Baltimore's Inner Harbor

So we love the Inner Harbor here in Baltimore. It's a great place to wander around and look at the boats, or get a bite to eat and people-watch, or visit one of the many attractions on the waterfront. We love the Aquarium and the Children's Science Center, both of which sit on the water.
In the summer there are water-taxis to take from place to place, paddle boats to rent, or you can go out to Fort McHenry and watch sailboats, yachts and cruise ships enter and leave the harbor.
We made a visit with my sister and her shorties on New Years' Day. There were few crowds (most people were home sobering up) and sunny weather so we made an afternoon of it.
The Science Center is great. We spent a chunk of time in the space center, hands-on area and we just made it to the K-NEX exhibit (last day). The kids love it and I have to say I do as well.

I love this photo of the kids. It is so telling of their personalities. Look at Esther. She is so determined.
Okay... so I was crazy about Sis that day. She was looking so adorable, I could hardly stand it.

The kids loved the hands-on area. We could have spent so much more time there.
Yes, I am in this photo. I am the brilliant flash of light. 
I think Et looked fabulous as an Space Shuttle pilot and Max is just plain adorable.
Mostly this photo scared me. I had a flash-forward for what is in store for us a few years down the road.  Quite the attitude, wouldn't you agree?
The K-Nex exhibit was pretty neat. The kids like all the existing displays. They surprised me by not wanting to build much.

Next we walked down to the USS Constellation, the last all sail warship built by the US Navy. We didn't go aboard, but the kids enjoyed it enough, thinking it was a pirate ship.

All said, a pretty fun though chilly day.

Favorite Friday...

So I am stealing this idea from a friends' blog, but I am tweaking it a bit. Instead of posting a new pic of her favorite celebrity, I am posting a random favorite of mine whether it be in food, movies, books, clothing stores, people, etc. You get the gist and tonight I am posting two, just to get the ball rolling. 

First, a little background...

We have started something new here in Baltimore that I love. We read together in the evenings when we are all home together. A friend here told me how her family does this and they really enjoy it. We try to pick a book that will interest everyone and that isn't too long. With this book, we got the book on cd at the library as well so we could listen to it in the car. It only took us 2-3 days to get through and it was wonderful.

The book: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. The story appeals to a huge range of ages. It is silly at times, sweet and sentimental others and wonderfully written. The illustrations are beautiful. This is a new favorite of mine, for kids and adults alike.

Yes folks, that is a ladle for a handle on the door. Love it!

The other favorite has, of course, to do with food.  We have been trying to explore the different neighborhoods in Baltimore. Whether it be just a drive through a new area or finding some place to buy yarn, a thrift store or a place to find cheese we are finding all sorts of great new places. A fabulous find and this weeks' favorite was a little shop called Soups On in Hampden. They had these yummy little pot pies and delicious soup with crusty bread. We were there for an early lunch, so the four of us split a bowl and a pie. To wash it down, we got steamy cups of cocoa and cider and homemade cookies to boot. The atmosphere was charming, only seating a dozen or so people. The owner was very friendly and the food fabulous. If you're ever in Baltimore, Soups On is a must stop. 

New Years' Day in DC

The week after Christmas my sister Loree and her little people paid us a visit. We got to play for a few days and for one of them we went down to DC. Our first stop was at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. There is so much to see and so many cool exhibits to walk through. There is never enough time in places like this.

After that, we still enough energy and sunshine to walk down the Mall to the Washington Monument. It was a beautiful and chilly day, but not too shabby for the 30th of December.

Max is the little brother Et never had. They sure have a great time together.
I've been telling everyone that Esther is growing like a weed. Now do you believe me?!
My beautiful sister Loree and tired little Madie

Jon wore Esthers' scarf most of the time we were walking the Mall. Only he could pull it off and still look dashing.

Next, we hurried down to the Lincoln Memorial, one of my personal favorites. 

It was late in the day, so with tired children and dead camera batteries we decided to call it a day.  We'll visit again in the spring when the cherry blossoms are in bloom.

Eterick

The older he gets the more fun we have!!

Still on the old photo thing from yesterday... I remembered this photo of Et. It is one of my all- time favorites. He did this entirely on his own with is Hot Wheels. Can you tell how proud of himself he is?!
I truly don't know how I came to be so blessed. This kid is one in a million! Every day with him is amazing; a blessing and a gift. 

Esther the Walrus, Esther the Adorable

Looking through old photos today, I found these two of Sis. I remember her telling me she was a walrus. Look at that face. Seriously how could you not love her?!

Tonight with the missionaries over she was in rare form. The dress-up trunk was raided and she put on quite a show. *First we got Batgirl, then a pioneer bride and finally... I'm not sure - she had a petticoat, tiara and Mardi Gras beads with red patent leather Mary Jane's. She sure lives life with gusto! 

*No pics yet. The Elders took the pics on their cameras. I was doing video and clean-up. I'll post them when I get them.

Finally... A Carrot Cake Worth Eating

I am finally finished with my quest. I have been looking for years, rather unsuccessfully I might add, for a store-bought carrot cake worth the eating. Any cake has serious calories and carrot cake is no exception with the customary cream-cheese frosting. So to find one that is worth the calories is amazing. This cake meets all my criteria: moist but not soggy, good texture and loaded with all the mixins' but not too heavy, real pieces of carrot; the frosting has to be smooth and creamy, but not too thick and not too sweet. The portion size is good.  The presentation is nice enough. I tell you what... this cake is it. It's perfect. And with eight servings a box, it'll feed a group or one person for a very long time (it's in the freezer aisle). I especially like that the frosting is only on the top of the cake. 

So take it from the carrot cake connoisseur... If you want a carrot cake with all the right stuff and you don't want to bake - this one's for you!!

1000 Yards of Ribbon

My crazy plan began with ten spools - 100 yards each, 4 widths, 7 colors, a measuring tape, a sharp pair of sewing scissors and a very long kitchen table. I figured the lengths I wanted and then threw that out the window as I cut random lengths by sight, instead of measurement. 

This pic was shot with my phone, so the colors aren't completely true. Regardless, it was so beautiful and vibrant, so festive and shiny. I felt like a little girl looking at all those pretty ribbons.
Before moving to the next stage I had to attach the ribbons to a heavy gauge wire (I ended up using copper electricians' wire). To do that, I had to move the ribbon to the other room. This is me in transit with 1000 yards wrapped around my shoulders. Pretty sweet huh?! You get a little peek at the snowflakes in that shot too.
The ceiling height in the living room is 14'. The ladder is only 8'. The ribbon, though not terribly heavy was awkward to try and attach to the light. (Sidenote: Jon had to rehang the light before I actually attached everything to it because the original installer was, and I quote "a nimrod". :) Basically, it was not secure to the ceiling and the ribbons would have ripped it right out of its socket.)Anyway, for a girl who doesn't like heights, this was a challenge. In the end, Jon had the long arms and know-how to hang the ribbons securely when I was unable to do so.
"Beam me up Scotty" in style! This area was a favorite for Jack! He loved to sit underneath of it, with his head in the middle. Sorry - no pics of that.
I promise you'll get more pics when I actually finish the project. I am farther along than this, but I only wanted to post the first stage for now. When it is all finished, I will post everything so you can see the final result.

Snowflakes and Ribbons

This year I took on two whopper decorating projects for the holidays, in addition to the normal decorating that already takes place. The first involves snowflakes and originally was done to make up for the fact that there is no snow here (at least nothing that has lasted for longer than 5 minutes on the ground). Also, I wanted my kids to remember something about Christmas/ snow in Baltimore :) and finally, to cheer me up when everyone in UT I know is telling me how many feet of the white stuff each new storm brings. The other project is a spin off of something we saw in Italy that I absolutely loved. As you might expect, by the lack of pictures, one is finished and the other is not (but hopefully will be finished tomorrow). I am not going to post pics of either until both are done. 

The snowflakes are magical. I love them. They make me smile every time I look at them. You'll see what I mean later, although I think a video might be the only way to truly show you all what I am talking about.

On the other hand, the ribbons are fabulous! They are a little trickier due to the taller ceilings in the living room(14 ft), but already I love how they look. 

Keep checking back if you don't see something soon, but I will do my best to finish and post by tomorrow evening.

Happy New Year friends!!

(How's that for a teaser?!)

Bolton Hill for the Holidays

Anyone who knows Baltimore knows that it is all about its neighborhoods. (This is probably true of most bigger cities, but I only know Baltimore so that is what I am drawing on.)

The fabulous little neighborhood we live in is Bolton Hill. We love it here for many reasons, but I'll just share a few. For one, it is conveniently close to MICA where Jon is attending school. Also, we are equally close to church. In addition, it's convenient with a Rite-Aid, a Sav-a-Lot and a hardware store just a block away. We're close, but not too close to Downtown, Penn Station and only 20 minutes to the airport. We are two miles from the zoo and the Aquarium and just a bit more to the Science Center. And for Baltimore standards :), we feel pretty safe here. But finally, the real reason for this post... it is simply charming. Take a look...

Bolton Hill has the prettiest little streets of rowhouses. Nearly all the homes in Bolton Hill and Baltimore for that matter, are rowhouses - which is why they all pretty much have the same configuration: 2 long, narrow windows and a door.









Okay, I know it is serious overkill with the pictures today, but you'll recognize when I really am excited about something by the number of pics I post - hence the two dozen+ photos today.
Quite a few home-owners went all out, decorating all three levels of their rowhouses. I love it!

In Italy I began a new love affair with doors. Not any old doors, doors with personality, beauty and individuality. Before Italy I had never seen so many said doors and I must have taken 100 pictures of them last summer.  Baltimore has captured my heart in the same way. I love the stoops here, the way they all say something different to me.  





And finally the windows and their beautiful boxes... When we arrived in August, the windowboxes of Bolton Hill were overflowing with the most stunning displays of nasturtiums, impatiens, ivy, petunias, dahlias, zinnias, passionflower, bougainvillea and the favorite sweet potato vine.  I didn't think the boxes could get any lovelier until the Garden Club had their annual fundraiser. 

I only snapped a few pictures as it was getting late and I was losing the light, but you can see how striking they are.  For any of you copycats out there, myself included, let me tell you some of the plants used. Magnolia was a favorite, as were bays and laurels. Yews, box and juniper were popular too. I loved the wreaths and garlands with fruit on them - apples, pears, nuts too.

Who am I kidding, even without Christmas decorations, I love the architecture of Bolton Hill. I wander the streets with the kids and Jack in tow with a big smile on my face for the beauty of this place. Simply charming, beautiful, unique and for 18 months more, I get to be a part of it. 

Ingrid, have you discovered your secret blessing for the day? I have! :)