Fresh Basil

Kid Stuff

2012-03-05T16:29:00.000-05:00

(1, 2, 3)

This winter has been mild and lovely. I can say that without fear of jinxing it now that we're into March! But I guess I love gentle, easy reading while the days are short, even if it's not terribly harsh outside.

These middle reader/young adult novels have been keeping me company the last few months (along with The Hunger Games series!). Can you believe I had never read The Hobbit before? I felt like I found my snacking tribe. I've been enjoying second breakfast and elevenses for years :)

Also, I love finding old covers to books. Anne and Gilbert look dashing here - such darling young marrieds!

March forward

2012-03-02T10:07:00.000-05:00

(via jcrew.com)

Happy March, my friends! Did you check your horoscope yet? I am in for a doozy (in a good way!).

We are off to Connecticut to visit our families this weekend, and celebrate my mom's birthday! She's getting one of these - I've got my fingers crossed that she'll be able to figure out how to use it without too much trouble :)

On a totally unrelated fashion note, I saw this outfit in the J Crew catalog earlier this week and decided to recreate it today. It's fun, right? If I was an outfit-posting kind of blogger, I'd surely show you a picture, but since I'm not... just imagine me looking exactly like this model, okay? I cat-walked into my cubicle with smeyes and everything.

Winter Park, Florida

2012-02-29T08:58:00.000-05:00

I'm going to write a bit about Orlando soon, but first I thought I'd share some photos from another favorite spot we went to while we were away: Winter Park. It's a darling little town just north of Orlando. We loved it!

We went to lunch at Ravenous Pig. We originally tried to get dinner reservations, but they were all booked up. I'm so glad we were still able to visit! The space is modern but warm. The menu isn't huge, but everything we ate was amazing - Po' boys, shrimp tacos, charcuterie and the grower salad were all devoured.

After lunch, we went over to Rifle Paper Co. It's a tiny shop, with their workshop in the back. I love their products, and it was such a sweet, happy place. I came home with floral coasters, a notepad and some place cards (for the next time we host Thanksgiving!).

Aren't these hearts adorable? My mom bought a 24x18 print of it to hang in her newly redesigned sun room. The shop girl told us that Urban Outfitter is going to be selling the print soon, so be on the look out if you'd like to snag one yourself!

In the later afternoon, we took a lake tour. After being in Disney World for a few days, an hour out on a boat was heaven.

The Spanish Moss hanging down is so lovely. I wish this would grow in New England!

There were huge houses, and a great view of Rollins. I love looking at colleges, even from afar, so that was a fun treat!

Finally, while my mom, sister and I went to visit the local Lilly store, the boys had a drink at Prato. It was wide open to the street, had a lovely, dark bar, and they report that it had an excellent beer list.

If you're in the Orlando area, I highly recommend a visit to cute Winter Park!

Such is life

2012-02-27T10:30:00.001-05:00

(Tulips + my last paper white bulb of the season)

We are back from a wonderful week in Florida! Oh, it was so lovely. It was warm! Flowers were blooming! I saw fireworks!

Re-entry is always sort of difficult, though, right? Yesterday afternoon in the airport parking lot, we found our car had a dead battery. This morning, the shower head broke, spraying water all over the bathroom. I'm fighting a cold. It's time to get our taxes in order. Such is life outside the magical world of Disney!

I hope you all are well! My reader is bursting at the seams, and I can't wait to catch up.

Happiest Place on Earth

2012-02-17T07:01:00.000-05:00

(Beach towel via One Kings Lane; H&M dress; Hunger Games; Bensimon; Mossimo bathing suit; Mai Tai :)

I am off to Florida this weekend, and I could not be more excited! Peter and I are spending the week in Orlando with my family. We'll visit Micky and Minnie, play some golf, and I hope to read the entire Hunger Games series so I can be finally understand what all the fuss is about!

I'm looking forward to checking out Ravenous Pig and Rifle Paper Co. If you have any other shopping or restaurant suggestions, I'd love to hear!

Crafty February: Homemade Ricotta

2012-02-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

I mentioned earlier this week that my first attempt at homemade ricotta was a total bust. I followed Smitten Kitchen's recipe, and it just didn't curdle properly. It was sort of lightly turned milk (gross). I used Meyer lemon juice, and maybe it wasn't acidic enough?

After I bit of research, I came across this food lab article by Serious Eats. I tried again with vinegar and only whole milk (not a combination of milk and cream). After I added the vinegar, I kept the pan on the stove, with the heat off, for five minutes. As you can see, it worked! When I placed the mixture over the cheese cloth, the whey drained off really quickly. I only let it strain for five minutes (instead of over two hours the first time!). It came off of the cheese cloth like a nice, fresh blop of cheese. Success!

I was so proud. It was almost better because of the first failure, you know? This week we ate it in a pasta dish with cauliflower, and also mixed it with pesto for an artichoke pizza. So good!

You will need:

4 cups whole milk (not ultra pasteurized - it's science!)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vinegar (white or apple cider)

Using a candy thermometer, heat milk and salt in a pan to 180-200 degrees F, stirring occasionally. With the heat still on, add in 3 tablespoons of vinegar. Turn the heat off, and stir gently once or twice. Let the mixture sit undisturbed for five minutes. It should be very curdled and look like the second picture, above.

While letting the vinegar and milk mixture sit, place a fine mesh colander over a bowl. Line with cheese cloth or a few layers of paper towels. Pour the mixture over the cheese cloth. Let sit for one to five minutes, depending on how "loose" you'd like your cheese to be. Place ricotta into an air tight container and refrigerate. It can be stored for up to four days.

I dumped the whey out (it looked like...lemonade, to be polite), but some people find good ways to use it!

The lucky lady

2012-02-14T09:17:00.000-05:00

Last night Peter came through the door with a bunch of flowers. He thought it would be more of a surprise yesterday. It was!

While in the flower section of the grocery store, he ran into one of his students buying roses. When he told me about it at dinner I was all, "Does he have a girlfriend?! Or does he just have a crush on someone and he's going to surprise her with the flowers? I wonder if she likes him back...Oh my gosh, I hope so. That would be so embarrassing if she doesn't. Or maybe they're for his mom!"

Unfortunately, none of my questions were answers. If I was a teacher, I would be (maybe a bit too) invested in my student's relationships. Peter takes the opposite (probably more healthy) approach. Anyways, I sure hope the lucky lady appreciates those flowers!

I wish you all have a very happy Valentine's Day! Tonight I'm picking up some lobsters and throwing this together to go with. Usually I'm most excited about dessert, but I'm drawing a blank this year. Are you baking anything special for your sweetheart?

Crafty February: Felt Ball Garland

2012-02-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

Last week was a crafty February fail. First, homemade ricotta came out like a bowl of cooked milk (ew). Then my fabric covered box project turned into a lumpy mess (boo). So! I am showing you this felt ball garland.

I whipped this up in under twenty minutes. I've had a bag of little felt balls for a long time. I picked out the pastel colors and stung them together using embroidery floss and a big embroidery needle. It will probably go on my Easter tree in a few weeks, but for not, it's strung up on the mantle.

Have you ever made ricotta at home? I'm tempted to try again if anyone has a recipe they've used with good results!

A Tale of Two Dinners: The Best of Times

2012-02-09T17:36:00.001-05:00

We had my sisters- and (brand new!) brother-in-law over to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday. There was deep sadness about the Patriot's loss - and we aren't even really fans! I think the local angle got to everybody.

But the food and snacks were on point. Peter made chili, and he claims it was his best batch ever. His secret ingredients? A splash of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of curry powder!

Inspired by Joanna Goddard's post, I put together a baked potato bar with all kinds of toppings. Above you see bacon, butter, grated cheddar cheese and chopped chives. I also sauteed mushrooms and steamed broccoli, and of course, people could put chili on top, too.

For dessert, oh my. Compost cookies! I've wanted to make these for a looooong time, but I guess I was waiting for some sort of over the top eating and snacking event to justify potato chip + candy cookies. I should not have waited! These are so good. For candy, I used chopped Heath bar, chocolate chips and peanut M&Ms. I made the dough on Saturday, and baked up a sheet of cookies after half time so they would be warm and gooey.

All week, I've been making a couple of cookies each night for dessert. I was always v. skeptical about people who keep cookie dough in their fridge or freezer to do this. Such restraint! But I've drank the cookie-dough-in-the-fridge Kool Aid. Having a single warm cookie on a Wednesday night while watching Inspector Lewis is one of life's great pleasures.

This whole meal was a winner because I followed the rules: make things ahead, and repeat old recipes. Peter, you have my permission to remind me of this when I start pushing for us to try turducken for the first time next Thanksgiving.

And I think on another level, it was fun and successful because it was so easy. For a normal dinner with friends, I wouldn't serve potatoes and cookies and call it a day. That's so silly, though! Those things are delicious and (almost) everyone likes them. I need to treat more gatherings like they are the Super Bowl, even if we eat at the dining room table and don't get to gush over E*Trade baby commercials.

A Tale of Two Dinners: The Worst of Times

2012-02-08T10:57:00.002-05:00

On Saturday night, Peter and I hosted a couple friends at our house for dinner. Between me and one of our guests, I worked around allergies to beef, cheese, eggs, gluten, tomatoes, sage and soy. Ha!

I carefully planned my menu: Dorie Greenspan's chard-stuffed pork, roasted domino potatoes and green beans with toasted hazelnuts. Sounds pretty good, right?

Well, it was no where near our best work. The meat thermometer wasn't reading right, and we kept checking (and cooking!) the pork longer than it needed. The domino potatoes turned into charred potato chip-like things around the edges, and dry potato disks in the middle. And the green beans? I overcooked them until they became a grey-green pile of ick.

I tried to follow Julia Child's golden rule of entertaining - “You should never apologize at the table. People will think, ‘Yes, it’s really not so good.'" But I couldn't stop myself! We all knew it was really not so good. I didn't follow my own golden rules, either: never cook something new (domino potatoes) and always have one thing completely ready ahead of time (i.e., kale salad instead of green beans).

I know these things happen to the best of us, but it's still annoying, yes? I need to be better at letting these (very tiny in the grand scheme of things!) disappointments go.

Anyways, tomorrow I'll give you a peak at a Best of Times dinner we made for family just one night later! Proof that the best remedy to culinary let-down is to brush yourself off and get back in the kitchen.

House Tour: Guest Room

2012-02-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

The guest room, like our bedroom, still feels a bit incomplete, so I've been hesitating to finish out the house tour. That's silly, though, because this is my best pitch for you to come and visit me! I have a real bed for you to sleep in, and there are doors that you can close!

I've never had a guest room before. A lot of people complain that an extra bed takes up lots of space that's hardly ever used. I quite like it, though. I usually call this bed the "vacation bed" and will take an afternoon vacation there to read and hang out in a room not my own. That sounds super weird now that I write it.

Do you have a guest room? Please tell me you like to visit it on the reg. for cheap vacations :)

Here Comes the Sun

2012-02-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

I bought a tiny bouquet of daffodils and a big pile of forsythia branches at Trader Joe's last weekend. They both slowly opened up throughout the week. I'm not usually drawn to yellow, but this shot of sunshine throughout the apartment is absolutely delightful.

That middle photo is an artichoke tart with polenta crust - basically the best thing I've made in a while. It was inspired by this recipe posted on The Wednesday Chef, but I'm not good at following recipes exactly. I subbed out the goat cheese with blue, replaced the scallions with leeks, and threw in a handful of grapes just for fun. Holy moly, this was good.

Happy mellow yellow Friday!

Valentine's Day Crossword Puzzle

2012-02-02T09:33:00.001-05:00

Last year, I made Peter a set of itty bitty love notes for Valentine's Day. These were so fun to put together (and they went over really well!). But I didn't want to do the same thing this year. After scouring the internet for another sweet and inexpensive idea, I found this puzzle maker program on Discover Education. Jackpot!

There are a bunch of different puzzles to choose from, including a few I'd never heard of, like crypographs (?!). I went old school with a crossword puzzle (they call it a criss cross puzzle). In the blank field, you write the answer, then add a space and write the clue on one line. I also put this information in a Word doc so that I have a key, just in case I forget my own crafty answers between now and then. Though I will never forget the answer to number 3 across! (My self-esteem is thriving!).

We'll see how easy or hard it is. I tried to mix in obvious things with some inside jokes that I thought he'd really have to think about to guess right. I hope it will be fun!

Do you all have plans for Valentine's Day yet? I know it's sort of a silly holiday, but I (obviously) love it. We're doing a fun dinner at home with lobsters!

Crafty February

2012-02-01T07:48:00.000-05:00

After I gave up my arts and crafts column in the Examiner, I basically stopped doing little projects (outside of the odd sewing job). I've gotten in the habit of coming home, cleaning a little, doing laundry, reading, making dinner. You know, normal stuff. But I'm happier when there are extra little projects mixed in with all that jazz.

For the next month, I'm going to try to share one new project each week. I'm hoping this will help get me back in the saddle. Making things is so fun!

I have three of the projects already figured out, but still need to settle on the last one. Have you made anything awesome lately?! Please share - I'd love to hear!

Early favorites: Boston restaurants

2012-01-30T09:30:00.000-05:00

(Boston Art City Heart Map, via Etsy)

We haven't been in Boston very long - just over six months! - and we're slowly trying new restaurants around the city. Here's a little list of early favorites if you're ever in town and find yourself hungry. Also, come visit me! It's yummy here.

Craigie on Main: A splurge-y spot that makes ordinary things extraordinary (think roast chicken, pate, Brussels sprouts).

Island Creek Oyster Bar: Dinner at the bar is the way to go here. You get an amazing view of the whole place, and have an up-close view of the expert oysters-shuckers and and fancy cocktails-makers.

Paddy's Pub: Perfect Friday night spot for us. Cute decor with inexpensive, superior pub food. The Local used to serve this purpose for us, but we've since moved on. The Local's Parmesan fries remain amazing, though.

Russell House Tavern: A fun spot near Harvard that works equally well for lunch and dinner, groups and a date. Also, excellent opportunities to listen to pretentious Harvard undergrads if you go on a weekend night!

Strip T: The young (very handsome!) chef is a Momofuku Ssam Bar alum, and he came back to Boston to run his Dad's diner about the same time we arrived. The food is truly amazing. But during our dinner there, I couldn't help but compare the crowds from his old establishment to the new. In NYC, ironic huge glasses and lots of vests. In Boston, completely un-ironic huge glasses and vests. Oh Boston!

The Publick House: Fab fish and chips, fancy mac and cheese and many, many beers on tap.

These are all high up on our to-try list: Oleana (thanks to a long-ago recommendation from Ms. Curieuse!), Hungry Mother and Toro. Any suggestions to add to our list?! This is basically my favorite game ever, so please don't hold back!

Lately

2012-01-26T09:23:00.000-05:00

We got another dusting of snow last night. I'm not mad because it's going to be in the forties again today and should all disappear. Plus, excuse to wear my snow boots (aka knee high slippers) to work.

Winter vegetables can be boring, but I thought these looked so pretty before I put them in the oven to roast. The pink stuff is radishes. Have you ever cooked those? They lose their peppery zing and really mellow out. Delish.

This little desk was in my room growing up, and we brought it back from my parent's house a few weeks ago. The lamp is a little large in scale for the space, but eh. It's evolving!

And in my final bit of unnecessary news, Peter and I played an epic game of Jenga last night. The box says you are expert if you build it up to 32 stories (double the starting size). Ours was 35 stories high! Don't be shy with the praise, I know you're in awe right now :)

Hope you guys are having a lovely week!

Arctic Char and Gnocchi with Creamed Greens

2012-01-25T09:12:00.001-05:00

Idlywood, a cozy, Mediterranean wine bar nestled in an unassuming strip mall, was a favorite of ours when we lived in Northern Virginia. Partly for sentimental reasons, to be sure. It was here, while having a glass of wine at the tiny bar in the back of the restaurant, that we first discussed moving in together. We had been dating for eight months, and I was just twenty-two. It probably have felt quick to our parents, but it didn't feel scary to me at all!

My favorite dish - an often appearing special, if I remember correctly - was salmon with pesto gnocchi. We haven't been back to Idlywood in years, so I can't vouch for the food now, but this dish has stuck with me. I tried to re-create it last week with more winter-y vegetables, and it was just as good as the original I remember so fondly.

Arctic Char and Gnocchi with Creamed Greens

You will need:

5-6 leaves of kale, washed and torn
1/2 cup cream
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving if you wish
One package potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon olive oil, or a combination of butter and oil
2 small fillets of Arctic Char or salmon
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil, or a combination of butter and oil
Squeeze of lemon

In a sauce pan, add a splash of olive oil and heat at medium high. Add in sliced garlic and cook for one minute. Add torn kale leaves and toss to coat with oil. Cook for one minute more. Reduce heat to medium low and add in cream. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, until soft and completely wilted. Remove from heat. Once cool, add kale mixture to a food processor. Give it a few whooshes until it has the consistency of pesto. Return to the sauce pan and stir in grated Parmesan cheese, and more cream if it looks a bit dry.

In a large sauce pan or wok, heat a tablespoon of olive oil (or combination of butter and oil). When melted and hot, add the gnocchi. Toss them around every minute or so, until they are slightly golden and crisp on the outside. Add in the creamed kale, reduce heat to low and cover. The gnocchi will absorb the cream and finish cooking.

Heat a grill pan to medium high. Brush fish with a bit of oil, salt and pepper. Cook four minutes per side if they are an inch thick. These were slightly smaller, so I cooked them four minutes on one side, two on the other.

Plate gnocchi and place fish on top. Generously squeeze with lemon juice and enjoy!

Washing machine, I love you still

2012-01-23T09:07:00.000-05:00

(My laundry room!***)

Having a washer and dryer in my basement is one of my favorite things about the new apartment. Six months in, Peter and I will still looking at each other while folding a giant pile of towels and say, "Can you believe we washed these in our house?!" After four years in New York that involved hauling a giant bag of dirty clothes down the street every week, this convenience still feels very lucky and posh (though I realize most of you have been enjoying this modern convenience all along!).

Yesterday, my washer tried to betray me and test my love, like a teenager pushing its boundaries for the first time. Half way through a load, the hose connecting the water to the machine sprung a giant leak, and water sprayed violently all over the basement, covering boxes, artwork and furniture. Peter ran some key belongs upstairs, turned off the water and started mopping everything up (I was at the grocery store. Great timing, me!). For most of the afternoon, we mopped and sloshed through it, while our landlords speedily fixed the leak.

I put a second load in that afternoon, to make sure the fixed hose was in working order (it was!). Washing machine, my love for you still burns strong, even if you tried to betray me! As punishment, you must hang out in a damp basement and think about what you did.

***Not my laundry room at all, you guys. Via Martha Stewart.)

More is on the way

2012-01-20T08:59:00.001-05:00

My Christmas poinsettia is still going strong. My aunt told me that she keeps her's going all year long, and just cuts them down so there's only a few inches of stalk left once the first set of flowers die. Then it will grow and bloom again throughout the year! I'm going to try it and report back.

This weekend we are meeting friends for Thai food, going to a museum, and doing a drop off at Goodwill (we know how to have a good time, ha!). Boston got a lovely dusting of snow last night, and more is on the way for tomorrow! Cheers to the weekend, everybody!

Staying ahead

2012-01-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

(Via Lilly)

Last week, in an effort to stay ahead of the winter doldrums, I made a list with everything I could think of that makes me feel happy. Turns out, I'm easy to please. It included things like make a yummy dinner, have flowers in the house, get a hair cut (I seriously love to get my hair cut!), and keep my house clean.

In a happy turn of events, Peter came home with a bundle of pale pink tulips the exact day I wrote the list (he's so good!), and a humble, thrown together dinner of spaghetti, white beans and Meyer lemon turned into something divine and supremely comforting. My house isn't the cleanest, and I haven't made a hair appointment yet, but the week is young. More happiness is on the way!

This was sort of a silly exercise, but for me, it's always sort of a "duh" moment when I realize how simple, inexpensive things make a huge difference in my outlook, especially this time of year.

Hope you all had a lovely long weekend!

Pretend shopping: Bedroom edition

2012-01-13T11:24:00.000-05:00

1. Everyday Percale Bedding 2. Pink glass lamp base 3. Cottage iron bed 4. White and Natural Big Fat Stripes Pillow 5. Cable-knit Euro shams 6. Animal locomotion

I haven't shown you our bedroom yet since it's still a work in progress. I picked up a headboard similar to the one above for a song on craigslist, and have a pair of cute pale pink lamps on the nightstands. But the room still needs a few finishing touches!

I like bedrooms to be very calm and pretty. We have a fantastic down comforter, but I'd like to get a duvet cover for it so it doesn't look so naked :) I love the first one in the top picture, it's called "Tempest" on the website. And those cable knit shams! So cozy looking, right? Not sure how I'll like them come summer, but right now, they are really appealing.

For artwork, I have our anniversary painting up, and an antique map of Martha's Vineyard, but I think the room might be leaning a little too far into pastel territory. A black and white photo could be a good contrast, though I'm not usually drawn to that sort of thing.

Something about chilly winter weather makes me want to spruce up the bedroom! Any tips or suggestions for me?

Happy weekend to you all! As a totally random aside, today is my half birthday - Friday, January 13. In six months it will be my real birthday - Friday, July 13. Cool, right? Good think I think Friday the 13th is a very lucky day!

Grace in small things: Winter edition

2012-01-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Winter flowers (get yourself a $5 amaryllis bulb from Target or the like and you'll have huge, gorgeous blooms like this for a few weeks!)
Planning a sweet gesture for Valentine's Day
Talking about all the rides we definitely want to go on during our upcoming Disney trip
Watching the days grow a little bit longer
Looking forward to making (and eating!) a fancy pizza for dinner

What little things are you celebrating on this chilly Wednesday?

Carrot Avocado Salad

2012-01-10T08:48:00.000-05:00

I've been laid up the last ten days or so with an annoying knee injury. Between Drop Dead Diva and a stack of books, I've been doing okay in the battle against boredom. I'm usually a pretty good relaxer, but as soon as you're mandated to stay still, all kinds of absurd things start to sound appealing (Hiking! Dusting the baseboards! Trying on everything in your closet!).

On Sunday afternoon, I hobbled into the kitchen to try a slightly ambitious salad I've had on my radar screen for a while. I paired it down quite a bit, but it was still one of the best things I've made in a long time. To round this out into a full meal, I think lemon chicken and couscous or quinoa would match up beautifully!

Carrot Avocado Salad

You will need:

4 peeled carrots, cut into 2 inch long pieces, about 1/2 inch thick
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 of a Meyer lemon
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1 Haas avocado, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a medium sauce pan 2 inches high with cold water. Add the carrots and turn to high. Let boil for a five minutes, then drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons olive oil, a squeeze of the lemon (about 1 teaspoon of juice total), garlic, smoked paprika, cumin and thyme. Toss carrots and the lemon half together with the marinade. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 10-15 minutes, until the carrots have a few dark spots. Remove from the oven and let the carrots and lemon come down to room temperature.

In the same bowl used to make the marinade, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice from the roasted lemon half, salt and pepper. Plate carrots, radishes and avocado. Toss with the dressing and serve.

P.S. More winter salads!

Paris Planning: The Reading List

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start a (likely irregular) feature on Paris planning for our upcoming vacation. I hope you'll enjoy it!

First up is my reading list. I've already read The Paris Wife and From Paris to the Moon, and heartily recommend them both. Beyond guidebooks, which I certainly rely on for planning purposes, I love reading about a place I'm going to visit through fiction and memoir and history books. And there's certainly no shortage of wonderful books set in Paris and France! Any recommendations for me to add?

P.S. Idlewood, a great travel store in NYC, will put together bundles of books in different genres for destinations all over the world. Such a great idea (and a lovely gift!).

Wedding bathroom baskets

2012-01-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

"Wedding bathroom baskets" is one of the most popular searches that lead people to Fresh Basil. I mentioned these a few times when planning my wedding, but never did a post on what I put in it.

I volunteered to make another one for my sister-in-law's wedding, and snapped a few pictures to share the contents (and hopefully help other brides-to-be who are putting one together!).

In this one, I included:

Aspirin
Pepto bismol
Tampons
Pantyliners
Deodorant
Hair spray
Bobbi pins
Mouth wash
Individual disposable tooth brushes
Sewing kit
Lint roller
Tide-To-Go stick
Band aids
Nail file

The band aids, deodorant and tooth brushes were the most popular items. I've been to a few weddings where the sewing kit had to be used to keep the bride's bustle up once the dancing got going. Luckily that didn't happen this time!

Any suggestions to add? The ~~dozens of~~ three people searching Fresh Basil for this information would love to hear, I'm sure!