I love that fact that I normally work Mon-Thurs. That leaves Friday as a day to spend time with Daphne and do as many fun summer things as possible. Today we went to the Farmer’s Market.
Daphne got to pick out a watermelon. And she even brought her camera. Like the Daphne perspective?
We got a watermelon, some locally grown peaches, pickling cucumbers and onions, cilantro and apples. All for $10. I think that’s a great deal!!
I was particularly interested in the pickling cucumbers. After seeing so many of the bloggers I follow make pickles, I had to try it too. A couple of pounds of cucumbers, grown right down the road in Rosenberg, TX.
Tossed with Kosher salt to draw out some moisture.
Layered with sweet onions slices.
Filled with pickling solution (slightly sweet and very tangy dill) and chilling in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
I think we are in pickle heaven.
The verdict after being refrigerated for 6 hours? AWESOME. I will never buy store-bought pickles again. And as they age, they will get even better. Like my ghetto reclaimed jars? I had a bit of sticker shock when pricing Ball canning jar cases. I swear I was able to buy 12 jars for like $6 or $7 just a few years ago. OK, maybe it was 10 years ago. Walmart wanted $18 for 12 quart jars. Um, no. Especially since these are just refrigerator pickles and not something that I plan on trying to water bath can.
I got the recipe from Fly Through My Window and followed all their modifications. I did use Penzeys four peppercorn blend and a few red pepper flakes. Next, I might try this bread and butter pickles recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Bread and butter pickles always remind me of the pickle bar at Goldie’s. Now I know what I’m bringing to any BBQs we get invited to this summer. Do you have a favorite pickle recipe?
Next up on my Things to Make from the Farmer’s Market list? Maybe a peach cobbler and some gazpacho. Yum… tastes of summer.
Hope you are enjoying your Father’s Day weekend! Yesterday, we spent 5 hours at the pool with my dad. Thank goodness for MAC Studio Fix liquid foundation, otherwise I’d have gone to church today with the worst sunburn lines on my face. My forehead is roasted. The area covered by my huge Jackie O sunglasses is white. Then my cheeks and chin are a little red. Really attractive!
Today we spent time with the rest of the family. Steaks and burgers on the grill. And for dessert? Bakerella’s burger basket. Cute, huh?
Cupcake bun, brownie patty and sugar cookie fries. Daphne and her cousins loved them, after Daphne realized it was dessert, since she won’t eat bread or red meat. Yeah.
Everyone had their own basket.
The fries were a bit of a pain, as was putting together the red and white baskets. But it was worth it!
I even got a quick shot of Daddy and Daphne. I’m waiting to get D’s hair cut before doing a real photoshoot. She’s my mini-me in this pic. Hilarious.
I got Daphne’s birthday party dress today. Yes, it’s a bit early. But as I explained to my husband, if I try to shop for ice cream-themed items in August I won’t find anything. Now’s the time, especially since Crazy 8 is having a big sale. She looks adorable in it. Just like her momma, pink is her color. Did I mention the dress was on sale for $10? Woot!
The fact that I bought her dress isn’t a big deal. The big deal is that for the first time I bought her a kid girl size, and not a baby/toddler girl. Awwwww…. And I enrolled her in 4 day/week preschool. Then I thought about back to school shopping and backpacks and lunch boxes. Wow, where has the time gone?
And back to the color pink… Daphne doesn’t say pink, she says paink- like paint with a k. Reminds me of Bruce Springsteen’s Pink Cadillac song. She sounds like such a hick. I guess you can take the girl out of Alabama…
Actually I made these strawberry lemonade bars from Baking Bites. Aren’t they a gorgeous color? I ran out of strawberries, so I used a frozen berry mix, pulling out most of the strawberries and adding a few raspberries and blackberries to get the whole amount needed.
This recipe is a keeper! Delicious, perfect flavor for summer and very easy to bake. I used my Baker’s Edge pan for the first time on these and it made it so easy to cut/serve. Hopefully the girls at my scrapbook night will enjoy them.
Yesterday I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock going off. Normally I wake up to the sound of “Mommy, get me out!”, so you know something was different about today. I rolled out of bed, hit the shower, dressed, did my makeup and hair and then went to…. work.
Yeah, Wednesday was my last day as a SAHM for a while. An opportunity fell into my lap and I am really excited about it. My title is Temporary Finance Administrator. The temporary part is because I’m filling in for someone who is on personal leave. Might be 6 months, might be 2 years, who knows. It’s a 6 mile commute, which is awesome in a city as big as Houston where it’s completely common to have an hour commute; part-time, so it will coordinate nicely with D’s preschool and my plan to get another degree or Master’s; I already know and like everyone I work with. And it will look good on my resume, which after 3 years out of the workforce needed a little help. I couldn’t be happier.
I was actually a little cautious with blogging about it. We’ve had two years of just about everything possible going wrong in our lives and to have something good happen so quickly is a bit of a shock. Maybe we are turning a corner now. Gosh I hope so.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a psycho party planner and that I’ve been excited about an Alice in Wonderland tea party for one of Daphne’s birthdays. I didn’t think the theme fit for her 1st or 2nd party, so I’ve been researching and planning for her 3rd birthday, which is now less than 3 months away. Ack!
According to my spreadsheet (what, doesn’t everyone have a party planning spreadsheet? lol!) I should be in full party mode… stalking thrift stores for mismatched china, sewing costumes, designing invitations and centerpieces. Basically getting the handmade stuff out of the way, so I can focus on edibles, favors, paper goods, flowers as we get closer to the big day.
Just a few problems- I just haven’t felt like myself lately and have no desire to make anything. Sad but true. I’m like that little blob/pea in the old Zoloft commercials. Sigh. Also our guest list is growing. Daphne has more little friends to invite. And I know it’s going to be 100 degrees in August and the idea of making costumes and wearing hats and all that makes me hot just thinking about it. We’re going with Plan B. A big ice cream social party. More on that later.
So, instead of wasting months of Alice in Wonderland research, I thought I’d pass it along. Especially since it’s a popular party theme this year. Hope it helps someone!
Decor- Here’s the easy part… thrift store mismatched china cups (and if they break, who cares?!), paper lanterns, cards, croquet sets, “painted flowers.” Love this pic with the teacup wands. And this one with the card house. I had planned on doing my giant teacup in the center of the table with red and white roses (either real or felt) and maybe a playing card tucked in here and there. This giant teacup:
And completely off topic, but why didn’t I pull that giant weed before I took this pic? I need to clone that out in Photoshop.
The birthday girl’s outfit- There are lots of options on Etsy. I was going to do a blue peasant top and white apron/shorts set. Or something like this from Lil Blue Boo with some Japanese fabric.
Activities- Since I knew it would be horribly hot, I purchased an indoor foam croquet set at Tuesday Morning for $7. I had also thought about decorating foam teapot frames.
Cakes and cupcakes- I didn’t think too much about cakes, since I hate make them, but I did have a few cupcake ideas. The latest What’s New Cupcake? book has instructions for a skunk/squirrel cupcake using the s shaped breakfast cookies as tails that I thought would be perfect for a Cheshire cat cupcake. And these cupcakes from Flickr are amazing.
It’s Friday? How did that happen? So many posts just slipping through the cracks around here. How about some random thoughts?
- Last weekend I went with a group of friends to see Sex and the City 2 and then out for drinks. It was great! The time with friends, not the movie.
I do like Sex and the City, watched the series, saw the first movie, enjoyed parts of S&TC2. I won’t spoil it for you, but here are a few observations. 1.- For being 64, Liza Minnelli still has great legs. Better legs than her backup dancers. You go, Lucille 2!!! 2.- Carrie, WTH are you wearing on your head at Anthony and Stanford’s wedding? It looks like you stole it from the wicked queen in Snow White. 3.- Not that many Muslims will be flocking to see this movie, but I was shocked at how disrespectful the movie was to Muslim culture. 4.- Loved the Charlotte/Miranda “take a sip” scene. I give the movie 1 1/2 stars out of 4. Getting gussied up to go out with the girls for a night (and margaritas, mojitos, sangria) gets 4 stars.
- Hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day! I watched Band of Brothers pretty much all day long. Every time we watch that mini-series, Chris and I talk about what an amazing show it is. I am completely not a war movie girl, but I love Band of Brothers. Is anyone watching The Pacific? We don’t have HBO, so we’ll have to catch it on DVD.
- Still enjoying Glee. Loved the Lady Gaga episode. Love Sue. Love how over the top the show is. One thing that bugs me? When Will keys up Ice Ice Baby and all the high school kids know the lyrics and the dance moves from the video. Yeah, BS. Unfortunately, I do know all the lyrics (it came out when I was in high school) and it’s a song that pops into my head much, much, much too often. Mainly because the Totally Rad! sharpening actions I use in Photoshop are called Slice Like a Ninja and Cut Like a Razor Blade. And it may or may not be on my iPod. Ahem.
- I’ve been watching a lot of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. So. Funny. Like fall off the sofa I’m laughing so hard. I guess I just have an odd sense of humor. I’ve tried to watch Modern Family.. nah, not funny. Big Bang Theory.. can’t stand the laugh track. But IASIP is like Arrested Development, only with more dysfunctional, offensive characters. Charlie is my favorite. He’s got this subtle Bobcat Goldthwait thing going on with his voice.
- Daphne and I have been visiting an indoor play area located inside of a large church in Sugar Land. It’s awesome. Free, air conditioned fun. What else can you ask for in hot, humid Houston? How about the church cafe serving Chick-fil-A? Yep, the church cafe partners with Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and a donut/kolache company. So you can sip Starbucks while watching your kid play, then walk across the courtyard to eat lunch. Genius.
Farmer’s Market Friday
Comments
Food
