Non-Balloon Gender Reveal Ideas

A bunch of my very close friends are expecting babies between now and May and it seems like I'm seeing a Facebook pregnancy announcement every few days.  Though Jesse & I opted not to find out the sex of our baby before the birth, most people I know choose to find out in advance.  Just the other night, I got a photo from a pregnant friend, grinning ear-to-ear and wearing a pink pashmina (I assume the blue one, not needed, was just out of frame).

In this Pinterest age, "Gender Reveals" are becoming more and more of an event and there's one thing that really gets under my skin.  I HATE seeing gender reveals where people open a box and pink or blue balloons fly away.  I get so fired up when I see these on Facebook or other blogs (poor Jesse has heard this rant a million times).  Releasing balloons into the sky, no matter how nicely it photographs, is littering and terrible for the earth.  The sea turtles, you guys!!

So here are some sweet and turtle-friendly ideas for your gender reveal that don't involve balloons:

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How did you share the news?  A full on party?  Sharing via email or Facebook?  Phone calls to your closest family and friends?  Or did you wait, like us, and have your man head out to the waiting room with a simple "It's a boy!"?  Let us know!

Roast Beef and Garlic Herb Cheese Crostini

Accept it or not, holiday season is right around the corner.  Which means finger food and delicious appetizers!  YEAH!  I LOVE making crostini...so much so that I'm going to feature three, super simple recipes you can whip together in no time but still totally impress your guests. 

 

This one is an oldy but such a goodie.  I think this was the first appetizer I ever made for my husband.

 

It has three ingredients (three!) well actually four if you count the chives.  But come on, that's the garnish.  That doesn't count. 



 Here's the recipe!

1 Baguette, sliced thin and toasted
1/2 Pound of Very Thinly Sliced Roast Beef
Garlic & Herbs Allouette Cheese Spread
Chives for Garnish

Thinly slice the baguette and toast in a 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes or until crostini begins to get lightly golden brown.  Spread with cheese and then add small pieces of the roast beef on top.  Top with a few green chives for a pop of color and enjoy.

Stay hungry!

RhiNO or YES?

Here's a little disagreement that Jesse and I are having when it comes to decorating the baby's room.  Jesse bought me this paper mache rhino bust from Anthro for my birthday years ago and it used to live above the bedroom door in our Brooklyn apartment.  I knew I wanted to hang it up in a nursery as soon as we had one to decorate.  And now we do.  So I hung it up.

But Jesse HATES that it's in the baby's room.  He thinks that Will is going to have nightmares about the "horned beast" hanging on the wall.  I guess I will concede that he looks a bit grumpy...

...but he's made from recycled french books!  He's some nice 3D art for the walls (...not that we've hung much else yet... it's been a busy 7 months...)!  He's a rhino and we got to see real rhinos on our South African safari while I was pregnant with Will!  And it's not like he lives above the crib... he's tucked into a corner near the closet.

So what do you think?  Too creepy?  Should I dress him up with some sort of silly hat to make him a big goofier?  Let us know and stay homey!

A Review On VROU

When the opportunity came along to support a dear friend's sister's (who is also a friend of mine) new beverage, VROU, I jumped at the chance.  It's a drink made for women BY a woman who knows a thing or two about health and fitness.  And, well, I need all the help I can get. 

VROU is a super simple way to get multivitamins, antioxidants, and electrolytes to support the active lifestyles of women on the go.  It's also getting all kinds of press, including  WSJ, Forbes, Refinery 29 and Levo League. Check out their latest press in Cosmo!  Crazy, right?! 

I received a sample in the mail - one of each of their flavors.  Pineapple Mint, Orange Guava, and Cucumber Lime.  I'm obsessed with all three flavors but my absolute fav is the Cucumber Lime.  It reminds me of the cucumber water at my favorite spa, but it's better.  Charlie's favorite is the Orange Guava.  



As mentioned, VROU is made for busy women like myself.  Even though I try to eat healthy (ahem, sometimes) I don't really have time to double check to make sure I'm getting all of the right nutrients I need so the fact that it's affordable and comes in a tasty little drink (that only has 5 calories!) works perfectly for me.  Check out the nutrients and vitamins included in each bottle of VROU:

Ok I know it's totally NOT INTENDED for this, but I put a splash of cucumber vodka in the Cucumber Lime and added a cucumber for garnish and it was soooooo good.  Maybe if I use this for my mixers I won't get hungover?  TBD.  

Right now there is an amazing deal going on at Plum Alley where you can make a small investment in VROU and receive awesome perks.  For instance, if you invest $35 you will receive a case of VROU (your flavor of choice).

Congrats Kathryn on you entrepreneurial skillz and for making a product that's not only delicious, but amazing for women!

Here is Kathryn Moos, our friend and founder of VROU. 

Stay healthy!   



Hardly Housewives is Two!

On November 1, 2011, we hit "publish" on the first post for Hardly Housewives.  Two years later, all sorts of things have changed for us (new jobs!  new cameras! a baby!) but we are still going strong and couldn't be more thankful to our readers who pop in daily to get a dose of homey and hungry.

Thank you so much for coming to check out our projects and recipes, for sharing ideas and feedback, for leaving sweet comments and "liking" posts on Facebook, for pinning things you like, and for telling your friends about our little blog.  Thank you for sharing your projects gone right and your projects gone wrong. Thank you for putting up with our erratic schedules and our typos and our periodic blurry cell phone pictures.  Thanks!  Really! Blogging is a blast for us and it's great to know that there are people out there appreciating it with us.  Besides, you know, our parents.

So while Jaisa and I will be having a virtual toast to celebrate, here are Hardly Housewives' three most popular posts of all time:

1. Sausage Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

2.  Oven Roasted Mushrooms

3. Herb Garden

Blackened Salmon

Blackened salmon.  Now those are words I never thought I'd type on the blog.  I've been getting adventurous lately in trying to find new ways to make salmon...well, not taste like...salmon.  Blackening salmon HAS WON THE CONTEST.  Not only did I not hate this, I loved it.  Like really, truly loved it.  

If you don't like salmon, try this.  I swear you will love it.  Here's the recipe:

2 Skinless, Boneless Salmon Fillets 
Blackening Spice (you can find this in the spice aisle)
2 Tbs of Canola Oil 

Pour blackening spice onto a plate.  Press each side of the salmon into the seasoning and set aside. Add oil and heat a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes or until it starts to smoke.   Add seasoned salmon carefully to the hot pan and turn heat down to medium.  DO NOT TOUCH THE FISH for at least 2 minutes.  Check the fish.  It should have formed a nice black crust.   Flip the fish and cook for another 2 minutes.   Serve immediately.

Stay hungry!

Heirloom Tomato Quiche

I know it's a bloggerly thing to love fall.  Pumpkin spice everything, autumn wreaths, babies in pumpkins.  But as much as I enjoy fall (and I really do!), I'll always love summer more.  Maybe I'm feeling especially nostalgic for summer this year because I had a long wonderful chunk of time off with Will or maybe it's just because I've heard that the Farmer's Almanac is calling for a brutal winter around here.  Either way, I'm clinging to the last bits of summer wherever possible and this time, it comes in the form of late-season tomatoes.

I made up a quiche late last night (hence the lack of in-progress shots) using some beautiful heirloom tomatoes.  It was very easy and turned out super tasty.

Here's what I used:

1 pie crust (I used store bought.  Sorry, Mom)
3 medium tomatoes
4 eggs
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parsley
1 cup half & half
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon herbes de provence

I preheated the oven to 350, then rolled out my crust into a pie plate.  I still have yet to buy a real quiche dish from last time I made one but a pie plate worked just fine.  I took about a third of the cheese and sprinkled across the bottom of the crust, then added a layer of tomatoes, followed by more cheese, more tomatoes, and then the last of the cheese, all the while sprinkling in a little salt, pepper, & herbes de provence.  In a separate bowl, I whisked the eggs together with the half & half, then poured it all evenly over the tomatoes & cheese and baked the quiche for 50 minutes.

It reheated beautifully the next day and was a hit with Jesse & my mother.  Served with a salad, a small slice of this tasty quiche made a perfect lunch that tasted like summer, even though the leaves are all almost down outside.

Enjoy and stay summery hungry!