summer flowers

this is one of my favorite flowers~hydrangea....and they last forever! we planted one this spring in the backyard and we have had blossom after blossom to fill the house. they make me so happy! love it!

go redwings.....

thanks hillside for a fabulous evening at the company box! air conditioning, barbeque hot dogs and hamburgers, ice cold drinks, a great view of the game and gorgeous weather!

the field, go redwings....
we had a great night with co-workers and getting to know their families
yummy cookies, fun company and a great game! we paid for parking and that was worth the $5

hillside + xerox

they have a box as well but i think it is really hard to get in
the ysa group carried the flag for the game so there was a large group from the branch there. including some friends mark and laura!

this was the first game of the season we were able to attend and what a great game! they pulled through and won in the last inning!!

And the night ended with a crazy fireworks show. this was a really good show but sooo loud.

i cannot remember the last time........

I stayed up all night with a really good book, enjoyed listening to the birds as they begin to chirp before there is even a hint of light out and then watch the sunrise from my front porch. I am lucky that I have a job that is understanding to such mental health days off....

The book that keep me up was "wish you well" by david baldacci~recommend it!

We sang this song on Sunday.

oh my father~I have always loved this verse

For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth

And withheld the recollection

Of my former friends and birth

Yet often times a secret something

Whispered "you're a stranger here"

And I felt that I had wandered

From a more exalted sphere

I started reading my sisters keeper. It is interesting so far and now it really feels like summer with good books to read and nice weather.

a weekend free

we had a saturday off~the first one since mid april. it was so nice to sleep in and enjoy the lazy feel of a saturday.....of course we worked on the kitchen ~ it is almost done. chris had some trouble with the old electrics in our house but he figured it out! thank goodness. we also made some homemade salsa! it is so beautiful. tomatoes, cilantro, radishes green onions and several types of peppers. yummy!

and had a little barbeque in between the rain! which it did all weekend. kabos and hamburgers were so yummy and a nice change since our kitchen is no fun to cook in.

yummy hamburgers with mushrooms, cheese and blue cheese! with all that rain the bugs are really bad! it is hard to spend any time out for a long period of time. it is summer and we only have a few months of good weather here so i wish that the bugs and weather could work themselves out together.

the lilies in the front are now in full bloom ~ so beautiful...chris' favorite flower!

and happy father's day to my own wonderful father who has taught me so much about life and love and forgiveness and to my future husband father who will be the best dad! I love you!!!

kitchen details

we had a hard time finding a new spice rack that we really liked so we decided to make our own. we found these jars at pier 1.

and this little shelf i found at a antique store and painted it red. the jars were a perfect fit.
we already had a little "pinch" for a spoon from anthropologie. love that store!

i like how it all came together~now we just have to the kitchen. we made e few changes to the original design. doesn't that always happen? hopefully this weekend will help because our camping plans fell through.

house pillows

I love the vintage fabric~this one matched the bedroom so I made a small throw pillow for the reading chair.

weekend fun!

Priest Laurel Conference
was this weekend. we had the best time with the youth, the leaders and each other. i have not laughed that hard in such a long time. we ate food that someone else cooked and did not have to worry about work, class or the house. it was so fun! i danced, played games and really enjoyed speed dating, workshops and the keynote speaker.
this was the majority of our group~by this time we were missing a few...

then sunday chris made the best pesto ever!

we have been saving this pasta for a special occasion. trofiette....we bought it in milano with nadia and enjoyed eating it in Florence. and it was just as good as eating it in Italy! yummy..it was a much needed quiet sunday with chris. and i am still dragging my feet to get started this week.


Recipe: super easy and yummy!
cook Pasta (angel hair or favorite kind)

Chop fresh basil in a food processor
add pine nuts
Parmesan cheese
olive oil

mix until pieces are small enough but still not mush...mix with pasta and top with salt + pepper, and more cheese.

Yummy!