4am...Wedding Time!

i would never rise at 4am for any other wedding, including my own. the royals have been a part of my life since i was little. charles and diana were wed when i was three and then william was born when i was four. my memaw always got people magazine and then passed it on to my mom, so we always knew the up and up about the royals. i feel like they were a part of my life even though i live in the US. i even have a charles and di plate:) i can't wait for my william and kate plate!
well, the girls and i spent the night at my parents so we could watch the festivities with my mom. we drank pg tips tea with sugar and almond milk, crumpets and lemon curd, bangers, treacle, and digestive biscuits. odd assortment, i know. it was as british as i was getting at 4am. all the sugar gave me a tummy ache later.

that's harry and wills riding to the church! they looked so handsome, but of course the bride was FAB! loved the grace kelly inspired dress.

our tea party on the fly.

4am hair.

i hope juni can remember watching this with us when she is older.

oh! i borrowed princess bea's fascinator for a bit, too much?

Goodbye My Friend...

today we let my volvo go live with another family. i have always driven volvos. this is the first time in my life i have been a traitor to the name of volvo, forgive me but the toyota fits our family better:( and forgive me my dear friend, my dear volvo..."we had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun." parting is such sweet sorrow. you are already missed.

Scooter Sighting

a blue and silver cheap chinese qt-50. it is frequently at utica square. looks like they had some oj this morning.

Borax Fun

picture found here

i have ants. well, my house has ants. my kitchen and bathroom to be specific. this house has had ants in the spring/summer since as long as i can remember. i don't know what my grandparents did about them. years past i have used ant poison traps, they have seemed to work okay. but they always come back and keeping poison around(not the band) is not what i like to do. factoid: there are grease ants and sugar ants. i am certain we have sugar ants, thirsty sugar ants. anywho...my mom in law said something about sprinkling borax as a picket line, ants won't cross it. i forgot this advice. so there i was in the "lie-berry" with my little brood on our tuesday "lie-berry" trip, i was in the "get your life clean and in check" section and i found a book. the book is called organic housekeeping. in this book i was reminded of the borax effect. so i totally ran out and bought a box of borax. when i got home, i sprinkled the stuff everywhere, and they fled! it is amazing stuff. i was also reminded that you can make slime with borax and school glue. you can also preserve flowers with borax, and make crystals. the girls will love all we can do with it, who knew borax would fill our summer days with wonder?

My Record Collection

"...at a bar called o'malley's, where we'll plan our escape."

i am a nerdy-pie.

don't let this get out, i am a huge nerd. i love all the nerdy normal things like star trek(voyager was my favorite), harry potter(i even dress up), comic books(i am a gen 13 fan), and zombies. here is my biggest nerdism, i love arthur stories. i love camelot, morgan le fay, guinevere, lancelot, merlin, all of them and all of the stories that go with them. don't get me confused with the dorks that go dressing up all medieval and play with swords; you will not find me at a ren-faire, ever. so with this love i have for arthur, i am sucked in to the deliciously dorky camelot on the television. i can't help myself:)

I miss the kitchen

and when i say kitchen, i mean the line. i miss working on a busy line.
i often watch anthony bourdain's no reservation, i originally fell in love with tony when i read his 2000 book kitchen confidential. i was working in a busy kitchen at the time as a line cook and felt a warm love of recognition with his book. it was my life in a book, and i loved it. i have not worked on a "line" in forever, and i miss it every day. it is not for everyone. i laugh when people say they want to be a "chef", they probably have no stinkin' clue what it is about. you don't know until you have lived it. we have the cooking channel now where a person can dream through the television but there is no reality in it. that is where tony gets things right. he did a special no reservation where he went back to work on a line in NYC. it was so nice to watch and tugged at places in my heart i haven't felt in awhile. there is so much that goes into working in a fast paced kitchen. i remember walking into the quiet restaurant dining room at 2-3pm with my knives. i would wear my kitchen pants, clogs, and a t shirt, hair in a ponytail all pinned back, because i would sweat. i would go to my station and get my mise en place ready. i would have to check the menu for specials to see what extra mise i needed. so, if i was on the saute station i would have to make sure i had things like stock, garlic, butter, parsley, veg, sauces, garnish, the meat not grilled, and other things. i had to make sure i had everything and everything in it's place, hence mise en place. if i did not have everything in hands reach my rhythm would get messed up, food would be messed up, timing messed up, as a result things would be out of whack and the diners would notice. you have all afternoon to get ready for the night, sometimes it took longer and you would be prepping through tickets. i hated slow nights, fun is when we were busy when we had a rush, it's when i got my rush. there is nothing like slinging hot saute pans around, having all your burners full, clean white towels folded up ready for you to get dirty, reach-ins being slammed, food being fired, everything going smooth. it is like a dance with everyone on the line, we moved in perfect unison, everyone doing their part. after a rush when things get calm, i would eat dinner or go outside sit on the laundry bin, chill out with the wind blowing on me, waiting for late diners to come in. oh how i miss it! i traded all that in for mommi-hood. another fast paced stressful job, but a different outcome.

Happy Passover

i know fiddler on the roof is not a passover movie, but, passover is a tradition!

Weekend in Review

we had a super busy weekend. three birthday parties on the menu and one easter egg hunt, whew!

this is rory, popi, and blythe. we were at mceedee's for tag's birthday. it was so much fun! really. the kids ran around like crazy, the babies sat and stared at the kids running around, and the adults got to relax. i didn't get any good pictures of kids because they were so fast.

easter egg hunt at church was fun and nice weather.

beila showing me her yo-yo. they had snacks, bouncy things to bounce in, cookie decorating, and of course the egg hunt. lots of fun every year.

we then went to a rollerskating birthday party for olivia! i couldn't roller skate, had the bebe in tow, but i had other wonderful parents there to help out. there is logan, logan's dad, beila, kaden, kaden's mom, and juni. kaden's birthday party was saturday night, but we couldn't make it, the girl's had to leave early to go to their step-mom's birthday party. too many birthdays! we have more next week too. this is the first year i have ever let the girls go to school friend's birthdays, and maybe the last....it is too much for me!

Monday Morning Anthropologie

i love necklaces. i love big necklaces, small necklaces, colorful necklaces, all necklaces! i buy them, then i don't wear them. actually, i am wearing a gold cross right now....hmmmm, there goes that statement.

caesura necklace
i love simple necklaces a whole lot. simple and modern.

take heart necklace
there is a part of me that still thinks i can pull off a 20-something look like an oversized heart.

merveilleux necklace
colors! beads! bold! this necklace demands attention.

arles necklace
i have been in arles. stayed there for 4 days or so. this necklace does not remind me of arles. it looks like a modern take on a vintage necklace, love it.

serengeti beats necklace
now this beauty. i love plunging necklines, i love cleavage, i love necklaces that nestle in that beautiful spot. super sexy!

have a great week!

36 Weeks

not much has happened in the growing dept here. popi is still 14-15 lbs. tiny little thang! she hasn't changed much either. no crawling, no scooting, no rolling. she doesn't have any teeth and doesn't eat chewable food. she likes to talk, she says da-da-da-da-da, and ma-ma-ma-ma-ma, and ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. she also loves to lick her lips, a lot. oddness. popi is mommified still, but now she can cling to me:) kinda nice and sweet. it will be great to see her cling to her poppa bear soon!

VKC, Vintage Kiddo Collective

i joined a fun vintage-lovin' team on etsy. it is called vintage kiddo collective. we all sell vintage kid stuffs. check out the blog here.

My Record Collection

this is one of my favorite albums, tears for fears-songs from the big chair. love everything about it. all the songs are so soulful and good for a rainy day like today. and this is my favorite song from the whole thing, the working hour. p.s. check out dude dancing at the 4:10 mark:) i <3 the 80's.

i am a grown-up now

see that? that silver hair? it's my first. i noticed it this morning at church. i saw something glistening in the mirror while washing my hands. i thought there was paint in my hair, but i hadn't painted in awhile....it's official folks, i am a grown-up woman. it makes me kinda excited:)

Creamed SAlmon and Biscuits

after church i wanted to make something easy for lunch. upon looking in my fridge i found canned biscuits, frozen salmon, and frozen peas. creamed salmon over biscuits was meant to be.

3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp dill, if you want
1/2 cup peas, or more or none if you want
1 lb salmon, i poached mine, you could grill it or saute it, the flavor will be different

In a saucepan or skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly, until a smooth paste is formed. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until a smooth thick gravy is formed. You can add more or less milk depending on the thickness you like of the sauce.

Flake salmon into a bowl, breaking apart any large pieces. Stir salmon and peas into the sauce carefully with a wooden spoon to avoid mashing the peas. Cook until heated through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and dill. it might have added lemon if i had it.

i made the biscuits following the directions on the can. and poured the creamed salmon over the biscuits. easy peasy and yummy!

Bee-oo-tiful Day

folding mountains of laundry. drinking rum and pureed pineapples. 86 degrees and sunny. windows open. wind chimes and dogs barking. this american life podcasts to keep me company. i wish i was outside digging in the dirt.

Dads as Hipsters

i have just been introduced to this awesome website, dads:the original hipsters. hilarious because it is true. i always knew my dad was super cool. well, not always, but i learned fast. my dad drove a motorcycle before it was cool, he did everything before it was cool. let's see, my dad owned an army surplus store, owned a head shop, had a leather shop, was in a band, had an ultra cool afro and chops, had cool mustaches and beards,had artist friends, owned an orange vw van, had a bike shop before biking was super cool, smoked ciggis(and quit, yeah dad!), he built things with his own two hands, he had vegetable gardens, had 2 old english sheep dogs and showed them, had sports cars, sewed things with a sewing machine, and had the world's most neato kids....i think my dad is why hipsters are even around, everyone wants to be my dad, and i don't blame them. love you daddy.

Long Day of Nothing

i have been going to bed when the kids do, but i am sooo tired. well, i thought i went to bed when they did, i try, but popi seems to have kept me awake lately. such is life.

i went and zumba-ed with anissa and bianca today. then i went to my parents for awhile and hung out, ate a lunch of avocado and grapefruit, watched this weeks episode of the beekman boys, and visited with my aunt and parents. by the way, there is a group of blue herons that live in my parent's tree.

do you see them? their nest?

then i went home and was getting ready to go to my friend's house to sew, but then the Greek had to borrow my phone because his was lost and someone had it on the north side of town, but he was gps-ing it and blah blah blah....
well, he got his phone back. the girls and i took showers, watched some dukes of hazard, played outside, then we went to dinner at hey mambo. june wants you to know she played outside at dinner and had mac and cheese. i had lamb, mmmm-good. oh yes, and a dirty martini. my favorite. now we are home and i feel as if i accomplished nothing today because the house is a pit. tomorrow i vow to get some of these clothing mountains pushed down. but now, i am going to crawl under my covers, garlic breath and all.

Monday Morning Anthropologie

good day! today i thought i would redesign my kitchen/eating area a little with my favorites from you-know-where.

angles and orbs mirror
this mirror is awesome, and huge. there is one in our local store and i love to stand in front of it. that's all.

sailing ship
i'm not into ships or anything but i think this picture would look good on my hypothetical wall with the hypothetical wallpaper below....

woods wallpaper
like my bathroom, i would wallpaper one wall. too much of a good thing can screw up your eyes!

shagged depths rug
i'm thinking my kitchen would be white with these gray and black accents. i love shag rugs. and black would be great with kids around.

lindo dining table
i love wood, i love this table.

redsmith dining chair
bistro chairs! now i can pretend to be in paris for lunch!

bubbled bell pendant
i would want like 5-7 of these on the ceiling, they come in random colors which i think is cool.

hard candy knob
i have glass door knobs already, so these would go with the rest of the house.

pipeline handle
same for these:)

deep sea curtain
and my favorite...octopus curtains!!!! aren't they loverly?

well, that's my fictitious kitchen/dining area....have a great week!