project

No promises this will be completed anytime soon. But somehow putting it on the blog makes me more accountable. Sort of. Not really.



I found this dresser at a yard sale. On a Saturday morning when I delivered lemons to Katie and Henry. We spotted the sale a few houses down and walked over, not really expecting to find anything.

When I first noticed the dresser, I saw the peeling paint. The scratches. That it was once loved by a Hannah.


But then I noticed the quality, the charm, the bun feet, the pulls. And only $20. Sold.





My plan is for this to go into our office for now (another major project) to store office and craft supplies. Now I need to strip the paint, sand it down, and repaint it. But what color?

beach

Tax season for peter means looong hours, hard work, exhaustion. For me, it means being alone at home and waiting to eat dinner till 9 pm. He definitely got the hard part of the deal.
We spend 3 months rearranging our schedule, not going anywhere on weekends, putting all projects on hold, and trying to balance work time and home time the best we can.

Let me just say, I realize many couples out there have to deal with crazy schedules all year round. To you out there, I am sorry. Its hard.

Enough of the boo-hoo. To celebrate the end of tax season, we headed over to the beach for a long weekend. This is the third year we have done this and it is so, so, wonderful. Our weekend was full of sun, warm weather, walks on the beach, bike rides, shopping, food, and most importantly, time together.





oh, we also brought this creature....


Scully loved the beach house backyard, sleeping in the big garage, and most of all, the ocean. Oh and sniffing every rock, shell, seaweed, and passing dog. She was a fun addition to our trip.

dear blog

dear blog,
It's been awhile. Surprisingly, I have not missed you.
Sometimes you are fun. But sometimes you remind me that I have
not done any house projects in a long time.
I dont like you then.


dear strawberries,
thank you for being in season again. you are my very favorite and you know it.
you made my Easter breakfast extra special.




dear tax season,
I dont like you. You take my husband away from me and keep him all day and night.
I cant wait till you are over. 10 more days.


dear spring,
thank you for arriving.
you have brought me lots of lemons

and daffodils. which my husband brought home for me after a long day of working.

and nights on the patio.

you dont get any better. expect when you turn into summer. then you are the best.


dear job,
you were really rough for a while. you made me cry every night. but you are getting much better.
now get off my blog.


dear scully,
we love you so much. you know that. and you love us. but now its time for some hard truth.

you need to lose some weight. just a few pounds. sorry you inherited my slow metabolism, but summer is coming up. and you know what that means. bikini season. dont worry, we'll do it together.

trees

Last Sunday, our family of three (me+peter+scully) enjoyed an afternoon walk out on the farm. We met up with Peter's parents, let the dogs loose, and enjoyed the beauty of the blossoms, the hum of the bees, and the promise of new trees.

Peter's dad's orchard




Newly planted trees surrounding Grandpa and Graner's house




This lovely walk was interrupted briefly by a certain dog playing with a mouse. In her mouth. And showing all of us. Have I mentioned I hate mice? Apparently this dog (ahem...the larger of the two) loves mice. Because I am pretty sure she ate it.


I love being out on the farm. I love seeing the almonds in bloom.

lemon buttermilk cookies

I am always looking for new ways to use the buttermilk I buy for our Sunday morning pancakes. Maybe some of you encounter the same predicament. May I suggest these buttermilk cookies? They are easy enough to make on the weekends, but cute enough for even a party or shower. And they are so so good.

The recipe calls for one teaspoon lemon zest. But with my neighbors tree looking like this...

....I have a lot of lemons to use


So, I decided to add more zest and lemon juice to the glaze. You should too.





This recipe makes a lot of cookies. Fine with me. They freeze really well. And if you are lucky enough to have a neighbor with a well producing lemon tree that hangs onto your property, you should thank them with some of these cookies.

Recipe found here.

birthday boy

We celebrated Peter's birthday this weekend.

On Friday, we went out with my parents to our favorite Mexican restaurant.


Peter spent Saturday snowboarding. He used to go a lot in college, but has not been able to go as often since then. He had been looking forward to it for weeks and had a great time. We spent Saturday night at dinner with his family.

Sunday morning, we celebrated at out house. I made one his favorite breakfasts. It was a fun, relaxing way to start our morning.

On the menu:
Breakfast casserole
Biscuits with orange honey butter
Fresh fruit

A great weekend spent celebrating Peter. Probably his last work-free weekend until the end of tax season.

I love him so very, very much.

baking therapy

I usually bake a sweet treat every weekend. And while I know this is not exactly the healthiest habit, it makes me happy. Sometimes I convince myself that Peter is the one wanting the cookies or cake or brownies. That I am baking them for him. But no, most of the time it is me. Not to say that I pig out immediately after. I dont. And not to say Peter does not appreciate the fruits of my labor. He does (and he usually takes them to work) But it is more the act of finding a recipe, measuring, creating, making a mess, and filling my house with delicious smell that forces me to make these goodies. Its relaxing and just what I need before another busy week begins. I am sure many of you share my sentiments.

Sometimes its new recipes. Other times its the tried and true ones.

Here is what I made this weekend. A favorite in our house.



molasses cookies
2 1/4 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. salt
12 T softened butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg yolk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. molasses
- Mix dry ingredients
- Beat butter with sugars (brown and white)
- Add yolk and vanilla, combine
- Add molasses, combine
- Add flour mixture
- Scoop dough, roll into ball and coat in sugar
- Bake at 375 for 10-11 minutes *do not overbake!



And please tell me I am not the only one whose countertop looks like this during the process.