weekend report

friday night featured a seester-cousin-baby slumber party! it was wild and included a ravioli dinner, a little box of hair color, a sundae bar and lots of play time. we even got crazy and stayed up until 1:30!

i spent saturday with these two little darlings and i have but one measly picture to show for it. i put all my energy into just soaking up the moment with these wee little babes. and their mother. and their father. and their big brother. while finn spent the afternoon with oma and grandma great, my day included lots of cuddling and staring and admiring, with a starbucks run with ever capped off with a snail hunt. i could have stayed all week.

we hit up casa de awesome for a lovely saturday night. mom said it was nothing special but i begged to differ. a little grass time, a walk, and then bbq'd tri tip with artichokes, portabellas, brussel sprouts, salad and spuds. it really felt like a spring festival.

sunday funday was back in sacramento and found us celebrating with the trampetti's. finn was in heaven: a buddy to play with and a room full of new and exciting toys - it was like disneyland!

we set off for an adventure and walked to selland's for an early supper. we made a mess, clinked glasses, shushed squawking boys and loved every minute.

we ended the day with a little park visit. could these little profiles be any sweeter?

quite obviously, a full and happy weekend.

saturday.sister.sandwiches.swim

sister e came to visit on saturday! i was so happy to see that sweet face...

we agreed that the pool sounded heavenly, and that a picnic was a must.

so avocado sandwiches it was. my favorite. mama used to make these for me in high school and i have been hooked ever since.

after a quick stop at wally world for noodles...we arrived. and the smile never left my face.

we alternated between lounging with magazines (which never lasted long) and floating in the pool. the water is by far the most comfortable place for this preggo body of mine-true, i have always loved the water, but this is a whole 'nother kind of appreciation. water birth, anyone?

we left the pool right as about thirty young (and screaming) children swarmed in. emily likened it to an "invasion". good thing we left when we did, i am not sure that my once pale skin will ever be the same. i managed to avoid any color on my face, but the rest of my body wasn't so lucky. oh the guilt!

worth it, though, way worth it. thanks for the heavenly saturday sister!

baby shower no. 2

much like baby shower no. 1, this day completely knocked my socks off. from the second i pulled up, the cuteness hit me like tornado of love. i was blown away by all that my sisters had done! the welcome banner was almost too much...



when i walked through the door to emily's house, it just continued. i am pretty sure that i uttered, "oh my goodness" each time i turned to see something new and adorable - which was about 852 times. i loved all the sweet phrases spelled out in tiles, the old baby shoes and the clothes that me and my sisters wore as babes...carefully saved by my mom.



the flowers were all homegrown by my mom and grandma and lovingly arranged by cindy and katie!! i felt like i was gazing at my wedding flowers all over again...so beautiful.



seeing our old wooden toys, the farm set, and that little suitcase scattered about made for instant nostalgia.



the girls created this little guessing station for everyone to leave their guesses for boy or girl, birth date and size. the guesses were equally split between boy and girl (fun!) and the sizes....sheesh. everyone thinks this baby is going to arrive toddler size. SCARY.



and outside, the beauty only escalated....it was such a perfect sunny day and the yard was like paradise. i love banners...



the beverages were so yummy! party punch with vodka (heard it was great), wine, and my favority fave: lemonade. these girls know me. and those darling little cones contained animal crackers, goldfish and popcorn - clever, clever!

could you just die over the straws? i did.

real tables, with real chairs and real linens. so stunning. and more white flowers! ahhhhh!

pretty sure that "baby mama" sign was the decoration that garnered the biggest laugh. i had to steal it to hang in my house.

soon it was time to eat...happy time. my sisters really outdid themselves and convinced me that they should be professional party planners.

the food was simply stellar. green salad, fruit salad (thank you Amanda!), bread, and the pasta...oh the pasta. alfredo penne pasta with roasted vegetables...a recipe rachel just...oh, i dunno......CREATED. she is unbelievable to me and the pasta was all the rage. i have been enjoying leftovers ever since.



lunch al fresco...and do you spy those darling little party favor cookies my mom whipped up??! too darling. and delicious!



the dessert table!! woo hoo! so much fun color and so much SUGAR! baby berry was thrilled. so was baby mama. chocolate cupcakes and coconut cupcakes-made by the girls, lemon bars and boterkoek (our favorite dutch treat) made by mama, and fudge from erika! i was in heaven...




it wouldn't have been a shower without all these people who i simply love and adore...so many made the trek from sacramento (and two all the way from monterey!) and i felt so special. all these ladies (and one man) have either been a part of my life since i was a wee one or have helped my make my teen and young adult years a real hoot...they all have really made my life so colorful.










and the gifts...we were so spoiled yet again. spoiled with practical, spoiled with heirlooms, spoiled with hand made, spoiled with luxury, spoiled with necessity, spoiled with cuteness - i was so overwhelmed and so, so very grateful.




my sisters threw me quite a bash. i knew all along it would be fabulous, but i had so idea how BEAUTIFUL and how oh-so fun it would be...they made me feel like the luckiest baby mama this side of the atlantic. its not too often in life when you get so many people you love in one room. i treasure days like this. and all day, i felt lucky not just because they gave me such an incredible day to remember, but also lucky because i have them. forever.



baby berry has the coolest tantes.

i am so thankful to everyone that helped make it a perfect day. and girls, from the bottom of my heart...thank you.

xoxo


p.s. rachel made the dress she is wearing. hard to believe, right?

sister slumber party

while the mister worked hard all weekend, my sisters headed up for a slumber party...

i busied myself at the farmer's market (my first of the year!) and with flower picking until they arrived. i was jumping up and down when this view was visible from my doorway. it meant that i was in store for a lot of fun and even more laughter.

after some chatter around the table while we ate strawberries, we agreed outside is where we wanted to be. so old sac it was.

we perused the stores and tried on many hats...

and masks and shoes and rings and taffy too.

after sunset we headed home for supper. we whipped up ina's parmesean chicken, asparagus, salad and bread. and for dessert, movie time with our dad's banana milshakes recipe.

the morning came and we ate cinnamon french toast with fruit.

and then we planted wheat grass for easter treats. such fun.

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~ Marion C. Garretty

sister slumber soiree

one my favorite things in the world must be a slumber party, and of course sister slumber parties rank pretty high.

we did a lot of snuggling, some bickering and A LOT of laughing, mostly because emily is a riot and also because we watched the hangover. i had a sore throat for two days afterwards. from laughing.

we decided to make breakfast for dinner after we discovered that the chicken i had taken from the freezer and had planned to roast was still half frozen - typical. luckily, it all worked out because rachel makes some mean eggs, melt in your mouth bacon and this night, she also made hash browns from scratch! yummmmm...

after a random late night run to mcdonalds for cokes, a katy perry dance party in the car and an attempt to watch elf we finally walked our sleepy sister bodies to bed...

the next morning we lazied around, but we didn't feel too badly because it was sunday after all. we piled on one bed, played nintendo ds, read magazines, and emily beat my fruit ninja top score on my iphone. stinker.

then we made breakfast. again. what silly girls we are! this time we had french toast and fruit...and a little bubbly.

after some more lounging, we soon got to work making a dish we could take home and enjoy all week. this lasagna recipe is special and amanda gave me the recipe at my bridal shower. i had yet to attempt it until today because....well, in short, it seemed tough and i needed rachel, who i equate to be my own personal pioneer woman. while rachel interpreted the four page recipe, emily kept us laughing. hysterically.

we chopped and stirred. and my favorite part was showing the girls the magic of shredding cheese in the cuisinart. its like magic.

we took brief breaks to "dance it out".

and soon it was time to begin stacking all that goodness...

three lasagnas for three sisters.

speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil.

and just when i thought the day couldn't get any better, my mister came home and we ate by candlelight and ryan had seconds. which is always my cue that i made something pretty alright.

and then he did the dishes, while i put my feet up and talked incessantly from the table. awesome.

Weekending

A rainy weekend in Napa - is there anything better?

My first stop was to see this little fella...who looks nothing short of adorable in this little yellow rain jacket. Don't you agree?

*I wondered what he was doing in the bottom right picture and then I realized he was mimicking his crazy Tante with the camera in her face. Clever little lad.

We had planned on a long walk, but upon arrival Ever kept repeating, "it's raining, Tante!" I nearly died each time he said it and had to try very hard to keep my composure.

So we opted for story time instead...

And then a drive. Behold, the many faces of sweet, sweet Ever. I couldn't pick just one! Can you blame me?




We ventured to Whole Foods for lunch, but Ever had a hard time waiting, so we munched on an apple as we strolled through the aisles...



Saturday night is for sister mischief. I really have no words for these photos other than, my sisters are rad. We headed up Partrick Road in search of rebobs. We didn't find any, but we did have a pretty killer photo shoot in the road. And I have no idea what I was doing with my mouth in these pictures. And my sisters are fierce.

Aside from fun with babies and rebobs, the main purpose of my weekend visit was to celebrate this girl's birthday...

*photo circa 2007 but a classic in my mind.

My Emily. Well I guess I should say "our Emily", although in a perfect world I would have her all to myself. Anyway, she is as fun and cute and silly and wild and loyal as she looks. She has a hilarious, tough exterior but her heart is still like a child's: pure and sweet. She is the only girl in our family to wind up with our Daddy's blue eyes and she is the only one who can sing like a bird. Actually, more like Carrie Underwood. She can rock dark hair or blond. She doesn't shy away at the sight of blood. She likes eyeliner but also likes mud. She can make me laugh like A LOT. And now she is 23. My baby sister is 23. But to me, I think she always be eight, with ginormous sky blue eyes, pouty (in a good Angelina way) lips, singing "Katie and Tommy" on the porch.

So we celebrated. At Casa de Awesome, of course. We enjoyed delicious lemon shrimp pasta, Mom's homemade ice cream cake, football, a fire and maybe a cocktail or two.

We sang happy birthday to you and she blew out her candle and all was right with the world.

I wonder what she wished for?



I, on the other hand, just wished for a happy year for this girl.

And I have a feeling she will get just that.