Weekend pics

A few random photos from our weekend.

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The weather was beautiful and we spent

a lot of time playing in the water.
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Harley enjoyed the water too.

There was a full moon on Sunday. This

picture does not show it, but it came up

like a big orange pumpkin.
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We stayed an extra night at Aunt Cathy

and Uncle Scott's house.

Logan was pooped.

Beach bound

(photo: One of my favorites - Taylor 1994)

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We are heading to the beach for a few days

to soak up some sun!

Afternoon project

Made these cute food picks the other day.

I used vintage buttons for the bling.

I think they'll look great on my next

cheese tray.

Dad's day

We had a nice father's day.

We played in the pool most of the day,

Dad watched US Open Golf - which he enjoyed.

Later we grilled steaks

for dinner - on the side, baked potatoes with

the works, creamy cilantro lime coleslaw

our Mr. Stripey tomato and

coconut cream pie for dessert - Dad's favorite.

(Yes - that is the Cuisinart ice cream maker behind Logan.

We bought it for Dad (hee hee) as a fathers day gift.

I think he wanted

new golf shoes instead - but what would we want those for...?)

I am sure we will all enjoy the gift.

Mr. Stripey

We picked our first "Mr. Stripey"

tomato this morning. It's so big and beautiful!

The yellow pear tomatoes are going crazy

too. Plan to use them for our Father's

day dinner tomorrow. Will do something simple -

sliced, with a sprinkle of salt, a drizzle

of olive oil and perhaps some crumbled

blue cheese...mmm!

Work in progress...

There are exciting things going on

at our house today.

More to come...

A bit of a break

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Saturday, there was a bit of a break in the

weather - the high was 87. So, we decided to have

a camp-out in the backyard. We didn't rough it

though, we brought out the air mattresses, tons

of blankets and pillows and even the TV to watch

a movie - Indiana Jones.
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We grilled hamburgers for dinner and

snacked on popcorn while watching our movie.

A peek inside... cozy huh?!

Sleeping angel in the morning.

Later, mom, mike and debbie joined us for dinner

I made a shrimp ceviche appetizer

For dessert, this blueberry tart from Trader Joe's

topped with vanilla ice cream - Yum!

Shrimp Ceviche

1 lb. shrimp - I used Trader Joe's, already cooked, peeled and deveined

4 tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 cup cilantro

1 avocado, diced

1/4 cup celery, diced

2 limes, zest and juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1 small garlic clove, minced

salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together, allow about 15 min. for the

flavors to combine. Serve with tortilla chips.

Dinner last night

Chicken lettuce wraps

Fill iceberg lettuce cups with the above
ingredients - pour over your favorite Asian
sauce. We like spicy peanut sauce and a sweet
chili sauce that I get at Trader Joe's.
Light, fresh and healthy.

More summer inspiration...
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Blueberry ice cream - love the color!

Lavender Honey

Lemon Basil - must try this one!
(recipe: wholefoods.com)

I am thinking about purchasing

one of these.. Costco for $39.99.

I think it would be fun for the summer,

and we do love ice cream in this house.

Might be bad for the waistline though...
(ice cream recipes: countryliving.com)

Summer cooking inspiration

* When it gets hot here - and it is...

I get in a bit of a cooking slump.

Just feels too hot to cook anything - and who

wants to heat up the house by using the oven?

NOT ME - !

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I found tons of inspiration for summer

cooking at bhg.com, cookinglight.com

and wholefoods.com
These are just a few...

I am feeling a bit more inspired...

Little gems

I picked the first of our heirloom yellow

pear tomatoes this morning. Yum!

Many more to come...

Special thank you

In addition to the thank you note I wrote

for our friends Bob and Sandra,

Logan made an adorable note to send

along to Miranda.

This is what he came up with,

too cute!

There is something so precious about
the sweet, simple drawings of a child.
You can never recreate these!

Sweet tomato

Ripe tomato from our vines.

Can't wait to eat it.

108

today and it really feels HOT!

California weekend

Weekend in San Diego for Kevin & Brittany's

wedding. We stayed with our friends Bob

and Sandra at their beautiful home in

Encinitas.

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The weather was sooo nice.

We did a lot of relaxing and cooking out

in their gorgeous back yard.

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This is their daughter Miranda's

playhouse that Bob built it for her.

What a lucky little girl.

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Miranda's garden - too cute.

*Logan lost his front tooth on the way home.

Will gather the best photos from the wedding

and will post later.