I love summer!

And one of my favorite things about summer is WATERMELON!

(sorry cantaloupe... you're pretty good too.)

Everything looks fun and fabulous on these cute plaid plates my friend Lindsey gave us as a wedding gift. It's like every meal is a picnic! (and the summery table cloth is from our wedding!)

Hooray Produce!

I feel so lucky to have the nearby "Fresh Quarter" produce market. The last 2 times I've gone, I've gotten amazing peaches!  I'm so excited that summer produce is coming into season.

Also, tomatoes are getting better and better! Yessss.  I love me a good tomato!

PS: Some little tomatoes are growing in the balcony garden!  Yippeee!!  =]

Hello, Summer. I love you.

tomatoes are getting better and better!

lettuce and basil from the mini garden =]

lovely sunsets

Food Glorious Food!

Yesterday and today Chris and I ate deeeeeeeeeelicious lunches (same lunch both days. Too good not to have again).  On the skillet we grilled sandwiches that could be called crunchy-gooey-savory-comfort-food-that-makes-you-feel-better-about-your day-of-torturing-testing-students-and-busing-and-walking-commuting-through-the chilly-rain-sandwiches.
Ingredients:
Modesto sesame wheat bread
mayo
Lusty Monk honey mustard (love it!)
sliced cheddar
sweet onion (sauteed briefly in butter)
ham
egg, over-medium

Boy oh boy those are some tasty sandwiches!

found this on Etsy by BettyTurbo

And now I'm making these cinnamon cookies, and I've added some chopped toasted pecans. Yummm!

Roses and Honeysuckle

Glorious spring!  As I went for a jog today (Gasp! Yes, a jog! After months of slothery [a new and wonderful-if-I-do-say-so-myself word I just made up] I jogged!) I noticed so many lovely rose bushes, and  saw and smelled honeysuckle.  Oh how sweet and pungent is the aroma of honeysuckle!  It really brought me back to my youth - the youth before this adulthood youth - when Tootie and I used to pick honeysuckle in her backyard and sip the syrupy sap.

 

To my horror, while looking up "honeysuckle sap" (to ensure proper vocabulary), an e-how website called Eradicating Honeysuckle was high up in the results list! Astonishing! Dismaying!  I don't know what it means to be mayed, but I felt dis that when I saw the article. Behold this jolting quote from the article: "What children don't understand is that honeysuckle vine (Lonicera spp.) has become an invasive and damaging exotic weed in North America."

On a lighter note, seeing the rose bushes reminded me of my walk to school when I worked in Alameda, CA.  The school's neighborhood was chock full of houses with beautiful yards and gardens, many of which bloomed with beautiful roses.  I think the climate in Alameda must be perfect for rose bushes, because I have never seen so many in one place.  They were absolutely gorgeous, and seeing them really made my mornings and afternoons. 

To my horror, while looking up "Alameda rose" (in an attempt to find some charming examples), Google Images returned results of casket after casket!  Shock!  Apparently "Alameda rose" is a funereal wood choice! Upon my word!   See for yourself! 

Tis the season.

Mmmmm!

What a weekend!

Well, folks, it was a 2 wrist-band weekend, so you know it was fun.  On Friday I stayed in, but on Saturday I went to Greenville, where I went to a baby shower and had some fun walking around the city (it was my first time there). I came back to Ashvegas for roller derby (wristband #1), then out to Rosetta's for a late night dinner.  On Sunday, Chris and I went to The Big Crafty, which was called The Big Love Fest this time.  There, we drank in the beautiful weather along with a few beers (wristband #2), watched/heard live music, browsed the craft stands, I ate a delicious chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing (I gave Chris one bite), and then we made a wonderful last minute decision to eat at Limones.  My goodness that was a good decision.  Their food is to die for, and we ended our meal by splitting a real treat: organic mexican coffee with tequila, Kahlua, and house-made, thick whipped cream. Mmmmm!

Lovely Greenville:

The kick-ass Asheville roller girls:

The Big Crafty Big Love Fest:

 

Some websites to represent the weekend:
http://rosettaskitchen.com/
http://www.blueridgerollergirls.com/
http://limonesrestaurant.com/
http://www.shortstreetcakes.com/
http://loveasheville.org/
http://www.coffeeunderground.biz/
http://www.blueberryfrog.com

Another little thing to love about Asheville

I love living in a place where the local morning news includes which fruits and vegetables can be expected at the farmers market the next weekend. This week: strawberry starts! Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!

Poppies!

 
Poppy buds are magical!  I just love them.

Busy busy weekend!

This weekend we did a lot!

On Saturday we went to the farmers market, and among other things got some tomato and herb plants. Yesssss! Then we rode our bikes to West Asheville for Go West, a small street festival.  It was sunny and hot, so we didn't last long.  The music was good, the food was good, and the ice cream cone was good. =]  That night, Chris had to work but I had some friends over for easter egg coloring! Sweet!!  We had a good time and made some fabulous eggs.  None of these friends had ever been over before, and everyone was especially delighted to meet Rocky.

The Easter Egg miracle!  See the bunny?  It sort of looks like a bunny face or a bunny head + ears.

On Sunday, we slept in, had a lovely breakfast of toast with butter and jam, hard boiled easter eggs with s&p, and lattes. Mmmm! Then we went to St. Mathias to watch Brass Knuckles, a bass trumpet jazz band.  Bass trumpet? Who knew?!  After that, we came home and had an awesome dinner of steak, salad, and bread + butter. Yum!  Then, we went to Forsythia Hall to see the Watson Twins.

What a great weekend!

THE WEATHER IS GORGEOUS

I'm in love.      

With the temperature.  

And with Chris, of course. =]

And with the fact that 3 of my friends are preggers!

And with the idea that in less than a week I'll be Miami with my hubby, my 2 adorable nieces
(and future adorable nephew!), my brother and sister-in-law, and my bro-in-law + his future wifey.  Sweet!!
Looking forward to things makes me think of this quote.

But back to the present moment - the temperature 
is 77 degrees, there is a breeze, and 

I'm on the balcony looking at 
a pretty tree. 

Happiness. 

Lightening up for Spring!

This past weekend I rearranged the living room furniture and made some Spring-y decorations.  I used fun paper (designs with purples, navy, greens, and silver) and my heart paper-punch to make a garland to hang from the columns between the living room and dining room.  I also used fun paper (blues, blue-greens, greens, gold, and a bit of feathery flowery white) to make a hanging decoration above the mantle.  My parents gave me a sweet circle cutter for Christmas,so it is easy as pie to cut out perfect circles now!

I also through a cute quilt over the black couch to lighten things up, and put the new baby plants (we got lettuce, broccoli, and onion starters) on the window sill near the big green plant.   Our living room is so cute and cozy in Winter, it took some extra effort to lighten it up for Spring.  It was worth it. I love the new look!

PS: You can see Chris's awesome new bike in the pic!  It is 70's model Schwinn!

Mondays are loooong days.

I start at 8am, take a lunch break at noon, work till the end of the school day.
And then.  The dreaded.   After. School. Tutoring.   No one wants to be there. Including me.

So. Miserable.

And today it was raining. Hard.   And the bus home. Was late. And steamy. Which was weird. And gross.

All in all it wasn't a bad day...for a Monday.  =]

0% Chance...

And just like that, one day later, there is 0% chance of precipitation.  Amazing.

Banana Pancake Snow Day!

Today is a snow day!  I guess the weather people meant it when they said 100% chance of snow.  So, I'm home all day and Chris has the day off, which makes it twice as nice!  We started off the day getting some groceries and quarters for laundry, and then I made banana pancakes. Mmmmmmmmm!!  They were delicious, if I do say so myself.  I used my pumpkin pancake recipe, but tweaked it a bit.  Here is the recipe, and because I don't have a picture of the pancakes themselves (they were very pretty), I'm including a photo I took a few years ago in San Francisco of a Pancake Miracle!  It's not the face of Jesus or the Blessed Mother, but in my opinion it's equally impressive...
BANANA PANCAKES

Ingredients

·                                 ¾ c milk

·                                 1 mashed banana

·                                 1 egg

·                                 1 tbsp honey

·                                 1 tbsp vegetable oil

·                                 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

·                                 1 c whole wheat pastry flour

·                                 1 ½ tsp baking powder

·                                 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

·                                 ¼ tsp salt

·                                  

Directions

1.                       In a bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Sift and combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir into the wet mixture just enough to combine.

2.                       Heat a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle. Turn when the edges start to look a bit dry and a few bubbles show on the top.  

A pancake duck!

PS: Now I have to work on Saturday for the second time this winter!  Crazy North Carolina...