strawberry cake of my dreams

I've been craving a white cake with strawberries ever since I laid eyes on the cake seen in this post.

Oh that cake. It's been haunting me and my taste buds for months. And since the summer is almost over and strawberry season is sure to come to a close any day now, I felt it was time to make my own.

Ryan and I found some seriously beautiful strawberries at the grocery store--their sweet and sun-ripened scent filled up the whole car on the ride home. Then, while Ryan painted the old dresser we're going to use for the baby's changing table, I baked a cake in the kitchen.

I made a two layer white cake using this recipe and frosted it with whipped cream cream cheese frosting, using this recipe. I scooped out about 1 1/2 cups of frosting and added a few chopped strawberries for the middle layer. It's a refrigerator cake, which is my favorite kind. Good and dense and cold.

Now go and make one for yourself. Amen.

busy busy

The four pictures above are a perfect summary of what we've been up to the past two weeks. The past week especially has been quite a flurry of goings-on, both happy and sad. Last Tuesday Ryan and I woke up with plans to pack and bake and head over to my parents' house where all my sisters and their husbands and babies were going to spend a few days of family time. Our plans changed when Ryan got a phone call that morning with the news that his grandpa's health was failing very quickly. As we drove over to the hospital in Madison where he was staying, we got another phone call from Ryan's mom, telling us that he had passed away. It's been an emotional couple of days, but I'm thankful that we were able to still spend a good amount of time with my family, and also see so many members of Ryan's family at his grandpa's funeral. We're both feeling pretty happy that our little girl up in heaven has another great-grandpa to keep her company. And as crazy as this past week was, I find myself wishing I could live it over again. It all went too fast-- I'd like to squeeze my niece and nephews one more time, and smooch their chubby cheeks. Those little sweethearts are fun.

And believe it or not, in between all those things going on, we've also been squeezing in some house hunting. I'm busy tearing out magazine photos and making lists.We already found one that we love, and wouldn't you know it, there's an offer on it. It's all too much for me to talk about, but I will say this: I'm a little stressed out. Actually, that's not completely true. I'm strangely calm about it, seeing as there's a good chance we'll be packing and moving out of this apartment, and into an old-lady fixer-upper riiiight around the time a new little baby will be coming into this world. Once I let myself think about it too long, I realize that a meltdown is inevitable. It's only a matter of time.

Oh, and if all of that doesn't seem like enough, let's talk about the glucose test and rhogam shot that I'm due for this evening. A good number of women have told me that as soon as the thick orange drink went down, it came right back up, which is awesome. It's not like I have a gigantic fear of vomit or anything. (I TOTALLY DO.)

Wish me luck.

{a few instagram photos from the last few weeks}

Oh this week. This week felt long and short, boring and hectic, good and stupid-- all at the same time. Now that I'm sitting down to think about it, I'm having a hard time even remembering parts of it? Ryan likes to call that "pregnancy brain." He shouts it out from time to time when I can't recall certain words or abruptly stop talking mid-sentence. It makes me feel nice and smart. No, it doesn't.

But I used my brain in other ways this week! Good ways! Because, dear ones,  I had all sorts of brain storms, like I had my very own Hurricane Amelia all up in there, writing lists and making plans. It was the exciting, pacing, frustrating kind of brainstorming, where there are lots of fantastic ideas going on but no satisfying immediate results-- nothing will actually become of it all for a long time. But I've got scribbles in notebooks, and my sketchbook is filling up, and tomorrow I'm going to the store to buy new tubes of gouache and more bright, cottony watercolor paper. It feels good!

Oh! And guess what else! I've been experiencing what people like to call the Braxton-Hicks contractions. It's not cool, I don't know why I'm making it sound so exciting. They started last night, along with some annoying ligament stretching, and continued when I woke up this morning. I called the doctor, and was told that it's probably nothing serious, but to drink lots of water and get to the hospital if I had more than eight contractions in two hours, which thankfully didn't need to happen. There have been a few stragglers, but nothing consistent, and little baby has been kicking right through them. I'm choosing not to worry, and telling myself that I'm just slightly dehydrated. Because that would also explain the reason for my hamstrings cramping up while walking from the car to our apartment last night. So! My feet are up and my water glass is full and the bathroom trips are frequent. Doctor's/ mom's/ sister's/ Ryan's orders.

How's that for the first and last blog post of this week? Happy weekend everybody! I'll be spending mine drinking water.

p.s. my instagram name is @ameliamarthelia, if you care to follow along. i promise it's not just a bunch of photos of my food. but i won't lie, there's a lot of that.

things

Hello! It's been a quiet few days around here, just doing summer time things while trying to stay cool. Here's what's up:

Ryan and I have been house hunting the past weekend. We're just in the first few stages of it, and we're not even sure it's going to happen anytime soon, but we're having fun looking at houses online and dreaming up our perfect first home. I know we're not going to find anything close to extravagant, so it's been extra exciting to look at outdated old lady homes and think of all the fun ways we could fix em up. There's a certain house that I love, and it has the ugliest, most fantastic hot pink bathroom tile. It's truly terrible, but I just can't stop thinking about that darned bathroom. Hardwood floors and a big yard for a garden are at the top of our list so far. We'll see. 

In other news, my love for sweets has been out of control recently. I've always had a sweet tooth, but it's even more intense with the pregnancy. Like, if I had an actual sweet tooth, it would be a large and obvious snaggle tooth that pokes out the front of my mouth. I've discovered a concoction which I have named The Iced Hot Chocolate, and I drink it regularly. It's so easy, it's stupid. Here's how to make one: Get some cold milk, hot chocolate mix, ice, and a cocktail shaker. Shake it all up and pour into a glass. Jingle bells, it's like Christmas in July!

Are you wondering why I've got so many photos of beauteous vegetation? Between the potted plants, the farmer's market flowers, and the herbs my sister harvested and gave to me, we've got a serious green house situation. Every room has flowers in it! It's a little wild and fruit flies are everywhere, but I'm trying to enjoy it while the summer weather lasts. I put the lavender from my sister's garden on my nightstand, and it reminds me of my grandma's linen closet.

All this talk about houses and homemaking has kicked my nesting into full gear. I'm dreaming sweet little nursery dreams. Perhaps I'll be back sometime this week with a few ideas and inspiration pictures. Maybe I'll even make a mood board if I ever figure out how to do that! Oh can you feel the excitement?!

summer, is that you?

The past couple of weeks have had a few things in common:

1. fresh air

2. the lake

3. ice cream

4. roomy skirts

5. bump hugging

This summer weather has been pretty friendly so far.

thursday

Thursdays are my day off. Usually I spend them getting things done before the weekend-- cleaning, running errands, making a good meal for supper. But today I struggled to wake up, and when I did, I wasn't worth much. It was cloudy and cold outside. I had a headache and a puffy face and a few sympathy cookies for breakfast. When I finally showered and remembered that I was out of shampoo, I resorted to using Ryan's cheapie stuff . . . and that was the end of it. If the hair is ruined, so is the rest of the day, I told myself. I got dressed in a big, soft shirt and parked it on the couch for a good chunk of the day. Eventually I felt snappy enough to accomplish a couple things on my to-do list and eat a healthy lunch, but I didn't make myself feel too badly for loafing the morning away. Growing a baby is hard work, and whatever, ok? A day devoted to online window shopping and my favorite old book isn't the worst thing in the world.

Flitterin'

Life for us the past few weeks has been consumed with short spurts of busy-ness followed by short spurts of lazy-ness. The weekends were the busy times, filled with trips home to my parents' house, visits with family and friends, playing with nephews, sleeping in a different bed, packing and unpacking. We spent the weekdays playing catch up--on sleep, on work, on cleaning, on groceries, on cooking, on Mad Men. 

As fun as the past 4 weekends have been, I'm glad to have a quiet one coming up.

I want to make good meals, go on a couple long walks and hit up some yard sales, if I can find them.

In other good stuff kind of news, if you want to know what my most favorite part of nannying is lately,

it would be bath time.

It's like bathing fat, wet noodle.

And there's nothing sweeter than a clean, calm, soapy baby.

Just in case you wanted to know. :)

Amelia Approved.

There's a little story my mother likes to tell

about a girl named Amelia (that's me)

who politely asked her darling mother to buy her a cute tee at The Gap.

When her mother said, "Wait until your birthday, dear,"

Amelia pouted and yelled, "But I want it NOW!"

That story is true. And while I was not 18 years old at the time,

(that's my mom's version.) ((I think I was 13.))

I was a brat.

But guys. 

I know what I like.

And I know what I want.

I can't even help it.

Lately I've been discovering some quality stuff, both in life and on the internets, that I like.

Stuff that I want. 

Now.

1. Rebekka Seale's pretty prints. They're delicate and sweet and I love them. I wish I had thought of them. And while we're at it, her blog is just as good. So dreamy!

2. Watercolor supplies. I can't find my favorite brush and it's bumming me out. So I'd like: a nice Moleskine to keep little paintings bound in one place, and some lush new brushes. Practice makes perfect!

3. Free printable party invites on Making it Lovely. So cute. And free!

4. I like any type of clothing or accessory that reminds me of what my mom wore when she was my age. These sandals do that.

5. Lemon drops. An old favorite has become new again. Mmm.

6. Every time I go into Anthropologie, I sniff this candle. Deeply. I should just buy it already.

And there you have it. Amelia Approved.

the day ryan came home from work early

Ryan had a meeting in Chicago yesterday. When he kissed me goodbye at 6:50am, he told me he'd be finished around lunchtime, and that on his way back to the office he might stop at home for lunch.

So I scurried around making the house sparkly and welcoming. I put on some lipstick and whipped up a batch of brownies, and waited.

He texted me around 1:30 to tell me that the meeting went long, and that he and his coworker were getting lunch at Cheesecake Factory. Well. I asked him to make up for it by bringing home a piece of cheesecake for me. But he didn't.

It's fine.

No, actually it was fine. He ended up getting back around 3:30 and decided it wasn't worth it to drive back to the office. So he stayed home! The brownies were perfectly cooled by then, so we sat at our table and had a nice snack together. At 3:45pm! On a Tuesday! It was fun.

Afterwards I convinced him to take me to Anthropologie.

And then I convinced him to buy me a dress.

I had to give up 2 weeks of foot rubs to get it.

Worth it.

an apology to my little blog.

Dear little blog,

I've been neglecting you. And I'm sorry. You're so young and small and I haven't visited you for...2 weeks? 3 weeks? I forget. The point is, I've been rude. Sorry 'bout it. But the good news is: I have missed you. Lots! In fact, I have missed you so much, that I made myself a blogging schedule and I plan on sticking to it. I even got out a planner. So. Get ready. Things are about to get pretty structured around here. Maybe I'll even give you a little makeover? Fix you up something nice? Hm?

And to anybody sweet enough to still be reading, I've missed you, too! And I haven't forgotten about you. And I'll make it up to you. Also, I love you.

To prove it, here's another picture of spring flowers:

There. All better?

I hope so. See you tomorrow. :)