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Mom MVP: Veronica Bradley

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This month’s Mom MVP is a local mama who specializes in using the right words! Veronica Bradley is a creative director and copywriter with a gift for connecting words and inspiring brands. She spends her time helping people sound as great as they actually are!

Hi, I’m Veronica, mom of two and a helplessly creative individual. When the kids are sleeping, I’m a freelance creative director/copywriter, so I essentially make things sound pretty. I also build the occasional templated Website for clients on a budget, and photography is my taxed hobby. I love riding my bike around White Rock Lake.

What is your favorite meal? This is almost embarrassing to post, but pizza! I love pizza. If there’s pizza at a party, I will be first in line no matter what. It’s like the hunger games.

 What is your favorite restaurant? My favorite family-friendly restaurant, Zuzu’s, just temporarily shut down! I guess right now I love Resident Taqueria. I do the meatless thing, and they have excellent options for me. Plus my son goes to town on their pinto beans.

What is your favorite kitchen gadget/tool? As much as I want to say microwave, I’ll pick my enamel coated cast iron pan. I’m deadly with it, but not in the Loony Toons way! Eggs, pancakes, quesadillas, fried rice, veggies … I must use that pan at least twice a day.

What do you do to recharge your batteries? I have a three year-old boy and a four month-old girl—I never get to fully recharge my batteries! But the hour before I go to bed is MINE, so I sit on my bathroom counter, go through my skincare routine, pluck my eyebrows, and have something playing on Netflix on my laptop.

What is your go-to hostess gift? My husband and I usually bring a fancy local beer. He’s the Creative Director at one of the local breweries (Lakewood Brewing), so we always have a few interesting bottles around the house. We love to show people that not all beer is the same, and helping someone discover that (gasp!) they actually do like some beer is always rewarding. Aaaand I may or may not have been the model for one of the breweries most iconic labels!

 What is your entertaining must-have? Music. You have to have something in the background that’s loud enough to be noticeable but quiet enough to be ignored. And if it’s 90s music, bonus! It’s also a win whenever a singalong spontaneously begins.

What is your favorite holiday to host?
Now that I have small kiddos, Christmas has reclaimed that childish magic for me. I love having my house full of people I adore but don’t see enough, I enjoy the noise of a kitchen full of laughter, and I cannot get enough of reminiscing with my extended family.

Check out Veronica’s work here: www.veronicabradley.com

Tuesday Tip: Back-to-School Lunches

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It’s back-to-school time, and we’ve got some tips to keep your school lunches creative and fun! Start the new school year off with some cute and quirky ideas for your kiddos lunchbox. 

1. Get creative with those sandwiches! 

2. Fall in love with bento boxes – here’s one of our favorites! 

3. Don’t forget some healthy veggie options. 

4. We love using silly skewers and food picks to make it fun. 

5. Lunchbox desserts to make the kids smile.

Love,

Some big (little) news.

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Friends, 

If it has seemed a bit quiet over here, there’s a good reason. Nathan and I are very excited to announce that Baby Hatt #2 is coming in February! I’ve been in the throes of first-trimester sickness, but we are very excited that after years of trying, another sweet little one is on the way. 

After a lot of discussion with our doctors and each other, we have determined that it is in my best interest to stay off my feet and get as much rest as possible. So, for now, it means we have to press pause on our meal deliveries and we are going to have to postpone opening the store front until after the baby comes. We are so sad about this, but with our journey to parenthood fraught with lots of fertility struggles, loss and heartbreak, we don’t think we should take any chances, and as much as I want to, I shouldn’t try to do everything at once! I know you mamas out there understand where I am coming from. 

So for now, we will be switching gears with the business and focusing on the catering side, our product line of sauces and spices (look out for some new products to launch in 2018!) and the blog. We are thrilled to have the time to bring you all new content, more stories, recipes, recommendations and tips and to share our passion of Food, Family, Fellowship and Football even more so with each of you! We want to take a moment to thank all of our customers who have been faithfully ordering and please know…we hope to revisit the storefront in 2018! 

Until then, stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram pages and the blog for updates. I’ll be busy cooking up the newest member of our family and we can’t wait to celebrate all the JOY that this will bring to the Mrs. Gridiron family. We feel so blessed. 

Thank you so much for your understanding! 

Love,

Mom MVP: Cassie McGregor

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You guys are going to love this month’s Mom MVP! We’re taking a closer look at local milliner, Cassie McGregor of The House of MacGregor. If you aren’t familiar with the term millinery, think hats! Oak Cliff-based Cassie McGregor knows the language of hats. Cassie has been creating hats using traditional millinery techniques since 2002. Raised in Dallas, Cassie began taking evening hat making classes for fun at the Fashion Institute of Technology while living in New York City. It was love at first hat! After many years of running her own label on the side, Cassie decided to hang her hat in Dallas for good. She owns and operates her own atelier near the historic Bishop Arts District. When Cassie isn’t at the studio or chasing her three adorable daughters around, you might find Cassie and her husband Rob cooking up a storm in the kitchen or dining out in the city.

“Hi! My name is my name is Cassie MacGregor and I own The House of MacGregor over in Oak Cliff.  We are a custom hat shop and we make men’s and women’s straw and felt fedoras plus special occasion hats for horse races and weddings.  We also have a wide selection of other designer’s hats in our studio located above Bolsa Restaurant.  I am also kept busy by my four kids, three of whom are five and under!”

What is your favorite meal? I love a good green chile stew on a cold day. I am currently day dreaming about being cold enough for that to sound good.

What is your favorite kitchen tool?  My Le Creuset red dutch oven.  It was my first present from my husband and I use it more than anything else in our kitchen.

What do you do to recharge your batteries?  I take yoga classes at SYNC Yoga 2-3 days a week and I don’t think I would be very livable without it!  We have 4 kids and it is the main way I squeeze in self care time.

What is your go-to hostess gift? You can never go wrong with wine or flowers.

What is your entertaining must-have? I have a very colorful, striped Missoni table cloth that was a present from my mom.  It makes any dinner party look cheerful and happy plus the stripes cover up food stains well.

What it your favorite holiday to host? Thanksgiving is a big deal in our house.  We start the day by hosting a neighborhood Turkey Trot in our front yard that ends with mimosas and homemade goodies from all our friends.  Then we have to cut ourselves off from the mimosas so dinner will be ready before 10:00!

Visit www.thehouseofmacgregor.com to learn more about the hats and be sure to pop by this sweet mama’s shop – I know I’ll be making a visit soon!

Love,

Dad MVP : Mr. Donavan

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I am so excited to introduce you all to Mr. Donavan, although I am certain many of you already know and love him as my family does. Lil Hatt has been enjoying learning from Mr. D for several years now and Coach and I love his ability to know and understand precisely the best way to reach and motivate each child individually. If you haven’t tried his services yet, I highly encourage you to check him out as soon as possible! We LOVE Mr. D at our house and I know you will too!

Hi! My name is Mr. Donavan and I am the President of  MR.DONAVAN Mobile Athletic Concepts. I help kids develop physical coordination, motor skills, social interaction and team play through fun activities, decision making, and following directions.

What is your favorite meal?   Chicken & Steak Fajitas

What is your favorite local Dallas restaurant? Ida Claire

What is your favorite kitchen/bbq gadget/tool? 3 way spatula

What is your favorite outdoor activity? Horseback riding

What is your go-to spice/sauce?  Tone’s Peppercorn/Black pepper & Sauce Sweet Baby Ray’s  original

What is your entertaining must have? AWESOME Music Playlist

Love,

MOM MVP : Kristen Massad

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Hi. My name is Kristen Massad, I am a mom of two beautiful girls and a sweet baby boy, the wife to the most supportive husband and a pastry chef for all to enjoy!  I am a graduate of The French Culinary Institute in NYC and owned and operated Tart Bakery in Dallas, Texas for over 8 years. After growing a successful retail and wholesale bakery, I had a great opportunity to sell it and enjoy this special time with my family. 

I started Ink Foods as a creative outlets to highlight original recipes created by me as well as some of my favorite recipes from my Nannies recipe book, other books, magazines and the web that have been edited to meet my sweet tooth.

Last year, I launched JOY + OLIVER, a small batch confections company that specializes in sea salt caramels. I’m thankful to be back in the kitchen while home with my little ones!

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Favorite Meal : My favorite meal: and something that we make as a family once a week is Shrimp Aglio olio (garlic and oil).  It is one of the most simple meals to make but the flavors are pure and strong and my kids love it as well!

Favorite Restaurant: In Dallas there are some amazing restaurants, but a restaurant that we recently discovered and frequent to often is Sushi at The Mercury.  It is a tiny and hidden sushi bar inside The Mercury Restaurant.  Very fresh and unique sashimi and great appetizers.

Favorite Kitchen Gadget: I can’t live without my kitchen aid mixer.  I use it to bake and experiment with recipes all week long.  It sits on my counter ready to be used at all times.

Recharge Batteries: With 3 little ones and working from home, there is very little time to recharge, but simply a glass of wine with my husband once the kids are asleep helps to refresh.  I also love a facial to relax and feel energized!

Hostess Gift: A good bottle of wine or a box of sea salt caramels is my go to hostess gift because who doesn’t love that!

Entertaining Must Have: My husband and I love to entertain and we always have more appetizers than food for the main meal.  I feel like people always come hungry and it is the best place to snack and mingle.

Favorite Holiday to Host: Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, it is all about family time and food.

Lil Hatt is Turning 3: Part 2

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Photo credit: Sparkle My Party (original photo credit: unknown)

So anybody who ever said that planning a birthday party while running a new business and preparing for our summer activities was a good idea, well they should be scolded immediately! The entire month of May was insane! The school year ended for both Coach and Lil Hatt as our little business keeps growing and now, somehow, my little guy’s birthday has snuck up on us leaving me less than a handful of days to make this the extra special day he’s been excited about for months.

Can anyone else relate?

As with any party I throw, I typically start off with my handy-dandy check list that I pull out with notes from the previous year’s successes and failures and suggestions for new things to implement. Except… Gulp… I couldn’t find the notes from his party last year or the year before. Apparently, several files were corrupted and erased on my flash drive. After a few tears, a glass of wine (alright, maybe two) and several words I cannot repeat here, I decided to build anew.

Lil Hatt's Birthday Invite RevAs I mentioned in my first blog post about Lil Hatt’s birthday, I start off with a theme. This year it was easy as I had wanted to do a farm theme last year. I always start with the invitation. Call me old-fashioned, but I still love to send a paper invite. I found this adorable invitation at Sweet Cotton Paperie on Etsy. Mia was so easy to work with and she customized some of the wording for me. I mean seriously, how cute did this turn out???

Next on the list is THE LIST. I break down the menu, the snack table, the beverages, the cutesy names for the games and food, the activities, the decorations, the party favors, the house needs and most importantly – the schedule. This is what keeps me sane and on track throughout the process. (Can you tell I like lists and checking them off?)
Birthday ShirtI found this adorable shirt at Pixie Stitch LLC on Etsy. I have purchased several shirts from this shop and they are very well made, good quality thick cotton shirts that withstand washing, drying and Lil Hatt. There are so many styles, colors, and themes to choose! I had a custom shirt made last year for the 4th to go along with his birthday shirt and it still fits him!20160614_145905In addition to what I purchased at Nebraska Furniture Mart, here are a few more decorations and the start of the party favors. The animal figures and animal stickers came from Oriental Trading Company. I purchased the “Farm Animals Action Figures” and the “Vinyl Farm Animals” from OTC. I wouldn’t get the vinyl farm animals again as they are teeny tiny and they don’t stand on their own very well. However, the farm animals action figures are awesome and I received 23 animals for only $13.99! I plan on using them on the tables for decoration and then the kids can take them home, as well. I just loved the cute “Simple Face Farm Animal” stickers which were only $2.55 for a roll of 100. They will be on the tables and in the favors as well. The “3-piece Garden Tool Set” ($7.80 for prime members when purchased as an ad-on) and the planters ($12.49 for 8 planters) I found on Amazon. Each favor will include one tool, a planter, strawberry seeds (the kids will get to plant these during the party), a custom activity sheet (more on these in the next post) and a few other goodies I’m still pulling together.

The adorable banner at the top of this post came from Sparkle My Party on Etsy as well and it will hang on my mantle with the party favors lined out below.

I can’t wait to share with you all how it all comes together in the next post! Wish me luck and sleep this week. I think I’m going to need it!

Love,
Mrs.-Gridiron-Signature