Relax.

image via

I had planned on posting a few pictures... Christmas-tree shopping, mulled cider mulling...

I planned to do this last Sunday for Monday's post. 

Didn't happen. 

But decorating did happen- prior to '10:00pm'! (we intend to start everything early, but we tend to run behind)... drama-free! {SUCCESS!!}

Planned again to do it last night. A few more pictures to add to the mix... light-hanging, letter-writing (yep... those santa letters still happen!)...

Didn't happen.

But shopping did happen... and not only did it happen- it doesn't have to happen any longer, cause it's DONE. Hours and hours and days and HOURS later, but it. is. done. And wrapping did happen... prior to the usual hell that is us buried in unwrapped presents at the very, very last minute (Christmas eve)... cursing our way through... all the while trying to make them look festive... unique... creative... cute...

And this movie happened too. 

And arguments were forgotten...  undone tasks forgiven... 

Unshared pictures filed.
              

Wish.

{my birthday is march 30th. fyi.}

{...& card available here. fyi.}

  

Time to PLAY.

Ryan has to work in Santa Barbara on Saturday, so yesterday we decided to 'sieze the moment'...  Hotel booked.  Kids thrilled.

Not a clue what we'll be doing... where we'll be eating.  But I will- without a doubt, be partaking in a little game of Nicolas Cage Roulette.     

He had me at Randy.
(... in a movie that will never get old)

      
{Which "Cage" will I get??  This is my kinda game......}
  

The usual suspects.

a costume parade & a classroom party... cousins & trick-or-treating... chili & cornbread... pizza & wine... spooky glasses & sparkling cider... pumpkin carving & candle lighting... dry ice & {state-of-the-art :)} jack-o-lanterns... charlie brown & tim burton... black nails & only-on-halloween 'fashion' embellishments... candy & more candy...

               

... and two utterly exhausted parents.

                                         

The weekend...

               

…in which fall has finally arrived.

…in which we finally watched the royal tenenbaums.

 

…in which we [he] {ironically, now that summer is over and 'fall has arrived'} finally made ice cream ~ incredibly delicious brown sugar-bourbon ice cream.

 

…in which I finally met a few of my favorite blogger friends… alice, & michelle, & jora, & desi, & alexis {man, what a group}.

…in which I finally got to wear my wellies (justified by a 5-minute-teensy-tiny-sprinkling "storm") & my jack-o'-lantern shirt.

                       

…in which we finally purchased the last item necessary to complete this year's halloween costumes.

{which inspired this intricate highly thought-out lego creation… [luckily he's going the total oldschool route this year (aka the 'cost-effective-minimal-materials-required-easy-to-assemble-and-exectute route')… after much deliberation, we have landed on the perfect costume. 
can you guess which of the following characters that would be?}

{...if you guessed, 'BLINKY' you'd be correct :).}

Girl {Mom} power.

         

despite reviews, i liked it.  

touched me.  inspired me.  makes me want to do dig deeper... ignore less... do more.  

allowed me to step away from the laundry & hang out with my mom, my grandma & aunt on a weekday afternoon. 

made me cry.

maggie gyllenhaal... viola davis... rosie perez... holly hunter... passion ~ charisma ~ heart ~ hutzpah.

what more could you ask of a movie??

{see trailer here}

             
happy wednesday :).

What summer's made of.

I took an unexpected hiatus (not that I'd call 4 days a true hiatus) from this lil' blog of mine... all for a good cause.  The transition from school to summer is {surprisingly - even though it happens every year, it still comes as a surprise... each & every last day of school/first day of 'freedom'} a bit rocky.  The first few days are usually filled with grumpiness, tension, fighting, chaos... any or all of the above.  So I decided a short break was in order to get into the full 'summer groove'.  Evening chalk-art sessions, ice cream breaks, sign-making (these "summer-alert" signs have been posted on each & every bedroom door, nightstand- & more... in case we *forgot :)), tomato-pickin, and all sorts of garden-tending for that matter.  Of course, there's the usual chores, and a million 'non-summery' things in between the moments of bliss... car servicing, purging (aaaaalmost done. still), cleaning, hair-cuts... 

But all of this stuff isn't so bad when when speckled with library visits n' reading club check-ins, flashback movie viewings (so far, thanks to jacob's library rental choices- planet of the apes & clash of the titans... next up- flash gordon), late night pandora sessions, open windows at all hours of the day, new books to crack open- and old ones to finish, & possibly best of all~   

 popsicle-making.

{found via pinterest, and have been dying to make em' {and these!} ever since}

peach pie popsicles

*slightly adapted from i eat grass.

6 servings

1 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla)
1 frozen banana, peeled chopped
2 large peaches, seeded diced (I had white peaches, so I used both peaches & nectarines, for added color)
½ tsp vanilla (my helper accidentally poured in 1 tsp... & they were not too vanilla-y at all)
1 tbsp agave
pinch of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth or desired consistency. 

Pour into popsicle tray and freeze until set (3-6 hours).  If you don't have popsicle molds, just use a small paper cup & a popsicle stick.  Insert sticks into center of popsicles after they start to freeze.  When fully frozen & ready to enjoy, peel away the cup.

  

 

... and the best part~ a late-night 'slice of pie' on a stick.

Happy Friday everyone :).
 

p.s. 

Any favorite popsicle recipes??  Please share... can never have too many.  After all, it's what summer's made of.

  

Basil's in & school's out.

Remember that lovely tomato basil pesto recipe I shared yesterday?  Well, today, I'm taking a step back & sharing a few crucial tips for harvesting and storing this bright, aromatic summer herb.  One of the simplest herbs to maintain, and it adds an unmatched flavor & fragrance to the garden... the kitchen... & best of all- the table.  

Come visit us over at Pink Moon Daily and share any basil tips & tricks of your own, & when you have more basil than you know what to do with, just whip up a batch the aforementioned pesto.

... and in other news~ IT'S SUMMER!! 

{kicked it off last night with a quintessential summer activity... we had an early dinner, hopped (well, maybe we didn't hop) in the car, & drove to the the theater.  nothing like men in black 3 & popcorn to pave the way for lots of laziness and just enough structure.  i'm signing off for the weekend, to get some much needed [HOMEWORK-FREE] time with my kids and rest from the busy month year week, and to get through one final day of end-of-the-year / promotion celebrations.  ...whether "summer" has arrived or not, wishing you a little r&r & sunshine as well :).}

  

    {end-of-the year bliss}

Blue skies & black beans.

          

Well, the week is {finally} coming to a close.  Volunteering's done, hailey's canker-sore is gone (crazy how one little 'ailment' can be such a major source of pain... for an entire week!), lots left to go on our 'purging  project', but the table is cleared, and the garage has at least been started, homework assignments are ALL done, jacob's promotion outfit's purchased, and he's more than ready to walk down that aisle.  Picked our first bell peppers yesterday, a huge bunch of basil's ready & waiting to spice up our life, & the tomatoes are well on their way...

 

We're all stocked up on sunscreen, bags, suits, and towels (finally ordered some linen towels! ...since I won't be making it to France anytime, soon, figured these will make do- for now :))... Just a couple a' days left of school and we cannot wait to put our 'supplies' to good use.

               

But I didn't want to let the week come to a close without sharing this week's tried & true recipe... Sorry, no pic & only a quick link, but seriously- these black bean burgers (via PMD contributor, Chef Dayna McLeod) will most definitely not leave you asking... Where's the beef??  On Memorial Day morning, I sat and read my way through my reader, facebook, twitter... reading about bbq's to be had, burgers to be grilled, potato salads to be prepared... Seeing that the usual holiday fare was pretty much out of the question, I had no idea what our menu would be.

...until I saw this recipe.  I closed the computer, put some beans to soak... & after a loooong day of cleaning, & organizing- we watched one of the worst best movies ever made {Three Amigos} & enjoyed our 'burgers'. 

   

Tread carefully.

   

Somewhere in between my crazy past life & the present- still crazy, but a different-kind-of-crazy life, I went through sort of a "hermit" phase.  I didn't want to be tied to anything... to the computer, to my phone, to staying on top of trends... movies... pta calendars...  I rarely (pretty much never) checked email, barely answered my own phone- and texting??  Forget about it.  Just wanted to watch my few favorite shows, immerse myself in the kitchen, & spend time with the ones I love.  Didn't have a need to get the latest n' greatest device... social networking was far from the scope of my daily to-do lists.  I mean really far.

Well, I'll be honest.  I kinda liked it.  Just me & my little family... my dinosaur computer... & my hot pink RAZR.  

But it wasn't until I started blogging (or actually- reading other blogs) that I fully grasped just how BEHIND I had gotten since I'd parted ways with my 'work laptop'... my treo... my real-life-social-network.  As I've shared here- in a way- I'm not in any hurry, and have no plan to be ahead of each & every [or any] curve.  Yet, at the same time, we've been playing the game of catch-up {pretty heavily}.

Catching up on movies, music, books, people, phones, gadgets, beauty products, you-name-it.  This weekend, our [Ryan's] mission was rewiring- reconfiguring- streaming... I won't bore you with details, but I will say- IT'S A MADDENING PROCESS.  Will I be ever-so-happy to fiiiiiiiiinally watch Downton Abbey- OH, I mean to STREAM Downtown Abbey from our television... to access our music on one central nework???  Of course I will.  But part of me really, really misses those dinosaur-computer-pink-razr-days... the days in which I believed a "BLOGGER" was some scary movie character (not really, but you get the point)...

Maybe it's the fact that I decided to watch a couple of thought-provoking, intense, George Clooney films- two nights in a row... maybe it's the re-wiring hell... the impending mammogram... the billion things on our calendar in the approaching month... the new workout time of 5:30AM... but things are feelin' a little "heavy" around here at the moment.  Maybe I'll stick with wine coolers Family Ties for the next couple a' nights.  Just to stay balanced.   

{oh, but in all seriousness- those movies were excellent.}

   

Switching gears.

The weekend was a mixture of magic & misery.  A Friday afternoon sushi bar date with Jacob... a Saturday afternoon of homework (Ryan), fighting (kids), & laundry (yours truly)... 

Sunday?  Well, the "plan" was to drop the kids off at my grandma's, & enjoy a little lunch/movie date with my over-worked-worn-out husband.  But seeing as though Saturday wasn't exactly a family-fun day, I knew we needed to switch gears a bit.  So, we woke up, had our favorite 'in-a-hurry' breakfast, drove to a far-away movie theater (with the intention of going here afterwards- an incredibly magical place that justifies an entirely separate post) to see a movie we could all enjoy... one that was sure to help us get our weekend back on track.  It worked. 

Yet unfortunately, others (possibly the entire city of Brea) had the same idea of visiting the new ice cream parlor, so we switched gears once again.  But now we're on a mission to go back- sans the "around-the-block" line...  And I'm also still on a mission to see "my" movie.  From your comments, maybe it's one that should be viewed solo... maybe this afternoon? (laundry can always wait.) 

p.s. 

Speaking of magical movies, & nostalgic ice cream parlors, do you remember Colorforms???  I'm on a total old-school kick lately (another future post) when it comes to toys- and in result, my kids are re-experiencing my childhood in ways far beyond ice-cream... whether they like it or not. (at least it's a 'modernized' version :))

p.p.s.

In full disclosure, we ended the night with a few episodes of Family Ties (yet another "future post").  It's official.  I'm forever trapped in the 1980's. (and I'm holding my family hostage)

  

Weekend advice {from me to me}...

             

              

"Pour yourself a drink,

                      

put on some lipstick,

              

and pull yourself together."

-Elizabeth Taylor      

 ... and then go see this movie.

   Got a feeling it'll be good for the slump soul in a refreshingly raw, raunchy sorta way.

{But first, I get to pick Jacob up early for 'minimum day.'  Time to just hang out- solo- (with either kid) is a rarity these days, but increasing necessary... and also "good for the soul" :).}

Images via (top to bottom)  1, 2, 3