Archive | November, 2011

life around here

November 18, 2011 at 6:13 am

Well, I guess you can tell the California pictures didn’t happen today. Maybe that’s because there are about 200 photos to sort through! Maybe tomorrow? Hopefully tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are some snapshots from our lives this week.

The big news is that I’m knitting for food now! I have four orders in for knit-by-Becca Christmas presents and another three orders pending. I’m over the moon. There’s still room for more, so send me an email to beccagarber@gmail.com if you’re interested in a hand-knit Christmas present for a loved one. Here are some photos of Lena exploring my latest project: a pair of silk-and-merino fingerless gloves.

I was walking by Lena today with my camera and saw her standing up for the first time! After calling for Elliott to “quick, come look at this!” I snapped a fuzzy picture. She had knocked Settlers of Catan off the shelf and then thought it was just the right height for her.

We’ve been going on a beautiful walks along the river in the evening, as usual.

My hair has a new secret. It’s called Aveda Institute, a national beauty school. Today for $20 I received a luxurious haircut with a senior student (11 months into her program and 1 month away from working at a high end salon). She even gave me a head and hand massage as part of the package! I felt so pampered and got a great haircut. Find a school near you!

I love this photo. I took it while looking back at the embankment and path on the opposite side of the river. This dad was amazing: two daughters on bikes, a kid in a jogging stroller, and he was wearing roller blades.

This dad is even more amazing, though, I think.

One more snack (oatmeal and yogurt, mmm) before bath time!

2 :: in home sweet home, husband, knitting business, Lena

life around here

November 18, 2011 at 5:13 am

Well, I guess you can tell the California pictures didn’t happen today. Maybe that’s because there are about 200 photos to sort through! Maybe tomorrow? Hopefully tomorrow.

In the meantime, here are some snapshots from our lives this week.

We’ve been going on a beautiful walks along the river in the evening, as usual.

This dad is even more amazing, though, I think.

One more snack (oatmeal and yogurt, mmm) before bath time!

2 :: in home sweet home, husband, knitting business, Lena

a visit from her Grammie

November 16, 2011 at 6:51 pm

Last week we were treated to a three-day visit from my mom. We’d been talking up San Antonio for awhile and she was eager to see some of the places we’ve come to love here. However, she was much more eager to see her little granddaughter!

We took her to see a San Antonio landmark: the Alamo. She took a few family photos for us… always a treat!

The next evening my mom watched Lena while Elliott and I went out on a date! We chose an exciting location for this date: the top of the Tower of the Americas, 750 feet off the ground. We were totally excited about our first one-on-one date since Lena was born (can that be right?!) and loved our little window booth with a view of the whole city.

The restaurant rotates on top of the tower so you can get a 360-degree view. We tucked a tiny piece of paper onto the window to see if we would make it all the way around. It took about 2 hours for the piece of paper to get around, and we missed it the first time. Four hours later we were still savoring our wine and conversation when we discovered our tiny slip of paper again. By then it was dark (this restaurant likes ambiance!) and impossible to take a picture without a huge flash. We thought this was funny at the time.

Of course no trip to San Antonio would be complete without some evening exploring along our River Walk.

My mom took us out to a local gastropub (ie. foodie restaurant) on her last night in town. The dishes were amazing! We chose about 6 or 7 little tapas-sized plates with Brussels sprouts in a sweet chili sauce, Bourbon pork belly on sweet potatoes with torched marshmallows, fried chicken in Old Bay spices, cauliflower and paneer in a curry sauce… I’m getting hungry just remembering it.

Lena went to town on the aforementioned sweet potatoes, which were pureed as though intended for her.

I finished off the meal with a delicious mug of thick cinnamon hot chocolate. Sooo good. Highly recommend this if you come through San Antonio; it’s called The Monterey.

The next morning we all got up at 3:45am to go to the airport. Ouch! My mom flew back to Virginia while our little family flew to California for the weekend. More photos to share about that trip tomorrow.

2 :: in eat this, family, hospitality, Lena, Texas

a visit from her Grammie

November 16, 2011 at 5:51 pm

We took her to see a San Antonio landmark: the Alamo. She took a few family photos for us… always a treat!

Of course no trip to San Antonio would be complete without some evening exploring along our River Walk.

Lena went to town on the aforementioned sweet potatoes, which were pureed as though intended for her.

I finished off the meal with a delicious mug of thick cinnamon hot chocolate. Sooo good. Highly recommend this if you come through San Antonio; it’s called The Monterey.

2 :: in eat this, family, hospitality, Lena, Texas

… and we’re back!

November 15, 2011 at 5:15 pm

After another visit to the gorgeous central California coast, I am convinced it is one of the prettiest spots on God’s green earth. We loved every moment of our long weekend in the Santa Ynez Valley, from knitting by the fire to playing Settlers of Catan to winetasting to feeding the horses to hiking to window shopping to walks on the beach… so lovely.

Activity I am most looking forward to this morning: downloading pictures from my camera to share with you soon!

But in the meantime, here are the long-ago-promised photos from SeaWorld San Antonio. One of the first things we discovered when we arrived is the dolphin pool. You’re permitted to lean over the low wall and splash your hands in the water, calling the 10 dolphins towards you. The younger ones enjoyed coming close to get head rubs, and that was the way I finally got to touch my first dolphin!

Lena wasn’t so sure at first. What are these giant creatures coming out of the water, Mom?

But she enjoyed this!

Later we took her into shark- and ray-infested waters. Her fascination was fairly short-lived.

By contrast, I think we could have sat by the duck and flamingo pool all day and she would have been happy.

At the end of our day there we went to the orca and beluga/dophin shows, which are full of lights and music and action. Elliott and I love scuba diving and have been in close contact with a lot of cool sea creatures, but somehow every time I see an orca or dolphin or penguin or ray up close, it takes my breath away. By the time we have reason to return to San Antonio, I think Miss Lena might agree with us even more.