Quiet mornings. Sounds like an oxymoron around here, huh? From the second we wake up, it’s go, go, go. Even while I am on maternity leave and don’t have to “be anywhere”, it’s still breakfast chaos, making lunches, getting dressed, diapers, buckets of hair detangler spray, and hustling the family out the door. But sometimes, miraculously, it is quiet. The baby is sleeping soundly on my chest, the big kids are still curled up in their beds, and the crisp December air permeates the house. I sneak into the kitchen, make a latte, and marvel at the silence. I soak it in.
Read MoreThank you for loving me. Thank you for loving me even when I’m cranky. Thank you for loving me when I make it really hard on you. We don’t get to spend much alone time together these days. We are constantly on the move and with our three young children, we are deep in the chaos and throes of diapering, cleaning, and raising these precious and crazy humans. But, when we do get to spend time together, you make it memorable. You make me laugh, you make me feel beautiful, you love me harder and more fiercely with each day. I am sorry for when I ignore you or snap at you. But, I cannot imagine doing life with anyone else. You ground me. You love your family unconditionally. You are a rock. And I want the world to know it. Thank you for all you do for your family and thank you for loving us.
Your adoring wife,
Samantha
P.S. You’re really hot.
Read MoreWhat? I mean, WHAT?! We are approaching year’s end and I’m seriously reeling from this past year. From our surprise named Theo, to promotions at work, and everything in between, it’s been one heck of a year. But I am so grateful. Really, that’s all I can say for now.
I’ll type out my end-of-year feels sometime in the next couple of weeks and write out my, GASP, resolutions. But before sharing my planner spreads, I just wanted to say thank you to those who read this little blog of mine and think of my family and me from time to time. THANK YOU.
I don’t know how much I’ll get to posting next week because of Christmas, so I wanted to get a jump on this week’s and next week’s spreads for you all. This week is subdued and pretty and understated in elegant gold and red. But next week, I went all out Christmas and it’s as if my planner sticker books exploded and I just love it.
Read MoreI do not consider myself a chef. I don’t have much intuition when it comes to cooking. I can, however, follow a recipe for the most part. That’s why I love baking. Everything is measured and mixed precisely and voila, you get cupcakes. I’m mostly a batter kind of girl — think banana bread, cake from a box, Swedish pancakes, and the like. But dough, involving yeast, GASP, not really my strong suit.
I’ve always been intimidated by yeast, I have no idea why. But I am a huge fan of yeast-containing things. I mean who doesn’t love freshly baked bread or cinnamon rolls or garlic knots…and now my mouth is watering.
But I have seen recipes about no-knead bread floating around the interwebs for some time. I even requested a dutch oven for Christmas one year in the hopes of making bread in it. Well, I’ve had my Le Creuset for three years now and I have finally attempted no-knead bread.
Now, I’m not going to pretend I’ve done anything special. I haven’t adapted a recipe to make it my own nor have I any insights or tips. BUT, like I mentioned, I can follow instructions in a recipe and that’s just what I did and here is how it turned out.
Also, I love bread more than most other entities on planet earth. My family, friends, and ice cream are at the top of the list, but bread is definitely a true and pure love of mine.
Read MoreThis has been a crying week so far. I don’t know if it’s the post-travel blues or postpartum hormonal shifts or what, but I have been emotional the past few days. Do you ever have those days? You know, when everything just makes you cry (or sob uncontrollably).
Theo cooed and smiled at me. I cried.
I watched the series finale of Once Upon A Time. I cried.
I picked Emma and Henry up early from school and they were so happy to see me. I cried.
Dinner was ready and on the table for Paul when he got home after a stressful day at work. I cried.
I made a carrot cake (from the box) and it was so beautiful. I cried.
Lots of happy crying.
But there was some of the other kind of crying too.
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