Photos: Red Flowering Tree

These gorgeous ladies are blooming like crazy in our backyard, and I saw them all about Savannah this weekend. Does anyone know their name? I'd love to formally introduce myself.

Edit: Camellia! My Camellias. They look so different than our other Camellia tree that I didn't realize it was the same bloom. Camellia, you make me happy. (:

Columbia | 12-14 October 2012

So many good things have been happening lately that it's been hard to keep up with writing about them. We have so many photos still not loaded on our computers, I don't even want to think about it! This is all good stuff, no complaints here.

A few weeks ago my good friend S. came up with her boy, B. (And yes, they have the same magical initials as the stars of GG! Lucky them.) There was a Jam Room Music Festival that caught their eye and they couldn't resist the allure of Cola. Friday night, after having a delicious dinner outside, we went to Incarnation Lutheran's Holy Schnitzel Oktoberfest. It was fun! Good beer, German polka, sugary desserts, face painting, and best of all -- bouncy house! I love those things, and it had probably been about six years (too long) since I had last bounced in one. Whew, what a good cardiovascular workout, haha.

Saturday morning after a yum-yum breakfast outside (beautiful weather!) we headed downtown for the opening weekend of the new location for Soda City All Local Farmers Market. We had samples of some good stuff, made notes on things to purchase later (like fresh pasta!), and then slowly walked our way over to The Flying Saucer. Just when S. & B. thought they were done with German-inspired food, we showed them some more tasty treats!

Afterward the music festival was starting up. The main act that S. was interested in was her all-time favorite band, The Hold Steady, and they would be head-lining at 8:30pm. We had six hours to enjoy local bands! It was fun! I think my favorite performance was by Can't Kids. J. and I realized the last show we had been to might have been in Chicago 2010. Sad!

Once our ears were throughoughly deafened and our legs were aching, we drove ourselves back to the good ole Forest Acres and stopped at Italian Pie for a few slices. (And also watched USC lose to LSU! Yup, we were the only ones secretly cheering for the other team. Awkwarddd.)

The next morning we shared another breakfast outside (again, just beautiful weather!) and said our sad goodbyes. S. & B. were headed for Florida, with some stops at Savannah and St. Augustine on the way! I'm jealous of their vacation! J. and I headed to church, and since a lot of our friends were away for the weekend, we ended up having our very first picnic lunch with Jasper. There is a small park not too far away from us (and actually, right across the street from our old rental) that my brother had always coined The Dog Park, even though it isn't an official dog park. When we got there, I understood why. There were so many people with their dogs enjoying the gorgeous day with us! J. and I had leftover pizza, veggies, and fruit, and basically took turns walking with Jasper while the other ate. I am sure this is a little window in to what it would be like with a fresh babe in our life. (:

Once the weekend was over, I wanted to scream -- this was the best weekend ever!! But then I realized we've been having good weekends all month! October, you may have upped your position on my "favorite month" list. (Yes, there is a list.) Enough of this chatter, here are some photos!

Perfect Weekend

After working some overtime the past few weeks, I was ready for a break. Didn't expect such a perfect weekend, but God has a way of blessing me and showing me grace even though I am so undeserving. After re-reading old journal entries, and thus realizing my recent lack of journaling, thought it wise to document some of these possibly-otherwise-forgotten memories.

Friday: pool all day with friends; dinner date with husband at Chick-Fil-A; drinks at Hunters-Gatherers and World of Beer; Moonrise Kingdom at Nickelodeon Theatre

Saturday: sleeping in until 10:00am; morning pineapple-strawberry-banana smoothie; Desperate Housewives; grocery shopping; nap; more Desperate Housewives; homemade blueberry pie; Mid-Summer Night Party at R. and S.'s; late night bike rides home

Sunday: sleeping in until 9:30am; egg-cheese omelet and blackberries to be shared with husband in car while driving to church; thought- and act-provoking Sunday School message;  a church to love and be loved in; lunch date with good friends; pool day; coming home to ice cold water and cold blackberries; husband in office listening to Pearl Jam, windows open and evening light pouring in; leftovers for dinner; night of rest and relaxation

Food: Sage-Walnut Pesto Pasta with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes

Unexpectedly, I was able to leave work a few hours early today, so after finishing some homework, I started on dinner. We deviated a little bit this week from our original menu plan due to some slow-to-ripen avocados, but really it all worked out great! I prepared this meal while JP installed new brakes on my car. I don't care how chauvinist the image may seem, but nothing is sexier than seeing your husband with grease on his hands, sweat on his brow, laboring to serve you. He didn't know it, but I kept peeking outside to see how he was trucking along. {-:

This dinner was exceptionally fun to make! I had never really cooked with such a great quantity of herbs, and it really enjoyable to see what natural greens can become. I left the door open while in the kitchen -- it's so breezy out with the incoming cool front -- and Gilly happily went in and out, seeing what everybody was up to. We decided to eat outside, just can't get over this wonderful weather!

While J. finished with the brakes, I walked to the back of our yard to examine the newly-blooming bushes/trees. Please tell me you know the name of these flowers! I found several that might meet the description, but I am just not certain. Help?!

Breathtaking, right?

The Gilly Monster scampering away

Unintentionally, we ate this when it was more on the cool side and it still tasted delicious. As some of my friends know, I am not a ricotta fan and was tempted to substitute it with goat cheese, but in a last-minute decision, stayed as true to the recipe as I could, plus we already had the ricotta from a previous dinner. There's such a small amount used, and the pesto is the more dominant flavor, so I really didn't mind it at all. Plus, it all mixes together rather nicely. And those tomatoes? To die for. I can see this becoming a classic in our household.

Also served with the pasta, we have toasted Parmesan Ciabatta bread -- which is exactly as it sounds -- and a mix of fruit: strawberry, kiwi, clementine, black grape, and plum. We opened a bottle of Biltmore Estate Riesling (from our first wedding anniversary trip) and enjoyed a small glass with dinner. What a great evening together!

Sage-Walnut Pesto Pasta with Oven-Roasted Tomatoes
Ingredients

• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs thyme
• salt & pepper
• 1 C parsley
• 1/2 C sage
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 oz Parmesan cheese, broken into a few pieces
• 3/4 C walnuts, toasted and cooled
• 1/2 C olive oil
• 16 oz linguine
• 1/2 C ricotta

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400F. In small 8x8 baking dish, place tomatoes, olive oil, thyme, and salt/pepper. Roast 30-minutes until skins are wrinkled.
• Begin boiling a pot of water for pasta noodles
• In a food processor, combine parsley, sage, garlic and Parmesan. Pulse until everything is finely chopped. Add the toasted walnuts and pulse until combined. With the processor running, slowly pour in the olive oil until desired consistency. Season with salt & pepper.
• Prepare pasta according to directions. Drain, reserving 1 C of pasta cooking water. Return pasta to pot and mix in ricotta. Add 1/2 of pesto and stir to combine. Add the pasta water as needed to loosen sauce until desired consistency. Taste and add more pesto. Serve with roasted tomatoes on top.

SOURCE

Spring Dinner Picnics

Tonight my husband and I lamented about last summer's dinner picnics. We absolutely loved eating outside on our screened-in porch any time we wanted to, even in the rain. Currently, we do not have the same setting for dinner picnics, but we are working on it. Feeling a sense of desperation with the fleeting sunlight, I asked J. to go ahead and pull our patio furniture out of the garage so we could please enjoy this gorgeous spring weather. Thankfully, he obliged and set to cleaning the furniture while I cooked up a quick dinner. No menu planning this week, so I pulled out some things from our fridge and pantry. Do you all have stock items that you most always have in your house? Spinach, pasta, sauce, and fruit are almost always in our home, and they all ended up in my version of dinner tonight!

• spinach, arugula, & onion red sauce pasta topped with goat cheese
  
• spinach, arugula & chopped apple salad
  
• plum/clementine/kiwi fruit salad

We're both looking forward to having an outdoor space to share dinner with friends. What is your favorite aspect of spring?

Milestones: Gilly's First Walk

I have been begging J. to get a harness/leash for our kitty for mooooonths. On every day that I am off of work and it is sunny out, I dream about taking Gilly to the park, having a picnic, and going for long walks. My husband thinks I am crazy, but I am one lucky gal and as much as I am nuts, he is nuts for me.

So, after him coming home from work today, waking me from my slumber (hey, I worked night shift) with a boastful, "Let's go for a walk!" I thought he was just a bit crazy, too. I was sleeeeeping. As I cracked my right eye open, he flopped a bright blue harness and leash on me, and faster than you can say "cat picnic" I was out of bed throwing on walk-appropriate clothing.


Our little girl being very cautious as she ventures outside

Before going on a full-scale walk, we thought we'd head into the backyard first (she loves playing out here for hours during her almost-daily "exploring time")




She kinda sat there...


...and sat there

So we carried her down the driveway to see what she would do.


Gilly with Daddy (:


After a few minutes of a "walk" (i.e. us practically dragging her), she found a spot to sit.


And continue sitting.

Feeling inspired, I ran inside to get her octopus - the carrot on the horse's head theory, right?







But instead of running to catch it, she laid on the ground and played with octopus.


My dreams of outdoor cat-filled afternoons aren't completely ruined. Tonight a friend told us similar stories about her cat when she initially tried walking him, but now he loves going on long walks! Stay tuned.