I Heart Peonies

This week has flown by. It seems only yesterday we capped off a wet and parade-cancelled due to rain Memorial Day with a visit to Ikea. Any trip to Ikea is always exciting, even though you do tend to see the same stuff over and over again. This time we were looking for a desk, side table, shelving, eyeing off what they had for sofas and baby items, a doona cover, a rug and white photo frames (for my photo wall that I am eager to start on). We came home with most of the above, bar any baby furniture or a sofa, and with those little bits and pieces that you pick up along the Ikea journey like waste bins, ice cube trays, a toilet roll holder and this time, an Orchard! But before I get too excited or even hit the upload photo icon to show you how pretty it is was, unfortunately, it was left behind at the cash register....after it was paid for.....Hey, not my fault. I was busy with my $1 frozen yoghurt and a comfy chair waiting for the purchase transaction to be complete. Am I kinda pointing a finger here? So I have a photo to accompany this para, here is the rug that will go in the nursery!

Anyways, later in the week I got a phone call from cousin Mariah warning us of the tornado approaching our way. In a moment very unlike me, I actually had the TV off and had no idea. Sure, it was dark outside and there was most definitely a storm coming, but a tornado? Last tornado that did damage to MA was back in the 1950's apparently. This tornado touched down for something like 50 miles. We ran around closing windows, looking for torches/flashlights and blankets, preparing for some time spent in the basement, all while I was still trying to cook my beef bourguignon. I really didn't want to shelve this dish and was half way through prep so on I cooked. The sky didn't turn the gnarlish blue green I had been told about, the wind hadn't picked up a whole lot and it was raining, but it wasn't pelting down. Thankfully West Brookfield was spared, but a number of towns very close by were devastated and people are working around the clock to either bring the towns back to operating levels or helping out those who lost everything. Here is a photo I snapped from our front window:

 

So, back to my beef bourguignon. Pies, savoury pies specifically are not big here in MA. Sweet pies, sure. Even savoury pies of the fruit or vegetable variety. But good meat pies? Nope. How can you have a Servo without a meat pie? Hard to cook one though, and there is one simple reason. Pastry. Now I shouldn't be surprised that Big Y and Walmart do not stock a variety of ready made pastry. I probably would find what I need had I ventured to Hannafords or even Whole Foods or Trader Joes. But, Big Y and Walmart were my only options to buy pastry in time to make the pie. So I was stuck with filo. No options for puff or shortcrust, nada. Rather than attempting to make puff pastry (I am so not ready for that), I forked out over $4 for filo. Fail. The pastry just sat on the top of the pie and ended up getting all soggy once it was spooned out with some of the beef. So mine and Jerry's grand plans of pie making might be on hiatus now til we find a store that sells ready made pastry. Our little pie maker will just have to sit and wait a little while longer....

Friday I went shopping in Milbury. Mainly to pick up a stroller that the lovely parents have purchased for us. Coupon Dad as I will call him for this post, emailed me a 20% off voucher for an item at Babies R Us. I pretended to know what I was doing as I test drove some strollers around the aisle, until a sales assistant finally offered to help me out. It came down to a Graco we had seen online and a something-other that had an MP3 speaker on the handlebars.....am I really going to pump music while strolling? So I went with the Graco and visited the restroom twice. I think the bladder thing is kicking in now in my 20's weeks. There is a Gap at Milbury so I couldn't resist stopping in to see if they had any more maternity pants on sale. I mean, I am going to Australia in Winter and I do need long pants right? Yay for stopping in as I picked up two pairs at only $17 each! I bought these two, and no Mum, sorry this is a model not me!

I shopped further in Northampton on Saturday. My main excuse for going out there was to pick up some sneakers my wonderful friend Libby had asked for. She is very smart and taking advantage of the strong Aussie dollar. If Liba went to a store in Australia like Glue, these would set her back close on $170. Here this super stylish pair cost her $69.95. Here they are Lib, safe and sound in their home...

Arriving in Northampton I had one of those singing angel "Aaahhhhh" moments. It is exactly the place I need to go when I need an escape from the town here. It has excellent shops and food, glorious food! I ate Moroccan - woo hoo!!! They even have an Urban Outfitters and I couldn't resist these two finds. One is a wire C that will eventually hang in the kitchen I have decided and the other, an owl knob perfect for when I redo a cabinet or desk or something:

My DIY effort this week? I decided it was not cool to have a lockable gun cupboard in the nursery any longer, so I took it apart. It went from this:

via these two (I made myself feel a little tougher with the use of a power tool so ditched the pansy screwdriver):

To this:

I figure the nook as it shall now be known, will become a storage space for extra wipes, lotions, diapers, powders, all the baby stuff I am still yet to learn I am going to need! I think I'll paint the inside of it a different colour to the gray of the walls, to make it pop a little!

Finally this week we celebrated a 1st birthday party and I walked away with a hell of a lot of cake (feed the pregnant lady?) and these peonies that are to die for. I could look at them for hours on end. They were my wedding flower of choice til I learned they wouldn't bloom for me at that time of year. I love them so much I have to try and grow them. Maybe Aunt Kathy's father can give me a lesson!

So I'll leave you to imagine the scent they are beautifully spreading through the living room right now....bliss....