Dear StyleBlueprint, My husband and I have been invited to join friends at their mountain cabin over Labor Day weekend. I am so appreciative of the invitation and want to bring a nice hostess gift and some goodies for the group. Since we will be hiking all day, I want to be able to quickly reheat or even microwave it. Do you have a good recipe that uses fresh ingredients? I love soups! Thanks so much.
Becky, Belmont neighborhood
 

Dear StyleBlueprint,

After a Texas teenager recently broke her curfew, her dad came up with an original consequence. He placed an ad in a local, Dallas-Fort Worth newspaper offering his daughter's free baby-sitting services. It read: "Want a FREE BABYSITTER for a night out?" It goes on to explain that his 16-year-old is being punished for coming home late and offering 30 hours of free baby-sitting.

The GPS location-based Smartphone application/game Foursquare recently proclaimed 3 million users; that's awesome, but gives me a tinge of heartburn.

I'm not so sure that folks understand that "check-ins" broadcast to the Internet your EXACT location. And by default, you're name and photo are listed in the "Who's Here" roster for strangers to see. I can think of many situations that make this a not-so smart thing to do.

If you had told me that having your kitchen renovated would wreak havoc on not only your kitchen but also your psyche, I would have labeled you a dullard. Or worse, a suburbanite blissfully unaware of all the real heartache in the world. But then my husband, Precious, and I decided it was time to "re do" the kitchen. This has been long in coming. When the stove finally stopped working even on alternate Tuesdays, and the disposal stopped pretending to grind up the oatmeal, we knew it was time.

File this under "some people are insane." (Not to mention dangerous and totally irresponsible.)

According to CNN, dyeing dogs is the latest trend in Chinese pet fashion. And they're not just talking pink poodles (though one poodle in the story was sporting a dyed-on bikini); the chicest Chinese canines are being dyed to resemble other animals entirely. Like tigers. And bears. And ... Ninja Turtles? 

Oh my.

Today I was out with a friend who has one of those thingamajigs in her car that gives directions. When we reached our destination, the voice from the box on the windshield said, "You have arrived." Ha! I felt special, ordained, announced. I had arrived. The fact that we were wearing our workout clothes and pulling up for a garage sale diminished the occasion slightly, but still. I like that idea. Don't forget: When you get where you're going, "you have arrived."

Make plans for Saturday to check out the Pearl Southern Couture trunk show at Monkee's. Guests can enjoy "sparkly libations and treats galore!" Hours are 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monkee's is located at the Hill Center, 4017 Hillsboro Pike, Ste. 309-B, Nashville.

Dear StyleBlueprint,

My daughter has just started middle school and I am concerned she is being treated poorly by a couple of mean girls. We have talked and it is not severe, but she feels alienated and left out of some activities. I am probably more upset than she is, but I still concerned about her happiness. Do you have advice?

Becky, Franklin

Dear Becky,