that's right, the day is finally here

remember this love letter i got from afar?

well, my friends, the time has come to do this all over again, except this time closer to home.

i debated this time around, i mean...

i have two kids,

including a baby who still nurses multiple times a day,

but in the end,

after a couple of pep talks and glances in the fun mirror,

and the reminder that i would regret not going...

i decided to just do it already.

i mean, when i was 16 i slept in line overnight (yep-sleeping bag & all) to get my tickets from the wherehouse music store (remember those?) at 10 am on a sunday morning, so to have a view from outside of my front door of the actual venue and not be there at the concert would be pretty tragic.

so what if that was over half a lifetime ago?

so almost a year after i was supposed to get to use them, 

(although seriously, the logistics of that were ridiculous and totally impossible, 

since ruby was 3 weeks old-what was i thinking??)

i'm putting these to use:

i will be sitting in a very long line all day-feel free to bring me treats & good wishes.

{also, late breaking update-

not just 1, 2 or 3 ruff siblings will be going to this concert, but all 4.}

call me the crazy grandma carrying the mini umbrella

it's been a rainy saturday. 

and when i say rainy, i mean bucketloads of rain & dreary.

this morning i got SOAKED running from my car into a store & back again.

serves me right: 

i had m's hot pink ruffled kid sized umbrella in the back seat, 

but i felt stupid carrying that without any children, 

so instead i became a human sponge.

awesome.

also, it's june.

just saying-cold & pouring rain in june?!

so, we are playing inside:

i asked m to smile and she sighed, "mommy, i have no smiles today."

meanwhile,

i'm sure the rest of this post will be a gripping update on the state of my hair.

read on.

i've tried to embrace my greys.

i got my first one at 25, and now i have countless greys throughout my hair.

save your "but i don't even see them!" because you do. 

and even if you don't, i do, and that's all that matters.

i really hate them. 

but the last few months i have held out on putting more color in my hair 

to see if i could rock the grey look. 

some days i was ok with it, 

but

wednesday night i decided i couldn't handle them anymore.

so i washed that grey right outta my hair.

(if only i could wash away my wrinkles.)

self portraits with newly brown hair:

it makes me happy.

hopefully someday i will come to terms with my early-grey-hair genes 

(as in, when other regular people also have as many greys as i do) 

i won't be that crazy 89 year old woman rocking purple hair or really dark hair with bright white roots.

also unable to come to terms with the following genes: 

slow metabolism, dark undereye circles & pregnancy belly stretchmarks.

but what can i say? 

i have no choice in the matter,

and i have some good genes scattered in there too.

what genes do you wish you could've left behind in gene mixing pot of your mom's womb?

the best ever.

it is a dreary friday here in oakland, and a big rainstorm is expected this weekend (in june?!)

we were supposed to go camping with m's school this weekend, 

but the rain is forcing us to change plans.

rainy weather is stay-inside-and-cozy-up weather,

and often that includes eating comfort food.

this, my friends, is the perfect rainy weather meal,

and the best mac n' cheese you'll ever eat.

(i promise)

this recipe hails from our dear friend nicola, 

one of my very favorite people in the world 

(and don't even get me started on her two daughters, 

who are also glorious) 

who now unfortunately lives *way* too far away in england. 

(every time i make this recipe i pretend she's still here and sitting at the table eating with us.)

nicola likes cheese, so feel free to adjust the amount in this recipe. 

what i inevitably end up doing is using the same amount of cheese but using a whole pound of pasta.

• 1/2 lb. rigatoni or macaroni
• 1/2-3/4 lb. sharp cheddar
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper (or lots more if you are me)
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 3 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1 small tomato (optional-i don't add this unless they are in season)

directions:

• boil water for macaroni. preheat oven to 375.
• grate cheese; crush and mince garlic
• boil pasta. when finished, drain and set aside
• add olive oil to large frying pan over medium heat. add garlic; saute for about 1 minute. turn off heat.
• stir in flour until it isa thick, pasty consistency.
• add 1/2 cup milk into paste, mix until smooth. add 1/2 cup additional milk; mix until smooth again. add another milk. stir over medium heat. add salt & pepper (important to stir continuously and add milk slowly to prevent lumps.) add remainder of milk and keep stirring until thick.
• turn off heat. add cheese; stir until melted (reserving some to sprinkle over top)
• add macaroni. put mixture in casserole or oven-safe pan. slice tomato & place over mixture. sprinkle with cheese. bake in preheated 375 oven for 15 minutes. for 2-3 minutes, cook on broil to ensure a crispy top.

(i've thought about adding panko or bread crumbs to the top, but haven't tried it yet.)

happy eating & happy friday!

{oh, here is when my heart swells}

this makes me so happy.

slowly but surely...

remember how we've been converting our garage into a painting studio for me?

we've had some setbacks-in particular a leak that we couldn't pinpoint,

but we are making some progress in my studio-and by we i mean matt & other people helping him.

 m oversees the project

 yay for windows and insulation

 and new electrical

 our friend keith knocking out the insulation

my brother aaron helped all day long

(this door situation was his special project)

 snuggly friends hanging out inside while daddies work on the studio

i can't wait for this to be my studio...!

rain, rain, go away!

this equation is not working for me: 

june 1st and raining buckets outside.

so,

in order to remind my fellow soaked bay area friends that the sun will come out again,

today's post is sponsored by our recent trip strawberry picking, 

where there was not a drop of rain in sight.

our friend daphne, toting along her son ishmael, was visiting from way too far away michigan, 

and so we went on a family adventure!

perhaps you remember when m discovered strawberries?

it was almost exactly two years ago!

it was ruby's turn!

it reminded me of the book blueberries for sal, 

since ruby was gobbling up the strawberries almost as fast as i was picking them!

 hard at work picking strawberries

 and sampling them along the way

 m was a very good little picker (and sampler)

sometimes you have to really hunt for the ripe ones!

 ruby had her fair share!

 picking strawberries really makes me appreciate the people who work in the fields all day long harvesting fruit, and the luxury it is to just do it for fun!

 the evidence of m's crazy sample fest!

 heavy laden with ripe, delicious berries we went to another farm to pick a few cherries

 ishmael, up from his nap and ready for cherries

 m's haul

 ruby grabbed her own bucket

 nothing like more samples!

lots of hard work=naptime all the way home

come out, come out, wherever you are, sunshine!

{i hear that}

i've had all of these thoughts so often-

yep, about sleepovers, and huge college classes, oh-and swim parties, too,

but tammy took the time to write them down, 

so take a visit to tammy's blog

for what could more or less have been written by me.

tammy's son aiden is almost the exact same hearing age as m. 

their implants got turned on 9 days from each other!

do you...

(via)

do you pinterest yet?

it's so fun

(i do.)

(and then i do some more. it's addicting!)

but 

it isn't just a time suck;

it also helps me organize and keep track of thing i stumble onto online & want to remember.
it's like an online visual bulletin board.

come join the party!