VMFA WITH THE FAMILY

There is always one point during the week where the thought crosses my mind, with absolutely sincerity, that I may not make it through the week. But then again and again, I am proven wrong. Here I am! And happy to be here.

Some things I've been doing recently:

1. Trying to cut down on processed sugars. It's not a total cut, I'm just trying to be mindful of the extra treat I gravitate towards during the day without even thinking. I also tend to overeat fruit so I've been trying this thing that whenever I crave sugar, I first drink a glass of water and then have some protein or a cup of tea. So far it's been working.

2. The exception to the above is that I've started making more cocktails. Research for the summer, if you will.

3. I've been working on a project with Ken and it has us terribly busy but it is so fun working on something together like this. True, there may be more opportunities to get annoyed (ha), but we have been feeling really connected and enjoying this time with each other. 

4. Still reading through the Bible each night using the CBR journal. We attended a talk by Ted Sinn, the creator of the CBR Journal a few weeks ago and I got so much out of it. I'm thinking about writing out my thoughts on it in another post.

5. I am buzzing with excitement at the prospect of spring being around the corner. So much so that I stare at our spring to-do list everyday in anticipation, which include non-exciting things like: clearing yard of all leaves and debris, trimming hedges, fixing blinds in the sunroom, cleaning out sunroom, washing all the windows, etc. 

Last weekend, my sister, brother in law and my two cousins came down for a visit. It was especially exciting because we hadn't seen my cousins Joe and Lois in almost a year and we loved getting some time with them. We met up at the cafe in Virginia Museum of Fine Art and went to see the exhibit there called, 'A Commitment to Community: The Black Photographers Annual, Volume I".  I love the space in this museum and pledge to come here with the girls often, especially seeing how much both of them loved wandering its halls. 

As I've mentioned before, Sloane is really into warercolors right now and anyone that has visited in recent days ends up painting with her, to all of our delight.  After this last visit to the art museum, our way home, Sloane declared that we should make a museum at home, so all of these are getting ready to put up in our 'galleries'. 

BREAKFAST SALAD!

Butternut squash, apple and egg salad

There is an exclamation point in this title because I love breakfast! and I especially love eating salads for breakfast. Now that spring is not too far away, I've been incorporating more breakfast salads and smoothie bowls to replace our staple of oatmeal variations. Here are some I am excited to try.

I've made this Citrus Avocado Salad before for a brunch and loved it. This Kale Citrus Salad seems similar because it has the citrus but also has pickled onions! apple! pomegranate! 

Berry Quinoa Salad

Black Rice Salad with Avocado and Grapefruit

Miso Veggie Breakfast Salad

THE FIRST BITS OF A WEEKEND

This past weekend was a doozy! We had several family members come through to visit, there was a birthday party, a friend came over to help us with a project Ken and I are doing, there was church, and Ken and I even got to go on a date.

This date was made possible by Ken's mom being here to watch the girls and Cava, a made-to-order mediterranean bowl place that is now one of our favorite places to go for an easy, delicious, healthy meal. We went again on Sunday after trying it for the first time on Friday!

Do you see what I mean?? It is my dreams come true.

Two of Sloane's friends from daycare had a joint birthday party and we were both so excited to go. I love hearing stories from Sloane about her friends at daycare, and it was even more fun to see her playing with them!

In the afternoon while Logan napped, Sloane, my MIL and I did water colors. 

I call this period of Sloane's artistic life, "the rainbow" period. 

In the afternoon, we went over to Scott's addition again for ice cream, but also because I wanted to check out the new location of Class and Trash that opened up there. It was such a fun place to peruse. Here are some pictures from there:

I love this chair.

Sloane was all about this tricycle. She also found a doll house and a little umbrella to play with. 

Tiny umbrella! Also, I was trying to not get too attached to that rug there. 

Coffee ice cream for the grownups, cherry vanilla ice cream for Sloane

Lola being very generous with her Greek yogurt!

SWIMSUITS FROM ALBION

Ice cream in my last post and today it is swimsuits. Can you tell I'm day dreaming of warmer days? If I could have it my way, I would live in a place where I could be barefoot most of the time and live in swimsuits and dresses.

While I have sunshine on the brain I wanted to share that I love the new Citrus collection from Albion. It's a little more pricey than I like to pay for a suit but these orange and red stripes and tangerine prints fit in perfectly with my daydream scape. And you know I'm all about them palm prints.

Other ones I've eyeballed: this one and this one from Solid & Striped and this one from Vince Camuto.

GELATI CELESTI

We love good ice cream! This post is solely to share some photos of a sweet afternoon last week when we went to go check out Gelati Celesti's new location in Scott's Addition. This is a neighborhood we used to live in and loved, and part of us wishes we were still living there, especially since so many great restaurants and breweries have opened there in the past couple of years. The weather was perfect that afternoon so Ken and I both got off work a little early to enjoy the daylight and ice cream with each other.

While the rest of us got ice cream, Lola got the plain Greek yogurt I had brought in my bag for her. I did the same thing with Sloane whenever we went to go eat ice cream until she was about two years old and they are none the wiser! They think that they are eating what we are eating and are quite happy about it.

Strawberry for Sloane, cherry vanilla for Ken and coconut cream for me. I'm usually faithful to my coffee ice cream (Blanchard's Dark as Dark!) but the coconut cream (especially on a cone!) is my second favorite.

See? Quite happy about it.