Kiddo Quickies: Easy Peasy Meals with Shutterbean

Kiddo Cooks

There are a lot of food blogs out there and I get soooo sucked in to the delicious eye candy they are serving up. Yet I have to admit I rarely make the dishes because as amazing as they are, they often seem a bit daunting and look like they take twice as much time as I usually have. One of my totally top fave foodies is the delightful Tracy from Shutterbean. She always has the best combination of yummy food, gorgeous photos AND things that can be whipped together in minutes. I can honestly that that EVERY SINGLE THING I’ve made of hers has turned out AHHHH-mazing. So I’m kinda bustin’ to tell you that she’s going to do a semi-regular little feature over here. Quickie’s with Shutterbean! Fast, tasty food for parent’s on the go! (and heck, if you’re not a parent you’ll still love ’em!) I mean take a look at this tastiness:


Take it away Tracy!

Hi everyone! It’s Tracy from Shutterbean here. Are you super busy with the kiddies and have no time to cook? Do you NOT feeling like cooking because it’s totally crazy hot right now?? Whoa! Me too! Thank god I’m not the only one. Here’s a little recipe for all you busy mamas out there! Quick Tomato Basil Pasta. It’s super duper simple and it’s one of my go-to summer meals because the reward for such little effort is GREAT. Just wait until you taste how sweet the tomatoes get when you roast them up!  It’s the easiest way to make a tomato sauce. No more slaving over the stove. Tomatoes are at their best this time of year so go for it!

Let’s get started!

Take about a 1lb. of mixed tomatoes, coat them with a little olive oil and 2 cloves roughly chopped garlic. Season with salt & pepper!

Roast in an oven at 400 degrees until the tomatoes start to burst open and brown. Should take about 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime, boil pasta & reserve some of the pasta water! Toss the tomatoes directly into the strained pasta!

Add a bit of the reserved pasta water & freshly chopped basil into the pot. Stir stir stir!

Now it’s time to plate your pasta in a pretty dish. Add a few glugs of olive oil on top and smother it with some fresh Parmesan cheese. Top with a pretty basil leaf!

You’ll have this big plate o’ pasta in less than a half hour! Promise.
Here’s what you’ll need:

-1 lb, spaghetti
-1 lb. fresh cherry tomatoes (the more the merrier!)
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-salt & pepper to taste
-olive oil

If you like your pasta a bit spicy, red pepper flakes will do the trick! Sometimes I add a few splashes of balsamic vinegar with the tomatoes to make them extra tangy. It also brings out the sweetness. Try it & enjoy!

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YUM!!! A little kiddo tip: For those of you without AC, I would think about roastin’ a smaller batch of those tomaters in the toaster oven.

Thank you Tracy. Don’t forget to swing by Shutterbean for even more deeeelishus recipes. Like this Herb Butter, Goat Cheese Pasta or this amazing Summer Salad Showdown—mmmm!

Kiddo Rooms: Dotty’s Polka Dotted Rainbow Room

Kiddo Rooms, Widdle Wednesdays, ,

Since ya’ll seemed to be so tickled with those Vintage Bedrooms yesterday, I thought it would be fun to show off a super cute modern day rendition of the Retro Bedroom! One of my online besties is the fabulous Jenny frecklewonder. Her little girl Dorothy Bird (aka Dotty) has an amazingly fun space. Bold, colorful, sweet and modern. I think you’re going to love it. Jenny and I had a little chitty chat and she gave me the low down!

ALIX: Jenny!!!! OK, so I’m soooo happy to feature Dorothy Bird’s room. Can you tell us a little bit about your “vision” (ooh lala!) for this sweet space?

JENNY: Well, since i’m always in the thrifts, and always on the lookout for fun, colorful vintage kiddo stuff. I actually decided to go with white walls and a white crib for the room. I wanted to keep things pretty simple and let the vintage treasures sort of ‘pop’ and stand out on their own.

ALIX: I love that about this room—it keeps it looking clean but still really playful and fun! I find some modern nurseries are so fussy and over done. Was there any “must have” that you knew you wanted?

JENNY: The only thing I was really set on from the get go were red + white, jumbo polka dotted curtains. I had this vision in my mind of Pee Wee Herman’s gunny sack (in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, a favorite movie in our house!) and i just couldn’t let it go. I combed the internet like a crazy woman and nothing! So finally, about 2 weeks before she was born, I just decided to make the curtains myself. And actually, believe it or not, when she came home from the hospital, those curtains were the only thing in her room as far as decoration. It was just white walls, her crib and those curtains!

JENNY: Of course slowly but surely I’ve added things and tweaked things, and I’m sure I’ll be adding and tweaking ’til the cows come home! That’s sort of how I roll…

ALIX: I spy some awesome vintage fisher price toys on the shelves….I loooove that Scandinavian rainbow wall hanging too. What’s the story behind that?

JENNY: The rainbow Marushka wall hanging was an amazing dollar score at the thrift! The other paintings in the room I scored at an antique mall for $5 a piece! (down from $20, it pays to wait + stalk just a bit!)

ALIX: Aw look at the wonderful framed artwork from Big Bro Henry! That’s one of my favorite things to do for decoration too. Nothing beats a sweet hand-drawn picture from your little cutie. What else can you tell us about this sweet room?

JENNY: The yellow dresser was an antique store find! It was actually green when i got it, and it spent some time in dotty’s big brother Henry’s room when he was younger before we switched it over into her room.

ALIX Oooh, how about that little floral chair I see peeking out on the left over there? The fabric looks amazing. Where the heck did you find that??

JENNY: Oh, the floral chair was also a thrift score— it was originally upholstered in a dark brown and i recovered it in that vintage floral print. You can see it a little better here in the living room:

ALIX: It’s amazing, you clever girl, but I’m totally distracted by the amazingness of baby Dotty!! Look how widdle she was!! OK, back to the room. I love the mix of modern toys and vintage. To me it’s all about balance. I’m dying over that blue vintage flower clothes hamper.

JENNY: I love it too and yep, it’s another thrift score. I do love to mix it up. Vintage is a fave but I also love supporting indie artists and found some really amazing stuffed cuddlers. Check these guys out:

The super cute kitty is from Jane Foster. The red and green floral creature is a Cotton Monster and the adorable elephant is from My Favourite Dress.

ALIX: Talk to me about those rustic looking wooden shelves. They’re great!

JENNY: Yep! They’re from IKEA. They were the perfect height for storing Dotty’s toys but gave her easy access to everything. We got several pieces from IKEA….Dotty’s crib (super cheap!) and the white display shelving.

ALIX: This next photo features one of my favorite things (besides Dotty, of course!). The little vintage dressies you have hanging from the wall. I think you know where I’m going with this…c’mon girl . Let’s give the Modern Kiddo’s a peek into that closet!!

JENNY: Oh my. Well, you asked for it. Here she is in all her glory! As soon as I found out that I was pregnant with a girl, I went nutso and just really had the best thrifting luck e-v-e-r.

ALIX: Ooooh there’s my favorite clothes hamper again. So I guess it’s safe to say that little Dotty has a pretty sweet collection of vintage?? [I’m totally leading the witness here…I know full well that Jenny has amazing taste and boatloads of vintage kiddo clothes. heh]

JENNY: Hah! Yes it’s true. Her closet is chock full of fabulous girl’s dresses from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Most of them are toddler sizes but a few of them won’t fit her till the year 2020 or so! But can you blame me? Who knows if she’ll be interested in wearing them past, say, the age of 5 or 6… she may think i’m crazy!

ALIX: OK people. Take a gander at this beautiful maddness! I’m in loooooove:




I die! How adorable are all of those dresses??? Jenny, thank you ever so much for sharing this amazing room with us. But truly, the most adorable item you’ll find in that room is the wee little lassie who lives there. I have to share with you some “hot off the presses” pictures of this gorgeous girlie.

YAY Miss Dotty! We love you! That’s it for Widdle Wednesday, but check back this afternoon as we have a special Guest Post that you’re going to lerve fo sho! In the mean time, be sure to swing by Frecklewonder Vintage for a peek at more vintage kiddo goodies!

PS  Do you have a fun kiddo room to share? Email me at Alix [at] modern kiddo.com!

Vintage Kiddo: Kid Bedrooms from the 60s and 70s were swank!

Best of Alix, Kiddo Rooms,

Howdy gang. I was cleaning up the house this weekend and stumbled upon my stash of old vintage home interior books—I have a handful from the late 60s and 70s. I love them but I have to be honest, I rarely crack ’em open. Thank goodness I did, I had totally forgotten about all the amazing kid’s bedrooms in some of them! I thought you guys might like to take a little look-see with me, so after an afternoon with the scanner, here’s what I have for ya. I think you’ll like!

I love those little mod pedestal stools that look all magic mushroomy. I totally remember that old green froggy toy bin in the back. Four beds though…hmmmm. Was that for sleep-over fun or was this a Jon and Kate Plus 8 situation? Let’s continue…

“Oh hey it’s Todd here. Just shootin’ some pool with my good buddy Lance.”

Where to begin. The gigantic star on the ceiling? The ‘stash on that chalk drawing? Wow. I hate to say it, but in 10 years Lance will be driving a Camaro and probably won’t have anything to do with ol’ Todd. But don’t worry…Todd will get his revenge. He’ll invent the Walkman in the 80s and become a digi-mogul. Lance will end up renovating Todd’s rec room.

Ahh, Widdle Wednesdays look out! Take a gander at this intriguing retro baby nursery.

Ahh, the floating wall nursery, with potentially deadly medieval metal pole hanging over bebe’s head. Sweeeet. That rug though….

This next one is amazing. Lots of cool cubby space for hunkerin’ down and reading your best Encyclopedia Brown book.

Sigh. I love the wallpaper, the book nook and that aquarium….

I’m crazy about polka dots (although these are a little eye-cross inducing, methinks). Look how cute that little polka chair is!

If this next one looks familiar….it’s because it is! Same polka dot room, but different book! I love the little romper on the boy.

This next room is a pre-teen dream. The yellow Arne Jacobsen chair is so dreamy.  Ten points to whoever figures out what the hell is that red thing on that top shelf down there:

Ahoy matey, the S.S. Kiddo is set to sail! This theme room is amazing….down to the porthole and the bell on the wall. By the way, those white circles aren’t fancy lights. This particular book is a three-ring binder. I was able to crop the holes out of most of the photos but I didn’t want you to miss out on the grandeur of the director’s chair/desk combo. Or that starfish pillow on the bed. Oooh oooh. WHAT IS THAT PEEKING OUT OF THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER?? I swear it’s like the cousin of mystery red thing on the shelf! OK. Carry on….

Check out this four poster bed. The floral matches the chair AND the hope chest. Wowza!

Gotta say I’m highly intrigued by the colossal Fish on Wheels on the floor over there.

Overall I think it must be said that the 70s ruled. In addition to bold colors and fun pop stylin’….there was that 1976 bicentennial action that nudged people to go all Colonial. Check out the old-timey phone! The play space is great in here (and I love those mod window treatments) but wait til you see the bed.

How cool is that?? It’s like a double bunk/fort with a build in puppet theater. Looove.

This next one is such a creative little space. The slanted wall could have felt oppressive, but the big happy rainbow just livens up the whole joint.

Kory lives here—and apparently Kory is The Man. If you couldn’t tell by his rad tube socks and name emblazoned on the bedroom wall, then just feast your eyes on his bunk bed pods:

Speechless, people.

Next up is Sasha’s pad. And this kiddo is giving Kory a run for the money. I mean the Star Wars Tie Fighter, X-Wing and R2D2…but I’m really digging the color swoosh on the wall….which somehow runs across the window shade, thank you very much.

My parents were into Danish modern when I was little—and this was no mean feat growing up in Flint, Michigan, lemme tell ya. My brother and I had these really cool mod red bunk beds that were a bit like these next ones. There is no ladder, you climb up the slats on the end. Super cool! Alas, ours didn’t come with the head-decapitating magazine rack hanging above the top bunk.

And finally….my top favorite. The Indoor Playground. HOW. COOL. IS. THIS.

As always, vintage makes me want to embrace color and just kick everything up a notch. I hope you were inspired by these rooms as much as I was. Just promise me you won’t, you know, hang any awkward magazine racks over yer kiddo’s bed, ok? We’re here to inspire, not clock yer sweet pea.

Images: From the collection of Miss Alix. Better Homes and Gardens Decorating book (1968), Better Homes and Gardens Decorating book (1975) and House and Garden’s Complete Guide to Interior Decoration (1970).

Vintage Kiddo Retro Round Up.

Kiddo Style: Vintage, , ,

What is it about weekends that seem to whip by so fast no matter how much or how little you do during those two glorious days?  I know there were bills to pay and dishes to wash, but the Peach needed a cuddle or two and I was more than happy to scoop her up.  It was so nice just to be home with my little family. But I did break away for some quality e-thrifting time.

So, on with the show!

How could anyone resist this sweet seventies boho chic prairie dress from eBay seller LauraBethandPaule? And with a starting bid of 99 cents–I know it will be picked up soon!

Who wouldn’t want to say aloha to this tiki-rific shirt for a wee lad?  Covered in boats and fishes–two things that any boy would be proud to wear!  From everyone’s favorite 3 Ring Circus!

I’m kinda crushing on this Winnie the Pooh button down shirt in glorious seventies poly.  And it is in one of those oh so elusive big girl size 12. I love how the circular balloon makes the most amazing pattern. Very wearable with some skinny jeans and converse kicks. From eBay seller ladyj49548.

Check out this tiny little jumper for a tiny little boy.  In navy, which I think is such an underrated color in children’s clothing.  Can’t you just see it with a cute little stripey shirt? I can! Hoo boy!  From Etsy seller,  Ms Tips!

Remember that early spring fashion trend that was all around Alice in Wonderland? Well, I’m sure this brilliant robin’s egg colored jacket would have been easy inspiration. Oh the puff sleeved goodness of this darling coat from our friends at the RobotParade4Kids.

I know. I know. I have cowboy problem.  I’m sure there is a group out there to help me get over it. But until then, I must share this vintage Health Tex gem with lassoing cowboys on the jacket. From Etsy seller The Baby Kitties. I know, that name kills me too.

Speaking of kitties, check out this spry little calico kitty that looks like it is going to hop of this sweet shirt!  The collar, the kitty, the calico, the cuffs,  the buttercup yellow. I’m in love.  From Etsy seller, Prairie Path Vintage.

Miss Lish–what magical place in Minneapolis do you do your thrifting? Seriously.  Because you always find theeee best vintage goodies like this deadstock size 7 boys shirt.

And this unbelievably adorable flower power two piece that could be worn separately as well for little girls!

Now, you know I love a good jon jon. It’s part of my love for all things vintage prep. But get a load of this gem.  I’m dying here–Lord & Taylors Mighty Mites brand. Trading out the madras for some Laugh-In.  Outstanding find, MyRepeatBoutique!

And one last goodie!  With school starting for some in a matter of weeks, this grand thermos would make any kiddo the talk of the lunch tables. I pity the fool who doesn’t buy it.

Sorry, I had to say it. Nice find Yoursmineours Vintage.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Giveaway! Gifts Define & Swanky Threads!

Giveaways

This week we have a double giveaway! One person will receive two amazing gifties that are particularly yummy! Hot dog, how can you beat that?

You know I have a special weakness for all things felt. Well, I’m adding the sweet people from GiftsDefine to the list of people whose felted goodies make me weak in the knees.

Spun from the very crafty head of chief design Irma Niekum, GiftsDefine creates quite intricate and beautiful felted friends for your little ones.

For those clever clogs who are already finishing your holiday shopping, please take a moment to add this little gem to your list.  A beautiful monogrammed Christmas tree ornament, which is the first part of today’s giveaway. So cute, eh?

But wait—there is more!  Let’s squeeze a little bit more summer before we head into fall with this sweet yet sassy gingham apron from Swanky Threads as part of this giveaway.

I just love the little ladybug on the shoulder. And gingham always has a special place in my heart. I can’t help it. Particularly when it is extra sparkly cute gingham to boot.

Kelly, the wonderful mastermind behind these sweet aprons has gotten inspiration from her three lovely kids and has even started a t-shirt line for kids.

And don’t worry, she knows mamas like cute aprons too and started a jaunty line of matching aprons for us as well. Hurrah, Kelly!

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is:

  • Simply leave a comment!
  • For a BONUS ENTRY, add us to your reader (that little area on our sidebar) or add us to your Twitter feed! We’re @modernkiddo. If you are already a kiddo twitter fan, then RT the contest for your extra entry!
  • And for one last BONUS entry, CLICK HERE to vote for Modern Kiddo for the Top Mommy Blogs listings. TIP: you will only see the words “Click to Vote” —you won’t see our name—but never fear it will cast a vote for Modern Kiddo when you click! You can do this once day til the giveaway is over. (No need to search for our name or anything!)
  • As always, leave a comment letting us know what you did. Easy peasy!

GOOD LUCK!! We’ve got our fingers crossed for you….

Giveaway ends Friday, August 6th at 11:59PM.