Congrats Grad!

This is really late, but congratulations to Rick on graduating from the Leeds School of Business with his MBA! His program was really demanding but Rick graduated with honors in the top of his class while somehow managing to still be an amazing dad to Adelaide, the sweetest husband ever and a hard working intern.

It's nice to be done with school.... now onto real life, a new job and paying back our student loans :)

I ♥ Barefoot Contessa

I may be a little late on the bandwagon but my latest obsession is trying to cook like Ina Garten. I have been fond of her for a long time but this pregnancy I have really had the urge to cook, bake and eat delicious foods. I found the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks on a slight sale about a month ago and bought every single one. Often all I do during Adelaide's nap time is study the amazingness that is found in her books. I have tried out several of her recipes, and Rick agrees that every one has been delicious (although he is still uncertain if that justifies buying all of her not-so-inexpensive books and the often not-so-inexpensive ingredients). We ate most all of the dishes I have made so far before I remembered to get a picture, but I did manage to get one of this fruit tart:

I was really proud of myself and thought it turned out pretty :)

And it tasted even better than it looked.

Licorice Test

For Rick's birthday back in April I got him as many different types of red licorice I could find, in hopes that he would discover a new favorite to replace or at least counteract his obsession with Red Vines.

He finally got around to doing a taste test.

And he took it very seriously... closing his eyes and savoring each flavor. It made me laugh.

I don't really think my plan worked but he did find some new "second favorites."

But nothing beats the flavor of high fructose corn syrup and Red 40!

Adelaide Lately

I am catching up on my blogging and noticed that I have a couple cute and random pics of Adelaide. She is just bursting with personality lately and I feel like these pictures demonstrate that a little bit:

Giving kisses to her Gram.

Helping me keep my basil plant alive (As Rick says, it is the longest thing I've kept alive besides Adelaide).

Hiding in a hard-to-reach place because I was about to wipe her face clean.

Sweet little smile.

Rocking with one of her baby dolls.

Playing in the boxes while we packed.

Blurry Family Photos

We don't really take family photos very often, but my Mom specifically wanted one from each of her kids and their respective families for Mother's Day this year. I forgot about it until the sun was down that day but asked my neighbor to snap a couple shots anyway to fulfill my mother's Mother's Day wish. I think we will probably end up redoing it (since they came out a little blurry and our family is about to grow soon) but I thought they are still nice to have to document our little family of three for now:)

Embroidered Jar Toppers

I picked up this lovely little book last summer and it is filled with adorable but simple projects for special occasions. Most are still on my to-do list but I did finally make my version of the embroidered jar toppers as mother's day gifts:

I embroidered a cute little bee for the honey jar.

And I did an "M" for my mom's lemon curd (She goes by Michelle, Mom to the kids, and Mimi to the grandkids so I thought the "M" was fitting).

I was quite pleased with the way they turned out and am excited to try out some other projects soon.

Adelaide & Dakota

Before we moved to Boulder from San Diego I had a list of things I hoped my new apartment would have... a washer/dryer, a park and pool within walking distance, a grocery store nearby, a local running trail, a balcony for Rick's bikes, and a neighbor mom with a baby around Adelaide's age to be our friends. I was so lucky to get everything I wanted, especially our sweet neighbors Ruthie and Dakota. It was so nice to be able to hang out with them anytime, have someone to vent to, and for our little girls to become such good friends. They would play and laugh (and often fight) for hours and still bawl their eyes out when they had to go their separate ways. Adelaide and I miss them but know that we will keep in touch :)

Here are a couple pics of the dynamic duo:

I love that they have matching mullets, although I acknowledge that Adelaide's is more pronounced.

The itsy bitsy spider.

Always giggling.

So sweet.

Adelaide is jealous of Dakota's pretty painted nails.

Dakota, the older and wiser one, reading to Adelaide.

Having Ruthie and Dakota as neighbors really was an answer to my prayers and I feel so blessed to be their friend! Thanks for all the good times, there will be more to come I'm sure :)