15 Fun Friday Night Dinner Ideas

Mar 30
Zucchini Pizza | Friday night dinner ideas, easy dinner recipes, weeknight dinner ideas and more from @cydconverse

Is anyone else living for the weekend this week? And I know, I know it’s only Thursday but I am kind of counting the hours on this one. Plus, by Thursday at lunchtime Bob and I are usually brainstorming dinner ideas for the weekend. I generally do the majority of the weekly grocery shopping and errands on Thursdays and Fridays, so a little mini menu planning session on Thursday goes a long way.

Make Me a Cake: Strawberry Poke Cake with Berries + Cream

Mar 28
Strawberry Poke Cake with Berries + Cream | Birthday cake recipes, poke cake recipes, party appetizers, entertaining tips, birthday party ideas and more from @cydconverse

Hey, friends, it’s my birthday week! On Saturday (which, yes, is April Fools’ Day) I’ll be turning 34. (That happened fast!) That day will also mark the 28th year that my mother has made me the same birthday cake. As she tells it, my sixth birthday was the first time I had a party with some of my little friends from school and she wanted to make a really special cake. She knew I loved strawberries so she decided to make a strawberry poke cake, since apparently poke cakes were all the rage back in the 80s. Who knew? Since then she’s made me this cake every single year, even when I haven’t lived in the same city, even if it’s a week before or a few weeks after my actual birthday.

10 Beautiful Spaces: Dining Room Decor That I Love

Mar 23
Textured Neutral Dining Room | Dining room design ideas, breakfast nook ideas, dining room decor and more home decor ideas from @cydconverse

Since things are really coming together with our living room (see the latest update), I’ve started to make plans for our dining room. Since sharing our renovation progress, I ordered and rolled out a big jute rug that really looks amazing in the room. Now it’s all about curtains, some cool wooden blinds and those few extra special touches that really bring a room together. In trying to decide what I wanted to do about window treatments, I was trolling my Pinterest boards for inspiration when I realized that I clearly have a thing for bright, light, mostly white dining rooms with great wood tones and lots of natural textures. Today I’m sharing 10 that all mostly fall in line with those characteristics, all of which make the cut for rooms I really love. Consider this a little dining room decor mashup!

Real Talk with Real Moms: On Childcare

Mar 17
Real Talk with Real Moms: How to Choose Childcare with @cydconverse | Mom bloggers dish on real parenting issues

As soon as I found out I was pregnant, my thoughts almost immediately turned to childcare and how on earth this little babe of ours would get fed and diapered during the day while we were working. Almost as quickly, I knew that at least for the first year I wanted to try really hard to make it work without any kind of full time childcare. Call me crazy, but knowing she would be my first and my last all at the same time, I wanted to have that time with her and I thought I’d regret shipping her right off to daycare. Also, I was really really worried about the finances behind paying for childcare, which is where the “real talk” part of this conversation is about to come into play.