brave new beginnings

today hendrix started preschool.  i'll be honest (and dramatic) it felt like the beginning of the end to me.  soon he will be four, writing his name, reading books, then before i know it...he'll be bringing unsavory girls home.  i feel like i fell into a vortex.  one day he was born. the next he was 3 1/2 writing "H"s.

last night, we had our back to school dinner.   i'll tell you more about it this week and share my recipe for slowcooker korean ribs with rice and purple cabbage.  our theme this year is: BEING BRAVE.

mostly, i think i am just emotional because that is what mothers do.  we love our children so much that sometimes our hearts and tear ducts can't handle it.  we are so proud of them and want so much for them.  my brother once said the greatest and worst thing about having children is watching them grow up. 



my friend, anjanette, told me to try to remember how lucky i was that my kid was healthy and that i could bring him to any school we wanted.  she's right.  my son was born healthy and today went to preschool healthy and happy.  i am the luckiest mom in the whole world to have hendrix as my son.

monday mail + being brave

hendrix got a postcard in the mail today from his favorite book store owner.  he was so blown away by the fact that he was old enough to receive mail and that it went into a mailbox all the way downtown and ended up in our po box all the way out here.  3 year olds and their awe and their story telling are pretty great. 

.....

hendrix starts preschool next week.  i get pretty emotional when i talk about it.  there's parent teacher conferences, field trips, writing your own name, learning phonics...this is the real deal, folks.  i know he is a little nervous so i am going to try to reign in my emotions.  also, i am planning a back to school dinner.  i have seen some other mommas do them around the internet and like the idea.  this year our theme will focus on being brave.  i'm going to pick up a few new books and a writing tablet for him to open at the dinner table the night before school.  then we can talk about how all sorts of people need to be brave in all sorts of situations.  i am working on making him this cape, too. 

so, if you don't hear from me much this week, it's because i am taking advantage of our last week of summer and getting ready for a new chapter.



GSW {menu plan} :: thirteen

elegant dinner at our house



1. grilled chicken with avocado & grilled corn salad

2. pork ragu over noodles serve with green salad topped with apples, almonds, and bleu cheese tossed in a simple vinaigrette {weekend dinner alert!}

3. salmon with chickpea, feta, and parsley salad {salad keeps well in fridge for lunches or snack time}

4. grilled pork tenderloin with peaches

5.  black bean stuffed peppers

going to a party? bring dessert and a hostess gift...
fruit crisp + place mats

put aside cleaning your house and freeze some tomatoes...
how to freeze tomatoes
.....
we'll be finishing our {play}barn this weekend and hoping for rain.  thankfully, our friend, tony, is coming to help and his daughter will be here to play with hendrix.
if you are looking for something to do this weekend in the omaha metro, try...millard days, shopping the furniture sale at oh darling!, dundee day on saturday, take a road trip to the nebraska state fair, or go to the world O! water festival at chalco hills on saturday.

wild plum + peach crisp

when in doubt.  make a crisp.  in doubt about anything.  a crisp is always the answer.  also, always double to crisp topping.  a crisp is just as easy as the one cup cobbler.  don't have enough to make jam?  not in the mood for chutney?  make a crisp.  put yogurt on it...it's practically breakfast. i believe in the power of the crisp so much that this recipe is written on the inside of my cupboard, like my all purpose crust.

before the good stuff happens



i use the crisp recipe from the wednesday chef, but double the topping or triple it, depending on how much fruit i am using. for this one, i used an 8x8 dish and doubled the topping.  it was perfect.  the peaches cut the tartness of the wild plums.  the best part?  the thing takes 30 minute to bake and less than 5 minutes to prep.

fruit crisp
2/3 (mounded) cups of rolled oats or muesli mix
2/3  cups of packed brown sugar
6 T. butter, softened
2 T. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 cup of nuts (almonds, pecans, or walnuts)
fruit of your choice, (peeled, cored, chopped) enough to fill pan

grease dish, preheat oven to 400.  fill pan with fruit.  combine dry ingredients and then with your fingers, work the butter into the mixture until it clumps up.  sprinkle topping mixture over fruit.  bake for 30 minutes. 

let's get real

welp. my schedule idea has not worked out so well this week.  mostly, because my allergies have me walking around feeling like i got punched in the nose (which i was sure was a cold because it felt so bad).  also, i choose to redo my back porch, visit my niece and nephew, and pick some fruit instead.  so, now i have buckets of apples, peaches, and wild plums to do something with and this disaster. warning.  these pics might make you think i am a filthy slob or love me more for my honesty.  you see, i was talking to a fellow mother earlier this week and she was under the impression that i was always on the ball with my motherly & wifely duties.  if i led you to believe that...i trust these pictures will make you feel better.  life happens.

what happens when i can't bear to clean up after bathtime



what happens when i don't do the dishes for one day




the living room running from it's own bomb.  the bomb of hendrix.




what happens when i just let hendrix go to bed because i am so tired i want to die.



much better time then cleaning.





so, there you go.  go forth and feel better about your own homes, ladies.  i have to go call bio recovery services for the bomb that went off in my house.



placemats repurposed

once upon a time, i collected strawberry themed stuff.  oftentimes, collections lead to bad choices and hoarding. like these placemats. 

so, i revamped them with a little help from hendrix. the idea came from the say yes to hoboken blog. i love how they help hendrix set the table at dinner time.  you can read all about how to do it here.



{TIPS}:

if kids are helping...i would go ahead and cut out the stencil ahead of time.  also, make the stencil one sheet of freezer paper that is slightly larger then your placemat.  that will help keep the paint only where it needs to be.  

really make sure your paper is ironed on and stuck on your placemat before you start painting. otherwise, the paint will bleed.

you can only cut one sheet of freezer paper at a time.

i used this for my utensil template and just traced my plate. 

iron the waxed side of the paper onto the placemat.

use fabric paint.

let dry completely and wait a few days before you wash it.

monday jumpstart

photo via bhg



hello! did ya'll have a nice weekend? we did, but towards the end got pretty sneezy. ick.  however, we are plowing ahead because who has time for such things.  here are some things to jump start your {food} week...

peanut butter banana bread with quinoa flour - yum!

let's open the conversation between farmers

preserving {food + friendships} house

the mornings feel like fall around here.  which always makes me want this one dish dinner.

these placemats are on the "craft to do list" this week

overloaded on cherry tomatoes? make this!

mike got a fire ring to cook food on. we're having a halloween party to unveil it's greatness!

garden inspired food + drink ideas for the last days of summer