Just imagine yourself, sipping a cool drink on a warm day, rocking back and forth on the porch, looking out at beautiful flowers and a deep blue sky. What’s that in your hand? Why, it’s a glass of white wine sangria, blissfully soothing your worries away. The sweet, summery taste of fresh fruit and tart wine will help push you past the nagging kids and stacks of dirty dishes to a land of freedom. Sangria is incredibly easy to make, very rewarding (trust me) and – since you need to prepare it a day in advance – will give you something to look forward to. You just need the following ingredients…

You would think that there are few places more non kid-friendly than a dive bar at 11 a.m. But apparently you and I would be wrong. I was rather surprised to walk into the Ocean Mist on a Sunday morning to find Girl Scouts selling cookies and moms sipping mimosas with a baby on their lap. I wouldn’t bring a baby into a bar, but, you know, I guess it happens. Perched right on the beach, with a deck overlooking the deep blue Atlantic, the Ocean Mist is a great place to wile away the hours between afternoon and evening. But on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays, it’s also a great place to …

Birds are chirping, plants are sprouting up through the soft soil, and pond hockey is quickly becoming a suicidal sport, but nothing says Spring like the smell of waffle cones. Nothing really changes on March 21 except teachers’ bulletin boards, so I mark the first day of Spring as the day Brickley’s Ice Cream opens. The Main Street Wakefield location opened yesterday and the Narragansett store is set to open March 16. Take that, Mother Nature. I’m sure the kids will be frothing at the mouth when they see the “OPEN” flag unfurl, but it doesn’t have to be a special treat just for them. Embrace…

Spring may make you think of cleaning, but it makes me think about redecorating! There’s nothing like the feeling of a fresh start with some new furniture or accessories. It also helps me ignore the dust bunnies that are gathering under the beds and slowly morphing into much larger dust cougars, plotting my demise come mid-May. In addition to browsing through the stacks and stacks of catalogues that begin showing up at my door, I like to go to local antique and consignment stores. Antique shopping is a great way to add more personal and unique touches to your home. By all means, pick up that …

When I was a kid, dinner wasn’t a particularly elaborate affair. It usually involved taking something out of the freezer and popping it in the oven or the microwave. The closest thing to “home-cooked” was pasta. Holidays fared slightly better, but the cranberry sauce still came from a can (though I happen to think that cranberry sauce from the can is the best anyway.) I used to get my mother kitchen gadgets for Christmas, thinking she might get the hint, but it never really worked out. If your kids have been buying you dish towels and mixing bowls, they may be trying to tell you something. We…

Chances are your schedule is so cramped that planning “date night” often becomes a daunting task instead of a romantic evening out. You have to pick a restaurant, find a babysitter, convince your kids that it won’t be the end of the world and find something to wear that isn’t covered in food or dirt. So I propose that you take “going out” out of the equation. Remove all the worry and hassle and stay in for the night. Hit the liquor store, rent a movie and barricade the TV-watching room. Since you’re not leaving for dinner, you do still need to whip up something. Family dinner is important, …

When you have a busy family to take care of, a moment to yourself is a rare occurrence. There is always someone who needs something – laundry to be washed and food to be cooked. But you know what? They don’t need whatever it is right away, wearing something twice never killed anyone and the human body can go three weeks without food. Banishing guilt is the first step, and this column is the second. Every week we’ll be exploring places that you and your spouse can go without the kids (what a concept, right?). They’ll range from the sublimely simple – like this week – to the extravagant. I know…