Ants, Organization, and Baking: One Thing Leads to Another

Well, nothing says vacation is over like ants swarming all over your pantry. And that is exactly what we had last week.

We tried everything. We double-checked to make sure we had everything closed up, and we did. Then I found some Jolly Rancher suckers of Amelia's that seemed to be their target, so I threw them out. Then they seemed to zone in on some balsamic vinegar, so I threw that out. We tried ant baits. Darryl read that all-purpose flour would smother them, so we tried that. Each time, I think the ants just laughed at us, shook their tiny ant-heads, and kept on doing what they do.

And then we called the exterminator, and he shut the ant-party down.

(Question to ponder: Have you ever noticed that exterminators are SO NICE? I mean, seriously...what's the deal?)

ANYWAY, because we had to dismantle the pantry somewhat, I decided to get all organized as I put things back in their place. I didn't take any "before" photos (just trust that it was bad), but behold the orderliness of my newly organized pantry:

The good news: My cupcake liner game is STRONG.

The bad news: I might want to invest in some canned goods because if we ever have a "weather event," my one can of diced tomatoes is going to get us only so far.

I also moved a few things around in my kitchen (no riveting photos of that, sorry), and all that cleaning and organizing made me want to cook and bake all the day long.

And this leads me to the fact that thanks to the American Girl (Doll) of the Year, Grace, who runs her own baking business and spends a summer baking with her uncle/pastry chef in Paris, Amelia has been all about wanting to learn to bake. Now, here's the thing: Do I think Amelia should learn her way around a kitchen? Absolutely. Does teaching her to bake require every ounce of patience I can muster? Absolutely.

So Saturday afternoon, we baked these chocolate chip cookies. And honestly, once we got going, Amelia did pretty well. After I showed her what to do, she pretty much handled scooping the dough on the sheets, putting them in the oven, taking them out, and taking them off the cookie sheets.

The earbuds crack me up because we were listening to music through the TV (the soundtrack to the American Girl movie Grace Stirs Up Success, of course), but Amelia wore the earbuds because Grace wears them to bake in the movie. Of course.

This week, we are supposed to make some 4th of July-themed sugar cookies.

Be near, Lord.

Trip #2, Part 2: Family and Food (a.k.a. Lake Tahoe and Napa...Again)

Okay, the slide projector is all warmed up...

So the whole reason we went to California is that some of Darryl's extended family were gathering at a condo/resort in Lake Tahoe. A few of his family members used their timeshare points to spring for condos for everyone who could come, and we so appreciate their generosity. It was such a fun time with family!

Several other family members did a better job of getting photos of the whole family, and I haven't seen those yet, but I thought I would share a few of the photos I have.

On Tuesday, we went to nearby Zephyr Cove and enjoyed a day at the lake, complete with kayaks and paddle boats. I probably enjoyed this time more than anything we did in Lake Tahoe. I mean, come on...how about that view?

You know the problem with getting in a 2-seater paddleboat with a kid who weighs about 60 pounds? Let's just say Darryl got quite the leg workout.

One day, we took the Heavenly Gondola up to the top of a mountain, where we thought there would be some activities for Amelia and some of the other kids to do. Apparently we did not read the fine print that those activities wouldn't be open for a few more days, but we still got to see some cool views of Lake Tahoe.

Darryl..finally at home where he belongs. (Can we get one of these for the backyard?) :-)

Another cool thing about this trip is that Amelia got to hang out with some of her younger cousins. She so enjoyed having other kids to play with.

We had an awesome time!

On Saturday, we needed to head back to San Francisco to catch our plane EARLY Sunday morning, but we were able to meet up with Darryl's cousin Malorie and her friend Ashley (and their Instagram-famous dog, "Frannie the Frenchie") in Yountville/Napa. Darryl really wanted to try Thomas Keller's Addendum, which is an offshoot of his restaurant Ad Hoc. Basically, Addendum offers takeout options of several dishes, and there is a gorgeous, mostly shaded picnic area where customers can eat their takeout meals. All of us opted for the fried chicken, and it did not disappoint.

And, of course, we walked over to Bouchon (yes, the second trip there in a week for Darryl, Amelia, and me) and had some dessert. I had to have the homemade HoHo again because, because, because.

Amelia enjoyed her time with Frannie although she kept calling him BonBon, since that is the name of the dog in the latest American Girl book she read. Of course.

She kept feeding him treats, so basically, Amelia was Frannie/BonBon's BFF that day.

We were so happy that Malorie and Ashley could meet us. It was a fun, delicious, leisurely afternoon...a perfect way to end a great week!

The next morning, we had to get up at 3:30 Pacific time (ugh! UGH!) to make our 6:00 a.m. flight. As much fun as we had, and even though we were sad our vacation was coming to an end, we were excited to be heading home.

This was Amelia, approximately 30 seconds after we walked in the door. I think this photo pretty much sums up how we ALL felt.

Vacationing is hard work, y'all.

Trip #2, Part 1: Trolleys and Tall Trees (a.k.a. San Francisco and Yosemite)

The thing about vacation posts is that sometimes it feels akin to Grandpa pulling out the slide projector and insisting that his family and friends look at the 427 slides of the cruise he just took.

(And that example is based on real life, as I vividly recall my grandfather -- whom I called "Papa" -- hanging a sheet up in my parents' living room so that he could show us slides and movies from his Mexican cruise. This was circa 1977, of course.)

The point is...I'm not sure that anyone is all that interested, but for the sake of posterity, I will forge on.

SO...

We had an afternoon flight on a Saturday, and while I AM A FAN of the afternoon flight, it really encouraged my procrastination tendencies. An hour and a half before we left, I still had nothing in our suitcases. (My mother probably just fainted after reading that statement, as she is a fan of packing DAYS in advance.)

But we made it, and here we are, ready for our journey:

We were really too tired to do much Saturday, but Sunday, we took in some of the sights of San Francisco.

We walked along the Fisherman's Wharf, visited Ghirardelli Square, and rode a trolley. ALL Amelia wanted to do in San Francisco was ride a trolley, so we couldn't let her down, right?

A nice parting gift for our time in San Fran was a $60 parking ticket that Darryl received because he did not turn his wheels toward the curb on the hill where we parked. The San Francisco parking cops don't play, y'all.

Darryl was not amused.

Then we headed in the direction of Yosemite via Napa...really just so we could see Napa. We also made a stop at Thomas Keller's bakery, Bouchon. Darryl gave me the Bouchon cookbook about a year or so ago, and if there is one word I could use to describe Keller's technique it would be meticulous. ANYWAY, I had a homemade Ho-Ho that was nothing short of life changing.

Amelia enjoyed a chocolate macaron. She obviously has a refined dessert palate.

Then we made our way to Yosemite. We enjoyed a nice dinner outside at our hotel (y'all, that California weather is perfection), and woke up on Monday morning, ready to pack in as much of Yosemite as we could in one day.

Yosemite is pretty much amazing, and we wish we could have spent more time there. We plan to go back there in a couple of years, probably when Amelia is a tad older and can take on more of the hiking. (That's right. I said hiking. I mean, you have to work off those homemade Ho-Hos, right?)

We were pretty impressed by these giant Sequoias.

We stopped at one place with a spectacular view, and Amelia wanted to get out her notebook and sketch the scene. :-)

And here are a couple of other mountain photos, because YOSEMITE.

And Amelia dipped her toes in some cold water.

After a full day in Yosemite, we made our way to Lake Tahoe. I just need to switch over the slides in my slide carousel...

Trip #1: A Visit to Florida, Complete with Pirates

I think I mentioned that Amelia spent a fun week with my parents. The week before last, I went to Florida to pick up my girl and to visit with my parents for a few days.

My mom had been wanting to take Amelia on a pirate cruise that several people had recommended, and I was game, so on that Monday night, that's what we did.

(My mother would probably like me to add that I thought, until we were practically in the car and on our way, that this was also a dinner cruise. I'm not sure where I got that idea -- she said that she never told me that it was a dinner cruise -- but for the record, I'd like to point out that she never said it wasn't a dinner cruise, either.)

Anyway, it was a fun evening, and I highly recommend it if you are ever in the Panama City Beach / St. Andrews area. The adults have to do absolutely nothing other than enjoy the sunset cruise (but not a dinner cruise!), and the pirate crew entertains the kids the whole time. I was even impressed by the low cost of the concessions and souvenirs they had on board.

This is Amelia, after she had collected her treasure from the sunken treasure chest they found. She was a happy girl!!

Another highlight of the trip was having lunch with my Aunt Winifred; her daughter-in-law, Leigh; her granddaughter, Lily; and Aunt Winifred's mother, who is in her early 90s (but still cuts her own grass!). I hadn't seen any of them in ages, so it was fun to catch up over some fried chicken and other Southern delicacies. I could kick myself for not getting a photo of all of us. We enjoyed some good laughs, especially as we reminisced about a trip we all took to the Smoky Mountains and Dollywood about 8 years ago. We might need to do that again!

Another day we took Amelia to see Tomorrowland, which, frankly, was BORING. I had been warned, but Amelia was still insistent on seeing it, so I went with very low expectations. And those expectations were met. (And while George Clooney was not enough to keep that movie from being a songfest -- dadgum, I swear he gets more attractive as he ages.)

And before we knew it, it was time for Amelia and me to head home so we could get ready for our next adventure: California.

Just a quick break

I know I have a tendency to drop off the face of the "blog earth," but I'm just taking a quick break this time around. (Many of you might not really care, but I wanted to assure my mom and my Aunt Winifred that my blog absence is brief.)

More posts next week. Surely it will be riveting!

Food and Friends

Amelia is having a blast with my parents this week.

Exhibit A:

Meanwhile, my summer so far has consisted of friends and food.  Our friend Rebecca was in town for a conference for the weekend, and she was able to add an extra day so she could visit us. I picked her up from the Marta station Sunday afternoon, and we immediately went to Nordstrom to scout out their shoes. Because that's what we do. Then we came home and feasted like kings (queens?) because again, that's what we do.

And I'm not sure what it says about me as a friend, but I took absolutely zero photos of Rebecca and me, but I took a couple of the food we ate. And here is where I want to present to you the DELICIOUS brie baked in a pastry crust that I prepared. I was so proud of myself.

This is the recipe I used. I opted for raspberry preserves top of the brie, and I also did an egg wash over the top of the crust. SO. GOOD.

I also made one of Rebecca's favorite desserts, an old school cherry-cream cheese pie.

And in between that, we had steaks, grilled vegetables, and Ina Garten's easy risotto.

(And I was aghast -- AGHAST -- and the number on the scale Tuesday morning. Denial, anyone?)

(However, I feel the need to add that Monday morning, Rebecca and I did go to the gym. Maybe that made a tiny 300-calorie dent in the thousands of calories we consumed the night before.)

Before Rebecca left Monday afternoon, we went to see Pitch Perfect 2, which was just as fun as the first one, in my opinion. (Also, it made me a teensy bit homesick for LSU, as that was where much of the movie was filmed.)

Last night, I met up with my friend Tim at Shorty's Pizza. I've been wanting to go back there ever since I returned to Georgia, and it was just as good as I remembered. And of course, we had their freshly baked cookies (with homemade whipped cream!) for dessert.

Good friends, good food...not a bad way to begin the summer, eh?