Buy broccoli florets once you have a kid.

One of my lessons learned from motherhood is to buy broccoli florets.  Your kid is going to want the leafy green 'trees'.  It's the best part of the broccoli.  It's the only part the baby can realistically chew.  Which means someone else has to eat the stalks...and that someone is going to be you.  I miss very little about my pre-motherhood life, but I do miss eating the whole piece of broccoli rather than the chunks of chopped stalk.

Buy the florets.  You're worth it.  

The Art of Entertaining: Monday Family Night

I'm not entertaining - especially not on Mondays.  I'm doing what I do every night - trying to enjoy a few moments of alone time, praying the baby doesn't wake, while the cats try to smother me because they don't get enough attention anymore.  But I digress...

The Art of Entertaining is a catering business in Webster.  I can't speak to the catering part, but I can recommend their Monday Family Night Special carryout special for $27.50.  It feeds four with two casseroles, salad, bread, and four cookies.  

It has some different casserole options, like Beef Stroganoff, Cannelloni, and Chicken Diane which is nice if you are tired of sandwiches, pizza, Italian and Mexican.  We have found that it easily includes two separate meals if you extend the salad with some bagged mix.  We get two different casseroles and eat one the first night, and the other the second.  

We learned about this from two dear friends, who gave us a gift certificate after the baby.  I thought it was a great idea for new or expectant parents!

Click here to see the menu:  http://www.theaofe.com/monday-dinner-menu/

Full site is here:  http://www.theaofe.com/

Have you had their casseroles, and if so, which one do you like recommend?

*Note:  Not compensated for this; also, they are closed on Sunday.  Again, lived and learned on that one...

Nordstrom's personal stylist service

Nordstrom's offers a personal stylist service...for free!

I don't really like shopping that much, and get frustrated sifting through the racks and having to swap out sizes.  I also don't have much opportunity with a toddler in tow.  Unfortunately, all my clothes - which needed to be refreshed before I had a baby - really haven't improved in the years since.  I thought this could be a great solution to my shopping problem. 

They offer several different types of appointments; I chose the longest one, at two hours.  The stylist asked me a few questions about colors and types of clothes - business, casual, etc., that I was looking for.  At the time I thought she probably needed to ask a few more questions, but I was also looking to shake up my style so I was ok with seeing something that was a little outside my normal.

When I arrived there was a large dressing room set up with racks of clothing, jewelry, and shoes.  A separate consultant came from lingerie for a bra fitting, which was a wonderful timesaver.  In 15 minutes I had a new and accurate size, the consultant had pulled 6 bras, the first 3 fit perfectly, and I chose my 2 favorite styles.  Shopping for bras is never that fast when I do it on my own, and they never fit as well.  It's not for the shy, though.  Luckily all shame died after childbirth and breastfeeding...

The clothes were a little less successful.  I tried on lots of things - the stylist kept a constant stream of clothes coming through the room as I kept and rejected different things.  In the end, though, the style was not quite me.  I bought several things, but had instant buyers remorse and will be returning all but a sweater, some earrings, and a necklace.  I'm not sure if the disconnect was with the stylist, with the clothes this season, or with me trying too hard to find a new look, but I didn't end up really loving anything.  

I'd try it again, but possibly be more focused on one type of clothes - just work dresses, or just weekend wear - and expect to find one or two good pieces rather than do a complete wardrobe revamp.  As a free service, there is nothing to loose and it's a huge timesaver compared to sifting through the racks.

Link to the service is here:  http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/personal-stylists

Have you used a stylist, and if so, where?  What did you think?

P'sghetti's Family Special

This is an old standby before motherhood.  I was not raised in South County, but you do not have to be a South County girl to appreciate the magic that is P'sghetti's mostaccioli.  Mostaccioli, a sub sandwich, garlic bread (both on their delicious sweet bread), and salad so you feel somewhat healthy.   Order for two, and you have dinner for a few days and mostaccioli to freeze for later.  Order for a party, and you have a delicious, well rounded meal for a crowd with no prep, on the cheap.  At $26.99 I've not found cheaper or better carryout.  They have coupons periodically on their website, making it even cheaper.

Order carry out in advance, and it's ready for pick up when you arrive.  Order when you get there, and  it's ready in 10 minutes or so.

Click here for menu and locations:  http://www.psghettis.com/daily-menu.html

*Note:  I am not being compensated for this.  Sadly, I just really do love spaghetti sauce & garlic bread this much. Remember that they close early on Sundays.  I've been burned by that before.  Also, your guests may eat way, way more than you would expect them to, so order generously even though there is a lot of food.  My grandmother used to not eat lunch when I brought this just so she could eat a ton of dinner.  I've never seen the woman put away so much food as she does when we order P'sghetti's.  Usually she would eat about a forth of a piece of toast and claim she was full.