My Christmas tree has been down for ages and now there is a winter storm looming so it seems like a good day to share this! I used to love winter because it meant snow and that meant snow removal job and that meant extra money! But I have always loved Christmas and stubbornly held onto the festive decorations as long as possible (*cough*oncekeptthetreeupuntilMarch*cough*). Undecorating is always a sad time, especially here in the Northeast USA where winter lingers for three more months after Christmas is over and yet we don't have the twinkling Christmas lights to cheer us up.

So I have spent much time lately contemplating my plan on how to love this season of winter and not just endure until the end. Of March. Or April. Or May. Or whenever green appears next. I want to winter to be on my list of favorite things-- along with spring, summer and fall. Because I am aiming to enjoy, to savor, to delight in every moment of the life that God gives. Even in blustering, cold winter weather that He provides.

So here are some of my thoughts on Loving Winter {After Christmas is Over}

Go Outside Every Day
I have my favorite adventurous homeschooling family blogger to thank for this concept. I don't know how long ago I read her blog about getting outside every day, but this is the first year that I am taking it seriously, and trying to remove all obstacles to this getting-outside-everyday resolution. I know all the benefits (natural light! Vitamin D! fresh air! immunities! happiness!) and am using them as mental weapons to knock down the lame excuses when the thermometer dips further and further down.

My father's sensible words always echo many times over during wintertime, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices."  To translate this into my language --- wear lots of layers! And a hat! And gloves! And warm boots! Make a life where you have the extra five or ten (or twenty, if the little boy doesn't understand how to put his little thumbs in mittens yet) minutes to dress appropriately, because it will lead to an enjoyably brisk-yet-wonderful outdoor adventure.

Slow Down & Stay In
While it seems like I am writing the complete opposite of what I just said, it all makes sense when one realizes that you can't stay outside forever, even if you're dressed appropriately. And a long winter's walk is even better when looking forward to those winter evenings where darkness falls early and there's nowhere to go and nothing to do but stay in. It is those moments when gratefulness abounds. For our squeaky old cottage with the winter-insulated windows and warm slippers and furry throws that we snuggle into. For old movies to watch and instrumental music and a singing teakettle that makes steaming tea to warm our souls. After the busyness of Christmas, we need a rest. And our winter months provide the perfect solution.

Get Cozy on Purpose
I stumbled onto an article about the Danish concept of "hygge" and am so intrigued by the concept. Hygge (pronounced hoo-ga) is a Danish word that doesn't fully translate into English. It means "coziness" (or as the Brits spell it, "cosiness") and yet hygge means so much more. It is defined by some as "the absence of anything annoying or emotionally overwhelming; taking pleasure from the presence of gentle, soothing things."  It is lingering over dinner with friends. It is flickering candlelight and hot drinks. It is warm duvets and cozy sweaters. It is burrowing down and being comfortable and yes, experiencing coziness to the nth degree. Hygge is one of the reasons that Denmark is consistently voted one of the happiest countries in the world. Because in the dark, cold months, Danes are enjoying time with each other and enjoying comforts themselves instead of falling into the failing-at-New-Years-resolutions-and-therefore-going-crazy-with-self-criticism-and-in-general-being-miserable. So yes, hygge is a concept that I can (and will) embrace. Because to me, it sounds like the best parts of Christmas will be lasting until spring.
Candlelight (And Other Flames)
Candles bring warmth and movement and soft warm lighting into the cold wintertime. I adore the Christmas tree mostly because of the instant ambiance it creates. Now I am lighting a few candles before sitting down to dinner or evening quiet time (in the interest of safety, I don't light candles in a room where there isn't a responsible adult, I always keep them out of the child's reach and I extinguish them when I leave the room). I may move on to flameless candles, too, for extra safety. The flameless surprise has been how much we enjoy turning on the crackling fireplace (Yule Log) using Amazon Prime/Roku/the TV. Cue all the warm fuzzy feelings.
Cook Seasonally... Because Nobody Likes Salad When It's Zero Degrees Outside
Steaming soups so brothy and filling that your belly is full and your face is smiling. Root vegetables roasted until crispy and bursting with natural sweetness. Flash-steamed vegetables with a dash of garlic salt and olive oil and serving piping hot. Warm grain salads with savory bacon stirred in for flavor... All the delicious, delightful things that nobody wants in the summer, but taste like ambrosia and heaven and fluffy clouds during the winter. I think we tent to gravitate to warm, filling foods during the winter and yet our brains fight against it because we think, "DIET! RAW CARROTS! SALAD! ICE WATER." And then our poor conflicted bodies don't know what to eat. This year, I am planning healthy (warm) things to cook and believing that what our bodies crave is what we need.

Enjoy Time with Friends and Family
The holiday season is chock-full of gatherings with loved ones. Then we enter solitary winter mode and wonder why our happiness level dips drastically. So gather! Congregate! Party! Feast! Hygge! If you don't have an excuse to gather, make one up! Game nights, football viewing, dinner parties, appetizers and desserts, gather with a girlfriend to do home manicures, read a book aloud, try a new recipe and invite a few folks over to taste-test. Bring out the old games like Jenga and Monopoly and the tough games like Risk and the silly group games like Blurt and Charades. And if there's no time for spending time with your loved ones... get unbusy. Life is better that way.

Practice Contentment (i.e. stop looking at beach vacation pics on the internet, yo)
It's so much easier to love what you've got when you're not busy staring at what you don't. This applies to so many things in life, but whenever you see that you don't have any beach trips planned this month (nothing wrong with the occasional ocean sojourn!), there comes a building joy and delight in winter-y things. Snowflakes and fur hats and hot chocolate and icy beauty. It's a different joy than summer joy, but it is still wonderful.
Winter is lovely... I hope you enjoy discovering its delights this week!

To say I’ve been “nesting” is a bit of an understatement. Though lately I prefer the term “baby-prepping” because it seems so much more dramatic. Like instead of “prepping” for the apocalyptic end of the world, I’m prepping for the cataclysmic event of our first baby’s birth! Maybe it’s because I mock “preppers” in my spare time --- it’s the leftover derision from the Y2K fiasco in Christian culture that I just can’t get away from… and that’s why I find the “preppers” label to be so hilarious when applied to my baby work these days…. anyway, wow, I have digressed. :P

My time is being spent tackling my “Master To-Do List.” Yes, I’m an unashamed list person. It helps me to be efficient. The unfortunate truth is that without lists, I am an aimless procrastinator. Like a little canoe drifting away into the ocean. Without lists, I am likely to be sad that I’m not sure what is the most important task to tackle, and then I just can’t.figure.out.what.to.do.next. I found this aspect to be true in my MILLION years working in the office environment (extreme overstatement: because it was actually about fourteen years). I need a schedule for normal tasks and a to-do list for extra projects. If I have those two organizational tools, I become a better, more hard-working, efficient version of myself.

All that to say, I am KILLING my to-do list this week… and I’m also adding the strangest tasks to it. Yesterday, I scrubbed my bathtub (ya know, on my hands and knees, like Cinderella) until it was white again. Because it’s really old and porcelain and the stains are a BEAR to get out. And I changed the light bulb on my front porch, which may have been burnt out for the last two years. I also baked some muffins to live in the freezer for a few weeks for healthy after-baby snacking. And… in my final crowning glory kind of moment, I set up our new (free from Comcast!) modem. The days where I fight technology and win… those are my favorites!

I have done some more traditional kind of prepping. A few weeks ago, my sis and I did a work frolic day! Work frolics = when women get together to work on things like Applesauce-Making… those big tasks that end up being so much more fun when done together. First, we purchased the apples from the local Amish produce stand. I also had to get some apple cider and butternut squash because ‘tis the season.

There were lots of helpers. Many hands make the work lighter! We had an apple “runner,” who took on the task of selecting a variety of apples (we used about four or five different types of apples) and bringing them over to the sink. There another little niece would wash them --- this was especially fun because we talked about why apples “bob” in water. Then us adults cored and quartered the apples and threw them in the big pot!

It was a really, REALLY big pot.

The apples cooked and cooked and cooked…. in the meantime, we waited and waited, hanging out on kitchen stools while clad in aprons (very useful pieces of fabric), and then picking up a few books for inspiration.

Everybody has books.


Little House on the Prairie books are inspiring while food-prepping. I even picked up “The Long Winter” to breeze through while waiting for our apples to cook down. That particular book always makes me appreciate simple food more.

We had two of these Foley food mills going.. operated by the little girls! It eliminates the apple-peeling step… which is SO GREAT.

And before you know it, there is applesauce! Add a little cinnamon and sugar to taste, and we’re ready for canning business!



By the end of the day, we were dead-tired…. and had canned almost thirty jars of applesauce! It’s so delicious, too! We’ve been having applesauce with our breakfast every morning and it’s like all the flavors of autumn!
Sometimes “prepping” tastes delicious.

To say that I’m enjoying homemaker life is a bit of an understatement.

I have always loved baking, probably because I love eating sweet things. But there was never enough time when I was working full-time. Or rather, never enough time to really enjoy the process. I was always baking late at night for some event happening the next day… when I should’ve been sleeping. And not getting sleep is all cool when you’re a teenager, but after adulthood, sleep is a necessity. Less sleep = general crankiness.

Now I’m baking because I want to, because I have time and because it brings joy to others (and myself at the same time!).
As we are settling into the autumn season, I am in peach-and-apple season overdrive. There’s a steady thought train of “I love fall! I love fall so much more than I ever did before! Why was I always a summer fan? Fall is the best!!” Autumn means creating my own pumpkin spice lattes (thanks to this recipe!), walking through dying-yet-colorful leaves, breaking out my leather riding boots, finding the boxes of sweaters, slow-cooking butternut squash, drinking fresh-pressed apple cider from the farmer’s market, wrapping up in blankets in the morning and then throwing open doors in the afternoon. Autumn means soup love and hot drink love and baking love.

Now that I’m home, being a homemaker, you might find me slinging around flour in the early-morning hours… while the light is still blue and grey and the sun is still hiding. Or maybe in the afternoon, when my kitchen curtains glow golden from the slanted sunlight. I hum and sing old Third Day songs and then old hymns and sometimes I mutter to the cat as he walks by (he’s only curious about food when I open a can of tuna). I talk on the phone… though not too much when measuring ingredients, because I tend to forget something important.
But I did this recipe right… loved it.. and now I’m sharing it with you!

Peach Upside-Down Cake is the fall cousin of pineapple upside-down cake. Peaches need more respect, because they are deeeeelicious. Because I pretty much followed this recipe to a T, and it worked out great for me, I’m just gonna send you over to the source. Check out Peach Upside-Down Cake from userealbutter.com. And definitely use real butter. It changes everything. ;)

Food is so nice, right? It is delicious (most of the time) and comforting (some of the time) and super-necessary for growing babies – or at least, that’s what all the websites tell me. I’m spending my time being mindful of what I’m eating and how much I’m eating of it… because I don’t wanna miss out on any necessary nutrients for baby and I also don’t wanna turn pregnancy into an excuse for gluttony (yeah. I said it.).

So let me tell you about three healthy foods that I’m into these days.

Kale. This crunchy leafy green is all the rage these days, and I don’t mind at all. Because I can buy this HUGE bag and munch on it for a couple weeks, and I feel healthier… and life is all about feelings, right? (#justkiddingincaseyoumissedthat). I like making kale chips because they taste so good. I just tried the Pioneer Woman’s recipe for Pan-Fried Kale as a dinner side dish and it is worthy of eating often. And last but not least, this morning I chopped up kale reeeeally small with some green onions and added it to my scrambled eggs.

Quinoa. This is my new favorite grain. Though when I told Brandon that, he said, “so you’re gonna eat it for two weeks and then be sick of it?” :D He knows me and my incessant need for variety. Quinoa (pronouced KEEN-wah) is a grain that is high in protein, and that’s one of the reasons that I like it so much. Protein is also good for growing babies. Also, this grain is super-versatile. I used in it grain salads, ate it with pinto beans and cheese and even served pan-seared chicken and gravy over quinoa. YUMYUM.

Coconut Oil. Healthy saturated fats. Healthy fats are my friend. I threw a little bit of coconut oil in my faux-frappucino the other day. Delicious. But my real winning discovery was my coconut oil modification of this recipe. I halved the recipe (mostly because our coffee cups here are TINY), and checked the new calorie count – it comes out to about 275 calories. For an afternoon pick-me-up indulgence, I’m happy as a clam with this recipe. :D Fudgy, decadent, a little coconutty but mostly just chocolatey… and not crazy-insane-wreck-your-healthy-eating. At least, in my world. :D



Mini Microwave Brownie-in-a-Mug (with Coconut Oil)

1 T. coconut oil
1 T. water
1 T. cocoa
2 T. sugar
2 T. flour
dash salt
dash vanilla

Heat coconut oil in mug in microwave for 20 seconds or until liquefied. Add other ingredients to mug. Stir thoroughly. Microwave for 30-45 seconds or until cooked, but still fudgy. Don’t overcook --- fudgy is better! Enjoy! :D

Ya know what they say? Never say never. I always thought, “I don’t understand bump photos. They’re weird. Why do people post them?” And then, I had a happy little baby bump and a large collection of friends who happen to be miles and miles away from me. I know what will happen – I’ll go home in August and everyone will be all like, “OHMYGOSH, NAOMI, YOU’RE HUGE.” (actually, let’s really hope that doesn’t happen). Hehe. The point is, I must keep said friends updated with the progress of my pregnancy…. since you can’t see it in person. *waves to PA friends!*

So there ya go! I’m officially 17 weeks along. To translate: it’s the second trimester, yay! Random people have begun asking me if we’re expecting… so I guess that’s a good thing. I have officially moved beyond the looking-like-I-ate-too-many-Twinkies stage. Good. ‘Cause I don’t even like Twinkies.

I met with my Arkansas midwife last week and that was fun. Travelling for the summer is kinda annoying because I have a Pennsylvania midwife and now an Arkansas midwife…. and in three months I’ll go back to my PA midwife. I’d prefer to have just one. But life throws ya curveballs and one just has to roll with the punches. It is what it is. :D

The really fun part is that I heard our baby’s heartbeat again!! Which is awesome. Brandon and I have begun referring to the baby as Squish-Squish… because that’s the sound of the heartbeat. ;) And it’s waaaaay better than calling the baby “it” until we know whether it is a boy or a girl. Also, it’s pretty great that this has turned into calling random babies “squish-squish.” Like “aaaah, did you see those parents that took their little squish-squish up for prayer at church today? I hope everything’s all right.” And “look! a squish-squish!” (Yes, talking about babies is great and funny!). :D



Other fun updates:

Books. I’ve been keeping busy doing pregnancy reading. Honestly, I did so much baby reading prior to pregnancy, I kinda ran outta good books. At my midwife appointment last week, I was excited to see a few titles that I hadn’t been able to find at my library at home. Pregnancy books are an odd genre because a) everybody’s got different opinions about everything, so it takes some mental sorting, and b) birth by nature is an ‘earthy’ kind of experience, so the details are a little icky to read. I mean, seriously, it’s all like, BLOOD! LABOR! TMI! Ya know? It’s like a recall of every baby shower and women’s retreat I’ve ever been to in my life (what? you weren’t inundated with countless birth stories as a teenager?). ;) But I gotta say --- pregnancy books are still about 100x better than online pregnancy forums. That’s where the real crazies come out. Also, it amazes me how many people ask questions to the random internet that should be directed to people that actually KNOW STUFF --- like medical professionals or even older women that have been mothers!

Food Cravings & Aversions. I like food. The highly-sensitive-food-aversions of the first trimester have passed, which is nice. I still hate the smell of Subway… but I don’t think that will ever change. :D I finally enjoy coffee again! Not enough to drink it every day – which is better anyways. But since this is hot Arkansas, I’ve been doing cold-brew decaf iced coffee a few times a week and it’s a nice treat! Every time I make it, I’m like, why even go to Starbucks? This stuff is amazing --- and it didn’t cost me $4 for a cup!

In answer to the “have you had pregnancy cravings?” question – no, not really. There’s some food that I prefer over others --- like the fact that I’d rather have ice cream for dessert, rather than just some dark chocolate. I’m loving the fact that I have more time to cook better, i.e. healthier. Time to prep fresh vegetables, visit the farmer’s market, try my hand at baking homemade wheat bread, throw together morning smoothies and simmer beans on the stove. I really love cooking, and it’s great to be able to do more of it, and it’s very helpful to finally be cooking our meals right before we eat them --- rather than the crazy spring/fall semester schedule that had been me packing 90% of our food in lunchboxes to be eaten throughout our workdays! (I am definitely in the insanely-grateful-to-be-staying-home category of homemaker).

I’m trying really hard to be mindful of what I’m eating and how often. Always trying to get more greens into my diet by throwing some kale in my broccoli-cheddar soup (Brandon raved about that soup), or throwing some spinach in a strawberry smoothie or finding new dinner recipes. Sometimes I feel a little whiney, like “why are vegetables sooo booooring?” And then I remember that adults are not supposed to whine. :P And I remember that ALL the food groups are necessary… so I go drink some milk and I feel better. :D

Heart Thoughts. It’s difficult to put words to the swirling thoughts in my head about pregnancy. The inner turmoil of the first trimester was relentless. Having seen many close friends and family go through miscarriages in recent years, you could say that I was fighting hard against anxiety. But God is good and God is big and He carries my heart in His hands. As I continue to walk this journey, I’m falling into more trust of my God.

Maybe it's the time-change or maybe it's going to sleep earlier each night. Maybe it's the end of wedding season, and finally getting caught up on household chores. Maybe it's resolving to enjoy every single thing I do, and to be kind when people are not, and to not sweat the small stuff. Maybe it's the increasing awareness of God's presence in my life, and the simple reminders from the Spirit to let the love of God constrain me. Maybe it's just a change in my attitude-a decision to turn my focus away from how much I have to do towards how thankful I am for breath in my lungs and chores to accomplish and family to serve and being saved by Christ. Or maybe it's a combination of all these things.

I feel like I'm coming out of the fog. Out of the fifty-mile-per-hour pace of life and into living peacefully, slowly, reverently. This past weekend was like heaven on earth. And you know what I did? A whole-lotta laundry. I am very, very, VERY thankful for time to do laundry. It's sounds weirder than a three-dollar bill. I'm okay with that.
It was a pure, happy, continual labor at home and I loved it.
I cleaned the bathroom at 8:00 am on Saturday morning.
I trekked up and down the stairs about 40 times, with laundry baskets and without.
I ironed a mountain of clothing.
I read a cookbook. Yup, almost a whole cookbook.
I conquered the dishes begging to be scrubbed.
I hugged my husband as he did the usual 12-hour study Saturday.
I cooked. Slowly. I had promised my husband a dessert this weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of baking this delectable apple tarte tatin from Eat Drink Live. If you're not as classy as the cookbook I got the recipe from, and have no idea what that is (like me), it's a French upside-down tart. Caramelized apples topped with pastry crust, then baked in the cast iron skillet. Basically, AWESOME. Brandon agrees quite enthusiastically.



So yeah, I have a slight blogging obsession with themes and being chronological. When what I'm writing doesn't fit into the theme--or more practically, the title, sometimes I don't blog. It's sad. I am trying to overcome it, because I love the idea of sharing more of our life on this little space in the Internet, even life that is random and messy and not-quite-chronological. I have summer road trips and autumn photos and adventures and so many things to share. Hold on to your hats, folks, I'm blogging again.
I'm sharing what's on my heart.

{insert passionate spiritual speech here}
I'm gonna talk about buzzwords. I really hate 'em.
Buzzwords. They are everywhere in the Christian world, and consequently, everywhere on the Internet and everywhere in real life.
People looooove to talk about their buzzwords.
Revival! Repentance! Holiness! Healing! Faith! The Gospel! Freedom! Spirit! Evangelism! Discipleship! GRACE (times a million these days)!
Go to a million different Christian "camps" and you'll get a million different buzzwords. They're usually valid Scriptural terms, genuine Christian doctrine and authentic needs in the Church.

HOWEVER.

Ya know what bugs me? Like really-really-REALLY bugs me?
The only buzzword that people don't talk about that much--- Jesus.

It's probably a human thing --- to be fascinated with trends and fads and whatever catches our interest for a month or two. Or whatever we need the most. Or whatever seems the most intriguing at the time. But the truth is -- that current buzzword is not the end-all, catch-all. It is NOT everywhere in Scripture. It is not the answer to everything. Random buzzword is probably not the foundation of our belief system and it is most certainly not the most important thing ever.

I've been there. I might still be there, but the Lord is working on me.
You know what I'm seeing when I open up the Bible lately? The Person of Christ.
You know who I'm enthralled with today? Jesus.

There's something to be said for coming out of the fog of Christian trends and settling down at the feet of Jesus to learn the most important thing -- Him.




Our Sunday evening at-home-date. Slow-cooker butternut squash soup, biscuits and sparkling pomegranate juice. Super romantic because I scrounged around to find those candlesticks. Let's not talk about the fact that I have no candlestick holders so they are in parfait glasses. Candlelight makes even the simplest meal romantic. And instrumental Christmas music, too. :D

See that strawberry trifle? Homemade pound cake + real whipped cream + as-fresh-as-you-can-get-in-March strawberries. It was my contribution to Easter dinner on the mountain. Oh yes, and I refer to my parents' house as "the mountain." Because. They live on a mountain. Obviously.

Let me tell you about my parents. They give. I think it's part of their spiritual gifts (seriously). They're very giving people. Like VERY giving people. Like my dad would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it. People say that kinda thing all the time, and they don't really mean it. I have lived 30 years on this earth (hard to believe, eh?) and have seen so many examples of my parents giving their time, their energy, their resources, their home, their stuff, their EVERYTHING to minister to people. It's practical Christianity, y'all. They give, even when people take advantage. They give, even when it's not appreciated. They give, even when people don't see. They give, even when it's inconvenient. They give, even when it's a sacrifice. They give and give and give, and God continues to bless them with more.. which they continue to give. And that, my friends, is how the Body of Christ works.

They give alot of invitations. Not just "oh, we should hang out sometime" vague invitations. They give real-time, right-now, how-bout-tomorrow kind of invitations. It hardly surprises me anymore when I go to the mountain for a visit, and there's like 10 other people. And Easter dinner was no exception. We're talking 25+ people. Take my parents, add at least 3 out of 4 of their adult children (Z&C, we missed you!!), plus families, plus the Easter holiday tradition of inviting our pastor & family (going on 17 years tradition. BOOYAH), plus his grown daughter & family, plus my little brother's in-laws & our good friends, plus some folks just moved up from Texas that my dad met through work, plus my mom's cousin working in the area.

It was LOUD, and vibrant, and crazy. There was conversation and children underfoot and all around. There was food everywhere (note to self: always stop the Kitchenaid before adding sugar to the cream you're whipping. #justsayin), people everywhere and lots of fun.

Food. Family. Friends. Fellowship. Fun.
And one dog.
Hi Cowboy. You're great. ;)
I'm loving the spring-time light. It was a rainy Sunday, which I actually love, especially when driving home from the mountain. The clouds hang low and melts into evening fog. I like to open the car windows and stare and stare.

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carries my sins far away
Rising, He justified
Freely forever
One day, He's coming
O glorious day! O glorious day!

One of the songs we sang on Easter morning church. It was on my heart all day long. Even through the food and the laughter and the basketball watching and all of that, there is one thing that makes Easter amazing.
That Jesus loved me. Because of His love, He did the impossible. He died and then came alive. He was victorious. He IS victorious! And He's coming again!
O glorious day!


Historic house at Curtin Village on the drive home.

Has anybody ever seen the movie "Miss Potter?" That film is elegantly shot, and beautifully British, and poignant and touching and... did I mention that it made me cry? Yup. Cried like a baby at the end of the movie. I watched the movie once or twice several years ago, and wow, I'm still talking about it. Moving on....

Hey! I hosted a baby shower! Or kinda-sorta hosted it. I believe the technical term was "coordinated." My sis is about to have a new baby girl. There are already three blonde little girlies running around her house and they are super-duper excited about "yittle baby in mommy's belly."' "yittle sisterr come after Ea'ter." "she yis big (little arms about six inches apart) and she growin'!"


Beatrix Potter, bunnies and pink. I ran with the themes. I like themes. They make my life interesting (and semi matchy-matchy, which delights my matchy-matchy little heart). It was so perfect that the date of the baby shower fell just a week before Easter, because how else would I find such perfect little pink bunny peeps for making the cupcakes themed, too?!



This nice chalk board? It was the only part of the shower that I allowed my sister to do. Hehe. We chose to have the shower at her house for the location and space available, so I was working overtime to make sure it wasn't too much of a burden. And besides, she has much better writing skills than I do.

It may not be kosher to talk about money, but for the benefit of other thrifty people, I will say that this shower was made possible by the thrift store (chalk board and picture frame), the dollar store (peeps, bunny decorations, and Easter grass), my house (all serving dishes & punch bowl, candles), my sister's house (books) and the internet (Beatrix Potter fabric for table runners which will be repurposed into something by my sewing sister). I think this is the party version of "shopping your closet." :D


I love Beatrix Potter. She made the sweetest little stories and illustrations ever. They make me love bunnies to the nth degree. In the beginning stages of planning the shower, I had the hare-brained (pun!) idea to bring little live baby bunnies and just leave them at my sister's house. The nieces thought that was the FUNNIEST THING EVER. I had a difficult time tearing myself away from that idea... because I loooove bunnies.

This was my consolation: Wind-up Bunny Toys!

I did the smart thing and took the day off from work before the shower. Spent the day baking and prepping, talking to little nieces, eating chocolate (LOTS), taking pictures of all the pets of their 'micro-farm' (you can see that in my instagram feed), and eventually falling over in exhaustion and watching a horse movie with the little girlies. Those girlies like horses.

The only time I was the teeensiest bit stressed was those darn cupcakes. I was piping frosting on the top and my hand was cramping up from the unaccustomed activity, and I'm all like, "Nooooooo! Look pretty! You're supposed to be pretty! And I have to put bunny peeps on you! STAY! DON'T FALL OFF! AAAAAAAH." 

In the end, everything was wonderful. Even the bunny-jumping cupcakes.
Delectable food: like layered crab cheese dip (don't tell, but it was supposed to be a cheese ball. The cheese wouldn't ball, so we improvised!), pink lemonage punch, fresh veggies, pink chex mix, pickled pink deviled eggs, white chocolate & cream stuffed strawberries and mini ham-salad sandwiches (not pictured). FYI - the food was a collaborative effort! :)


Old friends and new friends together. Smiling, laughing, eating food, chatting (as only women can chat), playing a silly game or two... laughing ALOT.. talking some more, about babies and homeschooling and snow in the springtime and silly jokes and crafting and Pinterest and food failures and blogging and everything else. Baby showers are fun, but babies are more fun. :P

My sis and I after the baby shower. Please ignore my tired face and crazy I-just-took-my-hair-down-and-it's-got-a-bump hair. We never remember to take pictures together right after the hair and makeup is done. :P

My favorite part of the shower? The truffles we made for the favors.
Decadent, delicious, fudgy, wonderful, easy-to-make chocolate truffles. Yumyumyum. Truly a perfect sweet ending to a happy "welcome-to-the-world, little baby girl!" party! :)