Home | Preparations

"I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket." Psalm 81:6

Cody's mom, dad and sister arrive tonight, and we are beyond excited. This weekend will be filled with lots of family fun, as we are going to Cody's cousin's wedding on the Outer Banks. Immediately following the Strecker family departure from Durham, my brother and his fiance will arrive to spend their spring break with us, and then a after they leave, my mom and youngest sister catch a plane our way. Folks, that's 2.5 weeks of non-stop visitors. This of course is beyond awesome, but I also have a tendency to work my tush to pieces in preparation. Oh, you do that, too? I was hoping my energy would last until tonight, but after an adventurous morning grocery shopping with Seb, I am officially wiped, and now sit, completely unmotivated to do anything at all. (So glad I got the deep cleaning done yesterday!)

So amidst the clutter, I sit drinking my first cup of coffee in weeks, and read the daily office, which has become my new favorite ritual. I hope you're encouraged by the promise of rest found in Psalm 81, as I am. Have a marvelous weekend, my friends!

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Decor | Flora & Fauna Nursery Inspiration

I can't seem to get this nursery out of my head ever since I saw it this weekend on the boo and the boy. I love the intricate textiles + botanical feel . When I was young I worked for about five years (my first job) at a greenhouse, owned by family friends. I loved it there, and I'm pretty sure that those years gave me a love and desire for plants that I'll never get over, oh and a tremendous appreciation for the smell of wet dirt. That job combined with my mom's magical ways with flowers (and now my Mother-in-law's!) it seems that my place as a plant and flower lover is quite secure. I recently divulged to Cody that nothing that we possess makes me happier in our little apartment than my plants that are hardy enough to grow in our sun-deprived abode.

So now I'm trying to push around some ideas on how I can make a simple diy out of this idea of botanical prints for our nursery. Any and all ideas welcome!

P.S. A couple favorites via Etsy. One a little flora and one a little fauna.

Home | An evening with Julia Child

Okay, so more like 15 minutes with Julia Child.

Cody, Seb and I explored the nearest public library branch today, and I couldn't resist coming home with a dvd of 18 of Julia Child's most celebrated episodes of The French Chef. Cody is at a friend's house this evening so I thought I would be merciful, and get some viewing in while he's away. Without hesitation, I clicked the "play all" button on the menu screen, and with equal speed hit "stop" after the first episode. This lady is good! I know, I should probably get with it, you say. She is Julia Child, after all. What did I expect? I couldn't bear to go on to another episode until I let this first one, all about vegetables, sink in, and, pardon the pun, marinate for a little while.

I would most definitely categorize myself as a haphazard and experimental cook. You never know what I'll throw together, and you better believe I experiment on guests on a regular basis and without thinking twice (you've been warned!). All of which, I think Julia would approve of. But, I think she would also shake her finger at me for lacking some basic, or at least necessary, skills of preparation, and for heaven's sake, chopping. You see, I often fall into a rut of preparing all vegetables the exact same way, and seasoning them in a likewise lackluster manner. I only recently perfected pasta (at least in my mind). Not because cooking pasta is that difficult, but because I never experimented with timing or water amounts to achieve a better outcome. It was cooked, right? In fact, I never knew my pasta was wanting until I accidentally made it differently and Cody raved about how perfectly cooked it was. Thanks to Cody's impeccable taste buds and Julia's perfectly educated and whimsically haphazard ways in the kitchen, I think I've finally realized the need to begin reevaluating my methods in the kitchen.

First, I think I'll start with more butter, and as Julia taught me this evening, always use my hands to taste and prep (after I've properly washed up, of course). Oh the gems, Julia, oh the gems...

Bon Appétit!


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Home | Colds and little blessings

I'm tired and have the mild beginnings of a cold, or perhaps just a mild cold (it's so hard to tell), so of course I'm doing the most responsible thing with a portion of Seb's nap time and posting a few photos of our day. It's been a slow, but oddly busy week. Maybe it's just been a weird week, because Cody is on break, Seb also has a cold, and I've come up with a ridiculous new grocery budget system that has me oddly excited to enter my purchases in an excel spreadsheet and agonize over each and every item (properly chastising myself for frivolous buys, of course, and vowing never to do it again). But aside from being weird, it's been really good. A lot of growth has been happening around here, and I don't just mean the little boy who loves kicking around and doing somersaults, or Seb and his sudden affinity for buckles, which he has successfully learned to fasten, but then says "uh oh!" when he does, so that I can unfasten them for him. But growth is tiring you know, so I've been taking it slow, ruminating over a million things, reading and ruminating on new things, adding layers and layers to what I'm already thinking, and understanding more every day about where my heart is, and where it needs to be. I've also been thinking a lot about how our lives our going to change in just a few months. I am so excited to meet my new little dude, but at the same time nervous and tired, and feeling a twinge of sadness when I remember that soon it won't just be me and Seb puttering around and having adventures together. Of course, it will be wonderful, but it's the unknown, and the unknown is always a bit scary. 

This week I have also been tremendously blessed by two friends. One offered to let us borrow their infant car seat for baby boy, and the other let me peruse her stash of maternity clothes! I came home with a giant bag of t-shirts and dresses, and wake up feeling like it's the weeks following Christmas when you have yet another new item to don. Not to mention, Cody's break has freed up a bit more of his time to just sit around and hang out with us. Yesterday we walked Cody part of the way to school, taking some new streets, smelling the delicious flowering shrubs, and soaking up the sun. Last night we ate inexcusable amounts of popcorn and watched a movie with Seb. 

It's been very good.

Home | New wool soaker for Sebastian - compliments of Mamaw

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to brag about my mother-in-law's mad knitting skills. She surprised me a few weeks ago asking about the measurements of Seb's wool soakers because she had found a pattern and wanted to try it. Doesn't it look beautiful? (You guys know how some good wool gets me every time.) Here are two photos she sent me today of the process. She is working on the legs in the second photo. I hope to share a picture of Sebastian sporting his new drawers very soon.

Pregnant | DIY maternity shorts & 24 weeks

I am so excited to share my latest DIY with you, even though if I were selling this pair of shorts, they would be listed as "slightly imperfect," or something like that. Nonetheless, I am seriously pleased with them, and they only cost me a bit of time and elastic, as I already had a few pair of Cody's old jeans lying around! If your husbands old jeans don't correspond as nicely as mine with your size (yes, last night I did tell Cody that his hips are just like my pregnant hips, except all the time! We got a good laugh as I'm sure you can imagine) you can go to the thrift store and find a pair that works.

As I didn't have any elastic wider than one inch, which as it turns out is less than ideal for keeping up a pair of maternity pants, this pair is going to be a playground, chase-Seb-around pair, and then I am going to make a couple more once I get some 3 inch elastic.

Here is the tutorial that I referenced. If this one isn't clear enough to you, just do a google search. There are so many tutorials out there on this subject. This one looks good.

P.S. If you don't have access to a sewing machine, but have some pants or shorts you'd like to turn into maternity, check out Belly Jeans, an Etsy store that will take your regular jeans and convert them into maternity jeans!

Oh and I should probably say that once again, this lady was my inspiration. And hello, skirts as tops? What a good idea.

Food | Cheesy Quinoa Cakes

We tried this recipe while my sister was here and absolutely loved it. It was fast and easy, and a great source of protein for those of us who don't buy much meat.  Quinoa is a bit on the expensive side, though, so you can feel free to play around with the recipe and use less Quinoa. I did this to use some leftovers, and just added more egg and flour. Naturally it had more of an egg flavor, but they were still delicious. This is definitely a recipe you can feel free to experiment with—I love those, don't you? And along those lines, I should probably say that I left out the green onions, and didn't make the aioli sauce. They are great plain or dipped in ketchup. Like I said, feel free to experiment and make substitutions with these.

P.S. If these sound but don't look appetizing, follow the link. Mine aren't very pretty, haha.