Archive | October, 2012

Jonathan & Erika’s rehearsal dinner

October 15, 2012 at 1:00 pm

Here are a few photos that I took of the rehearsal dinner for my brother-in-law Jonathan and his lovely fiancee [now wife!] Erika. The Garber parents threw an amazing party at their house with outdoor seating under a tent strung with twinkle lights; a whole roasted pig (!); a delicious spread of salad and baked potatoes and homemade biscuits; drinks and snacks on the back deck; homemade pumpkin pies and apple crisps and Nutella-stuffed brown butter + sea salt chocolate chip cookies for dessert; and a fire pit for gathering and talking after dark. The whole party was a smashing success. So happy for you, Jon and Erika!

thank you, Abby, Clydette, and Gail, for your amazing help in the kitchen!

baby girl with my apple cider tea & the groom-to-be snatching a taste of fresh pork rind

Jonathan with two of his favorite girls in the world: his twin sister Jess and his now-wife Erika

lots of toasts to Jon and Erika at the end of the evening

***

Last but not least, I would have loved to include a beautiful family portrait in this post, but… this is how our family portraits turned out that night:

9 :: in family, friends, Virginia, wedding

flow chart for cleaning

October 12, 2012 at 1:00 pm

How great is this chat? I found it on Pinterest when I was looking for printables for my Home Management Binder (blog post coming soon) and feel like I need to tape it on my fridge as soon as I get back to Sicily. I’m sure the whole house cleaning process as outlined here would take me ~~several hours~~ the whole day, but having it streamlined like this would help me move quickly from task to task.

Since moving to Sicily and having a child, the house cleaning and home management tasks have mostly settled on my shoulders, and I’m always eager for advice as I learn this “art of homemaking.” (I would have laughed at that expression before, but now I am convinced it is an art… and I don’t know how to be artistic yet!)

I’d love to hear your favorite house cleaning or home management tip. What do you do to keep a quiet, clean home?

12 :: in Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom Series, home sweet home, links I love

flow chart for cleaning

October 12, 2012 at 12:00 pm

I’d love to hear your favorite house cleaning or home management tip. What do you do to keep a quiet, clean home?

11 :: in Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom Series, home sweet home, links I love

great hair and a supercilious look

October 11, 2012 at 1:00 pm

My sister-in-law Jess did my hair the other night. She did kind of a back-and-forth waterfall braid and then twisted up the end and clipped it with a small clip. I couldn’t believe it when she showed me these pictures of the back of my head. It looks so complicated and romantic!

And then I saw this picture:

What kind of face is that?! It looks like I’m judging the whole world, wrinkling up my nose at it! I didn’t know Jess was taking this picture. Does that mean this my “default” face, the expression I go to when I’m relaxed and quiet? If so… yikes. I know I wasn’t thinking judgmental and supercilious thoughts right then (or at least I try to un-think them when I do think them!) but it sure looks like I am mentally sneering at something.

Have you ever looked at a candid shot of yourself and balked at your expression? Not sure what to do about this problem. Smile all the time?!

5 :: in family, Virginia