What Ana Does

We just arrived home after spending a fantastic week in New Jersey and New York seeing friends and family (oodles of time with the grandparents!). It's always delightful to go back to familiar territory seeing places that stir up memories. We've only lived here in Illinois for five years and while we have a few oft-visited places, we don't have the roots here that we have back east. The girls especially loved our two days in New York City, riding the subway, visiting the holiday markets at Bryant Park and Union Square and, as is tradition, having breakfast at Alice's Tea Cup.

Berries By the Barrel I have started a new tradition this year ... Strawberry Day. Here in the midwest, strawberry season is about 3 weeks max -- that's it. It's not a lot of time to celebrate my favorite fruit. And there is nothing like the taste of a strawberry at peak of the season, picked fresh from the plant on a sunny June day. Nothing.  A whole series of poetry could be written about fresh-picked strawberries.  So, when I got wind this weekend was the peak of the peak, I declared it Strawberry Day! In a nutshell, the day is like this: We head to the strawberry patch as early in the morning as possible -- can't let the best strawberries get picked. Then, back to my house to make all the glorious things from strawberries: shortcake, waffles with whipped cream, angel food cake with strawberry sauce and ... fresh strawberry ice cream. And freeze a good portion for smoothies and cobblers later.  A brief aside: if you have not sampled fresh, homemade ...

Every Halloween, we throw a party. It's really just an excuse for me to create centerpieces and eat M&Ms. But conversing with out adults around my island is a huge bonus. And the girls get added time to celebrate this holiday and run off their sugar highs with friends. Here are some pictures: Creepy! The Graveyard Outside My Door Everyone's Doing It! The Vomiting Pumpkin! Centerpiece We Had a Fancy Witch and a Disco Union Jack Bast from the past: 1st Annual Halloween Party , and 2nd Annual (2014) Halloween .