Post by Jessica R.

I remember a really cold day in New York City where my pregnant self and my husband were wandering around, trying to soak in as many of the sights as possible in our one-day-per-year visit to the Big Apple.

I remember spotting a cozy-looking French cafe and convincing my husband that we could go in and sit for a moment, if only to thaw our frozen toes.

I remember seeing the basket of fresh French demi-baguettes on each table.

I remember ordering hot chocolate and diving into the basket of bread.

French bread slathered with butter and dipped in hot chocolate is my idea of a perfect snack. Mmm.

In no time the first basket was empty and I was onto the second. Remember, I was pregnant at the time. When the second basket contained only crumbs I flagged down the waiter and asked for a third.

“You’ll have to pay for that one.” He growled at me.

He didn’t realize he was dealing with a crazed pregnant lady until I growled right back. “I don’t care what it costs. Just get me more bread. Please.”

Years later, and no longer pregnant, bread and butter are still my favorite snack. These days though I tend to save the hot chocolate for a special treat!

I love creative DIY projects and crafty ideas. But to make things easier and quicker if I don’t have hours to spend, I also love semi-DIY ideas. The idea of decorating party cupcakes with cute graphic elements is so great. The simple embellishment instantly makes the treats personalized and festive! Start with some adorable, customized gift tag stickers from Tiny Prints, then use colorful cardstock, decorative scissors, and a lollipop stick or toothpick to create the perfect cupcake topper!

And in the spirit of St. Patty’s Day, these printouts from TomKat Studio are just perfect.

I’ve become a morning runner over the last few months, which means that I’m always rushing out the door to beat the traffic to work. It also means that by mid-morning, I’m absolutely starving—and a granola bar just won’t cut it.

What I want is a warm breakfast, complete with eggs, toast and preferably something spicy. But since no one seems to have the time to make a whole breakfast in the morning, I’ve started whipping up my own microwaved scrambled eggs to hold me over.

All you have to do is crack two eggs into a microwave-safe bowl, add a little water, salt and pepper, whisk with a fork and toss it into the microwave for about 45 seconds. Et voila! A warm breakfast on the fly.

It might not taste as good as Martha’s recipe (below!) but it’s certainly a tiny pleasure I can appreciate on those busy mornings at the office.