things i love

this week has certainly ended well, hasn't it?  this weather is killer.  the rain on wednesday was blessed.  we haven't done a {things i love} post in awhile...so here it goes:



someone else doing the dishes after dinner

chevron dressers

asking hendrix "what the favorite part of his day was" at dinner

peace of mind in the fridge

taking morning walks with summer + kids

silver repurposed

seeing old friends, pregnant & happy, at baby showers

open houses

seeing old friends, holding their new babies

family breakfast

having a dream that mike was a monster truck driver and the truck's name was "methodical"

pinning fall style ideas

hendrix going to preschool (!!) next month & actually getting to buy school supplies



goldenrod {appearing on the roadsides} + zinnias



GSW menu plan :: eleven

tomato, corn, + basil salad and cucumber salad





happy thursday!  it rained and is so cool this morning...we are loving it!!  last week, there was no menu plan, but we are back.  i figured you had leftovers. ha! also, i got too busy.  to find more dinner ideas and the other {garden says what?} menu plans go to our what's for dinner page.  in zone 5, we are still celebrating all of summer's bounty and there is a huge variety to pick from, but with the constant sunny, dry, and hot weather i am a little sick of it.  hence, the casserole and summer stews on this week's menu plan.  let's get started.

1. chicken, sausage, + corn summer stew
2. fish BLTs with avocado and a summer salad of your choice
3. chili relleno casserole
4. slow cooker eggplant + chickpea stew
5. caprese tart (for a big meat eater...serve some grilled italian sausages on the side)

preserve your tomatoes.  an easy and delicious way (yields 6 pints)...
tomato + basil simmer sauce

plan ahead and make your own yogurt to go pouches....
homemade gogurt

repurposed style



picture found via pinterest

 you know you're cheap when you are spray painting your shoes.  also, you are know you are a genius when you are spray painting your shoes. remember last week how i told you was going to show you my new silver shoes?  inspired by j crew. well, better late than never. 
i don't know if you noticed, but the silver shoe is showing up everywhere for fall and so is the chunky heel.  since, i happened to have a pair of chunky, black heels that i got for free (!!) laying around...i decided to experiment.  and, i have to say...i am pretty happy with the results.  i am looking forward to wearing these with jeans or perhaps like above (don't you just love that look?).  best of all, the total cost was $3.27 which is much better than $300.

black patent leather heels that i got for free.

i did a couple of coats.  you want to go with the super shiny paint.

taping off the bottom of the heels with painter's tape



finished product.









nightmare in perspective

for the past few days hendrix has thought it is funny to poop in his underwear.  fyi:  it's not funny.  potty training had been going very well until about saturday.  apparently, regression is common.  apparently, potty training is also a nightmare.  it has been very hard to keep it together when he does this.  as i suspect it is for most mothers of boys.  unless said mom is a robot.
then i went to go do a quick driving lesson with one of the clients of the heart ministry center.  and, no jokers, the driving lesson was not for me. although, i could probably benefit from one.  i had to bring hendrix with me because my sitter backed out at the last minute and the driving lesson was only for a half hour anyways.  so there we all were in the car, practicing reversing and parking.  hendrix in the back, entertaining himself.  miss j.  totally getting a kick out figuring out how to reverse and me thinking about what a jerk i was to be feeling sorry for myself.  miss j. has nothing.  she spends a lot of time volunteering at the heart ministry center.  she could use a lot of help and the people at the center ask all the time how they can help her.  all she wants is to learn how to drive.  the joy on her face is great.  the pride and independence that radiates from her is fantastic. 
everything is relative, i know.  but sometimes when you are struggling with your own daily battles like a maniac, gross 3 year old...it's good to get a little perspective. 
if you'd like to volunteer at the heart ministry center then please check out their website.  also, their annual "holy smokes" fundraiser is coming up and you can find information here.

wild child

hendrix catapults himself everywhere.  all of the time.  his energy knows no bounds.  (even when he has a cold) he literally vibrates sometimes because he is so full of energy.  most days, when he is home with me, he is able to find things to absorb his energy.  when his dad comes home, though, it is a different story.  mike must be some sort of adrenaline rush for hendrix because every night is spent watching hendrix catapult himself off of his dad's body and screaming his ideas into mike's face.  needless to say, he can be a wear out sometimes.  most of the time it is fun to watch someone SO INTO LIFE. 

hendrix goes to a fantastic mom's day out program and is supposed to be going into the big kid room soon.  however, because of a few factors i am now exploring weather or not the program will be a good place for the now 3 1/2 year old hendrix.  to be honest, i think preschool for 3 year olds is a little overboard.  however, now that hendrix is 3 1/2, fully potty trained, and obsessed with what letters word begin with...i am thinking it may be a good outlet for his energy.  his desire and ability to learn is sometimes staggering.  and i have a hard time keeping up.  so, perhaps, instead of 5 hours, one day a week at mdo...he could spend 5 hours, 2 mornings a week at preschool. 

it's very hard.  it's hard making decisions like this for your kids.  having faith in your parenting and decision making skills.  letting them grow up.   it's hard being flexible enough to make decisions.  parents have big plans for their kids and themselves prior to the baby actually being born.  then the baby is born and life gets real.

so tomorrow i will tour the preschool with my 3 year old. and i'll only cry when no one is looking.



forget flowers, feed the family

angry hendrix who was not a fan of carriers.



when i had hendrix i was not too wise when it came to preparing meals beforehand or asking a close friend to set up a meal train.  by the time he came i was so tired and overwhelmed that we relied on take out and other packaged snacks.  which did not do our pocket book or bodies any favors.  i then vowed that i was going to bring food to the new mommas in my life if i lived in the same town as i did.  unless, they were my friend summer who premade something like 40 meals before she had her second.  the girl took nesting to whole new level.  my friend, alissa, who lives out of town did do the next best thing for me when i had hendrix.  she sent me a spa certificate for mother's day.  it was then that i discovered the power of a massage.
so, our family friends just had a baby.  john is a very good cook, but they now have a newborn and a two year old so it's about to get real around their house.  today i am going to share some of my favorite freezer meals to bring.  i typically like to bring 3-4 frozen meals (that will last up to 3 months) and maybe one meal for dinner that night, something sweet + healthy, and a print out of my top ten crockpot meals. a lot of times, folks may get bombarded with meals and help in the beginning so freezer meals are good for when the excitement settles. 
the meals should be stored in such a way that they do not take much room in their freezer.  also, using the foil pans found in the grocery store for things like pot pie, quiche, lasagna, and enchiladas are a nice touch since it cuts down on clean up time for the new parents. things like soups and sauces can be frozen flat in a freezer bag.  things like burritos and runzas can be individually wrapped and stored in a freezer bag. all food should be frozen before delivery unless one is for dinner that night.  this time of year, it would be nice if you brought some recently preserved item from your garden, as well.  canned or frozen would be appreciated, i'm sure.  all food should include directions on thawing, reheating, and general use tips.  also, be sure to be aware of any allergies or food restrictions the parents have before bringing something like cashew chicken or spicy yogurt shrimp, for instance. ok.  here's a list of ideas...

marinara
pot pies
pizza dough
butternut squash soup
chili
burritos
pizza pockets
runzas
quiche
muffins
minestrone
pork tacos
quinoa pancakes
granola
lasagna
enchiladas

what do you bring when someone has a baby?  am i missing any must have? 

harvesting rants

i was going to share with you several ways to use those over sized cucumbers of yours or how i was re- purposing some old shoes to look like these puppies or what to bring to people who just had a baby. but i didn't quite get the news i was hoping for yesterday and it put me in a funk.  so instead i turned the sprinkler on for  hendrix and worked in the garden.  this is today's harvest.  obviously it is time to get to preserving tomatoes and cukes.  maybe even green beans.  but that is a post for another day.

while i was working in the garden, i was working out a lot of bad energy.  just letting it sweat out.  thinking about the conversation my friend, marti, and i had yesterday about people prophetizing about the state of food, posting pics of dinner, and then spending their nights watching four hours of television. it got me riled up.  then i was too short with hendrix and felt bad about my mommy abilities. then he made this face.

then i realized that i needed to calm the eff down.  i may not of gotten the news i wanted yesterday, but it was still good news.  i have a good life.  for god's sake, i get to spend the morning in the garden while my kid plays in the sprinkler. i get to have a garden.  period. i get to.  there are a lot of things and people that annoy me. (people who take themselves too seriously, the food network, and mommy judgement/guilt being some of the things) but in the end they probably do because i see something that i don't like about myself in them. so that being said.  (i know i'm brilliant, aren't i? also, i am a slow learner with a sarcasm problem) i'm going to have a banana smoothie and i am going to cheer back up. i'll be back soon with cucumber strategies, silver shoes, and what people with new babies really need.