The Intersection of Design & Motherhood | Top Lifestyle Blog | Design Mom (2024)

Here’s a fresh, gorgeous meal that looks and tastes amazing. While this may seem complicated at first look, it’s really very easy. You just mix up the marinade, add to the meat, let it sit for at least 30 minutes or longer, if needed. You can prep this in the morning while getting kids ready and off to school and put it together at dinnertime. To make things even easier, you could use store-bought marinade and dressing. But maybe my favorite part of the recipe is getting to use smoked salt.

Smoked salt used to be a special order kind of ingredient, but now you can find it in most grocery stores. It’s a great way to add a smoky flavor without using a grill. It adds tons of flavor to this steak. If you can’t find it or prefer not to use it, just substitute with regular salt. Smoked paprika can also be used in place of the regular paprika. (As a note, the paprika in this recipe is not the hot, spicy one. It’s “sweet” paprika.”)

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Recipe: Marinated Flank Steak SaladRead More »

Embracing the season of spring? Well here’s a happy, easy project to bring a little sunshine and color into your day.

These little twine wrapped planters are perfect for brightening your home. I like the idea of a collection of them on the coffee table, or perhaps lining a windowsill. And they would also be darling as party favors or anytime gifts. Another idea: I can picture these as place-setting holders — you could hang the name name cards from an extra length of twine.

However you choose to use them, you’ll be glad you made this easy project! Let’s get to wrapping.

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Recycle Old Jars into Succulent Planting Pots with Color-Block TwineRead More »

’m giving you another California home and sunny interview to warm us all up today. Meet Shira Gill, a sweet mom and wife who turned her 25 house moves into a thriving and much-needed business that edits pretty much an entire life.

Are you hanging on tightly to too much? Do you dread opening your closet in the mornings, not to mention – shudder – your child’s over-crammed wardrobe? Do your afternoons careen into crazy town no matter how well you think you’ve prepared for the chaos? Call Shira. I bet she’s either experienced or seen and solved much worse!

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Living With Kids: Shira GillRead More »

This meal was designed for breakfast, but it’s substantial enough that it could easily work for dinner too! And before we jump into the recipe, please tell me I’m not the only who hasn’t tried baked eggs — and I’m not counting eggs as part of cake batter. I make them over easy, boiled, scrambled, poached. In frittatas and omelettes. Egg salad too! I consider myself an egg fan. How have I never made baked eggs?

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Easter falls at the end of March this year. And I’ve got a bunch of good ideas for things you can do to get ready for this spring holiday. (Don’t celebrate Easter? Several projects are more Spring-focused than Easter-focused — like growing wheat grass, and a mini carrot-cake for two.)

Here are 15 pretty ways to prepare for Easter. Take a look. Most of these are super simple.

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15 Pretty Ways to Prepare for EasterRead More »

Would you like to see the floor plans for the Tall House? Today is your lucky day. I’ve got four drawings for you — and the last one includes measurements (in meters) for those who are curious about dimensions.

If you do check out the measurements, you’ll see that the house has lots of rooms, but they are fairly small rooms. In fact, the largest room in the house is actually in the attic.

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Tall House Floor PlansRead More »

Homemade Almond Berry Granola Bars anyone? They’re sweet and a little salty, crunchy, and chewy. And they’ll hit the spot when you’re looking for something to nosh on. This recipe is good for anyone with a sweet tooth, especially if you’re a fan of dried fruit. The best part is that these come together quickly and the hardest part is waiting for them to be ready to cut into bars.

Ready to make something yummy?

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Recipe: Homemade Almond Berry Granola BarsRead More »

I read this articlein the Wall Street Journal about well-done steak shame and I laughed because I totally relate. I know, I know. It’s like a have the taste buds of a 5 year old, but I can’t help it; I much prefer the texture of well-done steak. I don’t like rare or medium rare at all. If that’s what I’m served (and getting the plate cooked further isn’t an option), I end up eating the browned parts around the edges and giving the rest to my husband or kids. I really don’t like rare meat.

Even though I love steak, Ioften avoid ordering it because I know I’ll likelyget some side eye or an exasperated sigh when I request itwell-done. Yes,I shouldn’t care about anyone’s reaction, but sometimes I’m just not in the mood for a lecture. What can I say? I like what I like.

According to the article the well-done steak shame may be changing. Or maybe more accurately, all the well-done steak lovers are done apologizing. Hah!

What about you? How do you order your steak? Do you die a little inside when you hear someone order a beautiful, aged cut of meat cooked well-done? And do you have any unpopularfood preferences that embarrass you when ordering at restaurants? Tell me I’m not the only one!

P.S. — All the secrets of cooking on a grill.

Do you have any Valentine Traditions with your kids? We keep Valentine’s Day pretty simple, but we do have one tradition: Valentine’s Day Breakfast. We’ve kept the tradition for many years! If it’s a school day, we get up early. If it’s the weekend, we sleep in and have more of a brunch.

I set the table the night before: Red tablecloth, heart confetti, the nicest dishes and stemware we have, cloth napkins, that sort of thing. The menu changes depending on the day. It might be French Toast with fresh strawberries and whip cream — or it might be toaster waffles if we don’t have much time on a busy school day. And to drink? We always make raspberry milk.

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Our Favorite (Easy!) Valentine’s Day TraditionRead More »

Present your Valentine with a handmade felt box, complete with a custom design cut out made just for them. Simple construction with a sophisticated look that can hide any number of sweet treats and gifts inside. Make them for your kids, your honey, or even for classmates.

These little gift boxes aren’t just limited to the heart-filled holidays. They can be modified and styled for any time you need to give a gift. Think birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s Day or a random Wednesday when you feel extra kind. The gift recipient of these will have so many reasons to love you. It’s a kind gesture, includes a thoughtful gift and is encased in a beautiful gift box. Win, win and win.

Grab your scissors and glue gun and let’s get started.

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Felt Treat BoxesRead More »

We’ve been thinking hard about what sort of non-plastic and non-commercial Valentines we can make for classmates, and we came up with this really cool project: wooden heart key chains! With store-bought wooden hearts, these little tokens of love are ever so easy, totally customizable, and sweet as can be.

So go grab your etching tool and let’s get started.

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Etched Wooden Heart Key FobsRead More »

This chicken salad includes chopped natural unflavored almonds, and uses Greek yogurt with a bit of seasonings as the dressing, making it super protein-packed.It’s up to you how to serve it. You can use it to top Romaine leaves or another leafy green, scoop it up with your favorite crackers, or use a few hearty slices of bread, or a tortilla, to turn it into a sandwich or wrap. You can even add chicken salad to a hollowed out tomato or bell pepper, or serve it on a bed of mixed greens. So many options! And speaking of options, this recipe makes a very good, basic chicken salad, and there are some variations below because it’s fun to change things up once in awhile so you don’t get bored. The possibilities are endless.

It’s a big timesaver to use leftover cooked chicken for this recipe — rotisserie is perfect for this, or you can cook a few extra chicken breasts for dinner one night to use in the salad and get you through with a week’s worth of snacks or lunches. And if you want to turn this into a heartier meal, maybe for dinner, then try serving this up with a side of grilled or roasted veggies to get even more plant-powered goodness into your day. But it’s easy as can be to make ahead and will keep for days and days in the fridge. And it really is one of the best things to pack into your cooler to keep you fueled up.

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Recipe: Post Workout Protein-Packed Chicken SaladRead More »

Ania is a diplomat’s wife, among many other things, but that’s the part of her that brought them to this home in Denmark. It’s also the part that seems to be breaking her heart a little these days, as you’ll read near the end of her interview. She’s got some truly lovely, stick-to-your-soul thoughts about raising kids in a somewhat transient lifestyle, knowing full well your home won’t be your home in a few short years.

I really enjoyed this peek into her diplo-lifestyle, and I hope you feel the same way! Welcome, Ania!

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Living With Kids: Ania KrasniewskaRead More »

Oh hooray! A Dessert for Two recipe featuring wintery perfection. Peppermint White Chocolate Pudding topped with whipped cream, hot fudge sauce, and crushed candy canes. Yes, please.

All you need for this easy pudding is some milk, cornstarch, white chocolate, a little whipped cream, crushed peppermint candies or candy canes, and hot fudge sauce. You do need to use the stove for this, but it’s so easy and only takes a few minutes. (Does it need hot fudge sauce? No, not really. But you should do it.)

The mint seems to help tame the sweetness of white chocolate while being mellowed by its creaminess. This white chocolate pudding uses peppermint oil or extract. Use as much or as little as you like according to your personal preference. Let’s get to the recipe.

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Dessert For Two: Peppermint White Chocolate PuddingRead More »

I have no memory where the idea came from, but my husband and I started a Holiday Journal during our first Christmas together, and we use it each year to write a couple of pages of summary about Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. If I have any ideas for next year, like a new Christmas book I’d like to add to our collection, I’ll include those as well. Sometimes the kids add drawings or their own notes.

As with all my grand ideas, I’m not always consistent — last year the Christmas journal never even made it out of the box. But usually it does. And now that some of the kids are old enough to write, they’re helping the tradition stay alive.

Anyway. Writing my notes this year made me think about how I measure and evaluate Christmas:

-Stress level
-Success of the annual Christmas recital
-How Christmasy the house smelled
-How the Christmas tree looked (meaning: was I happy with the decorations)
-Quantity of peppermint bark & wassail consumed
-Kids faces on Christmas morning

This year will go down as happy on all measures. I especially loved our tree — knowing I had lots of vintage wrapping at my disposal, my friend brought meboxes and boxes of vintage glass balls that she found when she bought avery old house. The pure vintageness was totally awesome.

How do you measure the Holidays?

2024 Update: It’s been 17 years since I first wrote about this topic, but our holiday journal is still going strong. With so many writers in the house, the reports get longer and longer each year. (Which is wonderful!) A delightful part of our holidays has become looking back at earlier reports and remembering together.

I highly recommend this tradition. It’s easy, stress-free, low-cost (or free if you have a spare journal), doesn’t take much time, and provides huge satisfaction. Start this year!

P.S. — Beautiful leather journal.

Question:
I was wondering if you or any of your readers have suggestions for what to do with Christmas stockings when you don’t have a fireplace or mantel to hang them on? We live in a 900 sq ft, one story home. We don’t have kids *yet* but we want to start a family soon. As I am decorating for the season, I have found no good spot to hang stockings. (Is it strange that we are two adults in the house and yet I still want to hang stockings?)Any ideas would be appreciated! — Thanks! Meaghan

Answer:
Such a good question! We’ve definitely faced this dilemma. In our 2 New York homes, we didn’t have a fire place. In Colorado and France we did. And here at The Treehouse, we do have a fireplace, but there is no mantle.Here are a few ideas:

In our first house in New York, we had a stair case with a white wood railing. We hung each stocking with a piece of ribbon (there were 5 at that time), along the stair rail, oldest at the top going down to the youngest. Then we wrapped the rail with green garland. It was very cute.

In our second New York home we made a display of the stockings above our piano in the living room — we hung them from tiny nails, filled them with the pine boughs trimmed from the bottom of the tree, and accented them with a few simple ornaments. Very festive! And this sort of display would work anywhere — above a sofa, or on any stretch of blank wall.

Here at The Treehouse, we put a row of brass teacup hooks in the ceiling just in front of the fireplace, and hung the stockings from a piece of twine. I think they look great! And this solution could also work against any stretch of wall, above a hall table or couch — it doesn’t have to be a brick fireplace.

For all of these displays, when it’s time to fill the stockings, Santa simply takes them down, fills them, and sets the now heavy stockings on the floor below the display, or near the other presents.

And one last idea, you could skip the stockings and fill wellies instead!

What about you, Dear Readers? Have you ever celebrated Christmas in a space without a fireplace and mantel? Where did you hang the stockings?

P.S. — It’s been awhile since I’ve fielded anAsk Design Momquestion here on the blog, but you can find the archivehere.

For these holiday ornaments, we settled on Santa, Mrs. Claus and a pair of elves, but you can decide for yourself who you want to create. The base of these ornaments are store bought papier maché ornament balls. With a little air-dry clay for facial features and some paint to give it color, these ornaments are much simpler than they appear.

Just think how darling these would be peeking out from the boughs of the Christmas tree! Or you could made a set as a fun gift. I break it down step-by-step below. Let’s get to making!

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Papier Maché Holiday OrnamentsRead More »

Remember being in first grade and weaving tiny paper baskets with yourclassmates? Four-inch baskets, made from marbled construction paper, to fill with conversation hearts?

Well, it turns out the simple concept canbe amped up in several ways. Think oversize woven paper baskets with festive designs. Criss-crossed lines is only the beginning! We started experimenting with patternsand sizes and discovered that these make perfect baskets for delivering holiday baked goods to the neighbors. We even triedsome extra-bigversions that can carry full-size gifts!

We settled on a tree design and a star design — and I can’t decide which I like more! Come see.

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DIY: Oversize Woven Paper Baskets – Two Cool Designs, and a Free Printable Template!Read More »

We’ve talked about sibling gifts and Santa gifts and how many gifts is too many. Today, let’s shift the conversation a bit. Let’s talk about gift-giving with our extended family now that we’re all grown up. Do you rotate siblings? Draw names for cousins? Donate to charity in someone’s name? Do the grandparents organize it?
Do they participate? What works well for your family?

This is how my family handles it. I’m one of 8 siblings, and we have a rotation that we’ve been doing for over a decade. In fact, I think we might be pretty close to 2 decades now!

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How Do You Handle Extended Family Gifts?Read More »

Your #1 most requested gift guide category? Teens! This gift guide includes 76 options — and 39 of those are $20 or under. Lots of great stocking stuffers too.

My own teens were a huge help figuring out what to put on this list. There’s something here for every type of teen you can think of. I’ve got all the Breakfast Club stereotypes covered, and a whole bunch more as well. Shopping for Tweens? There are quite a few items on this list that I know tweens would love as well.

Let’s get started.

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76 Awesome Gift Ideas for TeensRead More »