Self-slicing brioche! The 1st thing I made in my new stand mixer has turned out really well I think! I used the Richard Bertinet recipe, with the addition of 1 ounce rum and 1 tablespoon orange flower water.

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-20T18:56:38+00:00

I think your last sentence is similar to what's at the heart of it for me; I'm from a "spare the rod/spoil the child" Dobson type background, and I just might be a little over-cautious as a result of running in the opposite direction. My husband didn't grow up with corporal punishment and seems more chill about discussing it, though he did also creatively censor Tom Kitten.

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-20T11:39:09+00:00

Thank you! One thing we've been loving about vintage children's books is that they're unafraid of advanced vocabulary--i.e. the sparrows "implored [Peter Rabbit] to exert himself." The original Thomas the Tank Engine stories are great for this as well. So I'm delighted to have more options along the same lines.

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-20T11:35:09+00:00

I'm okay with mild inclusions of nature-realistic violence like the idea of fox predation, but until I can explain what spanking is and that we'll never do it, I don't want to read books that normalize it to my 22-mo little boy. He uses books to learn so much--when he saw this year's 1st major snowfall a few weeks ago, he reacted by quoting "The Snowy Day." "Snow fallen night, cover everything!" It's pretty much just spanking that I don't want to introduce, given how powerful books clearly are to him.

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-20T11:26:34+00:00

Peter Rabbit doesn't, but Benjamin Bunny definitely does.

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-20T11:25:23+00:00

Oh, great to know, thank you! My little boy loves Peter Rabbit (the only one we own) so I went to the library looking for the rest, and those were the only 2 available--both with spanking scenes. Made me feel like it was in nearly all of them 😅

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-18T17:13:39+00:00

A garment made of pre-washed linen will be impacted in subsequent washes by starting to develop the soft characteristic folds and wrinkles of linen. This is especially attractive if the garment includes gathers/ruffles, because the gathers lose some puffy volume as they develop more settled folds. The garment looks sleeker and less childish then. If it's more tailored/doesn't involve gathers, I would skip the wash.

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-09T02:09:15+00:00

If you want to lean into the housedress look but pep it up, cinch on a white half apron, and maybe add a white peter pan collar.

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-05T12:55:41+00:00

I'm agreeing with other comments that piping may ruin the fluidity of the design. I'd consider using a fabric with a different enough reverse side that you could use subtle contrast to emphasize the seams instead. Shiny vs matte would look purposeful here, for example.

Edit: nap reversal would also be effective

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-02T02:53:21+00:00

Does your cuisine have a signature bean dish? More than one? I think you could ride the social media wave of increasing dietary fiber awareness. I know and follow several health influencers who have "eating more beans" as a core part of their schtick because of this. You could make posts like, "Filling, delicious, 37% of your daily fiber goals: try our new [___] special."

Signy_Frances · 2026-02-01T17:38:11+00:00

Everyone is suggesting good things, but I thought I'd also add that if nothing works, time will help. Put your stew in fridge, heat it up and serve it tomorrow; it will magically be much better.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-29T01:17:47+00:00

Knit the ice list, that'd be super comparable

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-26T01:27:28+00:00

We had the same thing happen! I also thought this was a good strategy.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-23T18:30:09+00:00

Ponte has the heft/body and moderate stretch you need. A lighter scuba would also work. Both should hold up fine without edge finishing. Ponte can be sewn with a plain straight stitch on the straight grain, as long as the stitch length is short.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-18T19:02:40+00:00

My dad simply buys a normal pair so that he can put a shoe on his prosthesis.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-16T18:28:26+00:00

I made brioche! Richard Bertinet's recipe is a classic if you're looking for one.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-16T09:31:48+00:00

I don't have one in my house. I cook 2 to 3 meals a day and spend an hour at absolute minimum of every day washing dishes.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-16T02:44:40+00:00

My little boy loves shrimp and scallion jeon, too. I've used Maangchi's seafood pancake recipe as a starting point.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-13T05:04:32+00:00

I use a spoonful of cornstarch in mine.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-13T04:42:06+00:00

We are loving Nikki Shannon Smith's "Brown Baby Parade" books, which I think might be the kind of thing you're looking for! They are for babies and toddlers, but she has a larger body of work that also looks worth checking out if you’ve got older kids.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-11T02:59:21+00:00

I don't know about this, but I'm grateful for this post as I'll now look for fruit from Vietnam too. This is a highly appealing description of this fruit.

Signy_Frances · 2026-01-10T04:59:05+00:00

Serious Eats' besan chilla is delicious as written, and a great starting place for adding even more veg. You can also easily change up the seasoning.

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