Swings, New Music, and Summer Evenings

***

This week's Three Beautiful Things:

1.  Pushing my boys on swings.  One of life's simple pleasures for sure.

2.  It's expensive, but I continue to find fun new music.  I love getting in a new music groove.  One great band leads to another. 

3. There was a gorgeous sky the other night.  Not sure I can describe it and I don't have a picture.  Textured and puffy clouds in long wavy rows.  The evening sun shone through and provided a shimmery light.  Aren't warm summer evenings the best?

Kitchen Inspiration

via Mrs. French's pinterest page

Love the sink, the cabinets, the dark wood floor, stainless steel appliances, the fruit on the countertop, and the blend of open shelves and cabinets.  It could work even in a small space.  

Audra Mae - The Happiest Lamb

Happy Friday everyone!  This week's music pick is Audra Mae.  This is from her latest album, The Happiest Lamb.  She seems like she'd be fun to watch perform and then have a beer with afterwards.  Hope you enjoy.

**

Thursday Inspiration

In looking for something on my blog the other day, I thought about how it has evolved over the last couple years.  When I started it, I had not read or looked at other blogs, and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with it.  As I've expanded my reach into the blogosphere, I've become inspired by so many other blogs. I've realized how nice it is to be visually appealing.  The blogs containing images as well as words that inspire me are the ones I go back to again and again.  I've been trying to make my blog nicer to look at, so that when I scroll through a series of posts, I get a feeling about them.  I think it's made my blog a nicer place to visit.  I've always called it "my happy place", and the pictures definitely help make it so.

I recently discovered a tool that's helping me in this endeavor.  Pinterest.  Have you found it yet too?  I am able to "pin" a picture from another site, thereby saving it as well as its location for potential future posts.   I've found that by doing this, I've also created some lovely inspiration boards.  It's a serious time-suck, so I'll have to be careful about that, but it's also tremendous fun.

So expect to see more gorgeous pictures.  Sometimes with a purpose, but mostly just because they're beautiful.  In fact, I may do a post like this every now and then, just to share some of the beauty I've found.  Here are a few of the lovely pictures I've stumbled across lately.  I hope you enjoy them too.

***

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

I found it!  After three or four attempts (I think I tried one a couple times), I finally found a cobbler recipe to save in my recipe file.  My other attempts always ended up kinda mushy.  Not untasty - it's still fruit and sugar with goodness baked on top of course - but not fabulous.  This one is a keeper. 

The topping is really what makes it - it's essentially like having a blueberry cake on top of a peach filling.  Sooooo good.  Love the addition of turbinado sugar on top to give it that extra crunch.  Lessons learned - use peaches that are ripe but still firm, and adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit.  If your peaches are on the tart side, the amount is just right, but if they're on the sweeter side, you may want to reduce the sugar a bit.  Peaches and blueberries are in season, and having this for dessert every night this week is just one way I'm celebrating. 

Kitchen Inspiration

via from scandinavia with love

Oh my, do I adore this kitchen.  I'd opt for darker floors perhaps, but that green!  Magnificent.  Love the small set of open shelves.  No idea how you'd reach them without a ladder, but if I had ceilings this high, I wouldn't care.  

Date Night, the Extended Version

Saturday night's date night was made possible by my wonderful mother-in-law and sister-in-law.  They graciously agreed to come spend the night with the boys so that Kev and I could head into Boston on our own.  THANK YOU!

Since we used points for our hotel room (the inspiration for this little outing), we splurged on the fun.  We started with an afternoon at Fenway Park, enjoying great seats at an awesome game that the Red Sox won in the bottom of the ninth inning.  When I woke up the next morning with a sore throat, it took me a minute to realize that I wasn't getting sick....I had just yelled too much at the game.  I am a big baseball fan, so for me, there's not much better than spending a glorious summer day at Fenway. 

Oh, and let's mention the weather for a moment.  When I say glorious, I mean glorious.  Upper 70s, sunny, and fabulous.  Warm in the sun, cool in the shade.  Perfect.

After the game, we enjoyed a nice walk through the city back to our hotel.  We went to a late dinner at one of our favorite restaurants - definitely a special-occasion kind of place.  This is the kind of restaurant with professional waiters and bartenders who are incredibly knowledgeable and seem to really enjoy what they do.  The food was spectacular, and the wine complemented it perfectly.  (Both Kevin and I now admit that we do not go to nice restaurants enough, because neither of us had anything to wear.  I think a shopping trip may be in order.)

The next morning, I still woke up at 6:20AM.  Will my body relearn how to sleep later once my children do?  Despite the early wakeup, I had the luxury of relaxing and getting up when I was ready.  We went to breakfast and headed home, where we found two gorgeous boys who had a blast hanging out with their grandma and aunt.  Winners all around!  We will definitely do that again.

Bedroom Inspiration

via mary elizabeth inspire

I've mentioned before that I've been looking for a new duvet for a while now.  I've been thinking about a simple white one, and now that I've seen this picture, I am pretty much convinced.  I like the idea of having a design on some pillow shams or a decorative pillow like the one above though, to avoid having the all-white bed.  Sigh....something else to look for now.  

Bathroom Before and After

I went to show someone the before and after pictures of our bathroom, and it wasn't here!  Is it really possible I neglected to post about our bathroom renovations?  Seems strange, but it's not here, so I'll post them now.  We completely gutted the upstairs of our house a few years ago, and I am still loving the results and eagerly anticipating the day when we can do the same to our kitchen.

Since we tore down walls, it's difficult to show a true "before", especially of the master bathroom, since there wasn't a bathroom there before.  The picture below is the closest I can get. In part of the original space was a tiny little bedroom that the previous owners used as a nursery - this is how it looked when we first saw the house.

We tore down walls, put a door from the master bedroom, and created my favorite room in the house (so far).  What do you think?

Menu of the Week

via Cooking Light

I love this time of year for so many reasons.  It is so easy to become inspired by all the wonderful fresh and local produce available to us.  We went peach-picking last weekend, so you'll notice that peaches appear pretty prominently in the menu.  (Without showcasing a dessert - I will probably get around to making a peach cobbler at some point.)   Every meal is centered around items purchased at the farmer's market - even the fish and goat cheese.  Take a look and get inspired - I loved every single one of these meals!

Haddock with Peach Salsa, Brown Rice Pilaf, Tomatoes 

*I loved this, and the big boy cleaned his plate (except the rice, which is fine).  Kevin thought the mint was a bit overpowering, so perhaps go light on the mint or leave it out altogether.  

Summer Squash and Corn Chowder, Tomato Bruschetta

*Tomato Bruschetta (from Cooking Light) - Toast thin baguette slices; Rub toasts with cut sides of a halved garlic clove; Combine 1/2 cup finely chopped tomato, 2 tsps chopped fresh basil, 1 1/2 tsps extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, and a little salt; Top toasts evenly with tomato mixture

*It may seem a little strange to have chowder in July, but this is really good.  A great way to use up the bounty of summer squash from the farmer's market or your own garden.  Replace bacon grease with olive oil to make vegetarian.  

Arugula Salad with Grilled Chicken, Goat Cheese, and Fruit

*I put this together, and it just might be the perfect summer dinner!  Fresh arugula topped with chopped grilled chicken, goat cheese, a little olive oil/balsamic vinegar, a dash of salt/pepper, and whatever fruit you have on hand.  I used peaches, blueberries, and apple.  Perfect with a glass of sauvignon blanc.  Also would be easy to make vegetarian - replace chicken with your favorite nuts and serve with bread.

Pepper Jack, Chicken and Peach Quesadillas, Black Beans, Salad

*Kevin wasn't on board with having peaches in his quesadillas, so I left them out of his, but the big boy and I really enjoyed these.  

Frazey Ford - Firecracker

Frazey Ford's solo debut album just came out, and I'm loving it.  In the video above, she performs her first single, entitled "Firecracker".  My favorite song on the album, though, is called "Blue Streak Mama".  "Bird of Paradise" is great too.  Please give it a listen.

Frazey Ford  was part of a band called The Be Good Tanyas, which is fabulous as well.  They are described as having roots in bluegrass and Americana.  Frazey's solo album does not stray too far from this sound, but it definitely has more of a blues and soul feel to it.  It's wonderful.

Things I've Learned

via Dress Design Decor

This is by no means a comprehensive list.  I expect I'll do a post like this every now and then to capture some of the things I've learned so far in my life.  The big and the little.  The serious and the silly.  Here are ten:

1. Being optimistic is way more fun than being pessimistic
2. Flip-flops are comfortable, as long as you avoid the super cheap ones
3. Being happy truly is a choice, and it must be made every day
4. Frozen blueberries or popsicles are a good way to treat a toddler's fat lip
5. I must have a few moments of silence every day, or super-cranky Mary appears (and she is not very nice).  Sleep helps too, but alone-time is even more important.
6. Smiling and looking people in the eye are nice habits to have
7. It's worth spending 10 seconds to make the bed every morning
8. Always get a reference before hiring an HVAC company (same goes for plumbers, electricians, and other repairmen)
9. It's easier to manage laundry by keeping the kids' clothes separate from ours
10. I love blogging.  Even when I don't have much to say, the focus on positives and inspiring beautiful things is wonderful. 

Kitchen Inspiration

*Image via House Beautiful

My favorite part of these kitchen?  The painted inside of the cabinets.  Love this idea!

Bedrooms, part 2

More bedrooms to love.  The first one is spectacular, isn't it?

1, 2, 3, 

Cool Summer Mornings, On Sale Ice Cream, Giggles on the Front Porch

via mary ruffle

I've slacked off on writing my Three Beautiful Things posts, and I miss them.  Here are this week's Three Beautiful Things:

1.  I actually woke up cold yesterday morning.  We had the windows open, and a cool morning breeze was blowing in.  After weeks of summer heat, the cold felt so refreshing.

2.  Breyer's ice cream was on sale - four half-gallons for $8.  Needless to say, my freezer is well-stocked.  They also had one of my favorite flavors - raspberry chocolate chip. 

3.  After dinner the other night, Kev and I enjoyed a bottle of wine while the boys enjoyed popsicles.  We sat together on the front porch, watched the rain and giggled.  (Okay, so the little boy swung his popsicle around, mostly got it all over the place, and tried his best to fall down the stairs.  The big boy finished off the popsicle for him, and K blocked the stairs.  Still a fun time.)

Recently Read

I recently finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and I adored it.  I had several people recommend it to me, and I can't thank them enough.  It's wonderful.

I also recently finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and while I was entertained by it, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.  At least not highly.  I was hooked to solve the mystery and find out "who dunnit", but once I found out, I realized I didn't really care all that much.  I just never felt vested in any of the characters.  It's also pretty graphic and violent in parts - not exactly what I typically like to read when heading off to sleep.

In contrast, The Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, with its mouthful of a name, has wonderful characters that I simply fell in love with.  And after I finished reading it, I continued to think about them and imagine their lives. That's the mark of a good book.

Next up:  The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, by Aimee Bender.

Menu of the Week

*Image from Cooking Light

Chicken with Goat Cheese Artichokes and Lemon, Brown Rice Pilaf, Steamed Carrots


Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Yellow Squash/Zucchini, Potatoes and Onions


Cheeseburgers, Corn on the Cob, Tomatoes, Chips


Zucchini, Cherry Tomato and Ricotta Pasta, Wheat Bread


Dessert:  Homemade mixed berry popsicles.  My big boy won't eat fresh raspberries this year (last year he couldn't get enough - this year they are "too smooshy"), so I used the berries I got at the farmer's market in the latest batch of popsicles.  I also added some pureed spinach, because he can't complain if he doesn't know it's there, right?  I start loosely with this recipe, although I probably doubled the fruit and yogurt, stuck to 1/4 cup sugar and added the spinach.  They are YUM. 

Invisible Tree House

via yahoo

How cool is this invisible treehouse?  It's a hotel in Sweden, and now I totally want to go.  It's one of six units in this TreeHotel, just miles south of the Arctic circle.  

Here's another one...

Cool, right?

  

I've Got a Case of the Guilts

At least I did.  I started writing this post about how I've been battling some mommy-guilt lately.  Which is true.  But I just decided that it's silly, so I'm over it.  Okay, silly isn't the right word.  Unnecessary.  I'm an awesome mom.  I'm sure the guilt will come back again, but when it does, I'll beat it back with a stick and go on loving my boys.

via Mary Ruffle

I'm sure every mother experiences guilt at times, right?  (Please say yes.)  It's almost impossible to avoid.  No matter what choices you make, there are others making different ones to whom you will inevitably compare yourself.  It's perhaps toughest as a new mom, but I'm finding it only continues as they get older, and my oldest is only in preschool!

It starts out:  To work or not to work, disposable or cloth diapers, homemade or packaged baby food, organic or non-organic, breastfeeding or formula, sleep training approaches...

And it continues:  Are they eating enough veggies?  Am I reading enough to them?  Am I engaging them enough in learning activities?  Am I encouraging their curiosity the best that I can?  Am I modeling the behavior I'd like them to exhibit?  (A big one for me lately.)  Are they watching too much TV?  Are they getting outside enough?  Am I being consistent enough with discipline?

via Lucie Camp

I am sure the challenges will continue as they get older.  I'll think about when the right time is to get them involved in other activities.  Whether or not I can support them in their schoolwork while still working.  What their choices of friends says about their own personalities.  If they lie.  How I can gain their trust so they will always talk to me.  Nobody said being a mom was going to be easy.

When it comes down to it, though, I think about my big boy, who said to me the other night:
"Thank you Mom, for making me dinner.  It is so so good.  You're a great mom."  I'm not sure what part of that I liked best - That he is a sweet boy who will compliment me and say thank you unprompted, or that he ate all his veggies.  All of it is good stuff.  He is a sweet boy, who is healthy and mostly polite and energetic and curious and learning and who loves me like crazy.  He also has a little brother who can't seem to get enough of me.  And in the end, that's all that matters.

Matt Pond PA - Specks

Happy music Friday!  This week's selection is from Matt Pond PA.  The latest album is called The Dark Leaves.  

Have a fabulous weekend!