It’s a no-tax weekend around these parts so I imagine most of my friends will be hitting the stores for some back-to-school items. I received a promotional card in the mail advertising an additional 15% off anything in the store at Kohl’s (Friday and Saturday only), so I might take my sister there for some wardrobe essentials.

But only because my sister is visiting from very far away and only because she said she liked the cargo pants I was wearing (that I bought at Kohl’s) am I even considering going to a bricks-and-mortar store. I do most of my shopping online, as you’ve probably guessed.

And let me tell you, there are some serious sales going on right now.

Williams-Sonoma Home. They are having their semi-annual sale, now through August 4th. Some of the stuff I have my eye on:

Embroidered coral pillow, reg. $88, now $39.99

Or these beautiful, simple leaf and trunk pillows ($39.99, discounted from $68)

Threadless Kids - They always have some t-shirts on sale for $9 like this one called “The Other Vowel.” Alas, they only have it left in a 3-6 month which my son wore for about a minute, when he was 2 months old. Plenty of other cute designs.

I think this Fake Pandas Have More Fun shirt is beyond clever. Not on sale ($18) but I’m buying it anyway for my son.

Best Dressed Kids Sale. I’ve never purchased from them before but found them online last night and dug some of the brands they carry and noticed some pretty good sale items. This is high-end, generally expensive stuff but I splurge on the baby now and then cuz he’s my first and I’m stupid that way. But it’s much easier to justify when it’s on sale!. Here’s what I’m thinking of getting:

CachCach Pirate Monkey Short Set (reg. $44, now $28.60)

What about you? Seen any good sales lately? Hope you have a great weekend!

I never thought about it until I was typing “O.K.” in a sentence the other day. I wondered if it was O.K. to type O.K. in lowercase letters (o.k.) and so I did what any sensible person would, I Googled it. Along the way, I stumpled upon this Wikipedia entry for “Okay” (a/k/a/ “O.K.” or “OK” but not “o.k.”). It turns out nobody’s quite sure what it stands for or how it got started. There are theories of course. Quoting Wikipedia:

There are four proposed etymologies which have received material academic support since the 1960s. They are:

1. the Greek words “Ola Kala” meaning “everything’s good” used by Greek rail-road workers in America
2. the acronym of the “comically misspelled” oll korrect
3. the Choctaw word okeh
4. the Wolof and Bantu word waw-kay or the Mande (aka “Mandinke” or “Mandingo”) phrase o ke

Read the whole entry if you’re curious.

O.K., so that clears up “O.K.” Nobody knows, including me. Now I’m trying to understand my friend Vesatee’s version: “Obekabe,” which she tells me is a Fat Albert/Cosby show thing.

Hey, I warned you this blog was random!

My sister and pirate-loving nephew were just here for a visit that coincided with his fifth birthday. I saw this great pirate cake on Parenting.com and suggested we try and make it. My dad emailed me that it looked really difficult to make. A little chiding and he revealed he’d only looked at the picture, not the directions. If you read the directions, Dad (he’s an engineer; they never read the directions!), you’ll see it’s made with pretzels and candy and is super simple.

So my sis and nephew made the cake (I took the pictures – haha). And while ours didn’t look quite as pretty as theirs, it looked pretty good, don’t you think? One little tip: buy some pirate figurines at the party store and add them to the top. It totally made the cake! And if yours ends up lopsided, as ours did, tell the kids that the ship is just sailing the high seas.

Anyhow, this recipe totally worked for me! (Part of the Works for Me Wednesday series, hosted at WeAreThatFamily. Lots of great tips there every Wednesday.)

THE CAKE FROM PARENTING.COM

OUR VERSION OF THE CAKE (WITH FIGURINES FROM PARTY STORE)

OH HO HO IT’S A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR ME! MY NEPHEW HARD AT WORK

Wanna see more photos? Check out our Facebook page for more shots of the cake-making fun!

Anything that saves me a few minutes is O.K. in my book. Well, almost anything. I can’t be bothered with a hot dog machine, for instance, no matter how much time it saves me.

But OpenTable? I love it! It’s an online restaurant reservation system. Free, of course. Friends coming to town and you’re looking for the perfect place for a large group? Or maybe you have a client you’d like to meet for lunch. Rather than call around to see who has a table, simply click your way around OpenTable. It’s super simple. You can even put in special requests for the restaurant such as “it’s my friend’s birthday” or “table next to the window please” or in my case, “do NOT let my dad pay for the meal no matter what he says.”

Sign up for a free account and earn rewards each time you book through them. Redeem rewards points for dining gift certificates (I’ve just earned a $20 one for doing nothing but booking my reservations online!).

They have great mobile apps, too. I’ve used that many times when I’ve been out and looking for a place to go to lunch. Just pulled up OpenTable on my phone and found the perfect spot.

Are you ready for another tour of completely, totally random stuff? Here’s what’s open in my browser right now:

Sprint’s phones. I just bought the Palm Pre and while there are features I love, there are a few things that annoy me enough to consider exchanging it (Sprint lets you test out a phone for 30 days). I want something with good web browsing capabilities, as I often read news on my phone (one of the secrets to how I gather so much random info), a keyboard for all the email and texting I do, and good call quality. I’m thinking about the Blackberry Curve or the HTC Touch Pro.

Good Measure Meals. A local Atlanta thing. They prepare fresh, nutritious meals and deliver them to a gym near your house (or directly to your home if you prefer). They have 1200, 1700, and 2100 calorie meal plans. You can order 5 or 7 day-a-week plans or dinners only. My husband and I just started it and so far, the food has been really impressive. We actually love to cook but found we were eating really late at night because the time we would usually cook and eat was now the time that we fed the baby, played with him, bathed him and put him to bed. We were too tired and it was too late to start cooking after that! Enter Good Measure Meals and our problem is solved.

One Year Birthday Theme. Last week I thought maybe hot air balloons. The week before, I told you all I was thinking about safari or owls. This week, I’m thinking . . . WHEELS! Not Hot Wheels or anything like trucks (yuck yuck yuck) but just some cute wheels. Why? Because my son will take any toy with wheels, turn it over and try and stop the wheels (if it’s motorized). He loves things that spin. So maybe a party with pinwheels and a big wagon wheel type cake . . . I dunno. Any ideas out there for me?

Napping in Pop Pop’s hammock in his footie pajamas (from Kushies).

We drink a lot of tea around here. Good, strong Persian tea or the occasional blend from the Roswell Tea House (mmm mmm Magic Moon and Anti-Aging blends). While I love the tea, I hate serving guests tea in stained cups. I used to pour a little bleach in and swish it around to remove the stains but wanted to find a less, uh, toxic alternative. So I Googled it and found a super simple suggestion that really works. Simply dump a little sea salt in your mug and rub it with a damp rag. Those stains rub right out.

Really works for me! This is part of the Works for Me Wednesday series, hosted at WeAreThatFamily. Lots of great tips there every Wednesday.

Do you keep a wish list on Amazon? I do. It’s a great way for me to keep track of things I’m interested in but don’t want to buy now. And it provides a handy cheat sheet for my in-laws when my birthday rolls around. But as much as I love Amazon, they don’t sell everything I love. (I do buy just about everything from them, including diapers and umbrellas!) What if I really want a darling little necklace from an Etsy seller? Wouldn’t it be great if I could add that to my Amazon wish list? Well, you can! Just use their Universal Wish List button. Drag and drop it into your web browser tool bar and any time you see something you like, simply click on the button and add it to your Amazon wish list. When your friends or family go shopping for you, they’ll see all your favorite things, including the ones that can’t be bought on Amazon.

My nephew (almost 5 years old) loves pirates and has since he was 3. My niece (5, going on 6) loves fairies and has for as long as I can remember. I bought them both personalized placemats from this Etsy seller. When I first contacted her, she didn’t have a fairy design so she custom made one for me. The kids went WILD for these. My niece wanted to hang hers up as art in her room. They’re only $15 so they won’t put much of a dent in your wallet. Might make a good “half-birthday” gift. Remember how you used to count those as a kid? “I’m six . . . and a half,” we’d brag. Now, I’m merely “in my early 40′s.” OK, mid-40′s, but who’s counting?

It’s another random round-up of sites I have open in my browser right now. Let’s see where my mind wandered to this week, shall we?

Homemade Baby Food. We make some of our son’s food (fruits and veggies; I buy the organic meat in a jar) using the Babycook, which is awesome and worthy of its own (upcoming) post. But my big question is always: what’s he allowed to eat at this age? I got tired of making “yellow/orange” foods really fast (squash, carrots, sweet potatoes). When I run out of ideas, I go to WholesomeBabyFood or Homemade Baby Food Recipes. The WholesomeBabyFood blog is a bit hidden on the WholesomeBabyFood site but worth a visit. Great tips and she answers reader’s questions.

Summer Sale at Red Envelope. Red Envelope is a great place to go for unique gift ideas, but it can be pricey. So we love it when they have a sale! Check out the newborn organic essentials set (onesie, blanket, burp cloth, hat) for $19.99 (regularly $57.95).

One Year Birthday Party Ideas. OK, so I know last week I said I was thinking of owls or a safari theme. But this week, I’m thinking hot air balloons. I used to live in New Mexico (hot air balloon capital of the world) and my son loves to look up at lights, balloons, ceiling fans . . . like all babies, right? Anyhow, whenever I need an idea for a party, I troll through the Hostess with the Mostest site. She is amazing! Here’s an article she wrote on first birthday party ideas. Stay tuned . . . I still have a few months to figure this out.

10% Off at The Ultimate Green Store. While I was reading that first birthday article, I saw an ad for 10% off at the Ultimate Green Store. Use the coupon code “CRADLE” at checkout. Lots of great organic stuff for everyone on your shopping list!

Back when Angelina married Billy Bob and tattooed his name on her arm, I’m sure a lot of wedding guests wondered what to get them. I mean, crystal and china just wouldn’t seem right. Unless it was THIS china. Check out these beautiful, colorful dessert plates and mugs, with intricate tattoo designs. You can personalize them for the recipient (yay!).  This would be a seriously perfect wedding gift, or a great housewarming gift!

Just about every mom I know complains that they can’t find socks that stay on their babies. I’m glad to know it’s not just me; my chunky monkey has cute little fat rolls where most of us have ankles. I assume that’s why socks don’t stay up. Thank goodness for Zutano‘s booties. They snap around his ankle, with two different snap settings (adjustable to fit your puddin’ pop’s foot). And they STAY ON! Doesn’t matter how long he jumps in his Jumperoo, his booties stay put. Try that with socks!

I know I’ve blogged about Zutano before because I love their bold, graphic prints, but I neglected to mention the practical aspects of their line. The booties are on the pricey side, but they last a long time and mix and match well with their clothes. I’ve often found them on sale online and stocked up then. Regardless of whether or not you find them on sale, they’re worth it!

You can find Zutano at local children’s boutiques. I’ve bought them online at the following retailers:

BabySuperMall

BambinoMountain

ComfyKid

This is part of the Works for Me Wednesday series, hosted by We Are THAT Family. Great tips there!

Ever wonder how people create those nifty PDF files? They must have the full version of Acrobat (translation: expensive!), right? Or maybe they’re using one of these nifty free tools that Mashable has so kindly catalogued. I use PDF995 myself and it works like a charm.

So now you can be like all the cool kids (i.e. graphic designers) and make your own PDF files.

Yesterday, my best friend Terri came over and we made homemade granola. It’s soooo yummy that I think I’ll make it every weekend and quit buying the boxed kind. We tried two different recipes, and preferred this one from the KitchenSink Recipes.

I was going to take pics and show you step-by-step but we really didn’t deviate from the recipe much and her pics are gorgeous, so just do what she tells you and you won’t get hurt.

We made a couple of batches. The first batch burned a bit, so Terri thought we should stir it more often than the recipe suggests. We stirred it every 5 minutes instead of every 10 and it turned out PERFECT. I mean, like seriously yummy.

Granola is really easy to make. It does take a lot of ingredients, but all you do is measure them all and dump them in a bowl, stir it, and spread out on a lined, rimmed cookie sheet. Bake it for 20 minutes (stirring every 5) and you’re done. Super simple. Buy the ingredients in bulk to save money. Besides you’re going to want to make another batch and another and another . . .

I did research granola recipes (I know, shocking that I would research something!) and found that there probably is some magic formula for amount of dry ingredients (nuts, granola) vs. wet ingredients, but I couldn’t really crack the code. USA Today explains the basics well and gives you endless variations. They use wheat germ to create a sort of paste to create clumps in your granola. I didn’t have wheat germ so I went with the KitchenSink recipe. I also tried Giada’s recipe. Hers is also delicious but moister and sweeter. I prefer my granola a bit on the dry side.

The only other thing we did differently from the recipe was add more nuts. It calls for either pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. We used both. It calls for coconut flakes, which Terri and I both hate so we omitted that. I found a yummy dried mixed berry blend at Publix and used that for my fruit.

My husband and I eat ours with a dollop of plain yogurt on top. And lately, since they’re in season, we cut up a peach or nectarine and throw that in there, too. Makes a good breakfast OR dessert! Also makes a great gift. Package it up in a nice, BPA-free storage container, tie a bow around it and voila! Instant hostess gift. The granola keeps for a week or two, but in my experience, it won’t last that long.

I have web wanderlust . . . here are some of the random things I came across this week that I thought you might dig.

Safe Mama’s Safer Dishware Cheat Sheet — I was getting ready to buy some new baby bowls and spoons and thought to myself, “hey, maybe I should be looking for BPA-free stuff.”  Any time I have a question like that, I head straight for Safe Mama. She’s done all the homework so I don’t have to.

One Year Birthday Party Ideas. Four months to go and I’m already trying to figure out what to do for my son’s first birthday. Did I mention my husband calls me “Planner Girl/Research Girl” when he’s not rolling up his eyes at me for thinking so far ahead. (Hey, his family would never have a birthday gift if it weren’t for me.) So I came across these cute party favors/cupcake toppers on Etsy and really like these owl and circus designs . . . giving me ideas . . .

Pirate Gifts. Speaking of Etsy, my 5-year old nephew is coming for a visit and he’s into pirates. He also likes to help his momma in the kitchen. How cute would this little Pirate Chef Hat and Apron be?

We’re also going to go swimming at my dad’s so I got him this pirate float (complete with water gun to shoot down those enemy pirates) from Amazon.

We Love Dance. Last, but not least, Brandon and Janette’s Argentine tango Wednesday night on So You Think You Can Dance was flawless. My husband and I saw a professional tango troupe perform at the Fox two years ago and Brandon and Janette were just as good. Enjoy and have a great weekend!