A baby and French Macarons

Wow...I have been totally absent from the blog-o-sphere lately. Life just seems to run away with itself sometimes. To quickly catch anyone up who still stops by here...my husband and I are expecting a March baby!

Needless to say we have been very busy making preparations baby Ieshee (my nickname for our little one since we are not finding out the sex). My husband has been busily preparing the nursery which includes pulling up carpet to refinish the hardwoods underneath, adding wainscoting and painting. We are going with a very neutral color scheme, a rich gray with yellow accents to the room.

I've also found myself baking more and more lately. I got this determined idea to try and make French Macarons this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome:

They look like little pink hamburgers, but they are much more delicious than that! I was nervous about how they would turn out since I've heard they are pretty time consuming and finicky to make. Luckily I found a great easy recipe, and my first batch turned out perfect! My husband was super impressed. Here's the recipe if you're interested: French Macaron Recipe

Twelve Things

One of my favorite bloggers, Lobster and Swan, started an interesting blog topic...Twelve Things.  What 12 things would you take with you if you had to start over again?  Not the everyday necessities...but the sentimental items.

These are the 12 items that I picked out.  They are for the most part items that remind me of my love, my family, important friendships and traveling.  You can see them featured at Lobster and Swan with many other lovely items by clicking here.

ADDED NOTE: I forgot one very important item that was a wedding gift.  It is so fragile and precious that it has been packed away in a box with lots of padding until I can find a safe place to display it.  It's so special that it jumps to the start of the list that is now Thirteen Things.  I'll take it out and add it in a later post so you can see what I'm talking about.

Family Tree

I have often thought with curiosity about my ancestors and who and where I've descended from. My grandmother on my Dad's side was born in the states shortly after her parents emigrated from Norway. My childhood memories of her include a freezer stocked full of pickled herring, and the pungent smell of her gritty Gamalost (cheese) spread on toast with a fried egg. I don't know much about my grandfather on that side and where his family came from. On my mother's side I know that my relatives lived in Canada before crossing the border into Michigan.

After reading Half Broke Horses, for the Slow Readers Book Club, I have thought more about delving into my family's past and learning who came from where. Who are we if we don't know something about where we came from? It seems that today, so much of the stories from our past, the recipes and skills are lost in translation. Technology often replaces the need for these things to be taught from one family member to the next. Hopefully researching my past can help bring me closer to the people that I've never met but are responsible for my being.

{Silhouette Family Tree by Lepapier Studio}