Restaurant Roundup

We're big fans of local and organic and love all the great farmers markets that are available around Austin. Buying Texas is a part of that so when my good friend Shelley invited me to attend the kickoff of Go Texan Restaurant Roundup week, I jumped at the chance. Go Texan is great program that promotes food and products from Texas. I love finding the little symbol on things I buy at the grocery store and knowing I'm helping local companies and farms.

Now, the Restaurant Roundup is a very neat celebration of the state. Participating restaurants have special dishes and drinks and make donations to food banks across Texas during the week. It's win-win if you ask me: delicious Texas food and support for thousands of people across the state.

The kickoff was at the Bullock Texas State History Museum. I love that museum and its awesome mosaic entryway floor. I feel compelled to take a picture of the giant star out front every time I visit. I've always wanted to go to an event there, so now I can cross that off my list!

There were a number of local restaurants and wineries sharing sips and bites as a preview of their menus this week for the Restaurant Roundup. Honestly, everything was just delicious. Some were favorites, of course, because how can you not thoroughly enjoy lobster rolls or pie?!

I'm a sucker for lobster and always will be. Absolutely delicious! And the homemade chips were light, crispy, and amazing.

I'm not generally a fan of pecan pie, but this is by far the best one I've ever had. I could have eaten many more!

The great thing? Restaurant Roundup isn't just in Austin, it's all over the state. So, if you plan on going out this week, I highly suggest checking out a participating restaurant because your taste buds will be pleasantly surprised!

What's your favorite Texas dish?

Perfectly cooked pork in this little slider. The sauce was so flavorful.

Great pasta dish! The zucchini mousse had an interesting texture, but the flavor was good.

How can you not love beer fried anything? Perfectly crisp and lovely with the sauce and slaw.

Tasty little bites. The goat cheese on the left was wonderful and the quail on the right was delicate and delicious.

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12 Ways to Repurpose Burp Cloths & Cloth Wipes

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.

When Phee was a baby, we received and used a large quantity of burp cloths. We used cloth diapers and had a mountain of cloth wipes. Honestly, we never seemed to have enough!

But, once she grew out of the spit up stage and I started to sort through clothes and baby gear, I didn't know what to do with all those burp cloths and wipes. It felt odd to pass them on sometimes, especially since those seemed to be the items that were dirtiest and washed most often. At the time I didn't have anyone to pass them on to. Really, unless you have friends to pass them on to or plans to store them for another baby, it can seem hard to justify holding on to them.

On the flip side of that, Phee took to the burp cloths. She wasn't ready to give those up, any more than she was ready to give up receiving blankets. Both make such lovely blankets and forts for dolls and stuffed animals.

To this day, we still have every burp cloth and wipe that we received. Well, not the really gross ones. Those hit the trash can long ago. But the ones that are in good shape still have life in them, and over the last four years we've found many ways to reuse and repurpose them!

So much easier to handle than a bulky towel!

Burp cloths

• handkerchiefs/snot rags for sick kiddos (much softer than tissues)
• blankets for baby dolls and stuffed animals
• stash one or two in the car for sudden spills and messes
• really old, stained ones can become dust rags (soft so they don't scratch furniture)
• towel for drying hair, especially for little girls (much easier to hold than bulky towels and super absorbent)

Cloth wipes

• handkerchiefs/snot rags for sick kiddos (much softer than tissues)
• dish towels for play kitchens
• stash a couple in your purse/diaper bag for quick cleanups (keep a water bottle handy for wet wipes)
• blankets for small toys or for a dollhouse
• tiny dust rags for children who are helping clean
• towelettes for washing tiny hands and faces after meals (we keep some in a jar on the counter)
• wipe for your eyeglasses (soft and smooth so no scratching)

Washing her dishes.

I'm sure there are many more uses you've come up with. What's your favorite way to repurpose burp cloths and wipes around your house?

The original version of this post first appeared on a blog that I used to write with a friend, Bottles & Briefcases.

Linked up at Coco and Cocoa, the Recipe Critic, Heather's French Press, Bloom Designs, Nancherrow, Weekly Kids Co-op, P is for Preschooler.

My Green Kitchen

We try to be ecologically conscious in our house.  Most of the time we're successful.  We've eliminated a lot of extra things, we try to limit our purchase of plastic items, we shop locally, we conserve where we can, and reuse and recycle a lot of things.  We've also tried to eliminate a lot of chemicals from the house, primarily in our cleaning supplies.  It seems a big chunk of our efforts have been concentrated in the kitchen.  Here are some of my favorite tips and items to help green your kitchen. (Note: this post has been updated from a post written in 2012.)

I tried to make dishwasher detergent a few times with different recipes.  I never had any success.  Sometimes it just didn't clean well; sometimes it left a film on the dishes.  I tried and have stuck with the Seventh Generation Dish Packs which work very well for us. I've been happy since making that switch. 

In the kitchen, another favorite is Skoy cloths.  I found these amazing little cloths when we stopped using paper towels.  They're biodegradable and compostable and best of all, washable.  I originally got 2 packages 3 or 4 years ago, and while they're finally getting icky now, I haven't gotten any new ones so far.  They are extremely absorbent and we use them for everything from spills in the kitchen to household cleaning.  We'll be tossing these into the compost bin soon and buying some new ones and I'm looking forward to stocking up for all the little toddler messes Phee makes.

Speaking of compost, I have the most adorable rooster compost container on the kitchen counter.  We have two different compost barrels in our backyard and we rotate them every year.  We were using a large old coffee container as a counter top compost pail, but I got this rooster as a gift for Christmas a couple years ago and I love it (it matches my rooster themed kitchen!).  If you're thinking of composting, even on a small scale, I recommend getting a counter top compost pail.  It's less trips to the big bin and easy for collecting little scraps throughout the day.  Plus, you can get them with filters which eliminate any odors that might cause problems.

One of the best eco solutions I've come across is a crocheted sweeper/mop cover.  These fit over a Swiffer mop or sweeper and eliminate all the waste associated with Swiffer cleaning cloths.  I have two and I love them.  I can still use the simple Swiffer stick mop which I had hanging around the house anyway.  These are washable and I was able to get them in a fun pink/white/purple yarn.  I use a spray bottle with floor cleaner (vinegar and water) to mop the floors.  An ingenious solution to messy mops that are always kind of ratty and gross.

When Phee was younger, we had lots of little messes to clean up and no where was as messy as the dinner table.  To eliminate using a lot of baby wipes or the dishrag to clean Phee up after a meal, I cut up a bunch of  old white t-shirts to make little cleaning cloths.  I kept them in a jar on the kitchen counter and could just grab and wet one as needed to clean Phee up.  A simple solution using things we already had on hand.

There are so many other things I could add, like making your own cleaners, but these really are my favorite solutions to some of our challenges in achieving a greener house.  I'm sure you've got lots of different things you use or do around your house.  What items have you found that really help green your cleaning and your house? 

Some links are Amazon affiliate links.  

Linked up at Just Us Four, The Grant Life, Nancherrow, Bloom Designs, Nessa Makes, Heather's French Press, The Recipe Critic, Yesterfood.