Holiday Weekend Fun

Thankful for:

~BEAUTIFUL finally summer weather

~Window fans that cool off

~New outside water toys

~Cooking on the grill

~Family & Friends

~A little one who loves to dress in Mama's shoes (& purse & clothes)

~Toddler legs

~Lazy summer afternoons

~Little ones who are content with a pen & paper

~The inevitable pen marks on said toddler after pen & paper fun

~Those who protect our country

~Summer watermelon

~And corn on the cob

~And potato salad

~The birds singing

~The summer roses blooming

~Cut flowers on the kitchen counter

~The sound of lawn mowers

~The smell of grass

~So much more

So thankful that all this was packed into just one three day weekend!

Project Spectrum

Another round of Project Spectrum began at the beginning of May. Project Spectrum is the creative project of Lauren from Lolly Knitting Around. This is my second time participating and I'm really enjoying the focusing on one color a month.

To begin this round May's color to focus on was red. Above are a few pictures that I took throughout this month. Not as many as I had hoped but still some.

I had knit a pair of baby booties out of the yarn in the bottom...again I had wanted to knit a few other projects but it just didn't happen! I do have a few projects all set to go for June when the color is green!

I love Project Spectrum for it's wide variety of interpretation. There is no limit on where your creativity can take you as you delve into each color. I chose to go very laid back for May and yet red still seemed to pop up...almost like it found me rather then the other way around!

Lemon Sunshine

It rained here for almost 2 weeks straight. Then we had one GORGEOUS day and then more rain for 5 more full days. By the 15th day of rain I was ready to go crazy!

Then our local grocery had lemons on sale. So I bought a bunch, went to my new favorite blog for recipes: Smitten Kitchen and found this post with a recipe for Lemon Bars.

I made them with the 1:1 ratio. I'm not all that fond of lemony tartness but my husband LOVES it. So I pretty much made these for his taste buds and for my need for bright color in the house!

They came out a little too tart/sweet for my taste but they weren't too bad as I ate quite a bit myself! And they did brighten up my kitchen and now the sun has been shinning in and out so everything is good!

This Moment {Smelling the Flowers}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining Amanda again this week! And a special congrats to the Soule Family on the birth of their new daughter!!

Late night Daybook

FOR TODAY: May 24; but only for about a half hour more!

Outside my window... dark! And I just heard some rain. AGAIN.

I am thinking... Of how this late night is going to hurt in the morning!

I am thankful for... my husband who has been working such long hours to provide for us

From the kitchen... It's been raining for almost 2 weeks so there has been lots going on in the kitchen lately. Tonight I made lemon bars. A post on those tomorrow once I get pictures taken!

I am wearing... a white tee-shirt and pink pajama bottoms

I am creating... Christmas socks for my dad

I am going... to bed soon

I am reading... A Homemade Life

I am hoping... that sleeps come easily

I am hearing... silence

Around the house... it's all picked up for night-time.

One of my favorite things... freshly cleaned bed sheets

Picture thought... a lone flower in the backyard

In the Kitchen

These pictures are of the process of making homemade sauce in order to make eggplant parmesan. While making it I found the deliciousness of fried eggplant. Oh YUM! I never thought I liked eggplant (until I tried it) and can't believe what I've been missing all these years!
For the first time last week I did what I've been talking about for months: made a menu plan. And WOW! Talk about making the agonizing decision of what to have for dinner so much easier when 4pm comes around! Not to mention feeling good about going out for the day and knowing what I'll be needing to prepare when I get home!

So I sat down yesterday and did it again for this week. Now I just need to start making it up a little earlier so I can start making only ONE trip to the grocery store a week! But it's still progress!

Monday: Leftover eggplant parmesan

Tuesday: sausage and pasta

Wednesday: Beef Stew

Thursday: frozen pizza

Friday: American chop suey

Saturday: Chicken pot pie

This Moment {The cooking edition!}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Joining Amanda again this week!