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.

Robin Egg Nests

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

It's a Good Friday

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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!

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.

I've got chills, they're multiplying

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 "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

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?

His life in iPhone pics

1.3.11 Spotted: Lamborghini Murcielago

2.8.11 Brrrrrr, Business Trip

3.7.11 Rescued by Wifey

3.8.11 Driveable Igloo

3.16.11 Real v. Saprissa

3.16.11 Ellie Time

3.22.11 Virtual Shopping for G

3.29.11 Sick Day at Alta

Her life in iPhone pics

1.15.11 LJ Snuggles

1.24.11 He Shouldn't Have

1.26.11 I'm Married to Clark Kent

2.15.11 Welcome Baby Ny

2.21.11 Beautiful Winter Day

2.23.11 Work Birthday Cake

3.25.11 Yogurt Stop

4.2.11 Marci's Birthday Cupcakes

I am: ready

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i am: ready which is

a rare state of mind

where things are ok

even as they be

open for anything

whatever that brings

because I feel peace

throughout my soul

all is quiet in me

being guided from above

which is not very far
if you stop to think

and not out of reach

even for me

i'd like to remember

this day tomorrow

and the next

and the next still

that for once i am:

not freaking out

:-) Happy Friday!

A good indicator that spring is coming wherein I seek elastic-waisted pants

Cadbury Mini Egg Season

...also known as a busta...

Trolley Square, SLC

At lunch LP and I attempted our monthly catch up/chow down at the schmancy new Whole Foods at Trolley Square. It's gorgeous, as all the hype suggests. But I say 'attempted' because the crowds were a bit too chaotic to really sink your teeth into someone's life or their yummy Thai beef dish. I'll wait to go back after everyone in the valley has been there done that and I can peacefully get on with {what BD calls} lallygagging at the grocery store. He only means that it takes me 90 minutes to buy milk and cheese; he could have milked his own cow by now, woman.
When I got back to the car my eyes caught the landmark water-tower which appeared particularly graceful against the sea of gray clouds shrouded behind it. I jumped out with iPhone in hand to snap a picture, then turned around to jump back in. The doors had locked. The key laughed at me from the passenger seat. Just then LP, who should have been half way home by now, pulled up behind me, saw the look of panic on my face and said "get in." She's wizardly like that. In one swoosh of her wand I was back at my car with valet key in tow ready to move on with the rest of my day as if the whole thing never happened.
My mind has been heavy this week. Lots to think about. Lots to stress about. Lots of decisions ahead. Yet, lots to look forward to. I was thankful a friend was there to rescue me from myself at a time when something as silly as locking my keys in the car could have put me right over edge. A tender mercy.
Happy Friday! BD is halfway up a mountain by now on his way to build snow caves with the Scouts. I'm really hoping to not be a widow in the morning. To get my mind off it, I've been playing this rad mash-up (via Dooce) of TLC's No Scrubs v. The Cure's Close To Me on repeat, on repeat, on repeat. It's working too. I've been practicing that head-jerk-flirty-shut-eye thing Left Eye does right at about :30 all afternoon. How does she do that? She's seriously so cool.

Grand Finales

This video my brother made contributed to the most peaceful and awe-inspiring 7 minutes of my day. I thought I'd share it here. Not only is the footage absolutely gorgeous, but it reminds me that we are so fortunate nothing worse happened to our Toddy. 'Cause we like 'im.

Grande Finales from T - N - T on Vimeo.

Oh, and while I was on T's Vimeo page I was reminded of the video he made from our Grand Canyon 2010 trip.

You guys.

I don't think I posted it here because at the time I was far too embarrassed of how hilarious I was. The word "hilarious" being the nicest thing I could say. I am so embarrassing. I don't know why my family even speaks to me. But 7 months later, I don't care. Time heals all. The part at the end where I twirl my hat and give a very pathetic "whooo" has me and BD cracking up hysterically. I really almost died that day. You can also watch me being guided to my almost death across a ledge, slipping down natural water slides on my bum, and generally being my awkward self.  Awesome. You can laugh with me here.
P.S. you'll notice that Jody looks perfect the WHOLE time and RUNS to the top. She is officially out of my will.

100% chance of Sunday afternoon sprinkles

One thing I especially love about traveling abroad is grocery shopping. I found these sprinkles at the Hiper Bompreço (= Super Good Price) while in Brazil. The bright colors remind me of Salvador streets. They are the happiest sprinkles I've ever seen.

Blooming, again

Been loving how the $13 spent on this orchid was possibly the best money I've ever spent. She's blooming again for the third time! It's been just what I needed lately.
Been smiling about my 3.5 year old nephew and his love crush on Ariel. His mom fixed pasta shells for dinner one evening. Later, when being tucked into bed he told her with a big frown that the worst part of his day was eating all of Ariel's shells.   ...    :-)
Been praying for a family member who has just survived something unimaginably horrific. 
Been pinning away over at Pinterest. It's addicting, I'm loving it, I can't stop and I don't care to. A genius way for me to organize everything I find on the web. Virtual collages? Brilliant. I'll be pinning all weekend, no doubt, and creating new idea boards.
Been thinking about that half piece of coconut cream cheesecake in my fridge that I'm going to eat for dinner tonight.
Been counting down the minutes until the weekend so I can sleep for 2 straight days.
Been craving old-timey homemade popcorn made with real coconut oil. If I wake up, it will be for that.

Happy Friday! It really is the best day of the week. Besides Tuesday, of course.

Breaking Her In

Or more appropriately, she's breaking me in. Isn't it funny how inanimate objects can adopt a gender role? My new oven is definitely female. Can't really explain it, but she is, and I'm hoping that we'll become BFF while keeping the drama to a minimum. Nothing worse than your oven going all Mariah Carey in Glitter all over your whoopie pies. I should know. On Sunday I made Rachel Manley's Almond Yogurt Cake as featured on Design Sponge last week. Now, I could fill a dump truck with all the recipes I've printed off the web with every intention of making, but never do. Perhaps this is why I feel obligated to blog this one. That, and because BD took this beautiful shot of the cake right before I stuck out my tongue and licked up that lemon curd. What? Wouldn't you?

I'm guessing my self-rising flour had passed it's prime because the cakes did not self-rise. Sigh. The recipe actually called for blood orange curd, but my first attempt failed big time. I must have had two very bloody blood oranges because my curd never turned to custard. Or is it that my custard never turned to curd? Either way, the recipe doesn't specify the amount of juice. That's a bad dog recipe. No biggie, I defaulted to a trusty Martha Stewart lemon curd recipe that has never failed me and used the Meyer lemons I couldn't pass up from Whole Foods. Whole Foods did not pay me to say that.

Fact: Meyer lemons are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. In other words they are lemons with a little less pucker factor. Which makes them perfect.

I made this cake in part for my sister's birthday and I knew she would appreciate that it contained ingredients such as Greek yogurt, sunflower oil, and ground almonds. She's healthy like that. Maybe that's why she looks 22 and has 3 grand kids. Jody did pay me to say that. Happy Birthday sis! Lastly, I got to use some of my favorite kitchen gadgets like a food processor, sieve, and citrus reamer. Sometimes, it just feels soooo good to dirty an apron.