Fab Faves Friday!

I have two websites that I'm excited to share with you today!


Everyday Food, the very awesome food magazine from Martha Stewart, now has a blog, Dinner Tonight. I just recently discovered it and what a great resource! The magazine's editors write for the blog, so you can interact directly with them. So cool. Go check it out today!


I've already told you about this site...but it's new and improved and I'm loving it (um, yeah, I had a hand in the design, but I would love it even if I didn't - promise!). If you haven't already, check out theRebuttal, a funny and intelligent political website where the articles are unabashedly biased. Enjoy!

Fab Faves Friday!

No food today, friends...but some seriously great websites with some seriously fun names for you to visit!







I like Evite as much as the next person...but I've found something much better. Actually my wonderful friend Christy found it. You are SO going to thank us...check out Pingg. Amazing functionality and, my favorite part, everything looks sooooo good. I'm really excited about this site...you HAVE to check it out!






Next on the list...Blurb. Ever want to publish your own book? Now you can with a few clicks and at a great price. I'm so excited about Blurb!! Seriously, there are so many cool things you could do...make your own cookbook, publish a short story, create an amazing family photo album. I'm planning on using their software that works with blogging websites to create an album based on our family blog each year...all that journaling and photo-ing I do online can finally be "printed" easily, and in a beautiful format no less.







Last, but certainly not least, is Kirtsy. Remember Sk*rt? It has a new name! Same great site, awesome new name! Make sure you update your bookmarks...and if you've never visited, get over there now. It's like Digg but for women, so it's automatically more fun, right? Sorry boys!

Can't find my camera cord...so Fab Fave "Sartorialist" will have to entertain you...

Wow, I'm a miserable blogger. I still haven't found my camera cord to download pictures, and I can't get my G5 online, where all my previously-downloaded pictures are currently living. Posts about food without pictures are just no fun, so please be patient with me!

I do have this to report...Trader Joe's is a mere 2 blocks away from my new apartment. WOO-HOO! As if I didn't already talk about TJ's too much...I also have a nice big kitchen with cute butter-yellow tile and big windows. Still no cooking, but getting close.

Since I'm a loser and have nothing original to say, I'll just share one of my most favorite blogs EVER with you. Yes, you've probably already visited this blog, but for those of you who haven't, I must highlight The Sartorialist. Love him, love the clothes, love the pictures. That should give you something to do while I finish unpacking...ugh.

Fab Faves: Sharin' the Love...

I think it's about time for a Fab Fave...or two...or three. I've been wanting to do a little plug for 3 sites that belong to 3 really great people in my life. Please visit them and enjoy!

The Rebuttal
So, my little bro is the web wiz kid in the family. He and his friends are always coming up with great company ideas, website ideas, salsa club ideas...you get the point, he's full of ideas. One of his latest ventures is The Rebuttal, an online political cafe where bias is the name of the game. It's new and they have big plans for the site...but it's pretty darn good already...they already have bunches of smart, entertaining writers. If you like politics, or even if you don't, this is a fun site to read.

Voices In My Head
My good friend (who shall be referred to here as Big Bahama Mama) writes this great little blog. It's nothing fancy and it doesn't need to be...it's just her thoughts on her life. She's a great writer and dang funny (one of the reasons I loved her so much in person). I'm happy that even though we live miles apart, I still get to enjoy her quick wit whenever I want. You'll love her too.

A Place for Everything
My friend Linn is a professional organizer. Yup, there are such things as professional organizers and, yup, their kitchens are ALWAYS spotless, no matter when I happen to drop by. Linn knows what she's doing, folks. If you want to get more organized, read her blog.

Fab Faves: simply breakfast & simply photo

Today I have a little eye candy for you (not the Brad Pitt kind, the food kind). Visit simply breakfast. Photographer Jennifer Causey of Brooklyn 'simply' takes a picture of her breakfast each morning. Love it! Be sure to visit her other blog simply photo as well. Happy Friday!

In-N-Outta My Mind

Today Nate was craving In-N-Out for lunch. He NEVER craves things, so I decided to be nice and let him have his wish. It was really hard for me. I'm such a supportive wife...even in my pregnant state.


I ended up having a totally crazy pregnant woman moment when I went to pick our lunch up. I ordered our food and then the cashier asked, "Is that all for you?" I seriously had the following thoughts run through my mind: "Why is he asking if all this food is for me? Is it because I'm pregnant? That's such a strange question. Why does he care? It's kind of a lot of food for one person..." In my confusion I just said "Yes" thinking that would end things and I could get outta there, feeling kinda weird about it. It took me about 10 minutes to clue in and realize he was asking a completely normal ordering question that had nothing to do with my calorie intake or my unusually large belly. Good thing I didn't flip out on him manic pregnant woman style... :)

Dream Dinners AGAIN!

Hey everybody...I swear Dream Dinners isn't paying me! :) My sister-in-law Jessica is the one who first introduced me to Dream Dinners and she wanted to add a little something to my post from yesterday - thank you, Jessica!

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I just have to expand on what Jane said about Dream Dinners on Thursday’s post. I was introduced to Dream Dinners about 2 years ago. My local DD is in Orem, UT and they are the greatest. There are so many reasons I love them. One reason is the efficiency factor. You have 12 meals made within 2 hours and you don’t have to do any chopping, slicing, dicing, shopping, peeling, washing, cleaning, etc. If the recipe you are putting together calls for ½ cup of tomato sauce- the sauce has a half cup scoop sitting next to it. No guess work or fumbling around involved at all! And seriously you don’t have to clean up anything- they do it for you. WOW! Another thing I love about DD is the “flavorfulness” and variety we get. A lot of the recipes call for spices or other ingredients I don’t have in my cupboards or refrigerator which provides us with some new tastes that we like- but don’t have at home because I just don’t keep those items on hand (like capers or red wine). This place is definitely worth checking out. I guarantee you will love it and will want to go almost every month!


Lastly, I must mention that most franchise locations do a lot to give back to their specific local community. Our DD, for example, has a monthly giveaway for a family who could really use 12 free Dream Dinners. People send in nominations and the owners, Jacki and Joy, pick one to give a free month to. I once nominated a friend of mine who had just finished chemotherapy and had no energy to meal plan, shop, prepare food, etc. She won the giveaway and we went and made 12 meals she could stow in her freezer and her husband or mom could just easily follow the cooking instructions. She needed healthy balanced meals (and no raw foods) at that point in her treatment and with these in her freezer she could feel like they always had some good options. The meals are so easy to cook at home that she could often make dinner for her family which made her feel like she was still a good wife and mother and not just a sick cancer patient. I love the fact that the DD chain is encouraging their franchise locations to make a difference in the lives of families by bringing people together around the dinner table, which we all know is so much of how a family connects and grows closer. (Picture: Jess's friend Alyson 2nd from left, Jess 3rd from left)

Second only to Jane’s This Week for Dinner blog here, Dream Dinners is the next best solution to all your dinner planning and preparation troubles.

Fab Faves: Dream Dinners

Today's Fab Fave is Dream Dinners! My friend Emily M. recently shared some of her Dream Dinners meals with me, so I joined in with her to put them together on a Saturday morning at the Poway location here in San Diego. We had a blast! My sister-in-law Jess and friend Isa have SWORN by Dream Dinners for a long time...they love the food and the price, so I'm glad I finally got in there to try it out!

Dream Dinners' Bombay Chicken with Coconut Rice, as cooked by MOI!

If you've never heard of Dream Dinners, here's how it works: Each month there is a list of meals to choose from. You go to their website, select your location, then select your meals, in 3- or 6-servings amounts. You must order a minimum of 36 servings, any combo of 3- & 6-servings welcome. If you order 72 servings, you qualify for a Volume Reward, which definitely cuts costs. A great way to do it is to sign up with a friend to get your Volume Reward and split your order...which is what Emily & I did.

Back to our Dream Dinners visit...Emily & I arrived and all of our labels were ready to go. Each meal has a station where you put the ingredients together in Ziploc bags. Most meals fit neatly into a 1-gallon Ziploc bag, so they don't take up much space at all!

All my meals fit nicely in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag, which I could lay nicely in the freezer

Reasons we loved going to Dream Dinners:

1. As we were putting our meals together, they brought out some peach cobbler for us to enjoy. THAT never happens at home.
   
2. Picture me trying to pour honey out of a plastic, ungreased measuring cup. Suddenly a young man pops up and says, "Would you like a spatula?" and hands one over. THAT never happens at home.
   
3. Best part of all...when you're done putting your meal together, they clean up after you! That DEFINITELY doesn't happen at home!!
   

Emily and I were laughing the whole time because it was just so great - we felt very pampered and everything was efficient and clean. Everyone who worked there was ubelievably friendly and they even carried our food out to the car for us!

Here are the contents for the Bombay Chicken...with the instructions label

"But is the food good?" Yes it is! Everything we tried was super yummy. Pictured at the top of my post is the Bombay Chicken with Coconut Rice (from June's menu). It was seriously good. It was also our last Dream Dinners meal we had in the freezer...so sad. I kept forgetting to take pictures of our DD meals and almost forgot this one as well - thanks to Nate for remembering so you can see how delectable it looks! They are easy to put together as well!

"But is it affordable?" I went through and averaged this month's meal costs: 6-serving meals averaged $25, 3-serving meals averaged $13 (prior to Volume Discount). Isa swears she saves money overall doing Dream Dinners. I don't know if I would necessarily, based on what I spend on groceries, but I WILL say this...if you put any of these meals together on your own, it would definitely cost more than what you get it for at Dream Dinners. And the choices are things that I would never make at home, so it's nice to mix it up!

Fab Faves: San Diego Mama

Occasionally I like to share websites and blogs with you that I consider Fab Faves! Today's Fab Fave is TodaysMama.com, for all you mamas out there! Check it out! I was the feature blog on this months ago, but if you haven't visited yet, make sure you do!

For those of you luckly enough to live in San Diego, TodaysMama has a site just for you...SanDiegoMama.com! Again, lots of fun. There is also a corresponding blog that gets updated regularly with cool San Diego information (sandiegomamas.blogspot.com). Definitely check it out if you live in the area!

There are TodaysMama sites for the following cities/states as well...with more added all the time! DC, Arizona, Houston, Nevada, South Florida, Seattle, Santa Cruz, Spokane and Utah - just click on the drop down menu on the top right of TodaysMama.com to select your city!

Roadtrip! French Memories

Nate's family is from a town called Cohasset in Massachusetts. Cohasset is a seaside town 20 miles south of Boston, complete with a beautiful harbor, town green and cute main street (not to mention AWESOME houses that I'll never be able to afford but can always dream about!). Nate and I spent a lot of time there in our early years and I love it so much.


One of our favorite little spots in Cohasset is a bakery called "French Memories." It's on Main Street (no website) and is full of the best pastries, tarts, bread and cheeses. Their nut twists and raspberry croissants are my FAVORITES. This place is authentic (the owner is French) and apparently they have live music there once a week or something now. Anyhow, I was able to get over to French Memories one morning while we were in town. It was just as wonderful as ever!

Fab Faves: 101 Simple Meals

My good friend Emily (who is the reason I even know what a blog is!) sent me a link to this great New York Times article today. The article lists 101 Simple Meals perfect for summer that can be made in 10 minutes or less.

There are LOTS seafood ideas, which I'm excited to try. You will find a plethora of fun, easy, fast ideas - from paninis to pasta, salads to sausage!

If by the time you click on the link to the article and it's been archived, just email weeklydinners@gmail.com - I've saved the article and I will send it to you.

Thanks Emily - this article is a great resource!

Fab Faves: Kokblog

It's Saturday. Phew. I had today's post all planned in my head, but I just don't have time to do it justice this morning. And since you're all busy doing fun Saturday things anyway, today is a quick post - no pictures or nothin'!

Check out this cool food blog, Kokblog. It's a cooking blog by a woman named Johanna Kindvall. She grew up in Sweden and is an architect, artist and former social worker who used cooking to work with drug addicts and mentally ill patients. So cool. She illustrates everything on her site - a very creative and unique touch. I haven't tried any recipes yet, but it is just such a cool site. Enjoy!

Side note: I think I'll start featuring some of my favorite blogs once in a while because I have a sneaking suspicion that many of you haven't explored my links, which is understandable since it could take over one's life :)

Fab Faves: 'Hostess with the Mostess'

One of my favorite fellow bloggers has just launched her website and I'm so excited to let you all know about it! Hostess with the Mostess is a marvelous place to go for entertaining ideas and more!


The site has cool, fun, unique, hip, cute (I could go on but I'll stop) ideas for entertaining. Her blog will also continue to be amazing at http://hostessblog.com. And keep an eye out...I will be making appearances here and there on the site and the blog!

Happy Entertaining!