Celebrating, ummmm, spring

With a week of gloomy weather ahead we decided that a good, cheerful party was in order, and, since there are certainly no birthdays to celebrate this time of year (ahem), we decided that we had just better celebrate spring.  It is always fun to have our families all together under one roof, and we really enjoy playing hosts to such joyous gatherings.  We've also gotten better (much better) at it through the years, and rather than spending all Sunday afternoon panicking about the preparations, it was Saturday that found our home leisurely smelling of fresh bread, and filled with the sounds of the food processor, mixer, etc. etc., so that by Sunday we were able to kick back, wine in hand, and enjoy the festivities themselves.  Calvin, of course, is always the most involved host–more than willing to show, tell, and share with absolutely everyone that walks through the door.  And if you see a cake in the pictures?  We have no idea who that might be for, as there were certainly no birthdays celebrated here, just one really enjoyable family gathering to welcome the first beginnings of spring.  And who really needs a reason to party anyhow, more than just celebrating the wonderful love of family, and the marching onward of the seasons in our beautiful world?  Oh, and happy birthday, mom.

Ahhhh, all that bakery goodness

Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday. Call it what you will, the subtitle for today is a day of fried bakery goodness. In years past we have done our requisite paczki purchasing at the location of greatest convenience (read: the nearest grocery store), and we enjoyed them plenty. Ahhh, but we were so deprived. This year, in a show of loyalty and appreciation, I pre-ordered a half dozen paczki from the Dexter Bakery (for those of you who don't know, Calvin and I visit the bakery every Thursday for a weekly pretzel treat, and are on a very friendly first name basis with many of the bakery personnel).  We were rewarded with a taste of heaven itself.  Far from the pre-produced, dried out blobs of fat sitting on shelves at the grocery store, the box that I was handed at our local bakery was still actually warm; not only had they baked all night, but they were keeping at it during the day to provide customers with the freshest product possible. It helps to know people, too - since we didn't come in to pick up our pre-order "early enough" in the day, they replaced the tasties with fresh ones when we got there.  Oooooooooh.

The three of us split one traditional custard paczki after dinner.  It was Calvin's inaugural paczki experience and he savored his third of the delectable with a relish that ended in an only moderately messy face (after all, it does a lot more good to the taste buds than the skin).  And, in case you are keeping count, I fully intended to share those six calorie fests outside our immediate family, and I did. I gave a raspberry one to my mom.

Happy Valentine's Day 2009

How to make Valentine's night special with a two year old on the premises. That is, besides the fact that every night is special with a two year old on the premises.  Given his choice Calvin would make a every night a party (although, apparently not with cake, but I'll get to that later).  At least a couple times a week he asks to have a picnic in front of the fire place, an activity which, thanks to the difficulty of keeping a two year old sitting during a picnic, we reserve only for occasions which we deem as special.  So we made tonight just one such occasion and spread our blanket in front of a warm fire to enjoy its coziness on "the day of love".  Of course, many people celebrate hearts day with fancy meals; some go out, some order in, and still others plan and cook delightfully gourmet versions of an edible love affair, but that just wouldn't do for a picnic dinner and we opted for something way more fun than fight crowds or pay exorbitant amounts of money - we made individual heart shaped pizzas.  Perhaps that's the crowning glory of making your own pizza dough - being able to shape it however you want and in any size (and dressing it however you want, too, of course).  We had two different Valentine themed pizza options tonight - The Audrey Hepburn Classic Romance pizza (sporting clever cheesiness, olive you olives, going all to mushrooms, and slightly spicy uncured pepperoni), and The Brad Pitt Spice Things Up pizza (with it's extra cheesiness of Italian mozzarella and Mediterranean feta, and slightly spicy, yet goofy, banana pepper rings).  Strangely enough Jon and I opted for half and half pizzas and Calvin opted for everything everywhere.  I guess you just can't have one without the other.  Don't forget to pour the (cheap) champagne.  We hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day, no matter how you decided to celebrate!

We're back

Back from our internet hiatus and back from a fantastic vacation north to visit my Godmother, both of which we really enjoyed.  In years past our vacations have given us great blog fodder thanks to an abundance of youthful energy, but for some reason (could it be we are getting older, or is it just the toddler sapping all of our strength?) this year we relished an entire week of just lounging.  Really just lounging.  We spent a little time out on the town (we really love Petoskey), a little time cooking dinners (trying out our favorite recipes on family is always fun), and a little time playing in the snow, and all of it was fantastically relaxing and the perfect way to start the new year off right.

More pictures from the trip can be found in the Merry Christmas (2008) album.  Happy new year!

Hiatus for the holidays

We are taking an internet hiatus for the remainder of this festive season, but here are a few highlights from our Christmas celebrations and the pictures are up in the Merry Christmas 2008 album.  We hope you have safe and enjoyable celebrations, and we'll see you in the new year!