•••

• introducing our new friend, Miss Fish
• twenty dollars well spent at the farmers market
• kitten print! on a cute dress! yes!
• kitten kisses
• lay on the couch and what do I see? a tree!

Camp 2011

Another highly successful family gathering filled with laughter, memory-making, intriguing conversations, and lots of very full bellies.

Anything for pizza

Do you think Kate Middleton assembled her invitations with her besties? ...I hope so.

We gathered around pizza boxes and paper cutters and set to work on Evie's invitations. Creating a DIY Wedding is so much easier with a posse.

Oma and Enkel

In an instant, with the birth of her grandson, my mothers world turned on it's side. It's heart aching to watch the love that flows between these two very independent personalities. My nephew is already very much his own person. The chaos of his four older cousins doting over him doesn't even phase him. And if his doesn't want to do something he just aggressively shakes his head no and that is that.

And my mother has always been my role model as an independent no-nonsense women.

But when these two get together, which is quite often despite the distance, they are like childhood best friends.

Peach hand pies and google

I whipped up these AMAZING peach hand pies for Evie's shower. They are to. die. for. I can't stop dreaming about the pie dough, so buttery and flaky and shockingly resilient.

Where did the recipe come from?

Well it's very simple, I googled "peach hand pies" and not surprisingly the fabulous smitten kitchen blog topped the list. So go steal her recipe (www.smittenkitchen.com) and while you are there scroll around because you are sure to find a bagillion other recipes. Just don't blame me when your social life goes to phooey (kids read this blog) because you haven't left the kitchen in a week.

NO BOYS ALLOWED

A marvelous "Girl Fort" has taken residence in the living room while Mark is away on tour (more about that later). There is ice cream, girl talk, and movies such as "Girls Just Want to have Fun". Best of all there are incredibly intelligent ladies that make me laugh almost-crash-the-car hard (Evie, I'm still chuckling about the bike peg story).

There was a time in my life where I was surrounded by boys. Both at home and in my High School clique. Then I chose a major in college that was 95% male. I always assumed that it was better that way, less drama right? Feelings of anxiety even began to creep up as more and more girls replaced my guy friends.

And at my birthday party this year I was completely surrounded by ladies. We were all eating fantastic food and talking about toe puss and laughing our faces off. Maybe girls aren't so bad. Maybe I was really missing out on something. Who else is going to enable my girly yard sale purchases, or swap canning recipes, or tediously search through pantone swatches to come up with the perfect color palette for my wedding?

Stair Garden

There is a lot happening on our stairs right now. Tomatoes are turning red. Flower are blooming. Green beans are sprouting. The herbs have been going strong for months now. And the sun tea is a crowd pleaser.

Didn't agriculture come about from the need of humans to settle in one place? My portable stair garden would seam so insane to those garden pioneers, but so would house cats.

The 4th

This is what the 4th of July looks like in Columbus. It's pretty much the best.

!!!

Oh my. It's been almost a month. Well I have some updating to do:



My wisdom teeth were surgically removed after the move and before anything was put away. The pain meds and my stomach did not get along and in the end the stomach won. Luckily the paint wasn't that bad. Mark made me gourmet mashed potatoes. I loafed on the couch staring at all the stuff that needed put away and that I wasn't allowed to lift.


Then my Aunt, Uncle, and Grandma came in from upstate New York to celebrate my Cousin's Graduation. Almost every summer of my life has been spent at their homes and it was nice to have the tables turn. And if forced Mark and I to finally unpack. My mom came to visit as well and we went to the Whetstone Park of Roses peak season showing. We took a million pictures of damp, slightly browning roses. Apparently peak season came early this year. But it didn't stop my mom from falling in love with the place and continuing to ask me if I want to get married there.



Mark made a crazy good Brussels sprout, bacon, mushroom medley. And we added Brussels sprout medley to our tentative wedding menu.



Our friend Brigit got a puppy. Everyone is jealous.



I went to visit my 10 month old nephew. He is the cutest 10 month old that ever existed. He is starting to walk and his favorite toy continues to be my mom's camera bag. To encourage his interest in photography I "taught" him how to use my camera. He took this picture of me (it has crazy aunt written all over it).




Friends were invited over for 2011 Pride Cake and a whole rack of ribs.



This summer's first pitcher of fresh mint mojitos was schlepped to dinner club only to realize that their was no dinner club and so we had mojito club instead. After several mojitos Ana and I decided it would be a good idea to fix my hair cut. It turned out great and I think it will be my new formula for hair cutting.





Our friend Sjanneke got a dog and all I have are these lazy cats.

one long sigh

I. am. so. exhausted.

Moving is hard.

Our last load of goods was delivered to the new place with the help of my parents. My excitement to decorate our lovely new place is now overwhelmed with piles and piles of boxes. It will all get done in good time. Tonight though will be just for sleeping.