A Holiday Table Wisconsin-Style

December 5, 2014 mithra ballesteros

When I was in the sixth grade, I wrote a play called "A Thanksgiving to Remember." My wonderful teacher, Mr. Hombaker, agreed to stage it for the parents of Room 117. The plot was an eleven-year-old's version of Little House on the Prairie meets The Waltons, with plenty of woolen clothing, blizzards, meagre rations, and general misery on the plains. I don't know how to describe how horrible this play was. Truthfully, the only action that took place involved the characters setting the table, speaking a few lines like, "sure hope Pa's oxen team blah blah blah" and then clearing the table. Plates on. Plates off. Plates on. Plates off. I remember overhearing some first-grader in the front row groan to his mom, "Not the dishes again!"

My fascination with a well laid table has not abated since.

Thanksgiving with Two Lovebirds and Three Roasted Birds

November 21, 2014 mithra ballesteros

I talked to my parents on the phone this morning and my mother had just returned from the grocery store where she had purchased a turkey for Thanksgiving. She is such a pro, she calls them ‘birds’. She usually roasts three birds, so why she came home with only one was a mystery to me. Evidently, the grocery store is running a turkey promotion limited to one turkey per customer per day. She will be going back tomorrow and the day after for two more birds. I said that was a lot of gas and time and trouble to save ten cents a pound.

I could hear her shrug over the phone. “What else do I have to do?” she joked.

Costuming the Family is Fun!

October 24, 2014 mithra ballesteros

I have a treat for you today, a rich buffet of Halloween goodness. My sister and her family dress up together, as a fivesome, every Halloween. Anyone who has conceived of, organized, and executed a group costume knows the difficulty involved. Committing to this endeavor, year after year, even as her children grow into obstinate teens, even when her inner voice begs for a break to just sit out a year for land's sake, and watch that other modern family celebrate Halloween on TV, shows a strength of mind that I am proud to see in my little sis. I must publicly say how much I admire her achievement. And now you can too!

Best Trick or Treat Prank

October 17, 2014 mithra ballesteros

Anyone in a clown mask can frighten a small child. In my family, little kids are what we call low-hanging fruit. Today's prank is the equivalent of a ladder to the top branches of the apple tree where the teens hang out. Teens make the best Halloween victims because they hate to show fear in front of adults -- it is a sign of weakness, an acknowledgment that we still have influence on them.

Queen of Halloween!

October 3, 2014 mithra ballesteros

It is that time of the year when my skin gets goose pimply just thinking about new and creative ways to make small children cry. The possibilities are endless! Just call me the Witch of Blackbird Pond.

Today I am sharing some of the photos Renn and I shot for Finder Not Keeper. We had a hoot setting the table for our favorite skeleton named Stewie. (He's got no meat on his bones. Get it?) (Don't worry. He doesn't mind the jokes. Nothing really gets under his skin.)

The Flowers at Alt Summit

June 25, 2014 mithra ballesteros

Photo of Martha Stewart by Justin Hackworth.

I just returned from Alt Summit, a business conference for pioneering and rookie bloggers held last week in Salt Lake City. It was unlike any conference I've attended and I look forward to sharing some of the good stuff in my next post. But for now, indulge me for a moment to gush about one aspect of this conference that really stood out. The flowers! They were everywhere, used to creative effect in unexpected places and generally lending a dreamy and luscious quality to the whole event. All of the young lovelies in attendance adorned themselves with flowers and I felt like I was at a midsummer festival in Scandinavia. It was girly and wonderful.

Six April Fool's Kits for Last Minute Amateurs

March 25, 2014 mithra ballesteros

April Fool's Day is in exactly one week. It's a sacred holiday in our home. Who knows how these family traditions get started but it has now reached the point that the damn kids expect something spectacular. And I'm really tired.

So instead, I'm passing along six solid ideas to you lowly amateurs who believe yourselves clever when you switch the sugar and the salt. These pranks are presented as 'kits', since that's what I do, though they are not for sale on Finder Not Keeper. Yet.

FIND ME IN YOUR INBOX

CATEGORIES

Instagram posts

OLD POSTS