My nails grow at the alarming speed, exciting and overwhelming it is when it has never been so. But I will take it, decorate nicely and put the gloves away. As for the decorating studs they are one of my favourite toys when it comes to bringing the cuticles alive. No glue or any adhesive required as long as they are attached before the nail varnish has dried out and only a layer or two of base coat is needed. I'm planning to get busy with my nails in the coming weeks, I'll maybe even document the process here. Who knows... x
I may feel sorry for this statement but I do genuinely love when Damian becomes unwell. Not terribly ill or dying in my arms but anything like coming down with a small cold, occasional fever, those sort of things. I find him at his calmest, most relaxed, sexiest even with warm forehead and half-open eyelids. I can sit next to him on the sofa he’s possessed for good it seems and keep things pretty my way in rambling, stroking, making him feel better with my annoying presence.
Nadia is a girlie girl, one that moves delicately. Sometimes I watch her and try to resemble this or other move and can hardly recognize in me. And then comes her heroines - Minnie flipping her enormously long lashes, Rapunzel melting hearts just by looking at you. Some time back I couldn’t figure out some of her facial expressions of scrunching her nose and generally making quite an unhappy face. It was a time when Disney delivered the image of a fearless explorer of pink apartments in much too dreary circumstances and I had that light bulb moment Coraline came down from the screen straight into our flat.
Happy weekend, you x
I was counting freckles on Nadia's nose and made it to twenty. Then she exclaimed looking at mine: And you have thousands!
Sitting with Nadia on the sofa and smelling her summer hair (washed yesterday but full of sun, sweat and play): Will your hair smell always so nice?
Nadia: I don't know, perhaps.
Nadia: "I am being polite like a lunch box."
Nadia brought home a toy her cousin gave to her saying: "He let me have it for hundred days." I hope he did.
I'm not a morning person but I am a breakfast person, one that has to be reasonably full before heading out the door. But it is that time of year again that jumping out of bed ecstatically means no fun unless someone is cooking for you and the whole space smells of heaven (sunflowers optional). I figured out simplicity mixed with deliciousness is everything I want from my breakfast this season. Something prepared earlier needing only a little to satisfy is the recipe for success. In this combo muffins were the hardest therefore baked in advance ingredient topped with a five minute blueberry compote sacrifice. It literally takes minutes to cook while the air absorbs the smell and no one will stay in bed for long. For the compote you only need a small amount of berries, two tablespoons of orange juice (or any juice available), half teaspoon of vanilla extract and a dash of cinnamon cooked for 10 minutes on high, stirring frequently. As for the muffins...
Recipe was found in It's All Good cookbook by Gwyneth Partlow and loved ever since. Not too messy and laborious those muffins became an easy snack around here especially that they can be paired with anything my taste buds fancy that morning: a dab of nutella, jam or marmalade, apple or apricot compote, it's an evolving process. So onto the recipe! You'll need:
1 large sweet potato
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
3/4 cup good-quality maple syrup plus 2 extra tablespoons for brushing the muffins
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups gluten free flour (if it doesn't include xantham gum, add 1 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 and 1/2 tablespoons Chinese five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Preheat
the oven to 400F. Prick the sweet potato a few times with a paring knife or
fork. Bake until soft (when a paring knife can cut through with zero
resistance), about 1 hour. Set the sweet potato aside until it's completely
cool.
Peel the
sweet potato, discard the skin and mash the flesh in a mixing bowl with a fork.
Whisk the olive oil, almond milk, maple syrup and vanilla into the
sweet potato. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder,
baking soda, five-spice powder and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet
ingredients.
Line a 12-cup muffin tray with paper liners and evenly distribute the muffin batter among the cups. Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, brushing the tops with extra maple syrup during the last 5 minutes of baking. let the muffins cool before serving.
Line a 12-cup muffin tray with paper liners and evenly distribute the muffin batter among the cups. Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean, brushing the tops with extra maple syrup during the last 5 minutes of baking. let the muffins cool before serving.
Peel the sweet potato, discard the skin and mash the flesh
in a mixing bowl with a fork. Whisk the olive oil, almond milk, maple
syrup or xylitol, and vanilla into the sweet potato. In a separate bowl,
whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, five-spice powder
and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and evenly distribute the muffin batter among the cups.
Bake at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick
comes out clean, brushing the tops with extra maple syrup during the
last 5 minutes of baking. Let the muffins cool before serving.
-
See more at:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/12748_Gwyneth_Paltrow_s_Sweet_Potato_amp_5_Spice_Muffins/#sthash.fvVZdX2Q.dpuf
Preheat
the oven to 400F. Prick the sweet potato a few times with a paring
knife or fork. Bake until soft (when a paring knife can cut through with
zero resistance), about 1 hour. Set the sweet potato aside until its
completely cool.
Peel the sweet potato, discard the skin and mash the flesh
in a mixing bowl with a fork. Whisk the olive oil, almond milk, maple
syrup or xylitol, and vanilla into the sweet potato. In a separate bowl,
whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, five-spice powder
and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and evenly distribute the muffin batter among the cups.
Bake at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick
comes out clean, brushing the tops with extra maple syrup during the
last 5 minutes of baking. Let the muffins cool before serving.
-
See more at:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/recipe/12748_Gwyneth_Paltrow_s_Sweet_Potato_amp_5_Spice_Muffins/#sthash.fvVZdX2Q.dpuf
It's how it always goes. You wake up fresh and prepared for all the sugar awaiting your cravings knowing it's only the small percentage of the good things that are about to happen. You don't even sleep that long otherwise you'll miss it. No chance. As today marked another year that has flown by in our lives with this ball of sunshine, commotion was all that I remember. But let me start from the moment it was only a blur. All of us woke up almost at the same time, her lemon dress ready since a week ago, hanging there as a reminder of a fabulous day. She dressed herself indecisive to the way her hair should go so I offered a hand with some braiding and it was a hit before she changed outfits later on but that's a regular thing around here, birthdays or not. I planned to match the colours she was wearing but decided against it in the last minute. It's a tempting move yet results not always back up the original plan so a few shades of grey were decided upon. We had first guests arriving at 10 am therefore the last minute decorating took us less than expected. Nadia loves her Playstation race games so the Sonic lady - Rouge is what she's been talking about lately - any occasion - her birthday or Christmas, she was convinced they will be merged at some point. Her joy was not hard to witness.
Then we headed to the nearest bowling centre for some fun, food and occasional tears when the score board showed not what was expected. Nadia was having a great time bonding with everybody and just throwing that ball in between, it seemed. It wasn't until the end she started winning and yes, won the overall game to her undeniable surprise. Second game wasn't that exciting so was taken over by the adults while the kids ran around the arcade machines having a go at them with not a coin to spend. It seemed to be fun too.
Five year old Nadia, I will miss you terribly but the sweet new face is here to stay for a while and I'm excited as ever. You are my joy and a kindest spirit, I'm so happy to be your mama. xxx
Then we headed to the nearest bowling centre for some fun, food and occasional tears when the score board showed not what was expected. Nadia was having a great time bonding with everybody and just throwing that ball in between, it seemed. It wasn't until the end she started winning and yes, won the overall game to her undeniable surprise. Second game wasn't that exciting so was taken over by the adults while the kids ran around the arcade machines having a go at them with not a coin to spend. It seemed to be fun too.
Five year old Nadia, I will miss you terribly but the sweet new face is here to stay for a while and I'm excited as ever. You are my joy and a kindest spirit, I'm so happy to be your mama. xxx
For the first time in years no source of information is able
to predict the sequence of steps and milestones my child will proceed through.
Gone are the days a whole vocabulary contained of 50 most frequent verbs and
adjectives, we're in no way in a place that's predictable, measurable, obvious
and easily comparable to cases found in respectable parenting books full of
terribly useful things. At virtually six years old the approximate figures make no sense,
every child is different, no one is like the other. There's also
a big gap in knowing for sure and with all my heart what really does she know,
what meaning does she assign to things of every day, how many sentences
can be created in one afternoon. It's easy to maneuver in the field of ten sounds a baby can make or
live life focusing on 20 phrases all the time while chopping finger food. It's
almost a fun game of expanding and limiting. Now it's the time of refinement
and sharpness when a word can mean as many things as there are colours and most
probably just the opposite of what I've been taught to associate it with. Now
it's the game of waiting, not knowing what will float out of her mouth, so
abstract and interesting. Imagine sitting next to a stranger child in a waiting
room, meeting him for the first time -- you'll be in the dark of what to
expect just as I am the minute Nadia flutters her thick lashes at the crack of dawn till she says a
faint goodnight. This is what I'm talking about, at six no child is a child you
can stop in their own reasoning, observation and logic yet encouraging it
you're still astonished how quickly it's happened and how far she shifted
because of it. You meet a six year old and at giving her a lollipop you expect
a dozen of reactions -- sometimes quite predictable and expected, most times
mildly striking. Snapshots of this year consist of moments I'm in awe with and
slightly less excited but this is how an adult is made - through her own
revelations bouncing off of experiences with others. It's when they
interact it happens, it's when they play they gain and give further.
This summer
Nadia was in charge of the refinement, the unpredictable, the less obvious. I certainly enjoyed every minute of it. Happy birthday, babe! xx
Sometimes
the story is shared with others or it is lived through with quiet
moments of self-discovery, no explanation needed, no questions asked as long as the sun is in full beam and denim rules until there's no breath left. Only few will know what I mean. This summer was no different yet all so very new to us in every aspect, humidity included. The squad hasn't changed, in fact being a part of well-known team is a reward on its own, acting as normal with people who will always notice things when they go wrong is a treasure easily competing with bunch of sticks of unfamiliar shapes. We found a good number of them, don't ask exactly how they got transported home but they did and I still dust around them weeks after the stock up enthusiastically. This summer rolled around slowly, almost like regretting the move the minute it set its foot here. I don't blame it, we're greedy bunch not easily satisfied with a warm day or two. We have a seaside after all so picking on ever so slight breeze and a cloud is our 5 to 9 job. Sometimes longer if bottle of prosecco is still half full. And then you experiment and learn the rule of forsaking with quite good reasoning backing you up because this part is kind of critical when it comes to having successful summer break or not. Do I carry a ball or a warm cardigan? And if I need both who will support me when none of it feels essential anymore? These are the problems, you guys.
Countryside was our answer to hesitant summer that didn't truly show up. Someday it is all we'll remember. The raw adventures with the only idea of touching as much as there is time and daylight for connected to views of no age but a great significance. This summer saw us a little more vulnerable after missing out on going on a proper trip abroad due to our car breaking down so the stakes were high and expectations unattainable. Not for long though. Make the most of what you've got type of deal was eventually settled on. We took it and soaked it up like there was no more sunny days to witness. The forest was the playground and the castle and the obstacle course. Sometimes all at once. Hands were full of unidentified objects, wide grins told the stories hearts played with ease, what else one could want?
This is what happens when you're surrounded by nature and the cold sea motivates only the bravest. The whole area sort of awaits your footsteps and maybe a loud hello to share the love the sun and rain pours into it to thrive while no one's watching. This is the best of what makes the summer stay with us for longer apart from areas of less fun to deal with like ticks and scratches and bees flying past noses so close no reassurance will ever be enough. In the land where we settled and got pregnant with our lady sunshine. The land we discover every day. And it's the perfect process.