San Diego and Baby Shower

Last Wednesday I went to lab and then hopped on a plane to San Diego.  The main purpose of the trip was to throw my little sister Bunny a baby shower, but it was also just nice to see her and my mom and Mr Bunny again.  Pregnant tummies are sort of like magic 8 balls, they're completely irresistible.  While I was there I got to feel the baby kick a few times and it was totally exciting.  Please note, I'm not usually a big fan of children at all, the one exception will be the Baby Bunny.  So please don't expect me to admire your children.  

I feel like this picture maybe warrants some explanation.  My sister is not a professional hair stylist, she is a professional programmer.  A few years ago though, my mom asked her to trim her hair a bit and my sister gamely took on the challenge.  It turns out she has quite a natural knack for cutting hair and my mom is her most loyal (and sole) client.  According to my mom, no one cuts her hair better than the Bunny does and after seeing the results for a few years now, I have to agree.

Friday I made some preparations for the shower and put together two antipasto salads, one with meat and one without.  The recipe is from allrecipes.com and it was quite simple and delicious.  We ended up having massive amounts of leftovers to take home.  The following pictures will demonstrate why...

It's important to note that all this food (including some not shown in these pictures) was meant to feed a few women.  Needless to say, there was more than enough even after the men arrived to scavenge.

The mothers are so beautiful and adorable, I only hope I'll age half as well.  We threw the party at Spike's house and she really did a remarkable job with everything.  My only job was to generate the favors (oatmeal milk and honey soaps) and a couple of dishes (in addition to the antipasto salads, I made a salad with spring lettuces and candied walnuts and assisted Bunny in making dill and cheddar scones, so yum); Spike did everything else.  The decorations in particular really took my breath away.  They were the perfect combination of cuteness, sweetness, elegance and taste.

And of course the Bunny herself.  She took much better pictures than I did and I was really tempted to use some of them but I knew she'll be putting them up herself dammit.  She got many lovely gifts and after the shower we had a fun time by ourselves looking through everything again.  The next day we started setting up the baby's room and it was so nice to fill up the drawers with tiny things.

And this last picture I did steal from the Bunny.  These are the baby booties I knitted up for her.  They were such a fast project and I'll probably be knitting up another pair.  By the time the baby is 3 months old it'll be winter in San Diego...

Antipasto Salad (adapted from allrecipes)

1 pound medium shell pasta
1/4 pound Genoa salami, chopped
1/4 pound pepperoni sausage, chopped
1/2 pound Asiago cheese, diced
1 (6 ounce) can black olives, drained and chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 (0.7 ounce) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, and cool under cold water.  Drain well.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, salami, pepperoni, Asiago cheese, black olives, red bell pepper, green bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir in the envelope of dressing mix. Cover, and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.

To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Just before serving, pour dressing over the salad, and mix well.

Note: the salad keeps wonderfully well.