I promise our lives are not perfect, but I feel like certain days are pretty close, and this weekend we had two such days. Our dinner party went off without a hitch last night! Success! I really did a lot to prepare in advance and I shared the load of responsibilities this time, asking each of my guests to bring different components of the meal, and I'm so glad I did. The food was delectable, the
music was lively, the company was so fun and easy, and neither Shawn nor I were running around like crazy folk in the hours leading up to the first doorbell ring. Kate probably had as much fun out with grandma as we did with our guests. Thanks a million, Valerie, for taking her to the animal park, the mall, and out for pizza! She came home one happy camper. Oh! And we finally got more chairs for our dining table! (We had only four up until now and have been improvising with occasional chairs and benches from other rooms in the house.) How I love you, Craiglist, for helping me find four more solid wood chairs for $15 total.
I won't be prepared to give you this Latin-inspired menu for this dinner party just yet, but I promise to have it to you well in advance of Cinco de Mayo. But you should be very excited. Very. Shredded chicken tacos with hand-rolled tortillas, mango, queso fresco, avocados, etc., pineapple on the side, horchata and Brazilian limeade for drinks, and this delicious number for dessert:
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| Basically this is shaved heaven on top of whipped heaven on top of rich heaven on top of coconut heaven on top of dark chocolate heaven served on top of warm, caramel heaven with cold, vanilla heaven on the side. |
After church today Kate wanted to hold Louisa, and they looked just so soft and beautiful to me that I had to take some photos.
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| Looks like Lou is enjoying whatever secret Kate is saying. |
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| I love how Kate soaks in Louisa. |
Can tomorrow be Friday again?...
