..short & sweet..

I just wanted to share a outfit post and some of our farm livin'.  I went out to check on the chickens and one was just finished laying this odd egg, weird huh? She was totally back to normal today, thankfully.  And, we haven't gotten many peaches this year, so I was excited to pick these two!  My short are the ones that I altered to be short-shorts, and I the orange enameled brooch was an estate sale find. 

..creative cucumbers..

If you've ever grown cucumber plants, then you know how hard it can be to find new and exciting ways to keep eating them.  They are actually nice to snack on with some dip or just salt and pepper. And, we make refrigerator pickles which takes a big chunk of them, but I have also been trying to add them into our meals in not so traditional ways.  I added them to a weird version of stir fried veggies and noodles that I make which wasn't too bad, though I think I have perfected that meal without them.  I plan on making a beef, shallot, and cucumber salad that I have been eyeing in my Thai cookbook.  But for tonight, I tried a recipe that comes up on page one if you Google 'cucumber recipe'  and is called Spago Cucumber Salad.

  The recipe (found here) is actually pretty much the same as Wakame seaweed salad,

  which I absolutely love,however I found that it called for a lot more vinegar than I think is necessary.  Even half the amount would be more than enough in my opinion, but to each their own.  It actually turned out pretty yummy, and now I am inspired to make my own seaweed salad next time I can make it by the local asian market to buy some Makame!

..sweet summer..

This weekend has been absolutely lovely so far.  Last night I finally made a carrot cake that I have been thinking about for about a week.  I got the recipe when I was browsing the Dujour Magazine blog.  I pretty much followed the recipe but I added some fresh ginger to the cake and some lemon juice to the icing.  It turned out fantastic!  It is really moist and yummy.  

 Today, Mike and I did a little work around the house, then we sat around most of the afternoon.  It was the perfect day to be lazy, hot and humid with thunderstorms on the horizon.  It is kind of nice not to do anything sometimes.  Mike made us a huge meatloaf for dinner last night, so we had leftovers for lunch and dinner.  We make a mean meatloaf so I don't really get tired of eating it repeatedly.  I will have to share our unique recipe in the blog sometime.  

I started to get restless after a while so we decided to go thrifting.  I found some pretty good stuff at both shops that we went to.  I got a couple of table cloths, one for a kitchen curtain, and one for a picnic blanket.  I am pretty excited about both, though I am not yet sure how well the one will work as curtains.  I also found a handful of other goodies; a bunch of scarves, a summer sweater and dress, a couple of belts, and a local theater tee. 

I got to add a few new things to my wardrobe recently.  My shirt is yet another from my Granny's old closet that I so frequently raid.  And, these shoes were my Grandma Sharon's.  She was a stylish and beautiful woman.  I am lucky that I have had such lovely women in my life.  

I finally cleaned off the front porch, so that is where Buddy and I took my pictures today.  By the time I got around to taking photos those threatening storm clouds I mentioned had already made their way to the house (yay for rain!).  We got intermitten rain and sunshine and ended up having a big rainbow.  Sorry no picture of it.  I didn't want to get the cmera out in the rain.