One More Month

School is out in less than one month!  Phew, I feel like the summer snuck up on me.  With our Ireland trip on the horizon and the promise of long sunny days just a few weeks away, I'd say I'm pretty excited for summer!  

I'm a compulsive list maker, so with a new season about to dawn he's my summer to-do list.

+ break out my new sewing machine (and use it!)

+ try out some new hikes in the area

+ wine tasting 

+ outdoor movie night

+ start at least 1 DIY project I've pinned on pinterest

What's on your agenda for the summertime?  Any big goals, plans, projects you've got on the list?

image/e-tells-tales

Happy Weekend + Link Love

Happy Weekend!  I'm so excited for an extra day off to relax and soak up some quality time with my husband.  We're off to take a ferry ride to the San Juan Islands.  The last time I was at this particular island, I was a high school camper.  My bunkmates and I sailed there and set up a tarp tent and campfire on the beach.  Needless to say, my return visit will surely be a little different!  What are you up to this weekend?

Link love from around the web....

+ blue glass tutorial

+ guacamole bruschetta?  yes, please!

+ 50 fun and cheap date ideas

+ dark chocolate cake batter cookies with sea salt...'nuff said

+ DIY lace candle holder

+ love kate midleton's style!

+ spicy peanut and chicken quesadillas

image/weheartit

DVD Binge

Growing up, my dad cultivated an enormous movie collection.  I remember our weekly pilgrimage to Blockbuster Video, to walk and scour the perimeter of the store, tirelessly searching for a worthwhile, but appropriate new release to rent for us kids for the weekend.  At the checkout counter, he always perused the VHS/DVD for sale bins and we usually left with between 1-2 new movies to add to the collection on most trips.  

Hence, I am a movie buff.  I love movies, especially oldie but goodie movies.  In recent years, I have found myself starting a substantial DVD collection of my own, which I attribute to affinity for movie-watching ingrained by my dad long ago.  When watching a flick and a friend mumbles, "Who is that guy, I think he's in something I've seen," I pride myself on being that person who can successfully make the movie-to-movie connection instantaneously (or at least reasonably fast)!  Yeah, I'm that girl, I know, I know, don't worry, I am aware that my actor and actress trivia and the ability to recite lines from movies is not favored by all... :)

Lately, I've been feeling a little ho-hum about my movie selection, and went on a bit of a DVD binge on amazon picking up some new flicks to add to my collection including... 

 and

What are your favorite rainy-day, go-to, pick-me-up-when-you're-in-a-bad-mood, or just plain random FAVORITE MOVIES?  I'm dying to hear!

images/amazon

Sibling Love

I just stumbled across delightful photos by Jason of JLW Photography!  His personal blog documents his darling daughters' sibling love at its best.  I love their facial expressions, they are pitch perfect!  I've recently been intrigued by photo journal blogs such as these.  What a great way to document your children growing while simultaneously being accessible to family and friends far away.  

image/kristinandkayla

via kitchencorners

Desperately Seeking Camera

I am in the market for a new camera.  I'm hoping to invest in a fancy-schmancy DSLR that I can use for years to come.  I'm often in awe of the focus and detail of photographs I see on other blogs, and thats what I am seeking, a camera that will allow me to really zoom, focus, and create art of out of life.  

So...let's have it, your thoughts, recommendations, suggestions, and opinions.  If you do have any helpful hints, please let me know the make / model so I can research further!

image/pheartache

Friday Link Love

+ How common is your birthday?  Mine is not so common...interesting.

+ Succulent boutonnieres - love!

+ Harvard boys jamming to girly pop?  Hilarious!

+ Stylish bikini for summer

+ Pretzel pool float - this is too cool!

+ Snazzy wallpaper inspiration

+ Ever had German pancakes?  They look good!

+ Hand lettered gift wrap, GENIUS

+ Homemade snickers bars

+ Kitchen chic: butcher block countertops

image/bloom

Dinner Last Night: Fettuccine with Asparagus, Green Peas, and Tarragon

Thank you pinterest for providing me with constant dinner inspiration!  Another pin-turned-reality, fettuccine with asparagus, green peas, and tarragon!  I have been feeling like I haven't been eating enough veggies lately, so this was the perfect way to add vegetables to my usual dinner staple of pasta.  The sauce is similar to a roux (but less fattening) and gives a nice creamy base to the dish, plus the breadcrumbs added a satisfying crunch.  

All in all - worth making again.  I can always tell when a dish is a success when my husband exclaims, "Dinner?  GOOD!"a la Joey from Friends.  

Side Note: In case you were wondering, the recipe stories I post in "dinner last night posts," are the success stories, a.k.a. the good recipes, worth your time to repeat!  I wanted to clarify just in case I was sending the illusion that I'm an amazing cook who always gets every recipe right.  Negative!  I do have my failures and mishaps in the kitchen like everyone else.  I just choose to not blog about the mishaps or sub par dinners... I figure it'll save everyone time. Why try out a recipe that's not worth repeating, right?

image/myrecipes

Symphony Flash Mob

I'm sure you've heard of the flash mob, but have you heard of the symphony flash mob?  The definition o which is, a flash mob with musical instruments instead of dance.  I stumbled upon this link of the symphony flash mob in Copenhagen, an impromptu symphony inside a subway train.  Wouldn't that be an unexpected surprise on your morning subway ride?! !  

I'd love to witness a flash mob of any kind in person.  Have you ever seen one firsthand?

video/youtube

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful, quirky, funny, amazing mom.  I love you phoofer!

{my mom and I}

 {my mom and my grandma}

Sunny Weekend

We have a forecast of pure sunshine this weekend, I'm soo excited!  Our weather is always so unpredictable here in Seattle, we tend jump for joy when a "chance of rain" doesn't grace the forecast.   Outdoor activities planned: re-planting flower boxes, a day hike with friends, and soaking up sunshine on the deck.

yes, please!

image/mwrites

Life Lately

Life has been keeping me busy lately, sadly putting this blog on the back burner.  It's the end of the school year, the sun is out which means happy hours, dinners on the patio, and less time ticking away at my computer. This post is my effort to "catch up," if you will.

My husband and I took a mini road trip to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival a few weeks ago.  It was the perfect day; after a few straight weeks of rain, the sun was gloriously shining, and tulip fields were bursting with vibrant color and in full bloom.  What a beautiful day!

The Descendants - have you seen it?  Pull out a big old box of Kleenex for this one.  Definitely rentable.

Kickball season is in full swing!  My friends and I have been playing together on a team every spring for 5 years now - it's quite the tradition!  We're back-to-back champions so we've got quite a title to defend this year.

My good friend and co-worker hosted a Bingo fundraiser for a her educational non-profit, Project Kesho in Tanzania.  I'd forgotten how fun Bingo is, why don't I play more often!?! And to top if off; I won a bottle of champagne in the raffle AND a gift card to Taco Time for Bingo, woohoo! 

I'm reading a few books right now (The Marriage Plot and The Unhealthy Truth), but I just downloaded Fifty Shades of Grey on my kindle after my coworkers have been hounding me to read this!  Have any of you gotten hooked by this trilogy?

 And finally, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week.  I'm feeling very loved and appreciated by my students and classroom families, and to make a great work even better, my husband sent me this bouquet of flowers at work, he's the best!  Make sure to recognize your favorite teacher out there!

Weekend Recap

Doesn't 2012 seem to be flying by?  I'm just realizing that I have a mere 34 days of school left before summer vacation, which I'm sure will fly by in the blink of an eye.

A few highlights from the weekend:

+ Wine  night & How I Met Your Mother marathon with my husband

+ Baked a batch of these: chocolate coconut almond scones

+ Dinner & catching up with college friends

+ Yard work and errands

What are you up to next week?

image/bbb

Cookbook Crush

Despite the availability of recipes on the internet, I'm still a sucker for a good old fashioned cookbook.  There's just something about flipping through the page after page of delectable recipes to find the perfect one that an easy click to a website can't quite emulate.  These are a few of my recent faves:

 I'm sure you've heard of Joy the Baker, right?  If not, go swing by her fabulous blog, you'll be drooling over the recipes in a New York minute.  Her cookbook is no different, page after page of delectable eats and treats.

Everyone loves the Pioneer Woman.  Her new book, Food From My Frontier is great because all of the recipes are featured in play-by-play photographs so you can truly make sure you are executing each recipe correctly to create the desired final product.

I can't resist a good bakery cookbook - another fun one is The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, a couple from Savannah, Georgia.  Their recipe of Mexican hot chocolate shortbread is swoonworthy!

Dinner: A Love Story is one of my favorite blogs!  Their cookbook of the same name is set to debut June 5th, and I can't wait to check it out!   

Any other fantastic cookbooks you've heard about that I should be reading?

images via amazon

The Most Beautiful Place in the World

On Monday, a facebook acquaintance of mine posted this as her status, "Where is the MOST BEAUTIFUL place in the world?"  Intrigued, I scrolled down to view the comments and was amazed how many people responded, and how varied the answers were: Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Greek Islands, the Phi Phi Islands, Fiji, Hong Kong, the list went on and on.  I found myself jotting notes down from this list so I can add them to my wanderlust list!

After perusing, I thought to myself, what destination I would choose as the most beautiful?   Takayama, Japan?  Civita de Bagnorregio, Italy?  Dubrovnik, Croatia at sunset?  There really are so many beautiful places in the world, it's tough to pick one that resonates above them all!  

So now I'm sending this out into the blog world to get your responses.  

Where is the MOST BEAUTIFUL place in the world? 
GO!

image/ksny