Saturday, June 01, 2013

Catching up


This morning I've been catching up on my quote book. I ran out of space in my last blank book in August, but my parents brought me back a gorgeous (leather-covered) book from Florence. Now all I want to do is find quotations that I love and put them in this beautiful book (good thing the house isn't a mess and I don't have a mile long to-do list....hmm).

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Gardening


Last weekend, Erin and I tried to start the tiller with no luck (even looked up the instructions on the internet).    So I went ahead with a shovel and got about a third of the garden turned over.  We'll call this the before picture. 


Today, I got the rest of it turned over and weeded.  There were a bunch of wildflowers that came up again from last summer (guess those were perennials - awesome!) and some oregano (lower left), too. 


Then, I went on a plant and seed buying mission (I also stopped at Cassie's to pick up the seeds I'd ordered from rareseeds.com). I was going to cut back, keep it manageable this year - but I pretty much failed at that.  I'll just have to be better about cooking, sharing, or freezing vegetables than I ever have been ;)


And here's the after picture.  You're looking at: oregano, basil, sage, green onions, green beans, purple green beans, zucchini, swiss chard, kale, sugar snap peas, peppers (serrano, cayenne, jalapeno, green, and banana), tomatoes (brandywine, roma, sweet 100 cherry, beefsteak/another cherry (not sure which one I planted)), sunflowers all along the back, and the wildflowers from last summer in the upper left. 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Housesitting

Spent the last week house-sitting for my parents and taking care of their three dogs, my youngest sister's dog, and my dog.  Here are some random pictures from the week.



My scarf matches the wallpaper


Pad Thai = happiness


Wreath on the carriage house


This started as an omelet but clearly had a higher calling


Dogs napping while I knit/watch Arrested Development


Callie gets more comfortable

Friday, May 17, 2013

My most recent home improvement (inspired by Brenna) - finally getting some stuff up on the walls!



Before...


and after





Sunday, March 31, 2013

Spring


Celebrated Easter with brunch at my parents' house and brought these (and roasted broccoli) with.

Resolutions are just going "eh" - have made two new recipes in three months (cranberry pineapple upside-down cake and Smitten Kitchen's chocolate chip cookies), haven't finished a book (sigh), and workout the same as I did before.  I took Callie for a jog on Friday and learned that what's totally doable on a treadmill feels like death when you try it outside.  Looks like we have some more outside jogs ahead of us.

Been busy with classes - registered for my Summer and Fall classes and, if everything goes as scheduled, I'll be graduating in December.  Graduation seems close and impossibly far away at the same time.


Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Welcome 2013!
















My resolutions:
1) Strength training twice a week (and continuing aerobic workouts 3x a week)
2) Trying a new recipe every month
3) Reading a book every month


What I'm looking forward to:
Traveling to Italy!!
Finishing (or getting very close to finishing) my Master's Degree
Getting a fence for Callie
Doing my first 5k
Third season of Downton Abbey on PBS (less than a week!)


What I'd like to try in 2013:
Cross-country skiing
Taking pictures with my Brownie camera


Firsts from 2012:
Exploring NYC alone
Going to MOMA and the Museum of Natural History
Jogging in Central Park
Camping in the Black Hills
Going to Omaha (and the zoo and the Old Market)
Rewiring a lamp
Using a snowblower
Refinancing my house
Making chocolate-covered bacon (which I don't actually recommend)
Getting divorced (which I also don't recommend ;) )


Favorite things in 2012:
White Collar and West Wing on Netflix
Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast
Black bean burritos and fried egg sandwiches
Cute pictures of baby animals
Etsy seller Siiso (have two prints on my walls)
Hearing Sherman Alexie speak at SDSU
New job at DSU (with a huge window and dual monitors)


Christmas

My house all lit up.

The vintage ornaments that my mom let me borrow.  Love these!

The tree in my living room. 

Callie's stocking, my stocking, and the tree


Chocolate-covered pretzels and bacon (not recommended)

Callie on Christmas morning 

Erin made me an incredible crocheted afghan!

Calliedog


Callie and my yellow sweater, from November

Omaha Girls' Weekend

In October, Heather and I met up in Omaha for a girls' weekend. 


Pics from the Omaha Zoo (which was AWESOME!)






  Pictures from Old Market, Downtown Omaha




Mmm, sushi!