Camping on the Russian River

We had our first successful family camping trip along the Russian River in Guerneville. It was awesome. We had hot dogs and beans (classic, must haves for the first official camping excursion.) I taught Jack how to roast marshmallows, Adam had plenty of time outside, the hubs and I played dominoes until we got tired--at 8:30. It was great. We stayed at Johnson's Beach, and besides the loud group next to us (should have known better when we saw the half-empty bottle of Jim Beam on their picnic table--rookie mistake) it was quiet and very family-friendly. I even saw two mamas breastfeeding on our drive in! 

Last days of summer

 Easy sewing project for a four-year-old/ mess maker/ glasses=officially old/ smiles on the grass in San Francisco/ Daddy and his ocean

Got my first Birchbox!

 Birchbox is a company that sends out a box of deluxe beauty samples to you every month, for a very reasonable $10/month subscription. This is my first one, but I am already awaiting August's. So far, I've just tried the coconut nourishing body cream (smells like heaven and stays put) and the Benefit Hello Flawless foundation (perfect shade for my skin and fun for dressing up.) Most of the products seem to be high end/ organic/ cruelty free, which is great. It reminds me of the little samples you get with your purchase at Sephora (or used to get, I should say.) Except you get way more things to try. Love it! So fun and so girly.

Eureka, CA

Trip to Ireland

Sorry about the radio silence, but we've been on a lovely, long trip in Ireland. My husband is from Northern Ireland and this trip has been long in the works.

It was great for him to get back home and wonderful to introduce our little one to all things Irish. I was thrilled to get back to the country that feels like my second home. I mean, look at how beautiful and green it is...

Here is a short video of Grafton Street in Dublin. It rained on this day (and on the other 16 of the 17 days we were there--hello Irish summer!)

 So the trip plus the fact that I am now six months pregnant (!) combine to make one pretty good excuse for not blogging for the last three months if I do say so myself! I hope to do more now that we are in fall again (ahhhh) and I'm itching to get baking and crafting.

Snow day

We were lucky enough to make it to the snow in Lake Tahoe last weekend. The conditions were perfect, lots of snow on the ground but none on the road (no chains!)

Snowballs were thrown, one little snowman was made, and we even got to go tubing, which I insist is one of the most fun activities in the world. I swear Jack giggled all the way down the hill...each and every time.

And after it all, we got to come home to our sunny, warm little house. But I think someone would like to go back next year...

Epitaphs

When we are in the dregs of winter, perhaps it's natural to dwell on the darker side of human experiences. Plants die in the winter, or at least hunker down and stretch deeper into the earth. Most animals get thinner as food supplies dwindle, and yet humans get notoriously fatter in the winter. I think it's good practice to live closely with the cycles of life.

In this vein, I present a little collection of possible epitaphs--thoughts on life and death that would not necessarily be carved on a headstone (what do we cremation-choosers use?) but at the very least, sum up a life-philosophy. I suppose the collection is part of what Gretchen Rubin calls my "ongoing, personal research project." Little notes scribbled on gum wrappers, books filled with ephemera, thoughts, quotes, lists of songs to play at my funeral (that's another post.) My mom is a notorious personal research note-taker. She may still have a misquoted saying from LA Story in her wallet.

This is my favorite of all possible epitaphs:

"The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
all goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what anyone supposed, and luckier."  Walt Whitman

Another great one is:

"Is it so small a thing,
to have enjoyed the sun,
to have lived light in the Spring,
to have thought,
to have done...     Matthew Arnold

The weirdest one is on W.B. Yeates' grave in my opinion, although I love it.  I've had the pleasure of visiting this site. There is nothing quite like an old, overgrown Irish graveyard in the rain. It's so romantic.

Whale watching and rugelach

We spent the weekend looking for whales out at Bodega Bay. We saw a few sprays, but no actual whale was spotted. The weather was clear and sunny and cool--Jack ran around in the fields while my girlfriend, Bri, and I ate scones and jam.

And a few projects were finished when someone got a cold (Jack) and someone else (me) got to stay home from work and keep him company.
First: an aquarium scene made out of construction paper and sequins.

Second: some seriously delicious rugelach.

You can find the recipe in my favorite baking cookbook: Martha's Baking Handbook or online here. These are so friggin' good, I have a tummy ache from eating waaay too many. The flaky layers are almost pastry-like and hold chocolate slivers, finely-chopped walnuts, raisins and sticky apricot jam. The filling in my book is different from the one online, I used 1 cup of walnuts, 1/4 cup of sugar and only 3/4 cup of jam. I made half of ours with chocolate, the other with raisins, all with nuts. Too good.

And from what I remember from my coffee shop days, rugelach freeze really well once baked. (I've already put more than half in the freezer to deter a late night rugelach attack.)

And I found this in a drawer the other day, don't you just love these? Jack is fascinated by it, and always wants to drink the water out of it. Yuck.