Photo by kristenleigh513

I've stopped dining out so much and it's been a huge money-saver, but I feel it's okay to splurge every once in awhile.

Here are some links I love for that splurge:

When I travel, first I plan where I'm going to eat. Then I plan what I'm going to see.

Am I the only one?

A local Italian restaurant that claims to be "family friendly" has a "Pasta Special of the Week" -- a sizable plate of pasta with a side salad and drink for $8. That's pretty good in our area, so during a special night out, my husband and I each ordered one, plus a third to split amongst our two kids, ages 4 and 6.

Well ... the waiter cops a major attitude and informs us our kids are not allowed to share the pasta special. Everyone has to order their own, or they could add a $3 sharing charge, without the salad, which would bring it back to the regular menu price.

Talk about kid-UNfriendly. I tried to explain, they're, like, little. Stomach the size of a large grape. Do you really expect us to order one for each of them? Yes, they really did.

What would you have done in this situation?

Photo by Cafe Sheri

Pizza on the right is the fig one!

I love figs, and it's finally fig season. Yay! We just got a bundle of them in our CSA Box.

Room temperature and sliced in half is generally good enough for me.

However, the other night, I tried figs on pizza. Mmmm!

Tips jars are becoming commonplace at take-out counters at coffee shops, delis, and convenience stores. I'm not sure how much the folks behind the counter make, but it's probably not a lot, so I always throw in a little extra change when I can.

But then there's the issue of tipping the server for take-out at a restaurant. I never thought I was supposed to do that, but apparently some wait people do expect it.

maybebaby15 tells how a friend gets annoyed when people don't tip her for readying their take-out orders.

Photo by Jeanmarie1975

What makes a restaurant "kid-friendly," in your opinion? For starters, I'd have to say: ample clean high chairs; changing tables in the bathrooms; a kids' menu or at least smaller portions; and maybe even a crayon or two.

OpenTable.com recently announced its list of the Top 50 Kid-Friendly Restaurants in the nation. These places have all of the above and more...

Dual booster seat from Katom.com; $25 each

Wiping down the booster seats and high chairs must not be a part of the staff training at any restaurant, because I've yet to find a seat that isn't completely gross. Italian restaurants are the worst -- all that butter and olive oil!

Members of the Stay At Home Moms group agree with me:

"Restaurant highchairs are disgusting and SO unclean. I always bring my daughter's highchair cover with us," says MommyKelley04.

Photo from The Dessert Truck

Though ice cream trucks may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of food trucks, I can't help but secretly love the (terribly unhealthy but delicious) other kinds of foods-on-the-go. 

The Onion is known to poke fun at just about everything and everyone. Their latest target? Taco Bell. Here is the Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature clip.

My kids will eat any kind of pasta I make them -- except pasta salad. Which is a real bummer because it's the perfect picnic or on-the-go meal.

My homemade creation is either tool oily and tasteless, or, on the other extreme, too vinegary. I just can't get the combination of flavors, ingredients and textures right.

In my search for a fresh, light, and savory salad recipe that my kids and guests will actually eat, I dug up this article from Slate.com on what to do and not to do for the best pasta salad.

Some of the biggest mistakes people make? Adding too many different types of veggies and ingredients (three or four are enough), not letting it sit and chill long enough for all the flavors to meld (3-4 hours), and failing to sprinkle enough salt to taste:

More perfect pasta tips: