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the kids and I are off to Santa Cruz..this photo is Capitola Beach last summer. I grew up in Capitola not knowing how lucky that was. Things we will probably do:
Eat lunch here its always packed, but worth it.
Get a mexican chocolate ice cream cone at Polar Bear
Go to Roaring Camp and Ride Thomas the Train, we love Roaring Camp
I hope I can make it to Riva Fish House for some cracked crab!
I hear it's cool and foggy which sounds really nice!
My new book is so good, highly, highly recommend.
This movie Paper Heart a documentary about a young girl who doesn't believe she will ever fall in love looks so whimsical and sweet. And I love the title.
I hope she is the next Food Network Star! Come on, she has 4 daughters all under age 5 and she still has time to cook!
40!!! Happy Birthday.
this boy has big shoes to fill....
we love this man.
I've been baking with my kids since they were babies and I have learned some valuable lessons along the way (the hard way!). When people ask me how I manage to bake during the day I feel the need to explain that it doesn't come easy. Little steps and patience are the keys for me.
First, I sometimes prep during nap time things that they won't have the patience for (like slicing 3 cups of strawberries). I find getting everything out (ingredient and tool) helps a lot too. I set up on our big old kitchen table which I have long ago let any hope of keeping nice go. Seriously, this table is a God-send. I highly recommend old, crappy furniture if you have toddlers.
My motto during baking goes like this: go to Zen place. That's okay, fine, no big deal. Yes, you can lick as much batter as you like (Unlike Marc I have no raw-egg phobia). Do not think about the clean up until later! Ignore all messiness and try hard to focus on their learning, creativity and fun. Try very hard. Again, go to Zen place. Mine is an air conditioned bookstore.
Here are our strawberry muffins from the latest Body and Soul magazine. I drizzled a little icing on them, called them cupcakes and they were dessert! On days I bake I usually do not make dinner. Last night we had eggs, toast and strawberry muffins! And daddy does dishes.
If you add a little to a little, and then do it again, soon that little shall be much. -Hesiod
this weekend we made Paula Deen's zucchini bread. Recipe here Very good. Since this is Ms. Paula I decreased the sugar by half and did half applesauce for the oil. It was still so sweet and moist and got gobbled up right away.
I wish I could tell you I accomplished more than that this weekend, but I didn't. I battled a bug and slept, and spent all day in pajamas and laid on the couch grumbling. Good times!
The Woodstock collection at Target right now is making me smile. Marc and I were both born in 1969! Feel all that hippie goodness, will ya? These napkins are sitting in a beautiful Heath Ceramics bowl. Feel the Heath goodness too, won't you?
The Sac Bee published my poem in their Home & Garden section today! Along with a lot of other funny little poems....check it out here
This one I wrote for Marc...
My roses are red And berries are blue
But, there's dirt on my hands And inside my shoe
Mud cakes are baked Into masses of glue
By a grimy she-child And a brother who's two
So we scrub and we bathe Until freckles are few
Then head out again Cause sunflowers grew!
This weekend! I want to go, but am battling a bug.
Fall fantasy wish list stuff...way out of my price tag league....oh, you genius buyers at Anthropologie!
Its almost time to go pick these...
Sweet, juicy weekend to you!
Ryan and I made cupcakes for a birthday party this weekend. We used Ina's recipe for chocolate cupcakes and the ganache frosting, then added Rainier cherries.
He was a big help, especially with spatula clean up.
a little chocolate dripped on the counter, so you know...you gotta do it.
I know I've mentioned this before but I have a lot of henvy (hen-envy) of my friend Lisa's egg laying gals. Their blue and green eggs are so beautiful and delicious. Last time my mom was in town, she picked Lisa up this ceramic egg holder from Anthropologie. Isn't is perfect? I want one too now that I have found beautiful, local eggs at the farmers market.
This Nigella Lawson via Amazon egg cup is good too.
Love and eggs are best when they are fresh." - Russian Proverb
last week Marc took Ryan to his parent's for the day so that April and I could do a girl's night. It went like this: go to coffee (actually chocolate milk) at Starbucks, go shoe shopping at Target, buy new nail polish and do pedicures, play many rounds of the princess matching game then have a bath and do matching hair-do's and finally go out to dinner at Mimi's! It was a lot of fun.
she drew me this picture at the end of the night. It's a "curtain of rainbow" with "mom" and "april" written next to it. She said "mommy, I very very love you." I drew her a rainbow heart and said "April, you are the rainbow in my heart."
