family vacay :: round 2

Well, it's the middle of summer and I'm loving it. Right now life is full of sweet corn, road trips, the hum of lawn mowers, 9:00pm sunsets, early morning coffee in the sunroom, and smelling like dirt and grass after an evening of working outside. Mmm... I am trying to soak in every moment of the summer goodness because I know there's not much left.

This past weekend, we made the 10 hour journey out west to the Black Hills of SD for a mini family reunion. Growing up, Mandy, our cousin Jaci, and I used to spend a week every summer out there with Grandpa and Grandma, so going out there is always a little trip down memory lane. And this time was no different - we even stopped Storybook Island (a childhood favorite) and got ring pops. We all love putting on our tourist hats when out in the Hills, so each day was jam packed with activities and site-seeing, all the while surrounded by sunshine and the warm scent of pine trees that will forever be one of the best smells of life.

The Activities:
Wall Drug
Harney Peak
Lunch and naps by Sylvan Lake
Mini golf and Pirates Cove
Breakfast on the deck each morning
Mt. Rushmore
Salt water taffy and trinkets at Keystone
Rushmore Cave
Storybook Island
Boat show on Canyon Lake
Late night ice cream

Yep, we know how to vacation.

blog crush

Yes, apparently this week is my week to "crush" on things - songs, blogs... Anyway, I just discovered Eva Black's blog and am totally loving her "homey" aesthetic. Her designs and posts are so inspirational, beautiful, and clean. I could look at her portfolio all day.

(images via)

song crush

Thank you, NoiseTrade, for yet another fantastic discovery. I will be listening to this on repeat as we roll out to South Dakota this weekend.

and it was good

this is how we spent our weekend:

Zach's wine and cheese (birthday) party
chatting with Anna
staying up way past my bedtime
exploring the Minneapolis farmer's market (see photos below)
grabbing an afternoon snack on St. Anthony Main
learning new Swedish lawn games
enjoying the blessing of good friends and family
making Evie smile, which she did about 200 times a day

it was a great summer weekend...the kind that makes you not want to go to work on Monday morning, but so thankful that small things like good food and good company have that affect on you.

neighbors

I spent most of my formative years growing up in the country - gravel road, miles from town, no neighbors. And while I miss aspects of that setting and one day hope to "return to my roots", I am LOVING having a community of neighbors. I guess it helps that all our neighbors are crazy nice and do things like bring us hostas to plant and fresh baked bread. Yeah, I could get used to this neighborhood thing.

smoothie love

I'm here to report on the carrot-pineapple smoothie I made this morning. And let me tell you...it's a winner!

Not only does it taste delicious and packed full of goodness, but it's the greatest summery orange color. Perf!

Carrot-Pineapple Smoothie
adapted from Real Simple

• handful of chopped pineapple
• two peeled and chopped carrots
• one banana
• handful of ice
• a splash or two of OJ

*next time I would run the blender longer to get a little bit finer consistency, and maybe add some vanilla yogurt. yum.

your love is strong

I've had and known this song for a few years now, but it still remains to be one of my most favorite worship songs.

lately...

...it has been too hot. Too hot to cook. Too hot to go for a walk. Too hot to even go to the lake. Gotta love July. Although, I've sort of been relishing the effects this weather has been producing - it's driven us inside to the air conditioning and given us a break from the constant stream of projects.

...we spent this past weekend in the farmland of southwest Minnesota, soaking up the comforts of home, eating large amounts of fresh garden produce, and taking several naps a day. It was glorious.

...i am on a trying new recipes kick. Tonight I whipped up some no-bake energy bites for midday snacking, and I have this smoothie to look forward to in the morning.

...my little office in the corner of one of the guest rooms is getting whipped into shape slowly but surely, thanks to some white frames and these fab prints.

...although it doesn't yet feel completely like home, there have been affirmations lately that this is where we are supposed to be. One of those things being our church. It is such a blessing to have found a church we love, where we get fed, and where we can serve and grow.

...even though it's too hot to bake, I think I'm going to make this for a party we're going to this weekend with the zucchini I got from Mom this past weekend.

farmers market and lumberjacks

Hola! After seriously one of the hottest weeks EVER, I am actually sitting here with the air off and the windows open. Glorious. I feel like I can breathe again. I always say that I love Minnesota for its summers, but when its summers are 98 degrees with a dew point to match...yeah, there's not so much love then.

The heat broke on Friday/Saturday, making it another beautiful weekend full of projects. I (finally) made it to the St. Cloud farmers market and picked up a loaf of bread, 3 cucumbers, 2 hot hungarian peppers, and 1 stem of basil. It was truly a beautiful thing.

I planted some hostas I got from a neighbor (have I told you how much I love having neighbors?!), and started some smaller Pinterest-inspired craft projects. But probably the biggest accomplishment of the weekend is credited to Tim and Bob - they took down 3 trees in a matter of hours on Sunday. They're a couple of regular ol' lumberjacks. Mary and I were self-assigned spectators and water bottle-fillers. I think we definitely had the easier job...

And a good weekend isn't complete without good food - brats, homemade baked beans, caprese salad, chocolate chip cookies, and pad thai. Seriously delish.

ameri-jello

This year's 4th of July was almost a perfect replica of last year - hot, hot, and more hot - minus the epic storm. It was one of those days where the best/most comfortable thing to do was stay inside, soaking up the air conditioned goodness OR be in the lake. Luckily, we've got connections and were on the lake for America's birthday. But there was a point in the afternoon when even being completely submerged in the water, it was still hot hot hot.

The only times we were not in the water, we were eating (and catching a few Wimbledon matches). And what were we eating? Butter braids, hot dogs, steak, cherries, chicken salad, and Ameri-Jello. It's never a real July 4th celebration until you have patriotic Jello.

4th of July Jello

1 small package each of red, blue, and lemon jello
1 pint of vanilla ice cream, softened
2 1/4 cups boiling water
1 cup cold water

• Put red and blue jello into separate bowls
• Pour 3/4 cup boiling water into each bowl and stir until completely dissolved
• Stir 1/2 cup of cold water into each bowl
• Pour red jello into mold (or mason jar) and refrigerate for 1 hour. Reserve the blue jello at room temperature
• Meanwhile, stir 3/4 cup boiling water into lemon jello in a bowl. Spoon in ice cream until melted and spoon over red jello. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Pour blue jello as the last layer and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Salute!

ain't she adorable?!

I spent part of Saturday with little Miss Evie, capturing all her new tricks (smiling, grabbing, holding her head up, and sucking on her fingers) now that she's 3 months old. She did so good, even through the costume changes. These are just too good to keep to myself!

weekend warriors

Before we moved in, one of the biggest things we talked about was all of the projects we wanted to do to the house/landscaping/etc. Even though everything is pretty much in great shape, there are still many things we want to change and improve. Hearing endless conversations of, "Let's do this to the front and this to the kitchen and this to the basement and this to...", everyone kept warning us to not go too fast in order to avoid getting burnt out. And while that is sounds advice, I think we've silently agreed that we'll push our luck on that one. Smart? Who knows. All I know is that all weekend was one big house project party and we ended the day yesterday covered in sweat, dirt, and accomplishment. It felt so great!

Projects we accomplished:

organized and cleaned up basement storage room
got rid of a lot more "stuff" that was left in the house when we moved in
overhauled the front landscaping (see proof below)
put new hardware on the kitchen cabinets

Looking at the list now, it doesn't seem like that much, but taking out the landscaping alone was whole afternoon project. And on top of all this house fun, I got to take some photos of baby Evie being all cute, purchase my first pair of really good base layer bottoms for camping, go out to sushi with Matt/Marji/Zach, and enjoy a warm summer evening looking at the Minneapolis skyline from St. Anthony Main. If this weekend is any indication of how this summer is going to go, I'm willing to claim "awesome" right now.