white apples . a blog

me and her

O, I believe
Fate smiled and destiny
Laughed as she came to my cradle
Know this child will be able
Laughed as she came to my mother
Know this child will not suffer
Laughed as my body she lifted
Know this child will be gifted
With love, with patience and with faith

She'll make her way

- Natalie Merchant

salty and sweet and perfect

I am generally not a fan of white chocolate.  I always find it cloyingly sweet.  And of course, I am usually loyal to its bitter, bad-boy cousin - dark chocolate.  However, this Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookie from Smitten Kitchen has just about converted me.  The flighty sweetness of really good quality white chocolate is tempered by the heartiness of oats (health food!) and a sprinkling of fleur de sel (snob appeal!).  The result is a shattery, crispy, airy cookie that is the perfect blend of salty and sweet.  I may not be a full convert but, becauase of this cookie, I am quite convinced that white chocolate is worth a visit every now and again.  Throw in a white chocolate coconut truffle or two and I might even stay a while.

1/4 year old

Juniper turned three months old on Saturday.  This time I'll refrain from the usual platitudes on the passing of time and the hastiness of growing up.  I will only point out her chubby little baby toes.  Yum.  And share with you a day in the life of our three month old (subject to change without notice):

rule of thumb

Juniper is just a little bundle of change.  She is learning new things at a breakneck pace and growing into her own person.  She can hold her head up for long periods of time, especially if there are interesting things to look at.  She tries very hard to pull herself up into a sitting position, since lying down is simply boring these days.  She smiles whenever someone is talking to her (unless she just woke up from a nap... then you have to give her a few minutes to work through some grumpy).  She holds little mini conversations consisting of coos and aahhhs and randomly spaced yells, all capped off with big gummy grins. 

healthy and Hawaii

Every once in a while, I have to bake something that could possibly be categorized as "healthy".  These blueberry-coconut-macadamia muffins from Eating Well are one such recipe.  These muffins feel healthy and decadent at the same time.  Healthy due to the preponderance of whole wheat flour and antioxidant-rich blueberries and the absence of evil white sugar and the absurd quantities of butter that are usually lurking in innocent little breakfast muffins.  Decadent due to the hefty dose of macadamia nuts and the tasty coconut topping.  Drizzle these lovelies with a little honey and it's like Hawaii in a breakfast - lean, healthy, fitness-loving Hawaii not indulgent, SPAM-filled Hawaii.

the stripey hat

This is Juniper giggling at her bee mobile.  She loves those bees.  They make her smile every time she sees them.  She is in such a great mood when she is with her bees that she even let me put a hat on her.  The stripey hat is a critical element in this overall outfit.  It ties the whole thing together.  Accessories are everything. 

Proper outfit accessorizing is especially important here, because this will be the first and last time that Juni will wear this particular outfit.  It may not be obvious in the photo, but that t-shirt is way too small for her.  It can barely contain her big ol' belly.  She lounged around for the rest of the day with it bunched up above the belly like a little baby half-shirt.  And those sleeves... they were not designed for arms this chubby.  She is outgrowing clothes at a shocking pace.  She can no longer wear any 0-3 month items, which means I have a drawer full of too-small clothes, many of which she never even had a chance to wear.  She has also outgrown her diapers (which is just not good... not good at all), so I had to order a whole new stash of mediums to allow for proper baby butt coverage.