Pack It Up

 

Brookstone Quilted Rolling Organizer

We travel...a lot.  We have family in many different states and try to get out as much as possible.  In August of this year I made a trip with my girls (ages 2 and 4 at the time) from Virginia to visit my parents in Texas.  This trip required two airplanes and a change in gate at the last minute which caused me a lot of frustration, sweat and a numb arm as I carried my carry-on tote and 2 year old while dragging my 4 year old onto a train and across multiple terminals.  When we reached the new terminal we walked past Brookstone and the beautiful, convenient, well-organized gear drew me in.  Within 15 minutes I had a lovely carry-on organizer with wheels and life was instantly easier!

We own a few pieces of luggage but this by far has been our best purchase. It fits well under the airplane seat and opens nicely so it is very easy to access on a flight.  It is durable and the compartments are spacious and well organized.

Here is what I fit in mine on that trip to Texas:

- Change of clothes for 2 year old (you never know what will happen on a flight!)
-DVD player and DVDs
-coloring books and crayons
-wipes container
-bottle of water
-snacks
-airplane boxes for the girls filled with goodies (I will blog about these later...got the idea from a friend; basically bait boxes filled with fun treats)
-socks for cold feet on the plane
-a magazine for me
-my Nook

Since that trip I have used the bag on every road trip we have taken.  I even went away for a weekend by myself for a meeting and this was the only piece of luggage I needed.  This is huge for someone who has a ton of makeup and hair stuff!

Christmas is coming and I highly recommend you put this beauty on your list.  I paid $99 for it on sale but I know Brookstone is running some promos right now (like spend $99 and get $5 off plus free shipping plus $20 of Brookstone bucks which would be great to use for gifts for others).  The site is showing that it is out of stock so I would check your nearest Brookstone store or call the Customer Service number on their site for details.  If you are a mom and you do any sort of traveling whatsoever with your children then this organizer is definitely something you will appreciate!

So, What's for Dinner?

Everyday Food Magazine by Martha Stewart

When we got married almost ten years ago Heath was the chef in the relationship.  Since he was quite amazing in the kitchen I decided I would learn to bake.  The relationship worked out well, he cooked as a stress reliever from his medical school studies and I had a great time baking a variety of things as I studied my way through physical therapy school.  Then life got harder, our first child came and we moved a few states away for Heath to start residency.  It was time for me to assume my full role as homemaker and take over the chef's hat. 

Shortly after moving in, my sister sent me a housewarming gift of a subscription to the Everyday Food magazine by Martha Stewart.  While I had a number of cookbooks in my arsenal I must say that this magazine taught me more about quick, easy, tasty, healthy cooking than I ever could have found in a cookbook.

PROS:
1.  Learn lots of little tips and techniques for flavorful cooking
2.  Minimal ingredients per recipe and a lot of them use staples found in a well stocked pantry
3.  Delicious meals (we haven't really had anything we absolutely did not like!)
4.  Our kids eat the meals!
5.  Kids can help with meal prep; this magazine really taught Eva (our oldest) a lot about cooking
6.  New issues every 1-2 months with fresh new ideas

CONS:
1.  It is a subscription (BUT you can buy one issue for a higher price at your local grocery store check out to see if you like it before you subscribe)
2.  Some of the recipes would be difficult to modify for kids with certain allergies (dairy or egg mainly) but there are a lot of recipes in each issue that don't use those ingredients
3.  It is great that the recipes use a variety of vegetables and fresh foods but the negative to this is that you have to go to the grocery store at least once a week if not more often to get ingredients

Bon appetit!