goodnight to the weekend

The weekend has come to an end and wasn't the weather just dreamy? I got to work in the yard all day Saturday and take back my flower beds from the long winter. The boys spent minimal time in front of the TV and spent 95% of the weekend half naked and outdoors. I'm sad to see the weekend come to an end. But Ryan's sister is flying in from California with her two boys this week, so we are anxiously looking forward to reuniting with them. Maybe the zoo this week, maybe some late night stroller walks before bed, maybe eating dinner out every night on the back porch. I am loving this time of year.

 

you'll never go back

Homemade croutons are where it's at. Trust me - once you've tried them, you'll never buy store-bought croutons again. This recipe makes just a small batch. I usually double it if I know I will need them twice within the week. Use in soups or on a salad... so yummy!

INGREDIENTS

Roughly 6 slices of bread (I like to use the parmesan garlic italian loaf from Walmart - leaving the crusts... that's where all the seasoned love is!)
3 TBS melted butter or olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes

RECIPE

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Melt butter and mix with garlic powder, salt and parsley until mixture is clump free
3. Cut up the slices of bread into smaller cubes
4. Toss butter mixture with cubed bread in a medium bowl until all cubes are evenly coated
5. Spread coated bread cubes on a cookie sheet in a single layer (I like to use parchment paper as well)
6. Bake for 15 minutes, then stir and toss a bit
7. Bake for additional 15 minutes

Cool and place in an air-tight container or ziplock bag.

where the other half of my heart is

Ryan, Paul Jacobsen, Mark Smith and Dylan Schorer just finished a great set on The Music City Roots show in Nashville. They played Judgement Day, Days to Think of You, Lonely Night, My Madeline (a favorite with all the kids) and ended with Peaceful Mind. I took the gang over to the Smith's house for some yummy Thai food and hung out with Emily and Holly (Mark and Paul's wives) while we watched the live feed. I hope we all hang out again soon.

Tomorrow the boys head back home and I couldn't be more excited to have Ry back. At one point during the show, Ryan joked to the audience that if anyone wanted to adopt him - he really wanted to stay and live in Nashville. At least I think he was joking.

Please come home Ryan. I'm counting the hours!

library find : stuck

Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorite children's book authors/illustrators. His stuff is brilliant. Yesterday on our latest library adventure, we discovered his most recent release, STUCK. The story follows a boy who is trying to solve an ever growing problem by throwing things at it. The boys loved it and we will definitely be a purchasing it for our personal library. Check it out immediately!

  

 

Jeffers other books we have loved are:

 

 

(the great paper caper... my favorite)
 

 

wednesday at six

Ry is off to Nashville again. He's playing on Music City Roots which is a weekly live music variety show. You can watch it live at 6pm our time here:

http://www.musiccityroots.com/

I made him these digital download tags for people to purchase his EP since he ran out of his actual CD before he could produce more. My photography is horrible at 1 in the morning, but you get the idea. I think they turned out pretty cool. 

 

If you want to purchase the EP (yes you do), click here. Or go to his website here, to become a stalker or fan, of which I am both.

 

sometimes love is fake

I make a lot of fake things... when brides don't pick one of favorite designs in the beginning rounds, I like to use them later for magazine features. I loved this idea of the floral intermixed with geometric patterns. The bride could never convince the groom to share our love for it. Oh well.

And don't you dig these oversized envelopes from PaperSource. Killer.

 

make a note of it

Ryan brought these back to me on his last trip to Nashville. They are very Wes Anderson and I couldn't love them more. It took me several days to work up the courage to actually deface one with my sketches... I didn't want to touch their perfection. The blue one is now devoted to my outdoor projects and gardening notes. Not sure what the other two will hold yet. Aren't they just lovely?

 

 

 

this may be it

I've been looking to paint our front door. Today I found this inspiration and fell in love. What a great looking house. There used to be a place up in SugarHouse by our old house that had a green door and I always loved it. I wish our house was more gray then beige, but tomorrow I will get a sample and see if this is the one.

I love the beginnings of spring. The boys are running in and out of the house, getting dirty - wearing themselves out. The windows are all open and that short lived heavenly cool air is blowing through the house. Dinner is constantly enjoyed out on the back porch and my hands are permanently covered in dirt from planting the new and weeding out the old remains of the winter.


This has to be the best month of the year.


It is supposed to rain the remaining week, so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves today. I don't mind the rain. In fact, I quite like it. I think I will clean out the garage if the rain stays and continue to sketch out all my ideas for the yard. 





 

I saw the light

Ryan and The Lower Lights aired tonight on the new series, The Song That Changed My Life. 
Watch it here.

one weekend

A snapshot of the weekend.