Although I always will carry my bridesmaid memories with me, I plan on finding use for all of my attendant dresses at least by the turn of the next decade.

Laurel loves playing dress up at school, so yesterday I decided to put some of my bridesmaid pieces to work after a collective decade of dormancy. While the colors, fabrics, and silhouettes of a couple of the dresses do, in fact, offer Project Runway inspired recycling potential, the dated bolero jacket from one dress was ready to go, as was another dress that was beyond recycling. I cut the latter off at the hips to accommodate its new owner and attached a tie to the remaining skirt piece to make a shiny, red cape. The recycled garments were a huge hit, and now I can mentally move the money I had planned on spending on dress up clothes towards some fabulous spring fashion to fill my empty hangers. Ah, crafty parenting...

Jon and I currently are on a mission to develop a weekly dinner plan that: a) is simple and tasty for adults and kids; b) takes the ambiguity out of who’s doing what (we recently discovered I was assuming full responsibility for – and withholding bitterness over – meal prep on top of work and juggling Laurel at the end of the day); and c) gets more vegetables into us. If we get a good plan sorted out, we’ll be sure to share it; meanwhile, we have discovered how effective an excellent, simple vinaigrette is to inspiring salad consumption.

One batch of Martha’s Favorite Vinaigrette and many salads later, we're still in awe of this beautiful and easy steak Cobb salad (click thumbnail to enlarge image), in which we tossed chopped iceberg lettuce with vinaigrette, then layered cherry tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, seared steak strips, cashews, bleu cheese, and avocado over the top (dried cranberries also would make for a nice color and flavor contrast). The steak – and a side dish of pomme frites – warmed up the salad for winter (chicken or marinated tofu also would sub in well), and the presentation projected a culinary mindfulness that largely has been dormant since we embarked on the parenting journey.

Here’s a great tip from my fellow eco-mama Kate. For elegant, earth-friendly bags and reusable bottles, check out ReusableBags.com. Among their lunch bag collection is Kate’s eco chic Mimi the Sardine bag (shown, Modern Berries; $19.95). This machine washable cloth bag is 100% lead-free, made of eco-friendly, safety tested acrylic coated fabrics, and is insulated.

The parenting journey thus far has made it clear that little people have passions. Laurel and her friends have long shown fierce devotion to certain areas of play and expression, whether it is art or song or books or trains.

Now you can express your child’s passion via YoonKids, a collection of hip, customized wall art suitable for babies to tweens. YoonKids allow for the ultimate expression of kids’ passions and diversity; choose a themed kid (e.g., girl drummer), background color, hair and skin color (hooray!), and canvas size. YoonKids currently are available in girl designs; the boy line is forthcoming. Other collections include the Yoonies, an endearing series of chubby, wobbly critters (pick a character, background color, and size), and the Silhouettes line, which features classic imagery - such as the gorgeous, vibrant Bird Tree (shown) - styled with modern graphics in cool color palettes.
Each piece is custom made through a giclée printing process; water-resistant canvas is stretched over sturdy frames and finished with an ecologically friendly coating that protects against sun and water damage. Two sizes are available (9"x12" for $85, 18"x18" for $150), and you can add a name and birth date to your artwork for an additional $10 each.

If you’re looking for something to do during today's snow day, easy kid’s craft activities are possible with minimal or recycled materials. Paper plate crafts or sock puppets are good options; the latter can be as simple or complex as you want to make it. We’ve found that two features (e.g., eyes and ears, or eyes and a tongue as with our fleece snake family) are enough to render an animal likeness that kids love.

Ah, the weekend. Perhaps you had the forethought to arrange a sitter. But if that was as far as you got, and you still don’t know where you and your love monkey are heading to, check out OpenTable online reservations. This online reservation system serves restaurants across the US and internationally; plug in your search neighborhood (e.g., Back Bay) and scope out reservation availability (and descriptions, reviews, ratings, and menus where available) for multiple restaurants at a time. No more individual phone calls!

I love letting my fingers do the walking. And I love getting rewarded for it.

A mama friend turned me onto Upromise, a service that helps you save for your babe’s college tuition while you shop. Access your favorite online stores through their website (or use their automated software so you don't have to remember to start at their site) and earn money while you shop. Register those pesky little Shaw's or CVS cards and every time you use them to buy participating items, you’ll earn money. And the list goes on with restaurants, retail stores, services, and special programs.

Now you have a new way to rationalize that cute new pair of shoes!

While I love trundling around little boutiques on foot, sometimes one stop shopping is the way to go. Boston area mama Jeniphir Taylor-McIntire, a sales consultant for Natural Family Boutique, recently pointed me to her online store.

Natural Family Boutique offers eco-friendly products to support families from conception to weaning. The site offers Haba toys (my favorite toy line, period!) and apparel for babes, indulgent jewelry, spa, and home items for mamas, and lots of products for new parents (breastfeeding, baby care, and cloth diapering supplies, pregnancy, birth and postpartum products, books & CDs, slings). The site also offers resource material on breastfeeding, pregnancy and birth, nutrition, parenting, natural living, and activism.

Host a mama’s night out NFB party with Jenipher and get discounts and freebies along the way. Send Jenipher an email to find out more.

UPDATE 8/15/07: Sadly, Natural Family Boutique has closed its virtual doors. Please visit our category links to the left for more fabulous toy, gear, and pregnancy resources.

Is it a complete sign of regression that I want one of these super cute UncommonGoods Animal Lamps ($20) for myself? These paper lamp pals are about 8 inches long x 6 inches wide and come in the form of frog, piggy, puppy, kitty, and monkey. A 25W bulb is included.