We started off at the Art Museum. At first we couldn't find parking which seemed very odd for 10am on a Tuesday morning but we quickly realized that it was spring break week and both the Art Museum and the zoo, which was right next door, were free. That's the problem with free activities - lots of people go to them. Luckily, most of the people parking at the museum seemed to be heading to the zoo so the museum wasn't that crowded at all. The good thing about free activities, besides the no cost part, is that you don't ever feel like you have to see everything. I think the "conquering the museum/zoo/disney world" phenomenon is more common in men than women but even I feel compelled to get my money's worth at the expense of enjoyment sometimes. But since it was free, we didn't have a problem just going in and seeing the highlights - for us that was the older European art and the period rooms. After seeing a few Madonna and child's, a Monet and a Renoir and we were happy to be on our way again.
Next stop was a little London style tea room and cafe that I had heard good things about. I think it lived up to it's reputation - the panini was good, the tea was good, the cake was delicious! I am now in search of the perfect lemon/blueberry cake recipe! Let me know if you have one.
After our diabetes inducing cake, we headed to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. My mom had never been there and wanted to check it out plus Trader Joe's is my favorite source of peanut butter and I need to stock up. Theirs is so tasty and creamy plus it is just peanuts and salt, I hate it when a brand says natural but has added sugar! I do realize that the cake probably contained the same amount of sugar as 6 jars of non-natural peanut butter but let's just ignore the hypocrisy of that okay?
By then, we were both getting a bit tired and I thought about skipping our last stop but knew we would regret it so on the way home I dragged us to my favorite baby boutique to look at all the clothes and wraps, slings and diapers. My mom had been supportive of cloth diapering but I think she secretly harbored some doubts until she saw them in person. You just can't help but be sucked into their cuteness. I dare you to try! She got my stash off to a nice start with a couple one-size pockets, some fitteds and a couple covers. Thanks Mom!
Wednesday we were going to try making orange marmalade but we had trouble tracking down the right oranges so instead we shopped a bit more, checking out Target, Kohls and a shoe store. I didn't find any decent maternity t-shirts like I was hoping to but we both decided that maternity or not, this year's styles are not good. What is with the return to the 6os? The tags can say it's a young and modern line if you want to but they can't fool me, I know where orange, pink and brown paisley originated and even I am not hippy enough to want to wear that! The trip wasn't a total waste though since I did get a pair of slip-on shoes which I had needed desperately. Tying my shoes is becoming a workout.
The rest of our time was spent talking, drinking tea/coffee and talking some more. We come from a very talkative family! Thursday she headed home and I had to get back to my normal routine :-( But the next time she comes she should be a grandma!
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