Happy Weekend

Happy Friday, everyone!

Any fun weekend plans? We have yet another swim class on Saturday, and then we'll probably just be puttering around. Forrest has quite a bit of homework, so Juniper and I will probably take quite a few trips to the library and park to give him some quiet.

Here are some fun links around the web!

If you're on Facebook, you've probably already seen how a photographer dressed up her daughter as several famous women in history. I love the Amelia Earhart one - a personal hero of mine.

A Cheez-Its wedding cake. Enough said.

My dream house, in London no less. I also love the interview with Courtney from Babycinno Kids.

Speaking of Babycinno, I'm a tad addicted to their blog.

Even though Juniper is "mostly" sleeping through the night, I found this article about babies and sleep fascinating.

Um, how cute are these leggings?

We had chicken taco salad for dinner the other night, and it was SO good. 

I want to make these pumpkin chocolate chip oat bars this weekend.

Having a baby changes your body, and that is okay and even beautiful. I got so choked up. Make sure to watch the video at the end.

Have you heard of Malala Yousafzai? Her interview with John Stewart is fascinating.

Love,
Elizabeth
xo

Review: Rainbow People Mover

Last year for Christmas, Forrest and I decided to only get Juniper 3 gifts. Our goal was to find some quality toys that she would love and that would last. Sometimes quality means expensive, which is why we limited it to 3. 

So for Juniper's first birthday we wanted to follow the same approach for purchasing a gift. I did some research (always a librarian) about the best types of toys for a one-year-old and I found this toy, the Rainbow People Mover. The company, North Star Toys, is family owned and all the toys are non-toxic, simple and affordable. 

Review: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel tired?

Me too.

Regardless, I really want to tell you about a book I recently finished called The Cuckoo's Calling.

The Party

Juniper turned 1 last Tuesday, but we decided to have her party on a Saturday so that more family could come. While we really missed having this party in Portland with all our buddies, we were blessed to have a lot of family here to celebrate with us. Here are a few pictures from the day!

A photo from every month of Juni's first year. This is still hanging in our window...

 Funny story: I found this tutorial for making a golden number, and I really, really wanted to do it for this birthday (you know, it being her golden birthday). The gold tinsel was ridiculously hard to find and then ridiculously expensive. Not to mention, the smell of it made us feel slightly ill. All for a little decoration. :)

Forrest made the amazing poster. Notice the juniper bush with a golden 1. Pure awesome. 

Monkey Banana Cake & smash cake

This cake is my pride and joy... uh, next to Juniper, of course. Never have I made a cake that was so moist and so stinkin' cute. I found the recipe at Smitten Kitchen, and her directions made the whole process so easy.  Juniper has a dairy allergy, so I made a dairy free icing using almond milk and margarine. It tasted amazing.

This little area had small pieces of golden paper that people could use to write memories, prayers or wishes for Juniper. Then they could clip the wishes to the gold tinsel (getting our money's worth there) with a baby clothespin. 

My dad decorated this amazing onesie.  

Pre-party pretty

Of course, we had beans for dinner. Also, she's started holding her chin like this. Cracks us up.

I wanted to keep the menu simple and affordable. I cooked a large pot of black beans on the stove all day, and then right before everyone arrived I whipped up some homemade cornbread muffins. So the beans wouldn't be too boring, I had shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, avocado, and tortilla chips as toppings. So good!

Time for cake?

Opening gifts

Family!

Hmm...what is this?

I'm not so sure I like it...

...but I'll play with it!

Cheese!

After this came the meltdown. It's hard work being the center of attention.

All in all, the party was simple but so special. We had a blast.

Love,
Elizabeth

PS: Look at Fran eyeing the carnage in that last picture. :)

To DIY or not to DIY

The house that we are currently renting has a very odd lighting situation in the living/dining rooms. Odd in that there are no overhead lights. Thankfully, we brought a few lamps with us, but I'm not sure that is going to cut it as the days start to get shorter.

While my parents were here, they bought us a lamp that I absolutely adore.

 

I love him.

Despite our three lamps, I am still a bit concerned about lighting in the dining area.

I'd rather not eat in the dark, you see.

I'm weird that way.

Happy Weekend

I'm sorry for my absence here the last few days. My parents are in town and I'm treating it like a vacation. :)

What are your plans this weekend? Juniper's birthday party is tomorrow afternoon, so we will be busy preparing for that and then whooping it up to celebrate. Then all of our company leaves on Sunday morning and I'll probably dissolve into a puddle of lonely tears.

(Just kidding)

(Only sort of)

If you are in a clicking mood, here are a few fun links that have caught my eye!

I am attempting to make a banana cake for Juniper. This one. Pray for me.

I love hats for fall and winter, especially when I can make them easily.

I have been on a tart kick lately - I think I mentioned that in last weeks weekend post - and this one looks SO GOOD.

I love grilled cheese. Would you eat it like this? Or this? Um, yes & yes.

Mushrooms have never been my favorite, but this soup makes me want to give them a second chance.

Have you seen the video of Jimmy Fallon with The Roots and Sesame Street?

I hope you have a happy weekend!

Love,
Elizabeth

Juniper's Birth Story

Warning: this is long. I'm not sure why I feel the need to apologize for that, but I do, so I did. If you finish this, you are a champ. If not, my feelings will not be hurt. :) Enjoy. xoxo

It is funny how you can forget the small stuff after a year has gone by. For instance, I can't remember if my due date was September 25 or 26. I guess it does not really matter since the baby did not see fit to come either of those days.

The day after my due date I had a doctor's appointment with my midwife. The good news was that I was already 3 cm, the bad news was that my blood pressure was still high. I was sent out to a different hospital for a stress test, which showed that everything was fine. The baby had a strong heartbeat and my blood pressure went down after I had some time to relax and acclimate to the environment. (I have a certain kind of phobia of doctors and hospitals, and my bp is always higher at the beginning of an appointment than after.) Despite this, they wanted me to come back the next day, Saturday, to have another stress test. Also, if the baby did not come soon then I was going to be induced on Tuesday, October 2nd.