I spy...

...a tomato! We are excited about new "fruit" in our garden. (I used quotes because I recently learned from my brother-in-law that the term vegetable is only a culinary term. Interesting.)

Our giant tomato vine. 

Baby tomato.

Also, our basil is coming in nicely.

Thankful for the rain this week too!

AC

mexican chicken salad

Day In.

Today Stuart rode in a 60 mile bike race. He is pretty exhausted. So I knew I wanted to make an easy yet filling dinner for him.

I found this recipe on Pinterest and knew that it was something we would like.

I made some tweaks (of course), and we really enjoyed it. It's always the ultimate test for me if Stu says that he would eat a meal again sometime (which he did).

Success!!

Here's a picture of mine...looks like a mess but oh-so-yummy.

I couldn't add the lettuce in the bowl...it wouldn't fit!
But I think the leftovers will keep better without the lettuce getting soggy.

Tweaks

I took out the green bell pepper and green onion.

I used 2 ears of fresh corn (vs. canned).

I added:

-medium red onion, diced

-medium jicama, diced

-juice from one lime (I might add another next time)

This would be perfect for a party. I think the next time, I will cut the recipe in half.

Yum yum!

Enjoy.

Day Out.

AC

Chalkboard Painted Mirror

Day In.

Remember how Stu made me a sweet gift? I decided to make one for him too. We had on old mirror left over at our house that no one really ever claimed. I've always wanted to try out chalkboard paint, and I heard you can paint over mirrors with it. I had also seen some sweet chalkboards hung over beds with love notes, Bible verses, etc. written on them. I think the written word is very powerful so I wanted to try something.

Here's what I did.

Before.

Some of my weapons...Krylon spray-on chalk paint.

Note: I needed something to scratch the mirror so that the paint would stick. I purchased a very fine grit sandpaper at Ace Hardware that did the trick.

I loosened the back of the mirror....

....and separated the glass.

I used the fine grit sandpaper to scrap the surface just a bit.

Coat one.
(make sure you wear a mask when spray-painting)

Coat three.

I also sanded the wooden frame.

My secret weapon! Annie Sloan Chalk Paint for the frame...amazing! Many more projects using this will come, I'm sure.

After.

I wrote a part from my favorite Dierks Bentley song. It reads "Draw me a map that leads me back to you".

I love the color of the Duck Egg paint. It goes with our bedding/neutral palette we have going on.

(Also, I used a liquid chalk pen which I also found amazing. Normal chalk did not work at all on the chalk paint. I ordered my pen from Amazon.)

I wonder if Stuart will notice it when he gets home from work...:)

Day Out. 

AC

New wreath

Day In.

Thanks to my mom, I had a new wreath to put on our door. The pink wreath was a little clash-y with the American flag. And, the wreath is green which obviously matches the house!

But I do think the pink wreath will makes its appearance again soon...no worries :)

Day Out.

AC

Meet Bonnie and Angus

Day In.

We had some furry visitors to our house earlier this month, and they stayed for two weeks. My parents recently bought a new house in Nashville. There was a two week period where they had to move out of their old house but the new house wasn't ready...so Stuart and I were ready to take on their two fun and crazy puppies. (Note: they technically aren't puppies anymore but I refuse to let them grow up)

Bonnie and Angus definitely made themselves at home. Here are some highlights from their adventures.

Meet Angus. He's a short dog but thinks he's a big one. Lots of personality, this one. He will make you laugh.

Meet Bonnie. She's soft and fuzzy and will love you forever if you just pet her.
And her eyelashes might just be four inches long.

We learned that Bonnie LOVES cornhole. Ok really, she loves playing monkey-in-the-middle with the bean sacks.
Too funny.

Bonnie and Angus "share" a bone. Sometimes they are sweet ;)

I came home to this scene one day from work. Someone (who shall not be named) had rolled up their dog blanket like a yoga mat.
Also, see the pile in the background? I discovered that was Angus's treasure chest, i.e. scraps of metal and twigs were underneath. I caught them!

Angus is our guard dog. This officially became his chair.
I even had to angle it more towards the window so he could "guard" better.

Angus loves the sun.

Bonnie loves food.
Hehe that was harsh. At this time, she was on steroids so all she could think about was food. She's a cute beggar though.

Bonnie loved the pond. 

Bonnie and Angus love water! 

Meal time.

This is how Bonnie lays down. Here she is in my room, eyeing my shoes.

And she found one! At first, I took it away but then she was so darn cute, I let her have it as a souvenir :)

Let's just say it's a lot quieter around here without them...and they are missed.

p.s. One thing I failed to mention. Bonnie and Angus are from the same litter! I kid you not.

Day Out.

AC

Garden Update

Day In.

I know you all have been anxious to get an update on our garden, aka SFG. Things are looking good. The zucchini is crazy! It definitively overshadows a lot of other plants. We have realized that we probably did too many seeds for a square foot.

Ta-da!

Our giant zucchini leaves.

Basil with carrots in the background.

A baby zucchini.

Tomato vine.

Pole beans!

So far, we have picked three zucchinis and a basil bunch. We ate the zucchini last night...so good! Tonight, I am using the basil in some pesto.

One of three zucchinis....this one measure 10 inches.

Day Out.

The Garden Masters (sort of) 

New Window Boxes

Day In.

When my parents were in town, my mom and I went shopping for some new window box flowers. The pansies died (as expected), and I was ready for some color for Spring!

I wanted to coordinate with my pink wreath.

I picked up some amazing caladiums, impatiens and creeping Jennys. I have always wanted caladiums, and I found some pink and green ones! I like to affectionately call them "bobble heads".

(side note: the impatiens are supposed to have pink flowers...we will see if that happens!)

My beautiful bobble heads.

Also, my parents just bought a new house in Nashville. While packing/getting rid of stuff, Stuart and I were happy to take their American flag off their hands. We have always wanted one!

Home Sweet Home

Day Out.

AC