I Almost Wish We Were Butterflies

I baked a lemon poundcake for a party at my friend Mama D's house. It was lovely and lemony. Both the poundcake and the party.

I bought this honey because of the bear on the label, but let me tell you, this stuff is really good. Creamy and light, so delicious in my tea and on my toast.

Oh, I've been at the beach with my best friend these last few mornings. Just look at Minnow's face--he has forgotten the nightly fireworks terrors and can breathe deeply. I want to live at the beach. I don't think I'd wish for anything, ever again, if I could smell saltwater every day.

‎"I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days..." -- John Keats

fifteen

funny story. i was invited to a birthday party this weekend (an 11-11-11 party, to be precise), and i made fauxstess cupcakes. i carefully royal icinged a cursive letter P on each cupcake (for peter, the birthday boy) and put them in the fridge. when i removed them later, however, the cursive letter Ps no longer looked like Ps to me. they looked like penises.

note, above, my hasty attempt to camouflage my accidentally inappropriate cupcake art. i wished i had a three year old child to explain the random flowerish squiggles.

always fires after midnight

it was zoë and max's party weekend, maine-themed, complete with a casco bay lines piñata, bread in a can, plenty of moxie, homemade vegan whoopie pies, and much more. oh, like a watermelon cut with a samurai sword.





yep. because it's not a party without a samurai sword and fire jumping.*

and the chair trick, although the party was replete with shorties who seemed to think that the "trick" was them getting to sit in a chair and be lifted into the air by a bunch of people. i've decided that trick is for grownups. can you sense in the photo below that i'm losing patience?

the piñata was so heavy it required four grown men to hoist it.

but one girl in a dirndl was nearly enough to defeat it.

after the sun goes down, the fire games begin.*

we had our boy home for the weekend, my mom and dad here not only for the party, but also a celebration the next day of mom's birthday, complete with dog walks and leftover blueberry buckle and lunch at gogi. summer, i like you.

work some voo-doo magic

i didn't realize this had been captured on film--the chair trick, mentioned here, and numerous times before, being performed at isaac's birthday celebration by a bunch of men in my kitchen. "captured on film." i guess i took this photo, unless it was taken by jason using mark's phone. have you tried this trick? i'm serious, you should. but wait and let me show you how it's done, since watching people be amazed is my favorite.

we are babysitting miss lulu, who really hates the ice cream truck. i am attempting to teach her the beauty of sitting in the back yard, just hanging out. we don't have to go anywhere, lulu. we can just be.

settling catan, eating too many peanut butter cups. staying up too late reading about mormons. dogs and coffee, opening the window. the sunshine and glowing green still seem unfamiliar and gift-like.

2011, thus far

new year's eve with mom and dad at river gods, my favorite irish pub.

two thums up for 2011! indian cola at shalimar india food & spices in central square.

2011 is the year my girl explores india. she is packing. she is almost ready to go.

happy new year!

promenade

the prom was a smashing success. as promised, i present a bunch of photos -- for even more, look over here. early in the day, zoë and i obtained a few essential prom items, like white flip flops and a lemon thyme plant from the farmer's market.























she made a lovely boutonnière for max from thyme and mint. it was entirely edible.























i stole a daisy from a roadside bank of them growing wild, and she wore it in her hair with a sprig of thyme.























zoë tried on a bazillion dresses, some at vintage shops and many borrowed from generous friends. in the end, she chose one from her own closet, a 1970s gunne sax dress that she thought didn't fit anymore, but magically did! she looked beautiful.























they wore flip flops.























oliver (who is a sophomore) got himself a date to the prom, and he came along.























yes, max did manage to eat his entire boutonnière by the end of the evening.























their prom was on a boat; here they are just about to climb aboard.


















the report post-prom was that it was really, really fun. nobody cried, and zoë even danced a little bit. after weeks of hesitation about whether to go or not, and their last minute decision to do it, i think they're both completely happy that they went to their prom. and i certainly am, because i got to take so many gorgeous pictures of them.

four-hour party people

bean's auf wiedersehen party on sunday was a blast! there was amazing food, plenty of moxie to drink, cupcakes, cute kids, a pinata, an incomparable dance mix, gifts, hugs, and lots of beanlove.


kai and bean, third-place ribbon winners:

















nicky plays it cool:

















girlz in the kitchen:

















and there are more photos to come, when blogger is in a better mood...

lordy, lordy...

so m, bean and boo went and threw a surprise party for me last night! and i have to say, i was utterly and completely and totally surprised -- so surprised, in fact, that it took me quite a while for it to sink in that it was, in fact, a surprise party and that it did, in fact, have anything to do with my birthday. bean had to say several times, "it's a surprise party. for you." and i had to see this:



















and catch a glimpse of all of these nice people in my kitchen:




















before i stopped standing, confused, in the doorway like this:



















m did such a wonderful job setting it all up and making it all secret and everything! my friend the dancer lady took me out for a scrumptious dinner at the-thai-place-next-to-joe's-smoke-shop-and-across-the-street-from-video-expo, and even though i glimpsed some suspicious cars in the neighborhood when she brought me home, i was as clueless as you might hope the victim of a surprise party would be. my family knows it's true, since i left a sink full of dirty dishes in my wake when i went out with the dancer (they cleaned them up). it was a fun party!!

and boy did i rake in the presents. perhaps i'll give them a blog post all their own. now i'm off to have a cup of tea.