The Ratatouille Effect

Sometimes it's hard to explain our intense passion for food and all that it entails. There are so many reasons that we enjoy food. In sitting down to write a post about what it is that makes us so passionate I realized I could easily write an entire book.


Meat Pies will always bring me back to our honeymoon

A book on the wonders of food- the preparing, the eating, the sharing, the physical response, the emotional response, the cultural significanses and variances, the tradition, the community building (and sometimes separation), the religious influences, the involvement in ritual, the exploration and inspiration, the want, the need... you can see what I mean. ~takes deep breathe and stretches fingers~

Food is a common ground for every living thing in this world.

As we're in Sacramento with our parents today I started thinking about a very specific response to food. It's what I now refer to as the Ratatouille Effect.



This scene always makes me smile. I'm sure B will appreciate me sharing this with you. B does not ever get emotional about movies. He talks thru the romantic and tragic parts- it drives me insane. Somehow B never interrupts this scene. I swear the first time we watched it I saw his eyes cloud. He was having an emotional moment...during a cartoon! Oh but I understood.

The Ratatouille Effect is the ability of food to bring you back to a specific time, place, person, moment and/or feeling.

It's the way those cookies, maybe even just the smell of them, make you think of Christmas surrounded by warmth and magic. Sometimes it's just the comfort of a dish that you crave. It's chicken soup when you're feeling down. It's how I'll say white cake with strawberry filling and buttercream frosting and someone will remember the moment they fed each other cake on their wedding day. It's the moment when you taste a dish and think to yourself... wow, this tastes just like my grandma makes. It's the way we get teary when that first holiday without out loved one makes us wonder who will make his famous stuffing this Thanksgiving...and will it taste the same? The emotional ties to the physical taste and smell of a dish. Pretty fantastic.

There are so many foods that have this effect on me. Foods that remind me of specific holidays, loved ones and friends, late nights in college, my parents, some of the first meals B cooked for me and places we've explored.

What foods have the ratatouille effect on you?

Family Fun in Sacto

B & I have been blessed with parents that truly enjoy each other. They met for the first time after our engagement and saw each other a couple of times during the wedding festivities over the last year.

This weekend we are all getting together in Sacramento where B is from and his parents still live. Remember this lovely backyard koi pond? That's where we'll be headed. My parents are actually going up on Friday morning and will tour some nearby wineries with B's parents, ending with a barbeque that evening.



B & I will be leaving OC around 8 pm after he gets home from work and driving up there to arrive at some ungodly hour. We're quite used to this type of trek though. I'll drive the first part while torturing him with country music and as soon as he falls asleep... Christmas music. What can I say... I've been in the mood lately. Then we'll switch off and I'll sleep until we get there.

With the exception of a few hours during B's grandfather's funeral in March we haven't spent time with his parents since the wedding. That weekend was the crazy one where we went from the funeral to a wedding 3 hours away. We haven't even seen them since we announced the upcoming arrival of the peanut! My mom will be bringing up all 1852 ultrasound shots to show them on Friday.

This was me at exactly 14 weeks, just 2 weeks ago. Not much going on here (don't judge my hair, I was planning on wearing a hat) and I wanted to start taking pictures every couple of weeks so we could track my growth. If you ask me I would say my face is showing my pregnancy the most. :)

When we get to Sacramento I'll get to show them my bump. Its not too obvious when I'm standing. It probably just looks like I'm bloated. Laying down is another story. I've taken to staring at my tummy in the mirror at night. If I lay on my back it pops right up! So to add to the really weird pictures I put on here (like the ones of my bursting pants)...

Can you see that?! I stare and rub and stare and then I call for B to come in. We evaluate how much it has grown and then he sticks his ear to it like peanut just might say "Hey dad, whats up?"

There you are. Not only a belly pic...but a bare belly pic. Oh the things I thought I would never do. I took this picture last night... 16 weeks!

We are a very odd couple.

Chocolate covered strawberries...

acceptable dinner for a woman with child?

Please say yes.

As for pregnancy cravings so far.... citrus and fruit like watermelon, pineapple, apples, peaches, hmmm all fruit I guess and more citrus. And then dishes with citrus like lemon pasta and then desserts with citrus like the above Meyer Lemon and Strawberry Ice Cream

and Lemon Bars Deluxe.

Of course I'm willing to branch out but it's the first time in my life I'm going more for citrus than for chocolate. I don't think it will last long :)

Did you have any pregnancy cravings? Are there certain things you crave in the spring and summer?

The search for modern nursery furniture

Very much like my wedding I have an idea of the style I'm looking for in a nursery. Apparently it's a little off the norm as far as nurseries go.

Now that we know the baby is a boy I've started mulling over my decor ideas. I'm a bit of a style spaz when it comes to what I like. I call it eclectic. I've realized what I'm most drawn to in mid-century modern decor. I like mod but in a warm and inviting way. I like quirky and mismatched but I think you alrady knew that. Add in a few vintage and retro finds and I'm a happy girl.

Quite a few of you are familiar with Apartment Therapy but have you ever been on ohdeedoh? You must tour their kids rooms! I've looked at all of them...all the way back to 2007...for inspiration.

So I started by looking at modern cribs and found two things. 1. Mod furniture is not as easy to find as you think and 2. It's not the norm for nurseries so it can get crazy expensive

Shown is the Oeuf Crib for $889. I'm guessing Oeuf is name of the sound that came out of my mouth when I read the price tag... like the sound getting punched in the stomach.

Don't let the simple lines and starkness throw you... nurseries are supposed to be fun and mine will be no exception.

This is the Babyletto Mercer crib and it converts into a toddler bed for $399.

Realistically I think I'll be forgoing a real mod crib for a nice clean-lined convertible like this Davinci Piedmont crib.

It converts from this into a toddler bed and then into a twin frame as well for about $236. I mean.. it converts into a full scale twin size bed!

I'm really loving the 2-toned details on these dressers although I had my reservations about it only being wide enough for the changing pad.

Also by Oeuf for....wait for it.......$1100. But I think we should get it because those little legs on the bottom must be made of platinum.

This Babyletto Modo dresser is suddenly looking extremely thrifty at $399!

I'm thinking that this Ikea dresser will be perfect with a changing pad on one side and room for necessities on the other. Twice the amount of dresser for $199.

I had to just throw this picture in because I make myself laugh. The front is made of walnut and I thought it an extremely good deal at $310. Made by Spot on Square this eco-friendly dresser is actually $1290... the changing table attachment is $310.

On to bedding... this picture and the one on top are from Dwell Studio who I adore. I love the clean style, crisp color and mod repeated designs.

I just don't want to spend $360 for a crib bedding set.

Luckily they also make DwellStudio for Target. I'm loving this circle and dot design and praying that it becomes available again.

I think it will go perfectly with the mod dot and bicycle theme I'm planning in my head.

Did you have a style or theme for your baby's/kid's rooms?

Vintage Fashion Sketches

I found these over a year ago at an antique store and immediately fell in love. I bought them one at a time with the intent of getting a set of four. I was told to check back for more silhouettes, styles and colors.

Unfortunately after purchasing the second one I witnessed the owner being judgmental and rude to a person in the store. I vowed not to step foot in there again...and I haven't...but I still wish I could get more of these prints!

This lovely lady was my first purchase. I loved the color of the dress and sketch of the back view.

These prints hang on the wall above my dresser. Sometimes as I head out the door after pulling my hair into a pony tail and de-smudging last nights make-up, I think about how life/fashion/expectations have changed over the years. These women would never have left the house with a belly band holding up their unzipped pants, whilst sporting the world's ugliest uggs.



I can just imagine this dress in striped taffeta with velvet trim.

I'm not familiar with the year these were done or International Studios itself. A few google searches and I found several NY based International Studios (of Art, of Music, etc). A search of the address and I found that there is currently a textile designer at the same address shown.



The 2nd time around I was looking for a completely different garment silhouette and model pose but I couldn't help becoming attached to this one.



It's something about the color in her hair, the expression on her face and her red lipstick. I'm a sucker for red lipstick.

I think we should name them. As I'm currently preoccupied with the daunting task of naming my first born child, I would prefer you name these two leading ladies. Could you?

What names do you think fit Lady #1 and Lady #2?

Happy Days

Have I told you all how much I love you? Well I do. I was feeling uncertain and anxious on Thursday and I hesitated to post about it. But then I read all your comments and you just... well you all bring sunshine into my life. I hope you know that.

I'm feeling so much better and I'm ready to just focus on today, this week and all the good things happening in my life. There may be some bumpy roads ahead of us but I am positive that things will work out...as they always do. I'm headed out the door but I needed to stop by and thank you.

Today we watched my godson receive his first communion! Oh I remember my own like it was yesterday. We'll talk more about that later. Seeing the kids today was so amazing and adorable and hilarious. Then we came home and took a nap. It was absolutely delicious. I love naps. Now I'm heading out to the store so I can start some cooking for tomorrow. We're having a potluck at my mom's house.

May I also say that I received a Mother's Day card from a relative and a Mother's Day present from my best friend?! I'm tickled pink....errr...blue.

So I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend and a very loverly Mother's Day!!

Any plans?

Smooth Sailing

There seems to be a lot going on around here. It's more than being a newlywed, more than being pregnant. B and I have been very blessed with a few years of total bliss. It seems there may be a few bumps in the road coming up.

Things are fine, B and I are fantastic and the baby is right where he should be. We are excited for the future. There is now a hiccup in my master plan and that makes me uneasy. I woke-up this morning with that nervous feeling and it's still there.

My emotions seem to rotate from "everything will work out" to "how on Earth am I going to pull this off". I'm not sure which direction to head in or what my next step is and that is really unusual for me.

I was so used to such smooth sailing that turbulence has thrown me for a loop. We aren't completely unprepared and I am positive we will always land on our feet. I just wish I could see our destination or how we'll come to arrive there.

~sigh~

What do you do to ease your nerves?