5 Best Bites in Clearwater, Fla.

With restaurants popping up all over town, Clearwater is becoming a foodie destination. On a recent trip I was able to experience some of the best restaurants the city has to offer. Here are my top 5 best bites in the city. Shrimp and Grits 1. Hilton Clearwater Beach‘s shrimp and grits. As a northern girl, I’d…

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Recycled Crayon Molds Using Broken Crayons

This isn’t my usual muffin recipe. The ingredients are decidedly different — and more colorful. My kids love those multi-colored crayons at the store and their playgoup; my husband I don’t love the price of them. We also don’t love the scads of broken crayons in the kitchen. What’s a parent to do? This thrifty…

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Matthaei Botanical Gardens

So, our plans fell through again. My daughter and I were supposed to travel to see my brother and his children but there was an emergency in my sister-in-law’s family. Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead and make the most of our trip though since we were already there. This is why it’s important that…

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5 Best Bites of Western Pennsylvania

Sometimes the best way to acclimate yourself to a new place is by trying its food. I recently traveled to western Pennsylvania (read all about it here on TravelingMom) and came back with more than just memories and vacation photos – but also food ideas I’ve already put to use. (A sandwich with fries and slaw…

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Dehydrator Raw Fruit Crackers for Travel

I’m not a raw foods freak — sure, we try to eat healthy as much as we can and maintain a mostly clean diet with little processed foods — but I recently discovered how amazing raw fruit crackers can be. At the risk of sounding like a crunchy granola mom, I will reluctantly admit that…

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Wordless Wednesday: Green Tomatoes

We had our first frost the other day and had to pick every last tomato from the vines before it hit. Thankfully there were a few red ones (and red peppers), but lots of green ones as well. Anyone have a good recipe that uses up a lot of tomatoes?

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Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Homemade pumpkin spice latte Fall’s here, and pumpkins seem to have found their way not only onto our porch but into the kitchen as well. I’ve baked the requisite pumpkin bread (I will post about that soon!) and now it’s time for a true fall treat: pumpkin spice lattes. I don’t even buy pumpkin spice…

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Homemade Granola

  So I make my own crackers. What’s next, make my own granola? Why, yes. I have actually been making granola for a few years now, and find it much tastier, fresher, cheaper and just plain better than what I’ve found in the store. I’m working on a way to reduce the amount of oil in…

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Easy Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Easy pumpkin spice muffins It’s cold and damp outside, but not cold enough for the furnace to kick on. What’s an always-cold girl to do? Bake cupcakes! These are super easy and include one of my favorite fall flavors — pumpkin! They go great with pumpkin spice lattes, too. Pumpkin Spice Cupcake Recipe 1 box spice…

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Constructing a Birthday Cake

It’s birthday season here at Chez Mom. From November through February we celebrate a batch of birthdays, with another series of births in the spring. While I’m constantly trying to find the balance between work and being a mom, one thing I’ve decided that’s important to me is to make my kids’ (and sometimes husband’s) birthday cakes….

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