Summer Afternoon Snack

I finally had enough of my very own basil to make pesto. It all just looked so pretty I wanted to take a few pictures. It's pretty simple basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan- thrown together and blended- yum!

And I need to share this iced tea because it is to die for. I love it, not too sweet, but not bitter.

Of course it's from Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook. I love Ina!

Super simple, here is the link for the Herbal Iced Tea:

-4 celestial seasonings red zinger tea bags

-4 celestial seasonings lemon zinger bags

-4 cups of apple juice

You steep 4 cups of boiling water in the 8 tea bags. Add the apple juice- chill, and voila- so good! I plan on experimenting with other teas mixed with apple juice, I think it will be good. And I love angry chickens concentrated tea idea- so smart because we go through this too fast!

And of course, I wanted an excuse to show off my newest thrift store table cloth- and I don't think I've shared that little serving tray before!

giveaway

check back monday for a great summer giveaway- it's gonna be a good one!

Camping at Lake Ellen

Andrea, TJ, Sam, and I headed back to Lake Ellen. This time we brought a canoe.

Did I mention we brought Indiana Jones along?

My favorite thing is to pack some art supplies along. Making stuff outside is so inspiring to me. We started the journal for the 1001 journal project.

We did a little cliff jumping

You must check out Andrea's post, she has written more about the good memories. She's got good pics, and shares the funny beer in chips story! And really, I never would have guessed it was their first time camping, they were old pros. I'm sure it's the first of many trips to come.

We all had fun playing with the camera, taking fun pictures. Going camping in the summertime is the best. I'm glad we've been able to get out there and enjoy it.

On another note, I am inspired to get back to scrapbooking again. I have abandoned it for much too long. I'm going to get at it and I'm going to do a new approach- mini books.

Cherry Clafoutis

I made this cherry clafoutis. It worked for supper. It takes awhile to take the seeds out of a pound of cherries! I saw people online making these, thought I'd try one myself. Sam loved it. It's a little eggy, and light, not too sweet. I liked it, didn't love it though. Next time I think I'll try one of Ina Garten's recipes for a clafoutis. If you use the recipe I linked to, I would crank up the oven to 350 or 375, it never would have finished baking at 325.

Give it a Listen

I'm all about the videos lately. I love this. It's so beautiful. I love the classical sound of piano and cello, and love the emotion of this song. I love mixing cool songs. I saw it on Ali Edwards blog. I think you'll like it. If you like this listen to John Schmidt's other stuff- so good!

1000 Journals

This movie was so inspirational. I love projects like this. Someguy sent 1000 journals out into the world and set up a website for people to scan the pages in and to track where in the world they were. He numbered them and asked that they be sent back when they were all filled up. It's interesting to see the types of things people put in them.

Then he started up 1001 Journals. This is where the fun comes in. You can register and start sending a journal out into the world. Sam and I are going to do one. We're going to ask our friends to join in. We can limit it to only people we invite, or we could make it open to everyone. It might be more fun to open it up to everyone and see where it travels to, the only problem is that the chance that it gets back when it is filled is less likely. It's kinda fun and mysterious though. There is also an option to have a location journal. It stays in one spot, like a cafe and everyone who wants can write in it.

If you watch this, make sure you have time to journal afterwards. You'll want to grab the colored pencils and pens.

Encouraging Creativity

Less stuff=More creativity

yes, i have too much stuff. yes, it's a mess. yes, it looks a little better now, usually it's like this though, embarrassing- yes!

I was having a chat with a 9 year old recently, and we both agreed on this. He said that when he only has about 5 toys out, he plays with them more and enjoys them. If a 9 year old is admitting this, and discovered this on his own, then I think there is something to it. I proposed that he hides away some toys in his closet and then marks his calendar one month out and then on that day it's like his birthday, new toys. To make it even more fun, I thought he should ask his mom to secretly pick the toys to hide, and then it would be a surprise.

I have experienced this to be true so much over and over. And yes, I know, this is nothing new or special here. Just something to take note of. Here are my examples:

I like to change things up when I decorate. I get sick of looking at the same stuff over and over. So when we move, I try to simplify and make it clean looking by only using some of the decorations. Then after I'm sick of them I can pull out that box of other stuff and change it up. This way I don't have to buy new stuff, I can appreciate what I have more.

Free time- I want to read, do I read books, which ones, do I read on the computer? Or should I I make stuff, do I watch a movie, do I play a game? We have so many choices with our free time, they clutter our brain. It's easy to zone and choose the thing where we don't use our creativity and zone and veg. I do it all the time.

When I lived in a van I had a box of clothes with me. I really loved every piece of clothing I had. It was easy and simple, and I wore everything. Now at home I am overwhelmed at what I have.

When we were living without all of our stuff in CO, when we came back to all the nice kitchen gadgets, I appreciated them so much and valued them, they were new again. I used them all. Do I use them all now, not so much.

When I was in Berkeley I only brought a sewing machine and fabric. It was so much easier to make things. I had a limited amount of fabric, and all I could do was sew. At home I am overwhelmed by the amount of fabric I have and at all the other crafting items I have. Should I scrapbook, sew, journal, or draw- it is hard to decide. I have so much fabric, which colors look best together. So many choices. There is almost too much stuff inhibiting my creativity.

Websites- blogs. Sometimes I think if I only looked at one or two it would spark more creativity. When I look at so many I get bogged down and overwhelmed. I forget the good ideas that are sparked and ignited from one thing.

I seem to be more creative on trips when I bring just a few supplies on the road. I don't get overwhelmed by decisions to make, what to choose. It's fairly simple- only a few sharpies and tags. A couple stamps and ink- and a beautiful little book can be made.

So I guess what I'm saying is two things here. One, I'm stinking privileged. And two, I need to remind myself of this when I'm itching to buy something new.

I've mentioned this before, but I always like to remember the Pareto principle (or the 80-20 law) It's true for toys, you use 20% of them 80% of the time, same thing for the clothes we wear. It's true in business- 80% of sales come from 20% of clients. 80% of our countries wealth is owned by 20% of the people.

I guess it's just a fact. So why not remember this. I feel like hiding away stuff, changing it out helps me appreciate what I have more and satisfies my greedy little nature to want to buy stuff. And it really seems to spark creativity when I have a clean slate. A clean surface. So keep it clean. Give away stuff. Clear it out, you will be more creative. And it's much easier. It's easier to dust less stuff. It's easier to keep tidy with less stuff. Your brain can think with less stuff. Taking a bit of time to figure out how to change it up individually, so that we can simplify-appreciate what we have- and encourage creativity. This is nothing new, something I just wanted to remind myself of.

Sailing around the World

Have you guys heard about Zac Sunderland. He was 16 when he left, he just got back (now he's 17) and he's the youngest man to sail around the world. He bought his boat from money from a summer job and worked hard with his dad to get it going. He grew up sailing. I find it pretty adventurous, and pretty impressive.

Awesome Summer Weekending

these darker cherries are the bings

and these bright red beauties are the rainier variety

the trees were just loaded

the headless pickers, Sam, Dennis, and Katie

If you're finding yourself with an abundance of cherries, and would like to see some stunning photography and would like a few recipes click on this.

This has been a great weekend with family and friends. On Sat. Sam and TJ went on a hike. Andrea and I headed to Coeur d' Alene to rent a canoe. We saw so many ospreys and even an otter. Then we had a bbq with Sam's fam. and some friends. Sunday morning was a great church service. Then we headed out to Green Bluff again, this time for some cherries. I'm really hoping to go there each week and bring home something new fresh and yummy from the farm. It was my first time picking cherries. I had more fun taking pictures than picking. I'm hoping to work on photography skills and it's fun to do it out at Green Bluff. They were so gorgeous and breathtaking. This part of the country is really beautiful. It's been a blissful weekend. I love enjoying God's creation outside in the summer, so much to breathe in and appreciate.

So Many Strawberries

This was our second trip to Green Bluff for strawberries. The first 15 lbs. were made into jam, tarts, and topped angel food cake. This 16 lbs. went to the freezer for my smoothie fix. Yes, that's 30 pounds of strawberries, I'm a nut! We'll be headed back there each week. This week there are cherries to pick. We went to the local farmers market last night. I felt like we lived in a small town. A great bluegrass/folk band was playing under the shade of some large oak trees. I love farmers markets. This is what summer feels like!

Your Opinion Please

Alright. I have this big stack of zippers. I made a few pillows. I would like to know if you think I should make more pillows like this, or if you would like it better if I make a laptop case, or a purse with the same style. Or any other ideas?

Anthropologie really inspired me to make these. This one was my practice one. It's a bit messier, but I kinda wanted it that way.

And I didn't forget about that giveaway, soon, soon I promise. Some new things are slowly appearing in my shop.

Our Summertime Book

Sam and I started reading this in the summer of 2003. We take turns reading to each other. I don't think you can ever get too old for reading out loud. There is something really nice, charming, and romantic about hearing someone read to you. Yes, it's embarrassing that 6 years later and we haven't even finished it. I think this will be the year though! I will be sad when we finish it. It's a great book. Maybe we'll have to read it again. For some reason we always pick it up again, only reaching for it in the summertime. Do you have any summertime books?

Alberto Cerriteno

Austin TV / Shiva from Alberto Cerriteño on Vimeo.

I think this artist is so talented. This video is so awesome in a cool creepy/ artsy way. And if you leave a comment on his blog right now he is giving away one of his awesome prints. Check out his blog and etsy shop.

The Fabric Came

The Fun Stuff

We had a nice bbq to celebrate Sam's birthday over in Linda's garden room. It is a beautiful and cozy spot just like an English Cottage garden. (She found the 2 yellow chairs at the Farm Chicks sale)

We went to Riverfront Park on the 4th of July. We saw Away we Go. We walked around, had bad chinese food and good tacos. TJ and Andrea joined us later for fireworks.

We signed up to win this. Surprisingly there was enough leg room even for me.

Weekend of Work

I'm still waiting on some fun fabric to arrive in the mail to cover the seat of the now turquoise chair.

I considered painting the whole chair, but I can't get too carried away with the spray paint. I also discovered a new miracle product- mineral oil and furniture polish. I thought I would have to completely sand our butcher block, but after a coat or two of mineral oil it's looking good.

If you have known me forever, you might remember this director's chair. It marked the beginning of my treasure hunting/thrifting passion. I bought it at a garage sale when I was in 7th grade. Sadly I don't have the picture of the Under the Sea fabric that it had before. It was also one of my first sewing projects. If this didn't get finished soon, it was going to be thrown out. Now we have some outdoor seating. There are also about 4 more projects in the works. It was so extremely hot this weekend it was hard to paint. I am thankful it rained last night and has cooled tremendously.

This was a quick transformation. I was considering ditching this piece of furniture, or completely painting it. After painting the hardware with a metallic chrome I now love it.

I don't know if it's because I was stressed, or just plain crazy, but just about everything in sight was painted. It felt good to get some of this done, some of these ideas have been in my head for a year or more. After doing all of this, I always wonder why it takes me so long to do these projects. So many of them only take a few minutes.

Other exciting news, I finally tackled the room where I work. It now has air conditioning :) and I can walk through it. I might even invite someone in there. Sam even came in last night. (The air conditioning might have had something to do with that.)