beachcombers

Mabel and Lucy smiled the entire afternoon...

Lucy hunting for hidden shell treasures in the rocks...

The view below my rock perch...

I could have sat there for hours watching them splash, seek, play...

Daddy taking it all in... and - yes - that is a Clone Wars shirt. ;-)

"I love this place"

handpie testing

I volunteered to make fruit handpies for the AIGA back sale in a few weeks. Since my baking skills are minimal (even a bit scary), I thought I'd better practice. I'm using a gallette crust recipe (really simple) and pre-made filling (apple and cherry). Next time I'll roll the dough more thinly, use an egg wash on the tops (forgot to do it... see? told you my baking was scary), and create the filling from scratch.

Mabel was ready to eat them before they went in the oven ;-)

All-in-all, they came out pretty good! Heya Art Instituties, get ready for a fistful of Amy's fruity handpie.

first day bento

The girls are excited about starting the new school year tomorrow. They picked out non-traditional lunchbox options this year: bento boxes!

Tomorrow's boxes are packed (Lucy's tiers on the left, Mabel's on right): Japanese Korokke (potato croquettes with curry), fun-shaped hard boiled eggs, onigiri (sticky rice balls), and muffins. Lucy opted for extra rice wrapped in Nori (dried seaweed) while Mabel went with a pb&j shaped like a ducky. There are little animal soy sauce bottle tucked in among the steamed brocolli. They'll have juice boxes and cookies, too.

And look - there's a bento for mommy!

(Will post first day pics tomorrow.)