CRAVE CRUSH the urban girl's blog to all that you CRAVE

Planning a Fun in the Sun Picnic

May 17, 2010 by Jennifer L. | Comments (0)

Food always seems to taste better when enjoyed outdoors and in the company of great friends and family. So, pack your picnic basket, grab a blanket, bring some companions, and take advantage of the sunny warm weather the spring and summer months have to offer with an al fresco dining experience! Don’t sweat, planning a picnic doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here are some fun and fuss-free ideas for planning a picnic in the fresh air and sunshine!

1. Pick a Location:

• At the Park: Whether you’re on a grassy spot in the sunlight or under the shade of a tree, a park is the perfect place to gather for a picnic! If you’re feeling guilty about leaving your beloved pooch at home, there are plenty of pet-friendly parks so you can bring Fido along!
• On a Beach: Sun, surf, and sand is the ideal combination for a picnic on the beach! Just make sure you enjoy each element separately to avoid melted, soggy, or grainy grub.
• At a Drive-In Movie: CRAVing a romantic night with your sweetie? Dinner and a movie underneath a blanket of twinkling nighttime stars is a perfect date night combination. Don’t forget to bring popcorn and candy!
• In Your Backyard: Want to enjoy a meal outside but don’t feel like hauling a basket or cooler full of food around? No problem, a picnic in your backyard can be just as fun and probably less stressful if you happen to forget the napkins!
• On a Roof-top Patio: For those of you dwelling in the concrete jungle, many apartment and condo buildings have a roof-top patio for their residents to enjoy. The only difference? Rather than being surrounded by trees, you have adjacent skyscrapers to provide shade.

2. Picnic Menu Items:

We encourage you to be creative, but to also keep things simple with your picnic menu! Remember, you have to schlep these baskets around with limited heating or cooling available, and food poisoning is never included in the recipe for fun. Pack your picnic baskets with these simple palate pleasers, bon appetit!

• Savor: Definitely use your left-overs when you can! Roasted chicken can be used to make a yummy pasta or Caesar salad. You can also make some simple PB&J or turkey sandwiches the night before and refrigerate them until you’re ready to head out. Soft bagels with cream cheese are also a great and effortless menu option. Here are some other easy picnic recipes to consider.
• Sip: Class up your picnic with a bottle of wine to sip while you savor your meal, which is ideal if you’re enjoying a laid-back picnic on your backyard porch. For public parks and beaches, we recommend some bubbly and refreshing sparkling apple cider instead. Lemonade is also the classic beverage of choice for a sunny spring/summer picnic.
• Sweets: You can’t go wrong with brownies and cookies, which are crowd-pleasers for any age. A fresh fruit salad is delicious and nutritious, and also surprisingly portable! We generally don’t recommend packing anything that melts quickly, but if you’re having a backyard picnic you can get away with serving ice cream and popsicles!

3. Picnic Essentials NOT to Forget:

• Sunscreen/sun block: Don’t ruin your outdoor picnic with a painful sunburn, keep yourself sun protected! As the people from the land down under would say, “Slip, Slop, Slap: slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat.”
• Insect repellant: A good idea if you’re going to be outdoors long enough for the mosquitoes to come out for their own picnic.
• Big quilt/blanket: If you’re going to be dining on the grass, sit on a big quilt or blanket to protect yourself from ants in your pants, or even worse, in your food!
• Eating utensils: Finger food is always fun, but if you plan on serving something that requires a fork, spoon, or knife, eating with your bare hands will get messy and complicated.
• Plastic bag(s): Be considerate of others and the park in which you are enjoying your picnic and clean up any trash or food waste. Also, if your pooch joined you for your picnic, please pick up behind your pawed pal as well.
• Anti-bacterial hand gel/wipes: Ahh, germs! Need we say more?
• Entertainment: Don’t dine and dash, stay a while! Bring some playing cards, a Frisbee, or play bocce ball while your tummies digest.

CRAVE Book Featured on the Small Screen

May 7, 2010 by Lilla | Comments (0)

Just in time for Mother’s Day, our CRAVE guides were featured on Twin Cities Live as the perfect gift for stylish moms everywhere! Watch the clip here and see our lovely books take center-stage!

Bond with these Activites on Mother’s Day

May 3, 2010 by Aubry | Comments (0)

It’s that time of year – it’s all about mom. You know as well as we do – with a hectic lifestyle, sometimes traditional alternatives have to do the trick (isn’t it the thought that counts?). But with all that mom has done for you, we’re guessing you probably CRAVE some creative mother/daughter bonding activities this Mother’s Day. So take a break from the craziness of the day to bond with the number one woman in your life. Whether you’re a “like- mother-like-daughter duo” or have completely different tastes, you’re sure to find a fabulous way to celebrate your mom in style with our irresistible options! Get ready to make some memories!

Rediscover Family Recipes
What better way to celebrate the women in your family than with a day dedicated to the culinary queens that have graced your family over the years? We all have recipes stashed away in a drawer in the kitchen that we always talk about with family members during holiday time. How many times have you reminisced about Grandma Marie’s outrageous chicken Marsala or Aunt Susan’s legendary lemon meringue? It’s time to pull out those recipes and cook them up with mom! Be sure to recopy those recipes that are written on paper that is little worse for wear, organize them and swap memories as you savor your hard work. So, if CRAVE something spicy or sweet and want to share special memories of the wonderful women that have paved your way, get cooking with mom. Who knows, you might even make some mother-daughter recipes of your own!

Other ideas for the the crafty mother-daughter duo:

- Organize family photos in scrapbooks or photo albums.
- Transfer old family tapes to DVD.
- Take an art class together.

Mother-Daughter Massage
What better way to say goodbye to stress and pamper the number one woman in your life than with a mother-daughter massage and spa treatment? Sometimes, the unspoken shared moments in life mean the most. With a little time to meditate, make muscles melt and mend your bodies, you and mom will be bonding in no time. Take some time together to choose your lineup of indulgences for the day. Whether you and mom CRAVE some hot stone therapy, aromatherapy or holistic skin care, your Mother’s Day Spa date is sure to be one to remember!

Other options for mothers and daughters looking to chill:

- Take a yoga class together.
- Safely score some rays of sunshine at the beach.
- Pack a picnic lunch and your suits. Find the perfect place to swim, enjoy the water and indulge in some homemade picnic classics!

Generational Clothing Swap:
Admit it – you have always wanted to raid mom’s closet (maybe you already have!) for some of those classy vintage outfits she has saved over the years. She’s probably had her eye on some of yours! Now is your chance to share style secrets that span a few more decades. Spend the days discussing style and sharing trends that have come in and out of both your lives. You might find some similarities you would never suspect – styles always seem to come back! After you swap chic secrets, you might even want to have a generational fashion show. Whatever decade you and mom each CRAVE when it comes to style, the creative possibilities are endless when you put your heads together in the name of fashion!

Alternatives for moms and daughters with fashion in their blood:

- Get out there for some retail therapy, but here’s the catch – pick outfits for each other. You could be pleasantly surprised, or you might be laughing the entire time you’re in the dressing room!
- Score mother-daughter style makeover consultations.
- Go on a fashionable date – check CRAVE and other local listings for fashion shows and other styling events in your city.

No matter what you CRAVE and how you choose to celebrate mom, enjoy your time together. Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at CRAVE.

Best Places to Find Baby Shower Gifts

February 17, 2010 by Melisa M. | Comments (0)

At some point everyone needs to find a baby gift for a shower, and often times it’s last minute. If you’re looking for something really special we’ve found some stores for you to browse that are really worth a look.

Izzy and Ash 
3663 Bee Caves Road, 2C
512.306.8780 
izzyandash.com

Izzy and Ash is original style for original kids. Their vision is twofold: To offer infant and children’s clothing that inspires everyone to honor the free spirits of children and to remember that playful abandon of childhood, but just as importantly to provide children’s fashions of outstanding quality and style. They offer the latest trends in designer infant and children’s clothing from both European and US manufacturers. If you’re looking to find some seriously adorable and surprisingly stylish clothing for the new bundle, Izzy and Ash is the place to look. Your gift is sure to stand out among the rest.

PerriBerri
2805 Bee Caves Rd. #414 
866.873.2229  
perriberri.com

You can find plenty of adorable clothes at PerriBerri as well, but you can also find a lot of other baby essentials as well as non-essentials. PerriBerri sells a wide variety of blankets, towels, rompers, baby carriers and unique toys.  Everything in their store looks like it was picked with extra consideration of cuteness and uniqueness. The great thing about PerriBerri is that they also have clothes for women, if you’d like to treat the new mother with something special for after the birth. Comfortable and classy is the trend in the women’s store and the combination is sure to please any new mother with all the work she’s got cut out for her.

Due Maternity
3801 N Capital of Texas Hwy 
512.306.8022
duematernity.com

At Due Maternity you can find what you’re looking for—from stylish maternity clothes to nursing and skin care, all in one place. Due believes that today’s maternity isn’t about covering up or dressing down. It’s about fashion without compromise. Comfort without sacrificing style. And it’s all about showing off and letting the whole world know you’re pregnant. At Due you’ll find clothes and accessories you’d wear anywhere, anytime, but designed for this one special time in your life. They have just about anything you could possibly look for that has to do with dealing with pregnancy and becoming a new mother, like Incredibly cool collections of stylish maternity clothes, diaper bags, jewelry, lingerie, beauty products and nursing supplies that have been hand selected to delight and adorn.

I hope this helps in your search for the perfect baby shower gift!