toads.

special. before school starts weekends. deserve special "favorite" meals. this was the request today.

classic english toad in the holes. yes. toad in the holes. don't knock 'em till you try them! my littles love these. i top them with cheese.

cut a shape from the center of a buttered slice of bread. "toast" the slice of bread in a frying pan; turn and break an egg into the center of each slice. place in oven. cook for about 10 minutes until egg is done to your liking. top with cheese. and don't forget to toast the hole!

a special day.

since it was little one's last day of freedom from school today. we decided to have a special day.

after we dropped off little two ("i not going mommy?") at grammy's house. we headed out. she was so excited. since it was her day. she got to pick.

she picked out the lunch place. fancy schmancy pizza and sprite. and then gelato. her favorite. well. not really. i shot down the golden arches. said it wasn't very special or fancy. tried to sell her on nordstrom's, but she wasn't going for it.

she loved it.

then we were going to go shopping. but little one wasn't really feeling it. didn't really want to shop. so i headed to the nail salon. she was a bit nervous. "are they going to give me a shot?" "will it hurt?" so concerned. about something so lovely. we had her nails done in pink. "it looks like bubblegum." and she decided as she sat and giggled that next time she would probably "well actually, mommy" go for the blue nail polish.

city kids.

even city kids. need a day at the farm once in awhile.


we are super lucky here. we have an amazing farmstead that we can visit (free of charge, no less). that has wonderful things for the littles to do and see. feed goats. chicken. fish. milk a cow.

pet a pig. see a buffalo (go cu.) and long horn steer. a bald eagle and red hawk. swans and ducks and geese. go fishing. visit a real barn and 1800's schoolhouse. ride a tractor.

go inside an indian teepee. to name a few. it's really amazing when i think it's less than 2 miles from our house.

the littles love going there. it's a battle everytime it's time to go. but we go. and we have fun. and we feed the goats. and let them chew on our shirts. and pretend we are indians and go fishing.

supplies.

we've been all about gathering up our school supplies the past couple of weeks (since someone named, me, forgot to turn in the paper to just buy them at school. lesson learned, ok.)

couldn't you just redo school if you could carry this lunchbox?

(photo courtesy of amazon.com).

or this one? just for a sandwich?

(photo courtesy of oliebollen).

and a cool water bottle. love the saying.

(photo courtesy of oliebollen).

and what about these? gourmet scented pencils (smencils).

(photo courtesy of amazon).


and i always loved my new box of 64 crayons. but now. you can get 150. oh how happy school supply shopping could be now. if you didn't have to buy off a list.

(photo courtesy of crayola).

tuesday's looky list.

don't worry. i'm not in the market for this (well. any of this stuff in this list.) but if i was. wow. this has to be the cutest crib i've seen. love the green apple. so unexpected in a nursery. so cute with chocolate brown and a touch of pink or candy apple red and light blue. yummy.

(photo courtesy of giggle.com)

and then there's this. don't need it. have one (or two) already. but cute. so cute.

(photo courtesy of giggle.com)

hoot. hoot. how fun would this be to store your stuff in?

(photo courtesy of giggle.com)

i know someone who would be tickled to swing on this adorable swing. but right now. little one. is on her first over-night sleep over. of course, she's only one door down the street. but still. i'm not sure how i feel about that. starting kindergarten and a sleep over. seems too grown up for me.

(photo courtesy of oompa.com)

yum.

a beautiful summer day called for a perfect summer magazine-type meal.  so here's a little recipe for you from the barefoot contessa back to basics cookbook.  a great book by the way.  

if you have sweet corn.  you should try this.  it is good.  so good. so delicious. and so easy.  and so adaptable.  i think it could become one of my summer-time "go to" recipes.

get your ingredients ready:

dice half  of an orange or red pepper. (i used red and some diced green chile pepper).

cut the kernels off of about 5 ears of corn.

dice half of a medium red onion.

heat two tablespoons olive oil in a pan.  add the onions and saute for about seven minutes or until soft.

add the red pepper and cook another two minutes.  i also added in a chopped green chile pepper for so additional flavor.

add two tablespoons butter.  melt in pan.  

add corn and cook for seven minutes.  then add two tablespoons fresh chopped herbs.  i added basil and chives.  don't overcook the corn it can become starchy, quickly.  season with salt and pepper.  serve hot.  

and then get out the old bay. and have dh whip up some yummy crabcakes.  and perhaps some sangria.

it might even feel like you're at the shore.  even though you're stuck 1200 miles away. but you'll enjoy.  you will enjoy!

how'd you do?

so. it's sunday afternoon. and here was my list for the weekend. a few things got done. and a lot didn't. but there's still time. there's still hours left in the day.

• visit the farmer's market. - a morning trip for tomatoes, corn, peaches, honey, spices and watermelon. turned into a hunt for the biggest fruits we could find in the market.
  

that's a 1.5 pound peach.


and a 75 pound watermelon.

• work in the garden. - too hot. hot. hot.
• go for a bike ride (or two). - maybe later.
• visit with friends. - done.
• finish sewing a couple of things. - done.
• start sewing this. i didn't get to that. but i did get to this. this adorable bubble dress. too bad it came with a bit of attitude.
  

and how cute did it turn out? based on a design by mamamadeit i think it's a show stopper.

• try some re-decorating. - well. let's just say it didn't even materialize as a thought.
  
• finish decorating little two's big boy room. well. i started. it's a work in progress. closet first. and at least i made a dent in it. more to come on that one.
• finish this book and start this one. - no reading to be done this weekend. none. at all.
• see this movie. - just didn't happen. we caught "confessions of a shopaholic" on tv. it was painful to watch. and the book was so funny. hate when a book is ruined by a movie.
• throw in a little thrifting. - still time. still time.
  
• lounge by the pool. yes. nice is crispy.
  
• drink coffee. and other beverages. easily done.
  
• and bake this cookie. how can you go to the grocery for specific ingredients and forget each one?
  

still working at checking more off of the list.

like. the wind.

"these tennis shoes make me run fast mommy. like the wind."

yippee yi yo.

it's friday!  and it's only going to be in the 90's here.  well.  that is ok.  because it is august 7th and i think we've only hit 90 a few times all summer.  bring it on. mr. sun!

i've got oodles of stuff i want to do this weekend.  

visit the farmer's market.

work in the garden.

go for a bike ride (or two).

visit with friends.

finish sewing a couple of things.

start sewing this.

try some re-decorating.

finish decorating little two's big boy room.

finish this book and start this one.

see this movie.

throw in a little thrifting.

lounge by the pool.

drink coffee. and other beverages.

and bake this cookie.

enjoy.  

sounds like a good couple of days to me.  hope yours is good, too.

bueller? bueller?

was there really anyone more formative in the late 80's/early 90's to you than john hughes?  lets face it.  he set the bar.  for how teenagers acted.  how love played out.  the angst of all those years.  he got it.  he told the story.  he made us laugh and repeat key lines from movies.

i can't believe he passed away today.  such a big loss.

who can forget these classics?

ferris bueller's day off

sixteen candles

pretty in pink (one of my top five favorite movies)

the breakfast club

nobody makes movies like he did.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

some days.

are just crabbier than others. i love to take pictures. i experiment and play around. am inspired by other bloggers and family. who take great. amazing photos. mine these days. have been lousy. i think. lousy. not even blog-worthy. i'm not sure what the problem is. i take a ton of pictures. it's easy to shoot hundreds of photos in a day. and only get a few good ones (the joy of digital i tell you.)

but lately. the bad have way out numbered the good. i want a new lens. but i'm not going to get it until. i can get my act back together.

i'm sure it's not the camera. i'm sure it's the user. and i'm a bit crabby about it today. a photo safari is on the agenda. it's time. for big practice. and maybe my skill will come back. is it possible to lose it? because i feel like i have.

owl to you.

a little attitude gets you everywhere.  and throw some purple and green owls in and it will get you far, right?

i couldn't help myself. i thought this fabric was too cute.  and i love owls.  we'll see if little one shares my amusement for them.

well.  i've been busy at the machine this week.  a skirt, towels and now this shirt.  didn't take long.  butterick 5009 with modifications.    the original calls for one fabric (so of course i did two) no top stitching (makes it look more finished if you ask me) and a hemmed bottom (i thought it needed a bit of something).  

little one swears she will wear this.  i think it will be adorable with her boyfriend jeans from gapkids.  

and then a tee underneath as it starts to cool off.  we'll see.  it is twirly.  so it meets that criteria.  the first thing to check for when trying on clothes, you see.  how much they twirl.

big hole-y news.

"it's the best day of my life. ever."  she said.  "ever."

i think.  a visit from the tooth fairy is instore tonight for our house.  but i hope the tooth fairy is generous.  because she's going to buy "mommy a new green dress, her brother a choo choo train, and for herself.  a barbie and an ariel dress."  

enjoying.

i'm really enjoying the new "vintage style" from pottery barn. imagine that. i'd say it's more vintner vintage style, than beachy or shabby vintage style. but i like it just the same. it's a nice change for them. not too much of a change, but a change nonetheless. a bit more rustic than they've been in awhile.

i love the rare prints sign in this picture. i'm really digging the bold typography. letters are one of my things these days.


and really. who couldn't enjoy a glass of wine in this sunroom? i know i could. and i love the sunflower pillows. perhaps because my sunflowers are now about 4 feet tall in the garden and still growing. perhaps because sunflowers are so synomous with the midwest. perhaps because they also scream provence to me. somewhere i'll get to someday. but i think they're pretty colorful and cool. they can come live on my couch anytime. they'd like.


and really. who couldn't make a good drink on this bar? love the wrought iron hardware. and the rustic finish. i saw this in the store and it looks as good as it does in the catalog.

(pictures courtesy of pottery barn catalog)

puttering.

around. in the garden today. 80 degrees. not too humid. sunshine. can this really be august in the midwest? surely. not?

just shooting some shots. of what's growing on around here today. cone flowers. beth's blue. hydrangeas. phlox. dahlias. and a little zinnia for fun.