a preview of summer evenings

We had some 90 degree days last weekend. Thank goodness our backyard has some nice big trees, and I swear it stays like 20 degrees cooler back there. We take our warm evenings on the back porch with a side of ice cream. Which got me thinking about all the cool summer treats coming up right around the corner! (even though it is super thunder/rain stormy at the moment)

Some popsicle recipes to try soon: lemon and raspberry yogurt with super cute wooden sticks, neopolitan always reminds me of birthdays, classic vanilla pudding, and pretty purple blueberry greek yogurt popsicles.

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These ice cream cones are still the best. We used to open them over the sink, so the little nuts didn’t go everywhere. Sometimes I wonder what foods our children will remember.ice cream cone

 

 

things that caught my eye/ twelve

Some things I found this week:

I think it will be a pretty stressful weekend over here. We have to watch our grass seeds grow, look out for thunderstorms, and drink iced tea. Maybe go wander around the botanical garden if its not too humid out. So if you need us, we’ll be very, very busy.

weekendthingsHow pretty is this little grower here. I enjoy the tiny hint of hot pink leaves.

sourdough/ week nine

I’d like to show you a picture of my latest loaf of bread, but this is all that’s left.

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jk, There is still almost half left. We aren’t monsters.

This recipe is somewhat my own concoction, pecan sourdough bread. Its based on a recipe for walnut bread, but we have a lot of pecans, so I wanted to use those instead. We also ran out of honey, so I subbed in some molasses instead. Smelled sooo good while it was in the oven, and our toast this week has been on par. I think next week I might try some spelt bread, or some other kind of cool kid grain.

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how does your garden grow

It is like magic watching a garden grow. One day, its a tiny little plant. And then you look again, its two feet taller or growing food. Ah-mazing.

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I’ve been fondly scrolling through garden photos from 2 weeks ago, and seeing how much they have grown. I can only imagine what I will be like when I have a real baby.

There are a couple new notebooks in the shop to keep track of garden progress, planting plans, or grocery lists!

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a banner year

We’ve lived in our house together and been married for almost a year, so it was time to add our family crest to the place.

I pay way too much attention to the back of my embroidery. Especially since it was covered up anyway. I just don’t want people in the 18th century to think I had loose morals because the back of my embroidery is all messy.

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This kind of embroidery is the most fun. If I was around in the 18th century, I would have been cranking out the embroidery.

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When that part was finished, I asked it what it felt like being. It said a flag, so then came some triangle math.

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I used more leftover wedding fabric scraps for the back. It seemed fitting.

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Then I sewed it all up, added some hanger loops, and stitched the edges. And someday, if someone rips it all apart, they will see how neat the back of my work looks.

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what weekends are made of

We decided that this weekend was a pecan pie. Armed with a big bag of pecans, I got right to work on Saturday morning. Pecan pies scare me a little bit, since I didn’t grow up with them, and am not technically 100% sure what the consistency is supposed to be. But since my guy sure loves them, I need to teach myself to be unscared of them.

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I followed part of the filling recipe from here. I like dark chocolate, and happened to have a bar of it.

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We spent a lot of the weekend doing yardwork, which means you earn an extra big piece of pie in the evening. I think that is a rule somewhere.

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things that caught my eye/ eleven

Some things I found this week:

  • What to do with all those long fabric scraps
  • Would be an adorable wedding gift
  • Going to need this for all the herbs we’re growing
  • I wish this was still available. Pickles are my favorite.
  • I’m having trouble deciding between this cookie and this one.

We are getting quite the recognition from the neighbors for our front yard makeover. We have been basking in the glow all week, but its time to start the backyard this weekend. We’ll probably need more rice krispie treat fuel. And if you are looking for a gift for garden lovers, I have some new notebooks in the shop!

Here is a picture of our growing little snap peas, and we all hope you have a nice weekend!

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inside office projects

I spent last week working in our outside office aka I did a lot of yardwork. The beginning of this week has been a bit warmer, and since the outside office doesn’t have air conditioning, I’ve been working inside so far this week.

I made croutons with some leftover sourdough bread. So good I have to resist eating bread cubes as a snack all day.

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Working on a braided rug made of scraps of fabric from our wedding.

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I made biscuits! I want to be a person that makes really good biscuits, and my guy makes the gravy to go on top. We are a good team.

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Sometimes, you just want rice krispie treats. We like them a tiny bit stale, when the krispies are extra crispy.

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And these flowers are in our neighborhood. The lady has the most beautiful wildflower garden. This is just the side of her yard, spilling out from around the fence. I want to write her a note and tape it to her door.

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floral finds

Flowers are usually my first choice of doodle when given a blank piece of paper. Here are some fun floral finds to get in the spring mood: fancy flower and fruit ball cap, beautiful floral print hot pads for the table, a blooming scarf, and pretty lotion to add some flowers to your nightstand (after playing in the dirt and sun all day, gotta get some lotion on those hands!)

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I also have some flower gift tags and cactus cards available in the shop, if you need to send some floral thoughts to someone!