Quick and Easy Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta

The basil I planted early this spring has been growing like a weed, so I seriously cut it back today and make some pesto cream pasta.  I am too lazy and poor to make a special trip to the grocery store, so I just used what we had on hand and it turned out pretty well.  The only change I plan on making next time is using heavy cream instead of milk if I have it.  I tend to think that no matter what the dish is, heavy cream will probably make it taste better.  I really like the combination...

Read More »

Apple Brown Bessie

The best and worst thing about being home is that I'm surrounded by good food all the time.  For example, today for lunch I had a wonderful salad with lots of spinach, baby greens, cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkling of almonds and goat cheese.  I was feeling really proud of myself until my Nana walked in the back door with something hot, cinnamon-y, and wrapped in foil.  It smelled so good, I knew I was going to eat way too much of it before I even tasted it.  My grandmother calls this an apple cobbler.  She got the recipe from...

Read More »

Miscellany

I was taking pictures for an something entirely unrelated the day before yesterday, and I turned around and was smacked in the face by this view.  I've been meaning to take a picture for you guys, and it seemed like an appropriate time.  Having lived so close to people for the past couple of years, I'd forgotten how nice it is to be out in the country. On a completely unrelated note, my sister Erika posted this picture of Dawn and me, and she even called me fashionable!  Thanks, Erika! Also unrelated: Kyle and I went...

Read More »

Mystery Solved: Bryophyllum crenatodaigremontianum!

So, I was slightly wrong in my previous post about this mystery plant.  My Nana pointed out that Granny actually referred to this as a teardrop plant (and not a tear plant), and upon googling teardrop plant I quickly found the information I was looking for. In my online research I've also seen it called mother of millions (or thousands), Mexican hat plant, and chandelier plant.  The forums at gardenweb.com were especially helpful in pinpointing the exact plant that I have.  They directed me to bryophyllum.com (which has some very informative pictures!), where I learned that my...

Read More »

The Laziest Cats in the World

Yesterday was not a good day. The night before last I went to bed nervous, and the when I woke up yesterday morning that nervousness had almost turned into panic.  I spent a large part of the morning chewing my fingernails and trying to distract myself with HGTV. Chowder and Maxine, however, were entirely unaffected. Needless to say, this home buying thing has stopped being fun.  We thought we'd found the perfect house for the third time, and yet again it didn't work out. I spent a large portion of yesterday sulking, eating fake hot dogs with a lot...

Read More »

Mystery Plant: Tear Plant or Hen and Chicks?

We had a lot of fun on vacation, but it's really nice to be home.  One of the first things I did (after bringing in my bags and kissing Chowder and Maxine) was go outside to see how my plants fared during my absence.  I'm happy to report that my Nana took good care of them.  One plant seems to have done especially well. During my visit with Granny (a neighbor, family-friend, and phenomenal gardener) a couple of weeks ago, she gave me this very visually interesting plant that she called a tear plant.  She said that growing up she'd also...

Read More »

I Think I Need Theese: Keds Champion Canvas

I need some nice, simple, comfortable shoes in my life. These Keds Champion Canvas shoes are pretty affordable (only $35 plus shipping), and I really like the fact that they come in so many fun colors. I've narrowed it down to these five choices, but I'm having a hard time picking just one. So I decided to create a poll and make you guys help me choose! All the options are pictured below, and beneath them is the poll. Just scroll down and vote!

(images:...

Read More »

I’m breaking up with store-bought bathing suits.

So, I've mentioned I'm at the beach with my family. Though we can't swim in the ocean because of the oil spill (and I'm pretty wary of oceanic creatures anyway), our condo has a lazy river, an indoor pool and hot tubs, and a very sweet outdoor pool with a waterfall.  Our room also has a private hot tub on the balcony.  I knew all this when I packed, yet I still forgot my bathing suit.  Even after my mom reminded me to pack it. I briefly considered going out and buying a new one, but I didn't find ...

Read More »

Mini Roses

Call off the search party. I haven't fallen into a well. I have, however, gone on vacation with my family, and it's pretty rad. Despite the oil, we're visiting the Alabama Gulf Coast. We're not spending too much time on the beach for obvious reasons, but our hotel has a lazy river and several pools and a sauna, so we're still spending plenty of time in the water (maybe even too much--my shoulders are pretty pink right now). I noticed a beautiful mini rose plant while visiting a neighbor recently.  Her name is Grace, but my sister...

Read More »

OlioBoard

Earlier this week I read about OlioBoard over at Decor8.  I was drawn to the idea behind it because I frequently gather images for inspiration when I'm working on DIY or home design projects, but I've never had a very convenient way of organizing them. All these images were hanging out on my desktop as reference points for an embroidery project I'm currently working on, so I decided to open up an OlioBoard account and upload them.  So far I've found the website fairly easy to use, and I think I'm really going to appreciate having a...

Read More »

Next Page »