kids’ creativity, the Lite Brix Super Light Building System from Cra-Z-Art is the next level of building blocks. The light-up building construction sets feature translucent bricks with battery powered LEDs (via a battery pack) that cycles through four different colors.

Your kids can transform their creations into spectacularly-lit masterpieces for daytime or nighttime play, but best of all – these building blocks can work with your other sets (hello, Legos!)

While we got to get our hands on a “Space Trooper”, you can create an entire light-up city, or mix and match and make into tons of amazingcreations with the LITE BRIX systemlike space shuttles, to racecars, fire stations, an airport and more. While I thought I would be able to open up the box and just let him run wild, he did need me to put together the pieces to show him how it worked. My son is 4 though and the box clearly notes ages 6+, however, I did need the directions to figure out how to put it together initially. But once we finished, there definitely was a “wow, mom!” reaction.



One note to families with younger siblings: our set-up time was best AFTER the younger kiddo went to bed so I didn’t have to worry about small pieces.

Available at Toys R Us stores nationwide and Barnes and Noble.
Prices vary from $19.99


DISCLAIMER:

I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)


The Cool Way to Do Christmas Cards

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Tech Tuesdays:

“O Christmas Cards, O Christmas Cards, 
How will I ever complete you. 
O Christmas Cards, O Christmas Cards, 

O Christmas Cards, O Christmas Cards, 
How will I ever complete you. 


It’s the last minute, I need you fast, 
Thank goodness this year there’s OfficeMax.
O Christmas Cards, O Christmas Cards, 
Now I can complete you.”

OfficeMax IMPRESS
Did you know your local OfficeMax is not just your place for office supplies, but they also do holiday card printing? Not only are they are cute designs but they are really reasonably priced! (And just to add you can get seals, stamps and more as well!)
OfficeMax ImPress Print Center is offering a GREAT deal on custom holiday greeting now through December 30, 2012.  At checkout, simply enter “CARDSAVINGS” to get 50% OFF PLUS $50 OFF holiday card orders of $200 or more at www.officemaxphoto.com/holiday-store.html.
However, one of you will be the winner of free greeting cards from OfficeMax ImPress from MamaChallenge! All you have to do is register this Rafflecopter (and you even have multiple opportunities to enter) now until November 18, 2012.  
Good Luck!
For more cool options for holiday cards and the giveaway, check out my last post. 
DISCLAIMER:

I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

The Cool Way to Do Christmas Cards – Part 1

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Tech Tuesdays:

Can you believe we already are talking Christmas cards? While photographs should already have been done (ours aren’t), but to get cards printed, mailed, sent and delivered before the holidays, you should have orders already done. So basically, we are behind already. Super, right?
Paper Culture 
However, you can consider looking at a service to do all the work for you after you select the invite, but can you really afford that? Yes, you can with Paper Culture.
With their Mail & Message option, Paper Culture will stuff, address, stamp, and send your cards for free (all you pay is postage). All you have to do is upload your list in a spreadsheet or manually insert in your own online address book. And even better, the company vows it plants a tree with each order and prints everything on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
And best of all, the holiday designs as well as their general stationary templates are clean, attractive, modern and totally “fridgeworthy” (as DailyCandy says of Paper Culture.) From baby shower invitations, baby announcements, bar mitzvah, birthday parties and everything in between, Paper Culture has designs that will work perfect for you.

 I love their fun personalized kids designs to use as thank you note stationery and monogram sets as gifts for this year for my colleagues. You can never go wrong with personalized stationery, especially when it does something good for you by doing something good for the earth. 

Now instead of thinking about whether can you wait until New Year’s to do your cards, download a few photos from Facebook, pop ’em into one of their cute designs, add your name and give ’em your names and address for them to do. You can actually be done in less than hour. And if you act fast (by Nov. 15, 2012), you can even get a 30 percent discount with the code SAVINGS30.

For more cool options for holiday cards and the giveaway, check out the next post! 
DISCLAIMER:

I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)


Let’s Go Brazilian…

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Me Mondays:



No, we aren’t talking that (but if you want to, I’ve gone there, too.)
However, we are talking about Brazilian blowouts. They’ve been around for a while, but basically after this special treatment from your stylist, you can have straight, beautiful hair and minimize your blow drying time to boot. Seemed like the perfect solution to those of us that look like Tina Turner without a blowdryer, flat iron and tons of products, however, the $200-$500 plus price tag and the drama about formaldehyde, has made it a little harder than just making an appointment to your local salon.
So I took it into my own hands and considered two at-home treatments.
Two totally different lines and different price points both promising to make my long locks light, shiny and smooth as well as:
  • Works with all hair types
  • Repairs cuticle damage
  • Regenerates and strengthens hair fibers
  • Restores natural shine and softness
  • Seals hair cuticles
  • Reduces volume and frizz
  • Makes hair resilient and healthy
  • Formaldehyde and sodium chloride free
Best of all, my 30 minute blowdry routine could be minimized to $15 minutes AND no flat iron/curling iron time. With the holidays sucking up all my extra time outside of work and dealing with the kiddos, I needed to get back all the time I could get as well as give me shortcut to look like a million without making me spend that much time to do my hair (or pay someone else to do it.)


The original, the Brazilian Blowout is the line of products that started it all. While you can still can get the treatment professionally administered, the line has provided an at-home product that’s meant to provide at-home users a way to take it into their own hands.   This Brazilian Blowout hair care kit thoroughly cleanses the hair while maintaining vital moisture for increased strength and radiant shine. Combining these hair care products results in smooth, frizz-free and radiant hair.
Approximately $125 and available online at brazilianblowout.com, drugstore.comand others.


Made for every day use. Also recommended for those who have professionally relaxed/straightened hair to keep hair at its best between touch-ups. From the instructions, it looked like an actual treatment that could take up to an hour or longer and a couple of trips to the shower, but the site had lots of instructions and videos to not mess anything up.
Approximately $25 and available at local Walgreens, Walgreens.comand drugstore.com.
Now off to my bathroom to see what I can do to make my hair shiny and beautiful…maybe.

DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

How to make a no-cook, no-clean Thanksgiving that Grandma Can be Proud of

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When my husband and I first were married, Thanksgiving was a special event where we made a unique meal  and invited our friends to dine in their PJs as we ate with china, crystal and silver. Each Thanksgiving meal was different like the year German theme so we had Sauerbraten, German Potato Salad (made with a pound of bacon) and a Krispy Kreme bread pudding (made with a dozen doughnuts!) After finishing off the meal, we’d all lay around in our elastic flannels and complain about how much food we ate. It was total bliss.


While I love the memories of those days, when our kiddos came into the picture, suddenly holidays with our families were much more important and somehow the traditional Thanksgiving meal found itself at back on the menu. However, this year’s schedule, no matter how hard we wish we could see our families, there’s just no time between work, school and the travel time to spend an entire day in the kitchen to make and clean up Thanksgiving with our families. The whole idea seemed kind of miserable. However, as parents we feel we are responsible for creating traditions that transcend our lifetime – just as our parents and grandparents did before us.

Since ordering pizza or going to a restaurant really wasn’t what we are looking to do, I was looking at home options. Naturally, Dickey’s and my local grocery store and HoneyBaked Ham came to mind as possibilities, but I wasn’t sure if turkey or ham was the right way to go. And then I found out HoneyBaked ham recently reformulated their turkey breast recipe, preparing it like their award-winning ham and wanted my family to be a part of the test-run. Score.

I actually had never been into a HoneyBaked Ham store so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Set up part warm meat shop and part frozen section at a grocery store, I was able to go straight to the front and order my meat, turn to the freezer case for my sides as well as my dessert choice. That easy.

Speaking with my associate, since it was pre-Thanksgiving the store featured several side order options, but during the holiday season there would be more available including bread options (a fundamental Thankgiving meal item!) However, there was so much to choose from just to create a perfect dinner or special Sunday meal.


Our selection included:
HoneyBaked’s New Recipe Turkey Breast
Broccoli Cheese Casserole
Herb Stuffing
Carrot Cake

When we returned home, the only work I had to do was put the sides in the oven for 30-45 minutes. When they came out, dinner was done and it smelled delicious. I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical and that the food would resemble those meals you get in the deli section that just don’t measure up. However, that wasn’t the case in the least.


The turkey ham (the name my son called it) was amazing. It was moist, tender, sweet and had that perfect crunch that HoneyBaked is known for. AND DID I MENTION IT WAS LESS THAN 2 GRAMS OF FAT PER SERVING, SO SECONDS ARE TOTALLY OK! Both sides, if I hadn’t kept them in their containers, could have easily been a better alternative to some of even my family’s homemade recipes. And that carrot cake. was really to die for. Unfortunately, it called to me at nighttime and thankfully, I was able to resist the urge some of the time. It really was an outstanding meal and contrary to the norm, we ate every part of those leftovers.


Best of all for me, no cleanup. I just threw the containers away when we were done. Cost? No different that what Thanksgiving normally would be and considering the time I saved not having to make anything. That made it even more attractive. My only work was to make the order and pick it up.

So Thanksgiving 2012’s busy schedule can actually take a break at least an hour this year for us to partake on what is already making me hungry again – the taste of that HoneyBaked turkey (and maybe some carrot cake, too.) Wondering about leftovers? They’ve got you covered with some pretty tasty recipes, but that’s IF you have leftovers. 

Curious? Hungry? Already making your order? Here’s a $3 off coupon!

DISCLAIMER:
I received one or more of the mentioned products for the sole purpose of this review. No other compensating was given and all opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. (Accordance with FTC’s 16 CFR Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)


5 Tips to Not Gaining 5 Pounds During the Holidays

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One of my biggest “mama challenges” is my weight. 

So much so I wait to buy my Halloween candy until the day before because I know I’ll begin trick or treating a little early…That kicks off the weight-gain season and last until Jan. 2, when I vow not to ever eat anything unhealthy ever again…ha. (If you’ve ever taken a look at my Foodspotting shots or my Pinterest Food Board, you know that food, especially the unhealthy stuff, is my downfall.)

Actually not that I don’t know what it is healthy; it’s my control issues that get in the way. I always feel like if I don’t “partake” them I’m missing out. But I’m learning that the only things I am really “missing out” from are wearing the cute clothes I have tucked away in my closet that I wore before I had kids and the years I’d add to my life if I was healthier.
Since the official “party” season has already hit – with my October birthday, Halloween, a trip to Napa and soon Thankgiving, Christmas (and all the stuff in between), I’ve decided to make a plan on how I can try to celebrate WITHOUT packing on the extra weight.  So I’ve enlisted a professional expert to get me moving in the right direction: Susan Albers, Psy.D, author of Eating Mindfully.


Whether you’re throwing a girl get-together or a formal holiday soiree, you can help yourself and your friends eat more mindfully.
Here are some sneaky tips to help your guests avoid eating too much by DO THIS – NOT THAT! Hopefully this might make the holidays something I can really enjoy and not dread after the festivities are over!
Do This!
Not That
Turn the lights down low and play soft music
Fast paced music and bright lights.  
A study by a researcher out of Cornell found that people who ate in a fine dining like setting ate less on average 775.3 calories (vs 942.2 calories) than when listening to fast music.  In this atmosphere, people talk more and eat slower.
Red Plates
White plates

A study in the journal of Appetite found that people eat less on red plates compared to white or blue.  Whether it is a plate or sign, we think stop when we see red!
Food you Eat with Forks
Appetizers
According to the “Pistachio Effect,” food that you can easily pop in your mouth such as appetizers leads to overeating.  Eating slowly with a fork can save you a minimum of 100 calories.
Get out your tall, thin drinking glasses
Short, fat drinking glasses
Hide your short glasses!  Drinking alcohol can lead to overeating.  A tall glass creates an optical illusion that you are drinking more than a short wide cup—even though they are exactly the same amount according to research by Dr. Brain Wansink.
Keep the party food in a different room than socializing or place the buffet against the wall
A food buffet in the middle of the room.

Research indicates that where you place food matters.  
You can save 200 plus calories by moving food off to the side of the room.
So now the challenge begins!

How We Winged it in Napa Valley

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Well, this trip was one for the books! If you haven’t been following – Mama took on a real challenge this week and extended her Food Fridays, Sharing Saturdays, Mom Mondays and took a little rehab Tuesday for a four-day trip to Napa. 

In a word. Amazing. 


For a woman obsessed with food, wine and beautiful scenery, it was a dream come true. That and a friend with a hotel discount to share plus a free airline ticket from years of accumulated miles.

So I took a few days off the blog to get up close with the one and only Napa Valley…And while it was hard to eat at some of the most delicious restaurants in the region and sample the area’s biggest cash crop (that would be vino, people), I took one for the team so I can report my lessons to you. (I know it’s hard, but someone has to do it, right?) 

Understand – I had no reservations for anything before we went to Napa other than a plane ticket. So we totally winged it. Completely. And we did it pretty cheap. (Well as cheap as Napa can be.)

I will tell you that while every restaurant I wanted to eat at in Napa Valley said it was full and no reservations, I did manage to eat at 10 different restaurants in three days. (Again, another reason for everything in January to be focused on being healthy!) But since the food and the wine was the only thing anyone cares about, I’ll give you the list of my rundown. However, to answer the most asked question, I did not eat at The French Laundry. (But lucky for you I did take a photo of it to share with you and did a little Facebook “Check-in” for fun.)



1. Opa – San Francisco Area 
A local chain, but I was starving after my 7 AM flight and anything with goat cheese is fine by me.


Name summed up our trip. Small plate heaven and perfect for several sharable plates featuring cheeses, fried olives with goat cheese and mushrooms (probably with goat cheese.) Great service, unpretentious and very hip. Must go.


3. Fish Story – Napa 
Seemed like a pretty swanky place, but they let us in to enjoy their sustainable fresh fish choices. It was cold and I was close to the West Coast, I enjoyed a great Clam Chowder.
4. Morimoto – Napa
My first foam experience.  Found totally by accident we noticed all these interesting sweet treats in a window. After walking in and asking to see a menu, we realized we were in the Iron Chef’s cooking haven. Since we had devoured a few meals, we laid low with a ramen soup, chocolate cake with all kinds of stuff like a beer foam (see below) and drinks. While some pretty simple menu items, they were still very interesting to view as well as to eat. And they didn’t disappoint us and actually had us wanting more…but our stomach couldn’t have taken anything else for a while.

This small-town find quenched my craving for a good simple sandwich to eat that included fresh everything – homegrown arugula, white cheddar, cheese, red pepper pesto and meat from local sources. I could eat one of these every day and be happy.

6. LaSalette – Sonoma

Probably one of, if not, my favorite places we enjoyed in Napa Valley. Sat at the bar, watched first-hand the talent of a great kitchen at work  for my first Portuguese experience. Devoured some of the best scallops I’ve ever eaten ever along with a bowl of butternut squash soup and a delicious wine flight. Afterwards,  I didn’t want to eat anywhere else since I wanted to just hold on to the lingering flavor.

7. Taco Bell – Napa
I admit it, but like always, the gordita did its thing well.
While they didn’t serve brunch, they did serve a great outdoor patio, spicy bloody mary and some of the best breads ever including a housemade focaccia so perfect it made me cry. (Yes, it was that good.)  


9. Buchon Bakery – Yountville
Somehow I was going to get my Thomas Keller fix in somehow and it wasn’t going to be The French Laundry, his casual spot, Adhoc or his fried chicken/pork bbq outpost, Addendum, so Buchon Bakery was the winner. We lined up for 30 minutes to get our moment to order some lovely baked goods to go. Couldn’t pass up anything called “Oh, No You Didn’t” (a s’mores macaron dipped in chocolate) and the creamiest quiche I’ve ever tasted.


10. Redd – Yountville
This place had captured our interest online and when we drove through by its façade, but when the friendly gal at Hope and Grace told us it was great for small plates, cool for hanging out and that her hubby was the somm, we thought we’d try it out. Good call on our part to listen to the wifey. Lobster Risotto and Duck Potstickers were delish.

As for wineries visited, we didn’t do as many of these, but we had a great time where we did and what we did. With a limited budget, no reservations and a short weekend, we had to be smart. That’s why Tasting Rooms within most of the towns we visit we the right idea for this trip. And most of these, we ate there, too!

I actually posted realtime from the vineyard on Saturday, so you got a fresh look at my first wine and vineyard tour. Conducted by the nicest Estate Educator, Ryan Hortum, we learned so much about viniculture/viticulture as well about this multi-family business with a very interesting historical story, up a very winding hill and overlooking Sonoma. We basically called them the day before from our hotel and made a reservation, so about 18 hours notice.


2. Domaine Carneros – Sonoma 
One of my favorite places we visited since we stumbled upon it right before it closed as we were driving, we were able to quickly ordered all the wines we wanted to try, open up some deli crackers and goat cheese and just overlooked the countryside for an hour.


3. Hope & Grace – Yountville
We had 10 minutes left in Yontville before heading to Calistoga, so we stopped in to try a little local wine love. Cute spot. Cute name. Cute help (see “Redd” below for more info on her.) Had a great Cab and Pinot, so we grabbed a few half bottles for gifts and got on the road. 

4. Castello di Amorosa – Calistoga 
A pretty unique experience within itself, this 13thcentury styled castle included a tour reminiscent of many of the places I visited in Italy this summer and then the finale included a delicious food and wine pairing experience with Mary, the castle sommelier. I really enjoyed myself and purchased a few gifts to bring home, too including the most delicious almonds with truffle oil. OMG. For this reservation, we called about 15 hours in advance and so glad we were able to join because it was such a treat!


…and a few more small ones that while nice, didn’t make the list.

What did I learn from my fantastic trip? That it was possible to go many places just on a whim. Almost everywhere we went, we called prior to coming and told “we’re fully committed tonight.” Then we showed up and almost without any wait AT ALL, we got a table. Now it may have not be the best table in the house (sometimes we were seated at the bar, but at LaSalette the bar is the best place in the house since you can watch the chef staff create food masterpieces.) 

Also, what did I learn? That there’s lots of amazing food to be enjoyed in Napa Valley and it doesn’t have to be a $250 nine-course, three-hour tasting. (Unfortunately, my curiosity is still peaked and I still would like someone to sponsor my trip to The French Laundry to dispel all my thoughts about it…) It’s small, simple and enjoyable if you like food and wine. IF you are looking for other activities, seek refuge in San Francisco. The only “kid” thing I found in Napa Valley was Sonoma’s TrainTown and I bet it was way more than my tastings.

As my learning lesson comes to a close, I’ll share my advice. The next trip I would probably have a few ideas of what I wanted to and perhaps spend a little more time in Northern Napa Valley (Calistoga, St. Helena and Yountville) and skip Napa and Sonoma all together. And I totally would love to enjoy more sparkling wine experiences that I didn’t have time to visit this go around like my cousin’s favorite, Shramsberg, Mumm and Domaine Chandon. And certainly a trip to the recently awarded Michelin star in Calistoga, Solbar.  

So, I conquered this field trip…But what’s next for another food adventure? HOLIDAY!


Sharing Saturdays: Hanzell Vineyard

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Instead of taking a look at a must-read book, this week I’m sharing my trip to Napa & Sonoma. Today’s look is up a very tall hill overlooking the Hanzell Vineyard.

I’ve included 10 facts about the winery and some amazing views. And of course, delicious wine.


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