Color Palette - Summer Transitions

My favorite time of the year is beginning.
That time where it's still warm enough to relax outside,
yet there is a slight chill in the air that makes you want to curl up under a blanket,
bake something delicious, or throw together a pot of soup.
The fall flowers start to bloom, the Tamarack trees begin to yellow,
and the maple trees being to turn crimson red.
Ahhhh Fall, you are my favorite.

Image via: Covet Garden

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Good Morning... or I should say,

Good Afternoon!

Both Micah and I slept in way too late today.

But hey, it's the weekend and that's what weekends are for! Right?

We slept in so late, that Sunday Morning Breakfast was more like Sunday Morning Brunch.

Sounds good to me. So I lounged around the kitchen and made wonderful Black Pepper Biscuits.

 Then I turned that into a breakfast sandwich. It was delicious!

What was on your plate this morning?

My Week in Instagrams

My Instagram-ing (if that is even a word... it is now) has been slacking this week.

It has been a busy week, to say the least.  To make up for it,

I have a story behind each of these pictures for you!

The Ice Cream above was my second batch of Huckleberry Ice Cream !

I seriously love this stuff.

After 6 months of telling myself that I needed a hair cut,

I finally made it to the salon.

My hair was almost to my butt... not good.

While I was there my stylist introduced me to this amazing stuff.

It is seriously powered gold in my opinion.

I have SUPER fine hair that will never hold any sort of volume.

But this texture powder gives your hair that matte feeling that keeps it put all day.

Our chickens have finally started consistently laying eggs.

Not all the chickens are laying, only four.

But each morning we get farm fresh eggs to enjoy!

 

On Thursday, Jon and Danielle made a spontaneous trip over to see us!

It is always so wonderful when family comes to visit

and we had such a great time...

Burgertown

Happy Hour at the Tamarak

BBQ Dinner

and Dessert by the bonfire. 

(Oh... and my new haircut!)

Downton Abby Scarf

Since we all know now that I love Downton Abby,
here is a scarf dedicated to Miss Mary and her amazing home.

What are your plans for this three day weekend?
I am happy to say that my plan... is to have no plans at all!
Sometimes you just need a relaxing weekend to do whatever your hearts desire
at whatever moment that may be.

Have a great weekend!

Via: Fancy French Cologne

Current Crush - Disposable Bamboo

1, 2, 3, 4

The outside barn party that I decorated for last week had disposable bamboo cutlery.

It was a "must have" that I insisted on, and I spent a pretty penny on it as well.

But it was totally worth it! I even painted a strip on the handle like the ones pictured above.

There is just something so special about having a party, where every little detail

has been planned to a tee... even down to the cutlery.

Huckleberry Ice Cream

Summer is still holding on strong here in the NW.

So I'm savoring the moment by making lots of Ice Cream. 

 Remember when I blogged about this Cherry Chunk Ice Cream 

because I had way to many cherries to know what to do with?

Well, now I have way to many huckleberries.

Even though you can really never have TOO MANY huckleberries.

 So what did I do? I made Ice Cream. 

Huckleberry Ice Cream.

Huckleberry Ice Cream

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/8 cup sugar

3 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup huckleberry pancake syrup (my secret ingredient!)

1/4 cup huckleberries

1. With a hand held puree wand (or blender) blend milk, sugar, cream, and syrup until a smooth mixture forms. Add the whole huckleberries and blend a few more seconds.

2. Pour into an electric ice cream maker and make according to the ice cream makers directions.

3. Transfer into a plastic bowl and cover. Freeze an additional 30 minutes.

4. It's that easy. Enjoy!

Playing Downton Abby

So, a little bit about me... I love Downton Abby. Who doesn't love that show right?!?
But here is my problem, season 3 does not air until January 2013!
That's sooooo far away (said in a whimpering voice).

I guess I'll have to make due with these humorous (and slightly risque)
paper dolls inspired by the characters of Downton Abby.
And yes, that is Mr. Pamuk at the bottom!

via: here

Color Palette - Cactus Bling

Great. After seeing this picture, I now want a cactus.

I don't really know if they grow in Montana. Maybe I can grow it inside.

Either way, I am loving this color combo.

And the broaches they added to it... amazing!

via: Bernd Westphal

My Week in Instagrams

Wow, that's it! I'm shocked by my lack of instagraming last week,

but I have a good excuse... I was at a work retreat all week, two work retreats to be exact.

I mentioned to you earlier that Monday I decorated for a barn style dinner

(part of the first retreat) and here are a few pictures of the decorations.

I made planter boxed for the tables and filled them with beautiful pansies and petunias,

and I even made fabric chandeliers to hang from the ceiling! 

And then for the second retreat we went camping

with a bunch of people we work with.

We even took Silas, who decided it was a good idea

to jump in the tent and cuddle up with Micah.

Current Crush - Milk Glass & Jadeite

  
My edition of current crush today is not only Milk Glass and Jadeite in an array of colors...
but it is also the store Fishs Eddy.  I am seriously dying to visit that store.
Now I just have to find a way to get to New York City.

Fishs Eddy is basically a glorified restaurant supply store that is also open to the general public,
but instead of your typical plain "ware", Fishs Eddy is filled with
unique, edgy, and vintage-like treasures.
You spend two minutes on that site and you'll see why I love it...
and why I am majorly crushing on these items.

Italian Stuffed Baguette

This recipe is so simple and so good at the same time.

I love baguettes. I also love tomato, basil, and Parmesan cheese.

Put the two together and bake it in the oven... well, it's a perfect combination.

Here's the recipe I used...

you must go try it right now!

Italian Stuffed Baguette

1 baguette loaf

1 tomato sliced

a handful of fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 garlic clove, crushed

kosher salt

pepper

1. Mix the butter, garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper together.

2. Slice the baguette so that you have pocket to stuff and they can be easily pulled apart. Spread a little of the garlic butter into each slice.

3. Stuff the tomato and basil leaves into each slice as well. 

4. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese and a bit more kosher salt and pepper.

5. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or enough time for the flavors to infuse and the bread to crisp up. 

6. Enjoy!

Summer Endings

Summer is approaching it's final days.
It is getting to be that time of year where, though it is still warm outside,
and your harvesting your produce in the sun, the evenings beckon you to grab your sweater.
Or you have that day, where a tank top and shorts are the last thing you want to wear.
For those days, I long to have a wardrobe filled with
Ruche's Tuscan Sun clothing line.
Aren't these pictures just so dreamy.
Perfect for summer's end.

Color Palette - Ginger Haired

via: Fleur + Dot

Um, all I have to say is...
How cute is this little ginger haired girl?!?!?

I had another big day today.
I decorated for a outdoor barn-ish dinner party.
It turned out great, but unfortunately (as always) I had about zero amount of time
 to actually take pictures before people began to show up.
I swear it always ends up that way.
You might see pictures of it soon, if they turn out presentable.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Or I should say...

Micah's Sunday Morning
Birthday Breakfast!

I like to call this "the ultimate man breakfast".
Hash browns topped with onions and peppers, topped with bacon,
topped with tater-tots, topped with cheese, and finished with a fried egg.
Yeah, total guys meal... but soooo good!

Happy Birthday Micah.

My Week in Instagrams

To be honest, this is the past 2 weeks in instagrams.

Last weekend, Micah and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary!

So I was away for the weekend and unable to post.

But what a fun anniversary we had!

We spent the weekend at our traditional spot, The Kandahar Lodge...

we ate at our favorite restaurant...

road the gondola up Big Mountain (the view was amazing)...

and we even spent some time at "Huckleberry Days",

enjoying a scoop of Huckleberry Ice Cream!

Have a great weekend!

And the WINNER is....

I am so excited to announce the winner!!

This giveaway was so fun... so fun I can't wait to do another one.

Cool story...

Maria Nuzzo was actually my roommate 9 years ago in YWAM.
We were DTS roommates right before we both headed overseas to live for a few months
(I headed to England/Northern Ireland and Maria headed to Thailand).

So excited you won Maria... and enjoy your bracelet!!!

Current Crush - The Loose Blouse

1, 2, 3, 4

Oh man, it is literally taking everything in me

to not jump over to a-thread and buy that fuchsia top!

I am just loving these tops right now.

Grace Designs

I was staring at my purse today
(okay, technically I was day dreaming during a meeting)
and I noticed that my purse is beginning to look very worn.
Sad, because it is my favorite purse.
Guess I'm going to need a new one pretty soon.

I would love one of these purses from Grace Designs!
Don't you just love the fabric patterns.

P.S. Only 3 more days to enter the giveaway!

Color Palette - Lemonade

There is just something about freshly made lemonade.
When the weather is hot, which it has been here in the Northwest...
all I want to do is relax outside and sip ice cold lemonade.

And I love this beautiful image via eat drink chic.
Doesn't it make you want to grab that cup and start sipping away?!

On another note, my giveaway is still open!
So if you haven't entered to win the It's A Wrap bracelet,
make sure to head on over (here) and enter.

Have a great Monday and try to stay cool in this heat!

4 Years and a Giveaway!

Can you believe I've been blogging 4 years now.
It seems like just yesterday I published my first post.

I am so excited about today...
because I am hosting my very first giveaway!

I wanted to say thank you to all my readers
who have been following my blog over the last years
and those who are recently new followers.
I have so enjoyed getting to know you by your comments and emails.
And the daily encouragement to keep up blogging from friends has kept me going.

SO....

I wanted to giveaway something to a lucky reader!

I am giving away the It's A Wrap bracelet from Premier Designs Jewelry!
Antique matte brass plated, genuine leather, valued at $39...
I have this bracelet myself and seriously wear it all the time.
And since wrap bracelets are still going strong in the fashion trend world...
I would love to give a lucky winner one of their own.

Here is what you do...
You can enter the giveaway by following the raffle generator below
(and for those with no blog, twitter, or pinterest...
simply click on the easy entry for fans of this blog post
and you can enter that way).
You have a chance to enter 6 times!

Best wishes and I'll announce the winner next Friday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway