Favorite Foods

We have some new favorites for dinner right now. When we were on South Padre Island earlier this summer I ordered a variation of a Caprese Salad at a wonderful deli. All I can say is "Yum"! I've finally got the pesto the way we like it and with tomatoes ripe, I made this:

So good! I think I could eat the whole thing myself.




A main dish we have been enjoying is hash. Have you ever made it? Super easy and a good way to use up leftovers. Baked or waved potatoes fried in some olive oil, add onions, maybe some peppers, or mushrooms, and then  whatever meat you have. We like smoked sausage. But leftover roast or meatloaf is also good.

Saute until the potatoes are nice and crispy. Add a salad or vegetable and meal is done! Easy, peasy!

Cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions with sour cream and lemon juice.

What are you making for dinner tonight?

Vintage Finds

On Sunday we met up with Andrew, Alison, and Tad at one of our favorite antique malls. While we walked around holding and cuddling the baby, we found a few things to bring home.

I was intrigued by this old booklet. It was full of labels of different fruit. We thought maybe it was for labeling preserves for sale at church bazaars.

I also found another Eloise Wilkin Little Golden Book.

I got some plain hemmed linens for doing my own embroidery and a tiny tomato pincushion. But my favorite find was this doll crib. I know it's weird that I bought it, but I love the look of it and I have a child's ironing board and iron. Thought they might look nice together. I could fill the crib with old linens and quilts.

And it was only $15.00! I'll show it again when I make a "mattress" for it and have it with goodies.
Have a great day!

Summer Lovin'

We are back from our mini vacation to the beach. We had such a good time. We went to Holland, Michigan and the little resort area known as Ottawa Beach. We used to camp here at the state park with the boys. This time we rented a small condo right near the beach.

 

This is the back side of the condos. There were places to sit and look over the water. But we (along with many others) walked down to the beach to see the sunset over the water.

Before it got too dark, I snapped this picture of the lighthouse. Pretty, isn't it?

I didn't take too many pictures while we where gone. Too busy laying on the beach, playing in the water, and eating great food.

On the way home we stopped at our usual beach destination near Michigan City. By the time we got there, there was hardly anyone else there. But the water was still warm, so we stayed until almost dark.

 

This is called the Florida House.

I've been wanting to get pictures of these houses above this beach. They were built in 1933 for the Chicago World's Fair, "A Century of Progress". There are 4 or 5 in all, made of different materials, and very modern for the time. Thankfully they are slowly being restored and hopefully will be open for tours in the future. If you are interested in more information, search - Beverly Shores World's Fair Houses.

And lastly, I wanted to show you a project I made while thinking of the beach:

Of course, there are no shells like this on Lake Michigan beaches, but I love shells and everything about the beach. (Except for jellyfish!)

Lazy Days of Summer

Since the weather has gotten a little cooler, I've been working in the garden more. I can also play in my craft room, sewing and scrapping. And I'm sleeping better at night.

But in the evening, I've been spending a lot of time on the deck.  My husband and I will sit at the table with our cold drinks, alternating between watching the birds and reading our books. We put a hummingbird feeder on the railing and we can't get enough of watching those little guys.

I've been so excited that my favorite authors have come out with a new book this month. I knew I had to read the previous one again, and I just finished it and bought the new one on Sunday. I don't usually buy novels, but I do from the guys:

 

They write thrillers and have the most interesting main character. I can hardly put the books down. But Rick is very understanding, and so is Eric, if dinner is late or the laundry doesn't get folded. They can get into a book that way too.

While at the library I found another favorite author had just released a book in each of her two series.Have you read anything by her? One series is about an ex-lawyer who own an herb shop and solves mysteries, and the other is a fictional series about Beatrix Potter. Very good reads!

 

 When I'm not reading in the evening, I'm working on this new quilt. I love to sit back and do the hand quilting. It's so relaxing and satisfying.

I will end up quilting it very close together. I just love the texture when I do that.

So, I think I'll be set for awhile. Rick and I are going up to Lake Michigan for a few days on the beach. Nice lazy days before starting back to work at the school. How are you spending these last precious days of summer?

Cotton Pickin' Plant

Every year I try to grow something different and this year I tried indigo and cotton. The indigo seedlings didn't make it, but I did get a cotton plant. I later found out that they don't like to be transplanted and that's probably why I only got one.

The plant itself is pretty, and (surprise) it likes this heat. But the flowers were the real surprise:

On this one plant there were white, pink, and lavender flowers. But they just bloomed one at a time and I only got this one picture.

Then after a while this seed pod formed, which when ripe will burst open into a cotton boll. But it takes about 8 weeks after flowering to form and I don't think we will get many before a frost.

I will definitely show pictures of the fluffy cotton boll. I read online how to make it into thread. How fun would that be?

Pumpkin Patch

We used to grow pumpkins, melons, squash, etc. in our main garden. But when we downsized we gave up those space eaters. And we were having trouble with squash bugs. Ugh, how I hate those things.
 
A few years ago we started throwing some pumpkin seeds near the compost piles. They grow like crazy back there and they can stretch out as much as they want. This is what we found the other day:

  I'm sure there are more out there, but it's pretty weedy and I couldn't see them all. This one looks just the right size for a Jack 0' Lantern.

We didn't find this guy in the pumpkin patch, but he is our "little punkin"!

 

Do you see Tad's t-shirt? It says "My dad's a Geek". Love it!