Bright Lights on Melissa of Lulu the Baker

We’re making Monday celebratory again with the Bright Lights feature! I put Bright Lights on hiatus over the holidays, but now that spring is right around the corner, it’s back — and I couldn’t be more excited than to re-launch with my gorgeous friend Melissa from Lulu the Baker! Melissa’s beautiful blog features delicious recipes, sweet crafts, and occasional stories about farm living. You may have seen her lovely business cards featured on the many Alt Summit recaps. I practically clobbered Melissa with hugs every time I ran into her at the conference. Read on and you’ll be equally smitten!

(Melissa & me at Alt Summit! Pretty sure that guy works for Smilebooth.)

What do you do for a living?  I used to teach high school Chemistry, but I “retired” 6 years ago to stay home with my kids. Retirement is awesome!

Places you’ve lived:  In chronological order: Philadelphia, Honolulu, Maryland, San Antonio, Las Vegas (with a little Utah and 2 months in Monterey thrown in somewhere), and now Eugene! And I don’t think we’re going anywhere; we’ve put down roots.

Place you’d most like to visit:  Oh, this is such a tough one! I love going anywhere warm and tropical. And I’d love to go to the Mediterranean. And then Prince Edward Island, which is the polar opposite of tropical or Mediterranean! (And yes, I’m an Anne of Green Gables fan!)

Favorite indulgence:  I love creme brulee! If we go out to eat and it’s on the menu, I have to get it. And it really never disappoints!

Since February’s theme is love, how did you and your husband meet?:  We met ice blocking at the park with a big group of people in Las Vegas. He made some joke about a golf cart that looked like a “surrey with the fringe on top,” and that was that! Oklahoma is my favorite, so we were meant to be!

Books: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson; I’m usually a fiction girl all the way–non-fiction puts me to sleep! But this is one of the best books I’ve read in years, and it is 100% true! It tells the story of the Chicago World’s Fair, and it is just plain gripping–I promise!

Technology: I try not to let my kids play on my smart phone a lot, but I’ll download apps and games for them every once in a while. Toca Boca has great kids’ apps, and I’m actually a little addicted to Toca Band. There are 16 different characters in the game, and each has a unique noise or beat. You can mix and match them and make these really awesome little songs. It’s pretty cool. That’s about as techy as I get!

Fashion: I love looking through the mini Boden catalog! They have the sweetest little dresses and tops and rompers. It’s seriously too bad I’m not 8 anymore–I’d love their clothes! I like the women’s clothes too; there’s just something especially cheery and joyful about their kids’ line.  This little outfit is one of my faves!

Beauty: I’m really particular when it comes to perfumes. I think lots of fragrances smell great on other people, but when I try them on, they drive me crazy! One of the few perfumes that I love to wear and can’t get enough of is I Want Candy from Tokyo Milk. If it were a food, I would eat it. Seriously! And I love their product packaging and the names they choose for their perfumes. The next one I want to try is called Sea & Sky, and Honey & the Moon sounds pretty great too!

Cooking: I’m not usually a fan of big, clunky kitchen contraptions that don’t multi-task. However, I make an exception for our apple peeler/corer/slicer. We really only use it during the fall (to make applesauce, apple pie, apple-banana bread, apple crepes, etc), but I just can’t imagine life without it, and it somehow earns its keep in those few short months of use.

Crafts: I’m kind of obsessed with yarn right now, especially for making pom poms. And the great thing is, cheap yarn works really, really well for pom-pom making. As long as it’s soft, it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive!

Thank you for sharing all your fantastic finds, Melissa! (I can’t wait to get my hands on an apple peeler.) Stop by Lulu the Baker each day to see Melissa’s latest recipes. But beware: they’ll make you hungry!

Bright Lights will be back every other Monday with generous friends sharing their favorite things. Check out past Bright Lights here!