Feist nugget

I love calling my kids random nicknames. This is a "feist nugget" moment. I love it! At times when my girlies are driving me bonkers, I refer to them as "toxic midgets." Totally un-PC, and even though I believe in PC-ness, it wouldn't be nearly as hilarious to say "toxic little person." I coined the term when I was pregnant with Esther and Leah was using me as a jungle gym and refused to be extricated. I just blurted it out: "Get off of me, you toxic midget!" And it stuck. We all think it's pretty funny. Even the TMs themselves.

I'm still Estie from the block.

Cruising (more like Fred Flinstoning it---she refuses to use pedals!) all the way to the neighbor's pool. Look at that milky white skin!

Cheese!

We went swimming yesterday. Actually, Jon and the girls went swimming. I dipped my legs into our neighbor's unheated pool. It was hot yesterday (90 degrees?), but the water was a chilly 72. Maybe this week I'll venture in past my knees. Just maybe.

Shirtless friends

A few family photos

It was rainy last Sunday, so we lit our first-ever fire in this home. We've been waiting because we "need" a custom fire screen for our corner fireplace. But Jon couldn't wait any longer. I came out and he had started a fire. He tried to roast marshmallows, but that was thwarted because we used a Duraflame log; the marshmallows turned gray. Who knows what's in those logs?

I guess I actually have to keep my profile picture up somewhere other than my profile.

Being the Baked Good Queen . . .

I discovered via my fabulous sister Susannah the best chocolate chip cookie recipe on the planet. Yep. Undeniably the best. I called her this afternoon in a pinch, when I couldn't find the trusty old Tanya's No Fail recipe (which now I think I just remembered I posted on my blog some time ago. I guess it's serendipity that I didn't remember, because now I've got a new fave.) This recipe comes from a Martha Stewart Comfort Foods cookbook. So I'm calling them Comfort Cookies, and they're making me feel the love right now.

Comfort Cookies via Sus via Martha
1 c butter
1.5 c brown sugar UPDATE: I am going to reduce brown sugar to 1 c. next time
.5 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 c flour (+ 1/4 c extra made the perfect consistency. Not quite so greasy.)
.5 tsp soda
.5 tsp salt
12 oz chocolate chips (Please take this advice for the best cookies ever: I used a Ghirardelli block of chocolate purchased at Trader Joe's and cut it into big chunks. Can I just say divine?)

Cream butter, add sugars and cream more. Add vanilla, and egg till well mixed. Then add flour, soda, salt until almost well mixed. Add chocolate chunks and mix just until combined.

Bake at 375 for about 12 mins.

Eat at least 4 that first day because you'll never taste anything better.

Oh---and to make it even more sinful, sandwich two of these puppies together with some Dreyer's Slow Churned Peanut Butter Cup ice cream. (I didn't do it for us, but I brought these to Jon's cousin who just had a baby on Saturday. All new mothers deserve sinful divinity in the form of dessert.)

Ladybugs, Scraped Knees, and Finishing UP

Leah has a new pet. Actually, two new pets---ladybugs to be exact. She came inside on Monday morning, walking as if on eggshells so she wouldn't harm her new friend---who happened to be crawling on her, and insisted on a jar for her new pet. The next hour was precious: she quickly gathered leaves (lots of them from our gorgeous, slow-growing succulents), blossoms, rocks, blades of grass to make a new habitat for Lady. My favorite moment was when I looked over and she had a red plastic twisty straw in the jar . . . the ladybug's play structure. She's brilliant, I tell you! If I were a ladybug, that's what I'd want for my jungle gym! Later, the straw was gone and I asked her what had happened. "We decided it was too much." Classic.

She insisted on bringing her ladybug to preschool that afternoon. As she walked into school with her Mason jar of wonder, she was a little timid; she had that cute I'm-so-pleased-I-could-burst expression---the one where she's smiling, but kind of trying not to. When I came to pick her up, she had placed the jar in her "cuvvy" (I can't bear to tell her it's a "cubby" because I think "cuvvy" is so much cuter!) . . . the whole class had eagerly checked in on Lady periodically.

That night, Esther accidentally (?) threw Ladybug's home on the back aggregate patio. Yikes! Leah cried, Jon swept, and I hid out in my office so I didn't have to help in the melee. I thought that was the end of that phase.

But, yesterday, she realized she wanted another pet and started collecting again. This time I gave her lots of stickers to decorate the jar with. And, this morning we took the new Lady to the gym, Target, and of course to preschool again. I love that girl!

She also drew a million pictures on construction paper and had me as her scribe for the captions. She then went around the house hanging them up on windows, doors, walls, etc. My personal favorite sign is actually on the outside of the front door (as per her orders). It says: The party of nature and other things. There's no picture. Just that announcement. I'd love to have seen the look on our contractor's face when he showed up to finish our mold job this morning and found that as his greeting. (And it's in my handwriting.)

On a different note, Esther has fallen three times this week and repeatedly scraped her knees. This morning as we left the gym, she was thrilled because I had asked for an orange helium balloon for her. She was running as fast as she could (in her brand new, slightly too large See Kai Run shoes), tripped and skidded---oucH!---and let the balloon go all at the same time. It was tragedy. Her little body was shaking and she was crying, "Hold you, mama! Hold you!" We've run out of bandaids on her this last week, so we immediately went to Target where she picked out Dora bandaids. Being a kid is sometimes so glorious, sometimes so traumatic. But I do love it when she comes to me for comfort, I must admit. She's become such an independent spirit, insisting "I DO IT!" at every chance.

Our laundry room and bathroom were finished today! Yippee! I feel like I'm in ecstasy when I walk into the laundry room with its amazing new tile. Can I just say BEAUTIFUL! Wish you were here. I'll take pictures once we get the washer and dryer back in and the new Ikea cabinets up. But for now it's just my little happy spot. (Aside: I really want to get new front-loading machines for my new gorgeous laundry room. The others have served us very well, but I'm not sure they "fit" anymore. I'm sure Jon will beg to differ. There are definitely bigger fish to fry in our lives, our home, etc . . . but it's fun imagining the big stainless steel beauties glimmering almost as much as the floor.)

Time to go retrieve Leah and said ladybugs. Over and out.

On Whirlwinds, Cupcakes, and Over-doing it

I had a most lovely trip to Utah last week; my parents graciously hosted me, Miss Leah, and Miss Esther, and my Darlybird Trunk Show. This was no small task. So thanks be to the padres who are always willing to take in their frazzled daughter, ragamuffin grand-daughters, and the hair-brained schemes of us all.

So this whirlwind trip was fabulous, even though I'm feeling the aftershocks of it at present. Laundry, laundry, laundry, without access to in-home machines (laundry room's being redone, thus washer and dryer are sitting in the toyroom) . . . looks like we'll be in our dregs by week's end. (That's how much I love the laundromat). My exhaustion factor is pretty high, seeing as though I drove home the whole way on Saturday, arriving home at 11:30 pm, and then got up before the crack of dawn for church meetings (on Easter? YES, on Easter!) And me without spousal help for a week=toxic combo. (Thanks, Jonnie, for being such a helpful husband!) The girls are exhausted, cranky, we have no food in the house, and my Darlybird stuff is strewn all over the office.

BUT . . .

I had a marvelous time! After these trips, I often wonder what I'm doing in Sacramento without any family and lifelong best friends right nearby. It's a crazy combo of wanting the independence and the adventure versus being cozy and available and safe with family surrounding you. So why am I here? Oh yeah, Sacramento has the job. And the weather. And lots of other great amenities, too. Can my whole family and friends please, oh please, just relocate to Northern Cali and start building the commune? It shouldn't be this difficult! We could have co-op school, weekly dinner parties, babysitting trades, girls nights out, knitting parties, craft days. Please?

I know you'd all get sick of me after about 2 weeks. But it's fun to dream.

Thanks to everyone who came to my Darlyparty. (Yes, I know it's CheezWhiz to use 'darly' for everything, but a girl's gotta do what a . . . ) And also thanks to those of you who helped me pull it off (Righteous Mama, you were a tremendous help!) It was so much fun to meet lots of my "customers" and to be in the presence of a lot of classy ladies (thanks for driving all the way down, Tropical Velvet.) ASIDE: Just so you know, I am not a saleslady . . . I do a fabulous job of selling people on things that I'm not selling, but when it comes to me being the seller, it's really hard for me because I feel guilty taking your money. It's a problem for a small business owner. (ASIDE over.) And, yes, the cupcakes were divine. I was pretty proud of myself. I emailed recipes to cjane late Friday night/Saturday morn, before the homeward trek. I've had many requests, so I'm going to copy part of the email here, rather than re-type it all. Please forgive the shoddy instructions:

CUPCAKE INSTRUCTIONS

i'll give you a quick rundown of the three versions i did. all started with a $1 cake mix . . . and i definitely recommend using a mix since you'll be doing a fair amount of other things, like making fillings, etc. DISCLAIMER: i just reread these instructions and they're a bit frenetic at best. sorry. it's just that they were all a grand experiment. i figured out what i was doing as i did it. so i hope it makes sense.

so, first: Lemon cupcakes with lime curd filling and raspberry frosting

--lemon cake mix....make and bake as instructed

--lime curd: one can sweetened condensed milk with 1/3 c. fresh lime juice. (stir till combined)

--raspberry whipped cream frosting: this recipe is totally approximate, since i was just mixing random ingredients in. so bear with me and my imperfections:

Whipped cream with a bit of almond extract, powdered sugar, a couple TBS of butter, and a bit of cream cheese. mix together. add 1/2 bag of frozen raspberries and blend. let it sit for a bit so the raspberries have time to slightly thaw. then mix more. voila!


Chocolate Whipped Cream Cupcakes

chocolate cake mix -- make as directed

filling=whipped cream with some powdered sugar and almond extract (i had a ton of this left over, so i actually used the leftovers to make the raspberry frosting).

frosting: it's wilton's buttercream recipe. tamra just called me for the recipe and i looked it up online, and i think i have it memorized. dang! that will not be good for the baked good addiction. i've only made it once before, but it is the best buttercream on the planet!

1 c. butter
4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. clear vanilla (i bought this at shepherds.....it just doesn't color the buttercream brown)
2 TBS milk

beat the butter in your pinky pie mixer (so cute!) until it's totally whipped. leave the butter out for a couple of hours or at least microwave it for a second so it's room temp.
add powd sug one cup at a time, vanilla, and milk last. i made a double batch of this and then took half out for the guava cream cheese cupcakes. then i added 3-4 TBS of cocoa powder and some more milk and that is what makes it a chocolate buttercream. super duper easy!

Vanilla cupcakes with guava cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream

yellow cakemix- m.a.d. (as directed)

guava filling is found in a weird sealed bag at shepherds. i loved it and think it is awesome. it's a little thick to pipe into cupcakes, so i added some cream cheese and milk to kind of tame it down and thin it.

fill cupcakes and then frost with the vanilla buttercream from above recipe.

FILLING CUPCAKES: there is a tip at shepherds that is 1.50 or something and it looks like a long hollow needle. you put the filling in your bag and then stick that tip into the cupcake at least halfway. squeeze filling out into the cupcake to the point that you can see the cupcake expanding, but not bursting. it's super easy and i think it makes them so much fun.
if you need more instructions, you can ask at shepherds, or call me at 530-304-1235. i'll most-likely be somewhere in nevada going bonkers with my darlings in the back seat watching charlie and lola for the 765th time. but don't tell my husband!

gotta go to sleep so i don't fall asleep at the wheel. thanks so much for coming last nite. it was lots of fun to see you (as usual) and you look so great and happy. 30 suits you well. good luck with the cupcakes, happy easter, and we'll definitely have to do lunch or otherwise or both next time i'm in town.

have fun----


Now my goal is to exercise every day this month to burn off those 6-some cupcakes and the chocolate-covered cinnamon bears my mom buys me whenever I come to Utah. And oh yeah, the Cadbury MiniEggs I basically inhaled to keep myself awake on the long journey home. YIKES! When it comes to baked goods, I'm a goner.

Darlybird Trunk Show

Thursday, April 5th from 5-9 p.m.

1760 Oak Lane
Provo UT

Come one, come all!

Announcement

Not that I have a wide readership, but I thought I'd post this little tidbit:

Darlybird, the business, has been persuaded by a certain Righteous Mama to come to Utah to do a trunk show. It's a fancy way of saying that you can come to my parents' home, look at Darlybird merchandise in the flesh, not pay shipping, have instant gratification, eat some yummy treats, and enjoy fun people. And then I can write-off said trip to Utah, and get to see some of my favorite people on planet earth all at the same time.

So please, if you live anywhere near Utah, Provo specifically, mark your calendars for Thursday, April 5 from late afternoon to late evening. Invite a friend. Let's call it a girls night out! It'll be fun and worth your while. I promise. And, I'll post more details later.

Man, I look OLD!

Photo by Leah

Leah took this photo this afternoon. I think it's beautiful. Our camelias are sadly on their way out . . .

quel beauty!

I love this girl

Real Simple Update

I now have my Real Simple quote in hand, and I'll share:

Q: What is your best travel tip?

A: Put down the guidebook. Some of the best travel moments await you in unforeseen places and with unforeseen people. So when your nose beckons you away from a dinner suggestion that you read about in the guide and instead down to a back-alley eatery, go.

Fun, huh?

Bust out your new copy of Real Simple, Ladies

because I got published! My fab friend ph emailed me this morn, saying that her mom saw a Rachel Schutz from Sacto in the "Your Words" section of Real Simple and wondered if it was me. I emailed right back to ph that there must be another Rachel Schutz of Sacramento---even though that seemed highly unlikely. And right when I hit send, I realized that I had written something on a lark on the Real Simple website several months ago. So I was dying to get my hands on a copy because I couldn't remember, for the life of me, what I had submitted.

Cut to 15 mins ago when my dear neighbor Monika called: "You're a published author!" She read me my paragraph (or my 2 seconds of fame) and it all came back to me. I did write that cute little travel tip! I never thought my name would show up in a Real Simple magazine. I called Jon and he said that it's too bad I didn't somehow throw a darlybird.com reference in there somewhere. Yeah, too bad.

I'm going to go out and pick up a copy of the mag (I stopped subscribing because it became a bit monotonous. I mean, how many times can I clean my closet? Especially when I haven't done it after the first closet-cleaning article . . . ) But I still love the magazine. And I especially love it NOW!

Good Morning!

Playdough Family by Jon and Leah

Daddy Daughter Date at the American River

The artist in her studio

A few weeks ago, Leah called me to the tramp to see her amazing masterpiece. I was thrilled with her newfound artisitic ability! She promptly said, "Excuse me, but could you please get out of my workshop." Okay!?!

Food Rut Recovery

Hi! I just decided that I should post some of the menus I'm trying this week. I've recommitted myself to planning meals by the week with a 3-pronged intent: so I don't end up throwing away so much produce, and to reduce my grocery bill, and most-importantly to avoid the 5:00 pitfall of "Hell's Bells! What am I going to make for dinner??? Chipotle?"

Here are a few from the end of last week and this week:

DISCLAIMER: I rarely use recipes, so things are very inexact, including cooking times and temperatures. Follow at your own peril.

Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches with Focaccia (from Trader Joe's): potatoes, zucchini, red pepper, purple onion, and whole garlic cloves. Drizzle olive oil on cut and prepared vegetables. Add salt. Put in the oven for around 40 mins at 400 degrees. Serve on focaccia with balsamic vinegar and mozzarella cheese. DIVINE! (You can also use leftover roasted vegetables later on in the week for enchiladas, pizza, omelets, etc.)

Homemade Granola with Vanilla Yogurt: Used a hybrid of Ina Garten and my sister's recipe that I love. Included whole almonds, coconut, dried blueberries, cranberries, and tart cherries. In the past I've gone much earthier with flax seed, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and cashews (in addition to all of the other goodies above). This week I decided to stir in some Cream Topped Vanilla Yogurt from Trader Joe's. Can I just say that any of the more commercial LITE, Fat-free brands don't compare to this? I am not a huge yogurt fan, but this stuff is amazing! And since I rarely eat it, I've decided that the whole milk option is much more satisfying. This was an amazing dinner! I had intended to do scrambled eggs with it, and possibly smoothies, but the granola was perfect on its own. And get this: LEAH LOVES IT! (I made her a nut-free version.) She's had granola at least 5 times since Friday nite! Our babysitter even said that she opted for "my oats" instead of a treat on Saturday mid-morning. Hallelujah! She's even eating a bowl right now. (If you want the recipe, let me know and I'll post it.)

Tortilla Soup: One quart chicken stock (or vegetable stock, if you're so inclined . . . ), 1 can tomatoes with green chilis, frozen corn, grilled chicken, cubed (or black beans if you're vegetarian), juice of a lime. Combine in pot. Top with crumbled tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheddar cheese, and a dollop of sour cream. YUM!

Flat Bread Pizza-type thing: This is a made up recipe. I bought flatbread (lavash) at TJ's and then added some amazing toppings: a sprinkle of olive oil, thawed frozen corn, cilantro leaves, chopped up red pepper, sliced almonds, grilled chicken, and a light sprinkle of Gouda cheese. And don't forget a bit of black pepper. Bake at about 375 for 10 (?) minutes, or till cheese starts to caramelize and get a bit crispy. Hello, divine!

Homemade Refried Beans: 1 lb pinto beans, ~5 c. water, sprinkle of crushed red pepper, a few tsp salt (to taste . . . ), ~1 tsp olive oil for good measure, granulated garlic or crushed fresh garlic. Stick all ingredients in the crock pot (sometimes I wait to salt until the end). Cook for awhile. You might have to add some water here or there, or take some out at the end if it looks too soupy. Use an immersion blender to puree beans to your likening. (I like them to have a few chunks.) These are delish served in tortillas with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and other standard burrito ingredients. They put store-bought refrieds to shame.

That's enough for now. I'm tired of typing. Hope you can put some of these recipes to use.

Today I decided to get more dressed up than usual, put on some makeup, cute jewelry . . .

and then a bird pooped on me when I was dropping Leah off at preschool.

Catching Up

Cut to the chase: February generally sucks for me. I look back in all of my years (30) and for as many as I can remember, I always get pretty sick in February, and I feel pretty gloomy, too. Christmas joy has definitely worn off, but spring has definitely not sprung (to my liking, at least), and I start to feel the unease that I somehow always muster in February.

This February has been no different to this point. Bear with me as I explain: I threw my back out (what does that phrase mean, anyway?) while at the mall---of all places---while digging through clearance kids clothing, got over that, but immediately got strep throat, condemned a bathroom to mold, got our car broken into [this is the 3rd incident since August---and get this: the thug stole just the face plate to our cd player, our collection of mostly-burned cds---a few great mixes amongst them, including the Primary cd (ha! I'm sure they'll love that one!)], had kids with double ear infections, strep throat, hacking coughs, etc . . . . and best of all, I've been the poster child for good mothering. Gross overexaggeration duly noted.

So after a good cry, I felt pretty rejuvenated and ready to do something different. I took a deep breath and remembered that I won't always be a phenomenal mother . . . . that there will be little glimpses of phenomenal mixed with regular, mixed with okay, mixed with crappy. But that's just life. I had a picnic dinner with my girls on the floor last night. They loved it. That was a great moment.

As another diversion from glum, I decided to unpack the trusty sewing machine and dust off some projects that have been neglected since I became a "business woman." It was such therapy! Making the heart garland was a joy! Please make one for your home. This is random, but sometimes I wish everything in my life was just pretty. There's a certain amount of ugly that has to be tolerated, i.e. certain toys that I don't like, but my kids do. (Or do we just not allow those toys?) But I wish everything could be useful and pretty. Case in point: my orange colander. I love it. I don't love my white one, but I love my orange one. Pretty and useful. But I want to banish the excess, the clutter, the cheap from my life. I'm turning over a new leaf.

I'm resolved to finish the month out with good things and happy thoughts----and reality thrown in there, too.