Sacra-mom-ato: Fleeting February and A Baby Shower

It feels like a whole month just slipped by, while I was unaware. I think it was a combination of resuming my full-time teaching schedule and LOTS of illness in our family. Vivian was sick with a bacterial infection, then I caught strep throat from a student, a week later Jeff was struck down, and now Eli is sick with strep. All I know is that I am thankful to live in the age of antibiotics.

It is and isn't fun to turn the calendar to a new page. I love starting off a new month - who doesn't like new beginnings?!? - but I also don't like the feeling of time slipping away. I am determined to live my life more consciously and I hope that I will savor and remember many more moments in March than I remember of February.

February did end with a wonderful memory. My best friend is pregnant with her first child (A girl! Eleanor Elizabeth! Don't you love that name?) and I had the honor of putting together a baby shower for her. I wanted it to be elegant but fun, so I did a baby shower tea. Lots of china and cut-glass and silver and trays of finger foods. I baked scones, made cucumber, smoked salmon, and curried chicken tea sandwiches, and I even made Devonshire cream and lemon curd from scratch. Vivian helped me make an elegant diaper cake and I decorated in hot pink, celadon green, lavender, white, and blush pink. I think it was a success.

A table of the party guests... some of my wonderful colleagues at school!

The menu. There was one at each place setting.

These are the "fairy cupcakes" that Vivan and I made. Vanilla bean cake topped with cream cheese frosting and pastel sugars. The fairy toppers had tulle on their dresses.

The posies that I made from flowers from the Farmer's Market. One vendor was selling the most amazingly fragrant narcissus. I combined iris, narcissus, ranunculus, and carnations.