Pulling it Together

I spent last week poring over paint samples and painting and moving furniture and rifling through old boxes of thrifted picture frames, trying to quickly force my house into some sort of presentable state. This is because I was in charge of hosting book club this week and I wanted to fake like I'm all put together and stuff. Nothing like a deadline and a bunch of people you want to impress to get you to wrap up the projects you've been dragging your feet on. But probably you're more self-motivated than I am.

On the day of book club, Olivia and Emme gave their best efforts to following me around re-making messes I'd just cleaned up. Sweet little things.

 The kitchen help. I may have slapped his behind thirty times in passing, I was so happy to have him around more this week. (Audiology rotation=happy wife)  I know I'm a little (lot) crazy at times like these. So good game, Hon. Thanks for your hard work.

It was a bit of a frantic week, and we are seriously lacking in the clean laundry department, but pulling things together for a special occasion like this is the manna in the wilderness of my everyday mothering. It feeds my hungry, wandering, creative soul.

Book club recipes:

Chicken and white bean stew recipe here. This stew is so good you will cry culinary tears of joy. Another of my sister juli's creations. I use chicken breasts not thighs, add cooked potato chunks, use jar alfredo instead of refrigerated, and heat it through in a pot on the stove rather than in a crockpot because I rarely manage to plan that far ahead.

Strawberry salad recipe here

Apple cider float recipe here