Conatiner Garden Contained

One year into owning our first home, Rob and I have come to truly understand what being a homeowner means---fixing stuff. Yes, yes, we love our home and we don't regret taking on our home and the responsibilities it entails, but man, it does entail some responsibilities! About a month ago we received a letter--slipped under our front door--from our builder stating that our deck needed to be "re-sealed" (I put this in quotes to emphasize our doubt that it was ever initially sealed, regardless, that is the claim.) Despite the financial implications, the biggest inconvenience is that our deck, which is literally our summer dining room, is out of commission for about a week and we had to move all of our deck into our dining room and kitchen. The following pictures are documented proof:





Don't worry, we aren't going to use the grill in the kitchen...

Our sad and empty deck. We can't wait to get it back.

Running: A New and True Commitment

For some time now, I have really desired to become a runner. A real runner. I was not blessed with long legs or the inherent love of pushing myself physically, but this morning my wonderful friend Debbie sent me a message proposing an idea. Would I fly to Maine and run the half marathon with her on October 5th?

After calling Rob to see if this is something we can swing with our finances and our schedule, I responded that, yes, I will fly to Maine to run the half marathon with her.

Am I nervous? Completely. Do I think I can do it? I am about 89% sure. I do know that I am 100% excited.

So, it's time to lace up my sneakers and hit the pavement. I have some serious training to do!

Summer Delights

There are too many reasons to list why I love summer, so I will only highlight some of the top hitters:

-Outdoor seating at local bars/cafes
-Enjoying dinner on our deck
-Gardening
-Cute clothes and flip-flops
-HEAT
-and lastly, culinary inspiration from wonderful produce

This weekend I had a great time planning our week's menu and pulling recipes out of all my summer-ish cook books. One recipe I was truly thrilled with were my nectarine tarts (recipe courtesy of the Bride & Groom Cook Book.) It was really easy to make and not only delicious but pretty, which, to me, is a very important element in good cooking.

Presenting the Bride & Groom Cook Book's Nectarine Tarts!


Recipe:

1 sheet of puff pastry (thawed)
1 nectarine per tart (sliced thinly into 10 pieces)
2 tbsp Apricot Jam (no chunks) per tart
1 tsp of granulated sugar per tart
A dash of cinnamon per tart
A dot of unsalted butter per tart
One egg
2 tbsp Ginger Snap cookies (crushed) per tart
A sprinkling of powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. After puff pastry has thawed, cut into two equal rectangles. Pinch edges of pastry up to create a well for filling. Brush edges of pastry with egg wash. Fill centers of pastry with crumbled ginger cookies then layer nectarines over top of cookies. Melt apricot jam in microwave for about 20 seconds until syrup-y and pour over each tart. Sprinkle each tart with sugar and cinnamon and then dot with unsalted butter. Place into oven for 25-35 minutes until edges of pastry are golden brown. Let rest for 15 minutes and then enjoy. (Optional: serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.) For extra prettiness, sprinkle powdered sugar over top of each pastry.



Enjoy!

That's Mr. MBA to you.

Well, the celebration day finally got here! Rob crossed the stage in his blue and gold regalia to accept his hard-earned accolades (aka MBA) with distinction (a fabulously high GPA!)

Seeing Rob cross the stage was a wonderful way to celebrate Father's Day and Rob's accomplishments--our gluttonous dinner at Gibson's afterwards didn't hurt either.

Rob and I are both so appreciative of all the encouragement and support we were both given during his pursuit of his MBA. While Rob did the leg work in earning the degree, having family and friends cheer him on helped make the commitment and sacrifices worthwhile.

While sitting on the deck last night enjoying the calm wind-down of a busy Sunday, I commented that I can't believe he's done and it's hard to believe that he started this journey 4 years ago. Rob replied that he has felt all four years but that it was fun and now he doesn't know what to do with all of the time he has on his hands. I'm sure the X Box game Andrew gave him as a congratulatory present will enter the picture somewhere in those empty hours.





So, congrats to Rob, our new MBA (with distinction of course.) We are all so proud of him and recognize all of the hard work and determination he put forth in pursuing this degree.

And the garden continues to flourish...

Midwest humidity has a lot of obvious drawbacks but the one positive has to be the impact it has on our container garden. Rob and I have watched as our beans grow uncontrollably, our tomatoes hike up their cage and all of our annual flowers blossom on a surprisingly continuous basis. With plants like these, Rob and I definitely feel like we are getting a good "nurturing" fix.

Batter Up! Visitors are here!!

While visiting Spokane, we received an invitation to join a local Catholic softball league. Having hung up our mitts quite a few years ago, I think we were both a little hesitant to join, but knowing our good friends would be our teammates and then hearing about the discount at our sponsoring bar, we gave the go-ahead.

Our first game was a complete atrocity. We lost 9-1 (of which 7 runs were scored in the first inning) but our team spirit came out and our comfort level increased. I think it's safe to say we need a lot more practice--however, we are in it to win it! Or at least have some fun in the process.

We left the ball park defeated but in great spirits because waiting at home were some visitors from the West. Debbie and Noah were en route to their new east coast home and lucky for us, we made the itinerary. I think Rob and I were most excited about meeting their wonderful dog, Milo.


Even though our visit was a short one, we decided to make the most of it and enjoyed stir-fry and hanging out on the deck. It's so great to have friends that even though you don't see them often, it's easy to pick up right where you left off.


Good friends and good dogs definitely make for good times. Now it's our turn to visit them and we can't wait!

Kiss me! I'm German.

Now that Rob has graduated (yay MBA!) and my school is out for the summer, we have inadvertently made it our mission to enjoy every minute of our weekend.

This past weekend we did just that by heading over to the local Mayfest/Beerfest and celebrated German-style (German-style = Drink beer.)

Our day consisted of hanging out with our great friends, running into family friends, eating brats and weaving our way through the dense crowds to get to the outdoor "facilities."

Mission No-Homework was successful!

Gardening Success!

After last summer's unsuccessful attempt at gardening, we were a little skeptical that our thumbs would be anywhere close to green this time around. Much to our pleasant surprise, we have a legitimate garden that is flourishing in these early summer months. Rob and I now refer to our container garden as our "baby" and check our plants every morning before we leave and every evening when we get home. We've started to take pictures of our garden about every two weeks so that we can see the progress and then share them with whatever unfortunate soul gets stuck listening to us. This should be a warning to our loved ones in regards to our affinity for anecdotes and pictures once any future real babies come about (puppies included too!)