The Hive: April 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Dang those Beautiful Royals

I've been avoiding the whole Royal Wedding over-hype like the plague. That is, until this week. I'll admit it: I've caved. Like, fallen into some deep crevasse of Royal Wedding mania where now I kind of want a commemorative mug. I'm not joking. Aside from the irresistible kitsch, what is the deal with this wedding anyway? Americans abhor this kind of pompous ruckus. Don't we? Clearly not. By admitting this I've fallen suspect to all manner of unpatriatisms. Easy now, it's been only 6 short generations since my ancestors left England, maybe it just hasn't been bred out yet.

Why does Kate Middleton have to appear so dang likable?

Even in those absurdly ridiculous hats (that I want to play dress-ups with).

This is really all her fault. (William who?)

I can't figure out exactly what about her draws me in. I suppose with all the nasty fashion that I see in magazines, blogs and TV every day, it's refreshing to see her sense of modern modest style. I wouldn't mind my daughters looking to her as a role model. Maybe it's because she was an Art History major so I can't deny for one second that we aren't kindred spirits on some fundamental nerd level. Or maybe it's because she comes from a small town in the charming English countryside called Bucklebury. Go ahead, try not to smile while saying the word Bucklebury. I wonder, does everyone from Bucklebury have sparkly eyes even in the rain? (And I don't mean the reflection of her engagement ring, even though that is a situation in and of itself that we should definitely talk about later). I'll go further out on a limb here and say that maybe I'm drawn to all of this because there is still that little girl inside of me who loves the fairy tale of happily ever after.

So kill me.

I have no answers or suitable justification for any of this obnoxious addition to the Royal Wedding fodder other than, ... she's lovely.

Oh and,

I can. not. WAIT to see the dress! squeeeeee

Images via here and here.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Robin Egg Nests

Coconut Cupcakes / Cream Cheese White Chocolate Frosting / Marshmallow Filling / Gingham Cupcake Liners

Friday, April 22, 2011

It's a Good Friday

pinned

It's a Good Friday because the sun is out, meaning it was necessary to ditch work early, you know to test the sun roof, and that reminded me to pick up some shredded coconut, and bingo! my weekend baking extravaganza has begun! Last week I was reassured in a blessing that I am surrounded by angels who love me. Amazing. It was something I needed to hear and keeps me looking up. Even still I can't help but wonder...

If my grandmother Richman were here she'd share an Eskimo Pie on her back patio and go to work clipping newspaper articles for me
If my grandmother Muir were here she'd pat her soft blue couch and say come sit by me, then hold my hands and listen ever so close
If my mother-in-law Judy were here she'd hug me too tight, cry right along with me, and eventually we'd both be laughing

Do you know who your angels are? I hope your Easter weekend is a special happy one. I am planning to bake up a storm and rain powdered sugar all over my kitchen. BD is racing his bicycle, somewhere, sometime, and with a smile on his face. And of course, we are celebrating Easter in every way we know how. Happy Good Friday!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Thoughts on Date Night

This is certain to be an over-share, but one of the things we put a lot of focus on in our marriage are Date Nights. With no need for a babysitter every night is date night! Right? Wrong. We can be in the same room at the same time but not exactly on the same planet. My favorite scenario is when we're snuggling on the couch seemingly spending quality time together but simultaneously both of us are thumbing away on our phones pretending not to work with the TV singing in the background and you know what? I've never really noticed how boney your elbow has become, please remove it from my ribcage before I remove it from your body.
We're getting better at scheduling "us" time but it does take a valiant effort. Courtesy of a smart husband, I have tickets to the theatre pinned to my refrigerator right this very minute. He gets me - I need good stuff to look forward to. But it doesn't always require reservations or cost money. Recently a perfect date night involved finding $7 pajamas at Old Navy and stopping for a frozen yogurt on the way home. I've found that by simply calling it 'date night' we become unintentionally tuned in to each others needs. He's less likely to numb out while I spend an obscene amount of time deliberating over what is sure to be the wrong size. I'm less likely to publicly object with a gagging reflex when he tops his yogurt with disgusting flavor combination's. WINNING!

It was cold and snowy all weekend and I instinctively knew that we'd burrow in at home Friday night, fish something to eat from the recesses of the freezer, and I'd be dead to the world in my $7 pajamas before 9 pm. So earlier that day I emailed BD an official invitation to Date Night with instructions that we each needed to prepare 10 interview questions for each other. I could tell he was skeptical, but he obliged. BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT, YOU SEE. Sometime that evening we unplugged from everything and commenced the interviews. For added drama, I placed a pencil behind my ear. It felt great to have each others' full attention and we laughed and even cried through some of the questions. Ok, I cried. There. The questions spurred more questions, which then became the topics of Saturday morning brunch over mile high biscuits. My point is, I feel really lucky to share my life with someone.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

I've got chills, they're multiplying

pinned

"It's Spring Fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want- oh, you don't know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"

-Mark Twain

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Visitors

ast week we were lucky enough to have Tom and Todd in town and staying with us. Which meant that I scored a little one-on-one Illustrator lesson from the Master, we broke into Todd's unmatched Dolly Parton collection, set up a 4 man tent in our guest bedroom (a first!), and had big cups of frothy hot chocolate. Their presence even managed to lure mom and Ed all the way to SLC for a meal at Ruth's Diner. I proved to be a less than stellar hostess being a bit under the weather much of their stay. I didn't even play April Fool's jokes on them. But they didn't seem to mind. In true form they took over the dining room with laptops and gear where they worked and strategically planned their next 6 weeks in the Grand Canyon. They are now on their way to Arizona for their Spring round of backpack guiding tours on the South Rim. Good luck boys! We miss you heaps already...
Oh, and I think it's pretty clear Tom and I came from the same womb. No?