Tuesday, July 9

water fun

Our community has five pools available to residents through the summer. They are all kid friendly, and there is even a splash park for the little ones. I wish I could say we take full advantage of these resources, but my energy levels and mobility (not to mention fear of maternity swimwear) have not been helpful in making it happen. So we thought about putting a sand box in our yard this summer, but decided the mess and investment wouldn't be worth it. Instead we went with a water play table.


I bought the large storage tub from JoAnn Fabrics because I was there and saw them, but they are widely available. It's the kind that is designed to slide under a bed, so wide and shallow. Eventually we'll put it up on blocks in back, but since we're working on the deck, the temporary home is on the front porch.

I ordered stacking/nesting cups designed for water play as well as the funnel/wheel toy from Amazon. As it turns out Atlas favors the large plastic cup and mixing spoon, but we've had fun playing with all the items.

 
A neighbor saw us playing and brought out the elephant watering can. It's been a huge hit as well.

Here's to staying cool and splashing around in the summer sun!

Saturday, June 29

"breakfast at tiffany's" inspired cake pops

I had the pleasure of attending a lovely baby shower for a friend who is expecting a little girl the same week I'm expecting my little guy. This baby is her first, and her family and friends threw a fantastic and glamorous event with the theme "Breakfast at Tiffany's". The soon-to-be grandmother thought of everything from valet parking to M&Ms printed with the baby's name as favors. She also asked me to make cake pops for the occasion. A Google image search for the movie resulted almost entirely in pictures of Audrey Hepburn, and not being confident in my ability to recreate a cake-pop bust in her likeness, I opted to feature tiffany blue with white satin ribbon and pearl sprinkles. The mama-to-be has been craving Nutella, so a chocolate/nutella center was in order. The hazelnut flavor wasn't as noticeable as I would have liked, but at the end of the day chocolate can stand on it's own pretty well. They turned out great!




Tuesday, June 25

container garden update

Our little backyard garden experiment seems to be flourishing! I could use a good pesto recipe for the basil, and the oregano and mint are doing quite well too. We've also seen our first ghost pepper this week, our first ripe tomato, and squash is on its way.





More on the flowers in the front another day (when I've caught up on weeding and am not too embarrassed to take pictures)!

baby quilt in progress

I don't want to give too much away, but here is a snapshot of my current project. I'm hoping to finish up by this weekend!


Wednesday, June 19

the ultimate cake pop post

I try to remember to take a nice picture of each batch of cake pops I make. Usually it works out, but occasionally I end up forgetting entirely or taking one on my phone in the car on the way to the event. The latter is what happened last weekend.

Strawberry inside, chocolate covered and coconut varieties.

Here is a small collection of other cake pops I've made over the last two years.

Yellow cake with dark and milk chocolate for book club.

Curious George chocolate for a 2-year-old's birthday party.

Inca themed for a birthday party.

Owls for a one-year-old's birthday party.

Beach balls for a beach themed baby shower.

Very hungry caterpillars for a butterfly baby shower.

Cream cheese mint inside for a gender reveal party.

"Blue velvet" favors at our baby dedication for Atlas.