Mia's Bee Birthday

 

Miss Mia turned 1 year old in December but I haven't had the time to post about it until now.

So you've been missing out on this amazing party that her mama Joanne (and her husband Mike) put together.

You can imagine how excited I was to find out that it was a Bee theme.

Despite the fact that this particular day there were freakishly strong Santa Ana winds tearing through Orange County, the party was picture perfect and tons of fun.

The kids had little bumble bee snacks made from snack bags and painted clothespins.
There were antennas for all the little bees to wear as well.



This little bee was all over the place.
If Auntie Jen hadn't been there watching out I never would have been able to snap any pictures.



Is this not the cutest, most creative thing ever?
Yep, they put this together.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of any of the kids in it because I think Peanut was busy putting rocks and dirt in his mouth, but really, this is one of those ideas that will spread like wildfire.



Another amazing game they put together is the honeycomb hunt.

Each child was able to break through the honeycomb to grab their prizes.

I can only imagine how long they worked on creating all these things.



Of course I was immediately drawn to the dessert table, as always.

Not pictures was another table full of awesome Vietnamese food as well as hamburgers, hot dogs and salads.  I had some of everything and Peanut had his first egg roll.

The dessert table had everything from the amazing beehive cake and cupcakes to rice crispy treats, cookies, kettle corn and oreo truffles.

Isn't that cake amazing?!

I also always love looking at the photos of baby's first year.
It's incredible how much they change, every day you hit a new milestone.

Let's all discuss this tutu.  Holy yellow fluff.
This is why I need to have a baby girl.
Or maybe why I don't need to have a baby girl.

She is the cutest little thing ever!
She takes after her mom, obviously.



As party favors the kids were given age appropriate bee books.

Peanut absolutely loves his Buzz-Buzz Busy Bees book, complex with 3D bees.



He was super excited about this cluster of balloons.

He wanted to take them all with us.
I wanted to take them with us too.  Who wouldn't want polka dot balloons?



Little Harlow was just loving the swing at the park,
while Peanut sat and covered himself in sand, which is all he really wants to do at parks anyway.



Thank you Joanne and Mike for a wonderful party and tons of fantastic ideas :)

Happy Birthday Mia!

Butterbeer, Pumpkin Pasties and Knickerbocker Glory!

It all started a couple days ago when Courtney said she was bummed she had to wait 

until her box set arrived in December before she could watch the last movie on DVD.

I told her we were getting it and she could come over.

Then there was talk of Butterbeer and the next thing you know, 

we're having a Harry Potter party.

See that wand?

That's Severus Snape's wand and it's pretty awesome.

Courtney got it as a gift this past week,

directly from Ollivander's Wand Shop.

If you aren't aware, that;s in Orlando at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

I want to go!

Anyway, the wand really has a weight to it, I was really impressed.

Can I just say that the Butterbeer was delicious?

We used this recipe and it was just what we pictured it to be like!

The nice beer-like foam you see in the first photos is because there was a bit of whipped cream

in the glass when we refilled it.  So theres your trick to make the perfect butterbeer.

I also made this artichoke bread (and did not get a picture) and it was a hit.

I found that I would have liked a bit more filling to get it to look like the picture.

Tons of possibilities for that appetizer.  Try it.

Courtney went to the library and picked up the Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

for some recipes.

The book is pretty awesome with some serious recipes like salmon and steak and kidney pie.

The dessert section looks fantastic.

My only complaint is that there aren't any pictures.  

I may have to get the book and recreate some dishes.

Courtney's Pumpkin Pasties are incredible.

They have all the elements of a pumpkin pie and you just can't go wrong with that.

Did you notice the lightning bolts on top?

I love details like that.

Anyway, I'm having a pumpkin pastie with tea for breakfast.

If only it were off the trolley on the Hogwarts Express.

At the end of the movie we wrapped it up with Knickerbocker Glory!

It's layers of vanilla bean ice cream, jello, raspberries, blueberries, 

homemade custard, and freshly whipped cream.

I loved all of it.

Why don't I eat jello more often?  I love jello.

We had a really great time and I only cried a minimal amount.

That movie really gets me.

I know, we're nerds.

Any Harry Potter fans out there?

A Brunch in Paris

Yesterday we had another book club, this time hosted at Alicia's house.

The book was The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, so Alicia and Courtney went with a Paris theme.

Blown away is an understatement.

Alicia's house is really perfect for this kind of theme. 

She has a sort of eclectic style with some old world charm and loads of personality.

I'm not quite sure how to describe it but it's incredible.

The table was set gorgeously and there were so many details to be in love with.

In the background there was post-war music playing to set the mood

and plenty of good conversation.

Speaking of music, they made us CD's to take home.

Can you believe that?

Me neither.

I haven't stopped listening to my CD since.

I love music from that era.

We had croissants and quiche and they made apple beignets.

Of course, we had to finish off brunch with this cake.

Chocolate cake that was light and moist and rich all at the same time.

A touch of cinnamon, some banana and the whole thing covered in creme anglaise.

I wish I had more right now.

We all liked the book, as frustrating as it seemed to be for various reasons.

We talked about Hadley and what we thought about her,

the way she handled her marriage,

Ernest Hemingway and how he was awful and tragic and I wanted to strangle him.

We talked about relying on other's for your happiness and

having a sense of self in relationships.

We talked about a million other things,

like Connie's engagement

and so many things that had nothing to do with the book at all. 

It was the kind of day that as a child I always imagined having as a grown-up.

Only it made me giddy like a little girl.

In my visions of future me I arrived in my '59 Cadillac 

and wore a dress and heels, maybe even a hat.

I mean, besides arriving in jeans and a shirt covered in drool and bits of Peanut's breakfast,

my Subaru Forester filled with various baby gear,

it was pretty spot on. 

Thank you Alicia and Courtney, it was incredible!

April's Shower & Baby Emery

I just couldn't wait until the end of this post to show you little baby Emery... hello cutie pie.

In July I went to April's baby shower and it was adorable.

I love the tables pushed together to make one big square, it was perfect for talking to each other.

They did a really fantastic job with the little details and it was a perfect day outside.

I'm not sure what was yummier, the food or this little one.

Best behaved baby ever.

Something about him really reminded me of Peanut.

I had the chocolate chocolate cupcake and it was fantastic.. I must find out where these came from!

I love the sprinkles and toppings around the edges.

This is April about a month before she was due.

Can you believe it?

At that point I looked like I might explode.

She just looks adorable.

Although Kelly has 3 kids of her own, this little binky isn't hers.



This is little Ivy!  Remember her from here?

Last week, I finally got to meet baby Emery.

She is the sweetest thing.

Oh how I love her little feet and her soft hair.

And momma April looks incredible, no?

You'd seriously never know she had a baby.
Or that she's actually had 2 babies.

I can hardly believe Peanut was ever that small.
Actually, he wasn't that small.
She is just a tiny bit smaller than he was when he was born.



It sort of gives me baby fever.

And then we have another sleepless night over here and I take it all back.

For now, I'll just have to see Emery more often, so I can love on her instead.

It's about books.... and eating... and gabbing

I haven't decided if our book club meetings are more about books or food or just sitting and talking.

But I don't suppose it really matters.

I love all of the above.

This past month's pick was The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton.

Has anyone read a Kate Morton book before?

Overall it had a good review. 

Although one of us was a little miffed at the similarities with The Secret Garden :)

We had a hard time with the constant switching of viewpoints.  

It's this rapid change between characters, eras and situations.

I mean, every chapter is different.

About halfway thru the book I stopped noticing.

I inched thru the beginning and flew through the end.

I had a few issues with some of the characters, Nell in particular, as I couldn't identify with her reaction to news she wasn't who she thought she was.

Some of us figured out the end way before it came... but I wasn't one of those people. :)

In all honesty, there is very rarely a book that I finish that I don't like.

Have you read The Forgotten Garden?

Courtney and Alicia came with wine and this delicious concoction.

It's so simple but the ingredients were so fantastic, I couldn't stop eating it.

Sliced baguette, delicious creamy double cream brie, 

lightly salted marcona almonds and perfect lavender honey.

The cheese spread like soft butter on the bread and the honey and almonds are the best topping.

Soft, crunchy, sweet with a bit of salt.

Kelly made these stuffed pasta shells which we dove into after I stopped admiring her pyrex.

Also, she let me borrow her 50mm lens and I'm in love.

If anyone wants to buy it for me.  Hint, hint.

You know who you are.

I think it's necessary for food photography.

Anyway, the pasta shells are stuffed with a turkey and spinach mixture,

 topped with sauce and melty cheese.

 I'm requesting a recipe from her.

We'll be visiting this again, I'm sure.

I made the oreo cake I had found on pinterest.

So here's my review on this cake.

It's super easy to make and the cake itself is really, super delicious and chocolatey.

I changed up the frosting recipe a bit.

It calls for 1 1/2 lbs of powdered sugar but I only had 1 lb (1 box).

I mixed the frosting as directed and it was more then sweet enough.

In fact, we felt like the frosting was just a bit too much for the cake.

It might be that I served huge pieces, which I did, 

but I feel like I could halve the frosting recipe and use it just as a topping

with a different filling.

Or you could just serve really small pieces :)

Another great night with the girls!

They keep me reading which is always a good thing.  

I'm halfway thru my 52 book goal for this year and I'm picking up speed!

The book club meeting/ cupcake party

Our second book club meeting was a whirlwind affair. 

I had the Peanut with me because he had a total meltdown before I was leaving 

and I didn't want to leave B with a screaming child and our niece and nephew.

They were packing up to head home and I made a quick trip to the meeting 

before taking them to the airport.

I love our book club meetings.

We read Matched by Ally Condie, it's a young adult book about a dystopian society, or should I say a forced utopian society?  Anyway, it's any easy read and we all liked it.

Courtney came bearing the gift of Harry Potter cupcakes because it was Harry's birthday.

Happy Birthday Harry!

Courtney just knows these kinds of things.  

She is THE Harry Potter aficionado.

If it's not appropriate to totally geek out at a book club, well when is it appropriate?

I have to say I'm sorry that it's all over. 

No more books, no more movies.

It makes me kind of sad and nostalgic.  

Did I mention that her cupcakes were strawberry?

I puffy heart strawberry cupcakes.

Joanne was our host for the evening.
She had bubbly lemonade and bbq pork sliders for us.

I think I ate 3 but it may have been more.

Also, is there anything that hawaiian rolls aren't good with?

I want to move into her house, but that's really off the subject.

I didn't bring anything.  Isn't that sad?
I had planned on making an oreo cake but Courtney told me the day before that she was bringing cupcakes... and then I just never made it to the store to get/prepare anything else.

Wait, I did bring something!
I brought a bottle of wine that we didn't drink at the first meeting but
I don't think it counts because Joanne brought over the wine originally.

So really I just returned a bottle of wine.

Jolene had to show everyone up by making these insane cupcakes.

Keeping in theme with the book (and the pre-made dinners they get delivered to their homes daily)
Jolene made these drumstick, peas and carrots, and mashed potato cupcakes.

I know you're dying to find out how she did these.

The drumstick bone is made of chocolate and the breading is cornflakes.
The peas, carrots and butter are made from starburst.
The gravy is actually caramel.

AND they tasted amazing.

I know.

I know!

I think she found her second calling.

Brunch with the babies

Peanut and I had brunch with some friends on Sunday. It was the first time I had seen these babies and the first tme I had seen some of the ladies since high school.



Guess what this is. It's a yoga mat! What a cute present!

Doesn't that picture just make you melt?



There really isn't anything special about this picture, it's just that it's so funny to me. How is it possible that we're all married with children?

We just couldn't believe it. A lot has changed since high school.



Aiden shared some of his most prized posessions with his new friend, Samantha.



When we were about to serve brunch I noticed him licking chocolate crumbs off his fingers and it made me laugh. I looked around to see what he had gotten into but noticed there wasn't anything that could have produced crumbs.

That's when I realized it was dirt from the back yard.

I love boys. Seriously.



The babies were getting passed around so much that you can't even tell who belongs to who. This babe Ryan and Aiden are brothers and can you believe that they were exactly the same birth weight and length when they were born?



Such a sweet picture of Angie and her daughter.



Peanut was on his best behavior and eventually I put him down and he took a short nap.



Mia has the most beautiful skin and just look at all that hair. She was born with a full head of luscious black hair.



I also love this picture of Auntie Jen. The light was shining on them thru the window and they looked so cozy.



This is Erica, she's 5 months pregnant and if you didn't see her bump you would never know it. Peanut just loved her. I can't wait to meet her little girl.



Here is a before and after shot. What a difference 4 1/2 months can make!

I believe that the other two are 5 days apart? I may be wrong but they are about 5-6 weeks younger then Peanut.



I thing between the 3 moms we must've snapped at least a hundred photos in a matter of minutes. You know how it is trying to catch a picture with 3 babies in it.

I think all the commotion made Mia go cross-eyed. I was laughing so hard I barely got a picture.



My son is huge. He is big and solid and surprisingly not very soft or rolly considering how heavy he is.

He's been nicknamed Moose because he is so big.

I love how Ryan has his armed draped over Mia and Peanut has his hand on her leg.



I ended up spending most of the day there and we had a great time!