Cake Bunting

I just adore birthday celebrations.

Pure loveliness. By KikiLaRu.

{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. -soulemama

Picking Cherries

One of our favorite summer activites.

We really enjoyed our homemade cherry pie with fresh whipped cream.

For the filling:

4 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
4 cups pitted tart cherries
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional only)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl combine tapioca, salt, sugar, cherries and extracts. Let stand 15 minutes. Mix and pour into crust. If you have no quick cooking tapioca, I would cook the mixture as I'm about to describe. Use 4 Tbsp. cornstarch instead of tapioca (or I have used 4 Tbsp. tapioca flour plus 1-2 Tbsp. cornstarch). In this instance, I combined everything in a saucepan, brought to a boil stirring for a few minutes, then poured the hot filling into the crust.

In Color

Amazing knit street lamp spotted around town

Pretty pretty miniature bunting by PaperKlipDesign.

Vintage weathered wood croquet balls by SweetLoveVintage.

Beautifully patterned Life of Things print by TreasureFrey.

found via Sweet Sweet Life

Loving the scallops and the mismatch.

spotted via oh, hello friend.

Dinner this Week

We've had a lot of family in town visiting which has been wonderful. As a result, our refridgerator has been overflowing. This week I'll be using up a lot of our leftovers, fresh fruit, and garden produce.

M: Steak sandwiches (with leftovers) and spinach salad

T: Zucchini cakes and baked chicken

W: Leftover (brats and cheeseburgers), watermelon, potato salad

Th: Spaghetti & marinara sauce, chopped salad

F: Homemade pizza and fruit salad

S: Grilled pork chops, cous cous, steamed green beans

Su: Tostadas

I love refried black bean and cheddar tostadas topped with sour cream, lettuce and tomato, but there are so many combinations. Some of my other favorites are chicken or shrimp with avocado, beef and colby-jack, or a sauteed veggie with some queso fresco. Delicious and so easy!

{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. -soulemama

Summer Greens

Menu for the Week

My grandmother's ice cream scoop. I've owned newer ones which broke after just a short time. This one is still as sturdy as ever.

Monday:
-Creamy chicken and pasta bake with peas
Tuesday:
- Mini-meatloaves, sauteed green beans, spinach salad
Wednesday:
- Quesadillas (with leftovers),Garden Salad
Thursday:
-Pasta with Zucchini & Summer Squash, Garden Salad
Friday:
- BBQ pork or chicken, Broccoli Slaw, Cornbread
Saturday:
- Cheeseburgers, Potato Salad, Garden Salad
Sunday:
- Jalapeno sausage and sweet potato oven fries

{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. -soulemama

4th of July

We had such a wonderful time over the 4th of July. Our long weekend was full of all the things required for a proper celebration.

Sparklers and campfires spent roasting giant marshmellows.

Fireworks over the lake and time spent with family.

Singing Happy Birthday to America and time spent with neighbors.

Boating and flags.

Madras and playing catch.

Bunting and rocking chairs.

Swimming and catching minnows.

Sailing and blue skies.

And just enjoying a lot of time spent together.

Getting Ready

We had a very busy time preparing for the July 4th weekend. But in between cleaning and errands we squeezed in some coloring.

While we recovered from being sick.

Made easy meals like BBQ pork from the freezer, with pasta salad from leftover spaghetti noodles.

Practiced our tee-ball.

And watched a few more short, powerful but beautiful storms.

It was all worth it for the wonderful holiday weekend we had.