Wishing you all...

a very happy Memorial Day! Hope you are enjoying this lovely day and remembering all of the amazing men and women who have so bravely served our beautiful United States of America. We've spent the weekend eating lots of BBQ, homemade ice cream sandwiches, custard with yum yum sauce, and lounging by the pool. And I just may have awoken at 6 AM this morning with an itsy bitsy panic attack because I realized the shear enormity of all of the work I have neglected these past few days. Does this ever happen to you when you try to take some "time off"?

{Captain Heaven sailing her floatie}

What did you do on this holiday weekend?

Cool Down

It is seriously hot here in the Southeast. I am starting to reach that point where I just want to hibernate in my air conditioned apartment and eat ice cream. Hoping to beat the heat, I made lemon raspberry popsicles. I have a feeling that my ice cream maker and popsicle molds are going to be my best friends this summer.

{Lemon raspberry popsicle}

What are your favorite summer treats?

Beach Squirrels

I have always adored squirrels. I think they are probably one of the cutest little creatures on earth. On Saturday, we headed down to Anna Maria Island to spend the day at our friends' beach house. A precious little gang of squirrels eagerly greeted us at the house and insisted that we feed them peanuts.

{Waiting to be fed}

{Little squirrel coming to get a treat}

We spent the day grilling, laying on the beach, playing games, and swimming in the cool Gulf water. No oil here yet, thank goodness. Being at a beach house for the day totally spoiled me. I desperately want one now. As we lounged in the shade, I imagined myself having my morning coffee on the balcony and then going for a run along the shore. I'm pretty much obsessed now. This whole doctor thing had better work out, right?

{View from the beach house}

{Gossiping on the beach with the girls -- I decided to go for a retro beach look, complete with 50's style swimsuit, huge sunglasses, and hat}

{Hubby relaxing in the hammock -- it doesn't get much better than this!}

orange you glad it's summertime?

Every summer I set out with the intention to have lots of picnics. Sadly, the gap between "spring" and "summer" lasts about a week down here and picnic weather seems to slip rapidly by me. I suppose I could have a picnic at any point in the summer, but there's just something very unappealing about sitting outside when it's 100 degrees with 100% humidity. In my opinion, it's never fun to sweat profusely while you eat. Air conditioned dining please.

Saturday was the perfect day for a picnic. We found a nice spot in the shade and enjoyed the cool sea breeze. Our menu included: spinach, orange, and fennel salad; various cheeses; multigrain gourmet crackers; grapes; and San Pellegrino. Of course I packed a little bag of homemade treats for Heaven as well.

{Orange and fennel salad}

I'm hoping to have a few more picnics before the weather gets too unbearable, which leads me to wonder...

What are your favorite things to pack for a picnic?

soaking up the sun

I headed to the beach this weekend to spend some time with my little family. We had a nice picnic, swam in the ocean with Heaven, and soaked in the refreshing ocean air. If only I could just spend every day at the beach with no responsibilities looming over my head like "internship applications" and "dissertation"...wouldn't life be grand?

{Me and my precious little fur baby}

{Heaven wants to go for a swim so badly but she is scared of the crashing waves}

{"Look at me Mom! I'm swimming!" -- Heaven}

{"Did you see me Mom? Did you see me?" -- Heaven}

{Dirty puppy}

superstar golfer

This weekend, hubby challenged me to a game of putt putt golf. Naturally, I accepted and let him run his mouth for days. Hubby is good at talking trash.

{Champion}

Of course I won. I have this little gift of making hole-in-ones. Hubby really should have known better than to talk so much smack.

cheese please

I must confess that I spoil my dog rotten. I've been wanting to make her some homemade treats for ages, but all of the dog recipes I had contained lots of special impractical ingredients, making them rather pricey. So I was thrilled when a friend gave me several recipes that utilize common stuff I already had in my fridge and pantry. Heaven just adores cheese, so naturally I thought a cheesy treat would be a good place to start. She seemed to know that I was making something just for her, because she stalked me a little more than usual while I was in the kitchen. Or maybe she was just hoping I would drop some cheese on the floor.

{Cheese treats}

{My little girl enjoying her snack}

The treats were a big hit, and Heaven seemed to appreciate the fact that they were made with love just for her. But then again, it could have just been because she really really really loves cheese. Since they looked so tasty (and were made with normal human ingredients), I couldn't help but taste one myself...it was like a delicate little cheese cracker. Yummy, but I think I'll let Heaven have her treats and stick with cupcakes for myself.

Cheese Biscuits

{not sure of the original source since this recipe came to me from a friend}

1 cupe whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached white flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup cheddar cheese {I used 1/2 cup to make them extra cheesy}

1 large egg

3/4 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 325

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Kneed together until well mixed. Turn out onto a floured surface and roll flat to about 1/4-inch thickness.

4. Cut with cookie cutters. Sprinkle with a little extra Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

addicted to buttercream

The past couple of weeks have been busy busy busy...lots of end of semester projects and papers due, training site interviews, and a quick trip home to Louisiana. I've also been baking cupcakes for my lovely friends who were so generous and made donations to help fund my upcoming mission trip. One friend requested buttercream frosting, which is my absolute favorite. I haven't made buttercream in a while, and I had forgotten how addictive it can be. I probably consumed 5000 delicious calories just tasting to make sure it was "just right" and licking the bowl. I'm strongly considering just making a big bowl of buttercream to eat on everything possible.

{Cupcakes begging to be eaten}

Yesterday I took a few minutes to go thrifting, which I haven't done in forever. I found quite a few treasures that I can't wait to share with you in future posts. I bought a pretty little vase, old fashioned ice cream soda glasses, and a couple of vintage dresses that I plan to alter and reconstruct. My new vase was longing to be filled with flowers, so I scooped up this cheerful bunch of tulips.

{Pretty little tulips}

Mystery Monkey

There hasn't been much notable local news in the few years I've lived in Tampa. We hosted a Superbowl, and a plethora of local sex offenders have made headlines. But nothing that really interested me. Until a monkey popped up. A few months ago, a monkey started making appearances throughout the area. The little guy made his way from the heart of Tampa all the way over to the beaches! He has somehow evaded all of the wildlife guys, but he's not shy at all. He likes to hang out in trees, eat the seeds out of bird feeders, and cross busy intersections. He has become a local hero and something of a Tampa mascot. Just like any good hero, he has his own Facebook page with thousands of fans. So you can imagine my delight when our little monkey recently made national news and was even featured on Jimmy Kimmel. A music video was even made in his honor! So here for your enjoyment (and to get you through one more day of the work week)....I present the Tampa Bay Mystery Monkey.

If only I was a tween...

I'm regressing. I could probably psychoanalyze myself for days on this one. Luckily I'm not a Freudian (or even psychodynamic), so I can just enjoy this regression for what it is....pure tween bliss. Now before you begin to worry, I assure you I haven't been shopping at Hollister or surreptitiously purchasing Tiger Beat magazine.

But maybe, just maybe, I've been secretly reading the Twilight series and wishing that hubby was a little more like Edward Cullen. And I might have watched the movie several times now because Robert Pattinson is just so pretty that I can't help myself. I must have had hearts in my eyes because hubby even went so far as to ask me if Robert would be my "free pass". And I

honestly told him that Rob Pat would only be my free pass if he pretended to be Edward Cullen. I'm totally having a psychotic break, aren't I? I hear that stress does this to people.

{It's totally normal to lust after vampires that look like this, right?}

As if my tween vampire crush wasn't enough, I recently discovered the music of the German band Tokio Hotel. To be fair, there is nothing tween-y about their music, but teen girls everywhere just adore them. I watched some footage from one of their live concerts and teens were screaming their names with tears rolling down their cheeks. Ah, to go back to the days when I was young enough to believe I might actually marry a celebrity. My tween crushes were always musicians (I was convinced that the lead singers of Soundgarden and Blur were going to fall in love with me...never mind that I was a 6th grader in Louisiana and they were 30-something rockstars...minor details, right?). I actually did marry a famous musician, but that's a story for different day.

{Tokio Hotel}

So now I'm dying to know if I'm the only one who ever regresses back to her tween or teen years. Do you have any secret crushes or indulgences that don't really vibe with your usual sophisticated independent lady self? Maybe a stack of Lauren Conrad books under your bed or a slightly fanatical obsession with "Glee"? Your secrets are safe with me.

Lovely little moments

Today has has been an extremely busy day, and not in a good way. You know those days...when your To Do list literally requires you to have more than 24 hours in a day? After working on my dissertation for who knows how many hours straight, I decided to take a little break. I've been longing to try this Veggie and Cheese Bagel Sandwich recipe from the Pioneer Woman, and tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity.

{Veggie bagel sandwich + Abita strawberry lager}

Can I just say that this sandwich was heavenly? Deliciousness like this makes it easy to be a vegetarian. Even if you're an avid meat eater, you must try it. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be eating these every day this summer. While I was having my yummy little supper, I was able to catch Sarah Jessica Parker on "Who Do You Think You Are?" I just adore her. You better believe that May 27 is marked in my planner and I'm already planning my outfit. So I had a lovely little break but now I must get back to work.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

my quest to become the perfect wife

I've found that the easiest way to earn "wife points" is by cooking. What guy doesn't love a home cooked meal or treats that were baked with him in mind? Since hubby isn't supposed to eat sugary treats during race season, I decided to make his favorite homemade granola bars.

{White chocolate cranberry granola bars}

Naturally, I would have rather made a batch of cupcakes so I could indulge a little myself. But these bars made hubby blissfully happy, and I really can't complain because I snuck out and bought a delicious cannoli just for me.

What do you like to cook for your man?

Prints Charming

I must confess that I am a bit obsessed with prints. Always have been. In a room full of little black dresses, I'm usually the one wearing leopard print. About six months ago I realized that my closet was seriously lacking in neutrals. Since then I've been trying to make a conscious effort to buy more neutral pieces, and I think I've been pretty successful (although I may have gone a little overboard buying pretty little things in shades of nude and blush). But all my efforts aside, there's just something about spring and summer that screams for prints. As if to make up for my brief print hiatus, I've been on a bit of a binge lately.

I just might have gone a tad crazy with the Liberty of London for Target line. These are just a few of the printed pieces I snatched up. After buying three dresses, a top, two scarves, and stationary, I am officially cutting myself off.

Even though I haven't had time to sew in ages, I still make regular trips to the fabric store and hoard away prints and patterns (it's a sickness). This delicious stack of fabric is sitting on my sewing table, taunting me to blow off my school work and make something. Once May gets here I will have Fridays off, and I totally intend to devote the day to sewing and reading by the pool.

{image}

Being the print junkie that I am, you can imagine my excitement when I discovered Amy Butler's prints the other day. I guess I've been living in a cave because I had never heard of her, but after spending an hour on her website I am convinced that she is a genius. I am already imagining making these fabrics into perfectly pretty summer skirts and dresses.

What is your current obsession?

Street Cred

This weekend I did something that I never ever do...I ditched my school work that had to be done on the computer, threw the stuff that didn't require my laptop into a bag, and spent the weekend at hubby's races. I had a lot of fun supporting my man and his friends and got to spend a little time working on my photography skills.

Saturdays races were through the streets of downtown Tampa. Watching these guys fly around sharp corners at high speeds was pretty insane. I would be terrified! The weather was gorgeous and an eco-festival was also taking place downtown. We ended the day having dinner and drinks with friends at a little Italian restaurant while watching the last pro race that took place at twilight.

I'm always on the look-out for obscure things that can become something beautiful. I loved the reflection of this historic building caught in the panels of a modern high-rise.

A candid shot of hubby while he is discussing race strategy with another cyclist. It was really fun to see him in his element, doing what he loves.

I couldn't resist these lovely little pansies in various shades of purple and yellow. They reminded me so much of home!

Sunday's races were in a different city and the weather was pretty gloomy. The cloud cover made it easier to get some good action photos. Luckily, hubby's race ended just as the rain started.

Taking the weekend off has left me terribly behind this week, but it was totally worth it to support hubby. I sometimes get so caught up in school, dissertation, and training that I have a tendency to overlook the little things that matter most in a marriage, like how important it is to support your spouse in everything they do. But I'm working on it!