It is Monday, and it is very cold, but I am excited because V-day is Friday. My heart-shaped bundt pan is on its way to me now, but more on that later. To keep the Year in Review ball a'rolling, I give you:

The Best of Em-i-lis: May 2013

As May usually is for my family, last May was a month of celebrations. Tom and I celebrated 9 years of marriage, and my sister and I threw a big party for my parents' 40th! Mother's Day meant I got to sleep in, go to the farmers market and be showered with love by my sweet boys. May was the month in which I made The Best Granola In The World for the first time; since then, it's been a constant presence in our pantry. I dreamed about a cocktail, The Lidocaine, that actually turned out to be quite good, and I realized anew how terribly smitten I am with spring. The boys made me laugh (and, on occasion, cry!), the flowers emerged resplendently from the gardens, and another school year neared its end.

In this post, I've just made jam and offer some good tips about how you know when it's reached the critically important set-point.

In this bit of hilarity, you see -in full pictorial- the essence of my funny Oliver.

I love this piece about stasis and feeling in love with my kids.

I was glad I brought my camera to the farmers market on Mother's Day because the flowers were incredible. As were these strawberries!