PINS + LINKS

Happy Friday! I've decided to bring back Pins + Links on Fridays.


Do you ever come to the end of a week and find yourself focusing on all your shortcomings? It doesn't happen often to me, but this week has been a struggle. Some weeks are hard, you know? I'm hoping this weekend clears my mind and sets me on the right path for the coming week. The kids are off of school Monday, so it's a three day weekend for us, which already puts things in a positive light. I need a little downtime, some meditation, a little prayer, and maybe a nap and a glass of wine.

Here are some Pins I found this week:

1. Have you read about how people are choosing to wear a "uniform' everyday? This is my uniform. 2. I'll be making this drink station as soon as it warms up (hopefully this weekend!). 3. I just shopped at Aldi for the first time this week-and I really liked it. 4. Happy St. Patrick's Day! I think a Guinness float sound fantastic. 5. We're looking at new dining room sets and this is the look I'm going for.

Link Love:

Since one of my springtime goals is more gluten free baking, I've been making these Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies from Livin Paleo and they are SO GOOD.

I watched and loved The Crown, but this news of season two is HIGHLY ANNOYING. The Go Fug Yourself Girls break it down for you.

I'm moving toward ALL all natural cleaning products in our home and am finding lots of ideas/inspiration from the blogs From Faye and Clean Mama.

I just bought these Converse and I love them. My capsule wardrobe is pretty much complete!

This stuff is just the cutest. Even though Ava has been extra sassy this week, I want to buy it all for her.

That's it for me! I hope you have a great weekend.

FAVORITE THINGS: MAY 2016

As usual, May has been a whirlwind. I always feel that May/Early June are the CRAZY months of the year. There is just  so much going on between end of the school year events and baseball and dance recitals and birthdays and anniversaries.

I had to really think about what my Favorite Things were this month. As I was brainstorming for this post all I could think was, "Nothing. NOTHING IS MY FAVORITE WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO DESTORY ME MAY. WHY CAN'T WE JUST GET ALONG!?" (Seriously. This is my life. I talk to the months of the year in caps lock in my head). I had to check myself this past week and remind myself to be positive, be patient, and be kind (to others and myself). Because no one likes a mean, grouchy, frazzled person (including myself). And then, once I was calm (for at least 20 minutes), I was able to think and come up the following:

Favorite Things to Eat: My garden is growing beautifully and the nasturtiums are blooming like mad. Did you know that nasturtiums are edible? The entire plant is-flowers, steams and leaves! They add beautiful color and taste to salads.

Favorite Weekend History Lesson: Over this past Memorial Weekend, our family took a trip to Gettysburg. More to come on that (if I ever manage to write a post about it, that is. Don't hold you breath, friends.)!

Favorite Thing to Wear: These gold sandals are my new BSF (best shoe forever). The metallic makes any outfit instantly more dressy and the cut makes jeans feel summery. Perfect for work and weekends!

Favorite Thing For Relaxing: Lavender essential oil is my go to lately. I put a few drops in the bath in the evening and it helps calm me and even helps me sleep better.

Favorite Cookbook: The Little Paris Kitchen, Rachel Khoo Simple French recipes, beautiful photos. I'm so inspired by this book and Rachel Khoo.

Favorite Family Nights: Little League games. Here's the thing: Little League is a TON of work. Mutiple practices, games, gear. But I love it. I love every part of it. This year has been especially fun, because it's Dylan's first year playing kid pitch and it's Ava's first year ever playing t-ball. I made this chalkboard at the beginning of the season and when it comes to an end next week, I'll be sad. Less for us to do, but the end of baseball season is always bittersweet.


Summer, we are ready for you!

FAVORITE THINGS: APRIL 2016

Guys, I JUST KNOW that spring, real spring is almost here. The trees are getting leaves, flowers are popping up, we've had a few (very few) days get into the 70s. Winter is behind us, thank the Lord and the Universe, because I cannot deal with even a hint of any more snow or ice. No more, I say. NO MORE.

Here's a round up of things I'm loving for this (beginning) of s-p-r-i-n-g.

Favorite Things I Read: For The Love, Jen Hatmaker This book resonated with me hugely. It spoke right to me and I absorbed it all right into my heart. (Good Lord, that sounds mushy. But it's true!) If you're looking for a book that really speaks to you about having grace and that makes you laugh, this is it.
Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka This book was lyrical, sad, and completely beautifully written. It is written in a plural voice ("Some of us..."), which I found to be a complaint of some readers, but which I found to be even more intriguing. It tells the story of a group of Japanese woman from the 1920's through the 1940's, who come from Japan and live their ordinary, yet tragic/beautiful lives. I loved it.

Favorite Household Things: Mrs. Myer's Handsoap in Peony. The smell is ah-mazing. And this "Sun Kissed" scented soy candle from Target is also fantastic.

Favorite Things For a Healthy Life: I started the Tone It Up Bikini Series 8 Week Challenge. I love the Tone It Up workouts and community, if you're interested look them up on Instagram @toneitup!

Favorite Things For the Garden: I started planting my garden this month. Lettuces and peas are in, and a few flowers, including these Morning Glories. I'll be planting more this weekend!

Favorite Things For an Organized Life: Pilot G-2 07 multicolor gel pens These are awesome for my bullet journal because they are bold but don't bleed through pages.

Favorite Beauty Things: While I still love my Urban Decay Smoke Eye palate, it was feeling a little dark for (almost) spring. I picked up a Maybelline The Blushed Nudes palate. While the quality of the shadows isn't as high end as the Urban Decay ones (nor was I expecting them to be) they're still really nice and good quality. And I love the colors; they're perfect shadows for (almost) spring at a great price.


Have a great weekend guys, and check back on Monday for a B+ Goals post!

A GARDEN FOR SOMEONE ELSE

The other morning, the purple beans were ready. There were dozen of them, fat and ready to pick. They are always a favorite crop, because they're magic: they are purple on the vine, but the heat of cooking makes them green.

 

"Purple for Ava and green for Dylan." Ava says, satisfied with these vegetable that are willing to be both their favorite colors.

 

The garden is coming in like mad. The best crop of tomatoes I've had in the three years we've planted here. And corn sprouting on every stalk, the first time we've ever had success with it.

 



 

Basil growing in bushes already. I've already made my first batch of pesto and there is plenty more, waiting on the plants.

 

 

Pure heart watermelons, literally covering the vines, swelling everyday, waiting for the 4th of July.

 

And my cucumbers. I can always count on them.

 

This year, we planted edible flowers all through the garden, to encourage bees. And for making flower sandwiches.

 

 

The kids have their own bed and always plant sunflowers, and this year they chose the mammoth variety.

"Don't you want to plant anything else in your garden bed?"

"Where will our dinosaurs play if there are plants in the way?!"

I love my garden. I love working in it and the surprise of things suddenly there. One morning there is a tiny cucumber attached to a blossom. And in two days, it's huge and ready to be chopped up for a salad. Little seeds, that turn into this.

 

But this year, this garden isn't mine. Because soon, very soon, we will be leaving here and moving somewhere new. To start a new garden and grow new things. But for now, I'm tending tomatoes for someone else to enjoy. And I hope they enjoy them. I hope the new people who will live in this home partially chose it for the garden. For the idea of fresh veggies and the raised beds and all of it tended and ready just for them. But the truth is, it won't be mine anymore. And if they tear my garden out and put in a pool, if they cement it over for a basketball court, I hope they enjoy that too. Because it won't be mine anymore, it will be there's.

 

But until then, I'll water and weed, and pick cucumbers and watch for the first red tomato of the season.

CANNING TOMATOES

Hello folks! Let's start off by saying: it's been a while. It's been BUSY. It's been, frankly, insanely busy. And here lies the problem. I feel that sometimes, blog posts take so much effort and time that they just never get posted. I want things to be nice for you, dear readers! I want correct measurements (something I never do in real life), I want pretty pictures (which I always forget to take in real life), I want this to be a neat, tidy, lovely, inspiring place (which never happens because I spend all my time planning these lovely posts and then never post them because how many tablespoons went into that? Where are the step by step pictures of that craft we did? Oh, right. I forgot to take them.)

So things around here are changing, slightly. Instead of detailed oriented posts, each day I'll post a photo from the day and explain what it is, and provide basic information about it. The blog will be a peek into the daily life of me: parenting, cooking, homemaking, and work process. I hope you enjoy it!

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Today I took a last bit of summer and cooked it and canned it. I've been freezing all the tomatoes from the garden that we weren't eating right away, and today I pulled them all out, cooked them up into a pasta sauce, and processed them for canning, It's a lot of work, but there's something about the old fashion-ness of it that I enjoy. I always love using everything I can from my garden, and this was nearly 100% from there: the tomatoes, the bell peppers, the herbs.

{I follow these rules for processing jars.}

Summer in a jar for winter.  

HOMEMADE CUCUMBER PICKLES

 

There are cucumbers in the garden, and that means homemade pickles.

 

 

Canning scares some people. It screams of grandmas stuck over a stove during the hottest time of the year. The science behind it seems to promise that if you don't do everything JUST SO, you will contract botulism.

Botulism + old fashion grandma = canning is scary.

 

I'm here to walk you through it.  Even if you have never canned before, have no fear.  Let's be old fashioned together. Haven't you heard? Grandma is in. Canning is awesome.

 

You want to do this, trust me.

 

Pickling is a great way to start canning; it's both easy and quick. And you end up with little, vinegary, pickles, just to your taste. Like spicy? Add hot sauce. Garlic is your thing? Add it. Go beyond dill!

 

All you need are cucumbers and a brine. The brine is equal parts vinegar and sugar, boiled together. That's it.

 

 

Chop up your cukes.

 

 

Place them in glass jars. You'll want to pack them pretty tight. Pour over the brine. Add your flavors. I had three jars, and did: Salt and pepper pickles, spicy pickles, and garlic onion pickles.

 

 

 

 

They're ready to eat in about an hour, but taste even better after two days in the fridge. They normally last, refrigerated, for several weeks. Please use common sense for this.

 

There. Don't you feel wholesome and (in a good way!) grandma-ish? Old fashioned. Don't knock it till you try it (pickled).

 

Homemade Cucumber Pickles

Adapted from Averie Cooks

 

Ingredients:

4-6 cucumbers, sliced into 1/2 inch thick spears

3 cups of vinegar

3 cups of sugar



For Salt and Pepper Pickles:

2 tablespoons coarse salt, 1/2 tablespoon black pepper

For Spicy Pickles:

2 tablespoons hot sauce of your choice

For Garlic and Onion Pickles:

1 small purple onion, thinly sliced

5 whole garlic cloves

 

Pack cucumber spears in glass jars very tightly, add garlic and onion to one jar. Set jars aside. In a medium sauce pan, combine vinegar and sugar, and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, and remove from heat. Pour liquid over each jar to nearly the top (it might be helpful to pour from a spouted measuring cup; this is what I do). Add salt and pepper to one jar, and hot sauce to remaining jar. Seal lids tightly, and shake gently to distribute spices. Allow jars to cool on the counter and then refrigerate.

 

Enjoy! 

 



IN THE GARDEN: FAIRY GARDEN

In our yard, I have made small areas into children's gardens.  In the flower bed, there is a fairy garden.

 

 

 

A birdhouse. Some ceramic garden "mushrooms." Small glass stones for pathways and a pool of water. Plastic bird garden stakes.

 

 

 

And of course, a few fairies.

 

Simple things, tucked among the carnations and pansies and daisies, fairy play can take up a whole lazy afternoon.

 

 

 

 



IN THE GARDEN:SUGAR SNAP PEAS

Part of the reason we bought this house was the amazing space perfect for a garden on one side of the house. I love to garden and I feel that teaching our two children the joy of it is important. It's a outdoor hobby that they can enjoy their whole lives, hopefully, and the science in how food is grown is a valuable lesson for everyone, if you truly enjoy gardening or not.

In this early spring, there are few crops. But one that never fails is the sugar snap pea. Sugar snap peas are a perfect from-seed crop for kids to plant. The seeds are large enough for little hands to plant and they grow quickly (sprouts can appear in as little as two weeks). And it's also a circle-of-life sort of lesson, as the seeds look just like dried up peas.

Lake Valley Seeds, non-GMO

 



In California, where I live, it's a mild climate and we can plant these any time from fall to early spring (we planted ours in late January). In colder areas, plant as soon as you can work the ground; peas can handle the cold.
Two months later and our seeds have grown into 5 foot monsters, covered with peas.

 

 

 

 

 



Spring is showing it's face around here most days. And we are so happy to have her.

 

For more information about gardening with children, please read this awesome article over at Girl's Gone Child.