12 Nov
Ava hosted three of her friends for a play date last weekend. Two of the girls are longtime friends from preschool, and one is a new friend from first grade. It turns out the new friend knows the two old friends very well—a benefit of living in this small town!
7 Nov
Ava: “Mom, if you got runned over by a car, and Dad was in Russia, who would pick us up from school?”
Bec: “What?! Why?”
Ava: “I just want to know. If you got runned over, and Dad was in Russia, WHO?”
Bec: “Well, I suppose Monica. Or Tom.”
Ava: “How would they know to pick us up?”
Bec: “I’d call and ask them to.”
Ava: “How EXACTLY would you do that? You’d be smooshed.”
Liv: “YEAH. You’d be SMOOSHED.”
Ava: “Your phone would be smooshed.”
Bec: “. . . I wouldn’t be that smooshed. I could still call. What exactly have you been watching on that iPad?”
Ava: “Mom. That’s what happens when you get runned over. You get smooshed.”
Bec: “I promise I won’t get runned over. I am very careful around cars.”
Ava: “But just in case, Monica or Tom, right?”
7 Nov
Here’s Gramma telling Olivia her favorite story of late—the one in which Gramma finds a long lost lovie under the bed at the Minnesota cabin.
6 Nov
I love everything about this recipe, which I found through my new favorite procrastination tool, Pinterest. I can assure you, however, that I did not make my own homemade applesauce. Nevertheless, this cake had a moist crumb, and the caramel and old-fashioned cooked buttercream both came together beautifully.
31 Oct
Many thanks to my mom for making the beautiful Cinderella and Rapunzel costumes! More photos coming soon.
28 Oct
This is always a hectic time of year at work, and yet, it’s probably my favorite—events come together, blueline print proofs magically turn into boxes upon boxes of publications with that new-ink smell, and the entire campus rallies around fall sports and an unbelievably gorgeous landscape.
This also happens to be my favorite time of year at home. Fall makes me want to decorate, cook and host dinner parties—something that would be just fine if there weren’t quite so many of those events and print proofs at work.
But, this weekend, I packed it in at 4 pm, leaving the office for a date with Cinderella and Rapunzel. And, we have a lovely weekend planned. It’s filled not only with decorating and cooking, but a serendipitous gathering of family.
So, work will wait, while the cooking and hosting, happily, will not.
23 Oct
I made these ghost cupcakes for the party in Nebraska last weekend, and I think I’ll make them again for Halloween weekend.
This marked the first time I’ve made fondant from scratch—it was so easy, I don’t think I’ll every buy it again! I used my favorite one-bowl cupcake recipe for the base, then swapped out the suggested stack of candy for a Tootsie Pop, thanks to a suggestion from my friend Dawn. Over all, a bit time consuming to assemble (thanks for the help, Laura!), but worth the effort.
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