Since October 31, my family has donned Halloween costumes and eaten candy, sang happy birthday to Jack, saw the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in person and eaten turkey in New York, lit eight nights of candles for Hanukkah and celebrated with Jack's preschool class, awaited Santa's visit and played in the snow in Cleveland, toasted 2013 with Champagne and sparkling cider, watched the Northwestern Wildcats finally win a bowl game, and - just this past weekend - end our party season with a family weekend for Jossie's second birthday.
It was the first time since Jeremy's and my wedding that we had all of our siblings and parents in one room, which was a treat in itself. Throw in a few best friends and their families along the way, and our 1300-square-foot condo was quite the party.
As usual, the best moments of this weekend were the unplanned ones. My parents and Jeremy's parents sitting at the dining room table Saturday night chatting; my sisters, all of our kids and me sitting in the living room; and my mom likening Jossie's behavior to mine (we both sucked our index finger as toddlers) and Jeremy's mom likening Jack's behavior to Jeremy (both hummed constantly while playing toys as preschoolers).
Jossie and Jack had big smiles on their faces all weekend. As we toasted Jossie Saturday night, surrounded by our loved ones, I noted how lucky she was. How lucky we all are.
I unabashedly did everything in pink this weekend. I bought a few things from the Martha Steward Vintage Girl
line to help decorate and found inspiration from Pinterest. My sister made some tulle pom-poms that I will reuse in Jossie's future playroom.
The food was simple breakfast foods; besides me baking the zucchini and banana breads and my mom cutting up the fruit, we bought everything pre-made. Easy! Sparkling pink lemonade and pink and white striped paper straws were highlights.
My sister, mom and I baked cookies, and I bought pink candy (benefiting from Valentine's Day, which is right around the corner) for a sweets table for our guests' party favors. I found small clear plastic scoops at The Container Store for the candy.
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One of the cookies I baked was a crisp chocolate chip cookie:
Tate's Bake Shop chocolate chip cookies
From Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup salted butter, 2 sticks
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugars, then add the water and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
Add eggs to the butter mixture and mix them lightly.
Stir in the flour mixture. When flour is mixed in, fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop 2 tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough 2-inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Make sure the cookie sheets are well greased. I like to use parchment paper.
Bake for 12-17 minutes or until the edges and centers of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire racks.
Personalized stickers from this Etsy seller adorned the empty bakery boxes, waiting to be filled with sweet treats.
We had light pink and white flowers from A New Leaf and a confetti birthday cake from Sweet Mandy B's.
line to help decorate and found inspiration from Pinterest. My sister made some tulle pom-poms that I will reuse in Jossie's future playroom.
I made a birthday banner to celebrate Jossie's past year of life.
The food was simple breakfast foods; besides me baking the zucchini and banana breads and my mom cutting up the fruit, we bought everything pre-made. Easy! Sparkling pink lemonade and pink and white striped paper straws were highlights.
My sister, mom and I baked cookies, and I bought pink candy (benefiting from Valentine's Day, which is right around the corner) for a sweets table for our guests' party favors. I found small clear plastic scoops at The Container Store for the candy.
.JPG)
One of the cookies I baked was a crisp chocolate chip cookie:
Tate's Bake Shop chocolate chip cookies
From Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup salted butter, 2 sticks
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugars, then add the water and vanilla. Mix until just combined.
Add eggs to the butter mixture and mix them lightly.
Stir in the flour mixture. When flour is mixed in, fold in the chocolate chips.
Drop 2 tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough 2-inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Make sure the cookie sheets are well greased. I like to use parchment paper.
Bake for 12-17 minutes or until the edges and centers of the cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire racks.
Personalized stickers from this Etsy seller adorned the empty bakery boxes, waiting to be filled with sweet treats.
It was a perfect weekend for our family and our sweet girl. Many thanks to our family for making the trip. It meant the world to us.
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