Vivi's Christening

Sunday was Vivi's christening. Our church has a community garden which is where the service was held. Thank you to all our family and friends that joined us. We are grateful for your presence in Vivi's life.

The bonnet my mom made.

The dress was a gift from a family friend.

Another friend stitched the roses. Aren't they beautiful?

The garden

R.G. sprinkling her. She did not like that at all. She's a vocal one.

My side of the family.

Will side of the family.

A funny picture.

Jamiah is the other little girl that was christened and her mom and dad.

the makings of a baby book

When i registered for baby items i never found a baby book that i liked. I decided i would make my own. I have been researching all the different 1sts and other information found in a baby book. I saved all the cards we have gotten and used the pictures and some of the wording for the pages. I love finding ways to reuse items. I came across a great book at Goodwill and gutted it. I am going to try and teach myself how to rebind the book. I am excited about it, but a little intimidated about binding and trying to guess how many pages to add. Here is what i have so far.

Mint Madness

Here is the first of my mint experiments. I found a recipe for a fruit dip. Here is what you will need:

2 cups greek yogurt

1 tsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

12 fresh mint leaves, chopped

We had a pretty busy weekend. Several months ago we started a garden with our housemates. They have had one for a couple of years but this is our first. Really what I mean is this is Will's first because I do a lot of watching. We have recently had a ton of herbs come up and now are reaping peas and beans. Since we had more basil than we knew what to do with we made pesto and froze it. We ended up making 7 batches.

our  snow peas

green beans

That afternoon I stepped out on the porch and there was a care package all the way from Washington state. Stacy, a dear friend, sent Vivi some adorable clothes and an off the shoulder swimsuit. I can't wait to get a picture of her splashing around in it this summer. Then in the mailbox was a sweet card from my mom for my first mother's day.

On Saturday evening we celebrated Jaime and Brooks at their engagement party. It had a country theme so of course Vivi sported her cowgirl boots. 

These are two of Will's dear friends from his early days in Birmingham.
The bride to be is on the left.

Sunday for mother's day Will continued with our tradition of making homemade cards. He made me breakfast and we laid around and enjoyed the rainy morning. I wanted to go on a picnic, but the ground was too soggy. We ended up going to an outlet mall nearby and I found a few great buys.

Sunday evening we headed to my brother's house for homemade pizza night. We brought our pesto and some other items. One of my favorite things about a garden is being able to share what you have grown. When we got there my brother was partaking in a blonde ale with a little rosemary.

It was very tasty.

chicken, feta, pesto pizza

Kate, our pizza assistant.

Our feast

A little loving on Vivi time.

Cousin couch time.

She is Holly's favorite.

Happy Mother's Day to all those women...

who have ever been kind, nurturing, or caring to those around them. You have been a mother to many.

A Special Thank You

Several weekends ago in Montgomery some of my mom's dear friends threw us a sip and see. All her friends from church and various other places came by to check out Vivi. My mom was beaming as her friends fussed over her granddaughter. Thank you to Donna and Ava for such a beautiful shower and for all your kindness. It was wonderful!!

The hostesses

Friends from Trinity.

3 generations of women

Mint Madness

This is our mint. It is out of control. We have enough mint for everyone in our neighborhood. I am going to try and find recipes that call for mint and post them for your viewing pleasure. I will call it Mint Madness. I make no promises about being able to keep up or post weekly but I will do my best. I really enjoy cooking and I know I will be doing that each week so maybe this isn't too unrealistic of a feat. 

Weekend Wrapup

We had a great weekend. We headed to Nashville with Will's parents to see his grandparents. Grandma Molly and Grandpa Duane were passing through on a bus tour. They were going to be in Nashville for two nights. We drove up on Friday and caught the tour bus for a three hour tour adventure. Who knew that there was so much to see in Nashville. 

Grandma Molly was so delighted to
meet Vivi.

I also got to see Tracy which was
a nice treat for me.

Rita gave Tracy her ticket so she
accompanied us to the Grand Ol' Opry

I was going for glitz and glam.

Orpy Stage

Will sporting his Roy shirt.

The family minus Matt.

The hotel 

A little Cinco de Mayo celebration.

 On Sunday we had brunch with Jamie and Brooks. They are getting married at the end of the month. It was good to catch up with them and talk last minute wedding details.

That evening we had shrimp and grits with a mixed green salad it was delicious. I have really enjoyed making a variety of dishes lately.