Home at last

I really do love coming home. And I don't care if that makes me sound boring and routine-oriented.  I have had a very exciting past few weeks and have enjoyed the blogging break (postcards are fun but don't really count...), but now that I am back and currently ignoring my laundry pile, I wanted to do a quick update on what's been going on.  And because I have this weird rule that every post needs a picture, I dug this one up from a few months ago.  And while I was looking around, I noticed that we have very few pictures of us without sunglasses on.  Which is mysterious because maybe we don't even have eyes!  And the sunglasses are just a casual cover-up.  Note to self:  Take more pictures of us with our eyes exposed.

Anyway, this past month I:

::  Ate every meal like it was my last (diet begins today.  Maybe.).

:: Had Lasik eye surgery (which turned out to be just 50% awesome...you may now call me the one-eyed-wonder)

::  Sent Evan off on a two-week work trip.  Which was as terrible as it sounds and only made bearable by a long visit with my lovely family.

::  Spent several days as a 'director' at a girls camp for my church.  Equal parts awesome and exhausting.

::  Spent a week in the mountains at my grandparents cabin.

::  Caught up with old friends.

::  Started several very exciting projects which I can't wait to share with you!

::  Visited a Comedy Club and laughed so hard I cried as I watched my baby brother entertain a packed theater (he gets it from me).

::  Learned that Gesso is deathly afraid of fireworks.

::  Helped welcome home my super cool big brother + wife from a year in Korea.

::  Dusted off my paintbrushes in order to create a masterpiece for my mother's wall.

::  Met my newest nephew!  Little Tosh is a black lab/great dane mix (oh you thought I meant human nephew?)

::  Quit my job.  Because they didn't think me taking a month off of work was as super as I did.  So for now I am going to be an awesome stay-at-home-wife.

::   Visited IKEA!!  And I practiced so much self-control that I treated myself to another lamp (oops!).

::  Drove more miles than I care to remember (driving makes me fussy).

::  Visited more fabric stores than I knew what to do with.  And now I have more fabric than I know what to do with.

Anyway, it's good to be back.  I haven't cooked a meal in 3 weeks and I am so excited to make dinner tonight.  Judge me if you want.  But it's going to be DELICIOUS!!

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day.

Summer Postcard no. 9

Summer Postcard no. 8

Summer Postcard no. 7

Summer Postcard no. 6

Summer Postcard no. 5

Summer Postcard no. 4

Summer Postcard no. 3

Summer Postcard no. 2

Summer Postcard no. 1

Feeling Patriotic

Things will be kind of quiet around here for the next few weeks as we are out and about enjoying summer.  Hope you are enjoying yours as well!!

Lupine Love

All flower photos taken by Evan.  I still can't believe I was lucky enough to marry a mountain man who loves flowers and takes killer pictures.  Lucky lucky me.

Tiny Bunting

I whipped up some bunting the afternoon of our party. I have been wanting to make some for years, and even have fabric set aside, but I never have gotten to it.  This was a quick fix and took 5, maybe 10 seconds to make.  It was as simple as cutting triangles out of fabric and sewing them onto a piece of ribbon.  No hemming or mad skills required.

Ta-da!

And for easy storage, I just wrapped the bunting around an empty toilet paper roll.  Smart!

just a few more things:

::  our neighborhood ice-cream truck has come out of hibernation and I had forgotten how funny it is that they play Christmas Carols out of the loud speakers on top of the truck.  Which makes perfect sense.  Because during Christmas it's usually chilly...just like ice cream...so...you should buy some?  Okay.

::  we have been house-sitting for our honeymooning friends this past week and they have a cat.  Who was pregnant.  And who had KITTENS last weekend (!!).  Mao-Mao (the mama cat) is doing great and her 4 kitties are so so cute.  And I've been told I can have first dibs...

::  in answer to an enthusiastic comment about peanut butter pie, here is the recipe I used.  Yum yum.

Pie Party 2011

Last night we gathered together some of our pie-enthusiast friends and had ourselves a little pie party.  Which was probably the most delicious idea I have ever had (also the easiest, "hey will you come over to my house for a party and bring all the food?!").

There were even prizes for the best pies!  This is Liza with her bubble prize.

p.s. These are Gesso's buddies, Sergio and Omar.  They didn't get any pie.  Or prizes, for that matter.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' over at Soulemama for all to find and see.

A picture of some muffins that were really tasty

I wrote a to-do list on Monday that is four pages long.  Things are going to be busy busy for the next few weeks and I am one of those weird-o people that can't leave home with an unfinished project on my desk.  Or a messy house.  Because then I think about it while I'm gone.   It's kind of a problem.  Hence the list.

This afternoon I am tackling my mending pile.  Because while I really like to sew, mending seems like such a chore and doesn't often get done.

Blueberry muffins were on the list too (those I can handle no problem!).

Some good happy things:

::  the elderly man in line behind me at the post office telling me that he liked my (purple sparkly) toenails.

::  receiving a pineapple in the mail from our landlords (who live in Hawaii now).  It was delicious.

::  another week of 70 degree weather.

::  finding some pink and green plaid cupcake liners at the store.  Which means I need to add cupcakes to the list.  I wonder what goes best with plaid??  Chocolate or vanilla?  (I'll let ya know)

::  coming home from the thrift store with a fresh pile of books.  I can't wait to actually have time to read them outside with a juicy popsicle in hand!

Hope you are having a happy Wednesday!

Good Morning Mountains

The mountains are finally waking up after a big snowy slumber.

Wildflowers are peeking,

snow is melting,

rivers are RAGING,

and we are happy.

So so happy.

 (did you see Gesso's big grin?)

Confessions of a Rhubarb rookie

I'm not quite sure how I've gotten this far in life without tasting rhubarb.  I keep trying to blame my parents, but it is quite possible that it was offered to me and I just didn't want to try it (read: pickiest eater in the universe).  In any case, my life is now complete.  Rhubarb--you complete me.

Let me back up just a bit...

Last week Evan came home from work with a giant bag of rhubarb.  I stared at him in confusion.  He stared at me right back.  And then he told me to make something with it.  But it looked weird.  Like red celery.  And I wasn't about to waste butter and sugar on red celery.  Eww.

But then I did.

And I am so glad.  

This Rhubarb Crisp tastes just like summer.  I've already made it twice this week.  And I'm planning on making it again on Sunday.  Try and stop me.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp:

       recipe from cooks.com

4 c. rhubarb pieces (about 1 lb.)

2 c. sliced strawberries

1 c. sugar

1 1/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. old fashioned oats

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 c. butter, melted and cooled

In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cinnamon, and 1/3 c. of the flour.  Transfer to a greased 13 x 9 baking dish.

In another bowl, combine remaining 1 c. flour with brown sugar, oats, nutmeg, and butter.  Blend well to create the streusel.  Sprinkle streusel mixture over rhubarb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Yum. 

 Dear reader, are you a rhubarb junkie?  Are there any recipes I need to try?  Because we still have LOTS of rhubarb (and enthusiasm).

Family Portraits with Gesso are very tricky (and a little bit funny)

Good enough.    What part of 'look at the camera' does he not understand?  Sheesh!

Wall Flowers

I started these wildflower drawings shortly after moving here last Spring.  I didn't know anyone, didn't have a job, or a puppy, a husband to hang out with all day, or really anything to do.  It was weird.  And so one windy afternoon, I drew a Lupine.  And I felt much better.

Twelve wildflowers later, and this place feels more like home every day.  I've met so many wonderful people, I have a puppy (!!!), and I've almost fully adjusted to Evan being gone to work all day (He's kind of my favorite person ever, so I like him to be around all of the time.  We are still trying to figure out a way for him to not work at all, but I'm afraid we might get hungry...)  And as I was lying in bed the other morning, still a little fuzzy in the brain, I had the most wonderful thought: these flowers are my metaphor for blooming where I'm planted.  Not that I'm claiming to have fully bloomed here (I still don't even have a cowboy hat!).

And now that this 'series' is finally complete, I am excited to put away my pencils for a while and move onto something else.  I'll let you know when I know what it is :)