Mount Vernon on Presidents' Day

We woke up last Monday morning with an adventure ahead of us. We drove to Mount Vernon to celebrate Presidents' Day at Washington's home. The weather was beautiful, the sheep were friendly, and the view across the Potomac was stunningly beautiful. It was a terrific family day for us, we hope you enjoyed our snapshots.

A few tips if traveling to Mount Washington with a child:

1. The grounds are fairly stroller friendly. We took the wooded path (not stroller friendly) with the stroller and still survived.
2. Arrive early, about opening time. Parking looks like it is a bit crazy, or full, but there is plenty of parking tucked away.
3. Check the schedule. There was a ceremony on the main grounds at 10:30, so we planned to do most of our sight seeing during that time, which meant no long lines and great views for us. We will go back and see the performance when Behr is old enough to appreciate it.
4. There is more than enough to see in one visit!
5. The site allows and recommend your own bottled water. Bring it.

Baptism Day

we sent the announcement out 

and would love for you to also join us in celebrating this day

we will be celebrating with Behr grandparents, aunts and uncles

good food, and lots of quality time before our evening church service

have a lovely Sunday.

Dreamy Blues and Greens

this may look like the start of a fashion post...

...but this anthro window is actually my latest party planning inspiration!

No sooner than I recovered from planning Behr's birthday party, I began planning his baptism. On Sunday, we will have a small gathering with our immediate families. However, never one to miss an opportunity for snail mail, we sent announcements to our loved ones, asking them to join us in prayer from their homes and churches across the world.

My obsession with watercolor continues, along with the rest of design world! So it should come as no surprise that watercolor and my favorite cool shades are the common theme here. Take a sneak peek at our top invitation choices from tiny prints*

1/2/3/4/5/6

Our design has been picked, envelopes have been addressed, and lovely cards have been delivered to homed of our beloved.

Can you guess which design we chose?

City Outdoor Space

Some weekends we never get out of our pajamas.

We are lucky if all three of us are pulled together for church.

 Some times the only outdoor time we have is on our wee little balcony.

We love that sitting up there makes us feel like we are skipping rocks on a sea of roof tops.

The city scape can be so beautiful.

We love our balcony.

Especially on the days that it is our only connection to the outside.

 

Blowing kisses to the camera.

These pictures were taken during an impromptu "13 months," photo shoot, just before leaving for church last week. Behr and I both look presentable, which is quite the feat these days. Although the 13 month milestone soared by with little fanfare, there has been quite a lot of learning. Behr has been picking up new words and phrases and using old ones with increasing regularity including: ball, book, hi mom, dada, and a whole lot of gibberish. He has started to use his tongue as he tries to form words, and it is hilarious. We all just fall on the floor laughing.  Behr loves taking out the trash, blowing kisses, and being outside. He gets excited and has even learned to poop on the potty. Whoa! That one caught us off guard, but we are running with it. One thing is certain, we are having more and more fun with this little boy as each week passes.

I am wearing:

Shirt: anthro sale, it is already gone!

Swagg: The Swagg Shop

Belt: H&M when I was first pregnant

Necklace: Banana Republic...years ago

this entire outfit is coming with me to san francisco!

Behr is wearing:

Sweater: Carters

Shirt: Gymboree

Khakis: Carters

Socks: Old Navy

Shoes: Little Friends Co.

I am linking up with some of my favorites!

E-A-T your brussels sprouts

I originally posted this recipe in 2008, and tweet about it every once in a while. It became a quick family favorite, and we were thrilled when Behr loved it too. My affinity for these green beauties has grown with time, but this is still my favorite recipe.

Ingredients:

2-3 medium sweet potatos, peeled and cubed
1 pound brussels sprouts, halved
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
4 green onions or shallots, thinly sliced
1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 can light coconut milk
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup of rice or quinoa

Directions: Heat the canola oil in a dutch oven or large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering, add the sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. Leave them alone to brown, 2-4 minutes. Add the curry powder and green onions/shallots to the pan and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the Brussels sprouts are almost tender, 10-15 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic, and stir. Cook a few more minutes. Serve over rice or quinoa and garnish with lime juice and cilantro.

Note: I scoop the sweet potatoes and brussles sprouts out so Behr can eat these as finger foods.

Joining Lauren of With Two Cats for Mini Meals:

Photo Booth Back Drop Tutorial

After hunting for weeks for a sky back drop, the perfect cloud print sheets, or anything else that would make our party guests take flight, I resorted to making my own sky. I used a roll of plastic table cover left over from a baby shower a few years ago, crepe paper, pom pom fringe (an obsession inspired by Sarah Richardson), and painter's tape. In total, this project set me back about $20 and an hour of my time.

You can see more of the pictures here. But the real gem is the late night, poorly lit, zoomed out view showing how everything held up.

How about that? Another bold impact that was easy as pie! And didn't even have to look pretty, although I might have trimmed it out in painter's tape if I had thought of it at the time. You may also notice that we needed to widen the streamers after the first round of pictures.