The end of May brings graduations aplenty! Graduations from every kind of school from high school to college to professional school (shout out to all of the new doctors and lawyers out there!)! So many great celebrations and milestones. But for milestones you need gifts. And of course…we have recommendations! Read on for our Gifts for Grads!
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It’s Friday! Finally. Right?
After a long and busy week, I am so ready for this weekend. Lane and I are heading up to her cabin for a fun filled girls weekend of recipe testing, food photography, and all around fun. It’s going to be a great time! I spent the morning pouring over my pages of recipe notes and ideas and then running to Trader Joes for all the things we are going to need for our weekend cooking extravaganza. My groceries are temporarily tucked away and shortly I’m going to pack up my weekend gear, but before I do, I wanted to share a few of my favorite things from around the web this week. It’s a quick little list, but one I hope you enjoy when you get some time. Grab some of our Lemon Cardamom Monkey Bread (pictured below), a good cup of coffee, and pull up a chair. Here are The 5 Things You Need to Read This Weekend…
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Spring is in the air. And I’m not sure I’ve ever been so grateful for our loyal audience here at With Two Spoons. So many thoughts and plans swirling around as we plan for the future of our little brand. And as always, when thinking about the future I like to invoke a little creativity! So where I am finding inspiration?
Stay tuned, because if I’m finding inspiration…
YOU CAN TOO!
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Well, this is definitely a little out of the box here on With Two Spoons, but I thought it might be fun to switch things up a little this week and talk about something completely not food related. I’ve never been much of a girly-girl per se, but I have always had a bit of a weakness for great skin and body products. My bathroom closet sometimes resembles a graveyard of unused bottles and tubes (so much stuff to try – and so many failures! Whoops!), but my vanity drawers are usually filled with so good they are used to the last drop favorites. These favorites change from time to time, but I do have stuff I always return to again and again. Friday Five this week is all about my Current Skin Care Favorites. 
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I am so excited about the Friday Five this week! Today I get to share my obsession-COOKBOOKS! And I’m going to tell you my five must have favorite cookbooks. And best of all, we have a cookbook GIVEAWAY-just in time for you to plan your Cinco de Mayo party! Keep reading and enter to win below!
Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi
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If you’ve been following along with our Instagram or Facebook this week, you might have noticed that both Lane and I are down in the beautiful state of Arizona enjoying the desert sun and warm weather. As it is spring break for many schools right now, the airport was filled with kids and families when we traveled last week. As I prepare to fly back home this weekend, I’ve been thinking about the things I frequently rely on to make traveling with young kids just a little bit easier. This week’s Friday Five is all about Traveling with Young Kids.
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It’s finally HERE!!! After what has felt like the longest winter in Minnesota history, spring finally, finally arrived in Minneapolis this week. The snow is beginning its slow melt and the first 60 degree day of the year is in the forecast for early next week. I am over the moon excited about it all. While we can’t quite put away the winter gear yet (anyone else remember last year’s APRIL snowstorm?? Ugh.), I’ve ditched my heavy parka for a lighter coat and my trusty winter boots have been set aside for my favorite wellies. The change of seasons always gets me excited about new things to do, read, wear, and listen to so I thought I’d share what’s on my radar for this spring in our Friday Five: Spring Things. 
Creamy Vanilla Fruit Dip – A Perfect Early Spring Recipe!
01. Spring Reads
I’ve been doing a ton of reading lately and man, have there been some great books out there this year! So far I’ve loved this one, and this one. I just started reading The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly by our good friend Rebecca Ansari and it is absolutely delightful. If you haven’t had a chance to grab it yet, definitely hit up your local bookstore or order a copy online. You won’t regret it! And, I’m happy to report, after a few unsuccessful tries at audiobooks (which Lane loves and swears by) I’m currently listening to Michelle Obama’s Becoming and it’s fantastic. I love hearing her tell her own story. What a treat.
02. Podcast Obsessions
This spring has also brought a bit of a podcast kick for me. My recent podcast binges have been courtesy of our friend Tracy, who told me all about some great podcasts while we were on our recent Ojai trip. She got me hooked on The Smartest Person in the Room and 10 Things To Tell You. I love the idea of learning about things from people who really know their stuff. The series on bias was particularly great and really pushed me to think about things outside of my own comfort zone. Thanks for the recommendation, Tracy!
03. The Perfect Spring Boots
We’ve been reveling in the warmer temps this week and heading outside for a walk or ride around the neighborhood with the kids after dinner. With all of the melting snow, my all time favorite wellies have been earning their keep in my closet once again. They are a bit of an investment, but I can tell you, after almost 5 years of steady wear (year round!), these are still going strong and are totally worth it. I wear them all the time and can’t recommend them enough.
04. New Recipe Inspiration
My #52weeksproject is still going strong over here and I’ve already had a handful of huge recipe successes (along with some minor failures – more on that in a future post). Part of the fun of the project is scouring the internet and my stash of cookbooks to find my next week’s recipe to try. Lately I’ve filed away the recipes for these Sourdough Crackers with Olive Oil and Herbs, this Persian Herb and Chickpea Stew with Rice, and these Hot Cross Buns, perfect for the Easter holiday! Have you tried any must make recipes this year?
05. My Salad Dressing Obsession
Of course, I’m always a fan of making your own salad dressing, but lately I have been absolutely obsessed with the Lemony Herb Vinaigrette from Salad Girl. My husband laughs at me because I basically buy a bottle a week – just for me! I love that they are a local company and all of their dressings are organic, gluten free, and don’t use any cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Four of the dressings are also vegan. You can get them in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores here in the Twin Cities, or buy them online. FYI: I’m not being compensated in any way for writing about them. I just honestly love their product and hope you will, too!
Bonus: If you’re looking for an easy early spring recipe, check out our Creamy Vanilla Fruit Dip. It’s perfect with those spring strawberries!
I have been a life long reader. Addicted to ALL things books. My parents could get me to do anything by promising a trip to the library or even better, the bookstore! It started by reading Dr. Seuss by a nightlight instead of going to bed, and it’s graduated to finishing novels under the covers long after I should be sleeping! Reading is such a wonderful escape and such a great skill to hone in our kids. In honor of my amazing friend, Rebecca Ansari, and her debut novel “The Missing Piece of Charlie O’Reilly”, let’s talk about raising readers. (And enjoy the fun photos of kids reading, provided to me by other mamas passionate about Raising Readers!) Only interested in the Giveaway? Fair enough-scroll to the bottom and enter to win (but beware: you’re missing out on a lot of great information)! Without further ado, keep reading for the Friday Five: Raising Readers!
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It’s another wild weather day here in Minneapolis. After surviving the historic Polar Vortex of 2019 last week, it rained on Super Bowl Sunday, and we’ve since had two significant snow events. In other words, I’m a little over this winter business right now. Typically we try and escape the balmy midwest this time of year for a tropical destination. We are not traveling until later this winter so I’ve had to lean on a few little creature comforts and favorite things to get me through the dreary days! This week’s Friday Five is all about My Current Favorites for Surviving Winter.
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2018 is winding to a close and before we leap ahead to 2019 and all of the great things that are in store, I thought we’d talk about our FIVE recipes that got the most hits in 2018. (I won’t lie-they were a little surprising!) I can tell now what our readers are interested in, and I bet we’ll bring you more of it in 2019, after all, we want to inspire you to get into the kitchen! (although definitely if you have a special request, just let us know in the comments section at the end of this post, we’d love to hear!) Without further ado…here are our five most popular recipes of 2018!
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