When Meg Cox became a mom in 1994, she knew she wanted to create contemporary family traditions for not just the holidays, but daily, weekly and monthly rituals that could be celebrated all year long. She used her skills as a journalist and spent three years interviewing families all across the US and compiling a wonderful collection of traditions and rituals that she turned into “The Book of New Family Traditions: How to Create Great Rituals for Holidays and Everyday”. It’s packed full of creative ideas to get you started.

Why are traditions and rituals important for children?
Cox highlights many reasons that rituals are so fundamental for children, but here are three reasons that I think are particularly important.

1. Structure
As a mom to a three month old, I have already learned that structure is crucial to everyone getting a good night’s sleep at our house. My daughter has the same bedtime routine at the same time every night. She squeals with delight each night as soon as I start running the water for her bath because she knows that in a few minutes she is going to be splashing around in the water.

Remember, traditions and rituals are not just for the holidays. In this book, you’ll also find great ideas for daily rituals, meal times, bedtimes, monthly rituals like family movie nights and more.

2. Predictability
I love having things to celebrate all year long. I love spring flowers, Fourth of July fireworks, summer barbeques and holiday baking. I loved that my grandma’s cinnamon rolls, sugar cookies and mashed potatoes always tasted exactly the same year after year.

Whether its taco night Tuesdays, kid’s choice dinners or a weekly date with dad, children loved to look forward to fun events and celebrations.

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If I am going to have a bit of chocolate, I insist on only the best. Find out out my favorite places for delicious chocolate in London here.

I am a new mom to an adorable three month and like many new moms, I am still learning how to meet my daughter’s needs without sacrificing my own. When it was 3pm for the third day in a row and I still had my pyjamas on and hadn’t showered or eaten anything yet, I knew I needed help.

I knew I could not carry on this way and expect to stay healthy. By mid-afternoon, I was cranky, sluggish and starving. Predictably, I reached for caffeine and the first sugary snack I could find. We all know how that goes and it isn’t pretty because what shoots up your blood sugar levels also makes them come crashing down and thus, a nasty cycle begins. I was already starting a bad habit that I desperately wanted to break.

As a new mom, my health is more important to me now than ever. Being healthy is not about crash diets just to get ready for swimsuit season. It’s about eating foods that make me feel healthy and strong and don’t leave me still feeling hungry an hour later. It’s about staying healthy for many years to come and having the energy to keep up with my daughter as she grows.

There are definitely days that I am frustrated, feel like a zombie and sometimes it just seems easier to grab a candy bar or pick up some fast food but the bottom line is that I care enough about myself and my family to be as healthy as I can and if I’m not going to take action now, when am I going to do it? According to new research by Phillippa Lally and colleagues from the Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit. There is no time like the present so I better get started now.

In my quest for health, I searched the internet for nutritional information geared for new moms and I was delighted to find M.O.M.S Guide: Eating to Survive the First Years of Motherhood. Written by three certified holistic health counsellors, this e-book is packed full of nutritional information specifically for new moms. In this helpful guide, you’ll learn which foods will give you long lasting energy, stabilize your moods and make you feel great. It is not uncommon for your body to be depleted of many crucial vitamins and minerals following childbirth and you’ll learn which foods to eat in the weeks and months following delivery. There’s even a helpful shopping list, recipes and plenty of great ‘grab and go’ snack ideas when you literally only have 5 minutes to scarf something down. Perfect for any new mom, this helpful guide takes the guess work out of healthy eating and guides you step-by-step along the way.

But come visit me on my other blog www.ourlifeathome.com

It's up although still in development but come visit me there anyway. Blogging took a major halt as we worked to finish our home renovations and I've also been busy been pregnant. I may come back here in the future to blog somemore but for now, you'll probably see more updates on the other blog.

I didn't really become interested in food, I mean really interested in food until I moved to New York. I didn't even start out cooking. In the beginning, I mostly just ate. Living in Tribeca meant dozens and dozens of restaurants to choose from like Chanterelle on Harrison, Nobu on Hudson or Dylan Prime on Laight Street just to name a few. That was just in my own neighborhood, imagine what happend when I began to venture out into other parts of the city. I began to think more and more about the ingredients that went into the recipes and I started to think about how I could recreate them in my own kitchen.

After my wedding, my kitchen was stocked with half of Crate & Barrel and Williams-Sonoma and I figured I need to try to make the best use of what I had. In London, I started taking cooking classes from fabulous places like Divertimenti and Books for Cooks and eventually felt ready to learn where the pros do at places like Leiths. It has really been a fabulous foodie adventure and I get asked for the recipes that I use on a fairly regular basis. I don't actually think I am a good cook. At least, not a naturally good cook, I just practice a lot and use really good recipes. I wanted to share some of my favorite cookbooks to encourage you to have some fun adventures in your own kitchen.



1. American Classics - I should say I love just about everything that is put out by the editors of Cook's Illustrated and this book is no exception. The explanations and diagrams that come with the recipes are always excellent. For me, this is excellent comfort food.




2. 500 Best Healthy Recipes by Lynn Roblin. This is probably the most used cookbook in my kitchen. Since I eat out so much, it is nice to eat healthy when I am at home. I've tried many, many recipes from this book and they've all turned out really well. I don't believe in healthy desserts so I skipped that chapter entirely. I have so many favorites so it's hard to choose but I really love the Tomato, Zucchini and Tortellini Soup, Broccoli, Snow Pea and Baby Corn Salad with Orange Dressing and Linguine with Caramelized Onions, Tomatoes and Basil.





3. The Professional Chef is the ultimate reference book for people who are serious about cooking. Whether you want to know how to make the best stock or gravy or need to know how to butterfly a chicken, this book has everything you need to know. Techniques are diagrammed with pictures which is a bonus for a visual person like me. I don't find the recipes overly complicated but the one challenge and reason why this book may not be right for you because the recipes are based on serving a large number of people. Of course, you can do the math to work out how to scale down the volume.

4. All Recipes - Ok, I am cheating here because this is a website and not a book but listen before you get all upset I must tell you that this is a really good reasource that I use this at least once a week. It is perfect when I come home mid-week and look in my fridge and think crap all I have is chicken and broccoli. I can go to All Recipes and type in chicken and broccoli into the search field and will get an impressive list of delicious recipes. The recipes are rated by other home cooks and many offer helpful suggestions on how to make improvements or additions.




5. Mastering the Art of French Cooking- I love Julia Child and this cookbook is excellent. I admit I was intimidated when I first bought this book. I thought everything would be really complex and difficult. It's true there are challenging recipes but there are really simple ones too. I love the substitutions which is great if you are out of one of the ingredients because in many cases you can just substitute it for something else. I reference this book a lot for eggs, soups, sauces, and of course, crepes and desserts.



6. World Vegetarian Classics - I am a big fan of Celia Brooks Brown who teaches food classes in London and does gastro tours in Borough Market and Marylebone. Her recipes work and are always inventive. I love her relaxed style and use of fresh, seasonal produce.




7. Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook - My husband hates when I bake because he says it always looks like a bomb went off in the kitchen. Some things are just worth the mess and Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook is just one of them. You may get flour in your hair or eggs on your shoes but it will all be worth it. Some of the recipes involve lots of time and patience and other are delightfully quick and easy.

We are off at the end of the week for a much needed vacation in Rome and the Amalfi Coast. I've been busy sorting out the final restaurant reservations and car bookings before we go. In no particular order, here is a short list of some of what I am looking forward to:

1. Hanging out at the Pantheon, people watching, drinking cappuccino

2. Shopping in the flea markets

3. Visiting the Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel

4. Gelato for breakfast every day

5. Walking through the Piazza Navona at night

6. Driving along the Amalfi Coast

7. Taking a boat ride through the Blue Grotto in Capri

8. Visiting Pompeii

9. Getting lost walking the streets of Rome

10. Riding the chairlift to Monte Solaro, the highest point in Capri

I love the creative genius of Matthew Mead Style. His new Halloween book called "Halloween: Treats and Treats" has just come out and is full of so many unique and inspiring ideas.

CNN asked me to write a small piece about living in London, which you can read here.

I purchased these fun day of the week clothes pins from Etsy in March from the Suzy Jack collection. I love them and feel more organised just by having them in my life. Now, I see my favorite trendy, office products site See Jane Work is now carrying Suzy's collection!

We recently returned from a fun four trip to Bruges, Belgium. We traveled by Eurostar to Brussels, changed trains and made the final journey to Bruges. This was my second trip to Belgium, but first time to Bruges.

We stayed at the Oud Huis De Peellaert, which is a stylish hotel set in a 19th century mansion in the heart of the old town and about 5 minutes walk from The Market Square.

Our first stop, the hotel bar or maybe not...



No really, we set out to find beer, chocolate and biscuits. Sadly, that is true. Belgium is known for its chocolate and Bruges did not disappoint.



We explored the city on foot and by boat. Did you know there are 30 bridges in Bruges? Walking along the canals is really beautiful and there are several spots to jump on one of the many boats that wind around the canals.







Then, we set off on bikes to the nearby town of Damme. It is a 7km bike ride along the canal from Bruges to Damme. Lots of companies have organised trips but we got a map and made the journey by ourselves.





We saw lots of windmills





and got up close with nature.



We then headed back to Bruges to the Belfort Tower and climbed the 366 steps to take in the view of the city.



Here is a picture from inside the Church of our Lady or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk. The towering brick spire of the chuch is the city's tallest landmark. Below is the picture of Madonna and Child by Michelangelo. It is the only one of his works to travel outside of Italy during his lifetime.