spacing out

I had two things to do after work today: quick grocery shopping and returning a library book. At the grocery store, I remembered the items not on my list that I needed for dinner but then got sidetracked by the ice cream freezer and didn't get one single item on my actual list. And the library book didn't cross my mind once.

Now I'm in stretchy pants camped out on the couch, staunchly unwilling to go outside again in the cold and rain.

{I'd hate to turn into one of those women who blame every flake-out and sweet indulgence on pregnancy, but really, can I at least chalk the list negligence up to the baby? Veteran mothers, please enlighten me.}

a golden birthday

Yesterday, Mr. Wilson turned 27 on the 27th--big birthday, no? I wasn't scheduled to work and he took the day off, so we went to breakfast, lounged around, watched movies on our new embarrassingly large TV, took naps, and topped off the day with a trip to the Melting Pot with Jeff and Karen. {PS I think chocolate fondue may be my--and the baby's--new favorite.}

To officially finish off the birthday, I thought I'd list 27 things about Mr. Joshua Wilson that you may or may not know.

01. He studied electrical engineering at BYU.
02. He takes long showers.

03. He doesn't do well with blood (let's imagine him in the delivery room for a moment?)
04. Emotion makes him uncomfortable.
05. But when it comes to expressing how he feels about me and Babe Wilson, he holds nothing back.

06. He's so excited for Babe Wilson.
07. He has a list of top-5 favorite TV characters: Michael Scott (The Office), Andy Dwyer (Parks and Rec), Tracy Jordan (30 Rock), Phil Dunphy (Modern Family), and one character from Arrested Development (it's hard to pick a clear favorite).
08. His last college apartment was akin to living homeless indoors.
09. Chicken and dumplings is one of his favorite meals (in the following picture, he's making Japanese food, not chicken and dumplings).

10. He likes falling asleep on the couch.
11. He hates buying clothes.
12. He has one brother and one sister.
13. Papa Murphy's Take 'n' Bake is his favorite pizza.

14. He's a great gift-giver.
15. But he's really hard to buy for.
16. He's a great people-person.
17. And he also has hermit tendencies (we're a great match that way)

18. Pig meat is his favorite--bacon, sausage, pork, you name it.
19. He used to snowboard.
20. He has a great smile, but doesn't like posed smiling.

21. When we took our engagement photos he practiced his smile in a mirror on the way to the site.
22. He has a great circle of childhood friends, many of whom live close.
23. He's really good at cuddling.
24. He discusses books with me.
25. He's great at doing the dishes and vacuuming.

26. His favorite band is The Shins.
27. He's my favorite.

Happy birthday, Mr. Wilson!

the birthday cake: 2012

When I asked Josh what cake he wanted for his birthday this year, he gave me a few specifications:
:: something chocolate
:: something dense without a delicate crumb
:: something that incorporated berries

After some research in my Baker's Illustrated, I settled on the following:
:: devil's food cake
:: buttercream frosting
:: raspberry filling

I think I care more about Josh's birthday cake than I do about my own; I spent a couple of weeks figuring out exactly how to fill his cake desires. I took my cake and frosting recipes from Baker's Illustrated and adapted my grandma's strawberry pie filling recipe for raspberries. I made the cake and frosting the day before and assembled it all the day of the party.

When I concocted this cake, I had visions of satiny buttercream and perfectly interspersed raspberry filling--it was dreamy. This is how it really looked:

{Josh desperately wanted to use the leftover raspberry filling to decorate the top, and how could I refuse him at his own birthday party?}

Certainly not dreamy or satiny.

So I learned a few crucial things with this cake:

:: First, don't refrigerate buttercream. The recipe may say that you can, but don't. It loses all satiny-ness and looks very un-dreamy. (Maybe if I had thought it through more I would have realized that buttercream--made primarily of butter--would take quite a while to soften once out of the fridge. Maybe I could have whipped it more with a handmixer to regain the satin quality? Regardless, just make it the day of and save yourself the grief.)

::  When the buttercream ends up looking more like taffeta than satin, just let it go. It still tasted divine. Don't beat yourself up over refrigerating the buttercream.

:: It's okay for the birthday boy to decorate his own cake--even if it goes against everything you'd dreamed of for the confection.

Even given all my self-perceived shortcomings  in this cake, Josh pronounced it his favorite cake of mine that he's tasted to date. It filled all of his cake requests, and really, that's exactly what I wanted to begin with.

For accounts Josh's past birthday cakes, go here: 2010, 2011.

12 on 12: february 2012--an overdue grid

01. Necessary hair products
02. Survived
03. Talking to Mom on my Bluetooth after church
04. Baking Joy found at Fred Meyer--celebrate!
05. Season two of The Office--I call it Office classic
06. Out of corn syrup
07. Pink fluffy frosting
08. Cake leftovers a.k.a. breakfast
09. Editing John's English paper
10. Knitting
11. Cook's Illustrated
12. Getting ready for bed

I'm glad to be back in the 12-on-12 game! In January, I was sick, tired, and not in the mood, so I'm pleased to say that I'm back in the saddle. How was your 12th?

justifications

:: I thought I missed the cookie sales.
:: Girls Scouts just happened to be outside Joanns as I left.
:: The rain.
:: The traffic.
:: The baby.

:: Obviously.

(im)perfect love

There's nothing like marriage to remind you that 1) you're not perfect and 2) your spouse certainly isn't perfect either.

{engagement photo by these lovely ladies}

Something, however, that I realize more and more in my life with Josh is that we're perfect for each other, even in the most imperfect ways.

Happy Valentine's Day, love.

gearing up for Valentine's Day

In the midst of winter gloom and post-January rebound, who can't love a day of hearts, pink, and love?

Yesterday I made a heart cake for dessert, and I must say that I'm quite pleased with the product. The layers rose high and evenly, and the crumb was moist yet delicate. Perfect. (I think my cake-baking may have taken a positive turn?)

I've been enjoying Valentine's Day TV episodes and browsing the card aisle at Target. I've made a Valentine wreath and garland for the apartment. I wore pink to church yesterday and pulled out my Silhouette to create some Valentine vinyl magic.

I've especially enjoyed reading all about C. Jane's Five Loves; she's posting the fourth one today and I'm thinking the fifth one tomorrow.

And today I'll leave you with perhaps my favorite Valentine find:

{all images found here and here}

What are you doing to get ready for Valentine's Day? And also, I'm hoping that the Harry Potter Valentines made your day--they certainly did mine.

PS I actually did do 12on12 this month and will be posting my grid this week!

want some details?

I thought you might. At least I know that whenever I hear baby news from a friend, I immediately have a million questions.

:: The offical due date is August 20.
:: We told our families at Christmas, and it made for probably the best Christmas ever. And when you combine that news with Emily's Christmas Day engagement, you're looking at a seriously big Christmas!
:: On Saturday, I'll be 13 weeks along, so almost through the first trimester! That means that on Saturday, Baby will be the size a peach. A peach!
:: Alas, those booties in the last post are not mine. I pinned them a while ago, and now the pin leads no where.
:: Up until the past few days I've been feeling continually nauseous. While uncomfortable, it's certainly been manageable all things considered.
:: Sometimes I feel so tired that I feel drugged.
:: I've had no food cravings yet, but the nausea has certainly made for many food aversions. I do well with bland food. Think five boxes of Kix in two weeks kind of bland.

:: I've also been downing the milk like it's going out of style.
:: I have this little paunch that could be either baby or bloat--the jury's still out.
:: No one tells prospective mothers that pregnancy includes more than its fair share of bloating and gas. TMI?
:: Mood swings. Hormonal crying. Inexplicable irritability.
:: Elation. Complete and all-encompassing elation.

best. sound. ever.

Tha-thump-tha-thump-tha-thump-tha-thump-tha-thump. Sound like a heartbeat? It is.

{via}

This Wilson family of two is soon to become three.

August 2012: get ready for it. We are.

ahead of the curve

When I was engaged and told people what my wedding colors were I was met with dubious looks and halfhearted responses. "Pink and orange?" they said. "Oh, that's . . . bright." Regardless I pressed onward and enjoyed a beautiful and vibrant celebration, thanks to the hard work of my mom and aunt, who shared and executed my pink and orange vision.

A few months after my wedding, Pantone announced their color for 2011: honeysuckle.

And now the Pantone color for 2012 is tangerine tango:

I don't want to say I told you so, but here's the thing: pink and orange are the best. And I've known it all along.

on my heart

I've had much on my heart this past month, stuff that I haven't been ready to fully articulate or write out yet. I've been relatively silent on the blog lately, and I promise I'll get back into the swing of writing soon, giving you all an update on my year, my thoughts, and my heart.

For now, I hope your February is getting off to a good start, and I promise I'll be back soon!