7.26.2010

adventures

details to come of our many adventures but i wanted to leave you with this little preview. i fulfilled a lifelong dream & went cherry picking. 
and now i have 10 pounds of cherries to use up. jam, pie filling, cobbler, etc coming up soon!

7.18.2010

and off we go!

this morning i'll be spending time along the streets of racine, wi while hubby participates (dominates) in this. he's been training for months; swimming, biking and running and he's ready. 1.2 miles in the water. 56 miles on the bike. finish with a cool half marathon (13.1 mils). monster and i will be cheering him on and trying to come up with something to do in the hours he's out on the road! 

after the race we're heading up to my parents' place in door county for a few days of relaxation and rehabilitation! i'll be without internet while we're there but i have some fun posts set for while we're gone. i plan on returning rested, with a few more freckles & pounds of cherries!!

(yes that blur is the monster. it's her favorite place in the world too!)


in the spirit of the sunday morning race i leave you with this: 

therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

7.16.2010

where is summer going?

i looked at the calendar and suddenly it was the middle of july! it's just starting to feel like summer around here (not the temperature....it's been hot for a long time) & i'm realizing it's halfway over! i had a mental list going of what i would like to accomplish this summer and it's time things got kicked into high gear. so without further ado, the summer to-do list!


summer 2010:
plant a vegetable/herb garden (there it is behind the monster!)

get the craft room organized once & for all
visit the french market (lots!)
have fresh flowers in the house at all times
go to baseball games (check! mlb. minor league. high school. summer ball.)
spend time in door county
make pesto with basil from our garden (5 times already!!)
visit the woods
do at least one craft show (whole post on this coming...i promise! i survived the rain...but just barely)
make the laundry area happier (in hopes of doing laundry more often)
catch up on the Bible study i wasn't able to finish earlier this year
go to california 
have people over for a barbeque
spend time with family
pick berries or cherries
visit the ocean 
visit the morton arboretum
eat lots of ice cream
spend extra time with my Nana
walk the dog more (goal: every night) (this helps us eat more ice cream!)
eat fresh sweet corn (soon!)
read through the Bible
take steps towards making craftee mcgee's a legit business(tax info arrived in the mail a few days ago!)
ride my bike
see the hawks WIN THE STANLEY CUP! (i know the picture is terrible- it was madness- but there's the cup!!)
visit cantigny
get tan (ha!)
go camping
read at least 5 books (5 wasn't enough. there's a list coming in another post)

looks like i've done better on my list than i thought! a bunch more of those will be crossed off this next week. and there's a post coming on the laundry room. and another on the craft room. hooray summer! i must admit i liked summer a lot better when it meant no responsibility!



7.15.2010

featured!

i'm pretty slow on the uptake here but i wanted to mention the treasury i was included in on etsy! 
thanks so much to jbm designs for the feature! head on over and check it out!

7.14.2010

in 165 days...

we will be back here! 


maui!! that's us on our honeymoon & we're going back with hubby's whole family for the week after Christmas. we'll be staying just up the beach from where we were on the honeymoon. really i need to be there right now, but i'm trying to wait patiently until december! a week full of sunshine with the whole family: grandma, 4 couples and our 3 adorable nieces. can't wait!! 

7.12.2010

dutch baby

when i was little, nana and papa took my sister and i out for breakfast regularly. we ate at aunt sally's (long gone), walker brothers and richard walkers (the scorned & rebellious walker brother).  because of those excursions i have a deep & abiding love for breakfast food. i could eat a pancake at any hour of the day. we even got married in the morning so we could serve brunch to our guests (best decision ever). so now i am constantly on the lookout for a new breakfast recipe to try.  i have a green binder filled with recipes i've printed from blogs or clipped from the newspaper and a few weeks ago i finally tried out the 'big pancake' recipe from the kitchn. at walker brothers this would be called the dutch baby & is a smaller version of their german pancake & the less well known cousin of the apple pancake. this one was a must try!

Dutch Baby Pancake
adapted from the kitchn

ingredients: 
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 scant teaspoon sugar
pinch salt

2 tablespoons butter

berries (fresh or frozen)
powdered sugar

directions:
1. preheat the oven to 425° 
2. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, flour, sugar and salt (i like to use a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup so the batter is easier to pour later). let sit for about 20 minutes to allow mixture to come to room temperature.
3. put butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet. place the skillet in the oven until the butter melts. remove from oven and swirl butter to coat sides of skillet. pour batter into skillet. bake on lowest rack until golden, about 8 minutes. move to middle rack and allow to bake until the pancake raises up over the sides of the pans, 5-7 minutes. 
(i was impatient and moved it to the middle rack too soon plus we used a 12" skillet so this didn't rise up over the sides as much as it could have)
4. slice pancake into wedges and serve with a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh berries (our preference). can also be served with a squeeze of lemon juice or maple syrup.   



so whether you like piles of berries & accidentally add too much sugar like me



or a little simpler like hubby:



 the dutch baby pancake is delicious! it's definitely a new summer time staple around here!


  The DIY Show Off

7.11.2010

sunday morning

we're missing church this morning because brandon's game from thursday was rained out & rescheduled for today but we'll be remembering these verses so i thought i'd share them! they were read at our wedding and we have tried to make them the foundation of our marriage (much easier said than done). 

Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. 
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. 
And be thankful. 
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:12-17

and just for fun here's a picture of us listening to these verses being read...though i don't really appear to be listening :)

happy Sunday! i hope your day is restful & creative!

7.10.2010

5000

our little camera recently took it's 5000th picture!

june 20. 
milpitas, ca.
all of lindsay (my sister in law) and gabe's wedding presents. 
about to be unloaded & opened at brunch.

the very first photo the camera took was deleted but here's one from the first time it was used
april 4, 2009.
three lakes, wi.
we bought the camera when we went to visit a litter of puppies that ended up containing our little monster. 

it's the canon powershot sd790 is. nothing fancy but it's done a great job! 
it was on clearance plus we bought the display model so we got an extra 20% off! all together we paid $80.

thanks little camera for 5000 pictures. for documenting our baby puppy, years 2 & 3 of our marriage, multiple weddings, my many projects, moments with friends, and now for taking great pictures of the products in my shop!  
(shameless plug alert! find this headband here.)