It is such a beautiful day today which is a slight balm for the achy "feels like 7" nonsense going on outside. I know, I know, it's winter, January! We should be in the thick of it. But if I wanted single digit weather, I'd have moved north of D.C. I didn't, I moved south to D.C., and so, the bundling and groaning continues. Today is better than yesterday. I will admit to that.

In any case, time for another month in review, and so I give you Best of Em-i-lis: April 2013.

Spring finally arrived (so really, I guess I see how long I still have) in fits and starts but I took advantage of all warmish weather by spending as much time as possible outside. Remember this pic, the reflection of our backyard sugar maple in my rosé? I love this still!

As the temperatures continued to rise, I celebrated my birthday (look at the cute cards the boys made me) and was thrilled to win the Your Best Leeks contest on Food52.

Nanny started her decline- a stroke, greater hearing loss, loss of mental acuity - and I started to mourn the loss of her in my life. Around this same time, I started cooking for the wonderful couple you might remember me talking about so much. I delivered dinner to them twice a week and found a wonderful sense of fulfillment in doing so. They reminded me of Nanny; caring for them was a joy. Click here to read about them and my love of this "job."

I wrote about parenthood and its challenges in ways that made me proud, and I also wrote a few bits that really made me laugh.

The Giving Table sponsored a day, Food Bloggers Against Hunger in America, on which all bloggers who signed up in support of the effort donated that day's post to the issue of hunger here at home. I was proud of this post and if you haven't, please consider watching A Place at the Table. It was excellent.

Spring was beautiful, and I made so many delicious things. Just reviewing them and drooling over the pictures gets me awfully excited for what is to come...