March 15, 2012
It’s been a while since I shamelessly promoted the Pop-Up Shop over here, hasn’t it? With all of you beautiful mommies planning parties for your bebes, and baby showers for your friends and sisters, I figured you guys might love the pretties from Potter & Butler as much as I do.
BONUS – they’re on sale in the Pop-Up Shop until tomorrow eve. I’m probably going to have to stock up on pommy decor for the next few years.
Yet another compelling reason to have a girl this time around – I can plan parties that involve poms and fringe and delicate flowers and teeny cakes and things. Also the clothes. I mean, obviously.
Sale closes Friday at 6PM Pacific… but the cutest things might sell out before then.
labels: buy handmade, holidays + celebrations
March 14, 2012
I was tempted to skip the birthday part altogether this year, I admit. We’ve had so much going on in the last week that it just seemed like one more not totally necessary thing to add to our list. BUT, I’m so glad we decided to have a little party after all. Dashie had fun, the bagels were delicious, the day was warm. And I made my first ever cake. Success all around!
Of course, it ended in mountains of new trucks. But what are you going to do? (Give the old ones to Goodwill, if you’re me. Ooops.)
His party last year included far more preparation and decorations, but that just wasn’t in the cards this time around.
And the cake recipe? Oh, um, yeah. Divine. Rave reviews from party goers. Shall I post it? I think so. Stay tuned.
labels: baby + kids, holidays + celebrations, our family
March 12, 2012
So behind on posts. Geez. How about a few photos from Mexico? I’m thinking I will catch up and then I will totally be back in the routine of regular posting. Yes, quite sure that’s how it will work.
Funny story about this trip… we were supposed to go with 12 other friends. We were the only people flying out of LA, since tickets were expensive and seats were scarce, so everyone else bought tickets to fly out of Tijuana. No problem! Until the airline canceled all flights to Loreto from TJ, and we were the only ones left with tickets. We decided to go anyway and just enjoy the time as a family before we’re on house arrest this summer after the new bebe comes. Super glad we did.
Highlights: Dashiell at the beach, Dashiell at the pool, the local farmer’s market, horchata, charred jalapeños with salsa and chips, a Cirque du Soleil style performance on a sailboat by a French family, making simple food with simple ingredients, warm tortillas, clear water, no plans.
Not quite as warm as we’d hoped for, but still a really nice time together as a family. We love going to Mexico.
labels: every trip is a honeymoon
March 8, 2012
Oh, hello. I bet you thought I’d completely disappeared forever. I haven’t! I am here! I am just, I don’t know, unable to get it together to post regularly at the moment. I want to, I really really do. But sometimes life just gets in the way. I think I might start again though. I have a bunch of ideas and photos and things I could share. Just need to make the time.
For now, how about my favorite smoothie? It’s so so delicious you guys. Definitely not a power smoothie… more of a treat. But everyone needs treats sometimes.
It’s a wee bit time intensive since you have to make the almond milk and juice the carrot ginger juice, but if you’re feeling motivated I certainly think it’s worth it.
Spicy Bunny
from Raw Food, Real World
(As per usual, the quantities are loose. Go with your instinct and you can’t go wrong!)
Equal parts homemade almond milk and fresh carrot-ginger juice.
2 bananas
4 dates (no pits, obvs)
pinch of cinnamon
Blend in blender. Drink.
If you’re lucky and have a good market or juice bar near you, you might be able to buy the carrot ginger juice and avoid getting the juicer down if that’s a deal breaker. It sometimes is for me, I have to admit. But I’ve been totally into my juicer recently and it turns out it’s not as annoying to clean as I make it out to be.
This pregnancy I’ve been craving raw vegetables and juices and kale and (as you know) almond milk like crazy. It seems like the opposite that is expected of pregnant ladies, but I’m going with it. I’ve also enjoyed my share of Häagen Dazs chocolate peanut butter ice cream, so there’s that too. Sigh.
labels: recipes + food
February 7, 2012
Pretty amazing, attending a birth. And laboring through the night with someone else. I’m going to resist telling my version of Jen’s birth story, since you know, it’s her’s to tell if she chooses. But a few bits of story to make sense of the photos…
The poor dear had to be induced on Thursday night after her non-stress test revealed that she had very seriously low amniotic fluid. She was 6 days overdue anyway, but induction means machines and monitors and lots of pitocin, which wasn’t the birth she was hoping for. But do you know what? She was a rockstar anyway. The woman had contractions that were one minute apart from 7pm until her baby was born at 9 the next morning. That’s a whole different kind of resilience, as those of you who have given birth know.
But it was a beautiful birth anyway, as they always are.
Awww, such a happy ending. Our friend Laura was there too and she’s a midwife, which was awesome. She’s the lady laboring with Jen in most of the photos. A pro is always nice to have on hand. By the time Jen had reached her limit and the anesthesiologist was giving her an epidural, she was 10 cm and ready to push (we found out after the fact). She dilated 5 cm in 1 hour. It was wild, but she did it. And her baby boy is perfect and all is right in the world.
I tell you, in the middle of the night, watching her contractions come one after the other, I had a long period where I was really kind of dreading going into labor again. It’s long, and slow, and unknown. But then once things picked up and she was really working, really laboring, and Laura and I were helping her through each wave, I realized that I CAN do it again. She completely inspired me. It’s amazing the kind of energy a birth brings. And the part I really can’t get over is that all night we were just watching a belly, and then in one second the belly turns into a baby. A baby! Who has been in there all this time! Words can’t really describe that transition.
I also realized that um, if you think you might want to have a natural birth, it’s pretty vital that you hire a doula or have some kind of labor support with you. You will probably reach a point when you are quite literally crawling the walls, and if you’ve never been there before it’s hard to understand that what you’re feeling is right and good.
Now I can’t wait to get down to their house to visit the new family at home. That’s where the magic really happens.
labels: baby + kids, with child
February 2, 2012
I’m really sucking at posting, aren’t I? I want to post more, I do! Maybe soon. How about some photos from the last week for now?
Dashie loves skateboarding with his Uncle Jordan. Or at least loves the wheels on the skateboard.
Really fun day watching Amanda try on wedding dresses with Kendra and Jillian, (the Vera Wang space was pretty great), followed by a delicious ladies lunch at Fig & Olive.
OMG you guys, I’m working on recreating a cold-marinated fennel salad with orange and cilantro. It was nearly the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Will report back.
Our contractor found an envelope of negatives from 1950 in our garage while he was demo-ing to start construction on my new office. (Yay!) They are amazing. Photos of our house when it was freshly built, with the for sale sign out front and everything. I love love love seeing the history of our neighborhood. Plus neat photos of Carol’s family (our landlord and friend). So excited for her to see them.
And the garden update… aside from a few perinneal herbs, it’s fava-only season people. I’ve never grown them before, but I decided to plant all favas for winter/spring. They’re part of the vetch family and are a great natural way to re-nitrogenate the soil before summer. (Um, also I love them.) AS IF I’m going to actually get it together to plant a summer garden this year. Maybe if I can get a few things in the ground by May.
I’m going to admit that our 3rd heatwave of the winter finally wore me down. I’m over cold weather and completely ready for spring and summer. Luckily we’re heading to Mexico for a week on the 17th. Aside from the inevitable bikini time, I’m super excited.
labels: our family, urban farming
January 26, 2012
So, weekly belly shots might be a little ambitious. How about every so often belly shots?
Updates…
The bangs are being grown out. Thank you to the wise previously pregnant with bangs ladies who pointed out that NOW would be the time to grow them when my hair is growing approximately 1/4″ per day. (As evidenced by v. long hair above, that desperately needs to be cut.)
I can’t put my finger on it, except to say that I just feel it more this time. Last time I breezed through pregnancy with nary a twinge until the very end. This time it’s slightly more of a slog. But perhaps my expectations weren’t realistic and this is just normal.
Lots of tiny baby kickings already! It’s true! You really do feel the kicks much earlier the second time around. It’s pretty fun.
And Dashie is going through a particularly happy and excited phase right now. I mean, he’s always been a pretty happy guy, but he’s pushing even his limits. It’s adorable. And he loves his Ostheimer animals, btw. The giraffe makes a perfect tunnel for one of his little trains.
(Tee: Whetherly, Jeans: J Brand maternity jeggings in black… so you can’t really see them.)
labels: with child
January 25, 2012
A very quick trip to Austin over the weekend for The Cream… It’s such an awesome city, you guys. I was feeling a little gutted that we didn’t have more time to wander the streets, eating and shopping, and taking it in. I cannot wait to go back for a family vacation. It seems like such a great family city.
I ended up with only photos of the Hotel San Jose (which was spectacularly perfect) and setting up at Mercury Hall (which is a super charming venue, btw). Here they are, because it’s what I did last weekend.
The city is so full of textures and colors and hand-painted signs. It’s such a genuine place, it seems. We loved it.
And the event was gorgeous, as always. Those poppies are from Liz of the Nouveau Romantics. They were insane, as were all of her flowers. And she’s such a nice person. Hi Liz! So fun chatting with you.
labels: every trip is a honeymoon
January 20, 2012
Here’s a little secret about making almond milk… you don’t actually need a Vitamix. Some of you commented that making almond milk was a great reason to buy one. It IS. It does make it much easier and fancier. But I’ve been making it for years with a regular old Oster blender and it works fine.
So, that being said, I thought I’d share my recipe. The one thing you do need is a nut milk bag. Some people claim you can use cheesecloth, but don’t bother. You’ll have grainy almond milk and it will be so frustrating to make that you’ll never do it again. So first, order one up online. The one I have right now is my second, and I actually bought it from Vitamix before I had one. I figured they would probably have the best one since you know, they’re Vitamix. The first one I bought years ago from a random raw foods website and it was just okay, and then eventually split open in the middle of the main operation. My new one is big and fabulous and strong and makes the whole process super easy.
Raw Almond Milk
1 cup raw almonds
4 cups filtered water + more for soaking almonds
sweetener of choice – maple syrup, agave, cinnamon, etc
Soak 1 cup of almonds overnight (or all day) in a bowl of filtered water.
Strain and rinse soaked almonds (they are delicious at this point, try one!). Dump them into your blender with the 4 cups of filtered water.
Blend on high for 5 minutes.
Place the nutmilk bag in a bowl (preferably in the sink), and empty the blender into the bag.
Squeeze the milk through the bag into the bowl (kind of like, I assume, milking a cow?). The almond meal will stay in the bag and you’ll be left with just the yummy milk.
Now rinse the blender and the lid. Pour the milk back into the blender and add the sweetener of your choice. I usually add a few tablespoons of maple syrup, maybe a squeeze of agave, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of sea salt. Blend again for a minute.
And that’s it. Yummy milk that’s actually better the next day once the foam has settled and the flavors have mixed together. I’ve been adding it to coffee and tea, eating it in cereal, and drinking it by the glassful through the day.
If you DO have a Vitamix of another high capacity blender, you can up the portions of almonds and water so you end up with more milk. I usually use 1 1/2 cups of almonds and 6 cups of water. This fills the Vitamix to capacity, which honestly is a huge plus with this type of blender. So much more space! I used to have to blend the milk in batches, which just made the whole process longer and less streamlined.
You can also use the same formula to make milk from different nuts. I’ve make brazil nut milk before and it was delicious too. Make some this weekend!
labels: recipes + food
January 18, 2012
Oh I love these little guys. Erin of Bird and Banner posted about Ostheimer wooden figures years ago, and I’ve saved the link to Wooden Wagon diligently in my bookmarks since then. I came across them again the other day while I was searching for another old link, and realized it’s time! I can buy them! I have an almost two year old who loves animals and figurines! (Almost as much as trucks.)
Erin (who btw just welcomed her third child – a sweet little boy! – into the world) told me that she actually bought most of her Ostheimer before she actually had kids. This is a brilliant idea. Because when you don’t have children, it’s very easy to rationalize buying a tiny $15 wooden figurine from time to time. So smart, Erin!
So for those of you who love these, and want them for your eventual children… maybe get started now. I just started our teeny collection and I tell you, I wish I had all of them all at this moment. But I think it’s going to be a process. As Erin also said (this is the post where I essentially quote Erin’s email), the hope is that my children can eventually pass them on to their children. So if it takes a while, that’s okay.
The Wooden Wagon also has all sorts of other great natural fiber and wooden toys. Definitely worth a visit.
labels: baby + kids
