DIY Gifts for the Hostess

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, I’m guessing you have BBQs, picnics, and parties planned to officially kick off the summer season. As an invitee, it’s always a good idea to bring a hostess gift to show your appreciation to the busy hostess. Those of us who choose to host do it for the enjoyment, but it’s not always easy. So bringing a small gift will bring them a big smile at the end of a busy day of hostessing.

For something unique and inexpensive, consider one of these DIY hostess gifts from some of my favorite blogs and websites.

Make this light and fresh Homemade Lemon Soap from A Pumpkin and A Princess. It’s the perfect summer gift!

Nothing screams summer more than s’mores!  Bring them these S’Mores in a Jar from The Frugal Girls.

Great for men or women, and especially those friends you play scrabble with, create these scrabble tile coasters. Choose your own words and themes and make it personal.

As shown on She’s Kinda Crafty, these are designed as teacher gifts, but you can easily modify them for the girly hostess!

Perfect for BBQs all summer long, make your own BBQ sauce and rub and package beautifully in a trendy mason jar. Find easy-to-make recipes on Bloggy Moms.

For fans of limoncello, try making this one homemade from The Happier Homemaker. Especially appropriate if they’ve recently been to Italy!

For the gourmet hostess, you can easily whip up this easy homemade pesto and package it in a jar from Inhabitat.

Have a happy day!

7 Super Cabbage Recipes

I was reading an article about superfoods, and scanning the list of foods, they all sound so boring: cabbage, turmeric, kale, seaweed…really? What could possibly entice me to eat these bland, boring foods? Well, the fact that they are natural, super rich in antioxidants and nutrients, have more healing power than medicine, and can extend my years exponentially…

okay, maybe I’ll think about it!

Now, what can really entice me to eat these miracle workers is a little added fabulous flavor! You too?

This is the first in a brief series of food ideas for loving your superfoods. 

First up: Cabbage!

This superfood known as cabbage is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Packed with antioxidants, vitamin C, and other nutrients, it also has practically no calories! Completely unrelated to this post, Ken has been in cabbage-buying mode as of late. Admittedly, my reaction, after his first trip home with a cabbage head in hand, was less than thrilled. What am I going to do with that???

So I turned to the internet in search of FUN ways to make cabbage. Believe it or not, I found some! 

Oven Roasted Cabbage Slices

Traditional Cabbage Rolls

For the sausage lover (like us!), Kielbasa and Cabbage Skillet

A Simple and favorite recipe: Simmered Cabbage

Roasted Cabbage with Crispy Bacon

Tuna Cabbage Salad

Vinegar Slaw

Have a happy and healthy day!

The Power of a Mother's Love

The other day, an acquaintance asked me if my mom lives nearby. The question sounded so strange after having lived the last 17 years without her.

Although much has happened in my life in those 17 years (bought two new homes, got two new jobs, met my husband, got married, started a business...), I still feel her loss as if it was yesterday. That's the power of a mother's love.

I remember growing up, and my mom always talking about her mother. It was always, grandma this and grandma that...my mother this, and my mother that. My grandmother died when I was just 6 months old, so I never knew her, but my own mom's love and admiration for her were evident throughout the rest of her life.

Two years ago, after a diagnosis of dementia, my mother-in-law came to live with us. Although not always thinking in the present, she spent a good deal of time asking about and talking about her mother. I never knew her mother, but the power of that love between mother and daughter was evident.

It is a unique bond between mother and child; one that never weakens. I picture myself, 40 or 50 years from now, feeling very much the same about the loss of my mom, just as she did about her mom, and my mother-in-law does about her mom.

I relayed the story to Ken and how odd it sounded to be asked where my mom lives, and he gave a most appropriate response: no, she actually lives very far away.

To my mom in heaven: Happy Mother's Day!

A very Happy Mother's Day to all!