Being a family of two working parents and two active kidlets, one of our main jobs in life is keeping clutter under control. Generally I feel like we do a fairly good job of clutter-busting, mostly due to some simple systems we've put in place. The simplest of all? A basket that waits at the bottom of the stairs. Rather than piling up shoes, books, toys and other random things on the first step, fill up a basket with junk that needs to find its way to the second floor and bring it up once at the end of the night. After you've unloaded upstairs, do the exact same thing in the morning for items that need to get to the first floor. So simple, yet totally effective.
{There are terrific baskets actually made to fit stairs -- usually called step baskets -- but becuse of our narrow staircase and clumsy boys, we just place a Reisenthal market tote on the floor.}
Stylish Food Safety
I know, I know, I've heard it a million times -- when prepping ingredients to cook, it's really important that you keep your meats, fish, poultry and veggies separate. But honestly, with the mayhem of life, I just can't seem to remember whether I use my white cutting board for salmon or chicken. And the red one...it's the color of tomatoes, so it must be for veggies...or is it red meat? So when I was visiting my best friend in Atlanta this weekend, I instantly fell in love with her super-thin, super-stylish and toomanythingstothinkabout-proof cutting mats from Sur La Table. Complete with color-coding and little icons, now there's no way I'll end up with Ratatouille avec Salmonella.
Set of 4 Color-Coded Flexible Cutting Boards, $15
Image credit: Sur La Table
SoWa Sundays Begin!
Eight years ago, when I moved back to Boston from New York, I was surprised to find that there wasn't an open-air art market (like the ones that you can find every weekend in nearly every Manhattan neighborhood) anywhere to be found. But just a few years later, the SoWa Open Market began to fill that void, pitching tents in Boston's South End and filling them with local vendors offering everything from original art to handmade accessories to fresh-off-the-farm produce. This weekend, the brains behind Open Market launch their newest addition to the SoWa family -- the SoWa Antiques Market, housed in the historic Trolley Barn. Dealers offering antique and vintage pottery, furniture, textiles, collectibles, glassware and more, promise to be a great addition to this Boston institution-in-the-making. And if I weren't away this weekend I would be angling for some child-free time to roam the aisles...
SoWa Open Market, Antiques Market and Produce Market, Sundays through October; opening weekend only open Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17; 540 Harrison Avenue, South End, Boston.
Image credit: SoWa Open Market
Bag for a Superhero(ine)
Given the name of this blog, and my own penchant for accessories, on occasion I may (ok, will) post on a really great product that you might find in a mudroom. As most everyone who knows me will tell you, I am a huge collector of bags -- it really doesn't matter what label or material, great design is what hooks me. So when I was rushing to my car last week, already late to pick up my boys, I had to stop when a bag in the window of Mint Julep (one of my favorite dress shops in Cambridge) caught my eye. I ran in, grabbed it out of the display and after assessing its key qualities -- super-lightweight, huge capacity for stuff, great pattern, reasonably priced -- bought it on the spot. As I was being rung up, I looked at the label and thought, Jane Marvel? Who is this marvelous Jane Marvel?
The next day, in the next town over, in another store completely, I was running a few errands when I came across Miss Marvel's line again -- clearly the universe was speaking to me and I just had to share.
So if you're in need of a new bag, or even if you're not, check 'em out. The Vegan bags -- laminated canvas and non-leather trim/handles -- are lightweight, virtually waterproof, ridiculously easy-to-clean and come in a huge range of styles and patterns (I picked up the All Day Long in Plaid Flowers).
Jane Marvel All Day Long Tote in White with Red. Check here for store and web locations.
Image credit: eBags.com
C'mon Lilly, Light My Fire
Everybody needs a little Lilly. In my heyday as a pink-and-green-blooded prepster, I used to pull off the whole Lilly look -- patchwork shift, Jack Rogers sandals, patent headband. But even though my personal style has evolved, I can still have a little of that classic Lilly Pulitzer fruit punch-drunk color in my life with her new matchbooks. At $4.50 a box, I might fill up a little vessel in my pink-tiled bathroom...
Lilly Pulitzer Strike It Hot Matches first spotted in the June issue of Country Living, available online at Preppy Princess.
Image credit: Preppy Princess