last night's surprise dinner

Here's a little cooking tip my mom never taught me: There's a little sandwich of time between 2-4 PM when you can make a brand new dinner recipe without fear, because if it doesn't turn out, you have time to throw it all away, take out the garbage, and spray air freshener everywhere before the husband gets home and no one knows a thing. Or, if it turns out to be spectacular, you throw it in Pyrex and into the fridge, clean up all the dishes, and voila, dinner's ready at 6 and no more work is left to be done. 

Thankfully, last night's dinner ended up in the latter category. 

Minus all the dishes being done. But I digress. 

While I don't eat shrimp "naked" (that means anything without breading isn't an option), I like the smell of shrimp and garlic and tomatoes and all that wonderfulness. I was really scared making this recipe because I've never cooked shrimp before in my life. After intense Googling, it sounded like walking a tightrope: undercook it and everyone will die of bacteria-related causes; overcook it and no one will be able to get it down their goozle pipe because of its tasteless rubber texture. GIMME A BREAK. I decided to make it anyway. (See first paragraph.)

You can find the recipe along with Natasha's beautiful tutorial photos here. I used chili powder instead of chili flakes because I didn't have any, and neither did Meijer. I also used a cup of chicken broth instead of dry white wine. (I won't judge you if you cook with alcohol. It all cooks out anyway. *cough sarcasm cough*) 

I think this would be best served over angel hair pasta. Make sure you wash your strainer out immediately after draining all the pasta, however. (See third paragraph.) 

So let me tell you how the story ended. I hesitantly made the recipe knowing that if I botched it, it was like throwing $18 into the garbage because that's how much a pound of shrimp costs these days. No pressure. The sauce was easy and smelled great. I dumped the angel hair into the hot water right when Chris got in the door. He walked up to me as I was stirring the sauce with the (cooked?) shrimp in it and said, "Is that...shrimp??" I nodded, and the next words out of his mouth were: "I love you!" SO, just saying, this could make your husband (or boyfriend or family or cat) REALLY happy so just go ahead and make it. The end.

It's a BOY!

Shoot. I forgot to update my little Blogger friends. Anyway, yes, on Thursday we found out that we're expecting a baby boy! Chris and I were just about 100% sure it was a boy, so it wasn't a surprise. :) 

We're keeping the name under wraps for now, but here are some pictures. The little stinker wouldn't let us see his face, but I'm hoping when I go for another scan in 5 weeks he'll cooperate!

He has Chris's delts. lol

His little ear, which can already hear!

His perfect foot. When he's born I'll still check for all his toes. ;)

20 weeks

Today I am approximately halfway to meeting my baby, and only 11 days from knowing whether it's a son or a daughter. :) People say it flies by, but time is doing nothing but steadily dripping for me right now. I am staying occupied, however, with constant preparation. This is the third weekend I've hit every garage sale I can find looking for baby stuff. I've come home with everything from chunky books to bassinets to Bumbo seats to those dated Fisher Price toys...yeah. My little closet over at my family's is already filling up. But oh my word it's so FUN. I have been blessed to find many unbelievable deals on very nice things I'll be able to use several times over. 

Thank you for continuing to check on me and see how I'm feeling. :) The support and kindness that has been shown to me and Baby has already been humbling and overwhelming. I'm not feeling sick anymore these days, but I do get bad headaches now and again which I'm offsetting by eating constantly, drinking SmartWater (THANK YOU, Coca-Cola!! :P) and sometimes drinking Pepsi (yes, my midwife said it's okay). I still can't feel Baby move, but I got to hear its heartbeat last checkup so I know its still in there havin' a ball! 

Believe me, June 11th can't get here soon enough, but I promise to let you know if it's a boy or a girl when the time comes. :) I. can't. wait. 

BFA Concert

Last night I played in my last fine arts concert! Very weird feeling, considering I've been in it every semester for 6 years! It went really well even though we all were exhausted. I don't think anybody got lost. ;) It was a lot of fun and I was very thankful it went so well. 

Here are the 100% organic brownies I made for the pre-concert dinner. The nuclear goop on top of course is not organic. It is not even food. :P

RB and I have kind of left off our 2-semester tradition of getting a pic together after the FA concert, but we figured since it was the last one for both of us, a picture was definitely a good idea. ;)

P.S. - Yes, I'm sick of my black dress, too. 

pray

I hope you've kept up with or at least been informed of all the stuff going on at IBLP lately. I'm sharing this article because I think he hits the nail on the head. In the end, we need to pray for everyone involved, including Bill Gothard. The little cliche about praying about it as much as we've talked about it needs to apply here. Sometimes the people involved with a cult don't have an immediate explanation or way out. They need our compassion and prayers. 

more tea!

What made the tea fun was the wonderful people that agreed to sit at my table. ;)

I rarely play my violin anymore, so it was nice to play in a trio with my sister Charlotte and one of my best friends, RB.

Ladies' Tea ~ Vintage Paris Table

This morning was our church's annual ladies' tea. This was my first year hosting a table, and it was a lot of fun! I had several friends sit at my table and none of us are etiquette experts, praise the Lord. Here are some pics.

I was so happy with how it all turned out! Here's where I found everything:

Coffee and tea pots - eBay

Dishes- wedding gift

Silverware - wedding gift

Napkins - gift from my grandma

Glasses- Dollar Tree

Tablecloth - Wal-Mart

Chocolate favors - Le Chocolat du Bouchard

Centerpiece - my own collection/library

Mom helped me come up with a way to artfully arrange my six antique French books for the centerpiece. (They were the only "vintage" thing I had.) 

Welcome to Paris! Have a cup of tea and a scone. ;)

I also had a lot of fun scouring tons of napkin fold ideas for my mom's table. I ended up picking this one, and after adding the gem to the center, it really turned into a flower! I was so excited with how they turned out.