Welcome Home

Whether you’re a newbie in the kitchen or a “good-enough” cook who could use some inspiration, you’re going to love my conversation with Alana Chernila, author of the soon-to-launch book The Homemade Kitchen. Alana’s warm, encouraging spirit, sense of humor, and humility (she fully admits to being a mess-maker in the kitchen, a “slow chopper,” and best yet, an imperfect cook) shine through in our discussion. Listen now!

Links mentioned in Episode 63:

* eating from the ground up, Alana’s blog and website

* Alana’s new cookbook, The Homemade Kitchen

* Meagan’s post “How An Hour in the Kitchen Gave Me Back My Evenings”

Sometimes, things that start outside of your home can end up making a big impact on your family life. In this episode of The Home Hour, Meagan and her sister Kathreen discuss the way the musical soundtracks and movie musicals they ravenously consumed while growing up impacted their love of live theatre as teens and adults, as well as why and how the arts can create a richer home and family life and create memories siblings share, even decades later.

 

Meagan and Kathreen during a recent trip to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Ontario. (Listen to the episode to find out why Shakespeare isn’t scary!) Plus, Meagan explains why she loves old-school musicals and seeks them out over the newer, trendier shows when she gets a chance to visit Broadway stages (like her recent opportunity to see Tony-award winning An American in Paris, below.)

 

Does music, art or theatre play a part in your home culture? Tell us how at hello@thehomehour or in the comments below.  

Header Image: Bahman Farzad, via Flickr Creative Commons

If you could spend your time doing anything at all, what would it be? And…do your kids enjoy your favorite hobbies, too? In episode 61 of The Home Hour, Meagan and Jim Lin, A.K.A Busy Dad, discuss turning personal passions into opportunities for family time, even with adolescents who aren’t always eager to tag along. Jim’s favorite pastime is fishing, so we find out more about what that meant to him growing up and how he’s gotten his whole (large) family excited about it, too.

From the show: Jim loves the Fish Brain app! Also, check out the photo below to see the fishing boat he and his family are fixing up together.

Sponsor Spotlight:

We’re thrilled to welcome the Museum of Science and Industry’s Summer Brain Games program as our sponsor for the next four episodes of The Home Hour! Summer Brain Games is a FREE 8-week program that will keep your kids thinking and engaged this summer break, and if you register now, you’ll also receive one Free Museum Entry voucher to the Museum of Science and Industry! Register FREE today!

Today on The Home Hour, we visit Malawi! Well, not literally, but vicariously through the stories of featured co-host Karen Walrond, who recently visited this gorgeous African country as part of a trip with One and Heifer International, two organizations that are doing great work in countries like Malawi. Find out more about the people of Malawi, the #ONEHeifer trip and how you can get involved with these great organizations in today’s episode. (Oh, and you’ll also hear about how Karen was almost eaten by a large toothy beast.)

When you’re done listening, make sure to also check out these posts from Karen about her trip (including some seriously gorgeous photography!):

The Warm Heart of Africa

Hippos, Warthogs and Crocodiles

What kind of grandparents (and other extended family) did you have growing up, and what kind of grandma (or grandpa!) do you think you’ll be? In episode 59 of The Home Hour, Kyran and Meagan discuss our experiences with our own extended families, how we relate to aunts, uncles, in-laws and cousins now that we have kids of our own, and what kind of grandparents we hope we’ll be one day.

We also briefly discussed gardening. Kyran swears by City Pickers for no-sweat container veggie gardening!

Butterbeer and candy frogs? Horehound candy and Johnny-cakes? Children’s lit is full of sumptuous descriptions of eatables, including some out-of-this-world food orgies. Today Meagan and her sister Kathreen (brand-new to the show!) recall some of the most memorable smorgasbords and dishes from their favorite childhood books and discuss why food plays such an important part in the way kids engage with literature…and remember it later.

Some of the sites and books discussed in today’s episode:

* Beyond Little House, a resource for Laura Ingalls Wilder fans.

* Pioneer Girl, Wilder’s official autobiography

* The Little House Cookbook

And, because we forgot to discuss Wilbur’s slop trough contents from Charlotte’s Web – one of the best food descriptions ever! – here’s a Garth Williams illustration of Templeton enjoying his share.

We all remember the Brady Bunch, but what does the modern-day blended family look like? Today Meagan and Busy Dad‘s Jim Lin discuss what it’s like to mix five kids from two different sets of parents – ages preschooler to teenager – in the same blended household and still keep everyone happy. We also discuss juggling work and life, long commutes and other tradeoffs, the realities of multitasking, and how technology can help us keep all those balls in the air.

Some of the things Jim and Meagan talk about in the episode:

* Jim’s appearance on The Today Show, talking about dads, work, and modern parenting. 

* How Men Fake an 80-Hour Workweek 

* Work-life balance and the myth of the 80-hour week featuring research from Laura Vanderkam

What does it mean to “curate your life?” In this episode Meagan and Karen Walrond of Chookooloonks discuss the Walrond family’s new doggy houseguest, which leads to a conversation about investing (time, energy, money) in what really matters to you and supports your values.

Image: Karen Walrond

Learn about genealogy, DNA testing and finding out more about your heritage with Kyran Pittman of Planting Dandelions.

Image: Don O’Brien, via Flickr Creative Commons

Want to update your look without buying a whole new wardrobe? In this episode Meagan and Shana of The Mom Edit discuss statement pieces, fun accessories, and how to give your makeup routine some oomph. They also discuss mock turtlenecks (yes, again!) and the big-white-chunky-sneaker trend (aren’t you curious what Shana thinks? Listen and find out!)

Shana’s Pick of the Week: Tarte Park Avenue Princess Matte Bronzer

Click the play button to listen now!

As always, thank you for listening and supporting The Home Hour. If you’ve been listening for a while and haven’t left an honest review on iTunes (or wherever you prefer to listen) I would so appreciate you doing so. Just visit the podcast page here and click “View in iTunes,” then select the tab called “Ratings and Reviews” and choose “Write a Review.” Thanks so much!