something new

a little bit ago, with the help of our good friend JC, we cut our age by about 20 years and experienced one of the most fun things about being a kid

flying a kite!

and not just any kite...a 10-foot wide kite that will {if you know how to fly it} lift you off the ground...it's what they call a jumping kite...


we loved it!  {of course those of us lacking upper-body strength had a little trouble} but the wind was perfect, the weather not too hot and the beach wasn't too crowded.

so. much. fun!

j picked it right up...look at that air ;)

this kite has looong -um- strings? {technical term}...so it was tough to get the kite and the flyer in the same frame, here's the kite itself:

giving it my best shot

determined!

got it!!

jc, giving us a little help

and then making it look easy

thanks for a great time jc!

eats

more from the salad series i started a few weeks ago...

caprese!

easily one of my most favorite salads - i love the freshness of the basil, and the mozz does a great job of filling me up...i also think i saw an idea somewhere to add avocado to this salad- i can't remember where i found that, but it sounds delish

next up: potato salad

i should say right now that neither my dear husband nor i are huge fans of mayo...and since it's usually a main ingredient, we haven't really been "potato salad people"

enter: potato and snap bean salad

the dressing is really just olive oil and lime/lemon juice, jazzed up with some salt & pepper, add a few fresh herbs, onion, and of course the pomme de terre and voila !  a potato salad we can call our own.

it's the little things.

 a few of the 2 million beans from our garden this year

looks tasty, no?

as always, happy eating!!

happy friday y'all!

...and i'll jump the gun by saying happy weekend too!

{we're only a few hours away!}

this weekend i'm looking forward to...

 catching up with a good friend

beach time!

cooking a good meal

what's in your plans??

 

...

{via}

i hadn't yet seen a "keep calm" slogan with which i identified enough to make any mention of, until i ran across this little gem.

for someone who can always be counted on to have a bottle of champagne {ok ok, it's cava} on ice, 

i like this message a lot.

every day is worth celebrating.

here's to finding something toast-worthy in the little moments.

cheers!

summer salads

this year, we're expanding our definition of salad

saturday's dish was one of our new faves: quinoa tabbouleh.

it's just your normal tabbouleh {tomatoes, cukes, red onion...}, but we copied my mom's good idea and used quinoa in place of bulghur ...then added whatever else we had:
edamame, peas, jalepenos, and as many fresh herbs as we could chop

voila!

this also gives me opportunity to highlight the wonderful bowls we have in our house...they are all
handmade by my talented mother-in-law.  {isn't she great?!}

in fact, all of our bowls and plates in the house have been made by her over the years.

we think they makes everything taste better. 

stay tuned for more salad creations!

visitors

my cousin jenny was in town last weekend and we had a ball.  or more appropriately perhaps, a bag...as in beanbag, as in cornhole.  here my dad and sister are involved in fierce competition...i do not honestly recall who won, but i do remember what we had for dessert afterwards.

holy-moly.  yes.  individual tiramisu in mason jars.  country chic at its best. 

most of the weekend with jen was spent at the beach, which was in perfect sunny form for our wisconsin visitor.

sunday night before heading to a fun concert at the beach, we played some madgab and had a little cookout on the porch, such delicious fun. 

thanks for coming, jen!! come back anytime (: