There are so many things to think about for the kitchen renovation it is hard to know where to begin. Right now we are targeting summer 2015, but we will see where the wind takes us. In the mean time, I have been obsessing over countertops lately. Our current ones are hunter green faux marble tile and they just aren’t my style. Plus, they are pretty worn. Right now I am tied to the idea of using dark wood counters in the new kitchen. I love how they look polished, yet still a little rustic. I also find wood comfortable for food preparation and cooking with kids.

When I think of food trucks one of the first cuisines I think of is Mexican. When we lived in New York, long before food trucks were a trend, we had a taco truck nearby. I often would roll up in the stroller and buy a whole bagful to bring home for dinner. Since then the food truck scene has exploded and tacos remain one of the most popular cuisines in the market! So, you can imagine my excitement, when I discovered the Taco Loco food truck in my neighborhood the other day. It is actually an extension of the Taco Loco restaurant down the street and just hit the streets about a week ago!

Last year I had a great chat with Catherine about her amazing book, Weelicious: One Family, One Meal, based on her popular blog. Luckily for us, Catherine is already back with a new book, Weelicious Lunches: Think Outside the Box with More Than 160 Happier Meals. This year I am packing lunch and two snacks everyday for my daughter and I am particularly grateful for this book. It can be so hard to think of new things to pack every single day! Catherine’s book covers all the basic and great ideas…and then some! Today she is here to chat about the process of writing her book and what we get to see next!

Earlier this summer I reviewed my new Magimix Vision Toaster. I immediately fell in love the way it toasted bread to perfection in just minutes. Truly, I have never seen a toaster that so perfectly makes the toast warm and soft on the interior and perfectly crispy on the exterior. There is no other toaster quite like it!

Last weekend I celebrated my birthday! This is my fourth time posting about my birthday on Naptime Chef. I know it puts me in the minority, but I actually enjoy celebrating my birthday. For real. I am not really all that concerned about my age, probably because I was always the youngest kid in my grade growing up. For me my birthday is the one day a year when I really let go and do whatever I want. This year I went to the gym (which I actually enjoy), had brunch with friends, spent the afternoon with my family, and my husband took me out to dinner. I also, of course, baked myself a cake.

One of the challenges I’ve been enjoying in my year exploring mushrooms with Sargento is incorporating them in to every meal of the day. Mushrooms, I find, are very flavorful in savory meals for lunch and dinner. Grilled cheeses, sauces, and soups taste amazing with a little or a lot of mushroom umami flavor. Breakfast, however, other than stirred into eggs, can be a little more difficult. We know mushrooms taste great in quiche or frittatas, but…what else? Can they be incorporated differently? I wanted to try pairing them with salty bacon, a fried egg, and some delicious cheese. But instead of the ubiquitous quiche I deconstructed it into an easy breakfast bake.

Yesterday I shared our new kitchen and today I am unveiling our new yard. We loved this space from the moment we saw it because of the huge gardening potential. I come from a long line of gardeners, and my husband has three different hedge trimmers, so we are equipped and excited to take on this challenge of making a colorful lush flower garden. In fact, we can’t wait! I can so easily envision the end result and it is gorgeous. However, getting there is definitely going to take a lot work. Along with my new kitchen series I will be starting the “Garden Idea File.” I’ll be sharing different ideas I have and asking for feedback. If you see my making mistakes please speak up – I’ll need the guidance! Since fall is here we are just going to clean up the weeds and take down a half-dead tree for now. Next spring the real planting will begin.

Today I am taking you on a little tour of our new kitchen. As you will see, we have a lot of work ahead. The kitchen will be gutted and redone over time. We want to hook gas lines into the house for a gas stove top, we need more space for food preparation and eating, and we need new appliances that will enable us to wash more dishes and hold more food for our hungry family of four.  So, in truth, I am looking at this room as blank slate to shape into exactly what we want for the long term.

Moving is for the birds. For. The. Birds. I seriously never, ever want to move again. Though, I do want to try living all over the world during my lifetime, the actual act of moving is the pits. Next week I’ll share some tidbits from our new location. But, in the mean time, I will chat a little more about school. This year I have to pack my daughter two snacks. One for morning, one for afternoon. All this on top of lunch. It is a lot of food every day! But, I know she needs it to keep her little body going so I am happy to take on the challenge of sending her to school with as much homemade grub as I can handle.

Of course, don’t panic, I certainly do my fair share of adding in snacks from Trader Joe’s and the like. I would be crazy not to! If you are looking for some homemade treats for your little one’s lunchbox here are a few of our favorites!

Since I am in moving mode I am also in quick-dinner-every-night mode. There is not a lot of time for lengthy food prep and I am relying heavily on my pantry and herb garden for ingredients. Most nights I am either testing recipes for the next book, feeding the family something I pull together at the last minute, or picking up prepared foods at the store. It is a little something I have dubbed “moving survival mode.” You just do what works one night, then move on to the next. The other night I made these awesome pork chops. My mother gave me the recipe since I remember her making it when we were little. It was one of her week night staples. In fact, there are many great recipes for pork chops that make awesome, easy weeknight meals. I will share more in the future, but these are a real favorite.