Happy Saturday everyone, I hope you're enjoying a great weekend! I'm feeling especially bright spirited; in addition to enjoying a lovely run and nature walk with the girls today, as of this afternoon, I'm finally free of the albatross that was squaring up my 2013 finances for taxes. YAHOO! Have a wonderful rest of the weekend and enjoy this roundup of Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome:

- A fundraiser for Boston firefighters Ed Walsh and Mike Kennedy.

- Kevin Bacon, you the man.

- 16 tips for drama free parenting.

- This is why I’m growing my hair out: polished bun how-to.

- My curated collection of ottomans. Which should I get for my living room?

- Children around the world with their most prized possessions.

- If you think you may lose your mind reading one more long-form parenting essay.

- Weekend project: blood orange margaritas!

- Tribute to a mother’s strength.

- The happiest and healthiest cities in America (fist bump #17, #23).

- Asha and I are beyond honored to be nominated for two Iris Awards (Game Changer for Minimalist Parenting + Philanthropic Work for our #HelpWomenAtRisk fundraiser)!

Image credit: blood orange margaritas via Pinterest

I don't consider myself fussy about food, but I have yet to meet a boxed granola I like. Boxed brands just don't tend to have the same flavor and lovely chunks as the homemade variety. I've been meaning to share my favorite recipe for easy and awesome homemade granola; it's simple to make and is a great project to work on with kids (Violet loved dumping and stirring in ingredients!). Make a double batch because it disappears quickly!

I adapted this recipe from Food to Live By's maple walnut granola since I wanted a different balance of dry ingredients (I'm especially not a fan of overly seedy granola). Also, this weekend I tossed in flax and coconut (not shown in pictures below) for a little added power boost. Scrumptious.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 1/12 cup slivered raw almonds
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ground flax *optional
• 1/4 cup coconut *optional
• 1 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup dried cranberries

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 325 degrees.

2. Mix oats, sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, almonds, and cinnamon (and flax and coconut if you choose to include) in a bowl. Add maple syrup and oil and mix well.

3. Spread granola evenly on a jelly roll pan (I always use a Silpat mat to prevent sticking and for easier cleanup). Bake 25 minutes then stir. Continue to bake 15-20 minutes, stirring once, and watching carefully to make sure granola doesn't burn. Enjoy!

Image credits: Christine Koh

Happy weekend everyone, I hope you're enjoying some lovely down time today. I'm still coming out of my plague fog and trying to catch up on work and home things (and the dreaded taxes will be the end of me...help!) but my spirits were lifted by many interesting reads/visuals this week. Enjoy them in this week's edition of Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome:

- Why moms -- and their last words -- matter.

- Watch as 1,000 years of European borders change.

- Six new favorite doughnuts around Boston.

- Great foods for hydrating your skin.

- My curated collection of colorful totes.

- A case for not hovering at playdates.

- Every child is gifted and talented. Every single one.

- Homemade peanut butter eggs.

- OMG. Christopher Walken dance montage.

- For my fellow grad school indentured servants.

- Don’t help your kids with their homework.

Image credit: blueberry green iced detox tea via Pinterest

Today, Hillary of Mass Audubon shares tips to help you attract butterflies to your garden:

As if you needed an excuse to get excited for spring and summer, here are two: flowers and butterflies. It just so happens that March 12 is Plant a Flower Day and March 14 is Learn about Butterflies Day. The fact that these are timed so close together is perfect, as butterflies and flowers go together like peanut butter and jelly.

But not just any flowers will do. Different species of butterflies flock to specific flowers. And some, like the Monarch, rely on one species for its existence (one that is showing signs of trouble). Want to bring butterflies to your backyard and help keep populations strong? Here’s what you need to know:

• Between March and October, over 100 different butterflies can be found in Massachusetts, but not all at the same time. Mourning cloaks are seen mainly early spring, mid summer and fall; swallowtails are present late May to September; and monarchs June to October.
• Over 60 different insects, including monarch butterflies, need milkweed to complete their life cycle. These insects not only have adapted to potent chemicals in milkweed, but some use them to repel predators.
• Nothing blooms all season long, but by choosing plants that flower at different times you can attract a constant stream of butterflies.

Wondering what types of flowers to plant? Here are butterfly-attracting flowers by season:

Spring

• Chive Blossoms
• Bleeding Heart
• Siberian Wallflower

Early Summer

• Milkweeds (swamp milkweed, butterflyweed, whorled milkweed, and poke milkweed) 
• Zinnias
• Verbena
• Blazing star
• Garden Phlox

Late Summer

• Asters
• Sunflowers
• Joe-Pye weed
• New York Ironweed

Want to learn more about butterflies?

• Check out Mass Audubon’s blog post on Five Common Summer Butterflies.
• Pick up a handy, laminated pocket guide to Northeastern Butterflies and Butterfly Gardening.
• Explore the Butterfly Atlas to learn more about species in Massachusetts.
• Take a butterfly program at a wildlife sanctuary near you.
• Attend the annual Barbara J Walker Butterfly Festival at Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Worcester on August 9.

Image credits: 1) US Fish & Wildlife Service (public domain images); 2) Richard Johnson for Mass Audubon

Happy Saturday and happy March everyone! Between travel, school break, and then some more travel, it feels like a million years since I last posted a Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome. But it certainly isn't because it hasn't been awesome. I'm glad to get back this week; here are some great reads, visuals, and resources that I found particularly awesome this week. Enjoy!

- My friend C. C. Chapman is awesome; here’s what he’s doing for Mercy.

- As if I needed another reason to eat Ben & Jerry’s.

- As if I needed another reason to love Paul Rudd.

- Different teas and what they help with.

- Incredible paper versions of famous dresses.

- Incredible photos of abandoned places.

- Stunning portraits of the world’s remotest tribes before they pass away.

- Online resources for affordable curtains.

- America’s best cities for hipsters (#14 represent).

- Eight ways to use your smartphone to make your life easier.

- Use old dried out markers to make watercolor paint.

Image credit: homemade watercolor paint

I know it's tough to fathom since it's 12 degrees out right now, but remember how balmy it was last weekend? The rapidly melting snow banks coupled with the Marimekko event left me hungry for spring! If you're ever in a grouchy mood, just walk into Marimekko and your happy neurons will start firing; it's pure rainbow awesomeness. Don’t believe me? Check out the evidence below:

The spring/summer runway show was awesome thanks to my blogging friends and their adorable kids. Audrey showed how well Marimekko dresses go with leggings and flats. Her son Henry looked adorable in stripes + critters (and dragon face paint).

Casey shared that this was her first time in a dress since prom! She looked amazing and I love that she integrated her style with black sneakers. Her daughter Riley (with an awesome unicorn on her face...girl after my own heart) was simply adorable in Marimekko leggings, long sleeved tee, and tank dress.

Sharon looked awesomely elegant in this dot dress. Her son Bennett (he was such an adorable ham!) rocked the layers, with a striped collared shirt topped with a gorilla tee.

I love how chic and modern Sharon's geometric print is; she dressed this look up with peep toe pumps. Her daughter Sienna looked so cute in leggings, a tee, and my favorite of Marimekko's raincoats for kids. Also, Sienna's red glitter shoes were to die for!

Here's a shot of the moms, which I insisted on because usually we're busy taking pictures of our kids and aren't in the photos. These ladies make the internet such a good place!

Also, I love this photo with Audrey. Audrey is one of the first people I met after I started blogging; she's pure generosity and kindness. Her family is amazing and I often joke that I'm totally crashing their next family gathering.

Thank you Zac of Zac Wolf Photography for these amazing photos! And also, have you heard of The Danger Booth? Zac and Becca are the brains behind this operation and their booth set up at the event was the funnest. thing. ever. I want to hire them for all my parties! These photo booth shots are hilarious; the booth was touch screen so the kids were able to operate it themself and go nuts.

And finally, as someone who has an awful lot of black, white, and cream in her wardrobe (I tend to infuse color via accessories), wearing that insanely awesome Tasma dress was a fun way to step out of my comfort zone and wear the rainbow. Subsequently, I thought it would be fun to close by sharing a rainbow assortment of Marimekko offerings. So cute! And I love that their wares span clothing, accessories, household, and tech! (Names of items are underneath the image.)

Murina t-shirt | Converse Mustakottarainen | Media makeup bag | Sukellus bathing suit | Pitkähiha long sleeved t-shirt | Päärynä coffee cup | Kurjenpolvi pillow sham | Sääpäiväkirja plate | Ärrän raincoat | Hennika sham| Räsymatto apron | Telmiä pajamas | Kaivo phone case | Kaivo scarf

Image credits: product shots via Marimekko; all other photos courtesy of Zac Wolf Photography

Happy Saturday, everyone, what a beautiful day! I'm currently recovering from the insanity that was waiting at the post office to process Laurel's passport (if you need to do this, do yourself a favor and go on a weekday if you can swing it) and happy to be sitting in a sunbeam with a cup of coffee! Anyway, kick back and enjoy this edition of Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome!

- I guest posted about 6 ways to make parenting easier over at the Care.com blog. Go on and make your life easier!

- 15 things to give up if you want to be happy.

- O.M.G. Minimalist Parenting is available as an audio book!

- Books about women who changed history.

- Crazy amazing interior design ideas.

- I am, admittedly, the least shocking part of this shocking show via Dadsaster.

- Healthy 5-ingredient granola bars.

- Journalists at Sochi are live tweeting their hilarious and gross hotel experiences.

- A conference call in real life.

- On the trouble with the “do what you love” mantra.

- The bread that will change your whole world.

- How to take better smartphone pictures.

- An open letter to my kids about their lunch.

Image credit: Pinterest

Happy Sunday everyone! It was a gorgeous morning for the 5-miler I ran in Cambridge (so fun to run the whole way with friends, btw!) and now I'm cozied up at home while Violet naps and Laurel is off at a playdate. If you're looking to catch up on some web reading, there was so much great content on the site last month. Enjoy this compilation of the best of January 2014:

At Home

- 30 things to do when school is cancelled

- 7 ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year with kids

Books & Entertainment

- Civil rights movement books for kids

- 14 awesome puzzles for babies, kids, and grownups

Critter Love

- For the love of penguins

- Groundhog Day trivia and celebration

Fashion

- The ridiculously awesome pants everyone keeps asking me about

Food & Fitness

- Meals made easy: warm winter salad

- Jeannie's apple crumble pie

- 16 sources of totally doable fitness and nutrition inspiration

Local

- A great spot for budding thespians

- Local Gems: Beacon Hill, Boston

- Local Gems: Medford

Personal/Professional

- Inspiration to help you be even more awesome in 2014

Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome

- Volume 1

- Volume 2

Image credit: blood orange loaf cake via Pinterest

Today, Paige shares a beloved family pie recipe in honor of National Pie Day (yay, pie!). Pardon me while I run out and get some Macintosh apples:

I've been making this apple pie -- my mother's recipe -- for over 20 years. If it ain't broke (and gets devoured every time), why fix it...right? Enjoy this recipe today (National Pie Day!) or any day, really:

Jeannie's Apple Crumb Pie

A pastry cutter and apple wedger aren't essential but will quicken prep work.

• 1 9-inch unbaked frozen pie shell
• 5-7 Macintosh apples
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cold butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make crumb topping by mixing the flour and sugar in a bowl, then adding the cold butter in pieces. Combine with a pastry cutter or knife and fork. Resulting mixture should be crumbly, and butter should be well incorporated, but in small pieces. Set aside in refrigerator. Mix the sugar and cinnamon and set aside in a bowl.

2. Peel and core one apple at a time, dividing into eight sections. Cut each section again in thirds, creating thin apple slices. Arrange one layer of slices in the pie shell and sprinkle enough cinnamon sugar to cover the apples lightly. Continue peeling, coring, slicing, arranging, and layering the apples, then sprinkling with cinnamon sugar until you've reached the top of the shell. (You will likely have cinnamon sugar left over, so set it aside for morning toast!)

 

3. Take the crumb topping from the refrigerator and carefully sprinkle tablespoons of the mixture over the pie, trying to cover all the apples. 

 

4. Place pie on baking sheet (to catch any sugary drips) and set in preheated oven. Check the pie after 40 minutes. If the top and crust are not yet golden, bake for another 5-10 minutes. 

 

5. Remove from oven and set on cooling rack. Cool completely before serving. Excellent with or without ice cream. Can be stored on the counter for 2-3 days (if it lasts that long!).

 

Image credits: Paige Lewin