Taste of Summer

My lettuce isn't quite mature yet, but I harvested enough of the tasty stuff to add to some crispy ice berg to make a very yummy salad.

I also made some blackberry iced tea with mint leaves. I planted a teeny tiny mint plant four years ago and now it is nicely established.

On a side note, I am pretty impressed with the camera on my new phone. You can see the condensation on the glass!

Can anyone say ready for summer? I love getting to use my fresh produce! I need to take another picture of my potatoes... they are foot tall already. I'm ok with this early warmth... I just hope the weather is nice in October.

I thought this little article was interesting since I have been collecting mason jars for the wedding.

Randomness from my phone : something for Emily to read tomorrow

 My only dedicated reader, eh um... Miss Emmy in the Making has been complaining about my lack of blog posts... well I have some very valid reasons why I haven't been crafting or taking pictures of my crafts... You see, this little booger named Huck has been taking up so much of my free time!

 Oh and his mom too. She has been taking up a lot of time! How about this has been the best maternity leave ever???

 Lots of chilllaxing is important. And smores consumption... you can't miss that.

 I have made a few wedding crafts... I need to get some better pictures of them. This picture frames are going to hold some of our engagement pics so I will re post them once those are in. They were super cheap on clearance at Target or some such and I just spiffed them up a bit with mod podge and paint.

I'm trying really hard to make multi purpose wedding crafts so I don't end up with a ton of crap to get rid of when its all over. I LOVED this little prop we used in our pics... Hopefully the letters didn't glare for Anna like they did for me.

Well Emily, none of this was new to you but I hope you liked the pictures. I have so loved our extra time together!!!!

Peace.

Thrifty Find

 I have been looking for the perfect headboard for quite sometime. A few weeks ago I did a double take as I was driving down Kearney. Leaning up against a store front I saw a headboard with some real potential. I did a U turn and made my way into a tiny little thrift store. I managed to get this headboard for the low low price of $15 with a little haggling. It is defiantly solid wood too, very heavy and it wouldn't fit in my car. I was really afraid that it might be gone by the time I cam back for it, but gladly, it was waiting for me.

 With the help of my lovely assistant I sanded the edges to make it look less "princessy" and more shaby chic.

 The finished project in my bedroom! It looks awesome I think! It ended up being just what I wanted!

Potato, po-ta-toe

I am quite proud of myself, I must say. For the first time, I had enough compost from my own compost pile that I could add it to my garden! Last year I started using a plastic tub with holes poked in it instead of my chicken wire nightmare I used before. The chicken wire method didn't work well because any waste that turned into good dirt, just ended up soaking into the bare ground at the bottom of the pile. My plastic tub method prevented this. I was very pleased to see an abundance of earthworms!

I planted some red potatoes and made this cute little sign for them. I have been hanging onto these little wooden planks for quite some time. They seemed too valuable to toss out but I had been at a loss until now. I used a sharpie to label and just like that... plant markers.

a whole January without snow days...

I have been waiting and waiting for a snow day... last year, I worked only 5 days in January at the school! That is crazy! Oh well I had to take this picture, I went to head start to see a kiddo and hauled around ole Rody for a bit. Every time I looked in my rear view mirror I caught a glimpse.

ANYWAY!

This is going to be a very crazy year... I can't wait for a couple of babies to be born... And I have really got to crack down and make some plans for the wedding... I never knew it was going to be so hard! It was all fun and care free to think about before it was officially official!

Treasure Hunt

Today my betrothed and I braved the crowds at the indoor garage sale at the fair grounds in hopes to find some brooches for me to use for the wedding. I'm kind of sad because the instant I decided to make one (loving it for its uniqueness) I started seeing them everywhere. Oh well I have decided that I just need to do what I love and not worry about what is trendy and what not. I know I am going to have to do a lot more hunting at garage sales this spring and summer! I have a big list of things I am looking for.... vintage table cloths, hankies, dollies, brooches.... It will be fun in the very least!

Another year, another list

I love the new year... I look forward to at the start of the holidays. I like to look at it as a clean slate. I did the best in 2011 as I ever have meeting resolutions so I have added some really good ones for 2012.

On one of my favorite blogs she posted her list of goals for the year and one of them I had to steal. I am an expert at making up recipes on the spot. Sometimes I dream them up for days ahead of time... other times I just throw things together that are handy. Either way, I make something awesome and then can never recreate it because I seem to think my memory is better than it is. So this year one of my many goals is to write down the recipes I make up, and you know maybe measure the ingredients I use.


Usually I don't like broth based soups but this one is so full of the good stuff it makes up for it.

Full of Goodness Italian Soup

1 pound hot Italian pork sausage
1 can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
1 can garlic and onion diced tomatoes
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 cups water
3 to 4 cups finely chopped fresh spinach
2 cups small shape pasta
1-2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
shredded Parmesan cheese

Brown sausage with onions and garlic. Add tomatoes, zucchini, water, olive oil, and seasonings. Bring to boil. Add pasta and when cooked to al dente add spinach. Once noodles are soft and spinach wilted, serve with toasted baguettes and top with cheese.

Woop.

<3,
Ash