The Blog Has A New Address

The blog has moved to www.aprilanderic.com!

If you subscribe in a reader, this is the new feed. We'll be making tweaks to the new site, but it's up-and-running, and we're liking the new look.

All posts have been moved, but new posts will only appear at the new address. Thanks for reading!

Before Wishes

Soon, this little yellow dandelion will become a fluffy ball of seeds just waiting to be blown away.

Will you be making dandelion wishes? I always do. Here's hoping they all come true. ♥

Stopping To Smell The Flowers

I've been working morning, noon, and night in preparation for the National Stationery Show next month. I'm very excited, but since there's so much to do it would be all too easy to overwork myself. I don't want to get to the show totally worn down and sick, so I've been making sure to stop and (quite literally) smell the flowers pretty regularly. So, more flower photos to share today.

Tell me, have you been stopping to enjoy the springtime? It's so refreshing. 

Yellow Flowers On A Wall

Yeah, it's another flower picture. I just can help myself! It's springtime, so it's to be expected. (Right?)

I took this one on one of the walks we took over the weekend. 

I made some edits using a new online photo editor called PicMonkey. I usually use Photoshop, but I like that PicMonkey is online so you can use it from any computer. It also has some really nice effects. If you're looking for a quick way to edit pictures (a replacement for picnik, perhaps) you might want to give it a test run. It's free and you don't even need to register. Have fun!

You're Turning Violet

It was a gorgeous weekend, so we went for a few walks around the neighborhood. I've been noticing violets blooming for at least a week now, and every single time I see them I think of that scene from Willy Wonka. You know the one. 

The one where Violet Beauregarde turns into a blueberry and her father says "violet, you're turning violet, Violet!"

Seriously, I think it every. single. time. I see a patch of violets (even the white ones!). And every time, it makes me laugh.

Spring Is Happening Right Outside

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR! (Caps completely necessary.)

It's just so unbelievably gorgeous out. Crisp air, flowering trees, grass that's turning green. Everything's just coming alive, and I find it quite exhilarating. I'm so busy preparing for the National Stationery Show next month that I'm not spending as much time outdoors as I'd like, but I totally appreciate each and every second I'm out there. I savor my walks to the train and bus. I can't stop myself from smiling when the sunlight warms my cheeks. 

Really you guys, it's sort of amazing (every single day). I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am.

How We Celebrated Our First Wedding Anniversary

A little ocean view.

A little ice cream.

There was also cake. And a few friends. And a lot of dancing!

I love celebrating wonderful things.

Shadow Portraits

When I got home from work yesterday, the sunlight was streaming through the window just so. My shadow caught my eye, and I snapped a few photos.

A silly little experiment in shadow portraits.

First Anniversary

Monday was our 1st anniversary! 

One year later, and being married is just as excellent. So many people told us that it would just be the same (especially since we dated for so long and lived together for a few years), but it isn't the same. It's so much better! I don't know why, it just is. 

We'll be celebrating our anniversary with friends this weekend. I'm sure we'll take pictures, so stay tuned. 

St. Patrick's Day Parade In Newport, RI

We spent St. Patrick's Day in Newport, RI.

We went to the parade and the beach, and it was totally lovely.

Hooray for a weekend well spent.

Clocks Change

On Friday, I documented the light as I left work at 5:00 and when I got home at 6:00.

We changed the clocks yesterday, and what a difference a change in the time can make. It was awesomely sunny at 6:00pm today. 

Enjoy the sunshine, friends!

Meeting At The Library

Yesterday we broke from our normal routine. Instead of coming straight home after work, Eric and I met downtown, at the Boston Public Library.

I just read for awhile in the library while I waited for Eric to get into the city. Then we walked down the block and grabbed dinner at a little pub, before heading to a fundraiser that our friend was hosting. We got home late, and I'm super sleepy today, but it was a totally lovely way to spend a Wednesday night. It was good to get away from the computer and my ever growing to-do list*.

*I'm exhibiting at the National Stationery Show in May, and there's a lot of preparation involved. And I have a day job. 

Snow, Finally

Last week, we finally got some snow here in Boston. 

The snow was followed by rain. Gross. So now it's almost gone. It was kinda nice while it lasted, but I think I'm looking forward to spring. 

It's almost time to change the clocks! Next weekend, baby. 

MIT Museum

Yesterday Eric, Max, and I went to the MIT Museum. It was pretty much the perfect museum for me, since we got to touch everything! I love when exhibits are interactive.

That's Max's hand.

10 Feb 2012

I'm inside working from 9:00 - 5:00, so it's no wonder I'm so eager to take pictures as I walk to the bus. Especially now that it's not pitch black as I head home.

I took this picture on the 10th; today it was soooo much lighter at the same time! It's so refreshing.

P.S. Yesterday and today it really smelled like spring. Do you know what I'm talking about? Although I hear we're getting another round of winter weather. 

Sending Letters

I love sending mail. 

And these stamps are so pretty. 

Boston At Dusk

My commute is incredibly frustrating since we moved to Belmont, but some parts of it still make me so happy. For example, Boston at dusk. 

I'm so happy that it's not completely dark when I leave work these days. Still dark when I get home, but that'll change soon enough. 

Sugar Hearts

A co-worker brought in some huge cupcakes today. Huge. They were leftover from some Valentine's Day celebration somewhere, and they were sprinkled with little sugar hearts.  

I had a quarter of a cupcake (huge, you guys!), and I just had to take a cell phone picture when some sprinkles fell onto my notebook. So sweet (pun intended). 

I hope your Valentine's Day was better than ours (we spent it freezing because our heat is whack, and in the dark because we blew a fuse and found out the hard way that the fuse box is in our neighbor's apartment and we had to wait 2 hours for her to get home). If yours wasn't great, celebrate it this weekend instead - that's totally what we're doing. Valentine's Day deserves a do-over, don't ya think?  

Paperwhites On The Floor

Last Thursday morning, at 4 am, we woke to the sound of a horrible crash. It was really scary, and we got up to have a look around. At first we thought that maybe a picture had fallen off the wall, but no. Then we checked the kitchen to see if a glass had fallen out of the dish rack. Again, no. But we finally found the source of the crash: our beautiful paperwhites had called it a day and had taken a nosedive for the floor. 

Yikes! Since their bowl was broken, I didn't really have anything else they could fit into. I cut the flowers off the bulbs, stuck them in a vase, and then cleaned up the rest of the mess (several days later).

  

Here's what they looked like when they were on the table:



Plus a bonus closeup of the pretty, pretty blooms:



It was hard to get back to sleep after all of the commotion, but at least we sorta saved the flowers!

Travel By Bus

The New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) started on Sunday morning, and I had to be there at 9:00 to man the booth for my day job. Since I didn't really want to leave my apartment at 3 in the morning, I left at 3:30 pm on Saturday. I got the the city around 8:00 pm and then it was just a 20 minute walk to my cousin's. 

 

This was my view about an hour into the trip. 

I got to the trade show on Sunday morning right on time, and it was a delightfully busy day. I've been the NYIGF twice before (last January and then again in August), but I was there for the end days which are much slower. I also worked the show on Monday, before hopping on a bus back to Boston. 

Orange Hearts

For Eric's birthday salad, I cut the carrots into hearts.



I'll have to do that again; it was so simple!

Happy Birthday, Eric!

I've organized a birthday party for Eric every year since 2008, and last night was the 5th annual get-together. For the happy occasion, I made a really fun cake*. I need to work on my cake writing skills. Writing with frosting is HARD. But even with the messy handwriting, it came out really well! Everybody seemed to like it, and when I cut it everybody said "WOW," so I must have done something right!

our friend's birthday is next weekend, so i included her name on the cake, too!

surprise! rainbow cake!

here are some action shots of making the cake

Everybody brought appetizers and drinks, and we served lasagna and salad (and cake + ice cream). I'm still stuffed. After we ate, we all played a fun game that our friend brought. We laughed until we couldn't breathe, and had so much fun. We have great friends, so getting everybody together in one place is the best. 

Many thanks to our guests for making it a night to remember. And a very, very happy birthday (tomorrow) to Eric!

*If you want to make one of these cakes, here are the directions I used as a reference. I didn't follow the Weight Watcher's diet guidelines at all - I just followed the directions on the box of cake mix. Since I'm not a baker and making a cake is scary, I decided a box mix was safest (Betty knows what she's doing), but you can definitely do this with any white cake recipe if you're a confident baker. And you're not afraid of a lot of food coloring gel. 

Snow, Finally!

I was so happy to wake up this morning to some REAL snow. It's flurried a little this winter, but nothing that really stuck around. After work today, there was still snow on the ground. YAY!

I'm a winter girl, through and through. The blanket of white make me so happy. It's just so beautiful and quiet somehow.

Paperwhites

Eric's mom gave us paperwhite bulbs. I finally got around to taking them out of the bag last week, and they're thriving in our freezing cold dining room. I put four of them in some gravel, but the last one wouldn't fit in that little terrarium so I just thought I'd see if treating it like an avocado would work. Yep. It sure did! Look at those hearty roots!

I love watching things grow. Isn't it amazing.

Shirley Temple

I'm enjoying a shirley temple while I get some work done tonight.

I suggest you make your own (or have your husband make one for you):

• ginger ale
• a dash of grenadine
• as many maraschino cherries as you want

Enjoy!

Honeymoon

We went on our honeymoon in December, and we took a lot of photos. Here are the highlights!



What's the best vacation you've been on?

Saturday Silver Dollar Pancakes

For Christmas, Eric's brother and his girlfriend, Sarah, sent us a beautiful assortment of homemade treats. There was a ton of stuff: rosemary spiced nuts, cranberry orange bread, steak rub, granola, caramel popcorn, and flapjack mix. There may have been more, but we already ate it so I can't remember! Why didn't we take a picture of the whole package?

This morning, we finally gave the flapjack mix a try. Eric made silver dollar pancakes, and it was the perfect way to start our weekend.

Many thanks to Drew and Sarah for the thoughtful and super yummy gifts.

Roses On A Thursday

Eric brought these home for me today.



He just wanted to let me know that he's proud of all that I've been doing. Yep, he's a keeper. xo

P.S. So 2011 happened. Hello 2012!