Category: <span>Moments</span>
That head of tousled hair, those blue-green eyes, that soul and its mind-blowing imagination. The eyes, they say, are the window to a person’s soul and if that is so, then Sophia’s must be a big, passionate one. I was digging through thousands of pictures this weekend and came upon this very one. It is a year old and, while her hair is longer and she knows what a contraption is, Sophia is still the same gentle soul whose silly side comes out for those she knows and loves most. No weekending post recap — we’re thinking back on easier, simpler times.
Despite having moved a little over three months ago, we still have a basement full of boxes. On occasion, like this past Saturday, we carry out special ops-level missions where we try to locate something we need like our favorite Japanese earthenware charcoal grill or the art for the kids’ rooms.
Saturday should have been relaxing as the girls visited with their Baba and Deda but ended up hectic what with all the unpacking and cooking. On Sunday, we hosted Evan’s parents and grandmothers. His Bubbie and Grandmom hadn’t seen our house yet. Grandmom is celebrating a birthday this week and we couldn’t think of a better reason to host an instimate brunch.
This right here is Pizza Rustica from a cookbook my sister gifted me for Mother’s day. I was pleased with the way it turned out both in the way of looks and taste. This was, I am ashamed to admit, the first time I had done a pie with a lattice top. I felt very fancy about it. A vanilla-bean pudding with chocolate chips and a fiesta salad rounded out the brunch menu. Eliza and I walked to our neighborhood florist for this gorgeous arrangement featuring the most vibrant yellow ranunculus. I like yellow against grays, creamy whites, and sandy colors.
The highlight of the day was, of course, my mother-in-law’s chocolate cake. We lit the candles up twice because, for little ones, blowing out candles is all the rage.
There was also plenty of games, books, and puzzles.
And in between all that, we sprinkled some face (or hand) painting and …
topped that off with nail polishing. There is something incredibly endearing about a grandfather polishing his little granddaughter’s nails. He tried his best, but my advice would be to continue practicing law.
We had a wonderful time hosting our family and wishing Grandmom a very, very Happy Birthday in person. It was the best Sunday.
We watched For Grace yesterday. I’ve, over the last few months, preferred documentaries over fiction/drama.We’ve liked Cooked and Dior and I. People’s personal stories can be so powerful and their creativity inspirational.
The movie capped off a fairly busy weekend which started with a Friday evening tour of Sophia’s art at her school’s Lower School Art Show. She had two works on display—a watercolor of a wave and a clay butterfly. We capped the visit with a stop at the playground and retired home.
We made it an early night on Friday to try and recuperate from the week. Busy and exhausting doesn’t even begin to describe it. The rest of the weekend was spent out biking with the kids, a brief dinner date, at dance class, and in a marathon blintz making session. My mom and I farmer’s cheeset wrapped ~90 blintzes. Mmm… That was punctuated by a home-made sprinkled donut snack and a glass of Jefferson Vineyards’ Meritage we brought from our babymoon in 2014.
That babymoon was atypical because we took Sophia with us, toured Monticello, Madison’s house, visited wineries and explored University of Virginia’s glorious campus.