Three things I ♥ {A mini weekend recap}

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From the local farmer's market; Wild looking flowers whisper the promise of long summer days and warm, sunlit meadows... A bowl full of tree-fresh clementines - sweet, refreshing and still on their branches... The peek of a tiny little head, all snuggled up in a big, cozy bed.

Happy Wednesday! xx



Paternal Instincts?

Meet "Bebisen" (Swedish for "The baby"). Noah got this blue eyed doll from my aunt and uncle for his first birthday over a year ago. The poor thing has - until recently - received precious little attention from his wee "Papa" (save the odd eye poke!) Suddenly though, things are looking up; What follows is an account of a typical day...

Bebisen starts his day with a well deserved cuddle...

Before eating a nutritious breakfast of wooden food...

...that's been lovingly prepared in Noah's own kitchen :)

Bebisen takes a turn on the tricycle...

And then goes for a [bumpy] ride in the dump truck.

Noah hurt his thumb and got a plaster...

 So naturally, Bebisen did too!

"Nipe Nipe Bebisen" (Who definitely sleeps tight, thanks to Noah's insistence
that he is covered by a warm blanket and gets a nice bottle of milk every night.)

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Happy Friday friends, I hope you all have a lovely, spring-y weekend! Xx

Chocolate chippy yumminess (with wholewheat!)

Last week, on an unusually grey and rainy afternoon, Noah and I were at a loss as to what to do... And then - A stroke of genius! :)

The apron may have been my suggestion but I had little to do with the hat.

The recipe below is homespun, blending some very basic instructions with a few personal preferences such as nutmeg, chopped almonds, sea salt and - since it's the only flour in our pantry ever - wholewheat. The results are, in my modest opinion, cookielicious (!) 

Yes, two cookies are already missing. 

Emelie & Noah's ChocolateChipCookies 

(Makes 20-25)

What you'll need:

• semi sweet chocolate chips (12 oz)
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup salted butter (softened)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups raw/brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds 
• pinch of sea salt (to sprinkle over the cookies) 

Preheat your oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

(Noah and I use a simple whisk and wooden spoon for all our cookie mixing, I guess we enjoy the exercise ;)

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat the butter with the sugar and vanilla until creamy. Then add the eggs one at a time and beat until fluffy.

Gradually add the flour mix but avoid over stirring! Now add the chocolate chips and chopped almonds.

• For the most ultimate results, let the cookie dough rest for a day or two. Make a roll, wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Use a sharp bread knife to cut 1/2 inch slices before baking. (Though if you are feeling impatient, you can totally skip this step :)

Scoop the dough onto your baking sheet by the (heaping) tablespoon, then lightly sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake until golden (but not crisp!)  15+ minutes. Cool on a wire rack...

Notes and Variations: 

• Don't worry about the "healthy option" wholewheat flour ruining the flavor/consistency - I promise it won't. Not in the slightest :)
• Instead of stirring the almonds in the batter, save them for sprinkling over the dough-dollops together with the sea salt. (This works particularly well if you'd like to make a few toddler-friendly cookies without almonds!)
• If you've run out of parchment paper (it can happen to the best of us;) try using a nonstick muffin tin - Noah and I did and it worked beautifully!

I SWEAR he was a lot happier than he looks here.

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Zoology

Sean had to make a business trip to San Diego this week, so Noah and I decided to tag along and visit the world famous zoo. It was the first time there for both of us and it was a fantastic experience. We started with a pleasant lunch at what seemed the nicest restaurant (only the best for my baby! ;) Then we made our way around the world (the zoo is organized geographically so that you visit "Asia" to see the giant panda and tigers, The "North pole" to see polar bears etc.)

To begin, Noah was most eager to visit the flamingos and elephants, I was excited about the polar bears and condors... The flamingos turned out to be beautiful and hilarious but extremely loud, Noah copied them, saying: "Cack cack cack" and then: "Oh God, flamingos!" as if all their cackling seemed a little "much" to him (!) The elephants and condors were sadly hiding and nowhere to be seen... But a male lion was out in full force; pacing back and forth along the fence, right next to his captive audience. It was pretty intense when he made direct eye contact and at one point actually roared at us. Then, suddenly he lifted his hind leg and squirted all over three (annoying?) teenage girls who had been busy giggling and recording him with their smartphones. Splash! Just like that. They were shocked, squealing as they ran off - all soaked in, you know, LION PEE. Noah and I remained for a while, even more intrigued by the offender, who by the way seemed utterly pleased.

Another memorable encounter was with a sociable orangutan who had a long heart to heart with Noah. - Seriously, it was the cutest thing as they just sat there on either side of the glass, chatting and smiling at each other for what seemed like forever, until the ape suddenly stood up and walked over to one of his/her? mates and kissed him on the back of the head. :) Noah took the cue, waived at his new friend and said: "Bye bye monkey, see you soon!"

The polar bear was incredible to watch as he dove into the water, making all sorts of acrobatic moves trying to get his dinner out of a barrel. There was a hippo couple who laid snuggled close together, looking very content and very in love... But best of all - as far as Noah was concerned - were the zebras; He stood watching two of them calmly eat from a through for the longest time, cooing at them with his sweet little voice: "Aiou seeba, aiou much" (I love you zebra, I love you much." :)

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Young Love

Ah, the woes of motherhood; My early hopes of being the only woman in Noah's life are starting to seem less realistic... Though I do take solace in the fact that his current lady of choice is kind, adorable and well dressed. (And her mother is lovely, which of course is of the utmost importance! ;)

Yasmin and Noah at the La Brea tar pits.


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