Renaissance Fair

Mark and I went with our friends Vic and Kerri and their two sweet babies to the Renaissance Fair last weekend. I was going to post about it earlier in the week but we got a new computer (yay!), and it took us a few days to transfer info from the old to the new.

Anyhoo, they have this fair near us every year, but Mark and I had never been before. It was so fun! And apparently people take it very seriously. There were LOTS of non-employees in costume. We didn't go that far.

This chick was in a tree making high-pitched clicking noises. It scared Mark. Awesome.

Joseph had a good old time...

Can you stand it?!

Mark found a game he couldn't resist. Check that look of pure determination. That thing is gonna hit the bell for sure!

"Did I do it?" (The answer is no.)

Second try...and still no. It's safe to say I don't love him for his arm muscles.

I had a chocolate raspberry port that was kinda grody because it was warm, but the guy who poured it threw an Oreo in, so the last sip was pretty amazing...

Boobies!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Emergency Kit

I've had "Make an emergency kit" on my to-do list forever, but it was always getting put off by more pressing matters. But with the many major earthquakes in the past couple of months in Haiti, Chile, Baja, and now China, it felt like time to be serious about it. Living in California, we know it's not a matter of if, but when.

So Mark and I spent a couple of days gathering supplies. We put the kit in two bins so it would be easy to grab and go if we had to evacuate the house for any reason. This kit would work in any emergency...Mark and I weren't even so much picturing an earthquake as we were imagining some unspecified apocalyptic event in which we'd never be able to return home, because ya know, we're dramatic like that.

Our kit includes:

• 2 cases of bottled water
• non-perishable food to last us a week (various canned things, peanut butter, dried fruit, etc.)
• food for Bean
• paper plates and bowls, plastic utensils
• can opener
• paper towels
• small plastic trash bags
• first aid kit (we have a pre-made one just given to us by Mark's mom from Costco or Sam's)
• flashlight with extra batteries
• battery-operated radio with extra batteries
• scissors
• utility knife
• duct tape
• heavy work gloves (2 pairs)
• dust masks (Mark wants to upgrade to respirators soon, because again, it might be the end of the world, people!)
• large plastic drop clothes to cover broken windows (just in case it's only a few broken windows and we don't have to flee the home forever)
• waterproof matches
• a pair of sturdy shoes for each of us
• a change of clothes for each of us
• a pack of socks
• beanies for each of us
• 2 blankets
• toilet paper
• toiletries (soap, deodorant, toothbrushes and paste, wet wipes, feminine supplies, etc.)
• hand sanitizer
• pad of paper and pens/pencils
• list of important phone numbers
• copies of important documents (driver's licenses, insurance policies, bank accounts, etc.)
• cash in small denominations in an envelope

And don't forget supplies for the kiddos if you have them. I also taped a sheet of paper to the outside of one of the bins listing the expiration dates of the food, first aid kit, and batteries so they can be used up and replaced. We're keeping our kit in our guest room closet because there's plenty of room in there and it's easy to get to.

Are you prepared for an emergency, and have we left anything out?

The weekend was...

Dinner for a friend's birthday. We played dress-up and had a grand old time pretending to be fancy. I even wrapped her gift in a tea towel to suit the occasion...

We also finally hung art above our entry table. I saw Irene's work on another blog (can't remember which since it was a couple of months ago), and I loved it immediately. She does beautiful watercolor paintings (originals, not prints) of many different animals. We went with birds cause we love em. You will die when you see how inexpensive they are, but let's not tell her so she doesn't raise the prices, k?

And yesterday we rode our bikes to the farmer's market and did some much needed yard work before the rain came last night. We also finished up a little project that I'll be sharing this week, maybe tomorrow.

New Recipe Wednesday

Nutella Pie

Holy crap, this is a good one. My mom made this for our Easter dessert. She thinks the recipe was from Woman's Day.

Ingredients:

• one prepared chocolate cookie piecrust (such as Oreo)
• 1 8oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbs. mini chocolate chips

Instructions:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, Nutella, and 1/4 cup sugar.
• Beat until well blended.
• Add egg and 1/4 cup hazelnuts and beat until blended.
• Pour mixture into the pie crust and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove and cool completely.
• Once cooled, beat heavy cream, the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, and the vanilla on high until peaks form. Spread over the pie.
• Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup hazelnuts and mini chocolate chips.

It's super rich, so I'd start with a small piece, but such an easy and yummy dessert.

Target Goods

I don't think I need to extol the virtues of Target since it seems to be universally loved. I avoid Walmart at all costs because it's ugly and crowded and trying to find an employee that knows anything is next to impossible.

But Target calls to me and I can wander the aisles in circles for far longer than I have any business being in there. I was just in there picking up lots of non-pretty things that I'll be sharing with you soon, but I wanted to show you the three little pretties that did make it in my cart.

The pillow and the canister are from the Liberty of London line because I'm pretty sure there was a law passed that if you have a blog, you had to buy some L of L stuff. Those two items plus the watering can are what really caught my eye from the line. But I didn't let myself get the watering can because I have three already and I don't even need that many.

And the bird house I just LOVE. We haven't done it yet at this house, but we had a haven for birds at our old house, with lots of feeders and bird baths. I can't wait to hang this new house in a tree and watch the birdies find it.

The weekend was...

Going through magazines that have been piling up....

Babysitting a couple of munchkins so our friends could have a night out...

The living room was spotless when they got here, and it looked like this an hour later...

Finally sweet, sweet quiet...

And Easter was breakfast with Mark's mom and dinner with my family. We told my mom no candy, but we each had one of these waiting for us...

and nobody was mad about it. Hope you had a great weekend!